Sister’s In Laws to be had a chocolate Lab that ate 600 uncooked canapés and then excreted them all over the dressed/decorated marquee on the morning of the wedding.

Was very impressed with Travel Destinations – their site on the Porsche Curves was excellent with catering and clean showers etc, though with the new Porsche Experience Centre, I’m not sure whether the site will still be there. Would recommend taking a bike. If I go back, it’ll be with the boy and I would contemplate staying off-site so there’s somewhere to escape to. Work on Monday was tough, with no sleep from Friday…

Enjoyed following this year’s race on the app. Great to see an LMP1 Porsche win, I just wish it had been a little closer towards the end. Will be catching up on the GTE races over the next couple of days. It’s so hard to take it all in when you’re watching remotely and dipping in and out.

A colleague once had a little mishap with £250ks worth of mugs, and I once sent an ad to print with the wrong mortgage rate on. Never did find out what that cost, or who ended up paying…

Unscrew a part-used CO2 canister from its inflator/trigger.

@johndoh – ex Brahm too?!

Did it, both of us loved it. Used to have a 1 mile stretch of wide canal towpath from nursery to the pub where we would both wait in the garden for our lift home a couple of times a week. I would say it was a calculated risk. Never had anything but waves and smiles. Had to sit very upright on the bike for this to be comfortable. Not a practical or safe thing to do on the road or on anything mildly technical would be my view, but each to their own.

Sounds like there’s more heart than head in the V70 than the passat, which is not always a bad thing… If you asked on pistonheads they’d prob say go for the V70.

I found this to be an enlightening read about GPs:

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-zoe-norris/nhs-gp-appointment_b_7164322.html

iolo – if you’re talking to me, then I’m afraid we had to get Winnie as a puppy (see above). I do know now though that the police often seek to rehome working lab/springer crosses that aren’t making the cut, which we would have considered. But again, only if they would let the dog into a household with other pets and babies.

Don’t discount the Spoodle! Springer/poodle.

Local vet reckons that in crossing poodles with spaniels we’ve inadvertantly stumbled across the most resilient, intelligent, predictable and best natured dogs around. From our sample of one I’d be inclined to agree with all of that. Apart from the intelligent bit.

Winnie came from a dodgy estate outside Nottingham, but we met the parents etc.

if it weren’t for our particular home situation I’d be more than happy to rehome a dog. Unfortunately I think we probably need to start box fresh without any existing traits and behaviours that could cause problems. I know it isn’t certain but in our situation I don’t think the risk is worth it.

+1 . And it works both ways: we couldn’t find a place that would rehome a suitable dog to a house with kittens and very small children.

Nothing ventured nothing gained – just have a chat with the shop you got them from/the distributer?

Serious question, what are your reasons for buying a brand new (or very nearly new) car? I have been exercising the ‘bangernomics’ for a few years and couldn’t ever see myself buying a new car when you know the depreciation is massive.

Cashflow, reliability and dealership support. £3k worth of work needed on a passat just out of warranty, so traded it in with dealership for v. good price.

Equally serious question – why would anyone be selling a car which is only a few months old unless there is something wrong with it? Dealer ex-demo? Or buy pricing above it’s possible to buy new then sell at a profit a few months later?

In this case, ex manufacturer fleet, 4 months old, £7k cheaper than new price.

What are we trying to prove here?

Nothing. Just setting out to learn what’s genuinely useful and what’s not in the context of mountain biking.

In 15 years + I’ve never carried one, nor had to use one.

Even for wounds as bad as CTM up there, a jersey was all that was really needed. Yes, a proper gauze would have been “right tool” for the job, but he’s clearly not dead, so…

For stuff that’s just inconvenient, small cuts etc, will stop bleeding eventually, and TBH MTFU a bit, for stuff that’s life threatening, it’s probably going to be beyond the scope of what you’d be able to carry, plus the most important bit of FA is not what you carry; it’s knowing what to do.

Ok, noted – ta. This has been my view for the past 15 years too. Will sit tight and see if there’s a compelling case for a different approach…

My what ?

