Yep and a new Chromebook is £150. What’s bad is being led down a route that costs more money for everyone and has no benefit. Because someone was sold the wrong thing.

That’s the biggest issue for me: the expense of this vs chromebooks which in our experience work very well for administrating homework. Also the apparent absence of any particular plan to develop a more interesting learning environment using technology (let alone one which is enabled by iPads in particular). It just doesn’t stack up.

Thanks all. It helps that the boys are totally ambivalent, other than seeing the device as a responsibility they could do without. It definitely smacks of some kind of deal which must be making someone money, otherwise they’d focus on a proper digital strategy which pupils can benefit from across different platforms, rather than just spunking iPads everywhere.

To be honest, if they’d asked for us to actually pay for the things I would have said no straight off!

I won a ‘Dalesman Cheese’ branded frisbee as a kid for filling something in. Was more excited than the situation probably merited! I used to fill in and send off for all the gubbins on cereal packs. Highlights included a Matchbox Tony the Tiger car and membership of some kind of Weetabix fan club 😎

We got the boy a Squier FSR Bullet tele and it’s decent for the money. I’ve had a couple of Yamaha Pacificas which are cheap and cheerful and play pretty well.

Once he’d demonstrated he was properly into it we split the cost of a small Boss Katana, with lots of effects built in. That was one of the best purchases ever, it’s really fun and he has barely put the guitar down since. Tiny practice amps are OK but something a bit better really helps.

Thanks all. Tickets say to arrive 60-90 minutes before departure so we’ll go for 90.

I took one out for a demo today, partly off the back of reading this thread. I really enjoyed it, felt smoother than I expected and was nice and light, dead easy to ride. I found I was using the gears a lot but the lack of power was not an issue most of the time. Took it on a short bit of potholey gravelly road, and some cobbles but nothing too adventurous.

I don’t think it would work for me as my only bike. It really felt like a great second bike for weekend exploring and getting muddier than usual (as demonstrated above!). It made 30mph fun, which is good. But I wouldn’t want to do all day/hundreds of road miles on it, without at least an extra gear.

Now weighing up whether to look at something else to trade my V Strom in for. It’s a great bike, but I really want something with more character. My head says keep it as it does what I need very well (and maybe look at upgrading suspension and tarting it up), but…

They had a Kawasaki Z900RS in there which looked lovely. Maybe I’ll just save up a bit longer and try some other bikes.

You have my sympathy. Just over two years since our youngest, then 9, decided to show off to his mum just how high he could go on the rope swing in the local woods. He took an almighty run up, launched himself off the edge, then discovered he’d wound up far more kinetic energy than he was capable of handling.

He was bloody lucky that he had his arm over his face when he landed, so despite the C. 2m fall and nasty wrist break he didn’t end up with more than superficial head injuries.

He was really brave, and the hospital staff were fantastic. Although it was funny seeing him deal with his deep-rooted fear of needles and suchlike: mostly this involved a barrage of detailed questions to ensure that there were no surprises! I was very proud of how he handled it.

We still occasionally go past and make a mini pilgrimage to ‘the crash site’ (one of those horrible dry bits with gnarly root knobbles poking up). And I did happen to catch it on video, although we’ve hardly watched that back as it’s not very nice viewing!

He hasn’t been on a rope swing yet…

I love NC. Mandy is fantastic. As above, I’d watch (and have watched) any old crap if he was in it (although not always make it through to be totally fair). Forgot about Renfield, might watch it tonight.

Just finished Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. Really enjoyed it – I started The System of the World a few years ago and didn’t get on with it at all, but I was pleasantly surprised by how readable this was. Funny too. Debating whether to try Quicksilver now, may make more sense starting at no. 1 in the trilogy.

Also been re-reading The Shining after my eldest started his Stephen King phase recently. Forgot how much back story didn’t make it into the film, in many ways I think the film is better.

Went to Osees at Albert Hall in Manchester on Thursday, cracking gig, great atmosphere and lively friendly crowd. It’s such a good venue as well.

Support band Psychic Graveyard were a fun starter too, hadn’t heard of them, they were pretty full on industrial/punk. Brill.

Ours has just arrived. Might just check everything works and get any updates sorted before the kids get home….

The Grant Museum of Zoology is a quirky little place, well worth a quick visit if you’re near Euston.

We’re very excited. Have spent more hours on BotW than any other game ever, and I’m just hoping this new one will live up to its predecessor/our expectations!

It will be interesting playing it having already sussed the combat (and assuming they haven’t changed it too much). That was a bit of a learning curve in BotW which worked nicely as the game progressed. The exploring is the best bit, so as long as there’s plenty to find we’ll be happy!

We have one on our road which went to a nephew or someone when the owner died. He left it for several years and it was a bit sad, pretty dilapidated and a massive pain for next door (it’s a semi) as bits gradually fell off it.

Fortunately he’s finally moved it on and it’s being put back together. Apparently the inside is ‘not too bad’ although they’re starting off by replacing all the ceilings!

Saw King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard last week at Ally Pally. Cracking as ever, two non-stop hours of madness from across their considerable catalogue. First time I’ve been there, quite a cool venue!

Also caught most of Los Bitchos supporting who were fun, surf rock type stuff. They’re in Manchester at the Psych Fest in September so will try to see them there.

If you’re going to map them, maybe you could do it whilst visiting each by some novel means, perhaps by bicycle, and broadcasting your adventures on youtube. Then publish a plush coffee table photo book, followed by a series of calendars, an appearance on The One Show, fame, wealth and glory.

I’ve got one. It’s a good bike, as above. Power suits me, but it’s not exactly thrilling. It’s great for commuting and distances, I haven’t had a pillion on it but it’s good with luggage.

