Have had deliveries good and bad but the rule is you keep the pallet, they are now £6 a pallet for a real treated international euro pallet so that might change?

Worst was a guy in a Transit van delivering tiles for our bathroom. 250kg in total no ramp, pump truck or forklift. I started unloading it by hand, he wouldn’t help because of health and safety or company policy, then started heckling because I was taking too long and he had other places to be all while sat on our wall playing on his phone.

Best was a guy who helped me get a pallet onto a couple of little dolly trolly things and push it into my garage, gave him a £20 note to say thanks for helping out!

Fly 2/3 times a week for work with a pump and Dexcom G6 and I’ve not had any issues anywhere in the world. I usually pull the pump out of my pocket and show it to security before I go through the scanner. The security staff then wipe the pump and hands with a chemical detector strip and run it through the machine, providing it turns green you are good to go.

Guys hospital say you should only go through the metal detector not the scanner as it is electromagnet and can mess with the pump. Personally I’ve not had a problem but you can request a member of staff checks you manually with a wand if you are worried.

I only travel with hand luggage so insulin in the liquids bag and divide everything else between back pack and suit case just in case something disappears. Take glucose tabs instead of liquid as they don’t have to go in the liquid bag. Make sure you take snacks as all the airports have big queues everywhere and you don’t want to get caught short with all the walking and stress.

Another vote for macro extension tubes. Have a set I have used for 20 years ish (on Minolta / Sony), they can be used with any existing lens but work best with a high quality prime (fixed focal length) lens, they don’t have any glass so are very reliant on the original lens

I have a CTEK 5 which has a repair function to clean the lead part of the battery. Been using it for many years on many cars and it keeps everything running well. With COVID we didn’t use the cars, I charged them overnight every couple of months and they are still running.

Not sure how it will do on a dead battery but worth a try.

Have the 4S on my Mercedes C63S, run it year round and they are much better in the cold / wet than the pilot super sports they replaced.

Only real complaint is they aquaplane badly but that’s probably the width of tyre.

I have Bose Sound Sports and After Shox Aeropex. Bose sound better for sure but I’ve killed several pairs running and biking in the rain. The After Shox lack bass and some detail in the sound but I’ve been using them for a couple of years with no issues rain or shine and its nice to hear the outside world when out and about.

+1 for the TraceR. I have the saddle rail mount for the road bike and a seat post mount for the MTB’s. Both work well, not cheap but the flash / pulse mode is really good and keeps you well lit on the roads.

I run an old (1998 or 1999) lightweight 26″ 100mm HT and a 27.5″ 130mm full sus and can’t see me replacing either any time soon although I will have to at some point.

It used to be easy to upgrade MTB’s with all bikes having 9mm QR axles, 26″ wheels etc etc. now the only parts I can swap between the bikes I own are the handlebars, saddle and brakes. I will struggle to get good wheels for the 26″ when I pancake my last set and will have the same problem with the 27.5″ at some point as its not a boost axle frame.

I think this has been the plan all along, through obsolescence force those of us that buy parts and service bikes forever to buy a new bike. Evil capitalist bike companies! Lol

I have taken a new job which will have me driving 20k+ miles a year with a car full of product and I will get a Passat or C class etc with a 2L diesel.

Small petrol engines are good in light cars but as soon as you put lots of weight in them they struggle. Low miles / short journeys will also clog up the filters, EGR, injectors etc in a modern diesel quickly.

Had the same issue with the lightning to USB adaptor, there are two options one which is powered and which isn’t. I use the powered version to pull photos from my old Sony digital camera, which uses compact flash cards, onto my iPad so I can edit and upload them while travelling.

Yes its a pain in the butt, yes the iPad/iPhone should be able to power a USB thumb drive via the lightning port but I will take this small amount of pain for the ease of use of the rest of the system.

As one example I answer incoming calls on the iPad or Mac as a speaker phone or my Apple Watch in a pinch every day which more than makes up for the pain of having to use an adaptor to download photos every now and again.

I used my old 26″ hard tail on the TT for a number of years.

You can get a specific TT tyre in 26″ which is well worth the effort, they are not that expensive and normal tyres melt after a short time.

You can get a cheap 26″ wheel from eBay or merlin or CRC, just buy something cheap and reasonably reliable. If you don’t put a brake disc on the wheel remember to put a spacer in between the brake pads.

