Started off okay but become too contrived. I fear they might try and stretch the level of dramatism in the remaining episodes in an attempt to upstage themselves and the competition.

Good luck to you all you lucky bastards.

I trained to do this last year but ran out of time with Spacemonkey jnr appearing in the autumn. And then I started training again this year but haven’t been able to get out for nearly 6 weeks due to work/family commitments. Gutted I can’t make it, if only for half the distance … because it’s also the missus’ birthday on Sat. Oh well, there’s always next time.

Be sure to update us with what happens. And pics. We need pics. And pray for a tailwind on those ridges.

Can’t really add much in terms of whether people would go for it because most folk might well stick pretty much to what they know/have heard of, i.e. Alps, France, Spain etc. Having said that, I was in Sardinia a few years back (mostly the Northern part) and would’ve loved to have had my bike and a map. I’ve also heard Corsica has loads of potential too.

So I guess my tuppence is that if you create the guide then you’ve got to market it successfully. Or else explore the market research angles and then decide whether to publish.

Good luck though.

Oh yeah, +1 for sticking slicks on the MTB. I started doing this last year instead of splashing out on a RB. Did loads more miles and got fitter as a result.

Been using Schwalbe Big Apples for a while too = more miles in less time plus decent off-road capability.

To add a bit more perspective; My time is limited by work/family etc so I can only get 3-4 rides in per week, a typical week being 3 rides

3-4 rides per week? How do you manage that? I can barely get out for just the one at the minute due to work/family stuff. 5 weeks off right now and counting.

Nationwide, ING, Santander all do about 3%.

+1 ING – rates not as good as they used to be but customer service is excellent if you need to go beyond the internet-only model

IME avoid Santander at all costs – bunch of wholly incapable fecktards.

And check out Northern Rock – very decent folk.

Other than that, just look for the best rates blah blah and bear in mind how soon you might want access to it.

Cheers guys. Just checked out the links and I reckon there are quite a few things she’d like.

Nice one – tvm.

MyP2P is your friend …

IMO SOPCast is the best player (Windows-happy but can be made to work on OSX), followed by Veetle. Other folk will say different though.

Out of interest does anyone know the name of the big drop off near the windmill. From car park, up wide track, then back towards Windmill. TR on track then TL in about 50m and drops are 50-100m ahead. This drop has a slight bend in it and is in the trees? Scary for a novice like me!!

You’re not talking about Sleepy Hollow are you? More of a roll than a drop-off. But it’s in the trees and over very quickly. I think there’s another immed to the right IIRC. Or are you referring to what used to be 3-4 steep roll-ins/drops that take you down to the road oppo car park (with the pub on the right)?

Cheers guys.

Did loads of research into everything mentioned above (and beyond) and the missus and MIL have just this moment decided on a different Maclaren model. I’m sure it’ll do the trick.

TVM

Yes, plenty of legal good stuff in Surrey

+1

I used to do virtually all my riding around the Surrey Hills/North Downs trails et al, but in recent years I’ve returned to my old skool roots and just gone out on the bike. Normally that includes bridleways, footpaths and anywhere that’s inviting. Even roads. Plus the recognised trails of course. At the end of the day I just like being out there, so ‘designated’ trails aren’t the be-all and end-all to me.

Heard too many negative things about them over the years, so wouldn’t bother myself.

Had a call from their team a fortnight ago: bloke tried to convince me they were the best because they’re BT. I asked him to justify this three times. All he could say was, “Well, we’re BT, so we’re going to be the best.” Nuff said.

I’m sure that like anything it’s great when it’s up, but when it’s not and you have to call some numpty then the fun starts. Not my cup of tea, especially when they like to suck you into their 12 month contract. Much prefer the honesty of Zen (and their 1 month contract).

