no jars at all, always have a ‘taste’ due to the boiling they undergo… buy chimans spice packets from here and trust me its the closest you will get to a restaurant curry (more so if you use ghee).

https://www.freshessential.co.uk/product-category/chimans-spice-blends/

cheap too, one packet split in half makes two very generous meals.

ha! I was going to chime in but jkomo beat me to it, thanks for the recommendation.

anyhow, at risk of emphasising the point, my place…

http://www.littlebeachhouse.co.uk

if you want sea views it looks straight out over the ocean to the surf crashing onto Cowloes reef 100m away, and you are right opposite the lifeboat house which the little ones love if the boat is launced down the slip.

also for little ones there is a lovely sheltered sandy beach directly opposite that even in height of summer is never crowded, or if you want the main beach and the surf its a minute away along the prom.

if you don’t know west cornwall, its a stunning place. quite a bit less touristy than other parts of cornwall, Newquay especially, has a very strong arts culture with loads of great galleries and places to visit, and as well as the beaches there are high moors full of stone circles and iron age villages to explore. stunning road cycling too!

my email is in the profile or the house one is… info A-T littlebeachhouse D-O-T co D-O-T uk

I have had my holiday cottage with airbnb since last November, as well as using my own website.

overall its been quite successful and we’ve definitely had more short stays away from the main season.

I’m not sure why an earlier post thinks the fees are high, I reckon its quite reasonable and definitely a great deal cheaper than a traditional holiday agency (about 30% by the time commission, vat, booking fees etc are factored in).

I like the way you can interact with people coming to stay and get a feel for them, but to get results you need to be on top of pricing and the whole set up is based around single nights whereas our place, and most holiday cottages I know, are worked out on a per week basis with the rate changing weekly especially as the season kicks in.

now here are the negatives…

as a traveller I booked a weekend (ride London) in feb last year. a week before the weekend I had an email saying my booking had been cancelled, I contacted the host and he knew nothing about it so I called airbnb and they admitted that their own system had taken a double booking and thus deleted me. so basically, airbnb can screw up your bookings.

it gets better…

you know all those tabloid stories about people renting places and then throwing massive parties? well, airbnb refunded my holiday fee and then credited me enough cash to get another place to stay but being so close (as in days) to ride London choices were slim. I found a place that turned out to be a room in a shared house. first night was ok. then about tea time on the second night people started arriving, and a lot of people were carrying crates of beer. thus followed, in the second airbnb room in the house, a massive party that was still raging at 4.30am when I had to leave. I am 51 and not puny, but even I was really scared for my safety all night and especially about leaving the house with all these out of control people with an expensive bike by my side. and needless to say I had no sleep that night.

it gets even better…

the very day I got back to cornwall I had an email from airbnb saying that the prime season week in my holiday house that was an airbnb booking for that coming Friday had been cancelled. this time not airbnb but the guest themselves. I actually had no idea they could cancel witout penalty within days of a holiday starting and although I got a last minute booking myself after discounting it heavily I lost hundereds of pounds on a week that I could have let 50 times over.

lesson learnt then so now I use airbnb for off season and I block book out all the weeks I know I can let myself.

mine…

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/13795720

not training per se, but if she hasnt already read it buy ‘what i talk about when i talk about running’ by Murakami.

i watched it for the ssdt content, but really what a berk he is. seriously unfunny imho, verging on the unwatchable for me.

if you want cheap have a look at moremile stuff. i have a long sleeve 1/4 zip that i was given at a race a few years ago and its a really nice bit of kit. good quality material and well thought out design.

seriously why all the sarcastic and scathing remarks?

if you want to give it a go, if you’ve got 50p, 500quid or 50k just try it. if you fail, you are 500 down, if you succeed then well done you tried and it worked.

every business starts somewhere and with something.

i like the genuine sj cams, but beware of many fakes.

