A 100 pack of Bolzano blades comes in cardboard, with all blade in waxed paper

as for soaps – there’s loads in metal tins on Etsy (oatcakesoap is one I’ve used, but he’s taking a break), or buy a stainless steel nibbles pot (got mine in Home Bargains for 75p), and just buy soap (like https://nonplasticbeach.com/products/shaka-shave-bar)

personally, I buy (and prefer) Tallow soaps. There’s no palm oil, and it’s a waste product, so….
At the moment I like https://www.phoenixandbeau.uk/ from the UK, or https://murphyandmcneil.com/collections/murphy-and-mcneil-shaving-soaps/murphy-and-mcneil from further away. They are in plastic, but they do last a long time. Some Razorock stuff does come in a glass jar, with a metal lid https://shavingtime.co.uk/collections/razorock-razors/products/copy-of-razorock-dead-sea-shaving-soap-150g – and their aftershaves are all glass. https://shavingtime.co.uk/collections/razorock-razors/products/razorock-dead-sea-aftershave-100ml

You need a van

I do, but I may struggle to get one as a legitimate holiday expense. Maps and Smidge maybe….van, no chance

now that looks ideal – thank you (And thanks for the Edinburgh recommendation as well)

i am tempted for the bikes….surely tempted. But we’ve done similar before (bikes to Ile de re, holland, wales, etc), and never used the things together!

I do then force myself out, and then feel guilty for leaving the family for a time. Family holiday after all!

the kids should always fit the hire bikes….one is 17 and the other 15…. One of them especially may throw more of a hissy fit than a two year old though

And yes, an early cycle, by myself, getting lost in a vain attempt to explore, sounds ideal. But, is it enough?

grand. Thanks all. It does kinda confirm my thoughts.

just need to convince the wife now!

the safety is my main concern to be honest; they’re not the most expensive bikes of course, and the better ones would be staying at home, but it would be a pain for them to get nicked

this one is two bed, open plan, no way designed for kids in the slightest, country living etc

not scotland though

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/107618687#/

I found this incredibly easy to read. Despite being 1040 pages

more about european politics at the fin de siecle than the war.

recently been declared unpolitically correct/racist/sexist/whatever

ahem.

https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/the-beano-my-favourite-comic-has-been-hit-by-political-correctness-drat-urrgh-boo-aidan-smith-3248341

i have a Serotta/Saratoga Frameworks built Ti PX bike from 2013. Ridden in all weathers.

Once the mud is wiped off, it looks like it did when I got it.

julbo make the best photo lenses.

Honestly this.
Got some Race 2.0 Octopus (2-4) a couple of years ago, and just got some Arise (0-3) cos the weather’s been so rubbish

https://www.trekkinn.com/outdoor-mountain/julbo-arise-reactiv-reactiv-performance-0-3/137090516/p
still can get them from Spain….as the bundle is under £135 there is nothing else to pay (sunlit uplands etc)

they’re superb, and completely indestructible. https://www.imbikemag.com/reviews/protection/glasses/julbo-eyewear-arise-reactiv-performance-glasses-2019/

Was it sent from Durham?

Nice!

I love spending other people’s money

now – I’ve moved away from carbon. All carbon bikes are (seem!) the same to me now. Move back to metal….

you can get a steel disc Ultegra Di2 from Ribble for 3.3k

https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-endurance-725-disc-pro-green/

we’ve got quite a lot, in various places. Been fine for 10 years, looks good

just bought a load more.

That looks brilliant.

It does look great, and I’d love to try it, but am I allowed to say it’s a blueberry in the photo, and not a blackberry?

Like https://www.metcheck.com/WEATHER/past_24hours_lightning_strikes.asp?

Copy/paste the Fenix chat except I have a 5 sapphire.

Ditto, apart from it’s a 5 plus sapphire.

love the maps (well, the free talkietoaster ones). Use them all the time. And the sapphire screen is very useful to someone who has a history of smashing watch screens.

bloke who lives next to us won £84m on the euromillions.

Never see him.

I won an all expenses paid wine tasting for two to Tuscany, accompanied by a Master of Wine, to some pretty decent vineyards.

£50 a month tinned fish subscription box

bonkers – i thought this one was quite pricey (lovely fish though!)

https://miss-can.com/en/canmunity/

I don’t quite know what to think about this thread

We’ve had a Passat diesel estate with DSG for ten years. No issues at all. Oil changed at 40k and 80k as advised

oh indeed. And I do [now….]

not work in the sea

when you live 50 miles from the sea, and 300 yards from the river…I know which is easier to use

Most people assume – as I did! – you don’t need a licence for unpowered craft on inland waterways. To me, it’s like bikes needing a licence; faintly ridiculous.

And where does the difference lie? If I was to take a £2 lilo down, and float serenely downstream, do I need a licence? Or is it anything with a paddle?

Should Lidl not be mentioning that [theoretically!] you need a licence – at least south of the border?

I know the chance of getting asked or checked is pretty miniscule, but here (on the Thames) the number of SUPs last summer did seem to bring more questions from lock keepers….

it’s black and white, eInk, not the best resolution. Not a Kindle Tablet, a Kindle
PDFs of manuals would not look good on it
It is solely for reading wordy books; even maps will look rubbish

Do Kindles only work with Amazon books

no – any ePub book will work on a Kindle. And if it’s not ePub (Mobi or something else) just convert it on Calibre (or loads of other sites now)
If you like old, classic books, there are lots of websites like Gutenberg. And Amazon often do books for a pound. There are websites you can sign up to; tell it the books you like, and it’ll suggest others when they’re reduced
And – like all things digital – there are many many websites with pirate versions. A friend had – i think – 38,000 books on his server.

