Never, ever go back to the scene of a crime. They’re waiting for you. CID 101.

Why stop omitn. Good question. Eventually, you realise that you can earn a better living without all the hassle.

You can carry on robbing cars and houses in the middle of the night or you can **** off to uni and learn how to draw, paint or take photos.

If you’re determined to stick to stolen cars and other people’s stuff, at least do it with alacrity.

slimiest slipperiest boxer ever…. if you watch his previous fights

This. All day long. He’s unconventional, as is McGregor. This us exactly why it’ll be an interesting battle.

…who says crime doesn’t pay

No-one with half a brain. Of course it does or there wouldn’t be bike thieves. Or drug dealers, or fences or money lenders (sharks), the worst of them all.

I’m genuinely interested. It can’t just have been me and my mates. They’re all in jail or dead now (i miss their company).

Not for one second do I think that there aren’t others like me.

…dealing drugs is easy money

As has been mentioned, it really is not. It’s blooming hard work and carries risks and responsibilities.

Try hiring a car after your first capture. You’ll need a fake ID. Try applying for a mortgage. Same deal.

Not to say that it was all bad. Lots of good times zipping up and down the motorways in fast cars with loose women.

I’d rather have done things differently. How about you?

Indeed. I didn’t start the fire. Aberdeen soccer casuals did. Every single night out was marred by football types after a fecht.

Some of them had knives. All of them had fists.

My surprise right leg pré-dated MCconner’s.

“Ah, casual racism

He’s Irish and fights so he must be a gypsy eh?”

Well. I’m Scottish and I enjoy a bit of a barney as it happens. I suspect my Irish friends feel the same.

The fact that I usually end up face-down on the pavement, missing teeth has no bearing on the conversation.

That’s called a leg kick. In mma it’s not a surprise.

Well. You tell me when it’s coming and call it a surprise.

I don’t believe for one second that a person can fight governed by a set of rules and stay conscious. So, once again, my money’s on the big black guy.

Imagine, just for one second, that you’ve grown up in between caravans beating up your friends.

Then suddenly, a grown up imposes rules. No legs, no hits below the belt, no getting your mates in to finsh up.

That wee caravan boy doesn’t stand a chance, much as I’d like him to.

McGregor’s opponents are mostly scared of the surprise right leg. Watch his matches. It’s got to hurt. A lot. A knee in the upper thigh renders you pretty much unable to stand, let alone walk, let alone box.

In a boxing ring, that’s obvs illegal. So my money’s on Mayweather.

Never been a part of it. But this: “never do anything more than the hours stated in your contract” is telling.

My wife works in the nhs and frequently comes home and continues to work into the wee hours.

I occasionally feel guilty about being self employed and not turning up at an an office at 9am with an agenda. Rather, I roll out of bed at 9 and switch on the computer without having to suffer the badinage of colleagues.

Bialetti and Lavazza here too in my stove top. Mine came without a seal so although I do get a bit of drizzling in the middle where it screws together, it still makes a lovely cup of coffee. You *do* have the round strainer on top of the coffee yes?

Last thing – never put it in the dishwasher – totally knackers them :-(

*kids’* Ffs (apostrophe stuff). And it’s “Legend of the Sasquatch” after the 300th viewing.

“Song of the Sea” is bearable though – might watch it again tomorrow for the 301st time.

Agree about CCTV. No legal issues in filming anything you like from your own property. If it still doesn’t stop the poo, print a still of the perp from the film and attach it to a “Smile, you’re on CCTV” sign and hang it in your garden. Or just be awake and waiting – can’t beat catching them red-pawed…

I give you The Broadsword in Tillydrone, Aberdeen. Tried to buy pot in there once, and never again. At that time I lived in an even worse estate and was well used to dealing with violent, drug addled weirdos.

Two men charged with attempting to murder three people at Aberdeen bar

Sort it out. Massive twit.

Yeah really! One lass in a little white car gave me oodles of space by driving straight at a bus coming the other way. Me and the bus driver both did the sanctimonious head shake :-)

Yeah, I stay off the roads as much as possible but sometimes it’s just easier (especially with panniers full of delicate foodstuffs). Not just today I’ve noticed it – seems to be a creeping trend round here (NE England, where the campaign is being pushed quite hard by two forces).

Still getting close passes too but perhaps not as many as usual. Maybe it’s just the sunshine…

Cupboard full of film cameras, mostly Nikon.

Nikon AW compact for beach / bottom of rucksack.

Nikon D800 and a couple of D700s for work.

Infrared converted Nikon D70 for arty farty stuff.

Massive piles of lenses, studio lights, flashguns, filters, tripods etc etc…

I’m nearly 44 and have just agreed to drive up to Skye to visit my parents. My mum dropped £100 petrol money into my bank account within two minutes of coming off the phone!

