Who would have thought at lunch that we might be asked to follow on before tea?

Jeezus.

Crazy, crazy! Butter came in with Malan on 86, and overtook him!!

Buttler looking to do similar with Roy in the final game.

not normally a Sandler fan but really enjoyed Hustle

I meant to say the same thing on here last week. I heard it was his most mature performance, with basketball being a real passion of his. They were spot on.

Buttler cashing in today. I think his 50 came off 20 balls having taken a few sighters. 100 now off of 40 odd and piling on more.

Apparently he’s scored 120 of the last 150 runs! Insane.

Defo look at child minders in your area. Speak to other parents, check out the various online portals and apps (Bubble?) and see who’s out there.

We opted to use a nursery for 3 days a week to give monkey the benefits of a bigger/busier environment, and got lucky with a local child minder who was amazing and insanely cheap for the other 2 days. She didn’t do it for the money, she’d fallen into it 30 years prior after looking after her daughters, and basically became a proper nanny to monkey. It may have helped that she had an epic garden and pool, which the kids had supervised access to, but IMO she was just plain brilliant. All the kids loved her.

FTR, monkey continued going to her several afternoons a week after starting school.

Yup, normal service resumes. From marginal favourites at the start of this 4th innings to all out by tea.

I was told a few years ago not to disturb it because even drilling a few inches away can release dust for a long time, hence wondering if wetting it is wise. I might be dramatising it but TBH asbestos isn’t something I want to mess with.

So, the rollercoaster that is Eng finds itself presented with a chance of victory tomorrow. So what’s it to be – 61 runs or 5 wickets?

I reckon we’ll somehow nick it, although I’m concerned we’ll start too defensively and be into the tail early doors. But I’m calling an Eng win just after lunch.

At the start of this morning’s play I thought NZ would most likely set us an impossible run chase. 90 minutes of mayhem later, we have a very gettable target that most teams would take in their stride. Sadly, I have no confidence in this team and expect them to be bowled out before lunch tomorrow. Hope is all I have, not expectation.

Had about 4 Rotaks here. The older ones are heavier and more agricultural but also tougher IMO. The newer ones are lighter and smoother but made of cheese.

Replacement parts like triggers and cords are easy to source.

I meant to say yesterday that only Eng could relinquish their authority having bowled out the oppo in 2 sessions. Today at lunch we could be looking at a 2 day match, which would be utterly insane – remotely possible though with neither side capable of batting it seems.

How do people not have time to build kits? I have to slow myself down and make them last a few days.

I’d love more time to potter around with Lego, but it has to compete with so many other commitments. As for this particular seller, she’d started a new job and no longer had any spare time.

I was in two minds about the Ferrari, but there’s just something about the way the sides are built that I can’t get past.

I know what you mean. I like it from some angles but let so from others. I think it was RacingBrick who ripped it apart in one of his vids. If I could throw money around I’d get it, but I can’t justify £350.

Where did you pick up the shuttle for 1/2 price, that’s one I’ve been on the lookout on a deal for a while?

FB Marketplace last week. I got lucky with the timing because it had only been posted 15 minutes prior so I was first to ping her. AFOL who admitted she’d never have the time to build it.

Have you played the Arkham card game?
If so, give us a clue!

I think that might be what I meant to say we’re playing next week, not Eldritch Horror.

Not heard of that Lovecraft series so I’ll give it a go, ta.

In my 40s here and recently starting ‘accepting’ that I’ve more than very likely passed the halfway mark of my time on this planet. Whilst I have much I hope to achieve/experience – individually/ selfishly and as a partner/dad – I certainly don’t want to outstay my welcome here.

I made some mistakes, particularly in my 20s, and I’ll never make that time back. Those, I regret. But while I’m young at heart and can keep physically and mentally active, engaged and curious about the world, I’ll keep on cracking on.

