It’s great how politicians are so in love with their own egos that they actually think the public care if they have an affair and therefore feel they must resign. Why do none of them have enough bollocks to actually just say “Yes I f*cked up but I am good at my job so I am staying”

Seems a totally horrid self obsessed man.

I have all this to come with my eldest being 5. Maybe tell her what you were like when you were 16!! Be open that to be honest boys will say and doing almost anything to get a bit of action and yes they will tell their mates.

It will play Amazon music but not Amazon Prime Music. It will also not pay Amazon music if there is no internet connection. It will also not play Amazon music that you have download to you iPhone or iPad.

Having a bloody mare today trying to set it up to work at kids party in a village hall tomorrow where there is no internet or mobile signal. To say I am close to throwing the Sonos, iPad , iTunes and every other bloody Apple product out of the window is an understatement. Tempted to buy a bloody big CD ghettoblaster on eBay tomorrow to have in the loft for the times when all you want to do is play some BLOODY music when there isn’t an internet connection or wifi.

Technology has made life harder not easier. Rant over

After school club at school. Doesn’t every school now have a legal requirement to provide one or at least attempt to? Bloody ridiculous that they are not just provided by all schools as part of the normal school day. Would it really cost that much more? Ours costs £8 per day from 3:20 to 6pm. It is a hassle that they don’t feed them a meal as by the time my eldest gets home she is knacked and needs to be in calm down mode for bed.

TIRed as a iPod touch is light and small I would just stick a couple of self adhesive magnets on the back.

http://www.first4magnets.com/circular-disc-rod-magnets-c34/adhesive-20mm-dia-x-1-5mm-n42-neodymium-magnet-2kg-pull-p2556

Slight plug for my company here:

Get a Sonos 1 as they have cracking sound and the app that runs on your phone or tablet works really well and connects to a NAS or even just a portable USB drive plugged into your router. Then get one of our FridgePad tablet mounts and attach it to your fridge or a wall. Use an old iPad to tablet and you then have a control centre for all your music and no need to constantly find your phone just when you want to put some music on.

http://www.woodforddesign.com/products/fridgepad-2

Sonos works really really well and so much better than anything else out there. I tried a load of different high end bluetooth speakers and the Sonos was the best. The only issue is that you need Wifi and it doesn’t work with bluetooth so no good as a portable speaker out and about.

Off Topic, but does anyone know a good cheap source of smooth bumpers for a T5. Mine are falling to bits as the previous owner just painted over the standard rough bumpers.

Life’s to short, unless you specifically wanted tubeless tyres I would give it up and just enjoy the bike.

Bargain eBay lights but the Halfords ones are aluminium and shiny!! You also get the set for £5. I got mine inshote for £5. If your passing worth grabbing a set.

I have no idea what you wrote after that as I struggle to believe anyone thinks this about any govt let alone this one on this issue. I therefore had no interest in what you subsequently thought

Ok what has the government said (not what you think they said) that does not make sense? I mean their aims make sense. I am not naive enough to think there aren’t some other motives the Torys have hidden away.

I am not on the side of the government or the doctors, have no ideological leaning when it comes to the NHS.

Ok so do we all agree that doctors should not work or be allowed to work unless their is an emergency, more than a 40hr week?

If you don’t agree then why not?

I have to say that everything the government says seems to make sense. The problem is it either has not been reported or is not being put across properly what the BMA is actually saying. Yes lots of headlines but not detail. At the end of the day the government should publish what it is trying to achieve and then let the BMA publish all of the various options that could be put in place to achieve this. The BMA says the NHS already works 7 days a week. Yes if you are very very ill but if anyone has had a loved one in hospital over the weekend we all know the whole place seems to shut down. Simply walk up and down the corridors and they are deserted unlike the normal weekday hustle and bustle.

Doctors need to realise that they are just public sector workers like everyone. They are not special or the chosen ones just an employee like everyone else. They are no different from nurses, paramedics or anyone else in the NHS. Yes they might be more qualified but so it the IT support technical sitting beside the admin staff in 1000’s of offices. Doctors have chosen their profession, they weren’t forced into it and they need to play by the rules that the managers and government out in place. Just like any other business.

