Politically and morally tricky but someone needs to make the case for the economic impact of obesity & diabetes:
Reduces energy levels and likely therefore productivity
Increases absence and therefore productivity
Increases cost of running NHS and therefore increases taxes or reduces government investment elsewhere.

As a thin person who watches his diet like a hawk and does loads of exercise I do have some sympathy for people who are overweight/obese as it seems like a constant battle against social norms, employers’ lack of concern/paying you to sit all day instead of stand and move, and against the food industry and the way unhealthy food is marketed.

If I wasn’t so stubborn I suspect I’d be overweight too – it really does take a massive focus to be healthy given current options, choices and expected behaviours.

Big question for me is: how come UK is in such a shocking state but other Western European countries are not? I don’t think the UK is significantly less disciplined or lazier than France, Germany, Sweden etc.

I think it’s too late to properly get on top of obesity and suspect the economic impact is going to be more significant than many people expect…

http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/aug/12/edinburgh-fringe-2014-10-best-jokes-so-far

Tim Vine

This bloke said to me, “I’m going to attack you with the neck of a guitar.” I said, “Is that a fret?”

🙂

I had another friend who was in Dubai for a few years. IIRC she had to bring all the money back in suitcases in cash to avoid being taxed by HMRC…

mental illness though

IANA psychologist but this repeated criminality looks more like psychopathy to me

I had a mate who was in Bahrain for a while. He enjoyed it but resigned after being asked to do something illegal.
Then all the trouble kicked off – this was 2010/11 – and it was bad enough that they decided to get the family out for their own safety. He had 5 month old daughter who at that point didn’t have a passport and they couldn’t get any response from the Embassy. To say the process of getting the family safely out was stressful to say the least. He was posting photos of tanks on the streets on Facebook.

I also remember going to the supermarket with his wife and she pointed out that in Saudi that would be illegal – woman out without male family chaperone.

Why do you think the ex-pat salaries are so high? If life out there was great, that wouldn’t be necessary…

Re Hels’ suggestion for a mood tracker, try Moodscope[/url]

It helps just to sit at the beginning or end of the day (best to do it at the same time each day) and think about your mood and how you feel. Over time as the graph rises and falls you’ll notice patterns. For me, boosters are getting plenty of sleep, eating well, getting outside, exercise, time spent with friends having great conversations. Mood droppers are very clearly: more than a couple of pints of beer, lack of sleep, eating badly.

It doesn’t change your life instantly but helps give you a more dispassionate and analytical view of your moods which helps you promote the circumstances for good moods and avoid the circumstances that lead to bad moods. In that respect, it really helps you feel like you have some control, which is a real strength.

tbh if they rub so much that they blister you, they’re clearly not fit for purpose. But I can’t imagine the shop will accept that you couldn’t have known this until you’d worn them – and they’ll probably try the whole “we can’t re-sell them as they’ve been worn” angle.

I think Classifieds or Ebay may be your best friend here. Or plasters on your toes.

Top Five Regrets of The Dying

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

So I assume by that you have talked to them about what they want to happen when they die?

Its better for all involved if you start conversations as soon as possible re signing houses over, Power of Attorney, Wills, what to do if 1 dies, what to do if both die. etc etc.

I mean when they get to the point of needing care, not when they die. I expect they’ll want to stay independent for as long as possible but at some point they’ll need day help and then in time prob need to move to sheltered housing or a full-time home.

They went through this with their own parents so I’m sure they’re aware of the options and will know what they’d like for themselves. As Rusty says, I want to make sure I support them in their own preferences

Molgrips – regular theme on these threads from broess, all drivers are deliberately attacking him I seem to recall.

You weren’t there so please don’t judge. And you’re exaggerating about any suggestion I’ve made about “all drivers attacking me”. I’ve never claimed that. The vast majority of drivers are getting better in my experience, but I don’t keep a tally of events and post them on here every day!

I’m hardly the only cyclist to be on the receiving end of aggression. As yet, I’ve never been knocked off or hit.

I did my Bikeability in Feb – Level 3 where you go out one on one with an instructor who rides behind you and tells you what you’re doing right and wrong. He gave me full approval and said if anything I was being too hesitant… I think his view is rather better informed than yours…

You might want to read this.

