Use a foreign transaction fee free credit card from Nationwide or Abbey (now Santander). Most cards charge around 1.5-2% per transaction, but the specific cards from these two don't (the Abbey one is the Zero card, which is what I have).

I travel abroad a lot, and get exchange rates on the card pretty close to the interbank rate. Way better than the rates on currency.

One more tip, if a hotel (or whatever) asks you whether you want to pay in the local currency or pounds, it's generally better to pay in local currency, assuming you have a fee free card. Otherwise, you're at the mercy of the exchange rate of the hotel's bank.

For currency, I either use the card in a cash machine abroad (and pay the cash interest – still cheapest), or use the recommended sources on Money Saving Expert (generally Post Office).

Paul

aka_Gilo – was much easier than I thought.

Of course, I have friends that tell me my fair share of horror stories.

Paul

OK, here we go. I had mine done TODAY on the NHS – same surgeon as private, but £600 less cash (and a 3 month wait).

Female surgeon and nurse, with the nurse being fairly tidy. Quick chat, popped my headphones in and zoned out for the 20 minutes it took. The smell of burning flesh was a little odd though.

Less painful than giving blood. I did make sure that I followed the instructions very carefully with the anaesthetic cream, so I didn't feel the needle going in. Just a little discomfort and tugging (so to speak). 8 hours later, and it's a little uncomfortable, but not too bad.

Paul

<85% ratio between caravan and car recommended, maybe 100% if you have lots of experience. All cars have a max towing limit that it's illegal to exceed.

See http://www.whattowcar.com/ for weights etc.

Wife is a caravanner.

Moab would be nice, but I don't think I'd get approval for that. A week away is pushing it already.

joy-riders looks good. Sent them a mail.

Thanks
Paul

Bump for the afternoon crowd

Work from home almost all the time here. Echo the comments about the extra time gained from not commuting. I either run, swim or cycle every lunchtime. If I don't get "my" hour in, I get really cranky.

The chocolate in the fridge is a problem though. You just need to be strong-willed.

Paul

Paul – I have them all (with the exception of a few whilst I was on holiday) from mid-2007.

About 2.5GB worth – e-mail in profile.

Paul

I tend to use Freeview rather than Virgin for TV (since we've got a Freeview box with HDD), so can't comment on this vs Sky+. The internet access is actually 10MB as someone else said and very reliable. It's also delivered over coax rather than twisted pair (better cable). The "fibre optic" is a bit deceiving, since you don't actually get fibre to your house, but the fibre is closer to your house than most BT areas.

Work from home almost all the time here. Fine so long as you remeber to leave the house at least once a day (e.g. ride/swim/run at lunchtime).

Agree that it's important to have a dedicated area, and no, I don't find it hard to buckle down and work. Generally the opposite.

When I do commute, I really struggle with the idea that I'm wasting time in the car.

Paul

Used to work with this lady – seen her live…..

Impressive stuff

Lost both in the last couple of years. First one from falling over one of my daughter's toys, and the other from running with bad shoes.

Both now grown back perfectly (taken 3-4 months in each case). The new toenail will have been growing underneath the old one since the damage. I'd try to keep the old one on as long as you can, to protect the new nail.

Paul

I thought the Sixth Floor Museum was excellent (place where Kennedy was shot from). For outlet shopping, Grapevine Mills is huge.

Paul

Not much help with the original question, but I do sometimes use Skype through a VPN, and it works OK.

Paul

I’ll be doing the road event on Saturday – need to be elsewhere on Sunday. First road sportive – I suspect I’m going to die.

Any tips on how to carry energy drink appreciated. Two big bottles OK or small camelback?

Paul

Just my experience. Richard Parkinson at BUPA Murrayfield on the Wirral did my arthoscopy (diagnosis initially was a torn meniscus, turned out it just needed a good clear out). I’m now cycling and running without any issues, and I have a video of the operation, which is nice.

Paul

The 2.2 diesel is an old Isuzu engine. The 1.9 diesel is the Fiat unit as used by Alfa and in some Vauxhalls I believe. In the Fiat I drove it was a nice, modern engine.

I’ve had three Saabs, including a 95 estate. The 2.0t is a low pressure turbo engine (and the one I had with an auto box). If I were buying again I’d look for the 2.3t which is more powerful and IIRC more economical. As indicated above, check the oil has been changed every 6k miles on the petrol engines; there is an oil sludge issue, details of which are all over the internet.

For me, the whole point of Saabs is the petrol turbo engine, and if I wasn’t doing too many miles, it would be the one I’d get.

Mine was a little fragile, with a few electronics issues. I did like it a lot though. Excellent wagon, understated and quick enough.

Paul

We bought one a couple of years ago.

We bought it because the reviews were good (and as an engineer, the fact that they also make massive cranes helps a bit). It’s one of the large fridge/mediuum freezer versions, and we needed the fridge space for the family, but don’t have the width available for a US style FF. I also asked some German colleagues, and they said they were very good.

Difficult to comment further, except it seems well built with nicely operating handles, and the door alarm is great. If you leave either door open for more than a minute, an alarm sounds.

Paul

My two both have Islabikes – a Beinn 20 (small 7 year old when he got it) and a Beinn 24. I’d echo the comments about the quality and weight. They both love their bikes, and when they’ve lent their bikes to friends, they always comment on how fast the bikes are compared to their heavy bikes.

Give Islabikes a ring, they’re friendly and know ptheir stuff. I liked their philosophy of no suspension, no front gears and brake levers that are the correct size.

Paul

Bargain indeed. Make sure you update the firmware and maps when you get it. You’ll need a mini-USB cable. The one from my BlackBerry fits nicely.

I think I paid around £150 less than a year ago.

Paul

I have a 255WT, so the European sat nav with traffic. I bought it over the TomTom for three reasons:
1. It had Eastern Europe as standard (I go there sometimes). I believe this was extra on the TomTom
2. I read a couple of poor reviews of the TomTom traffic map
3. I have a Garmin outdoor GPS

First unit was DOA (sorted by Amazon), maps seem OK, fast to start up compared to my old unit, windscreen clamp is the best I’ve seen. I like it, but I’m sure the TomTom is just as good.

Paul

A – great trail

Maybe I should learn to proof read my posts before pressing send….

I seemed to recall that whilst I was playing with the buttons on the wife’s C-Max when we bought it, you could you could change the level of assistance. Just checked it, and there are three settings for the power steering – sport, standard and comfort. Maybe they sawpped to a different setting?

Paul

I had exactly what you’re looking at, a 2003 Vector 2l LPT auto. I really liked the car, (fast enough, big, safe, great seats, fairly anonymous) but it started to cost too much money once it got past 100k. Things to check:
– oil changes – as MartynS says, needs to have been every 6k miles with decent oil. That engine has an oil sludge issue that can block the oil pipes to the turbo.
– DI cassette – there was a recall on mine, maybe check with the local Saab garage, they may give you a new one.
– gearbox – mine tended to shunt when I went into drive. It didn’t go wrong, but I didn’t like it. My current car is much smoother.
– LED display in centre of dashboard. Expensive to repair, check all pixels work. I think this was fixed by 2003 though

Paul