Big J

I just got an email from HSBC about it. Think we'll go for the full whack. Why the hell not? I'd rather have a decent contingency through what is starting to become a tricky time for us.

The only thing I guess I'd say about the Touaregs is that if you're young and with limited no claims, you're going to struggle to get insurance. I think mines about £400/pa but that's a business policy.

Average is about 24mpg. Up to 30mpg on a run, down to 15mpg when towing heavy. It's really not that much worse than your average pickup, but it's golf GTI fast and seems to tow well with it having air suspension.

I have a one owner, 55 plate V10 Touareg, which I bought in November for £5k. I then spent £1300 on it going over everything with a fine tooth comb, and touch wood, it's going well. Compared to towing with the 4x4 Sprinter (160ps), the Touareg (370ps) floats up the hills like they aren't even there. There is a hill I fairly regularly traverse called Hembury Hill. It's 110m of climbing, rearing up to about 1 in 8. Not hugely steep, but very long. The Sprinter (when towing the forwarder, at 3.2t) would be reduced to 20-23mph with my foot stapled to the floor in 2nd. It'd only just manage it in second. Same load, same hill, but in the Touareg and I'm cruising all the way to the top at 40mph (maximum safe speed with a trailer) on half throttle. So much less stressful, and only giving away a 2mpg penalty. So whilst I'd never pretend it'll be a cheap vehicle to run, the Touareg has to be more reliable than a Landrover and having owned a Disco 4, it also tows more adeptly too. That said, it depends where you are in the country. You don't need the horsepower if you're somewhere flat. It's just that Devon is the automotive equivalent of a rollercoaster ride with the inclines.

It does perhaps sound like the school that they are attending is a little substandard. My older daughter is 5, and she's always had a bit of homework, and they've taught cursive writing from the get go. She's a strong reader and her maths is really coming on well. If it sounds like I'm saying "oh isn't my child amazing!" I should add that she's also a headstrong, petulant little toerag for a not inconsiderable amount of time most days!! ? In all seriousness though, at 7 and 9, I'd have expected that the school would have been sending home plenty of work for them to do pre-lockdown.

OK, OK. I think I've got it now: Turnip: Swede: Moron:

Who the hell voted for Trump??!!?

I think by coincidence of your name, you'll always be referred to as Junior ?

As November and the the US elections start to loom, I can't help but feeling depressed about the inevitable (lack of) choice. Clearly Trump isn't fit to run a bath, let alone a country, but is Biden honestly the best the Democrats could do? My concern is that despite the Encyclopaedia Brittanica-like volume of damning evidence as regards Trump's ineptitude, he might just sneak back in because a) Biden is a compromised, weak candidate and b) just about half of all American's seem to be complete idiots. Discuss!

Tip of the iceberg mate! First the leather on the seats go, then the engine drops out! Don't trust Navaras!!?

I have about 150t of ash firewood (mostly processor friendly) for sale next Pilton, Glastonbury. We can delivery with an 8 wheeler (so tight sites are OK). 30 mile radius max. Drop me a message and I can organise delivery for next week.

Hi there, and welcome to the forum. I'll address your questions as best I can: It's not worth £50 a tonne standing. Top notch, sawlog grade douglas fir or western red cedar on an easy site is, but not firewood grade hardwood. £5-25 would be reasonable, depending on access and quality. Income from your woodland is only tax free if you don't process it. The moment you chop it for logs, or mill it, it's subject to income tax. Your standing cubic metre of firewood will produce about 1.8 cubic metres of logs (depending on the size of the logs). Average is around £100/cubic metre nationally, so assuming 575 standing cube, you've 1035 split cube, or just over £100k. Kiln drying firewood from an electrical supply is economically unfeasible. Completely unfeasible. The cost per cubic metre would be massive. I used to run electrically heated kilns for drying sawn timber, and the cost per cubic metre was about £70 in electricity. Now for sawn timber going out at £900-1400 a (solid) cube, that's not an issue. For firewood at £200 (per solid cube) it is. And sawn timber dries much more easily than firewood as it's easier to direct airflow evenly. And sawn boards are nearly always air dried first, so in real terms, the electricity cost of heating with electricity could be somewhere near £100/solid cube (£50/split loose cube). I did try one load of firewood in my kiln once, but I never did it again. Given that the kiln would need to be biomass powered, I don't think it's feasbile to make it portable. Sorry to be universally negative, but I think that the project is a non starter. I'd advise simply employing the services of a harvesting contractor and selling the timber standing.

I think you'll find Trump had epidemics well covered. He put his son in law in charge of that one ? And now he's withdrawn all funding for the WHO, clearly in an effort to scapegoat them for his abysmal handing of the crisis.