House of Commons Transport Committee

[/quote]14. The Road Danger Reduction Forum stated that the main danger to cyclists was the behaviour of drivers, whether they were behind the wheel of a lorry, car or bus.31 For this reason, the most effective way of increasing cyclist safety was viewed as changing driver behaviour.32 The not-for-profit research company, Road Safety Analysis, endorsed this view, concluding from an analysis of DfT statistics that most crashes resulted from human error.33

See.. I can’t understand how this would happen – never happened to me. Are you doing something to piss people off?

It’s damn scary when it happens… in each case I didn’t know the driver was there until they were dangerously close so there was absolutely nothing deliberate on my part or even any interaction to provoke it.

News stories and other rider experience tells me I’m not alone of course…

I suspect that riding primary is seen as provocation by some however. But primary is recommended position for your own safety and visibility (by Bikeabilty, BC and John Franklin in Cyclecraft) so it’s lose/lose really.

First time I was about to turn right at a t-junction from a residential road into main road and nearly got hit on the left by a close pass. Driver stops, opens his door and starts yelling at me to get out of the way. Couple of ‘large gentlemen’ who were trying to cross the road, nearly got hit themselves and saw the whole thing told him to get lost – which he did.

Second, was being tailgated through Peckham by a Transit – less than 2m off my back wheel at c 20mph down a road with repeated pinch points. I saw a ramp in the pavement and got off the road – the slightest error from me and he’d have been driving over my head.
To be fair, as he passed me I called him a **** and got out to have a word. I buggered off across Peckham Rye Common. But the aggression started way before that…

Third, a cab on a busy road round the back of Oxford St – lots of cyclists, vehicles and pedestrians. I was riding along c 20mph overtaking a stream of cyclists and suddenly felt a vehicle very close behind me – again really really close, less than 2m I guess. Again I just got out of the way – it felt too dangerous. His response: turned to look at me, took both hands off the wheel to give me a slow handclap and told me I didn’t own the road… if anyone had been in front he’d have mown them down.
I guess he had a problem with me not riding in the gutter… but as per the van, there was absolutely no interaction until I felt him tailgating.

And this isn’t mentioning the time I stopped at an amber and then heard a car coming up fast behind me. Moved off the road damn fast as he stood on his brakes. I then sat at the red while he yelled at me through the window. Amber means stop. If I’d not heard him and hadn’t moved so fast I don’t think I’d be here…

So riding primary/overtaking and stopping at amber appear to be getting me into trouble… which is why I’m seriously considering stopping riding on my own and only with my club (safety in numbers, although that brings out its own responses from some drivers too)

Or ditch the road entirely and go back to MTB

I have Power of Attorney already, along with my Uncle. Been in place for years – they’re well prepared like that! I’m sure the Wills will be sorted to.
I know my Dad wants a Woodland burial but that’s all I know about their preferences which doesn’t seem like enough to know when it comes to making decisions – either with them or for them.
I suspect they know exactly what they want, I’ve just never asked them.
My Dad is stubborn as hell – family trait – so trying to deal with these kinds of decisions ‘in the moment’ likely to be harder than doing it now, whilst there’s no pressure and no urgency…
I’ve emailed my brother to get his thoughts too… we’re not the best family when it comes to openly discussing important emotional things and a ‘gently does it’ approach most likely to be the best

Sorry, can you move this to the right forum please!

I took a quick read of your thread, went off to answer an email and came back – and was amazed at how many replies have come in!

Which tells you a heck of a lot of people are feeling like you are at the moment.

I did my first CBT sessions about 7 years ago. I realised then that they wouldn’t be my last – and I still go back to the same therapist when I think I need to. Accepting that the underlying issues are probably always going to need careful watching is actually quite a release…

I’d love to be one of those people able to switch off and enjoy the moment, work to live and so on. I just can’t relax or understand how to be positive.

If I were your therapist I’d ask you why you have this expectation of yourself. It’s pretty unreasonable and somewhat perfectionist. No-one’s like that really, just some people give the impression they are.

