I’ve stayed at Hotel Acta Ink606 a couple of times; it’s nice, comfortable/clean/AC etc, without being a fancy-pants luxury hotel and is very handy for most things.

Sagrada Familia (the giant unfinished cathedral) is well worth a visit – just accept you’re going to have to queue – but the rest of the Gaudi stuff, not so much unless you’re a massive fan. Parc Guell is quite nice but I think they’ve started charging for entry.

Go to any one of the Bacoa burger outlets and stuff your face. Absolutely amazing, great value food. http://bacoa.es/en/

A great day trip out is getting the train to Montserrat and hiking up to the top of the mountain. You can get a combined train and rack-rail ticket to the monastery (itself in a pretty cool spot) then do some walks from there.

Get a T-10 travel ticket at the airport as it works out much cheaper than singles. Don’t fall asleep on the metro or in the stations though – we saw some unfortunate drunk/asleep guy getting his pockets and bag emptied on the platform, and it wasn’t even a rough area.

If you get a warm dry evening, get a beer at one of the bars on Placa Reial (recommend the Glaciar bar in the corner) and sit out and enjoy people-watching. It’s off Las Ramblas but is much nicer. Definitely avoid eating or drinking on the Ramblas itself as it’ll be crap and you’ll get ripped off.

The beaches are ok but in my view, nothing that special.

Depends how far is ‘too far’. I don’t know of anything that close to Looe but there’s Tavi Woodlands/Gawton, Lanhydrock and Cardinham easily within 1hr.

That is awesome!
And your five year old takes better photos then you.

Try london, a friend has asked me to look over a couple architects fee quotes – all referred to basing on ‘a recognised scale’ which equated to the old RIBA.

Agreed though, most outside london give fixed price, as mentioned in my earlier post.
I’m in London. They shouldn’t be referring to any kind of ‘recognised scale’ these days – they can get done for that. Must be very old-fashioned practices.

Manifestation requirement applies to non-domestic buildings only. But you’ve got to think about the likelihood of children running into it, visitors etc not being familiar with your house walking into it.

Also try Planet Partitions and IQ Glass for quotes.

“…dont need a twatty architect”
Hey, not all architects are twatty.
I’m working on a few new-build houses at the moment, including redoing one that a plan-drawer knocked up that’s completely useless for the client and would be awful to live in (doesn’t meet the brief, no daylight, no views etc etc etc). To a certain extent, you get what you pay for.

It would be perfectly reasonable for the OP to ask for a fixed lump sum quote for each stage – I know of very few practices still using % charges other than the really old-fashioned ones with foolish clients.

Etymotic. They look pretty similar to those Elacin ones. They make everything sound crisper and clearer – the downside is if you’re surrounded by idiots chatting through the gig, you can hear them very clearly over the music. You can also hear yourself singing along, if that’s your kind of thing.

My S3 was also dying, often almost by lunchtime after an overnight charge. I got one of these http://www.play.com/Mobiles/Mobile/4-/39227308/-/Product.html?ptsl=1&listingid=2749025495 and it’s been much better since. I don’t know how long the battery will last although it looked legit (or was a superb fake) but I’ve only got to get through 6 months till I can upgrade.

Better than the Cobb everyone was recommending over in that other thread? I know it’s a different piece of kit, but if you could only have one…

My springer x collie is very intelligent, but unfortunately obsessed with cows, sheep and rabbits – can’t let him off the lead in a non-confined space as he’d be gone all day chasing them. He’s got no interest in chasing bikes or cars luckily. His favourite trick is to wait silently at a field gate and wait for the cows to come over to him. When they get within about 2m he’ll suddenly jump and bark and send the whole lot stampeding. I guess it’s great fun (and also a sign of a badly trained dog, I know).
He also refuses to play fetch (he just looks at the thrown object with contempt) and can be very possessive over toys. He was well socialised as a pup but was attacked by a pair of larger dogs when he about 2 and ever since, has been really wary around big dogs – he’s fine with smaller ones although he’s a bit cautious of jack russells as one of them has bitten him in the past. It’s weird how they remember traumatic incidents – anyone know how you do PTSD counselling for a dog?

