went here once https://www.parc-aventure-fontdouce.com/en/our-activities/treetop-adventure-park

unlike go-ape with all the Health and Safety talks, this basically consisted of a couple of 20 years drinking beer, and letting us do what we wanted.

It was great. Loved it.

go proper old school at william lennon

https://www.rufflander.co.uk/shop/heritage-footwear/arturo-cycle-shoe/

soap…quite woody/smoky,

have a look at the birch soap I suggested on the other page. That’s smokey!

ever since we put a softener in a few years ago, I can do soap again. Feels so much better to me.

Currently using this https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00L373R7W for that old school smokey “kill everything” vibe.

Big bars. Last ages.

i do have some mancave cedarwood stuff, but it’s just not as good as soap

people live hand to mouth because they want the ‘better’ things.

keeping up with the jones’

Other cliches are available on request. As long as you’re happy with what you’ve got, why worry?

The kids think I drink too much.

It’s generally one beer (small can) and a glass of wine (or two) on a friday/saturday. Then a beer (or two) sunday afternoon. Nothing monday to thursday. Some weekends nothing. Some days just one beer all night.

So – even with more alcohol in the wine/beer than was used as the default – i’m about 10/12 units a week.

But the kids think any alcohol is bad, and I guess the peer pressure from them does make me cut down. Long gone are the days of drinking every night, and knocking them back. And yeah, I do feel better for it.

Course, there is the occasional (once a month?) session down the pub with the lads. But even then we’re talking 4 pints – I just can’t do anymore.

sounds ridiculous i know, but be wary of planning permission requirements…

https://www.pinnaclearchitecture.co.uk/2017/02/20/do-i-need-planning-permission-to-build-a-treehouse/

i cycled from london to the loire (vendome) on a 26″ RockRider hardtail. I think it was about 300 miles in three days.

Using just decathlon slicks – cost £8 each or something.

Slightly harder than the others on their roadbikes, but eminently doable. Five miles each way would be easy.

Karcher outlet often does good deals https://www.karcheroutlet.co.uk/

Ours from there has lasted years, but to be fair we only use it once every couple of months

this one does look good though https://www.clasohlson.com/uk/Worx-WG629E.9-Pressure-Washer/41-1290

I like the look of that

Both parts are very nice

this https://www.tastinghouse.co.uk/coffee coffee shop in Reading has piggy backed onto a wine bar. So, they’re taking a site that’s mostly evening, and operating during the fallow hours. I’m assuming helps spread the costs, and hours etc

Also means you can pop in for a coffee, and come out with a decent bottle of wine

some suppliers take the mickey with the “up to” figure (as your 36mb contract will be “up to 36mb”)

Vodafone at least have some sort of guarantee against this https://www.vodafone.co.uk/broadband/guaranteed-speed. How easy it is to claim, and whether other suppliers do something similar, I’ve no idea. The more people that have this sort of policy the better though

You cope.

I left a job in london after 12 years (with a 2 hour commute each way). I now work a 25 minute drive away (80 minute cycle)

The extra time is invaluable (although I didn’t know what to do with it to start off with). I missed being there in the mornings with the kids (used to get the 6am train). Now they’re older, OI’m there to help with more activities. It’s also freed my wife up to be able to work more (at her own admission, she was stagnating). Obviously the lack of train fare made up some of the short fall in salary (went from £500 a month train ticket to £70(?) a month in fuel, and obviously not wasting money on it when on holiday)

So if you can afford it, why not? As mentioned, you’ve always got the driving to fall back on.

as a dissenting voice, I use KeepAss at work. Store the file on one server, and the file needed to get in (as it doesn’t have to use a password, but merely the presence of a file in the correct location) on another.

means you need be inside the firewall to use it. And have access to two servers. Cuts down on the number of people that can access it, let alone get in. So on a home PC, you could save the file access file on a USB (or a connected phone), so you can’t access it unless you use that.

Use it – in a slightly different way – on my phone

I give blood a lot. I’ve done a 10km the next day, and really don’t recommend it.

A couple of days – up to a week – and you’ll be fine (IMO, obviously).

If you can give blood every 12 weeks (assuming Maleness) then presumably your blood levels are back to normal by then.

i get most of my trees from Buckingham Nurseries. Very good

here’s their box selection; got till March to get the bare rooted.

The Native Hedging Mix is excellent. Especially the Cellgrown ones; they look ridiculously small when they arrive, but will shoot up.

Soap is better than Shower gel, but it’s a lot easier to use in soft water. In hard water, it’ll never lather as well.

As to the actual soap, i like this one from india. About £1.65 each, so not the cheapest. But no rubbish in it, and it does the skin a lot of good.

The daughter uses this one – and it’s very good. Again, lasts ages. Faith in Nature, as mentioned above

Entering the ballot was a default thing; i’ve done it every year, and never got in.

I guess now I have, and thinking about it properly, it’s not filling me with immense feelings of anticipation. It would really just be a tick in the box.

I’d rather someone who actually wanted it had it

fair enough – seems more acceptable!

Think a few of the ones i found mentioned biblical rain

difference between them

you are of course right, and I am of course a muppet!

however, here’s a complete ride. Quick look, and all seems okay with the activity.

Still only 700m

Random person

oh I’m not decrying any of the atmosphere, whole event etc. I’ve done the Sky Ride, and the latter family events, and done the shorter distances. It’s great.

I guess I’ve just reached the stage of life (old age alert coming up) where my idea of a good cycle isn’t cycling with 25k others, it’s more pootling down country lanes at my own pace.

