cheers folks – I think first steps will be to invest in a 2nd-hand gopro and light setup and work out exactly what’s down there.

Followed shortly by speaking to the water company about whether there are any refunds due – that might pay for a pump setup – as tempting as it would be to empty it and create an underground man-cave, it seems daft not to use it for the reason I guess it was made and start using the water for irrigation.

^^ kind of makes sense but we share a septic tank – and actually our drainage, and that the adjoining pair of identical cottages, go into the same shared tank that’s down the back of the gardens. AFIAK this has always been the case – there’s certainly no foul smell from the tank. I guess I need to get a camera down there to work out what’s what…

Leaving aside the why (I think rain/grey-water storage is a great idea), I just can’t get my head around why you’d do it and then just leave it unremarked on, or with no means of actually making any use of it. And now working out

We had thought about digging the whole patio up. That could have been amusing! Me and the kango disappearing into the watery depths…

If I’d have known it was there I might not have bothered digging out the bloody pond.

..we’ve been in the house for about 6 years. The people before us were here for about 40 odd years and they would have built the patio over the tank at some point. I’m assuming there are overflows etc in there as it’s never flooded and looking at what construction I can see, it’s got to be contemporary to, or pre-date the original cottages. They’re just simple workers houses and aside from anecdotal evidence that the neighbouring big house had it’s kitchen gardens near our plot with two small semi-detached houses on it.

It’s hard to work out why anyone would spend the money and effort on putting it in. There’s no agricultural reason for it and the big house has a series of ponds that fill with rainwater as a reservoir too so they’re not strapped for water…

Eddie and Joe.
Bit dusty in here……..genuinely got to me.

Indeed. Great piece of radio.

christ, I thought I was bad but clearly I’m an amateur.

1 x duck boots for walking the dogs.
1 x hiking boots
1 x cycling shoes
1 x wellies
1 x birkenstocks
2 x summer shoe things from Trunk Clothiers. I usually get about 1 summer out of these and then in the bin. Bought two pairs this year and they’re both good for next year as a result.
2 x NB MT101s for running.
2 x barefoot things for yoga.
1 x smart boots for work.
4 x smart work shoes (1 country brogue, 1 x wholecut oxford, 1 x derby and 1 x half-brogue).

..and about 3 pairs of old trainers for knocking about doing DIY etc in. Oh, and some wetsuit boots.

down in Sussex, any local bodies can be fed to the pigs or dumped in the woods. Not much call for that I’m afraid…

…which I believe is the opening track on Sting’s new album

Chapeau

Drac

Subscriber
Disallows screenshots? No it doesn’t.

funny thing – my android app disallows it, Mrs SS’s iphone app permits screenshots. weird.

Not just Drac’s magic ipad doing it’s thing again then :)

I’ve been with Lloyds since forever. Sure they’ve closed the local branch, and they can display the occasional bout of idiocy but I’ve never had any notable problems. And the mobile app is ace.

+1 for LastPass here. With 2FA across the board. It works for me on a variety of Windows, MacOS and iOS devices of varying vintages and is better than a couple of competitors I recently trialled for work (Password Boss, 1Password)

don’t dismiss a Bngo/Ford Frieda
£5k will get you a fairly decent unconverted one or a reasonable converted example
We have had ours about 3 months now and love it

Hmmm.. 5K might get you one but there will be a lot of sheds before you find a decent example. Some of the conversions are horrendous and a lot will need welding / be rather crispy underneath now due to a good few years on the UK roads. I’d try and find an unmolested, unconverted V6 and then get the Mazda made (and removable) kitchen and have a professional install of leisure battery and hook-up.

We loved ours – had it for 8 years – only really worked for us as a camper with a massive awning tent (family of four) but it was a fantastic day-trip van. With 6 seats it was really practical.

Your answer is that you had no firm evidence and therefore felt it was inappropriate to make the accusation. It’s not your fault your manager can’t do their job !

In absolute terms – this. Seems like a perfectly reasonable defence if he wants to take it up with you further. If the chap doesn’t report to you, then ultimately your mutual manager is responsible.

