Margin? I actually deal with Stage 3 Ministry of Justice Portal claims, and 90% of my litigation workload are litigated at those courts. Do you think it’s just coincidental? The reaons PI has gone banana’s is that those specif northern courts are where a lot of whiplash is litigated, and the solicitors “shop” for the best courts, and for the last 10 years, Liverpool and Birkenhead have been “encouraging” solicitors to use them, by means of fabourable judgments.

No one really cares, the claimants are delighted, no one feels “sorry” for insurers or makes the links to higher premiums, and those who are being sued don’t need to atend court as liability is already admitted and so ncd is already lost – it’s seen as “victimless” by the corrupt judges we have.

If I could get a bit “technical” on some of the abuses and breeches of CPR that the court allows and lets three or four specific local legal firms get away with, you’d be amazed.

Indeed, you won’t find anyone in the ambit of PI claims disagreeing with me, so feel free to insult me, but you simply look ignorant.

I presume you have already reported the accident to your insurer.

Might be worth taking photos of the area of damage to your vehicle and emailing them in. also worht ringing the garage to see if there’s cctv footage. Impress upon the insurer that it requires investigation. However don’t get your hopes up. At a possibility of settling for £3-4k without an investigation, or likely £10k with, and with a 95% chance of losing, it’s an economic no brainer.

Essentially, whiplash is *so* easy to claim for. her solicitors get to choose their “pet” medical expert, who uncritically writes down everything she says and then presents it to your insurer, who will not have a leg to stand on, and are forced to settle. The alternative is they investigate, it goes to Liverpool or Birkenhead County Court via her “northern based solicitors”, and the bent judges there just not only find against you/your insurer, but then make an improbably large compensation and legal costs order – as if they don’t, then the solictors would take their business elsewhere, and the courts, who earn out of court issue fees paid by solicitors end up £10’000’s of pounds down per week, potentially leading them to lay off staff and or close.

Basically, judges in England and Wales, especially on the Northern Circurt, are as “dishonest/bent” as they can be and remain totally unaccountable for their actions.

Are you reading this, Doyle, O’Neill, Travers and others?

Why isn’t it worth repairing – it’s going to be a fairly bog standard motor, probably about £12-£20 or thereabouts. It’s almost certainly on a budget turntable like a Revolver, easy to unscrew and replace.

I had one of the original See Corporation Revolver Turntables years ago – it was a nice little thing, before I upgraded to Linn Axis and then a Sondek.

I’m sure Revolver can tell you the spec of the motor, even if they don’t carry any spares themselves – They still do spare drive belts.

info@revolveraudio.co.uk<info@revolveraudio.co.uk

Ride before you buy.

Ok, it’s not the same bike now, but when I bought my first MTB, I tried a steel Rockhopper, an ali Rockhopper, a couple of bikes fromt he Marin range, and I thought they were sort of ok, but then tried a Clockwork Orange, and it was so much a better bike, even with a lower spec and a higher pricem that it was a no brainer. Then riding the Rockhopper after “just to make sure”, made me realise that for what I wanted, the poor old hopper was hugely inferior in riding position, feel through the frame, geometry/speed of front to turn.

All I am saying, is don’t get focused on any one bike, without trying a few first. There isn’t actually that much difference between a bike that gets 3/5 in a test and 5/5, other than the latter has more advertisingin the magazine, and for YOUR physical shape and type of riding,the unfasionable one might be perfect!

Just treat the Police like they do us victims of crime.

Wind down your window, say “Sorry, this is in my view a civil matter!” and just drive off.

If you see a 1999 vintage silver Orange P7, with Manito front suspension, and Orange Rider bars, and possibly stillwith panniers attached, could you please steal it back for me. I liked that bike enormously.

Second the theft thing – I left my bike locked up at the Railway Station for anhour at the end of my trip, (after sleeping on beeches for a week chained to the bloody thing) and in that time, middle of the day, it was gone, from among hundreds of others.

The thief might possibly have a really loud yellow shirt on – or even a turquoise flowery short sleeve number – they were in the panniers too!

Bastards.

The Gaggia Classis is usually hovering at around £200 on Amazon.

I try to avoid Amazon, preferring to support local shops, and for an easy life for warranty issues, but Gaggia don’t really seem to have the presence their machines used to in the UK since Phillips took them over.

Honestly, all these scouts murdering each other. The mind woggles!

Do they get a badge to sew on their uniforms or something?

I am presently boiling up mushroom filled ravioli pasta which has a sell by date circa september 2006.

If I don’t post again, bin the sausages.

I bought an Experia Arc S a few weeks ago.

