It’s a European problem – the numbers of people who are homeless in Hungary and Poland are crazy – I was very surprised to see the increase in numbers on my recent trips there.

In London around 60% of the homeless are foreign nationals. A good number of these have been repatriated at our expense but return to the uk anyway – in some cases multiple times.

At the end of the day the statutory duty to provide accommodation acts as a magnet and makes the problem worse – Channel 4 recently showed a Romanian family who came here with a clear understanding of how to work the benefits system to secure accommodation – the whole family had a house in Birmingham within a week of arrival. In the same circumstances I would probably make the same decisions but there is a very big issue for country when we already have so many people waiting for housing and around 200,000 more people arriving here each year than we can realistically build accommodation for (let alone the cost of doing this).

Our Touran has been a pain in the 4ss – compounded by the lying deceitful conduct of our local VW dealer.

For anyone that doesn’t know – all VWs are required to have a “sunroof service” every 2 years (£300) so if you didn’t know this and your sunroof leaks because of a latent design defect VW have known about for years they will tell you to do one and cough up £1000 for the repair because their “warranty you can trust” won’t cover it.

Oh and we had a year of the car constantly stalling and doing random emergency stops which they told us was because we were idiots and couldn’t drive – they then told us the car needed a new software update which stopped it doing this but claimed the two things weren’t linked.

I love my endura jacket – an absolutely amazing bit of kit and last year’s version is still available with some good prices if you look around.

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Endura-FS260-Pro-SL-Shell-Cycling-Jacket_89831.htm?sku=310858&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=google_shopping&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIk8Xw-9aB4AIVWYXVCh232w3KEAQYASABEgIQ1fD_BwE

That comment earlier in the thread about Amazon paying minimum wage is wrong. They pay 27% more than minimum wage at present – and more than nearly all of their high street rivals as well.

Their vehicles often have great design flair but JLR’s problems boil down to:

1. Lack of strategy. They made big bets on bad choices (more diesel, slow to get going on electric, over reliance on the Chinese market).

2. Poor quality product. In the last vehicle reliability rankings they had three out of the 5 most unreliable cars on the market.

3. This is compounded by outrageously high repair costs, snooty dealers and poor customer service.

If I look around my area there are a surprising number of people who can afford cars from Audi, Volvo etc that compete squarely with the Jaguar and Land Rover equivalent models. But there are no JLR vehicles – why?

I’m sure sure JLR will continue to blame Brexit but their problems are much closer to home. Hopefully the management team will turn the tanker before any more employees pay the price for their failure to deal with the issues above.

Looks like one of the co-founders went back to a line role in November. If they have gone pop it’s a shame – a great idea, well executed and clearly differentiated against other frame options.

Just go the consumer rights act route – it’s not fit for purpose if failing at 2 years so the retailer needs to repair or replace at their cost.

There’s a template on the Which website that will generate a letter to the retailer for you – and if the retailer won’t play ball just buy a new one and then take them to the small claims court to get the money back.

Thank god it’s nearly over.

Looks great. 2019 might see me buying my first Pace frame since 1993.

The private sector average is around 6% employer contribution

Thanks for the heads up! Strada SB ordered at a very good price!

Is it millets.co.uk?

Can’t see exposure lights listed so no sure if I’m on the wrong site or they have pulled them from the list of brands…

GetYourOwnWifi

“For the contributor who sees riders with battery powered grinders, do you call it in? They’re already committing an offence.”

You are having a complete laugh / and or don’t live in London.

This is a regular sight – they ride straight past police cars in traffic like this and the police do absolutely zip. I understand it’s called “going equipped” but as the police can’t chase or detain them they can pretty much do what they want e.g.

When we saw the moped gangs looking for families to rob in the park (driving in convoy round the paths with hoods up and bandanas over their faces – very menacing) the two police we saw strolling along the road outside the path basically said there was nothing they could do about it.

Reporting it to the police is a complete waste of time when until recently the police just sit in their cars pretending it’s not happening even when it’s right in front of them. They are right though – there’s little they can do when they risk being suspended for years if they try and stop them.

I’ve witnessed moped riders:

–  robbing families walking in our local park at 10:00 on a Sunday morning

– terrorising drivers on local roads for several years now – swarming round cars, kicking in the panels, trying to smash windows etc.

– chasing deliveroo riders to steal their bikes

– dragging cyclists off their bikes on shepherds bush roundabout in moving traffic “for fun”

– coming along our street several nights a week to see what they can steal

– riding round with battery powered angle grinders strapped over their shoulders – presumably for grinding through bike / moped locks.

They are complete scum and deserve no mercy whatsoever.

I personally think the police should be given a choice of flamethrowers or some kind of smart / guided harpoon gun so they can deal with the moped risers without having to risk damage to the police cars or the mopeds.

If the moped riders are injured in the process that’s great news and I’d just like to see public services joined up so that’s when they find their way to A&E the door is slammed shut in their faces.

