P.S. docking came in for working dogs because of the dog tax (repealed 1796). Working dogs avoided the tax by being docked as they were taxed per tail. After that tradition set in. Read more here link

We had a show cocker. She was a lovely dog, friendly, energetic (e.g. climbed Caingorm with us), mostly obedient, great recall (unless she was on a disgusting scent). We could take her anywhere, and she was everyone’s friend. She had been docked, but badly, so had intermittent shooting pain from her stump ( our vet was very cross when he saw the mess on X-ray).
Working cockers need less grooming, but a gamekeeper bred dog could be a nightmare. Our friends have one that is so hyper it’s almost uncontrollable. They had another that had such severe psychological problems, it had to be put down aged 3.
We now have a Welsh Springer that we adopted at 4 years old – she’s a very different dog and much more of a handful. She’s an old lady now (nearly 11) but still runs like a young dog. She’s also lovely in her own special way.

do they teach basic maths e.g. 5 miles through a village at 30 mph vs 5 miles through a village at 40 mph? Saves a whole 2.5 minutes – wow.

Claim for damages you say? Use a good lawyer – Cycling UK use Slater Gordon, British Cycling use Leigh Day. Both would be worth a call for advise.
Oh and I hope the driver gets what they’re due, and that you’re OK.

According to the Yorkshire couple we overheard in Yosemite “It’s just like the Lake District, but bigger”. Somehow they were not impressed.

I could only watch it cos I knew he made it. What a guy! His lack of empathy was astonishing…

our polling station was busy and the ballot box stuffed by 7pm. They were using a fish slice to shove the ballots in.
In the NE it was a hard choice who to vote for. For the first time ever I made up my mind in the booth. The risk was splitting the vote and letting Farage’s mob win all three seats.

EHX soul food – Klon clone. Good on its own as a ‘more’ pedal and will stack nicely with the OD-1 for saturated gain tones…
or a Ditto looper pedal so you can play with yourself so to speak

option 1) they had spotted a hazard around the corner, e.g. bus load of pensioners, pile of manure, oil slick…
option 2) they were being ironic and mocking your lack of speed

Coeliac disease is very commonly undiagnosed and will result in low calcium and iron uptake. The blood test is now pretty reliable so no reason not to know one way or the other for the price of a vial of blood. Osteoporosis isn’t the worse result of undiagnosed coeliac either…

for something different – I found this was perfect when I bought my system many moons ago…
Philip Glass – Akhnaten

I want one of these….

I have one, and a marmite one too. The marmite one is quite divisive 😉

put a fleece blanket down to cover the groundsheet

Lots of options. Get one with a height adjustable waist strap and try it in store (or 2nd hand) with your kid (or a bag of potatoes) loaded. If they are comfortable for the carrier they are a joy, especially as little one gets out to explore and goes back in when tired.
My kids are 16 and 11 so make the most of it while you can carry them around 🙂

I think sleeping in a tent with a human is a very natural environment for a dog. As long as you don’t mind them snuggling up close, and a wet nose in the face at sunrise, it will be fine.

When I had a serious crash involving a car, the second question the hospital porters asked me, on the way to various scans, was “did the driver stop?”. From this I deduced that hit-and-run involving cyclists is quite common.

I understand what you mean about the impact. My episode caused quite a bit of stress to me and my wife from the uncertainty. We worried about me meeting the same driver again. It was all right in the end though.
Stay safe…

I had an incident with someone who caused me to crash and then was aggressive and pushed me. I reported it to British Transport Police (it was at the station). They were very helpful and took a statement, they checked the CCTV and traced driver from the registration number. Turned out it was an Army pool car so they traced the driver he disputed my version of the story so they decided there wasn’t enough evidence for a prosecution and gave him ‘words of advice’.
So, if you have video evidence, you might get a prosecution. Otherwise, the driver will bet a visit from the police and that might make them think again. It isn’t much hassle giving a statement.

@tjagain – I’d prefer to be able to answer the hospital porters when they ask “were you wearing a helmet?” on the way to the CT scan, and anyway resting on the helmet made it much more comfortable when I was lying face down in the road waiting for the ambulance.

