Followed this thread closely as was also in the market for small inexpensive commuting lights.

Ordered Trace and TraceR as a package off Tweeks yesterday, £75, on the free 48 hours delivery service. It arrived today.

Lovely design, simple, light and bright looks built to last. Just what I was after.

So thanks folks, I’m dead happy with them!

Alpkit Hunka XL. Fits mat and bag in comfortably with room to spare, waterproof and breathable so no condensation issues. I find in warmer weather its nice to keep your arms out of your sleeping bag and under the gore tex (or whatever it is) material of the bag. They’re tough too, don’t tear on rock/gravel etc.

Coupled with a Decathalon Forclaz tarp, very versatile, light and cheap. Bags of room for one man. Keeps the rain and wind off nicely. Pitches quickly.

Hip flask of decent single malt and you’ll sleep like a log.

Specifically Les Arc. Been a few times, just looked at the chunnel costs and its 318 (flexi plus) out and 274 return, gulp. plus 90 for recovery and insurance. Yes i dont need flexi plus but i absolutely want it on the way back because the queues can be horrific and it reduces the gotta get there stress getting to the port.
Then 300 quid for juice and maybe 160 tolls (cant remember exactly)
so a total of basically a grand give or take. That would get my Viano with 5 people there and back, so i suppose its only 200 quid each to get there and back.

I live part time in Villaroger on the Sainte Foy side of Les Arcs. Absolute no brainer with 5 of you and gear. Drive and tunnel every single time.

i live 1h20m from the tunnel. So one option is 4 or 5 up in the bus with all the bikes and kit. about a grand

Get up early and get on it. We drive regularly from Manchester which on a good early start (4.30am) set off is about 5h from the tunnel. We’re at the little pizza place down the valley from ours by 20.30 French time in the evening.

The return trip, from experience, we don’t leave until 9 or 10am. Get to Calais for late tea time after the big rush, much nicer drive on the UK side after rush hour.

Re flexi plus – current prices seem to be about £180 each way for standard tickets, we got flexi on the return a couple of weeks ago for £240, 3 days before travelling. The ‘free’ food we loaded up with for 4 of us would have cost the difference in the services, and we were straight through no messing. We have found that flexi prices vary a lot. You can pick up some deals if you book close to travel date. For 5 hungry MTB’ers you’ll easily pick up the difference in food, coffee and pop at the flexi lounge – don’t overthink it!

The one thing that now can cause the bottleneck is sodding passport control. Thanks brexshit. No Flexiplus will speed you through that unfortunately.

Don’t know if you’ve got accomodation sorted, but you can pick up some great deals by staying in the valley and riding the short distance to the Les Arcs funicular each morning, which will have you in Arc 1600 in about 10 mins. The restaurants etc are much cheaper and there is wider choice. You are also well placed for day trips to Tignes/Val D’Isere/La Rosiere & La Thuile if you do that too.

DM me if you want some links to accomodation and the details of (the best) guides in the area…

You don’t need a test to enter France from the UK if fully vaccinated. Just proof of vaccine. You’ll need to download the French Covid app (which is very good) and upload your vaccine certs from the NHS app to that.

Not sure about Italy, but if you’re entering from France there is no border check as you’re already in the EU.

For return to UK you’ll need an up to date test, passenger locator form and the utter bullshit proof of 2 day test. (Which in essence is just a number entered onto locator form). Be sure to book test in advance, full list on gouv.fr website or via the app.

Personally, when I go to France again in a few weeks I’ll just be making up a number for the return form, nobody checks and the system is not joined up.

Download the ‘Anticovid’ French app and familiarise yourself with it, you’ll need it for hotels, restaurants, bars etc etc as they will need proof from you to scan.

Most pharmacys in towns in France will do an efficient Covid test for travel and provide email results which you upload into the app for €25.

Struggling to see why you’d not want the Irish one. Opens so many more doors now.

If you’ve got kids it has the potential for them to be able to work throughout the EU in the future without the massive hurdles our rabid brexiteer pals have managed to erect.

I’d give my eye teeth for an Irish, or any EU nation, passport/nationality right now.

Mini cheddars. Can’t have them in the house.