(But yes, perhaps a quiet word might have been good before it got to this point – to paraphrase my old boss – it only takes one turd in the swimming pool to ruin it for everyone)

oh, if making your own is too much of a PITA at times – (I’ve recommended these before) the Waitrose frozen pizza dough balls are ace. No nasty additives, minimal salt. We always keep some in the freezer in case we or the kids have friends round. You can defrost them in the microwave pretty quickly and they make a suprisingly decent pizza.

https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/northern-dough-co.-original-pizza-dough/893403-307494-307495?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIicS1_7784gIVA7ftCh2AHQscEAQYASABEgJprPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

long term Uuni user/owner here – bought the first iteration from the crowdfunder and then upgraded to the Pro when that first followed.

The family love it. Still primarily use the pellet hopper – mainly because I’ve got the remainder of a bag that I’m trying to get rid of. Does pizzas for a family of four in about 25 minutes from first being lit – will smoke a bit when first going but can’t say I’ve ever had an issue getting it going – I just stick one of those natural firelighter things down the hopper, sling a lit match after it and once it’s going, top it up with pellets. Get it up to temp and then it’s just a case of ensuring they’re feeding down to the burner ok. It’s just as simple as getting it raging hot, 90 seconds for each pizza x 4 and then we’re done.

Having two or three peels helps speed things up considerably.

The bag point is an interesting one, because there’s generally no restriction on large luggage, so ironically if you turn up with a massive bike bag (which takes up more space), you’ll probably be fine.

At London Bridge I sat and chuckled when a chap, refused entry through the gate with his non-folding touring bike, nipped off to WHSmith for a couple of rolls of wrapping paper and some sellotape. Three minutes later the guards had to let him through carrying a large, gift-wrapped bike.

Not the cheapest way of getting too and from work if you had to do it on a daily basis…

Hoddle’s a right moany fanny

this.

I fancied getting one of the cheaper egg ones from Aldi but the deal breaker for me is the sheer weight of the things. I don’t want to leave it out in the garden as I don’t have the space so don’t fancy moving an 80kg lump of china about.

Ours lives outside all the time with it’s cover on – it’s on a slightly shonky trolley thing with castors (not the huge table-like construction), it’s a more modest thing that just gives us the ability to push it into a corner when we’re not using it.

yes.

I have a Monolith equivalent – I got it for approx £300 all in about two years ago. It’s not the real budget end of the market but it was a hell of a lot cheaper than the BGE equivalent. Ours came with pizza stones, trolley/stand thing, various grills etc.

I love it. Temp control is ace – no different to my friends Egg(s) – he has the small and large versions. I can have it sat all day cooking brisket for 12+ hours without issue, or knock it up to silly high temps to quickly cook seafood / pizza. It sits outside under its cover all year round and isn’t showing its age.

was with BT for calls, broadband and line rental. I needed a fixed-IP for work.

Turns out it’s cheaper to move to BT Business. Better router (including 4G backup), a MUCH improved technical support line with people who know what they’re doing, a proper SLA, decent online backup, improved connectivity and it’s cheaper per month than our old domestic contract. Go figure…

As long as you’re not sending money to friends, Paypal will protect you as the buyer. If it’s all done via eBay then you’re alright. From experience refunds usually take 5-7 working days to arrive in your account (though they take the money straight out of the sellers account). You should have received a confirmation that the refund was pending…

This;

Contacted the seller who says he never received Payment and thinks both accounts have been hacked and is contacting police.

Do you know if he’s got a long trading/selling history? Pending payments mean that the money has been sent to an email address that’s new or not been confirmed yet. Typically this happens if someone changes their email details or is just setting themselves up on Paypal for the first time. They’ll have to login with that address and complete the verification process (with linked bank accounts etc in the background).

It’s possible that his PP account has been hacked in some way to route funds via a new email address. I’ve also seen it where someone has made a mistake when entering the details – ie. mis-spelt the address – and it’s essentially just ‘pending’ as it isn’t being picked up. If it’s not accepted, then PP return the monies to you anyway.

But you should be covered by PP protection regardless. If the watch doesn’t turn up, the only way he’d be able to keep the funds would be if he could produce valid postage tracking information that confirmed delivery (preferrably with a signature).

I know of an arms dealer whose car was stolen. The kids responsible were merrily zooming around London in it, utterly ignorant of the (full) gun-safe in the boot until they were hard-stopped by the armed police. Quickest car recovery ever by all accounts…

We’ve used Skinners down in Sussex for a ‘standard’ garden shed. Not cheap but it seems to be holding up nicely and is a lot better than the kit shed we bought.

