+1 for gliding to start with. Much more accessible (if you live near to a Glider strip!) and much cheaper. She’ll learn a lot and get a good grounding before starting the expensive bit.
Even once you’ve got the PPL and done your CPL exams, flight test and solo, the CAA then want £460 to rubber stamp the paperwork. Or at least that’s how much it was in 1999. Don’t under estimate the cost – and that’s before any prangs…

Good luck. I make a living out of flying balloons commercially. Working in an office is not an option for me. It’s a lifestyle, not a job.

Own an E-class (07) for general use and a Discovery3 (06), mainly for work (towing 3500kg, on and off road). More often than not we use the estate. It’s quicker, more economical and in 80-90% of circumstances, it swallows all our stuff. The roof bars are lower, so much easier to get stuff on and off of.

I wouldn’t own an SUV (the D3) unless I towed big trailers, it’s just too expensive to run, although 7 seats are handy sometimes. Estates for me every time.

Loosen both quick releases, or drop the chain off the chain rings, and hope that if someone wants to nick your pride and joy, they end up under a bus. Not killed obviously, but almost…

Just remember that you did it!

fadda has it covered..

Also…
Tow bar and electrics can be an expensive retro fit. Roof bars are also useful for chucking all sorts of stuff on.

I have both and use both set-ups depending on; how much access I need to the boot / whether I’ve also got a roof box or boards on / if I want to secure the bikes (via a chain round the tow bar a frame) / how many bikes I’m carrying / distance travelling / parking in public car parks, etc.

SHAMELESS BUMP FOR THREAD!

Only just seen this thread.
Nearly cried.
Donated.

Last year after watching Sports Relief, my daughter decided to do a Triathlon (5km SUP, 10km bike, 5km run) to raise money for kids less well off than her. I posted on here and that night her just giving page was £200 better off. She raised £1600 in total. Other kids paddled, biked and ran with her and she got a sense of community spirit and achievement out of it. Thanks to those that donated for our little challenge. I digress…

For all the bickering and willy waving on this site, you’ve got to think that in general (and I guess this goes for 90% of the outside world) people are nice and would help where possible, even total strangers. There is no shame in asking for help.

I too have a fairly large parts bin so if you need any more bits (especially tyres for 26″!) let me know!

Guess what? It’s nice to be nice.

If you hang bikes by the front wheel, be careful on the next ride if they’ve been hung for a while. Fork oil can seep into places it’s not supposed to be…

Garmin Fenix 3HR watch. Love it.
Garmin Edge 1000. Love it. Used for logging rides as much as navigating. Haven’t had a problem yet. I like the route planner on Strava and uploading routes to the Edge 1000. Turn by turn directions are great, as is seeing the elevation graphs before you go out.

Fenix 3HR is easy to configure and I’ve eventually found a watch face that I like, to show the data fields I use most. Battery%, Calories burned, Step count, Altitude, Heart rate, Sunrise/sunset times, Date, Time.

Makita DHP 481
Best tool I’ve ever bought.
Even used it for mixing cement and tile adhesive with a paint paddle.
Trying to hold on to it with a 28mm wood auger going through joists if fun! Even with the side handle it wants to rip your arms off!
I’ve got the 4Amp/Hr batteries (x2) as they also fit my multi tool and hoover. Only 20 minutes charging from empty to full charge.
You won’t be disappointed.

Some of these are brilliant…

I’m going to take some of the best ones and place them on the top shelf of my thought fridge, so I can snack on them later.

https://www.wood-finishes-direct.com

I’ve bought stuff from them in the past. Good advice given by them. Some of the stuff is expensive, but buy cheap, buy twice…

aracer – I go in that sweaty room every time hoping for glory, but the look on most of the children faces ranges from a little puppy that has just got caught crapping on the carpet, to one that knows it’s going to the vets for the big injection. It’s hard to get enthusiastic about a load of kids singing a song that they’ve forgotten half the words to and barely whisper. If I’d have farted everyone would’ve heard it…

Perhaps it’s just our school. It probably is. Church is rammed down them a bit too much and there’s no real sports day as such. Instead it’s called “Shorts Day”, where you get points in groups for throwing bean bags into hoops on the ground or walking on stilts made of buckets and string. There’s not even a parents race anymore…

I’d love to be clapping and cheering with some sort of integrity – I really would.