I would invest in a cassette as a single speed on the back can make it quite dull and you want an easy spin to warm up and cool down with something tough for the middle. You can get free TT training sessions on YouTube or les mills / Zwift if you don’t mind paying and gears add to the enjoyment. If you want a cheap single speed option get something like this https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/dmr-single-speed-converter-kit/rp-prod2300

We’ve had it work differently every time we have offered. While looking this house we had seen a dream house that we really loved but it was out of budget, we looked around for a few months all the time the dream house was coming down in price, it finally reached a price we could afford so we offered the asking price and the owner turned us down and said they wanted the original price.

When we purchased our current house we offered 5% below asking as it was at the top of our budget and they accepted.

Offer what feel is comfortable and they will either accept or not. I think its about understanding what the other side want, highest £££ possible, short or no chain to move quickly, nice easy to deal with buyer???

Our local Tesco changed its car park during the first lockdown and added another row of disabled spaces and parent and child. Lots of people complained as its a small car park for the size of the store so they added spaces by reducing the size of the regular spaces. Our Golf just fits in a space now and my C class kind of fits if you don’t need to get out of it. They now get lots of complaints about dings in car doors.

In a country with limited space and where land is expensive you can’t win. As people we are bigger, our cars are bigger, parking spaces are the same size or smaller. If you have a ‘pride and joy’ be it a Bentley or Corsa with a big exhaust and want to keep it parking dent free you don’t really have a choice other than go shopping at mid night when its quiet, straddle 2 spaces or use click and collect (which has taken 8 parking spaces) and don’t go in.

Maybe we should treat our cars like the French? Anyone watch the Grand Tour Christmas special?

Depends on the budget

up to £50 – some new recovery socks, my Achilles is killing me at the moment
up to £150 – new pair of On Cloud Flyer trainers as the old ones are getting very tired and might be part of the issue above.
up to £1000 – new iPad, current 5 year old one is struggling to hold a charge

After this its difficult, have a nice house and a car and a few bikes so unless it was big, big money we are very happy and lucky with all we have.

A cure for Covid & cancer, end of hunger, world peace etc etc if its pure fantasy.

I use a Rav Power 65W charger, 2x usb A and 2x usb C. It can charge a MacBook Pro, iPad and 2x iPhones at the same time. Spend a few nights a week away from home on business and it’s the only charger I carry.

singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/what-bluetooth-keyboard-for-macbook-air/#post-12047042

This x2 The Mac has great gestures, you will miss them if you move to a mouse, even the Magic Mouse. Its when you try and go back a webpage or zoom in on an Excel sheet using the Magic Mouse you realise you need the Trackpad.

I have an old Microsoft BT Arc keyboard I use with my PC and the Apple Magic Keyboard for my MacBook Pro. Prefer the Apple Magic Keyboard, it’s much nicer typing experience and connects instantly, as do the Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad (I am a sucker, I know).

Magic Keyboard, Mouse and Trackpad all connect and work well with iPad OS devices.

I would suggest you buy the black one and the white keys look gross after a week or two of typing.

I use these as laptop stands but they might be a bit high for what you want, they are also available in space grey if you want to colour match? https://www.amazon.co.uk/BoYata-Laptop-Stand-Dismountable-Ventilated/dp/B0796RVRL4/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?crid=2FGP6070W5N3H&dchild=1&keywords=boyata%2Blaptop%2Bstand&qid=1632413045&sprefix=boyata%2Caps%2C160&sr=8-3-spons&smid=AWI8KEPE0332Y&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyVFlIUzY4OElWQjhPJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMTk5MTAyUVNMNTNUV1NaQVlRJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAwNzQxOTIyUlpGRjAzTllMVk1ZJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1

Personally wouldn’t go to an IFA for a mortgage as they can be expensive and will only have access to the same rates as a broker. Our IFA referred us to our mortgage broker.

The broker had a better rate than we could get. When we renewed they couldn’t get a better rate than our existing lender, they were honest about it and said take the deal as it could not be beaten. The last renewal the broker had a better rate so we went with the broker.

Look at the fee structure with the broker, we paid a one time £250 with our first mortgage which covers us for ‘life’ we can go back to the broker whenever we want/need with no charge.

Buy your Palm from Beer Hawk. Free delivery if you spend over £50 and you get 5% cash back to spend on your next order. Been one of the few places to carry it and Leffe Brune through COVID.

If you order today you will have it on Friday / Saturday.

In stock and 36 cans for £50 + 5% cash back!

https://www.beerhawk.co.uk/palm-belgian-amber-ale-multi-pack-12-beers?queryID=4c237e62b6068f63a32919b1eec8ee9a&objectID=8800&indexName=Live_beerhawk_products

I travel a lot for work and have multiple passports so I use the express interview service. Pre Covid you could get a passport same day but its now a 7 day service. Went for an interview at the office near London Victoria station, other locations are available, with all of the relevant paperwork and passport arrived by post 7 days later.