I’ve also spent a fair bit of time reflecting back on my younger days, thinking about old friends and the adventures we got up to. Not sure if that’s anything more than sentimental bo11ocks or a sign that I’m mindful of how monkey jnr is growing up and finding his way in this complicated messed up world.

I think what I’m trying to say is that I know I have responsibilities, especially as a parent, but on a selfish level I’d rather go out on my terms and not burden anyone.

Slow Horses is indeed brilliant. Don’t take it seriously, just sit back and watch Gary Oldman at work.

Ted Lasso I thought was great for the first 4-5 episodes, then the cliched characters and repetitive (and often not funny) phrases from Ted started to become tiresome. Put it this way – we watched all of S1 and the first 2 episodes of S2 in super quick succession, but have only seen 1 further episode in 3 months since.

Severance doesn’t do it for me but will give it another go at some time.

Tehran is intriguing even though it hasn’t exactly grabbed us. Am working through S1.

Am in two minds about that Ferrari. It’s nice but I reckon another model would have been better. Not for me at £350.

Never really was a Transformers fan. Lots of friends were and I had a version of OP. I think the Lego rendition is a solid build, but doesn’t do anything for me.

The Delorean arrived a few days ago and is tucked away for a rainy day. Also picked up the NASA shuttle 1/2 priced BNIB.

PSA Defender back on offer for £95 at Amazon. I’ve been wanting to buy it sub-£100 at JL and other places but not seen any deals for months, hence nabbing this one before it disappears again.

Jnr is again obsessed with clone trooper MOCs, so we’re snapping up 501st figures and a few battle packs. I’m currently building him a display area so hopefully we’ll have something to show for it soon.

Recently, a few of us have been getting together weekly to smash out some Call of Cthulu one shots. Obvs more RPG than board game and certainly an acquired taste. Lots of fun though and we’re all somehow just about still alive. Ramping up to Mask of Nyarlathotep soon, which should last us a few months. Interestingly, all of our characters’ back stories are coming to the fore and we’re starting to understand why we make the decisions we do.

Have also been playing Mansions of Madness. I expected to like it a lot, and the app works very well, driving the narrative and explorative parts well. But some scenarios are a bit unsatisfying and only one of us wants to continue playing.

A group of us also started on 7th Continent last week. Pretty intense to get your head around the rules, but perseverance helps make the mechanics kind of fluid. We’ve agreed we’ll do our best with the first scenario/curse then give it a break.

I think we’re playing Eldritch Horror next week.

So earlier this morning I visited the local rozzers because their online reporting platform and 101 were getting me nowhere. They didn’t want to know because the phone was now in a different county. So I did some digging on the location and decided, without the option of packing a stab vest, that it’s not the place to rock up and start asking questions. Called 101 one more time and finally got to speak to an officer, but he made it clear they wouldn’t be sending any resource and that was the end of it. By that time, I’d already blocked the SIM and IMEI, and finally got Google to allow me to erase and reset the device. All in all, the most realistic outcome I could have expected. Lessons learned and monkey jnr will have to earn the right to a replacement.

When my daughter had her phone stolen the police were fantastic.

You got lucky there, shame they didn’t retrieve it though.

Insurance claim?

It is locked, right?

It is PAYG, right?

Yes, probably.

it was.

£10/m contract but blocked now.

Yep, the fact that they turned the phone off after an hour or so makes me think they’re not keen on the owner getting in touch. The area it’s now is in rather rough.

If the carrier blocks the SIM and IMEI, can the phone still be tracked via Google location sharing? I assume blocking the latter makes the phone unusable and it will not send location?

Have you put the sausages in the freezer?)

Yes, furnished into a nice pair of nunchucks ;)

I’d lock it now if you can

Unfortunately Google won’t give me the option to even locate the phone let alone lock it or erase it. It’s linked to junior’s Google account but doesn’t show in his or on mine. It says ‘Accounts managed by Family Link are not allowed to sign in here.’ meaning I can only use the latter to access it.

Who won’t give a toss.