Now I agree that doctors should be paid well and anti social hours should be evenly distributed across them. But at the end of the day the NHS needs to work 7 days a week. And for all the Facebook posts of doctors saying “Look I have just finished a 100hr shift” how is this good. Bloody irresponsible and dangerous if you ask me. Would it be good to see a lorry driver brag that he had just worked a 100hr shift. I think not. Lorry drivers and many many other professions are not allowed to work stupidly long hours so why do doctors not only do it but actively campaign that they want to be able to do it!!

Doctors need to be told once and for all to get in line and that they do not own the NHS. (This is now it works in the private sector) Government at the same time needs to insist on efficiencies in the NHS, modern practices and pay decent salaries. Companies have worked out how to do this for years and years and years so it is not impossible to sort this out. If the NHS falls apart then it is our job as the electorate to boot the politicians out and vote in people that will fix the NHS.

Rant over…

My wife has them everyday in her breakfast smoothie and she hasn’t keeled over yet.

I don’t really get the out sourcing of search and rescue. Does it not provide amazing continuous training for all the military crew, perfect for when they go into combat. Living in Somerset near RNAS Yeovilton, they are constantly flying various big and small helicopters around these parts for training and doing all manner of manoeuvres and obviously combat training. There is certainly not a shortage of helicopters in the armed services around here. Would search and rescue not help to provide some additional, seat of the pants training as well as providing a national service to the public?

Must be a very very very very slow news day. Top of the news is fine, but 17 minutes and over half the news and not really saying anything new.

Did you hear the interview on Radio 4 a few weeks back where they had a flood expert and the head of the NFU. The flood expect was saying all the things like planting more trees in the uplands and slowing rivers down with small dams and basically all the things that seem to make sense. Main idea is to stop water rushing downstream to the pinch points and then flooding. The head of the NFU was the most pig headed and stuck in the mud person I have ever heard. He totally ignored all the questions and said that none of it could be done as it might remove some grazing land. His argument was that one of the reason that people go to places like the Lake District was to see all the sheep on the mountains and hills. He might as well have stuck his fingers in his ears and shouted NO NO NO. Complete idiot and god knows how he got his position.

The 6yr rule applies to Amazon as well. Retailers can’t wriggle out of things by saying it is the manufacturers decision. All warranties are with the retailer, who does the work and pays the bill is nothing to do with he customer. Your contract is always with the retailer and not the manufacturer. All these companies try and wriggle out of things but you just have to demand your rights

geetee1972 – Would be interested to read your dissertation. Any chance of a link.

Also how do you do the referencing of another comment as Pook has done?

What I have never understood is why there isn’t a cooperative type of affair for LBS. The same way that Spar or Costcutter work. They would then have central buying power and be able to demand far better prices from the distributors and be able to compete with the online retailers. There are enough bikes shops around for it to work. It just seems that there are 100’s of independent bikes shops not competing really with each other and not working together in anyway to either fight off the likes of CRC/Wiggle or Evans.

Totally agree with he comment that often it seems LBSs sell what they want to sell and not what the customer might want.

Also which ones make a click noise as I hate clicking hubs. My hope hubs do my head in every time I go out riding. I know this is each to their own!!

Why is it wheels prices just seem to be going up and up. Back in the day you could get XT hubs on decent top line mavic rims for just over £100. Now anything decent seems to be £250+

Personally I would buy from John Lewis as not only do they do a 2 yr warranty but Apple are a bit of a nightmare to deal with if you have a hardware problem. My Macbook stopped working beginning of December and telephone support agreed it was a hardware issue. However they insisted I take it to the local Apple store, 50 mile round trip. I could not post it to them and I had to make an appointment with the Genius bar and the earliest appointment was 7 days later. Even though my wife works almost next door she could not just drop it in. Bloody stupid. Needed up taking it to an authorised service centre but all in all a hassle. If I had bought it from John Lewis then just a simple trip to the post office to send it back for a repair.