Cheese. I’m getting better at not eating tons in one sitting but once it’s out I’m a glutinous pig.

Watched Parasite recently. Stuck with me. Superb film in many many ways. I think that would fit the bill…

Is this actually true? Do they waive the requirement for self isolation if the contact is outdoors only? I can’t actually find that info online.

Can anyone shed any light? Has anyone been asked to self isolate due to a covid contact whilst being outdoors?

I can. Since Sunday both daughters 9 & 12 and myself have all tested positive. I’ve dealt with T&T for all 3 of us. They are using a script and filling the answers in to a database form.

For the kids they wanted to know all about which school they were at and which days they had been in and any contacts outside of school. My eldest had been to the park with 3 school mates on Saturday, they took all the details of these and parents phone numbers. They’ve all been pinged. She tested positive on Tuesday of this week.

I contacted the Deputy Head of the youngests school on Sunday when we got her positive result to tell her so she had plenty of time to close the bubble. The eldest reports results into her secondary schools Teams system and they were on the phone 5 mins after she’d logged it.

For myself I tested positive on Monday, movements for the previous week, with specific attention on the 72 hours up to first symptoms. I’d been for a pint both Friday and Saturday tea time at our local, outside only, with 3 mates Friday and 2 mates Saturday. They went into some detail about which pub, inside or out, any interactions with anyone I didn’t know either inside or out etc. Took all the details of who I’d been with. They have all been pinged and are now in isolation.

You can’t report kids on the app, so it’s done by phone. I missed the first call for my eldest (was still in bed at 8am) and the second call was 9.30 which I took.

Final question for all 3 – where do you think you caught it. Well, there are currently 17 positive cases in my youngests school class. Thanks Boris you thundering great tit.

South Manchester area for what it’s worth.

I’m pretty sure it will work with non Thule bars, but can anyone just confirm that the Thule 598 is compatible with the CRUZ 118cm Airo R aluminium bars please?

My exact setup. Works perfectly. All fits together very well. On a discovery sport for what it’s worth.

First attack I ever had I had banged my big toe climbing into a bunk on the Ferry back from a trip to France. Didn’t think much of it at the time or the next day, during the night the pain woke me up.

In the morning I thought I must have broken a bone it was that painful and swollen. Could barely get a sock on never mind me trainer

Taxi to A&E and a series of xrays later had a few docs scratching their heads. Cue a senior arthritic consultant type just passing by and being called in.

She took one look at it and asked if there was any Gout in the family…

Are there any other sufferers on here? Any magic cures other than hobbling to the doctors? I need something longterm…

Another vote for long term Allopourinol here. Long paternal family history of it Great Grandfather, Grandfather and my dad all had/have it.

Box of Naproxen in the cupboard if it starts to flare up but I try to use sparingly as they play havoc with ‘me innards’.

I did try cherry tablets but didn’t notice any real effect.

The drugs have improved dramatically over the years. I remember my Grandfather in his 50’s being absolutely incapacitated by it, and my dad when I was little having some nasty bouts.

My old man has been on Allopourinol for many years. When it first affected me at 45 (same age it got him..) he basically said don’t go for anything else, these just work.And they do.

He’s not had a flare up in a good number of years.

Drink plenty of water (I get through a good 3l a day at least) and especially if you know you’re gonna be having a boozy do. Plenty of hydration in the days before a session and plenty for the days after.

Springsteen… The River

Just Fabulous.

I’ve seen him and the E street Band live a few times. Each member of the band has to be able to play/recite the full catalogue of songs they have ever done.

The last time was at Man City ground, some random bloke in the crowd had a full santa outfit on. Springsteen spotted him, pulled him up on stage and made the entire band play ‘Santa Claus is coming to town’

It was middle of July.

The most defining music of my very misspent youth.

Follow that with

I know that is two, dont get me started on the Blackburn Raves…

I’m invested in this. I spend roughly 5 months a year in the French Alps. Curenntly have an Orange broadband pack which has decent speed at our little gaff in Villaroger. €37 pcm.

I’ve spent some time looking at 4g packages recently and I think we can get what we need for about £18 pcm over 4g via a roaming data sim which *promise* not to put up roaming charges or throttle the data.

