Gerontious

She is nothing more than a sacrificial lamb(?) in waiting. the tories are ruthless and only care about winning. when the next election is on the horizon she will be kicked out and someone else put in place. only remains to be seen how much harm she will do in the meantime. My guess is. A lot.

I can get 65mpg from the Africa twin in Drive mode. Where it’s set up to be as economical as possible. Sainsbury Ashford to Dasburg on a 24L single tank with miles to spare.

Definitely not jealous.

we really like Luxembourg and generally have a full day there every time we go. usually stopping for lunch at Hotel Huberty in Kautenbach whenever we can. so many lovely roads and picture perfect villages. and during a normal working week in September pretty much empty of people and traffic. We often call in at Esch sur Sure for coffee and cake. there's a great cafe/bakery there, it has a frite kiosk below it. and overlooks the river. below the three watchtowers. usually no problem parking either. https://goo.gl/maps/TRoKoHCLBiNf2WEW6

most hotels do. But the Schloss never have. Though if memory serves the very first time we stopped there they did ask to see my passport. Quick glance then handed it back.

The moral of this tale is always keep important documents on your person. Easy for me as my jacket has more pockets than I know what to do with. 2 inner that can be zipped shut. Passport. V5 and insurance for the polizei if demanded. At a random stop, which is always a possibility as they have so much time on their hands. not sure what the protocol is for a lost or stolen passport. But whatever it is. Get on it immediately. Or as soon as practicable. Fortunately the hotel doesn’t demand it so you can get sorted before the return.

I’m just getting ready to go to work and am definitely not jealous. Not a bit. Not even close. Who wants to be in an empty biker paradise when I could be going to work at a place I’ve grown to despise. I mean. Really.

Just stay north of the city. One favourite is the road from dasburg to Vianden that follows to the river. or have a look at this. https://www.dropbox.com/s/2uunr15px8qccj0/Luxembourg.pdf?dl=0

I know. It was taken out of context as an analogy within a speech about nuclear power. but it’s better than what they have said so far. nothing. Since the top up payments were announced based on a price cap that’s now a distant memory. A fraction of what it is now. My own mother. After all her bills are paid, now has just under £20 a week to spend on food. And when the next rise arrives. What then?

In Spain, train journeys under 300km are free until the end of 2022. France’s energy bills are only rising by 4%. Germany has cut public transport to €9 (£7.70) a month. Our Government is telling people to buy a new kettle.

Paraffin, and a cheap chain brush from eBay. Small 1” paint brush for the oil. The chain brush will need replacing every year or so, but only cost a couple of quid from eBay. I generally put old rags under the chain to catch drips. I tend to clean the chain every 3rd oiling. Following the advice in my owners manual for the right mileage to do that. it’s good practice to oil the chain immediately after a ride as the chain will be very warm and this allows the oil to penetrate. Bear in mind only a tiny part of oiling is to do with lubrication. It’s mostly, almost exclusively about preventing corrosion and stiff links and thus extending the life of the chain.

My best advice for Italy is stay in the middle, the spine. The coastal roads are tedious and as its Italy, there are a lot of arrow straight former roman roads that are mind numbing. If you stop in any southern towns, do NOT leave your bike unaccompanied for even a moment, especially as its a Triumph. A triumph parked up WILL almost certainly attract a crowd. stay out of town wherever possible. Avoid lay-bys in the south as you will almost certainly be descended upon by prostitutes. Forget all those pretty pictures of southern Italy. once you are away from the tourist areas its a different world. Ive been once and will never go back. I'll stick to north of the line that runs between Milan and Turin. and Tuscany. or the central spine.. the Apennines. Have more than one payment method for petrol. aside from cash. as unmanned petrol stations can be finnicky and reject cards for no apparent reason. never leave filling up to the last minute. if you see a fuel stop. use it. even if the tank is half full. And have a rag to hand as many manned petrol stations will not allow you to fill yourself. have a rag ready to wipe away any spillages. Be prepared for some shocking sights, like a busy bar in a petrol station and people walking round or filling up without a care in the world smoking like troopers.

no. I never bothered with my old GS nor with the Africa twin and I have NEVER been flashed by oncoming traffic.

This is what the people who design and produce motorcycle chains recommend. if you ever come to buy one and read their maintenance instructions the will either say EP-90 or SAE80W-90 which is the same thing more or less. Gearbox oil. a litre bottle will last you years. here is the back of a D.I.D. box. look at the centre panel upper right.

