Personally I wouldn’t do it right now. We’re in a deflationary environment, looking increasingly like it might settle down for the long term. In which case wages will continue to be stagnant, if not actually dropping in nominal terms…
So you may take a pay cut now and find you’re stuck on that lower pay for 10 years (wages have been stagnant for the last 10 already).
If you earn more than you need then personally I’d be saving the excess to have something to fall back on in the future

Funnily enough, I was thinking of decamping to South of France. I spent a year in Montpellier at uni and have lost my French over the years, which I now see as a mistake career-wise.
I’m struggling to find work right now so have been thinking of just going back there for a year (poss live in an apartment a friend of my parents owns) and work in a bar, get my French back to fluency and present it as a career-advancement year on my CV rather than a year out.

Thinking of similar things for retirement. Have never earned enough to own in the UK and now 42 so looking impossible now. May just save until retirement and buy a small place in South of France with those savings and retire out there. Heating bills and food will be cheaper, quality of life better and more peaceful riding for an old dodderer 🙂

Wouldn’t surprise me if a lot of people are making similar plans given the outlook for UK – cost of living/lack of retirement savings etc

I’m not sure what the mini bus driver thought I should be doing based on the presence of that sign, but apparently in her mind it excuses her from almost running me off the road.

If I’ve got this right, a professional driver saw a ‘cyclists dismount’ sign which is on the pavement, and applies to cyclists crossing the road, and she thought that meant that cyclists riding ON the road should therefore dismount (for an unspecified distance)?

If she really thought that she needs reporting and retraining – that’s a total misunderstanding of basic use of the highway and associated signage… 😯

I want to use swear words but don’t want my post to be deleted. Are we really giving professional driving jobs to people with such basic lack of knowledge/intelligence?

Actually, I suppose the fact that self-driving cars are one of the earliest big live examples of automation of human decision-making and control, shows just how little computing power humans use when driving… the AI people are going for the easiest challenges first…

If you do, please remember the safety aspects (for other people)

Sam Harding’s death was one of the more tragic cycling deaths in recent years IMO

Sam Harding

The Genesis Flyer is reckoned to be a good quality frame. Maybe 2nd hand if your budget is strict?

London again. Last place on earth you’d get me to move to. So many angry people.

One of the things that’s great about London is the general lack of mindless prejudice 🙂

These two quotes from her are worrying

She said a cyclist thumped the car roof as he passed and when the car overtook him she leaned out of the window and told him to be more considerate.

If the driver was close enough to have the roof thumped then that’s 12 inches or so, not a lot more, which is obviously too close

“I guess, in hindsight the cyclist may have thought we were too far on his side of the road and there wasn’t enough room to get past us, but he still managed to cycle past us.

She’s acknowledging they were too close in a passive way and trying to justify it…

It’d be interesting to see any video evidence of this, sounds like a very close pass…

I have had prostaitis in the past and a urethral stricture due to previous kidney stones scraping down my sensitive sausage. But I think it maybe stress related the urinary problems. As in Greece I was relaxed.
I’m booked to visit the Gp to see what he can do.

Interesting that mirrors my experience… I’ve not been able to ride my bike (my usual stress-reliever) since July after breaking my wrist and I’m stressed and feeling very negative from my result-free job hunt…

And last week I went down with some bladder/uninary infection. Doctor couldn’t find anything when he tested but I’m on antibiotics to try and sort it. Something similar happened years ago when I was recovering from a broken collarbone.

So maybe there’s a connection with stress/depression and random infections… I assume a weakened immune system. Worth mentioning the recurrence of the urinary thing to your GP anyway

+1 for going to see your doctor – sounds to me more like depression than anything else – poss work-related rather than life-related if it was ok when you were away?

I’m job-hunting at the moment and getting absolutely nowhere and feeling increasingly depressed about my opportunities for making a living – but at weekends or out for a walk or a ride and I’m much happier. So maybe your problem is situational rather than general?

This place is full of experience, helpful advice and useful sources of additional info…

Whilst I don’t agree entirely with Kudos100 that it’s the Tories fault, I think an awful lot of people are feeling worried about the future right now and you’re not alone in feeling stressed…

Good luck…

Show him this…

Well, er, yes Mr Anchovy, but you see your report here says that you are an extremely dull person. You see, our experts describe you as an appallingly dull fellow, unimaginative, timid, lacking in initiative, spineless, easily dominated, no sense of humour, tedious company and irrepressibly drab and awful. And whereas in most professions these would be considerable drawbacks, in chartered accountancy they are a positive boon.

