Cheers mate …. always good to have a recommendation.

Thanks Creg. Will keep an eye on that thread.

No doubt it is written into the contract as "annual increase of 5% or the rate of inflation, whichever is the greater".

Sorry bud.

If someone is driving their car without tax etc., they're not going to be too bothered by a fine. Pay the fine and don't bother with the tax (what's the cahnces of being caught twice?).

Pick 'em up to be collected by the owner or crushed is a really good way of doing it and one I wholeheartedly support.

Seen a truck take away 4 in my street alone. He had to keep coming back.

Good move, I reckon. No excuse. Happy for people to pay to get the car back (assuming it is also road legal, MOT, insured etc.,) – lesson learned and all that.

The bust card for your wallet

Bust Card[/url]

I was taking pics at the local Chinese New Year parade and it so easily could've been me being accused as anti-social behaviour. As it happens, I was asked if I was from the paper (twice) and my gear was complimented on by 4 others 😉

OK, thanks.

Though I am now confused, as I'm sure I've used it before and it was auto.

Must be my age creeping in ……

Thanks guys.

Cal.

OK well this is me …. carlsphotograph ….. I think. Yeah, I know it's me but not sure if the link will work!

Cheers,

Sod working!

This trip down memory lane is taking a wonderfully long while – need to MTFU before the others get back …… they just wouldn't understand.

sniff

Don't you get to the stage where the RAM no longer matters because the MB will only operate at a certain speed?

For – with safeguards.

For – with safeguards.

Beware of cheap filters. Why spend money on glass and then cover it with a cheap bit.

I appreciate you have just scratched your lens but I tend to shoot without UV filters but always attach the lens hood – even in the dark or indoors – anywhere!

Unfortunately …….

Pretty accurate too…… 🙁

Agreed – take camera gear (all weight adds to the training) and get out to take all those pics I want to take.

Thanks for the advice and support – much appreciated and does make it seem a little easier.

I think I will put road tyres on my mountain bike first as I'm not even sure if I can comfortably get into the drops on the cross bike (which I will be using for the challenge).

10 miles every other day 😯 and that is just to start? 😕

The route will be Tunbridge Wells to Guildford so will involve the North Downs, so hills will feature (they are Southern hills, granted!). I think the route will be extended slightly to avoid some particularly nasty stretches of road – guess I'll have to get the map out an look as I normally use the M25 (car). Does seem a shame I can't use the M25 on the bike – it does have a nice cycle lane……

Thanks everyone.

OK – wait for the sun and get training.

Can't be arsed to read all the above comments but just wanted to say

Yay

As Jimster says – we now have to pay back all the money we borrowed to ensure the Bankers can be kept in the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed.

I know the OP was in irony and I do appreciate that but I find it hard to find anything ammusing about the pain I'm going to feel with increased costs, taxes and boy, inflation is going to be nice too.

"Depressed of Tunbridge Wells"

LOL @ wwaswas ……. very good!

Big Boars!

Singlecrack – tourists are indeed being stopped under this misue of Section 44 – a father and son (IIRC) who were 'bus nuts' were shipped off for photographing a bus garage. There are many other examples …..

Ski – it is indeed down to the landowner and shopping malls etc., have it written into their 'permissions of use'. If the landowner asks you to stop and leave you have to stop and leave. However, the landowner has no right to you deleting the pics – nor do the police. They can be used to prove your guilt if you are found to be a terrorist (so no point in anyone insisting you delete the images).

It's a minefield!

Depends how much you want to spend?

For well less than £500 you can get a decent new or secondhand entry level DSLR with kit lenses of various lengths.

Not sure what compact Mrs Jackass has at the moment but maybe a bridge camera would be an upgrade but still without the 'faff' of changing lenses and still keeping the size down.

