Hi Cougar

re “WHN will need to renounce their appointment as co-executors of the Will. Our costs for preparing the deed of renunciation is £250 plus vat (total of £300). You”

this just needs form PA15 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/form-pa15-give-up-probate-executor-rights

I filled this in with my mother so i could be sole executator, but i guess if they are  giving up executor role is rrasonable for them to charge a fee for the work involved.   But it is just 10 minutes work at most.

re “What are you keeping track of? So far my notes has been two sheets of A4 and a bicolour pen.”

yes – i  cpuld have used  paper and a biro – but i work in IT  so spreadsheet is my standard tool for tracking simple stuff and adding things up,     plus easy to paste info from spreradsheet in to online forms.

The gov.uk site has made somethiing that was previously throught, achievable for the average person.  It also means that what you put on the forms gets valisdated so less likely to get rejected, and  means that scope for clerical error at the civil service end is reduced.

All the stuf we say at work about  ‘digital’ workflow is true!

Tim

I did my father probate myself,   but it was simple as my mother was the sole beneficiary, and the house was in joint names.

In some respects it is easier to do it yourself that   interact with a solicitor, and have to chanse them.

It  needs care to deterrmine the correct forms and the IHT froms that need to be filled in depend on the size of the estate.   But all the information is on gov.uk

The banks and utilities have special breavement teams who are geared up to assist and explain what needs to be done and tend to have mush more customer focused staff than a normal call centre.

Use a spreadsheet to keep track of everything.

Sounds like you have the complications of  a house to dispose of which will probbaly be the most complicated part and you will probably want professional advice about that, but you will prpably want probaate first before you move on to that part.

The XT  chaminset and BB  behaves a bit like that on my fargo.

I have assumed that there is a misalignment in the threads or it needs facing.

I underrstand that Shimanio  mount  the bearing in plaastic cups inside  metal thread in part,  and  this allow for a bit of  bending of the plaastic when one bangs then axel through. When i have taken the chainset off to  change a chain ring, it has gone back in much easier.

BB seems to last  a reasonable time.  But I woudl not fit a non Shimanio BB with out the teh pastic cups.

Had to tap in my GRX cranket in to On-one Freeranger but with  with less force.

But on my Saracen road bike the  crank set just needs a  shove with a hand to go in.

I tend to put a small smear of grease on thre axel before instaling.

Yes back of Thirlmere road is shut,  though i gather cyclist are still climbing around the fences closing it.  You have to walk along teh top of the wall holding your bike in one hand over the drop down tothe resevoir, and then  push back a fence pannel,  but of course,   you coul get there and find they have made it more secure.  Or a tree could fall down on you.

If you do  not mind riding along the A591 for about 3km  from  where the St Johns in the vale road joins, you can take the track  through the forest from the Swirls car park. which  will take you to the road juction at the north end of Thirlmere.   You can then pick up the cycle path up to Dumail coll from Steel End farm.

It is the track thay used to take school children by minibus when they were doing the roadworks a few years back

A few weeks back comming back from  Dumfireis in the rain in ‘touring’ mode, i just rode allomng the A591,  It was Ok , I did pull off the road a few times to let traficm like buses pass.

It seems like a good plan.

I would think that you will be able to camp without booking.   Probably best to have the flexability to modify plan acording to weather.

Be  careful with your bikes,  I gather that bike theft in Amsterdam is a big problem just like in London.  So need a hotel with bike storeage.

No problem with cycling in to Amsterrdam done it lots of times,  but  if you find a good campsite, getting a train in good as well.    The coast route is great when the weather is good.  But if wet and  windy using trains is a good option.

Even in age of online maps  probably worthwile buying a cycle map from a tourist office when you arrive.

For my recent Ireland  cycle camping tour I got  a  movement detecting bike alarm  with a siren from Amazon.

This was because some friends got their bike stolen ona campsite near Edinburgh in may with their locks being cut whilst they slept.

If i was a iPhone user I would have got the Knong Scout alarm.

It seems madness to do the rebrand without actualy being in the position to offer all the additional services that Musk is taling about a ‘everything’  app as having.

In my experience MucOff is a bit thick and not good at  sealing a tyre in these curcumstance.

Had a wheel that would not seal with MucOff selant but sealed with the more runny Hutchinson Air Max.  But it could have been something else that sealed that wheel.

I also find that bouncing around  the wheel  on the ground  (with wheel upright) and turning it every few bounces is a good way of getitng sealeant to where it needs to be to sort out imperfections.

I would go to Baysbrown campsite down the valley.

The Physio that visited my mum as she was recovering after a fall recommended having a additional hand rail fitted on her stairs plus a handle on the corner rather than a stair lift, and then arranged for these to be fitted for free. Then she came and got my mum acustomed to using the stairs again.

My mother has got on well with these and climbs and descends the stairs slowly but safely, I gave her a over the body sling bag (from Decathlon) that she uses to carry things in so she can have both hands free to use the hand rails.

She is 91 with a pacemaker and issues with her back – uses a rolator or a stick for walking outside the house

The exercises the physio has taught her to do, and she now does every day, have really helped her to maintain her mobility and confidence.

