Whisky. (The answer to everything)

Costs can vary hugely. Livery is really pricey, and some nags need an awful lot of tlc. That £600 per month quoted above is probably easily exceeded…. but not inevitable.

We’re lucky with our two. They live out all year round (our own fields) and are pretty hardy – I’ve just put a lightweight rug over the old mare yesterday, but the youngster will probably go unrugged all winter (unless we get a properly evil spell of weather). One is unshod (only does occasional light work) while the other gets a set of boots (£80) every 12-13 weeks. They’ll have haylage through the winter, one big bale every 10 days or so. Works out at about £400 a year. Most expensive thing is insurance at £750 per year. So for the 2 of them we probably spend about £1,500 per year. Call it £2k if you add in repairs to rugs, fencing, wear and tear on tack, clothes, etc. I should stress, though, they’re just leisure things, ridden once week (maybe twice/week in summer) and no competitions to speak of.

And if you’re just riding for yourself there’s no need to go braiding their manes, painting their nails and polishing all the tack every time you go out. From getting them in from the field to setting off is usually about 15 minutes. Similar after a ride.

If you really want to “give them the beans”, a beach is a good idea. Specially one with soft sand at the top to steer them into when you need them to stop – slows them down pretty quickly! It’s a great feeling being on a strong horse when it pins back its ears and goes for it.

I’d still much rather be out on a bike though!

brant – Member
Magnus Mills

– another vote from me.

Also really like pretty much everything Murakami’s written, though it’s not to everyone’s taste. It can be a bit weird sometimes, like a modern Japanese take on Magical Realism, and I can’t articulate (or even pinpoint) why I like him, but he’s worth trying. You’ll either love his stuff in the first few pages or you can move on to someone else. 1Q84 and Wild Sheep Chase are good gateway Murakamis

Not contemporary, but I love the way Italo Calvino writes (wrote), though I sometimes have to stop after every paragraph to process… it can make me realise how linguistically limited I am.

If you like your dystopian future fiction I can recommend the Maddaddam trilogy by Margaret Attwood: scarily prescient and believable (but a bit bleak/dark at times). In a similar vein – though somehow less satisfying – is Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel.

It’s all so personal though – hope this doesn’t waste your time looking out things which aren’t for you.

What kind of “horse insurance” are you after (not a flippant question)?

For vet bills we’ve found NFU brilliant – they’ve paid out without quibble when we’ve needed them and, to be honest, their admin side is ten times better than our vets’.

If you’re just after 3rd party, it would be well worth looking into joining the British Horse Society. Last time Mrs Pz looked their gold membership covered her riding/handling any horse, and anyone riding her horses. Good prices for membership, too.

Even though our two are minimal-maintenance, every-expense-spared, native nags, there’s no way we would ever consider “self insuring”. Might be OK for vets’ fees but I wouldn’t dream of going without 3rd party. Any horse can spook and if a driver swerves to avoid and ends up having an accident I don’t want to be liable for the cost of someone’s lifetime care. I think the guilt would be enough.

We’re currently looking into whether it’s possible to get vet bills cover for our old mare and any-rider 3rd party for the youngster on one policy…

In a similar vein to the OP, “led” seems to be written with an extra “a” more often than not.

“She lead me up the garden path” for example.

Hey ho, for all that it annoys me when I see it, I guess it’s just part of the natural mutation of language. Won’t be long before led, lose, thieved and the rest will be regarded as archaic alternative spellings. And schedule will be pronounced with a hard “ch” (my personal bugbear) in Correct English

Mumble, mumble, cocoa, slippers…..

+1 for Banshee Prime

Suspect my 110 CSW has to go. Bought a camper van and 4 vehicles for 2 people is too much. The 110 is least used and the most expensive to run. What will I get my fire wood in? A bloody Jimny isn’t going to carry much.

Oh I dunno…..

[list]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P76Qd4OcCsA[/list]

joefm – Member
I wish Jackie Stewart would STFU. The guy is a whiny berk

ftfy

Another vote for Jim Clark here.

I’m no fan of Lewis’ but he’s certainly an amazing driver and maturing well (at last). Completely deserved this year’s title.

It will be interesting to see how Max’s career pans out. Once his youthful “i’m immortal so there’s no harm in trying this move” ebullience has worn off a little will it leave a merely fast driver, like so many before, or has he got the raw talent and range of personal skills to make the list?

Pah – that’s not really in that Yaris… just kinda wedged! (Not miffed at all at being canoe-trumped).

Nice work.

I used to have a Peugeot 106 which I could just get my surf kayak into if I lined it up exactly right. In the fullness of time I went to move up to a bigger more practical (estate) car, trading in the 106. Price greed and everything.

