Cyclecar

Sorry to learn that Marco won't be reopening the restaurant at Millhouses. One of Sheffield's best. Grazie; Marco.

All advice read and appreciated. I have nothing against gyms and 'pools, it's the hassle of getting there, getting changed, and getting back that puts me off. Wifey has bought me a diet recipe book, but she won't eat any of the stuff. I will plod on. Just read about a new "boil in athe bag" system whereby you encase yourself inside what looks like a hot water bottle and sweat for England. You might lose weight but pong the house out....🥵

Thank you, looks ideal. Tim.

My GP wants me to lose weight, my diet is OK but excercise is lacking. I have lingering problems with a knee which precludes running - I still have to use a stick. He suggests a rowing machine to help with the cardio I have looked on t'net and there is a bewildering variety. Any suggestions for c.£150-£200? I hope I have posted this in the correct thread.... Chubby of S8.

I don't suppose Cummings was invited......... And did he cross his fingers when saying "I do"? But now she's got the ring on she will be unstoppable! Presents from the John Lewis list, presumably. 🙂

I post with some misgivings. My wife is from Liverpool, amongst her wider family this is still a very sore topic. Firstly, the collapse of the trial was not a surprise, relying on 25 year old statements and with very elderly defendants it was fraught with problems. As was the recent action in Northern Ireland concerning military personnel from even further back. Quite why these prosecutions take so long is a mystery - and I am not a legal person. If they were more timely then it would all be fresh in the mind, etc. Moreover, the families of the victims would have more faith in the 'system', and perhaps some satisfaction. As it is the feeling of injustice will linger for many years to come. I was not in Hillsborough on the day, I was watching a rugby match at Abbeydale yet the unfolding events felt very close to home. I know that any large sporting event will have a plan or plans, and indeed contingencies for when things do not go to plan. A 'playbook' perhaps, and persons familiar with the regular problems. But it seemed as though everything that could go wrong, went wrong plus some fresh ones. The happenings overwhelmed everything and everyone, and turned into tragedy. Let's pray that it is never repeated. Ending on a minor note, a friend from Chesterfield is a Forest supporter, and was in the Kop on that day. When he eventually got home in the early evening, his mother burst into tears. He had gone on his red Forest shirt and she had watched scenes on the TV of red-shirted supporters being carried away on stretchers. A cruel day.

Are you suggesting a future system in which the less well-off pay a lower rate of VAT, Fuel Duty, etc....? Love to see how that would work.

It's been a really crepe season for both Sheffield teams. Not enough goals, not enough points, no crowds, losing managers and indeed losing confidence. But the great thing about football is that it will start again next August, albeit in a different division and with different opponents. Someone commented (perhaps not on SF) that going to away matches in the lower leagues is easier and cheaper, and perhaps more fun. To quote Captain Tom, "tomorrow will be a better day". 🙂🙂

Nowhere does it mention if Boris (or whoever) has settled the monies owed to the petitioner. For anyone who has had an unsolicited and unwelcome letter from Northampton County Court, the likelyhood of you getting half the silks in London to turn up in the high court to have the action struck off sucks. The court letter would have been treated as some pettyfogging nusiance from the 'little people', etc. File 13. That's life.

I was always told that you can do two things when faced with a problem. Sort it, or live with it. I think the Israelis and the Palestinians will have to live with it, because no one is willing to sort it. The forced eviction of Palestinians from their home because a Jewish family fancies their house was bound to start trouble. Justify that in any other part of the world. So on one hand we have the arrogance of authority, on the other a deliberate ploy to rack up the pressure on other states in the area to weigh in on their side. I am very gloomy as to the outcome. (I have no religious or cultural connections on either side....)