Barnet

Based on the experience of two colleagues the most likely experience is that of repeatedly taking the car in for repairs.

JLR occupied three of the bottom 5 places in the most recent vehicle reliability rankings across all makes.

The 40% tax band was once originally the preserve of the very wealthy directly employed professions i.e. senior doctors, lawyers etc.

The failure to move the band in line with inflation over the last decade effectively pulled 1-1.5m extra people into the tax band – which now means many teachers, police officers etc are now classed as “rich”.

The guardian reported in 2014 that more than 1m people now pay 40% than would have paid the rate based on Labour’s tax and spending plans in the 2010 election ergo the 40% have made a disproportionate contribution to reducing the defect during a period when those on benefits and the retired saw incomes maintained.

Under a grand a month for nursery would be amazing – round here it’s £85 (plus £15 for every 15 mins you are late picking up). Then doubled by two kids under three. That’s £67k in gross salary right there.

Reading this thread with interest…

I’m pretty careful with money to the point my wife regularly calls me tight – which means that we tend to keep the car at least 5-7 years, don’t have Sky and don’t have the flashiest phones etc.

For years I’ve recorded everything I’ve spent using a simple spreadsheet or budgeting app and when I’m “overspent” I bring the shutters down until I’m back in control. The by product of this is that I’ve almost always been able to save (albeit often only a little bit) and I’ve managed to avoid taking on any debt. This approach drives a certain behaviour that hopefully means I’ll avoid the “panic” sensation when the next big unexpected bill comes in.

Speaking of which… after a really dreadful year in my current job, I’m planning on quitting without another job to go to and then taking 4-6 months off to re-charge, get fit, do some learning etc.

I’m at the point now where I know I’m almost certainly heading towards a breakdown (or worse) if I continue with the level of stress and frustration I’ve been dealing carrying for the last year.

The cumulative effect of c6 years of job insecurity, a “nightmare” job at present which means a 12 hour day every day including travel AND effectively working in a pressure cooker – combined with the challenges of a young family and literally months of no regular sleep has left me feeling like day to day life is just too much.

I’m very glad that my parents got me into the discipline of budgeting early on and I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to stash some cash away for the “rainy day” that is now arriving more quickly than I’d ever thought possible.

I installed hive on a 3 zone system and it’s been great – a bit cheaper than nest as well. They quite often have very low cost installation deals if you keep an eye out for them.

In no particular order:

– Vegan

– Gender fluid

– Safe platform officer for local school / college

– expecting to secure Vice President level role within 12 months of entering full time employment

– expects to work from home at least 3 days a week and have the summer off.

Apologies – I can’t do pi55 take emojis due to being not “down enough” with the kids.

I had a pair of the Bose QC headphones but recently bought a pair of Plantronics backbeat pro noise cancelling headphones because I needed a pair compatible with Bluetooth.

I’d say the two are on par when it comes to sound quality and noise cancelling performance but the plantronics model has much better battery life and cost about £150 less – I went for the cheaper “tan” model which was on offer at amazon.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01MFGYF3I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_YMKXBb8KZSQEE

It’s “Hurl” not “Huel” …or at least it should be.

Looks likes it’s now a two horse race between Halfords and Sports Direct

I’ve used Timco easy drive screws to good effect – just pick the right length, drill a 6mm hole in blockwork / brick and then screw it straight in with a decent electric drill / driver and the supplied star drive drill bit. They don’t need any kind of rawplug and seem to be extremely good at staying put.

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Timco-Multi-fix—7-5-x-180mm-Pack-of-100/p/138596

Have to admit this is something I’m really struggling with.

My wife lost her job (illegally made redundant whilst on the first week of maternity leave) but only found out when she tried to go back to it. Number 2 started to bake shortly after that with the result that we’ve been left with no maternity pay or other income apart from my salary for the last 2 years – which would have been much less of a problem if we’d known it was something we needed to plan for in advance – we were planning on getting the deferred maternity pay (paid on return), the salary between number 1 and 2 and then maternity pay for number 2.. so a big financial hole to plug.

I’m currently stuck in a pretty hateful role that means I’m on a 12 hour repeating schedule in the week working with some exceptionally “difficult” and often quite unpleasant colleagues. I’m on my bike going to / from work every 12 hours Monday to Friday. I’m generally feeling extremely stressed by work and completely knackered outside work but still doing an ok job of pulling my weight with evening bathtime, storytime, trying to get our eldest to sleep / getting up too many times every night to re-settle and what feels like an endless list of chores in the evenings and weekends.

Despite a huge effort I’ve not managed to find a different role that gives the same money without also requiring a lot more travel / time away from home, so until something else comes along I’ve just got to carry on sucking it up – which has felt really really hard over the last 6 months.

just sharing because to be honest I know I’m probably going to be stuck in this situation for up to another year or so – possibly longer as when my wife eventually goes back to work we’ll have to find nursery fees as well. Writing it down sort of helps as although I know quite a lot of people are in a worse situation I can’t really talk about it with anyone who is in a position to help so I’ve just got to “ deal” with it.