For your information Mr Bear, I was watching it whilst tiling, which is work. Just unpaid work, in my house.

The School Nativity Play is hated by teachers, kids and parents alike. The only people who do like it are the “darlings” who get starring roles. ‘3rd reserve sheep’ is not seen as RADA potential.

We sat through an awful play this week that the kids clearly couldn’t have cared less about. They had practiced loads, but loads of lines were forgotten and the singing was, well lacklustre to say the least. The teacher involved was desperately trying to save her job by bouncing around in the wings trying to inject some enthusiasm into it, but she’d beaten that out of them already with her boring approach to rehearsals all week, which involved shouting at the children, lots.

In a very hot and sweaty hall, where no-one wanted to be, the highlight of the performance was a joke about parents at school plays, videoing their darlings on camera phones. Cue twenty phones disappearing from my view from the back and all of a sudden I could see what was going on – awesome!

I was sitting at the back so that I could get the full view of the stage… Some parents queued for an hour at the last nativity – apparently if you’re not in the front row, you don’t love your children. Get real.

Some numpty at Channel 5 deems it appropriate to post a picture of the winner of the MotoGP race on the link. So you go to watch the highlights and see a podium picture or the race winner wheeling next to the chequered flag.
Idiots!

Jade Goody – Daft as a brush.

Thanks for your suggestions – Bear how much is the standing order you’ve set up for that website…?

‘Big and Heavy People’ website – the strap line is “Understanding Your Needs”. Chocolate I guess?

Like the looks of the OzTent offering. A headrest would be nice…

Anyone tried these?
CAmping chairs

Not sure the sofa would last long next to a camp fire?

Get two inflatable paddle boards instead….
Inflatable kayaks are notoriously rubbish.

Buy some plastic dust sheets, put them outside (covered/wrapped or preferably hidden). If they don’t collect, after a month, eBay them.

Buy Wingbars.
Less noise
Better MPG
T-Track is ace.

If you buy square bars, every time you hit 70+ and you have to turn up the stereo to drown out the sound of them, you’ll think of this thread…

Chances are, she commutes the same route every day.
Get on eBay and buy a stinger!

My Discovery 3 has a kerb weight of 2700kg, has seven seats and can tow 3500kg
My minibus has a kerb weight of 2370kg, but has 17 seats which equates to around 1200kg of passengers.

If a butterfly knocks over a tree would it pay more tax than a student nurse and would that mean that my friends jack russell is racist even though he knows a vegan labrador. The labrador once chased a bi-curious postman/postwoman/postperson who was in a union, but never voted Labour.

What tyres for a kitchen fitter who’s on holiday in Iceland?

Average speed cameras are a pain when you are in a vehicle that doesn’t have cruise control.

Regarding cheese… In Waitrose the pre grated bags of mozzarella, compté and gruyère are actually cheaper than buying whole pieces.

As above;
Less toppings are the way forward.
Keep the hopper topped up and keep the pizzas coming along a production line and bash them out.

I bought some trousers from Rohan this week?

A 10kg bag should last for 10 sessions at least.

The Uuni 3 has sorted out all the niggles that the Uuni 2 has. Such as the pellets getting stuck in the hopper, the chimney fits better and there’s 3 legs for a sturdier base when you’re out and about.

Regarding lighting. I insert the basket with as many pellets as I can cram in, blow torch it, then leave for 10 minutes. Top up the hopper and once the pellets from the hopper catch light the smoke clears it will be hot enough to cook a pizza in under 90 seconds.

We use the Jamie Oliver recipe – fairly simple to follow and foolproof.
Give it at least 2 hours to prove. We have used it 5 days later. Allow expansion room though when you store it and especially when you let it prove.

Flip the stone over each time you cook. (I don’t mean for each pizza!)
We use Waitrose fresh pesto for a base, rather than passata. Blanched spinach, loads of chorizo, mozzarella, compté, artichokes. Yum.

Don’t get cheese or passata on the peel. You’ll swear when you can’t get the pizza on or off the peel.

Get everything ready and laid out before you start cooking. If you’re knocking them out every 90 seconds, you’ll need a production line and you can feed 12 people surprisingly quickly!

+1 for Negroni.

Just don’t down it like it’s Pimms, or you’ll regret it tomorrow!

