Thanks for all the information. Alex, what are your monthly/yearly running costs, either KWH used or monthly electricity DD in £?

Mike, thanks for the offer, I may well be in touch.

I don’t think there are any grants these days, just interest free loans.

Bought one today, £250, 128gb from John Lewis. Will run IOS 12, and didn’t think I could get an iPhone for any less.

Just specced Shimano R7020 shifters with 11 speed 11-42 XT cassette and XT long cage rear mech. The guy helping me build it had to fit a shiftmate to get round the cable pull, but it works a treat. I run a 42t on the front.

I don’t understand why Shimano don’t offer a gravel group set.

Yep, HETAS is an English thing. Not relevant in Scotland, but compelling with building controls and having a safely installed stove definitely applies!

Where are you based? I have two contacts who may be able to help, depending on where you are.

But I would find a decent reputable local chimney sweep, since you will need it sweeping annually anyway.

I’m tempted by one too. Do they link to Strava? I want a watch for running (distance/pace/HR and a beep after each mile). One that can be used for biking, nothing fancy, just total distance from strava at the end. And to be used for hill walking/runnin, GPS grid ref, altimeter and barometer.

On paper the instinct looks like it fits the bill and is under £200? I don’t want a colour fancy map on screen, it is a watch!! Is there anything not to like about the instinct?

Go for the multi fuel.  It is good to have the option of burning coal, even if you only use it occasionally.  It is usually only the grid which is different.

I don’t want £500 pa, that is what I budget.  However when the bill comes in I want each household to pay an equal share as per the deeds, and what is just the right thing to do.  So four households pay and one doesn’t.

Some really good responses and some not so good ones, but thanks for the help.

The only annual work that needs doing is the verge cutting, which was £30 per household, well for the four of us.  The other repairs are as and when, but I budget around £500 a year.  There’s quite a few pot holes which need attention at the moment.  Normal family cars, nothing fancy,no Audis on our road.  Mixture of Skoda, Fords, and smaller fiesta type cars.  Plus the posties van, and any other deliveries that are needed.

Yes they own a vehicle.  It is the only access.  And its not public land behind it is privately owned, and not by them!

The problem being they don’t pony/pay up like reasonable people, because they aren’t.

It seems odd that there is never a mention of Ryobi.  One battery fits loads of tools and for a keen DIYer they seem ideal.  I think you would struggle to tell the difference between a Ryobi and Makita if they weren’t liveried.

Makita/Dewalt/Bosch might last longer (maybe), and may put more into R and D,  but for most people its hard to beat Ryobi.

One tools supplier recently told me that Lidl or Aldi stuff is Makita, that is a few years old and rebadged.

Any recommendations for door fitters in the central belt of Scotland?

He didn’t phone anybody.  When I asked him if he was joking, he then said had I seen the offer on the website, and he produced an up to 50% off voucher.  I said is it 50% off or not?

At that point the price dropped to £4.5k, but still how does he sleep at night.  This could be an older person who would be too polite to tell him to get the f%£& out of their house.

How do these sales people sleep at night, knowing they are ripping people off?

Yes two standard size doors.  Your measurements aren’t far off. Yes standard white ( ok I asked for the garage door to be black)  UPVC, not composite.  Nothing fancy, I just wanted two doors, with some glazing!

I was was absolutely shocked.

I went from a focus estate, to a mondeo hatchback.  Assume you mean hatch opposed to saloon.

Suffice to to say I won’t be going back to the focus.  90k, in 5 years in the mondeo so far.  I picked it up at a car supermarket and interestingly, the mondeo were actually cheaper than the equivalent mileage/age focus. I suspect it’s due to the large number of ex fleet mondeo which get sold after 6-12 months.

But great cars, for me they are a much better bet than a focus estate, others may disagree!

Good service from Specialized UK, through Evans bikes. Shoes that had ridden through two winters were replaced 18 months in to a two year warranty, after the stitching failed.

Anybody had a cube bike replaced under warranty?

The main dealer told my wife the brakes needed replacing on her car.  A few months later I took it to Kwik fit.  They said the brakes didn’t need replacing.  So there are some honest ones out there.

However a a complaint was made to the main dealer.  They refunded all work previously completed on vehicle as I couldn’t be sure it needed doing.

Hence this kwik fit can have my business again.

Try Aspen 2. No more mixing, great fuel with a long shelf life and increases the life of machinery. I use it in chainsaw and brush cutter and think its well worth the price.

Find out more

The retailer should just charge a price for the product/service. Any charges for paying by card are operating costs that they should factor in to the price.

For example Tesco don’t charge for paying on credit card. British Airways do.

Some interesting discussion. I don’t see hunting as any different to fishing or shooting. It’s a country sport for those who choose to indulge. I’m willing to bet a lot of the meat we buy in supermarkets is not killed in a humane way.

Of course the Hunts should follow the law, but in reality couldn’t parliamentary time be better spent on other issues? Having had the unfortunate experience to accompany a friend to a football match before Christmas, I could not believe the amount of swearing etc from the crowd, when there were families present. Just shows how people behave in different situations.

[December saw me buying 2 pallets of wood pellets @ £256 each. Admittedly they will keep me going into January… but that’s £512 on top of stove wood, just to keep the place habitable

Is that biomass? Thought that was meant to be one of the cheapest cost per kWh for heating?

Can’t go wrong with a silky fox saw.

This is STW and nobody has suggested Durbarry, kept next to the wood fuel store?

Thanks guys, i think you’re echoing what I already know but haven’t quite been honest enough with myself.

