“The major chains are not “most restaurants”.”
i suppose it depends where you are in the country. In the SE it appears to be the norm, not just in chain eateries.
I was up in London last weekend and was very surprised to find my favourite restaurant had followed suit.
Times are hard, VERY few restaurants make a profit and if it ain’t the norm round your way it soon will be!

Yes, they do!

“Edit: and do you tip when everything is great? My last meal out was with a multinational group and an institution picked up the tab so it was paid with a credit card. No-one left a tip. The food was great, the atmosphere more than pleasant, the staff enthusiastic. No tips, it felt really odd… .”
probably why most places here in the UK add 12.5% gratuity as a matter of course. I often wonder how much of it gets through to the waiters, so prefer to tip in cash, sometimes in addition to the 12.5%, sometimes asking for that to be removed…

Try Elephant. My daughter passed her test 5 years ago and Elephant was, at about £900, the cheapest by a long way. (no black box).
A year to the day after she passed her test some numpty cut her up on a roundabout but admitted liability at the scene. Unfortunately she didn’t get the reg no, just his insurance details. He later denied he was at fault but Elephant, instead of saving themselves a lot of hassle by not pursuing him, did pursue him vigorously! It didn’t cost my daughter a penny and they have a very happy punter with 5 years NCB. Her latest premium on a Seat Miii is about £300 fully comp…

“Would hate to disappoint except I see no reason to crow that you have or haven’t been stabbed. Why the announcements folks?”

They’re just reminding Santa how good they’ve been…

120k is nothing if it’s been well looked after, dealer service history, etc…
It’s probably a lot better than an ultra low mileage car that’s spent most of it’s time sitting around doing nowt.

“Or had just come out of the hotel bar.”

Saturday afternoon, leaving a hotel…
What are the odds of him being bladdered?

“Even in the worst case on snow winter tyres are only 20% reduction in bracing distance. ”

Where did you hear that? It’s utter bollox!

On black ice or week old compacted snow Nothing will stop you, except studded tyres or chains, but in snow that ain’t the “worst case” winter tyres will stop you, steer you, and get you going way more than 20% better!

Go for it! The colour contrast will hide any eff ups..

” My fear when doing the ‘proper’ piece is, no matter how much I’ve practiced and done a trial run with scrap, this one could still go wrong. ”

9 times out of ten the practice piece ends up being better than the real thing so I don’t bother any more…
If it’s good you’ve saved some time. If it’s shit you have some more scrap for ron…

But well worth the money!

For the price of two of them you could get a double bevelled o1 “David Charelsworth” marking knife from Philly Planes.
Not as chunky as a Ron Hock knife but every bit as sharp.

I doubt they’ll pay out for an existing condition.
Just like the dog insurance some people seem to rely on…

“Sounds like your puppy is an inconvenience for you.

Again, a bit much?”

Not at all!
Your first dog?

“Lakes look good actually – I’d forgotten about them.”

so have their importer! Absolutely shocking product promotion, which is a shame as they’re bleedin’ good shoes!

I have three pairs for all occasions and they are W I D E !
Sidi Dominators are too, but pretty slippery off the bike.

Could you wrap the tensioner wheel in a slice of road inner tube?
I’ve used a Surly singleator and they’re good! not as good as the Rohloff but a lot simpler…

“Ahem. I use a Japanese Waterstone for sharpening oboe reed knives.”
Any pics of your reed knives?

“It may be worth seeing if thats the most efficient thing you can do. Other options involve:

Fixing draughts – doors etc.
Insulating the floor – same damp problems
Balloons in chimneys
Heavy curtains for Windows
Looking at radiators and boiler efficiency.”

putting on a jumper!

Hardly surprising you’ve effed ’em up using that crap. But they are salveagable using a decent diamond stone or waterstone. Theses are good!
https://www.classichandtools.com/james-barry-tapered-6-file-with-handle/p1588
That’ll get your edge back then strop it to get it sharp

What sort of door is it? Panelled or ledge and braced? It may have been professionally hung but was it professionally made? Interior or exterior? Painted or oiled? or bare? How long ago?
It may be the dry weather has shrunk the tenons or braces, allowing it to get out of shape. It’s possible it could be coaxed back to square with no shaving. Pics?

