cb – think you can find it through TravelZoo (they pick out ‘deals’ each day).

We stayed ~3 miles inland from Albufeira a few years ago and really enjoyed it, seemed very relaxed part of the world, although Albufeira town in August might be pretty busy! And hot. The good thing is that your on the Atlantic coast so there tends to be a cooling sea breeze by the coast, but that means you have to watch the little ones more, keep them out of the midday sun etc. Since the resort isn’t near the train line, I would hire a car – that way you can enjoy restaurants and beaches away from the resort if you want. There is a Continente supermarket at Algarve shopping by the IC4. The coastline is stunning. The wine is cheap. And if you got an opportunity, there are some nice bits of singletrack nearby…

Stoner – Member
not sure if I like him yet or not

He’s only been a pro (and wining races) for, like, 3 years. Oh and mountain bike world champ before that. How long does it take to form an opinion?

He is a great talent, “one is a generation” and all that, but I’m also not sure if I like him. Cancellara told Sagan again and again to share the last climb with him in Stage 1 and he just sucked onto Cancellara’s back wheel and then took the win. But it wasn’t a sprint finish, it was a hill climb… Jury’s still out for me.

Given climate scientists are mostly going to be people with a pretty strong grasp of maths, stats, computer modelling etc. – if they wanted a safe job with lots of money and all that they’d have become accountants or something

Probably be financial analysts actually, very similar maths (stochastic, chaotic systems; extreme value statistics)… most of my Masters course went into banking.

According to some more sensible, less sensationalistic weather professionals everything we are seeing [with regard to the weather] is within normal statistical limits. We would have to see consistent change [in weather patterns on the daily timescale] for fifty [30] years before they would agree that the world was warming up [the warming global temperature is a cause of a perceived increase in extreme events].

FTFY. With regard to climatic change (climate being the 30 year average of weather observations), then the climate is different now to what it was 30 years ago and before, as described by GrahamS. It’s determining whether or not the extreme events we are observing (the extreme monsoons and flooding in Pakistan last year, extreme rainfall here in 2007 and last week, etc.) are outside the ‘statistical norm’ that is very difficult to say without many more years of observations.

I find a nasal spray is the only thing that relieves the itchy throat/ears. I’m on Beconase at the mo. If it’s an option, try having days out at the seaside.

Haymax – also something similar on the thread last week, looks like Vaseline might be just as effective, but you might look a bit silly :).

NeilBolton

I concede that the message that has been put in the media, especially early on, has at times been over the top, sensationalised and at times has been wrong. This is partly from the lack of experience scientists have / had in dealing with the media and from its spin on things (how to sell a story)… But we can’t just blame the media. e.g. the early IPCC report statement on glacier melt in the Himalaya. There should have been much more rigourous checks and statements about uncertainty – but I think the authors didn’t want to report to read to a legal document with a caveat at every page! Its main purpose was to inform and I think it has achieved that.

The science, and in particular, the uncertainty analysis has come a long way since the IPCC started reporting, which is perhaps something that the public isn’t too aware of. And scientists are getting a lot more support on how to talk to and use the media and other forms of communication a lot more.

It is actually very useful to hear people’s opinions on climate change/AGW because it gives those in the science community an idea of how the public perceives both the science and the message that they are hearing.

I’ll “duck out” now!

These ‘scientists’ have probably got families to feed and mortgages to pay, so as long as they’ve got a seat on the climate change bandwagon the larder will be full.

Lol. Again, we seem to missing the difference between weather and climate; between observations and the ‘dark art’ of science (making sense of the observations, understanding the system and … as has been asked of the ‘scientists’ by Government, making predictions of what might happen).

The climatic observations are quite clear and scientifically rigourous. Global mean temperature is increasing, and associated with that there are numerous climatic effects that are documented and measured. These are facts. Now, there are regional variabilities overlying this global, spatial mean. Some places are cooling, some are warming. In some locations, sea level is rising but in some it has been falling, on average, for the last 10 years. But on average, averaging spatially over the globe and taking a trend in the data, we are observing trends in a lot of atmospheric and oceanic data which could have severe consequences to humanity.

