Tenancy agreements seem like the way to go but generally for private tenants aren’t really worth the paper their written on.
If a tenant stops paying the rent or leaves your property in a mess the legal fees for recovery will usually far outweigh the amount you want to recover.
Advertising is expensive and an agent can usually market the property better and sometimes get a higher rent.
Just don’t expect your agent to do everything you think they should,such as meter readings when tenants leave-arrive.Double check.

We have oil fired central heating and hot water in a pretty big terrace thats well insulated.
This year it will have cost us about £650 in oil which isn’t too bad.
The boiler has a small tank for the hot water and instead of leaving it to fire up whenever the water temp drops we just turn it on in a morning,runs for about 10 mins,turn it off,and theres enough hot water for a full day.Seems to have cut down on the amount of oil we use.

I changed the bearings in my WTB hub,which i think is the same design as American Classic.I used Enduro bearings and found no difference in how long they lasted.
I’d just get the sealed bearing cheaper ones,gently prise off the seal and pack with grease,replace the seal and fit.

I got an Avenir one for about another tenner.

Thin padding but used some sheets of cardboard from a bike box and some old towels.No damage to the bike through the airports and not too heavy to cart around,but it was a lightweight road bike.

When i was at school, quite a few years ago, GCE and CSE were separate exams.We generally took exams in 8 subjects and at GCE if you got A,B or C grade you had done well.If you managed it in 4 or more subjects you would have been in the top 10% of pupils in the school.
I’ve just seen on tv a school with 100% pass grades.The head teacher says for a pupil to receive a fail is demotivating.
Does this mean that no one fails in exams ? Surely this approach devalues the point of exams.

I rent out a few different properties including a 1 bedroomed flat.
Its modern,central heating ,private car park ,etc and its £400 pcm.The agent takes nearly £50 a month and i pay income tax on the rest.
I wouldn’t call it profiteering.
In some areas the market has been skewed because of the amount of housing benefit available,and landlords have taken advantage of this to collectively hike up the rents in a given area.
In the area where i live,North East,i see no strength in the rental market and at the moment returns seem low compared to the cost of purchase.
My neighbour lets out a big 3 bedroomed semi in excellent condition and can get no more than £500 a month for it.

County Durham for me.Used to live in Bradford and still have family there but the place is rotten,and Gorgeous George won’t improve it.

I’ve got the Uniroyal Rain Expert tyres on my car and so far in 20,000 miles no problems and there’s probably a couple of thousand miles left.

I got the wife a Cannondale Quick 5 from Pauls Cycles.Available in a small size ,theres no front suspension but the tyres are pretty meaty so you could do rail or towpaths with no problem.Last years model so a bit of a discount.

He can’t do much without a front mech.He could fit a cassette up to 34 with a long cage rear mech and would probably need a longer chain.

You can get a Thule bike carrier that fits onto the towbar and can be used when towing.
The towbar must be the 2 bolt fitting as the Thule plate bolts to it.
I’ve used a 4 bike one for years but found that the longer arms with bikes on made hitching up a bit more awkward so cut the arms down to two bike and its perfect.
As for the towbar.You can usually fit these yourself as the rear of the car should be ready to take the bolts for the towbar.I did this and then took it to an auto electrician to do the wiring.
Towsure do a wide range of ‘bars,together with all the bolts and fitting instructions.On some cars you may have to cut a slot out of the bottom of the bumper.

I think the pad in the shorts is equally as important.

I find a massive difference in comfort wearing different shorts on the same saddle.
Bought a cheap £15 Charge from Wiggle and used it for 8 days in the Alps.With decent bibs it was as good as anything else i’ve had.

Yes,its The Fir Tree Country Hotel.

Hamsterley would be the obvious place to go.
Theres a place at Fir Tree,just up the road from Hamsterley on the A68, that has rooms and its a pub as well.Been in a few times and foods good with a friendly welcome. I’m pretty sure its called the Fir Tree Hotel.

Out on a long road ride yesterday i stopped for a break and bought a pork pie from a butchers in a small village.
Whilst i was sat a young girl about 7 or 8 passed with her mother.She saw my bike and said to her mother “i want a bike like that”
“i want to be like Bradley Wiggins”.
Its surprising that people i know who have never had an interest in biking are now sending me e-mails about Wiggins.
Most Mamils i know are pretty fit and have been on bikes for plenty of years.

I have 2 road bikes both alu framed with carbon forks.
One is a basic frame with an unbranded carbon fork.It is quite jarring and the cheap fork does nothing to help.
The other is a higher end frame with an easton carbon fork and it rides completely different.Far smoother and the better quality fork tracks better on bumpy bends and doesn’t give me numb hands like the other bike.
If you go for a carbon fork get quality as the cheaper stuff i think is a step backwards from steel or alu.

My brother has built quite a few upmarket houses both to sell and for himself.
On the last project he built 6 large detached and project managed it himself.
All the trades quoted separately and as he lived on the site he saw the day to day work that was going on.As he had houses built previously he knew what to look for and was quite ruthless in dismissing tradesmen from the site if the work was not up to standard.Remember,you’re paying the wages.
I have had properties built in the past and left it up to one builder to sort all the trades.This has never gone smoothly as the builder just thinks up excuses when someone doesn’t turn up and you have no contact with them.
It just needs a bit of common sense and forward planning,with patience when it goes off course, but its worth it in the end.

A caravan works like this when its on electric hook up.
The leisure battery is being charged but certain items such as some lights,fan and water pump are still 12v so are draining the battery.Works ok on caravans.

I rode the Grand Columbier on race day.

