If you chose the Sports degree because that’s your passion then be very wary of finding yourself in a generic management job in insurance / banking / IT. Whilst this may feel like progress and pay the bills you may well regret it in 5 or 10 years time when other commitments make it harder to change direction

Beats being skint and unemployed though

Still find it hard to believe that people invest so much time and money without an idea of what they might do with their qualifications.

Unemployed is exactly that, not an unemployed whatever, just on the dole

PE Teacher seemed a good suggestion, whole lot better than being unemployed.

One question, didn’t you look into what job opportunities might be available before you did the degree?
Thought that was the idea, get a university education so you could find a better paid job along with more choice.

I don’t understand anyone moaning about a day off, I remember when May day was first suggested that some complained about having another bank holiday.

Good Friday was the only day in the year my old man worked as overtime, double time and a day off in lieu.

My back is so shot to bits it has to be at least 50p for me to make the effort

Tad early for a bit of humour then?

Should have been disallowed

Left the field of play and didn’t get permission from the ref to return

Also mustn’t forget Green Shield Stamp showrooms, when they shut quite a few became Argos shops

I remember the Green Shield catalogue, you could get a basic 1.3 Ford Cortina for about 800 books. We only had enough for a fishing reel and a chip pan, always did better on the Players No6 fag coupons.

Couple of slightly dodgy ones from me

Bata, closed after it was disclosed they made jackboots for the nazis during WW2 using slave labour

This one might ring a bell with anyone from East London, OTV in Clapton next to the canal. Dodgy looking bloke called Joe owned it and appeared in his own adverts on C4
Sold recon tellys and video machines, remember it well as it was next to my local The Prince Of Wales

No problem Alex, when ADSL first started I had quite a big role in determining avaialability and associated line loss characteristics.

You can try this Checker

I know they are actively working on a solution for those fed direct from the exchange to receive superfast broadband, but as far as I know nothing available yet.

The 1.5km I mentioned is from a cabinet to the premises, although if you are only that distance from the exchange I would have thought your BB speed to be ok. This does obviously depend on what services your exchange has enabled and to some extent the line characteristics that serve you.

If you wanted to email me your landline number and postcode I could use those services available on the net to see what you might be able to get. Cannot use BT programs now I have retired, but could probably get a fair idea just from the checkers publicly available.

We’re a couple of miles away from the exchange on a direct copper link (not through an intermediate fibre cabinet) so not sure we’re going to get mega speeds

If you are fed direct from the exchange as in not via an exisitng copper cabinet, FTTC will not be available.
This is known as an “E/O” actually stands for exchange outlet or as the majority of people in BT wrongly call it exchange only.

Obviously to receive FTTC you need to be fed via the cabinet that has the associated DSLAM (fibre cabinet) associated with it
There is also a line length limit from cabinet to premises above which superfast broadband becomes unavailable, around about 1.5km when I retired from BT last October so may have changed since.

It would still work above that length limit, but providers do not offer it because of the decreased speed and associated complaints that would inevitably arise

Where I worked one lot who occupied a large open plan office on the top floor had to wear ties.

I worked in a similar office on the ground floor and wore tee shirt, shorts and sandals then jeans or casual trousers with trainers in the winter.

No sense in it whatsoever, but as has been said if you don’t want to do it look elsewhere for a job

Maria Miller

1 Daily Mail

2 UKIP

3 Using the word “like” more than once in a sentence

Bought one of these when I was on holiday in Jersey back in the 80’s. Still got it with the original case and transformer, on battery lasted about ten minutes

My brother in law just retired after 49 years as a train driver, don’t think he misses the early starts.

Wages were very good though and believe the pension is also well worth having

Just had to queue at the cake counter where the coffeee machine is also sited. Not impressed, I wanted to buy something (apple and blackberry crumble cheesecake) and delayed by freeloading ponces getting their drink.

Then delayed again at the checkout whilst they queue to have their card swiped for the free drink, bugger all actually purchased.

We’ll still be paying for their final salary winters in Tenerife until we drop

Not quite sure how you have contributed to my private sector final salary pension, but cheers if you have. Sorry to disappoint, not keen on Tenerife or the like, so might just have to be a week or two in Austria

We certainly couldn’t afford the house we live in now, just took early retirement and my wife works term time only. Eleven year wait for state pension so don’t think we would get much of a mortgage offer on age/current income.

Live in a modest three bed end of terrace 1890’s cottage, but its all ours so think we will stay put for now.

Not keen on all this BTL business, too many properties that should be for first time buyers are being snapped up by landlords. Also wonder what happens to people who are renting then retire, where do they live once they can no longer afford the rent?

Many moons ago when I was in my late teens I met Kate Bush, she would have been about seventeen then. Her boyfriend at the time was a friend of a friend and we all went out for a drink one evening after work in Kew Bridge.

She was lovely and did actually speak just as you would expect using words like wow as in the song. Happened to be working installing phones at the dance centre in Floral St a couple of months later, saw her again there and had another brief chat.

Knew she was an aspiring singer and dancer (obviously) but that was a couple of years or so before her wuthering heights hit and was somewhat surprised to see her singing on TOTP

Very long time ago as i’m now 55 and think she is about the same age, but even back then you could tell she was different albeit in a nice way and not that surprised she made it.

