Under the age of about 30 I could and did eat massive amounts, always been lucky as it had little effect on my weight. As I got older I unconsciously cut consumption, thank F*, otherwise it was bound to have caught up. A few years ago I read about the benefits of fasting/diet restriction, so experim...

Way back when I was a student, I lived in a rented cottage in the Scottish Borders. The estate had a cottage I always lusted after, a few miles up a track, off grid. NT 29510 32036 Private estate, no chance of the Laird selling it so never got beyond a dream. Once I was working, I spent a while look...

Absolutely, need to butter and marmite the weetabix first

When conducting a poll, I believe that it should either be compulsory for everyone to vote, or it should be assumed those who don’t vote are happy with the status quo. If only ...

Crazy world

And to show how mad the world of finance has become, earlier today Elon Musk tweeted a single word - Bitcoin, and it shot up 20%

.. theres no talk of 'what we can do to stop destroying the planet' theres only talk of 'what we can do to stop destroying the planet whithout giving up industrial civilisation and still living the life we do which destroys the planet'. only the latter be's packaged to us as the former. but thats a...

RIP wrote: ↑Thu Jan 28, 2021 12:15 pm Learn an instrument, read a book, learn to paint, get an allotment, do conservation work, help old ladies across the road.

Choose life ...

PaulB2 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 27, 2021 5:53 pm
Brave New World, 1984 or World War Z?

:). Started with Z, we’re now in 1984, post Covid will be BNW.

I'd like to be able to switch off and ignore all the news but I just can't - it's not the way my brain works. I spent many of my younger years without tv and not paying much attention to news. Blissful ignorance; probably. Once you become interested in something (politics, Covid, etc) the internet ...

ton wrote: ↑Wed Jan 27, 2021 3:39 pm

define meagre.

as in, i will have even less of a pot to piss in.

How big is the pot though. Questions like - do you own your house, is it cheap to heat, do you have paid for toy box, are you okay eating cheap if needs be

Philosophical thread this could turn into. It’s a very personal thing, one mans meagre is another’s extravagance. First you need to define meagre.

Yep, HMG track record with IT in NHS not good, wouldn’t survive out here in the private world. The problems go back to the 90s, so it’s not just this gov. Such a complex set of issues, multitude of inputs from lots of departments with agendas. And a public/media waiting to jump on the slightest prob...

The tech exists to track phones, but our gov almost certainly does not join up the necessary dots to make it happen for this purpose; and to be fair, it would be the sort of infringement of liberty that (w)could bring a gov down. Way back at the start, I did wonder if they would attempt to use track...

I was knackered reading that, good read thanks. Other half and I ran out of food on trans pennine trail in late winter a few years ago, stumbled over a Golden Arches, and as you say they have some sort of rocket fuel in them.

but I was at home for all three calls How would they know if you weren't? GPS position is the obvious choice, but position of a cell phone can be determined by means other than GPS. If is connected to your house wi-fi .... Loads of phone apps ask user to share location data, lord knows where it end...

wild swimming Anyone explain that bit? I'd have honestly thought that most lakes / rivers would be pretty quiet given it's Jan and I don't think it's generally considered to be a team sport is it? I think it’s about minimising the risk of clogging up hospitals, not just about COVID transmission.

boris’s announcement changes my plans, will be sticking to the trainer until lockdown over

I am much more aware and careful compared to when I was immortal in my 20’s. Not very good at bouncing nowadays.

Looking at stats helps me rationalise, how many people out there on bikes and how many end up in deep poo.

Lockdowns, or more regions in tier4, between Jan until about March. Vaccine rollout should start to improve things in Q2 and Q3. But, if there are further variants which achieve vaccine escape, then all bets are off. So I’m sitting tight until March, staying local. Will reassess any plans as signifi...

Shaf, try the rspb on line shop for feeders.

I heard something recently there is evidence some birds are altering their migration patterns in response to changing climate. No siskins here, but do get bull finches. When I was a nipper, gold finches were rare, they seem to be everywhere these days.

Standard feeders here - wire mesh type and plastic tube with holes and perches, also plastic tube with tiny holes for Niger seeds which ate tracts gold finches. Nuts in mesh feeder and seeds in tubes. We get greater spotted - loves the peanuts., but no lesser (envious of you for that Stu), we get Ma...

Send them a link to Strava heat maps. Job done. Where do I send the invoice

Thanks Reg and John. Spookily although I’m based in Shropshire my partner is in Newcastle, which is where I spent the first 21 years of my life.