We suffered a similar fate a few years ago; put a deposit down on a decent enough place (given I was homeless at the time – long story) on the Sat with a view to moving in on the Wed. Got a call from the agent on the Mon saying the landlords had decided to sell and there was nothing they/we could do. FFS. Turned out it was the third time the landlords had dicked these agents about so all they could do was say they’d take them off their books. Ended up running around like you do for a couple of days and found an awesome place for the same money. The rest is history.

Just keep looking around.

Star Zia

Sounds like Char Sui. Quite fancy some of that on a bed of noodles right now.

Schoolboy error. You want a pram, they only sell ‘strollers’ in the USofA.

Fail. Prams are typically for babies, not infants/toddlers.

When was the last time Amazon UK was in the USofA?

Strollers and pushchairs are the next step.

We have the buggy (Buzz) which is pretty good at everything, especially going off-road. But it’s too big to keep heaving around between cars etc, plus the monkey is ‘tall’ enough to stretch out and be more upright.

In what way MG?

Yep, I read this earlier. Seems a bit odd to say the least.

I like how for legal reasons the location couldn’t be named, but then the Police said they attended an address in Cullompton, which is not exactly a metropolis, where they arrested 2 men. It was probably the Ch Supt who made that announcement.

Picked up on that too. It’s a pretty badly written article in general. I mean, how many times do you have to repeat the words ‘harm’ or ‘harmed’?

He’s going to have a fatwah on him if he continues at this rate. Top stuff, mind.

Case Histories?

Christ, I’d rather watch the Teletubbies than that shit. One of the worst crime dramas in recent years IMO (and on the Beeb too)!

+1 Shadow Line: excellent throughout, albeit last week’s deaths were possibly a bit contrived.

C3-PO getting it on with Leia.
Chewwie caught wearing a jacket.
X-WIng pilots having a tea-break.
A gamorrean guard picking his nose.
Antony Daniels wearing what appears to be a nappy (pic 60)

Fab!

And this …

What a skanky ****.

Yep, IMO they work pretty well as pancakes too. You just need to figure out the size; small = ideal for things like crispy duck/chicken with hoi sin etc; large = better for everyday wraps.

Consistency = 100g gram flour + 110-120ml water

FTR I cook them in an omelette pan with the lid on- maybe 3-4 mins in total (inc flipping).

My missus said the other day, “I misread the name on your bike and thought it said ‘Spiritualized’.”

That just about summed it up to me, so I replied, “One and the same 🙂 ”

She knew the score.

Will also add that I took one of my (proper psycho) mates out riding a few times about 5-6 years ago. He repeatedly said it was the most fun he’d ever had. Made me feel pretty chuffed actually, bearing in mind all the weird shit he kept being involved in. Was like being a pair of grinning kids all over again 😀

No probs mate.

Bit of a minefield down here – but I guess it depends what you’re looking for. One of our challenges was finding someone we’d trust, and for whatever reason that meant discounting the ‘babysitter-type minders’ and nurseries with particularly young staff. Just didn’t feel right. Having said that, I spoke to a woman last week who said the nursery near her comprises staff who are mainly mums in their 40’s – and the vibe is really good.

Check out my thread from earlier this year …

NOTE: we’ve since found a fantastic childminder (albeit not cheap) and am really looking forward to seeing how the little monkey develops in her care as of this month.

That first pic absolutely nails it. I hope we’ve all exhibited those same emotions at some point (and not just when were little people) 😀

Have a word with the folk at ChillBlast – they know their noodles.

Tech Support Forum[/url] is your friend. Plenty of folk on there know their stuff.

deluded – no, it’s not free-roaming, but it is still fairly expansive. And the combat/alchemy/magic makes for some pretty interesting scraps.

chvck – IMO it’s virtually impossible to built organic side-quests that behave dynamically across the full scope of a game. Too many variables I guess. ‘Cause and effect’ has improved since the days of KOTR etc, but there’s still a long way to go to make things more realistic and properly immersive.

Tis still a good game though – and looks damn fine on high settings. Put it this way, the forest in chapter one is even better than the jungle in Crysis 1 and 2!