My new job, which as long as I can jump through all the hoops is due to start at the beginning of October is for a charity. And the pay is significantly better than I’m getting now. No shareholders or investors wanting their cut of any profits explains that and charities tend to be rather more ethical towards their lower paid employees. They are under a lot of scrutiny from all sides but especially the charity commission and have to account for every penny and show results.

Music venue. previous energy bill £10,000 new bill £144,000 they are closing immediately.

we use one hotel. There would be uproar if I ever suggested anywhere else. Despite the fact it’s impossible for me to be going this time. It’s quite telling that the guys are going to the exact same hotel. https://www.schlosshotel-neuerburg.de/en/ price is circa €50 per night half board inc. single supplement. and that’s for an airy double room. En suite. Generous German style breakfast. And 3 course home style evening meal. location is the outskirts of the large village of Neuerburg. In the western Eifel. 12 miles from Vianden Luxembourg. So, convenient for northern Luxembourg. Belgian Ardennes. Eifel National park. Mosel valley. Hunsruck. The Nurburgring and Rhine Gorge are couple of hours ride distant. parking. The hotel has a secure garage, which we don’t use. There’s no need to. We use the parking opposite the hotel which is overlooked from the balconies and don’t worry about it.

There is a massive amount of worry in the care sector too. Obviously something will have to be done as these people cannot go anywhere. The sort I (usually) look after were originally locked away in mental institutions which to a great extent no longer exist. And as for the huge number in dementia care... there is nowhere for them to go. The vast majority of care homes are run by business or charities. And there is no cap. The crunch will arrive very soon. very soon.

it’s not a surprising price. Had Bloor not poured money into triumph during its early days. Selling every bike they made at a huge loss just to make them affordable. They would have cost a similar price for the time. Bear in mind he had to do that for the better part of 15 years. Pouring millions in so the bikes could be sold to ordinary people until, eventually, they turned a corner and became profitable. And even then he had to continue funding as it took years more for the company to become self sustaining. This is why many of these start-ups will never take off. Shareholders will not play the long game. Investors want instant profits.

As soon as I read this, I thought about the film Soylent Green. The character played by Edward G Robinson pedalling his bike in his living room to power the lights. Scary thing is.. his character was born the same year as me

No. It should be cheaper, much cheaper however the suppliers are raking it in by charging all electricity regardless of source at a single unit rate. This is what business is all about dontchaknow. If something is effectively free and can be sold at the same cost as something very expensive and the end user can’t tell the difference. Well, why wouldn’t you? they are being allowed to do this by government.

Interesting to get the gas increases into some perspective by comparing some fairly ordinary stuff and how their prices would be increasing if they were going up at the same rate as gas. And in some cases this may happen to an extent for those items that are energy hungry in production.

Ive managed 7 months in this current care home and Ive had enough. Dementia is a terrible thing, it really is. Ive found it emotionally exhausting, with the bad times far outweighing the good. So now Im in the midst of applying for and being interviewed for jobs back doing what I know best, supporting adults with severe learning difficulties and mental health issues. or Autism. Its not just the lack of memory.. I got used to that very quickly. its the almost constant hallucinations some of these people have. plus the fear. the tears. and those truly awful moments where the person is rational to a level and has some awareness of what's happening to them and can talk about what they have lost before spiralling back into the fog. Im too soft for it. And then there are the incident reports where a relative. wife, husband, child has come to visit and been attacked. or ignored. or the resident has reacted in total fear of this stranger and wanted out. plus there have been 3 deaths. all but one, people that I really liked I can't stand it any more. Fortunately there's a huge shortage of experienced staff. so it won't be long. Im just not made for dealing with dementia. its truly awful. I should add that the place im working at specialises in people that 'normal' dementia care homes can't deal with.. so these are the worst. We have recently had a new fella move in. 10 years younger than me with a syndrome that has dementia like symptoms caused by a vitamin deficiency as a result of alcoholism. self inflicted. and oh. my. god.

I was with Virgin Media. They were all set to increase my monthly payment to £48 (I think) this for internet and landline phone. I never used the phone. It was just there for emergencies. I tried to get them to disconnect it but was told that this action would increase my monthly charge even further. Someone I trust suggested I get a phone and use that as a wifi hotspot. my first 'smart phone' in 2018. n iPhone SE. It works very well. I have a monthly contract with 3. unlimited everything that costs me £22 per month sim only. and this is a speed test run now. 09:15 (image) They also offer it as a base station, so no need to use a phone. But, it depends on whether you have 4 or 5G coverage in your locale. use the postcode checker. https://www.three.co.uk/store/broadband/home-broadband

what is it they say about a fool and his money.