Bellend Sebastian

Well I didn't plan to be wrapping stuff up on Christmas Eve as per bloody usual but if I manage to do that this morning rather than just before bed, half pissed then I will consider that progress. Did the Christmas thing at Chatsworth House yesterday, which was very nice apart from paying 36 quid for four hot chocolates and sausage rolls, Seasons Greetings one and all

I've just come back from Chettinad on London Road and it really was excellent. Not the first time I've been and it's always been good but hand on heart it was the best curry I've had in a long while

One of the EE staff did admit that it's a bit shit and not really worth bothering with, exactly the sort of honesty I value in a customer service setting

I'm pretty much in the same boat, and am fortunate enough to have seen most of the acts other folk have on their bucket lists although I think this is probably as much to do with being quite old. I really had to think about and I've come up with the following: Pixies Arctic Monkeys Richard Dawson Hen Ogledd Main problem is that I'm a really lazy gig goer - I went to Rock City to see The Darkness again the other night and it's rare that I'll travel outside of Leicester to go to anything these days. I could easily have gone to see Richard Dawson at the Musician and I couldn't be arsed with that which is appalling as I think he's fantastic

So it turns out that it was the actual contract that was the issue rather than the SIM card itself, and that not all their contracts are 5G capable, contrary to what they've told me in the past. I've been moved to a new deal that is basically identical and slightly cheaper, so let's see if that makes any difference. Took the opportunity to switch to full fibre broadband while I'm at it, which will save me £7.50 a month and supposedly more than double our speeds, and binned off the landline while I'm at it. Naturally this involved being on the phone to them for over an hour but they were very helpful in fairness and for a change seemed to know what they were talking about. The only mystery to resolve now is how to get Netflix added, which despite apparently being very easy, of course isn't

It does all seem a bit weird. Days after I got my previous phone, I noticed it was picking up 5G, in Martinshaw Wood near the M1, of all places, and that's the first and only time this has happened. I've been as far south as London and Devon in the time since, and up to the Lake District and there's not been so much as a flicker of 5G anywhere ever since. I'm not expecting complete coverage but it's like it doesn't exist, and the coverage map suggests that the signal where I live is as good as it could get

Anyone on here in the Leicester area with EE? I'm on my second 5G capable phone and do I get 5G data? Do I bollocks. Got a 5G signal for a couple of hours when I first got my previous phone and nothing since. EE said a new SIM card would sort it; reader, it has not done so. According to the coverage chart, there should be strong 5G coverage both indoors and out where I live, but I don't think it's anything to do with that - two phones in succession have never picked up 5G anywhere I've been

Just answered it myself: the day rate is higher than the standard, so I'd probably be worse off

Dumb question maybe but does Intelligent Octopus work for you even if you only charge an EV very occasionally? I charge mine at work probably 95% of the time. Is the rate during normal hours the same or are you paying more on the assumption that you'll be saving big when charging overnight?

In awe of anyone that's got the energy to get a boner that could be snapped. Fascinating to note that snapping a penis results in a "rapid loss of erection", well I never

It's completely lame, agreed. Broken Britain

I'm beginning to think we've badly misjudged her, a simple Glasgow lass who just really, really likes cash. And making herself look like someone else for some reason

Almost starting to grow quite fond of intergalactic level shyster Michelle Mone. Surely not far from another TV interview, this time with a mysterious stranger that looks very much like her but with a big beard and glasses confidently sticking up for her and her husband: https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/how-michelle-mone-tried-to-silence-the-new-european/

Go to a proper running shop and get your gait analysis done, I would. Having the right support and design of shoe would be at least as important as the actual amount of cushioning, I'd have thought. Getting the shoe that's "right" for you as an individual is such a personal thing that I wouldn't get too hung up on brands because they're all pretty good in my experience and there's enough variation in fit that some will simply fit better than others. It's not likely to be a cheap exercise the first time but once you've done it, and know what sort of shoe you need, the next time you need some you can just source the same ones (or updated version) from elsewhere and save a few quid

I've not watched it yet but that sounds very much to me like a deliberate line to lessen the impact of what they've done - some people will hear that, not really understand it, and the takeaway will be that she's not actually had the money. I've followed her story for what feels like years now (and probably is) and it's a sad symptom of the state of the UK media that it's taken this long for the story to get any traction. The Guardian and Byline Times have been asking questions about this for ages, but as recently as this summer I was seeing puff pieces in the right wing press along the lines of *look at Baroness Mone looking glam turning up at something or other"

Rock City tomorrow for their extra date there

Thanks for that. The two most tempting ones on there don't actually apply to us - our landline phone is cordless and without power the base unit doesn't work, and as for call quality, it's generally dire on landlines in my experience. Looks like it's bye bye landline, although unhelpfully my kids are insisting that I spend the money saved on a Netflix subscription, which is an incredibly unattractive proposition

Does anybody actually have a landline phone now that they actually use? Called in to EE for a new SIM card yesterday and they were trying to convince me to upgrade my broadband. I was tempted as they could up the speed and save me a few quid, provided I give up the landline. I'm struggling to remember when I last used it and even the pensioners in the family have mobiles now so don't really see the need. Am I missing a good reason for keeping hold of it?

Ten days have passed and I've recovered sufficiently mentally to take them down again with view to putting up the 750 LED cluster light string (with built in timer!) my wife has bought as a replacement. Take them down. Before chucking the 1000 LED cluster light string in the bin I plug them in, to see if there are any signs of life or clues as to what went wrong with them. Naturally, and surprising literally nobody at all, they work perfectly. At least I've got some beers this time

You see, being on here can be informative as well entirely soul destroying. I stand by my previous posts. Not good guy Piers! Guy Piers! Piers! Del Piers-o! It's a very humbling day

I must admit I don't know why he didn't, and I've just looked and the judge asked that very question (and of others) in the summer but I cannot see that it was answered. Any legal folk on here that can shed any light on why that would have been?

Piers Morgan is FURIOUS. As for me, I just don't know who to believe. Why would Piers Morgan lie? Of all people!

Idea: everybody gets a personalised radio station that plays only the music they liked from the ages of 14 to 28, at which point they had got married, realised they were stuck in the job they were in forever and had effectively given up on life. All presented by an AI generated version of Adrian Chiles to keep the costs down

It's definitely not just you. My car has got two big screens, one of which is a touch screen. Mercifully it has got buttons for climate control and a volume knob which almost seems superfluous given there's controls on the steering wheel too, but doing anything else, like putting on the heated seats, involves going through the touch screen menu and guessing where that might be controlled, so best not attempted while actually driving. When I was younger and got a new car I'd read the manual cover to cover and find out all the things it could do and how to access them but given that I'm old and knackered and the manual for my new car is as thick as a particularly drawn out Harry Potter book I simply can't be arsed