Passed test 1982. Became 2 car family with acquisition of Saab.

2CV6 Charleston – cheap car to fit large student
Citroen Visa
Citroen AXGT 1.4 – go kart
Citroen AXGT 1.4 – as above
Citroen ZX 1.4 – sensible 3 door
Saab 9000 2.0lpt – lost in flood in Cambridge sob
Citroen ZX 1.9TD – driven until worth 300ukp
Subaru Legacy 2.0 petrol – driven until scrappage scheme
Skoda Fabia VRS 1.9Tdi – Current
Skoda Octavia 1.8Tsi 4×4 – great car dodgy audi engine
Skoda Octavia Scout – Current

So 11 in 34 years (0.32 cars per year). Tend to drive them until they start to get unreliable so the Subaru, Saab and the ZXs were all 8-10 years old when they went. The VRS we have had from new and is 11 years old this year.

Mrs R is kiwi and we have spent several months on South Island over the years because that is where her family is based. Queenstown to Auckland in a fortnight doesn’t give you oodles of time so your own transport may be best bet.

We have gone the camper route because by the time you hire a vehicle and pay for motels it works out about the same. Plenty of budget campers around if its just one or two of you, you can book from the UK and a lot of them will let you pick up and drop off at opposite ends. Top Ten camping sites were uniformally good, cover the whole country and do a discount card. You will need to get across from Picton to Wellington on the ferry and may need to book in advance.

Christchurch city centre is rebuilding but the earthquake museum is interesting/humbling and the restaurants/shopping were all up and running albeit the former were best found in the “suburbs” e.g. Merivale and Papanui ( other areas are available ).

Also at Christchurch, Willowbank wildlife reserve is the place to see the native wildlife including Kiwis and Keas. They also do a Maori cultural evening and meal. There is also a separate Orana wildlife park out near the airport that also has some MTB trails nearby although I think they are family orientated and I didn’t get to ride them.

Hanmer Springs has MTB trails and as its name suggests a hot sprigs with pools and slides

Kaikoura is restaurants especially crayfish, crafts and whale watching. Nearby is the Oahu stream walk off a layby on the main Christchurch-Blenheim road and is a seal creche – possibly the most astonishing thing I have ever seen. You should be at the early end of the season for that.

Blenheim is the centre of the Marlborough wine region and there are some excellent winerys with decent restaurants. StClairs restaurant was very good when we were there.

Picton is the ferry terminal but is in Queen Charlotte’s Sound with ferry trips round the sound.

Wellington has Te Papa, the national museum and lots of eating and shopping, Rotorua has the thermal activity as well as the MTB trails and Napier is Art Deco personified.

Auckland I don’t know well but there will be plenty to do.

Incidentally, Nelson has the Wearable Art Museum with a rather good motor museum and some excellent jewelers and craft shops.

I’d go campervan and spend at least 2 nights in Christchurch (Top ten in Papanui is fine) and do Willowbank/city centre, a night in Kaikoura for the whale watching, see the seals, couple of nights in Blenheim/Picton for the wine and then a day to travel to Wellington and a day for Te papa an then work my way north.

Hope that is helpful.

it was diabolical

This, it was heaving it down when my potential window of opportunity came so I took a rain check.

Yorkshire pot. Boned turkey, stuffed with boned chicken, stuffed with boned duck, stuffed with boned pheasant, stuffed with boned partridge stuffed with venison pate and held together by various stuffings. Not had one for abour 10 years but local butcher does it as a specialty.

Previous years have included various roasts although Bison was probably most exotic. Kids still give honourable mention to the year we were all full of cold and had pizza.

I am in.

As an alternative, in the UK, I have been using the live tracking feature on a Garmin working via my phone. Dependent on phone reception but fine for the wilds of North Yorkshire.

Lots of suggestions in this thread

Hopefully, the one I bought on Friday in exchange for a sum of money and its unreliable predecessor.

Yes, for the bimbling about that I do, that is no competitive descending/long alpine descents, they are fine once set up. Slightly worried about admitting that as have quite a few sets on various bikes mostly sourced on ebay from others who took them off new bikes and replaced them with “something proper” so concerned that this thread may lead to drying up of supply.

Why are you more likely to die on a Wednesday? No idea. Maybe it’s a statistical quirk? Maybe it’s because more complex procedures are done in the middle of the week?

It’s certainly not because there are fewer doctors on a Wednesday, although the new contract will necessitate reduced medical cover during the week to give better cover on the weekend.

Maybe its because we are comparing eggs with oranges.