We need high speed internet. We work whilst we are there. The kids watch TV. I watch TV. The data we use is pretty high.

We used to just rock up, plug in and work.

This is shit.

Interesting! Thanks.. How does that work with data/Internet though? I generaly use WhatsApp instead of regular calls abroad, mainly so people I call aren’t hit with charges too

How are the people you call hit by charges? That is utter nonsense of the highest order!

What you do with the door after completion is entirely up to you, and technically you may not need approval to remove it at this point. But this would obviously entirely be at your own risk, and you would potentially be living in a unsafe property unless you put other suitable measures in place.

This ^^

However, accept the fact that if the house burns down, you are not insured…Plenty of our customers comment that once the job is finished with the doors they were convinced they’d remove after completion that they actually quite like them and the finished layout. You can get some nice fire doors these days, even glazed jobs which can work well to ease the aesthetic, just ensure you’re sitting down when you see the cost of the glazed ones…£££

Mine does this periodically.

Give it a good thump nearish the flush button (seriously).

Works every time for me…

I’d expect building regs would make you fit new doors/frames on every bedroom and to block each staircase – hard to say exactly, it varies with each council and can vary with each inspector…

I’d have a chat with your building inspector, even arrange a meeting with them and the architect. Explain exactly what you want to achieve. You will then get a very clear guide on what they will expect. Our local team are great, but then I’ve worked with them for years and know them well. Most will be happy to discuss things like this in my experience.

The problem you may have is that if the building inspector doesn’t like the Fire Engineer’s solution you’ve paid for the survey/report etc and then will have to implement what they want for eventual sign off. Have been involved in builds like this a couple of times – not pleasant…

An open, frank discussion is what I’d recommend – it will also show the inspector you are taking the issue seriously (many people don’t) and they tend to respond well to that. You can usually get them to visit site for a ‘pre works’ meeting as part of the fees you’ll be paying. Involve your architect – this is precisely what you’re paying them for.

@aelliot Has it.

I’m a builder. What you describe is our bread and butter, we knock out about 10 or so of these jobs out a year.

Open staircase is your problem. If and it is if, building control will go for the Fire Engineer’s solution (Plenty won’t) then you will highly likely need to install proper fire doors and new door frames throughout on top of the fees.

A half decent looking fire door will set you back £100 + VAT (and rising) plus fixtures (proper rated hinges) £20 + VAT per door, plus fitting £100 + VAT Per door. The frames are currently about £35 + VAT (and rising) and about £50 + VAT to fit/cart away all the existing and dispose of. Then you’ve got architrave of your choice and remedial works to any skirting boards which need it…All of those costs are at my trade discount rates – your builder will likely charge you more as he is extending his credit to source them for you – if you go this route.

Fitting the frames will result in a mess to every room, damage to plaster and then making good with fire retardant materials – no way to say how much this will cost but it will be a good few £100s.

Trust me when I say this, you’re looking at £1000s just to avoid having a door splitting the levels. My advice, consult with your architect and get him/her to design something around the issue. There are some nice ways of doing this, just needs some imagination…

Well. To insulate between the rafters you need to leave AT LEAST 50mm air gap from the underside of the felt. Also, that felt isn’t breathable so you’d be potentially creating a problem.

If you absolutely must insulate the pitch of the roof, use a dense foam (Kingspan, Celotex etc) and screw it to the underside of the rafters to guarantee the air gap isn’t compromised. This will be what can only be described as a colossal pain in the arse due to all the trimmers and additional timbers you have in the way. Inevitable gaps will mean heat escapes, you’re not gonna get a good fit/finish.

You will get a MUCH better solution by insulating over the ceiling, then putting a chipboard ‘floor’ on stilts down to maximise your storage space. You can still store whatever up there and it will be clean and dry.

Even better call, Spices is great!

