Similar problem last year, my combi pipe came out of the wall 90o bend then drops about 2000mm onto the garage roof another90o bend and a 3000mm section lying on the garage roof then drips into the garage gutter. Pipe froze solid because it was lying submerged in the garage roof snow.
I just disconnected the pipe as it met the garage roof, insulated the piece from the outlet down to the roof – job done.

Clinuque Happy for me – like the fresh orangey smell.

Having been brought up in West central Scotland with it’s rampant bigotry and racism i think sometimes it’s just ignorance through a small town upbringing, or it might be caused by something they had to deal with growing up. I used to think i was racist and caused quite a lot of mischief in our local asian shop, faught gypsy type travellers etc.

I am now due to be married to a lovelly asian woman and have mellowed a lot over the years. The issue has now been reversed and we are given a lot of evil looks and comments are made to my future missus. There are plenty of areas in Birmingham we can’t go to because she is of pakistani origin and i’m white.

Hundreds of years of culture won’t change regardless of social integration.

Roast leg of Welsh lamb
roasted sweet potatoes
roasted potatoes
roast carrots
roast shallots
roast onions

chocolate choux buns for afters.

All will be ready for when the missus gets back from work.

Northampton is Southern territory – South of Watford Gap?

Ginger and knowingly growing a beard -hhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmm – strange 8O

I don’t have any particular type of photography in mind – just like to take photo’s when i’m out and about.
Spent 3 1/2 hours over Cannock Chase yesterday watching big deer rutting, weekend before around the Lake District, always like to try and get photo’s at British superbikes, Moto GP etc.
Like to try and get close ups of flowers, plants etc.

So i know i will need a few lenses – probably buy a two lens kit, then buy others as finances allow.

V – don’t really know, just popped into Jessops and had a quick shuffty at these two. Dont want anything too bulky, both of these looked pretty similar in spec and price – wanted a camera i could add a few lenses to over time.

Want a camera i may actually learn to use over a period of time, but point and shoot most of the time.

Plenty of young women / girls wearing them around Chester on Saturday – look gash to me :roll: Sure they aren't concerned what amiddle aged guy thinks about their looks though!

20 or so years is a hell of a long time – i would advise him to take a few days or even a weeks refresher training. Get out there with an instructor on hios own for a couple of days, maybe evn get the instructor to put him through a bit of a mock test to see how he rates him.
Bet his neck, knees and wrists will give him a lot of grief for the first few weeks, might actually make him think about getting something a bit more upright.
Surprised he can get insurance without building up a few years NCB.
Does he know any other riders in the area, would be usefull if he could ride out with one of the sensible lads who won't try and show off or get him trying to race other bikes too quickly.

We are finishing at Tynemouth, not Sunderland

ta

Ton – try discount cycles direct, they are showing Altura Night Vision Evo for &67.39, this is the cheapest price i could find in the UK. They show the three colour options in XXXL as being in stock.
Mines(Medium size) was delivered today after i ordered on Sunday night.

My solution relise on there being an outside part of the extractor fan which will lead to the open air, if it's an extractor hood then the wee blighters will be flying around the kitchen, so leave an outside door or window open. Cynic-al, i'm a non-smoker, but would like to think of this as a safe method 8O

Just e-mailed you a couple of pics – i don't know how to post them!

Cover the extractor with a bit if cotton or similar on the inside.
Go to tobaconist and buy a pipe and aromatic tobacco.
Fill pipe with tobacco, light, then puff smoke towrds the extractor – simple.

Konabunny – i got two sets of moulded ear plugs made for me, both with different inserts. TBH i don't rate them that much, i prefer the disposable foam ones most of the time.
Think the bespoke ones cost about £100 a set and they are only good for about 3 or 4 years due to the changing physiology of the ear canal.

OP – if you are on motorways or dual carriageways,as most have said a mid capacity Jap bike would be easiest to buy, maintain and sell. Half fairing for the pissy wet days, good set of waterproofs, boots, gloves etc.
Helmet is a very personal thing, try before you buy, but 2 minutes in the shop is different from an hour or so on the bike. I alternate between my Soei's and Arai.
Gloves will take a few weeks to break in, and usually rub across the knuckles where the armour is – this willease off after a bit.
Boots – some don't like race rep type boots to begin with, but they are the best thing to have on if you are unlucky enough to come off – i've just bought a new pair of TCX RS Comp boots, hated them for the first two weeks and was going to go back to my Sidi Vertabrae's, but persevered and now they are broken in they are superb.
Back protectors – me and the missus use Halvarsson / Force Field / Oddel davis stuff – not cheap but the best in impact energy transfer testing, and comfy when worn in.
I use armoured jeans most of the time i ride, again Halvarsson with their armour in the knees and hips, the quality of their jeans is far superior to the likes of RST, Arlen Ness, Bering etc.

