Ryanair’s baggage handlers (at Stansted) are on strike this weekend, and they are saying that it’s possible that they will only be allowing hand luggage.

No doubt in that case they will be weighing everyone’s bags to make a few extra £.

WHat do you reckon, you pay (£60) for hold luggage and they tell you that you can’t take it on the plane, then they charge you extra for your hand luggage because you tried to fit everything into it?
I wouldn’t put it past them.

I’m flying with Ryanair from Stansted tomorrow. Can’t wait.

Weirdest troll ever.

Might be handy for removing snake oil.

I lost my dad a couple of years back, took a few days off before he died, and went back to work almost straight after.

I didn’t want to sit around at home dwelling on it, but i was usleless at work too. Had red eyes every day for the first week and spent a lot of time hiding away in a toilet cubicle. My choice mind, my employers were great.

I wouldn’t have wanted to be trying to teach kids in that state though.

It’s taken me all this time to start to feel better about it all, so my thoughts are with you OP.

I don’t think they’ve sent them yet have they?
Mine haven’t arrived anyway…

Great link HH, thanks.

Whatever happened to Johnny Ball anyway?

If you want a scientific approach, then you need to get 12 year olds to read the book and tell you what they think.

I’m with DD on this one. Having had (only) a “look inside” it doesn’t srike me as being able to even hold a child’s attention, let alone capture their imagination.

Having said that, Dawkins does my nut in a bit anyway (and I’m a scientist and atheist.)

We went to Thailand last September for our homeymoon, had three days in Bangkok and a week on Koh Samui.

I wasn’t too fussed about going to Bangkok, I don’t really like city breaks, prefer tranquility etc, and when we first arrived (jetlagged and tired) I hated it. Noisy, smelly, so busy. It really grew on me though, and in retrospect I think I prefered Bangkok to Koh Samui. It’s hard to explain why, but I have friends that have had a very similar experience.

I would strongly recommend “cooking with poo” (google it) as something to do whilst in Bangkok. She’s amazing, and you get a glimpse of the real world that you so rarely get on holidays.

As for the rainy season thing, we had a bit of rain in Bangkok, but very little in Koh Samui, apparently it’s not so rainy there in September (more so in Phuket though.)

We found Koh Samui to be fairly touristy and a bit grubby, not quite the tropical island that we (naively) expected. It was still a great holiday though.

HTH.

Ever seen that episode of Friends where Rachael’s dad takes Ross and Rachael out for dinner, and Ross contributes to the tip?

I would expect whoever took me out for dinner to be offended if all I did was chuck in a couple of quid to bump the tip up.

Some folk get upset about the smallest stuff…

Has anyone mentioned star anise yet?
Superb addition to anything involving beef. Especially chilli.

Bloody lovely stuff isn’t it.

I found some growing on the side of a bridlepath (must have been dumped there I reckon) and so that has fed us for the last couple of years while we waited for ours.

Yours will be worth the wait…

Stoner, you still have replant the crowns when you grow from seed.

Edit: You probably know that. I think I misunderstood what you meant.

I started some asparagus from seed three years ago. Little spears are just poking through now, so may get a first tasting of them this weekend.

Got first earlies and various seeds in (salad, carrots, beetroot, celeriac etc) and tomatoes and chillis potted on ready for a good long season. Basil and coriander started off too.

Happy days.

Tut tut, I doubt any of you will be watching Gardner’s World tonight either…

Did mine last weekend.

If you don’t keep on top of it, you risk it getting so long that it won’t dry properly.

Your mower won’t like long wet grass.

Besides, what’s the harm?

In the hope of some nice weather this summer.
(I know, the garden needs a tidy up.)

It’s just another of organised religion’s death throes.

I get occasional phishing from “paypal,” they generally start with “dear paypal customer” and end with something along the lines of “log on via this link to chek your account.”

I delete them, and find myself stressing because I know that my mum would probably have fallen for it.

I don’t know which I’d believe more, that rich people are greedy or that the media will sensationalise anything in order to sell papers.

I cut it very carefully with a fine saw, then tidied it up with a sharp knife and painted it with the emulsion I used on the wall.

The gap is only a couple of mm all round, so you don’t notice the lack of finish.

I was originally planning to use some sort of trim round it, but decided against it, because it would have lost the “clean” look that it has.

It’s a bit of a trade-off though, if I’m honest.

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+1 for a dog picture here.

Edit. Damn, I thought I’d done that right.

Edit2. Still not right, but you get the idea.

I don’t have a photo, but I fixed mine to the wall and then built a stud wall level with the screen, so the TV is effectively built into the wall. I built a couple of shelves into it to hold dvd player etc.

All the wires are behind the plasterboard, and the TV’s on a mount that allows it to be pulled out of the wall in order to get round the back of it.

It looks lovely and neat, but it was quite a bit of work.

Thanks guys.
I will be able to sleep tonight now!

molgrips, my next question was going to be whether a red led would be more efficient than a white led behind a red filter (or whether red leds were in fact just white leds with a red lens.)

I guess you’ve already answered that one too.

😀

Redthunder i reckon your yellow wagtail might be a grey wagtail.
Nice drawing though!

Favourites recently were a Red Kite last weekend, scavenging aside the M11, and a Nuthatch a couple of weeks prior. Hadn’t seen a Nuthatch for years…

Back in December I saw a Great Grey Shrike atop a bush when I was out fishing.

There are loads of Little Egrets round our way these days, I love those. They were rare back when I was into birds.

nearly everyone fades at the end.

I was still buzzing when he wrapped up, I didn’t want to stop.
Flaked as soon as I got home though.

Great day.

surely when you three years are up you’ll shop around and get another deal?

In doing so you pay off the 30k, so your new mortgage is 110k.

As mentioned above, you could perhaps overpay some before the three years are up? If so you’ll save a little of the interest you would have otherwise paid.

Edit: wow, i must type slow.

willard I don’t know you, but i know you deserve better.

I sold my half to my sister, in a similar situation. I don’t believe we paid any stamp duty.

Solicitor did it all for us though, while he was sorting everything else out.

I was in a state at the time too, and perhaps don’t remember it ight.

We have regular Jays that have worked out how to hang off a peanut feeder. Clever buggers.

Thank you.

BTW I did exactly this when I was a kid. I wasn’t paying attention. I can’t see there ever being any other reason than that.

What’s a SMIDSY?
Edit: Googled it. IGMC.

Nothing wrong with having separate interests, I for one will be keeping Bikes just for me

amen.

I’ve used them twice.

Lack of sleep has been a mild inconvenience both times, and the second time it took 17 hours to get to Morzine.

I would say try it, it’s an experience, but I won’t ever be experiencing it again.

Also, Easyjet flights, cheap transfers and a chalet might not cost much more.

There are quite a few types of Leffe, and IMO all are good.
Personal fave is Ruby.

Is it important that you get your 8-10 cans worth?

If

she went off on one

and

she went mental at me

I’d struggle to want to ride with her much more.

Mrs Grizla doesn’t like to ride her bike (though she does occasionally come out for a summertime pub pootle), and I’ve come to the conclusion that women generally are less prone to enjoying it than men.

Though not all women of course…

scu98rkr that’s exactly the part that I originally misunderstood.
I understand now. Thanks all. 🙂

Mudshark – Thanks much, cracking spreadsheet.

It suggests that I am paying off more of the loan each month than I remember having paid off through experience. My memory is poor though.

Is there a standard ratio of loan/interest that gets paid off each month for all lenders? And does that ratio stay the same for the duration?

Thanks again.