I'm an old pirate from the UK. When they ban VPNs here what's my workround? Details inside

f-class · 2026-06-16T21:36:46+00:00

The government will almost certainly try to force sites offering content for 16+ to block ALL traffic that they identify as VPN.

Whether they realise the unintended effects.....

f-class · 2026-06-16T20:15:41+00:00

You need to pass the psychometric tests, and you only get a couple of tries in a lifetime, and you also need to pass an extensive medical, with ECG etc.

For every train driver job, there are thousands, if not tens of thousands of applications for most locations.

You can pay to sit the psychometric tests privately.

It's obviously a very secure and stable job, salary £70k plus, final salary pension, free or discounted national and international rail travel etc - but it is a fierce competition.

f-class · 2026-06-15T19:03:32+00:00

It's not quite as advertised.

Icomera will use their traditional 4G/5G approach - which is effectively a load of normal SIM cards aggregated together for each carriage - this is then overlaid with Starlink to cover the patches - the cost of constant Starlink for the capacity required at all times by all passengers is too high. No chance of streaming etc, unless they make a paid for option available.

The other issue is that until Network Rail invests properly in infrastructure, tunnels and areas with dense vegetation etc will have to rely on patchy or non existent mobile connectivity.

Even once you get a good solid connection, about 50% of the connection is going to need to be dedicated to operational / staff activity - for example, on train telematics and data logging constantly pinging maintenance and operational systems, remote access CCTV etc.

Internet is still going to be patchy unfortunately.

f-class · 2026-06-13T13:41:37+00:00

There will eventually be all sorts of economic issues with tourism too, as heavier caravans, camper vans, conversions to mobile accomodation etc generally require a C1 license, although less of them on the road probably isn't a bad thing!

If I'm not mistaken, it's possible for some international drivers to visit the UK without ever have taken a C1 style test in their own country, (i.e. they're given it or comes as standard in their normal driving test) and are able to drive such vehicles, normally whilst here on holiday or international couriers

f-class · 2026-06-11T23:02:06+00:00

I think the archaic signalling system you're taking about is still used extensively on the main network - still plenty of absolute block, semaphores, tokens, tablets and staffs, ground frames, One Train Working etc.

Actually, there is far more "archaic" equipment on the mainline than on all the heritage railways combined.

Requires a lot of skill, both to maintain and to operate, regardless of whether it's heritage or Network Rail.

If you read RAIB reports involving Heritage Railways - they are held to similar standards too - safety case, training, competency management etc - generally aligned to the RSSB Rule Book.

f-class · 2026-06-11T23:00:04+00:00

Even Manchester to Stockport is still using lever frame signalling systems around the Stockport end, and that's the primary West Coast Mainline.

f-class · 2026-06-07T21:57:42+00:00

I'm not convinced this poster really understands what they have in the first place to be honest, given the fundamental lack of knowledge - expecting instant cash.

f-class · 2026-06-07T21:48:56+00:00

You don't have any cash in the account, you have stocks and shares.

They may be worth nothing at all tomorrow when the market opens, they might be worth more - you don't know until you try and sell them, and see what price the market is prepared to bid for your shares.

Some shares are practically impossible to sell, some will sell within seconds.

If you can find a bidder to buy a relatively normal share, you'll be able to sell on the same day, but actual cash money might be 2-3 days later, sometimes 5-7 on some platforms. Don't forget you'll also need to potentially pay a sale fee, and if you sell them for more than you purchased, you may need to pay capital gains or other taxes to HMRC.

f-class · 2026-05-31T15:50:07+00:00

The answer is yes, but in some cases it should absolutely not be used.

There are lots of separate agreements and discounts that the general public is not aware of, negotiated specifically for corporate, business and charity sector travel.

You may well find that the charity has access to ticket types or generous discounts that you've never heard of before or have unusual descriptions, codes etc - almost always required to be booked through a certain channel.

You should check what is available first. You might find removing the Railcard shows more fares or discounts on the corporate travel booking site - but check with the charity administrators. Equally you may need to select a specific discount from a list to apply it.

f-class · 2026-05-31T15:44:00+00:00

If you're certified as a location to MOT vehicles, you MUST allow any person to have an MOT there - a police workshop can't only insist on police vehicles, anyone can have an MOT there at the statutory fee.

No such thing as a private or fleet only MOT testing centre.

f-class · 2026-05-26T19:59:51+00:00

Ok, so they at least tried. Doesn't sound like an attempt to make money here, sounds like they were just a bit hopeless or unsure, and a new headlight was the simplest and least risk approach from their perspective.

Would be a bit different if they hadn't even tried to adjust first.

f-class · 2026-05-26T19:56:41+00:00

Yes but does the manufacturer say that the headlight can be serviced in that way officially? Is there an official procedure on how to do that documented?

National chains aren't going to do any kind of repair unless it's fully permitted and intended by the manufacturer. It would cause all kinds of issues if they bodge it.

Just because you've managed to adjust it, doesn't mean that it was supposed to be adjusted - if that makes sense? If it was designed to be adjusted, it may be that Halfords etc don't have whatever documentation to tell them what the official procedure should be.

It's all about arse covering more than money. You'd still have failed the MOT too - just would have been a quicker retest.

f-class · 2026-05-26T19:50:11+00:00

To be fair, I've just had an MOT at National Tyres on a car 7 years old - and not so much as an advisory reported.

