Search results for:

For something to keep me interested, learn new skills etc I’ve been making funny little instagram vids at the gym. Lots of the members seem to like them, someone, about 40ish, commented “love these, you’re my gym dad’….

Bit of a long post sorry, I’m after any advice or suggestions on what to do to solve this. I have a 2002 VW T4 2.5tdi auto, converted from a multi van to a camper. It’s super good condition in terms of rust (none) and low mileage at 60k , and has good spec for old vehicle with air con, electric windows and cruise control. The

problem is the gearbox, apparently a known weakness in this vehicle. A few weeks ago while driving it lost all power on motorway, and I got recovery home. It seems that It split a hose to an oil cooler radiator. I replaced the hose and re-filled the gearbox with atf as per manual. After this it goes forward (a few meters on the driveway) but not reverse, (it seems to want to pull forward whil in reverse). I am at or beyond my skill, knowledge and ability with it now, thinking that it could be something I did wrong with the level, or the gearbox completely knackered after loosing oil. I can’t get anyone professional to look at it, even the recommended local auto specialist local to me says he won’t touch it as you can’t get oem parts and wont use “cheap Chinese parts”. I’ve tried a bit on a couple of VW forums but no success.

My prefernce would be to get it repaired, but if not possible as I can’t find anyone, I guess I need to try and sell it as a non runner for much less money. Would anyone happen to know anyone who might be prepared to tackle this? I’m in Essex / Suffolk area if that makes any difference -

I seem to remember in this thread, or possibly somewhere else, talk of forum recommended cookware. Can’t find the thread or comments.

Our 3 non-stick saucepans finally looking knackered after heavy use over ten-ish years - any suggestions for moderate budget repakcements? Thanks

Have you had Morrisons pitta bread? Their own brand, called “stone-ground” or something like that is far superior to any other supermarket offering. Everyone I’ve told of this has quickly converted.

I know I’m at risk of overstating this, but we often go there just to pick up some pitta when we need some

I had my ear hairs done with the flaming torch thing a few years ago at a Turkish barbers,don’t recall being asked if I wanted it. Anyway, after a month or so I started getting insanely itchy ear holes, like wake-up in the night have to scratch. Turns out this was otitis, or swimmers ear. I don’t really swim much, and to my mind this started shortly after the ear hair removal- those little hairs have a purpose to disperse water (to my distinctly non medical mind). Now I just trim off the longer poking out ones

Anyone know what this brain-resembling fungus is in my new raised bed? Plants are courgettes (and a pea plant) grown from seed, and bed soil is mix of top soil, compost and rotted muck…is it something from the horseshit? Maybe not rotted enough?

Will the fungus kill the plants -and us ?

I do this, It’s so shit.(ridiculous early AM)

Instead of laying around in bed I actually joined a gym recently as I thought it a good use of the time and would help with other middle aged issues like being overweight and unfit.

Now I get up about 5.30 and go to CrossFit and feel like Private Pyle for an hour every day, then spend the evening feeling stiff as fuck and trying to believe that it’s good for me.

Confit tandoori chickpeas, out of Ottolenghi’s Shelf Love book. One of those dishes that is really easy to make and tastes far better than you expect given the minimal prepping and few ingredients.

Mine must have not been cooked right, gave me the trots hur hur hur

Re your previous post on the damp proofing issue in garage, have you considered a cement slurry tanking material? Super easy to apply (I did it in about an hour) and worked marvellously. Something crystalline is mixed in with the mortar which the expands when moist. Slap it on, wait for a week or so then you can cover / paint.

I just got the Ottolenghi shelf love book, it’s smashing, as implied by the title it’s recipes with ingredients readily available from your shelf or normal shops (apart from black limes). I thought I’d done chickpeas in every possible way, until I made the “confit chickpea tandoori” which was sooo good.

Bit of covering old paint, very lax keying, sticks on well. and then new boards too, slightly watered down first coat then second coat straight out the tin.

I think I mentioned this before here ages ago, I have some big love for this paint. I used to use expensive dulux paint, went to buy some more and the man from jempsons suggested this stuff: never looked back, about half the cost of dulux too. I used it to fully repaint old weatherboard house, at least twice probably three times in 15 years, it’s dries with a slightly flexible coating, very very forgiving, can get it mixed to any colour, would highly recommend

It sure does look horrendous, and I took that photo deliberately to try and partly hide it, I don’t want to be throwing negativity over this mostly lovely thread.

It remains to be seen if she’s gonna change her behaviour / reaction to other dogs, but I am so happy and amazed how resilient she is: even with that wound & experience, she’s very close to normal levels of excitement interest and energy. We just have to be super careful about touching her in that area.