If in Rusholme, visit Rusholme Chippy for one of Manchester’s best lamb kebabs. The place looks like nothing but produces some of the finest kebabs known to humanity…

We need to restock on unusual chutneys, obscure dried pulses and head-meltingly hot dried noodles. I assume there’s got to be a good selection of Asian supermarkets between Stockport and Manchester on the A6, any particular recommendations

Manchester Superstore on Ayres Rd, Old Trafford fits the bill. Big, cheap and efficient. Superb selection. Easy parking etc etc

Insects on a stick in honey in China (fine)
Bullfrog in China (fine, like chicken)
Andoulette in France (foul, absolutely foul)

A burger from a roadside van on the A5 in Capel Curig which gave me the worst smash hits of my life for a week. Never, ever again.

singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/ski-resorts-with-easy-access-for-beginners-generalist-to-the-forum-please/#post-11923564

Sainte Foy. 2 beginner areas one larger than the other. First chair lift is very geared to getting beginners up onto easy blue runs.

2nd chair lift is brand new and opens up the whole mountain. Off piste and backcountry are legendary and endless.

Some very good restaurants in resort or a short drive away some of the best in the region. Ski schools are excellent and a wide variety of accommodation. Sympathetic building has made it a ‘low rise’ resort with a pleasant aesthetic.

We’ve skied all over the world and now ski 5+ weeks a season here…

I live part time across the valley, feel free to pm me if you want more info or some details of accommodation etc.

A small joiners clamp. Perfect for holding bars in a certain way whilst bike is on the work stand, or to stop crank rotating.

Also perfect for holding non disc brakes together on the rim whilst tightening cable etc – just put a thin packer between rim and pad and you’re sorted.

I use one like this;

https://www.screwfix.com/p/irwin-quick-grip-clamps-12/98247

Should I buy the panniers direct from the limited company account,

Yes.

My daughters primary school have a long traversing wall in the playground. The holds are drilled/fixed directly to the brick wall of the school. The foot holds are about 12″ off the tarmac playground with no additional safety measures.

As her constantly worn out, scuffed school shoes show, and seeing the kids play it is extensively used by kids of all ages. Some thought was given to the route planning and colour coding of the holds, the kids regularly compete to see who can complete the route only on ‘blues’ or ‘oranges’ etc.

It’s a great resource and has provided hours of fun for our kids.

The holds came from (the superb)

https://coreclimbing.co.uk/

Had been with First Direct for over 20 years and never had any issues. Changed from them for the ease of using Monzo especially whilst abroad.

Monzo don’t charge any commission and their exchange rate is the ‘true’ Mastercard exchange rate, which is basically what the actual exchange rate is. Thus you just spend using your card normally when away from home, which is a major bonus for me. Also the app is excellent, it just works with no major fuss.

First Direct charged me a whopping £46 commission to buy 4 ski passes in Euros two years ago, that was the end of my business with them!

@136stu thats very kind. I’m M21 so not too far from you. I have a mate with a medium locally and he’s somewhat shorter than me.

Just been onto Orro and their (very helpful) team tell me that they’d recommend a medium so I’ll have a go on my mates and hopefully all will be well.

Lovely looking bikes, these.

Thanks for your responses.

I am also looking at the Terra C. Looks like a lovely bike and ideal for what I want, which is an all rounder really.

What size are you riding?

I’m 5’10” and a 32″ inside leg.

Looking at the large.

Eh? The labour alone would be around that to build a 3 bed semi, let alone the land and materials etc.

I do sometimes dispair when i think of my kids future……but all we can do is give them the tools to make the best of the opportunities they can see.

I completely agree. My two are 11 and 8. We certainly won’t hand them anything on a plate, however the landscape is so very different from when I was their age.

Personally, I’d like to see a more continental model of long term renting, with long tenancies and more tenants rights. The actual owner of the bricks and mortar is much more like a commercial landlord. The tenant can make changes to the property providing they meet relevant regulations etc etc. However theres sod all chance of that with a Tory govt.

Personal example, all as either a married or ‘living together’ couple. All in the same suburb of South Manchester.

2002 – Bought £120k 2 bed terrace which was already fully renovated. Painted one bedroom.
2003 – Sold above for £165k and bought 4 bed terrace for £257k, Spent £60k ish on lots of different things, inc cellar conversion/new kitchen/bathroom/ensuite all work done by myself
2012 – Sold above for £395k and bought current 3.5 bed property for £440k. Spent £225k on huge extension, loft conversion and remodelling. Now is 5 double bed/big kitchen diner/2 bathroom etc
2020 – valuation of current property for remortgage purposes £1.1m.