+1 on the raptor arctic boots. Currently £129 at tredz.

DPD are great – I don’t understand why so many retailers don’t make more of a play out of the fact they use them.

My heart always sinks when a despatch email arrives to tell me the item’s been sent by Royal Mail, interlink or dhl as it almost always means faffing round and having to drive 5-10 miles to my “local” depot to collect the parcel they couldn’t organise themselves to deliver.

A bit £££ but Spoke London are really great – and do 3 different “fits” – build b works well for cyclist thighs.

https://spoke-london.com

I hope Evans survive but as a regular customer (mainly for click and clllect and bike purchases at a good price) there are quite a few things they could do to capture a greater share of total spend:

– implement a loyalty scheme. I spend around 1/3 with Evans and 2/3 online with other retailers. Recognising me as a customer and making it worthwhile to spend the 2/3 I don’t spend with them would drive revenue and potentially improve profits if other customers

– Accept Amex payments directly. Some customers have to pay via PayPal for Amex but this means purchases aren’t covered by normal credit card guarantees – so this may drive some customers away.

– sort servicing out. It’s too expensive for ad hoc repairs and for new bike collections they couldn’t be more unhelpful if they tried – my last but one bike purchase wasn’t built up when I went to collect it at the scheduled time – they were saying they were rushed of their feet but the smell of weed drifting out from the back of the workshop area spoke volumes.

– sort the website out. It’s not very developed and isn’t optimised for mobile – with the result that you can often find things on the evans website via google that you can’t find via the site search

– add DPD / collect plus to make it easier for online purchases (and charge for items sent back to limit costs)

– streamline the product range to reduce the cost of inventory. There are too many similar products – a smaller range of best in class items would make little difference to most customers but would improve working capital.

I used them for a daily 25 mile commute the whole of last winter and they are absolutely brilliant boots. I paired mine with a pair of waterproof winter tights that came over the cuffs and didn’t have wet feet once in the whole winter.

It’s amazing that a 1-2cm chip is an mot fail but sticking an iPhone 8 Plus directly in the field of drivers vision and then doing FaceTime video calls whilst driving is completely ok – judging by the driver behaviour in this part of London.

and yes – have even submitted camera footage of this to the rozzers who did precisely nothing even though the footage showed vehicle in motion, full clear view of the driver and the number plate.

The Hospital Records podcast (iTunes + TuneIn) is always worth a listen

https://www.hospitalrecords.com/podcast/

£20 a year is too cheap even for digital.

The “magazine” is great and the other services have a value as well.

Whack it up to £3 a month or £24 annually and it still represents very good value.

The HUAWEI LTE routers work well and give a very reliable connection – this one would do the trick:

It may vary where you are but when openreach flaked out for a month and we had to use 4g for broadband Vodafone and O2 were both useless  – strong signal but abysmal speeds in the evening. EE and three both worked very well – they also both offer 4g home router products if you want to just keep it simple.

40 Gb and Unltd calls and texts for £20 on EE – one thing I like is that I can move the data between sims on the same contract – so when the dongle in the car runs out of data with the kids watching postman pat I can move some data across without buying any more.

I’d work on the rule that someone who’s running dura ace should be capable of fitting their own rear mech so would offer to pay for the damage if it was my fault but probably wouldn’t cough up for a bike shop to do the work – it’s a 5 minute job.

The list is a joke because so many of the “stars”

are now:

– being paid via BBC worldwide to get round the FOI scope

– being paid by production companies they themselves control (getting round the scope”

– only have part of their pay disclosed (Graham norton etc al)

– the reporter remuneration also strips out allowances and pension contributions which in some cases are substantial.

Some years ago on Question Time David Dimbleby was grilling the then CEO of Sainsburys about his “fat cat” bosses pay. The former was reported at the time to be earning more than £1m a year for reading an auto cue and hosting a weekly argument show whilst the latter was leading a FTSE 100 company and 100,000+ staff.

How Dimbleby kept a straight face is anyone’s guess but if I’d been the Sainsbury’s guy I’d have probably asked him whether his £17k an hour run rate for Questions Time was commensurate with the responsibility.

Looks like a very happy chappy – great to see – always nice to see a rescue dog getting a forever home, and in this case what sounds like an amazing one.

Noticed he’s wearing a harness in a couple of the photos – not sure that one would be safe for restraining him in a car / van though – from memory there’s only one on sale that doesn’t cause quite serious injuries to the dog in the event of a crash.

And if he’s in the front he definitely needs some form of restraint – 30kg+ of dog hitting the windscreen in the event of a crash or emergency stop would cause significant injuries.