Well I’m training as an Executive Coach at the moment – working towards the Practitioner Diploma in Executive Coaching with these guys Association of Executive Coaching[/url].

I’m working with a couple of practice clients free of charge as part of my training and it would be quite useful for me to try coaching over the phone as well as the face to face work I’m doing with my other clients – so if I can help, drop me a line (email in profile). We can do four sessions between now and mid-December when I have my assessment…

How to get a job you’ll love

Buy him a copy of this and get him to work through it…

Better to think about what you love and you’re good at, and go out and find a job which ticks those boxes, than trying out random jobs he’s not bothered about in the hope it turns out to be his vocation…

+1 for it being too accessible to the masses – those without the experience or judgement to assess the risk properly.

When you look at your average driver and pedestrian you can see that a very large proportion of the population don’t assess risk very well…

For as long as stuff like this is hard to find, it remains the preserve of those who want to do it – and by definition probably have some idea of the risk they’re taking, or simply the correct technique to get it right. Make it accessible and the numpty masses pile in. Literally. We’re seeing similar in my road club with a lot of newbies having no idea how to ride in a group. Or even on the road full stop sometimes!

What Swinley needs therefore is a proper built skills area so their liability is covered.

Don’t know how it looks but I tend to get a bit sweary.

I’m not going to read it because I suspect I’ve read it all before… but do driving instructors have some kind of regulatory body and if he’s posting factual inaccuracies or outright hostility towards cyclists, is it bad enough for him to be reported?

We don’t stop playing when we grow old,
We grow old when we stop playing…

… seems appropriate for a forum made up of middle-aged men who participate in a sport which is essentially playing on bikes in the mud in the woods 🙂

That’s not to say I dont think 80+ yr olds should have a such an easy ride to retain their licences. That my 88yr old M-in-Law still drives in SE London (watch out Beckenham) is a shaft of idocy I’ll never understand

No disrespect to your MiL but the standards of driving in Beckenham are so low, I doubt she’ll stand out!

Slighty OT…
Until recently their model was to borrow money from the markets, which they then leant to their customers as finance deals, so they can afford their cars.
c 25% of their worldwide sales were on finance last year apparently.

Today, one of their ratings agencies dropped their credit rating so this particular business model may mean a VW is harder to afford than it used to be…

‘Old fool’ is a bit harsh OP. The problem here is the old chestnut about our lax regulatory scheme around driving in general, allowing individuals to be the only judge of their driving ability (whether 17, 77 or just some middle-aged bloke with anger management issues…

100% agree with you on reassessment – at drivers’ expense. Whilst we’re at it of course, let’s not make this age-dependent. Every 5 years at our own expense – re-test and pay for additional lessons if you fail.

It’ll reduce cost on the NHS from car crashes and increase employment opportunities for driving instructors so there’s a good economic argument too 🙂

But as a marketer for financial services, doesn’t that make you a parasite of parasites? I can’t find myself too upset that these sort of jobs are scarce, they don’t sound essential or even useful.

Well I’d rather be doing something else, but what is it you think I actually do? Punch people in the face until they get themselves into an unmanageable amount of debt?

I’m no apologist for the nastier side of finance or marketing but like it or not, we all have a need for financial services of some kind or another – a mortgage, a bank account, a pension, life insurance, car insurance, investment etc etc and for those needs to be met someone has to be able to provide the supply, provide the products, distribute them and provide communications to potential customers, and then to existing customers to help them manage their finances…

e.g. if you’re starting your own business and you need to get a loan and a company credit card to be able to by a computer and rent an office, employ some staff, pay your rent, invoice your customers, how do you think you’re going to even start creating wealth if some banker somewhere isn’t willing to provide you with financial services?

Sorry for the rant but calling me a parasite of parasites is just naive and childish… I take it you live some kind off off-grid life where you never buy anything and have zero debt, no savings and no pension…

Be very very careful with BTL. There’s no guarantee whatsoever that house prices won’t fall and interest rates won’t go up.
Also, Bank of England have warned it’s a risk to UK economy as so/too many people have got into it thinking it’s risk-free, free money and the slightest change in the economic situation could lead to a lot of people in serious financial trouble.
Worth also noticing that Osbourne is trying to kill it with changes in the last budget – this particular supply of ‘free’ money is likely to disappear soon

How come he didn’t break his legs? The force at that speed must be tremendous!

