I have a seiko solar diver in titanium which my OH imported from Japan, it is by far my most worn watch. Very light, comfortable with great lume.

The marzipan has been purchased for the first stollen, it usually takes me one or 2 tries to get it right. My OH is very happy with my stollen ineptitude.

Not sure whether I’ll make mince pies this year but I’ll probably be persuaded to.

PSA : just ordered a Crumb tag for the hound. It’s a QR code that you set up with your dogs details, currently free to order and the postage was £3.

We’ve just come back from dog central AKA Whitstable in Kent. Dogs are hugely popular and welcome in the vast majority of places, we had a fantastic weekend with a special shout to the Twelve taps who made Herbert “dog of the day” and had a wonderful array of beers and gins.

Dog went missing !

Got him back

@the generalist

https://www.glisshop.co.uk. Have a online tool to help you pick your skis which is pretty good. Its called “5 secs to find my skis”

Just to give you some ideas.

I’m sure some people can ski the whole mountain on <80mm under foot. That doesn’t mean everyone has to or wants to.

I had 88 under foot which were my favourite skis, now on Santa Ana 93 under foot. The new skis require more effort and are not the best in hard, icy conditions but they are still a fun ski and great in powder.

If I was buying another pair I’d probably be going back to 88 under foot. Just not that many powder days these days

Our next door neighbours had to have it removed for their 3 bed semi detached sale to go through. It cost them £5K in Essex and it appeared to be a messy job but the company did a great job of clearing it up.

Without getting rid of it the purchaser couldn’t raise a mortgage so if that sale fell through they were still going to have to do it (unless someone was buuying it outright).

@blackhat

Agree with DT, I have sold some good skis on ebay that have been well looked after.

Ellis Brigham (there is one in Chelmsford) and Snow and Rock tend to be the big shops we go to.

An independent is Snowfit https://snowfit.co.uk/collections/skis which is in Norfolk. I narrowed down the skis I was interested in to Blizzard black pearl, nordica wild belle and volkl kenja. Spoke to Snowfit, ended up buying the Wild Belles and they were/are perfect. I regret selling them to a friend but she has given them a good home (except when she skied onto a road in them after a spot of apres action).

My latest skis and boots came from Ekosport in France, I bought them online and they have been fine. I know buying boots online is risky but try finding a boot in size 21.5 that is not made for a child in the UK proved to be an impossible task.

https://www.glisshop.co.uk. Have a online tool to help you pick your skis which is pretty good. Its called “5 secs to find my skis”

Hope this helps

Better than nothing 2 x £25

Mr Sprootlet yet to check…….

Boody and I know you said no oddballs but their bamboo trunks are lovely

@boblo can you give an idea of the cost of your service by calibre ? I appreciate it will vary depending on the work required, I wasn’t happy with the last one when the watch fell off my wrist the first time I wore it as they’d not attached the bracelet properly

@ Kelvin – you have discerning taste in your choice of stouts

Forgot to mention Northern Monk have some nice ones too although they lack the variety of Siren and Vocation as they all tend to be more chocolate and caramel.

Can’t believe I forgot the Vocation tonka bean stout for vanilla loveliness.

Vocation did an imperial kirsch and a coffee stout (which is a collaboration with Kirkstall brewery).  OMG they are fantastic, in winter we’ll share a can along with my homemade chocolate brownie – so very good together.

My favourite is the kirsch, it is expensive but the cherry flavour is natural rather than artificial tasting.

Siren brewery also do some lovely stouts.

We had frost

Decided last night to get early bird season passes for the Grand Massif. We used skillco last year and it was slightly better value than the season’s pass due to 2 days of heavy rain (I will ski in a lot of conditions but not torrential rain) and a day when we couldn’t leave the valley due to lift closures.

As plans involve 9 days in Jan and 14 in March ….. season passes needed

Our vet was quite happy to write a prescription which I then filled using an online vet supplier. It was all relatively painless, I did let the receptionist know that the appt was to get a prescription as this is cheaper than a consultation for a problem.

Our dog is not insured currently but we are considering it.In the interim, we have a Herbert fund which is funded by our premium bonds winnings…..

I really need the insurance cover to include him being looked after by friends while we’re on holiday but I am struggling to find out in the plans I have looked at. Does anyone have an knowledge/experience of this niche area?

Lovely Dog Walk

He’s making progress

Not quite your age but I went back to do physio at 30. There was a couple of guys on my course aged 40 and 45. Both graduated but the 45 yr old went back to his original career 6 months after graduating.

The good is that you will find the study easy after working for a living the bad is that you might feel a little bit isolated on your course. The lecturers never seemed to have any problem with student ages (if they were younger than the students) in my experience.

I never regretted it and I did enjoy the Uni experience far more as a “mature” student than when I tried it at 21

Like Kramer (in healthcare too, although a physio) I realised that something significant had to change. Once I had accepted this, the actual decision to quit was relatively easy and I immediately felt better.

