Read Entangled Life by Martin Sheldrake. It will blow your mind how important fungi are.

Everyone knows that raw chicken is risky, I think it surprises most people to learn that raw veggies can be a problem too.

You’ve lost your mind.

As they seemed focused on the US I wonder if the confusion is coming from the fact that salad crops in the US have been involved in scares over food poisoning due to salmonella. The US has some pretty ropey, intensive farming practices and so tend to suffer these issues. I would happily come in from gardening and then prepare some food assuming my hands weren’t actually covered in mud. Heck I’ll even pick and eat things straight from the garden whilst out there gardening. It’s just not an issue.

Anyway I picked up a nice new acacia chopping board from home sense today so can ditch the plastic shedding ancient one I have.

Wow some serious paranoia on here. The bigger danger than being exposed to some soil bacteria is removing all exposure of bacteria from your life. Your immune system needs constant exposure to things to stay strong. I’ve never overly worried about washing veggies, only wash if they actually have visible mud on them coz no-one wants grit in their dinner. I never have stomach or digestive issues and very rarely get the bugs that others seem to come down with annually.

Meat is another matter. I use scissors to cut meat in the container I bought it in and wash them immediately. 

Eggs in the fridge? As as already said not in UK.

I’ve an old, slightly manky plastic chopping board plus some very heavy wooden ones and this thread has inspired me to get a nice light wooden or bamboo one to replace it.

Yikes can of worms much?! I’ve found a local IFA and had a chat about what we need help with. I mentioned the conflicting advice about whether I need an accountant or IFA. They came across really well and are happy to have an initial free meeting in person to discuss and if they can’t help may be able to recommend someone else. Though they seemed to know their stuff about the issue I guess it just comes down to how much they will charge for coming up with the sums for the various options.

Meeting scheduled for after the budget.

It’s definitely a second property and legally I own a 5 percent share this was done by a solicitor several years ago. It’s not likely to be an issue re deprivation of assets baring something catastrophic as this is all planned for separately. Thanks again.

Timely thread for me. Looking at the various recommendations I think @podgeskeeper looks good for me though they do specifically mention taking the bins out ?. Before I blow £50 on a brand I’ve never heard of are these well made, long lasting, any better than my previous tk max fluffy slippers that cost a tenner?

Interesting. The reason I wasn’t sure about an IFA apart from several of the replies above was a friend recently had a hundred odd k to do something with and was inquiring with a IFA but upon hearing the amount the ifa wasn’t interested. I will look into Marchwood thanks as I’m not a million miles from Chi.

You don’t have to use 2fa

Thanks all I expect with the value it wouldn’t be worth ifa at this stage so will have a chat with an accountant to get everything clear. Prince John I know where you’re coming from but I think our tenants would be pretty upset if we did that. We’d prefer to give them a years notice and no guarantee it wouldn’t be bought to rent out again, may even become an HMO as we’re in a University city. 

Have you driven abroad much? I get a brain freeze after being abroad and coming back.

its just the feeling of us all loosening up together after an hour or so and having a real good laugh. how do i replace that?

Ecstasy is quite good

I just made a Thai influenced soup. Onion, garlic, ginger, red chilli, cumin, coriander, tumeric, loads of veg added in order of cook time (potato, carrot, courgette, runner beans, broccoli stems, spring onions) veg stock, miso, fish sauce, Thai basil.

Nicely warming but light and healthy and using up stuff from the veg patch.

Get back to us in 10 years lampchop. Hope your bowel is ok.

Why would you need to clean a steamer. It’s literally been steam cleaned already.

Anyone using hexclad pans? Awhile ago i  was thinking about shelling out as have moved away from non stick due to the thought of it ending up in your food.

I have cheap carbon steel woks for stir-frying but wanted something for curries and Bolognese etc.

Whilst away in Spain last January I ended up in the cookware aisle of a massive Carrefour supermarket and they had a sale on hexclad copies. £45 for a big flat bottomed wok shaped pan. Well it’s been my go to pan ever since. It’s brilliant whether frying or for saucy things. Feels really well made and is very easy to clean. Can use metal implements in them too. Bonus was finding out the glass lid from my old, failing non stick one fitted perfectly.

So do I go back to non-stick, try cast iron or get a small carbon steel one and season it like my omelette pan?

Why can’t you fry eggs in the omelette pan?

All great advice that I’m absorbing for future reference but agree with the one comment saying if you like somewhere you might just have to suck up some issues especially if you’re in a popular area with housing pressure.

Not all buyers will be as diligent as everything on here so you are basically competing with people who are going to overlook these things and if there’s not a lot of suitable houses in your area then you could end up losing out a lot.