There are 2 sets of figures circulating and being selectively quoted to fit ones preferred spin. The figures Hunt is quoting relate to a higher risk of mortality namely what proportion of patients admitted on a particular day of the week are likely to decease rather than leave hospital. Likely reasons for this being higher at the weekend are as quoted below.

There is a higher death rate at the weekends but this is in part or in whole because less patients are admitted for routine operations at the weekend and in some areas end of life care is less available in the community at the weekends so such patients get admitted to hospital instead.

The Wednesday high relates to the absolute number of deaths and not the rate/percentage, and probably reflects the increased numbers of major operations being done towards the early part of the week and the working week being associated with increased numbers of RTAs/work related accidents etc.

Of course now we have in addition to that the Hunt effect as documented above, where the good Jeremy and the less informed members of the press, have persuaded the seriously unwell that it is safer to deteriorate at home than seek medical attention at the weekend which may be having the effect of increasing both the absolute number of deaths and the mortality rate but has at least made sure that a higher percentage of those deaths happen on a normal working day.

Re pension, I am another old fogey needing to look at whether I continue to contribute.This year the NHS pension will pay a net contribution of over 2 billion ukp to the treasury. In each financial year the contributions from current members pay the pensioners pension payments and any surplus at the end of the year goes straight to the treasury. The pension was already in yearly surplus before the contributions doubled so the increase was in effect a tax on all members of the scheme regardless of salary. I think I now pay 12-13% of my salary as a pension contribution whereas I am told the judiciary gets the same pension arrangements and pays but 3%.

Even though there is no pot, I will in due course be taxed as if there was. Current advice is that those of us making the biggest contributions may be better off ceasing to contribute and investing the money, after tax, in other ways. Where that leaves the pension fund, the pensioners and the taxpayer God only knows.

SDG Grand Prix for a while, no longer available but well padded, mid width and still doing service on the folder. Flirted with Bel Airs but they were not wide enough for my backside and I had to accept they were not for me and put them on ebay. Finally realised I had wide spaced sitbones and went hunting wide saddles.

Henge gets rave reviews but all seem to be for previous model with more padding. I found current model, although wide enough, was not comfortable if used for more than an hour. Ergon saddle had a sweet spot. If you were on it (25% of any journey) it was really comfortable, if you were off it (75%, of any journey) it was excruciating. 2 more happy buyers on ebay though.

Wide WTB Rocket V seems the best for me. Shaped like a wider Bel Air and available at a range of prices depending on model. Honourable mention for Terry Figura Max Gel which is to racing saddles what an armchair is to a wooden stool and does sterling service on the 29+. Needed to play to get it angled right and front is wide enough to remind you that it is there.

As despite my best efforts the bike I rode through the last three winters has in that time needed a new fork (albeit because I couldn’t get hold of the parts to service the original), two new hubs, a new bottom bracket (and a nice man at the LBS with a scaffolding pole to remove the old one), a new rear derailleur, two chains, one cassette, one rim, a crankset, one set of headset bearings and a complete headset (when I realised that the first really wasn’t very well sealed) as well as brake pads and a couple of sets of cables, then yes I do tend to look at the weather and the state of the ground and decide which bike to leave at home. This year’s winter bike is going to be a Rooster running 1×10 which should at least cut down the number of parts to replace.

And I know lots of people work hard. And I don’t feel entitled to a fortune. We are well paid, but I don’t think it’s excessive for what we do. I work with a lot of really good people. The kind of people you’d want caring for you if you were ill. When my turn comes to be sick I don’t want them all in Oz!

My sentiments exactly

This is the bit I don’t get. I don’t see how weekend working can lead to a net benefit, it must just slightly redistribute the ‘poorer’ care. Unless they’re increasing staff by roughly 40pc to add two days full cover.

On the face of it, it’s mental.

They are not planning on increasing the staffing or resources by 40%, indeed the government is very keen not to answer any specific questions on this matter e.g. what they mean by 7 day services, how much it will cost etc. Instead we are seeing an awful lot of half baked excuses about why it won’t happen (it’s them doctors who don’t want to work). Despite the protestations of ring fenced funding, from a financial perspective we are seeing year on year cuts of around 4% per year in the name of increased efficiency. On the face of it taking 20billion out of the service over 5 years and then trying to get elected on a promise to put 8 of it back (just) before the end of the next parliament shouldn’t be a winner but clearly I am not going to progress in politics as it seems to have served them well.

In my hospital, the consultants are already working extra weekend shifts and we are not necessarily against a more shift based system with some additional weekends traded for time off during the week. Where it all falls down is that there is no one else to do the weekday work that we will be missing, so as things stand we would finish up doing it for free in our spare time – not a great incentive to change.

This is so much bollocks that I don’t even know where to start…

ou are either jeremey Hunt or a fiction writer with limited skill

I entirely agree.