If, as a society, we don’t spend some (a very small amount of) money (compared with most other Government spending) on investigating these observations, in trying to better our understanding of the driving mechanisms and improve predictions and uncertainty anaylsis, then we set ourselves up for a catastrophic fall. There was a recent paper that found the cost of setting-up, calibrating and running the flood warning system for the east USA was covered by the potential costs saved from good early warning for one specific hurricane a few years ago. Generally, investing in science is extremely cost-effective, from an economic point of view.

One of the biggest enemies to getting the climate change message across is that the messages that are put out tend to be over-simplified or wrong. The converts and the gullible will ignore this, but surely the target must be the sceptics, so the messages must be consistent and correct?

This is of course true, but a problem is explaining the difference between weather and climate; between long-term averages and extreme events and the statistics that scientists use on these very different observations. Whether or not the rise in global mean atmospheric temperature is a driving factor in the more extreme variation in the jet stream track(s) we have observed recently is something we won’t know for a few years yet, and may never be able to decipher with sufficient statistical rigour. The sceptics will jump on that scientific rigour and say ‘there is no proof’, but there is good evidence of climatic changes.

The latest anomaly is a consequence of natural variability in the system, but whether the more extreme Rossby wave locations and its consequences on extreme events observed on the ground have been accentuated by global temperature increases is something that will take a long time and a lot of effort to determine.

lol.

The NAO figures give a good explanation. If you are interested, search for Rossby waves and the jet stream. (The NAO is derived from observations of surface pressure and is an indicator of jet stream activity by proxy, really. Similarly to other atmospheric patterns. The driving mechanism comes from troposphere / stratosphere interactions and instabilities in the Rossby wave patterns. For example, during the extremely cold winter we had 2010-2011, extreme weather was mimiced around the globe as the Rossby wave pattern had shifted. Similarly, there is/has been ‘unusual’ weather around the Northern Hemisphere with this latest ‘anomaly’, e.g. US east coast heat wave and associated storms.)

I had quite a bit of orthodontic work when I was younger. Had 4 teeth out, then braces top and bottom, both fixed and then retaining plate (worn full time for about 1 year, then only at night). Took 3-4 years to move 6 teeth on top and 6 on bottom. The fixed braces are a bit painful / achey to begin with each time they change something (like when your wisdom teeth come through the jaw area aches, every 3 months for me) and the retaining plate is hell to keep clean (its difficult to eat with it in, like false teeth crap gets up behind it and you have to take it out and clean it) and also took a while to get used to speaking with it initially, but overall I don’t remember the experience being that bad. In comparison to your issues at present you probably wouldn’t notice it, but it does take time (years). The caveat is I was a teenager, so my teeth were newer, and they were my front teeth so easier to move around. (Although my back teeth also moved back to fill the gaps left by the removed ones, they seemed to move together so the occulsion wasn’t an issue.) With your molers, it might be harder to get them to align to their worn positions.

+1 on get a third opinion. Good luck.

Further information on the TBE endemic regions of Europe and latest advice for travellers is available at the website tickalert.org

or you could get independent advise from the NHS…

I tend to look through the owner adverts, like holiday-rentals, home-away, vrbo, as they tend to be cheaper than those going through a third party. I’ve also had luck finding cheap cottages through Sykes cottages out of high season, but emailing the owner directly to reduce the fees. e.g. £500 for a week, in Penmachno.

Unfortunately I don’t think the LOC are very clear in these circumstances. You certainly can’t sell the ticket at a profit. Section 17 of the T&Cs state “Tickets may only be used by the Purchaser and a family member, friend or colleague who is known to the Purchaser personally and who is intended to accompany the Purchaser to a Session”, amongst other things… which suggests you need to attend as the Purchaser. However, the media write ups suggest that, they won’t be checking ID on entry and as long as you as the Purchaser are contactable in the case of any query (i.e. you can tell them you gave the third party the ticket because you are attending another event), then it should be fine. Since the ticket resale program is now closed, I don’t see what choice you have.

