Yup, love the speedys. Look great on brown leather.

Not a fan personally but can still applaud the talent. Not particularly keen on the way she milks her fans, and I’m excluding ticket prices. Kids are fans, seems that when an album is released there are then multiple ways to “possibly win” tickets to see Taylor but but this version of the same album you already bought.

As an aside, family are going to Liverpool next Thursday to see her. We watch a lot of live music so not overly annoyed about the ticket prices.

One thing I will never understand is how our country is simplified to statement like “whereas the UK has unfortunate tendency to approach it as “weren’t we great”.

That is just untrue. Great things were carried out by people in this country and others. They should be remembered and celebrated for what they stopped.

Not everyone in the UK is a football fan. But travel to other countries around the world, spend long enough there and you will see the exact same type of person that you refer to as “the UK”.

The war was awful, it massively impacted this country but the impact to other countries far more so. We absolutely should be celebrating the actions performed and what those actions achieved. If that feels like “weren’t we great” then so be it. Those people were great. Those young boys being shipped over for D Day to be mowed down by machine guns, yes they were great.

D Day to me is quite simple, it marked the end of a period of horror that resulted in the below figures.

Battle Deaths 15,000,000
Battle Wounded 25,000,000
Civilian Deaths 45,000,000

To achieve this men and women did extraordinary acts of bravery. These people were our grandfathers, boys who previously were not soldiers, just the average man/boy/girl/woman on the street called up to give their life for the country we have today.

Unfortunately mankind is greedy and egotistical. War and suffering will always be present. But this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t acknowledge the bravery and suffering of those involved.

To ask about whether Nazism would have resulted in the iphone is ignorant and disrepectful. A simple reading of the idealogy would give a better understanding if those values would have led to a world you would have wanted to inhabit. While it is very easy to make comments about the type of nation England may have become since the war, I’m pretty sure we didn’t want to be in a world where the way to overcome social divisions was to do so by adopting a racial purity.

Maybe for those folks who think we shouldn’t be remembering D Day should have a read of this https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/victims-of-the-nazi-era-nazi-racial-ideology

I have limited use of my left arm, pretty much no grip so I know how difficult it can be when you find a tyre / rim combo that just won’t work. Reynolds deep rim carbon wheels and Conti 5000 tubed just wouldn’t work for me.

Like one of the posters above has mentioned the Kool Stop Tyre Mate Tool does work.And I know its closing the gate after the horse bolted, but with new tyres I now always go through the process of removing tyres, putting them back on again, removing them etc. Just to ensure I’m not in your position again.

For full ridicule I play golf (badly)….equally expensive. The missus has just decided she wants to learn how to play. It’s her birthday in a week, she’s got clubs and lessons from me….which I’m now regretting!

I need to buy another watch this year before she gets into golf and diverts my spare money elsewhere!

Fortunately I’ll never be able to play guitar (very limited use of one arm) so that’s a bonus!

I’m very fortunate that my lack of riding ability means I’m happy with gravel….so my expenditure on bikes these days is minimal….im very happy on my Planet X Tempest with no need to buy anything new for a while.

Which also means I can get away with spending more on my other hobby (watches!)

Wasn’t a fan of Specsavers, was talked into buying Varifocals. I was pretty adamant that I was happy to stick with my bifocals, but ended up going with Varifocals….however I find them really really annoying. They almost make me feel travel sick, hard to explain. But back on my Bifocals purchased from Vision Express who were much better in my opinion.

Nice and colourful those San Martin. But everything is a homage to something else and those remind me of the Doxa Sub 200. They’re definitely different but with a similar feel. Might just be the fact that they’re colourful and the Doxa also stands out for being colourful.

But I’d have both the San Martin and the Doxa, my collection is very drab so a bit of colour would be nice!

My daughter has an orange Breitling and I’ve been tempted to “borrow” it a few times myself….the downside is that she might see it as being ok to borrow mine!