Cafes and restaurants are hilarious – practically a race to pay the bill and on the rare occasions I’ve got in first, she’ll hide cash in my luggage to make up for it!

Saw that on the bikepacking page and sucked air through my teeth… Plenty climbing!

Aye, often, so I often do. My car’s been sorned since February so the bike has become my only mode of transport. My ‘proper’ bike hasn’t left the garage in all that time because my ’91, rigid Kona with rack and panniers is just more practical. Sadly, car comes out of the garage this week…

I’m not aware of any consumer rights circumstances where, if a refund is agreed, they can hold you to things like having to accept a credit note.

Ha! I bought a tiny laptop off Amazon which died about six months later. They agreed to take it back and offered full refund – but only to an account I no longer had and which hadn’t been registered with Amazon as a payment method for four months! Fought them tooth and nail and even (eventually) spoke to a few supervisors whose first language was English. But no joy and they applied a credit to my account…

Couldn’t even spend it on gift vouchers for presents. Bah.

On holiday in Ireland – very early ’80s I think…

Eventually safely became a teen…

Depends if you trust your kid I suppose. Me and all my mates used to walk a mile at that age. Lots of minor road crossings and one main road with a lollipop lady. Don’t think any of us ever got run over / kidnapped…

JD, look up ^^^ They’re actually depositing money as it turns out. And yes, it’s definitely adding to my miniscule balance.

If it’s all tow paths, why not just do the obvious thing and fit a rack and a pair of £20 Halfords panniers? Small rucksack for bits and bobs if you really need it.

I well remember my first proper cycling tour – borrowed a massive three man tent which weighed more than my bike, took three pairs of shoes and a pair of white jeans (early ’90s, judge away). Got dropped off in Fort William and the back tyre was flat before I reached the campsite :-D

Anyway, keep it minimal, fit a rack and have a grand time.

Quick update – eventually got through to the bank…

Me: Can I stop Microsoft taking money out of my account?
Bank: Mr Removed, these are deposits not withdrawals.
Me: DOH!

So they’ve actually been giving me money for the last however many years. No idea why. Worst rant ever?

Cheers for the link – have had to tear myself away and stop myself from Googling for metal detectors :-D

Rockhopper – PayPal definitely credit the small amount back to you. Nothing back from Bing over the many years they’ve been doing this. Bank not answering the phone so far…

mattyfez – I’m far too cautious and tight to sign up for anything ongoing like that so I doubt it. The amounts they’re taking suggest to me that they’re checking to see if the account’s still active. Definitely don’t have an ad with them now. Lol at RT.

And this is the path from The Fairy Pools, over Bealach a Mhaim, down to Sligichan. It’s been a while but I seem to remember it’s not all this smooth…

Fairy Pools are above the handlebars, Sligichan off down the hill to the left….

This is pretty typical of the Slig loop – there is a decent path but it’s hard going…

Just no way – most of the path is made up of grapefruit sized boulders – it really is a boneshaker, and yes, there are some stream crossings which depending on the weather, might be nigh on impossible with a child in tow. Carbost up to Glen Brittle Forest is a bit of a climb but the tracks in the forest are all fine for a trailer and as above, you can pop out at the start of the path to The Fairy Pools – I did this, then headed North East over the Bealach a Mhaim, dropping down into Slig (rough track but would be just about OK if you took your time. Then it’s a bit of a road bash back to Carbost. Good day out and some cracking views :-)

Russell Hoban’s Riddley Walker is superb – a post-science, reverted to folklore sort of a future world. Highly recommended. Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle’s Lucifer’s Hammer is completely different but a good, sometimes horrifying yarn. Walter M. Miller Jr.’s A Canticle for Leibowitz is an intriguing story too – very worthwhile. None of these have robots though, so you might not like them :-) I could go on all day; The Death of Grass, The Road (obvs), The Book of Dave, On the Beach etc. Actually, none of them have robots either…

I’ve linked the better half to this thread and suspect she’ll be more confused than when she started looking :D

Much appreciated all – lots to go on.

These all sound good, thanks. P-Jay, she’s a roaming health professional so sounds like similar useage. Lots of hospital car parks so needs to be quite wee!

Fair point. And the old car is 14 years old :-D

Cheers chaps. To answer those questions, low annual mileage – probably about 10K. Child seat in the back, flexible budget but paid monthly, so maybe 2-300 quid a month.

Already suggested the Seat – does look good!

Keilder, just below the castle is ok. Two minute walk to the pub as well. Plenty child friendly, off road cycling.

Another Megane owner here and had / have a similar issue. With my Eurobox, it seems to be a fuel pump issue. Solved by eventually finding a little priming pump which you squeeze by hand a few times – works every time but a bit of a pain.

Weirdly, only happens if I park on a hill with the bonnet pointing uphill.