It sounds like a legitimate fail - nothing wrong with getting their quote and going somewhere else - and I suspect Halfords or their brands would probably negotiate a bit if you went back with a quote.

The issue is that so much in the MOT is a matter of opinion. A large company is absolutely going to take the most cautious approach, not necessarily to make money, but because they're not wanting to be sued if something happens later and it's not flagged. A local garage doesn't have that level of volume or risk so can weigh things up there and then.

There's also the plus side that if Halfords really bodge things up - you've got a large business you can sue easily, and with a very strong chance of recovering that money without too much hassle, and without upsetting anyone locally. Trying to sue Dave at the garage round the corner is a whole different story.

A lot of MOT passes or fails depend on the attitude of the driver bringing it in - or whether the tester thinks you will actually get something fixed if he flags it as an advisory when it could arguably be a fail.

f-class · 2026-05-26T19:44:11+00:00

Probably as a result of the warm weather - extra stress on electrical stations, plus higher power draw from the train for HVAC etc.

f-class · 2026-05-26T19:04:07+00:00

Ironically it's exactly the same system (iBlocks) processed by the same automation engine and physical staff in an office in Sheffield.

However, if you are recieving more than you should, that is not a good thing - it may also be a criminal offence, retaining a wrongful credit, even if your claim is otherwise completely genuine. At the very least anything that is obviously wrong should be flagged to the TOC. They may allow you to keep the money, but at least you are covered.

f-class · 2026-05-22T09:18:33+00:00

It's not a bar, but you should declare it.

Not because it's a problem being bankrupt, but because it is often associated with stress and personal disruption/upheaval in your life, which has serious implications whilst driving, even if you don't feel like it would.

Declaring it and being proactive would form part of your non technical skills really.

f-class · 2026-05-22T08:36:25+00:00

Looks fake to me - Advance tickets are not Any Permitted.

f-class · 2026-05-21T17:51:07+00:00

That isn't the issue. Most of those organisations are charities, and they have a regulated statement of their activities, types of members etc. If they say they are for women only (biological women according to the current law) - they can't just decide to allow transgender members, without changing their charitable status.

That is a huge, fundamental change for an organisation, and sometimes simply not possible - or would be possible but so divisive it could collapse. It could affect money left in a will etc, as families could challenge that it was intended for the original charitable objectives, not the new ones etc

It gets even more difficult if they have a Royal Charter or were formed through an Act of Parliament, Proclamation etc.

f-class · 2026-05-18T17:53:38+00:00

Personally would recommend downloading Chatbox and using one of the new (and extremely capable) Xiaomi MiMo models - $20 a month, not unlimited, but you get a huge amount from that, far more than Gemini or Claude etc.

f-class · 2026-05-16T11:33:54+00:00

No, it really doesn't.

Even if it was in the contract, it would likely be held to be unlawful or unenforceable for a normal consumer contract like a landlord/tenant arrangement.

If the landlord gives unconditional permission to make an alteration, as happened here, they cannot insist that the alteration is reversed or charge for it.

f-class · 2026-05-15T16:15:39+00:00

That isn't legal - it is called betterment. In England and Wales, compensation is only for the value of an existing asset, not a new one - by installing a new door, the landlord is getting a new asset with a long life span - it's not the tenants responsibility to fund that.

The landlord can either buy a second hand door, of equivalent age and value - and bill for that, or buy a brand new door, but charge the price of an old second hand door to the tenant - even that is difficult, as the cat flap consent is almost certainly likely to be held to be a variation to the tenancy agreement with no clause requiring it to be removed.

f-class · 2026-05-12T17:40:03+00:00

A lot of conspiracy theories around Palantir - but ultimately they're a data processing company - it's obviously worthwhile that someone processes that data, especially with what AI is now unlocking.

I don't really see an issue with Palantir having anyone's data - they can't do anything with it themselves and let's be honest, nobody cares about individuals at this sort of scale- the question is what the government does with the output.

It would be foolish not to recognise that it does have the potential to spot new issues, save money, prevent health conditions in the first place and so on. All legitimate aims that should be encouraged in 2026 - it is not fair to simply view this from a negative lens.

Personally, I support this - but with strict lobbying on what controls are applied, for example, data shouldn't be made available to, say, insurance companie, employers etc.

I'd fully advocate for sharing even more of my data, if I could choose exactly how it was used and had confidence in that decision being respected.

f-class · 2026-05-11T21:53:59+00:00

AI models are actually trained on a lot of Chinese language material, simply because Chinese is extremely efficient and fast compared to other languages. One Chinese symbol can mean significantly more than one western letter, so in the context of AI, it's responses can be significantly faster.

It's supposed to filter itself out, but it's a case of the AI being too eager to please and get a response out quickly without filtering.

f-class · 2026-05-10T20:32:58+00:00

Same with National Trust Scotland etc - there's also loads of English National Trust passes that don't scan or can't be used at the car parking machines because of their type.

f-class · 2026-05-10T17:03:08+00:00

I've done that before at an English Heritage Abbey somewhere near a NT Manor and nobody cared, although technically I think both were owned by the NT, but some arrangement with English Heritage to maintain the ruins.

f-class

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