In 'Henry' it's haitch

In 'an hotel' it's aitch

You really need to try them on, I can't bear Speash and always go for Shimano.

Lumix

I always fancied a go at aerobatics. A mate bought a partnership in a Yak and I went up a few times. It was kin brutal all of that G force and spinning about and flying over Kettering upside down with ropey (lit) Russian straps keeping you from falling 3000 feet. Didn't really enjoy it but it was a thrill.

I flew in from JFK this morning and I feel quite lucky to be here. Heathrow had lots of queues to queues.

I got a TZ7 about a month ago and am very pleased indeed with it. I'm currently walking about Manhattan taking some furtive shots and it works brilliantly, the results are sharp and the colour is very good. I'd strongly recommend them.

Class is much better defined by whether you own and/or control the means of production or you have nothing to sell but your labour power. Vague status-based (Weberian) definitions only serve to conceal the fact that you can just as easily be sacked and impoverished as the person who pushes the broom. I'm proudly working class, all my family have degrees and I own a detatched house with a double garage…but it's only stuff and it wouldn't gain you access to the Bullingdon Club.

Organise a good holiday for yourself, Australia for example. 2 years for your head to clear (nearly) completely.

I would try to improve my fitness and general wellbeing whilst continuing to work so that you get on top of everything rather than seeing e.g. work as a source of all your problems, isolate yourself from it and then dreading returning to it. Cut down/out booze, get more sunlight by e.g. walking about at lunchtime, go to bed earlier, organise a few weekends away.

I went from GP (drugs) to osteo to chiro amd found the chiro most effective. The chiro gave me all sorts of exercises to work on to reduce my number of visits. It's certainly worked but progress has come rather slowly and I'm a few hundred quid out of pocket.

I buy all the 'old'stuff in Waitrose and I haven't died yet, can't get my head round 'scraping mould off cheese'…..cheese is mould!

'don't kill, don't be nasty, be nice, don't steal stuff, give stuff to others that need it'…all of that is political in that it is all about preserving the status quo. The ruling classes have never seen themselves as subject to the religious rules they impose on their minions. The odd attempts over the centuries to be serious about equality etc have been absolutely crushed by the major religions. Witness how Ratzinger treated the liberation theologists. In my view, religion distorts and undermines people's wellbeing and attracts those who, sadly, have already been done in.

I'm flying to Boston for a conference and then on to NYC to catch up with aforesaid mate. Thanks for all the comments, that's reassuring. His request made me laugh my leg off but having lived abroad I do remember being made to be suddenly aware of addictions I had no idea I had. One day at a time with that Marmite!

Tally ho!

My cycling buddy is md of a plc IT company and all their machines are dell, he swears by them not about them.

Cheshire Cheese is better than the Castle Inn ime.

Write left-handed, shoot left handed, box orthodox, kick right footed, struggle with fork in right hand.

Genesis Core, amazing value for money.

More light at night means fewer road accidents ( more happen after rather than before work), less money spent on lights and heating, less depression arising from SAD. Scottish farmers, like all farmers, live on subsidies…why not just pay them an hour's electric light bill and give us all a break?

Turkey, ham and apricot pie, green stiff salad, stilton, vine tomatoes, Leffe beer (lots), no bloody pudding :(

didn't much like my tricross but I did sell it for more than what I paid for it

It's not just about speed and 'beating' people. I regard my built-up bikes as art forms and on occasions I can really enjoy riding them at almost walking speed. It's about being an mtb flaneur rather than resolving some deepfelt insecurity by comparing yourself to someone else. I see a well built and well fitted bike as being like an extension to your body with which you can go out and explore wonderful places and challenges, I couldn't give a flying f about what anyone else is doing or owning.

http://www.darwinuk.com/?gclid=CJjl4–s5qACFZqY2Aod5kHlLQ

I've watched so many people giigling in my r v mirror at this emblem of atheism on my car. They should be obligatory for anyone who's not a godbotherer or bishop basher.

Finished work for a fortnight and purchased some greenbacks to be spent in Boston and Manhattan next week. Leffe beer, ride tomorrow with gf, Great Joy, thank you Jesus!

Just checkds, you can get a good copy of Jones' book on Amazon for 1p. Get it, shoot me on sight if you are not completely captivated by it.

'Most secret war' by R.V.Jones, mindbogglingly interesting, I went back from last to first page and read it again. Jones was a big wheel in WW2 intelligence.

big 5

bungalow (not a lot upstairs)
mr/mrs chattaway
gonad
braintree
obeast

hatstand
tugger (Aus)
dag (Aus, NZ)
full of hidden shallows
blowhard
player of the pink oboe
worm
clingon

bashed the bishop

Although I am very keen on my Maverick I have barely touched it since my Genesis Core 40 turned up…the only change I made on the standard Core was a pair of Monkey Lites. The Genesis is surprisingly comfortably and very lithe and quick (and a quarter of the price). GF now in love with the maverick so that solves a problem.

'Incredible Journey' about the Who

2009 Genesis Core 40, the fastest, most comfortable and do-it-all surprise for a grand. I only bought it as a 'spare' but I've barely touched my £4k full-suss since it arrived.

Try not to be sick on your day off
Absence makes the heart go wander
Don't be annoyed be a nerd

I was assured by Travelfinders that SA is the best of the lot for economy travel.

54 in a couple of weeks and shall celebrate it by getting serious jollied in Manhattan. I've got mates of 67 and 70, brothers who are in a band, frequent Amsterdam and new orleans for fun and put lots of younguns to shame in terms of vivaciousness. I shall be doing some challenging cycling soon with a mate, well known on here, who's well into his 60s and I spent last summer surfing Byron Bay with a 60 year old big wave rider. Age is an attitude but I do think that youthfulness is wasted on the youth of today. My only word of caution about aging is don't take your health and fitness for granted, they have to be worked on.

Rio not quite true about New Labour. The gini coefficient/Lorenz curve increased a bit under Blair then it flattened out and tailed off as a result of some policies affecting the poor and low paid. However point taken re not much to choose from different variants of neo-liberalism. I see the average employee suffering more under the Tories therefore they will not be getting my vote. The point is to not cynically give up on political engagement but rather to fight your corner union-wise and try to pressurise New Labour to adopt some socialist principles. Cynicism disempowers the people and is great for the ruling class as they face no serious challenges to their domination and profits.

Agree with Uplink. I have powerful memories of the savage govt of the 80s that achieved a massive redistribution from poor to rich and the police kicking 10 types of sh*te out of anyone who protested. Cameron will bring all of that back if elected. I'm astonished at some of the reactionary views espoused by some on here who stand to suffer most under such a govt. Turkeys voting for christmas?

I got a Tz7 a couple of weeks ago for c£220 and am well pleased with it. Go for it but make sure you buy a pouch for it (£8 on ebay).

Good for the brecon Beacons: http://www.thecastleinn.co.uk/

ace beer and food, nice people, cheap