Really tough but fantastic atmosphere.The initial twisty parts were the hardest with small sections up to 15%.
Three of our group made it to the top but another two were stopped by the police as they had run out of time.
The descent was chaotic with campervans ,cars,cyclists and walkers all on the narrow roads.

Geoff Cox at Biking La Manga in La Manga Club.Big selection of bikes and theres a natural park down the road for a bit of mountainbiking.

Just done 8 days road riding in the French Alps and used High 5 2 and 4 to one powders and a few gels.Normally i start to get cramp on longer rides but didn’t suffer at all and my stomach mostly felt ok.
This was the first time i had used these products, being a bit of a sceptic,but for longer rides i think they did help.

I have a Cube thats sized as a 58 although at just under 6 ft a 54 on my BH is the same fit.Top tube length is probably a bit more important as you have less adjustment on the seat back and forth than up and down.
Look on youtube for a bike fit video to give you a good idea to get a decent position.Because of a shortish top tube my Cube has a layback seatpost as standard but it seems to fit me well after small adjustments.

Who’s supplied the pension pot figures and on what growth basis ?

Looking at your 1.5 million and working another forty years with low growth on your investment you will need to be contributing near to £30,000 a year.
Pension companies will provide you with GROWTH forecasts but not for flat or negative growth.
Look at the FTSE 100 figure 10 years ago and at the figure now.

IMO the only funds which will provide good growth are ones that are managed on a day to day basis.This is just not practical as most people just keep paying in and have no idea where their money is invested ,or just how good the investment is.
Why do we see rows of people in front of computer screens in investment companies?Its because they are constantly watching share prices and markets which will be primarily for their own investments ,not yours.
Pay off your mortgage!

Tony Robinson was on a few weeks ago and i thought he was pretty good.
Maybe John Lydon will have an opinion thats in line with the public and will voice it.Unlike politicians who just look to cover their backs all the time.

Sports Direct Muddy Fox ones for me .£7.99.

Merlin do a couple of road bikes and they look pretty good for around £500.

Just do a Google search.Companies will come up fronm about £60.

Did you remove the axle and change all the bearings or just in the freehub ? Are all the bearings seated properly with the correct length spacer tube between them ?
If the freehub is going back and seating properly,spinning freely and engaging on the teeth,yet the axle is short,have you got the axle the wrong way around ?

We stayed at the municipal campsite in Revin for 3 weeks last year.
Revin is in France but close to the Belgian border,and i think its on the river Meuse.The river has an 80km cycle path along its length and the small tourist office in Revin sold fold out maps with different mountain bike trails mostly accessed from the rivers cycle path.
There was couple of German guys next to us on mtb’s and they were out every day on different routes.
The campsite was one of the best municipals i have stayed in,and i’ve been to lot in France.
The river cycle path is easy but its great passing through small French villages,and there are Friteries along its length serving the french fries and mayonnaise.

Sat the 7th July for me.Road biking though and a trip to a TDF stage.

Can’t wait to be riding in some sunny weather instead of painful hailstones here in the north east.

I see these energy drinks everywhere around here,always thrown out of vehicles into the grass verges.If morons are drinking the stuff then thats good enough for me not to.

Tough reliable Jap 4 wheel drive for not much money ?

Nissan Terrano !

My 12 year old 2.7tdi has had nothing but routine servicing and parts and keeps passing its mot with no work required.Engine can do mega miles and its not really too bad to drive considering its weight.
Fantastic for towing,especially with the low ratio box.

Was there yesterday walking the dog and we couldn’t sit down and have our sandwiches because of the midges.
Done the red and black routes and they are entertaining enough but as everyone says theres nothing really that would worry you.
The climb,Route 66 i think, is tough to clean completely when theres been some wet weather.
I’m not sure if people complain about the fire roads because you have to ride uphill.When i’ve been there nearly everybody has been around the descent area and when you get higher into the forest theres been very few bikes.

Theres a seller on e-bay,located i think in County Durham, who lists a lot of Scott clothing.

There are some good American bike fitting videos on YouTube.

You shouldn’t need any extra force like a pipe over the allen key to seat them.
Have you got the correct spacers between your bearing cups and the frame.Mine ran with 2 on the drive and 1 on the non drive.
Also you should have spacers both on the drive and non drive side of the cranks.If the crank bolts up but is stiff to turn then remove a crank spacer.If there is play add a spacer.
If they are old cranks then the inner part of the bearing can wear into the crank axle and then you will never get the play out.
If all else fails buy Shimano.Far better system.

We’ve not used our oil fired central heating for going on 2 months now.
Our hot water is heated just once a day in the morning and then we just run it from the tank in the boiler.
Our consumption has dropped dramatically with not using the heating.
Boilers are more expensive to replace,been quoted £2,200.
I wish we had a fireplace or chimney as i’d get a woodburner as the cost of logs doesn’t seem too bad.

A private pension is almost entirely dependant on stock markets.
Yes,there can be tax advantages,but if your fund is actually losing money then the advantage means nothing.

Pension providers will give you examples of pension fund growth at different growth rates.They do not give you figures for when stock markets fall.Look at the FTSE for the past 3 years.
Interest rates are low,so annuities(the yearly amount you would receive from your fund) are also low.
If you’ve got spare money you could capitalise on the low mortgage rate and buy a property,for letting or renovating and selling on.
If you want a high pension with no risk then join the Police or train to be a doctor.Otherwise its a gamble.

No problem getting a pet passport,just go to your regular vet.

The rules for coming back from France with the dog have eased a little,so no flea and tick treatment as i’m aware,just a worm treatment.

Geoff Cox at Biking La Manga.He’s based in La Manga Club.

Plenty of hire bikes both mtb and road.Theres a natural park,Cal Blanque, nearby down the coast which Geoff may have routes for.

It will be very hot!