Any question answered...

It's hovering around 0°C where I am now and some mornings the Nexus 7 hub on my commuter bike is frozen stiff. (I have no choice but to leave it outside.) Not unheard of it seems.

But my questions is; what would happen if I could get some anti-freeze into the hub? The kind of stuff you use in frozen car doors locks. Would it damage the hub long term?

Using multi-speed hub gears in cold climates often doesn't end well. Granted our winters get much colder than noted above, but generally the maintenance and hassle aren't worth it. Running Phils Tenacious instead of grease has been tried with varying levels of success.

Perchance, has anyone here ever seen anything like this for sale/on-sale/available here in the UK? I want to make a minimalist 2 step 'staircase' and this'd make things soooooo easy.

Observez Vous -> http://www.rona.ca/en/frame---2-step-steel-stair-frame

I would just do one of the following for such a short run.

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Or

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So I'm back with the holiday questions...

Does anyone have a recommendation for where to go for a long weekend in Italy in Feb?

Excluded Cities: Venice, Florence

Rome seems like the obvious choice but wondering about other places and have no knowledge of the country.

It would literally be to escape London, so zero preferences in terms of activities, City, beach, country, whatever.

Milan? In a long weekend you could do it more justice than Rome I guess.

Cool I'll have a look.

TBH you're the first person I've heard who wasn't fairly negative about it. Most people paint a picture of a grim urban sprawl?

grim urban sprawl

That's all I've ever heard about Milan, though I've never been there myself.

Don't go to Naples.
Maybe go to Sorrento.

I have a fond/blurry memory of it being nice either side of being totally wasted on Limoncello. (Compared to the not fond/crystal clear sober memory of pulling an acquaintance away from an idiot with a small knife in Naples)

Bologna, and eat everything.
Looks a bit chilly in Feb - maybe just keep eating to stay warm.

Bilbao.

Great city, great food.

Someone turned up at the end of my road at the weekend with a caravan, and looks to be attempting to move in. It's in a pay and display bay, but they seem to be trying to pull a defence centering on the fact that the couple occupying the van have two or three small children and have some kind of legal protection against being evicted or towed away.
I'm not particularly fussed either way, but it's an interesting legal position.
Anyone got any idea of the actual law?

Where are their services coming from?

Useless and pdlouchepdlouche thanks for the tips.

Bilbao.

Love Bilbao, but Spain is sort of out because of the limited veggie options for my other half.

If you want somewhere that's not Italy that should have veggie options, don't discount Slovenia, which is so close to Italy that its architecture is clearly influenced (especially some parts of Ljubljana). But if it's cold and miserable wherever, go to Bulgaria where everything is stupidly cheap, a little run down, but way more relaxed than conventional European destinations.

Modena!

You'd be very surprised.

A gas bottle, I guess. They must be managing somehow, they have been there since Saturday night.

Granted, but they must be getting water and electricity from somewhere.

Ta Mr Preacher, but...... It's really gotta be minimalist. I'm laying an Engineered Oak Floor in the Conservatory and want to build an open plan '2 step-case' which still allows the Floor to show through (cos it looks so gorgeous!). Sure I can buy/make wooden stringers/strings but its gonna look odd introducing another wood type into the mix.

Ta for the input though.

I see, post pics when you've solved it.

Sorrento, although it is very much a seasonal destination- I've been a week or so before Easter and quite a few of the shops bars and restaurants were either closed or being repainted.
The Circumvesuviana would get you to Pompeii and Herculaneum - worth the best part of a day each - or Naples if you're feeling adventurous. Ischia and Capri might be possible, but probably only from Naples at this time of year.
I've never had trouble in Naples, but have been deliberately low key - no camera, expensive watch, handbag (MrsE, not me) and stick to the main streets. Not sure I'd want to stay there though.

Siena, and http://www.lavialla.it/uk/p/home.html

I'd avoid Naples. I got wanked-at twice in the space of 4 hours. Two different tramps intentionally and purposefully targeted their masturbation at me and my friends.