My view of thinking is that 5% of the watch value isn’t too bad for a second strap. I know it will be secure and will last a very long time. I’m wearing my Panarai at the moment on its original rubber strap (22 years old). It looks brand new. That isn’t to say a £50 strap won’t last as long or do as good a job, but if I’m going to spend £5300 on a watch, its not too far fetched to spend £260 a year or two later for a second strap. But equally, I have bought two straps that lasted only a few years. Not as expensive as Panerai or Omega, but still well north of a £100 – looking at you Bell & Ross and Brietling. My Bell & Ross used such a cheap pin that it would come completely underdone just by it knocking on my shirt cuff. The Brietling leather went hard and out of shape.

And to re-iterate, I do completely understand that we are paying the luxury tax. But that is the same for so many other parts of our life. I’m not convinced so much on the marketing though, I have two Panerai watches. My first one was purchased in 2002 and I had to save up for years to get it. I bought it second hand. Outside of watch collectors most people wouldn’t have a clue that it was a “luxury watch”. My second Panerai was purchased new. Even now the vast majority of people wouldn’t know its a luxury watch – its very rarely advertised (at least in the media I consume). Panarai were a bit of a boutique brand back in the day, the watches were very well made. They did go through a few years of mass made watches were the quality and the workmandship definately dropped of from their usual high standards. Apartently they have moved back to the better made movements.

I guess I liken it to cars, some people can look at a Porsche 911 and think its a wonderfully looking, well made thing of beauty. To other people its just a means of getting from A to B. Or a high end mountain bike, if we were all the same we would all be riding mail order bikes from Canyon. (I ride a Planet X Tempest that I bought very cheap in the sale – too old and too far away from trails these days)

I could also bring up handbags…..now in my opinion that is nonsense prices. I have a friend in work who has bags way more expensive than my watches (including my Rolex). Each to their own. I wouldn’t spend what they spend on a bag, it is purely luxury tax – but who am I to ridicule what they spend their money on.

Thanks Kryton. And yeah that Lume looks really nice. The choice of footwear less so!

Nice contribution @IHN

Thanks @boblo. That is nice. I already have an old Seamaster Pro on steel (blue on steel) from about 2000 so fancy the rubber strap.

Request to make please, I remember they’re are a few folk on here with Seamaster Pro’s. Could I also for some pics with them being worn? I’m in the market for one, trying to decide on Green on Green Rubber, White face on Black Rubber, Black Dial with Sedna gold and Black Rubber (I’m leaning very heavily towards this, but it’s a fair bit more expensive)

https://www.goldsmiths.co.uk/Omega-Seamaster-300m-42mm-Mens-Watch-O21032422004001/p/17331585

https://www.goldsmiths.co.uk/Omega-Seamaster-Diver-300m-Co+Axial-Master-Chronometer-42mm-Mens-Watch-Green-O21032422010001/p/17331935

https://www.goldsmiths.co.uk/Omega-Seamaster-Diver-300-Mens-Watch-O21022422001002/p/17331482

For me it depends on how much you want it, if it’s rare and you won’t see many for sale again, the. I’d offer £3k. If it’s one of many and all similar price I would offer about £2800, with the message that you can collect / do a quick no hassle payment method of their choice.

I’ve had some really good bargain following this approach.

Similar position at the moment, I’m looking at a watch on eBay, it’s £3800, I’ve offered £3300, was rejected with the counter offer of £3600. I don’t want it enough to pay the extra couple of hundred, at £3300 it would have been a very good deal.

I know for me personally my life works better when I’m doing an interesting job that I enjoy, I get a lot of personal fulfilment from what I do. I have a place in Liverpool where my office is and my family are in North Wales. We purposefully picked North Wales so it was “remote” in feel only. Realistically we are close enough where I commute to the office but I like to stay over one or two nights a week.

In terms of the OP question, only you can answer. I couldn’t do it, I have aging parents so I need to be  relatively close to them. Watching my parents age also makes me think in the coming years I won’t want to be too far from a hospital (only 50 and healthy but got to think about the future). From a job security point of them, all depends on whether you are financially secure enough, should you lose your job for what ever reason, do you have enough funds to use savings while waiting another opportunity.

