Adrian Flux have a scheme for Beetle owners albeit she might have to join the owners club.

Without knowing the ins & outs of the quotes you’ve been getting there’s sometimes gains to be made for younger drivers by adding parent(s) as drivers.  In our lad’s third year of driving the best option was a multi-car policy – me & the Mrs paid a little more but he saved best part of a grand.

if Flux can’t help there’s also Chris Knott or Keith Michaels – both specialists who deal with those cases the comparison sites don’t like.

Locally we were victims of the Boundaries Commission moving us from Dartford (now Labour) to Sevenoaks (never likely to be anything other than Tory).  Some folk were so disconnected from politics that I had to explain to a couple that Laura Trott MP was not the cyclist!

Anyway, with the nature of the Labour win, what are the odds that electoral reform will even be considered going forward?  FPTP sometimes gives the voting public what they want but it seems like every election there’s this whole “yeah but look at the number of actual votes they got” argument.

Will we ever see proportional representation?

I did it for 5 years and found it very interesting as well as rewarding.   The school was a CofE so had a broad mix of governors- one from the LEA, one from the diocese, a retired teacher and 4 parents/locals.

We made a lot of changes, engaged & encouraged a very active PTA and got the school to “excellent”.

I know when I first considered it I looked at the existing governors and decided that I could a) work with them and b) have an impact.  There should be plenty of info on the school’s website on both the individuals themselves and what they’ve achieved.

Well I have to admit I’m more than impressed by the Free Ranger. Swapped out the saddle for one I’m comfortable with and changed the stock tyres & popped out for a quick spin.

It’s quick, stable & comfy and didn’t feel out of shape anywhere – I genuinely think it’ll be my most used bike.

Possibly 😂

Does nobody simply clamp the seat post in a vice & twist the frame anymore?

Only ever had one stuck post & that shifted it with little effort or drama.

Anyone here own a Farer or knowledge on them?  I’d heard the name before but saw one last night for the first time.

it looked & felt really well made, seems to have a decent movement but I was surprised at how reasonably priced it seemed to be.

This model:

Resolute II

Yep, always drive it.

All of the above advice really & I also look at owners forums – yes there will even be one for the Jazz – which will generally have a good database of common issues.  Most will be minor but some will be expensive to put right so it’s better to be armed with that knowledge so you can ask what’s been done about them etc.

Edit:

https://clubjazz.org/forum/index.php?topic=12121.0

Sounds like it’s caught up in the very Claim Protocols that were intended to smooth these things out.  Within those, there are various stages with time limitations & some insurers (particularly the cheaper end of the market) will use them as a form of cash flow management.

The reality is, it’s not just your excess & hire charges that are being claimed, Privilege will be claiming their outlay too.  The usual BS is to drag stage 1 out as far as they can then either deny liability altogether or, in cases where it’s cut & dry, a 50/50 settlement.  The likely next step is Privilege refusing & demanding 100% which, even if that’s done immediately, gives the third party insurers a few months in which to respond.  Probably then 75/25 offer & so on.

The best way to shortcut this is to issue proceedings for which they will generally ask you whether you are willing to attend court – if you’re not, they’d likely lose without video evidence etc if the TP did attend.

The whole process was designed to limit what a no win, no fee solicitor could do & earn but when it’s only insurers involved it can become a proper ball-ache.

CountZeroFull Member
I realised I had a second large powerpack after posting on here, it’s a Charmast one, 23,800mAh. I saw a couple of reviews somewhere, at the same time I’d mislaid my Anker powerpack, and it seems ok. Not using it so much now, as I’m no longer using a tablet for twelve hours a day at work, so it’s just been sitting in my work bag.
One nice touch it has a charge readout, when you press a button on the side, it’s currently at 70%, and I haven’t used it for months.

I’ve had the original 20,000 mah version for a good few years now & It’s still perfectly good.  Multiple option including fast charge & wireless.

1/ makes life easier for DJs

This.  Or so I was told 30+ years ago by someone at BBC Radio.

Gives the chance to ‘mix’ into the next tune & it’s less irritating for the listener if that’s the bit the DJ starts talking over.

My lad.

Despite being born with a heart condition that curtailed any sporting ambitions he might’ve had he has embraced life.  GOSH literally saved his life in 2016 & he has never looked back.

Found his niche & worked hard – graduating last year with a degree in Motorsport Engineering.  Now works as a design engineer for a specialist who operate in the the F1 & UAV arenas along with loads of other stuff I’ll never understand.

I will also never tire of folk telling me what a great lad he is.

after 24h of not eating, you may be surprised how little you can eat.  Your stomach will have contracted substantially.

This.  In my experience it tends to be that you go from ravenous to full/bloated quite quickly.

Pulled the trigger on a Free Ranger – the finance deal helped the decision.

I’m sure I’ll find a use for it whatever happens.