For what it’s worth;

When we moved in our speeds were much worse than expected (<10Mbps). Especially as we had newly laid fibre to the cabinet, which sits across the road from our house (so like 30ft away). BT swore blind no issue with the line, tested, run diagnostics etc. We switched ISP to Zen and they raised a ticket and we got a free Openreach visit to sort it out. Turns out where it entered the house was bodged by the previous owner when they extended the house – the housing/connector was full of water for one thing. New master socket installed and we went straight to 35-40Mbps.

I’d be pushing for an Openreach engineer if you can. The chap who came to us was really good – I suspect the copious plying with tea and biscuits helped.

Hide behind a curtain.

bravo.

It would be great if it had a diesel engine and could tow a decent amount. There’s a huge gap in the market for a SWB, simple, powerful 4WD. It all seems to be massive crew-cab pick-ups now.

Our neighbour swears by his Ssangyong – not sure of the model but it’s smaller than their 2001 Honda CRV. He runs horse trials and whilst not exactly small, it’s a darn site more compact than most of the trucks the farmers and horsey-set use down our way. I think he had a sponsorship deal with them at one point – he had two of the huge versions (Rexton?) for 4 years and they didn’t miss a beat. Fugly things and the interior finish is functional at best.

Another neighbour bought a new Disco at the same time. We still see the Landrover Recovery Team on their driveway with depressing regulatory.

Float operated valves in toilets or cisterns would be the first place to look.

This, but on the water tank made the biggest difference to us – we started getting horrendous pipe knocking, completely out of the blue and without anything changing / any plumbing work being done or new appliances added. Changing the valve and float on our cold water tank in the loft seemed to fix it (I need to do the same with the expansion tank as it is now happening very occasionally again but it’s not with that valve).

Let’s not forget…

Man U 0 . Cardiff 2.

Cardiff fans singing “You’re getting fired in the morning” :)

Iconic vehicle for sure, but the reviews I’ve seen haven’t been great and the NCAP rating is shocking. An opportunity lost IMHO.

Wasn’t it the same with the mk1? Road manners aren’t exactly good, and theres not a lot of room inside, but (rot aside) they’re pretty reliable and it just works as a small, proper 4×4. If the new version does the same in a similar no-frills way, it’ll sell regardless. (As it seems to be doing)

That’s not to say it shouldn’t be better from an NCAP perspective…

feedback on the owners club has been positive (but then I guess it would be).

I like them, but I think the prices are somewhat eyewatering but I guess the lack of supply means people are super-keen to pay it.

That said, the residuals are something else; for a car that was £14K new, it amazes me people will still pay £3K for examples from 2001 with some rust and work needed…

(We’ve a Mk1 and I love it)

talk to them about it – just sticking a lock on it is more of a dick move. Just be honest about the concerns and that it’s not an express right of way and that you’re worried about someone getting hurt.

We’ve an inflatable Advanced Elements Firefly (?) in the loft. We used it for a couple of summers when our two girls were little – just about big enough for two adults + little kids + assorted stuff. Pretty well made and rigid when up. The usual caveats about inflatable vs. rigid and canoes vs. kayaks apply.

<not-so-stealth-ad>No idea what it’s worth but if you’d be interested I can dig it out, take some pics etc.From memory it was pretty expensive new but TBH it’s just taking up space now so happy to get rid if it’s of use to someone</ad>

BIL works for a bank in the city and it’s perfectly normal for them to get hammered all week then rest at the weekend.

During the working day? In the bad old days perhaps but coming back into the office after you’d had a skinful would certainly be a very serious issue at all banks by policy, and most banks in practical terms also. After work / post 5pm perhaps – especially when the sun is shining – but that’s not the same as heading back to your desk…

Lloyds however, that’s a different story…it’ll be interesting to see how far ^^ goes in sorting things out.

…we bought ours as first UK owners. About 5K unconverted 1995 V6 with 60K miles. Cost about £500 for a proper hookup, leisure battery and underseal etc.

We sold her at 100K after 8-9 years. Full independent service history but no MOT and non-runner (she’d been sat on the driveway for 6 months). Got 2.5K for her – the chap jump started her and drove her away smiling from ear-to-ear – he had a low-loader ready to go.

