Mandy Lifeboats

I have a mixed up saying that is strangely accurate -  

Don’t cross the burning bridge until you get to it.  
 

In this circumstance it is pointless worrying how she took your news unless she wants to see you again.  
 

Your next goal should be to have a really good date and not mention “the thing”.  Show her it’s not something you will be talking about all the time.  Only talk about it if she asks. 

10 minutes ago, bickster said:

St Diana's Male Delivery?

**ANY DELIVERY TO A PARIS ADDRESS CANNOT BE GUARANTEED.  

3 hours ago, A'Villan said:

I guess I'd like to know if and how I should follow up with her, or if anyone thinks they may have some insight that's honest and may help going forward.

Keep it simple. Contact her and say "I really enjoyed our last meet up.  Do you want to arrange another?"  

Cross that hurdle before trying to think further ahead. 

18 minutes ago, sidcow said:

Maybe we could get somekind of Royal endorsement for this daily delivery 

Prince Andrew's Package Handling?

Right................let's get this courier problem sorted.  

Let's nationalise all the courier companies and form one massive company responsible for delivering mail.  This mail delivery company cold employ men on bikes to delver post each morning, just as day is dawning.  

Trust me Tom.  Its a winner.  

We could have large buildings that keep the items we want.  We could put these large buildings in the centre of town.  People could travel into these areas and pick up several items at the same time.  We could call them something like "Shops". By travelling into these shops and picking up 10 items I would be cutting courier deliveries to my house by 90%.  

Trust me Tom.  Its a winner. 

Maradona. 

"Like A Virgin" is bound to be the Christmas Number One.  

3 minutes ago, TB said:

Interesting topic, and I really don't want to derail it - but do people in the UK really think of a Leatherman Wave as a 'cheapskate' Christmas present in the UK? Over here, the lowest retail price is 100 pounds.

I originally wrote the topic title as “affordable”.  Someone else has changed it to “cheapskate”.  

How do I change the topic title?  It should say "........worth getting"

An alcohol flask. 

This beauty is bigger than a hip flask but smaller than a normal drinks flask.  Its either got my favourite single malt if its for me or a cheaper blended one if its a social occasion.  It just feels so luxurious. 

A thin cotton scarf. 

I got this as a present and didn't think much of it.  But its come in so useful.  Its been a towel, flannel, face mask, head covering, bandage and so much more.  

Also known as "Stop giving me socks for Christmas presents".  

Here's a few things that I have that I think are worth every penny.  

1 hour ago, darrenm said:

Currently faced with whether to have a survey or not.

Our mortgage company did their own survey for valuation but the LTV is only 50% so they wouldn't care about anything apart from would it be worth half of what it is being sold for.

The house is 20 years old, obviously really good condition and all local issues will be covered on solicitors searches. Trying to justify a homebuyers survey for £500+ but struggling while everyone's telling me I need one.

Would everyone always have a survey?

Yes. Final answer. 
 

If it finds any significant faults you may be able to renegotiate the price.  It could save you money in the long run.

A bit of the history behind the Snoopy watch. 

NASA had a team that were dedicated to safety and protecting the crew.  This team adopted Snoopy as their mascot.  Apollo 13 was supposed to land on the moon but an explosion left them battling to return to earth safely.  At several points in the mission the crew had to fire their rockets for very specific amounts of time. A second too long or to too short would see the capsule destroyed.  They timed those bursts using the original model of this watch.   

NASA would give awards for safety innovations and these were known as Silver Snoopy.  This watch was given as a rare silver Snoopy award. 

That's why I like it. Its a piece of history not just a watch. 

A new one is £8, 250.  

If anyone wants to get me a Christmas present then I will have one of these Omega please.  

This picture is the back of the watch which no-one sees. Snoopy moves around the moon and back to earth.  Its all about the connection between Snoopy and the Apollo 13 crew. Its a nice bit of history.  

1 hour ago, ender4 said:

so this will probably sound weird to you guys in this thread...  but i've never owned a watch (my phone tells the time!).

I'd like to buy a watch to wear - possibly every day like at work.  Not a smart watch.

I have no idea how much a watch should cost or which one i should get. Not bothered about brand.

Any ideas?

Welcome to the Dark Side.  We have screw down crowns.    

A couple of things to think about....

There are 3 criteria for watches.  It tells the time, you enjoy wearing it and you can afford it.

Some people like the brand and enjoy being connected to it. I am not in that category

Some people love gadgets.  I was in that category at one time.  I've had a watch that told me the phase of the moon. Another told me my altitude. Another told me the time anywhere in the world.  All completely pointless but enjoyable.  But I always buy a watch that is waterproof.  I'm never going to dive 10m under the sea.  But I want to use swimming pools and beaches without worrying.  

Some people like a watch that is connected to someone.  A colleague always buys the latest watch worn by James Bond.  He enjoys that connection.  