Attention to detail? Any of you guys seen or played Witcher 2 yet?

Check out the IGN video review.

Have been playing it on and off recently and some aspects are pretty impressive, especially the visuals (with wicked weather/lighting etc). A bit buggy and kind of unfinished/rushed in parts – but a good yomp overall.

EDIT: reviews tend to imply that NPCs have plenty of interesting stuff to say and that side quests etc knit together to create a more rounded experience. Both are bollocks IMO; NPCs are dull and full of the usual uninspired waffle and most side quests are the usual ‘go and find this > kill that > deliver this’ kind of thing, i.e. nothing particularly innovative or creative.

G.R.F, you really are 100% pure cock in a box. I applaud your resoundingly high levels of inner-love and self-assuredness. More of us should aspire to be as great as you.

I thought Redlands was out of bounds these days? As in very anti-MTBing?

Created my own version of crispy duck pancakes last night:

– make flatbreads into small pancakes
– stir-fry small chicken pieces in 5 Spice, star anise, soy and a little ginger and garlic
– slice leeks a la julienne
– tear up some spinach leaves

Take a pancake, smear with hoi sin, add ingredients from above then consume in major nom nom fashion.

Could eat that any time of day.

Hmm, that sounds grim Woffle. Did the provider bill you for not having a faulty meter?

Have just borrowed a monitor off a friend and it’s showing monthly cost of £60 or so – which is fine for now. However, it says the time is 14:30 which is obviously well out. Can’t find any way to change this manually so I’m now wondering if this is sent by the meter. If so, we’re well out of sync. Maybe the result of a power cut or two – which we tend to get twice a year.

It’s a Southern Electric device ITMAD. Trying to find instructions online but to no avail thus far.

RS, they’re basing this on us using 55kwh/day at present – compared with 17kwh this time last year. Annually we paid around £400-£600 which was reasonable (given the climate etc). But we’ve accrued a £600+ debit in maybe 3-4 months alone – which doesn’t stack up.

EDIT: managed to change the time.

How do you play these games on a PC? Is there a controller type device or do you use a mouse and keyboard?

PC-specific Xbox controller does the trick (for most games). Mouse and KB might well be better for BF3 though.

EON supplied a meter which I have on my desk. I tend to look at it quite often

They gave us one too, but this was about 2-3 years ago. But it has to hang off the meter feed. Hence wondering if your’s does the same or is remote.

Have you left the immersion on?!

It takes about 30 mins to heat from scratch, and sometimes we accidentally leave it on for a few more mins. But if the tank isn’t being drained them I’m guessing it’s using minimal or no energy. And we’ve being doing this for ages so it’s got to be something weird.

Got a letter from EON a week or so ago saying we were £200 in debit and they were going to raise DD to £100 from £55.

Same here: but £35 to £115!

Have you got a remote monitor that sits on your desk? Or do you just happen to be near the meter?

Sounds about right CK. We also use leccy for hot water because we’re on oil (no gas in these parts), so expect to use maybe double that number of units which is fine. Was about £600 for last year’s bill (and as much again for oil).

Have just started monitoring the meter, but really need to dig out that clip-on thingy.

Hmm, I’ll see if we can dig out the clip-on meter that we used to use. Missus removed it a while back and may well have thrown it away.

Definitely makes sense to test activity for an hour or so.

Cheers

FFS, some of you are taking this far too seriously and literally.

Just chill.

My blurt was based on dealings with senior ‘representatives’ within both sectors over the last 15yrs+. And IMO the amount of nonsensical crap written in emails and documents by those in the public-sector just seems to far outweigh that which I’ve seen from the private-sector. Part of my job demands that I ‘convert’ some of this stuff so it becomes accessible to a larger audience. Hence the rant. I.e. it’s irritating to keep asking said people to explain/illustrate their material because they’re too damn lazy to provide it in a fashion that ‘non-familiars’ will understand.

If you happen to work in the public-sector and as a result choose to take this personally, then that’s your issue.