Davidtav

Really feel for you. Stay strong. I’ve had my share of difficulties in life. Things do change

I wish I still had my Fizzie actually. Long gone I’m afraid. Unless anyone knows otherwise. Reg number PUP 93M. … if I still had it then it would be restored an in a cabinet inside my house. … I sold it for £50 around 1979

I kind of agree with everyone. But I look back fondly to the 1970s when I had a Fizzie. Everyone had them. Didn’t they? Usually with the baffles removed. I thought I was very cool because I had replaced the pedal type pedals with proper foot pegs. Probably illegal. Who knows? … and my L Plates. Well honestly it was just a little bit of an L stuck to the shock absorber … in truth I do feel sorry for the youth of today regimented up to their eyeballs

Love my V STROM 650. I’m probably biased though. The gearbox isn’t sloppy.

I think the second hand prices are being held artificially high. Lots of stock seems to be unsold in dealers. That’s just my observation

Yeah. I do get it. I actually understand it around the driving. It is the incessant bad language from team principals etc I think is unnecessary. … anyway it’s just my opinion

Well I’m no prude. And I swear occasionally myself. But I’ve just watched a couple of episodes of Drive to Survive. Latest series. The Netflix fly on the wall documentary of the 2024 series. The bad language is incessant. Every sentence in some cases. Actually I can understand the drivers frustration and understand the swearing in some cases. … I’m retired now myself but I can’t envisage a situation at work with a film crew in attendance where I would swear. I know I sound like an old fashioned chap. Probably many will disagree. But I just think the swearing is unnecessary … I am aware that the F1 are trying to combat swearing in communications during races. Actually I understand it more in that scenario

That sounds good. Just let me know

Well I too would be wary of extra powers being misused. However if there is evidence such as a tracker showing that a vehicle is in a certain location. Then the police should be able to search that location without needing to apply for a warrant. Same goes for mobile phone thefts.

Actually I failed my first motorcycle test in a similar scenario. A Ford Capri beeped me as he exited a roundabout and I was on the inside lane. It was back in 1985 so hazy about exact details but examiner said I had obstructed a car or something like that. And to this day if I approached that roundabout I would take the outside lane. It is a stronger road position I think.

I’ve been watching Itchy Boots. And have been amazed how positive her experiences recently travelling through Iran and Iraq have been. Can’t help wondering though if she had either a UK or American passport if that would still be the case.

I do get it that some components look plasticky. The dash looks a bit low tech by today’s standards. And it is an older model at the end of its life. But it handles superbly. It isn’t a perfect bike. But it’s probably a perfect bike for me if that makes sense … I did 7500 miles in my first year with this bike. Compared with 3000 miles on my previous bike. This bike is just so usable

There are some excellent offer on new VStrom 650s now. Have a look on Autotrader

So I have the new glasses now. And I tried them last night. Very effective actually. Much better than I had expected. Oncoming headlights just look a dull green colour. It was actually the first time I had driven in the dark for some time. And it was fine.

Thank you. That is very helpful indeed.

Yes it is 2030 The house could become a D fairly easily I think. Cavity wall insulation would get it very close. It might need a new heating system as well. … it is actually a really lovely modern property with Everest double glazing throughout. Loft is insulated. It certainly isn’t a draughty cold property as these rules suggest. Im more concerned about the flat really. It used to be an antique shop actually. I bought it at auction in 2017 and converted it to a studio flat. All properly. It is now a domestic property. It was built around 1820. It is listed building. There are a lot of restrictions with it being listed. For example, I can’t change the existing shop window. An application to do that has been refused.

Yeah. My house is D my flat is actually part of a property built around 1820 i think. And it is listed Grade 11

I’m not disputing what you say. But that isn’t the case here

The truth is I will probably have to sell one property to make the improvements to the other property. That doesn’t actually help anyone really

The whole thing is crazy. My main house that I rent out is a lovely 90s property. Full double glazing. Loft is insulated. And it is D. And I believe cavity insulation itself would not raise it to C

I will look into that. I will probably just make the improvements and take the hit.

I will probably get some criticism but no problem. I’m thick skinned. So I have a couple of rental properties. One was the family house. Another was a project I bought at auction a few years ago. Both are rated D on the EPC thing. I have nothing against the climate agenda. But honestly I don’t think I have the funds to raise them both to a C. With my flat, which was built in 1830, I think the current designation of D is probably questionable anyway. I can’t see how it could ever become a C … now I will say that I am actually a good landlord. I attend to any problems immediately. I wouldn’t want my tenants to be inconvenienced or not receive the best service. But yes I’m thinking, should I just evict the tenants and sell these properties? … in my opinion the Green agenda should just affect new builds. …

I’ve wasted time thinking about this nonsense ! Im thinking of some strap lines such as: ”when you need a quicky” ”Greggs quickies always hit the spot” and I’m thinking there is more scope about G spot and Greggs name beginning with G Nothing over sexual on the packaging. Just maybe: ”ooh that’s saucy” ”add spice to life” hey gang we have a marketing campaign! Now who sells these ready meals?

So there is an article in today’s Daily Mail about a new range of Gregg Wallace ready meals. I made a comment to suggest that they should put innuendos on the packaging. Got red arrowed … but I was thinking about it this morning, well I’m retired nothing else to do, and I thought what they should do is rebrand these meals as “Greggs Quicky Meals”. As I said with an “ooh arr” slightly cheeky innuendo on the package. I reckon it would be a winner. Slightly different from every other ready meal. And not everyone is as offended as the BBC thinks. Although I’m retired my career was actually in Marketing I’ve just posted my million quid idea on an online forum lol

Just a postscript to my previous post. On my days training coming back to biking, my instructor recommended that I buy a Versys rather than the standard Z650 I was riding. Because of my height. And I ignored that advice mainly because the Versys was £1k more expensive. That was a mistake. I should have bought the Versys. And if I had then I would probably still have it.