Have you got a bigger battery for your drill? Looks like a 1.5aH or 2aH which are pretty weedy and you’ll get more torque with a bigger battery

Wow. This is a totally new fact and has blown my mind. My dewalts have the weedy 2ah battery. Now I know I need to spend more money on tools!

Do Battery Amp Hours Affect Power? | 2.0Ah vs 5.0Ah

Vinyl tiles is a good shout, thanks

Thanks! Not sure what’s underneath actually – might pull the edges up and have a look.

Could be worth paying someone to do … Though it’s only for a few years until we save up to do the kitchen

Yeah, the plastic rattan stuff. I don’t think actual rattan can be left outside.
Thanks neila – was there any difference between the garden centre and the Amazon quality?

I also have no interest in seeing my energy consumption as it will have no bearing on what power I use or don’t use.

I thought this… but having got a smart meter in a new house we moved into, it’s oddly mesmerizing and terrifying. Just seeing the £££ rack up over a week forces you to think about saving energy. My bet is even if you think it won’t affect you, it will…

In a totally not useful post, am I the only one marginally peeved that the fake brick façade always looks like stretcher bond, when the original, because it was solid wall, would have been a Flemish bond or something similar…

At the moment, fabric things like rucksacks, wetsuits etc go mouldy. I’m thinking warm = less damp. I could put them all in crates but then it’s more awkward to get ready access to things.

(I realise it’s not as simple as that; warm air holds moisture etc. So it would have to be insulated and have no cold spots and be ventilated)

What you are making there is a worse storage. Cool and we’ll ventilated is what you want. Warm and unventilated gets you mould.

But presumably if I ventilated it, I could get warm and well ventilated, and that would be even better?

Sorry, should really have begun at the beginning…
We’ve got a big trussed rafter roof space. I’m considering making a smaller, warm storage space up there. This would need insulating between the roof trusses and across the top. I would think by fixing battens between the trusses and then celotex and membrane. So there’s a cold space outside it and a warm space within. Rigid celotex seems the thing and between the trusses *should* fit through the roof hatch on the diagonal.
Is this a crazy plan? I’d really like some more dry warmish storage and it’s a big roof space.

Kingspan Seconds here
https://www.secondsandco.co.uk/

Intriguing. And I am quite tight, so seconds appeals to me. Might need to start by estimating how much I need… £500 minimum order.

We used a topeak copilot. It felt really secure, good straps and safety bar. Used it up to about 3 when kids got too heavy for it. Only downside was that you need a topeak rack to mount it on – I think that’s why it’s so secure.

I’ve got the seat to give away, but the rack is attached to the bike still…

Wow, yes a bit expensive. Nice looking though… Now to try to find some cheaper/second hand!

Would echo what most folks have said on here…
Carriers – we tried several but the ergo was by far the most comfortable. Works front and back and up to about age 2 in reasonable comfort. Tricky to get on single handed. We tried baby bjorn and found it absolute agony on your back.

Rucksacks – I’m not sure exactly what minimum age is but maybe about 9 months? Anyway, osprey is the way to go. We tried lots in a shop and it was way better than anything else we saw*. It’s made by rucksack people not baby people, so it’s actually comfortable. Sunshade is brilliant and raincover pretty easy too. Make sure you go poco plus or premium so you get a useful storage pocket underneath. Basic poco doesn’t…

[We have a used osprey poco plus we’re looking to sell. Seen some good walks but plenty more life in it. PM if you’re interested.]

*Shop lady tried to demonstrate a little-life rucksack with rain cover. She gave it up after trying to get the cover together for about 5 minutes with fiddly poles and cover everywhere. She abandoned the attempt halfway through whilst trying to persuade us it was “very easy”. We didn’t buy it.

Or a good old christmas quiz:

1) In ‘Deck the Halls With Boughs of Holly’ how many times does ‘la’ come after you sing one ‘fa’?
6, 7, 8, 10 Answer: 8
2) “Christian children all must be mild, obedient, good as he.” The prescriptive lyrics from which Victorian carol?

Once in Royal David’s City, Good King Wenceslas, Away in a Manger, The First Noel
Answer: once in royal David’s city
3) Which carol contains the line: “Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled”?
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
4) German-based disco group Boney M had a number one hit in 1978 with which Christmas song?
Mary’s Boy Child
5) Where did the three ships sail into on Christmas Day in the morning?
Bethlehem
6) Which was the first song to be broadcast from space when the Gemini 6 crew played a practical joke on Mission Control, suggesting they had spotted a low flying object?
Jingle Bells
7) The line “Let earth receive her King / Let every heart / Prepare Him room / And heaven and nature sing” is taken from which carol?
Joy to the World
8) What date is the 12th day of Christmas?
5th January
9) Which Christmas song is also the best-selling single of all time?
“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee
“White Christmas” by Bing Crosby
“Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helms
“Blue Christmas” by Elvis

Bing Crosby’s rendition of “White Christmas,” written by Irving Berlin and released in 1942, has sold 50 million copies, making it the best-selling single ever, according to The Guinness Book of World Records.
10) BONUS Question
At New Year, you may have heard the Scottish poem ‘Auld Lang Syne’ sung to ring in the New Year. What does ‘Auld Lang Syne’ actually mean?
Times gone by, Old language signs, Happy New Year, A hug around the world
Answer: It actually means ‘Times gone by’ and is about remembering all the people and things that have happened to you in the last year.

Also origami. Best Christmas hat made out of an single piece of paper?