Ridiculous.

By way of showing how the market has gone up in our area, the original ‘2002’ terrace above sold last year for £385k and still had the same kitchen as when we owned it, needed some work doing.

The ‘2003’ house has just sold for £650k and apart from some different paint colours is the same as when we owned it (we know the lads who bought it from us).

There are tiny 2 up 2 down terraces here in very run down states which sell overnight for £350k. 1 bed flats are £200k and 2 bed £295k

First time buyers don’t stand a chance in this area.

Seeing a lot of people moving up here from the south, as they can get a much bigger house and be mortgage or have a very small mortgage. Good for my kids as our house value goes up but not for when they come to buy themselves.

Eh, in what way is it good for your kids. Do they both own multiple houses?

He means when they inherit his house, I think.

Aged 20 I was out at a Uni do in Nottingham. I managed to charm an attractive young lady and we left together at around 1am planning to return to her student house a short cab ride away. I had about £10 on me which would cover the cab fare and was keen as mustard!

As we left the do and waited for a cab, she needed a wee (we’re both pretty pissed…) and we went down a dark back alley. I kept watch whilst she did the crouched down and got on with things. Out of the shadows a bloke appeared right next us with a whopper of a carving knife in his hand, grabbed me and put the point of the knife to my chest. Told her to keep quiet. He found the small amount of cash I had in my pocket and refused to believe she had no money or that I hadn’t got any more. He became increasingly aggressive and I was absolutely shitting it as he pushed me around waving the knife about. He looked my lady friend up and down, she was pretty and wearing a short dress with a low cut top half. He then decided he’d start grabbing at her breasts and arse, saying he would take her back to his place. At this point I’m not entirely sure what happened as I can’t personally remember it (adrenaline I presume). Apparently I landed a peach of a right hook on his cheek and somehow managed to connect with his face again as he was falling down, then kicked the shit out of him on the ground. She picked up the knife and we legged it.

Thankfully a taxi had pulled up at the end of the alleyway and the driver had seen part of what had happened, including our assailant grabbing/groping her. He bundled us into his cab and drove off at speed. He was all for taking us to the police, which with hindsight is exactly what we should have done, however I was worried I might get ‘done’ for battering the **** so we convinced him to drop us of at her house and we had a very large series of very strong drinks, both of us in tears.

Even now 25+ years later, my heart races when I recall that night and what could have happened, especially to her. Wish we’d gone to the cops.

Favourite one for me is a fairly new one. Made by a bloke who lost his job in lockdown and needed some £.

Its addictive stuff and very very good. Got a re-up delivery today as it happens. Lead time tends to be a couple of weeks so I re-order when I open fresh bottle.

https://worldfamoushotsauce.co.uk/

is it just a case of double it?

No. Not really.

It’s a bit more complicated than that.

Yep. It’s a good starting point to give an overall idea but is pretty ballpark – each project is different. Throw a tricky roof, tricky scaffold, lots of rooflights, lack of delivery/waste removal access etc etc into the mix and it soon increases.

Ollie, am I stating the obvious that when quoting, builders like to see architects drawings rather than vague client waffle?

Yep. Complete waste of both parties time, otherwise.

No point even putting a quote together until the building regs drawings and specs are available and approved, as it won’t be correct.

Architect may be designing something to be build specifically and structural engineers need to specify the design (in this case the steelwork will be the major consideration).

Experience taught us that clients tend to get pissed off when what they consider was your firm quote changes due to design changes or a differing structural design to your assumed one! A lot of folk have no concept of how much building work costs, especially the bits underground, and think it is way cheaper than it is.

Presumably the external door has a cill, thus raising the floor with self levelling won’t affect that one.

Just self level it, take off the doors and trim them to fit. It will be a MUCH neater and cleaner job and will be a hell of a lot faster than attempting to sand it.

From what you’re describing, the cellar will be used for dry storage? thus it isn’t vital that it is absolutely bang on? If so, save your time, money and your lungs!