IME experience employees with expenses eat in decent restaurants, contractors pick something up from the supermarket. So it depends on who’s paying as what’s acceptable.

My employer sets hotel limits based on what feasible for a decent hotel/breakfast at the project location then £30 for evening meal. I used to get the same deal 15 years ago so not kept track with inflation – IT consultancy isn’t what it used to be….

Tool Hag

We get a £120/day guidance on subsidence

Sounds like you’re on shaky ground there.

You’d want a proper receipt for such a big job I’m sure, as long as you get that no problem.

Then a bit of negotiation should be in order to ensure someone can cover – depends how demanding running the reports is I suppose.

Maybe others that could cover have already booked holiday in June?

My wife wanted time off in March but was told not possible so she’s away now – not ideal but no complaint.

We had a contractor who’s been with us for 3 years who booked a holiday in Dec then asked for time off. It was problematic for us but agreed it in the end. Unfortunately he came back to get given notice on his just renewed contract – I think the holiday was the last straw really.

So employer not doing anything wrong IMO but if they’re not good people to work for anyway then I’d be interested to see if I really could get a doubling in salary by moving jobs….

Is that picture to scale? If not, how far from property1 to fence to property2?

Build a bigger fence if you’re worried about seeing his nakedness in the morning.

Is this really an issue? Live and let live.

Nothing wrong with optimizing tax within the rules, most people would think nothing of putting money into a spouse’s bank account if that’ll reduce tax paid. similarly waiting to put money into a pension until can get higher rate tax payer so get more tax back. Also using losses to offset future tax isn’t a bad thing is it?

Near me we have people who mow their own verges and then there are others who par on their own resulting in a muddy mess which seems a shame. A few of those who care more use logs to stop people driving on their verges but have seen rocks elsewhere. One lady around the corner from me has planted some small shrubs on hers which is pleasant, good that no local official type has stopped her.

You’d own part of their house.
HTH
IANAL

My mate was proud of his potential to reach a high HR, turned out he had a problem and had to have a cardiac ablation.

Are bus drivers road users? Or is there an important difference between their relevant lanes?

Find a weight you can squat 8 times. Do a set to failure (10 reps or so), 60 secs rest, repeat, 60 secs rest, repeat. And when I say failure I mean you squat and can’t physically get back up, none of this “it hurts, I’ll stop”, that’ll happen at rep 7, you’v got 3 or 4 more in the locker after that. Do this with a bar and not a machine as it will work your core more. Try to avoid stairs the next day…

I suggest building up to this level intensity over quite a few months!

I remember falling over a barbell I thought I had stepped over after working my legs so hard they would only allow my to shuffle along afterwards.

Frankly, he’s the professional so knows better than fat, middle aged IT works on here.

…

Saying that, there is an increasing school of thought that working big muscle groups with big weights does wonders for weight loss

Fat loss but muscle gain.

Well bigger muscles result in more energy use so less fat – though appetite likely to increase. I weight train but it’s my cycling that helps me control my weight.

Yes but it’s deciding when the top is that’s the trick.

So where to put money now, Japan?

Bit disappointing in Surrey – only got 2 inches. All frozen this morning so not pleasant to get about, walked son to school holding his hand as a struggle to stay upright. Only a few kids seem to have turned up – including the kids from a family we pass on the way over who were playing in the garden rather than going in.

Losing most of wife’s income for a few years is a cost but she went full time when son started at school with a job close to home which is very helpful. Son loves all the extra activities he gets to do to keep him in school longer such as Judo. Financial impact isn’t really noticeable for me at the moment, as just means I save less but I suppose I’ll be working longer than I would have to if stayed childless.

Biggest pain is not being able to ride as much as I want.

I buy and sell all my Naim kit through Ebay except a CDX I bought on Pink fish for a bargain £425. Sold the CD3 it replaced for £100 less than that on Ebay.

Worked there for most of 2014, not such a bad place!

Get your burgers here:
http://www.riosburgers.com/

AC/DC was the first band I became a fan of – back in the mid 80s and they must be my favourite band still. I mostly love Bon but Thunderstruck is their best track I think, I saw them in 88 on the BUYV tour which was a special moment in my teens. Curiously my bro loves AC/DC too but mostly loves Brian.

Little Feat are one of my favourite bands. Frank Zappa kicked Lowell George out of The Mothers of Invention for being weird!

No. Lowell was into drugs, Zappa hated drugs and kicked him out eventually.

Are tickets expensive because the players are highly paid, or are the players are highly paid because the tickets are expensive ?

Neither.

Tickets are priced at a level people will pay.

Client mgr took yesterday PM off and today so I left at lunch yesterday and WFH today – mostly watching films.

Unless your son is exceptionally mature I’d say it may be a little traumatic for him.

More so than TFA?

Saying something is crap with no reason isn’t very helpful really. I now see that you think it’s crap as it’s not what you’re used to, I wondered if you had something useful to say, my mistake.

Go on then what? I think it’s crap, probably because i’ve used yahoo since 1998 and i’m not up on my techy shit, I don’t use FB or Twitter or insta, or any of the other stuff the kids use. But i don’t get on with Gmail, my opinion, lots of people seem to like it, their opinion. Does someone have to be right?

So are you saying you think it’s crap because you don’t understand it?

I think Gmail is crap.

Go on then.

What’s not to like

The Beatles
The Who
REM
RHCP
The Mothers of Invention

She has a nice smile – default compliment for the ugly ones.

Have some fun adding comments to the BBC article:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38248488

Certainly one of my faves – also only LP to get into UK top 10? I’m a big fan of Beefheart too so love Willie the Pimp.

Which leads me to mention this:

We always spread present opening throughout the day, seems a rare thing to do but works for us.

Christmas crackers are only pulled before pudding.

Go for a walk after lunch.

Only biscuits, cheese and cake eaten in the evening.

Boy bands

OK sounds viable, I don’t want to be disturbed with her plink-plonking when I’m listening to my Hi-Fi so hopefully I can convince her that one of these is a sensible starting point.

NI

Discuss with vendor but expect to have to get some proper quotes. Realistically best you can get to reduce the price by lowest quote but compromise would be 50%. Would seem unrealistic for the vendor to refuse to budge at all as a leaking roof doesn’t indicate a complete replacement is needed so he might not know just how bad it is.