Demand for diesel has dropped off a cliff so they have a load they can’t shift? Pretending not to be able to get petrol then forces you into going for a diesel against your better judgement but solves their problem of otherwise unsellable stock?

Car dealers don’t have a bad reputation for nothing! I would try another one and see how you get on

But the Sub-prime crash wasn’t big enough to cause the ‘Great Recession’ it was a huge collection of unbalanced financial situations that were unsustainable long before US Sub Prime, if it wasn’t that, the next financial scandal would have brought the whole mess down anyway.

Agreed. What I meant was that plenty of people knew that the risk wasn’t fully understood – and I’m sure plenty of the risk management people tried to tell the senior people but the message either didn’t get through cos someone in the middle was too intimidated or someone at the top refused to listen cos their bonus and job were more important to them.

For e.g. I’m sure plenty of people saw Glencore’s model was going to end badly at some point but clearly the people at the top have ignored it. There’s also plenty of people who have been warning of the impact of low-interest rates and the credit and asset bubble that’s formed and looking likely to pop pretty soon…

Equally there was a piece yesterday in the FT saying that securitisation is back (as are interest-free mortgages)… ie: the problem of things going wrong is well known but the people at the top ignore the warnings and push ahead anyway… IME anyone who’s worked in the corporate world has seen this plenty of times. I suspect it’s behind a fair few military blunders too

In situations like this it’s worth looking at motives and incentives. Who would gain from the software being introduced, who would lose if the emissions targets couldn’t be met? that usually helps to shed light on things.

I suspect wobbliscott is pretty close to the truth on this – I see it all the time at work. I suspect it was also what was behind the 2008 and the imminent financial crash – the people on the ground can see the problems and are trying to warn the senior people, but the message isn’t passed up because someone in the middle is too cowardly – or senior management refuse to listen cos their bonus relies on things carrying on as they are…

To all the posters linking to Queen – bear in mind that Freddie based his stage performance on Hitler or Mussolini. Think of that and try to watch him now….

see what you mean 😯

I recommend buying in your LBS rather than online as fit is really important – as per above references about too tight or too loose + getting the appropriate weight as well.
I’ve just bought some Assos which are super comfortable but have yet to use them in anger. My Endura knee warmers I use for commuting are good but the F260 leave my thighs sore – the grippers are a bit harsh!
I have some Lusso arm warmers which I bought 10 years ago and are still my go to for comfort and warmth for commuting… I’m too much of a snob to wear them on a club run 🙂

Russia’s in recession, the global economy incl ours and the US is looking v shaky, Saudi economy has a problem and there’s a potential succession crisis on the way.
What would be the best way to take the various populations’ eyes off the crises and keep the angry young men occupied instead of rioting?

War can serve many purposes for all concerned…military industrial complex springs to mind – nice bit of economic stimulus…

I don’t know the full story of 1929 crash to 1930’s Great Depression to WW2 but there’s a worrying parallel in the current narrative…

I’ll give STATO some support actually – it’s a well-reasoned point he makes at least!
I tend to filter on the right rather than the left of stationary traffic as I think there’s more chance of the drivers seeing me in their mirrors.

There are times when I’ll be doing this at a red light, on the way to the ASL and the lights will change just as I’m alongside the car at the front of the queue – or sometimes just as I’m moving into the ASL, right in front of the car.

Often the driver won’t have seen me – they’re looking at the lights, which is fair enough. But this move puts me at risk from my own actions and scares the driver…

I don’t know what the solution is quite, maybe longer phases from red to red/amber to green?

The point of this being that if I can’t get to the ASL safely, I’d be better staying in the queue of traffic and waiting my turn. It does mean sucking up the carbon monoxide tho

I was thinking about getting one of these but keeping it at same price as 2015 but downgrading to a steel fork is a bit weak IMO…
Makes the Pinnacle Arkose look like the better buy – that’s mainly 105 too
Evans currently have the Stainless 2015 version for £1874 too

I tend to be a bit fussy and like what I like. The day I started building bikes from the frame up and buying exactly the bits I wanted was the day I began to save a lot of money – it’s a great antidote to upgraditis…

If it’s a solid white line then IIRC they’re all breaking the law. Take photos, with number plates clear and report the whole lot to the Police
If it’s a dashed line then sadly the drivers are not in the wrong, legally – IRRC in which case one of:
1. campaign to council for a proper cycle lane – either solid white line or fully segregated
2. join the queue in the traffic – as unpleasant as this is re exhaust fumes
3. get off your bike and walk along the pavement to the ASL and if lights are still red, get back on
4. Find an alternative route, ideally down quieter side streets

Bristol house prices are going silly too. Just sold my 1 bed flat for over £250k and prices are still climbing at about £5-10k per month for 1-2 bed properties that are the most popular.