Same here… thought it time for some ‘insurance’. Rudimentary knowledge, but no ‘tools’ for about 15 years worth of doing silly stuff on bikes.

I’m not turning into a big soft girly boy then. Same here last week. In Leeds too. Must have got too close to one of my children.

Get some test drives booked!

Great question. Wish I’d thought of that recently.

You can see how even a boring but modern laminated windscreen would have resulted in not being covered in tiny cuts.

Ah yes. That was the second car… upside down on the A34, with the lovely policeman whose priority was wandering the embankment looking for my tax disc.

In the long run, I was very grateful to my parents for making me find and take out my own insurance. I believe it made me a more careful driver, made me research cars/insurance premiums in more depth, and generally exposed me to the reality of driving. I also racked up that all-important first yr NCB more quickly. Pass Plus knocked a chunk off at the time too, though this was about 14 years ago. Even back then I think I spent £500 on a D reg polo, and £900 on a TPFT policy… it about halved the following year.

NOOOO! *bump*

Hope everything else in garage ok, and not too much damage.

I was considering something economical such as a VW Up

I know of an EVO staffer who spent his own money on an Up after driving it and hasn’t looked back. Something to do with being able to drive everywhere on the door handles.

Salesforce have a good NFP programme – salesforce foundation. First 10 seats are free. We use it for case management as well as fundraising. This may be a bit complex as you could need developer support to get exactly what you want. Also check out Highrise – https://highrisehq.com

Sorry to hear this and good luck tonight. How else can you look at the phone call? What’s best for your Dad here (both re. the phone call and of course the bigger picture).

The guy that did it is pretty good on a bike too. For those that know BMX – Mike Hill Great Ayton local.

That stretch is a motorway. I was walking the dog in Bramley Falls once, heard a car, looked down and there was a red nissan micra doing about 60 along the tow path.

I don’t take my dog to trail centres because I am not brave enough to deal with anyone off here in the real world.

How good is mtb singlespeeding?

Very good.

Rory Sutherland on ‘wankifying’ your house…[/url]

Chuck Ragan (of Hot Water Music)

And on loop turned up to 11 here at the mo:

#EPICPHALL

Somewhere less technical where I can get 50km in and see some nice scenery would be ideal.

Dalby ticks that box, nice scenery moreso if you venture out onto the moors. Dalby to Robin Hoods bay for a paddle, fish and chips and a pint then back was always a nice ride (taking in bits of Dalby red route at each end). Think that’s a little bit longer than 50km though.

ETA – check for snow!

but its old and boring news

No. It’s not. It’s a long standing and still current problem.

If course is similar to the Keilder 100 then think more to the xc end of the spectrum. I don’t know anything about the two bikes you’ve mentioned.

Does anyone know of someone who’s been in a similar position

Yes

and done a deal with them on the final amount they pay back?

No

They offered me a three year interest free loan.

This.

It’s hard, but we do it. Just. 1 and 3y/o get a lot out of nursery 3.5 days a week. Wife works 4 days, me 5 (making up the hours for the .5 day I look after the kids). No ‘serious’ fixed outgoings other than OH’s professional indemnity, childcare and mortgage. And holidays at home (we enjoy being at home and have a lot on the doorstep). If you take the 5 year view of your finances, it can look a lot brighter.

ETA – HAVING 2 IS ACE!

Quickest route? Not much in it at the moment (though this will be dependent on where you’re coming from in London, and where you’re going to in Leeds). New driver? IMO motorway will be easier with safer and better sighted entry/exit from services. 2 lane dual carriage ways can be intimidating when having to overtake lorries: pulling out into faster moving traffic, and fast approaching cars when overtaking. Moreso in the dark.

Yes, was going to recommend picking up a copy of the current Economist. There’s a great deal of analysis.

Started asking myself – how long should I / would I like to spend on this purchase? It’s been a great help. With the internet it’s become too easy to research everything to the nth degree.

Similar ambitions here, and have settled on Isle of Wight (family live there too, so that does skew things a little), but there’s a ton of stuff to do with the kids.