Ignoring the bikes aspect…

Whitsand / Tregantle beach (low tide only) – nice sandy beach, long walk down from the lay-by at the top where you can park though. Good for gentle body boarding if you’ve got kit. Generally if you want to surf and hire kit you need to head to the north coast e.g. Watergate.
Downderry to your west is a bit of a dump, Seaton is ok, but better would be to go to Looe. Really nice walk along the coastpath to Polperro via Talland Bay where you can reward the kids with fish & chips etc.
Going east, Rame Head is nice. Mount Edgcumbe country park is worth a wander – spot the deer, good view of the dockyard if any of you are into navy boats, subs etc. Kingsand and Cawsand are scenic little villages – park there and walk along to Rame Head.

Further west, Fowey is very nice, quite upmarket. Good coast all round basically. Skip Par/St Austell/Carlyon Bay etc, it’s a dump. Also skip Mevagissey. Pentewan has a good beach.

The Eden Project is definitely worth seeing and there’s a fair bit for the kids to do but it isn’t cheap.

You can get the chain ferry from Torpoint over to Plymouth – the Hoe and Barbican are good for a wander, plenty of nice galleries, cafes and ice-cream shops etc. National Marine Aquarium is a bit pricey but would be good for the kids. There’s also a Vue multiplex behind the aquarium but it’s a bit tired -good wet weather option.

GoKarting and Zip Wire here: http://www.adrenalinquarry.co.uk/

So far: one Cat 5e cable, some stones (not sure if he swallowed), lots of garden plants, including geraniums, which I thought were meant to be poisonous. But it’s only been 2.5 weeks so there’s still time. Pretty sure once we can take him out for proper walks everything on the pavements will be fair game, and this being London, the pavements are covered in shite.

Depends where you’re staying – it takes nearly 2 hours to drive the length of the county.

Yes, as the architect not the builder. To a large extent it depends on your LPA and the individual Conservation/Historic Environment Officer – they all vary! Make sure you work proactively with them to get them on your side from the very beginning of the project and it should go smoothly – their default position is to preserve as much as possible but they will listen to arguments about financial viability etc to reach compromises over changes/alterations, as ultimately they would rather the building survived than became completely destroyed/redundant.

It will be a more lengthy and expensive process than working on a non-listed building but if you like the building then it may be well worth it.

Really enjoying this at present:
I’ve also got some 100% Hotel Chocolat lurking at the back of the cupboard but it’s just not as fun to eat as the 85%. As ecksee says, if you go in to a shop they will let you try all sorts of samples so you can work out what you like.

I enjoyed the article about the Lych Way on Dartmoor. Been meaning to walk that for some time…maybe I should ride it instead.

The article in the new magazine is interesting – nice balanced take on it. I’d love to have a go on one of those full-sus beasts (have only ridden a Kalkhoff urban-type bike with little wheels).

A normal Topeak DX fits easily on a Longitude if that’s any help. Supposedly ‘mid-fat’ but it’s very wide at the back.

The one plus Seems to be on sale now, £179 for the 16gb
https://oneplus.net/uk

64gb for £219 too. That and a Tesco 4g Sim for £10.00/month for 1gb looks like the cheapest way of doing things right now.

107wpm
33 keystrokes too many
6 wrong words
Better than 98.72%

First attempt. What do I win? 8)

Second attempt:
115wpm
24 keystrokes too many
4 wrong words (as I realised I could correct them)
Better than 99.33%

The submarine pens near Nantes (St Lazaire) are quite interesting if that’s your sort of thing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Nazaire_submarine_base
I don’t remember the city itself being very nice – quite industrial. Rennes is small but a bit more touristy.

The biggest gap for me is Northumberland and the English coast to the north of Newcastle. The only major city I think I’ve not seen is Leeds, not too upset about that although I would love to go to the Yorkshire dales just above it. Other gaps: Anglesey, the bit of Wales between Aberystwyth and the Brecons (is there actually anything here at all??), the north-east of Scotland above Inverness and all the islands apart from the Outer Hebrides. Also need to explore Northern Ireland – have been over the border to Newry but that’s it, despite having seen a lot of the Republic.
Overall, not a bad effort for someone from the very far SW who generally considers ‘the north’ to begin above a line from Bristol to London!

People who’ve never been to Cornwall – go! You’re missing out. I lived there from the age of 4 to 29 (with the odd gap) and I’m increasingly grateful that I got to grow up there.

On our third working cocker. If you’d like my single piece of grown up advice: buy a couple of these and train it to come to the whistle ASAP (within 3 months of getting him/her) – makes you’re life so much easier.

Thanks for the advice – done.

Well, the new pup is here and settling in well. I’d forgotten how much work a puppy is – we are knackered.

