Any question answered...

Can't believe what we had to put up with

Yeah, the guys who made LED front lights possible deserve some sort of prize

What did they win and when?

2014 Nobel Prize for Physics, specifically for making bike lights less shit and nothing else.

Sounds like she has IBS.

Has car insurance just gone up for everyone? Renewal is like £200 a year more for me and my wife (2 cars). Gave them a ring and they knocked £15 or something daft off the total.

Yeah. My provider matched the lowest quote on compare the market, might be worth a try?

Guess I’ll have to go through all that bullshit tonight then.

Faff, but £90 for half an hour's faff is just about my hourly rate.

£1100 for two people with two shit cars and yonks of no claim.

Yep, even with my no claims bonus going from 1 year to 2 which I thought would prompt a drop all of my quotes were higher than the previous year. Ended up on a pay per mile one which worked out cheapest (but I don't drive much).

Yeah, ours went from £400 to £500 - cheapest on a PCW was £700 :o

That’s a relief to know. I think our area is particularly bad for theft and damage (I had two work vans broken into, neighbour has his van broken into, neighbour had his car nicked at 530pm the other day!).

Will try price comparison sites either way

Are you jointly insured on both cars? It might be worth getting quotes on single driver and joint drivers for each car. If you never drive each other's cars then don't insure as such. a couple of years ago I insured my Legacy for my wife to drive if she needed to; all of a sudden she didn't like autos, it's too big etc, etc. From then on no second driver for either car.

Cheers. I went for the ikea ones as there was that deal. Although unfortunately it was only on AAA, so just got one pack of AA.

Our camberwell flat's kitchen and lounge line up but are separated by a plaster wall (with an annoying, lop-sided serving hatch). Alongside these rooms is a corridor with firedoor entrances to each room. Others on our estate have knocked down the partitioning wall but I am undecided because, although with lots of work it will probably look better, it might make the flat harder to sell or lose value. I think it is the kind of thing a young professional would like, but maybe a family would be less keen on, for reasons of blocking noise, and basically being able to crowd manage children. what do you lot think?

Does anyone know where I can get a tool like this in the uk?
Saw it on bikepacking.com
It would be great for touring.

what do you lot think?

How long do you expect to stay there? That is going to be the primary determinant of whether the benefit of open plan is worth the costs. Would a communicating door give you the best of both worlds? My ancestral home had the dining room and kitchen opening to the hall via separate doors with a serving hatch connecting the two rooms, the addition of a communicating door between kitchen and the dining room was transformative in the social order, particularly with respect to infant herding as it allowed mother to cook and supervise the play area simultaneously.

thanks: I can't imagine adding another door as the kitchen door and the lounge door already stand next to each other and the arch of the door would kill the space you might have otherwise created. we are going to stay as long as we can afford to pay the mortgage! its our only asset, our pension and everything else besides. currently no chance we'll move out unless we become landlords... not sure about that.

currently no chance we'll move out

That's the main factor. If you spend £10k and knock £10k off the sale value, it's only £3 a day if you live there for another 20 years.

People who work with metal - what's the thickest diameter brass rod I can easily bend at home with no specialist tools? 3 or 4mm?
It's to make 'bookends' fixed into a shelf but only holding CDs upright so not much weight - I was thinking to make a 3-sided rectangle but actually a U-shape would also work fine and easier to bend - drill a couple of holes down into the shelf, glue the ends in. Like a croquet hoop or giant staple.

what's the thickest diameter brass rod I can easily bend at home with no specialist tools? 3 or 4mm?

I made bookends the same way from 4mm stainless steel, which is several times stronger than brass. You certainly won't struggle with 4mm brass, maybe at 6mm you'd start to find it hard on the hands.

hard on

Huhuhuha

Sounds good, thanks.

Any one have any experience of Interloc Racing Design? Especally their 5 speed Freewheels? Are the worth the money? Durable? Good value?

Interloc Racing Design

No experience, but they've been in that business a long time so I assumed that they are doing something right