^yawn, predicatable.
I’m looking now to replace my existing SWB T5 Kombi in the New Year with a newer LWB one and you’re right, huge price variations. Weirdly some prices of late T5.1 kombi’s advertised are way higher than you can get brand new T6 ones for (e.g. from Happynewvans albeit current 16 week wait on order).

Mrs just got it for £59, looks to be plenty of good stuff on there for whole family. Can get it on the ipad & pc via the app no problem but main Panasonic smart tv can’t seem to get amazon prime app on it for some reason, bah, anyone else have this issue, is there a simple fix or am I just being stupid & missing something? Probably the latter

Thanks, had a Passat dsg which was a bit jerky at slow speeds pullling away but once on the move was great. Sounds similar to ford, guess I will test drive when they come out in the transit (diesel)

Could be worse – Cliff’s Mistletoe and Wine (or any of his catalogue) – more worthy of removal I reckon

T4 forum (includes T5’s).
Dark Side sums up well. I have one and was aware of being a sheep but not bothered too, just does what I need for work & life, nice to drive and very practical. Due to replace it in the New Year and I think it’s still probably worth the same as when I got it 2 years ago despite adding 20k miles in that time. Previous to having a T5 I always had Toyota Hiace’s which are really good if on more of a budget, totally reliable and go well enough if you get a later one with D4D 120 engine.

Looks like the guy who did it for me has locked or got some kind of admin rights as I can’t open the editor page, says no access, pita as can’t get hold of him now. Need to come up with plan B. Thanks all anyway.

Thanks, can get into ‘appearance’, editor bit says I can’t edit oddly, but can find footer in ‘theme options’ which shows copyright text to edit but no other footer sections – I am trying to change some words above the copyright text. Will keep looking, thanks for tips so far

ps – I can’t see widgets in the appearance section on this

Well it was a thought for road use commuting and private land, predictably shot down in flames then, that told me, yawn

Just resurrecting briefly, anyone know how to derestrict the motor in the specilalized turbo levo (brose motor). Seen a few dongles and gadgets on some sites costing a lot of euros but saw a reference to someone who did it in a minute without the gadgets on one he was flogging on ebay but hasn’t responded to asking how he did it. No lectures on the rights and wrongs please, can make my own decisions etc. Cheers

no Trumpkins then?

Mine’s positive – 18 months ago it happened to me after 23 years at the same place. After the initial emotional roller coaster, it’s probably the best thing that could have happened at my age now. Kids are big and not about much so not so tied by that commitment. I did consider a postie job too for the same reasons but aside from crap money, I decided not to be tied to working for somone else again after so many years. I managed to get some grant backing and set up a small community interest company recycling stuff. Don’t earn as much as I used to but enough to get by on and it’s so much better working when I want to and with volunteers who really like what they do. Good luck OP.

I don’t get some of the negative comments above. I’m looking at getting one now having tried a few, probably the Specialized I tried recently. I’m not out to impress anyone, just as I’m getting on a bit and not as fit as I was plus with a knackered ankle and shoulder I can’t ride like I used to and these seem to bring back the fun and access (at a cost I accept). The other plus point for me, and with reference to why not get a proper motorbike, I have been a trail bike rider for years and did a lot of green laning plus using it for commutes. With an e-bike I can still do both if I want to and although I was always courteous, there’s less likelihood of pissing off other users like horseriders and walkers when I used to green lane on the motorbike, plus access to far more routes. I know we all have different views but for me now I can only see the postives, apart from the cost, did I say that…

Just had a go on a Specialized Turbo Levo HT fattie 27.5, had brilliant fun, loved it. I like the way Specialized has designed it with the battery/frame as one (fat) tube rather than a battery sitting on top.

Southwest trains down our way, sometimes get 1st class on deals to London but it’s nothing special, just a slightly bigger blue seat and certainly nothing like free meals/drinks. Friends tell me southern trains are even worse and far less reliable.

Had a go on WCA’s Scott E-Genius recently, I think he’s tuned/chipped it, it was bloody brilliant fun. He reckons 50 miles in normal mode. I’m looking for a hard tail though – the Cube’s seem well specced for components and Bosch motors for the money (still a lot) compared to others – anyone with experience of these?

I had a KMX200 too in the early 90’s same colour, pretty nippy once up in the power band, uncomfortable seat and over-heated a few times. Despite that I did like it. Used to ride around the trails in the Brecon Beacons on it, was easy to pick up if dropped or pull out of boggy bits being so light. Enjoy it.

DAB radio for 6 music, 5 live etc & with USB for charging phone / music

Apologies for a hijack, how much does it cost to rent a standard size allotment these days? I have a 30 x 30m patch of land, which used to be used for growing stuff with good soil, which I don’t get time for these days – was thinking of letting it out to someone locally who might want to use it for this but no idea what’s an okay amount to ask. Cheers

Sainsburys Bank doing 3.2% APR for £7.5K + at the moment, or as above 0% credit card for a period?

