Not especially, just hate the thought of posting when nobody is taking the slightest bit of notice.

Don’t sit down!

Chipper!

Am i the only sad git on here?

You’d have to be a fashion victim to spend £160 on a pair of jeans!

Buy skis! I did a few years ago. I broke even on them three years on and after six trips (allowing for service and carriage). No faffing about in hire shops, more skiing time. More stuff to lug, but i prefer having skis that i know. It’s much more consistent. I now edge and wax myself and have done the odd ptex repair too.

Skiing in France is sxxt expensive! Went to Val Thorens just before Christmas. It was rammed with gangs of university students. It was as busy as Feb. half term week – queues were a nightmare. I have never seen anything like it before (done Val T. on the same week in the past and it was almost empty).

Food was very expensive and the French service was as surly as ever – I hate their arrogant attitude! I am not going back there for a good few years if I can help it!

I have had a few holidays in Austria, namely St Anton. Beer and food was much cheaper there (about the same as the UK), but the last time was 3 years ago. Prices aside, St Anton is a fantastic place for skiing (didn’t see many boarders there). The skiing is generally much tougher there and higher runs are not managed to the same level as other resorts. The apres ski was legendary! The French don’t know how to enjoy a beer. Try Austria.

A typical architect proving he can engineer a flimsy building right on the edge of it’s structural integrity. It cost him £130k more than he thought it would. That’s the price of “innovation”!, but I don’t see anything clever about that method. It partially collapsed during the build which was proof enough of this flaky idea. And they put the baby’s bedroom underneath it didn’t they? I wonder how long it will last and if anyone will get killed if it does come down again. Time will tell.

A conventional construction of this arch using a subsantial former with the fancy tiles laid first followed by steel reinforced concrete to give it strength seems a better route. It would have been quicker, cheaper, stronger with the same aesthetic.

I thought the building looked pretty damn ugly. An arch for the arch’s sake, not an integral part of a well designed home. Each to their own eh!

I’d like to take a Kango to a bit of it and see if the whole lot comes down.

Set up you text service number. You can get it from you old handset if you are on the same network provider.

The bands came into play in something like 1992. They were based on an approximate valuation of your property at that time. I would google the subject to find out the exact dates and what the valuation thresholds were.

If you look on the Nationwide Building society web site there is a house price calculator. You can put in two dates, one when you knew the value and the other, a date that you want a valuation for. If you had a valuation recently, stab in those details and ask for a valuation when the bandings were determined. That should give you a rough idea.

I have no idea how they arrived at the valuations when property was close to the thresholds. There are some errors e.g. a friend of mine doubled the size of his terraced house, but they classified him at the pre-extension value. Lucky him, until they realise their mistake.

The amount of council tax you pay does not corrulate with how nice an area is. There are some councils who preside over really crappy areas that spend spend spend – social housing, social issues etc etc. Another posh area might have a lot less of this and so council tax would be cheaper. It just comes down to what the local authority is used to spending, not neccessarily how nice the area is.

Why are the governments bailing out motor manufacturers?

Cars pollute and we kept getting told to go green – get on our bikes (which WE do). So why don’t governments chant on about how this down turn in car output will be good for the environment? Because they don’t give a sxxt about the environment! All they care about is tax receipts! The environment agenda is a political deception to relieve us of more cash – another tax!

Did you hear any government rejoicing about the drop in oil consumption when the price shot up last year? No, because they faced loosing tax receipts when consumption fell and businesses began to struggle.

58% drop in output they claim. Good! Roads all over the world will eventually become less conjested if this continues! For years the automotive business model was dependent on high levels of credit. Credit brought in to prop up the business because the product was costing too much to make and because they saw an opportunity to make more money.

Less cars made will be good for us. It’s the same as money – if you print more money you devalue the currency. Less cars = better residuals.

A vibrant successful economy produces CO2 and other waste. It is almost unavoidable. We each can do a little bit for the environment, but frankly it won’t make any difference to the big picture. We need an alternative to burning fossil fuels, but the oil companys won’t let new technologies flourish. They have a great deal of control to keep us buying their product and at the highest price.

We have too much production in the world. This came about from too much profligate borrowing. A situation brought about by reckless bank lending, big manufacturing corporations and governments.

What a mess we are in, now the flow of money has dried up and the silly lending has ceased!

The situation is quite frightening.

I am with you on the subject of slaughtering animals Oxboy. Bloody religion getting in the way of common sense yet again!

Just needs a few meters of brake cable linking another set of bars welded to the top tube, about where the originals would have been, but what a completely daft thing to do to a bicyle!

I have an Audi A6 and can confirm that the running costs are low compared to comparable vehicles. Audi variable service means you can go up to 30k miles, or around 20 months between services. Standard service was around £250 and I was doing 12k per annum between intervals at 18-19k miles and at around 20 months. No idea how you can get to 30k unless you are doing say 1000 miles a week. I get an average 55-60mpg too. Not bad for a big car.