the sj2000 is a good one, the wifi version better, but their achillies heel are the side switches that are easily broken when using it in the waterproof case as i found out. very annoying.

my father in law just had me set up a sjcam legend for him and that was a nice bit of kit but more pricey.

to be honest for a 12year old just get a generic hd cam for about 20quid.

i just tried to find the year i did it but got bored looking at posts from many years ago in the hope of seeing a mention, so best guess is 7 or 8 years ago maybe.

but i’m still going, last man standing and all, i was 16st10 when i decided i needed to do something. ive been 12 1/2’ish for a good few years but really knuckled down again this last year and now i’m just flitting around 11st and trying to get down to 10 1/2 but struggling with the last bit.

so in short, the stw fat club one new year really did help me.

advertised a spesh roubaix and ended up with a guy constantly hassling me by text to hire it.

i actually think selling stuff on facebook is worse, the majority of people on there are just pikey beggars after everything (and free delivery) for nowt.

well the update on this is that i did indeed come down with a cold.

however i have swum again a few times since and i really do think that the zoggs noseclips have made a difference, they have more of a round pad than teh speedo and arena ones i’ve used before. i put them on before i go in the water and leave them on until i’m in the poolside shower after.

i really do hate wearing a noseclip but if thats what it takes!

incidently for ears google navy seals surfers ear. you buy a little pipette for a few pence and make a mix of 1/3 vinegar 1/3 surgical spirit 1/3 distilled water, then a few drops after swimming. worked for me when i had ear probs.

OK, normally i really can’t be bothered with all the hassle of adding pics to this forum but seeing as there’s clearly some old skate love on here…

ladies and gents, i give you the first UK made (prior to this bilbo sold the hobie skateboard from the US with their own logo stick on) commercially available skateboard in the UK.

this board was bought from Bilbo in Newquay in 1967.

Note that the wheels were originally painted white to make them look like clay wheels.

I have a leaflet that came with it too but for some reason i cant share the pic.

skatewarehouse do some cracking discount days running up to christmas, sign up for the email…

http://www.skatewarehouse.co.uk/skateboards/complete-skateboards/beginner.html?deck_size=52

here you go, 31″ mid size complete…

http://www.skatewarehouse.co.uk/fracture-broken-series-white-complete-skateboard-7-5.html

other online stores are rollersnakes, routeone etc. i couldnt see much choice below 7.75 width at your budget.

also a complete based on a cheap deck, indy 129 and cheap wheels comes in around 100quid.

AND the big thing here, make sure you also buy him a helmet!

firstly, congratulate your son for choosing a skateboard and not a stupid scooter. tell him from me… ‘good man!’

ok, first question, what sort of skating will he be doing because if its skating in skateparks then you need a different set up to just cruising around the street.

so lets assume the club are teaching him to skate transitions and, for want of a better way to describe it, trick skating. for this you need a conventional looking board, double kick and small hard wheels. but thats the easy bit.

your kids height hugely comes into play but if you say he’s roughly the height of a 10 year old, and definitely with your budget, then you can at a push (pun intended) get away with a regular board in terms of lengtn (about 32″) and wheelbase (about 14.5″). width here will be the key and i’ll come onto that in a sec.

the prob with putting a small kid on a full size board is that the stance becomes too wide, for a younger/smaller kid you really need to look for kids boards and for anyone reading if you can find them darkstar make the best cheap kids completes.

but getting back to full size, the main thing you need to look at is width. decks these days have gone wider, 8.5″ etc but a smaller footed kid needs a narrow deck for control, massively so when they start learning to ollie and then kickflips etc. at the max 7.75 but less if you can for smaller feet. my son is a very good skater, aged 14 uk8 shoes and has only just recently gone to an 8″ deck.

if you are buying a complete you dont need to worry about trick width, but 129 are what you should have, and wheels down around 53mm no more.

