Some time back I got a friend request off someone with the same name as me. My surname is particularly rare – I can trace my lineage to everyone I've ever met with the same name – and my Christian name isn't particularly common.

This guy had just searched for his own name, found me and thought it would be nice to add me. We had a bit of banter, worked out how we were distantly related by marriage, and I thought it would be fine to have my only namesake in the world as a friend.

It turned out he was a raging homosexual, into piercings and tats, but hey, I'm broadminded.

Then he started accidentally tagging my name instead of his own in drunken photos – again, not a problem, just untagged them.

I decided to delete him when I got a text message off a female client asking if it was really me that was tagged in that horric video involving blood-soaked anal play and a pellet gun; and if it had hurt much and had I recovered!!!

I'm a little more selective now.

Thanks for all the pointers, ad cheers Gordy but you're a bit far away.

I think I've narrowed it down to the Quechua T4.1 or Khylam biker, though I think that Outwell Oregon looks worth a second look. I'll head to some dealers at the weekend I think…

Cheers!

30 quid? Cheapest I can see online is about 70! Are all these budget makes much of a muchness?

I'm probably looking more in the £100-£140 price bracket than things like Terra Nova. It's only going to get used 4 or 5 times a year.

Decathlon[/url]

Just had a look at Decathlon. Something like this looks ideal, and like you say, very cheap. Is the quality OK?

Just googled Khylam and they do one called the Biker, I presume that's the one Willard means… Looks good!
What's the quality of them like?

He's just won the jackpot in a casino, they figure out that he cheated and he got shot trying to escape?

Isn't "dubstep" just another word for "sh!t"?

Ah… STOP NIPPING HIS TITS ALREADY!!!

;o)

I'm a ceiling/walls/woodwork kinda guy – you get a much sharper edge cutting in gloss/satinwood over emulsion.

Best of luck Mick, for the record, I'm not a professional decorator – I have rental properties so got an awful lot (far too much!) experience tidying up houses.

The rollers you get in B&Q tend to be 1.5" diametre. Decorators use 1.75" (have a look at http://www.tradefirst.co.uk for really cheap, pro quality stuff like this) which give more even coverage and less splatter.

Denibbing is simply going over the wall with a scraper to get rid of any little lumps or 'nibs'. A mist coat (slightly diluted cheap trade emulsion) hardens up any lumps of wallpaper or adhesive that may have been left after stripping and makes it easy to smooth down with a scraper and some sandpaper.

If you've not done any decorating before, papering is a big undertaking – filling and sanding will be far easier and you're less likely to make a pig's ear of it!

Harris brushes are fine – the zero loss are quite nice for glossing. Just remember to wash them carefully as they get better with use, so don't think of them as disposable.

Wrap them in cling film (or foil for gloss) so you don't have to wash out between each coat. Same goes for rollers – I have a white and a magnolia roller permanently wrapped up ready to go, they stay wet forever.

Oh, another tip for stripping wallpaper, put a glug of fabric softener in a bucket of water and get the walls nice and wet with a big sponge. It works better than plain water or steam IMO.

You can save quite a lot by using Glidden paints instead of Dulux – it's made by the same people and I actually think it goes on better. It's thinner than Dulux retail emulsion, so you'll get a bit more splatter if you try and throw it on quickly, but if you use good quality 1.75" rollers and go steeady, you'll be fine.

There wood system is spot on to, a couple of coats of undercoat and one of satinwood gives a good finish over pre-painted stuff. If you're covering varnish, consider using Zinsser Cover Stain to stop the pigment leeching through the top coat.

You'd be surprise what you can get away with when painting bad walls – I give them a coat of cheap Glidden white trade emulsion, then de-nib with a scraper and fill any holes (use B&Q Value coving adhesive for filling – it's miles cheaper than polyfiller etc and is easier to sand if you need to).

If you repeat this process a couple of times, you'll have a really nice flat, even-coloured wall to put your expensive colour coat on.

Probably worth enrolling at http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk – brilliant forum and loads of good advice.

I agree that his 'performance' on the "Inside Out" show was obviously stage managed, carefully directed and no doubt done within guidelines advised by BBC lawyers.

