I go out there three or four times a year – always look forward to it, but by the end of the trip I’m always ready to come home. I think it’s the conformity of the place, it’s very, very conservative, very insular, with no edge to it at all. Almost everyone I met at a similar employment level to me seemed to be obsessed with money, consuming/shopping, and ‘getting on’, and pushing their kids to do the same. I’ve never met many creative types there.

Sounds like she has a lifetime of treats to look forward too…

OK, OK, you’ve shamed me into buying the expensive one. But just for the record I was going to buy her other presents AS WELL!!!!!

I still think she’ll drop it in the bath though.

Get some cheapo reading glasses for map work.

^^^yes, this^^^^

I spent a small fortune on Ray Ban framed varifocals after getting fed up with not being able read while wearing contact lenses – and then had a face-palm moment when a mate suggested the reading glasses and contact lens thing about three weeks later.

A mate wanted a reliable classic car. Woke up to find he’d placed the winning bid on a Lotus Eclat.

aP said ‘Ian Tregillis’ Milkweed Tryptich series’

Finished this tale of Nazi superheroes .v. British warlocks a couple of months back. The trilogy does have some issues (the odd jarring Americanism or anachronism considering much of it is set in WW2 London), but it is a cracking story, and could make an excellent film series in the right hands.

Thanks for all the replies, very helpful.
Mac – you’re right, this would be sold on its quirky qualities. Ideally, Shoreditch hipsters would be lapping them up. In practical terms though, I don’t think it has ongoing business potential. I just thought I could probably make three of these awesome, decorative-yet-functional mystery devices in pretty much the same time that I could make one, and try to sell the other two. If anyone actually bought them, I could make a few more. I have the tools and the kitchen table already, so it’s just the raw materials and my time involved – which would otherwise be spent in front of the telly.

When I’ve made the first one I’ll either post it on here for some feedback or bung it on the For Sale forum for a squillion pounds.

I’m struggling to judge what the general consensus might be… 😀

News from my 13 year old daughter is that pretty much everyone in year 9 (aged 13-14) is playing it. A couple of lads skived off school to play it the day it was released.
I wouldn’t let a 13 year old play it, but it will be very hard to stop them getting their hands on it if they really want to and all their mates (or mates older brothers) have it.

its not just your kid remember has he not got any wee headcase friends?

Hmmm, good point. Might have to set some ground rules when certain friends visit.
I’ve just had a nasty thought that I might have been 11 when I got mine. I can distinctly remember being sold a good sized lock-knife when I was 12. Presumably the shop keeper was impressed by my Scout scarf.

Rubber B?
Not too badly priced in comparison with an original.

Or for a hell of a lot less, a Watchadoo[/url]. Great quality, they weigh a ton though. Had one on my Orange Monster for nearly 7 years now.

I spent a small fortune on mine, Nikon lenses, Ray Ban frames (yes, I am quite the last year’s hipster), and for the first couple of days wondered what the hell I’d done. After that it just seemed to click. So if you’re still struggling after a month it may well be worth getting a second opinion on the layout of the lenses. Tired eyes seems really odd as well, various family members have varifocals and no-one mentioned tired eyes to me when I got mine.

11.35, ITV+1

Ragley
Scott
Gary
Niner?

What do I win if any of these are chosen?

At a place I worked at years ago, somebody left a brown trout of such staggering proportions that people from several different departments formed an orderly queue to admire it. If camera phones had been invented back then it would have been an internet sensation.

At the same place, somebody got their revenge on a much-hated manager by crapping in his lab-coat pocket.
Kept the bogs clean I suppose.

I wouldn’t buy Merrells again either – had a pair of approach shoes which were useless in winter, soaked up water like sponges, with really slippery soles, and yet were way too hot for summer. I’ve also got some of the sandle type things, which give me blisters every summer till I get used to them again.

This is great, thanks everyone, I really appreciate it. I think we’ll go for it, maybe use Winchester as a base and travel out during the day.

Benny Hill and Colin Firth are from Winchester.

Something to get both of us in the mood then!

*sets ‘Yakkety Sax’ as a ring tone, packs slightly damp large white shirt and breeches*

And are they ever any good?

Often, it is obvious that it is a mistake, but sometimes it is not.

I think you’ll find there is no need for a comma after ‘Often’.

You’re welcome.

Hi Marv – you mentioned CRDM, are you in Bucks?
If so maybe give Small Order Springs a go, they’re in Uxbridge.
http://www.sosltd.co.uk

‘Bollocks’ is primarily a daytime shout.
After dark the correct thing to bellow is ‘THERE ARE TEN OF US’.

If the kids are in the car, I’ve always shouted ‘ANY BOATS?’ when driving over a bridge, and ‘BAA’ and ‘MOO’ at sheeps and cows (respectively).
My kids are now at secondary school and find the whole thing quite tiresome.