It was only £230 inc a top up on payg. Nice screen, 1g processor, excellent camera, and not too bad on the battery for a smartphone, all things considered.

Mushroom Stroganoff.

Fry up a finely sliced onion for a bit, add mushrooms, say 200g and mince a clove of garlic, and perhaps some strips of green pepper. Once cooked through, add a splash of brandy and heat off the alcohol, add a decent squirt of deli mustard, (if you like, a a small squirt to tomato paste I dont usually)a splash of lemon juice and a light dusting of paprika. When thats heated through, stir in some cream to make it thick and sumptuous, and then serve on a pancake.

The posters above are referring you to brokers.

Not that many insurers are that interested in modified cars. Sabre Insurance will be a most likely candidate for the actual underwriters. They didn’t used to do direct sales, might be worth a google to see if thats still the case.

Wouldnt bother moving.

Its so close already, and Brighton is a far more vibrant place to live.

I’m not sure why people keep referring to a % of the value as being a write off. There is some truth to that, but the formula is generally simpler than that.

Its does the PAV (Pre accident value) = or less than the cost of repairs, – salvage value recovery. Insurers have deals with their salvage agents, that the category returns a %, so for example, a CatC total loss might return 10% of PAV. Also, only Cat C and D might be retained and a Cat B (or A) cannot be repaired under any circumstance. So if PAV = £2000, and Salvage Cat = C, returns 10% on that insurers contract, then salvage recovery = £200, so if repairs, are less than £1800, it’s deemed repairable.

Unless the vehicle is deemed Cat D, which is where repairs are deemed economic, but the likely salvage return is above average. Say for example, you have an old Porsche, like a 928, where the second hand calue of one of those big curved rear windows is £500 or more, and the car is only worth £2k, then the % return, dependent on contract, might be up to 25% of the PAV.

But don’t forget, if an insurer repairs your car, it must abide by various repair codes of conduct, which mean at least 3 year guarantee on repairs, that painrwork must not impact on any rust warranties, so a 9 year old car with a 10y manufacturers rust warranty must have top quality paint/anti rust protections to the manufacturers spec. Vat is charged and it must also use OEM parts, not cheaper pattern parts. You may also demant the vehicle fixed at a main dealer, who’s labour rates are much higher than an insurers authorised repairer. As such, a car that is a total loss according to the engineer at an Insurers bodyshop, may well, if you are happy with the compromsies, such as pattern parts, be repairable economically at a smaller repairer.

Buy a new £500 copy, and it’s worth £250 the day after.

Buy a s/h one for twice as much, and it’s worth the same or more than you paid for it in 10 years.

And a decent guitar does encourage you to use the investment more. And sounds better. And saves the upgrade when you get the bug.

Beervors a reasonable shout, although I would really strongly recommend “The Third Reich” by Michael Burleigh, for a fuller and details study of National Socialism. Chilling that it was only 80 years ago, and yet there are reoccuring themes to thir support and sociiological ideas that we should not lose sight of, in how we treat each other.

I can’t believe that the op is in the armed forces as some state.

Imagine the contradiction in having one of those gold plated pension early retirement high wage jobs, paid for by the tax payer, and then probably mumbling somewhere else about cutbacks and redundancies because theres not enough tax money floating about to sustain it, the OP is a tax dodger himself.

For any other civil servant, that should be sackable. Why isn’t someone reporting the OP anyway on the strength of this thread. His tax dodging is simply taking the pi££ out of all of us here, when he appears to be the main beneficiary of our legitimate taxes.

Imagine – the very idea of an Italian in charge leaving a sinking ship early……..

Ridiculous…

Theres a whole heap of Italian red wine to be discovered – they have far more grape varieties than anyone else.

Pinot does need to be good, to be enjoyable,some of the cheaper pinots tend to be a bit thin and bitter, without having sufficinet body to develop and carry the full flavour.

If you like your wines a bit heavier, then try a Chilean Carmeneré ? for about £5-8 you can begin to get something fairly acceptable. (If thats what you deem a price point thats acceptable?)

Oh, and for ADI, I now have a screen print of your attitude to truthfullness.

As I work for an insurer, and have a duty to investigate fraud, Ms Noon may be getting a call this week, requesting full information under s29 of the DPA, for the prevention of fraud, and if your claim is aginst an insurer who I work for, your claim may be “delayed” a little. Once we have established who you are, your online CUE data will be ammended, and I suspect any agreed settlement will be blocked, whilst we ask the medical expert some further questions about your prognosis, particularly in light of the fact your oral responses to the expert may be subject to “motivational” concerns.