As regards stress/detox professional help, I honestly did not need it once I had taken action but whilst I was in that role I should have sought professional counselling.

Pickleball needs less space but you can’t play it when it is windy. As a tennis and squash player I was doubtful that I’d enjoy it – I was wrong !

The grief it will cause is unlikely to be matched by the money received is my opinion. I’m with ElShalimo on this (and it’s what we did with my parents house)

Windy in Essex

@Ransos

Are you puppy raising or boarding for guide dogs?

We’ve loved doing it but it has meant we are now dog parents to Herbert who didn’t make the grade. We’ve been incredibly lucky with our puppy adviser and local group. Exciting times ahead and looking forward to updates

Our withdrawn guide dog (for lead reactivity) was amazingly well behaved on our morning walk today :). Not a single reaction to any dogs (and we saw lots).

Right until we came across horses in a field. He got through the fence and had a stand off staring competition with them. Luckily for us they just stood and looked at him, when he decided he’d won he came hotfooting it back to us but it was a heart in the mouth moment. He’s on a lead if we have that situation again :(

Flaine in Jan and March for us – dates not entirely confirmed but likely to drive out on a Friday and ? back on a Monday. Looks like March maybe a 2 week trip.

No one has mentioned tiffin ! I prefer it to both Rocky Road and Millionaires shortbread

I make mine with cranberries, cherries and goji berries with almonds or brazil nuts and the essential digestive biscuits. It sound be sickly sweet but careful selection of the not too sweet dried fruit can avoid this pitfall.

I saw a lady who required morphine for trapped wind pain post surgery

We’ve been to Croatia and it is beautiful, especially the national park (has an entrance fee, you can climb there – spectacular). Wind is not consistent at Croatia so better for none sail water sports, good enough for beginners but not the more advanced sailors. Tennis was good, gym superb and the classes were a good variety. The local village is about 15 min walk away and make sure you go to Ante restaurant for dinner, I cannot rate the food there highly enough. My mouth is watering at the thought of it !

We tend to go out of school holidays but when we have seen teenagers around they are doing their own thing, using all the available kit and generally having a great time. They are most definitely not the forgotten demographic. If your kids are after a club scene on a night then probably not Neilsons or even Mark Warner as they are more about the day time activities then getting out on the lash at night and their locations reflect this.

Messini has better wind conditions but nothing walkable to it apart from 3 very average tavernas, the town is a short taxi away. Food in the resort on a none inclusive night was excellent though.

Levante is a bit different as half the resort is Playitas so there’s Danes, Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish guests as well as Neilsons. Booking on classes can be a bit of a pain (you can only book from 8am onwards), biking was OK, tennis and classes were great and the wind was much better than at Croatia

Vounaki is much smaller than the 3 above but does have a village close by. Sardinia we’ve not been to.

We’ve been on a few Neilsons so ask away …….

@Dyna-ti

Mine used to be when I got home, the vending machine at the leisure centre always seemed to be bust :(

Bovril is a childhood drink for me – always had it after swimming or whilst watching sunday morning football in the depths of North East winters in the 1970/80s

I’m a marmite hater but might have to try Bovril on toast after this thread

Nice one Muke !

Jambalaya for dinner

Yum yum yum

We used a Kurgo car harness and a kurgo cover for the back seat. Dogs were a german shepherd and his 1/2 brother who was very slightly smaller. They clipped into the middle seatbelts and seemed happy enough.

The Kurgo car harness is well put together, easy to put on and walk him in

Blackberry crumble yesterday, lovely with some vanilla ice cream.

It’s going to be a bumper season this year …..

I tend to make jam, crumbles and cobblers but will try the mousse

Nothing for me

£50 for SO

artemis fowl books by eoin colfer, less violent than the rivers of london

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch. Only older teenagers though as the first book is possession of people by Punch (as in Punch and Judy). Turns out Punch is a homicidal maniac …..

I think he has done some books for the younger reader but not sure of the titles

Really enjoyed it, not so much the Carl Lewis t-shirt but we all make mistakes.

Did anyone else think that the Sun reporter came across as a tool?

I like the Aera – my favourite of the ones shown.

Sorry I don’t know how to post photos on the forum but, honestly, that’s probably a good thing.

Mason left on Monday for guide dog school. There were obviously tears (mine) and the house seems so quiet and empty without him although he was not a vocal dog. His half brother, Herbert, is a bit mopey but better than we thought he would be and I’ve arranged some dog walks with friends to try and give him his doggy fix.

We’ll be raising another puppy for Guide Dogs but will wait until after our holiday in September unless something unexpected comes up.

We miss you Mason, you were a pleasure to raise

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/85986087#/?channel=RES_BUY

or

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/137220569#/?channel=RES_BUY

Sorry if the second one is above the budget but couldn’t resist

Gorgeous dog walk