Stumbled across this once surfing aimlessly on the net. Quite weird, quite fascinating.

http://www.hiddenglasgow.com/StPeters/index.htm

And dear old Lenin?

Packets of rice or pasta where the plastic used is so flimsy, it’s impossible to open it without the whole thing splitting and the contents end up all over the worktop.

Do I need to get out more?

Good luck chap. Every cloud etc etc

What’s with the picture of Billy Piper?

All the gay bars have them.

The Picolax thread

Had a cracker with Soup Jnr. He’s only 8 but we covered 23 miles and he had his worst crash yet. In his words ‘I was going too fast to think about using my brakes’. I turned round to see him fly over a load of roots and then swerve left and right about 8 times before piling into a bank still at full speed. Once the crying finally stopped and he was bandaged up, he got back on the bike and said ‘That was really cool!’ That’s my boy!

Grumm you beat me to it.

Burnsy – sorry if I went on a bit of a rant. Wasn’t aimed at you. Being in the trade myself, I would go for the recommended guy every time unless you need it done in a hurry and that you are running to a tight budget. Although 60 quid may not be much to some, if you saved that amount on a few jobs around the house it can soon add up. In my experience I have found the poles to be very good. Fast work, thorough job and keen to do well. Probably the same attributes as your recommended guy.

The bloke is just plastering a room ffs! I give up.

Ok, so what is so good about the standard of construction and building in Britain that makes people want to employ them other than the fact they live here? I hope you can see what a stupid question this was.

This winds me right up. My brother in law is Polish. Qualified in the trade in Poland. Works here, pays his national insurance, council tax, spends all his money in this country, pays his rent, taxes his car, buys fuel, food and clothing just like the rest of us. Charges less than many uk tradesmen, doesn’t sit around drinking tea all day, works longer hours, does a fantastic job and is the cleanest worker I have seen. The place is spotless at the end of each day. I work in property maintenance for myself as a second job and have worked with many uk workers in the past. Some excellent and a lot were average to say the least. I have also seen a lot of his work that was done not working for me, so it’s not like he had been making a special effort working for me due to family ties. I hope that all the uk ex-pats abroad don’t have to put up with the same amount of judgemental pathetic tabloid crap as this when the set up in another country. How do you know the non-polish plasterer isn’t claiming illegal benefits, dodging tax and basically working the system? Guess what – some eu workers are dodgy just as many uk workers are, so this is a pointless argument. If the bloke wasn’t Polish you most people would probably go with the cheapest quote, so I fail to see what the problem is that certain people on this thread seem to have. Get over it.

WCA – quality comment 🙂

I did not stop smiling all day.

Thought it was horrible. Looked like what was a cool arched building disastrously extended.

I posed the original q on this thread as I am torn between Cheryl and Kimberley. That last photo of Cheryl in the white shorts and boots may have swung it. The Fred Elliot comments really didn’t help either. As for Nicola the ginger one – I think she is dreadful. Looks like Lily Savage’s ginger offspring.

Chocolate with Chilli is wrong, although a decent cooked beef chilli with some chocolate in is the nuts. Common practice at the fire station and by jingo we know how to cook a mean chilli.

I have no sympathy for the car manufacturers. They have been making far too many versions of essentially the same car for far too long. They have been too driven by fashion and have relied on people buying pretty much the same car simply re-packaged time and time again. Furthermore, they have invested huge amounts of time and money developing the latest technology only to then hold it back and drip feed the advances into the industry over months or years to ensure they always have something ‘new’ to offer each year. My sympathies lie with the employees, the majority having little or no influence on the management decisions that have created this mess. Personally think it’s good that society has finally realised how ridiculous it has been by perpetuating this fashion trend by the manufacturers. Rant over.

£120 a day or £100 mates rates is what I charge. Been booked solid for the last year. I’m in Surrey. It may be true that anyone can paint, but it’s the finish (especially gloss) and cutting in that makes a difference. That together with punctuality, tidiness and finishing on schedule that makes the difference. I don’t advertise – all referrals and word of mouth.

I used to think that in a fight I would easily beat the crap out of Oneeyedwilly, but now I know he would probably ‘own me’ if he was armed with a set of suspension forks.

Q: How many Vietnam vets does it take to change a lightbulb?

A: You don’t know because you weren’t there man!

…..sorry

Saw one outside a garden centre the other day,

‘Never been in?
Come and see the difference!’

Don’t think they’re too bright in there.

Moontan’s gone, but he’s back as me.

Deep Heat?

The Velvet Underground – Loaded

I’m no photographer, but not sure what’s so great about nos. 7 & 12?

Others are great though.

Hi chap – just emailed you.

S

PS. Not sure where that smiley face came from?