Biggest bill was £120 parts for the new rad – the top just split through age.

I reckon that’s not too bad economically!

Coolant alarm…its overheated in the past, possible damage
Bubbling arches and recent waxoil…welding likely at each MOT
Mileage conversion, questionable.

Have you looked up all the previous MOT history using the reg?

All + 1.

We just sold our much-beloved Bongo after 9 years of ownership. If it’s overheated then I’d be wary.

Positives – cheap in comparison to some of the alternatives, nice to drive – we had the V6 and she’d sit at 75mph on the motorway all day long. She was a fantastic ‘day-van’ – comfortable, space for 6 adults + gear (ours was unconverted but had leisure battery + hookup fitted). The kids loved being up in the roof tent. There was room inside to stand up and get changed when surfing etc. Looked after, and coolant alarm fitted, they should be ultra-reliable – especially the V6. Aside from the rad giving up (just old) ours just kept on going – jump started after sitting on the drive for 6 momths and she just sailed through her MOT. There’s a great community who’ll help out with parts, advice etc. They’re easy enough to work on and parts come from the Mazda/Ford parts bin so are cheap and seem to be plentiful.

Negatives – small – if you’re going to spend any time camping then you’ll want a decent sized awning. We had a 4-berth driveaway and the van was for sleeping in the ‘double-bed’ only. It’d be ok as an overnighter but any more time we spent more time in the awning. Thirsty. Rust will kill them in the end – set aside money for the arches and make sure you get it undersealed regularly. Make sure you get a garage who know what they’re doing to service / work on them – the cooling system can be problematic if not done properly…

We loved ours. But just grew out of her.

We went peak middle-class-STW and bought a John Lewis branded, non-vented tumble dryer about 18 months ago – it’s a lot more efficient that the old one it replaced (though not sure what make it was). It’s got all the bells and whistles – delayed programs, all sorts of different drying levels. It sits in a central hallway cupboard – when it’s being used we just leave the door ajar. The water that collects in the condenser thing we then recycle for ironing…

Always run the Reg through the DVLA MOT checker online, don’t just look at the last one look at the last two or three years worth at least, and pay attention to both what has been fixed and what might be an outstanding advisory…

This x 100. Recently bought a used car (well down the bangernomics scale from yours), and it amazed me the amount of cars being sold as ‘solid’ underneath, with pics of the underside and rails being nicely coated with a thick layer of dinitrol. Then you look at the history and see years of advisories / failures due to excessive corrosion. It’s not definitive but it’s certainly

And +1 on the code scanner too.

If you’re paying for an inspection I’d go for an independent, rather than AA/RAC as I think you tend to get more for your money.

Oh, and buy the seller as much as you buy the car. At my end of the scale <2K, if the car turns out to be a complete shed then I’ll get scrap/parts values and whilst it’ll hurt, it’s not horrendous. At 5K+, if things go south it’s a hell of a hit to take…

If your tax deductions on your wageslips are appropriate for a 40K salary, but HMRC have a different total earnings (and tax paid), then I’d be speaking to the agency, sharpish. If you’re receiving 40K’s worth of salary (less tax) in your bank account, and have the wage slips and bank statements as proof I’d say you’d be ok re: mortgage.

The last time I had the misfortune to deal with HMRC directly they were actually ok – people seemed to be alright on the phone with a genuine interest in helping getting things sorted. The problem I have is that for some reason I’m stuck forever dicking about with tax codes and invariably every year I end up with a bill, rather than a rebate.

But if you’ve effectively understated your salary (and tax), then the likelyhood is that if some monies are owing. HMRC will look to you for that, but I’d be speaking to the agency as to where it’s gone…

yup – used to be okay waaaay back in the day before I used the excuses of work and kids to say I didn’t have time.

EDIT: bloody IG/forum IMG posting doesn’t appear to be working…oh well

I’m a convert 🙂

That dough’s not bad is it? it’s not full of crap additives or lots of salt either.

Our two girls make their own too (well, they stretch them and top them) – although sometimes we do the dough making together earlier in the day, sometimes it’s just a case opf using that dough.

DVLA v5c, if you do it over the phone, is a LOT faster than 4-6 weeks. I think they say 5 working days…