I’ve had a kindle since a Mark 3; no touchscreen and a keyboard. They’ve come on since then, and I couldn’t cope without it.

@john_l
yeah, it was Proderm back in the day. Same stuff, different name. Brilliant stuff

having said that, as the kids have got older, the Aldi stuff is now fine!

my internal body temperature sky-rockets

in that case!

During use hydrophilic centres also appear in the lipophilic regions in such a way that normal sweating has basically no effect and, through the osmotic membrane, the skin’s natural ability to maintain an even balance between outflows and inflows (of e.g. moisture and heat) is restored

if you can believe it of course…

This mousse is superb https://www.evy.uk.com/#products

not cheap, and has been through various rebrands in the past, but it’s excellent stuff

What is it shes going to be using the 5g for?

I have to agree with this
I have a 5G Nord, as mentioned. I live in the country (ish), but near to Reading and Newbury (both places with 5G). In the last year, I’ve been to either maybe 5 times. And has the 5G made a difference? No – not noticed. You can hit 250 Mbps on a decent 4G+ connection.

it’s got to the stage I’ve turned the 5G off to save power. Does it make a difference? No idea, but the oneplus forum’s said it’s not a bad move.

Oneplus Nord

Two versions; the cheaper is in budget

the more expensive is great, and will be more future proof. It is 19p over budget

Gets excellent reviews

The OnePlus Nord is a very good phone full stop – and an absolute bargain at only £379.

we’re just doing another part of the garden as another patio. It was the old garage, so the slab was already there. But I bought the indian sandstone. Roughly 19.2 sq m (annoyingly the stone pack was 18.74 sq m….but i have some spare from another go)

£370 for materials. £200 for labour

Slabs cost £460? https://www.lsd.co.uk/indian-sandstone-paving-raj-green-patio-pack-calibrated

but – as i say, we already have the base

Part of pulling up decking, and putting a pitched roof on the pergola. £3k all in (plus me buying the stone)

we have this here https://gis2.westberks.gov.uk/webapps/OnlineMap/

tells you everything you need to know about an area (zoom in etc, click on the layer list in the top right, choose layer etc)

i’m assuming where you are will have something similar. They’re not always easy to find, and don’t always have the same layers, but….

ETA – well, here it is for Cheshire East, but I can’t see any layers
and also https://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/environment/heritage_natural_environment/conservation_listed_buildings/conservation_areas/controls_in_conservation_areas/article_4_directions/local_article_42_information.aspx

Moderna last Tuesday.
Wednesday – arm felt dead; painful and very heavy. Almost as if it had a local anaesthetic, but with pain. Which is odd.
Thurday – all gone; back to normal

Since then, nothing.

good to see a) this is still going and b) turning out exactly as I said on page 5

However, I fear this will just descend into the usual camps; those who can’t understand how anyone can dislike dogs, and those who are indifferent or actively dislike them.

hate to get involved with this, but people of the muslim faith (better?) and dogs generally don’t get on

https://www.animalsinislam.com/islam-animal-rights/dogs/

1. It is NOT haraam to own a dog, though it is not hygienic to keep a dog in the house.

2. It is NOT haraam to touch a dog or any other animal. If the saliva of a dog touches you or any part of your clothing, then it is required of you to wash the body part touched and the item of clothing touched by the dog’s mouth or snout.

or
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/08/fear-of-dogs-muslims
or
https://www.muis.gov.sg/officeofthemufti/Irsyad/English-Advisory-on-Guide-Dogs
etc

Working dogs (hunting especially) are allowed. Anything else is not

Fortunately I’ve never been attacked by a car. But I can understand how people do not like it, even if the car is only being friendly, exuberant and excitable.

See – almost as if the situation can be reversed.

However, I fear this will just descend into the usual camps; those who can’t understand how anyone can dislike dogs, and those who are indifferent or actively dislike them.

have to try and share the road and take sensible precautions to protect myself

indeed. Cars are – however – slightly more predictable than an exuberant dog.

jump up and down in an over exuberant manner

but that is an “attack” to some people…You may disagree, but some people do not like it, and indeed are quite scared of it. It’s not dissimilar to showing a tarantula to an arachnophobe. Irrational fear to most people (even hard to comprehend), but terrifying to them.

It’s just about respecting others. And as you don’t know the other person, you have to be more cautious until you do.

i’m an animal person. I like all of them. I’m not nervous of dogs, as i’m not nervous of cats. They’re just not for me.

however, dogs can (can!) be a pain (similarly cats, with offerings left in the garden). If I’m running/cycling/walking, and a dog bounds towards me, I’m wary. I don’t see it as a

potential threat

I just don’t want to get involved with it. I’m out doing my thing. I don’t want to be interrupted, by something else.

I’m wary – generally – because I don’t know what the dog will do. You – the owner – have a good idea, as it’s yours. I don’t. Never met it before. It could bite, it could get caught in the wheels, it could just annoy the hell out of me, and interrupt my KOM attempt (ahem). The point remains it’s interrupting me. You may not mind that, I do. If it’s a owner/dog I know, I have a vague idea of what will happen.

As an aside – along the river here the farmer has just put up a load of signs “please keep dogs on leads…livestock…can be shot’ etc, in preparation of sheep going in soon. Obviously every (no hyperbole here!) dog owner still has no lead (or what seems like control) on them. That’s at all times of the day; 7am run, 2pm walk, 7pm walk etc

I have no problem if people have dogs. But a) please clean up after them and b) understand that some others do not like dogs, or are wary of dogs, and do/will not like the attention

I bought these for a Namibian trip that never happened :-(
They’re probably (undoubtedly) rubbish in comparison with a lot of others, but they seem very good to me