Should read ‘nearly 8’

HTTP404, if you are a snob, then so am I. Totally with you on this one. You cannot choose who your kids become friends with and maybe I am being out of order, but I will do as much as I can to ensure that my kids grow up without mixing with the chav undeclass that is destroying this country.

I have two great kids and live in a good area and work bloody hard to give them the best upbringing I can. My house is too small, but to move to a bigger property I would be compromising too much as far as I’m concerned.

I am fortunate that my son (nearly 8) is mixing with good kids from good homes with intelligent parents. Long may it continue.

I am ready to now be flamed by the STW massive, and yes, I probably am a snob full of stereotypical opinions of the stereotypes you speak of, but then so be it.

I would be thinking exactly what you are thinking. Right or wrong? – I don’t know, but as a parent you can only do what you feel is ‘right’.

(Ducks for cover)

Their parents must be so proud.

Bowl of Cheerios
Cup of fresh brewed coffee
Peter Gabriel Secret World Live

Back to the old school. Bassheads. Total classic – many fond memories of a misspent youth 😉

Only pat by DD if they charge you if you don’t. I’m with you Cinnamon, I like the control. Pay a bill manually and you have the record of payment in front of you. I used to lose track of all the DDs going out and every now and then saw one that I had no idea about. I try to pay cash for everything now aswell – ever since my card was copied at a petrol station.

You could be right! Bloody love my job.

Ditched my secure, nicely paid easy job in Sept 07. I was a project manager at Vodafone and had been with the company for 8 years. Although well paid, I was skint anyway, commuting 110 miles a day and although I worked with great people in a beautiful office and a great restaurant/canteen on site I was sick of it and spent a lot of my time on this forum as a result.

Sitting at my desk one day and looked at my to do list for the day. Although it involved some new projects I realised that every day it was exactly the same nonsense I had to deal with and no matter how good something was – be it 3/10 or 10/10 quality wise, the reaction/enthusiasm of my boss was fixed at 4/10. A thankless task.

So deep in debt, with a wife and 2 kids to support I decided to quit and join the fire service. Madness.

However nearly 17 months later, and with a second job of painting/decorating/home improvement working for myself I have never been happier. The money works out the same, I see more of my kids, I am flexible as to when I have to work and the 110 mile motorway commute has been replaced with an 18 mile round trip along the Thames by bike.

I enjoy my work for the first time since I left Uni in ’93 and managed bike shops for 4 years. I love going to work – I actually look forward to it.

I must be honest though – I did question my sanity at the time, but purely because of the financial pressure it would put me under, and with the economic situation of the last few months, it has been hard at times, but thank God I made that decision.

You need to keep some key things in perspective from my experience.

1. Don’t stay where you are because of the people you work with, no matter how well you get on. You need to put this to one side. Friendships will last if they are as good as you think.

2. It’s only money! . . . and I don’t mean to sound flippant about this, but I was in the $hit big time when I left with debts mounting, but like most things in life there is usually a way through it. It takes a lot of planning and self discipline, but it is achievable. I was approx £30k in debt at the time and my job change equated to a £17k per year pay cut! Amazingly I am better off now.

3. Think how it will mentally change you and the effect this could have on those close to you – wife, kids etc. Talk it through in detail with those concerned and look at the worst case scenario. If you think it’s still do-able, then go for it.

4. Write a list – pros and cons. Ignoring money – write down what you like about your current job and what you might miss if you left.

5. Think longer term. You current job may have changed to the point that you hate it now as it bears little resemblance to the one you started. This could always be the case again with your new chosen career.

All I know is that I am a different person today than I was little over a year ago. I felt lost with little ambition in life and was in a position where I felt I was unable to do anything for fear of finacial meltdown. My thinking at the time was that I just had to do something. Something in my life had to change.

I used to sit at a comfy desk surrounded by lovely looking women, with fresh coffee and croissants on tap, and got to stay in some lovely hotels and was paid nicely in return.

Yesterday at work it was 6am,and I’d had about 3 hours sleep. It was -5 degrees and I was standing in a ditch up to my knees in freezing water cutting somebody out of a car with horrendous facial injuries. I was there for about 2 hours in total. We got her out and off to hospital.

Think I made the right choice.

Ta. Planning on running it – chaps from work have done it before in around 17 hours, so we’re looking at that sort of time again. Have run 3 marathons in the past, so definitely more the fell running shoes or similar.

‘As for starting the car up and leaving it running as you have a cup of tea, thats not getting the engine etc working up to temp correctly at all. you could damage parts prematurely’ How would that damage parts and how is that not warming the engine? Nonsense!

Zane Lowe is the most annoying **** on the radio. Too much over excitable nonsense, too much shouting, too much hype. Gives me a headache listening to his ‘ I love the sound of my own voice ‘ attitude.

Think mine is great. No probs, good camera, easy menu etc, good battery and good internet. Typing this on it now. Good phone.