You can get 10 or 15% cashback via TopCashBack on APH Parking – that’s £17.32 (before cashback) though it’s off-site. We used it a few years ago and it was fine.

My C2W bike came direct from Planet X – I ordered it on the company credit card 😀

+1 for Craghopper Kiwis. I think I’ve got six pairs now – the winter lined ones are lovely in, erm, winter.

Never pay RRP for them, somewhere always has them cheap (eg Go Outdoors).

ebay – good if you want the hassle of individually listing and shipping items.

Worth looking locally to see if you have any model shops which trade in second hand. Would doubt that you’d get the best value but possibly the easiest sale.

Also see if can find a train / toy swap-meet – many of the stalls there will buy stuff.

Perhaps Hightower was driving?

I thought I smelt a rat with their website – the lack of phone number or address but it’s tucked away in the Terms page.

The address and phone given look to match with this company http://www.camping-intl.com/ and their website has much more information, not to mention what looks to be a reasonably large retail store.

I’d possibly give Camping International a call and ask them about Tentwarehouse just to make sure.

I’ve not rolled a car but I did have the fire brigade cut the roof off a Fiat Uno to get me out…

Mrs cxi has the Decathlon version of the Fat Airic / Dozer – super comfy.

I got a suit from the Jeff Banks shop at Cheshire Oaks.

Had slogged round many of the other stores but gave up on many of the “designer” ones as I kept getting told the jacket / trousers cannot be split.

Whilst I’m a 34″ waist, I usually end up needing a 38″ waist to get the trousers over my thighs. Hence I end up needing a slightly weird combination of trouser / jacket size.

Spam bot ahoy!

Alpkit have a section on bag sizing in their Buying Guide

I’ve got a Skyehigh 600 in regular and I’m 6’1. Fit is spot on.

Jake Humphrey is a lucky get – hitching a ride in the Lancaster

If it helps…

On Googles maps on the PC, there’s a clock icon on the toolbar. This let “move” between the various dates of imagery available.

I love a good road trip.

I went out to the Rally Catalunya in 2002. Got the ferry from Plymouth to Satander, then drove across Spain. We had a group of seven Imprezas – full bore charges through the tunnels and toll booth drag races whilst crossing Spain in the night were something to behold. Clocked up something like 2500 miles for the round trip.

Socket 1155 is “Sandy Bridge” which is quite an advance over 1156 and 1366. Grab the new issue of PC Pro – it has benchmarks of the lot (and AMD).

I’d go with something 1155 based – it’s new, so 1156 will probably be phased out.

rickmeister – I know the feeling. I needed a skip to shift all the crap my last tennant left.

Try the 3 website, you can bang in a postcode and check the expected coverage:

http://www.three.co.uk/Help_Support/Coverage

{Edit}

3 and T-Mobile were in the process of network sharing when Orange bought T-Mobile. I don’t how far they’ve got but I guess 3 / T-Mobile / Orange will share coverage eventually.

Blimey, James Nesbitt posts on STW.

I spent a week walking and biking based in Les Houches at the end of the summer season in 2008.

One day we got the cable car from Les Praz up to Flegere, then the chairlift to L’Index. Was a lovely day but damn cold up at 2385m! From L’Index, it’s about 4km over to Lac Blanc, which also has a refuge if you want a drink. We looped back and down to Flegere but there’s loads of options if you want to walk all the way down into the valley. Google turns up a couple of route guides eg this.

Another day we grabbed the Bellevue cable car out of Les Houches, then followed the Tramway du Mont-Blanc up to station at Mont Lachat. You can find a nice spot for lunch round here, with views straight up the valleya and it’s a popular launch spot for paragliders. We found a path which was waymarked and took us all the way back down to Les Houches.

You can find the summer lift opening times online eg Flegere / Brevent. One thing to note is that Compagnie du Mont Blanc operate a number of the lifts but not all. The Bellevue cable car out of Les Houches is run by a different company.

It’s 2011

Who still uses a 50 gig HD???

My new home PC will only have a 60GB OS partition as I’ve gone for a 60GB SSD 😛

About £120ish a corner, currently on my second set of Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta. Look for grip but reasonable economy (cake and eat it please).