The community services have been very effective in keeping her at home.

https://cyclewise.co.uk/bike-hire-demo-bikes/bike-hire/

at Whinlatter near Keswick

or Biketreks Grizedale near Ambleside https://www.bike-treks.co.uk/pages/hiring-bookings

Every one is different and putting aside public health concerns.

I have only had COVOD once and it was unpleasant for a week. But bassed on evidence available last autumn I exercised gently for a week or so after testig clear, due to concerns about long term impact.

Depending on houw your symptoms progress – you may be feeling ‘pretty roughth’on Monday in which case your ability to drive a car safely may be impacted.

You may just feel like doing nothing and resting,

Hope you have it mildly and all the best.

Various loops including Westmoreland Borrowdale.

Further in to the lakes Claife and Grizedale.

East side of Kentmere and over to Troutbeck

Not taken a bike down Wet Sleddale for about 20 years but I remember it as wet. It’s turned wet again after a dry period so I would give it a miss now.

Re “We wonder if that bike shop is still there in Reigate..?”

Thre family retired a few yesrs back and sold the shop to Balfies Bikes.

In my childhood the finch family had two shops side by side an electrical goods shop and bicycle and moped shop. One son ran the bike shop and te other the electrical shop. The electrical shop closed sometime in the late 1980’s.

I still have the 5 speed Falcon flat bar Super tourist I purchased from Finch’s when i was 16, currenly in storeage in my loft.

7 days for the TNR is easily doable with not much luggage as a pleasure rather than an ordeal.

I have done it a few times and about 100 km a day with the rsulting climb per day is about right.

I have found that getting some one to hold bike against a fence (with handlebars over fence) and then standing on the spanner tends to work. Might be best to borrow a big adjustable hammer from a mate if you do not have one.

I have a 46/34/24 from Spa on one of my touring type Bikes and I like it alot, nice low gear for getting over alpine passes with luggage and high enough for riding without luggage. Get the right length BB to match your front mech chainline.

Society needs to accept that more resources need to be spent on healthcare including social care. This is needed due to an ageing population and advances in medicine meaning people are living longer and thus having more complex needs.

Changes in lifestyles could reduce NHS demand but it is unrealistic to think this is the solution.

It is also unrealistic to think that growth in the UK economy could provide the expected resources.

So as a society we will need to accept that resources need to move out of less productive parts of the economy. For example the hospitality sector and retail. Less people employed in take away food and coffee shops and more in social care.

With global warming we need less consumption of imported consumer goods, and money redirected to healthcare.

Same applies to expenditure on leisure travel, and resulting expenditure on aircraft, fuel etc.

Government should cut vanity projects such as nuclear weapons, aircraft carriers and high speed rail. But cutting these programs will probably not give enough money or resources alone. But it would be a signal that government has recognised that change is required.

Since the shift from hospitality to health care will move expenditure from personal consumption to public expenditure it has to be matched by an increase in taxation.

These taxes need to be targeted at hospitality sector, leisure travel, consumer durables (including mountain bikes). Maybe this needs to be phased so private sector investors stop investing in these activities.

Just taxing the rich and wealthy is unlikely to produce the required revenue and changes in resource allocation.

However because we are a democracy a government has to be elected, and this stops political parties proposing a realistic policies. There is an incentive for ‘having your cake and eating it’ policies which applied to both Johnston and Corbyn in their different ways.

That is not to let the Torries off for their incompetence, and the impact of austerity on the NHS.

On the 20 year old estate where my mother lives there is a management company controlled by the residents. The two directors pay half the fees of everyone else, this is incentive to be director. It works well.

How about building walls with blocks and a poured concrete roof reinforced by steel and have steel security doors – https://www.lathamssteeldoors.co.uk/?

https://www.mountainwarehouse.com/magic-touch-screen-mens-glove-2-pack-p13400.aspx/black/

£6.99

see https://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Other-broadband-queries/Setting-up-a-second-vodafone-router-as-an-access-point/td-p/2617499

Someone is asking the same question, this thread say what to do.

Connect the Lan Ports on the two routers with a cable, turn off DHCP on the 2nd router. Set up Wifi on your 2nd router.

The key point is do not use the WAN port on your 2nd router.

I have a Honda Jazz, I have a Honda Advanced up to 2L Jump starter (it has a lithium battery pack) it has restarted muy Jazz when I was stupid enough to leave it parked for a few days in the garage with the interior light on.

If you are using a fairly thick sealant, try using a thinner more liquid sealant. As other person has said flexing of tyre may open up a hole and it may bein a place where current sealant is not reaching.

You can mix between the two if you want.

Enjoyed the trip reports, got me in the mood for my much shorter trip down through France to Italy.

RE dependency on the phone

Having lost my phone on a cycle trip through France to Italy this summer (but I did get in back in the end as some hikers found it, and showed it to another cyclist why knew me) on my next trip I will definitely take a spare phone.