Also the whole Apple 1 year warranty or Apple care thing is a load of rubbish. If you ever have problem just ring them and say you did a recent software update and now have a problem and they will give you free technical support. Hardware wise, consumer law covers you for 6 years. Even says so on their website http://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/%5B/url%5D

Aren’t those studies trying to say that you will only get caught out without any waterproofs 7 days a year. Most people that cycle to work would have some type of shell jacket. I think when I commuted by bike everyday I only got caught out 3 or 4 times a year. Of course it rained many more days than that but I was caught out without waterproofs. A lot of people that don’t commute by bike think that you get soaked on a regular basis, when in reality you don’t. What is it that cyclist don’t like to spend money of decent waterproofs but are happy to pay £100’s on gortex jackets. If anyone mentions an expensive £100+ waterproof cycling jacket people always reply How much??

Saw these the other day on Kickstarter and thought the design was great. Simple but as the bars are held at an angle you can pack far more bikes into a space and no more issues with handle bars hitting each other or having to vary the heights of the hooks. Expensive but really like the design. I bet you could knock these out seriously cheap as they are just stamped and folded steel.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/998566428/lea-a-bike-rack-that-works-like-it-should?ref=category

I currently use hooks with a bit of hose pipe over them for protection but bars and saddles are always hitting each other and I would like a better solution for the new shed.

Since when is saying Columbus tubing is slightly heavier than Reynolds a moronic statement? Get the spec sheets from the manufacturers and you will clearly see that Reynolds is the lightest. Columbus is also tons cheaper to buy and can be easily bought by the individual tube. I know this as I have bought both and built frames with both. Now whether saying the difference in weight is relevant is a different story. I would agree that it isn’t noticeable but in cycling we love to save a few 100g here and there. Just because you want a steel frame doesn’t mean you don’t care about weight.

Columbus tubing is very good and really one of the main alternatives available in this country other than Reynolds and Deda. Generally slightly heavier than Reynolds tubing but considerably cheaper. I’ve built a large road frame in Columbus life that came out around 1500g.

We have to do VAT returns 4 times a year and to be honest I don’t think a full return will take much longer if at all.

Cadence were very good and got a great facility.

When they say “Deep Coal Mining” does this mean that no one is now going underground to mine coal or is it some other definition. Is this really the last coal mine?

Has buy to let really driven up the houses prices. It may have done in small pockets of the country but the housing market has always been rocketing along well before buy to let came along. Owning a house is not always the best thing. There are a ton of costs which you, not some invisible person has to pay for when things like the boiler need replacing or there is a hole in your roof. It might be a great idea to encourage people to own houses but can all of those low wage people living in council house really afford or be able to find £3k when the boiler goes pop!!

Landlords are just being blamed as an easy scape goat as salaries have not risen much in the last few years and there are nows lots more graduates that have been sold the line that if they go to Uni they will earn loads and then they will be able to afford that bend new car and brand new house. That isn’t the case and understandably there are lots or disgruntled people who expect more.

I was sick of the constant battle of fake inks not working just when you HAVE to print something and the stupidly high prices for genuine cartridges. We plumped for a HP HP ENVY 5640. So far seems good. Prints directly from an iPhone and iPad and has a Instant ink deal where you pay £2 a month and they then send you replacement ink when needed. Holds both A4 and photo paper at the same time. So far so good and no more bloody battles with ink cartridges that the print just happens to decide it no longer likes. Its not the smallest of printers but everything is enclosed so you don’t have paper hanging out.

Having something that prints so easily from an iPhone every time is really handy for the kids.

http://store.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Product.aspx?id=B9S59A&opt=BHC&sel=PRN

Went to renew my passport a couple of years back in Newport office and I must say they were marvellous. Yes they were picky about the photos as I had my moth slightly open but even through it was June, no queue and slick process and friendly staff. I had been planning for a day of hell.

We change £ to $ all the time for work. We use HiFX, Money Corp, UKForex and TorFX. All depending on which has the best rate. For £100,000 you should be able to get a very good rate. Might be worth speaking to your bank as for that amount they will probably do you a special rate.