Actually, I am joking, I can’t be bothered on this occasion, and I’m up to my ears in far more serious fraud to waste the time, but my last insurer did used to go through “Fast Ford” and “revs” magazines and the like (We specialised in modified cars, young and convicted drivers), and check the cars and the declared mods, against those boasts made in the mazagzines. Good source of additional premium income it was.

Don’t forget, what you say on the net can be traced to you, admitting to possible fraud is stupid, don’t do it.

Crankboy, you’r right! And I guess you also suspect I was right.

But without proof, it was possibly forum banning material, and I do like coming here…..

edited – cant be bothered – sorry.

Pyramid marketing/Ponzi scheme.

Also see Amway and others.

All I can echo is that I am in a similar position – I rent a small flat in a town where they let fairly quickly – and I at £580 a month am porbably £50-70 light per month – but have been here 6 years. I don’t demand renovations, indeed, the landlord and I have a “understanding” that the carpets were shagged when I moved in, and that if the rent doesnt go up, I don’t mind a bit of wear and tear unaddressed. He knows a void month or two from a non paying tennant or if there was a slump in rents and I moved out would be greater than any increase. I think as he’s never had a complaint about me, and on one occasion my quick thinking in draining down all water services on a failed pump probably saved hundreds in renovations.

He likes me because I pay, and make few demands. I like him as my rent is cheap and he leaves me alone. Its his flat, it’s my home. It helps that he’s a semi/commercial landlord and takes that view.

It’s not that Trio is “mainstream”.

it’s that it wasn’t really awfully good. All vulgar flashing lights, electronic gimmicks, buttons and knobs. £1k spend on “big brand” japanese electronics 10 years ago is virtually freecycle now, unless its something unusual like one of those rare products which was actually by accident any good. Somehting like the Pioneer a240 amp (ow whatever it was?).Or say a Denon pma250. Acutally some other CD Denon stuff might have some value, and quazi eastern stuff, like NAD, Rotel, will be up a bit on that – its only then when you get to proper audio kit like Mission/Audiolab/QuD/naim/Linn you find it will keep some value.

A japanese turntable will be largely horrible to listen too, none of the “decent” brands are japanese. I paid £700 for a Linn lp12 with Ittok LVII arm, when a student, s/h im 1989, and I’d still expect to get £300+ now. And it still sounds fantastic.

Ever wondered about the ingredients though?

Its basically a bit bottle of cream, that doesn’t go off. Its cream with alcohol in, which should make it curdle. It doesnt.

There must be some ghastly industrial process or product in it, and unless I could see what it was on the label, I always feel just a bit concerned drinking it.

Not a single BMX?

I’s go for a GT Pro Performer, or a Haro, one of if not the first freestyle bmx frames. And say something early like a Mongoose I, bringing all the elements together to make a quality 20 inch bmx affordable to the masses, to do what kids were already doing on other bikes. Or the Grifter, in a uk centric way, for sort of bringing “tough” off road style bikes to kids before BMX properly hit.

The Raleigh Arena – no particular reason, except every teenager in the 70’s wanted one, and so introduced even non cyclists, to a smart looking bike.

Beinghonest, I’ve never found any jar of sauce to be at all satisfactory really, yes they can be reasonable tasty, but you don’t get anthing close to “restaurant” style.

Mind you, to get close to a restaurant style, I use such exotic ingredients as a tin of condensed tomato soup, chunks of block creamed coconut, as well as the ususal spices.

Given that once it’s been eaten, its going to sit in a warm gut for 24 hours, I cant see the issue with 4 hours in the car…….

Meh, send it off to be chromed, for that early 80’s BMX vibe…..

Then if you get bored, a thin spray of black and laquer and hey presto, you got the famous “Black Chrome” of a Diamond Back Harry Leary Turbo, arguably the finest BMX ever made…..

Never had a problem with Virgin.

Now, Orange.. thats a word that still gets me a little bit testy, the thieving useless incompetent ninconpoops that they are…..

They are duty bound to get the best offer.

But, given you have a tennancy, (even if short) and by making an offer directly would be cutting out estate agents fees, and are in a position to proceed immediately with no property to sell in a chain, might be in this market, in the position to give the best offer.

A genuine offer of £85k on a £100k house is a better offer to someone who must sell the property, than say £90k from someone who is dependent on sales ect ect.

In the current market, a property might be on a while – the duty to get the best price and yet actually get one at all, are in considerable conflict. I sold some repo’s very cheaply in rhe last recession, yet could hand on heart say I did my best in the circumstances, ie where I was instructed to “sell” rather than simply “market” a property.

