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https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.4855116,-0.1500201,3a,15y,247.11h,86.69t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sx8Hr9L4SBDGv4nZ_aDvhVA!2e0!5s20200801T000000!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D3.3073275482738325%26panoid%3Dx8Hr9L4SBDGv4nZ_aDvhVA%26yaw%3D247.1090848326451!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTIxMC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D here
Edit; it's fucking massive

Yeah I should've mentioned it is always about 5°c above where it says the temperature is. I tend to confirm its at temperature I want with a kitchen thermometer

For yoghurt making, I can recommend this which is cheap, small (all the containers stack inside making it counterspace/cupboard friendly) you can adjust to get exactly the ferment you want, and it comes with a strainer for perfect greek yog. I have also used it to make cultured butter (highly recommended) and experimented with soft cheeses.

As a fellow lactose-intolerant traveller I find milk-aid lactase drops work really well if you drop 3-4 in at the start of your milk ferment and I find the end-product is easily digestible (also the longer the ferment the better). I plan to give skyr a go too, which seems basically the same as yoghurt just with added casein for extra whey extraction.

If you want really high-protein greek yoghurt (and also to increase your yield from that litre of milk), whisk in a couple of tablespoons of skimmed milk powder at the start. And if you cba with the faff of heating the milk to denature the proteins before the ferment, just buy 1l UHT bottles from the shop (most supermarkets have them in packs of 6 where they are c. 90p per litre). The best culture to start with is definitely a tablespoon or so of supermarket greek yog, but I notice that the 'potency' (activity I guess) of the culture definitely declines after two or three batches meaning you need to refresh the starter culture with more supermarket yog periodically. Not 100% sure why this is and it is something I would love to figure out!

Go on then

I was in the same situation last year and we went to Montgenevre. Very cute, cheap lift pass and fast inexpensive transfer from Turin. Good beginner slopes, and if you get bored you can head over the border to Sestriere or Sauze d'Oulx as it's all interconnected.
All in (other than food) it ran us about £650 each (hire/accom/flights/transfer/ski pass).

As title, looking for a fixed rear wheel 50-70mm deep, tub or clincher not fussed. Would also accept a similar wheelset at the right price

That's the dream! Healthy competition, but hopefully avoiding a race to the bottom

A seemingly unreported and in my mind under-appreciated component of the Labour manifesto is the proposals for devolution in England. Brexit was strongly fueled by resentment in English regions where people felt policymakers were imposing decisions on them, rather than listening and responding to what locals thought was most needed.

The system as it works now relies on councils bidding and competing for ludicrously small amounts for fixed projects (often single digit £m) dictated from Whitehall, instead of creating a framework which enables local authorities to spend money most appropriately to fit local needs. The only winners as it stands are ministerial control freaks and expensive consultants, who are invariably seen as necessary to produce the slick slide decks which win bids (ask me how I know...). This is the system that has resulted in the UK having the largest city in Europe with no metro; Leeds - a shameful accolade but an apt explanation for why drivers are seen as such an important franchise in this country.

The manifesto seeks to implement recommendations in Gordon Brown's 2022 report which identified a lack of power in local government to enact changes. Key amongst these are a devolution of powers over transport, planning (with responsibilities to build, not block) and investment for growth. The devolution deal could be the most important (positive) piece of legislation in decades, and it has the potential to totally change the running of this country, making us less reliant on the whims of central-government.

The only thing missing is powers over taxation...

Quintessential example of a northern Brexit-voting left behind area. The flag bearing industry - Teeside steelworks - shutdown in 2015 leaving a lot of discontent with local and national Labour which was seen in having failed to grasp the precariousness of the steel industry in Redcar (which had been on the chopping block for over a decade).

Tories planned it to be the pioneering levelling up project, but then Ben Houchen decided he would rather spread government cash for developing the steelworks (a genuinly very valuable industrial site) to local cronies and now it's a major scandal ready to blow. The Private Eye has some great coverage.

It could pass as a nice little soliloquy. I've had the same thought.

It is really dependent on a couple of factors; what the turnout of traditional true blue Tory voters is (who may not want to switch allegiance, but don't feel compelled to vote), and the level of protest voting for Reform amongst other right-wingers.

However, Reform currently lacks a charismatic standard bearer, or even a broadly recognised one. Gratingly, I think if Nigel Farage assumes the helm his branding and zealous campaigning could be enough to bring Reform level in the polls with the Conservatives. I'm not sure that's likely, however.

Thanks for this - never knew about it. There's even a fun parallel with Reform.

Latest Electoral Calculus GE prediction:
https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/prediction_main.html

I entirely agree that the it's that older demographic which are the critical swing voters this time around. Don't discount the power of demographic change though - the last five years have only grown the base which supported Corbyn, while eating away at the core Brexit-y one that swept Johnson's Tories into power. This dual effect (growing Labour's support and cutting the Conservative's) will bring about an enduring shift in the relative strength of each party's 'natural' support - unless the Tories pivot strongly.

Also, on electoral geography; the Tory's previous great advantage of a broad base of support smeared across most constituencies (vs. Labour's highly concentrated supermajority urban seats) will contribute to its potential collapse. With Reform splitting the rightwing vote, it won't take much for many Conservative seats to change hands. Using Electoral Calculus's predictor and the latest polling from You Gov, the Lib Dems could gain 46 seats - 95% previously Tory held. Thinking of the fall of the Tory party, it will be a divided right wing vote and a centre-right Lib Dem coup that would ultimately deliver the death blow - even ignoring Labour's polling.