I am not sure how much goodwill exists towards the government but if some can be found it is highly likely to be withdrawn. As a senior medic trying to keep a hospital staffed, I am a lot less worried about strike action and more about the permanent withdrawal of labour. Interesting piece by Sarah Wollaston in the Telegraph stating that her daughter, son in law and 8 of their friends are helping staff an Australian A&E where all the medical staff are British trained. Not an isolated example and a disaster for you the taxpayer on a number of levels not least that supply and demand in this country mean that a significant body of doctors, nurses and other specialists are choosing to work as agency staff and get paid 2.5 to 3 times the going rate for the job. The individual can thus work six months of the year and still finish up with more in the bank but from the NHS perspective that means paying two people bonus rates to do one job. The more people resign and join agencies the more vacancies we have to fill. Two thirds of the NHS overspend of 930million just announced for Q1 is said to be agency staff costs and the announcement came some 4-6 weeks later than usual and coincidentally just after the Conservative party conference.

Despite much evidence to the contrary I refuse to believe that Hunt and Cameron are so stupid that they do not know that the contractual opt out from weekend working that they are so keen to get in the public domain as a possible cause for the current ills of the health service only applies to elective work ( i.e. not emergencies ), isn’t invoked by the vast, vast majority of doctors ( one newspaper got quite excited that they had found a couple and then had to publish a correction when they realised that the doctors concerned had opted out of the 48 hour European Working Time Directive and not weekend working, in other words they had opted to work longer hours not shorter) and is irrelevant because in many hospitals more doctors present at the weekend means less in on another day so Wednesday becomes the new Sunday. In fact the limiting step even at curent rates of cover is the availability of other services inside and outside the hospital i.e. investigations, social services, care home beds etc. Again all those services are struggling to provide 5 day care. Finally, the reason given for the concentration on beefing up 7 day care, namely hospitals are more dangerous at the weekend may not be correct anyway. There is a higher death rate at the weekends but this is in part or in whole because less patients are admitted for routine operations at the weekend and in some areas end of life care is less available in the community at the weekends so such patients get admitted to hospital instead.

The only good news I can scrape together for you the taxpayer is that an ongoing payfreeze means that comparatively speaking NHS staff are getting far less well paid than we were and that significant rises in the pension contributions, despite the NHS scheme already being in profit, mean that we happy campers now make a 2-3 billion contribution to the treasury each year over and above our taxes. A bit of careers advice, be a judge as judges now make a 3% contribution for the same pension that doctors pay 13%. Peter Cook was right all the time.

Personally speaking I have no intention of leaving but Mrs Ratadog is a Kiwi so I have my options covered.

Like many others here, my thoughts are with Jenn, her family and friends.

Almost there. Probably need a different stem with a bit more angle than I guessed some time ago and 2.4 Ardent on back will likely get replaced by a Chronicle. Using a Minion DHF for winter duty on the front. Rest of build kit is 1X10 with a Hope 40t expander and a cheap square taper crank for the moment.

Did the N Yorks Moors mtb Marathon which was fabulous. Great weather,great views and great riding. I only did the 50k route which was more than enough for my ageing legs, some loons did the 100k route in very little more time than my 50!

I also opted for the 50. Great day out although slowed by cramp at the end. Height of my ambition was getting home in a time that was vaguely competitive with those doing twice as far.

RIP Bacon

The eponymous Ratadog left us just before Xmas at the grand old age of 17. She was blind and had developed a neurological wasting condition affecting her back legs and although she doddered along happily for many months she eventually got to the stage where life became impossible. Didn’t post here at the time as hurt too much.

With a little time and perspective you remember all the good times. Spent this evening’s meal laughing and reminiscing about her attacking tea towels and acting as heavy mob for the cat.

Did an MTBO event in North Yorkshire. Incredibly soggy ground considering the weather up to last night had been OK. Finally stopped raining about 2 hours in so got back to the finish steaming gently.

I’m about to switch to their new superfast broadband. Will I die?

Yes.

I kept with Demon for 20 years through several changes of ownership, but 6 months after they were taken over by Vodaphone I took the hint and left.

I would be greatly surprised, not to mention hugely upset, if this does not lead to a significant change in the regulations concerning fitness to drive and the availability of information to those making decisions. In days gone by the confidentiality of the doctor patient relationship was protected by making the patient responsible for informing the DVLA if doubts existed about their fitness to drive. On occasion that caused doctors real difficulties. Although there has been some movement on that in recent years I suspect that the fundamental concept of leaving it to the patient has just become untenable.

Off work. Was going for a ride and thought I would check the live text before I went. Still siting here 45 minutes later.

