They need to start making MTB clothing out of whatever it is Boris is coated in.  You’d come home from every ride as clean as a whistle.

I don’t think Dom is done with him yet though.

They need a “bullshit” button installed in the house like on the last leg.
That’ll liven things up a bit

Whitewash;

a deliberate attempt to conceal unpleasant or incriminating facts about a person or organization in order to protect their reputation.

Greywash;

a deliberate attempt to conceal unpleasant or incriminating facts about a person or organization in order to protect their reputation.

Boba Fett became such an iconic character in the ’80s partly because of the cool armour but also because he was a sinister enigma. He barely said anything, the armour made him mysterious, Darth Vader treated him almost like an equal and he was obviously a threat to the heroes.

The sinister figure from the Empire Strikes Back doesn’t seem to be the same Boba Fett that is now hiring mods on brightly coloured scooters, taking his helmet off at every opportunity, needing rescued in fights and often looking a bit bemused or caught out by events.

This pretty much sums up my thoughts on the show.  Plus, Boba Fett in the 80’s wasn’t a Kiwi…  Just saying…  I also thought it was impressive he put on weight whilst in the Sarlac pit!  But, pedantry aside, it’s good fun.  My son loves it and we’ve been watching it together (after we binged Mando over Christmas, he’s finally getting into Star Wars which has made me very happy!)  I actually think it’s almost incidental that the main character calls himself Boba Fett.  It really doesn’t feel like he’s the same as the cool bad guy I remember from my childhood.

I loved the Mando episode this week, really looking forward to another season of that. BOBF is a nice aside I suppose whilst waiting.  And a vast improvement over the latest film trilogy.

Endura Humvee shorts from god knows when.

I had an old pair of Endura baggy shorts from the early 2000’s that took dogs abuse and lasted forever.  Way beyond what I’d expect from kit these days.  They eventually expired when I crashed and literally tore the arse out of them.

The other day I was listening to what must now be his final appearance on Clue.  Truly sad but he left such an incredible legacy, I suspect I’ll still be laughing at his jokes for a long time yet.

I just can’t see how anyone can defend it or come away with any other impression than them just laughing at you and treating us all with utter contempt

It’s starting to become utterly exhausting, being so angry with them the whole time (and by ‘them’ I mean the whole sodding system).  I can’t decide if I should become more political and active and make a really big noise about this or just give up, switch off all media and ignore it all as it feels like it’s impossible to change any of it.

Haven’t been for a week or so so it may be better now but the Ridge climb (up to where the bench used to be / the wall) is blocked in a few places.

That’s passable now.  We were up there last week.

Most of Mabie is passable, there are still some small sections that are blocked and a lot of the off-piste is destroyed.  I believe Ae has been very badly hit, not sure about Drumlanrig.  Dalbeattie has quite a bit of damage in places but you can still link up enough trails.

Well I ordered a Pace RC529 which turned up a week or so ago.  First impression was that I fitted the bike so much better, felt far more relaxed and less aggressive a position than I’m used to.  Wide bars are, well, very wide and the long wheelbase caused me some issues on tight turns.  First descent and I reverted to type and slid back on the saddle so the front felt really light and a bit sketchy.  I’m struggling with the concept of weighting the front, it feels very alien at the moment and I’m sure I’m over exaggerating my posture and look ridiculous.  When I do get it right the bike feels very stable and picks up speed far too easily.  Gave myself a bit of a fright!  It is very different.  I went riding with a younger colleague who kept telling me I was riding “like someone from the 90’s”.  I did point out that I went on my my first MTB ride (of sorts) in 1989!

Come up to Scotland and see how much slack the public cut him (even his MPs up here think he is an arse)

My MP is Alister Jack….  I think it’s fair to say I’ve spoken to no-one else around here who share’s his particular enthusiasm for Boris.  But then I probably don’t move in the right circles.

Are you over 50? Do you vote Tory? Are you out for only yourself? Tight bastard?

You’ll fit right in here if it’s a yes to any of those.

To be fair you find that in a lot of rural locations, I’m not sure it’s that much worse here than other places.