If it’s MCE, they tried to shaft me on a change of bikes by some ridiculous amount last year with a huge excess, despite being with them for years, max NCB and saying what others were quoting. Wouldn’t bring price down at all, so simply went to Bennetts who were far more reasonable.

http://www.discoverwildlife.com/british-wildlife/how-identify-animal-droppings

If not your neighbour after a veggie curry, fox or badger

I know our local PF driver well, he told me they have to be a lot stricter with deliveries and can’t leave anything unsigned for or with neighbours these days. In our area if no-one is in they leave a note & take the item to the local PO for you to pick up. If someone is in he also said they ask your name first when signing to enter manually on machine not the other way around e.g. are you Joe Bloggs. Reason for this is that he told me he got disciplined early in his carreer for turning up at a place, someone was on the driveway, asked if they were Joe Bloggs, bloke said yes, signed for it and item was handed over. A few days later real customer phones up asking where their laptop is, of course it was never seen again. Might be rare but said he was lucky to keep his job after that and certainly lesson learnt.

Good luck OP, hope you get it eventually whatever it is.

Part of my old job, I managed a campsite for 20 years on a 65 acre site. Initially just tents / a few touring caravans etc with £15K pa income between April and October but we gradually built it up by adding self-catering lodges open all year (needed planning permission), more loos/showers and more stuff to do on site. When I left turnover was £300K pa and still growing.

At first I did most things and never escaped during the busy season, a 24/7 job, but as it built up, got some good local staff to do the leg-work. Takes a lot of hard work keeping on top of maintenance and cleaning, and as others have said, majority of people are fine but despite the ‘rules’ a small minority do trash things or generally piss off other guests with anti-social behaviour. You need to be friendly to keep people coming back but equally tough with the **** when you need to be. Certainly don’t miss cleaning up turds on the loo block floor/shower cubicles etc.

Was also camping down near Osmington (Dorset) this year, the farmers there have it sussed I reckon keeping it simple, only open in August (allowed 28 days use without pp), decent composting bogs, hot showers,a farm shop for essentials (inc. beer), allow bonfires, plenty of space in nice fields with great sea views and cheap too at £6pppn. It’s popular without being crowded, I think they must get a good income for that month without ripping people off. Would defintely go back there.

After watching that film Pride (very good) now stuck with ‘Love and Pride’ by King from the 1980’s, which I really hate….

Great rides there, hillier than you think in places. Call in and see Charlie the bikemonger in Swanage

You can ride up (smugly) past the queueing cars and get on the chain ferry no problem anytime, they just make you wait with bike in the cubby hole corridor next to where the cars all line up. Great going across to Purbeck on a sunny day.

Quite a variation above, I guess based on that I do keep paper receipts in order and all income/expenditure on excel database already I should expect a few hundred quid and not thousands, hopefully….

Fast cars

Honda 4 stroke for reliability, depends on budget, if only a 125 you are after try a XR125 trailie and one that’s not been abused by yoof, cheers

T5 2.5tdi tiptronic auto on 110k here, originally 130bhp now remapped to 170bhp, been using posh diesel and regular oil/filter changes and it seems to go good touch wood. Accelerates quickly pulling well up hills too, much better than previous 1.9. Remapping made a real difference, smoother, faster and a few more mpg – still can’t get my head around this last bit about why mpg is better with more power but it is, I worked it out, was 25mpg now 30mpg which is okay for a big lump and how I drive but been told it’s because the engine isn’t working as hard now or something like that.

Chain cam engine I believe. I guess same with any engine, if it’s been looked after with history to show it, should be fine. I have had other costs like front suspension bushes replacement, exhaust & manifold gaskets though.

+ 1 above, whilst starting off until you find your feet it might be simpler just to use HMRC guidelines and record 45ppm for business use on an existing or bought second hand vehicle if not needed that much.

I’ve bought and built quite a few of various sizes for me and other people from this place: http://www.fencingcentre.co.uk/garden-log-cabins.asp
Happy with quality and price is pretty negotiable if you see them in person. I think they are imported from Estonia. Do my own base, build and insulation etc.

I did it a while ago, managed to get out of the first case I got called for because the judge asked if we knew anyone in the court – my neighbour was sat there as part of the prosecution team, glad too as the case went on for 6 months. I then got called to another case a day later which only lasted a few days but it was a really horrible assault, and as above there were no winners in it and I haven’t got any desire to be called again.

Margaret Thatcher, thankfully

oh sorry it was stuff, not people

Joy Division, although saw New Order back in the day lots and Peter Hook more recently playing the stuff (very well). VU references above, never dreamt I would but luckily saw them play live when they briefly re-formed in about ’92 I think, superb.

Just spent some time sea fishing at Falmouth which was good and liked the bars & food places in town. Also enjoyed visits to various places like Lost Gardens of Heligan, Kynance Cove (low tide) near the Lizard. I agree the A30 down that end is crap, particularly with the road works across Bodmin and Carland Cross roundabout hold ups. Should be better now I guess with school holidays over.

Round at mates (beer involved), stepped out into back garden & slipped on wet decking, broke ankle bone, 2 toes & tore ligaments. 2 years later still suffering and due in for corrective surgery soon. Joked I should sue him, decking gone now, hateful stuff.
Had only just got over a year of pain from a knackered shoulder, all from chucking skimmers at the beach bit too enthusiastically. Age doesn’t stop stupidity but certainly makes recovery slower.

You win, it’s a sulk, which happens to cost me a fair bit each month, I’ll keep pursuing and live in hope

Crikey, yes a rant and why not when Europe is better I’m told, I know it won’t be great, just seems to have got much worse this year, not sure why