Day before the changeover I managed to put the kayak in *not quite right*, slammed the boot and put a massive crack all the way across the windscreen. Had to sort out a replacement sharpish.

First time I went for a paddle in the new car I didn’t even bother checking, it was so much bigger. Shut the boot, and yes, pushed the kayak out through the windscreen.

I’ve never claimed to be a quick learner.

Congrats Mr Whyte. Welcome to “the museums sector”…

On TPS here so don’t get too many legit calls. If I think they’re legit I just suggest their time would be better spent going to the next person on their list.

Otherwise I try to persuade them to join my cult.

You start by deflecting whatever they’re peddling with “I don’t know, my followers handle that for me. They look after everything for me… my income.. spiritual wellbeing… physical needs…”

If they’re still on the line I go for “You’re a persuasive person, we’d be pleased to have someone like you here. You wouldn’t have to make these calls all day, and my followers would be very welcoming to you”.

Immature, I know, but better than being rude. Just a little worried that I’ll get a visit one day from the Boys in Blue.

Damn, damn, damn. I’ve been resisting posting on this thread since the first page. Now I’ve gone and FTT.

I feel dirty…

ninfan » Trump’s North Korea strategy: A lot like Obama’s

I’m wondering whether Ninfan thinks this (shared) strategy is sound or not. Just want him to confirm that either (a) Obama was right, or (b) Trump is wrong.

Or perhaps was the wrong thing to do but is somehow now a brilliant strategic masterstroke?

mark_h4dng – Member
Pretty certain you can’t work a full day until you have a national insurance number , which you get just before you are 16,
before that they can only work a max of 2 hours max, from 13years old.

Worth checking. We had a couple of youngsters on work experience from school who impressed enough that we offered them seasonal work for the school summer holidays. Both applied for (and got) NI numbers, although they’re only 15.

What you do need (or at least, if you’re in Cornwall) is a young person’s work permit from your local council. This is basically to ensure that the demands of their proposed employment will not have an adverse affect on their studies. I got the application forms from the council website – needed to be countersigned by their school and their parents (I guess to ensure that everyone’s happy with the arrangements). Then there are limits to how much they can work (term time differs from holidays).

Recommend that you check out your council’s website – it was pretty clear with Cornwall Council. There are lots of things they can’t do (e.g. they can work as a waiter / waitress, but can’t work in a kitchen where there are knives, etc), but you can infer from that exactly what they can do.

And for any employers out there, both our youngsters have been brilliant. One in particular I’d happily tempt out of full-time education!

Get yourself licensed (or technically, qualified to apply for a licence), then you can sell the stuff – even if only out of your garage. I went on a personal licence course a couple of years ago and one of the other guys on it was doing it for just this reason (also just using windfalls donated by neighbours).

500l will pay for the course in one harvest, even if you’re practically giving it away. Although if you do too well on it your supply of free apples might dry up!

Also, there can never be enough cider in the world.

I think if the UK government put “geographic convenience” over the wishes of the majority of residents, then the good folk of Gibraltar and Islas Malvinas would have something to say about it. And as with Scottish Indyref and Brexit, it’s the views of the residents which count.

I’m all for the SE of England gaining independence, though, and I’ve have thought most people (on both sides) would be up for it.

ETA: can you imagine the arguments debate over where the parliament for the Rest of the UK would sit? Where would YOU vote for…? (Should be a STW poll).

Tl;dr

Religion and an acceptance of evolution are not mutually exclusive.

Things you can believe in include:

• There is a God and it created the world and universe exactly as we see it today
• There is no God and life came about through spontaneous chemical reactions, and has changed due to evolutionary processes
• There is a God and it created a universe in which life came about through spontaneous chemical reactions, and has changed due to evolutionary processes
• There is no God, no evolution and… well… still waiting for an alternative from the OP.

I’ve never really understood why such questions often seem to degenerate into Religion vs Evolution.

From my (admittedly limited) understanding of the world’s religions, in most cases the deity is omnipotent. That’s omnipotent. A bit like infinite, it trumps everything else.

Said deity is usually attirbuted with having created “the universe” – surely that term is not limited to the physical space, but also to all the principles, laws and immutable certainties? So, in this universe, said deity has ordained that e=m times c(squared), opposites attract (or mutually annihilate each other), pies have lids and the fittest survive. It her previous project it might have been that e’s = good, opposites fail to interact with one another, pies have basil and the fattest flourish.

Suggesting that evolution and religion are mutually exclusive is logically flawed (sorry, Professor Dawkins). If you’re religious, surely anything can exist if your God wants it to, including evolutionary diversification. I’m sure some might argue that evolution proves the existence of an overarching power, orchestrating it all.