From the paper cited “Do bicycle helmets reduce the risk of injury to the head, face
or neck? With respect to head injury, the answer is clearly yes”
Anecdote is not evidence, but in my case hitting the road at >30mph (avoiding a careless right turning car) resulted in a loss of part of one ear (degloved) and concussion. Without a helmet I would have lost a significant part of my scalp and probably broken my skull. The helmet didn’t protect my ear.

Linn Axis, Musical Fidelity A1 amp, Marantz CD65 SE and Musical Fidelity speakers. All still used regularly…

Local guitar teachers for kids recommend a yamaha pacifica. Good enough to keep for a while and versatile enough for lots of styles of music. More money up front than a bullet strat but better resale value (probably).

I had this once in the Lakes. My reply was ‘I think good morning is more polite’
but if I was regularly using busy paths I’d get a bell (or an air horn)

As I mentioned above, in my accident the drivers insurance would only pay for the current value of the bike. I was advised by pedal cover to claim from my own insurance that is new-for-old and they then recovered the costs from the driver’s insurance company, with no impact on my no-claims. So talk to your own insurance company as well to see what they say.

I feel your pain. BC members get access to Leigh Day lawyers. They are very thorough, my claim is still in progress from an accident in May 2017 that resulted in multiple injuries. For your bike and kit, check your own house contents insurance, if it’s new for old you’ll get a better deal by claiming. Your insurers will recover the costs from the driver’s insurance and you won’t lose any no claims.
Don’t contact the driver, but do pester the police to prosecute for careless driving. My driver got a fine and 6 points after pleading guilty.
Good luck and heal fast…

no actual evidence that its harmful

The monograph is 92 pages of evidence and the conclusion is that it is a category 2A carcinogen, i.e. a probable human carcinogen.
I agree that we are exposed to many carcinogens in daily life. The point is, here there is a choice not to expose yourself to something risky so why choose it?
I nearly added that for smokers the additional risk would be negligible, but didn’t.

IARC part of the WHO
monograph
It’s a long read…

I was going to suggest glyphosate weedkiller e.g roundup, but it is now listed as a human carcinogen. So not worth the risk.

We had something similar near us with drivers on the pavement, at school drop off time, cutting inside the school buses coming in the opposite direction. A PC was dispatched one morning to observe. She nearly got squashed by a driver after a few minutes. We have bollards now.

I did this once back in the mid nineties when it was a bad problem. It was a truly horrible experience. Even doing it in an organised group we were harassed by drunks, youths, and police that hadn’t got the memo that it was a charity thing. Shortly afterwards we had a government that made reducing homelessness one of its top priorities and the problem was solved. Now its back again ( government policy) and I take my hat off to anyone trying to do something about it.

Don’t forget that oats are a good source of dietary fibre – good for keeping you alive.
NHS linky

these guys like them a lot…

I wish I was good enough on the guitar to play 2112 as badly as the Foo Fighters did. 🙂

I had this on an old mini. It resulted in the master brake cylinder failing completely on the M6 in the Christmas migration stop-start traffic. I managed to get it into the services near Wolverhampton before telling my wife why we’d stopped. Fortunately the handbrake still worked! It was an expensive Christmas.
Basically, don’t drive the vehicle.

there isn’t a correct answer to this. You need to choose the one that sounds and plays right to you. Guitar necks came in different sizes and shapes on the fret board and the back, even the frets are different sizes. Choose the one that feels right. Your taste in music will also inform. Some guitars are made with pickups suited to particular styles (e.g. high output for metal). Also, some people are inspired by their heroes and a similar guitar would likely be easier to get to sound similar. Overall, the best guitar is the one that you play rather than leave to gather dust.

Also why no plans to perform? Playing in a group is natural environment for an electric guitar – try it…

Does the dirt bag come with a free Iron Maiden CD?

…needs brakes

if ever there was an appropriate time to link to this…https://xkcd.com/327/

…its now

Bruce Willis is shorter than me i.e. < 5’7″ ( I held the door open for him once).

Sylvester Stallone even shorter.

Both too old now as well.

“A fine opportunity to explain to your daughter that she was right and not everybody in authority is right all the time.”

This 100%.

I told my son when he was a similar age that he would learn the most from the worst teachers – just not what they were trying to teach. Learning how to cope with sub-optimal situations is a valuable life skill.