I have never been a member of any political party, and at elections passim I have voted for different candidates. As previous poster points out, a lot can change in the three years before the next GE. From my (detached) viewpoint, the Labour Party seems to be split into three parts. Firstly 'traditional' workers in industry, transport, and the public sector. Secondly, academics - by that I mean teachers,,lecturers, etc. Thirdly the metropolitan liberals, who seem to be concentrated in the south-east. It now seems that a significant number of the first group have turned to the Tories. Part of this is because they see Boris and his colleagues as patriots, whereas groups two and three sneer at the concept. The parliamentary party don't do themselves any favours. Rather than putting forward sensible alternatives they waste their time railing against the government. Such as Angela Rayner do nothing but spout bile and hatred, no wonder they are viewed as witless. These elections have come at a bad time for any opposition. They have been obliged to support the national effort to control the pandemic, and see a government minister - even the prime minister - on television at 5pm every night putting their case to the public. Like it or not, personalities play a part and Sir Keir is a subdued character. Clips of him coming out of his London townhouse onto his little front garden don't compare to No.10, but that's reality. The pandemic will pass, some sort of normality will resume, now is the opportunity for Labour to reinforce their ranks and build towards the next GE. Sir Keir will have a part to play - he has a sharp legal brain, but someone like Andy Burnham should be brought back quickly, he has the personality and credentials. Remember that a few dozen 'swing' seats control the outcome of any GE. It only takes four or five thousand voters at a time to switch their allegiance in order to change the government. My observations as a spectator.............

Without doubt it's the man on the 52 Bus. He's never picked a losing side, nor made a poor substitution, nor even made a bad signing. Infallible.

The daft thing about this whole brouhaha concerning wallpaper at £700 a roll and everything is that it is not his own property he is refurbing. It's a rather poky flat in a Georgian building that - in 2021 - is probably not fit for purpose. He pays for its use as a benefit in kind. Moreover - as with all tenants past present and future - he has no security of tenure. He could be out tomorrow, and if not he faces eviction at the next general election. Spending £200k of anyones money is foolhardy. I think he is deluded, it can hardly be an ideal dwelling to bring up a small child as flats, dogs, infants and prams are a silly mix. Best to have a solid house with a decent garden and use No.10 as an office. But I suppose security would be an issue, likewise the ex-wife nicked the nice house. And the farm in Oxfordshire.....

I agree with the general opinion of Covid passports, they will only cause grief as various jobsworths demand to see them for no reason at all. However, the Government (of any hue) is in a bit of a dilemma. If another country - say Australia - mandates that all foreign persons entering that country show proof of vaccination, what do you do if you want to go? You can either write furious letters to the Guardian and stage a sit down outside their Embassy, or pay for a certificate from an accredited body - someone like the WHO perhaps (which may be time consuming and costly), or go to Filey again. Alternatively, as the NHS administered the jabs, they could provide you with a loose page to put in your passport detailing the date and product (for a modest fee). Does that sound reasonable?

Most Prime Ministers since 1945 - with the possible exception of Harold MacMillan - didn't have much money of their own in the bank. Attlee lived a simple life, Churchill was always short of funds, when Wilson left office he lived in genteel poverty. When this ws brought to John Major's attention he was very moved, and quietly took action. Major himself lives a fairly modest life, and makes up with a few speeches and such. Blair came into Downing Street with no great assets, but he has made up for it since by being a very busy busybody, as we all know. Cameron was fairly well off, but has stooped to some unsavoury dealings to bolster his income. Johnson has little family money, he earned c. £400k/yr writing a newspaper column, which had to cease. No 10 is free accommodation, as is Chequers but he pays for all his own groceries and suchlike. There are allowances, but they don't support his chosen lifestyle. His salary is £160k, subjet to tax. If he had to pay £60k towards the decorators fees (where do they get these tradesmen?), it would be half his net income. I am not sure his divorce from Marina has all been finalised, I know she put a clamp on their Oxfordshire farmhouse to prevent him selling it! The point I am making is that, whilst a PM has a lot of power, he or she cannot monetise it. They oversee a national budget of many billions, and rub shoulders with both inherited fortunes and self-made wealth, yet are comparative paupers. Some resort to crime - was Lloyd George implicated in selling peerages? Thre are many things to admire in Boris Johnson, but the constant rattling of the tin will be his downfall.

I think Boris is on borrowed time. His jolly bluffer act has run its course, and he is running out of friends. To pinch a quote from elsewhere - if Boris was assassinated on the floor of the chamber at PMQ's, there would be no witnesses.......................

