In your Seat & Ford when you go to the Android Auto/Car Play menu screen is there not an app icon that is a Seat logo? When I use either in the Dacia there is one with a Dacia logo which takes me back to the native radio function.

I hired a new Golf last year as my car was in for a service. It had the worst heater controls I have ever seen in a car. They are touch sensitive and sit directly below the touchscreen, as a result if you’re trying to change the radio or whatever it’s really easy to accidentally turn the fan up to full. Also, they aren’t backlit so you can’t see them at night.

The Dacia I have now is a good mix of knobs and buttons for heater controls, heated seats etc, and a touchscreen for things like the radio.

That engine is used in loads of different cars across Ford, Volvo, Peugeot, and Citroen. Main issue with those is the turbo giving up due to oil changes being left for too long/not correct oil used/filter not changed. The only injector issue I had on the Berlingo using the same engine was the seal going, easy to spot this as you can see a carbon build up around the injector itself.

If you got it 3 years ago you might not lose much money on it if you shift it on, but then you need to replace it and you’re into a world of stupidly high priced second hand cars.

Durham itself is very nice – but then it’s a university city so it’s fairly expensive to buy property. You’ll probably be looking at somewhere along the A1/A167 like Chilton, Ferryhill, Newton Aycliffe etc.

I don’t do road riding but I have a few friends who do, they usually head out towards Stanhope, Crawleyside. Basically the North Pennines.

Last lap of 2008 Brazilian GP…

I’d go for 2009, closely followed by the 2011 Canadian GP.

I’d post videos but clearly FOM don’t like embedding their videos on other sites

Well, if we’re going for road signs…..

Way back in first Grand Theft Auto (the top down one) if you ran over a line of what I assume were Hare Krishna’s you’d get a big GOURANGA! message on screen.

Locally someone has sprayed a ‘Grove St 4 Life’ tag on a high wall. I have a photo but can’t find it.

Basic maths is taught in primary schools – secondary takes you all the way to Pythagoras, quadratic equations etc etc. In what world would a plumber need to know how to solve a quadratic equation? What benefit would adding another two years on have?

……the manager in question is all too familiar with the process and appears Teflon coated

I’ve worked with people like this before. Couple of options, either stick it out until they inexplicably get moved upwards in the hope that you’ll not have to deal with them any more, or leave. Life’s too short to be dealing with arseholes and nepotism.

All of the above plus VOSA, and FORS if they have it.

If you want cheap the ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam can be booked midweek for around £65 each way for 2 people as foot passengers. Granted it’s not much use if you don’t want to go to Amsterdam but it’s way cheaper than a Premier Inn.

The last time I was away I stayed in a Travelodge in Whyteleafe on a which was pretty horrid. It was £135 for one night (Wednesday) which included a terrible breakfast. A year or so ago that would have been £65-75 and even then would have been too expensive.

Berlingo XL if you can find a non-EV one. EV ones only have a 174 mile claimed range so that’ll likely be 150 mile real world.

Or big estate – think Volvo V90, Merc E-Class, BMW 530d etc etc, or curveball (and because this STW where people recommend what they have) a Dacia Jogger.

Personally I wouldn’t buy a T5/Vito/Vivaro etc because for 99% of the journeys I do it’ll be massively overkill.

Blimey, that’s crap news to sign on to. I’ve watched the Gymkhana videos from the very beginning and the Hoonigan brand that spawned has created something massive. The 10yo is also a huge fan and he’s gutted.
RIP

As above it’ll be a phase. You’re probably sick of hearing that though as I know I was but unfortunately it’s the truth.

I remember your thread about the reflux, we had similar with no2 which we managed to get cleared up so there is light at the end of the tunnel. Took us a while but we figured out it was a reaction to soya, cut that out of mum diet (breastfeeding) and it seemed to clear up fairly fast.

Policy – is that written or just verbal agreement?

Also, they can’t deduct from wages without written agreement or for a very specific reason. This isn’t one of those reasons.

I’ve used Asana but it was the paid version so can’t comment on the free one. You can make simple projects fairly easily. We also started to use Basecamp but then I moved jobs so never got used to it fully.

Nope, he left ages ago and there was a confirmed sighting of him off the coast of Iceland so he was clearly on the way home.

He must have gone to get a prawn ring

I was thinking Peter “child sex pest” Jaconelli…..

FTFY

Done Alps twice without kids and two Europe road trips with child.

