Ah, ok. Looks like I’m not being realistic. Back to old school parenting of shouting up the stairs and threats of no pudding!

Lots of good advice on here. I was in a similar situation with stress a couple of years ago and posted on here for advice. Like you I found writing the post helpful and it was a catalyst for me to change (as the role couldn’t).

I would echo all those that have said to see your GP, it was only really when I was in floods of tears on their surgery that I realised I had to make some significant changes.

Your life & health are too important and you’re worth more than that job.

Good luck.

“If you’ve already got some hedge trimmers they make a decent job of hacking stuff back.”

This is true. I once cleared a small but very overgrown garden using a hedge cutter wielded like a samurai on speed. Most satisfying.

I’m loving this. Thanks for sharing :)

EDIT: the forum turned my thumbs up emoji into a question mark, which altered the meaning of my post. Fixed with an old school smiley face

My perspective is as a Senior Leader in a large secondary school. I’d definitely encourage you, especially as a younger person, your perspective and understanding of young people could make a big difference.

Good governance is a huge positive factor for a school… But the inverse is also true. So please find out more if you are interested, you can really change lives.

Pm me if you’d like?

@scud how did you get into paragliding? Any suggestions for a way to find out, try it? Thanks.

And just realised this is in the wrong forum. Sorry!

I’d get a selection pack from a small company. I’m not a big hot food person but went to chilli-fest at Eastor Castle a month ago and it was really good. Came away with a sanpler pack from https://www.devildogsauces.co.uk/shop/gifts

He was a really nice guy and I’d recommend, helped me realise there’s more to chillis than getting drunk, having a hot curry and then just making you cry.

Ahah @willard, I am alive!

In a word, amazing! Would very much recommend Netheravon as a venue, very friendly and professional.

But, I won’t be carrying on. It was 2 hrs 15 min driving each way in the end. I just can’t see that ratio of drive:jump time working out for me at the moment, especially as the weather is so unreliable and I only got 1 jump in (see 👇)

What might be useful for anyone else thinking about it…

1) it’s a great thing to learn, very focused and committing with a real sense of achievement. That’s not just for getting out of the plane, but for the thinking bit under pressure and the landing properly.
2) the instructors were amazing (like most there they were ex-military). It was quite strange to be ‘looked after’ so well, almost cared for. They inspired real confidence and were friendly and helpful. That was one of the highlights really.
3) getting out of the plane was easy in the end, remembering to do everything during free fall less so. My goggles weren’t tight enough and flapped on my head. 120 mph wind in my eyes took some of my attention and I forgot to do my 3 practice pulls. They did pass me as everything else was good (arch, position, responding to hand signals, wave off, pull etc), but I’d have to be really obvious about my three pulls on L2.
4) the weather is annoying. After driving there amd back on Friday with no jumps the forecast said no jumps Saturday, and then there were some. On Sunday I was lucky to be scheduled into the second flight for my Level 1 jump but as I was dithering about paying £350 for level 2 afterwards the wind got up and saved me the money. It was super busy too, so even if I had paid I’d have been waiting until at least 4 pm for jump #2, and I got there at 7.30 am. I can absolutely see what the posters above say about waiting for the weather… And that would be on sunny days where I could drive for 30 minutes and ride for 4 hours. To be honest, I’m also not very good at waiting on my days off work, I like to be cramming them full. I think the perfect would be to have a camper van and lots of work to do. That way you could go on a Friday (it’s only open to civilians on Fri/Sat/Sun) and work if the wind got up or you were waiting for your jump slot.
5) my moment of terror came after the parachute actually opened. For about 3 seconds I was paralyzed with fear, suddenly all alone floating along under some string and fabric… Which despite lots of drills I was not sure I’d be able to recognise if It was faulty. Once I’d had a good look at It then I néeded a real effort of will to do the drills (flare and steer) as it felt like they might break the spell.
Once I got over that I was fine and really enjoyed the floating/steering.
6) although it’s very well organised from a safety perspective there is a fair bit of ‘newbie blur’ insofar as you don’t know where to stand or go to get you chute/line up etc. Everyone is very helpful if you explain you don’t know, but it wasn’t obvious to me at times. In retrospect I should have been a bit more pushy and less ‘polite and wait’ (my epitaph probably).
6) I will plan a holiday where I can go somewhere with reliable weather to do my AFF and extra jumps. That seems the best way for someone that wants to learn but doesn’t live near an airfield. Maybe wait till my son is old enough and do it with him?

So, bottom line…

Will I do it again? Absolutely. Would I recommend? Yes. Will I carry on right now? No

Thanks everyone for your tips and help 🙂

Too windy today

Thanks everyone. My experience today pretty much mirrors what’s above. A good day of learning from an excellent instructor, then no jump as too windy. Going back on Sunday (day after tomorrow ) to hopefully get some jumps in.

Realise why proximity to a DZ is a prerequisite for being into the sport!

Will report back after Sunday.

Lota if good advice here.

From my experience I’d agree that choosing your supervisor (note the direction of choice) is key. Better to walk away from 4 years wedded to the career/whims of a narcissist than struggling through the alternative, it’s something I saw happen. Having said that I had an excellent supervisor and count myself lucky as whole it was a brutally hard 3 years I was guided through.

I’d also say it’s worth investing time in working out how to do a PhD in your field… Network hard with post docs and other post grads and keep notes on what the good ones ‘do’. It’s easy to spend time working but not working.