When you start looking into meditation and yoga – ancient arts developed over thousands of years, you realise the human condition is deeply flawed and all humans are just like you to some degree or other, struggling with their own internal selves and thought processes.

When my head gets where yours seems to be at, I get onto my GP, get back to the therapist, get out and ride my bike more, write a list of things that make me happy and do 3 of them every day, get back into taking yoga classes and read one of my books on meditation/self help.

Sounds to me like you’re just a normal human being tbh!

but alternative is spending £7k a year renting!

If you buy and pay more than you need to, you’ll also be paying ‘000s more in unnecessary interest over the next 25 years…

The fact that this stuff has been in the press for the last 18 months probably means the main chance for anyone without significant resources to make any money has already gone…

Every time something comes up as ‘a great way to make easy money’ it tends to go horribly wrong once the masses get their hands on it.

Plus there’s a lot of international organised crime in online currencies, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re pretty good at nicking other peoples’

There are much better laws there too – one being presumed liability, one being that a peloton is treated in the same way as you’d treat a large vehicle – ie once the front of the peloton is on a roundabout or through a junction, the rest of it can follow no matter what.

At our committee meeting for my road club we had a discussion about this, because I’ve been criticised for riding ‘too primary’. As a club, we couldn’t get consistent agreement on whether to single out or double up, even though doubling up shortens the overall length of the group.

If, as a club of experienced and considerate riders, we can’t get agreement, it’s not surprising UK drivers are massively ignorant.

I think we need a bigger national conversation about acceptable norms of cycling behaviour so a) cyclists can agree on what’s best or not and b) drivers know what to expect and how to drive around cyclists

City Removals[/url]

These guys were exceptional when I moved from South East London to Kent earlier this year. Good value, on time, very courteous and careful and very quick.

I was on an MTB holiday in Spain about 9 years ago, bimbling on an uphill road stretch between trails when I car came up behind, all horn and yelling. Being British and used to abuse from drivers I was about to ‘return the favour’ until I realised they were encouraging me 😀

I’ve had three instances of drivers actively trying to run me off the road in the last month in London, to the extent I’m seriously thinking of bailing and selling my roadbikes for a new full suss instead, so more Spanish immigrants to the UK please!

What’s the difference between a poorly dressed man on a tricycle and a well dressed man on a bicycle? Attire.

Did you hear about the cheese factory that exploded in France? There was nothing left but de Brie.

Whiteboards … are remarkable.

I read somewhere that coins will do the trick nicely so 8p should do the trick 🙂

How To Get a Job You’ll Love

Starts with an analysis of what you do best and what your preferences are, and from that you work through to the job that will suit you best.

And some career guidance for Jekyll: don’t go into career guidance 😀

what you probs had was a debt collector

hence his reluctance to reveal who he was?

I figured he was when he first asked if xxx lived here, hence giving the name of the Letting Agent, who I would have thought would be legally obliged to give him the new address of previous tenants, no?

I’ve been collecting the previous tenant’s post and passing it back to the Landlord. Just had a look at some of the stuff which has arrived in the last couple of weeks and there’s £16k’s worth of outstanding debt being chased by debt collectors…

Anyone know whether the County Court can verify to me that they did send debt collection around?

What do you call a fish with no eyes?
Fsh

Two cashew nuts walked into a bar. The locals didn’t like the look of them. One got a roasting and the other was assaulted

which was pretty much exactly as I thought it would be.

a load of ill-informed anti-cyclist drivel? If so, maybe a screen dump to pass to the Police as evidence that he’s not of good character?

Thursday. A rag around Surrey Hills. First time in a few months tho’.
Think I’m going to reduce the road miles and try and get out on the MTB more often – more peaceful, no hassle from drivers, beautiful scenery and more fun

There seems to be in my mind anyway a public opinion when someone is knocked off a bike of.
Well roads are dangerous places and what do you expect or that’s why I would never ride a bike because it’s too dangerous.