It should come under PD as long as:
– your previous extensions don’t take up more than 50% of the plot around the “original” house (defined as it was pre-1950s)
– the previous planning permissions didn’t include conditions that took away your permitted development rights
– you don’t go forward of the existing front elevation

But the safest option would be to phone the LPA and have a chat about it. Most offer free pre-app advice for householder applications.

Would you be upgrading it to proper internal room condition e.g. heated (and have you already converted the garage)? If not and you’re just chucking a couple of basic walls up it’s no different to putting a shed up in your garden… If it’s unheated and you’re not planning to run any power sockets out to it then you probably won’t even need building control.

I think it might obscure my vision a bit too much if I hang it from the mirror.

It smells amazing. You should do Singletrack car (or bike van) air fresheners that have this smell. Freebie for next month?

Tom – how tall is your wife? That’s the kind of thing I’m vaguely after, but I reckon it’s a bit small – I ride a 17.5 genesis mtb and thought the 54cm was closer to that.

Z2, definitely. Battery life is 2-3 days with fairly heavy use, camera/internet/amazing screen etc. Very jealous of my boyfriend’s Z2, have been trying to work out if I could early upgrade from my S3 but EE want all the money so it’ll have to wait.

^ You’d have to seriously desperate to go the Warren House! Out on a long walk last year and we ended up there in need of sustenance. If anyone saw Jamaica Inn on the BBC…it’s basically like that, but with a generator.

Two Bridges is good, food is great (based on Sunday carvery) but the whole place is extremely traditional! Not particularly ‘cute’. Lots of wood panelling, oil paintings, Range Rovers, black labs etc.

I’ve heard good things about Gidleigh Park too.

Other suggestions: The Elephant’s Nest nr Mary Tavy (western edge).
The Dartmoor Inn, Lydford (north-west).
Hotel Endsleigh (in the Tamar valley, not within the national park, but close, really nice and very classy.

Great decision by Singletrack. Another reason to buy their mag rather than MBUK or similar, where you’re still likely to find the odd female in the ads, draped over some obscure bike components or cheesy clothing.

This: “But it’s hard enough getting women into cycling (and getting them accepted by the male egos there) without this kind of dated “mags lad” video.”

Plus the riding in the film was shite.

Unless you’re in certain local authority areas, there is no ‘change of use’ under planning policy to go from full resi to holiday let. So unless you’ve had to submit a planning app for change of use then I don’t think there’ll be a change of use under building regs either, as it won’t be classed as a commercial property.

However it sounds like it would be sensible anyway to replace the glazing if it’s weak or dangerous.

Looks like it’s a couple of hours away from you, but…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaNBuqSuNqk
😮

I got one a couple of weeks ago from CRC – last year’s model so half-price. Had tried it on previously in one of the chains so I knew it fitted better than the other options I was looking at e.g. Bell.
The build quality on mine is good so maybe Hora got a dodgy one. The fitting system is really robust and secure. The helmet is ridiculously light and the ventilation is much better than it looks, once you’re on the move you can feel the air going over your head (I’m finding it cooler than my old Giro despite that having lots more holes).

I live in London, can confirm it’s a shithole. At least compared to the far southwest where I’m from.

Londoners get a completely skewed attitude towards rent costs etc compared to the rest of the country, and begin to think that £1200+ /mo for a tiny little shitty flat is ‘great value’. Well, it isn’t. And they try to justify it by saying ‘well you get paid more here’ but the wages aren’t proportionately higher enough to make up for it.
Currently paying £1500/mo for a 1 bed in Ealing with £135/mo council tax. The city in general is crowded, filthy and noisy. I find the most depressing thing is how rude and impatient people are – London nurtures an individualistic attitude in folk where they’re happy to trample on other’s heads to get on.

I can’t wait to get out of here in a year or two, and return to somewhere a bit friendlier – ideally in the west somewhere, for better proximity to mountains and decent countryside/coast. I love the cultural aspect, gigs and museums and galleries etc, but I can easily do them as a visitor.

Has anyone done any of the ‘public coaching days’ at UKBikeSkills? Most of the previous reviews/comments seem to be about 1-to-1 coaching.
The jumps and drops focus day sounds exactly like what I need – I’ll chuck myself down a track quite happily, albeit without getting any air, but generally avoid red courses through fear of encountering a ‘giant’ (ie bigger than 1′!) drop-off or similar.

