In 20 years £569k will seem ridiculously cheap – go for it – let inflation do it’s trick. Bought my house 18 years ago and the neighbours just sold for almost 5 times what I paid – you always regrets not buying that house you could of afforded but didn’t take the risk.

Doesn’t the pump have a large screw on the front? – undo it (towel/bucket underneath) and you should be able to see if the pump is working.

Just get used to feeling hungry – it’s a good sign your body is burning fat reserves and you’re losing weight. Welcome hunger pains.

The socks seem pretty good – £2.99 – got myself 2 pairs.

On the plus side – the earlier they start work the sooner the job will be finished.

Save your back and get a couple of Polish guys in to do it for you – they’ll have a professional grade breaker and do it in no time for £150/£200.

I guess my main concern is that we don’t want to spank a load of money (we’re pretty maxed out) on a house and then have to spend another £10-£20k doing it up.

Unless you’re buying a new build you will almost certainly be spending £10-20k doing it up – that’s what have to do to houses. Contrary to popular belief they are a depreciating asset which need on going maintenance to retain their value. As a new house owner you don’t yet know what you might have to do over the next few years – replace boiler, windows, kitchen, bathroom, carpets, etc…

Welcome to the pleasure of property ownership – Good luck!

Just bought one these – best kettle I’ve owned

http://www.tesco.com/direct/russell-hobbs-18579-17l-jug-kettle-stylis-red/738-7807.prd?pageLevel=&skuId=738-7807

Was priced at £22.50 but when I got to the till I was only charged £16.50 – they’ve probably corrected this but still good value.

Is there such a thing as natural buoyancy?

Yes – you have an inbuilt buoyancy device – they’re called your lungs. Keep them full of air and you’ll float no problems. When you panic you exhale and then sink.

Yeah, might do. If I cancel his bids the price will plummet from £180 to £23

Take a note to the next highest bid, cancel bids, then get a mate to bid it back up – just don’t make it too obvious.

I still seem happy enough to celebrate Christmas, though!

Christmas isn’t really a Christian festival – it’s the pagan midwinter festival that the Christians just hijacked and renamed. All the fun parts of Christmas – Feasting, presents, decorations, singing predate the boring Christian stuff. Same with Easter – it’s the pagan Spring festival celebrating new life – hence Easter bunnies, eggs, chicks, etc.

So you’re really celebrating pagan festivals not Christian ones.

Most people start off as religious due to indoctrination as a child by parents, school, church, etc. By the time they’re teenagers or young adults they’re most likely agnostic and leave it at that. It’s only a minority that make the next step to becoming atheist. So we’re probably an Agnostic country – certainly not a Christian country.

I’d happily keep paying the 53p a year if it keeps annoying people that much.

Can you also pay the 53ps of the millions of people who don’t want to pay it.

(Does the 53p include all the hidden costs that aren’t published?)

What exactly is the purpose of these Royal tours

To show Australians and New Zealanders their future King I believe.

Poor sods – hang on we’re going to be lumbered with them as well.

What exactly is the purpose of these Royal tours – a holiday disguised as work?

That references some quite old work, the most recent is 2006. Is there nothing more recent?

It was nonsense in 2006 – 8 years have passed and it’s still nonsense.
As far as all the anecdotal evidence – this isn’t real evidence – proper clinical trials is real evidence.

I heard on the radio last month an interview with some Chinese doctors (Proper Medical Doctors) and they were asked why there was still state run Acupuncture clinics in China – they explained that many people had imaginary ailments that they couldn’t treat so they sent them to the Acupuncture clinics for treatment.

What? Why? An article like wwaswas’s to back this up please, or you’ll come across as an idiot. I don’t know about reflexology and the other one, but acupuncture is not a placebo.

Acupuncture:

http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/acu.html

Happy now?

Include Reflexology, Acupuncture & Reiki in the same list

Is the fan working?

losing weight-does it make you ill?

Don’t you mean:

Exercise-does it make you ill?

Reflexology is Pure Quackery – might work at best as a Placebo

http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/reflex.html

Do you really have any evidence that you have wheat intolerance or is it just a bit of self/internet diagnosis? Might be an idea to seek proper medical advice before embarking on some fad diet based on anecdotal evidence.

Put the helmet in a bucket with a brick on top – add water and baby bottle sterilizing fluid and leave for a few hours.

I imagine there might be van uplifts involved on some of the days

You’ll need Extreme cover then

Stick a piece of a metal coat hanger (or similar) down the plug hole and agitate – might clear the blockage without undoing the u bend and a lot less messy.

1 week Melbs
1 Week Sydney (internal flight over)

1 day each will do you – go see the natural beauty of the country – not tourist traps & shopping malls.

Where would I locate the 3 way valve thingy to give it a whack?

Directly above (or close to) the pump – some new boilers have them incorporated or try the loft/cupboards. Before wacking it try switching from Heating/HotWater/Both several times to unjam.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DRAYTON-3-THREE-PORT-MID-POSITION-MOTORISED-ZONE-VALVE-22mm-MA1-/151082620137?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Hearing_Cooling_Air&hash=item232d39d4e9

Have you been using the boiler to heat the water over the Summer – if so if ain’t the boiler or the pump. Perhaps the 3 way valve has jammed – give it a bash with a hammer to loosen it up. You can get them reasonably cheap on ebay and they’re easy to replace yourself – did mine with no specialist knowledge – just a bit of “I’ll give it a go” spirit.

I had a pair of 130mm Marzocchi AM1s once but the AM2 & AM3s had 150mm travel. All I did was remove a 20mm piece of plastic pipe that was preventing them extending to their full length.

Time Z Strongs – £31.96 – what a bargain:

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/mtb-bmx-bike/pedals-pedals-mtb-time-z-strong-freeride-pedals/timepedm355000000000

This is more usually a problem with some models of Fox 36s and floating rotors – solution is to file off 1/2mm of material from the brake mounts.

The new Superstar floating rotors hole design means you’ll end up with uneven wear – two concentric circles with a strip in between. Surely the the strip will wear less than the holed area – you’ll end up with a ridge in the middle and troughs either side.

How much to buy a half decent road bike – what would I get for <£1000?

Maritime museum – I found very interesting and it was good to see a Non-English centric view of the exploration of the world.

What you going to do when she doesn’t/can’t pay the rent – kick her out?

Endura – there are 2 types of Endura photochromatic glasses – one has a much larger range (80%-20%) – £65+. If they’re about £35 they’re not so good (40%-10%).

http://www.endura.co.uk/Product.aspx?dept_id=138&prod_id=557

http://www.fundsmith.co.uk

I’d would never recommend an investment but take a look at the website, watch the video clips and make your own mind up.

Surely the source of problem is the neighbour.

Rabbit -> Pen -> Noise -> Upset Neighbour -> etc

Source of problem is the rabbit

Ever thought of removing the source of the problem – get rid of the rabbit?