Re estate letting slip the other offer. Are you sure? These guys are not your friend they are there to get the best price possible for the seller and therefore themselves. If you like the place what have you got to lose by putting in your offer especially as the other offer wasn’t ready to proceed. It’s not just the offer amount that decides whether it’s accepted it’s the likelihood that the buyer will complete in a timely manner.

My mum lives in Seaford. No great pubs there unfortunately but a nice walk up onto the white cliffs or along the beach. For good pubs head out to The Cricketers at Berwick for a really nice country pub with a lovely garden and decent food, or if you want a bit posher The Star in Alfriston (had it’s own TV programme as it was being done up by Alex Polizzi) or the Plough and Harrow at Littlington. Take the dog for a nice long walk in Friston forest and down to Cuckmere haven only 10 minutes from Seaford. If you want some culture then Brighton is only half an hour away. Endless choice of great pubs and restaurants, music and museums.

Yes a very low strim more of a scalping is on my to do list. Weakens the grass and creates some bare patches for other things to take. I’ve also got several dog poo bags full of local wildflower seed to throw down.

Don’t leave their fish tank in a conservatory and go away for the weekend like I did when I was a child. Cue unexpectedly hot and sunny weekend. Rushed back but it was too late. not a pretty sight and I still have guilt nightmares about it 30 years later.

Stayed there in the motorhome. A day is definitely enough. Lot’s of shingle and very flat.

Defo get a sonic jobbie from Amazon. Dead cheap, battery lasts for something crazy like 2 months.

@5lab I’m in Brighton and could do with a bit of Ash if you want to sell me some. My usual supplier of local barn dried has given up doing logs.

So how bad is the pollution from gas? I have gas hob and no extractor and never realised it was an issue. Tempted to switch to induction as some of the tech described on here sound brilliant such as being able to set a timer, zone heating rather than rings and really low simmer. I do a lot of cooking including some wok but happy to buy flat wok or special wok plate if required.

How much are we talking for the good kit and those singing induction praises what make and model are you using?

@z1ppy I also hated discovery and Picard S1 and 2 but had a heads up from a fellow Star Trek fan that 3 was good and I certainly enjoyed it. Nothing new really but a fun reminiscence. Strange new worlds was also much better than Discovery which had me thinking my Trekie days were over. TNG still my all time favourite though.

I don’t understand what the OP means by the term though.

Agreed. Have they actually been told they have a lot of visceral fat? I don’t agree that this is a problem rife amongst cyclists either.

If you eat a balanced and not excessive diet and cycle 3 times a week then I doubt you would be likely to have dangerous levels of visceral fat or a lack of muscle.

If OP is feeling unwell I would focus on improving the quality of the diet in terms of nutrients, stress levels, sleep, maybe look at gut health and add in fermented foods if you think your immune system is low.

No I don’t think so Northwind. This is what Ridley Scott had to say about making the film:

“Your movies often get sequels, some you’ve directed and some not. What here interested you enough to direct Gladiator 2?”

SCOTT: Well, economically, it makes sense. That always begins there. I thought the [first] film was, as it were, completely satisfactory, creatively complete, so why muck with it, right? But these cycles keeps going on and on and on, they repeat globally for the last 20 years. It started to spell itself out as an obvious thing to do, and that’s how it evolved.

Been following this thread as I also have wide feet and really love my altra lone peaks for most things but wanted a boot with a bit more protection and weather proofing for hiking holidays in Scotland, Wales and Spain. Got some innov8 Roclite Pro G 400, 40 percent off arriving this week so will see how they go.

No that was also in this thread!

 I saw a meme recently,’in every relationship there’s the one who stacks the dishwasher like a Swedish architect, and the one who stacks it like a raccoon on crystal

I’ve just remembered a proper unspoken one I do. Favourite matching pair of bowls I use for a lot of our meals and one has a large chip on the edge from where other half washed it up so it’s always the one he gets his dinner in. Not being petty but seeing as we are unable to have nice matching sets of anything due to his regularly smashing the dishes against the sink it seems fair.

Actually I’ve given in more recently and gone down the grotty washing up bowl route to try to save future dishes. Having always been a wash up under running water person I can say it definitely uses more water but is more pleasant and hygienic and the dish drainer doesn’t end up boggin. I’m not chief washer upper but the Kayak hybrid method is what I use now and no way in hell is anyone only using half a bowl worth of water if you wash up under running water.

We felt anxious initially about leaving the van all day for big hikes or rides with your whole life inside especially when it was all shiny and new but it wore off and we have never had an attempted breakin in 4 years of motorhoming in France, Spain, Portugal and Morocco. We do go for secure parking spots if we’re in a big city such as Seville and also check park for night app reviews about a potential stop over.