At our club committee meeting last night there was a distinct attitude of ‘if a driver gets angry and pulls a stupid overtake then we’re partly to blame’

This idea that cyclists are contributing to their own abuse seems to go pretty deep. After yet another near injury/death experience this week from a driver who took exception to me simply being in the road, I’m taking time out from riding on my own, and only in club groups. The bad attitudes/utter ignorance is scaring me now…

Percy’s Scrotum Acne

I had a non-union 7 years ago. Not a lot you can do tbh other than rest and hope. Ended up with a bone graft which sorted it nicely though.

I couple of thought from my experience:
1. Do all your physio to keep your muscles strong. Non-union prob means longer period when your muscles won’t be used properly so more important to do your physio to prevent long term issues (check this with your physio tho, I am not a Dr!)
2. Get an indoor bike trainer, stick your bike on it and get some regular sessions in just to keep your fitness up and keep you exercising. Makes it much easier when you come to start riding again

Main thing is, just chill out and let it heal. AFAIK there’s no way of accelerating the process, and if you get impatient you just make it harder rather than easier

Good luck

OP, glad she’s (relatively) ok. There’s too many of these incidents at the moment…

A few points you mention are very concerning:

The driver tried to leave the scene of the accident

– is just utterly cowardly and obviously criminal behaviour.

At 5pm my wife had a call telling her he ‘earned a lot of money’ so would pay for the damage.

Sounds like he may have previous and is trying to stop it appearing on his record (or he’s uninsured and wants to hide this)

Police also called to check she was OK and said they were closing the case, so I need to get in touch with them to see why

With a Police witness to a driver trying to leave the scene of a collision this is pretty shocking.

As a few mention above I would formalise this as much as possible – insurance co and press for charges…

Good luck

We won’t die; we are not doomed.

You are Michael Fish and I claim my five pounds 😀

“Earlier on today, apparently, a woman rang the BBC and said she heard there was a hurricane on the way… well, if you’re watching, don’t worry, there isn’t!”

Full length outers with 2 or 3 Middleburn cable oilers for regular lubing. replace inners regularly and outers slightly less regularly. All these things are pence but IME they make a massive difference

That distance and altitude gain sounds like quite a big ask to me
A few thoughts:
1. It’ll take some time for yr body to get used to that kind of effort
2. Try and do it twice a week with at least one day in-between
3. You’ll need more sleep and a lot more to eat – night before/breakfast and during the day before you ride home
4. If you don’t enjoy it, find some alternative route – maybe train further into to London and then ride the last bit. London riding tends to be more stop start and I find that easier

Campag Scirocco wheels on a bike for £2,500 is a bit of a downgrade, is what I’m thinking

There’s a lot of dickheadish behaviour in the UK at the moment so it’s good for the soul for people to join together and do something thoughtful IMO

Customers (most) want everything done yesterday. Some folks literally know nothing about bikes or bolts or life in general really.

I spent a year in call centres after graduating and decided very quickly that the Great British Public were not so great after all. A lot of grownups haven’t actually grown up, despite external appearances!

Think of your job satisfaction as coming from fixing bikes rather than making customers happy and you’ll hopefully continue to enjoy it 🙂

A few facts on fracking would probably help inform the national debate so we can come to a well-informed decision, instead of vested interests spewing their own self-serving propaganda.

History suggests this won’t happen however.

No-one talks about reduce, reuse, recycle anymore. How about we just reduce our usage of energy rather than hunt out new sources?

This thread pretty much sums up why road cycling
clubs are in serious decline

You WHAT? Round our way (South London) Dulwich Paragon has gone from c100 to 600 members in 4 years and I believe closed to new members. My club us having growing pains trying to manage group size and relative inexperience and the main riding routes out of town into Kent have begun to resemble the TdF with the sheer numbers on them…

OP – you need to have a chat with your guy – club rules are opaque and often not explained to people very well. I 100% agree with you that it spoils the ride for all when people ride as individuals rather than a group, but he can’t be expected to know he’s getting it wrong if no-one has a quiet word….

Some of the old time club riders do make you smile though ..

There will always be one old fella who will reliably inform you that the guys who raced back in their day were better than the guys that race today too ..

Our old timer (we only have one) likes to remind us he used to race with Wiggo at Herne Hill 🙂