Gillette vibro razor really dragged on my skin – threw it in the bin after 3 shaves. tried a few of the vibro ones and they just don't agree with me.
King Of Shaves AZOR system has given me the best shave in my 30 years of shaving, real smooth and doesn't burn the skin.

Think there are a mixture of bikes going – probably go on the mountain bike as my back gives me grief after 30-40miles on the road bike. Think i will need to get a few consecutive day rides in to suss out my fitness levels!
Thanks for the info Rootes, just hope it's nice and sunny when we do it.

I'm currently working on the Dudley council housing modernisation scheme – most areas of Cannock are better than Dudley.

Give me a call if you are coming over to have a shufty around.

Hi Limy – i live in Huntington about a mile from the centre of Cannock. When i was looking to move to this area all the estate agents advised me not to move to Huntington as it was rough as arseholes, that was 10 years ago.
I couldn't afford any of houses i had been looking at and decided to go ahead with the move to Huntington.
The Cannock area (generalisation) is made up of quite a few areas like huntington, Hednesford, Heath Hayes, Chadsmoor, Rumer Hill etc. As a historical mining area it has a few rough estates and a few nice areas.
I have had absolutley no problems in my 10 years here, although like any town there are estates to avoid buying in.
Areas to buy will be budget dependant, if you are quite well off you could try Shoal Hill, if less well off there are plenty of houses around.
The wee estate i live on is quiet, my house backs onto Shoal Common and i can see Cannock Chase when looking out of the front windows, town centre is a mile away with a mixture of pubs for most types. Chadsmoor about a mile away is good for curry houses, Stafford, Woverhampton, Birmingham etc are all easily accesable for decent shopping.

Lots of places have bad reputations, mostly founded on infighting amongst local eejits. There are some local issues such as drug use, occassinal burglaries, boy racers – but i have to say it is a lot less of an issue than areas i have lived in previously such as Linwood, Paisley, Hounslow, Hammersmith, Ramsgate, Sheffield, Woolwich, Daventry etc

Where are you moving from?

If you want to visit the area for a few hours i can show you around and give you a bit of info on the area.

I certainly don't regret moving here, my missus moved in about 18 months ago from Solihull and she rely likes the area.

If you want a chat give me a call on 07817307518.

Motorbike wise – the Aprilia cube was pure evil sounding in the flesh.
Remeber lying with alcohol poisoning and sunstroke at Donnington, the sound was like no other bike on the track – oh how i want one of them for my garage.

Just confirmed as going – mix up with paperwork etc means i will be signing up tomorrow as part of a 3 man team. Don't know my number yet.
Any particular point you a photographing from, or do you wander around?

Where are you based, i know a few lads who work around Cannock.
Is it flat pack type or real wood?
The fitters i know are currently on local authority decent home contracts and are fitting 2 kitchens a day. So they have plenty of practice.

If you need any info give me a bell on 07817 307 518.

We are going by motorbike in June / July – motrbike rider and pillion with a wee cabin each way works out at £541.40 return, and this included an early booking 10% discount. Not cheap, but considering the day's ride each way and tyre wear on a bike( rear tyre lasts about 3000 miles!!)it probably works out about the same cost. We wanted to be relaxed when we get to the Pico's, then Pyreneese.

Mate ran inot the back of us last year – cracked the outer exhaust casing and dented the exhaust heatshield – bike was returned today £2349.65, and that was just the outside of the exhaust that was damaged, not the main can!!

Single seater is a very raw mechanical experience compared to the others, you will be encouraged to go as fast as you safely can. Maybe even get the back to step out a bit in the dry, your neck will probably start to feel a bit sore after about 5 laps if you are pushing it.
Noisy, improbably stiff clutch, horendous gearbox, trigger switch brakes, no space to move – you get the impression that you are driving at a ridicilous speed and will think you will be offered a professional driving job at the end of it. Snigger as you outbrake Porsche Turbo's and Ferrari's (if it's dry)

Enjoy

Couldn't you have ridden down with the P/X then ride the new Trumpet home. Would have been run in by the time you got home :P

Doc said my other risk factors were low – non smoker, regular exercise, normal weight, infrequent drinker, no hereditary issues.

Looks like the Cheltenham Trumpet shop, mate bought a Speed Triple and Daytona675 from them last year.

Cholestrol was the reason – bad cholestrol is usually around 3, mines was 4.2.

