There are plenty dogs out there that are bulletproof with kids. We may have been lucky that in 45 plus years of having dogs we have never had a dog do so much as bare a tooth in anger at any of the multitude of brothers, sisters, nieces and nephew’s etc. Maybe we have been lucky, I suspect the dogs were shit scared of my old man. He was definitely in charge and the dogs new it. At the merest hint of aggression they were metaphorically stamped on and knew it was not tolerated. This may sound harsh in modern times but seemed effective. He doted on every dog we’ve had and boy they adored him. He could house train a dog in a day. It was a bit harsh but I’ve known the dog jump up and even open the door! May be best to rehome him with a family with older kids. Wish your son a speedy recovery.

Is this a family dog or the OP’s dog?
Long walks together, best buddy etc.
Do the children feed the dog and walk it?
Dogs will squabble for pack pecking order.
All our dogs from rescue to puppies have been left in no uncertain terms as to where they belong in the pecking order and have I believe felt secure because of this. This may sound harsh but if you invite dogs on the sofa and on the bed you are raising their pack status and in my opinion it’s just confusing the dog. If the dog is to be kept I think it’s status needs a bit of readjustment.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jan/29/we-had-to-go-it-alone-how-the-uk-got-ahead-in-the-covid-vaccine-race?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

As far as I’m aware we are still trading with Europe albeit with a lot more needless paperwork and bureaucracy. This is not a replacement deal it’s additional. Who knows there may be some cracking deals on a GR Yaris in the future.

The special relationship between the US and the Uk is a lot deeper than who is in the current administration. It goes back decades and is formed mainly on the intelligence community not trade. With the current surge of the Chinese and the Russians that relationship will only get stronger. The European Parliament has spat its dummy out, because it has poorly handled the procurement of the vaccines. It looks like it is trying to blame the Uk. The agreement with Astra Zeneca was on a best effort basis only and because they are 3-4 months behind ordering the vaccine production issues have hit, they realise to increase production they have to shut the production lines down and carry out some engineering upgrades that will pay dividends down the line. Unfortunate for the EU but it should mean better delivery down the line. I am really surprised the EU have acted in this way.

Really enjoying this thread with some great playing. Dave Simpson is a top guy puts out a lot of content. Another player who has blown me away is Chris Buck from Buck and Evans. Wow tone and feeling for days and never overplays anything he does.

As Ricky Gervais said “be the person your dog thinks you are.”

I was once given some great advice, never trust anyone who doesn’t like dogs or horses. It was said with tongue firmly in cheek but it has turned out in my case to be mostly true.

Had a couple of Aria Pro II’s from that era. They always had 9-42’s on. Ernie Ball super slinky I think. Great guitars for the money.

Didn’t we all start riding bikes with a 1 x 3.
It was called a Sturmy Archer or am I just showing my age!

Failedengineer I’ve got these on my mini and can fully recommend. Handling is still excellent and they do an okay job in the snow, ice and slush. Quatrac All season.

£62 each, cheap enough to put on a set of 4.

Mrs Inbred is classed as frontline and has been told to arrange an appointment to get vaccinated. So it appears they are prioritising NHS staff as well as care homes and the elderly.

You could always look for a Lurcher. Crossed most often with a collie. Tough, intelligent and bags of stamina. Grew up with a deerhound cross lurcher. Bloody fast and could walk all day. Very placid dogs generally but very sure of themselves. Brilliant with kids and when not out they just sleep and fart. Very strong chase and hunt instinct though and can go selectively deaf when hunting. My wife knows at some point I’ll be looking at another deerhound x lurcher. Having said that we normally just rescue whatever needs rehousing at the time.

I’ve now got Vredestein Quatrac Pro’s on Mrs Inbreds X1 and the cheaper Quatrac 5’s on the mini. Both all season. I could have gone with them on the front only as the X1 had the original Michelins summer tyre on the back with plenty of tread but they were 4 yrs old and I didn’t want to mix them as it’s 4WD. £125 each fitted for 225/50/18’s W speed rating (as if!)from black circles. As has been said earlier fit and forget. To be fair most tyre places now will fit the new ones to the back and switch the worns to the front if their is appreciable wear difference. If you loose the front you can usually get it back, if you loose the rear you’re stuffed.

Being 50+ I got an invite letter through the post from the NHS. Local Doctors’Surgery had a 2 week waiting list for an after work appointment. Mrs Inbred is a frontline health worker and had hers before Christmas as I believe before any COVID vaccination she had to have at least a 2 week gap between the Flu jab and the COVID jab.

Be careful with the Garlic. Allium is toxic to dogs even in small doses. Depends on the weight of the dog as to how much and how often. I’ll stick to Frontline every few months.

If people must get a puppy from a breeder, can I suggest getting one of the working breeds from a breeder that is trying to get the best character and physical traits and not an exaggerated breeding standard. Some friends of ours have resisted all the mixed breeds and gone for a working Cocker puppy. He came part trained so was with his mum for a little longer. He’s a cracker, inquisitive, lots of personality, takes training really well. As others have said get recommendations from friends etc. Really do your research into the breeder.

As Mark Twain once said

“Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”

Some good advice on here. I would go rescue every time. When ever I hear of first time owners getting a Beagle I have a slight chuckle then wish them the best of luck. It’s like getting triplets the first time you have kids! Bear looks a fantastic hound. There are some great dedicated rescue societies for specific breeds with a wealth of knowledge on those breeds and any specific problems they may have.

I’ve just bought a delonghi electric burr grinder for £50. That and a stove top espresso pot will do me fine. For me freshly ground beans are the key.

