Having worked from home through covid, I am now a regular mid-day shopper at the supermarket.

My god, it’s like Jurassic park down there. They all creep round in slow time, look at everything, squeeze the oranges etc

Then in dawned on me that they don’t give a f*ck what other people think, they all smile and chat. They’re enjoying life!

I had mine sandblasted – I wish I hadn’t; lots of damage and crap everywhere

There was a sketch on Not the nine o’clock news way back – the pedantic barman offers: ‘Can I interest you in some snacks?, how about some pork scratchings, chicken itchings or doggy scabs!’

I saw that Severn Trent has started a consultation to expand the Ladybower reservoirs. Some of the water currently goes to Yorkshire water (surprise to me, an aqueduct under the moors apparently), but that agreement may be ended in 2035 hence some urgency to either expand capacity by raising the height of the existing dams, or building a new reservoir upstream.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-63229627

🙁

It’s a small place for that long; how about Berlin? A lot more interesting/ edgy + the locals are even more friendly than the cloggies

We paid 3% at Christmas and an intermediate rise of 5% in May.

We have budgeted another 5% at Christmas + a fund to head off any valuable people we feel are a flight risk with exceptional increases.

(Finance & asset management sector)

Am I the only one who hates velcro strap closures? They always seem to get ‘unsticky’ and come adrift.

Which mitts don’t have velcro but last OK?

https://www.saltdogcycling.com/ specialise in fitting cycling shoes for those with awkward feet. It can be done remotely – no need to visit.

Great. I’ll get myself off to Spa cycles for a starter for 10. If you don’t hear from me again I’ve been kidnapped by Audaxers

😉

I was asked to sign a new contract extending from 3 to 6 months notice (been here yonks, totally indispensable obvs).

I asked what the salary increase would be? Uncomfortable silence! (Got an extra week’s paid holiday per annum instead).

No harm in the OP asking what the pay increase would be.

We’re only here until the next mass extinction event – we might as well enjoy the ride (or work hard to get our DNA off the planet)

I couldn’t get tired of kicking him
Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you
Keep buggering on, never give up; no one’s going to look after you – you’re on your own (Anabasis)
Illigitimi non carborundum
Good, cheap, quick – you can have two out of three

Altra (& Derby runner if you’re in range)

The Cicerone guide is well worth getting and ING do a dedicated ‘whole route on one map’ offering, with huts etc marked – good for planning. We camped (12kg packs with some Gucci gear admittedly – nice to be independent and stop at the pretty places/ wild camp – resupply no probs in the valleys. My advice would be to do it Clockwise if you want solitude, anti-clockwise to chat with folk on the trail.

It’s a great walk – you’ll love it

The Crunch has an aperture that takes a standard bit holder. I.e. still separate but a good tool none the less.

Leatherman crunch (sort of mini molegrips) is a good tool, but heavy and costly. The jaws are strong enough to straighten out chain rings. You need a separate bit holder and bits.

63cm here – Kuhl caps are big enough (pricey though)

For the last two years I’ve been going to the same sport physio who has been working his way through my problems/ niggles and the improvement to my morale (& to my 56 YO flabby body) has been stupendous. (Still flabby though!)

Not as expensive as it sounds – worth a try?

A kneeling chair made my sore knee worse.

I got a wobble stool instead – good for core strength and posture

Sounds like a Whyte Preston (named for the ugly bastard bulldog of Wallace & Grommet fame).

Exactly, inflation affects those with a low (or no) disposable income disproportionately.

As some people slide into low net income/ poverty situations the government is going to find out how pissed off folk become when things are taken away from them or become unaffordable.

Did a great wilderness 1st aid course in Edale last year (shout out for High Peak 1st aid training). Getting some training is undoubtedly a good idea; we mountain bikers are now take a significant share of mountain rescue effort these days, in the Peak district at least.

