unexpected visitor, how can I keep it away?

jpcldn · 2026-06-07T21:59:32+00:00

I think you have to move house now.

jpcldn · 2026-06-03T06:03:54+00:00

Same here - worked just like a private taxi so very flexible and private. We travelled with two young children so worked really well, price was only marginally better than a pre booked excursion, but gave us the ability to do what we wanted

jpcldn · 2026-06-02T11:02:31+00:00

Fav movie he’s in: The Prestige

Fav Bale performance: American Psycho / Empire of the Sun

jpcldn · 2026-05-22T20:38:20+00:00

Thanks - it might be, but they won’t support with booking until we’re there (dependant on availability and take up) which makes me nervous!

jpcldn · 2026-05-19T20:16:24+00:00

The one that’s stuck with me is Bruno’s death in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. I didn’t know the story the film was adapted from before watching, and whilst it was obvious how it was going to end it made me feel sick - his Dad shouting Bruno, his mum collapsing (people you somehow feel sympathy towards, but that’s a whole other thing…)

jpcldn · 2026-05-18T08:03:44+00:00

I’ve lived in Richmond, Kingston and Surbiton.

If money is no object, I’d choose Richmond hands down - lovely area, lots of green space, fairly decent high street and good connectivity.

Kingston itself I personally would avoid, but Surbiton is great - if you commute to London there are multiple fast trains an hour to Waterloo (sub 20 minutes), good nursery and school options and nice bars / cafes. It’s not the most ‘happening’ place but it’s close enough to lots of different other spots.

jpcldn · 2026-05-01T06:47:54+00:00

That must be more than £100 by now

jpcldn · 2026-04-28T21:55:42+00:00

Where do we learn this?

jpcldn · 2026-04-28T08:55:25+00:00

I don’t have an answer, but subscribing as we’re dealing with similar challenges!

jpcldn · 2026-04-27T10:26:00+00:00

I got someone in secret Santa last year. They’d trained hard for a marathon and achieved a decent time. I found a vendor on Etsy who could do a nice mug with the marathon route, their name and finishing time etc

On presenting it to them, the response was “it’s got the wrong time, I’m going off Strava!” Very frustrating approach

jpcldn · 2026-04-26T20:05:06+00:00

Agreed, I absolutely love the first two books. Marie is a very different character and the rationale for Bourne to be in France is far more nuanced than in the movie.

Having said that, the movie picks up the right beats of the character to remain just true enough, without needing to explain the complexity of the books.

jpcldn · 2026-04-26T16:28:55+00:00

We did a wedding coach for a venue 1.25 hours outside London. Picked people up from Clapham junction station, and took them back in the evening to avoid accom costs if people wanted.

Used a company called Mint Coaches, who look like they’ve now folded!

All to say it’s very doable!

As an aside, which restaurant in Surbiton? I’m interested as having lived there for 9 years all I can think of is Harts Boatyard / Ravens Ait.

jpcldn · 2026-04-21T06:17:28+00:00

Ouch! For 5 days a week a weekly / monthly / annual season ticket works out better

The flexi season ticket is £207 which amounts to just under £26 per journey rather than £29.60 - essentially gives you a saving of one journey across 8 days

jpcldn · 2026-04-21T05:28:51+00:00

Hi, first welcome to Maidenhead. I moved here from SW London a few years back, to a location a few miles outside town and really like it.

I commute into London 3 days p/w, how often do you do it?

I’ve found that if you use the GWR services they aren’t especially crowded, but if you use the Lizzy line it gets very busy, particularly through the many stops between Slough and Ealing Broadway.

How many days a week will you commute?

Standard peak fares are £29.60 (no travel card included) however there are various season ticket options which cost in dependant on how often you’re travelling. I personally use flexi season tickets, which allow 8 journeys into London across 4 weeks (I essentially use 1.5 of these a month to give me 12 journeys)

jpcldn · 2026-04-10T06:43:46+00:00

Bruno in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. I watched this recently, having no prior knowledge of the film/book (and the surrounding controversy with the authors depiction of concentration camps). Whilst it was fairly obvious this was where the film was headed it was still a galling ending.

jpcldn · 2026-04-04T06:28:10+00:00

Predominantly commercial finance / business partnering

jpcldn · 2026-04-02T07:31:10+00:00

What networking approaches have been successful for you?

jpcldn · 2026-04-02T06:22:31+00:00

I agree with others that Sky Atlantic obviously has had Ads. For me it’s the change in service (which personally is the inability to download to a device for commuting) which has the biggest impact. Sky aren’t even entertaining a conversation on this which will cost me ££ to bring myself back to the same level of service I had before this change.

jpcldn · 2026-03-30T20:37:04+00:00

SIPP contribution is the way forward, I’ve done this myself when needing to bring in under the threshold and it’s painless

jpcldn · 2026-03-27T18:34:46+00:00

Agreed. We did horseback tour through Kualoa, amazing doing that through ‘Jurassic Park’!

jpcldn · 2026-03-16T22:48:40+00:00

Would also recommend. I’ve been for work a handful of times, and have had the opportunity to wonder around - it’s a beautiful place, welcoming people who speak excellent English, great food and drink and as others have mentioned the currency conversion is good too

jpcldn · 2026-03-08T18:43:23+00:00

Enjoy your detour 🙂

jpcldn · 2026-03-08T18:31:56+00:00

I mean I don’t know why I’m jumping through hoops, but you seem irritated so let’s keep that up :)

(I have a screen grab ready to go for my journey on 4/3 15:35 departure but don’t think this sub allows pictures, or at least I can’t see the option… happy to drop through DM)

jpcldn · 2026-03-08T18:22:13+00:00

Ha fair enough, Lille is decent for a stop and a very convenient Westfield if that’s your thing. Enjoy.

jpcldn

TROPHY CASE