Non of the engines are that efficient. I would prefer the 3.0B spec but the tax is punitive. For that reason if you must have one an imported legacy 2.0 turbo with a manual box if you can find one would be my choice with a contingency fund to keep it running. An imported Forester may be a better choice.

We have used friends, neighbours, and dog walkers. Most of our dogs have been rescues, some from centres but most from friends of friends who just got in over their heads. Can I suggest you go and get an ex racing greyhound. We got one from the trust that re homes them. Merlin 18 to 24 months old, mad as a hatter when playing and a fantastic temperament with my Son when he was younger. They were inseparable. Nobbled the other dogs when racing so had 2 strikes and he was out. What ever you can offer them is a dam sight better than being kept in a crate for hours on end whilst racing and being kennelled for ours on end. They don’t get a lot of socialisation when racing in case it hampers their racing career. I wouldn’t get a puppy unless I was at home to train it, but a rescue is another matter all together. One of the most stressful things for a dog to cope with is being in a kennel with hundreds of other dogs that they can hear and smell but not interact with.

I love the fact that people now think they have a reliable car if nothing goes wrong in the warranty period or as in the cases above just a few minor things fixed under warranty. I love defenders but I would never run one on the road as my only vehicle. I’ve trialed them off road in various competitions. We used a Shogun to tow it to and from events. If I had to choose any landrover product I’d go for the Freelander 2.

Doesn’t the Boardman have press fit BB’s? I’d go for the one of the Merlin Malt’s. I think they do a Shimano top end one now for around a grand. Great spec for the money.

Flickr no works.

We have a golden retriever rescue. Ours is the smaller built honey coloured English retriever. Not the massive cream coloured type. Got her at 3yrs old now 10 yrs young. They shed a lot twice a year for 3 months at a time. Nothing like the Lab we had before. Not as obedient for one thing. Character they have in droves. They need two good walks a day. Can be strong willed on a walk ie they catch a smell of something then go deaf! They generally love water and mud, especially mud. Brilliant with children. We would have another in a heart beat.

A lot of good friends have been repairing and restoring old landis for years. None of them would dream of running a defender on a daily basis. They run a Disco 4 and a Freelander 2, the freelander 2 being especially reliable (for a landrover.) In a 100k miles general maintenance with an exchange propshaft being the only expense. These vehicles are used off road extensively. I’m lucky enough to be able to borrow the Disco 4 if needed otherwise my Wife’s X1 does everything I need a 4WD to do with great economy, comfort and reliability.

The reason Boris is +3 is because Burnham was daft enough to put a figure on the rescue package. 65 million sounds a lot but is no where near enough to support the North during another lockdown and Boris knows this. He offers 60 million as a token gesture and the vast majority think he’s being reasonable even generous and Burnham is playing politics with COVID. I wish they’d sat down and realised the figure they would need would be too big to ask for in a lumper and instead negotiated an extra support package on an individual business basis.

The Redbull app on Samsung TV’s is no longer supported. Mine has just gone off. You can get it on the web browser but that is such a faf on.

A set of legal part worns and a second hand lens and sell it privately with 12months MOT.
You will almost certainly get your money back.

Soothsayer

Looks like it is just the Gel coat cracking.

Had a set of these on my Sons Norco, changed bottom bracket and within a few rides cranks came loose. No matter what I did they came loose. Followed advice off here still came loose. Got sick and changed them for some SLX cranks. Better in every way, fit and forget. To be honest I’d rather fit sq taper cranks than chew on with these. Good luck.

F1 as a spectacle has been pretty uninspiring for a few years now. The racing in touring cars and rallycross has always been more exciting to watch. Formula E for me is a terrible excuse for a sport, dull as ditchwater. I can see formula 1 having a supplied sealed engine for all teams to keep the costs down and then the teams rely on their chassis, tyre and fuel strategy to try and make a spectacle out of it. To appease the green lobby carbon offsets will have to be done to enable them to still use internal combustion.

Asolo Fugitive GTX for me comfy from the off and they just last. As with most boots it’s as important to choose good socks and a liner sock. And change socks during a walk if you can. I always take spare socks on a walk.

Coffee if that’s classed as a food and mushrooms. I’d give up meat before I’d give up mushrooms.

Bit of time until I can retire but we plan to release a lump of our pensions if possible and buy a canal boat. Rent our house out for a few years then sell the boat once we’ve travelled the network. The other alternative is to buy a nearly new camper van and tour Europe, then sell it. Mrs Inbred has an insatiable need for travel. Neither of us are really attached to an area or property. Although I suspect grandchildren will play a part in our plans in due time.

Is there a better way of eating meat. Chemical free. Animal is wild and free to roam. Love a bit of Venison.

You can block the EGR on these but the recirculated gas is designed to reduce the inlet charge temperature to the turbo. This will lead to premature failure of the Turbo as it will be running constantly hotter. They normally get gunged up. You can clean them but the shaft is normally mullered. They aren’t expensive or difficult to replace. I replaced mine at 110K on my 130 Mk3 TDCi.

Put 4K towards the Boxster and spend a grand on a 1.6 petrol Focus. Standard STW answer.

I’ve said this before on countless posts. We are being governed by a privately educated political elite be it left wing, right wing, centrist so called liberal, what ever you want to call it. They control the government either way. It swings one way then the next, back and forwards. Does anything really change over the long term. No. If we want real change we need to change the way our voting system works and how we rule and govern. It won’t happen because that would mean giving power back to the people and that’s not what these political parties want. We are all just plebs in their little power plays. If I had my way anything North of the Humber would join with Scotland because labour have done sweet F@ for the North for the last 50 yrs other than count on their vote in every GE other than the last one! At least with the Tories you know they don’t give a sh!t about the North.