I can’t afford to live in London anymore and it’s not the place I fell in love with aged 18.

Whilst it is of course true that the cost of accommodation has risen very steeply in the last 10-15 years, London hasn’t changed that much. The same things you fell in love with are still there. I’d say it’s you that has changed, in 24 years, and your hopes, dreams and aspirations have adjusted in line with reality. Maybe things haven’t gone the way you expected them to, but then, you will admit you were perhaps a little naive at 18. But have you taken every opportunity that has come your way? I’ve heard a lot of people moan about their lot, but who have been complacent and expected the world to revolve around them.

If you are going to move, then maybe look at what the new place has to offer, that is unique. If you go expecting things to be the same but better, they probably won’t. MK is full of people who want to live more cheaply than in London, but still need to commute in every day. Are you certain you will be able to find all the work you need in MK? Or will you still need to commute into London? After suffering an early morning train in from Luton one day last year, I vowed never to end up having to do that. I truly question the sanity of those who do that every weekday, for years on end.

This could be the start of a brand new direction and adventure for you. Are you single? No kids? Then you could be in a prime position to do something totally different. Loads of opportunities if you are intelligent and dynamic.

I used to be terrible. Probably stems from a time when I had very little, so anything I did have, was treasured. Fortunately, I have a wonderful partner who has made me realise that I don’t need to hold onto things. She’s helped me get rid of probably most of what I used to own, before I moved in with her. Stuff like bits of gutted electronics, old things that needed fixing but what I’d never get around to doing, old magazines, etc etc. Ultimately, pretty much all useless rubbish. I’ve managed to whittle it down to stuff that’s of reasonable value but that I don’t really want to let go, like an old MiniDisc recorder, some nice old speakers, and various bits of bike.

Hoarding can be a serious, pathological issue though. :(

When you get yourself organised and sell all the stuff you’ve not used for years, you realise you’re sitting on a few £000s worth of stuff, which is nice

If I really went to town, I’d probably be able to make enough to buy a custom Titanium frame!

Hang on! :o

So it used to be a city for the ambitious and you could succeed – many have. But now the outlook is lousy IMO… you still work all hours under massive pressure but for very little reward.

It depends on what you want to do, what skills/talents/abilities you have, and what you want from life. I grew up in relative hardship, yet have been lucky enough to end up in an extremely comfortable and privileged situation, compared to what I experienced when I was younger. I appreciate not everyone is this lucky, and do not take anything for granted. But even now, we live well within our means, and aren’t chasing rainbows like many others seem to be doing. Why ‘upgrade’ to a bigger house in a more fashionable neighbourhood, and give yourself that extra stress and pressure? Even in London, many people are able to live at a comfortably sustainable level. I think many people are deluded, and want gold for the price of brass.

Move to Scotland. Or… to the countryside. It’s really a much nicer life.

He might need a job, in order to pay the bills. I doubt someone who’s worked in Marketing for so long would be best placed to make an economically successful transition to a rural area.

Anodising is done to help harden the outer surface of the alloy, and to help prevent damaging corrosion. Even ‘raw’ looking components are usually anodised. On something as thin-walled as a rim, I’d be extremely wary about removing an anodised surface. And this is from someone who’d sand the lacquer off some carbon handlebars. 8O

Anodising can be removed from components, using a solution of Sodium Hydroxide (caustic soda). Nasty stuff, so you’ll need to protect your skin and especially your eyes. You will then need to neutralise the alkali with acid (even vinegar is good for this). The raw alloy will then need polishing up to provide a smooth surface (corrosion and oxidisation is slower on a smooth surface), which will need to be kept clean and polished, as there’s now no anodising to protect it. I’d say it’s ok on thick-walled/dense components like cranks, CNCed stuff, but on a rim?

Buy a silver one and save yourself the heartache.

Good stuff. I’ll give it a go later on in the week. I have a saddle to re-cover too. It’s all about top-quality Italian leather.

I moved to London aged 18 full of ambition and energy

And here you’ve just described pretty much the root of your problem; everyone and his dog wants to come and live in London, seduced by the bright lights of the big city. People think the answer to their dreams lies in London. And then they realise it isn’t quite like that. Dick Whittington was a mythical character. The reality is, that unless you are very lucky, have real saleable talent/ability, or have a sound economic backing, it is extremely difficult to climb the ladder. It’s you against millions of others; the odds certainly aren’t in your favour. If you weren’t fortunate/far-sighted enough to get on the property ladder before it went properly crazy, then you’re on a loser, as you’ve said yourself, you’ll need to earn way above the London average even, just to be able to get one foot on the rung. And I’d say such income opportunities are actually decreasing.