Some people like a watch with a connection to something historic. For some reason I like watches that NASA issued to the Appollo astronauts.

There are no right or wrong choices.  Look at as many as you can and something will click with you.  

@AlwaysAVFC

Is the name on here? 

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/unclaimed-estates-list

This will not be a comprehensive list of all unclaimed estates.  I believe only the higher value estates are listed.  Even if the name is listed - tread carefully.  Scammers can access this list.

My first ever watch was a simple traditional hand-wound model.  Then digital watches became the craze and I had a simple one which showed the date if you pressed a button.  Every watch then got progressively more features.

I got this watch in 2006 or 2007 whilst in the USA.  It was produced by TX which was the luxury subsidiary of Timex.  It had everything including a very accurate compass.  I still have the watch but TX was closed in 2011. The parts used were specialised and they are hard to come by.  The strap broke earlier this year and even the strap fixing is unique to TX.  The compass function still works but now needs to be calibrated regularly.  It will stop working at some point and the chances of getting replacement parts are very slim .  TX even engineered it to require exclusive TX tools to service it.  It was a great everyday watch but I have now moved full circle and gone back to a simpler design.  

2 hours ago, Davkaus said:

Several thousands of pounds for something less useful than a cheap digital watch 

I get it's jewellery rather than functional, but that's hilarious. 

I wear a mechanical watch every day.  It tells me the date but not when the hands cover the date window.  It stops completely if I don't wear it for 48 hours.  I have to reset the date manually every time its a month with less than 30 days.  Every morning I check the time against my phone. I have to correct it once or twice a week. I also have a quartz watch that has none of these issues.  I don't even need a watch.  My phone, TV, computer, cooker, microwave and car all tell me the time.  

But the mechanical watch is a pleasure to wear. 

@TrentVilla    There is some good advice already here. 

I buy from chronommaster. They are UK based with a UK address and have never let me down.  I purchased a  high value watch from them during lockdown.  I didn't like it and returned it. The whole process only took 14 days from order to refund and all it cost me was 2 lots of registered post.  

Be prepared for 2 negative things if you get a Rolex.  They need servicing and they don't keep good time when compared with even a cheap quartz. It sounds trivial but these are watches with real cogs and springs.  They expand and contract with the temperature.  

There are 4 guys in my office with watches that look like Submariners. One is a fake you can spot from a mile away.  Two are pretty good fakes that would pass most casual examination.  One MIGHT be real. That's the problem.  I assume its a fake because most of them are.  

If you go for a used model you might want to get one that was made in the year you were born? Many dealers offer this service but I couldn't recommend any.  

Like you a Submariner was my dream watch. But when I got to the fortunate position of being able to afford one - I didn't.  Its a silly amount of money for something that has lost its special feeling because the fakes are so common and so good. 

There’s interesting lock-down talks going on.   The government is worried that easing this lock-down is going to cause panic buying for both Christmas and Brexit.  That’s likely to cause a massive spike in infections and hospital admissions over Christmas.   But not opening the shops and restaurants isn’t going to be popular and will cause economic disaster for some companies.  But overwhelming hospitals over Christmas is equally unpalatable.    

Planners have been asked to consider what could be closed down in December or what new restrictions could be applied on us all to offset the shops reopening. Boris’s delay in implementing the lock-down is now acknowledged as a huge mistake.  At the time of writing there’s no good solution to this problem.  There’s bad solutions and very bad solutions.  This could easily see Boris thrown to the wolves by the Conservative MP’s.   

Its not fantastic news but Lockdown 2 isn't going to be quite as bad as Lockdown 1.  More things will be open.  

Businesses and venues which can remain open

Other businesses are permitted to stay open, following COVID-19 Secure guidelines. This includes those providing essential goods or services, including:

·        Essential retail such as food shops, supermarkets, pharmacies, garden centres, hardware stores, building merchants and off-licences.

·        Petrol Stations, car repair and MOT services, bicycle shops, and taxi and vehicle hire businesses.

·        Banks, building societies, post offices, loan providers and money transfer businesses

·        Funeral directors

·        Launderettes and dry cleaners

·        Medical and dental services

·        Vets and pet shops

·        Agricultural supplies shops

·        Storage and distribution facilities

·        Car parks, public toilets and motorway service areas.

·        Outdoor playgrounds

Public Services

The majority of public services will continue and you will be able to leave home to visit them. These include:

·        the NHS and medical services like GPs and dentists. We are supporting the NHS to safely carry out urgent and non-urgent services and it is vital anyone who thinks they need any kind of medical care comes forward and seeks help

·        Jobcentre Plus sites

·        Courts and probation services

·        Civil Registrations Offices

·        Passport and Visa Services

·        Services provided to victims

·        Waste or Recycling Centres

Archimedes would be screwed. 

《  Mandy Lifeboats Exits stage right being persued by a bear》