But his interview with Sian n Bill left him looking bewildered, incoherant and completely out of his depth. He came across as being so wrapped up in maintaining his outward display of grief and desperation, that he failed to make a persuasive argument in favour of what he did. He looked disingenuous, like a bad actor.

Maybe the story is true. Maybe he did make make the pact of which he spoke. Maybe it was his lover's wish to die at his hands, in bed, whilst biting a pillow. Who knows. All I know is that thousands of genuine people who are faced with this heartbreakingly difficult decision must have cringed when he decided to appoint himself as poster boy for their campaign.

I agree with all your sentiments whole-heartedly – we're a society that thinks it's inhumane to prolong the suffering of our pets when a lethal injection will end the pain instantly, but we can't administer the ultimate act of kindness to our loved ones without risking criminal prosecution.

My beef isn't with the concept of assisted suicide, or euthenasia. The issue I have is with a pillock like Gosling thrusting himself forward as the public face of this cause without having what it takes to do the job properly.

I fear he'll do the cause far more harm than good.

Haha… The old "hot monacle".

should come with a free bottle of eyebleach or should that be cum?

My girlfriend said it felt similar…

Just had a look at that – there was a rather comely looking young lady in a rather unlady-like position.
She seemed to have forgotten to dress this morning and appeared to be pushing her heamorroids back in with a large blunt instrument.

Result.

One born every minute. 🙄

Personally, I'd be less interested by what other people thought, but I take your point.

That was one of the 2 things that got tiresome after driving one for 3 days and about 1000 miles: people gawping or squinting through the glass to see if it was a footballer driving.

The other thing – that lovely V8 that sounds so divine as it climbs up through the rev range really gets on your thruppenny bits after an hour on the motorway at a steady 3500rpm.

Lord Summerisle – Member
I hope you took the short trip from Horwich to Manc Airport to take a trip through tunnels under the runway at some point in the 4 days.

I used to work as editor on a magazine for Aston Martin. Being a northern boy, we'd often pick up demo vehicles from their Wilmslow dealership to road test and photograph. Some of my happiest memories are accelarating through second and third gears up to 120mph through those tunnels, windows down, 500bhp V12 singing like a banshee, and me and the photographer squealing like school boys.

I guess you've either got petrol in your veins and you haven't.

Love the F430 Kingkong, never got to drive one though I did have a 360 Modena for a weekend. I'll never forget turning off a dual carriage way, blipping the throttle and stepping it out a little bit, and 2 young lads walking home from work stopped and made "we're not worthy" homage gestures and clapped. And driving past schools, and kids not old enough to understand the finer details of a mid-engined 400bhp V8 would stand agog, as we drove past, whilst their mums tried to usher them into their people swallowers.

Which just goes to show, it doesn't matter how old or how knowledgeable you are, until the cynicism and jealousy sets in, there are few things more beautiful than a Rosso Corsa V8 Ferrari.

BillMC – Member
He won't be prosecuted. He took a calculated risk and just hopes to get a long stiff talking to.

In my experience, senile old fools that don't know the difference between 'county' and country', and are incapable of stringing together a coherent argument, are rarely capable of 'calculated risks'.

Mr Woppit, I'm sorry if I assumed that was anything other than a very poor troll. If you want to ask a question, try structuring it as a question and ending it with a question mark (?).
I really didn't think it warranted a response though.

I now withdraw my offer of a hug.

Typical response of the spurned. 😉

I don't feel the need to tell the world anything, but I will correct people if they make erroneous assumptions or accusations.

Mr Woppit – Member
I've got the feeling shibbo's avoiding me…

Have you asked me something?

Where you called him a seedy old queen? Remember?

No, I don't remember, you idiot! If you go back and read what I wrote, rather than what you would have liked me to have written, you'll see that I referred to him as a seedy drama queen. "Drama queen" is NOT a homophobic insult as it doesn't necessarily refer to his sexuality. Get your facts straight before accusing people of homophobia. Tit.

Project, I'll have a look for your thread. Seeing him on BBC Breakfast yesterday was the first I've ever seen of him, though the name rings a bell. Maybe my 'gaydar' is better tuned than yours, but he didn't even need to open his mouth – his whole posture, body language and the phoney way he pursed his lips screamed "GAY!".