Perhaps it’s time for you (and many others) to actually start looking elsewhere for future opportunities and adventures. The foreign money buying up all the properties will dry up once they realise no-one can actually buy anything, and the market will drop once more. That could be quite a while off yet though. But there’s loads of other places in Britain that could do with that ambition and energy; it’s about time people tried their luck in other parts of the country, instead of expecting the streets of London to be paved with gold.

How much?

A friend did that using some headache-inducing gifs, when a company failed to pay him for work he’d done on their site. Only he could access the site at that point, so they soon coughed up. 8)

Mr Smith offers some sensible comment re ‘image rights’. In the UK, individuals generally have no ‘rights’ if they are ‘incidental’ to the scene depicted; it’s only if you then present the images in a commercial context which would be using their ‘image’ as being an identifiable individual. It’s a tricky one. But in essence; if you’re part of a crowd in a general crowd scene type shot, you have no real rights (other than those specified at any private venue). But for stuff where it’s clearly you, you’d need to have signed a model release form before the image can be used in a commercial context. In the context of journalism, you have no rights if the image is merely stating a fact. So if you’re pictured in a political protest, and you didn’t want your picture to be splashed all over the media, tough.

As for model rights; a friend’s son has his face splashed all over some billboards surrounding a new housing development. He signed the release form, not having fully read the T+Cs, and is a bit miffed, because his fee barely covered his haircut. :lol: A lesson learned there, but ‘models’ are generally exploited.

These will just be for a ‘pimped’ town bike, so aesthetics are actually more important than function (although they do of course need to be safe). And they will only need to look good for a short while really. So now I’m thinking of just flattening the scratched bits and spraying them with some lacquer stuff. Feasible?

I’d presume that if the bars are old enough to look that tatty that they’re due for replacement.

They’ve actually spent far more time stored in the dark, than being on a bike. They are probably around 12 years old, and are more likely to be scruffy from being knocked around in storage, than from actual riding. Good point on the hassle involved though. I might just put them on another bike and buy some new ones. The only thing is that I need a 25.4mm bar, and I don’t think there’s many carbon bars in that diameter around these days.

And should the photo have been taken in France then the subject has a whole pile more legal rights under French law – people have the right not to be photographed (so strictly speaking you’re supposed to ask the permission of everyone you take a photo of) and full rights over the use of their own image.

Read the story of Robert Doisneau’s ‘The Kiss’.

I’ve had experience of having my copyright abused a couple of times. Two separate parties are currently using my images without express permission, in fact. However, one is a social enterprise which makes very little money and does good stuff, so I’m willing to let that slide. The other is a book publisher which has used a portrait I did of a friend, to illustrate her chapter. That, I’m not so happy about. The difficulty is that she may well have believed I gave her permission to let the publishers use it, which I didn’t. Makes it a bit tricky, as I don’t want to upset her, but my image is being used without my permission, in a commercial context. I am, by law, entitled to fair payment. As the amount will be relatively small (a few hundred pounds at most I’d imagine), I might be willing to let it slide as well. The worst aspect for me, is that I’m not even credited as the photographer! Hmm.

Footflaps should sue their arses off though. :wink:

It’s there for a reason, you realise this right?

It seems to be purely cosmetic, judging by the bits that have peeled off and not caused the bars to instantly fail! And the woven top layer of CF is part of the cosmetic appeal, from what I’ve learned about the stuff. I have other Easton CF bars with no obvious lacquer on them.

Thanks to SV, I’ve now got my set! Which is great as I’ve been busy and the two shops closest to me didn’t stock them.

The metal does look better quality than the Silverline ones I currently have. They will need a proper tune-up and sharpen though, as per the Paul Sellers video. Will report back in time!

Thanks, apologies for abandoning this thread, been very busy!

Any other suggestions? Although that sounds pretty good. Any suggestions on getting them shiny again?

an old classic Cateye LD600

An even older classic LD500 only died on me recently, after many, many years of faithful service. I’m gutted.

Pleased to discover they’re still doing them, so will be purchasing another. They fit permanently to a pannier rack without extra fittings.

In my experience, Cat Eye have been the most reliable and robust over time. Had many sets of cheaper lights, but none have been as good.

I went into a Greggs in Barnsley once.

That was the highlight of the visit.

