Can’t help thinking that the projected spend on HS2 might be better used maintaining and enhancing our existing transport infrastructure.

The Lidl ones are crap though, at least in my machine. Taste OK, just that the plastic pods don’t work very well.

Recently revised pod design has a foil cap top and bottom – so they now work a lot better than they used to. I reckon that the Modena Lungo ones (blue/black cube packaging) make a good-enough cup of coffee for the office at a reasonable price.

Votes here for two that have already been suggested: Lidl low GI cob and Aldi malted bloomer. Tasty.

Mate 10 Pro can currently be had for £382 from Amazon – ordered one yesterday as an update for an aging Motorola G3..

A cold glass of Bia Hoi in my favourite bar in Hanoi.

When you check the brake clearance remember to check both front and rear wheels – likely to have different brake setups, so need to be sure that smaller diameter space saver hub clears both. Also worth checking wheel nuts/bolts to ensure they’re OK and that you can do them up tightly enough (thick normal alloys / thinner steel space saver).

Have been pleasantly impressed with these polarised safety glasses that work very well on the bike . . . http://www.safetybootsuk.co.uk/cofra-lightning-polar-safety-glasses-with-polarized-lenses-anti-scratch-coating – an absolute bargain at around £15 a pair + delivery.

Can certainly get a very low “simmer” on the AEG induction hob I use (has a decent number – 14 – of heat increments available); trying to get the same very low heat with a barely-on-and-all-too-easily-blown-out gas hob would be tricky.

For the G6 Plus is there anywhere in the UK apart from Carphone Warehouse that sells this as a SIM-free unlocked phone ?

In my experience the manufacturing quality is often not as precise as pukka GoPro, especially any supplied brackets, cases and suchlike – often don’t fit together very well, and likely to break more easily (brittle plastics that aren’t tough enough to survive the abuse they often attract).

Is that the one with the little projector?

No – I’ve got the version without the projector – at least £100 cheaper (got mine from Argos when they had it on offer).

Been using a Lenovo Tab 3 Plus for a while now – the QHD display is fantastic, and the Dolby Atmos sound is also pretty impressive for a tablet. Good battery life and stable software. Would buy another one without hesitation if the current one got pinched.

Cabinet Supplies in Union Street, Plymouth . . . . an Aladin’s cave of bits and bobs, established in 1928 and thankfully still going strong.

I wonder if threading chain through a Kevlar or fabric sleeve would slow down an angle grinder attack (working in the same way that chainsaw jeans shred to clog an errant cut)?

Most of the cement sold in DIY stores will be a CEM II blend – which will be lower strength (32,5 or maybe 42,5), but is likely to make a more workable mix (due to what’s in the CEM II blend – usually cement plus a proportion of either fine limestone, PFA or GGBS). CEM I is getting increasingly difficult to buy – you might be able to get some in your local builder’s merchant – it is likely to be higher strength (52,5) and is what used to be called OPC.

Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Plus user here – hi-res screen, excellent Dolby Atmos sound, expandable memory using microSD card and USB-C, and very long (18 hours or so) battery life. Would buy same again without hesitation.

An infrared heater will work quite well.

Seem to remember paying around £7/kilo for last year’s offering from Aldi (their “Roly Poly Bronze”) – was very tasty and would certainly buy again.

In the last couple of years the fresh turkeys were only in store in the week before Christmas. My 2 local Aldi branches both had reasonable stock and seemed to be able to cope OK with demand. However, not sure that the same will be the case this year – have noticed fewer “basket” shoppers and more “fully loaded trolley” shoppers in the stores, so suspect that more people are doing their full weekly shop there than in previous years, so guess the demand for Aldi’s turkey and all the trimmings could be higher this season.

Picked up one of these in white from Currys for a very reasonable £130ish last weekend – surprisingly quick to fire up, very straightforward to use and knocks out a perfectly drinkable brew.

Another vote here for Anker stuff; have also found that Amazon “Basics” cables are generally reliable/decent quality/good value.