Not sure that’s going to help the OP, but I feel better for getting it off my chest.

A lass at work asked why bridleways are so-called. Without really thinking I told how they were the old paths that a bride would traditionally walk along to get to the church on her wedding day.

Reckon I would have got away with it, but for the office know-all who piped up with “No. Actually I think you’ll find that…” (and then didn’t believe me when I said I knew, and had said it for joke).

Oh, the Lizard is a right sod to get to.

It’s got to be A30, but getting across to Helston is a challenge. If you’ve got satnav, google maps or are good at remembering a route I’d come off at Pool (junction after Redruth), head for South Crofty, Penhallick, Four Lanes, then down the B3297 to Helston. That’s the route I used to take when I worked on the Lizard if I had to go anywhere – even going to Truro (it was almost twice the distance of the direct route, but quicker). Have a look at it on the map first though, as it’s not obvious…

The A30 is now dualled all the way to Carland Cross (Trispen / Truro junction). From there to Chivvie can be 10 minutes or can be an hour (it’s about 7 miles). If you’re travelling down on a Friday or Saturday in August, any time late morning to late afternoon it’ll be the latter. The rest of it should be painless, though.

Father-in-law (farmer) put an acre to kale last winter to see how it would sell locally (interestingly, quite well), which meant that we would be given a couple of pounds of the stuff most days. Seemed to be eating kale for the entire winter!

Kale curry, and kale and blue cheese fritters were surprisingly good (kale curry was the first solid food our 1-year-old had – he really liked it), but after a couple of months I had had enough. Would be quite happy never to eat it ever again.

Just to say: we went, we rode, we didn’t die!

Ace place. There’s still obviously a lot of scope for development (only a couple of portaloos, nowhere to even get a cold drink, etc), but it’s really early days and the vibe was excellent. Really friendly and easy going.

The riding was great too. The runs are quite short, but the uplift is really quick (only 1 bus running yesterday, but even if it was pulling out as you got to the bottom, it was back again in 5 minutes).

Whether it’s worth it for a whole day probably depends on your riding preference and boredom threshold. We rode 10:00 to 3:00 and would probably have kept going if i hadn’t had to go to work, but the car park did empty out through the afternoon. I’d say if you want lots of long, flowing trails and don’t want to go over the same ground then maybe not. If you’re either there for the jumps (which looked great and were very popular) or looking to build up confidence from a low-ish base then there’s easily a day’s riding.

Pro-line was closed, btw.

It’s spelled “heir”.

And, Donald.

We took the deckchairs outside and spent a couple of hours tucked up under blankets, quaffing cider (me) and mulled wine (better half), and spotted loads!

It’s become a family ritual on 12th August, weather-permitting. Skies were mostly clear here (west Cornwall), a little hazy now and then. Not as good as last year, but better than most!

At least you know you’ll get another chance to see them next year!

As well as all the above, there’s The Track at Portreath and Woody’s near Par – both said to be good. And if you’re going to Cardinham might be worth taking in Landhydrock (just a mile up the road – just ride from one to the other or you’ll end out paying twice for parking). Lanhydrock is fairly tame (so’s Cardinham, to be fair), but Hart and Timber have a nice flow to them. They’re short, though.

Another vote for Carn Marth. I tend to park just north of Unity woods and go from there, taking in Poldice too for a fun loop. Lots of cheeky too, if you’re that way inclined.

If you’re further west the Penwith moors have some good riding, but very weather dependant. It’s a horsey boggy bog in the wet!

As above, the coast path is probably best avoided at this time of year. Not much of it is bridleway anyway, though there are a few stretches, but it’ll be heaving with people. Some of it is pretty high on exposure too – we’ve had at least one mtb fatality this year, sadly, with the guy going over the edge.

Excellent news! Thanks genesis.

johnx2 – Member
Never mind all that. Main thing is to get Liam Fox up there right away. Negotiating with simple unicellular extraterrestrial life but not as we know it, he might have a chance of striking some kind of deal. Or we could just send him anyway…

And since it’s life-bearing, he won’t need any kind of space suit or support system.

Win win.

Uplift day at BPW?

I’m with the OP – wedding ring is a size ‘T’, but my fingers are shorter than my (5’2″, petite) wife’s.

Which is why I ride in (women’s) fingerless riding gloves.

If I or my family were the only one or ones left…

Two very different scenarios.