Good luck with that! And have fun…

Ride the Clwyds gives details of some routes in the Clwyds. The routes around Moel Parc, Penycloddiau and Moel Arthur are nice bridleways, but might be 10-15km each way from his door, so depends how fit he is! Otherwise he could get the train from Rhyl down the Conwy valley and ride the trail centre or natural trails around Llanwrst/Betws, again if he’s fit enough.

You can check whether or not you are in a flood zone using the EA’s flood maps, here. But as said, for the most likely things you will claim for (e.g. theft) it shouldn’t matter if you were to make a claim. Unfortunately I think each time you come to renew you might have to go through this process, until all of the underwriters come to some agreement on more consistent use of the flood maps, previous history etc.

Boarding Bob, the EA update their flood models all the time and it may be that the Flood Zones have been updated recently, meaning your postcode is now in a flood area, when previously it wasn’t. Obviously as a renewal it hasn’t been picked up by the M&S system (yet).

There is a campsite just outside Llandegla village (Llyn Rhys). Have never stayed there so can’t comment on it.

Alternatively if you ring Wrexham tourist office tomorrow (after 10) on 01978 292015 they might be able to find somewhere nearby. One of the ladies who works there sometimes has rooms to rent, about 2 miles from the forest, if its a small group.

As said, a lot of the things ‘to do’ in Wales are getting out and enjoying the countryside.

If you are in to nature/wildlife:
– Look for dolphins off the New Quay to Cemaes Head coast (e.g. Ynys Lochtyn, Mwnt) walking along the coastal footpath.
– If you get far enough west visit the puffins at Skomer/Skokholm or from the Stacks off Anglesey.
– Both the Anglesey and south-west coasts are fantastic to try out sea kayaking.
– If you’re staying around Tenby/Saundersfoot you can look for otters, owls and bats at dusk at Carew Castle.

Heading north to south on the coast, this campsite is great, right on the coast, middle of nowhere, but might be busy if its the school hols. You can bike round the foothills of Cadair Idris from the site if you’re fit.

If you like solitude, the Berwyn mountains are very remote and not at all touristy. Pistyll Rhaeadr is the tallest single drop waterfall in the UK. I have been recommended this campsite by friends, on the River Dee in Carrog, over the bridge to a pub, and 10 mins drive the Pontcysyllte Aquaduct, which I would also recommend seeing if your passing.

To be honest, I could spend 2 weeks in just one bit (Anglesey, Snowdonia, Pembrokeshire)… as long as the weather’s reasonable!!

Just my tuppence worth, but it seems to really depend on what industry and what level of job you are appyling to. As long as you tailor your CV to each application (and also the covering letter) and it’s concise, is someone really going to throw it in the bin because of font/colour/layout? I agree that it needs to look professional and convey an understanding of what ‘professional’ means in that industry, but other that, really?

Smallpedals. Personally I would remove the recommendation and try to reduce the CV to mainly fit into 2 pages, with a third for affiliations, referees etc (in my academic CV it also includes publications). Although I am finding it difficult to stick to that if there is no separate application form, because I feel like I have to match each “skill” in there somewhere so HR don’t bin it before the technical guys have a chance to see my skillset! But that’s just my opinion, and I haven’t got a job yet!!

My qu to the recruiters would be, how do I convey my broad expanse of knowledge in a sector in just 2 pages whilst matching each of the skills required (with an example)? How would you structure the sentences without sounding like you’re ticking off a list?

