Any question answered...

Any options other than grinding them down?

Spacers? Silver Omnomnoms have silver bolts, but a: good luck finding them as a spare part and b: Omnomnom bolts will probably need spacers with any other crank anyway, as the spider is so fat on the SRAM cranks so the nuts are correspondingly lengthy.

I'm looking for a basic cleaning product for my bikes and auto shampoo seems to have the highest availability and lowest cost + I can get them in environmentally friendly versions. Are there any reason to look for something bike specific?

Simple Green

http://www.simplegreen.co.uk/

I use it for cleaning all my bikes and degreasing the chains/greasy bits...works great and biodegradable

Ah, I happened to pick up some Wood Silk the other day. Like most furniture polishes though, it says "not for use on untreated wood including scratches" or something similar. So I'm a bit worried about the patch where the varnish appears to have worn or weathered off. That Briwax stuff looks like the business, and according to the website the place on Lordship Lane stocks it, so might wait and get that. This also looks good - http://cambridgetraditionalproducts.co.uk/beeswax-furniture-polish/

I have a block of beeswax for general purposes, is that good to start with on bare wood / where I've taken the varnish down a bit, or does the other stuff in polish help?

As per @ChasnotRobert has said but I would use white spirit with the wire wool and go with the grain. It will be stinky so do it outside. See how it turns out once dry. I use Briwax for all the furniture in my house. It's all a bit experimental when furniture is that far gone.
I use these instead of wire wool but start off gently.

Thanks, I will go for that Briwax. I thought solvents like white spirit would just dry the wood out even more? Although it does need a good clean. I have a box of super fine wire wool somewhere, if only I could remember where... There are some metal bits that look like bronze but might once have been brass, which I was going to have a go at with some Autosol, or is that too harsh?

I just accidentally erased a bunch of hard won words....
Anyway, I refinished an oak highboy by stripping it with Citri-strip (do not want, too slow) and sandpaper/carbide blade strippers.
The finish was accomplished by applying a linseed based varnish with #0000 steel wool. The bits that the wool removes are saturated with the finish and driven into the pores (oak and walnut work really well with this technique) leaving an almost French polish-like finish, though not as glossy.

Sounds lovely, thanks. Nervous about using any kind of stripper that requires washing off. Don't really want to add water to the thing.

Anyone know where I can get pomegranate molasses in North London?

Bike shop most likely to be open in London today and selling a JIS taper track crankset to fit a 103mm spindle?

Indeed

BLB if you can stomach it

Oh will you look at that, I got that exact BB in my shop at St Paul Evans.

The catch, it close at 6pm if you're fast enough.

Is there a strong possibility that an unboxed but fully complete / functional Sega Dreamcast will be worth anything other than scrap value in the not too distant future?

no, not a strong possibility

Does anyone want a Sega Dreamcast with two controllers, the LCD memory thingy and shit load of - very good - games?

He had the BB and wanted to buy compatible cranks...

Yes! What do you consider scrap value?

Yes please

Any clearance issues likely to arise using a direct mount SRAM mountain bike crank on a cross bike?

Try any turkish shops. Let me know if you find any - I have a pomegranate salsa recipe that is amazing.

Pretty sure the regular supermarkets stock it these days. I know the big Sainsburys in Enfield does. Otherwise you have the Turkish supermarkets - Eren just up the road from Stoke Newington station will have it for sure as will plenty of places on the A10

Which crank? Q factor might be wider so the opposite of clearance issues - I'd have thought?

I am sick of my white cycling socks being grey. Any suggestions to how to keep them white?
I am almost ready to buy ultrasonic washing machine...