Microwaved cheese sandwich in white bread with brown sauce (aka a wap)

Macarone cheese with tuna

Pork chop omlette

Cod in butter sauce ( the frozen type ) With rice and cheese

Tuna, mayo, sweetcorn and pasta

These are some of my culinary delights from back in my student days

Let me know if you need any of the recipes

JEngledow – Member

If you don’t like him then don’t follow him on twatter!!

I’m not anymore.

I previously worked in retail but now work in the asbestos industry as an analyst and surveyor. To be honest I did t need a degree for my job, but it gave me the confidence to look elsewhere and shows employers you are dedicated and motivated. Ask yourself what your motivation for studying is? If it’s for career change then look into options now and get working towards that.

I did a Geoscience degree with the OU just before they restructured their courses following the government Subsidy changes to university funding. As far as I know the Earth Science degree uses many of the modules that my Geoscience degree covered.

The OU is a good choice for studying, well recognised and respected. It has a very accessible set of resources online and access to tutors via tutorials and email/phone corresponance. Course materials are easy to understand and well structured. A degree is gained by earning points. 300 for BSc or 360 with honours. I aimed to do 60 per academic year but managed to complete within 5 years by adding some short courses. I attended 3 summer schools, 1 week residentials where you visit field locations and work in classrooms with other students.

I have recommended the OU to friends and some are studying now. I graduated in 2011. From what I can see their course structures have changed a lot, meaning you don’t have as much freedom of choice with modules and start dates. Summer schools may have even stopped altogether and although I was terrified at the prospect of attending my first one, it was by far the best part of the degree.

Lack of student interaction, practical complete lack of social life and increased stress for 5 years were the downsides to studying. Don’t be fooled in to thinking it’s a part time thing. It took over my life. I enjoyed the pressure though, and it got me out of my previous job, makes me more employable.

Any questions you have just let me know

Pete

Hundreds of thousands of people probably have lead pipes, as did everyone pre-plastic pipe. I have one, I’m not worried about it. You should he more worried about the fiberglass insulation in your loft…

Leave Britney alone!

clubber – Member

but means it’s slippy and
oily

Eh? I am utterly unable to reconcile that with the trails I ride. The grip is largely unchanged even in the wet. That’s the payback for the hardpack surface

Good for you!

Depends what you want from a ride. Its a smoothed out hard pack trail, which is supposed to be all ability friendly but means it’s slippy and oily so a challenge if you want to go quite fast. I enjoy riding it on my trail bike and hardtail. Link it in with Leigh Woods just over the road and 50 Acre wood if the weather is good (which it isnt).
Don’t go over biked or its just hard work. Leigh woods is my favourite of the 2 trails. Both can be done in about an hour to an hour and a half.

Thered, is your garage made of asbestos cement, or have you got an asbestos product within your garage. If its that your garage is asbestos cement get it tested by a UKAS accredited lab (doesnt cost too much if you can take the sample yourself) as it may be NT (new technology) as opposed to AT (asbestos technology). Depending on the results, is its asbestos cement then you can either –

a) Don a FFP3 filtered mask (available from DIY store) some type 5 paper suits, some PVA/water 50/50 mix in a pump up sprayer, a nail bar, bolt cutters and asbestos waste sacks and remove it yourself
or

b) contact an asbestos removal company who can remove it on a non-lisenced removals basis, probably costing between £500-1000 depending on location. Dont sound desperate and paranoid down the phone or you’ll be rinsed.

It’s bad stuff, but asbestos cement is generally the lesser of the evils and if your kitted up properly and clean up after yourself its an easy and generally safe job, the asbestos is pretty well boned into cement. It’s the more fibrous products that are the real killers.

“i had a perfect dream, this dream was me and you”.

Lovely to see the STW Police completely missing the point of the thread and then attacking the OP.

I think maybe because a mixture of reasons. Perhaps because in the more Islamic populated countries alcohol and drug use is considered the worst type of sin and is therefore punished in more severe ways, death being the most severe options available. These are countries where people still get hung or sometimes stoned to death, so this could be a reason?
Another factor could be because of the socio-economic effect on what is already a poor county could be seen to be at the top end of the crime scale and so punishable with maximum force available.