Carbon fibre effect vinyl wrap self-adhesive stuff.
I bought a sheet of it from Amazon to tidy up some bits on my track day car and keep finding new uses for it. I’ve got patches of it protecting the paintwork on the other car where the bike rack fits, and anywhere that gets scratched on my son’s bike tends to get a patch as well. £4.95 for 1.5m x 0.5m

By all accounts he was reformed after being released from prison and went on to become an author and artist.

He tortured and murdered (depending on which account you believe) anything from four to nineteen people. His writing career meant that he profited from his crime. Maybe it is wrong to say ‘good’ about anybody dying, but this ‘Nuts’/’FHM’ glorification of psychos like this makes me quite tetchy. You admire him if you like – I’d rather admire someone who had a shit childhood like him, yet somehow managed to make something of themself without using a blowtorch or bolt croppers on other people.

Good.

Sadly idiots are idiots whether they are on bikes or in cars.
On my commute this morning I saw a roadie jump traffic lights going into a single lane over a bridge, didn’t even slow down, then shortly after I had another one cycle straight at me when I had right of way through a traffic calming pinch-point, having overtaken cars waiting for me to come through. Then later on I and the car in front had to stop as another car was backing into a driveway ahead of us, two cyclists went past us both, and behind the reversing car, luckily he saw them in time and stopped. He hit the horn, they gave him the finger.
If I hadn’t been a cyclist, I’d be thinking ‘bloody cyclists’, as it was I just thought ‘bloody idiots’.

@theotherjonv – I lol’d.

Here here to your mother.

Pack them off to the nearest Richer Sounds – the salesmen aren’t usually pushy, they’ll just sell you what you need and the prices are keen.
32″ TV from Samsung or similar brand should be a smidge over £200. Add a Humax Freeview recorder, easy to use, either from Richer again, or direct from Humax website, the cheapest is a 160Gb recorder for £70, or a 500Gb HD recorder is £130.
If they’re anything like my parents they won’t want to worry about USB sticks and adding their own hard drives, just keep it simple and they’ll use it and enjoy it.

Tell him you’ve already contacted police + insurance, whether you have or not, and see if the amount he’s after suddenly drops. If it does, you may take the decision that it’s easier to bung him £100 to go away, rather than have this on your insurance record (because it will stay on there whether you make a claim or not). If he does settle for cash, get him to sign something agreeing this is full and final settlement.
If the amount doesn’t drop, contact plod + insurance then, and let them sort it out.
Your passenger could be used as a witness if it went to court (which it almost certainly won’t).

Dave played bass on the main sample used on Eminem’s ‘My name is’.

This fact pleases me enormously for some reason.

Bananas and blow.

Some French sweets that were so vile even the kids wouldn’t eat them
A pair of nearly new hiking boots that don’t fit anyone in my family (size 3)
A ‘Count Arthur Strong’ CD
A Nokia phone charger (I don’t know anyone with a Nokia)
A BMW 325i M50 inlet manifold and throttle body (I drive a SEAT)

Like Canary Wharf with the death penalty

Nail on the head! It’s great for a short visit, but god I wouldn’t want to live there. No real edge to it at all, very conservative.

Where to go in addition to what others have said – give Sim Lim Square/Tower a go for all your tech needs, and try Bugis Market for cheap tat if you’re buying presents for back home.

I do think that little girl is about to get taken out in dramatic style.

No, she was pushing a kid on another swing, she was well clear of the other two. It was when she tried to get from the top of the ladder to the rope that she fell and broke her neck.

Thanks all, Sleep As looks ace, I’ll give it a go.

Pieface – waking up sucks. If you can easily make it a little bit nicer experience, why not?

Ekranoplan standing by, on the off chance of a zombie apocalypse:

And to get to the Caspian Sea in the first place:

Ukelele.

Chicks dig it.

Sticky Stuff Remover? It’s citrus based I think.

Admire them for the fact that their name doesn’t change whether it’s singular or plural.

THEN CRUSH THEM!!!!

When I was a kid it was stockings (sacks) of small stuff left on the end of the bed first thing in the morning, then breakfast, then waiting until everybody was absolutely ready before going into the lounge (which you weren’t allowed to even open the door to up to that point) and opening the big stuff. Late lunch (crackers only pulled between lunch and pudding), games, tea, tv, bed.

The only odd thing my parents did was to convince me that it was perfectly normal to close all the doors on the advent calendar and re-use it the following year. I was about 25 before I found out that everybody else just buys new ones.

Edit: forgot about the sherry. Me and my sister were allowed a small sherry on Christmas morning from the age of about 7. That’s probably not normal either.

I had an x-trail, an 06 2.2 Columbia, and loved it. I heard some had turbo problems but never had any bother with mine over 2 years / 60K miles. Switchable 4wd is handy, I used to switch it on on-road sometimes if I was ‘pressing on’, it tidies up the handling a bit. Would have liked the mkII with 170bhp but way too expensive, I ended up with a Seat Freetrack which is the softest of soft roaders but packed with toys and very fast.