i’ll do some links in a sec to completes, but there is a massive world of difference between a cheapo (event at 50-60quid) and a decent board. to be honest you would be better buying a cheap deck, cheap wheels, cheap bearings (skate bearings are just a standard bearing, look on ebay) and some good independent 129 trucks (pop some good soft bushings in, bones hardcore soft ideally) as the trucks will last you for years (my son is riding a ratted out set that i skated myself 10 years ago, they last).

since i stopped drinking coffee, and eating foods with rubbish refined sugar, i’ve gone from a couple of days a week with an all-day mild headache/thick head and very regular nightmare bad migraines (24hrs at least with the worst headache you can imagine and generally throwing up once an hour if not more) to zero and if i do, now very rarely, wake up with a slight headache a couple of annadin and its gone in 20mins.

and now i’m reading that both coffee and sugar (according to a story i read earlier) are actually supposed to be good for me!

i used to work summers then travel in the winter, after 8 or so years of that i figured i should try getting a degree and a job etc (ok, there was one false start in the sequence when just before i decided to get a real job, hated it within a day, and so used to to earn enough cash to beggar off again).

anyhow the long and short is that when i started upon the path i knew that my fall back plan was to go back to what i had been doing, and 30 years later i still could.

its a cliche and a half, the grass is always greener, but i think that is true. escape is a powerful tool, looks idylicc from the other side, but once you step accross its also a very dangerous game to play. ive met many people who have and a lot of them were very lonely.

personally though having read some really good comments on this thread, if you can set yourself up so you can jack it in for 6 months with a safety net to return to, and go do something worthwhile, that helpx looks like it has some good options, and a lot of options just after slave labour, i would.

calling records ‘vinyls’ just about sums it all up really, and the next step is to litter facebook with posts showing an album cover by your set up with ‘now spinning’ typed in the content.

records are lovely on decent kit, but really digital and cd are better with cheap stuff.

if you want to play records and have a ‘budget’ buy used, far better value and quality.

if you want daylight, hope r2.

i needed something with a bit more ooomph recently (for regular on road night running i have a basic alpkit) for a 10mile event on the cliff path to lands end (down here in west cornwall) and it was brilliant. plus you can use it on the bike.

yes its quite a heavy headtorch compared to some but you dont really notice it and for the light it gives its worth the extra weight.

ive had two wb oil boilers, external greenslaves, both, in all honesty, have been really unreliable and both failed within weeks of installation.

however, after my experiences with the first one i had no hesitation in having another this summer. why? because wb own service care is utterly outstanding and after the two years warranty is up their annual service plan i believe offers exceptional value considering that your annual boiler service is included.

autoleads do a 12v powered antenna that discretely sticks to the inside of the windscreen and windscreen frame, brilliant things toensure you get dab coverage. ebay is generally the cheapest but haldfords do them as well.

http://www.autoleads.co.uk/products/dab-antennas-accessories

if you want west cornwall my place is free this weekend…

http://www.littlebeachhouse.co.uk

off season we only charge £75/night for a super late booking, or £90/night booked in advance.

Tell me about airbnb though. i booked a room in stratford for ride london in early march. a week, one whole week, before ride london i had notification it had been cancelled. i got straight onto the host who knew nothing about it. i kicked off at airbnb and they admitted it was their fault and that they had overwritten my booking with another. they refunded me and then gave me something like 150 or 200quid credit and i booked the only room that i could find that also looked half decent.

here comes the good bit… you know thosde tabloid stories you read about people booking airbnb rooms and having all night parties? well fri night was ok, it was a shared house so quiet, but on sat i should have twigged when i heard many people carrying bottles going up the stairs. i joked to my wife when i called her that they would regret it when i had to get up at 4am and that i wouldnt be quiet, which turned out to be quite ironic as the party was still in full swing. so i didnt get any sleep and when i had to leave at 5am to go to the start i was seriously scared about leaving the house with an expensive bike so literally i waited until the hall was empty and legged it. and then i rode 100miles on no sleep, thanks airbnb.

