A 12v socket powered one would.

Would it? They generally use a Peltier device and the specs state a relatively poor temperature differential – I think it's around 10°C.

The proper ones with compressors in are a different beast entirely, and a lot pricier.

We went to France last August. It was over 38 degrees in places. What we found worked well was the sunroof tilted open, the sunroof blind closed and the blowers on full whack. And going fast.

The tilted sunroof lets the hot air out. A coolbox on the back seat with some cold drinks in it is nice, but they don't stay cool for long in that weather.

If it's got a roller back door then it's very likely to be a luton van (ie, cab with a big box on the back).

That'll mean quite a hit on fuel consumption, more load carrying space, and quite different mechanicals to a standard van (the heavier duty transits are RWD, the lighter duty ones are FWD).

If it's not a luton (I've seen it done), then the opening will be pretty small and there's potential for bodgery if it's not been done well.

Roller doors as a rule are generally more secure.

CO2.

I wouldn't go to those lengths. What does suprise me is how loads of places mess stuff up – the uni cafes sometimes do chicken floating in mayo type sandwich fillings. Which would in theory be edible for less strict Muslims, Jews & the occasional Hindu that only eats chicken.

But of course, being a uni with a load of international students, they mix ham or bacon in too 🙄

Sheffield stands is what they're called. Make sure they do a decent job of bolting them down or concreting them in so there's no easy way of circumventing them!

I think it would have to be something very special. The MTB equivalent of a TdF replica, say. And I'm not sure if it'll hold value – to me, any reasonably old Carbon / Alloy frame is always going to be a bit worrying, especially if it's light and the kind of bike that will get ragged (ie, I'd worry more about a Klein than I would a big heavy Giant).

Take your lid off, fit some rigid forks and you'll soon find you're having fun without getting injured all the time. The fact is that humans tend to compensate for safety devices, so if your bike will do 25mph down a section of trail, that's what you'll do on it, so that you get the thrill of danger. On the other hand, if it'll only do 15mph, you'll do that, and still be getting the same thrill / risk of falling off.

You'll probably fall off just as often, but the injuries won't be so severe.

If you find you can't manage that, perhaps you should take up 4 wheeled motorsports. It's relatively rare for people to get properly injured.

I think there's a bit of cheeky stuff around Ringland.

I once heard that the usual trick for Integrale owners was to fit an extra interior mirror on the right hand side of the car, angled so that you can see to the right of the car in front of you.

Curb your enthusiasm! Best comedy in YEARS.

All the UK stuff like Black Books, Father Ted etc. has been repeated to DEATH.

For some reason I'm typing like the Beastie BOYS.

A couple of hours trundling on a former railway line, after hitting a log on the trail with my usual panache and flair earlier in the week. Resulted in concussion and bruised ribs 😆

Decathlon do plain roadie / XC style jerseys with a little room in them. No great offensive logos, sane colours and a back pocket, though one the cheapest jerseys (the ones I buy 😆 ) the pocket is zipped rather than elasticated, which is a pain.

3 points per slide, maybe a minute or so per slide. I find the best way to present is to write a script and operate on the basis that you will only ever remember most of it.

Too much info on a slide is the biggest mistake in my view – the end result is ALWAYS people reading the slide rather than listening to you.

As with br, I take the view that a decent mechanic can figure out just about anything.

That's true. But I'd sooner not be the one paying for the mechanic's time as he takes rather longer than he should because he's learning on the job.

Don't use Word if you value your sanity. It's bad enough for producing an essay with figures, let alone page layout. Nothing ever stays where you put it.

Powerpoint will work fine, if your printer will accept it.

Personally speaking, I'd get a trial copy of Illustrator.

Crikey. A bloke's had a bit of a moan, On-one have explained what's going on. So as far as I can see, the guy who ordered the bike is going to be sorted out.

So now we have a load of people with more or less nothing to do with the matter having a barney over it.

Welcome to the internets 😆

As far as I'm concerned, if the wheels match, it's fine by me.

Says the man with different coloured rims on each end of the bike.

Vauxhall did their own QC after they recieved their cars from Lotus, and a lot went back to Lotus for rectification.

I'm deffo interested in the lid Ton, but have something of a cash flow problem at the moment. I'll get in touch in the next week or two!

John Lewis. Always cheapest, always good service.

I'd not worry about it too much. I wrote a real word perfect personal statement for my current course, and the admissions tutor told us on the first day that he didn't read a single personal statement, but went purely on grades.

The middle east needs Marmite. There's no yeast in unleavened bread (which is pretty prevalent), and that results in a lack of zinc, which apparently makes people more aggressive. Send them some marmite and they'll be right as rain.

I could buy a 'shed' & do it up, I have access to a couple of great mechanics & the highest discount from places like euro car parts, not to mention a painter that will do any bodywork, so I can get things 'on the cheap' so to speak.

No no no no no!