If any one need to get a new phone in France in similar circumstances – I found a Carrefour hypermarket is the place to go to get a SIM free phone, and Tabac / open all hours store is the place to get a pay as you go SIM, had to use a French address to activate the SIM online (using wifi) , I had to provide photo of ID but I di dnot have to provide proof of address.

Re charging batteries I have used – charge in toilet block and dynamo to charge batteries.

If leaving in toilet block I normally leave battery late at night and retrieve it very early. Plus label battery and charger with name and contact details.

I now have a https://pedalcell.com/ rim driven dynamo. Much better set up than hub dynamo plus adaptor that I have used before.

Have a good winter looking forward to your next adventure.

Tim

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St Malo to Nice is a great ride, a few holiday companies have organised rides and one can be ‘inspired’ by the routes outlines they have on their web sites.

IR35 is not being repealed, just rolling the rules back to what they were before they may end client responsible for determination of IR35 status.

In my view many (probably the vast majority) of engagements in the IT sector which are analyst/programmer type of roles will continue to be within scope of IR35, based on my past experiencing of engaging and managing contractors in the past. But now managers at the end client doing what I used to (and got out of management :-) ) will not get involved in determining IR35 status.

I have Teravail Cannonball 700c 47mm tyres on my Free Ranger.

The Planet-X size guide set large for my 185cm height, but I preferred the stack height of the XL and extra foot overlap clearance (I have size 12 feet) so I went for a XL and put a 10 mm shorter stem on it – which brought the frame + stem reach in to match the L which has a 10 mm shorter stack. Very happy with the steering feel with 90mm stem and 47 mm tyres.

I got mine as a frame only. Paint quality is excellent. Threads on bottle cage mounts are slight poor quality. The rear through axle needs a shove to get it to align right with threads. I got it in there clearance sale prior to the new colours, so happy with the quality for the ‘price’

If you want a flat bar bike better to buy one with flat bars, too much change that the sizing is wrong if you try and swop, and you will need to change brake/gear leavers which makes no economic sense – plus not straightforward getting one that will be compatible.

I think there is some variation in mounting points on forks.

on my touring bike, Tara is mounted on rear tabs and the end of the tube on rack are pointing forward.

Haver you tried both way round?

I did this in the other direction a month or so back.

The visitor centre at Wycoller Country Park has public toilets, and i think I remember a water tap.

when you cross the main road (Kelbrook Road ) at Barnoldswickif you head down in to town (turn right) for a few 100m there is a Petrol Station with ministore good for resuply

When i did it the fields were dry like they are probably now so ok to cycle, but takes time.

I was doing a 2 day bike packig trip starting from Kendal, so picked up PBW at Clapham.

Passed through Settle about 12:00 lunchtime, was down at Hebdon Bridge at about 9:00 in the evening. With less lugaagge i exprect you will make better time.

Lots of gates to open and close, all adds up.

When I rode it last summer, the softest sandy bits were un-ridable on 2.1 inch mountain bike tyres, so might as well ride on your gravel bike.

300 KM on an audax from Newcastle up to Alstone and then up to Scotland and back. Left about 8:00 and back a bit after one in the morning.. In a group most of the way so some following.

As a solo ride last summer on the 1st day of a bikepacking trip 261km from Kendal to Bangor. left Kendal about 5 in the morning, arrived in Bangor about 9:30 in the evening.

Yesterday a 170 ride from Surrey in to Sussex and back. Longest ride so far this year.

Been through this with my mother, who did agree not to start driving again after she recovered from a fall which meant she did not drive for a few months.

Best to frame the conversation about
a) The parents ability to react quickly enough to another driver making a mistake.
b) The consequences for someone else if an accident occurs.

Think how they can get the support they need to not get stuck in the house.

Thanks – this has brought viewranger and my purchased maps back to life.

is inexpensive and if stored carefully should not go out of calibration.

Calibration is probably not the right word, my choice of words shows that I an not an engineer

Topeak Combo Torq Wrench

is inexpensive and if stored carefully should not go out of calibration.

Sorry folks, but much of the info posted above is incorrect….

…..The main thing though is that you do not determine if your contract is inside or outside IR35 (which used to be the case), the company who you’re contracting for does.

I agree with IHN the company has to decide. Most large companies are risk adverse, I was involved in this when it came in at the company I work for and all the contractors in developer type roles were judged to be in scope of IR35.

Working via a umbrella company (at an appropriate rate) can work well for some as there is flexibility to vary how much you work each month according to project need and the developers preferences. For example go on riding for 4 weeks between projects.

Tim

Vodafone and EE have licences for different frequency bands and each does not necessarily use all the frequencies in all locations or all for 4G plus not all devises use all the frequencies.

The differing frequencies have different characteristics regarding how far they transmit, the penetration of buildings and the bandwidth they support.

Historically the frequencies licenced to Vodafone travel further than those licenced to EE. So EE needed more towers. If has EE build these towers in the right place for you then thru can provide better performance than Vodafone. But it all depends on location.

Then you have to factor in the performance of the network backhauling from the mast to the main network, and then the peering between the network and the rest of the internet.