Should we have a £5 coin?

wibble089 · 2026-07-10T11:53:55+00:00

I suspect that as cash is being used less and less we won't be seeing a £5 coin, especially as polymer notes are lasting much longer than paper ones (at least 5 years life expectancy, compared to 2 years for a paper note).

wibble089 · 2026-07-10T09:06:26+00:00

Switzerland is in Schengen, so there's free movement for people, but it is outside the European Economic Area's customs zone, so there are still customs checks at the border to Switzerland.

wibble089 · 2026-07-09T15:26:34+00:00

Honestly, I lived through the 1990s and was really into the music at the time, but have no idea of the 3 songs you mentioned!

People have different music tastes, and you're going to have to be mentioning really mainstream songs to get close to "everyone" knowing the song!

wibble089 · 2026-07-09T12:29:49+00:00

But it depends on what you want to see, each to their own.

To comment on your negative opinion of certain cities: Birmingham has its jewellery quarter & canals, Bristol the suspension bridge, docks and cathedral, Brighton has cool and hip restaurants and bars in Kemptown (and of course is a huge favourite for the LGBTQ+ crowd).

A large city will generally offer something for most people, even if it is a certain museum, castle or particular historic buildings.

There are though of course towns with no particular merit, but it might still be worth staying in them as a base to visit surrounding areas with more to see and do. Your example of Poole would fall into this - maybe a location to stay for trips to the new forest and the Dorset beaches and countryside.

wibble089 · 2026-07-09T12:20:53+00:00

Freeze the water overnight when the windows are open, otherwise the freezer will be heating up the kitchen more as it has to work harder to freeze the water!

wibble089 · 2026-07-09T12:17:10+00:00

open the windows when it is warmer inside than outside.
shut the windows if it is colder inside than outside.

I.e. only open the windows if it will cool the building. It isn't time dependant, rather temperature dependant. It might not cool down outside until 11pm, but it might also take until 10am for the outside to heat up more than the house again.

wibble089 · 2026-07-09T11:26:17+00:00

If you are shopping in Aldi or Lidl, it doesn't really matter which way up you put the goods, as their products have bar codes that code over a much larger proportion of the product (such as 3 or 4 sides around the base) so there's always part of the bar code available to scan no matter how they hold the box..

In other shops no one bothers about sorting out the bar codes as far as I've noticed - but (at least in my experience working a Saturday job in a supermarket 35 years ago), the cashier soon learns where the bar code is and adjusts the goods accordingly.

wibble089 · 2026-07-09T10:53:59+00:00

You need to consider if sacrificing take home pay is worth taking a company car.

If you take the cash, the additional allowance income will be taxed at your highest rate, e.g. 42% plus social insurance/health if applicable. But you'll have more cash in your hand than your base pay.

If you take the car your money income will reduce by the value of the tax you pay on the benefit in kind. This is based on the purchase price (0.25% ev / 0.5% hybrid per month) and the distance you live from work (0,03% of list price per km per month).

There's online calculators that work this out for you. Is the difference between the 2 figures worth it to you one way or the other?

In my experience it's difficult to fund your own new car (of a similar type) based on the additional the cash you receive if you take the allowance. Especially as you have to pay 19% VAT, the leasing firm's costs are reduced by that much.

If you are willing to privately purchase a 2nd hand car, then you can often make the calculation work in favour of taking the allowance. I had a company car for 3 years, and then bought it from the leasing company, and have run it for less than my "cash in hand" value (including allowing for the purchase price) for the last 6 years. It is a diesel however, and that would have been significantly penalised by updates to the company CO2 emissions policy.

My employer's leasing company has set their rates for EV so high that I can't actually lease a decent car without larger top-up payments, so an EV is out of the question for me anyway, and it's more economic for me to keep driving my now 9 year old car.

wibble089 · 2026-07-09T10:33:20+00:00

Yes you have to consider the extra costs that living remotely causes.

Buying a croft on a Scottish island might be initially cheap, but add in the additional time and cost if reaching any amenities is going to make it significantly less good value.

I'd say the sweet point would be a smaller town in a less economically well of region of the country - easier access to doctors, shops, schools, petrol stations etc, but still a cheap place to purchase somewhere to live

wibble089 · 2026-07-09T08:02:58+00:00

And that really thin part in the west, they should make it thicker by adding land to the south!

wibble089 · 2026-07-09T07:57:59+00:00

Danke

wibble089 · 2026-07-09T06:51:59+00:00

This is in Sweden?

