Sorry for the tardy reply, just got up for work!
TJ: To some extent I do believe in the deserving and undeserving poor. Thats to say that EVERYONE should have the bare essentials of food, heating and lodgings, but if you have paid money in and been a net contributor in the past then that should count for something.
Junky et al: Decent minimum wage, definately a good thing, one of the best labour did and helped out one of by bruvs in particular (works in a care home). Would happily se it raised by 50p or £1 per hour. The idea though that the state can create full employment is deluded. We live in a global village and tribe UK (or is that tribe Engurland soon?) has to be competetive overall against other nation states. Within that over all competetiveness we can and should have a degree of redistribution of wealth, but the system is out of balance at the moment.

Both my brothers have worked for 30 plus years on salaries closer to the minimum wage than I care to think,they pay into the system and have always held their own despite the fact they could have easily taken the lazy option.
Despite the fact that by having the good fortune of a university education, and the salary that often goes with that, my brothers are a great source of inspiration to me.
Lazy feckers in wales that sit on their backside funded by people who often are earning 10 to 20 k themselves is wrong.
Its also wrong that those that have paid into the system or saved a bit for a rainy day get means tested to the extreme if they ever lose thier job. The system is broken and encourages lazy irresponsible behaviour.

My office, several times a day. Lovely fresh coffee, normally roasted the same day I drink it.

Lots of enduro frames from around that time snapped, I know of two riders that had them, both thankfully replaced under excellent warranty.
I have an 05 sworks stumpy and would not sell it for 650.
Have a search on ebay to find fair average price.

Dreadfully wooden film.

I know the answer to this.

ONE.

His name is Troutie.

redfordrider (and yossarian) please post more like this…I really enjoyed reading your posts and it makes a refreshing change from the normal stw tit for tat rant. Its clear that you were both actually listening to each other.

mrovershoot, best thoughts to you and mrs overshoot.
My best mate has a disease called cmt, which is an evil degenerative disease. Despite this he works and remains a source of massive positive energy.
For folk who get the genuine short straw of genetic or disabling illness I thing our society can never do enough to help.
mf: the woman in the article is clearly making her case in the most vivid, media headline friendly way possible. Cant say I blame her if its the only way to get heard. If she could exagerate even more maybe we could make her an honourary stw member?

Saw the interview and Alex came off looking OK on it. Paxman looked like a tetchy caracature of himself.

MOT £25 half price from Halfords.
5 litres of top spec synthetic oil £40
Oil filter £6
Carbon pollen filter £14
Brake fluid for brakes flush £8
Air filter approx £10-15

I do a lot of my own servicing and so to me £241 is a lot. But for a garage if they have changed lots of filters (maybe fuel also…another £15 for the part, maybe recharge aircon?) then its not crazy expensive, but not cheap either.

Sorry for no reply all day, been at work.
I posted this as a few people were saying on the “£26000…” thread that individuals would always be better off working than on the dole.
Now I am not an expert in the welfare system, and perhaps I am guilty of assuming that the fact that because its on the BBC news that the bare facts of her case may be correct.

Debbie is clearly media savvy and turns the story to her situation, but as far as I can tell the facts are that she would be financially better off if her partner gave up work and became a carer. It seems a shame that the tapers or cut-offs for assistance are so brutal that they would be worse off by her partner working.

If the story is a crock of lies then please someone clear it up, but its from the BBC, not the Daily Wail.

More importantly..where is TJ to tell us what coffe is best to drink in a post colonial scotlandshire.

moll’s: wasnt having a dig. But the guy in the shop is wrong, or at least hes right in that starbucks is coffee with the insoluble husk removed…thats freeze dried coffee just with a misleading description.
However like you I use my tastbuds. If you like the taste better then carry on!

Starbucks Via is actual ground coffee that’s had the insoluble husk removed so the rest dissolves (mostly) in hot water. So it is actually brewed real coffee in a manner of speaking. Instant coffee is real coffee that’s been brewed and freeze dried.

Molgrips mate you are wrong. Starbucks and milicano are both freezdried coffee, but they have a small amount of very finely ground roast coffee bean added. You post above shows you have been sucked in by the marketing bollox. I bet you believe that oakleys really offer thermonuclear protection too. 😆

millicano is the best instant i have tried.

…..actually this being STW, I cant believe no one has volunteered to pop round and cheer up mrs renton. 😳

Good luck and stay safe.