Maybe the question should be would drug smuggling carry the death penalty if capital punishment were still in use in the UK. If not then for what crimes would it be exercised? Seeing that tax evasion can carry sentences rivaling that of murder or manslaughter!

I was on it for about 1 year or so following a period of bad panic attacks and depression when I was at university. I started on 10mg at my doctors advice, after 2 weeks I didn’t notice a change so my doctor advised doubling the dose. After a week or so I noticed a cahnge. Made me feel less nervous, more able to stay calm and generally less emotional altogether. Bad points were lower libido, less able to feel happier emotions or get excited about very much. But this was negated by the feeling of calm it gives you. I ended up taking 80mg daily to see if it made much difference towards the end. Made me quite tired.
One piece of advice is dont just stop using it, you need to wean off it. I didn’t and it felt like I was having a stoke. Horrible feeling of my brain switching on and off. My own fault as I had run out and didn’t renew my subscription. I went back and got more then weaned myself off.
The problem with tablets for depression is that it supresses the symptoms but doesnt get the the source of theproblem.

Also, if your landlord has rented the property to you he has a duty to ensure an up to date as datos management survey and register is carried out. Check through the register and see if it mentios it. I’d be suprised if you have an asbestos register and that product was flagged as an acm due to the condition it’s in. Either you dont have a register and it might be an acm or you have got one and it’s not.

Hello, I’m an asbestos analyst and surveyor. You need to contact your landlord and arrange for a UKAS a credited surveyor to come and sample it. It’s likely to be AIB if it is an asbestos containing material (acm). If you are in the southwest then pm me and I will give you details of the company I work for. Unfortunately only by laboratory analysis can it be confirmed as to whether it’s an acm or not. Also, if it’s an acm you will need an air test to determine any contamination. For now don’t touch or go near the product. Any qustions just let me know.

My experience with cheap gear is it just doesn’t last well enough. You need a decent rod and decent reel. I can’t comment on shimano hyperloop as I’ve not used it. I have had cheap rods and they just aren’t up to it, bumping off fish because of stiff action or poor line guides not allowing line to feed smoothly. A cheaplyade reel is a nightmare when fishing. I’d personally steer clear of dragon carp and brands like this.
As with mountain biking there are reliable brands and not so reliable. I have however spent good money on gear and found it to be poor standard. A bit like crank brothers stuff really!

Peter file –
My estimation of a river fishing set up for £500 for someone with no gear is perfectly reasonable I think

Rod 60
Reel 40
Spare spool 15
Line (3lb and 6lb) 15
Floats 20
Lead weights 15
Shot 5
Hooks various sizes 25
Tackle box 20
Catapault 10
Bait boxes 8
Keep net 30
Landing net and handle 40
Chair (korum) 65
Ruckbag 50
Bait (maggots, bread, pellets, hemp, ground bait) 25
License 30
Possibly a day ticket or membership for water
Clothes such as thermals or bib and brace…..
Then things like scissors, knife, disgorger, fake baits, plummets, scales, bank sticks, rod bag, alarms if necessary, the list goes on and on. And that’s not even taking carp fishing into consideration…

I’d start with a decent Avon rod with 1.25lb test curve. That way you can use it to fish for species like barbel or chub with the Avon tip. Float fish for roach and perch etc or ledger when the weather or river conditions favour. I’ve got a john Wilson Avon rod, around 60 quid. Stick with the big brands for reels. I’ve got a shimano one for about 40 quid. Reliable and not over priced.
Without knowing the rivers you want to fish it’s hard to know specific floats, but Avon floats work well. Leads up to a few onces if you are wanting to fish fast flowing stuff. You’ll need landing nets, keep nets if you want to keep fish, although I don’t bother. Line, shot, hooks, hooks to nylon, carry gear…. The list is endless. It’s comparable to biking in terms of cost.
My favourite gear is my john Wilson Avon rod, my spro red arc reel, korum chair and ruckbag (clips together) and my drennan bib and brace.
Your local tackle shop is the best place for advice. For a decent river starting kit be prepared to shell out 500 for everything mentioned plus licenses.

Yes, apparently the apocalypse is arriving in the form of a super massive storm. This is due to hit the South West Sunday evening and could be the worst storm for 30 years. I would imagine that most people will be on their farewell rides. Me, im going to be stock taking the masses of tinned food and candles my wife has stock piled today.

