Thanks for the clarification, @thecaptain.

@johndoh has answered with the sort of thing I mean, as has @timmys, despite not seeming to understand the question. I guess I didn’t know there were ‘standard’ dishes that people went for, and didn’t think to ask.

“Was this a real question or some attempt to stir up something?“

Huh?

It was a question. I have never chosen to ‘go for a curry’ and therefore don’t know what people mean by saying they ‘fancy’ one. I’ve tried many over the years, and know it’s not the same as someone fancying a Nandos. So I’m asking.

Done.

I don’t mean, or want, to be argumentative, and I will be probably get flamed for this (see what did there?), but…

I wouldn’t want to live in a place without a wood/multi-fuel burner.

I have one in my Victoria-era terrace, and while the house is as well-insulated as it can be considering its age, I still find the need to use the burner sparingly in winter. The heat it emits is a dry heat that seems to help a great deal with mould and the damp feeling we can get in the house.

But more than this, it provides peace-of-mind. Perhaps it’s just my Canadian-ness coming out, but I hate the idea of the grid going down for some reason, and being unable to heat and/or cook in the home. When Eastern Canada suffered an ice storm in 1998, it brought down the power grid for almost two weeks, and people were forced to gather in neighbours’ homes – those who had fire places – for days, as the temperatures plummeted.

I know that we don’t get those sorts of temperatures in southern Britain, but with global climate change, things are shifting in a colder winter direction, and the idea of having no alternative to whatever the system can provide would make me feel quite vulnerable.

It’s all psychological, I know, but building fires for domestic use seems as if it should be almost a human right.

Anyway, just my two pennies. Feel free to destroy me. :-)

I’m sorry to hear that, @ton. If I was up there, I would swing by to buy you a beer. Best wishes.

Big congrats, @poopscoop! I’ll confess to being a bit jealous, though, as my older gang have yet to oblige me with a little one. :-(

Oh well. One day. In the meantime, enjoy yours!

My technique has always been to stand in a corner and hope that someone talks to me.

Even when I rode with a cycling club, I tended to do my job in the chain gang as well as I could before getting dropped, then just continue riding on my own.

I’m a real social animal.

Is Toronto a possibility for you, OP?

There is only one answer to this thread. Watch the whole clip.

@tjagain, that picture of the tyre surrounded by ice buildup is a picture of every winter day of my life until age 21.

DON’T BOOK UNTIL YOU’VE CONSIDERED

Quebec.

Fly into Montreal, and go to Mont Tremblant just north of the city. There are also a number of options south of the city in the Eastern Townships.

You will love British Columbia, I’m sure, but few Brits think about going to Quebec, and for the mix of culture, urban life, and nature, it really cannot be beat. Montreal is easily among the finest cities of the world (sort of a cross between NYC and Paris), while the rest of the province enjoys incredible nature, the Laurentian Mountains (an older range, and therefore nothing near as dramatic as the Rockies; similar to the Highlands), fjords where you can climb and whale-watch… you name it.

I really can’t say enough about the place.

As someone who’s livelihood is increasingly dependent on a subscription/renewal model, I sympathise with everything Mark has just said.

It’s incredible how unresponsive people can be when it comes to memberships and subscriptions, so autorenewal just removes the problem. We can be far more assured that people will cancel if they want to, than they will subscribe – even if it is a service or product they want. And I, myself, am as guilty of this as anyone.

I consumed many an out-of-date SIS gel back in the day, and the consensus on here when I asked was that they’d be fine. I never noticed any post-consumption digestive issues, so I assume they were fine. Only issue was, they were sometimes a bit ‘clumpy’.

This doesn’t sound relevant, as the pain I am about to describe was intermittent, but years ago I suffered from pain ‘down there’ that would become so severe I ended up carrying paracetemol with me everywhere, and would need to sit and take some rest at the least opportune times.

It took over a year to diagnose, but it turned out that I had epididymitis and ended up on a two-week course of ciprofloxacin, with a week’s follow-up course a month later, to get rid of it.

Walking would trigger the pain, as would riding my bike, standing for too long… basically, any movement.

It’s worth being aware of for anyone checking out this thread due to pain in that area, as it seemed to be an elusive diagnosis.

I think it’s because a cancer diagnosis is such a stark reminder of past bereavements and the fragility of life as it applies to all of us, but hearing about both the king and the princess feels like a punch to the gut.

