After a bit of soul-searching, you will be pleased to know that I have sent it. I normally only do anything like this if it can be done anonymously.

I hold out no hope that I’ll get any response, but at least she’ll know there’s on dissenter in the consituency!

Max would love to support but doing anything with my MP is an utter waste of time, she’s been the MP of our rotten borough for at least 250 years and doesn’t give tuppence for anyone’s views.

Is there anything else I can do that would have an effect?

I was brought up with a strong aversion to debt, and until recently was entirely debt-free (rented). Bought a house last year and now have a mortgage the size of a large elephant which scares the life out of me, but we’d had enough of ******* landlords. It may be late in life to be in so deep, but hey that’s the penalty of getting attached to someone in my 30’s who cynically took all my money and tried to get the house, essentially I had to start again despite having always been careful with money. But I’m not bitter, oh no.

If I use my credit card I always pay it down, except this last month I didn’t as I had several thousand pounds of annual season ticket on it. I was horrified at the size of the charge at the end of the month – I was completely unaware that they charge interest on the whole amount not the balance outstanding (I’d paid some off during the month) – now I see why credit cards are such good business and how they are the route to hell if the consumer doesn’t manage them properly. I won’t be doing that again.

Had one at the last rented place. We became suspiciopus there was a leak after the meter when we had astronomical bills (several hundred quid a quarter), and then proved it by turning everything off and could see the meter still whirring around.

Took it up with water co; not interested and told that it was our problem. Took it up with landlord (as there was no leak in the flat it was clearly under the heavily-used drive between meter at boundary and flat). He was sympathetic but not looking to do anything (he was a builder) as it wasn’t costing him anything – told us it was our problem. After the next huge bill, I researched harder and found that water cos do have to eventually consider a partial refund if you have reported it. So to cut a long story slightly shorter I made a complete pain of myself to the water co whilst telling landlord I would dig up drive but as I didn’t know what I was doing it might be some time before it was finished…..! That had the desired result and he fixed it the same week (it was a massive leak) and water co eventually gave us a decent refund.

From the above, I personally wish I didn’t have to have one of the blasted things as I was considerably out of pocket for a long time (over a thousand quid) but from a wider perspective I suppose it was good as it eventually found the leak and saved valuable resources. The moral of the story is if you are renting you are always caught in a netherworld between landlord and suppliers. We had a similar problem at that flat with the gas meter which was reading cubic feet but the gas supplier thought it was cubic metres, but that’s another story.

C – around 55-60 at present (plus about 18 hours commuting per week).

Came in this morning and the chap who used to sit in front of me “no longer works here” – hmmmmm, I have taken the point, looks like I will have to up the hours for a bit.

He’s a pretty boy (the tapir).

There is some funding available I believe andrewh for headset effects on schizophrenic racing cats, but the tapir angle from boxelder is entirely new and I agree we should re-think our efforts. We should see if it has already been researched or alternatively just point out the dangers of celery in a high-pitched squeaky voice to an unsuspecting public?

Above all, we must keep in mind that mackem must be on the edge of his seat waiting for an answer. We cannot let him down.

It was good, although they didn’t play enough music – just a few seconds snatches here and there. He came across as a proper decent fella, no “celebrity” guff just down to earth and really talented (as if we didn’t know the last bit!).

I always knew they get fried, the way they were going

Best wishes, C_G.

Is there any reason why you wouldn’t start / finish from the Elan Valley? Much easier to get to for a weekend.

Welcome to STW.

I find that I can “just” about get away with Nobby Nic’s even in the clag so long as it’s not too deep – On One have had some great deals on those recently and I think Chain Reaction (?) might be doing something too?

11/10 from that “other” magazine, no doubt.

I am interested in nothing more than world peace and global happiness.

Kimbers: “gas, electric, even phones have a regulator but banks dont for some reason despite it being impossible to live without a bank account”

The FSA (for the time being)

Good effort, Will. Is there an “after” shot of the kitchen? Is there a “Mrs Will” to complain?

Great! Will try to slip away from work and get along.

Now booked for Jedi in May thanks to the wonderful Mrs Ononeorange and Christmas! Can’t wait!