If people are working from home, a fetch it game is always fun… Go and get:

A Christmas decoration
A toothbrush
Something orange
A star
A picture of a rabbit (from a book or drawn)
Something spotty
A single piece of toilet paper
Wrapping paper
A tea bag
Something purple

First to get it wins

Thanks for the tips, all.
Dehumidifier sounds like the way to go – we’ve got lots that doesn’t go in the tumble dryer. Wonder what the relative costs are dehumidifier Vs tumble dryer?

Heated shoe rack also a good shout – anyone got any recommendations?

Oh, annoying. I don’t really want to undo all the cable. I’ll wait until I need a new cable and I’ve long since forgotten where I put it…

ITV4, they are an hour long though.

Maybe last tour I enjoyed it so much an hour felt like 20 minutes!

Sorry, mild thread hijack here, but can someone remind me where to find the decent highlights please? Last tour I remember finding some about 15 or 20 minutes long which were great, but all I can find now are 4 minutes long, which are hopeless. I just can’t remember where they were…

Thanks all… sounds like cold roof it is. Grr. Wish the builders hadn’t been so cheapskate in the first place!

Hmm. Well I want to insulate it to keep upstairs warmer / save on heating. And I figured I might as well have a warm storage space up there that’s more usable for things that might be affected by cold… If I get a loft ladder it becomes a semi usable space

…it looks like I’ll have to move the light wiring as well…

Thanks for all your useful thoughts everyone.

Update – builder has been up on the roof and says the flashing around the chimney is really bad so likely to be leaking. So could be that as well as the render. Oddly though, the damp comes through in the kids’ bedrooms at first floor level, but they don’t see any evidence at second floor. It does seem to be mainly around the chimney, which might well rule out condensation. There’s no windows in the wall and it doesn’t seem to be worse in cold weather, just wet weather!

Mate says the plaster near the ceiling in the kids’ room just crumbled away, and this is on the inside wall of the chimney in their room, so not the outer gable wall (if that makes sense)!

Can water run down a chimney then into a room not at the top? Can it run onto the inside wall? That could well explain things, since it’s pretty damp…

Windows Movie Maker

You can still find it on the interweb. Doesn’t ship with windows 10 but does still work with it.

The in-laws have one. It’s big, but a really relaxing place to be inside. Just watch out for buying one with bigger alloy wheels (21’s,I think). They might look better, but they make the ride disappointingly jiggly. Would be better on 19’s, I think…

Done. Anyone else want a copy of the daily express?

Question on these external DAC thingys…
I’ve sometimes used my tablet to output eg bbc sounds to my stereo. Anyone know if they make much difference on internet audio sources of varying quality ie not lossless / hi quality stuff but normal quality – bbc sounds, radio apps etc?

So question for all you fountain pen nuts out there:

I’ve got a cheap (£10) Parker fountain pen I’ve used for years. It would be nice to have something a bit nicer. But where do I start? Do I need to try before I buy? Go to a pen shop? Take a punt on eBay? How much variation is there in how they write?

Tried reseting it? https://www.vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk/threads/key-reset.61392/

My boy had a Cnoc 14 small at that age and loved it, we’ve got rid of the bike now, but the islabike website has a lot of info on it, I’m sure you can use it to work out whether it will fit your son.

It does indeed have loads of info, but oddly, not the lowest saddle height. I think it’s the same as the minimum inside leg but wanted to be sure.
(I wanted to compare with what he’s got)

Good news – passport has arrived! So the answer would appear to be about 10 days, if you apply online. Slick!

Definitely definitely less is more when it comes to office chairs. Don’t go for big armrests, massive back, headrests, leather etc. It all makes it more uncomfortable, means you can’t fit it under a desk and it’s a nightmare when you need to move it. I went for a John Lewis one for about £70, spent some time getting it fitting just right and now it’s wonderful.

Just watch out though, as soon as someone else tweaks it you will instantly notice and have to spend hours getting it into your sweet spot again!

*from a long, long time ago, one of dads mates was a lorry driver and he didn’t usually do hitchers but it was a bad, bad Scottish wet day and he took pity on a bedraggled bloke walking along, anyway off they went, the bloke said thanks but didn’t speak much, as they went along a charming policeman stopped him and was a complete and utter ********, a rear light Was out so that was a charge and on it went, checking paperwork, and generally being an officious jobsworth ( they hadn’t provoked him), the policeman took all the details in his notebook and sent them on their way, again pretty much in silence, at the blokes village they stopped, the bloke said thanks, then as he got out, He said don’t worry about the policeman, nothing will happen, and he handed the lorry driver the policeman’s notebook, smiled and said I’m a pickpocket.

You should write a story about this. Oh no, wait. Roald Dahl already has…

Thanks – anyone any more decisive?! It’s a bit tricky to go measure at the moment…

Tell him
I’ve told three people in the past. One of which I fixed for him there and then.

Maybe I fear it being awkward. How did it go? I think I’ve just a British/selfish way of avoiding awkwardness…

I’ve replaced numerous vac sensors, never had issues with wiring/ecu on that circuit. (VW master tech 17 years)

Out of interest, how many vac sensors have you changed, only to find it was a vacuum leak? Just would help to get an idea of what’s most likely

Sounds like might well be the sensor then… odd but not unheard of for two to fail in a row. Or my voltage measuring is not foolproof!

I’m wondering what this will all mean about longevity. Isn’t it about 70% of Land Rovers still going… but
1) This one has 31 computers
2) Auto computers seem designed to last about 10 years tops
3) How long’s this new defender designed to last for then?

Anyone fancy replacing 31 computers on their 10 year old car?

Oh, and can you put monasteries side by side?

Totally. Ever been to North Yorkshire? They’re right next to each other…