Waitrose has 100g for £2.20

I suffer from frozen toes in winter, and have just purchased some lovely neoprene toe covers from Snow and Rock (£6.99). I had seen something on wiggle for £20, so was very chuffed to snaffle an opportunistic bargain whilst lurking in Covent garden over the weekend. I’ve never got on with sealskin socks as I find them desperately uncomfortable. This could be the half and half measureI’ve been looking for!

Glow in the dark handlebar tape :oops:

If I wasn’t married, and didn’t have a job already that I quite like, I would definitely be looking at private tutoring abroad. There’s a job in the TES at the moment at £70,000 and a flat in Barcelona to coach a pupil for US college admission. I saw one last year that was offering £100,000 and a flat in NY! Oh, but the proviso was you had to be on-hand to tutor wherever the family was in the world- at their home in Verbier or Mustique as well as NY…tough life

Blackadder Goes Forth is still the mainstay of any course covering the First World War. Agree that there’s so much to learn- today my class were learning about Empire troops who voluteered from all over the world to fight on the Western Front.

This poses an interesting dilemma for me because I’m a history teacher, I’ve taken trips to the WWI and WWII battlefields and to preserved concentration camps. IMO there is nothing more sobering, and emotional that happens as a direct result of education and I think everyone in this country, and all coutries, should do this as a matter of course.
However, I also agree that with a limited pot, there are probably other competing claims for this money.
As ever, glad I’m not the one making the decisions!

One big trail in Dalby itself- 30+ KM, with a group and sandwich stop, it’s around 4hrs.
If you then refer to the Vertebrate Guide: North York Moors by Tony Hawker things on the moors, a spectacular open wilderness, open up.
Group faves for us are 11, the Rosedale Abbey circuit, 16, Ravenscar, 12, Blakey Bank Circuit and 9, Sneck Yate Bank. T
here is also another trail centre on the north of the moors at Guisborough, the last time I went there I got a bit geographically embarrassed though so I’m pretty sure I missed the best bits!

Pickering’s only 15 mins drive if you have a car.
There are lodges in the forest http://www.dalbyforestlogcabins.co.uk/

Good Tom Clancy on the possibility of Russia/China kicking off is ‘The Bear and the Dragon’. Obviously ‘supported fiction’ but his attention to detail makes for a gripping read.

I thought the rising meat costs were caused by a global spike in feed prices which was leading to stock slaughtering-particularly effects pigs as they are quicker to replace.

Fact, the politicos are a terrible bore. Are there any countries where this is not the case-it would be fun to go and work there!

No not mistaken,just at cross purposes I think. I just thought spending a term in a state school being paid by the government counted as work a little bit. I wouldn’t consider myself any kind of expert, but I am really interested in the future of education, which why I’ve been enjoying the message board. I think it is all teachers that are being criticised, not just those in the state sector. Educationalists as a whole are not that well respected in society, but it is difficult to put a finger on why. Anyway, all this talk about teaching beats fretting about tyre choices for this weekend!

As I’ve said, I have worked in the state sector, and I understand the frustration. Which is why I don’t work in that sector any more, but have huge respect for those that do.

I think like any profession there are bits you don’t like-I missed a good friends wedding this weekend because it was on a Friday and I can’t take two days off work. But I also think that what is upsetting teachers at the moment is the changing of the goalposts. With pensions, the teaching pension pot was one of the few that was self funding, in that the people teaching now cover the pension of those retired. Our pension pot was raided to cover over pension costs, which many thought of (not unfairly) as mean. With the EBAC, no one really knows what this will mean. With the leaving age being raised to 18, is there even any point in a set of exams at 16? It is just a shame that education is politicized. What I do know is this; people from around the world believe in our whole education system enough to spend tens of thousands and/or relocate to access it-suggests it’s not all bad?

In the sense that even if you know that ‘germany’ were partially responsible for starting the First World War, everyone would be more impressed if it were ‘Germany’!

Interestingly, spg marks are coming back into the GCSE from 2015 for the first time in years. Will be 5 marks out of 50 or 75 (depending on the paper). They are awarding marks not just based on accuracy, but also on the range of vocabulary used.

Both our pay and pensions are pegged to the national pay scale- the benefit of being in the private sector is more freedom over budgets-for us that means we can buy new textbooks and stock the department library for extra reading.

and I also work Saturdays and usually 3-4 Sundays a term

No….not since training. But no qualms about doing so in the future

Teaching is the most awesome job ever…if you have a great school, great colleagues and enjoy the company of kids. I take great pride in being a teacher and I really enjoy it, which is why I chose it as a career. The holidays are tops, about 17 weeks paid a year, and in the last 7 years these have included paid for trips to Verbier x4, Aosta Valley x1, Cyprus x2, Berlin x4, Krakow and Auschwitz x1, Chamnonix x1 plus DofE expeditions twice a year in the UK. I get to coach rowing and netball, train 15 year olds in weapon handling, read as many books as I can get my hands on and indulge my passion for my subject (History).
We all have our choices; mine = winning.

First G&T of the evening in, can I suggest a long term view? Post 1947, and the creation of the NHS (or indeed post 1912 and NI) all our parties have been pulled to the centre. Right wing can’t get rid of ‘socialist’ health service (hopefully!) and left wing can’t get rid of banks (spineless). Thus “politics” is mostly wrangling over the fine print, therefore intrinsically boring and alienating to most of the electorate (low voter turnout). Result is coalition WITH NO MANDATE totally destroying the country. Result is-going to hell in a handcart, probably with slick tyres to speed entry.

