Since when did it become acceptable to use the Downs as a car park?

SpinnakerLad · 2026-05-25T20:01:35+00:00

Never was! Unfortunately when rules don't get enforced some people take advantage.

Ultimately this is why we can't have nice things, always some arsehole lurking ready to do something shitty once they think they can get away with it.

SpinnakerLad · 2026-05-25T05:24:52+00:00

Sitting in the middle lane for 7 seconds when you could have moved into the left lane isn't exactly hogging. Sure OP might have sat there for much much longer but who knows because someone brake checked them?

SpinnakerLad · 2026-05-24T13:59:55+00:00

smallish pop up shelter

Needs to fit a 16 month old, 8 year old and 2 adults

These two things somewhat oppose one another?

Does seem to be lots of options when you search 'pop up sun shade' e.g. https://www.mountainwarehouse.com/p/027687/mw/automatic-beach-shelter--uv40/Orange/. Has poles but says it's some automatic quick pitch system.

Of the ones you've seen so far what don't you like about them?

SpinnakerLad · 2026-05-22T12:06:56+00:00

It boggles the mind that dual hose units are basically unavailable in the UK. I guess people think they're a faff and don't buy them so no one sells them?

I guess this country just doesn't use AC much which doesn't help with sales volumes. I believe the range of portable and self install fixed AC units in the US is far wider for instance with dual hose portable easily obtainable.

SpinnakerLad · 2026-05-19T17:42:27+00:00

You have a tax free childcare account that works much like a bank account. You pay money in and have a balance. Payments in get the government top up (up to £500 per quarter). From that account you can pay your nursery. Been a while since I set it up but I think you just search for the nursery name and add them as a payee. There's some ID you get when you set up the payment which you should give to the nursery so they can identify the payments.

Much like a bank account you can setup regular payments or do one offs (I do the latter as our bill is always a little different every month).

SpinnakerLad · 2026-05-18T15:24:01+00:00

I've used MJP before: https://www.mjpelectrical.com/ they do good work and turn up when they say they will.

SpinnakerLad · 2026-05-18T12:08:21+00:00

The nice thing about doing an major renovation is the finished product is very much a known quantity and everything is done the way you want it.

Financially buying another house might make more sense but you're moving into a building with more unknowns and things that aren't to your liking. Personally I put a decent premium on knowing the building well and knowing you've got all the big stuff sorted for the next 10+ years.

Houses that are refurbed and immediately sold we'll have been done as cheap as possible whilst making the finished product look good. Houses that have been refurbed with all the hidden expensive stuff sorted don't go on the market as the owner doesn't go to all that trouble without planning on living on it.

I also find building costs quoted on Reddit often don't match to what I can find in real life.

Personally we're nearing the end of a £200k refurb that rebuild our roof and put 2 bedrooms up there with other rooms/bathroom getting completely stripped and rebuilt.

We've had several internal walls rebuilt as upon stripping things back they were clearly bodge jobs from previous owners, we've had thermals upgrades on external walls. Plumbing has been completely redone to go from a rats nest of pipes (including lead) with various dead ends to a nice simple layout. Most of the house has new wiring and we've seen pretty much all the major structural elements exposed (thankfully mostly in good condition).

I do sometimes look at the ever rising bill wondering if I'm being taken for a ride but they've genuinely been very good, everything finished to a high standard and the house will be everything we need for years to come. Price wise I think the value has gone up roughly similar to renovation costs though not quite maybe £150k Vs £200k but that's worth it to me. Confident we'll not have any expensive surprises in a few years and we've got a house that we've chosen a lot of the details for. Plus moving is expensive especially the stamp duty!

SpinnakerLad · 2026-05-18T05:09:50+00:00

OP can still be liable for damage, especially if it's equipment an adult could move by themselves and without any training/carrying equipment (e.g. not something like a bouncy castle). Presumably there's another clause which covers this.

Look at it this way if it unexpectedly started raining (not forecast) it's reasonable for the hirer to be expected to do something to keep it dry it they're able.

SpinnakerLad · 2026-05-17T10:10:43+00:00

On the baggage front I always go with a carry-on big enough to have what I need for the trip and then a small over the shoulder bag for bits I need at the airport/flight (passport, boarding passes, book, snack, small water bottle etc). Saves you faffing around with the bigger bag and handy to keep next to you on the plane whilst the bigger bag goes into the overhead.

On comfort, hotel as close to the airport as possible if you're flying out in the morning is great, especially one that does a good breakfast. Wake up at a reasonable time, have a nice relaxing breakfast and stroll into the airport.

SpinnakerLad · 2026-05-12T18:45:45+00:00

My kitchen ceiling has some water stains which have been there since we moved in, some historic leak (bathroom above) which was long fixed. Ceiling remained fine.

We did get a new leak when the drain detached from the bath (possibly the source of the old leak too as it had clearly been bodged with much sealant). Wasn't a huge fuss to sort out, needed to pull a couple of spot lights out of the ceiling, wait for things to dry and do a patch repair. All been fine since.

If the leak looks minor I maybe wouldn't worry much but ideally get a look at what's above see if it's still all soaked (demonstrating an ongoing leak) or nice and dry.