The vagueness of the statements in the press article derive from vagueness in the White Paper, unfortunately. Having read through it, it really isn’t clear what the Welsh Assembly mean by ‘urban’ footpaths and they make vague statements about allowing cyclists and, sometimes, equestrians, to utilise footpaths, but only in certain cases, but doesn’t outline how those cases will be judged and how the change in right of way will be implemented (although it does explicitly state that local authorities won’t be required to change the signposting – so I suspect that will be a source of conflict in itself!). The White Paper seems a nice idea, but just not that well implemented when you think about the practicalities (i.e. there are statements in there about having to maintain a cycle path to a certain design standard, which might be appropriate for urban school-run type shared use routes, but not really for more rural paths). I would note that the Paper specifically relates to travel by foot and cycle for A to B journeys like the school-run and commuting, not for leisure.

Back to the OP’s point… there are pros and cons to each of the tidal/wave power generation systems. As stated above, barrier generation has potential issues with siltation etc. but more so with the potential habitat loss and EU legislation and possible effect on far-field tides. These issues could be overcome with sufficient political willpower, but it appears easier to look at smaller scale developments: tidal stream and wave. With regard to the tidal stream, I agree it is very encouraging that the demo site is working so well and without too many technical difficulties. As far as I know, whilst the test site will continue to operate operationally to prove reliability and resilience to more extreme conditions, there is on-going research into impacts of the structures and their energy extraction which should complete in the next few years (see here for examples). So the Government is funding research in a timely manner in order to enable to role out of the devices, once the commercial operators are satisfied of the robustness of the devices and their risk in (attempting) to install them. Key sites around the UK are known, where the tidal stream is strong (but not so strong it could jepardise the operation!) but until we can show there are no detrimental effects or mitigatable effects to the near and far-field, commercial companies aren’t going to take any further financial risk in moving forward with installations.

If you’re ambitious you can also siphon bathwater into them too.

My auntie has been doing this for years! Please note, however, that it does not comply with the Building Regs (in case someone puts something foul down the bath, e.g. washes paint after decorating, which subsequently ends up contaminating the ground).

skiprat, we are only party to those snippets of information provided by journalists present at the trial; the jury made the decision to find Evans guilty and Carlton not based on the evidence. My opinion, and it is just that, from reading the reported snippets on the BBC website is that, although Carlton had sex with the woman whilst she was drunk, it was difficult to ascertain with any certainty the circumstances by which she got to the hotel and most importantly (I believe), when Carlton left, he went via the front desk and asked the receptionist to “make sure [the woman] gets home safely”. Evans, on the other hand, made statements in court that he “didn’t remember” making a phone call to Carlton and getting in a taxi with the two who stood outside the window filming, yet he could remember exactly what the woman said when in the hotel; he lied to the receptionist to obtain a key card for the room; and when he left, he left by the emergency exit, avoiding the reception area. I think those were the key differences.

It’s so sad and worrying that these comments have come out, as it will deter any victim of sexual abuse from going through court proceedings. It’s difficult enough as it is to get victims to testify. And there is a sense that some members of society just don’t understand the letter of the law regarding rape and what rape is.

EDIT: aracer put it more elequantly than me!

If the weather is crap, the Baltic Fleet opposite King’s Dock on Wapping serves good beer, but I think it still doesn’t really do food.

If you are happy walking / getting a taxi, the usual suspects are Ship & Mitre and Thomas Rigby’s on Dale St (about 10 min walk between them) serve good beer and ‘pub grub’, and the Phil on Hope St which similarly serves nice beer, but tend to be change whats on tap on a Monday so there might only be 3-4 draughts on tap.

Or if you think you’ll want to stay out after 11pm, head towards the Bold St area. Again, ~30 min walk from Albert / Kings Dock, along Hannover St. Renshaw St has a number of indians, Berry St has china town / toukyou noodle bar, there is a nice tapas bar (50% if you sign up to their email list) behind the Fact cinema (where you can have a pint while watching a film), and the Shipping Forecast on Slater St does a range of beers on tap.

