Crap parking but it appears to have been at 05:24 this morning – how many people around at that time of day? Don’t know the area though… Is it even light at that time of day at the moment? Or was that just the tweet at 05:24?

Still snow on the mountains in Crete this morning…

Six VWs, one Skoda, one Audi so far. All very reliable and well put together. No plans to change allegiances.

Except perhaps for an old Merc or Porsche as an extra plaything. Not an old Honda or Nissan, though.

No, the introverted programmer stares at his own shoes…

I write C# ASP.Net all day long and love it. It pays well, too. I’m very happy doing what I do after years of sales / customer service dead end jobs. These helped enormously though as they taught me communication skills. The old joke about ‘How do you identify an extrovert programmer? They stare at YOUR shoes’ has some truth in it!

All the tools you need for web dev are free and there are some good tutorials available for free – I’m entirely self taught and had a couple of lucky breaks. Go for it. You don’t need a degree – I don’t have one – just a willingness to learn and the ability to get on with people.

Go for it and good luck!

We never holiday in this country because it’s shite.

We’re closer to Brussels than Newcastle if we want a city break, it’s far easier and cheaper to go to northern France if we want a weekend break and everything is cheaper on the continent.

The only joys of getting back from holiday are our lovely house and cats – not this sodding overpriced craphole of a country.

No Octavias mentioned until page two! What is happening to STW?

Our Octy hatch has been brilliant for the 105000 miles that we’ve had it. Now on 140000 and mechanically pretty good. Don’t see why an estate would be any less good. Mrs JA will very likely have another Octy when the time comes (unless I can persuade her to buy a 500SL Mercedes!)

The freedom to worship, the freedom to build your places of worship, the freedom to publically state your faith and attempt to reach converts are EXACTLY the same freedoms that allow us to question and mock your faith.
Its all or nothing, religious people dont get to decide what can be said and what cannot about religion.

Quite

There are however different ways of putting a point across.

Hote Sainte Beuve – a hundred meters or do from the south side of the Jardins du Luxembourg. Fantastic. Look it up on Google streetview and you can even take a look inside.

Excellent restaurants nearby and about four stops on the metro from the Seine.

Would go back like a shot if time allowed.

What I object to is Evangelical Christians ‘witnessing’ their faith and demanding special exemptions from the law .

Me too.

Lets be honest, Christianity doesn’t exactly have a good reputation for this sort of behaviour though does it?

Some of the things that have been done in the name of Christianity are utterly appalling and should never have been done.

I say ‘in the name of’ as the acts bear no relation to what I believe Christianity stands for. The so-called Christian minister in the US who burned the Koran did a hateful thing. Anyone who kills in the name of Christianity is as abhorrent as someone who kills in the name of a different faith as far as I’m concerned.

Anyone is entitled to express their opinion but I believe that with the right so to do comes the responsibility to exercise that right with regard for others and their feelings.

As for a little ribbing, I think that you go far beyond that, Mr Woppit. My opinion – others are clearly available…

For the record and whilst not condoning violence in the name of any faith I wasn’t the least bit surprised at what happened to Charlie Hebdoe. I thought that they overstepped the mark by a long way and contributed to events. Of course they have the right to say what they like but they should exercise that right carefully.

@convert

To answer your first question, no I don’t really need STW to fill in the gaps in my religious knowledge. There are plenty of other ways I could find out. Just interested that it came up on here.

As I may have said earlier, it’s the message and the redemption that matters to me. The date of Easter is determined by the state of the moon, I think, so how much more pagan could that be? Obviously it’s not on the anniversary of the Crucifiction – not sure the date is even known – but it doesn’t matter. Christmas too is just a date – I have heard that Christ is more likely to have been born in September (can’t remember where I heard that) – but again, it’s a date on which we focus our thoughts. Suspiciously close to the equinox though… Another pagan festival subsumed. Again, I don’t care – it’s a focus.

To answer the second (set of) question(s). Yes I was upset about that thread title, yes I would have been unhappy about such a title about any other faith, no I’m not generally that easy to offend.

Woppit pisses me of a lot with his anti Christian stuff. Be an atheist if you wish, but don’t be unpleasant to those who don’t share your views. I don’t castigate atheists, so why should they castigate those who have a faith?

I also don’t agree with standing on a street corner or knocking on doors promoting religion. Some of the best Christians I know simply set a great example and will answer questions about their faith if asked.

And you did ask!

There are so many things that have happened in my life which confirm my faith now. Not then, but now… Hard to explain

its held out against one crititcal comment etc?

Don’t quite follow

Josephus

Interesting point peakyblinder. More research needed.

My faith is not diminished though.

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John

Good point, and yes, of course.

I was thinking of accounts in writings outside of the Bible as there are some / many who would dispute Biblical accounts.

Good post, thank you OP. This thread has made a couple of things clearer.

I must admit that I have wondered about the three days and three nights part of it – although it doesn’t really matter about the timescale, I guess. The message and the meaning is the most important thing and the Crucifiction and our redemption is the vital thing.

I was very upset by Woppit’s thread title and I’m glad that there is another thread on here which is much more meaningful.

There are some pagan festivals that have been incorporated into the Christian calendar – Yuletide / Christmas, Eostre / Easter but this just makes it more interesting. God is the same God whatever we call him but we all worship in different ways and maybe at different times. It matters not, Christian or Islam or Buddhist or something else. God is God.

There is evidence of Bibilical events in history – I think it was Josephus who wrote about Christ in his writings – and there is evidence of the Flood in C Leonard Woolley’s book about his excavations in Ur of the Chaldees. (Fantastic book by the way).

Julian – not a very good Christian but would like to be a better one.

In my experience this is standard landlord behaviour

It does happen, but I think you may be within your rights to get certain things fixed and withhold the cost from the rent. Check your legal rights and good luck!