If it was just me there would be no point in trying to be sensible, apart from the fact that I suspect my well developed sense of self preservation (i.e. cowardice) would stop me going out in a blaze of glory. Like to think I would set myself a challenge to see out my days, along the lines of See-how-far-I-can-get-round-the-world with what’s been left behind (and my very meagre skills set). Not sure I’d get across the channel, tbh – would probably try to kayak, but how to get my kayak to the SE?

If my family were spared too I’d have to be Mr Sensible-Head. Might struggle.

I heard a very good interview on (I think) R4 ages ago along similar lines. The interviewee was all “I’d probably cope, reckon I could make a shelter and basic furniture”, etc, etc. Was then asked, ok, but could you make a saw? That’s the problem, there’s 20,000 years of human development / specialisation to rewind!

ETA – would there still be broadband? And Audis?

Joe Cocker’s real name is was John Cocker

ftfy

I taught Robbie Williams to canoe

stevied – hasn’t worked I’m afraid, these were my first port of call
teasel – like you, live and let live is my mantra… apart from the few hundred I’ve dispatched by squashage. Still not getting the hint, though
zippy – an old granite house with exposed stone (inside and out)… it’s riddled with (tiny) holes, so I might have to ring fence the whole house with cinnamon. Hmmm, pricy, but would be worth it, if it works!
Wwaswas – Sorry about your lawn.. but at least you don’t have visiting badgers
Haze – “Flying ant day” is a myth. These little sods have been getting their wings for the last week-and-a-bit.

I think burning the house down might indeed be the only option.

Thanks for the tips. The little buggers are now invading the kitchen, too, which is a sod as I’m slightly cautious about just how noxious some of the remedies are. (I have accidentally discovered that a direct application of Mr Muscle Glass Cleaner has a pretty terminal affect on ants, though).

Might have to forego eating for a few days whilst I carpet-bomb the kitchen with all the chemicals known to man.

I chuffing HATE ants!

chiefgrooveguru – Member
Banshee Prime!

^^ This

The whole area of what makes any organisation worthy of charitable status is very subjective. One person’s “amazing place of historic interest which MUST be saved for the nation” is another person’s “rich toff’s home”. Along with everyone, I find myself thinking “a charity? really?” at a lot of places.

I also think it’s mean to charge the visitor extra for Gift Aid, especially as there’s a more generous alternative. We simply charge the same for admission but offer free readmission for 12 months, as do most of the places round here which are run by charities.

As for the “they get loads of money out of me and the director makes a 6-figure sum” argument… that may (or may not) be true from some of the larger charities, but there are plenty of smaller ones where the staff are either volunteers or pretty low-paid – certainly nobody even earning as much as the UK average wage. For those of us in that situation, the money raised through Gift Aid can literally make the difference between keeping the lights on and having to close the place. It’s a pretty bleak financial landscape out there at the moment in the “not for profit” sector.

Sorry, I don’t mean to sound defensive and I appreciate and agree with a lot of what’s said above. There are certainly some charities with huge reserves (all available in the public domain, incidentally, via the Charity Commission’s website). But as with cyclists, drivers or any other group one might like to stereotype, there’s actually a large range of different situations and for some of us Gift Aid is a lifeline.

OP, I’ve an On One 456 ti frame (large) for sale if you’re interested. Takes up to 150mm fork (non-tapered steerer).

Drop me an email (address in profile) if you want more info.

DISCLAIMER – I manage a charity which is heavily dependent on Gift Aid donations

Gift Aid is a funny one.

Taking the specific example of a visitor attraction (the only area I have experience of). The idea is that, by paying for admission, you can emulate making a charitable donation. Effectively, could get tax relief on your “donation” (admission charge) which you then pass on to the charity.

So for example, if you pay 25% income tax and spend £10 on an admission ticket, the charity can claim back £2.50 from HMRC.

The whole thing is muddied by the weird HMRC rules.

They stipulate that in order to claim Gift Aid relief, the charity must either (a) offer the Gift Aiding customer something which is not offered to other customers (typically free admission for a year) or (b) charge more than for a non-Gift Aided ticket (that’s right, charge MORE). No, I don’t understand it either.

This is why you will occasionally encounter places that charge more if you’re happy to gift aid (you pay extra for doing the attraction a favour), but more often you’re offered a year’s free readmission.

From the charity’s point of view, it can make a huge difference. We reckon to get 10% of our overall admissions income in the form of tax relief via gift aid. So please do it if you can. (If it helps, the information collected is only held in case of HMRC audit).

I’ve been really impressed by the 2 TranzX droppers I got (for my Fatbike and Mrs Pz’s Orange). Both have been really reliable so far – though possibly jinxing it now.

Come in most seatpost sizes and about 100 Euros from bike-discount.de ….. hard to argue with at that price.

What a lovely thread. Congrats to you both!