I had a Golf Mk7 GTD 5 door hatch, could fit a XL 29er full suss (or 2) but had to take both wheels off. Ended up getting a hatch strap on rack thing as I got fed up with the dirt and scratches to the plastic interior parts.

Ended up leaving the rack on the car 90% of the time as it was convenient, took the wheels off and put them in the boot when I used it as the bike was significantly longer than the width of the car.

I have a Salomon running belt which has space for phone, keys, small snack and a soft flask. If I need a waterproof I just tie it around my waist, its just big enough to cover the half marathon distance / 2 hour run.

If I need something bigger I have a Salomon sense backpack, think its the 5 or 8l. Has a bladder and space for all the food and water you need for a day out. The fit is very different to the camelback bike backpacks and is designed to be worn very tight so it doesn’t move and rub.

I always take the belt with me just for phone and food, I prefer the backpack if I need to take water with me.

Both are really stretchy and don’t rub or cause discomfort over many miles.

My wife has a flip belt which she likes but it doesn’t have a zip pocket for keys.

I had 2x 24″ HP 1920×1080 screens when lockdown 1 started, my wife stole 1 of them as she started working from home, then the other……..

Picked up a couple of 27″ HP 2560×1440 screens which are not ultra wide but are lovely. My work laptop will only run 1 at native resolution so I sent 1 back as they looked blocky at 1980×1080.

The monitor is lovely and high res but make sure your computer can push the pixels.

Only real issue is on video calls when you have to zoom in on spread sheets for those stuck using 13″ laptops as the text is to small on their end.

I travel(ed) a lot for work and have a Vodafone 4G router. costs £33 (on a rolling month contract with unlimited fast as possible data) a month and gives pretty decent speeds to run a laptop or two and an iPad. Way faster than most standard hotel WiFi and often cheaper than paying £5 a night for the premium WiFi. It does not have any connections other than USB though.

https://www.vodafone.co.uk/mobile-broadband/pay-monthly-contracts/mobile-wifi/vodafone/r219-mobile-wi-fi-hotspot

Previously used my iPhone as a hotspot but it was good as a phone or hotspot but struggled as both.

I think there a real sense of disconnect from colleges and mis the lunch time gossip and a pint on Friday lunch / after work.

Its great working from home and I have back to back video calls most of the day but you mis out on the stories, the what people did at the weekend banter (which is currently nothing).

We are lucky enough to have a room at home each set up to function as an office, mine also has the turbo trainer set up in it, but we start work at 8am skip lunch to fit everything in and finish around 6.

I don’t see my wife any more now than I did when I went to the office and all we get to talk about is work in the evenings because we haven’t done anything else.

Part of working from home loneliness is working at home alone but part is not having any new experiences / things to talk about like holidays, weekend meals out, new bike parts etc etc

Just a thought, are you over the £2,500 a month maximum? furlough payment?

If you earn over this limit your furlough days will be paid at the reduced rate.

For example, if your usual pay is £3,500 a month your typical daily rate would be £166.66 (£3,500/21) a month with furlough it would be £119.05 (£2,500/21).

So £166.66 x 19 and £119.05 x 2 = £3,404.64 nearly £30 down on the 2 days at 80% you might have expected, the higher the your usual pay is the more this gap grows.

Personally use Hoka Arahi 4’s which come in a 2E wide fit. They are more road than trail, at the moment trails here need welly’s.

Have also used the Hoka Graviota 2, also good but heavy. Adidas Luna Glide ST which I didn’t like at all.

It’s difficult at the moment as you can’t pop to the running shop and try a bunch on.

Have a pair of Aeropex for running as they are waterproof to a point. Much much prefer the sound of the Bose SoundSport wireless but they are not waterproof so heavy rain kills them, after 3 pairs of Bose I gave up and got the Aeropex.

Nothing much to say about the Aeropex other than the sound is not great for music, no bass and complex music turns to mush. Because you can hear the outside world you have to turn them up loud which upsets the Apple volume nanny on the iPhone. Every hour the volume is automatically turned down to protect your hearing, you can just turn it up again but it’s annoying (very first world problem).

Just to add to the above you will also need external speakers as most monitors don’t have them built in, I made this mistake with the old Xbox and had to wait a couple of days for the speakers to arrive.

Most OEM suppliers (HP, Dell, etc) have a student scheme which you might be able to use to get a discount, my wife works at a uni and we got 10% off at HP.