I worked in industry (consultancy) 3 1/2 years ago and they went through their redundancies then (4 tranches between 4 years and 2 years ago). I am now in a public sector building (academia) and the threat of redundancies is only just starting – the first tranch is going ahead now and `reviews’ are underway for the next 3 years, so there will be similar redundancies thereafter. So the fall-out from the Government spending cuts are more spread out than that from the initial recession (i.e. some local authorities took the axe out straight away whereas a lot of Government funded bodies inc. NHS will have their funding gradually cut over the next 4 years).

Personally, 3 years ago: None. Now: 2.

kayak.com / skyscanner.net suggest you can fly from MAN->BRI via Zurich on Swiss in about 5:15 hrs or from Leeds Bradford to Bari (with 2 stops) with Alitalia in 6-6:30 hours. However, cost might be prohibitive (£380 for Alitalia flights, ~£500 Swiss rtn) compared with flying direct to Naples with Easyjet and driving/train.

It may just be slight dehydration causing a lower-than-normal blood pressure. Had you drunk plenty before and during the ride, did you feel thirsty at all? Especially if you’ve recently upped the amount of exercise you do (which can lower your blood pressure). Hope the `investigation’ of your ECG comes back normal.

Our solicitor also quoted around £100. We didn’t take it. As far as I am aware, the cases above were significant landowners, which is why the Church asked them to provide. If the Church wanted to request funds in this way from its less-well-off parisheners, my understanding is that it would have to ask everyone else in your parish to contribute for fairness and as such, you would be splitting the cost over every home in the village, weighted by the area of land they own. So even if they started to recoup costs in this way, which is extremely unlikely, you would only be looking at a fraction of the costs incurred by the Church. We saw it as a risk worth taking. But your Solicitor is supposed to be acting on your behalf and as such he should be giving you honest advice about how likely the Church are to claim and what the consequences of that would be. Like OMITN says…

I know of a few people at my present work who used to work for BAS, although most of the scientists I know who have been to Antarctica went on cruise ships and only visited the Antarctic base(s) for a few days to a week, the rest of the time was spent at sea. Are you applying for one of the BAS Field Assistant positions (linky)?

My impression is its a really beautiful but also strange place to spend any length of time, because of the fact you live in the self-contained base. You have to get along with people, experience of living in close conditions is really beneficial! I would recommend applying for the 6 month summer season only (to begin with). Overwintering sounds like it can be very claustrophic and you also start to lose perception of things like colour (I genuinely heard this from more than one source).

But for those down sides, it can be a once in a lifetime opportunity to be paid to go somewhere other people pay thousands to get to, and most staff will have the opportunity to venture outside of the base stations and see the amazing wildlife (though be careful of the leopard seals!)

Good luck, whatever you chose to do.

We have an inflatable canoe, cost more like £300 second hand including all the kit. I would comment that steering an inflatable canoe is harder work than a rigid; I would only consider an inflatable with a tracking fin, else it becomes really hard work. However, ours is \very\ stable; you really couldn’t roll it if you tried. We bought an inflatable because of storage and transport issues. If you have a roof rack and a good, dry and secure place to store a rigid then it will probably be nicer to paddle. The alternative view of course, is that with an inflatable you can start from one part of a coast or river, pootle down it and then pack down the boat into a carry case and get a bus back to where you started :) (Although the boat gets very heavy when wet).

For that kind of money, you could see if your local Halfords has any old 2009/2010 stock which isn’t online. I got a Carrera Valour (no longer made) for about half the list price and whilst the frame is heavy, the groupset is fine. And for less than £200 (and considering I don’t exactly look after it!) its done me well for commuting.

“Preferably a good real ale pub with nice atmosphere and no tellies or karaoke.”

Depending on which bit of the city centre you are staying in either:
– Ship & Mitre (Dale St), great beer selection, good pub food. Also Rigby’s (Dale St, pub food) and The Lion Tavern (Moorfields). Tapas at La Vina (opposite Rigby’s) is quite good if you need something more substantial in that area.
– Philharmonic (Hope St, by the cathedrals), usually 5-8 beers on tap, only listed urinal in the UK, can be busy.