I assume that’s a combination of the London money moving out and the idiots who think BTL is a licence to print money, having forgotten that interest rates won’t stay low forever, and are getting themselves into a load of debt, having not read the financial papers recently and understood the outlook 😯

You’re not alone in moving out of London/SE, and for the same reasons.
On that note, I would therefore avoid anywhere too close to the commuter routes back to London as London money is, I believe, pushing up prices there too… I think Bath in particular has shot up over the last year or so + Bristol to some extent. Obviously you can do some research and check that out properly.

Two people I know who moved out of London have gone to Bristol and are earning Bristol salaries but one couple I know moved to Bath and work from home/commute back in 2-3 days/week – so they’ve been able to put London salaries into their purchase.

On the other hand I know a few flats around South East London that went on the market in the last few months and they’re dropping their prices after getting no viewings or hardly any viewings. Most new buyers now seem to be like me – given up and expect to rent for ever, or like you and are moving away completely….

Am I the only one who is starting to feel slightly sorry for Mr R Pickering? I keep expecting this thread to contain news of him having a stroke, or topping himself.

Kind of – the whole nation seems to be delighting in harrassing an everyday idiot for an act of everyday idiocy. No doubt his friends and colleagues are ripping him for it too

However, it would be good if this kind of bullying behaviour wasn’t everyday behaviour and maybe a bit of social pressure will get people to think twice before behaving like such idiots…

I had this a few months ago just before I moved house. It was still there in my new house. I went to the doctor who stuck a torch in my ears and said ‘get them syringed’ which did the trick 🙂

I tend to make pertinent and pointed comments to anyone wanting to get into Buy To Let, which rarely goes down well. The responses are usually defensive rather than getting a beasting though…

It can be risky if you ever point out that riding Primary is recommended by Bikeability for managing bad drivers and keeping yourself safe…

As a slight aside, I’m job hunting now – been contracting for 4 years as a way to survive (I get sacked from corporate jobs somehow – I think I’m too nice and honest!) and almost every recruiter is asking if I’ll also consider perm, and I’m finding it hard to find many contract vacancies.
I get the feeling a whole swathe of the population are trying to get out of the corporate life… hence no candidates for perm roles and the contract vacancies already taken. This is London, in Marketing.

I’m also working through an executive coaching qualification and we have to work with practice clients. Both clients so far have said they want a greater sense of purpose in their jobs and are tired of the corporate nonsense.

VW is just an e.g. of how immoral/flawed the corporate environment can make otherwise normal people become…

I sense something in the air at the moment – corporates are going to have to sort themselves out and offer interesting jobs, at decent pay, with decent line managers, or there’ll be no-one left willing to work for them. I believe the Millenials are pushing hard for this too, it’s not just us middle-aged and established cohort…

OP – get a proper business plan together and be absolutely sure there’s a sustainable living in it. Bearing in mind the UK consumer is not very well off, and with what looks like a global slowdown/recession on the way, the next few years are likely to be a bit sparse on the spare cash – although this may mean people go on holiday in the UK more and abroad less, so may play to your favour

It’s often a good idea from a ‘leader’s’ point of view to start a war when your economy is tanking and your people are about to get restless. It takes their attention away from their falling standards of living and uses their energy up elsewhere instead of on you. + spending money on war is a kind of economic stimulus.
Russia is in recession and there’s serious concern that we’re about to drop into a global recession/economic collapse as China growth stops and it becomes clear just how much debt has built up since 2008 with super-low interest rates…

So I suspect it suits both sides for this current action to be going on…

I doubt there’ll be much of a second hand market for unfixed VAG diesels so you’re probably stuck with it if you don’t get it fixed
+ if you don’t get it fixed then you know you’re causing massive environmental damage…

Depending on age, any chance of getting them to take it back under consumer rights of some kind, get your money back (or most of it) and buy something else?