and if that wasnt enough airbnb hassle, the day i got home from london i got an email that an august week booked via airbnb in my house, starting the week after, was cancelled with no penalty. fortunatly i found a latebooking but i still lost hundereds for a week i can book a dozen times over via my own website.

anyhow, i wouldnt take that excuse from them op, shout at them and demand credit. and if you want cornwall give me a shout and i’ll go down and put the heat on for you and make sure the log stove has a nice pile of fuel to buirn whilst you sit watching the surf crash on the reef infront of the house!! ; )

ive done all my stoves myself bar one, i’ll come to that.

the stove manual outweight everything.

dont worry about building regs unless you are planning to sell the house. but do refer to them for installation, as said though, the stove’s instructions outweigh them.

you do not necesarily need a flue liner although every installer will tell you you do. good way of adding more 000 to the invoice.

DO get your flue checked by someone you can trust. it helps that my in law is a sweep, but the danger from co2 in an old leaky flue cannot be stressed enough.

that one installation i didnt do… for my holiday let i obviously needed everything checked off and although i easily could have put in the stove and flue i decided it best (sic) to use an established company.

i am not a hetas qualified installer, but even i could see that when they had finshed and signed it off as safe there were some massive breaches of regs and downright common sense. i’m talking scraps of wood used as chocks in the attic space to wedge the flue pipe amongst other things. threats of legals sorted it but i tell the tale to prove that even when using a ‘professional’ be careful and definitely make sure you have co2 alarms.

ive gone to a zoggs one, after using a speedo and another one (cant remember the brand) over the last two years, which i thought had sorted the prob as its a wider contact area (cheap as chips with amazon prime if anyone is interested) but i started to feel it aftyer last nights swim and today i’m really feeling it – though not as bad as in the past.

all the pharmacist could suggest was a salt water nasal flush at 8quid/bottle, but as i already flush my nose out both in the pool shower straight after then at home i couldnt see the point of.

i’m going to try a piritin next time, hopefully one will be enough to sort the allergy issue but not give me side effects.

the broadband is actually good, 79mbps at the hub which is almost 3 times faster than i got with sky, and a 12month introductory deal. but i hadnt seen that price hike and its no prb for me to cancel in jan and go elsewhere if i can get a fresh deal.

sky really didnt want to know with us, i think its as we had a basic TV package not one with tons of add ons so we wernt regarded as a valuable customer. the sky though was in my wife’s name so i’m thinking i may try in my name as a new customer. blinking pain though is that to get history and discovery, the only two channels i watch, i have to buy the 25quid/month package not the basic 20quid one.

good old fashioned books are looking far more appealing right now.

i like to keep threads tidy in case anyone searching for the same finds it…

bt TV was not so much a disaster but an utter farce.

we went live a week ago today, from moment one we copuld not get the channels we had paid for.

i did a google search and followed the online instructions, nothing.

i then spent over an hour on the phone to a foreign call centre who insisted i did exactly the same again.

when that didnt work i was told that the higher level team would now have to be involved and that they would contact me within 72 hours, also a bt engineer was ordered who would arrive on monday (5 days later).

finding this incredible i phoned multiple times and still no joy. in the meantime the broadband fell way below the guaranteed speed so a new box had to be sent, which it then turned out promptly cancelled the engineers visit.

monday morning, yes you’ve guessed it no higher level team called me, i phoned BT to cancel my subscription. bt however, after being on the phone for well over an hour again, told me that i wasnt allowed to cancel until they had sent out an engineer. i suppose like the one who should have come on monday.

i then had to organise my schedule again so i could be here this morning, the chap came, and basically said there is nothing wrong with your kit its BT who have not activated the service.

gets good now… he called the BT department who can fix it, at roughly 9.10am, and got an automated message saying the department were shut as it wasnt office hours.

