Ikea is truly excellent at what it aims to do. That is, cheap or very cheap furniture that looks good and can make a nice house. Without Ikea we’d be having MFI or orange varnished pine stuff (puke)

But Molgrips – you’ve fallen into the trap.

Ikea make awful furniture. But they market the Ikea experience well, so we buy it. It doesn’t make houses look nice – it makes them look cheap and gawdy.

People that shop in Ikea also decorate their houses with massive patterned wall paper on ‘feature’ walls. What’s happening is you’re all confusing STYLE with the nonsense you see on day time telly where they makeover some nasty hovel for 50p.

Posts like this make me thankful that the furniture came with my caravan.

I’ve just checked the JL website – theres a Homeware section, a Furniture section, a Clothing section – but sadly no caravan section.

Sorry – you’ll have to continue being un stylish.

I dont understand why you dont get it made

I do 🙂

I have some lovely bespoke pieces in the house. It’s just that sometimes there are also lovely things available in shops. It’s nice to use someone elses creative genius to design things occassionally 😉

But most of my stuff is Habitat, does that make me lower class?

Habitat it s difficult one Al. Some of the PROPER Conran designed stuff is very good. I have some habitat furniture for instance.

But for the most it’s just tat resting on Conrans name as a designer. They do (did) at least used to make solid furniture – but for me it was often too far imbalanced on form v function.

As for whether you’re lower class or not – if you have to ask……

In production by Ikea for 35 years, based on a 1938 design……

So not an Ikea design then?

Ikea really is the closest thing to hell we have on Earth at the moment. Hideous places filled with awfully made and awful looking tat that just sells becuase the prollies have been brainwashed into thinking something called Gzyjqdit is fashionable.

I loathe the places. They’re always full of the hopeful poor trundling around in their nasty leisure wear buying huge boxes of flat pack crap that they’ll barely manage to shoehorn into their nasty Rovers.

It really is a truly unpleasant shopping experience.

JL stuff is IMO pretty naff & bland for those without much original taste.

Al, don’t confuse bland with timeless.

I appreciate that some of the lower classes prefer statement furniture – so owning a lime green rocking chair with revolving neon lights in the arms may be appealling.

I prefer a more subdued and classic look – and it’s difficult to get such a look from catalogue furniture made from plastic and chrome.

I thought most people on here were chimeras – 40% troll, 40% IT worker, 5% idiot, 5% biker?

Cool 🙂

I’m really looking forward to it. It’ll be nice to go back and do some competitive riding again.

Dancake – the lodger has gone. He was only ever a temporary measure.

And I’ve fumigated his room to remove any smell of halitosis.

Delivery was awesome; I picked it up from Argos myself

I didn’t even know Argos sold furniture. I’m shuddering at the thought of what their stuff is like…..

I don’t see my JL stuff as expensive – it’s an investment. I expect the furniture to last a long time and still look good. Ikea and (shudders) Argos I’d expect to be a short term fix – kind of a two year cycle of watching it go tatty and fall apart (which probably ties in with the 2 year, interest free, buy now pay nothing till december offers the rubbish is sold with).

Look – it’s a question of style and taste, and we can’t all have both of those.

Elzorillo – whilst I’m sure you are happy with your chair I’m sure a nice JL one would be better.

Ikea stuff doesn’t feel nice, it doesn’t smell nice, it doesn’t have that lovely aesthetic appeal that decent furniture does (but then people that shop in Ikea aren’t generally aesthetically pleasing either).

I think Ikea is Andy Warhol furniture – it’s good, but it soon ages and goes out of style.

Well made furniture can last a lifetime.

MSP – even if that were true (and it ain’t) I wouldn’t mind as it keeps me away from the foul odoured plebs that hang around Ikea at the weekends buying nasty tat for their nasty houses.

John Lewis is a much nicer shopping experience.

However, the furniture delivered today is made of wood – real wood. Not that crappy cardboardy nonsense that most of Ikeas offerings are made of.

I’m proud that I have no Ikea furniture in my house anywhere. It just looks – well – cheap….

I did my first ever XC race on an unbranded bike with plastic brakes and flexy cranks. I came last 🙂

I’m not so hung up on having winning equipment – just more wondered what people were actually riding. I appreciate my Patriot is probably going to look very out of place – but it’s the most sensible bike I own…..

Enduro:Endurance – they were called Enduros back when I did them last (and still are according to the organisers……). I do mean long XC races.

I just wanted to make sure that turning up in lycra wasn’t going to traumatise any children or ladies – and it sounds like I, at least, won’t be the only one making eyes bleed.

Last enduro-ance style race I did was SITS back in 2003 so I am out of the habit somewhat. Not planning on much but I want to finish, and I want to feel I did my best – it’s a very personal target for this first event.

Thanks for the replies.

Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction
Wolverhampton Poly

Many, many, many years ago……

I think it’s good people flash to make you slow down.

If they didn’t I’d get speeding points and eventually banned. Then I’d have to speed as well as driving whilst disqualified.

It’s a public service!

Errrr, how is that then? A proper house price crash would bring about massive improvement in affordability. That should get the housing market moving again

Apart from the fact no one would move if everyone was stuck in negative equity……

Houses are still affordable. As said well above – people need to adjust expectations – my first house was a two bed mid terrace and I thought I was doing well!

Dogs smell.

Cats are thick.