Same as your partner, neilwheel, I find instruction from strangers much easier to take. I also find it helps my confidence if I know how to do something properly rather than trying to wing it, particularly if there’s a chance of injury.

I was looking at these types of helmets recently but found the Poc Trabec had the best fit for my head shape. Got one from CRC, last year’s model so half-price. It’s also amazingly light for the coverage and really well vented, at least when I’m moving.

Those Tick Twister things are great and really effective – picked some up from the vets and they got a lot of use last summer. On one occasion my boyfriend had about 30 ticks liberally distributed from ankles to chest after a day-long walk in fields/woods.

Nice ride out on the lanes on Saturday morning (MTB with semi-slicks, no roadie nonsense) then a trip to Cardinham early on Sunday for a go at the blue route.
We were really impressed by what they’ve done there – I’d say the blue trail (with a couple of optional red bits) is comparable with the Verderers at FoD, but a bit more swoopy and fun, and definitely a lot quieter for a summer weekend.

The Viking musem (Dublinia) is pretty crap apparently, although it might be ok for your children.
I’d say they’re just the right age to enjoy a trip to the Gaol. There aren’t really that many ‘attractions’ as such that I can think of. Book of Kells and a wander around Trinity College might be worthwhile.

You could always get on the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit train that goes right along the coast) and go down to Bray or up to Howth (the posh option) for a seaside day out, get some ice creams etc.

Depending on the age of your kids, Kilmainham Gaol is well worth a look – really interesting and a bit creepy.

Also using Good Energy – no billing problems here, luckily. And they were significantly cheaper than the other options including my last lot, NPower. NPower were completely incompetent and useless, would pay a premium just to avoid them.

a. How warm has it got?
b. Can you microwave it?

Hi Monkeysfeet – trying to find a way to PM you but either I’m being stupid or it’s not possible – I’ve got a fairly new account so maybe I’m not allowed to yet. Any ideas?

Nice, that’s not a bad plan. Got to factor in the cost of getting a towbar fitted though.

Still looking at the Thule stuff above – it’s looking cheapest to get the bars and footpack from eBay (‘Thule Partner Store’), fitting kit from Halfords and carriers from Amazon – should come to about £300.

Does anyone have any recommendations for the cheapest place to get Thule stuff from? I’m looking for 754 Footpack and fitting bits, Aero bars and 2x ProRides – it’s coming out at £335 from Halfords.

The other question is – how bad is it driving in a strong crosswind when you’ve got a couple of bikes upright on the roof?

Even if you’ve stopped the visible leaks, the cellar is going to get a bit damp just through moisture ingress through the walls – as a Victorian property it’s not going to be insulated or properly waterproofed down there.
However, even if you keep it warm you’re still going to need to ventilate it or the humidity will be high. I assume your new window has a trickle vent – I wouldn’t have thought this is enough so would suggest you look at fitting an intermittent extract fan on a timer or as a last resort, use a dehumidifier down there on a regular basis.

I’m 5’7 and get on well with Genesis (currently running a Core 50, 17.5″).

I use an Osprey Quasar 30 – it has a padded pocket for laptops. Indestructible too but you’d need a separate raincover as it’s not included.

That seat…why???

My folks have had a 2001 Berlingo from new, 2.0hdi. It’s coming up to 200k and has had basically nothing go wrong with it, ever. Returns about 55-60mpg typically. The only downside is that the front seats aren’t very comfortable (personal preference though, makes me ache but they like it). It’s possible to put a couple of bikes in it with the back seats down without even taking the front wheels off, but it is much easier if you do.

The 2.0 HDI is nice and torquey as well, fairly nippy for a ‘van’.

I make a batch of these up most weeks: http://www.channel4.com/4food/recipes/chefs/hugh-fearnley-whittingstall/honey-and-peanut-butter-booster-bars
Tend to reduce the sugar content a bit and chuck in some extra honey, dried fruit and nuts/seeds depending on what’s around. The banana version is good but doesn’t keep as long.

Thanks both. The OMM is a bit expensive but might look into the Tubus option.

Beam racks are out, I don’t trust them either and especially not for a pair of heavy-ish bags. The Thule system (Pack n Pedal) looks quite interesting, but would need the side panels – that means the whole lot would be about £120.