Y Wal at Afan has no diversions at the moment and was great fun to ride last weekend. Plus you have the bike park to try out at the top of the trail.

Go to FoD most weeks and been to Llandegla twice. Love FoD but if Llandegla was closer i’d probably chose to ride there more often. Both are very good though. Llandegla is a faster track, more flowing and with better features than FoDs verderers trail, which although very good only really gets going on the final 2.5km descent, the red trail is a bit too short, although they are in the process of lengthening it. Plus Llandegla has a nice skills area.
If you fancy more DH action though FoD has better options.

Immaculate conception? This could be the second coming, the new messiah.

Repent your sins.

ell_tell – Member

Where is the pic from?

Cannock Chase, Monkey Trail

Cool, those are the things I have. I am going to have some stern words with the non drive side adapter now and see what happens.

Yeah def an Evo. I just youtube’d ‘hope pro2 evo 142 to 135’ and a vid comes up where a guy removed the drive side apapter and then **** out the axle presumably with the non drive side adapter still on.

So, do I need to get a new axle for 142 to 135, **** out the old axle, swap the bearings, put the QR adapters on and off i go?

none

Farmer Giles nephwes……

I did have some Maxxis Minion dual ply supertacky’s which were far too heavy.

We did it just a few months ago.
We viewed lots of houses, the searching process is probably the most stressful.
We found a place, put an offer in and started off the process when my wife was about 2 months pregnant. Then one problem after another with the sale came along (chain related things, survey reports, minor repairs before sale, contract changes etc).

We moved in around the beginning of May and baby was born beginning of June. The move was helped by family and friends, which took the stress off my wife, although I had problems getting time off work so couldn’t help much during the day.

The things you need to consider are, what condition is the house you are buying in? Can you get people to help you move? Have you seen a place already that you like? What is the chain like?

Searching for a property is the hardest part, the rest is just a waiting game. Be prepared to get messed about. I dont regret it, we love our place and its a proper family home. I’ll always remember the day we walked through the door with out first born.

Mate I’d buy a Ferrari.

F the bike!

You could get a bike rack on one though, couldn’t you?

Is there, by any chance, a place where I can find data about ERD sizes, as I cant seem to find any info about the rims I currently have? (Sun S-Type)

Actually, on the Rim it says 559mm x 34mm, is this the measurement I need?

ERD – extremely rare dominos? Extra red dolphins?

I need to research this acronym….

Cheezpleez, I know what you are saying but it seems crazy to buy new wheels when I have perfectly good hubs that I can reuse. Surely 2 rims, spokes and build will cost sub 200?

Maybe I should sell the wheels I have and just buy new then. Problem is that the front rim has a small ding, which I’m guessing would put most buyers off?

Any suggestions from people? I have been looking at the mavics but unsure as to whether I should be going for the xc, ex or en range?

This is becoming a regular post at the moment. Only last week someone else from Brislington had theirs stolen.
lets face it, they are clearly organised and have the right gear too. I don’t think spending hundreds on security will stop them. If they know where your bike is kept they will get it. The only way to stop them is to not let them know where you live or where you keep your bike.
it seems crazy to spend hundreds on locks and anchor boots when they will just cut a frame.

Any specific one’s? or are they much the same security wise? I cant seem to see the difference between the ones described as bike or motorcycle sheds and the normal ones, except a hike in price.

WatsonTony?

woodwork to the garage door frame needs sorting

Cheers for the video. I don’t speak French though so its not been any help to me.

I’ll let you tell him that. He’s bigger than me. Although a crafty few energy tablets in his drink and he’ll soon be an easy target. And probably dead shortly after.

Llandegla is non negotiable as my friend has been before and really wants to go back. We have a limited number of days and have planned our journey and accommodation. Penmachno does look good, but it’ll have to wait for our next trip.

Im prepared for the struggling, my friend is type 1 diabetic and is still fitter than me.

I looked at the Beast and then saw the distance and had second thoughts. I dont want to ruin myself with more riding the following day.

I like this

Q: If someone from the 1950s suddenly appeared today, what would be the most difficult thing to explain to them about life today?

A: I possess a device, in my pocket, capable of accessing the entirety of information known to man. I use it to look at pictures of cats and get in arguements with strangers.

Substitute ‘cats’ for bikes and this sums up the thread.