When going directly to the Alps it’s been set off midday from Sunderland and get the tunnel from Folkestone around 6-7pm. Pop out the other side and drive through the night with a couple of coffee stops. Arrive around midday next day.

With child we usually leave around 8-9am and take a leisurely drive to Folkestone for around 3pm. Come out the other side and go to Arques. There’s a decent municipal campsite there which is great for a stopover. Next day get on the road again and drive the rest of the way to wherever we were going.

Had a B9 Berlingo Multispace (the one before the current model) and with all seats out I could easily wheel two large/long bikes in diagonally.

Was it 2020 or 2021 when they did a drone version of that old bloke with his zimmer frame and other NHS/rainbow/clap for carers shite?

The board, pads, and helmet were all Decathlon so I think it all came in around £60.

I have no idea when it comes to boarding so I think it’ll be car park duty for now to get her used to it and starting to get turns nailed. Hopefully then the local indoor place will be doing lessons for her age group.

I’ll recommend what I have which is a Dacia Jogger. Might not do 60mpg but can be had new for your budget so has the peace of mind of warranty. Take the two rearmost seats out and you have a cavernous boot.

@merak that is the most random model kit I have ever seen

So Christmas rolled round and Santa brought the 4yo a skateboard (and pads and helmet and tool thingy). Took her out for the first time today to a local car park. She loves it.

JD Honey is beyond vile, it’s vile neat and nothing I have tried mixing it with has improved the taste. I haven’t had Southern Comfort for years, I think the last time I was around 17 and someone got so pissed they clobbered me over the head with the bottle. OP I think you should try Buffalo Trace bourbon, it’s very good considering it’s fairly cheap.

For those advocating Disaronno, give your tastebuds a treat and move up to Saliza.

Noted. I have been enjoying the odd Disaronno and cranberry juice, it’s basically a cherry bakewell in a glass.

Many moons ago I told the then GF that the car needed a couple of hundred quid spending on it for the MOT.

Obviously I didn’t tell her that it would have been nothing if it wasn’t for me sliding it into a ditch one night while I was doing my finest Colin McRae impression round a damp Wykeham Forest.

I deleted the FB app from my phone in the midst of the first lockdown. I still have the profile but log in once in a while to have a look at memories. I have an Instagram which I post anything on and that’s linked to FB for any family that may not see it otherwise. I use Twitter sparingly, mainly to find news etc. LinkedIn for work related shite.

Is Reddit classed as social media? I probably use that most.

Haven’t been on a Christmas night out since 2019. They were all at my old job and involved drinking from around 11am until around 3-4am the next morning. There were frequently other substances involved.

I work remotely at the new job so on Friday I’ll be going to our work night out in Lincoln. First one the company has done since 2019 as well. I’ve already seen the “food” menu so me and a few others are going for a curry first. I expect compared to previous experiences this one will be a lot more sedate.

I bought a pack of these today on a whim while doing some shopping. They are flipping amazing.

£50 for oil and filter + £10 for an air filter + £20 cheap axle stands + £10 oil filter wrench + £10 for a spanner for the sump plug if you don’t have one. Plus you might want to chnage the plugs so add in another £20-25 and a plug wrench if you don’t have one.

Me, I’d just get someone to do it but then I’m a lazy bugger.

Didn’t Bill Gates invent 5G for mind control purposes so the lizard people can take over?

Anyway, I digress. Pixel 6 here which is 5G enabled but flips between that and 4G in our area. No real difference. Just ran a speed test on 4G and it’s faster than our home broadband. I have an iPhone 11 for work which is 4G only and I tether to that when working anywhere that isn’t the office or home and I’ve never had connectivity or speed issues.

My mu is a bit crafty so popped by today with an advent calendar she had made for the kids. Traditional like, just pictures, like it’s the 70s.

About 5 minutes after she left the 4yr old snaffled it away into a corner and opened every single door.

Ooh, beige. I vote for turning it into a sleeper.

Got the Tiny Rebel one again this year. Last years was excellent, I think there was only one which was a bit meh. The last Brewdog one I had was 50% meh and very samey.

We did Lego ones a couple of years running and took turns.

A burger press bought on a whim as it was reduced. It’s in the kitchen cupboard of doom with the George Foreman grill, Nutribullet, and Kenwood Chef mixer.

Better a leftie than spending Christmas with a Tory

Nevermind is the obvious choice.

Dookie would be my personal choice.

That list does not help with me trying to avoid buying a Sage coffee machine