Congratulations! Sounds awesome.

Picking up our new sprocker on Saturday! Pictures will be forthcoming. If you want something really good with young children you should probably go lab or staffie.

I got to drive a friend’s New Holland T7.235 at the weekend! Probably the best day of my life, and I’ve never even been particularly into tractors like some of you evidently are. So Much Fun.

Assuming you’re not in a Conservation Area or similar as you wouldn’t be doing the work under PDR, is the cement board cladding “in keeping” with the rest of the street and unlikely to look out of place? You wouldn’t need permission to change any of your existing elevations to cement cladding so it’s a bit of a daft condition.

Thanks. That first Cannondale is a bargain! My only concern is it’s a 29er – I know this has been covered many many times but is that going to be a bit unwieldy for a very light, 5’4 rider?

You’ve only got about £33 per sq m – not much at all really. If you’ve got to also cover labour out of that (e.g. a decorator/carpet fitter etc) then it won’t go as far as it appears.
What’s the highest priority? Furniture or decoration?

You could get a very good Honda Jazz for £3-5k which will be reliable, decent mpg (1.4 petrol), big enough for your requirements, small enough for the city, easy to drive etc etc.

Make sure you factor in the cost of insurance!

Lots of mentions of this in the press today. Lucy deserves some kind of prize for her valuable efforts in this campaign.

From http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/may/07/memories-of-an-election-empty-barns-the-ed-stone-and-debates-that-recurred-like-cystitis

“Yet given how assiduously politicians courted the coveted children and animals demographics, the defining image of the election can only belong to six-year-old Lucy Howarth, whose reading session with David Cameron produced a photo which gives me hope that this Chosen Child will personally – personally! – deliver us from dead-on-arrival electioneering sometime around the year 2050. Speak for England, Lucy! Or rather, head-desk for the entire nation.”

ITC Sales are good for Dell – they sell cancelled orders etc. Just bought two dell mice from there for about £6 each instead of the £20 on the dell store and have bought PCs before. Check the warranty terms though as they may be less generous than buying direct.

Was the main reason for looking at those houses the cost? Just wondering as I’m surprised by the cost/m2 of those particular companies. For a typical traditional masonry build you’d normally expect between £1100-1500/m2 depending on spec and level of finish. Obviously ground conditions can make a huge difference and are often one of the biggest unknowns.

Sorry for another dog-related post…picking our new sprocker up in just over 3 weeks, can’t wait.

Just wondering if anyone can recommend a puppy book/website etc? Not sure if it’s worth reading up on the latest dog psychology, training advice etc or just getting on with it. And did anyone bother with puppy classes and were they worthwhile?

Hire a bike and pootle around.

Louisiana is well worth it but if you’ve got time on the same day get the train a little bit further up to Kronborg to see the castle and new maritime museum. The restaurant at the Louisiana is good.

56 degrees is a really good restaurant – we went on a Sunday when it’s a fixed price (including drinks) set menu with massive communal tables, not quite sure how it’s set up in the week.

Dog update: we put a deposit on this little guy at the weekend, picking up at the end of the month. He’s a sprocker, we met both parents (family pets, mum=springer, dad=working cocker) and they were nice dogs, both about 16-17kg. I know he’s going to be energetic but it’s going to be great fun. 😀

Beware of some pedigrees as they can be inbread

Whatever dog/donkey we end up with I’m doing this.

Get a Jackshit (jack Russell cross shitzu)

Great plan.

Currently thinking about either a lab x lurcher or labradoodle x norfolk terrier…any views on these? I appreciate random crossbreeds = unpredictable outcomes etc.

I understand the distinction, and I’d obviously much prefer the former (budget allowing).
Is this something you do yourself, or can provide more info on?

It’s unlikely to be as cheap as a brochure house, simply because they’ve got the economics of scale etc for mass production.
Not sure where you are in the country but I’d recommend you have a chat with a local builder or architect about the various options. Something to note is that timber frame isn’t always cheaper than traditional masonry for a one-off house – the main advantage is the time saved on site.

Very common up in Scotland, in fact I’d go as far as to say pretty much everything I’ve seen being built up here is a kit – wooden frame then block work round the outside.

There are different degrees of ‘kit’. What you’re describing could well be bespoke timber frame, put together by a timber frame company for a one-off house. Choosing a house from a brochure or pattern book is at the other end of the scale.
The most obvious, huge flaw with the brochure option is that you’re not going to get a house tailored to context or to your personal requirements. I’m biased as an architect but I’m not a fan! Timber frame yes, pre-fab yes – but not copy-paste brochure houses.