You can tell when they start to get worn, they tramline a lot. Probably go back to Conti Sport Contacts next time.

Not too far from Manchester (Shrewsbury):

http://www.wroxetervineyard.co.uk/tours_experience.html

I’ve been with Mrs cxi – was a good day out

As a single name or SAN/UC cert?

35/1 for Rose on Paddy Power at the moment

I had a free bet with Paddy Power, so my punt on Donald is £20 to win at 28/1!

{Edit – no, I went E/W now I look again}

I’ve gone with Luke Donald to win.

I’d backed Westwood E/W last year, so hopefully do one better this year.

I’ve got a 56 plate 9-3 TiD (150bhp) Vector Sport saloon, which I’ve taken from 2k to 93k miles. It has the most recent dash but the “older” styling.

I’ve had two problems outside of routine servicing – around 50k, the alternator failed on the A55 which resulted in an AA tow home. Fixed next day under warranty.

At 65k the water pump died, so the engine temp’s went off the clock. Where did it go? Yup, on the A55 again. Saab paid 50% of the bill without me even asking. AFAIK the water pump failing or seizing are is a reasonable common issue with this engine, so seen with Vectras and other cars which share the GM/Fiat engine.

No plans to change at the moment – I have a servicing plan in place to cover up to around 120k miles. I’ve been very, very happy with the service from my local Saab dealer and they are open to haggling on prices. When I need new pads & discs, they matched an online Saab parts specialist for the bits.

It’s still a good car IMHO, eats miles which is good for work where a day might include 6+ hours of driving and is an enjoyable drive when going XC.

A bike fits in the back with both seats down and the wheels off. I’ve got a tow-bar for a proper rack, so use that more. The heated front seats are great for the drive home after a cold, soggy winter ride.

Also impressed by the fact that you get your money back in free books up to £100 quids worth. So really the device only costs a few Quid.

I’ve been thinking about getting one of these for the summer holidays – will save a load of baggage space.

Can’t see anything on Amazon.co.uk about getting £100 of books FOC though…

My HP Elitebook 8440p is 1600 x 900 on a 14″ panel – pin sharp to my (semi-blind) eyes

Wiggle and CRC sell Zym

Never mind Nike, Brookes or whatever – get some Aldi specials 😀

http://www.snugburys.co.uk/

On the A51 between Chester and Crewe

+1

Avoid Nike and Adidas – sh1te, try Brookes, Ascis or NB, proper running shoes

You forgot IMHO in there 😉

Horses for courses for trainers. I get on mighty fine with my Nike Triax running shoes, my misses currently has Rebooks and her sister finds Adidas are good for her.

Indeed – chaffing can be very unpleasent! Not to mention runners nipple 😥

Divagirl – I have allotment envy now!

Very, very nice B&B rather than a hotel : 23 Mayfield[/url]

Ross, the owner, is a top bloke.

In case anybody else pulls up this thread – I spoke to John Lewis.

Their standard insurance (Home Classic) does indeed only cover individual bikes to £1000 and all bikes to £2500.

The Signature insurance covers individual bikes to £2500 each, but is really designed for people looking to ensure Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle (with similar sized collections of jewels). I could have got a quote but the lady said policies start at £400, which is close to our M&S renewal, so didn’t bother.

sok – thanks for the pointer on the small print, will check properly tonight.

I got a bike only price last night from http://www.cyclecover.org.uk/ and nearly fell of my chair – was well over £400.

I’m confused what John Lewis (aka Greenbee) cover. Getting a quote for “Home Classic” says a total cover limit of £2500 for bikes with £1000 per bike limit but wading through the policy book reckons:

any pedal cycle is £2,500 unless specified

I hate wading through insurance small print.

Our M&S renewal came through this week – not noticed anything about a £1k bike claim limit but will have to check the small print in detail.

Looked at Axa last night but their site says:

Bicycle cover can easily be added to your home contents insurance to protect against loss or damage away from home. It provides up to £1,000 cover for each bicycle and £2,500 in total.

Have to give them a ring I think.