Aye, that’s why I said FWIW, but I can at least get a ref number and see if they can give any insight on the area.

A mate and I did approx 120 miles around West Sussex when we were 15. I still remember us planning that route on old OS maps earlier that week.

Ukraine – Sweden – Serbia – UK methinks

So, a young girl in Philadelphia has died from this tik tok ‘Blackout challenge’, and it seems that tik tok were pushing this in their algorithms.

I’ve just read an article about that and it’s horrible. She’s not the only child to die from this either.

Like social media in general, there’s a lot of good being done out there, but with little or no regulation on shit like this, one does worry for kids (especially) who can be bombarded with this stuff so much more readily than all the word of mouth we encountered in our day.

Sad times.

Nice one.

Aged 13 or so, a mate and I made some pretty decent yew bows and birch arrows. To make the latter more fun, we secured dart heads to the tips. What innocent fun we had hitting various targets in the football field… until I fired one at him when he wasn’t looking and it stuck in his neck. I can still see him stooping forward now, with the arrow sticking out. It was an inch from his jugular. Somehow we remained really cool about it.

Then at university, my flatmates and I used to play what we called ‘human dart board’ in my room. Basically, 2 players face off either side of the room, each holds a dinner tray (as a shield) with one hand inside an oven glove, and throws darts at the other. It’s turn-based. And it &*($ing hurts.

A lot of us boys never really grow up. And there are soooo many things I did that I don’t want my son to do.

I replaced a load of fencing last summer. I painted bitumen onto the bottom 2-3 ft of each post (some were longer than others for a pergola) to protect against rot. Dug holes to the relevant depth plus another 100mm or so for gravel to encourage drainage, popped posts in, filled with postcrete. I also haunched the postcrete to disperse rainwater as much as possible.

You can say what you like about how parasitic the Glazers are, and how shambolic the club is at various levels, but the reality is that the players consistently underperform when they cross the white line. They don’t even do the basics, ie pass, move, find space, track back, mark up etc. Some players appear to at least try (sometimes) but make mistakes and are too much of a liability, eg Dalot, Telles, Fred – others just don’t even do that, eg Rashford, Pogba, McT.

There is something fundamentally wrong with this group, whether it’s a lack of coaching/leadership from the manager/coaches and/or they just don’t give a shit.

For all their faults, the Glazers have squandered enough money on players in the last 10 years but I can’t think of a single one that would be deemed a mid- to long-term success throughout their time at the club. That’s down to the players and management.

I’ve just been advised that I can’t expense the £216 train ticket to get to meetings/BBQ at my office (contracted place of work is home).

Contracted as in you’re a contractor? Or are you PAYE with option to WFH full-time?

Assuming its OK for permanent office workers thats discrimination

Is it really discrimination if you’re a contractor? Just wondering if the latest changes to IR35 might be drawing a clearer line for entitlements for PAYE vs contractor?

EDIT: ie outside IR35 contractors are seen as companies, not individuals

I’m one of two (outside IR35) contractors on my latest gig and the whole team were invited to a national Awards bash, but we contractors were told we were not invited. Given our contribution and the fact they have a very inclusive team dynamic, I found that mildly insulting, but accepted they’re under no obligation to invite us (or pay for us).

A mate also has an outside IR35 contract and he’s just been requested to join a national team meeting 200 miles away. Historically he has claimed for everything he can, but this time they said “Nope, you’re a contractor so you have to pay your own travel, accommodation and food/drinks yourself”. He argued against that but they wouldn’t budge, so he’s stumping up this time.

FTR, I’ve been a contractor for 3.5 years and always paid for my own sustenance when onsite or travelling. Naturally I’ll grab receipts and put them through as my expenses, but I’d never claim on an employer.