I can't believe they selected fecking Biden. One 70 something white guy against another, both morally and ethically compromised. Both representing exactly what is wrong with America. I'm reminded of Douglas Adams and The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy: “[Ford said] ".. On its world, the people are people. The leaders are lizards. The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people." "Odd," said Arthur. "I thought you said it was a democracy." "I did," said Ford. "It is." "So," said Arthur, hoping he wasn't sounding ridiculously obtuse, "why don't the people get rid of the lizards?" "It honestly doesn't occur to them," said Ford. "They've all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they voted in more or less approximates to the government they want." "You mean they actually vote for the lizards?" "Oh yes," said Ford with a shrug, "of course." "But," said Arthur, going in for the big one again, "why?" "Because if they didn't vote for a lizard," said Ford, "the wrong lizard might get in.” ― Douglas Adams, The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

I disagree. The economic recovery predates Trump, and the trajectory it's followed since his election has not improved when compared to pre 2016 numbers: NPR Choice page WWW.NPR.ORG

Haha! ? Actually, I don't really care very much. I just intensely dislike people like her, and am happy to simultaneously dislike them and not care about them. Infact, there isn't really anyone in the Tory front bench at the moment that I'd piss on if they were on fire. They've lost all their moderates.

Some might argue that he merely capitalised on the economic foundation left to him by his predecessor, and that the measures he took to further boost that economic boom were short termist and protectionist. Neither of which are sustainable in the long term.

Andy, I think that the issue is that she continues to behave in a detached and uncaring fashion in the wake of a crisis that is claiming the lives of NHS workers. Like refusing to apologise for PPE shortages. She apologised if some people felt there was a shortage. That was a classic, and transparent political dodge. The underlying loathing for her has a fairly firm basis in: * the fact that she is stupid, and unqualified for the job * the fact that she is a bully * the fact that she has a history of working for the promotion of tobacco It's pretty hard to be objective about her day to day rhetoric with her character so fundamentally undermined by these shortcomings. The fact that she's doing such a poor job in office only serves to reinforce this. It's like Trump. It's almost impossible to commend him for the occasional thing he does get right as he's completely compromised by being a world class prick.

I have a huge issue with smoking. Lost a number of family members to smoking related diseases and whilst I accept that it's part of the fabric of society, it's mercifully a diminishing part. Anyone with even a modicum of intelligence who actively promotes it, let alone profits from that promotion needs to be shot at dawn. On the topic of intelligence, she is patently a moron. I mean, I'm a reasonably intelligent guy, but I prefer it if my home secretary is more intelligent than me. Frankly, she'd closer to Donald Trump in terms of mental prowess than the rest of her cabinet, and as such is ill equipped to perform her job. As such, she is simply a figure head for her department which brings me onto my next point. Any government minister has little to no experience in the department for which they are given the portfolio. As such, they are reliant on the civil servants who effectively run the ministry. The Home Secretary is really only the figurehead for the department, and ought to defer to the expert guidance of her 'underlings'. In Priti Patel's case, she clearly does not respect her colleagues, and as such has multiple instances where she has been proven to have acted in an unprofessional, bullying manner. Some might say that that demonstrates strength of will and character, but I'd argue quite the opposite, that such bluff and bluster shows arrogance, and a fundamental lack of understanding as to how government departments work. Ministries work on the the considered judgement of their chief ministers, after careful consideration of the guidance of the multitude of expert advisors. Autocratic, authoritarian demagogues have no place in our democracy, or indeed any democracy.

a) She's a moron. Please reference her interview talking about an individual with "counter terrorism offences" b) She's a bully. Please reference her track record in the home office, and the tax payers money used to pay off civil servants who have successfully sued her. c) She used to be a tobacco lobbyist. Basically Satan has the moral higher ground in that regard. Moronic, callous, smirking scum. There is no way she'd be in the position she's in if it weren't for the fact that she's a woman and BME. She's a tick box poster girl, but a bloody nasty one at that.

I've referred a friend to this thread who's done some chainsawmilling for me before. He's very good at it too.

Pelter WS Alert XP or XPi I've had a set of the XPs for over two years now and they are brilliant. Excellent sound quality, long battery life and you can play anything through bluetooth (like Youtube, the radio etc). The noise cancellation is very good too, so I can chat on the phone whilst operating any machine (with the exception of a chainsaw). They are £300, but well worth it and with over 2 years of heavy use, I've had no issues with mine. That works out at about £0.60/working day if it were to break tomorrow. I also use them for any long call now, even if I'm at home as it keeps both my hands free and blocks out the noise from my squabbling children! ?

"Nurse? You've not seen the PM have you? He's supposed to be on ward 6 waiting for tests" "No, sorry doctor" "I bet he's in that bloody fridge again!"

I'm over in Hampshire this week coming. Do you want me to cast an eye over it?