0.008 here. It’s no wonder I barely give a toss…

Would you like to take my two too? (1.5 & 3.5) I’ve got them all the time, and they drive me up the wall…

Rosss, YGM.

Snapped the steerer tube on a pair of Pace Pro Class 2, just above the crown, on a smooth track. Put me in hospital overnight. Two days later Pace recalled the whole batch to replace the steerers with one twice the weight.

Two months later, when the crown cracked in 9 separate places they refused to warranty it on the grounds that their engineer could tell I’d been jumping on them. Fantastic customer relations there…

You beat me to it Simon. Good on you Hope! 😀

Looks to me like Halfords buying in bulk before the RRP & Trade prices went up at the start of the month, and now selling stuff off at a big discount off the new, higher RRP. They’re probably not making a loss, but they won’t be making much profit on them either. But they’ll sell loads of them, so they don’t need to make a huge margin.

It’s good business on Halfords’ part, but it’s also a bit unethical as it’ll put more strain on the small dealers who can actually give good customer service. It’s not good for Hope in the long run, as it’s pissing off the people who actually support their customers.

Unfortunately that’s the way of the world. Manufacturers want to sell what they make. Suppliers want to make a profit on what they sell. Customers want to get the best price possible. Large national chain shops and internet dealers make it too easy for customers to forget about service.

The oil in the lower legs is just there for lubrication, so it’s going to make very little difference if you’ve got a bit too much in there. Better too much than too little.

The toilet seat. Too many pies… 😳

Nick, are you dating his Mum?

Pft! These IT types are useless eh Pinky? 😉

There probably isn’t enough room to fit it in anyway, as the swingarm already runs very close to the seat tube. Not even worth trying to be honest.

Giant are generally very good with warranty claims. Take it to your local stockist, and they’ll sort you out. There’ll generally be a bit of marking on the seatpost where you usually clamp it, so it’ll be obvious that there’s been enough in there, (assuming you’re not telling porkies). If you’re friendly with the shop they’ll often just disregard that anyway, and get the frame warrantied.

If it helps, yes, they should always come with cleats, even when they come with a bike.

Got some from Ribble a couple of weeks ago, and they were in the bottom of the box, (hidden away under a flap). I also bought a spare pair for my other shoes, so maybe they were from your box 😉

Holly is a good option, although it does grow quite fast, and seeds itself all over your garden very easily. Also grows quite fast.

Berberis doesn’t make for a very dense hedge, and fights back like a cornered leopard when you trim it!

Beech. Yew. Laurel. Hawthorn.

Beech: Slow growing, looks great, trim it and it’ll retain (brown) leaves through the winter.

Yew: Very slow growing, but evergreen, easy to trim, and WILL block out your neighbours.

Laurel: Fairly fast growing, but easy to control and evergreen.

Hawthorn: Fairly fast growing, but easy to control. Will be partially see through in winter. Thorns will keep anything bigger than a hedgehog out. Triming will drop said tyre poppers all over the place.

Got all 4 in our garden, and the only one I want rid of is the more prolific hawthorn, but only because it’s not so nice in the winter.

I came very close to ending it all a few years back, when I’d lost all hope, and saw no way of ever being happy or having a normal life again. It was only the thought of what I would be leaving behind that stopped me seeing it through.

😆

How well does it cope with anyone other than the players moving around the room?

There’s still about a foot of snow here, but it’s actually been raining a bit, and starting to melt a bit. More snow due tonight and tomorrow though…

PS. Swelper, where were you on Sunday? I ended up riding round beamish on my own! (for about 10 minutes before going home)

3-4 inches here (north of Durham). Traffic going nowhere. I’m off sledging! 🙂

I’d be more impressed if they could get the forecast right!

Alan Gibson Not local, but happy to travel. Very good photographer, and will basically do whatever sort of shots you want.

How about

“Please feel free to use my towel. BTW, I have herpes”

It might make them think twice, (although they may well avoid you completely…)

It’s just like watching X-Factor…

…Puppets singing karaoke!

God.

Oh no, wait, I meant boobies.

PS. If you can’t fix it with duct tape, you’re not using enough.

Had one as a courtesy car after someone drove into me a couple of years ago. It went well enough, and was fairly efficient, but I found it ridiculously small. Only enough boot space for a couple of shopping bags, and the rear seats were a joke, so only really any use for single people with no mates! 🙂

That must be a really pathetic gun if the bullets didn’t come out the other side!

The chances are it’ll come through either Parcel Farce or Royal Fail, and your tracking number may work as lots of national mailing services seem to use standardised tracking codes these days. As it’s a frame, parcel farce would probably be the best bet to try.

Parcel Farce

Royal Fail

Even then, don’t expect it to say anything other than “Lost in our Nuneaton warehouse” or “Taken home by our operative” 🙄

Have you tried just doing a force close on the internet app? (menu/settings/applications/manage applications/running) You can also clear the data from there, but that will also clear out any bookmarks/saved passwords etc, so back them up first.

Is there any chance you’re picking up a wifi signal with no internet connection? Your phone should default to the wifi signal, so if there’s no connection beyone the router it’ll just sit there and play dead.

TBH it’s more interesting than watching endless repeats of Vince Cable bending over and selling his dignity to the tories, and ensuring that only the rich will be university educated.

The chances are he’s shacked up with some floozie nearby. Once they’ve both exhausted themselves he’ll come trotting back as though nothing’s happened.

Dried apricots?

It will be soon. Orange and T-Mobile are the same company…

"Julian Cook, from Durham, said: "What about a topless nun about to bite into an ice cream Jesus that's nailed to a pair of Flakes with the slogan 'forgive me Lord, but I know exactly what I'm doing'"

😆

Too many pies?

1973?

All you need to do is phone up HMRC, and tell them that you're going to be self employed. They'll start billing you for your NI contributions, and send you a tax return for you to fill in. Your only legal obligation is to keep financial records so you can fill your tax return in. Keep receipts for everything you buy that has anything to do with your business.

It's not compulsory to have any sort of liability insurance, but it's a good idea, as you may deal with an american one day, and he's bound to end up suing you for something trivial.

If you're working from home you should inform your local council planners, and probably your home insurers as well.

From Milburn, go south east to Knock, then turn north eastwards, and follow the road past the "Christian Centre", all the way up the road to the top of Great Dun Fell. Before you get to the golf ball, turn off on the right, to follow the track down Trout Beck, across the Tees, and over the watershed to Tynehead. Follow the track/road all the way down to Garrigill. On the edge of town, double back onto the bridleway for the long climb up to Gregs Hut, then head down the other side into Kirkland. The track is quite vague and boggy in places to start with, but improves as you get further down.

If you really want to punish yourself/stretch the ride, you can cut out the climb to the golf ball, and go straight along to Dufton, and follow the Pennine Way up through High Cup Nick (well worth it for the views), all the way to Cow Green Reservoir. From there, take the footpath (yes, I know, but it's basically a road), north west around Herdship Fell. You can either go all the way along to the road, and down into Garrigill from there, or cut across the moors for about a mile, (not easy, but worth it to avoid the road), and then follow the tyne head track down.

If you're going exploring, check with the MOD before heading onto the tracks above Hilton, as you'll become an artillery target if you go at the wrong time…

I'm sure you could get a very similar hat without the ugly corporate sponsorship for a much more reasonable price!

HTC desire is the obvious one. Does everything a me-phone does, without being as restrictive. Plus you can hold it in whatever hand you like…