TJ in pure financial income terms you are probably correct. But then factor in the hassle of childcare etc for three kids, the lack of time he has with them and the cost of commuting from leeds to bradford each day and I do think his stress levels and quality of life would be better on benefits. To be honest hes the only person I know that i would encourage to fall back on the state. He has 20 plus years of paying taxes, no shame in taking a bit out of the system while the kids are at the key age they are now.

hoodie, sorry, I probably gave you the tj treatment. Care to start another thread on the localism bill as I am interested in getting my head around the issues.

Hoodie, what special understanding of working class families do you posess that elevates your awareness?
I come from a modest family and have friends and family at all ends of the income distribution. I do see the social system as a safety net and not a lifestlye choice and i realise that puts me to the right of the average guardian reader. But I see that we live in a country where a single dad on£26000 a year salary would be better off jacking in his job and living off the state. My best friend is in this situation and you know what….he works. why? because he sees work and supporting your family from your own efforts is the right thing to do. we need to encourage that behaviour.

Often do 10 miles with my labrador. As said above, wait till 12-18 months first or joint damage is likely.
Once took her on Dalby red route(last october)…. she splept for 2 days afterwards!

chipps, in Calderdale you could rent the friggin town hall for the price of a flat in london. Fancy some new neighbours?

TJ. Ultimately yes, I do think people should not be funded by the state to live in areas where an AVERAGE working person could not afford.
I have kids and I appreciate the disruption that adopting this swiftly would cause and so I think it should be phased in with support over 3 years or so (that would mean that GCSE years etc could be avoided if school moves are involved).

These are real choices made by real people every day, kids get moved from schools and from one house to another for many reasons. It is not the role of the state to insulate the unemployed to an extent that folk who work do not enjoy themselves.

That 62p per day thing is crazy and wrong.
It starts of with £500 per week and then takes £400+ off for a weeks rent …..no wonder theres on 62p left over.
Sorry but average rent for a nice 3bed semi in Leeds is £700 per month. Leeds has job prospects and decent education.
Tax payers in the north should not be subsidising expensive london rents.

£26000 for sitting on your arse is a fortune.
I have friends and family with 3 or 4 kids each. All work and all get some modest form of state assistance.

Both however have total family incomes of much less than 25 or 26k after tax.

Hard working folk often have to move house due to financial situations and pllan for what might happen.
Move somewhere cheaper the rest of us would, and cheaper does not mean ghetto.

I posted a what tyres thread on engadget and got called a sad weirdo.

amd phenom ii x6 processor (support the little guy…I7 is better though!). 16gb of 1600 ddr3. ocz ssd. 2x 2tb hdd.
radeon 5770 graphics. …currently I cant get on the thing as my daughter has minecraft monopoly.

That picture looks badly photoshopped.

Halfords kids bikes are OK. My 10 year old girl rides one.

Used to work with the Belgian dairy that makes Aldi rice pud. They said it was really high spec.
Also McD milkshakes and mcflurries are real dairy ice cream and were made in ashby de la zouche.

Manor bakeries?

So concrete formulation, strength, thermal conductivity relative to other materials, compatibility with other materials, carbon footprint to manufacture etc etc are nit relevant to efficient design?

(not a materials expert…just a geek so hope I am on right topic area here!)

In short…at 18/19 age I wanted to learn stuff that was directly aplicable to my needs and interests. Now i am a little older I appreciate thatnknowledge in many area links together to make a better person. Knowledge is power!

University has the opportunity to give you skills and exposure to people and attitudes that will shape the rest of your life. For my career a degree was essential, not neccessarily in my particular subject, but it helps. Hope ypu stick with it or seak help to transfer to something that floats your boat. Talk to the uni, dont let it fester. Good luck.

I have worked in food manufacture for 15 years and have seen much of what the retailers spec versus brand. My learnings? Well there are no hard and fast rules.
Aldi punch way above their weight on quality and are my fave supermarket…m&s quality for Asda prices!
Tesco own label is generally the worst quality, they negotiate hard with suppliers, flex prices on shelf creatively and the absence of quality this drives shows on shelf.
Asda are currently driving an increase in quality on their extra special range and its generally good.
Js and waitrose are consistently good.

So in summary take each product on its merit. Brands tend to have better offers when promoted, but some own label products are really good (js posh green pesto is a fave of mine…better than sacla).

21.5C in our Lounge.
Can’t stand it cold.
We have lots of insulation and a top of the range condensing boiler.

As said above, probably hand brake cable or mechanism on the rear calipers.
If both back brakes were hot then its almost certainly the handbrake cable. If just one back brake was hot then it could be either the mechanism or the section of cable (it splits like a Y) to that particular caliper.

Well I am up to 3 so thats 27 more to go!

Maybe also a higher posting cap for subscribers?

Before a particulary hard ride I find a dozen oysters and seared asparagus are a wonderful starter.

Full refund including postage.