Long time ago i was ina shyte job, hated the peoplr there, the hours, the travelling etc – was in a major rut and getting myself into a lot of illegal stuff.
Jacked it in and went to a kibbutz for a year – opened my eyes up to other cultures and loads of people from all around the world. it forced me to re-evaluate what i had been doing.
was offered the opertunity to stay in Israel and take up citezinship, but i went back to Scotland for a while to see if things would work out – they didn't. I ended up dealing again, so packed it in and fekked off to London one day with all i could take in a car.
22 Years later, i live in the Midlands, have about 6 years left on the mortgage, have no money in the bank, have 3 motorbikes, 2 road bikes, 3 mountain bikes, a mental cat, and a lovely wife to be.
Best thing i done was move and break the chains that were dragging me down.

Construction industry is very tough at the moment, lots of contractors going out of business, contractors desperate to get work are tendering at stupidly low levels. I used to do lane rental jobs, 7 days a week, 14-18plus hours per day – that was tough,no idea what day or week it was – just work, nap, eat, work.
If the job is that bad – leave if you can. What is it you do?

Lucky you – have only read reports on them and everyone has been exceptional. Probably the only Beemer i like the look of apart from the HP2.

Enjoy, and here's hoping for a long dry, sunny spring and summer – apart from the 2 weeks when i'm in the Pyrenees on my Fazer :twisted:

Am currently remotley involved with a subsidence issue in Dudley.
Carrilion Engineering Services say it's caused by faulty drainage.
Dudley MBC Engineer says it's not.
Specialist structural engineer says it's caused by failure of cavity void.

One wants butressing.
One wants underpinning.
One wants wal stitching.

Would't want to try and get insurance or future sale in this type of property.

One of my work colleagues bought a flat in Walsall with subsidence about 4 years ago – can't even get anyone through the door to have alook at it now that he wants to sell.

me aching piles

http://www.seanndruimcottage.com

I have been here 3 times in the last 3 years, and will be going again.
It's my annual unwind, getting away from work hassles, gridlock on the M6,road rage etc.
Me and my mate head up there and chill out with hill walking, bit of cycling, coal fire, couple of bottles of malt, good home made food and masses of fresh air.
Cottage is a couple of minutes from the sea, surrounded by cliffs to the NE and a natural harbour / inlet straight down the wee road – caught some fresh fish for our tea a couple of times. Nice road ride via Hungladder ( watch out for the big cows in the road, stop off at Flora McDonalds grave)down toward Uig, then over the climb towards the Quiraing car park. Blast down the hill then go into St Columba in Dtaffin for refreshments. Nice coastal and forsetry walk from Orbost out to the headland with sea pillars at the end where we sat watching a pair of sea eagles while munching sandwiches, chocolate and mugs of tea, then up to Dunvegan Castle for the touristy bit por some cake from the wee bakery.
Elgol to camasunary is a stunning walk along a reasonable high level coastal path.
Sligachan to just above Loch Coruisk is a reasonably flat walk, with a bit of a rise towards the Coruisk end – right through the Cullins with more stunning views.

Cottage has a wee kitchen diner with all you need for self catering. Lounge with coal / wood fire, little sun room, bathroom and a double bedroom and room with two single beds.
Utility room with washing machine and oil filled boiler which dries all wet clothing, boots etc overnight.
An outside garage/ store where bikes can be kept – up this part of the world doors are left unlocked. the cottage is beside a small holding on the end of a wee road, so no passing traffic or noise.

If you want any more info let me know. I have loads of photo', but don't know how to post.

My missus had it done just over ayear ago, her eyesight was rubbish. One of the reasons she got it done was because every time we went walking and i pointed things out to her, she couldn't see them.

Now she points out things to me that i struggle to see, so genuine improvement.
After the op she was in a fair bit of pain and a lot of discomfort fro quite a while, now absolute sound :D
She paid about £4000.

Mates gearbox went after 5000 miles on his Trumpet 955 :x
Newer ones seem very reliable.

Hhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmm – Puma,hairspray in the glove box, wrong tyres – certainly terminal 8O

Had a 1.9TDI Sport as a company car for 3 years, averaged about 35,000 miles per year. Not one singlr fault in that time.
Spec is OK.
Build quality was faultless.
Average fuel consumption was between 45 – 55mpg, and i'm a bit of a fast driver – lots of my driving was through mid and north Wales, so lots of overtaking tractors, milk wagons etc.
torque is good for general use.

Eats quite a few front tyres though – probably my driving style :oops:

Missus's home made spicy ochra lamb with thinly sliced fried potatoe, couple of nan breads – MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Forgot to say, there were some cracking deals on Triumph bike gear at the NEC bike show, so hopefully they will be available for you to try at London bike show. Triumph gear is real good quality, Italian made leather very well put together – seen it in action sliding along the finest abrasive Welsh roads in July, with only slight scuffing – seams and leather fully intact. Bike show prices were 50-60% off RRP. My Missus bought 3 Triumph jackets after witnessing her mate crashing in them.