BEDROCK

Hello easy riders

I am interested in getting a new mountain bike for myself, had one a few years ago from Halfords but the whole thing was very heavy and made of thick steel I think and was one of their cheapest ranges but sold that a while ago and now looking at getting another but something very lightweight and durable so are there and good models that do not cost the earth yet are a real bargain in terms of performance?

I would like to get the bike from another outlet as I found Halfords at Drake House Retail Park very understaffed and not very helpful even though you dropped a few zeros on a bike

Which gears are best these days as I used to have Shimano ones before, also which is the best value materials to look out for, features, what to avoid, many thanks Tour de Peddle Pals

So are you saying that the food has improved since november last year? Well I can tell you that I am far from fashionable and am not picky with food,but I can only say what I saw,the meals were awful,I mostly ate toast and marmalade.

Me is seeing some food snobs on here

Me thinks not so. I agree that when the pre- plated food was served it was pretty terrible and I was embarrassed to serve it but standards are much better now.. Food is now served from individual containers onto the plates on the ward.

The catering department visit the wards at times and asks the staff to taste the food and give their honest opinion.

I have been involved in this assessment many times and have to say the food is not bad - not as bad as people make out. The roast dinners are particuarly good.

I think that it is 'fashionable' to complain about NHS food. I think the catering department do an amazing job with the very low budget they have to work with and baring in mind they produce something like 1400 hot evening meals every day at the NGH alone.

I understand the amount of work involved by many cooks working many long hours with little to no breaks are real life savers to the patients on the wards, I think generally with free NHS care we have far many good points than most other countries where you need a bank balance to just have 6 stitches done so all in all we have got it pretty good over here, even though most of our standards expect something better than a microwave ready meal

I remember in the 90's when it was one massive art gallery with paintings everywhere.

It seems that nowadays it's focus is on families, they still have a vast collection though.

Thought you had suffered from mental illness ?

This is surely a case for being admitted to hospital - or is it all in your mind and you think you've had / got mental illness ?

WTF ???

I have never spent any time in hospital so my only experience is visiting others over the years.

I think the NHS should allow concessions to provide many services like respected catering firms to come in and do what they do best, this way everyone wins and will allow the NHS to just get on with medical care.

Well, have been watching a few episodes on BBC 1 featuring James Martin and was wondering how old this series is and whether he actually managed to achieve lasting results in the end.

I think the fact we have this discussion is insulting to humanity, I mean there are high standards in schools and prisons for god sake yet the only places of health are left neglected and below par.

I think hospitals should be exemplary and a model that is admired, they should be well staffed and equipped, well paid and organised, there should be very little waste as well as budgeted and it should be a pleasure to stay in hospital knowing you are getting the optimal care going.

Instead on these programmes the staff are too run down, stressed, disorganised, managers are absent or without any common sense, no ordering systems meaning massive waste, more and more hospitals use chilled solutions instead of fresh food produced on site, the kitchens are run down and neglected, patients frequently say the food is a shambles, that staff have to work over their breaks and never get proper time alone to feed themselves, the whole mess is made even worse than ordering food from abroad because it is apparently cheaper than sourcing things locally and striking great trade deals, I mean most businesses would close with this way of working and is quite alarming for anyone needing to spend long durations on wards with their health and nutrition paramount yet the engine rooms and managements are failing at basic levels.

The Brazil team definitely need to share the blame, they were rank average.

The Germans looked like possessed killer demons on Red Bull showing no mercy.

Source: The Independent

Neymar's agent launches scathing attack on Brazil's coach Luis Felipe Scolari, labelling him 'an old jerk, arrogant, repulsive, conceited and ridiculous'

That is quite harsh !!!

Messi was nowhere tonight yet had nerves of steel to score that pen, mark of a world class talent.

I knew it, Holland went for the win but lost on penalties, about right !!!

If it does go to penalties then can we expect another genius substitution by Louis van Gaal ???

---------- Post added 09-07-2014 at 23:34 ----------

Well, I was correct, now penalties, some will rise, some will fall, some will want to commit suicide in a bit.

Argentina have gone home tonight and look fed up !!!

If both teams go to the final then they need to master the art of attack !!!

I think Holland need some Dutch courage rite now !!!

One thing's for sure, there will be no 7 goal massacre tonight !!!

---------- Post added 09-07-2014 at 21:40 ----------

This game has penalties written all over it unless there is a moment of genius.

Property Offered

Area: Hackenthorpe S12

Type of Property: Ground Floor Flat

Number of Bedrooms: 1

Landlord: Sheffield City Council

Any other information:

Spacious, easy access, good links, quiet area, central heated, decent homes approved. Hackenthorpe is a high demand area so perfect for an exchange, it has good links for buses / shops and is close to shopping mall / retail park.

Property Wanted

Area: I'm ideally looking for central location in the city centre but will consider Woodhouse, Frecheville, Intake, Crosspool, Wadsley Park, Crookes, Fulwood, Ranmoor, Stannington, Loxley, Wisewood, Walkley, Broomhill, Sharrow Vale Road, Millhouses, Ecclesall Road, Norfolk Park, Weston Park, Endcliffe Park type areas.

Type of Property: Upper Floor Flat or House / Bungalow

Number of Bedrooms: 1 / 2

Landlord: Any

Any other information:

I will be happy to move or exchange to any property but for a house / bungalow then a nice garden space is an essential requirement, I also require somewhere with good links, well maintained, central heated, clean kitchen / bathroom with not a lot that needs doing, also require the landlord to accept benefits payments as that is my situation at the moment.

If interested then please PM me and I will be more than happy to help.

Argentina v Holland tonight, I say the Dutch will lose 2-1 or it could be decided on penalties.

Well, an early beta is expected to be released before the end of the year and it looks like various improvements have been leaked on the web including free versions, activation systems and a focus on the desktop, the latter being welcome news to many.

I think the desktop needs major attention, even on Windows 8 and parts of it still resemble XP or older and it looks like Microsoft is wanting to distance itself from the bifurcated experience that was Windows 8 even though Windows 8 has been the bold stepping stone into a new era that was required and many people have said that users should have had more choices regarding interfaces and to be eased into it far better than just being forced to use a system that was alien to most of the older generation of desktop users.

I hope that they update a lot of the desktop elements and should allow certain elements to be optional like Windows Media Player which has itself been stuck in time and functions the way it did over 10 years ago, if they managed to overhaul Windows Media Player with Zune or similar, pack it with loads of features like media store / streaming apps and able to play multiple files on VLC scale and to be able to sync properly with all Apple devices just like iTunes as well improving its ripping abilities like enabling more audio format options like AAC / FLAC + advanced ripping options like secure rip / VBR options instead of the dead WMA files and dated MP3 encoder then Windows 9 could have a substantial competitor to iTunes and the media streaming options out there.

I wonder what Luiz Felipe Scolari gave Joachim Löw in the gift bag before the game?

Maybe it was Brazil's bottle or a white flag !!!

Are Germany now the benchmark for football excellence and something the world should emulate ???

The German manager must be the most ruthless boss in football and knew he would decimate Brazil !!!

I'm going to stick my neck out here, I think that Germany will be in the final on Sunday.

Thanks for stating the bleeding obvious !!!

Germany have been ruthless, cold, calculated and deadly, they are the soccer rippers nowadays.

Brazil have been well and truly killed today, god help the riots afterwards !!!