The only odd moment I had was 3 years ago when a load of us went out for a colleague’s (she was PAYE) leaving party. Our Director agreed in advance that it was all paid for, so we (a few of us contractors plus a lot of PAYE peeps) rocked up, had a good night and thought that was that. But the following Monday, the Director reached out to we contractors and asked us to cough up for our food and drinks. I thought that was a bit off but paid up. Annoyingly, that was the week I quit alcohol so I was on soft drinks, yet I was asked to pay way more to average out the collective contractors’ total cost because there was no itemised billing blah blah. That pi55ed me off fo sho.

@muddyjames What timber and treatment(s) did you use?

I’m thinking of making some driveway gates incorporating something like C16 75 x 50 for the frame/bracing, and planed T&G. All will be treated with Barrettine preserver.

wife in particular gets really stressed with it so its not fun.

My missus sometimes gets worked up in these situations too, so she either hangs out with whoever we have round and/or focuses on sides and other dishes.

I’m constantly working while everyone is chilling, but it’s still good

Same here, whether it’s the pizza oven or BBQ. But I’m happy working at speed so long as I get my system in place. Most importantly, I enjoy cooking for other people so I’m happy to put in the effort and kind of feed myself last, or maybe snack as I go along. Main thing IMO is for everyone to feel at ease and enjoy themselves.

Don’t take it too seriously, get your system in place, encourage others to help out, ie your other half, kids, friends, and crack on.

@DT78, sounds like you just need to get a system in place and chill.

Throw some semolina on your peel when launching and turning – that’ll stop your pizzas from sticking.

Stick your oven onto 100deg and pop your cooked pizzas in there if you want to keep them warm. Or use foil.

Have had a Karu 12 since Xmas, and used only wood so far with Ooni frozen dough balls. I’ve noticed that the first few cooks in Jan/Feb produced much better/crisper bases than those in Mar/Apr, despite getting the stone up to the same temps etc. I’m putting this down to the dough ‘going off a bit’ after say 10-12 weeks (I bought it in Nov). Am about to order some more and hoping to get those bases back on form.

Will probably get the gas adapter at some point. No rush though.

Karu 12 (and the 16) great for family and friends, but can’t comment on how feasible they would be for a business.

My tuppence… Nearly 2 years ago I viewed a house on behalf of my MIL (relocating darn sarf) in a neighbouring village. It had been on the market for something like a year with a couple of sales falling through. I asked why this was and it turned out the vendor had let it out for years and had that insulated spray foam done about 20 years ago… potential buyers had been told by their lenders that they would not be allowed to complete their purchase unless the roof was replaced. Said vendor was adamant they were making a fuss and refused to have it done for months. Finally, she realised she had to replace the roof so she did, I then made her an offer and it was job done.

No need for a FS but it’s your call. I rode the area for 15 years on a FS then switched to a HT. Sure, some trails throw you about a bit but it’s not like you’re being beaten up. I’ve ridden most of it on my gravel bike over the last 4 years too.

There’s plenty to take in, so I’d suggest using TrailForks again. Expect a fair bit of climbing because it’s very much a ‘ride up to this bit then take these trails down to the bottom, then ride up to this bit and ride these other trails down the to the bottom…”

It’s a cracking place, and Peaslake Stores is epic (unfortunately not as epic as pre-Covid). Enjoy.

EDIT: just noticed you were knackered after Swinley, so I suggest taking the ebike as all that potential climbing might otherwise sap your funometer.

I help teams, depts, functions, organisations figure out what they need to do better (and why now) then create the tools to make it happen.

A friend’s 11yr old son has been at Fulham’s academy for 3-4 years. He’s good, but IMO no better than I was (or some of my mates) when we were his age. His dad keeps him grounded and always reminds him to just have fun and not get caught up with the competitive side and whether or not he progresses on the path to becoming a pro. Re education, he is not an academic child but has been granted a scholarship (through Fulham) to a posh local school. Will be interesting to see how that pans out.

Another friend’s son is the same age and going through the same experience at Chelsea. Unsure about next steps for schooling though.

I think, as somebody said above, some of these academies take kids on rather than ‘risk’ team going to their rivals in the hope they can develop them.