Go and harass the site manager, they’ll just replace it to get you off their back

I did one ages back, and part of it was to go out in pairs with an advanced driving instructor and spend 3/4 hr each getting criticised. A very humbling/ salutary experience but also loads of good tips that have stayed with me. Should do another one really.

they persisted in suggesting maybe I should think really hard about whether I was in any pain at all and whether I was absolutely sure I wouldn’t like to make an injury claim as the process was really very easy

I had the same with a while back (can’t remember the insurer).

In the end I was sure I was speaking with a 3rd party claims processor type rather than the underwriters. Backed off when I got really firm with them (but after 2 or 3 calls attempting to persuade me).

No wonder car insurance is expensive.

If you watch the whole clip he goes on to take the piss out of Jehovah witnesses – another semi-acceptable target to some people.

Don’t understand that, corporation tax rate in the UK is going up to 25% and it’s 15% in Ireland? (Is Ireland not ‘developed’?)

Must mean that tax breaks for oil companies are best in the UK or something

I sincerely doubt that a contract produced by the FMB will be judged ‘unfair’. (& was the 5% deposit in the contract anyway??)

As I said further up, if you break a contract then you’re liable for the other party’s loss of profit and direct cost.

5% is cheap in my opinion (they were probably hoping to make 5% profit on the job and will be able to show some direct costs too (time spent by management etc)).

You’ve broken a contract. The builder is entitled to recover their costs to-date and their loss of profit on the contract.

I’d let it drop, you may find they counter-claim more than the 5% they’re asking for at the moment.

Talk to Citizen’s advice if you don’t want to pay for a solicitor.

Looks good to me, just what I’ve been looking for. May put some Jones bars on for bike packing though.

Had sore knees for years. Lots of cycling, ankle weights and resistance bands have really helped.

Physio now and then when it flares up.

Glucosamine & other supplements didn’t help me at all I’m afraid

I find it heartening that the Tory party hate the Beeb for being left leaning, and similarly Owen Jones thinks it’s chock full of right wingers. I think the Beeb does a reasonable job of threading a passage through choppy waters.

Chatsworth is on the boundary between limestone and grit. The limestone valleys will be very sloppy this time of year. The moors will be quite boggy in areas but are a better bet. Locally there are some nice permissive bridleways – see: https://www.visit-eastern-moors.org.uk/.

Regrets: I have a Levo SL comp (ali frame) which I bought last summer. The kit on it was pretty basic and I’ve ended up upgrading everything apart from the saddle, stem and dropper (dropper is excellent by the way). The Sram guide brakes were particularly disappointing.

I was able to swap all the good bits off my old Cotic & I’ve mulleted it.

The bike still feels a bit ‘dead’ compared with a Cotic Rocket but it’s very capable (far more capable than I am). I miss the ‘alive’ feeling of the Cotic’s handling a lot. This isn’t just down to the extra 5-6kg; it’s just a not as nice a handling bike.

The solution to mould is normally background heat and ventilation. If you’ve got an old house then porous materials help (lime plaster and breathable paint).

As said above, check for sources of damp/ water penetration.

The foil wall paper stuff can keep it at bay for a while (but the mould usually pokes its head over the top eventually!)

Tintin was great for our kids – given to us by a Swiss cousin; in French unfortunately but they all learned enough to get by.

I’ve got one and it proved one of my neighbours, a few doors down had run into the back of my car when parked. The rear camera cost me £120 extra, fitted; the repair cost her £600. I’d like to think she’d have come clean but I was glad of the camera.

I’m English but half Scottish by blood and have lots of family there. I work in Scotland quite a lot.

I’m often struck by how much more caring the Scots are of people and society in general. They are much warmer folk than the English. I can well understand the widespread abhorrence of Westminster Tories.

The SNP seem to get away with piss-poor performance; I think people turn a blind eye because they want independence (& the SNP is the only plausible game in town).

Whatever the Scotts decide re: Indy is fine by me. They should get the opportunity to vote in a referendum again I think.

I run Pirelli tyres on an SUV. The year-round tyres they do are not very good in snow. Now I switch between winter & summer tyres.

Never been stopped in the alps yet so no opportunity for smugness – I live in hope.