I wouldn’t dream of treating our tenants in the way the op describes – they pay us good money and deserve to have a decent place to live. If stuff needs fixing it gets done – the tenants stay happy and it protects our investment. Landlords who don’t look after their properties are simply storing up a load of hassle and expense for later and I don’t understand why they do this.

Very tempting!

Thanks all – keep those observations coming!

Thanks guys. Was hoping to get an older one – the one after the pagoda top mega expensive one.

Liking the idea of an SL for three grand as well! The 2.8 isn’t that quick though – surprised that it’s not as quick as either of our cars!

Good point about Hill Farm CFH, cheers. Will have a look next time I’m going that way. – might even pop over there today.

hels – Member
I think folk who park in disabled spaces when they aren’t disabled should be knee-capped. They are almost begging for it.

Hmmm.

I never park in disabled spaces (despite being exempt from these regulations by reason of driving an Audi) except outside our local Halfords/Maplin where the ratio of disabled spaces to non-disabled is not equivalent to what I would think is the ratio of disabled people to non-disabled…

Some balance required to make it all work.

I’ll look forward to it CFH. Getting thirsty again…

GFOS is brilliant, and +1 for VSCC events at Prescott. A lovely venue – and there’s a stem railway a few miles away.

Shelsley Walsh is on my to do list as well!

Google for Nick Heidfeld’s 100.385mph outing at GFOS in 1999! Scarily quick – and no wonder they stopped timing those runs after that…

Nuremberg rally would be interesting.

Petra when the Naboteans were building it.

The junction near Arkhanes in Crete when PLF was abducting General Kriepe.

Any time at the Villa Ariadne when John Pendlebury et al were there.

So many possibilities!

Yikes!

I certainly wouldn’t pay for any courses until you have exhausted all the free stuff available.

W3Schools do some basic stuff to give you a grounding, there’s stacks of stuff on ASP.Net MVC etc.

As to higher said, what do you want out of it? Do you want to write a web site? If so do you need dynamic content (ie from a database)? If so you will need to learn a server side technology and some database skills.

Let us know where you want to go and we might be able to find you some free resources.

Oh, and don’t buy any development tools – you can go a long way with free ones!

BillMC – Member
I think you’ve rather missed the point, Julian.

Quite deliberately, I assure you.

But I’d much rather not have some oik representing me in Parliament though. We should aim for the highest common denominator, not the lowest.

Who on earth would want to identify themselves as being working class?

Apart from 4% of MPs, obviously.

Aren’t you pretty intolerant of everything that normal people like, molgrips?

PePPeR – Member
Or a coil pack on its way out.

Wondered about that initially but it didn’t sound like the symptoms when my coil packs went. It wouldn’t run right at all when they went. Not intermittent – all the time. Awful fuel consumption and performance too!

I’d be looking at the fuel side of things.

By the way, thanks again Bikebouy for the heads up on the product enhancement on coil packs. Not sure if you got my thank you the first time round. Mine have been fine since they were done.

Good luck OP with sorting it. Lovely cars. Mine’s just turned 100k on a 54 plate and still feels great and goes well. Hope your mum’s does too!

Not a great idea to go into any wet part of a cave when the weather forecast is for rain or it has been raining for a few days!

I’ve seen the water going into Swildon’s though the caver’s entrance… Even if you could wait it out in a dry section I wouldn’t fancy it.

The silica mines are a good place for a snorkel! Crystal clear water…

Dived in there too when the caver’s fair at SWCC was on one year. About 1995.

We have all of them on DVD – might be time to start again when we’ve finished Yes Prime Minister and Secret Army…

Bit harsh shooting the kids – start wth the irresponsible parents.

It’s embarrassing when townies let you down in the countryside. Makes you understand why farmers try to close rights of way.

Not quite the same thing but I ‘flew’ the Lightning simulator at Tangmere last weekend.

Probably the closest I will ever get!

@DavidB Bear it in mind for sometime in the summer maybe? Pretty hectic few weeks coming up but might be free weekdays in June if my contract doesn’t get renewed.

Loved the Welsh slate mine link.

There used to be some fascinating remains near Corris – several levels you could get into and a whacking great hole in the hillside above them. Also a slate works with tramway remains outside. Aberllefenni I think?

Went on a tour of a working gold mine years ago. It was Wales’ only one at the time. Don’t know if it’s still there.

STW meet in Priddy for a bimble around Swildons anyone’s? And maybe a pint in the New Inn or the Queen Vic? Didn’t like the Hunters.

Oh, and had some GREAT trips down Singing River. Not a beginner’s trip though!

I was a BEC member around 1994-1995 so a bit later than you, wf. It was a bit mental… Had some fun times though!

Jingles – John Williams – was a great guy. Tony J, also deceased, ran BAT Products and was a very hard caver. Good guy. Zot rings a bell but I wouldn’t recognise most people from those days now.

Part of me would like to revisit some of those places but it was a bad, single, unhappy, vodka guzzling time of my life I don’t want to go back to.

Ambrose – which cave divers? I had the misfortune to cave with someone from SWC whom I didnt like but Gavin Newman was ok. I did meet a guy called Clive who was pretty unassuming – and a very experienced cave diver!

Ambrose – possibly! We’ve certain been through some of the places you describe. I think Blue Pecil Passage is well named – the last bit over the stream passage is certainly sporting!

MrsJulianA has tried caving – to her eternal credit – but hated it! Swildons, OFD I.

Sometimes I have a hankering to go again – like now, after a couple of glasses of wine – but we prefer three or four star hotels on the continent together to -four star caving huts apart!

At least my vodka consumption has ceased along with my caving days. Would still like to try cave diving though… Although a flight in a local Yak 52 is a much more appealing and likely prospect now!