May they both get better and enjoy many more years with their loved ones.

When I was a young priest serving in northern Canada, I saw one of my parishioners walking down the pavement and so I called out to him.

He paused and waited for me as I jogged toward him so I could join him on his walk.

It was only after I got right up to him and we took a few steps together that I realised the man I was walking with was not my parishioner at all, but the local pharmacist. I was quite embarrassed, but we got along well, and I ended up using his pharmacy whenever we needed medicine and/or advice for the remaining years I spent working in that town.

I thought this thread was going to be about a certain type of young that rides down the street at night pulling wheelies while smoking and talking on the phone at the same time. Black balaclavas and hoodies a must.

“Their use of delay was similar to U2 but I much prefered the Big Country guitar sounds.”

Fun fact: I once read that Edge from U2 actually learnt much of his approach to guitar from Bruce Watson. Hence the similarity.

Most people I speak to are just furious at Mark Drakeford for implementing lockdowns and the 20mph speed limit in Wales.

Do you live in Monmouth? My observation was that it was only Tories from England and their Welsh imitators that were criticising him for this. Everyone I know appreciates what he did during lockdown, and couldn’t care less about the 20mph speed limit.

This, apparently, is me.

Forget it. Couldn’t get image to load properly

We have spent three weeks in northern Spain, and enjoyed it, although I am slightly wary of the potential heat the farther we go into the interior. Happy to be convinced, though.

Being a member of the STW team sounds really glamorous!

Is that why I can’t login? Oh well. I’m devastated.

Best: Speed is your friend.

Worst: “It’s just a small drop. Go for it!”

This is brilliant!

With thanks to all of you, she has surpassed the halfway mark.

You lot make me happy!

This is the last time I will bump this thread, but know that the gratitude is deep and sincere.

I just got a text from my daughter. She’s over the moon, and wants me thank you guys. Her fundraiser is almost halfway there, and most of it has come from you lot.

Thank you for the support, and for caring enough to respond to this!

Please, folk, don’t disappoint my daughter. She has only ever hear how good this place is. 😎

Having once been the beneficiary of service by an Air Ambulance, I know how important all such services are. Good on Mrs S!

Conversely, I actually avoided riding a Kona back in the day because I hated their naming conventions so much. They were so puerile, and I can’t imagine having to call my bike ‘stinky’.

I also hate ‘Nukeproof’ because it sounds like a name made up by a not-very-bright 13 year old.

I currently own a pair of black Loakes boots. I also have a custom tailored black double-breasted wool coat, and both a Jack Wolfskin down-filled jacket as well as a Helly Hansen rain jacket that do the job.

I’ll jump in first. That looks lovely!

I can’t believe I am about to write this, but I have found the Independent a bit ‘okay’ in recent years. Otherwise, I tend to read the Euronews website.

During lockdown, we made the decision to go for gravel, precisely because we hated the idea of plastic grass, but wanted natural drainage. We haven’t regretted it.

200 mgs of Sertraline? That’s a high dose.

I experienced what you’re describing at 150 but when I reduced to 50*, the bad side effects stopped, and I’m on a generally even keel now.

Perhaps try sertraline again, but on a lower dose?*

*All under doctor’s guidance, of course!

Please stay away from the Vito. I had one after two T4s (a 2015), and it was terrible. Weird problems included bad steering wheel positioning, a parking brake that wouldn’t hold and was in constant need of repair, body work that rusted faster than I could wash the vehicle, and a transmission that ground like it was made of sand.

I would go for the T5 and just take good care of it.

I have a car from NI with NI plates. No problem on that front – although I didn’t do the import, so can’t offer any comment on that front.

Wait. So carrying a SAK is legal?!?

My eldest was a Met officer, and told not to bother carrying mine. (I’ve carried a SAK with me since I was about 12. I’m 51. I’ve used it to cut tomatoes, spread peanut butter, cut cheese for sandwiches, whittle, cut dead branches for use as walking sticks for the kids… You name it.) Now I feel naked when I leave the house, as I no longer carry it.

I’ve never had an Opinel, but I didn’t realise that a non-locking blade was legal.

We are already a charity; it’s just the expansion of the work that will be new. The building will make community service possible in a way it has not been so far.