Ok they are to control the flow, but the reason they control the flow is to improve the flow for the road user that would be unable to progress otherwise.

And that XKCD is spot on!

I dont see what the issue is with traffic lights, they are put implace to help improve the flow of traffic. I know sometimes it seems like they are not but honestly they are.

I love Christmas!

I always have done ever since I was really little and have now started to look forward to this one. This year should be a belting (pardon the expression) festive period. The gf and I are heading to Boston for 5 days in december to celebrate our 4 year anniversary which will hopefully be cold, snowy and very festive, then looking forward to uni mates visiting for the christmas markets which are brilliant, and then an early christmas party with her family before heading off to Switzerland to spend christmas with mine skiing. Then were back inbetween christmas and new year to spend more time with her folks.

Im very lucky to have such a good christmas period lined up, its really giving me something to look forward to in my bleak days out on Site in glorious Ellesmere Port!

Under floor heating is really nice.

Jumper?

A colleague of mine used to work at Bolton COuncil and has actually met the real Keith Lard, the fire marshall who does rude things to dogs!! :lol:

Edit: totally useless trivia but im sure Dave Spikey lives near me (or has family near) because ive seen him walking down my road on a couple of occasions! Theres a claim to fame for you!

Tynemouth + 1 as well.Great chippy called the Fryery at the Priory!  :lol:

Interesting reading all this. We moved around ex-pat loads when we were younger for my dads job. We lived in the states, czech republic, germany etc. They haven recently just moved back to the UK for good now and they are both much happier than I have seen them in a long time.

I used to miss things about being in the UK (especially family friends and british telly when i was a kid). Not too say I didnt have some great experiences where we lived.

My girlfriend now asks me all the time if I was offered it now with my job would I take it. I more inclined to say no that yes I think. The thing I feel I missed out on is the chance of having a proper base and a proper home in one place rather than moving every 3 years or so.

Oh when I was 10 and living in Prague the main thing I missed was Walkers Crisps!! :lol:

No risk to anyone kind of implies it was safe no?

so actually perfectly in control and no risk to anyone else?

Looks like defending it to me :roll:

What does a middle IT manager do? Takes the strategy and makes it a reality pretty much, while keeping the ball in the air at the same time.

Well you have the management lingo down….. :lol:

:roll:

Cougar – could be just a two lane stretch of road (but I know what youre getting at :wink: )

Changing lane doesnt fool these cameras. They log all the number plates going past a certain point and then log them again at the next one. If the number plate is read going through the set in a time that makes your average speed greater than the police threshold (so in a 50mph this is 55mph) then you can be prosecuted.

Bagpuss – do you have a fleet of houses to attach the fleet of porches to?

Me Julie, innit!

Genuine LOLS at tyger there!

We do the asda shop once a week so try and save money that way. If you are cooking from scratch anyway then the quality is fine.
Make lunches for the week – sandwiches, salads etc
Only drink on weekends really.
Drive a bit slower on the way to and from work each day.
More keen about turning off lights, tv, hifi etc.

Not a lot but just little things like that.

Got a couple here:

We saw a massive wood pigeon sat on a branch in the garden to which my girlfriend says “Look at the size of that pidgeon, it must be pregnant” – Dont birds lay eggs darling?

Out walking in the winter when there was snow about same said girlfriend came out with “doesnt the snow make those sheep look really dark” – yes that would be because they are black sheep!

She is actually really clever though……

I love Sundays in the winter.

Sunday ride getting thoroughly caked in mud, freezing cold and soaking wet and then coming back to a nice warm shower, then roast dinner and a bottle of red in front of the fire.

And snow too. When it gets proper chilly and theres snow on the ground, going for a snow ride or just generally out in the snow is brilliant. I thought I would have stopped being entertained by it by now but nope!

Currently got Wengen for Christmas and 12 days in Whistler in march booked in. Might try and get a lads weekend back to Wengen for Mens Downhill weekend in too, funds and mrs allowing!

Wrecked my skis at the end of last season so going to get a new set off a mate, not sure what though, depends what he can dig out the garage!