Kingsand/Cawsand on the Cornish side of the Tamar would be just about within your 45 minute commute (especially on a motorcycle – they queue-jump on the Torpoint ferry). If you have the time to pick and choose and have a suitable budget there are some very localised nice spots – I live in a PL1 postcode (in general not good), but the few streets surrounding where I live are well established and pretty quiet, the neighbours talk to each other and there’s a good local pub; I’ve had no problems in the 27 years that I’ve lived there.

Don’t know if its any good, but maybe something like this ? – 27″ QHD for £209 inc delivery.

Hire one for a weekend ?

This jacket [/url] might be worth a punt at £30 ?

Currys offer a free recycling service, even if you haven’t bought anything from them – info

Cheers everyone, and especially Johndoh, ended up just ordering some notes from Currency Club. Quite likely just withdrawing cash from an ATM over there would be just as good but I’m happier having it all in hand

– worth letting your bank know that you’re travelling if you are thinking about using an ATM while overseas – might avoid them thinking that someone is illicitly using your card (which can trigger the ATM to eat your card). I’m like you and prefer to have cash in hand, but the ATM would be my emergency fall-back, so I would need it to work.

If you’re doing the biking with an organised provider then it might be worth asking them if they offer an insurance add-on to their own third party liability cover – would save you being covered (and paying) for MTB on the days when its not needed. Alternatively you might find that there’s basic cover with an ordinary travel policy – for example Asda’s travel policies provide personal accident and personal liability cover for “Mountain biking (not including downhill racing and extreme ground conditions” as standard, with an option to provide extra cover for an additional fee.

Lezyne Micro Drive 450XL Y10 in Evans @ £42 looks to be a reasonable buy . . . probably not going to be up to riding at full speed over rough tracks, but sounds like your ride tomorrow is only going to dip into darkness, so this should be bright enough to get you home by.

. . . but nothing in the video to show that it can be used to rejoin a chain back together again by pushing the pin back in. Think I’ll stick to the traditional design.

http://www.avt.bike

Cheers. Ordered for collection tomorrow.

Had a custom-made silver headbadge made for a Cotic Soda a few years ago by Jen – impressive quality and prompt delivery.

Tried Ti?t canh (goat blood soup) in Vietnam recently – not to my taste, but the stir fried goat dish that followed was delicious.

Unlikely to be allowed tools in a carry-on bag. 32kg is the single bag limit with the majority of carriers – anything over that may get bumped and you’ll get charged as freight.

Still use my Howies courier bag (the one in footflap’s post above) every day – I wonder if they’ll ever make them again as I’d buy another one in a flash.

Sapa at the moment is a big building site (was there a week or so ago) – the company which operates the new cable car that runs to the top of Mount Fansipan is building a huge new hotel/complex in the centre of town – this is going to completely dominate the place. The market which used be be just off the main street has been moved to the edge of town near to the bus station – might be more convenient for the traders and tourist coaches, but has lost its character and has left a big void in the heart of the town. Still worth a visit, but changing rapidly.

Hanoi – very easy to while away several days there drinking Bia Hoi and soaking up the atmosphere. Agree with comments about choosing Cat Ba rather than Halong Bay. Hoi An old town is nice, but the nearby resorts are characterless. Wasn’t particularly enamored with HCM – much prefer Hanoi.

If you want to avoid the hassle of organising everything yourself then look up a Hanoi-based tour company called More Fun Travel – very professional and 101% reliable.

Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i should do most of the things that you want.

Bia Hoi in my favourite bar in Hanoi. At 10,000 VND (about 30p) a glass it’s way too easy to consume many more than “Just the one” . . . 🙂

8 months in with a bought-from-new latest generation F56 3 door Cooper S hatchback – 4 cylinder 2 litre turbo 192 BHP engine with manual gearbox, 17″ normal tyres and optional variable damper control – surprisingly roomy inside, rides well and is great fun to drive. No rattle issues to date. Only annoying niggle is the clunky navigation in the audio system.