It’s basically a sunday with better telly isn’t it….

Member of the self elected alone club. Had offers, but having my head in a miserable “why doesn’t she want me” state of mind for the last few weeks, excile seemed for the best.

My father appears to have been “absorbed” by his new ladyfriend, and the idea of a night on a cathair covered sofa at my overheated sisters, wathing a grown mad (nephew) spending 14 hours on a ps3 without being able to watch/listen to anything other than a Carling led snorefest from my brother in law was doing my head in.

So I raise a glass of port to you all, (as I finished the wine a while ago with the 7 item veggie main course I did) but I have made the elementary mistake of doing mince pies and port and coffee before the cheese board! Guess I’ll have to crack open that rather fine claret I was gifted with later then……

Yes they do, some of them.

Sabre certainly do, but you’ll need to go to a broker to get a quote. You might find short tem policies are so expensive, that you might be better off incepting a year policy on installments and then cancelling in 3 months.

Or paying on installments throughout the year. Direct Line don’t charge more for paying on installments.

Take her on a climbing holiday and see if your mate sleeps with her?

Mushroom stroganoff is an easy winner.

Fry onion or two, possibly useing butter rather than veg oil. After chopping fairly finely. Add a finely chopped chilli. When they are gettin on a bit, add sliced mushrooms, a decent quantity, typicaly 50% more than you thought – they shrink when heated and release their joices. Probably before now, you could have added a bit of crushed garlic.

Then when its all doing nicely – add a decent glug of brandy – a splash of lemon joice, a spoon of mildish wholegrain mustard, some paprika, and once thats reduced a bit if youwant it runny, add a bit of veg stock, if not dont – I prefer without tbh, then – add some cream. Warm it through and serve with rice, couscous (easy from a packet)

Why does veggie food have to be “worthy” or “healthy”.

I am a veggie of 22 odd years, but theres nothing pleases me more than a good, tasty pie and chips.

The best/most rewarding veggie food can be as hi fat as anything a meateater does – cheese binds many otherwise slightly bland but colourful veggies together under a pie crust…..

Today for lunch we ate out, and the pie of choice was butternut squash, roast parsnip and chestnut, in a cheese sauce. I make chestnut mushroom leek and cranberry pies this time of year or a cheese potato leek pie can be good – esp if you pich a decent flavoursome cheese for it.

Dont think veggie food has to make you a candidate for “best friend” status with the Poo Doctor McKeith PHD.

Second goats chease with red onion, and a whole gamut of curries can be made, or a chick pea and apricot tagine? Good hearty stuff… Or even just a decent, basic stew, but ruin it with some veggie sausages or even a veggie toad in the hole.

Or, – stuffing things like big field mushrooms (or peppers for that 1970’s dinner party starter vibe), with whatever cheesy/rice or couscous goodness you have in the cupboard.

It’s like putting a new paintjob and a set of Suntour Forks on an Apollo Full Sus bike.

Try Apalls Peronelle’s Blush if you can’t drink unadulterated cider.

Or any other alcopop.

I don’t profess to understand women, but I really hope that GJP’s suggestion was a joke.

Giving your cleaner “handcream”. **** sake man, why not go the whole hog and buy her a new hoover! To give your “domestic” a gift that accentuates the servile hand callousing nature of her menial duties to you in exchange for minimal reward, is so thoughtless that if she doesn’t stab you in the eye, be grateful.

It’s like you working in IT and being given “C++ For Dummies” by YOUR boss.

See, if you’d gone to a shop (remember them before Ebay and Amazon closed them all down) and got some advice, fittings, you’d have all the pleasure of correctly fitting shoes, and possibly not even the ones you decided were right, but ones stocked in the shop that *were* right.

I am not being critical or pitching an easy shot at you personally, but just reminding you that internet shopping is cheaper for a reason – theres no customer “service”.

I would “Never” buy shoes off the net. Most people know that size varies from maker to maker, no two size 8’s are going to be exactly the same.

I bought some Northwaves last year and they were 8.5 yet my work shoes (DM’s) are considered a large size 8, and I could get in to a 7.5 in someone elses range. Shimano neede to be a size 9!

There is a point to be made that going to save a couple of quid online, is not always a worthwhile thing, for a fairly low value purchase that will be used for years.

I know these were probably s/h – but used shoes? You dont know about athletes foot, or whatever. If you are cycling at the level that you need expensive shoes, you probably have a decent bike, and recession notwithstanding, probably need to reconfigure your priorities. The saving s/h for a dodgy set of untried fungus ridden footwear is probably not what you spend on a decent dinner for two or a big round of drinks in a bar.