Girlfriend has just managed to get 4 tickets.

Sorry to hijack this slightly. Im taking my bike up to Edinburgh on the train tomorrow. Have booked it on etc but was wondering if people tend to lock their bikes up while on the train or are you not allowed? Just nervous that someone might nick it at one of the stations.

Its virgin trains up and first transpennine on the way back fwiw.

Cheers

I think ultimately it depends what you are going to do with the money if you dont pay it off.

If you are going to leave it in an account where you can earn more than 1.5% interest then it makes sense at the moment to no pay it off.
If you are going to spend it on a house deposit then maybe it is better to have the cash than to pay off the loan, as it is unlikely to affect the mortgage repayment as much as the better rate for the larger deposit.

HOWEVER if you are going to just spend the money on crap then from a financial point of view id say youre best just paying it off.

All just in my opinion of course!

Varies massively with terrain. A quick blast around Rivington and the reservoirs will usually be around 15km/h but big days in the peaks or lakes can drop down to less than half that.

About 30% for me I think.

I know you said diesel……..

But my girlfriends mum used to have the 4.4 V8 toureg, got a combined 13MPG!! It used to eat through tyres at 600 quid a pop too so needless to say they no longer have it!

Id say very much so, but just dont stay in Slaley Forrest itself. Youre just on the edge of Blanchland and Edmundbyers if I remember correctly. We used to ride around there when I was at uni at newcastle. There was a 20km and a 30km route both passing through Slaley Forrest i think.I have the Beyond Hammsterly book which has those routes in it. I can dig out the routes from there when I get home this evening. Unless someone beats me to it today.

Thanks fraser! Will take a look at that one.

All choc bars still 35 or 40p in our vending machine! Getting tempted to today to get me throught he mid week afernoon lull.

I can see where this is going.

Some people say that you dont need them, and that you can get all the protein you need from a normal diet. Others use them because its a convenient way to get them straight after you work out.

Both are right in my opinion and its up to you whether you want to use them.

FWIW I have do take extra protein in powder which I drink straight after a gym session.

I passed first time, this was 7 years ago now.

When I passed you were allowed no majors or dangerous’s. You were allowed no more than a total of 15 minors. And you were not allowed 4 or more of the minors to be for the same thing.

As mentioned you should get a sheet with all of these marked down on to let you know so you can work on these for next time you take it.

Why ton? Come on what’s he done?

Feeling good – Muse! What a fantastic cover!

Mmmmm some good ideas here cheers everyone! Currently divided between some kind of curry or the home made pizza idea.

If we are going for these sweeping generalisations anyone driving a van is a ****.

I cant offer much advice re booking cheap holidays except for possibly trying to avoid the larger resorts and book accommodation in some of the smaller satelite resorts which share the same ski area (as long as they have their own beginners area and ski school), but some tips for being first time skiers going on your first trip would be:

1) Deffinately invest in a few lessons in a snowdome before you head out to the alps. If you are spending a substantial amount of money on a holiday you want to go and get the most out of your time there so a couple of lessons before you go will make the first few days much more enjoyable.

2) They will be shattered if theyve never been before. Spending a whole day in a snow plow will shatter out kids and the mrs alike so it might be worth trying to find something non self catering as everyone might be abit too tired to cook and clean etc.

3) Get the kids started early. If they do want to learn to ski at all (and why wouldnt they – its awesome) then the younger they do the more they get out of it, its much harder to try and learn when youre older.

Just a couple of my thoughts.

I passed my MAP test to get my CSCS card this afternoon.

Anyone else who has done it will realise that isn’t really that big of an achievement!

Yeah I saw that up on here a few months ago. Fair play to him for keeping trying!

If it was going through the variable speed limit schemes (like on the M25 or M6 etc) then the camera photograph would not be able to show who is driving seen as they face the rear of the car.

Aracer would you actually effectively sack your wife just to teach her a lesson about speeding?

If it was on a motorway was it an average speed check one through roadworks then?