Tapping into the street lighting wiring to use their electricity isn't new, of course. But you usually got found out..........😁

Hydrogen is no more "free" than any other fuel. You can get it from electrolysis, which is expensive, or use the industrial process of combining ammonia and steam (from my neolithic A level chemistry!). CH4 + 2xH2O results in 6xH plus CO2. Plenty of "H", then. However "H" is very light, so in reality for every tonne of hydrogen you produce ten tonnes of CO2. Which kind of defeats the objective. Plus you have to compress it for storage, etc. Science can be a nuisance.

Cars run on energy. You either generate that in the vehicle with an internal ccombustion engine or, in the case of an electric vehicle you generate it elsewhere (wind trubine, solar panel, Drax, etc) and send it through wires to your charging point. It isn't free, to charge up your EV at a motorway service station it currently (sic) costs about £6.50 for enough to get you down the road for another 100 miles, although costs can vary dramatically. When a politician airily promises that all garages will soon have a row of charging points he won't tell you how thick the cable from the substation needs to be..... And he isn't paying for all those installations, the EV motorist will shell out. As all the above posters confirm, there are more questions than answers at the moment. Oh, and no free road fund licence once that revenue evaporates.

The history of the site is interesting. There are some well researched publications regarding RAF Norton, which was very busy in the 1920's as a bomber maintainance unit. The site was acquired - from the farmer(s) by the Air Ministry. The understanding was that it would revert to farmland when the RAF has no further use, but it wasn't that simple....! The council 'obtained' much of the Western end of the field and built schools of various sizes. And Dyche Lane was widened and extended, etc. Bear in mind that the County boundary moved as well... The rump of the airfield was used for warehousing, and part left empty but I am not sure if these were built by the freeholder of the leaseholder. The ultimate ownership has always been a bit clouded. But it must be a valuable site in this day and age, being right on the edge of he city. But as a small boy I always looked forward to "Battle Of Britain" day, when we had fly pasts over the site and suchlike. Happy days.

In the summer break I guess we will all be advising the board regarding acquisitions and disposals so, to get my retaliation in early: 1. A strong, resourceful team manager with a decent track record of successes rather than of failures. 2. Pension off a couple of the very old boys. 3. Retain as many of the present squad as practical. 4. Don't sign ANY players who arrive carrying an injury. (This used to be a Bramall Lane speciality). 5. Don't be greedy with season ticket prices. I could go on................

I have not used my old Canon printer/copier/scanner for some time, so the ink had dried out. Moreover, when I switched it on there was much grinding of plastic gears, therefore it has been binned. I started looking for a small multi function laser unit as a replacement. I don't need colour - monochrome printing is fine. I have bought a Kyocera FS-1220 MFP for £91.93 including a cable, delivered, and it prints well - and rapidly. BUT........... when I tried to scan, computer said no. So I went on t'net, and learned that it doesn't talk to Winders 10. If only the seller had put that on the website! There was an installation disc with the bundle, but my laptop doesn't have a CD slot. Bit of a bu**er. So I then spent another £16.00 buying a CD scanner (which I need anyway as I have scores of CD's with photos that need sorting). And once I had mastered the command keys on the laptop I was sorted, although the scanner resolution is fairly basic. Happy so far.

How would “The West” react if, simultaneously Russia invaded Eastern Ukraine and China blockaded Taiwan? Would Sleepy Joe get up, or turn over....

I have been a Blade ever since I was in short trousers, and we have been in all four divisions since then. But in the last few years we have seen more consistency on the pitch, and the ground (I used to sit in the wooden tinder box...) is vastly better. But to be realstic our natural current position is somewhere between the botton of the PL, and the top of the Championship. And that applies to the playing squad and the management, no disrespect intended. Since Covid none of us have been able to go and cheer, indeed my last visit was the 3-3 draw with Man U last November, and the home crowd do make a difference. As does losing all four of your best full backs. Back on topic, CW said yesterday that a couple of players need to move on, but CW himself is just the sort of motivational manager to make a difference. I do hope he stays whatever.

They will save you money next Christmas....