I grew up in Dumfries and hated it, couldn’t wait to leave, but as I got older I appreciated what the wider area had to offer more and more. I came back 10 years ago with my wife to raise our kids here. We don’t live in Dumfries but further west. I work in a rural industry so finding work wasn’t hard. I love the region, we have great mountain biking, great road riding, great beaches, loads of water sports, fantastic running and some really lovely, properly wild hills devoid of the large crowds you find further north.  There is definitely issues, it’s remote and not well served by transport links, the council are hopeless and make some very questionable decisions. If Dumfries could get some serious investment and the high street revitalised it could be a lovely town. One way that will happen, of course, is if more people come to live here.

Mogg bombed spectacularly on Newsnight. Came across as not that bright at all.

but it’s impossible for me to express in words the sheer amazingness of the NHS when the shit really hits the fan. It’s honestly mesmerising. The speed and resources that they can bring to bare astounds me.

Wholeheartedly agree.  Bit off topic but our youngest was rushed into A&E after a nasty fall, she must have been just about a year old at the time.  They were worried about her neck but couldn’t find a brace for a child so small so the doctor in charge of A&E held her head in place for two hours solid whilst they carried out all the checks, scans and moved her between departments.  She did this whilst she also directed all the staff, ensured everyone was doing what they were meant to, got their breaks when they should and that my wife and I were looked after too.  I was completely overwhelmed by her professionalism and the way the whole organisation kicked into gear to ensure my little girl was properly looked after.  Felt very small and like my job was utterly insignificant in comparison.  We went back to say thank you after our daughter was discharged with a huge bunch of flowers and a massive box of chocolates but she was busy with another patient so we didn’t get to say thank you in person but I hope she – and the rest of the department – understood just what an incredible job they do day in day out.  Especially now.

I did it and found it really hard – mostly as my first stint at uni was before computers and the internet took over, so essays were written by hand and books taken out of an actual library.  I also suspected a lot of the content and lectures were generally worthless in a professional capacity as they bore very little relationship to the work I was doing on the ground.  It’s fair to say I really didn’t enjoy it, but I did discover you could put the lectures on 2X speed (so everyone sounded like a chipmunk) and with bluetooth headphones I could carry on with stuff around the house whilst listening.  I never got the hang of reading papers online though, utterly hated that.  Fair to say I became that mature student who mumps about the whole time whining about what a load of bollocks it all is, though in my defence work were paying for it (so I wasn’t feeling that pressure) and I was studying for a qualification in an industry I have worked in on and off for most of my life so it was a box ticking exercise more than anything else.

Does anyone else remember some review left of Lord of the Rings where the guy said it was all well and good going on a quest to Mt. Doom to destroy the one ring but they could have saved themselves a lot of bother if they’d just shipped it there via Parcelfarce and then sent Sauron the tracking number…

We’ve ran G-suite for several years but are just about to make the switch to 365.  The main reason is compatibility with other organisations (all on 365) and using Teams, which seems to work so much better than Google Meet.  We also do a lot of work in Office, preparing reports and working in excel etc, etc and the Google version – docs and sheets – we feel isn’t anywhere near as good.  I’m hoping we’re not going to be making a big mistake!

I’d like to think that somewhere deep within No. 10 someone is having a full on Malcolm Tucker moment right now!

I’ve been around dogs my entire life. My dogs always end up as my constant companions, we go virtually everywhere together and my current hound comes with me to work which can be very long days out by myself so I chat to him all day long. I recently lost a dog early to cancer which was heartbreaking, I still chat to her all the time too. There’s a really lovely book called ‘Never Leave The Dog Behind’ by Helen Mort which is about our relationship with dogs and mountains which I’d thoroughly recommend. Though I read it whilst my older dog was very ill and dying which was not the best time. Kept getting misty eyed…

If he was a registered architect then you have redress through the ARB (Architect’s Registration Board) who are there to protect consumers from architects who don’t fulfill their duties properly.  If your architect was indeed registered they are the organisation to approach if you have a grievance.

I have a Paramo Ostro which is great but quite heavy duty, so only really for days where I think it’s going to get a bit nasty.  I also have a Patagonia airshed pullover (I think, it’s a few years old now) which my father in law got me as a present from the states.  That’s amazing, so lightweight and really breathable.  I wear that a lot, packs down to nothing too so I can stash it in my shorts pocket as an emergency layer.  Patagonia stuff is expensive but some of the best made running kit I’ve used.

