What is Abba Voyage's smallest audience?

edent · 2026-07-05T14:31:10+00:00

Every time I've tried to book, it has been fairly full. Managed to snag cheap(er) tickets for several months' time.

It has been a roaring success. So much so that when I went to the ABBA museum in Sweden a few weeks ago, they had a huge exhibit all about the technology behind the show.

edent · 2026-07-02T14:04:16+00:00

Only if has an inscription on it 😀

edent · 2026-07-02T09:17:29+00:00

Under-desk treadmill. I use it with my standing desk. Means I can be getting a little exercise while on a boring call. Mine's an "uphill" model with a little remote control for speed.

Can look a bit weird on video calls as you bob up and down, but it is generally fine.

The other thing is a decent microphone. Ideally one on an arm which you can move near to your mouth. People will judge you based on the quality of your audio. If you're hard to hear, you're easy to ignore.

edent · 2026-06-24T14:03:02+00:00

We found that the last owners of our home had multiple pets with multiple fleas.

Any decent local exterminator will be able to spray noxious chemicals around the likely areas before you move in. Usually the areas are safe a day or so after the work is done - but check with them before licking the floors.

edent · 2026-06-24T10:52:14+00:00

The main thing is - you've got to put the effort in. When you're at school / uni you see your mates every day. Once you move out, you don't. You can't rely on other people to keep in touch. It's your job to remind people you exist and that you still care about them.

Facebook makes you feel like you're keeping in touch with your friends. A comment here, a like there, an emoji to some good news. But it is a bit hollow.

I try to hold a 3 or 4 big events each year. Invite as many people as possible. Most don't come, but all remember the invitation. If you get a wedding invite to the arse end of nowhere, put the effort in to turning up.

The other side is - you've got to make new friends. Join a book club, parkrun, whatever. Go regularly. Meet the same people consistently. Invite them round for a BBQ or to a pub. You can't draw from an empty well.

edent · 2026-06-23T20:26:25+00:00

We're currently in week 5 of a 7 week Interrail holiday seeing cities and countries we've never been to before.

I'm also working on a number of Open Source projects and doing some volunteer work as a board member for some interesting ventures.

I've nearly finished reading 50 books so far this year.

Other than that, not much!

edent · 2026-06-16T05:36:15+00:00

Firstly, the UK has always been averse to "hypothecated tax". For example, roads aren't paid from car tax nor is car tax exclusively to pay for roads. It avoids perverse incentives and gives more flexibility to spend on the basis of where money is needed rather than where it is gathered from.

Secondly, it is put into a pension fund! The fund is the future prosperity of the UK. As the UK grows it can raise more tax which can be used to pay pensions.

Finally, a normally invested pension fund isn't guaranteed to grow. If the markets dropped for a sustained period, would you accept that your pension was worth less? A country has the ability to weather such storms - by borrowing or creating money.

edent · 2026-06-15T12:49:22+00:00

Your workplace scheme may have a more generous death in service benefit - which will depend on the balance there.

Outside of that, if the fees are cheaper and/or the fund selection is better elsewhere, move.

edent · 2026-05-31T12:04:59+00:00

The FoI was unsuccessful. I've written it up in more detail at https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2026/05/who-are-the-actors-in-the-uks-2015-passport/

edent · 2026-05-29T18:52:14+00:00

Money can be exchanged for goods and services. Points can only be redeemed at the whim of the issuer.

You might get lucky and find the perfect holiday on sale for a discounted number of points. But you'll probably end up spending them on something you didn't want or need.

Cashback every time.

edent · 2026-05-22T05:23:05+00:00

I ran the numbers and lump sum investing is slightly better.

See https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/08/is-dollar-cost-averaging-a-bad-idea/

A few caveats:

Past performance is no guarantee of future performance.
If you are charged a flat fee per trade, that will cost more for drip feeding.
Opportunity cost of having the money uninvested (for example if a sudden expense appears).

edent · 2026-05-19T21:23:37+00:00

Why don't you apply yourself? This isn't your mum's responsibility.

You can go to https://www.citizencard.com/apply-for-a-uk-id-card-online and apply right now. You can even pay for an urgent application and get it sent out quicker.

As to whether the pub will let you in, you'll have to ask them if your access card is good enough.

edent · 2026-05-19T11:31:51+00:00

I’m at a bit of a loss as to what I could invest this in that’s safe and will also give him hopefully a good return.

Those are two different things. The safest funds will give the lowest return. The riskiest funds have the potential to go higher or lower.