So they’re not a substitute for humans as most people are both smelly and thick.

I have a rock with a face painted on it for a pet.

I get the idea that it’s copyright. But on YouTube there’s loads of crap that is just the music with some awful pastiche of pictures or lyrics. Essentially it gives access to the entire track do I can understand why people might feel aggrieved.

But I was careful and followed the YouTube rules. Snippets of tracks and no way of stringing anything together and they just plainly refused to upload it.

Am I just unlucky.

You do look very rigid. There’s a teeny jump at the start that you look to land oddly.

Maybe you’re thinking too much about the manoeuvre rather than just enjoying the trail?

But who cares. If you want to improve go see a coach. If you enjoy what you do – keep going it.

The garage has a double socket and two lights. That’s all. So I was guessing 20 myself. Just wanted to be sure.

All you can do is bring a grievance against your boss for unfair treatment.

These get listened to, and fairly dealt with. HOWEVER, if it’s not upheld your boss can bring one against you for trying to undermine him.

Ask for feedback. If you don’t trust your boss ask HR for feedback.

Other than that accept that perhaps qualifications aren’t everything and there’s something you need to work on (or you have bad breath, smell, look strange, etc.).

Life is only fair when it’s going your way……

No – you’re not entitled to ask.

You are only entitled to ask if you are at risk of redundancy, and then you can only ask for your scores.

But entitled to ask doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask. Request some feedback – qualifications aren’t everything and there may be something you need to work on.

I’ve just gone through similar. The feedback I got was people didn’t like my old boss and that makes me somehow tainted….. Not impressed with that feedback in the slightest.

Aaaahhh, memories of yooof.

I used to do a lot of urban biking in both Bracknell and Milton Keynes. It was a great way of keeping biking over the winter without needing to wash the bike.

MK has some decent runs down various steps and drops off walls.

I have also built a skinny in the back garden once – just to practice norf shore balancing. And I also made a couple of wooden ramps that we used to take to Tescos car park and practice jumping.

I go on the basis that bike skills can be learnt and honed anywhere – not just on the trail. And lazy night rides around city centres can be great fun.

Ta 🙂

Yep. I didn’t believe such trails existed. I’m still not sure how we went down all night without ever climbing back up!!

It was great to see you again.

Band: AC/DC
Artist: Seasick Steve

TSY – that certainly smells like what he has been doing. Either that or he’s brushing his teeth with dog poo each morning.

It’s fair to say I’ve been burning a lot of incense while he’s been here – I couldn’t work out what it was at first, but then I got a whiff. It just seems to be a problem first thing in the morning.

I’ll go and put some mints on his pillow.

A tea tray is a truly civilised thing. Nothing better then when I’m working (ahem) at home – I load up a tray with:-

Cup
Glass of juice
Teapot (another truly civilised item)
Brekkie bowl

And then I can sit happily nomming away with a nice level area to put my breakfast.

Only heathens wouldn’t use or own such a thing.

It just makes me think of Mars bars…..

I can only assume the chef isn’t very succesful at cooking and has scraped his last few quid together to pay for hefty life insurance on the walrus.

My 2002 Patriot which is still my main bike agrees 🙂

No, that’s quite different to a fat bike. This guy knows[/u] he looks an idiot riding it….

Surely a bike with a beard that likes reading a good book in a pub whilst drinking a pint of Monks wee would be the most STW bike?

Oh, and it would have to be a bike that disagreed with everyone.

Wasn’t that from Red dwarf or summit?

Yes, Bodyswap. Not that I’m a Dwarfer or owt….

My neighbours pooch does this. Well it’s not her dog, it’s her sons. It stands in the window barking it’s head off everytime I walk past.

It is annoying – but it’s not that annoying as it stops when I’m out of sight. To be honest it sounds like you have issues with your neighbour and this is just a trigger point.

But – if you want to do something about it then wait until they’re watching telly and go and fettle your bike outside the window. It’ll soon become their noise problem then…..

I’ve got a crappy air rifle which I’d like to replace. Mainly I shoot pigeons and my current rifle just seems to annoy them (they are Stevenage pigeons, so pretty hard).

I’d quite like something suitable for dispatching them simply and effectively. Any ideas?*

* – preferably limited to ideas about air guns……

Hmmmm, I could quite fancy a spin around Swinley again – haven’t been there in ages.

Thanks RubberDuck – I’ve emailed you.

Master Jedi – I’d love to hook up but I’ve plans for tonight (involving beer).

Email is in the profile if you’re going again at any point – but – would I need lights? (cos I don’t have any).

It’d be nice to see you again anyway.

And Chicksands is great (agreed) and I ride Woburn quite a lot anyway. I’d just like somewhere in easier reach (and preferably on bike). I know – I want the moon on a stick……

Senorj – “Rad” isn’t the main desire. As a for instance, on Sunday I bimbled out from the south of Stevenage, up past the crem, then picked up some singletrack from the top of Datchworth to Bramfield. Now in there I’ve found two bits of singletrack – that’s all. Then took the road across towards Bulls Green(?) and then went down a nice track towards Mardley before going back home via Old Knebworth Road.

It was a nice ride – but it’s all bridleway (or quiet road) bashing and it’d be nice to have some singletrack to link the bridleways together.

Anymore rides that Sunday and I’ll be selling my FS bike and buying a rigid 29er…..