+1 for the Sony BDPS370

Have managed to break two Leatherman Juice Xe6 – the same part broke each time (one of the little spring things which keeps the blades in place) – sent it back to Leatherman and on both occasions a brand new replacement was sent out within a day or two. Excellent service, but rather annoying to get repeat breakages on (from their advert) the ” beefiest in the Juice line” of multitools.

Petzl Tikka Plus 2 ? – not a hand held, but a head torch is so much more convenient if you actually have to do a task by torchlight.

BBC Breakfast said it was going to be covered by BBC News channel

If you shop around carefully there are some cracking deals to be had on Canon G12 at the moment – Amazon and CameraWarehouse have it listed at £370 but I’ve seen it below £350. Got a great write-up in Amateur Photography (link) and that was on the basis of a “typical” list price at the time of £500.

If both parts are aluminium then why not visit your friendly local engineering fabricators and see if they’ll weld the two bits together ?

Ooops – sorry – meant to say House of Fraser – which means the Dingles store in Plymouth. Example:
http://www.houseoffraser.co.uk/Tefal+Preference+26cm+frypan/141805779,default,pd.html?cgid=80188 – had more in store than there are on the web site.

http://www.embersmerino.com/Sale_c110.htm might be worth a look.

I remember that Craghoppers deal . . . a 50% off code worked on stuff that was already reduced to half price – £50 merino tops for £12.50 . The ones I got (think I ordered 5) are still keeping me warm today . . . thanks to careful washing in cold water (otherwise they tended to shrink).

Tefal Preference spotted @ half price in Debenhams Cookshop this lunchtime . . .

Put everything into one of these http://www.peliproducts.co.uk/cases/1550.html

Happy with my Citizen AT0660-05F – can be got for around £160 – titanium case and 200m water resistant. Keeps excellent time and will never need a new battery.

http://www.glannarmor.com/home.htm – rumoured to be very good.

Have often wondered about the Zeppelin – how much are you paying for the styling ? – I can’t help thinking that you should be able to out-perform an all-in-one box with a well chosen stand-alone amp and a pair of speakers. H+K Soundsticks – I use a pair of the Mark 1 version (which connected via USB) with a Macbook Pro – they still sound good after nearly 10 years of daily use.

Have had good feedback from recipients of flowers from Asda’s on-line service; would also recommend daffodils from http://www.flowerfarm.co.uk

Rumour has it that they’re planning a new route this year.

Once the nylock is off everything else can follow . . . bearings, bushes, the lot.

Only thing stopping the platform from coming off is a tiny nylock nut on the end of the spindle . . . . this only needs to undo about two turns for the nylock to stop gripping, then the nut is free to undo completely (and off comes the platform). I always use new nylocks when rebuilding pedals after maintenance and make very sure that the spindle thread is totally free of grease before applying a drop of threadlock, then the nut goes on.

Captain Jaspers– the only Jasper worth knowing about.

There's an X6 locally with the registration P 1 KEY . . . . quite apt, me thinks.

Alpkit

Just taken delivery of one of these:Roberts MP43 – iPod connection, DAB/FM radio, CD and dual alarm clock – very easy to set up, and sound quality is excellent.

uplink beat me to it – it does look like standard electrician's self-amalgamating tape – which you should be able to get from any local Maplins store or yacht chandlers.

There's a "tourist" hovercraft doing pleasure trips around Plymouth's waterfront at the moment – runs out of the Mountbatten Watersports Centre. Looks good fun, if a little noisy.

Had success in the past using a small pneumatic chisel applied upwards to the underside of a gash saddle fitted atop the seatpost – the high frequency jolts gradually worked the post loose (took a couple of minutes, but left little or no damage); combine this with a good soaking in Plusgas or similar, and some gentle heat (try wrapping an old towel tightly around the frame tube and then soak it with a kettle of boiling water). If you haven't got an air chisel try using a hammer drill (put an old bolt in the drill chuck; bring to bear upwards against a block of wood under the gash saddle).

Extractor – I can't remember if this is the right size, but if it isn't then you need the next size up; makes the job fairly straightforward. Attach this tool to a home-made slide hammer, and you're away.

Sorry – we don't have a submersible metal detector (and even if we did I'm not sure it would help – can metal detectors find non-ferrous materials ? – I assume that the ring is gold or silver).

Go lightly with grease on the moving parts – something for the dust and grit to stick to.

Well impressed with my Lupine Tesla 4 – plenty of life at middle brightness setting (gave up counting after 8 hours), combined with plenty of light at the high setting. The flash mode for road commuting is outstanding – even BMW and Chelsea Tractor drivers can see it.

100 litre bag full of stuff could be very heavy. I've a 10 year old "Medium" (70 litre) NF Base Camp Duffel which despite many trips through airport baggage handling is still virtually as good as new (save for a few scuffs) – wouldn't say it was waterproof (the seams aren't sealed) but would certainly buy another. If you need something waterproof look for an Ortlieb Big Zip (but if you thought NF was expensive . . . )

Try and get a copy of the "FF1814 Finnframe floor system" booklet from Finnforest – includes span tables and construction details. Your span / centres is certainly possible with their Finnjoist system, but the joists will be at least 300 deep.

Why not e-mail the book list back to the First Year tutor from her former course so they can put the list up on a "Freshers" notice board.

Tajikistan

Tajikistan

From the “Insurance Questions” section of the website:
“Do you insure bicycles?”
Yes, and you do not need to specially mention a bicycle unless it is valued at £4000 or more.

The Contents section will cover your bicycles when it is in your home, an outbuilding or in your garden. The Cover Away From Home section of the policy will provide worldwide cover when they are temporarily removed from your home, including being taken abroad.

If you take the “Contents away from home Cover” all your contents (including bikes up to £4k) are covered anywhere. There’s a note somewhere on the website specifically about bike cover.

Two trips – Tajikistan last summer, and Vietnam over easter this year. Two very different trips – but both fantastic fun and wouldn’t hesitate to do another of their tours. Don’t expect luxury – by the very nature of the places they go to there often isn’t much “tourist” infrastructure (thank god) – but you’ll certainly have a memorable time. Should say that Dermot (Red Spokes boss) was the tour leader on both trips and the local guides and drivers were real characters.

Did a trip through Tajikistan with a company called RedSpokes (www.redspokes.co.uk) in July last year – started in Dushanbe (Tajik) and ended up in Osh (Kyrgystan), via Khorog, Murgab and the Pamirs. We only spent a couple of days in Dushanbe – impressions were that its a “typical” former-soviet city – wide tree-lined streets, tired buildings and infrastructure (irregular water and power), lots of bureaucracy (were stopped about 4 times on the drive out of the city by local police to “check papers” – and make a small cash donation each time). However, out of the city and you’re into an amazing and beautiful country – very poor people but very open and welcoming – those with the least were the most forthcoming with tea, bread, somewhere to stay. We had a local guide to help us – absolutely essential to avoid lengthy delays at the regular check points along the roads.

Had fun getting a Tajik visa – had to present in person to the nearest Tajik Embassy (Brussels) – this might have changed by now (were rumours of a Tajik Embassy opening in London).