My friend had a Discovery and never came away from the dealer with a bill less than £600. I’m sure the standard service was nowhere near as much as this, but there was always something going wrong.

Japanese cars (bat Nissan) are a good bet.

Is a 4wd absolutley neccessary?

There are some positives:
1) He lost his job
2) his face has been plastered all over the news – can’t beat a bit of public shaming.
3) He is free – where the lynch mob(s)can get at him.

What do you mean by light offroader? A lightweight offroader or a vehicle for light offroad use?

The baby thing is all part of the nesting instinct. These lucky few get to do the nesting bit full on!

They say that pregnancy can make you do some funny things – strange rituals and odd eating habits etc. Probably not the best time to be embarking on a hellishly expensive construction project!

Quite amusing really.

Perhaps not the best place to seek advice or comfort about a medical condition!

Good luck “project” and I wish you well!

Yes Surfer, Islam does bully it’s believers. Religion sucks! ALL religion. Baseless superstitious nonsense which divides people – most wars are caused by religious conflict afterall.

I am sure that Rudeboy is correct on his point about the media. Most newspapers are full of bullshit and journalists often have their own agenda. Don’t buy newspapers!

I’m sure that there has been huge provocation of Muslins by the media and by certain western powers. The origins of this conflict started way back in 1948 when the Jews were given large tracts of arab land by western powers. The continuing one-sided view of the Israel/Palestinian conflict clearly reinforces the grievance felt by so many Muslims. This injustice needs to be sorted out.

Conversely, where was all the support from the Muslim countries when we were fighting for the welfare of Muslims in the Balkan conflict?

What uspsets me about Britain is that we are all told how we should think. Minorities get special treatment when they should be treated no differently from anyone else. Too much idealist PC nonsense is rammed down out throats on a daily basis and the passive indiginous majority is made to feel guilty for existing, let alone expressing an opinion! Any mention of debate on this matter and the thought police immediately shout racist. The message to me is; “put up and shut up”!

E.G. We are currently under a governemnt review in my county, to make available land for 49 extra Gypsy sites. We have twice as many sites as neighbouring counties already. These sites will compulsorily take private green belt land that cannot be built on for the much needed housing of the local population! The proposals in themselves have blighted the values of the homes in close proximity to these proposed sites. This is pure discrimination against our community. And the government rules state that we cannot object on the basis that a gypsy site next to our homes will affect propety values. A move with no regard for the tax paying law abiding majority, once again! If gypsies want to live in a community they should get a proper place to live and integrate, just like everyone else! The cultural need to live in a caravan is nonsense and nobody rolling up from another country should have a right to any public services without paying for these.

We should be working to integrate better. I read about all sorts of minorities trying to preserve their identity, their so called culture, what makes them different. Take the Welsh and the resurgence of the use of their language. Nobody speaks Welsh anywhere in the world other than Wales and all this serves to do is protect Welsh jobs – Welsh is a pre-requisite for many jobs – pure discrimination – how is the EU allowing this! They are speaking a foreign language that alienates themselves from the rest of the British commumity. It is just divisive and totally counterproductive.

We hear about Muslims gong to tribunals about the insistence on wearing certain items of clothing. We worry about offending those people, but I find it highly offensive when someone covers their face when speaking to you! Afterall, it is not the custom of this country to cover your face in public, so why foist an inappropriate muslim custom on out culture? Conversely, a british woman working for B.A. gets disciplined by her employer for refusing not to wear a cross. B.A, were scared that this might offend someone. NAtivity scenes are banned from chairty shop wwindow’s at Christmas for fear of causing offence. Have we gone mad? One rule for minorities, one rule for the indiginous majority! The B.A. employee won her case, but with conditions as I recall. Why should we tolerate this? Look at the intolerance of western cultural habits in arab countries – it’s virtually zero! Look the repression of women in arab countires – to their own women e.g the stoning of a teenage rape victim. Barbaric people living in the dark ages! Don’t tell me we should subscribe to Sharia law in this counrty! The Arch Bishop of Canterbury made comments that we would have to adopt elements of Sharia law – NO WE WON’T YOU NUMPTY!!!!!

Every minority seems to be going off the end of the scale here, trying to be different, to make a statement. In effect alienating themselves from the mainstream. This is crazy divisive behaviour which helps nobody. We should be working towards integrating and finding common ground. Working to a set of equal standards. Minorities currently stamp their feet and the authorities cave in to their demands to impose their culture on our way of life.

Devolution – another divisive thing. If we had an English assembly the playing field would be even and the sytem would be credible. Instead we have an expensive set of local parliaments taking care of the minorities needs again. Two tier health care, education etc etc. Patently unfair!