Real gentlemen don’t have “man-caves”. They will have a proper workshop (or preferably 2), a study, a music room etc. and, in the case of Flasheart, probably a billiards room and smoking room to.

Ah, but such ‘gentle’ men would have real men to do the proper manly jobs they themselves are incapable of. :wink:

Isn’t “man-cave” just a phrase used by lumber-sexuals and bearded hipsters to describe the one room where their significant others force them to do all the stuff they suppose real men have to do?

It’s all a load of bollocks really. Mine is just a basement workshop full of tools and bits of wood etc. Stuff gets made there, stuff gets fixed there, and sometimes stuff gets thrown across the room in frustration and anger. My significant other seldom ventures down there, as she says it’s ‘like a cave’. And I’m a Man, so it must be a Man-Cave. :D

As they’ve not been mentioned yet, I’ll suggest http://www.bikeline.co.uk/ who have successfully dealt with a couple of claims I had. Though I’m sure other companies mentioned are just as good, that’s another option – no need to go to the real vultures of the NWNF world.

Bikeline are a NWNF firm. In fact, most firms offering personal injury claim services will have NWNF agreements. It’s disingenuous to call all NWNF firms ‘vultures’; many very reputable firms offer this service.

Here’s some good information:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Documents/Advice%20factsheets/Legal/l-claiming-compensation-for-personal-injury.pdf

Most law firms are completely scrupulous, don’t forget that this is a big business; you want money, they help you get money, they take a fee. Obviously it’s in their interests in trying to get as high an amount as possible, but this is set by the court, not the solicitors. You can of course bring a claim yourself, and represent yourself throughout. Not a very good idea unless you are a qualified lawyer expert in personal injury claims though.

You can of course instruct a law firm to represent you in a claim, outside of a NWNF agreement, but this could end up costing you a fortune if you lose. As for household insurance; be very sure to read every single bit of the small print. It’s quite possible you won’t be covered at all.

Don’t know what you’re talking about

You don’t need to. Trust me.

I always try to have two rear lights on the bike, in case one fails. Plus you can have one on constant, the other flashing. Cat Eye used to be the king of bike lights, but I’ve had decent Smart lights which work well but maybe aren’t quite as good quality in the long run. Just got some Moon lights so will see how they fare this winter. Only thing I’d say about rear lights, is that some of the newer ones are too powerful to use if there are other cyclists around; someone may be just a few feet away from you not hundreds of metres. It’s more effective to use multiple lower powered lights.

Love the way that lower picture shows an iMac on the writing desk. And I don’t really get the comment about ‘self-indulgent materialism’, for both rooms are perfect examples of this.

This is the closest approximation to my workshop:

Idealy, I’d love something like this, very similar to a friend’s place:

Converted garage, fully-equipped.

If your man-cave doesn’t have any tools in it, it’s not a man-cave; it’s just another room in your house.

My ‘man cave’ looks nothing like that top room; it has workbenches (notice the plural), a good selection of woodworking and other tools, a stack of various woods, bits of bike and a speaker thing. It’s full of crap and covered in dust. That top room is not a Man Cave, it’s an Entertainments Room. I do not want others in my Man Cave. It is my Cave. A Man Cave is for a Man, not Men. The place for Men is a pub.

Speaking of which…

The speed limit does not apply to cyclists, so it’s irrelevant.

Excuse me?

Technically correct, bizarrely. Although to say it’s ‘irrelevant’ is somewhat foolish, I’d say.

Be prepared for every single aspect of your behaviour, and the ‘roadworthiness’ of your bicycle, to be placed under extremely close scrutiny. Were your brakes working correctly? Had your bike been serviced recently? Did it meet all conditions according to the law? Did you have correct approved lighting? Did you have reflectors and pedal reflectors fitted? Etc etc. One little thing that’s not quite right according to the legal requirments, and bang, you case could collapse. The pedestrian’s legal team will be looking for anything that could save them from potentially massive costs. It’s a minefield. It could drag on for ages. You could lose a huge sum of money. Are you prepared for that?

Sounds really nasty, and I do hope you make a full recovery.

I’d ignore a lot of people on here, other than the ones telling you to ignore a lot of people on here, and seek proper legal advice. Especially ignore ‘advice’ such as this:

Legal action has a clear negative impact on recovery. You’ve got 6 years to take action

The sooner you get the process started, the better. CCTV footage is rarely kept for more than a few days, weeks if you’re lucky. It is possible the bus company might make the footage available to you, but usually only through a solicitor, and often only after a formal legal request from either police or a solicitor. Be prepared for any footage to have been erased; 3rd parties are often loathe to get involved as it is a hassle for them and they have nothing to gain by doing so. Witnesses often disappear/decline to give evidence in such cases.