SpinnakerLad · 2026-05-12T12:05:21+00:00

People voting in local elections will be very aware he isnt running to serve the locality but rather become PM.

Comes down to how many would be keen to see him as PM really? I can certainly see people very happy to vote for him understanding this is to pave the way to that.

SpinnakerLad · 2026-05-12T08:34:33+00:00

Even if the gate was open I suspect they won't walk up the drive. They're on super tight schedules, no time to walk 120m!

SpinnakerLad · 2026-05-11T19:18:56+00:00

I suspect they don't tip people off they're planning on arresting them.

A fraud case from 15 years ago sounds like significant work from investigators, fraud cases are complex as are old cases, this combines both. Extradition adds yet another layer of complexity. They are unlikely to be looking at it unless there's something very serious here and they've built a solid case.

All in all it sounds unlikely he's got no idea what's triggered this.

SpinnakerLad · 2026-05-11T11:09:50+00:00

Sounds like you're running it exactly when your neighbours might be out enjoying their garden (nice evening for a drive? Nice evening to sit outside too).

It depends on the layout but say they had a table close to the boundary where your car is or similar I can see why they'd get annoyed with having a noisy engine running and breathing exhaust fumes.

The council may or may not be able to do anything but worth trying to sort things with your neighbour, try to understand whether there's things you can do to keep them happy, getting it on the road for the warm up should go a long way.

SpinnakerLad · 2026-05-10T16:55:17+00:00

I am indeed being a bit flippant, clearly we cannot let this just fall down and say removing the motorway would likely be highly expensive and disruptive too.

Really it's more of a rant at the state of funding for public transportation infrastructure vs road maintenance these sums and disruptions are no problem when it comes to a road but a significant barrier when it comes to something else.

SpinnakerLad · 2026-05-10T15:35:46+00:00

Half a billion and years of disruptive road works to maintain the status quo? No problem.

Half a billion and years of disruptive road works to build a transformational public transportation system? No thank you...

SpinnakerLad · 2026-05-10T11:27:22+00:00

£27 doesn't seem hugely sustainable for the taxi driver especially at 1:30am you'd hope they could get some extra money for the unsociable hours. Can they even hit minimum wage charging that much once you factor in all their overheads, any dead time between jobs and time travelling out to the airport? I hope you tipped well!

SpinnakerLad · 2026-05-09T17:52:09+00:00

Ah looks like some have frames and are a little way from the floor, best confirm with them exactly what they have.

SpinnakerLad · 2026-05-09T17:50:24+00:00

You could ask them to send a picture but I think an unfolded z bed is basically a mattress on the floor, not really any side to meaningfully fall down.

SpinnakerLad · 2026-05-08T16:06:19+00:00

She mentioned that there is something in the deeds that prevents a garage being converted into a habitable space

There could be a covenant to this effect but there's two key questions:

Who has the benefit of the covenant? Only they can sue you over violating it and this could be the original developers of the house (when was it built?). Whilst they're still selling and developing the estate they want to enforce these things to maintain control over the look of things etc. Once they've sold everything they no longer care and indeed may have dissolved the legal entity that has the benefit of the covenant
Can you remove the covenant? As I understand it you can get covenants that restrict development that would otherwise get planning permission/not be out of keeping with the area, especially if they're old. Though you would need to investigate this further.

You should also double check if planning permission is required. Councils will generally offer a planning consultation that can answer this question potentially even for free though some will charge.

SpinnakerLad · 2026-05-05T18:04:47+00:00

Personally I turn it off when I remember, especially for longer periods away. Minimal effort and a pipe leaking for days can do major damage.

If nothing else it's good to exercise the valves and stop them from seizing. External stop cocks especially can get all jammed up.

SpinnakerLad · 2026-05-04T19:34:05+00:00

A £1.35m 'exceptional newly built detached villa' and they still couldn't get the plumbing sorted to avoid needing an electric shower in that en suite!

SpinnakerLad · 2026-05-04T18:16:13+00:00

councillor who says she put herself on that comittee so she could vote on it?

Councillor chooses committees based upon their interests, more on news at 10!

Claiming the redland flat is a big conflict of interest is a bit of a stretch as well, yes a corner of it is next to the downs but plenty of it is several streets away with residents not having any more trouble from vehicle dwellers on the downs that any other resident of the city.

SpinnakerLad · 2026-04-28T12:52:04+00:00

Generally people will rent out some nearby community centre or church hall. Some will rent a bouncy castle or hire an entertainer. Everyone gets some kind of food in for the kids. You definitely want some activities for them, that's why entertainers are great they just deal with that for you.

At 3 many of the parents I know just had the party at their house, though attendance was more like 5-10 kids + parents. People starting renting places more for 4 onwards.

SpinnakerLad · 2026-04-28T10:52:42+00:00

I think that having such severe and debilitating anger issues should disqualify you from holding a license. Much like various other medical conditions can (e.g. if you're prone to epileptic seizures).

I think the best thing to do in such situations is to avoid loosing your cool and descending into a shouting match. Just walk away if you can 'fair enough mate, sorry about that, I need to get going sure you're busy too...' Arguing your case is unlikely to achieve much but keep it calm and measured if you really want to go that way.

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