Yeah.  My FS is way too much bike for probably 80% of local trails & gravel wasn’t really a thing when I was last riding regularly.

I’m surrounded by a lot of byways/farm tracks that don’t need an MTB but are a bit sketchy on a road bike so it’s really to get somewhere in between.

I have a Reynolds tubed Langster which is comfy enough but little room for decent size tyres.

Offloading a few 26ers & probably a barely used carbon road bike all of which have been unused for at least 4 years & none of which are what I’m looking for currently.

Thanks chaps – I’ll have a look at those too.

@didnthurt – I’m offloading a few older bikes to make room so at worst it might end up on the turbo.

Former company was a box ticking exercise.

Current one is far more on board with it all.  Any criticisms, constructive or otherwise, in the “Why are you leaving?” section are documented, reviewed fully & the outcome of the review is recorded.  Any changes/measures taken as a result are documented and, where relevant, become policy.

It’s clearly varied across businesses – if yours gives a t055 then it might be worth it,

Growing up in South London during that era you couldn’t help but know Squeeze – my mum had a habit of singing along to Labelled With Love whilst doing housework for years.

Most of them have had careers away from Squeeze, sometimes together, and one of my highlights of Glastonbury in ’94 was seeing Glenn Tilbrook play.

As @winston said, they were in that influential group of ‘new wave’ bands that influenced so much of what came next.

If you ask O2 they should be able to convert your existing sim to an eSim leaving the slot in your phone empty/available – you can pick up any PAYG then & switch between the two as necessary.

I use the same multifocal lenses as @simondbarnes.

Optician went to great lengths with prescription to get the balance right – one eye has a better reading ability than the other which, thanks to the human brain, I don’t even notice in normal situations.  If I need to look at minute detail I simply close my left eye.

Outside of Europe I usually go down the e-sim route.  Some providers offer a wide range of territories but some places you will still need to shop local.

Plastic surgeon who operated on my neck advised Bepanthen – it’s designed for nappy rash I think but I’d say it worked wonders.  Kept using it for 4 weeks after stitches out & scabs gone.

How do you know they are no longer? Bought from their own store.

From the Specialized UK website – Only one size left & no longer available to order.

Most places are sold out of the long finger version with no date for re-stock.  Lot’s of online Specialized dealers no longer even list them.  Some even say “No Longer Available”

Thanks @ads678

Ergons made little difference for me.  Currently using Syncros Ergo grips which have made things more comfortable albeit, I think that’s a lot to do with the built in bar ends.

Had given up on padded gloves as they always seem to be padded in the wrong places.

Interested in these but the Grail is no longer in production – which Pearl Izumi ones are there?

Fingers crossed for you – hoping it’s a positive outcome despite the rollercoaster you’re on.

So sorry to hear that OP – same for those others touched by this b4astard of a disease.

As has been said over & over, find things to do, spend time with those you love & keep on making memories. I’m coming up to the 4th anniversary of a stage 4 metastatic melanoma diagnosis & from the very beginning of my journey I always had in my head “What would Bullheart do?”   I’m one of the lucky ones, a few bits removed & a year of immunotherapy now means I’m a NED (No Evidence of Disease) – it’ll never be gone but I’ve won this round.

Some of the side effects of my treatment have prevented me from much riding but I’m getting there (slowly) but I’ve done as much living as I could throughout.

At least we’re all agreed – f2*k cancer.

If you need to vent this place will always be full of people that will listen, agree, laugh & take the p155.

It certainly does suit it. Nice.

I think I’ve found my favourite holiday watch;

On leather for evenings.

On rubber for playtime.

Can anyone recommend an independent that can service my old TAG series 2000 Auto that won’t charge the earth?

Preferably London/South East based.  Ta.

Not quite @kryton57 !

I share the same birthday as my sister in law & it was her day 😁

Special occasion so the Planet Ocean gets a run out.  Really should wear it more often.

Nice watch btw @kryton57 – enjoy!

Me too, I do like Oris. Great watches and the brand seems to be steadily increasing its quality and recognition.

I’m amazed at the number of comments I get about mine – despite the fact they are so understated.

A good friend got a lot of help from https://www.thecalmzone.net

There are some good looking combos here:

Elliot Brown Watches

what’s the consensus on quality?

Thanks @Poopscoop – that helped me make a choice from my shortlist.

MARKUS Vissle dark grey, Office chair – IKEA

I’ve had one of these for at least 5 years now & it’s very good – almost as good as the one my employer spent well over a grand on.  It’s been used most days through the pandemic & remains comfy despite my knackered SI joint.

Sad news.  I was only listening to The The’s Mind Bomb last week which is where I first heard her. Lucky enough to see her guest at one of their gigs too.

Incredible, unique and beautifully haunting voice and a hugely underrated artist.  RIP