+1

I’ve got a few to be dished out but don’t waste them! There’s a generic TEN£ code running at the moment as someone said, wait til the codes expire before using these vouchers, otherwise they’re wasted!

What about crime and anti-social behaviour affecting people’s activity levels? There are people I know who think it’s too dangerous to go out running / cycling etc who would otherwise do so.

Pedal bearings.

Since when have front fog lights been ‘aimed down at the road’? They’re deliberately diffuse – so that people can see you coming through fog.

Pieminister FTW.

Ti Ala Carte may sound slightly more your thing than a Soda, 100mm rather than 120. You can pick one up for not much more than £1k now.

Edit, Ala Carte, not Alan Carr…

Had a similar one ten years ago, broke foot (unknowingly) running down stairs at work, hobbled on it for three days then went to A & E when bruising started appearing between my toes. After x-rays was sent away with a leaflet about sprains. A month later got a letter from the hospital asking me to go in, they told me I had broken my ankle/top of foot (the tendon at front of calf had pulled a sliver of bone out of my foot!), the original X-ray inspection had missed it (trainee doc apparently) and they checked it was healing fine and sent me on my way.

I’ve used White Lightning for years now (‘clean ride’, not the alky’s choice). Needs reapplying every 80- 100k or sometimes less depending on the weather.

Always stripped new chains but found it takes half a dozen applications of WL to ‘bed in’ and shifting suffers for the first couple of rides.

Whatever happened to Gozon?

Avast: +1

Yep, blame the bobby (while you still can – they’re a disappearing breed!)

There are one or two crank drivers I know (a few ‘closet’ spotters too) but the proportion of guards who are trainspotters is an order of magnitude greater. The spotter types tend to be a pain because they are more concerned with how things ‘should’ be done in an OCD/ideal world/island of Sodor way rather than the patched-together-with-masking tape, getting-up-at-1am, arguments-with-rosters-departments reality.

Driver for 8 years here, some of the above is accurate, some a bit wide of the mark. I write this while watching some dross crime drama in the mess-room where I will spend most of today in between ferrying empty trains around Manchester but the rest of the week I will be driving for 9 hours in total each day. Our earliest shift starts at 0325 and latest finishes at 0229, 35 hour 4-day week, Sundays outside working week (ie voluntary overtime).

Applicants ‘off the street’ have to get through an interview with a driver standards manager/HR, psychometric assessments + structured interview day and medical. Training will be intensive and take 9-12 months. You get two shots at the psychometric assessments, fail twice and that’s you. You can lose your job/life/kill people and/or end up in court with one simple mistake. The shifts can be marriage-breaking. In reward you can earn decent money, good pension, have plenty of quality time off (grouped rest-days) and a good craic with your new mates who are all in the same boat.

Some people have managed to change the bits on them, mine seems stuck fast but irrespective it’s a handy little bit of kit, accurate too.

Sent someone out for a new truffle slicer.

“Troutie, check your spam folder please.”

Inspirals were ace when I saw them in 2005 in Stourbridge, proper gig.

Got two pairs. Don’t trust either of them 100%. Currently using Shimano / Salsa.

Cahoot – been mentioned several times, part of Santander, although I think most of their Cahoot products are closed to new customers. Good job too. My dealings with them made me wonder if they were carrying out some kind of experiment to see how much crud someone could take.

Sept 2010, on holiday in Reykjavik, I find out they’ve let some poohead take ten grand out of my account. They appear to have very little (any?) fraud protection. It took fifty phone calls over the next month to get them to send me the dispute forms and refund my money. When I later asked for compensation for the considerable hassle & bills they would only compensate me (and only to the penny) if I provided evidence of my expenses. Even today I curse them and hope all their bits go wrinkly and fall off.

Think of Santander group as the Activesport of finance.

Never had any problems, spent thousands with them, better than CRC et al. Recommended web shop if that’s your thing.

Pine nuts, kalamata olives, truffle infused olive oil. Bit of pasta, baby plum tomatoes, spinach, soya beans cooked and rinsed in cool water. Add meat/eggs/cheese and off you go.

Newman’s maple and mustard salad dressing is delicious for a cheap quick bagged salad.

Try lambic if real ale’s not your bag.

Man The …

-Think of the kids.