Interesting topic-are there any cardiologists on the forum?
I think it also depends on the type of exercise as well? Many of us would ride for 6-7hrs without batting an eyelid-but running for that long would be another matter entirely. I wonder if it has something to do with where your heart rate sits? I work with quite a lot of ultramarathoners (double marathon+) who probably run at the HR that I bike at, but I can’t run at less than UT1.

I think they were probably thinking of this

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/06/01/marathon-endurance-heart.html

This was widely reported in the “popular” press this summer as a scare story…is there any truth in it?

Let’s look at a training programme put together by professionals…Jurgen Grobler’s rowing squad do three sessions a day, six days a week. 2 water cardio session of 90-100mins in the morning, then one session of 60-90mins weights/ergos in the afternoon. They seem to be pretty fit and healthy, even the athletes who have left the programme have no heart problems.

One theory put forward is that exercise enlarges the heart, as it is a muscle, and that it can then turn flacid if not used…so I guess once and endurance athlete, always an endurance athlete?

I think it’s very personal, so if you (or your mum in my case!) is worried, an ecg, perhaps whilst exercising as part of an assessment, could put your mind at rest.

http://www.bupa.co.uk/individuals/health-assessments/fitnessassessment

I would argue that to be inactive puts you at far greater risk of heart problems…but then I am addicted to exercise and in race season train A LOT!

Thanks guys-that was driving me crazy!

Ty Afan is great- self catering cottage, really friendly (local)owners so cash goes into local economy. Big kitchen/diner/sitting room downstairs, room for bikes inside on mop-able floor. Bike wash outside.

Phone number at http://www.thevalleys.co.uk/accommodation/ty-afan-holiday-cottage-p5451

Their own website seems to be down at the moment

Poke the badger with a spoon.

These

http://www.teva.co.uk/mens-mush-II-comfortable-beach-flip-flops-uk/4168,en_GB,pd.html?dwvar_4168_color=PXTC&start=4&cgid=men-sandals-flip-flops

Had the ladies version for 5 years and still wearing well. Also, the customer service is really very good.

+1 for The Lives of Others
Also…
Brotherhood…historically very accurate and VERY powerful film about two brothers fighting in the Korean War, great soundtrack. I have watched this with my classes twice a year for the last 7 years and it still brings a lump to my throat. It’s in Korean, but has subtitles.

We have a “connect amp” and two “play.3” amps which is enough for music throughout a two bedroom terrace. All our music is on a hard drive which took a long time but is worth it for ease.I was very sceptical about this system, but it has totally changed the way I listen to music at home. If you have a smart phone, you use that as a controller so you don’t have to buy a separate one.

Try the advice here…

http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/beating-injury/beat-plantar-pain/7554.html#historysub

The first time I used a hilarious elasticated foot sock with velcro strap to stretch the calf during sleep- this time, having lost that contraption moving house, I just did a lot of stretching and icing which helped the same. Rolling a frozen water bottle under the foot can kill two birds with one stone

Borrowdale is the most beautiful IMO…always stay at Borrowdale YHA (deep in the valley), there is also camping on the river just before it. The Lakes are usually very warm at this time of year if you fancy a dip.

Re the Twitter spat-this may be what you’re looking for

http://road.cc/content/news/61829-team-sky-wags-show-strain-tour-hots-up%E2%80%A6-twitter

Not even the olympic stadium is big enough to entertain those 3500 extra troops!

We rode this in the ‘great wetness’ of a few weeks ago. It’s our local trail centre, so we ride it a lot, and it was in the worst condition it’s been for a while. Whilst the trail is still uber fun, because it’s on sand chains dried out really quickly, and one mate ended his ride by snapping a chain then dislocating a thumb. However, the trail above the jump park is in much better condition-it is not ridden as much and is therefore not as rutted out, and the open parts on the back end do dry out quickly in the wind.

I have a friend who nearly lost a finger to frostbite after two nights snowholing on the haute route-the mate he was skiing with was told he couldn’t claim the cost of the hotel near the hospital because he already had a hotel booking in the area…the fact it was a hut 3 VERTICAL km from the hotel didn’t seem a problem to the insurers!

Taylor’s Lazy Sunday. from urgh to MY EYES on a Sunday morning

Jon Ackland’s The Complete Guide to Endurance Training , 2007 devotes lots of room to causes, symptoms and cures for overtraining. The main causes he identifies are:
1. inadequete recovery between sessions
2. excessive amounts of high-intensity (and sometimes high-volume) training.
3.Sudden changes in training load.
Other training factors include…
4.intense strength training
5. frequent competition and travel
6. monotomy in training programme
7. no off-season
Non-training factors include…
8. inadequete nutrition
9. insufficient sleep and rest
10. anxiety
11. occupational stress
12. mental conflict
13. changes and irregularities in lifestyle
14. successive failure to achieve goals

Evening Mr Wells
He doesn’t have an exam on my side of the course this summer so not going to feel too guilty about checking in on the forum during my break!
Good news is the police recovered one of the launches (minus an engine) this morning, so we should be back to coaching sooner than expected.

Reported it to the police. Apparently they had ‘run out of cars’ so might come round tonight to take a statement…or tomorrow!
spanners- I am trying to do something to change society-I’m a teacher

About 50cm!I live in York