Be prepared to get nothing. That way, if you do get anything, it will be a bonus. In order to successfully sue, you will need to prove wilful negligence on the part of the pedestrian. You will need to prove that their actions put you in a situation where injury was totally unavoidable. Whilst that may well be the case, successfully arguing that in a court of law is an incredibly difficult thing to do. Likewise, you may well need to prove you did nothing wrong whatsoever, and that you did everything in your power to try to avoid the collision. You also have the added issue that their behaviour probably doesn’t constitute a criminal offence, unlike many other RTA situations. And then there’s the probability of a counter-claim. By your own account, it may transpire that you were not cycling according to the particular conditions, and not possessing sufficient awareness of the potential for a collision. I imagine you must have been going at quite some speed; it could be argued that such a speed was unsuitable for the particular conditions. In short, you have to be prepared to successfully argue against every possible claim that could be made against you. And be mindful that the pedestrian will be doing the same, and therefore doing everything to avoid having to pay out. It will be your lawyers vs theirs. And theirs might be better than yours.

Already, with only your version of events to go by, it isn’t looking great for you, sadly. So, as frustrating and ‘unfair’ as it may seem, you may well be better off just accepting that shit happens, and that you have to move on.

Good luck in whatever you chose to do, and be thankful that it wasn’t worse.

If it is, I’d be using 1×6 instead of MDF.
Unless well supported, MDF of that width and thickness will be saggy in no time.

This is good advice. But for low weight items 60cm should be ok. I’m imagining this is possibly for some sort of shop shelving type application? MDF is ok in dry environments, but seal it somehow; diluted PVA does an adequate job but doesn’t look great. MDF tends to warp and sag if used for any length of time in a damp environment. Painting MDF is a chore. Personally, I’d also be getting some proper timber and using that instead; most Pine type stuff can be used untreated, and looks a lot better. Or some Birch ply. Or even laminated chipboard.

Kettling is awful. I’m grateful that it wasn’t used on any of the deployments I’ve been on. I can appreciate why it is used in some circumstances, but it is extremely unfair on the majority of people caught up in it so I struggle to see how the end justifies the means, and I suspect that more often than not it causes more disorder than it prevents, so there’s no net benefit.

There’s a reason it’s called a ‘kettle’. A kettle boils, creates pressure. Kettling is a deliberate tactic designed to create trouble. It’s utilised in order to create a situation where the police can claim they needed to use ‘reasonable force’ to quell/break up a demonstration. Except it doesn’t always work like that, and many people have brought successful cases against the police following such incidents, to the extent most police forces are loathe to employ such tactics these days.

What is of far more significant interest, is how the police are being used as a political tool. There were significantly larger numbers of police deployed at last night’s demonstrations, than at other demos. There is a direct correlation between numbers of police present, and levels of violence. The saddest thing is, that the individual officers are ordered to act against the people who are actually protesting about the very government who have systematically screwed over the police pensions. There’s a sour irony in all that. :(

I vowed never to involve myself in the ‘political’ threads, on joining this forum, but they are simply too compelling.

“Police intimation and provocation”
Common complaint but if you don’t do as they ask you are wrong. Your opinion doesn’t count.
Not talking police state by the way so much as ” move along sir, you’re causing an obstruction.
Say no and you are wrong.

Without getting into what the protestors get up to on demos, police officers routinely break many laws at such demos. A friend is a lawyer at a law firm which represents many clients who have been arrested at demonstrations. They are very successful at not only winning their cases, but also at bringing successful lawsuits against police forces for wrongful arrest, assault, unlawful detention and a whole host of other offences. This never seems to make headlines. One client alone has won tens, if not hundreds of thousands of pounds in damages against the police. This has cost the taxpayer many times that. Multiply that by hundreds of cases per year, and it starts to add up quite a bit.

I think those who are ‘defending’ the actions of the police at certain demos have no experience of what actually happens at such events. I have, like others on here, witnessed police provocation and instigation of violence. It happens. It’s a fact. As is the instigation of violence by certain elements within a demonstration crowd itself. The difference is, is that the police have a fundamental duty to uphold law and order. And sometimes, they fail in that duty. And occasionally, they fail spectacularly.

