Any question answered...

Can you not set up your phone as a remote?

I don't know, can I?
Is an iPhone capable of sending an infrared signal?

Nope. But this seems like there are options
https://www.redmondpie.com/this-smart-lightning-based-mini-ir-blaster-turns-iphone-into-a-universal-remote-control-for-everything/

(I've never used one)

Fine. Back in the day, I used a cd walkman plugged into my mixer when "playing out".
People still got their funk on. Nobody died.

Good shout! I need to buy a cheapo polishing machine I think if I don't want to sit for an entire day heh!

Probably not that pricey. I was thinking £30-£40.

@withered_preacher I will occasionally be taking it on flights so collapsible is necessary.

In that case maybe Blunt, Davek or Repel make pretty good folders.
Wirecutter has opinions and brags about it’s research...

If i leave my job part way through the year, having been taxed at the higher bracket on my normal salary as if i was going to work there for the year, i assume i'll be due a rebate, but is there a simple way to calculate a ball park of what it might be before i send my P45 and P85 through to HMRC?

It depends on whether or you're going to work again or not in the current tax year?

If you're not, take the figure you've earned, pop it into a tax calculator https://listentotaxman.com/ , see what tax you should pay over the year and whatever amount you've paid over that should give you a rough idea of what you'll get back.

having been taxed...i assume i'll be due a rebate

In the general case, there's a thread for that

Dealing with surface rust on a raw frame - is white vinegar or coke in spray bottle and aluminium foil sheets the only way to go if I don't want to give it away to get it blasted?

When I wet blasted my frame I was left with a very dusty coating of fine powdery rust. I wanted to use a weak solution of phosphoric acid to clean it off, but couldn’t find any so took a punt and used cola. It worked a treat.

I’m guessing your rusty bits are more pitting in the surface. Try cola, but I think you might have more success with the white vinegar and it’ll need a little soaking if it’s anything more than dusty surface stuff. You could wet a bit of cotton wool with vinegar and stick it on any scabs for a few hours and you should find it’ll dissolve away the rust and leave the clean metal behind.

What font is this? Looks like Arial bold, but on-screen looks different...

Edit... Arial Condensed looks close enough.

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It is Arial Bold Condensed.

Edit: I've changed my mind. I think it's just Arial Bold seen at a slightly oblique angle. It's possible it's slightly scaled in one direction as well.

Edit: now I think it is Arial Extra Bold. I'm out of practice.

It’s not extra bold. I think it’s as you suggest, scaled north. Condensed/bold is still a bit wider but looks okay.

Bit wonky. People kept coming and going, knocking my markers. Next time I’ll wait til it’s out of hours and I can actually close the door!!

Things we do as favours, eh.

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Ooooooooh look, the Magic Roundabouts FUN FAIR is in town!

^

extra bold, by the way

Wonder why extra bold looked wrong... sod the yobfair, I'll stay in doors-locked.

Thanks - I'm moving overseas, so I'll not earn any more money in the UK for another 2yrs minimum.

Off the back of the link you sent, i found a rebate calculator via hmrc that was quite good

Don’t take this sweeping generalisation to heart Londoners but as a green fields Yorkshire man I’d imagine there is a wealth of experience of storing bikes in awkward small flats down there compared to up here.

I’m looking at metal boxes(sheds?) you know the small waist high tools on a tower block outside balcony type...

It doesn’t need a ground anchor or anything but ideally I’d like to fit up to 4 frames and their wheels, separated would be better I guess for size.

Any ideas on appropriate dimensions before I start gaffa taping boxes in my living room?

Has anyone experience with electroplating services?

Specifically I’d like to get a set of cranks chromed. I can’t find any businesses locally to get a quote from.

What’s the cost like?

They'd need to be steel to get them chromed.
If they're ally, you are looking at anodising - which might give you colour, but not the mirror-finish of chrome.

What’s the cost like?

Expensive. It's a laborious process, and the process chemistry is rightly subject to costly environmental controls.

I have no specific knowledge of bike sheds of the type you're thinking of but I have knowledge of sheds, wooden and metal. We had a fairly large beige and green metal shed installed at my workplace years ago. Both it and my colleagues similar shed I helped to build looked good but were flimsy and needed rawl bolting to the base. They "sweated" badly and so any unpainted steel stored inside is going to stay wet and suffer. I have wooden sheds and they do exactly what you'd want. So I would suggest a small wooden structure with a pitched or sloping roof which should breathe better than metal. I'd also suggest you make it bigger than you think you need as storage is always useful. Finally, the shed at work had a salt spreader and other equipment with rubber tyres. These and rubber fuel pipes on strimmers were eaten by mice or rats which took up winter residence. I've never even seen evidence of rodents in my wooden sheds.
So I'd go wood and maybe go for a floor space of two wooden pallets with a chipboard floor and roof and horizontal overlapped feather edged boards. All stuff you can get from diy and fencing product suppliers and won't cost the earth. A bit of roofing felt and you have a little bike shed to smoke behind.
This is from various suppliers on google.

@mdcc_tester oh lame.
@JurekB pretty sure steel.

Suppose that’s partly why rrp on ‘chrome’ bmx pedals are double or triple their nearest (painted) neighbour?

They’re 8-splined bmx cranks. Just checked the original bike spec that they came from, says CR-Mo. So... hmm.

Suppose I had better pay up for a rare 10-spline 19mm spindle from the USA, for the actual chrome pair in the parts box.

says CR-Mo. So... hmm

There's no problem chrome plating CrMo steel (see all those chrome 4130 BMX frames), it's just not likely to be worth doing from an economic standpoint.

Where might I find some of these? And what are they even called?

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