We as a business are encouraging people to work from the office as much as possible, lots of social events. Breakfast clubs, quiz nights, for the Euro’s and Wimbledon we will have deck chairs, jumbo screen TV in the plaza etc. Whilst we would still employ remote workers, there would likely be a caveat that they attend core meetings at least once a month. (I work for a large multinational investment bank)

As an aside, we don’t keep a record of people’s attendance, nor do annual performance reviews reflect attendance, we leave it to the individual and hope we are doing enough to encourage them to attend. But for me personally I really do notice the difference being in the office makes. Even though we have staff globally there is still a hub in the Liverpool office, whilst we don’t work together day to day, meeting people face to face really helps. (That’s is helps me with how I like to work, I completely understand other people work differently)

3.6 is bloody good with the bike on it. Audi Q4 Quattro Sportback, 3000 miles and long term I’m showing average of 3.4 with an average speed of 30mph. My commute is 70 miles round trip mainly motorway.

Cost wise, electricity bill is averaging at £20 a week (just under). That’s all household electricity, 2 adults and 2 teenagers. So pretty happy cost wise. However very occasionally it will just immediately charge, noticed it twice but noticed it after a good number of hours of  charging.

The bad news is….I really miss my fast petrol cars…..found myself on autotrader having a sneaky look earlier.

Very nice Robz. Whats different about the clasp? I have a BB58 from about 5 years ago, didn’t notice anything wrong with it….

(I do prefer the monochrome over mine)

Nice choice Flying Potatoes. I do like that series of watches, love the colours.

I don’t think it’s just about paying for the name, there is no doubt the luxury name tax. But there is genuine craftsmanship gone into making of expensive watches. I’m not going to go into a huge lecture here, but for me personally I’ll only wear certain brands and only those watches that I find interesting.

I do get the point you’re making though. Again for me personally I’d have no issue with buying a Timex for £600 if it was interesting enough. But £600 would put it up against other watches that at least for me would be my preference.

I have a fairly large collection of watches, I am just as happy with a really nice £150 watch as I am with my much more expensive watches.

It’s quiet in this topic lately….so some pics….Today is Panerai day, GMT, about 20 years old so almost a vintage watch….on black leather also have the standard rubber that I may swap to. It is quite chunky and a nice heft to it.

It’s entirely up to you, if you’re not comfortable taking your good watch then leave it at home.

I don’t worry about it personally. No concerns about them getting scratched etc. I tend to take at least two watches on holiday. Dressy watch for dinner (Rolex / Panerai) and my everyday watch for the daytime (Tudor bb or Sinn).

Have a look at Sungod. You can pretty much pick and choose what you want.

I have the renegades, nice glasses.

All the best A A. Easy said harder done….but Just remember you’ve given her the best happiest life you could have. The 15 years you shared will have been as amazing for her as they were for you. Take care.

Being the biggest heavyweight bout in 25 years is a fairly low bar in my opinion.

Love my boxing, but heavyweight division has been lacklustre in decades. Fury is a very good boxer and deserves a lot of praise for his skills. He has fought most of the best fighters around so no complaints on that front.

I can’t see him winning though. I see it as a changing of the guard. For me, Usyk with a late knockdown.

I had a mini cooper s doing exactly the same, both BMW and Mini Specialist plugged in their laptops and it kept saying Lambda issue. BMW replaced both parts (didn’t know it was two parts, but apparently so)….It still continued to come up with the fault and was cutting out the power, maximum of 2000 revs or similar. Mini specialist then suggested a walnut blast (that wasn’t cheap); did that and the error continued. They did a few more investigations, fresh plugs etc, still no joy.

In the end I put it on gumtree and a trade dealer contacted me and took it off my hands. I was open and honest in the advert and with the dealer – but I did put it on for a low price just to get shut.

That’s a bit like saying why do we need 10, 11, 12 gears for our bikes.