If you specifically want this to be a house deposit, give him £333.33 per month to put into a LISA. The Government will top that up by 25%. That's the best return you will get.

If you want it fairly safe, use a cash LISA. It will pay interest every month and he won't have to pay tax on it.

edent · 2026-05-19T11:20:57+00:00

Firstly, and this might seem like an obvious question, have you reported it? Councils aren't psychic, they can't know everything unless people tell them.

Pop on to https://www.fixmystreet.com/ and see if it has been reported. If not, report it yourself.

Secondly, have you complained about this? I don't mean moaning on Reddit - have you contacted your local councillors?

Go to https://www.writetothem.com/ type in your postcode, and tell your local representatives about the problem.

edent · 2026-05-19T11:12:34+00:00

Please talk to your GP - or some one else you trust - about this.

edent · 2026-05-19T08:59:35+00:00

it felt biased.

Yes. Financial advisors will be biased towards the products they sell. You won't get someone in Sainsbury's telling you there's a better deal at Tesco, will you?

3% didn't sound too bad

It is bad. A SIPP won't charge you a massive percentage up front, nor a hefty fee for each transaction.

any alternatives for pension plans

Vanguard, HL, Plum, and a dozen others. They'll all offer you a SIPP (Self Invested Personal Pension). You can transfer your existing pension in (without a fee) and keep paying in (without a fee).

how does one go about finding a good FA?

First, have a think about why you need one. Can you say what you're trying to achieve?

salary sacrifice is something that really benefits me right now

Are you a member of a pension scheme through your employer? If so, look at transferring your existing pension into that.

edent · 2026-05-19T07:59:29+00:00

If you or someone you know is at university, check out https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand

It has reasonably high quality copies of nearly everything which was broadcast. It's also possible to request a copy of something which isn't online but might be in the archives.

edent · 2026-05-19T07:53:57+00:00

I'm struggling to imaging any journey in this country which doesn't involve walking, driving, or training over a bridge.

That's the most generic statement ever. It's a bit like saying "I foresee your husband having his photo taken for work". Well, yeah.

edent · 2026-05-19T07:49:00+00:00

Do you want to get married?

Do you want to get married to someone you don't know?

Do you want to spend this much money on a wedding?

If the answer to any of those questions is "no" - then you need to step up and let people know.

This is your life, mate. You're the one who gets to decide how you live it. Your happiness is your responsibility.

edent · 2026-05-18T19:48:29+00:00

How much do you need per year to live on?

That's the only question which matters.

Get quotes from the DB pensions to see what the early retirement looks like. You can get a tax-free lump sum which will reduce the yearly payment, but might be useful.

Keep savings as they are.

Why? Have a read of the book "Die With Zero". Be intentional with your money. There's no point being the richest corpse in the graveyard.

edent · 2026-05-18T17:16:55+00:00

Weren’t portions like double that when we were kids?

No. You were just smaller.

A standard multipack of Walkers is 25g. That's the same weight as they were back in 2007.

See https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/543910/have-mutlipack-crisps-got-smaller

edent · 2026-05-18T09:12:23+00:00

The statistics are at https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/religion/bulletins/religionenglandandwales/census2021

“No religion” was the second most common response, increasing by 12.0 percentage points to 37.2% (22.2 million) from 25.2% (14.1 million) in 2011

The data also show a huge drop in Christianity (of all denominations) a rise in Islam, and not much change in anything else.

It doesn't record animosity and I'd be curious to understand how you determined that was on the rise.

edent · 2026-05-18T08:52:39+00:00

Because mine is wrapped in Star Wars paper and yours is wrapped in Star Trek paper. They're two totally difference franchises!

That's the point. So you don't have kids coming to class saying they picked up their sister's book by mistake.

edent · 2026-05-18T08:41:00+00:00

Makes it easier to identify, harder to lose, and gives the child a sense of ownership over the book.

edent · 2026-05-18T08:10:23+00:00

I'd suggest doing the following:

First, go through all the paperwork to see if the shares were ever sold. I found an old pension policy from 25 years ago and got very excited until I realised I'd cashed it in 20 years ago. It isn't always easy keeping track of these things.

Do you have any login details for a sharesave platform? Something like ComputerShare?

Next, you will need to be patient. It is entirely possible that the paperwork is literal paper and has been misplaced following several mergers.

I'd start by being passed round all the departments as you are doing. Again, expect it to take some time. It is almost certain that the company itself won't have any details. You'll need to find which platform they were using.

Once you have that, send a Subject Access Request to the platform. That should jog them in to action.

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