Just bought a Trek Marlin 6 for my daughter in 13.5″. 27.5 wheels, hydraulic brakes and forks that work have transformed her riding.
Got a free fritting from my local Trek retailer (ACTiV Cycles Folkestone) and 10% off as a loyal customer.
For £405, I couldn’t find anything better second hand or on any of the usual sites…

Guy asks a girl in a bar, “Would you sleep with me for £10 Million?”
Girl looks the guy up and down and says, “Yes!”

Guy says, “Would you sleep with me for £5?”
Girl replies, “No! What do you think I am?”

Calmly the guy responds, “Look, we’ve established what you are, now we’re haggling…”

OFF!
Why the hell would you want the telly turned on when people come round – presumably to socialise with you?

My parents turn the sound down bit when I arrive and if I’m telling them something about their Grandchildren but something ‘exciting’ happens (like three counters dropping on “Tipping Point”), they look over my shoulder to see what’s going on. Needless to say I don’t care for it much and they now think I’m a rubbish son, because I don’t go round there much… Personally I think it’s just plain rude.

The only time the TV is on is when friends come round to specifically watch TV – 6 Nations, Super Bowl, and the Royal Wedding were the last times I can think of.

With the facility to pause and replay TV, or catch up on various iPlayer type apps, why the hell would you want to continue to watch TV when someone takes the time to visit you? Unless of course they’re not bothered if you’re there or not…

Oh Dear. I’m probably adopted and have been written out of the will.

A ‘proper’ pizza oven is arse achingly expensive (£4k compared to £200 for a Uuni) and takes 4 hours to heat up (compared to 15 minutes). You also can’t take a ‘proper’ pizza oven skiing…

I’ll live with the ‘wood-fired taste’ of my crusts and I’ll eat pizza on the beach as the sun goes down thank you very much!

If you shove the pellets in a little at a time, rather than ramming the hopper to the top, you can get it to burn a little cooler. Also turning the pizza after 30 seconds and every 15 thereafter prevents it from getting too hot at one end and burning.

I don’t regret buying one and every Friday night is Pizza night!

+1 for the NextBase hard wire. I have two cameras but 3 vehicles (only 2 get used at a time), and I simply swap them around. The hard wire kit is around £20 and is simply a piggy back fuse – easy to install.

Wife had an accident (not her fault) and they tried to claim against her. Luckily there were witnesses, however a camera would have left no doubt as to who was at fault. Nearly lost our no claims bonus and pay excess…
NextBase dash cams fitted to all our cars now and they have had a significant effect on the MPG of our work vehicles as some of our employees have a bit of a lead foot…

Buy, fit and forget until you need to rely on it. As mentioned above, it’s a no brainer.

Tried to get one last Wednesday.
One of the other lads got it instead (the one who was holding a gate for me).
Then when we got home, it turned out that my 11 year old daughter had got the QOM on the same section, with out trying too hard…

Perhaps it’s not for everyone!

Try Holiday extras.
Always been good for me.

Have a Seimens 5 ring induction hob. When on ‘Boost” power, if you don’t keep food moving around it either burns or sticks – it chucks out a lot of energy.
The beauty of induction is the control. I’ve yet to use a gas hob that you can turn down REALLY low (with such a large area of heat transfer). Great for slow cooking curries/paella etc.

Yes you have to fork out a lot of cash (and get pans that work on it), but it’s easy to wipe clean and I’ll never go back to gas.

Different pan brands transfer different amounts of heat. Cheap is not always best!

Lancia Delta Integrale – Summer blasts
Triumph Stag V8 – Love the sound and four seats for the kids. (The Delta won’t have four seats because it would have a roll cage for when it heads for the trees)
Unimog (pick your flavour) – For doing ‘stuff’ like rescuing the other two….

Hot Air Balloon Pilot (April – October)
It has it’s ups and downs

Only work when the weather is nice.
Got bored of champagne, so we got a balloon sponsored by a brewery and got free beer.
My ground crew are all great.
Passengers are there to have fun and enjoy themselves.
The amount of time I have off is incredible.
I’ll never be a millionaire, but you can’t buy time and I still enjoy my job after 18 years.
I count myself as very lucky.

Thanks everyone. Singletrack comes up trumps as usual!