he then called another BT department, explained to them what was required, and, he had this on speaker so i could hear, BT told him to report it as a fault on his system and close the file. the engineer very patiently explained that he had dealt with well over 200 instances of this and that it really was a simple thing to sort, BT told him again to close the file.

the engineer then called his manager to ask what to do as he couldn’t believe what BT had said, only to be told to do exactly what BT said.

another 40min phone call for me and BT TV is now cancelled, plus they have got a customer who will now complain about every single drop in broadband speed i get.

in terms of BT Tv itself, content asides, the user interface is awful compared to sky.

as for the super duper most powerful on the market home hub broadband do-dad, in my house the wifi is at best just about equal to an ancient sky router that i was using. certainly the reach is no better.

so yes, i do regret leaving sky TV.

good question, following.

ok, i havnt read the rest of the posts and i’ve seen many similar posts on here. for what its worth then, and without getting into discussions about what constitutes alcoholism etc…

i really do like a drink. i’ve never been a massive drinker but i’m someone who does like a tipple every night. that may be a bottle of wine or a half bottle of scotch. i can’t have one glass but nor do i keep going.

once i did stop drinking for a couple of years and felt good for it. the reason i stopped was that i was getting incredible hangovers very regularly.

3 years ago on jan 1st, about to go into 4th year, i used dry january to stop for a month as i needed a break and i havnt drunk since.

now this isnt a sermon, and believe me it was damn hard work to stop (focus on one day at a time, my trick was to think how good i’d feel next morning), and its still an effort not to drink (it does lessen with time plus i fully know that one glass on a weekend would lead to me starting again), but my point of posting is that, in my experience and for me, it was and is so worth the effort.

apart from being financially better off, fitness/weight much better off, the greatest tying is not being tied to booze and its surprising how much of a grasp it has on your life without you being aware.

thats it really, being sober is cool and its also funny because people who drink just don’t get it and also many many people, when you say i stopped drinking, instantly think you usded to be a wino under the bridge somewhere sucking on a bottle of brasso.

aha, carpenter is acceptable i see. i make wooden surfboards and my business is called stupid wooden toys so that should be fun trying to wing that with my local store.

well thats weird, i replied to this earlier but now its gone…

yes i did ride, but not according to plan. the bike took way longer just to do the basics i wanted (wheel bearings, clean carb, filters etc) and all i managed on the bike, bearing in mind i last rode, i think, in 1990 but it may be ’89, was a few figure 8 on saturday afternoon in a flat field. and yes i was damn worried by how the beta felt.

sun morning, dressed in trials pants many sizes too big that i’ve had since i was 15 (i’m 51) and my 25 year old old enduro helmet (knackered lining, way too big too and long peak) i got the freshly fueld machine out and it wouldnt start.

finally got it going after a good 20mins, i suspsct that i turned the tap onto reserve not off the night before as there was a small fuel puddle in the garage, the very second a horse appeared in my lane and demanded i turn the bike off as it was scaring her horse.

got to the trial as it was starting, went to my first section, novice route, and nearly fell over in shock at how gnarly it was. i very seriously thought i had bitten off more than i could chew by going straight into a trial. but i gave it a go and was stoked to get round in a 3, so knowing it wasnt impossible really looked forward to my next section, another 3 figuring tactical dabs to complete a section rather than try to ride cleaner and risk a 5 were the best plan.

sadly though the bike started to play up and began to die. i could get it running after about 30secs kicking and it would run fine but then die again. tried another section but it stopped on me so called it a day.

i’m thinking that my cleaning the carb and then running the bike has dislodged some old dirt as it really feels like a fuel starvation issue based around the float bowl, so i’m going to order an ultrasonic cleaner and give it a good clean and maybe buy some new parts for the carb.

also want to go over all the electrics, replace the air filter tube (it was split and i’d done a bodge repair to allow me to ride) and pop on a new kill switch as i did read a post where a guy had the same issue and the kill switch was the fault so for 8quid worth trying.