I play quite a lot, for a typical round I would take my 3 wood, 5 wood, 4 hybrid, irons are 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, Gap Wedge/Pitching Wedge and Sand wedge (plus putter)…I have all different loft wedges so these vary…and I have a putter. Certain courses I’ll take a driver and maybe a different rescue / hybrid club…(if it’s a tight woodland course I generally leave the driver at home!)

Typically I know how far each club will travel if I hit it well. So if I’m 130 yards from the green, flag is 15 back, then I know what club I should use (roughly).

No where near as expensive as cycling can be. My clubs are a total of about £2k’s worth and they are considered pretty good clubs. You can buy a starter full set new for about £600.

My Planet X Tempest is still going….but I dont clean it in case I find a crack.

I do it on my gravel bike, clipped in when solo and doing a proper ride and flats with trainers for when family riding.

Shimano pedals I find quite easy to take on/off but it’s still a royal pain in the butt.

My Look Keo road pedals….no way would I even contemplate doing this.

Probably mainstream as they have had a number 1 album for a week – but I would go with the Lottery Winners. Have been to see them a lot, live they are absolutely awesome.

Also Jamie Webster. I love his music, seen him once and going again soon. I can kind of see why his music doesn’t appeal to everyone, kind of a northern Billy Bragg.

Rianne Downey, quite young but a great talent. Watching her and the Lottery Winners support Deacon Blue at Liverpool Waterfront in the summer.

Elbow I always thought were going to be massive, in the Muse sense of massive (I’m a HUGE Muse fan so be nice!!). But they never did quite make it.

Should be the non drive side – I have a switch tool for mine, but its essentially just a 6mm allen key.

Yeah as a roadie if I don’t feel comfortable moving both hands simultaneously I would stay on the hoods and move my body weight back to balance out what I needed to do.

Also I wouldn’t be braking while holding on one handed.

Crashes happen though and front wheel wash out on fast descents happen to the best of them. Good luck with the recovery.

As an Evertonian today is a good day! Enjoying my day of winding up the Liverpool fans in the office….only happens once a decade so they’re obliging me!

I got a phone call at 5pm last night asking if I wanted a ticket for the game….i hate Derby’s so turned it down….what a mistake that was!! I do have a ticket for Saturdays game so you can guarantee normal service will resume and Everton will get beat!

For me if I know I’m doing a technical rocky steep uphill, then it’s flats…..

After one incredibly painful episode of falling backwards on a steep rocky climb while unable to unclip in time…..that was a painful lesson!

Binners what bets has the missus put on? Still time for us to copy!

@thegeneralist – yeah I agree, I didn’t word my orignal message very well. In the past I have made the incorrect assumption that my annual cover included cycling (mainly road) – but going forward I would take out separate insurance specific to that trip and those activities. In the past I have done a lot of cycling trips abroad that I honestly had just presumed were in the sports and hazardous activity cover.

Also had a message to advise me to read the reviews regarding Tripsure….they don’t look particularly good at paying out when people have made a claim. We have a trip booked in May/June and another in August so I think I will also take out another annual policy from somewhere else….

Just checked my annual insurance, family of 4 is £43. Tripsure Annual Platinum. Covers Emergency and Repatriation to £5m. Sports and Hazardous Activities also included.

I have to admit to having gone on biking holidays and just thought my standard annual cover would be sufficient.

Strange that folk don’t see it as a holiday cost. No chance would I go anywhere without it. My family (and my savings) couldn’t afford to buy an airport meal let along medical costs abroad.

I go away two or three times a year so £43 is money well spent.

My Tempest came with a 70mm stem, the first thing I did was to go to 100mm. I always ride a small frame with a longer stem….probably breaking all sorts of rules – but as an ex roadie its just part fort the course!

Very nice revs, you’ll have to upload some pics when you get it.

I was getting my EV through my salary sacrifice scheme so was limited to new only. Got the Q4 but really wanted the Buzz.

@revs1972 what was your waiting time like for the Buzz? I test drove one, it was my preferred choice but was told to expect an 18 month wait (this was last December)