Good luck! Doing mine changed the trajectory of my life.

@tall_martin has it.

OP you have my deepest sympathies. I’ve posted on here a few months back about my tooth pain. In the end it was cocodamol in the day and gin/whiskey through the night. Horrendous experience. Wishing you all the best.

So much of this resonates with a specific example being bike bits that are too good to recycle but the faff of eBaying and the challenge of getting to a post office means I haven’t sold.

The example above of a posters wife not selling a coat because is was worth £x and they were offered £y hits home. Economics dictates the price is one the seller and buyer can agree on, not the one in the sellers head, and I’m terrible for this… Meaning lots of stuff in the garage that is falling in value as standards move on.

Right… motivated by this… lots to list in eBay next weekend with a 99p start price and no reserve!

@mattyfez it’s £1333 plus the crown. So about £1600 total. Oof as my teenage son would say.

No cashback from Denplan as it’s a private specialist… Would be my choice to go off plan to hopefully achieve greater probability and duration of success.

I live in Hereford so it’s a 40 Min drive to ride. What about Monmouth? On the edge of the forest, good transport links, easy access to Wales. That’s where I’d move to if I was mobile. 

And whatever you do, when you view a house ask yourself “how much sun would it get in winter?”. There are some really dark and damp little valleys that look lovely in the summer… And incredibly cold and depressing in winter. 

Thanks everyone for all the posts. All very helpful and annoyingly split pretty much 50:50 on pull Vs keep.

Yo answer some questions, my dentist is really good I think and referred me as it was complicated with 3 roots.

The cost is £1333 plus the crown, although Denplan will mean the crown should be about £150 rather than £300.

I’ve emailed my dentist to get his opinion on the cost, when he referred me he said it’d be around £800 so he’s well off…

Tedious decisions, as others have said it’d beich nicer to have a holiday and make some memories. But my memory of the infected tooth is so raw I feel like if spending a massive amount of money is “better” then I want to do that.

Sigh. No fun outcome here.

Thanks again.

Tooth abscess for me.  Mind alteringly painful. 

@cp No, didn’t spot that. Story of my purchasing life to be honest. 😂

I found some 155mm SRAM GXP cranks when I was building my son’s bike. Will see if I can find them online.

Edit these: https://fawkes-cycles.co.uk/sram-nx-gxp-crankset-155mm-32-tooth-11-speed-p13615. But I didn’t pay that much!

SRAM DB8 brakes £57 front and rear. Seems a bargain to me.

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/p/sram-db8-hydraulic-disc-brake

I’ve just bought a set but Knowing my luck I’ll have accidentally bought just the compression washer or something. 

Got mine, love it.

But where was the August photo taken? All the others have a location printed… But not August. Is it a secret trail?

Great use of 11 minutes.  Thank you.

Cloud here. Sad times. I’d drive out to hay bluff if it was clear….

£25. At the moment PB’s are safe bit not rewarding, no huge surprise.

Will continue to dream of paying mortgage off and riding in the Alps all summer!

Looks lovely, jealous!

I live in a 4 year old house, bought 2 years ago. No problems with build quality other than they specced rubbish appliances. It’s warm and cheap to run.

I think you generally get what it says on the tin: no character, not much privacy/space, warm and IMO very low maintenance.

Would I buy one off plan… Yes, but I would get an anally retentive builder to do the snagging list.

I’m not feeling so smug about my bargain eMTB with the Bafang motor  now. Warranty issues were always going to be a PITA, but at least there was a warranty. If they go pop I’m guessing there will be zero Bafang back up in the UK. 

Thanks everyone. Back from the dentist and fresh from a root canal. Am waiting for the anaesthetic to wear off with trepidation…

Thanks everyone

Very drunk now. No pain! Gin!

Hopefully solving  tomorrow.

Hmmmm, drying before brushing off then washing. That’s one to try 🤔

For another option I used one of these for a couple of years:

https://www.allterraincycles.co.uk/trek-mt-201-tagalong

Super easy to attach/removed. Solid, Nice and fast. Can handle fire roads and blues (but not hairpins!).

At the OP, there’s loads of excellent advice on this thread, just as there was when I posted a similar topic not long ago. I’ve not much to add other than a) it’s not you, it’s a society level problem we have with work and many people are affected and b) if you manage to follow just 10% of the advice here you’ll feel a lot better… Use this space to talk to lots of people about what you’re feeling (mates, family, GP, trusted mentor type people) and work towards a realisation that it’s not inevitable to feel like this.   Good luck. Happy if you want to pm me.

Wax the chain, biggest benefit for weatherproofing a bike. In the sort of conditions/distances a city bike does it’ll last for ages and avoids the ‘orange squeeky’ anodising most uni bikes have.

I’m on the look out for some deals on winter tyres. The super mud type for the inevitable December/Jan/Feb endless-clag period.

I’ve got one, fitted as an integral appliance in the house when I bought it.

Washing performance = good but capacity it smallish.

Drying performance = total rubbish. It would be more effective to put the wet clothes on and run round the house.  As a result I never use it to dry stuff, for winter and rainy days I use a clothes stand thing and a good dehumidifier.

Pop It under the mattress, that way it hasn’t got far to go when it wakes up and wants to crawl into your ear while your sleeping.

Thanks, am overthinking it.  It’s a good deal from a person I trust, will buy.  Cheers.

Fail on my phone. Was a photo of a pizza. The loss to the internet is significant.