Waiting In Walthamstow-The Cranberries

The one and only Buzz Wagon, just invert the W and its personalised too

Going to royally piss off that Reid woman who seems to be all over the news.

This isn’t news, just tittle tattle and fed up with the lot of them

What does he look like?

Cross between a reject from a Finnish metal band and a northern football fan

Not sure calling him a brownie hunter is so good in this country either

Only way they will achieve anything is an all out indefinite length strike

Businesses and parents would whinge so much the government would have to act especially wth an election not too far off

Waste of time pissing about with a day here and there.

Contrary to many experiences here my GP surgery is excellent.

Morning and evening appointments reserved for urgent issues and one GP starts each day at 0700 for people who need to go before work.
Nurses are first come first served in the morning and appointments in the afternoon.

Receptionists are helpful and polite with prescription renewals carried out very efficiently

About time people were charged for missing appointments by just not showing up, not even courteous enough to make a phone call to say they can’t make it

Would also use the fastest wide lens you have for maximum light gathering ability.

Haven’t read it all so apologies if this is a duplicate

Mrs R Brooks is guilty as charged

The county of London which is fortunate because I was, LCC ceased to exist in 1965 when it became the GLC

Samuel Johnson summed it up nicely “when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life”

We just moved into a new ( 110 year old) house two weeks ago and I’m finding ancient bodges(gas & electrical) which would now be illegal, daily

Bet no one has died or even been injured in those 110 years though

Only two houses I have owned have been victorian, just the way things were done then. I had a boiler fitted about fifteen years ago, since then regs changed and got issued with a dangerous notice type thing. So it was ok then, but now potentially lethal, yeah right.

Same as having to pay some sort of money to the council when you fit new windows, why? No doubt if I ever sell a buyer would want all sorts of paperwork for work done donkeys years ago, just doesn’t exist and no idea why its deemed so important.

Ah BG we had one come to give us a quote, wasn’t impresssed to be honest. The wife (who is normally mild mannered) called him rude and obnoxious and nearly kicked him out. He basically wanted her to make a decsion there and then and sign the paperwork and despite me being at work and not able to take calls was an inconvenience as he was going holiday the following week

Same sort of experience for me, ended up getting a WB Greenstar from WB appointed installer

BG bloke rang back to see if I had decided, told him no thanks and he asked why. Felt it fair to say it was because not only was his quote higher, but also that he was less than pleasant.

Are the original files large enough to print at those dimensions?

I always use the East Coast website

Just had a look on the Rotary website and this picture would suggest ma had it about right with her WW2 estimation.Looks a similar style, puts my watch at approx seventy years old give or take Rotary Watches

You may already know this, but that’s a ‘small seconds’ type

I didn’t know that, thank you for letting me know

My everyday (only other) watch is an oldie too, but lot newer than the latest one. Don’t know anything about watches apart from not keen on battery ones.

Other watch

Everyone wants compensation these days, keep it or send it back, why spend ages sending emails or making calls to ponce a couple of quid.

Same as buying something from a shop and then taking it back wanting a refund because you changed your mind. Small retailer might have already spent that money on a luxury item like food or energy costs

@highlandman-That would be the Omega Man

Clouded right up here so spent ages filling in the crazy intricate form to get a tree felled in a conservation area.

@BillMC, enjoy and bet you will wonder how you found time to go to work

@alpin- BT Engineer, started as an apprentice at 16 in 1975

@slowoldgit-My nearest one is the Nene Valley railway, but to be honest I am bit of a loner and not keen on teams or working anymore for that matter. Prefer a wander at new places with my camera (do have a tripod for landscapes, no notebook or biros though) and just doing my own thing.

Glad you enjoy it though and if you don’t mind me asking where do you volunteer?

Good luck to you OP.I hope a nice young person got your old job

So do I
Where I worked many people carried on even though they had finished paying in for a full pension, same ones moaned about how their offspring couldn’t find a job.

Ummm you do know that you shouldn’t be paying tax on any contributions you make to a pension scheme. It might be coming off your net pay if it is a private pension but all basic rate tax should be claimed and be put into your pension fund. Any additional tax (if you pay tax at a higher rate that is) you should be reclaiming as part of your annual tax return.

Perhaps I should have been clearer, they are payments to me from my pension which unfortunately are taxable over the standard allowance

Earn the most you can for least time at work and enjoy life with your family and friends

Our only proper supermarket is Waitrose and use it regularly

Some nice stuff and service is pretty good, prices are competitive especially when it would cost me petrol money to go anywhere else.
Free newspaper if you spend over a fiver with the loyalty card. shame its only the Mail, Telegraph or Guardian so just weigh in 30p for the I.

Don’t know what all the fuss is about, just another shop and no better/worse than others I have been in

shouldn’t you be queuing in the post office, or riding round on the bus, or stopping randomly in the street to shout at the pavement?

PO too damp and smells of wee, no free bus pass until i’m 66 and been doing the latter for years so bored of that now. Did consider sitting in the library to save on heating bills (no heating allowance either) but full of noisy kids 🙂