Similarly got no desire to run the london marathon. It would just be ticking off a check box

God, I’m now old. :-)

According to where

According to a couple of strava segments I found. One was Ride london part 1 and then part 2. That adds to a total of 423m difference.

No idea if they’re 100% accurate or the current route etc

I’ve made a route along the back roads from me to Stonehenge and back. 173km, 2000m of climb. I can start when i want, take as long as i want, deviate if it’s busy etc.I could even make myself a medal for the equivalent of a £70 entry fee…

Wondering whether to actually pay and do it

I hate sportives. Cycling with a load of other people is hell; I go out to relax (by myself or with mates). It’d be lovely with twenty mates/acquaintances etc. A Michael Jackson might have said ‘I’m a pootler, not a racer’.

Coupled with the whole faff of getting to Excel. Then getting there on the day, etc.

On the flip side, at least I can say i’ve done it.

On the other flip side I cycle that far anyway reasonably regularly, with a lot more climb (was shocked to see it’s only about 450-500m over 100 miles. That’s not a lot of climbing).

Maybe I should just find an Audax, and do more for less.

we outsource a lot of our work to a company in Bangalore, so i spend 50% of my time dealing with Indians (about 30-40 different people a day). Normally by saying “No, you can’t”.

Obviously being an outsourced company, they don’t really care about what they’re doing, so things need checking carefully (but that’s the same with any outsourced company).

Like most places, some people are better than others. Some of them you can chat to about other stuff. Others, not. Some of them are very good. Some are rubbish, and are soon out. The turnover can be a problem. As can not telling you when they’ve done something wrong. Loss of face and all that.

I teach them colloquial English (obviously by just putting it into an email and see if they can pick up on it), as to they with me. “Please do the needful” etc.

a few years old, but http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4259990.stm

the main issue will of course be stamp duty – you’re still buying a house.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sdlt-transferring-ownership-of-land-or-property

You may need to pay SDLT when all or part of an interest in land or property is transferred to you and you give anything of monetary value in exchange.

last time we went we stayed just out of town at Loosdrecht. Lovely lakes to cycle around (or sail on!), and about 10 min away on train
this one https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/5167371?location=Loosdrecht%2C%20Netherlands&guests=1&s=WMkyB4sx&adults=1

I’ll throw Suunto into the mix

up until recently, I’d’ve agreed. But they’re moving the older versions onto a new platform, and it’s half baked at the moment. Doesn’t work properly, half the metrics have gone. Coupled with the fact the watch seems to have a [GPS] mind of it’s own quite a lot…

I’ve been hearing good things about the Huawei Watch GT – apart from (and it’s a biggie!) it doesn’t link in with strava.

craft beer

better would be the west berks taproom (epecially as they’re just bringing back Snake Oil – a lovely 7.5% DIPA).

When done, you can go to bucklebury farm park, and then hang out various pseudo royalty in the neighbouring villages.

or – if youngish… – didcot railway?

how old is the family?

Park in streatley, walk to aldworth. Have a pint in the Bell, walk back

marvellous

got in for the first time – after 5 (or 6) rejections.

Will give it a go. Not the biggest fan of cycling in big groups, but it’ll be good on the closed roads.

i know it’s a cliche, but I’ve worn my decathlon fabric ones for weeks at a time (inc across Grand Canyon, and skiing holidays). A few years old now, and they’re only just starting to go.

Something like this Boots

The problem with the kebab shop is it was probably there before the conservation area was instigated.

The village had one recently – grade two listed building wanted to change to metal double glazing, identical to the one next door. It wasn’t allowed, due to the constraints. The one next door had been allowed, as it was replacing already replaced windows. The more recent applicant was trying to replace originals.

Seriously, if cost is an issue, the only solution will probably be secondary double glazing. Especially if – as you say – it’s a feature window. Any changes to a conservation zone are supposed to “conserve and enhance”. Anything else is liable to be rejected.

But, we put in Aluminium windows during our extension, and they weren’t that much more than uPVC. Try a local supplier

actually working (now!).

Cleared the road for a while, but then the snow has come again, and my nice clean bits have another inch on top of them

LOADS of snow in Oxfordshire

We’ve had 5-6″ in Streatley. More than I’ve seen here for some time. The hill is already packed

you can turn off the map page on a Wahoo of course…

although why you’d want to?

i recently bought 4 google mesh hubs to replace our Tplink extenders (with wifi add-on bit).

The mesh – for the price – was no different. Cost me £300, but apparently worth £500. Rubbish for the money. It went back

I bought another (updated) tplink for £40 (in the amazon ‘open box’ bit). Solved all problems

Another issue – Vodafone broadband recently had an issue with their system, in that the DNS servers needed a kick up the jacksy. The ‘official’ recommendation from vodafone was to change the DNS settings to reflect the google ones. Wifi has been ‘quicker’ since; less latency I assume.

Went to Tallin in 1999 and 2000. So pre EU. Used to pop over from Helsinki on a booze cruise (and my god, the Finn’s liked a drink at 8am). Actually getting a stamp in the passport, and changing markka to kroons felt like an adventure.
Horrible Soviet architecture on the walk from the harbour to the old town, but the old town was lovely. Superb place. Lovely restaurants and bars

Probably changed quite a bit in the last 20 years mind.

as mentioned, come down to goring\streatley. From goring you can head up to the children’s (Christmas common way) and from streatley you can head up the ridgeway. Once at Compton there’s vast amounts of byways and bridleways.

Ridesonair in Wallingford or mountainmania in didcot used to do evening rides in the summer. Not sure if they still do

Just about every night. Our house backs onto woods and you can hear owls all the time

This. Oh god this. All night every night.

Lovely to hear them actually.