+1 for Northern Quarter. Everything else available round there will be plastic.

Sounds like your missus has been traumatised by this, dropping in on the kid’s parents and putting them in no doubt how much of an effect this incident has had would be good for all concerned and might teach the kid the valuable lesson that her actions can have consequences.

Don’t try to claim money from the parents for karma’s sake but if you go round there and the parents offer payment don’t turn it down (surely to them the cost of a bit of bodywork repair is a good return for the fact that their daughter is alive and well).

I’ve just used Mogsuncle’s G3X1RKDECYWVTG, thanks very much, very kind.

There used to be a decent Mexican on Portland Street (El Macho?) but that shut down years ago. Couple of decent Brazilians though.

‘Jungle’ music will make a return.

Hope B mount (or equivalent from another maker) shows as fitting F203 / R183 if you can find a 183 rotor.

Dogs are hardy, shouldn’t be too worried esp if he’s sicked most of it back up. Mate of mine knows a chap whose dog drank his chip-pan dry. Had a shiny coat and dodgy tum for a while but no other ill effects.

Loads of nostalgia on these pages! Not spotted yet:

Benji Zax and the Alien Prince

Jimbo and the Jet Set

Roobarb and Custard

Jackanory

Huckleberry Finn and his Friends (the Canadian version) – great opening titles.

-Wizbit was just wrong.

In my job I have to deal with difficult and sometimes violent people and if I went round talking to people like shit I’d get sacked

+1

Been stopped on the bike & in the car once. When on the bike they were ok, had been reports of two guys riding away from a burglary at Smithy Bridge, we were near Hollingworth lake so understandable. Did have to strip off to prove my lack of tattoos though.

In the car they were complete tools, started asking if I had previous for drugs (not known to the rozzers at all), ‘was I sure’; claimed I had no insurance, told them to ring Direct Line as I pay about 700 pa for the privilege. Started spouting stuff about ‘benefit of the doubt’ and left.

When that guy jumped in front of my train both civil plod and BTP turned up as the train was full of football fans. The civil plod turned up first (about a dozen) and were worse than useless, they had no idea what to do, what was to happen at the scene and were a danger to their own safety. BTP were considerate and professional.

Plod do (rarely) request breath sample from train drivers, whether it’s within their remit is debatable, but if they did ask to bag you, whether they should or shouldn’t, it’d be wise to comply, refusing to provide is instant dismissal. Our alcohol limits are far lower than the road ones (allowances have to be made for cough medicine, mouthwash etc!). We get random or ‘for cause’ D&A screenings by BUPA / Mediscreen.

If there are no leaks in the seals etc make sure the carpet/mats are dry, ie if you’ve had wet feet.

:D Surely that’s the sole reason anyone would want 11sp on an mtb, that its one more than ten…

I can see this going well…

A.

And hills are involved.

Does anyone know the correct way to eject someone from a train without the risk of prosecution?

Ring BTP and wait half a hour for them to turn up…

#3 is dependent on BTP having the resources and means to get to the next station (4 mins away someone mentioned, and also the scrote’s intended destination) before the train does. The only way to ensure this is to hold the train (which is apparently what the guard had in mind before bigman waded in), or continue to the next station but delay opening the doors.

ScottChegg – Member
Trains are called public transport. Probably for a reason.

Trains and stations are leased and run by private companies from private companies (with notable exceptions).

There’d definitely be no legal justification if the guard had touched him. What will happen now in the internal investigation is that the guard will have submitted a written report, the CCTV of the train will be examined, the kid will be contacted and asked for evidence of what tickets he bought for his journey. The ticket(s) can be traced back to where they were sold, if it was a booking office (which it must have been from what the kid says – you can’t buy single tickets from elsewhere to Town A from a ticket machine in Town A) then the booking office staff will be asked what they remember.

If the train company decide to press charges he’ll end up with a fine of several hundred quid minimum (based on the entertaining accounts of selected prosecuations that appear in our company newsletter) and a criminal record for his fare evasion and abusive language.

‘Public servants’ rather than public officials if you don’t mind…

Oh and stopping the train even for five minutes would have cost Scotrail far more than the alleged fare owed, the amount per minute differs but can range from a few quid per minute to £££. Google ‘delay attribution’.