I do agree that a lack of charisma hurts Keir and a 'mid-term' leadership change is on the cards. Perhaps Andy Burnham will have a tilt in 2029.

While this is true, I have been thinking about this a lot recently and I believe the circumstances which have set the Tories up for obliteration are quite unique to the election of 2019.

The electorate has not been keen on the Tories themselves throughout their 14 years. Since 2010 the only time the Conservatives have had a firm and independent grip on power was after the 2019 election when they won 365 seats. Prior to that, Tory PMs were playing wack-a-mole, fending off attacks from both their left and right flanks thanks to slim majorities which encouraged rebellion. The only issue which brought them electoral success was Brexit, which garned them their 330 seats in 2015 with Cameron's referendum promise and the current strong majority when Boris promised to 'get Brexit done'. By 2019 your opinion on Brexit defined who you would vote for above anything else, and with most voters sick of the endless spasms over the withdrawal agreement and Labour lacking any real stance, BoJo's pledge blew him to victory.

Once Brexit was finally done in 2021 and it had begun fading into the background, the Conservative's polling began fading with it. The party was floundering, no thanks to a hapless leader, as it now lacked a unifying mission. As voters were never that keen on central Tory policy to begin with, the increasingly rightwing rhetoric spewed from the front bench accelerated the alienation of younger (18-45) voters, who are either naturally reactionary to a government which has only taken away from them or who may remember Labour's time in power as the 'good old days'.

When Labour wins the coming election, it will be a broad and progressive coalition that brings it to power, one that is overwhelmingly youthful and urban. These voters are unlikely to forget the damage and divisiveness of the Conservative years, and unless the Tories make a hard tack back towards the centre to appeal to this growing pool of voters, their destiny is tied to their shrinking primary demographic - elderly voters. And unfortunately for the Tory party, it seems as though opposition will bring with it contortions over control- already begun - rather than clear direction; a tussel between the dominant right and a minority centre, similar to the chaotic Labour years 2015-2020.

All Labour have to do is appear sensible for five years, satisfy their franchise, and repeat "under the previous Conservative government...".

While the polls will likely narrow during the election campaign, if Labour were to win such a massive majority (which Electoral Calculus currently has at 284) I think there would be serious risk of the party cleaving in two.

Looking at the way the Tories have fallen prey to right-wing factions which certainly outweigh the Conservative working majority of 55, or casting further back (and closer to home) to the fractiousness of Labour under Corbyn (with Change UK etc), it is not hard to imagine that after such a stomping victory many members would want to take advantage of situation, while a cautious Starmer attempts to reign them in.

Existing MPs with Corbynite-views - presently suppressed or otherwise - would begin agitating for strident left policy, while Starmer, old Blairites, and a swathe of new Labour MPs selected by Starmer's party machinery remain congregated around the center ground. The most leftward leaning would begin by disrupting centrist policy making before eventually deciding that Starmer's Labour does not represent their views and breaking away, leaving a centrist Labour rump, and renaming themselves 'the Real Labour Party' (but only because 'Socialist Party' is already taken).

There is never enough space - I have a scheme to use the (flat-ish) porch roof my partner is not yet aware of

Thanks for the reminder! Gardening brain has been dormant since November

Selling my shed. Comes with a door and a roof.
Would love 200k+

Congrats!

Is this still going?

Interested in the frame if splitting (depending on size?)

I can't help but feel as though the pipeline for TfL-led cycleways has almost totally dried up. When TfL released the new Cycling Action Plan (https://content.tfl.gov.uk/cycling-action-plan.pdf) in June my heart sank. It contains very little ambition and no commitment to new projects. The impetus is now on councils to push local projects forward, and whilst the idea of local routes for local people is great, many councils have little interest in taking road space away from drivers (Southwark being a good example, neighbouring Lewisham a comparitively bad one).

There are examples of routes under construction that are of amazing quality and exemplify what could be. These include C4 from Tower Bridge to Greenwich and C9 from Hammersmith to Hounslow. By the threading together some disjointed sections in the middle, these two routes together could provide a nearly 30km long east-west corridor along congested, neglected but ultimately lively corridors.

But speaking as someone who has lived in South London for the past decade, these routes are nothing but a curiosity as most South London boroughs are served by relatively low quality routes - something that I expect most people across the city can relate to. What I fear is that the momentum of the past five years is ebbing, and TfL's appetite for real transformation has been battered by the twin enemies of budget cuts (thanks to the pandemic and a vindictive central government) and political antipathy (the Mayors office has expended so much political capital on the ULEZ it dare not stir the pot further ahead of the mayoral election in May).

I engage as much as I can, supporting the LCC, responding to consultations and just using cycling as my means of getting everywhere. But no candidates for the next mayoralty have an evidently pro-cycling agenda, which never fails to surprise me considering the majority of London households don't own a car and even fewer regularly use one. Our streets are choked by traffic, and the only solution is to get people out of their cars - and the cheapest way to do that is by creating a high-quality cycle network.

I suppose this is a bit of rant, and I guess I'm looking for a bit of hope. My partner works in micro-mobility, and it is interesting to see from the inside how critical companies like Lime are of the Cycling Action Plan. But that doesn't seem to put a dent in the opposition. What's the way forward from here?

Rich people being rich... At least the sunrise is stunning!

Sooolllldddd