good fun though, utter terror to being really happy, really enjoyed it and raring to go for the next one.. if i can sort the bike.

i grew up riding bikes (trials and enduro) and have had sports bikes on the road, but the sad thing is riding on the road is lethal. i never worried about my ability, i dont want to sound big headed and yes over confidence is the fastest way to come off, but i say it because what scared me was the **** coming round the bend on the wrong side. it did happen to me, thank the stars the car was only just over, but i still took off their wing mirror with my arm it was that close.

i also saw a car spin into the path of the car in front of me once, that really brought home how vulnerable you are.

so if you do ride on the road the best advice is ‘every bastard is out to kill you.’

or get your fussy out on dirt which is what i’ve decided to do and return to.

thats the one bikebouy.

i’m entering the novice class, and yes using the entry as a chance to ride (legally) in the woods more than anything. i also know the woods like the back of my hand as its the bottom of my garden so its not completely unknown terrain.

started doing a service on the bike today so hoping i’ll have it ready for saturday, already wasted a 30mile round trip today by being sold the wrong air filter and have to go back again tomorrow to get the right one.

also discovered the front wheel bearings are way worse than i thought so got to change them as well. the bike has really not been looked after so everything is a bit harder to remove than if it was one of mine, but for what i paid its no biggie and what i expected.

thanks guys i will check them out.

midlifecrashes that is very kind, i have emailed you.

thanks for the link but right now i’m going to settle on what i can find locally just because of the time and cost of fuel involved (sandbach is over 300 miles each way) – unless an utter bargain comes up that is.

i really just want a machine to have a go on again, if i like it i’ll then look for a better bike next year and yes for that i will no doubt have to drive.

i’m down in west cornwall, trials are very easy to find down here and a couple of the clubs have regular practice days. as i say there is even one in the woods below my house sunday after next.

locally there are two beta rev 3 that i know of for sale, no montesa 315 at all which is a shame as if i could find one at the right price i would be very tempted after reading nothing but good reports on them.

I don’t want a new style bike, I want an 80’s ring dinger..

i love the old bikes, i want to get another 70s bultaco at some stage, but i know from when i rode that my armstrong was head and shoulders above the bulto 325 i also had and at the time my mate had just bought o0ne of the first yammie mono and that was another league again, so i just fancy a more modern bike just to see what it can do. thats the interest really.

maybe the biggest prob for me though will be not sneaking into the woods, complete with stream, at the bottom of my garden to play. its perfect for trials and indeed there is an annual one being held in 2 weeks.

They all seem to be similar.

its really cost/ease of servicing i’m wondering about, and things specific to certain makes.

for instance ive heard gas gas are fragile, and i’ve heard beta have issues with flooding carbs and sticking clutches. apparently beta have an odd rear shock too that can be an issue.

same down here nedrapier, trying to find info from a club is like the dark ages of communication. ive even asked on club facebook pages and received no responses, which is crazy as entries are down at events so you would have thought it woyuld be in their interest to encourage people.

and dont even start me on bike shops who once they find out you dont want to spend 5grand on a machine literally walk away from you. had that twice now.

i had a bulto 350 that i sold about 7 years ago, didnt like it as much as my armstrong… that i gave to my cousin and has been sat in his barn for 9 years now at least.

the 315 montesa ive been recommended before, prob is there doesnt seem to be many in cornwall unlike the 3 i mention. i was even offered a lovely one at the weekend for 1000 but in sheffield.

n0b0dy0ftheg0at … genius, hadnt thought of topcashback. thanks.

not wall insulation but my wife took a call back in the summer, one of many we get like it, offering a new boiler. she played along just for fun thinking it was a scam, and about a dozen calls later from them and a site visit we had a whole new oil boiler, the upgraded version of what we had (8 years old) and new improved controls in the house. all for no cost at all. certainly changed my view of these ‘schemes.’