A sprocker a spaniel a lab all dogs that need space and stimulation all day and you have a flat with a small back yard.
yYou honestly should consider a whippet or a lurcher type. A whippet x saluki is a longdog by the way, even more stupid and lazy but would still out walk you.

The ‘flat’ is a bit misleading, I should have said ‘house where the dog will be not allowed upstairs’ because it’s the same thing. Unless you have a dog that is allowed out in the garden all day through a dogflap or something then I don’t see how it’s particularly different…I’d be in all day for fun and games and frequent walks.

Thanks for explaining the lurcher/longdog thing – I wasn’t sure. I do know I definitely don’t want a stupid dog, although I suspect that comes from the saluki side not the whippet. What would be a good type of lurcher x for intelligence?

Being used to chunkier dogs, lurchers always look a bit fragile to me (although I know they’re not)! I also looked after a saluki x whippet for a while but she was the most boring dog I’ve ever met, really quite stupid and very lazy.

Needing a reasonable amount of exercise is good as we’ll do multiple walks/day and long walks at weekends (when it’s old enough). The three-legged dalamation x schnauzer above would be cool but wouldn’t be so good for long days in the hills.

Loving all the photos so far, thanks!

I have to be honest, I’d personally think twice about having a dog in a flat in the city – even one with a garden, but if it suits your personal circumstances and you are confident you are able to exercise it regularly, go for it!

Fair point. I work from home so it would very rarely be left alone. The flat is a ground floor maisonette 1930s place, with just the one set of neighbours above and separate front doors – no communal spaces to worry about. The plan is to get out of London asap anyway so a dog might spur that on, which is fine by me.

I’m in the same situation – my S3 doesn’t last a full day anymore (on its second battery) and crashes all the time for no good reason. It was slow but I deleted all the crap that had built up on it (messages and photos mostly) and that made a huge difference. Running on a sim-only contract while I decide what to do.

Looked at the S5 now which is cheap (21.99 at carphone w) but I’ve been warned off it by EE shop staff. Z3 / Z3 compact looked like the best solution for decent battery etc but now I’m considering the oneplusone. It’d certainly be cheaper in the long run.

The 1948 date is correct (or the date of construction if the property is more recent). PD restricts the total area of any extension(s) to less than 50% of the original 1948 curtilage (i.e. garden area) excluding the original house footprint.

If the proposed extension is between 3 and 6m deep from the original wall of the house then the owners need to get prior approval from the LPA and it will involve neighbour consultation, where you get a chance to object. If it’s under 3m deep then they don’t need prior approval. The height is also restricted to 4m or 3m within 2m of the site boundary.

Have a look at http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/100806_PDforhouseholders_TechnicalGuidance.pdf
particularly pages 15-16.

If you look on the LPA’s website you can search the planning history for their property – if any extensions have been built in the last couple of decades records should come up.

The big problem with e-bikes from a user point of view at least is they totally miss the key benefits of cycling – the endorphins, the dopamine, the calorie-burning and also the mechanical simplicity and freedom from dependence on technology that’s too complex for you to fix when it goes wrong – especially if you’re miles from home…

If you want to drive then drive, if you want to ride a bike then ride a bike. At least e-bikes reduce traffic congestion, carbon monoxide and noise pollution, but with none of the sheer joy of riding a bike…
Brooess, have you ridden an e-bike? Going up hill still requires physical effort even with ‘max assistance’ chosen i.e. it generates endorphins/dopamine/burns calories. Obviously how much work it is depends on the rider’s level of health and fitness. Not fair to say it doesn’t have any of the joy of riding a bike.
Fair point on the mechanical simplicity but there are degrees of reliability on any mechanical system, normal bike or e-bike.

Many people seem to think of e-bikes as essentially mopeds…they’re really not.

She would have had to have given up otherwise due to a medical condition…
I would be happy to see someone along for a ride in these circumstances

See this doesn’t sit well with me, not the eBiking bit, but you* deciding when it is an isn’t acceptable to use them in your company.

Would you be happy if someone with a genuine medical need joined you but didn’t want to tell you (or didn’t say) what the need was? How are is that situation any different to them simply deciding to use an eBike other than in your perception and judgement of them?

Excluding someone from a sociable group ride just because they are riding an eBike doesn’t sound like a very nice thing to do.

Same with the whole shared effort thing, is it a pre-requisite of riding with you that other members of the group must suffer equally, or put in the same effort?

*not you, you, but a theoretical someone in a group.[/quote]
Good post. How is it different from saying that you wouldn’t go for a walk in a group with somebody in a wheelchair, that they should only go out with other people in wheelchairs?

Netipot or sterimar, sometimes beconase/other nasal steroids. Decongestants only for very rare usage before a flight or public speaking or something like that.

Is Sterimar any more effective than flushing with salt water you’ve mixed up yourself?