I got some of these last year http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001383I2K
Tried on doc shop and then bought off eBay new for way less, great boots, really comfy

Thanks all, I know she likes jap stuff for the reliability

I had one in the mid to late 80’s as student, T reg I think, bought for £200 off a friends mother who had it from new. Great fun. Another mate bought it off me and ran it for a few more years until one day the engine compartment (and whole thing) went up in flames after a blast down the M4 from London and stopping at Membury services. I think I remember there being a problem with the fuel line splitting and running close to the hot exhaust manifold on some VW’s of this era. I had an Alfasud cloverleaf after this which I loved too, don’t suppose there are any of these left now, all rusted away

Parasite, failing that Barbara

Rockhopper – nothing in the menu for this.
woodlikesbeer & P20 – yeah tried this already, we had a Polo a few years back which lost all the presets everytime the unit was on and swapping red/yellow cured it and memory was retained, but this always worked off the key no problem.
I’m thinking there’s something weird about this VW wiring and the original unit as there are 2 extra wires I haven’t seen on other cars before, small brown ones going from the car to the iso (power/earth) block which don’t go anywhere now, nothing on the new unit block that connects to them. A multimeter shows these are constantly at about 2 volts. The red and yellow main wires are constantly at 12 volts whether the key is in or not i.e they can’t be linked to the ignition power which explains why the new unit has constant power and can only be turned on and off on itself. I’m thinking the only solution is to run another positive feed off something linked to the ignition, like cigarette lighter. If only things were simple like the Honda…

I only recently found out about these but equity release loans older people have taken on for some quick cash to do something can turn into a real a nightmare:
http://www.theguardian.com/money/blog/2013/mar/16/equity-release-older-people-cash

Daft idea in hindsight, funny how it seemed to make sense last night. Bit more digging reveals things called relative/dependant mortgages (with current low interest rates). A working relative transfers the loan to a normal repayment mortgage in their name and pays it off over x years. The dependant stays put. The house is now in the relatives name. The amount owing doesn’t grow and is eventually paid off as per a normal mortgage. Seems the way to go.

Just watched that French film ‘untouchable’, fantastic, not sure if it’s famous or not though, certainly funny

Everyone who drives them around our way seems to be over 65 and has a speed limiter of 20mph

Green flag here as a £30 add on via Direct Line insurance, though not needed to use it so can’t really comment on service, sorry I know that probably doesn’t help….

update – a call to sky to say I want to leave, can’t afford it now etc, suddenly price drops to £6.50 a month for next 12 months….should have done this ages ago

is the beemer an auto and touring estate model? If yes, how much/age/mileage etc? ta

Alexandersupertramp – have you a post 2007 one? Interested to know if you think there’s less space in it for bikes if yes, which I think you are implying. ( I was thinking of getting one one day). I have a pre-2007 one at the moment which is great for bikes inside but also luckily has a towbar with dogleg carrier for more bikes. If you are selling the roof bars, let me know as I want some for our kayaks. cheers

‘Domaines Des Ormes’ site near Dol De Bretagne was always pretty good when our kids were little, we booked through Canvas Holidays using mobile homes or wooden lodges there, it’s easy to get to via Cherbourg/Caen too

Living in the middle of nowhere and not on main drains, I know it’s common practice around here for only stuff from the loo to go into the cesspit as all else seems to hinder the normal breakdown by bacteria plus too much volume of (extra grey) water we all seem to generate these days tends to make them overflow and smell (exacerbated by reduced breakdown etc). Most folks have waste water off their roof and from showers/washing machines etc going separately into big deep soakaways. Not an expert and not sure if this is the the right thing but seems like a common solution if you are not on main drains and don’t have the means to get your own massive tank and getting it pumped out often.

I bought a 52 reg Honda CRV 2.0 petrol for £1200 a few months back as a temp runabout and it’s been great, thirsty though at 25mpg, but great for carrying bikes – got 5 in back with seats folded and front wheels off and 3 more on the towbar mounted carrier it came with. Really smooth and quiet to drive, really rate it even if it is an old farts car

Lots of tripping hazards after a few pints of Scruttocks Old Dirigible I reckon

If you have a couple of people who work for you on and off I guess you are ‘directing’ them, but personal preference is proprietor if you have to use something

Owned t4 t5 and vitos but one other van I had that was far more reliable …..Toyota hiace, wish they didn’t stop making them in 2012, ok doesn’t have the cool factor etc etc but usually 40% cheaper than the same age of the former

See this thread from a couple of weeks back:
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/range-of-a-typical-wifi-extender
I got the Netgear one via Amazon, it works great

Thanks all, lady who lives there is a single mother and I think in receipt of some kind of benefits so maybe able to get help via this:
http://www.boilergrants.org.uk/free-boilers.html
Be very handy if it is the case. Will check out

Sounds about the right ballpark then, thanks

Still haven’t got shot of Keaveny though, wish they would

Don’t whatever you do put in some (slippery when wet) decking, you know what that does to ankles…..

Sorry to hijack OP, I have the same issue, a shed/office about 25m from where current router is in house. It’s got power to the shed but the wire goes back directly to the main consumer unit so not on the same house socket circuit. So will those plug in boosters not work? cheers

My 1987 Honda XLV750R shaft drive V Twin, sadly having the reg plate XLV750R too

Not in the house but a whole selection of mole and gin traps in the shed, plus when using a minidigger in the garden to dig a soakaway we unearthed the remains of 3 big dogs wrapped in plastic sheeting, the smelly goo that dripped out stank to high heaven

Use some top end diesel like BP Ultimate or Shell Vpower for a couple of tankfuls, and regular long runs with some hard acceleration as you say (Italian tune up)

I have an older (petrol) manual crv at moment, lovely to drive and great space in it but fuel consumption is pretty bad, low 20’s plus the clutch is a bit heavy/hard work around town. This is just a temp runabout, I am thinking of a later automatic diesel one next.

flying lessons

Not dark and a bit girly so I’m told but I like it – Captain Morgan’s Spiced Gold, followed by red stripe beer and ska music, can’t go wrong

Update, having spoken to others now and pension company, general consensus is do nothing for now; work one will stop anyway, can just leave it and perhaps one day add to it again if I join another company somewhere else, personal one can just carry on and decide how much to pay in whenever I want. Simplest and probably most obvious solution for now I guess.

The work one is a defined contribution and will stop in April. Just thinking of whether it’s better to have all in one basket after that but need to look into charges/fees etc if I did. New work involves some self-employed stuff and part-time work elsewhere so although I can maintain a personal payment into a pot I don’t know when/if i will enter into an employee scheme again. Got a fair few years working before retirement in theory.

As I suspected, thanks. Anyone want it? Make a (cheap) offer if you do….

Yesterday’s Cakes by the Cropdusters:

Panasonic via John Lewis v.good, soundbar well worth it to improve tinny sound

Welsh cakes or those cake mixes from M&S they are doing at the moment, carrot and chocolate ones, dead easy and taste fantastic

^ Thanks that’s really helpful, off to opticians then before I really do turn into Mr Magoo

Good choice OP. John Cale’s the coolest of the lot followed by Mo Tucker I reckon. Feel an (illogical) affinity because he’s from the same village as my lot, I went to the same college and lived in the same road as him, albeit years later. Got to see them in about 1993, Lou Reed came across as a bit of a prat with his affected singing, John Cale was as cool as ever. Live 1969 album my favourite of their stuff.

Did the general a few years back then the diploma, former pretty easy, latter needed a lot more work. Well worth doing for where I work though. Good luck op