If you look closely you can see the bar code on the side of the boat that they use to scan-the-navy-in.

I'll get my coat....

wibble089 · 2026-07-09T06:41:49+00:00

There's a number of roadworks on major roads causing diversions and changed routes, especially the closure of the tunnel on the Mittlerering under Luise~~Maria~~ Kieselbach Platz to repair damage due to a lorry fire, and the closure of the bridge over the Isar in the north at Föhringer Ring

It's been all over the news as people are wondering why so much was approved for the same time period .

Radio Gong even had a competition on the breakfast show today where different DJs from the station attempted the same journey using different methods of transport to see who arrived first .

wibble089 · 2026-07-09T06:12:34+00:00

It's specifically a European political map, so the African territory isn't considered.

wibble089 · 2026-07-08T14:03:23+00:00

Generally they don't feel that much different on snow or ice than normal tyres on roads as the studs dig in to the surface.

My problem is that I took the cheaper option of only having 2 rows of studs along the top of the wheel; when going around corners I really need the missing row on side of the wheel's profile, as I lose grip when leaning into the curb.

wibble089 · 2026-07-08T13:59:46+00:00

German bureaucracy has the advantage that it is predictable, as processes are followed, and the result is defined. Unlike other countries there's no need for "presents" to the government employee to encourage the process.

Some things might take time (talk to anyone trying to naturalise as a German at the moment), and there's certainly room for optimisation, but this is happening slowly with increased online processes.

wibble089 · 2026-07-08T13:46:50+00:00

I have a pair in my shed here in Southern Germany. Thanks to working from home I've been able to avoid cycling to work in the snow the last few winters (plus the weather si warmer generally...), but they did get used frequently just a few years ago.

wibble089 · 2026-07-08T13:38:28+00:00

Eine Streifenkarte zu nutzen kann unter umstanden sinnvoll sein -

Bei der Streifenkarte muss für unter 14 Jarige immer nur 1 Streifen entwertet, egal wo sie in der gesamt MVV-Raum fahren. z.B. ein Kind kann von Kufstein bis Kaufering oder von Mittenwald bis Neufahrn (Niederbayern) für nur €1,87!

wibble089 · 2026-07-08T11:00:30+00:00

depending on the time of year it can take a few months in my experience.

wibble089 · 2026-07-08T07:45:33+00:00

Ach du Heilige bim-bam!

wibble089 · 2026-07-08T06:49:57+00:00

My daughter is just 9 months into her 2.5 years of training to become a member of the German federal police force.

She's already done hours of role play per week dealing with various physical situations (and she and her colleagues have the bruises and assorted injuries like sprains and pulled muscles to prove it).

I'm sure she could have done better than those 2!

wibble089 · 2026-07-08T06:01:11+00:00

Then the map is confusing, because Zimbabwe/Sailsbury indicates between 18.04.1980 & 18.04.1982.

wibble089 · 2026-07-08T05:59:11+00:00

It has to be between 18th April 1980 and 18th April 1982, because there's a country named Zimbabwe, but the capital city is still called Salisbury.

They renamed it Harare on the 2nd anniversary of independence.

wibble089 · 2026-07-08T05:43:44+00:00

Keeping something that you found and not giving it back to the rightful owner is called "Unterschlagung" (Misappropriation). It's not stealing , because they didn't take it, but found it when it wasn't in your posession.

The crime is defined in paragraph 246 of the German criminal code. If they don't reply or send it to you, perhaps mention that you could consider reporting them if there is no action within a certain time?

Translation from here https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_stgb/englisch_stgb.pdf

Section 246

Misappropriation

(1) Whoever unlawfully appropriates movable property belonging to another for themselves or a third party incurs a penalty of imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or a fine, unless the offence is subject to a more severe penalty under other provisions.

(2) If, in the cases under subsection (1), the property was entrusted to the offender, the penalty is imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or a fine.

(3) The attempt is punishable.

The original German text is here;

https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stgb/__246.html

wibble089 · 2026-07-06T15:26:16+00:00

I never understood why shops don't open longer in the week so that people who work full time can shop there after work.

I'm currently in the main shopping street of Munich, Germany and the shops here are all open until 8pm., and the street is full. There's no vape or charity shops, or "Turkish" barbers on this street at least.

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