The downsides:
Hate the place
Management are amazingly incompetent
It’s not like i’m busy, more boredom than being swamped with work
Shifts so It’s not 9-5 or even close

The upsides:
Moneys not too bad
I have full access to external training and am learning what I need to know to get in to Web Development

Is it the shifts that are getting you down? Or the work? Or both?

What gets me about American Express, is that you think it would be good for USD transactions. But no a massive fee of 3%! Halifax clarity card is much better for USD transactions and other overseas transactions.

Do you work every minute that you are in work – never look at your phone, daydream etc?

Yes distractions happen. But can’t help that think smokers look at their phones and daydream at times when they are not out the back smoking and hence are less productive?

Thanks for the code. Have just ordered!

Husqvarna 4wd rider. No grass hopper, but excellent at mulching and you can get a towed sweeper for it if you are really desperate to collect. But 3 acres worth of clippings to deal with us a lot!!

Also articulates in the middle so great for round trees etc.

Sharkbait, what size bar is on that chainsaw? It looks like you have serious timber to cut up!

I have a great respect for teachers. But what nobody seems to be able to tell me, is what do their contracts say? Are they contracted 9-5 Mon-Fri ?

If so then why aren’t the teachers going to their heads and saying “if you want this marking/planning done then you need to allocate me time to do it, because come 5pm I am out of here and going home without a bundle of books.”

Where do the teachers unions stand on this? Has anyone been sacked for not doing work in their own time ?

Still great respect for teachers and I think you guys should be paid double for what you do.

Thanks for the replies. Gigaclear don’t operate in my area. But I have book marked them for future reference. I will keep pestering BT. To be fair to BT they have at least ordered a “review.” But I know the problem won’t be fixed without investment from BT/Openreach!

A set of Triton super jaws, with the log jaws fitted. Great bit of kit, really handy for a lot of things.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/triton-sja300-superjaws-xxl-portable-clamp-1000mm/8701P?kpid=8701P&cm_mmc=Google-_-Product%20Listing%20Ads-_-Sales%20Tracking-_-sales%20tracking%20url&cm_mmc=Google-_-Shopping%20-%20Tools-_-Shopping%20-%20Tools-_-all%5Ctools%5Cother_242a82fe-4406-8da8-1ac0-000051b3ee72&gclid=CKjchc3W5M0CFcluGwodLucJYg

just make sure you get the heavier duty model, as most places only sell the lighter version.

Looks like a great bike. But looking at the website, Orange weld their steel P7 frames in the far east. But their aluminium fives etc are still welded in Halifax.

I would have thought it would be easy to weld steel in the UK?

The Hub had character. And the food was better that the current place. But what the new place does well, is it gives non bikers a place to chill and have a coffee, read a book, use the wifi while their husband/son/wife/daughter/parent goes for a spin round the red loop. I met my parents there last week. They are not bikers in anyway shape or form. The building is light and fairly clean and comfortable for non bikers to use. The Hub wasn’t.

The food could be improved, but the idea is there.

Car Parking, I would happily pay £80 a year for a car pass that could be used at all FC sites in the UK. This would mean 16 visits a year to brake even, based on the £5 a day charge. However each FC site is run as a different cost centre apparently, so this won’t work, according to the FC!! Not on,y would they have the cash up front, it would save bikers and visitors the hassle of finding change etc ( that the cafe at GT won’t even give )) and may give them more business than they would otherwise have had, as people want to get value out of the pass, which may in turn lead to more cafe trips etc.

Could we not bring back the staff from the Hub and put them into the new fancy building? Wouldnt that keep most people happy?

Congratulations. Every time I fly it still amazes how the plane stays in the air and the pilots know where they are with no visual clues!!

Well done again.

More like 200 miles of 50% road (all very wet) and 50% off serious mud!

The brakes were becoming spongy while out on the ride, but giving sufficient power given the conditions. Then all of a sudden the brake levers went to the handlebars all of a sudden. And the there was no purchase.

When I stopped to check them, the wheels would spin with the brakes on full. I adjusted the cable adjuster slightly and this was enough to get some purchase, but after another 5 miles, there was another complete failure and I had to walk the downhills on the way home.

Yes they have had no maintenance, but they are only 10 weeks old and all my other road and mountain bike brakes don’t need adjusting that regularly!!

How easy they are to change between bikes is an essential for me. Which again isn’t covered by reviews. Hence why I have gone for exposure!

Great post! Currently working shifts and have been for 10 years. 12 weekends off a year and lots of evenings and night work. Has got to me recently, especially after questions like ” do you want to go biking on Thursday night?” It’s a bit pants to say no I am at work, again! Every club assumes people work 9-5 ish. There are no mountain bike races or enduros on

Good variety of work, but lots of political nonsense. If I had my time again I would be a dentist.

£69 seems a brilliant, but the link now says £135
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-SD2502-Stainless-Steel-Bread/dp/B0055HSEOC

which is the same price as John Lewis

http://www.johnlewis.com/panasonic-sd-zb2502bxc-bread-maker-stainless-steel/p231287540

But to answer the question we bought the Panasonic from JL about a month ago. It has been used every other day or so since. To give you an idea of how easy it is, we didn’t even stop to buy ingredients on the way home, came home, found some out of date flour etc in cupboard, pressed play and fantastic bread came out.

Worth it in every way. I know exactly what ingredients go into it. Cost wise I reckon 70p-£1.20 a loaf depending on ingredients, excluding energy and machine costs. Easy to clean. Quick and simple to use. Wish we had got one years ago. We find the fruit dispenser works for us.

Where do you buy these big bags of flour that other posts have mentioned? We bought ours as we thought supermarket bread, especially wholemeal has gone downhill recently.

Hope this helps!