Having had a quick look at all three online, plus the Saddleback bag, the Saddleback looks way better made, and it’s the only one I’m lusting after…
How come you lost yours?

“30 min drive up the road to Petworth – ramshackle old town and Petworth House is NT house with massive grounds.”
and the largest collection of Turner’s paintings anywhere, though each one is lit by a single 60W bulb… While there, check out The Horseguards Pub round the corner.
West Wittering is the only sandy beach, with dunes, in the area and is well worth a visit. It’s very shallow and warms up quickly. It can be like swimming in the Caribbean.
There’s a Guitar museum in Worthing, and HMS Victory and the Mary Rose in Portsmouth…
There are vinyards galore on the South Downs, mostly owned by french champagne houses waiting for global warming to make their own fizz undrinkable, and further East around Lewes you have Charlesworth, home to the Bloomsbury set, and Farleys, home to Roger Penrose and Lee Miller, good friends of Picasso, Man Ray, Dali, etc, who thought it would be good to get them to do the wall papering…
The Seven Sisters beteweeen Seaford and Eastbourne is a good long stroll, including Beachy Head
Oh, and Goodwood has, every Sunday morning, the Breakfast Club, where various car owners clubs get the place to themselves. You won’t be bored! This is only the tip of the Iceberg…

“If it was me I would go with now rather than risk a pet spending it’s last few days in unfamiliar surroundings with strangers.”

+1.
Even if he’s been there every year since he was a kitten, it’s a poor substitute for his sofa and staff…

“Sorry, doesn’t help the OP but I’m a firm believer in insurance. Can’t afford the insurance? Don’t get a pet…”

If you rely on Insurance to look after your pet, Don’t get a pet! There’s a bit more to looking after another creature than simply having access to the funds to patch them up (and being encouraged to do so) year after year without any consideration of their quality of life.

“No they don’t, trying to be smart and looking stupid there.
Elephant herd wandering across the plains.
Let’s address the elephant in the room..”

Looking Stoopider…

First you have to notice it.

“No they don’t, trying to be smart and looking stupid there.
Elephant herd wandering across the plains.
Let’s address the elephant in the room..”

Looking Stoopider…

Oh yes! Both my turn of the century bikes are sporting 650b. Both are unchanged handling wise, and still more fun than any 29er I’ve tried through the woods…

“But ‘inefficient’ is not really a fair argument here.”

Oh but it is!

“Why not spend time talking with older people to gain a better understanding?”

Why not come to Surrey?
You’ll realise he’s right!

“Should’ is all very well and good, but ‘should’ isn’t reality. Teaching your kids how to be safe around a loose dog isn’t ‘victim-blaming’ it’s **** sensible and an attempt at protecting them.

Relying on people to do the right thing is a fool’s errand.”

+1, but blaming others is the STW way…

Go on, give us a laff. How much?

” and you soon have a £6K bill (on a small dog)”

Dachsund?

They don’t make dogs like they used to…
Just said goodbye to my old lulu. Other than annual vax and pet passport I think he cost me about £150 in vets bills over his 16 years.
But he didn’t match my cushions…

Singletrackworld are wrong! But there’s nothing unusual in that…

HP every day!” but don’t try and clear a jam (the first in nearly ten years) with the bread knife.
I replaced it with a Canon and it’s shite!

You could just look where you’re going…

You will not get charged VAT or duty in the UK if the goods are worth less than £130 or so (but check the correct figure) and carriers are not allowed to charge a processing fee on these orders, so you may be quids in, saving 20%! Over £130 VAT and import duty are due and there may be a processing fee of around a tenner
I buy quite a lot of specialist tools from the US, Japan and Europe and have only been charged VAT once in the last year, on a £200 order. Even a £500 order from Sweden has squeezed through unnoticed…

“I just CBA selling junk for a possible £10, whereas he was well off and tried to sell it.”

There may be a lesson there…

Napoli! Again, all the cliches are true! It is so unlike the northern Italian towns; more a south east asian town just dumped there and left to get by the best they can…
Also where I had my heart broken and found the love of my life in a couple of weeks…

Venice, probably the most beautiful city in the world!

Bologna, The food, the market, more food….

Siena, Dragging itself into the 16th century…

Seville, The orange blossom, Flamenco…

Bruges, The warm embrace of the waterside pubs on a weekend where the temp never rose above -5…