Oh, and by the way. I'm 100% straight I'm afraid, so any hugs will be just hugs. They won't lead to anything else. Sorry, I'm a lady lover. 😉

It's equivalent to what you did in the OP though

Grum, would you be so kind as to remind me *exactly* where in the Original Post I said anything remotely equivalent to calling somebody "queer" as an insult, because I'm at an absolute loss as what the **** you're on about…

What if you said it to someone who wasn't your friend, whilst slagging them off?

I didn't and wouldn't.

Geronimo, very well put off topic addendum to your post.

Or to put it slightly differently, if a gay friends flirts, or is outragoulsy camp with me and I say "P*ss off you big queer", he's fine with it but the STW Guardian Readers decry me as homophobic.

Strange world, isn't it.

did the sexuality of your brother in-law in any way affect the relationship that you are trying to extricate yourself from?

That must rank as one of the silliest things I've ever read on this forum. Astounding. 🙄

If you had Tess Daly to go home to, why would you do such a silly thing with text messages?

Am I the only person that thinks she looks a bit like a fella in drag? It's that child-bearing jaw line…

It's almost like you are attracting them.

Like flies round sh*t! 😉

So anyway, this old queen. Attention seeking old fruit, or the saviour of the euthenasia movement?

a gay brother-in-law? That's confusing.

It's really not rocket science Whippersnapper, I married a woman whose brother is gay. I'm in the process of extricating myself from that situation, but for the time being at least, he is my brother-in-law.

The gay undertaker is a good friend and neighbour – the former partner of my soon-to-be-ex-brother-in-law, and I often socialise with him and several of his gay friends. A right bunch of fairies and they certainly wouldn't object to me saying so.

The office manager of the place I used to work is gay and I still socialise with him and his partner. I also have a friend from school – with whom I used to go clubbing and who was a fine puller of women before he switched alegances – who is now a big gay hairy bear.

They seem to be everywhere!

I wasn't going to comment Clubber, as what you spouted seemed to be utter drivel. The overwhelming majority of gay men I know (having a gay brother in law there are quite a few in my circle of friends) are noticably camp to the point that nobody would ever be in any doubt to their sexuality.

Other gay friends are part of the 'gay bear' scene where they all try to dress like a Canadian lumberjacks and grow beards and beer bellies. Again, not a lot of doubt there.

Good on you Kimbers, re-read the 'small print' on my earlier post. There's a good chap.

do perfectly masculine men really 'suddenly' go camp?

A good friend of mine (an undertaker) was as masculine as the next man before he came out, and even now, he has no problem reverting back to his normal God-given voice when he's dealing with customers.

It can be quite amusing when he's delivering one of his outragously camp monologues and his work mobile rings!

I've asked him why it is that gay men often adopt the camp voice and behaviour, and he struggles to explain it, other than the fact that it's "fun" and it draws attention to his sexuality (meaning he gets laid more often).

Besides, surely the assumption that ones sexuality should have an uncontrolable bearing on how a person behaves demonstrates the utmost ignorance, does it not?

So being camp would be banned in your ideal world, eh?

Just never understood why perfectly masculine men suddenly come over all queer when they come out of the closet. And I've never understood why on one hand gay people profess to craving equal treatment and on the other hand make a conscious effort to uphold ridiculous outward signs of overt sexuality.
If I, as a heterosexual male behaved in a the way that seems to be deemded acceptible for gay men to behave, I'd be labelled crass, letcherous and vulgar.

What the hell has him being gay got to do with it?

No more than the fact that he's over dramtic, self-serving, and very annoying. It simply describes the man he is.

The day gay people stop adopting ridiculous stereotypical demeanors – the lisp, mincey walk, overtly dramatic and feminine tone – is the day I'll stop using their sexuality to describe their personality.

(for the record, I'm fully aware that not all homosexuals behave in that way, and those comments obviously don't apply to them.)

I'm not sure whether he's making it up or not, it's kind of irrelevent because it'll be impossible to prove one way or another.

I don't trust him though, I got the impression of a desperate old queen trying to surf the wave of publicity that surrounds assisted suicide and mercy killing at the moment.

The BBC should never have given him air time, and the sight of those 2 imbeciles Bill n Sian fawning over him as he laid on the crocodiles tears practically had me puking in my breakfast!