The curry houses are mostly along Renshaw Street, so the Phil/Bold St area is closest. But there are loads of good places to eat, depends on your budget!

EDIT: And as Binners suggested, the Baltic Fleet serves good beer, so if you are staying in the vicinity of the docks, it’s a good bet.

+1 for Zopa or Funding Circle. After the handling fee I’m making ~6% per annum on my Zopa loans, and only had one default (out of ~130 loaners) so not as bad as had been quoted when I signed up. Better than a bank for both sides and cutting out the middle man.

Cape Town itself is quite a small city (or at least a small city centre because of the shape of the bay/mountain) and the suburbs don’t really have much in them. However, the bus tour gives a good overview of the city, its history etc. The tour of Robben Island is worth doing. If you wake up and the sky is clear, walk up Table Mountain – don’t plan it for a specific day in case the cloud is in!

Assuming you are hiring a car, if you are into wildlife, the penguins at Stony Point are lovely and it seemed a nicer viewing location than at Simon’s Town. Also the trip around the bay on the R44 is as pretty as Chapman’s Peak drive, IMO. If you drive to Cape Point, you will very likely see babboons and ostrich.

In the immediate area around the vineyards, its all about the wine (and brandy) with hiking in the nature reserves of the surrounding hills. There are some MTB trails near Klapmuts (here[/url]) but we didn’t use them so can’t comment.

Enjoy the hols, its a lovely part of the world.

I would add, if you are new to growing your own, it’s worth investing in a heated propagator for the chilli seeds (+ others), unless you keep your house really toasty. Some chillis (especially the Chinense varieties) need to be wamer than 25 deg C (most state 28-30 deg C for 7-21 days) to germinate. Once they’ve popped up, just take them out of the propagator and onto a windowsill with lots of sunshine. We’ve managed to grow hardy chillis outside (Cayenne, Bulgarian Carrot) but when I had access to a greenhouse last year, the plants grew 3-4 times the size and so we got so much more from them.

Just looked online, our boiler now costs more like £860 inc. VAT. B&Q will sell you a cheap, non-branded boiler from £600 (depending how big you need it). You can save money by buying a wireless controller and the thermostatic radiator valves and fitting them yourselves, so it all meets regs when the plumber comes to fit the boiler.

Having re-read your post, I see your issue really is with credit. You will be much better off going through a local fitter, but obviously that depends if you can muster the cash together…

The quick answer – yes that is expensive. We worked out what size we needed for our place (no. radiators + hot water use) and bought online. We got a 24kW combi for about £775 in 2007 and had it fitted for about £350 by a local fitter. You can thus chose a boiler that you want (e.g. decide whether you want to spend more on a good brand) and as long as you make sure you get the installation certificate for when you sell up, you should easily be able to get a new boiler installed to regs (and the old one disposed of) for less than £1,500.

The St Peter’s Best Bitter is a very nice, easy to drink but tasty 3.7% bitter. If you can get it in barrels that would be my choice, with a more ‘interesting’ Yorkshire brew if you want. I’ll be keeping an eye on this thread having moved to Cambridgeshire to see what other breweries exist around here (other than GK!).

Obviously it depends on what you want – how many bedrooms, younger or older kids or couple, etc. but I’ve found its generally cheaper on the north Pembrokeshire coast (e.g. Gernos Fawr[/url], Penwern). Around Barafundle / Bosherton or the west coast (Newgale / Broad Haven) also seems cheaper than around Saundersfoot / Tenby. Try ownersdirect.co.uk or holiday-rentals.co.uk for cottages. Haven’t got any recommendations though, sorry!

/tuts/ honestly…

If the tea has been made in a pot you can put the milk in first (i.e. teamhurtmore’s reasoning), but if the tea is being made in the mug, it needs near boiling water on the leaves to make a proper brew, otherwise you end up pummelling the tea bag to get any taste and end up with a load of tannin; so always milk after.

Mogrim’s suggestion looks good. You could also try Ultraedit’s free trial (normally costs $60) if it’s just for today.