I can’t wait to try this new style of riding out!  Just need to decide on the bike and hope that all the components required are in stock.  Which seems to be the biggest problem right now…

The geo shift and larger wheels make such a difference (especially as I am tall)

I had spent most of my life riding bikes way too small for me as at 6’5″ sizing up for more reach had bever been an option

Both of these comments are very intriguing, I’m 6’2″ and was always on the cusp between an L and an XL frame.  Echoes what Cy also said in that interview, older XL frames were like gates.  I hated riding them, so I’d go for the L and use a longer stem and a layback post.  And whilst the bike was more ‘chuckable’ I had a long length of seatpost in the way!

my times and averages on my regular loops are about the same as my old bike

I’d love for that to be the case but I’m not as young nor as fit as I used to be!  The head remembers how I used to ride but the legs protest…

If you’re somewhere around New Abbey the wee cafe in the village sells a walking map that has a few trails in it – but there are literally trails everywhere, admittedly most of which aren’t mapped on the OS. And a fair few on the OS that don’t exist anymore! I’ve lived here most of my life so know the area and I’d be happy to share some local knowledge. Used to be a regular on here a LONG time ago but took some time off bikes after the kids turned up, slowly working my way back into it again and discovered that technology has left me behind!

Basically go somewhere scary, get some fear, then stay there until you get used to it and the fear subsides.

Well if there’s enough of a drop the chances of me moving particularly quickly are nil so that might work!

I have though of going climbing, but figured it would be better to be out on rock than an indoor wall. I don’t get scared on indoor walls at all.

I have a Freelander 2 which I have to admit I love, though the boot is a touch smaller than I’d have liked. I do a lot of road miles to site then some off-roading once there and it copes with it all perfectly.

I have a Silva trail runner 2 which is excellent. It has a dual light, so a spot combined with a wide angle which gives a really good spread of light and makes running more technical trails a bit easier than my previous Petzl which was either spot or wide angle. Can’t really fault it and the burn time off the USB rechargeable battery is pretty long.

He could have sat on his @rse and claimed his MPs salary, racked up some more pension all at the state’s expense and money he doesn’t need. Instead he stands down and provides an opportunity to another candidate in a very safe Tory seat.

Looking at his family history for ‘tax efficiency’ I think you can guarantee all future earnings will in some way be at the state’s expense regardless of his employer.

The ring walks are getting a bit silly these days.

Why did folk choose the picken-flick over the tempest?

It’s feels so one sided I’d almost feel guilty watching.

I’ve been mulling over a bike like this for a while and got put off the BBB by the post on here a while back about a frame failure and subsequent customer service issues. Doesn’t mean that’s the norm obviously, but I’d be really interested in the Grit.CX long term review. The Picken-Flick thread caught my eye as well. The range of this type of bike is staggering. Far more so than when I got my first CX years ago.

I went off Maxxis tyres after having two Ignitors LUST tyres warp when set up on UST rims. There was an awful wobble in them that I just couldn’t get rid of, they were sitting perfectly on the rim too. Shame as I loved the grip from the tyre, but the wobble was horrible.

Somafunk you’re based in Galloway aren’t you? I am in the SW too and wanted a stove that would cope with the incessant wind we get here – which is where the windburner seems to excel.

Thanks, it does look like the windburner gets a lot more praise than any of the Jetboil stoves.

I like!

I cannot afford.

Will add to the list of bikes I like but cannot afford.

It is a long list.

Well for balance I prefer the road lens! I tend to lean towards a grey or clear lens for MTB rather than a contrast lens like the trail. It is a nice lens, TBH I liked it more for road riding on a dull day than for use in the woods.

The last time I used a bothy I had intended to camp out on the hill that night but the weather turned a tad biblical and when the wind lifted the tent up off the ground I decided to retreat down to a bothy I knew of in the valley. The weather worsened as I approached the bothy, it was pitch black, there was a howling wind and it was starting to rain. I could see a light on and hoped the place wasn’t rammed. It was. Packed full of young lads all sitting round the stove drinking. I wasn’t all that hopeful of a warm welcome or finding any space. But I was proved very wrong. They were amazed that anyone had been out on the hill and even more amazed by the effort I’d put in during the day (I was running and wild camping). They made room by the fire, I was given a cup of tea and found a space for me to sleep. We all sat chatting and sharing some whisky for a while. It was a good night in the end!

I’d hunt around and see if you can get a Berghaus Vapour Storm cheap anywhere. They can be had for less than £100 if you hunt around. Fits your requirements perfectly.