And whatever you may think about the usual suspects who seem to frequent these type of protests, the fact remains that they are also members of the same society as you. Exercising their democratic right to protest. So a police car got burnt; so 3 officers ended up needing medical treatment; it’s hardly North Korea, is it? :wink:

I have a friend in New York who does very, very well out of ‘floristry’. Single table arrangements for posh dinners can cost the client well over $100 each. Insane in my eyes, but there is a market for it.

Yeah, I mean it looks pretty and I’m 100% certain that the film wont actually be bad but I just don’t get why everyones going nuts over just another blockbuster cash cow. I quite like geeky, comic book, sci fi stuff so it should be right up my street but the whole star wars hype just leaves me cold.

The trailers suggest at least a better offering than the last 3. There doesn’t seem to be another Jar Jar **** Binks, which can only be a good thing. Looks closer to the original trilogy.

Every version of this trailer gives me goosebumps – I’m really looking forward to seeing the film.

I was 10 when the very first film was released and I still remember the excitement I felt

I remember feeling that before the release of The Phantom Menace. This time, however, I hope I’m not left feeling so utterly betrayed.

OMG! OMG! OMG!

^That, pretty much. :D

You little beauty! :D

sv if you could, I’d be very grateful. I’ll buy a set off you regardless, if you can get any more. Will be a nice xmas gift for someone, at the very least.

How the hell did you get them so early? :evil:

Learn to use a waterstone to sharpen, or get a bit of thick glass and some wet and dry.

There’s always someone who gets in just before you do! :lol:

Don’t bother with diamond plates what a waste of money.

Interestingly, more or less exactly what my friend said too.

Lidl will be offering their Chisel set on the 12th – they do get sold quickly
as they have a certain reputation backed by proper chiselists .

Top tip! Thanks! I’ve heard some really good things about these; German, good quality steel, but for a silly low price. I’ll be camping outside my local Lidls on the morning of the 12th, I think!

Whatever chisels you get, learn how to sharpen them. Maybe even get a cheap set to practice sharpening with. A bench grinder is handy and can speed things up, but can also wreck things, so best to go easy. There’s a lot of debate about water stones, oil stones, diamond stones, and some thick glass and various grades of decent sandpaper (you’ll need the right sort of paper though; google scary sharp for more info). I like a Japanese waterstone but you have to make sure it’s perfectly flat otherwise you’ll end up with a curved edge on your blade. You can true it up with that same piece of thick glass and sandpaper easily enough though. Some people might like using a roller guide to assist sharpening, but don’t use one of these with a stone, as you’ll just ruin the stone. With practice, you’ll be able to sharpen up any blade by hand, to a more than acceptable level.

I’ve actually been using some cheap Silverline chisels to reasonable effect, but the stuff I do hasn’t needed really good chisels really. Thinking of upgrading to a better quality set for more complex future projects though. I’m told Ashley Isles are good value, but have no experience of them really. The Veritas ones look really nice, but are very expensive. Mind you, a friend is thinking about a set of Lee Neilson chisels; they are definitely not cheap!

I really think the Bencathra picture deserves to be shown here too:

What happened to the Lawrence family is terrible but it isn’t anywhere near sufficient to require curtailing the proposed powers.

What happened to the Lawrence family (and countless other cases) is absolute proof that the state isn’t to be trusted with such powers. Because such powers are routinely being abused by ‘security’ agencies for political gain, and to undermine any potential opposition. The argument that we ‘need’ to give up certain liberties in order to catch bad people is a fallacy; we live in a society where the threat from ‘terrorism’ is increasing, not the other way round, and it’s been proven here and elsewhere that such draconian erosion of liberties is actually contrary to helping produce a safer society. These proposals have bugger all to do with helping protect society, but all to do with the state wanting more control over the individual, to crack down on any potential deviancy, dissent and opposition to the status quo. The logical conclusion of what you’re willing to let happen, is a situation like that which exists in North Korea, where freedom of thought and expression is brutally stamped down. I’m mystified as to why you’d welcome that.

It’s a hypothetical construct that has no place in the natural world.

What about the Social World? Is that a ‘hypothetical construct’ as well? Surely Human Socialisation is part of Nature?

I’m just off out to walk the dog. Be interesting to see how this debate unfolds.

It’s a hypothetical construct that has no place in the natural world.

What about the Social World? Is that a ‘hypothetical construct’ as well? Surely Human Socialisation is part of Nature?

I’m just off out to walk the dog. Be interesting to see how this debate unfolds.