Go ride when England start batting?

Going to be after lunch….surely?

Hadn’t realised that it was last season of flight. Saw it unexpectedly over York on May 22nd, I suspect over Elvington although I was on my way out of a somewhat boring conference a few miles away at the time at the time. Third time I have seen it in flight, still awesome.

I started with one of the original 456 complete bikes and subsequently got one of the braced 456Ti frames and swapped across. As far as I remember all the major bits swapped across. I think I needed a different seatclamp and chose to replace the crankset although the original would have fitted.

I seem to remember that the geometry of the Lynskey 456 was identical to the original steel 456, certainly it felt very similar just lighter and a bit more forgiving. As stated above, the 456 geometry is slightly different to the original inbred but I’ve used mine happily for days out and MTB Orienteering.

Agree, 2 disk synology diskstation has worked well for me. Slightly idiosyncratic to set up but other than that, no issues.

I am taller by a head.

Ground effect in NZ now do some of their stuff in a larger size and if they won’t do then aerotechdesigns in the US.

Surprisingly 5

Not that worried about it.

Don’t know. Not intentionally and cannot immediately check. Mixture of Easton, On One, Ritchey, Ragley and Truvativ and thinking about it probably one bike with OnOne stem and Mary bars.

Royal Mail once managed to deliver item randomly to someone in next county and then back to them rather than to me but otherwise no issues.

Yes.
I’ve been building for 20+ years and can do perfectly fine without one, but it just makes life a little bit easier. Not so much for the actual tension figure but evenness around the wheel.

This.
As an occasional wheel builder mainly for my own use and amusement, I have used Musson’s book and had no issues with getting the tension right without one but it does give reassurance that the wheel is even. Would find getting by without a dishing tool more difficult but Musson’s book does give a design for an extremely cheap DIY version if you don’t want to spring for a commercial one and there are plenty of other DIY designs on the internet.

They are not ‘bloody good cars’ really. They are average. People that buy them (Skodas) tend to have low expectations, which skews the perception quite a bit. People are also defensive about having bought a Skoda, and thus over compensate by telling everyone how great they are.

Most Skoda owners seem happy with their cars, see JD Power surveys, and although I have owned a variety of makes in the past, some viewed as prestige and some as run of the mill, I am quite happy with mine. I hate paying through the nose for the badge and am quite comfortable with driving an engine, gearbox and running gear designed for a top end audi in a skoda body that is more practical for my needs and cost me half the price of the audi.

Some people who are happy to pay a hefty premium for the “right” badge tend to get fairly defensive when those who are not prepared to pay the same premium don’t seem to regret that decision.

Your comments suggest that you are, or would like to be, in the former grouping and if so then good luck to you if it makes you happy.

However petrol is cheap, that makes a huge difference not just filling up the car, but keeping food and other prices low

Of course that’s got sod all to do with the government

Not going to stop the current government claiming that it is their policies and their’s alone that have improved the lot of all of us and that the current low inflation and marginal easing of austerity for some is a huge credit to their abilities and foresight. And obviously, although this was a two party coalition both parties are trying to claim sole credit. Equally clearly both parties deserve equal credit in that the marginal improvement is no thanks to them but because of the drop in oil prices which is mainly because of increased production in USA IIRC.

On the other hand I have little difficulty in remembering that despite working extra hours and taking greater responsibility, my family income is still 5-10% down on what it was 5 years ago and if I had not got extra hours and greater responsibility I would be 15-20% down.

Rode in the first event of the local MTBO league on Saturday. Luckily the start/finish was at the downwind edge of the map so return to base was fast and easy. Fell off in the mud when the front wheel got blown out from under me and had to get off and walk twice when unable to make progress while trying to pedal downhill.

On the plus side, avoided any punctures through judicious and premeditated use of Slime and wasn’t the lowest score by any means.

I think there is an element of pot luck with all white good purchases but we have had Indesit dish washers for best part of 20 years and are only just on the third one and the Indesit washing machine has already outlived the Hotpoint and the Bosch and is rapidly coming up on the rails towards the Zanussi. On a cost per year basis they have been well ahead of the others.

Also sounds about right from our recent experience.

Used both, Open for many years, Libre more recently. Libre seems slightly ahead at the moment and seems to have less incompatibility issues with Microsoft Office, although these are fairly minor in either case. Given the cost saving either is a no brainer.

I reckon if you ride 169 hours a week or more you will be officially awesome knackered.

Trust me on this.

Like others I have read the books for years and introduced others to them including my kids and my dad. Like others I am sad that I won’t meet Vimes or Vetinari anew but hugely grateful for all the fun I have had from meeting them in the first place.