My wife has a Dahon Vigor P9 which is a cracking bike. It actually rides really well and is solid. She got some Dahon mudguards as well. Much much better than the cheaper bikes we test rode

Cheap from here http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/67919/Dahon_Vigor_P9_Folding_2014_Bike

I had a 10’x10′ shed and with 4 or 5 bikes in there was just enough room for a work bench. Not enough room for a work stand as well. Remember a shed will always fill up with other cr*p as well.

I just love it that the people who support free speech so much are normally the ones that say people cannot air an option when it is different to theirs. Having people air their views publicly is good as it makes you realise what work still needs to be done in society. We also need to understand that vast vast parts of the world do not agree with our views and what we say and do is not always best for the rest of the world. Look at our version of democracy, it doesn’t also ways work in all other countries and cultures. We might wish it did, but it doesn’t.

We used to have a Tado but just removed it and sent it back as it should be good but actually cost us far more. On their website it says you can control your boiler even if the internet is down, oh no you can’t. We just had no broadband for 2 weeks and the Tado just couldn’t handle it. No way to manually turn the heating or hot water on which they admitted when I called the help desk. The support team agreed their website is wrong and the only way to get heating on was to replace it with a manual thermostat and boiler control. (luckily I had the old one kicking around) Even when my complaint was replied to by the CEO in Germany they still wouldn’t admit that their website was wrong, however he was happy to admit that the Tado couldn’t work with out any internet.

The other issue which we had is that if your internet ever goes down it reverts to leaving your heating and hot water on 24/7. We got back from holiday in May to find our heating blasting it out. Turned out they had some server issues and our Tado was switched to manually on. Living in the country our internet is not the most stable and every time it goes down, day or night, the heating would switch to on.

The basic premise of Tado is great but its total reliance 100% on an internet connection and their servers to be working is poor. I do like the way that it learns how quickly your house heats up and then you tell it what time you want the house to be warm. It then calculates when it needs to switch on. Far better way than the standard of when do you want the heating to come on with no idea when it will hit the right temperature.

I have now just installed a Hive and so far it seems very good and simple to use. But it really is just a wireless dumb thermostat that you can switch on using your phone. It is nice that it has a boost function, which the Tado does not have.
Tado was very easy to fit yourself, Hive was a tad more tricky as there are not really any instructions as they want to sell you the fitting service. Tado did have a very good installation process where you put in your old thermostat make and model and then it told you what had to be be changed.

I agree with the others that the Honeywell system would be the best but the cost is just far to high compared to the amount it would save, well that is my opinion.

I did wonder if these would be any good as you would then have a correctly positioned thermostat in each room and not one at floor height. Normal TVRs always seem to be slightly hidden away.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-x-DIGITAL-PROGRAMMABLE-WIRELESS-ROOM-THERMOSTAT-TRV-RADIATOR-VALVE-HEAD-/181693552588?hash=item2a4dc797cc:g:SCIAAOSwhcJWHQQM

I have A fitbit HR and really like it. Don’t use the HR function much but having a creep so you can check your progress without having to get your phone out is really handy. I would certainly say get something that at least shows your progress through the day.

My wife has a Mi fit which at £15 is a bargain but step count seems to be out a bit and no screen or lights to show your stepping progress, but then again it is only £15.

Look at how long the guarantees on each is. Everyone seems to say Worcester Bosch are the best but after getting one installed the plumber then told us that the warranty was only 3 years not 10 years. It is only 10 years if installed by a Worcester accredited plumber like British Gas (you of course then pay a ton more)

After a unrelated visit to the plumbers merchant 2 weeks afterwards I noticed lots of boilers had a 10 year warranty. As this was going into our rental house I was mightily p*ssed off.
Lesson from this was don’t always listen to the plumber as he will install what he always installs and what he finds easy, not necessarily what is best for the customer.

says Wooste

Lovely lights but for th life of me I can not work out how the button to change the settings works. I given up trying to work it out and just use it for on and off. Not sure why they designed it to be so complicated. Know doubt people will come along now and explain how simple it is and I have been a dumbo!!

Check this out: http://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/%5B/url%5D