About 18 months ago, I posted a request for camera info on here and someone (soory for not remembering the name – very poor of me) offered me a secondhand Fuji S9600. This soon became a DSLR (with 5 lenses and counting). The S9600 is now with my son and seems to be doing the same trick ……

So what I'm saying, a Fuji bridge camera could be a good way to introduce all the functionality of a DSLR without all the lenses etc.

joolsburger – where was the photographer? Was he on public property or within the restaurant (word used loosely!). Makes a difference on the outcome ……

Dosniner – glad to hear it. You'll probably recognise me. I'll be the one with the camera.

E
then
C

I'm from the old school that says "when in Rome, do as ….." so I think the French have the perfect right to put a stop to the Burka and I would like to see the same thing here.

I agree Muddydwarf – shocking to hear Dad defending the boys even before they had found the second boy.

The parents need locking up in a prison where the 'prison rules' will be regularly dealt out.

These boys are never going to be right and I wonder how society will cope with them when they are eventually allowed out. Indefinite is a very long time for these two.

Very very good ……. Any similar links for Brown – just to balance things?

Are the builders in?

7 Day shop batteries are a fraction of the cost of branded and I have had no problems with them at all. I know many other photographers who use them and also have had no problems. As for how many? I have a battery grip 2 installed and another 2 spare.

It's just so sad…… 🙁

That is frightening. In the name of christianity, you are now dead.

Bang out of order and very very scary!

Why are these military procurement managers such muppets?

Don't you just love STW!

Nice contribution Molgrips. Really useful.

I know that not everyone is a professional driver but as a professional driver, driving is the one area where I do NOT have to have refresher training etc.

As it happens, I work for an outfit that do recognise additional training and every 2 years, I undergo a refresher. Yes, my driving is effected by having someone sat with – just the same as everyone who did their test the first time BUT ….. I always pick up something new everytime AND the refresher training has CHANGED my driving habits and (in my opinion) I am a better driver for it. I can still charge up the M4 at 100mph+ (but I don't) but the times when I would charge up the M4 would be better calculated as to when such a speed would be appropriate for the conditions.

What really gets me is that those that say "its a limit don't exceed it" don't seem to accept that it can be equally dangerous to drive at a speed that is less than the limit. This is where experience and training comes into it by the driver being able to assess an appropriate speed.

There is no god-given right to drive and having to undergo regular training in order to keep up a licence would (in my opinion) have far more greater positive impact on road incidents than installing cameras.

But before I end on a digression from the OP, I am keen to see what effect installing the cameras AND increasing the limit will have. Maybe it will be the start of increasing limits in other areas?

Fantastic what you can find on the interweb …

You could say you want to contribute to the future wealth of many rather than the immediate wealth of a few.

I love these debates and promise myself to laugh at some of the self-righteous people who always post – Judge, jury and executioneer – fills me with Dredd 😉

Fact is we have a fixation on speed as 'speed kills'. It's the driver who kills, the speed is but a contributory factor. Educate the driver to use approporiate speed and the deaths are minimised. Set a statutory limit and someone will still kill but within the statutory limit as the conditions made the statutory limit inappropriate.

I've driven this stretch a few times and on a dry late summers evening or early morning, an appropriate speed would be well in excess of the statutory limit. However, drive the same stretch on a windy (dare I suggest snowy?) wet rush hour morning and an appropriate speed would be well below the statutory limit. So anyone driving at an inappropriate speed but within the statutory limit can turn around and say "at least I wasn't speeding".

I am interested to see what effect specs has with a raised limit but suggest the best solution would be to educate all drivers to a higher standard. Any politician want to take on that one? No. Far easier (politically) to treat us all like idiots and empty our pockets.

That assumes your satnav is accurate with the limit for the road – I know mine isn't. You'd have the same problem with cars.

Don't take responsibility away from the driver. Drivers need to be MORE responsible and the suggestion of re-tests every 5 years and following an accident is the right way to go.

Better education for everyone is required.

Will be interesting to see if the introduction of specs and raising the limit works.