The passive indiginous majority just have to put up and shut up whilst being overlooked. We are overlooked on so many more issues. Take the strikes over the importing of Italian and Portugese labour to do jobs where there is plenty of local expertise. British people who are in need of work. Gordon spouts on about EU employment law, but would the Portugese or the Italians put up with this on their doorstep? Yeah right!

This thread will run and run. The issues of discrimination and unfairness to the British population are continually ignored and over the past 20-30 years my attitude has become more nationalistic. That worries me greatly, but it has been brought about by weak governments (all parties) selling us down the river. Politicians who have overlooked issues that are important to ordinary people.

I think i’m done ranting now!

He’s smarter than George “Dubbya”! A great orator who seems open and frank. Clearly a smart guy.

I’m mindful that he is a politician however. These people are consumate performers when it comes to misleading the public, or covering up the the truth etc.

Not an ideal time to become the world’s most powerful man, but at least he has something to get his teeth into.

Time will tell if he can deliver.

Would you want a large slab of snow to slide down your windscreen entirely blocking your vision when you apply the brakes?

Fowey or Polperro in Cornwall, Beer in Devon, Lulworth and Studland in Dorset, Lymington in Hampshire. Endless choices frankly.

Freddie

Perhaps you could swap the pads between front and rear. That would be a simple exercise and will eliminate your loose pad concern. Thinking about it, the pad seems a likely offender. That’d be a relatively cheap fix if it proved to be the cause of the fault.

If that makes no difference, maybe you could swap the whole rear caliper on the rear to the front on a temporary basis (coiling up the excess hose with a tie wrap). Leaving the front coiled up on the bars, again on a tie wrap.

Just step through each thing one at a time to see what changes.

Good luck!

Spectacular descent! I’m not green with envy, NO, not at all! Haven’t walked on Helvelyn for 10 years due to our preference for biking in the Alps. Looks like I have been mising it more than I thought.

I have had a pair of Syncros ones. Firm, yet comfortable. Chipper!

Lime pickle. MMMMM my mouth is watering.

But we are told disc brakes are fit and forget!

Try lightly deglazing the pads with emery cloth lad on a flat surface. Clean the rotor thoroughly. First with a dry clean rag to get exces crxp off, then use neat washing up liquid and rinse with hot water, then rinse again until absolutely gunge free. Dry off and try again. If you are still getting juddering, you might have an unevenly worn rotor. The only fix is to replace the rotor. I had one replaced FOC by Hope. (Hope after sales support is first class btw). If it’s only one of the rotors that judders, try swapping them between front and rear (assuming you have the same diameter discs). If the fault moves with the rotor, you have your diagnosis.

Don’t but it in a supermarket

I’m thinking of switching to candles.

Adnam’s “Broadside”, but only from a pub that knows how to keep it!

Sound advice tyke!

Patak’s Lime and Chilli pickle! MMMMMMM

A) No
B) N/A
C) ?

Horses suck!

I don’t see why I should be locked in to a minimum 12 month contract or having to pay a different rate if I choose another method of payment. The unit price should be the same for everybody. No penalties for any method, just one rate.

The whole minefield of paying for your energy utilities is about profit for those companies. The regulator should grow a set of balls and do the job for which they were created; to and straighten these companies out when they step out of line!

We should go back to paying a quarterly bill after the meter has been read.

BBC’s Watchdog recommended cancelling Direct Debits and setting up a standing order for gas/electricity. Stops the buggers guessing that your consumption and hiking the amount they take from your account each month. Seems like a good move since I noticed my direct debit has increased yet again (now £125/month) and still no meter readings! Don’t we pay enough for this service to have at least bi-annual meter readings? I cannot understand why the energy companies don’t get together and arrange to have one man read all the meters at the same time.

I am going to switch suppliers. My current supplier NPower put their prices up late last year, but didn’t take a meter reading – how can they reasonably do this? My summer monthly consumption had been under estimated for quite sometime prior to this, so I ended up paying for gas at the higher price.

Hey, try asking your gas and electricity supplier how they calculate you upper and lower tariffs. They have different thresholds for different months. I will be switching to a flat rate tariff whith a monthly standing charge as I am convinced it will be cheaper.

The conversion from meter reading to units of energy can be confusing too.

I’m sick of all the switching and shifting sands with different tarrifs. NPower has about 15 online tarrifs.

Cheers andym!

Trimix has made THE most pertinent point of the whole thread. Population!

If every person in the world had the same CO2 producing capability of Westerners such as the Americans, we would be in deep trouble.

We need to control numbers, but the population isn’t growing much in the developed world – we can’t afford kids easily.

The planet probably has more people than it can support already, but due to economic hardship in developing countries, these people don’t get enough food, let alone CO2 burning luxuries.

Children are viewed as pension providers in the developing world. Producing as many children as possible offers a better chance of secure retirement as there is such a high rate of attrition – poor healthcare, nutrition isses etc.

We do live in a sheltered corner of the world!

The UK is the best place on Earth!