I also had an eye out for a Kawasaki Versys, quite a lot of overlap between the two, although the Kwaks are a bit prettier to my eyes.

Would be a good choice based on your criteria.

Came here to say bouldering, as above. I can’t stand the gym and have struggled to get into any type of routine doing stuff at home, but bouldering/climbing is fun, great for strength and balance, and great mentally – the problem solving bit.

I need to look at Interrail properly I think. It’s tempting to just have the one ticket for the whole lot but sounds like it’s not quite that simple.

That said, we’re looking at a week or so in one place, another week travelling so we can be pretty flexible with the outbound and return route/stops.

Just bumping this for the weekend. Thanks for the ideas so far.

Kids stocks and shares ISA. We use HL and put a bit in each month. Should hopefully beat cash and NS&I over a decade or two.

Great, lots to go on there, ta.

Kids and Mrs are up for it, we’ve done a train from Turkey to Austria which was mega basic but good fun.

Definitely looking forward to Seville, been thinking about Barcelona but hadn’t thought about Madrid,that would be nice.

Or even two months 😬

I like a decent breakfast. Nothing too out there, but make porridge with nice things in (dates yum), some fruit while it cooks, a nice coffee, and watch the birds if I time it right. Then cycle to work.

Also, go on to a four day week if at all possible. That has been a game changer for me.

This might be of interest?

I think types of layers is more important than which specific ones you buy.

New Balance 574, Shirley?

Saw Midlake at Brudenell Social Club in Leeds Friday night. Second time this year. Solid setlist and they were on good form again. I liked the venue too – nice and small, cheap beer, good sound. First time there, but will be back definitely.

Went along for an ‘orientation/interview’ at an implausibly vague media-related job in Leeds promising great opportunities and lots of money. Absolutely none-the-wiser after an hour of waffle, then they bundled us into some cars and took us down to Denby Dale and released us into the suburbs to knock on doors and flog restaurant loyalty cards. Turned out to be some kind of pyramid sales thing where you get a slice of the commission earned by those you recruit. I don’t know if I’d have been better at it had they actually prepared me properly, or if it hadn’t been pissing it down, but I quickly decided it wasn’t for me. Unfortunately I had to see the day out as I had no means of getting back to Leeds.

We saw Gabriels too (Sunday night in Manc). Excellent, although everyone scratching their heads at how short the set was! What they played was great though, he’s quite the showman.

I was just thinking about Coronation Street this afternoon when I saw a lady who looked like Mavis Riley. Her and Rita were an institution. Throw in old Norris and you could probably edit together a very solid few hours of ‘The Best of The Cabin’ which would put a lot of today’s terrestrial TV to shame.

In answer to the question: candyfloss. Fantastic stuff.

Halfway through selling using Motorway, assuming it goes through OK we’ll be 50% up on what WBAC were quoting.

It is a drain cover. I’ve dug out all around it now, most of the gulley was full of sand, soil and pebbles. Thinking I might line the gulley with membrane or guttering and refill with pebbles – hopefully more water will drain away.

That’s solid, all dry.

Yeah, I’m wary of starting to dig that out myself, it seems like the kind of job that can escalate quickly!

I think the wall behind the soil pipe is a cavity wall, but I don’t know if it’s insulated, I suspect not. The inside of that wall is a bit damp, along with the bottom of an internal wall which runs perpendicular to it. Dining room on one side, kitchen on the other. Dining room side feels damp, kitchen not. It doesn’t get direct sun so that’s a plausible cause.

The patio/gulley around the wall is sort of incidental, although I do want to tidy it up. There is a DPM, it’s half the height above the patio that it should be. New patio is going to be a big expensive PIA, particularly as we don’t have access other than through the house.

Thanks for your suggestions.

After a bit of pond TLC a few weeks ago (mainly pulling out lots of algae and leaves) and sorting out the water level, I thought it was pretty dead in there. I was pleasantly surprised then when I was having a tidy up yesterday and saw three frogs out and about! Closer inspection revealed quite a lot of insect action, a load of tiny snails, some tiny shrimpy jobbies and some wiggly larvae things. The few plants I managed to pick up when I dug it last year are doing well, so it’s given me a bit of a nudge to get a bit more planting done around it and keep on top of the leaf fall a bit more regularly to keep it clean. Waiting for a sunny afternoon to try to get some pics.

I’ve started Cto5k and been doing this, along with trying to keep breathing gentle into my diaphragm rather than chest. Only a few runs in so it’s not made an obvious difference yet from when I’ve dabbled with running before but I’ve enjoyed the focus it encourages on breathing and efficiency. Snot is an issue though!

Also been deliberately nose breathing at night and it’s really made a difference to my sleep. No waking up (I think I am prone to sleep apnoea), no dry mouth, no snoring.

This guy (as well as getting bonus points for the quite weird’first date/lecture/interview’ format) explains it quite persuasively over a couple of videos (this nose unblocking thing is quite handy and part of the same thing) You tube link

Edit: he does another one where he’s lecturing a little girl who’s sitting next to him with her mouth taped up 😂

Nice graphs folks :-)

We have one. It’s fine. Supposed to be cheaper, but we don’t use it that much anyway, mainly bought for towels and bedding. Beko I think, it was a bit more expensive than a condenser. It takes a while to do its thing but makes stuff dry.

I’ve always bought with Questor. Never had to claim but they get good reviews!

Sounds horrible mate, glad you weren’t badly hurt. I tend to assume the number of toerags/nutters is lower early mornings, but clearly not totally zero. Where are/were you?