I’m healing up too, thanks, local hospital to me are brilliant, only moved here three weeks ago. They’ve booked me in every couple of days to check wound, make sure it’s not getting infected. The anti bios are doing the job, but the side effects are grim. (Rusty water)

The police do seem very interested in it, having said that I just read an email from the PC doing it and he wants to “talk to me about the investigation”

Once again, thanks all for the support

Here’s my Madge chilling in the sun and largely back to normal, albeit with a Frankenstein style row of stitches.

Thanks all, and again, I really do appreciate the understanding and using this place to rant a bit helps me a lot.

I just heard from the police, they do seem to be very interested in a prosecution, got to go do a full statement, hand over texts and photos etc. I think having an indépendant witness who “saw it all” is super handy.

Poor old Madge is obviously very injured, scarred and scared, I honestly thought I was gonna lose her earlier today as she just wouldn’t settle and whined all the time, but did perk up massively in expectation when I got a sausage roll out for my lunch, and that’s standard Madge ( said in full knowledge and reference to the bad owner = dig behaviour debate above)

Once again guys, means a lot and thanks for all your concerns internet friends

Thanks all, and I appreciate all your thoughts. It’s an experience that I don’t want again! I feel strongly that the offending dog needs sorting, and at least the owner was decent enough to give me her details and paid the vet bill straightaway. Still cunts for having a dog that they know is massive aggressive and being out in public unmuzzled.

It’s sadly mine and my dog’s turn with a horrible story of dog attack. Out for a sunny evening walk, about an hour into it,someone coming toward us on sea wall path, their dog on a lead…all good until suddenly they’re shouting as their dog now pelting toward us in attack mode, I tried unsuccessfully to stand between, the dog went straight through me and the wife and clamped on to my dog. Jaws locked snarling, such massive aggression, i punched and kicked the fuck out of it as my poor elderly sweet natured girl “screamed”. We (the owner) got it off after a bit. our dog left with massive trauma (2nd time this has happened to her) and massive torn wound, I’ve got dog bites and puncture wounds on my legs. I just despair, I really do. Why would anyone have a need to have a hyper aggressive dog capable of this? To be fair she (owner) was super apologetic and says she will pay the vet bill. I heard it all “never done this before” “the lead broke” “it can’t wear a muzzle” all that shit, while looking at my lovely old bleeding dog, crying wife and my own cuts.
I have reported it to the police and have been to a&e for treatment. I am a dog lover but right now I feel that beast of an animal needs putting down.

This is obviously awful and sooo shitty. Yours and your mums experience is clearly among the worst kind, I think most of us here dog owners have had similar. It’s just terrible for you. At least, and it’s not much comfort, that they were apologetic.

There’s a part of me that wishes that owners of aggressive out of control dogs would meet other owners of aggressive out of control dogs and achieve some kind of balance or parity.

My dog has been attacked twice on separate occasions by German shepherds, which has left us both with some kind of dog-breed prejudice. We met a well behaved trained one the other day, my dog wouldn’t go near it unti we saw it was on a lead.

A few weeks before that we met an owner with two GSD coming toward us on very narrow country path, one was snarling and lunging but on a lead, and he was tucked right in the hedge and hanging on. the other one seemed “alert” but not aggressive as such, my dog was frozen & wary way behind, I walked forward and asked the bloke can we can pass? has he got firm control, yeah yeah he says, this one is fine, anyway, we walked past and yep, the “nice” one lunged and went for my dog, she just ran off thankfully without injury. I said For fuck sake and made the wft? Gesture ultimately to his back, as he strode off.

I read something about this, apparently the way the tyres are stacked with all the density & air gaps etc and the nature of rubber means that basically mass tyre fires are really really difficult to put out. Horrible.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire_fire

Can’t really offer much useful other that my company Passat 4motion seems to offer 100% identcal handling to the previous standard fwd Passat I had. I think you’d only notice it if you loose traction, apart from the odd exuberant acceleration in frost, never happens to me.

Thanks mate, that’s exactly the clarity of thought and reason that I needed. I’ll do just that, thanks again

I have an outside vintage lamp in my garden that I’m taking with me when I move (shortly). It’s got modern wiring, single cable, to a bulb. What do I need to do / buy to safely terminate it? I’m guessing / hoping there’s something weather proof that I can terminate the disconnected cable to when I take it away?

Wrabness, just near harwich. More of an estuary really, but completely beach-like with stunning views of the stour and the “house for essex” and nobody gives a fuck about dogs / no dogs. It’s a small walk down a track, part of the fun of it of course with the dog. Also a smashing woods nearby for cooler walking.

Van conversion question: I’ve the option to buy a transit mWB high top, pretty good nick for age. It seems it was used by a utility company as has been kitted out with auxiliary batteries for power and some other kit. Still needs a ton of stripping out and reconfiguration to make it a camper though: is there much benefit to buying this, as in some stuff is in place, or would I better off in the long term buying a blank one and starting from scratch?