We spent a fair bit of time around Granada and Orgiva. Absolute vanlife heaven imo!

This thread is quite reassuring. Not so sure about the unspoken part though. Shoes in front of the freezer door when there is a mat for them to go on which doesn’t require me to move said shoes every time I open the freezer. If you’re reading this, well you know what to do!

Personally I would spend a decent amount and go big as you are comfortable with because living is not like holidaying and the last thing you want when you’re in the middle of nowhere is hassles with breakdowns with the vehicle or the van utilities such as heating, fridge etc.

Definitely go for it as sounds like you have nothing to lose and no major ties. Very jealous of the residency and like Frank interested in where you live. Seriously thinking about a future somewhere in Andalusia oneday after falling in love with it during our vanlife spell. 

I love my Otty mattress and pillow. It’s a hybrid of springs and memory foam. A joy to get into and about 5 years in at least. I love that you can lie right up to the edge of the mattress and it doesn’t move or roll you together if sharing. Only problem is I can’t stay at anyone’s house now because I can’t sleep in anything else.

Other half and I did it for 2 years with dog in 7m motorhome. Europe is amazing for vanlife. Mix of wild camping, Aires and campsites. Morroco too if you want to live really cheaply. Don’t agree on the 700 nights thing. Obviously things do break but it’s not the the whole van is going to collapse. People live in really old vans full time. We joined motorhome fun it’s like stw for motorhoming but more gammony! Really useful for info though and read Tams threads he’s full-time.

Oh my! just having a browse through the iPlayer on demand stuff and the Women’s B Girl was amazing. Not sure why it had this effect on me but i was struggling not to cry. 10 minute segment on iPlayer and I want to see more! Climbing also jaw dropping.

I have got into utube yoga massively over the last couple of years. It’s now become a habit and one I really enjoy and miss if I don’t do 2 or 3 a week.

I tried a few people before settling on Jessica Richburg and Adrianne. I found Adrianne quite annoying to begin with as she chatters a lot and so it’s not very soothing or medative but now I’ve found a set of vids of hers I like and repeat over I tune out and know most of the moves. The reason I keep doing it is because I feel great afterwards. Much more flexible, comfortable and because I do one of her core routines that is more pilates I’ve noticed a huge difference in my core strength and tone. My posture is better, back pain is better, more comfortable on the bike, sitting on a stool at the pub or cross legged on the floor all of which I struggled with. I always do it 1st thing in the morning before breakfast too so that way it’s done. Takes some time at the start trying different vids until you find some routines you like. Core and restore, Fresh start and Date night are my favourites

A few didn’t get the memo that Brighton has no time for racism and hate.

5 whole fascists up against a wall with a line of police separating them from a street full of lefties. A steel band and a brass band too just to show them how we do things here. ?

Not sure if this link will work but here goes.

https://twitter.com/brightonsnapper/status/1821248322620756045?s=46&t=ECYlpcb8V6nxo8biq4em5A&fbclid=IwY2xjawEgoqdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHcLUnQme4PEdsvVizCIDT16tEf4s2ATNctHBfUMvNkIFlcmBw9BQrPlAXg_aem_1nN9SAXAZlxp5pxW1bG5Vw

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/qyDDtY8g7NAUVpB9/

Edit that should be the band above

After trying lots of combinations over the last 2 months i’ve settled on a recipe (with flour variations) and setting I keep coming back to. Shipton mill organic flours and yeast ordered online.

200g of white 200g wholemeal (or 150 white, 50 rye, 200 wholemeal)

300ml of water

1 tsp honey

1 tsp yeast

1 tsp salt

1tbs olive oil

2 tbsp of golden linseed

Wholewheat rapid setting for medium loaf. (3hr)

Or swap the white for malted flour.

For a treat I do the same recipe but all white flour and use the basics white setting (2hr)

The recipes in the manual use too much yeast and sugar and combined with the longer settings make really airy loaves that taste too yeasty.

Yes Ton. It’s something the motorhomers do.

You can do 90 days in Morocco from Spain if you want to do longer out of the UK. So do 90 round Europe short ferry to Morocco for 90 days then back to Europe for another 90 if you like.

I visited CYB a few weeks ago for the 1st time as part of a Welsh MTB road trip. I thought it was the best trail centre I’ve been to apart from the cafe. We went in for lunch after riding black bull (which was awesome) and there were no pastries or pasties left, some really sad prepacked sandwiches in a chiller and the only cooked food was bacon or sausage or egg roll or beans on toast. We had planned to sit and have a decent lunch whilst using the free ebike chargers.

I hope they can sort things out and don’t lose any of the facilities.