Either buy a minter if originality's your thing (ie, 30-40k, FVWSH) or a car that someone else has already done and done well – occasionally they do pop up on the likes of CGTI. Start going through a car properly and you're very quickly into big money – even a cheap MK2 build would run to a fair whack:

£1500-£3k for paint, depending on how good a mate the painter is and how good you want it.
£200 for shocks and springs if you go for the budget end of things.
£500+ for rebushing all the suspension.
£500 for a cheap ABF swap with you doing a lot of work yourself.
Probably £1k if you pay someone else to do it, go for the MK3 Gearbox (02A I think) and have the MK4 shifter fitted to get a decent gearchange and a box that will take the power.
Silly bits are now big money – some of the body kit parts aren't available from VW any more (or GSF, ECP etc.), so you need to buy a complete one from GPC.

Easily another grand in there for silly bits – dynamat, dinitrol, replacing parts that don't look right now the rest of the car is mint and shiney etc. Beyond that, it can easily suck up HUGE amounts of spare time – I've got a MK2 GTI in my shed that's needed a few bits of tidying up for a VERY long time now (painted, but needs some electrical work doing etc.).

Spares are generally available for old Mercs and VWs for a good amount of time – VW guarantee you can get the lot for 15 years, but plenty of MK2 parts are still available. Merc certainly used to have a policy of discounting older Merc parts as a bit of a marketing ploy to make the cars look long lived by encouraging maintenance.

On the upside, it's a 3 door.

Personally, I'd be looking for a 90 spec car and hoping to pay rather less. The car has obviously been built to look externally original, but to me, a nice Golf needs something a bit nicer than 14" Montreal alloys.

I'd say it's definitely on the pricey side – have a look at Volkswizard and the other old Golf specialists. It'll never be worth as much as a 40k all original car for the true anally retentive buyer, but the work hasn't added that much to it to someone looking for a modified car. Ultimately you'd have to look at it – if the paint's very good, and the car's had every rubber bush and engine mount replaced, maybe there's so much work in it that you couldn't find another in the same nick for less.

Or have a look on ClubGTI's classifieds.

Another one saying NOT A CHIRO. Go and see your doctor.

I went to see one after my doctor was useless. The chiro was recommended to me, and I thought perhaps it was doing me a bit of good. I was in enough pain to keep me off the bike, and it was doing my head in.

Eventually went to the doctor for a second opinion (first Doc obviously thought I was malingering), and he referred me to a physio. The physio sessions and exercises made a big difference and very quickly, whereas with the Chiro it seemed to be a very gradual thing.

I realised pretty quickly that any differences I thought the chiro was making were purely down to the placebo effect.

And of course, the physio was free on the NHS, whilst the Chiro was charging. Ultimately, it's not in their interest to fix you, even if their system did work… I remember at the time I was doing a lot of work on my car, and the chiro also reckoned I needed these very special carlos fandango kneepads, a snip at £200 a set 😆

It's normally a full vinyl wrap of the car body. Protects the paint and looks fancy / odd depending on your point of view.

I was under the impression that the BOP was there, but it's not working. The failsafe device has failed 😆

Electromagnetic fields are governed by the inverse square law.

As a result, you expose yourself to FAR stronger fields when you hoover with the cable over your arm than you do if you're living under a pylon.

I'd be amazed if many of the pylon studies are sound – houses under pylons tend to be cheaper, so you get a whole load of other effects interfering with the study. When you consider that wealth / class is one of the best predictors of how long someone will live, you can begin to see how the studies can be skewed.

Was just curious as the last one I played with was a subaru with sequential small/large with a strange bypass valve system, it was the motion of that valve system that took time and left an unpleasant dip,

I think it can be engineered out. There have been plenty of homebuilt cars with both supercharger and turbo to give low down torque and high power (I can remember a mid-engined Fiesta in C&CC), with apparently no driveability issues on the changeover.

The constraints of a production car are rather different though.

As the bloke above said, it's easiest just to deal direct.

When I got my new phone, I just rang Orange, had a bit of a chat and got my phone for the same price as a cashback deal, with none of the hassle.

I have just purchased a phone from the above website taking confidence in the fact they were part of the carphone warehouse group.

Well there's your mistake. CPW are as keen to indulge in sharp practice as anyone.

I have had a phone from mobiles.co.uk, but never needed to get in touch with them except for to claim my cashback when I remembered. You've got statutory rights (7 days with the Distance Selling Act and a cooling off period for contracts), so this should be easily sortable.

Man, 15 to 1. Now that was a gameshow. Incredibly difficult to win and only a poxy old vase if you did.

+2 for Magura.

Anyone suggesting an Escort as a Beetle alternative needs their head checking. A 2 door MK1 or MK2 in good nick with some nice bits can easily change hands for 10K. Even RS Turbos are proper money these days.

The old Fiestas are now being bought up by the more hipstery yoofs.

I personally wouldn't be able to resist a 2 litre Nova, in white with the blister arches. But I'm odd like that.

I've been in one of the L400s and the ride was horrendous from the point of view of body roll – it's quite terrifying even when driving gently. I don't know if that was a particularly bad one or not, but it'd put me off. A lot more roll than you get in a van…

Davina is like a fine wine – i think she's improving with age…

Agreed! Proper milf now

You lot are talking about the shouty woman who presents all the Big Brother related rubbish aren't you? Jesus wept!

Don't use an adjustable, even good ones are rubbish.

And there's plenty of stuff on old bikes that need tightening beyond what an adjustable is good for – seatclamps for a start.

Decathlon do the cheapest weights I've found.

It seemed like a hole to me.