Do we need to pre-register for Thursday’s event or just turn up? Will do my best to be there.

Thanks – that got it! I clearly couldn’t read grazedknees second post.

Good luck!

Thanks for that. Given me something to look forward to in all this horrible muddy gloop.

Bring on the bluebells!

Great blog, trying to vote for you but it won’t go. Just 61500 in the address?

No need for that comment, Al.

I had a medical 2 years ago, bad chloresterol was silly-high and the dr got excited and told me to back off diet or face the dreaded tablets. The scare worked for a bit and then of course I have ermmm forgotten ermmmm to have it re-tested and diet has drifted a tad. However I now have a medical in just over a week and am more than slightly concerned what’s going to turn up there. Wondering if a crash diet for a week will get the blasted things down in order to get through the test……

I’m one of the few who prefers climbing to going downhill. Largely because my technical skills are still stuck in nursery school.

Dandelionandmurdoch:
“Then, at 16, I got a job cold-calling in the evenings for a pathetic local double-glazing firm. I got paid £2.50/hr, lasted three months and sold not a single piece of knock-off, leaky, over-priced glaze.”

You were lucky. I did it for £1 an hour, got imprisoned in some local nutter’s house who asked me in to estimate a window then locked the door and screamed and yelled at me for ages and refused to let me out, did actually manage to sell a few lots of their rubbish tat and of course mysteriously my 10% cut of the sales couldn’t be paid to me for some spurious reason. I have been left with an irrational loathing of double-glazing companies ever since.

Worst one though was in the kitchens in the local hosiptal, it was run like a boot camp by a bonkers supervisor who allowed no talking / smiling / breathing for the full shift. Hard work too. I only stayed on as a bet to someone who said I wouldn’t last more than a couple of weeks. I may have been a bit of a mug on that though as we didn’t actually bet for money…..!!

Billybob and Partypants, I couldn’t agree more.

Yesterday morning I know, but it was amazing. Watched it looking white from the platform waiting for my train, then woke up on said train half an hour later to stare at this enormous orangey-red orb that was filling the sky. I was lucky enough to watch it start to dip below the horizon and then a couple of minutes later the first lightness from the sun appeared from behind me. Superb.

(And it made me notice waiting for the train this morning that exactly 24 hours later the moon is in a quite different bit of the sky).

Mine’s something to do with bikes, I think

Ability to kill a thread conversation stone dead in a few words is replicated in the real world, yes.

If the world stopped spinning the mint sauce key fobs would arrive. Probably.

hh45 – two of the finest beers on your list – Harveys Best and Timiothy Taylor’s Landlord.

Harumphhhh – I love beer me but am on a dry month as it’s January and also I have a medical at the end of the month. Hopefully all traces of alcohol will be gone by then……

Thanks all. Ordered.

Middleburn (RS7 I think)….

2 hour job the way I go at these things!!

Thanks Reggie. Will look for a 110mm

Your coasters aren’t as aligned as some on here would like

“Sub-standard driving may result in the placement of my feet on your car, which could cause offence”

“Dr Singlespeed, I presume?”

“One gear, no fear” (May have been done before)

E = 32:16 squared

*Old man alert*

Similarly miss the proper old shops, and have reluctantly now got an ipod. But the stuff on itunes is pretty limited, which means I have the same old middle of the road stuff on it. Is it possible to download to an ipod NOT using itunes? I really struggle to keep up…..

Did VW man have a surfboard?

Of no help I suppose, but I did a half marathon a few years ago thinking how hard could it be having not actually trained (ie I’d run a couple of time in the previous few months). Bloody hell never again, the answer was “a lot”, couldn’t walk for a week. Nowhere near 1.40!!

Remove battery connections at each terminal (taking care not to drop spanner across terminals and do an ace arc welding impression) first and clean them up with emery paper etc. Easy thing to do.

A little patch of dry

We recently had to use one when we went over to wireless (as the pc doesn’t have a wireless card). Seems to work fine although the wireless speed is massivley variable, although I don’t think that’s anything to do with the dongle.