Applespider

One caveat on joining the cheapest gym if you plan on using it at peak times is that lots of other people will also have joined it because it's the cheapest gym so you might have trouble getting on the equipment. Make sure you visit on the days/times you want to use it (and stay for more than a few minutes) before signing up. Sometimes spending an extra ?5 a month on a dearer gym can pay dividends in time if it's quieter and lets you complete your workout quicker.

Traffic was still horrendous at 6.30 - particularly if you're trying to get on a bus near Peckham Rye station. I ended up jumping on the backdoor of a 363 but it's taken me an hour to get back up towards the Horniman. If I hadn't had my work heels on, I could (and would) have walked it faster!

London in the Rain by Variety Lab (although I make no claims to musical genius)

Do you know your neighbours well enough to show up on their doorstep in a bathrobe? Not convinced on the shampoo front - since not sure it will last through the cycle. You could try grating some normal soap and adding some bicarbonate of soda to freshen the smell more.

If it's any comfort ???, I've bought and lost 3 this year so I may be one of those you've seen without one. In fact, yesterday I bought a new one to wear today at the Sainsburys at Forest Hill... and had lost it by the time I reached the Horniman (?) I may wait til Weds morning to get the next!

There was an old Welsh Guard on the service last night who went to the grave of a comrade who he'd tried to save during the D-day landings. He stood there and, glassy-eyed, said that the man had only been 19 and what a waste of a life it was. I could only concur. What makes it more moving is the fact that nearly 100 years on from the war to end all wars, young men and women are still dying for their country. The Remembrance Day services are becoming more poignant as time passes from the WWs. I wonder at what point the wartime standards (i.e. 'We'll Meet Again') will be joined by more modern pieces to reflect more recent conflict deaths.

Great! Glad that the idea worked out. Would be interested to know what the tour is like... Enjoy!

School tours?!?! Lucky sods - although having said that I did go round the Glenmorangie distillery with my school - complete with a tasting of a rather nice reserve malt. I suppose brewing is a science after all. Hmm... Fullers do a tour too although I've never been on it so can't comment on quality...

School tours?!?! Lucky sods - although having said that I did go round the Glenmorangie distillery with my school - complete with a tasting of a rather nice reserve malt. I suppose brewing is a science after all. Hmm... Fullers do a tour too although I've never been on it so can't comment on quality...

Grab a group of friends and go to the Ceilidh Club for lots of dancing? Think they do them most Friday nights although you do have to hike into town. Tickets are about ?12/15 depending on venue. Although admittedly not very romantic... Quite a few of Michelin restaurants have some good value lunch menus at the moment - ?30 a head. Obviously, you'd have to go light on the wine/drink front to stay within budget and I guess it might be a little too like last year. Or how about, if he's into beer, taking him on a brewery tour followed by a good lunch? Shepherd Neame in Faversham do an interesting tour (I was there for a wedding recently)? Or if he's got a favourite beer, see if that brewery run tours?

I was in LA Fitness tonight (it is so much better now that they've spent some cash on it and done up the changing rooms etc). I was warming up on the rower when one of the fitness guys came over, introduced himself, turned up the resistance and gave me a few pointers... without trying to convince me to do a PT session! I usually use other branches of LA Fitness and was quite pleasantly surprised by Sydenham. I think online, they're also doing a single month's membership where at least you could try it out and see how often you're going to go/what the journey is like etc without having to commit to 12 months. One thing to definitely consider is going to visit the gyms at the times that you're going to want to use them to get a sense of how busy they are and how easy it is to get onto treadmills/equipment. Take an extra look at the resistance area - if you're into free weights, you'll probably be OK. But if you're planning on using the machines, there's usually only one of each so you can end up with gridlock if a wave of people come in after work, use the multiple treadmills and then all head for the weights. Decent space for stretching is worth checking for too. There may be fewer special offers in Jan - it's primetime for new members with resolutions so they don't have to work as hard to sign people up. Don't be too concerned about a joining fee - you might be able to negotiate it downwards or away altogether with a bit of luck. It's one of the things that they can be more flexible about.

If they do want to go to the Sistine Chapel, then they'll have to be prepared for an early start with a long wait - or a normal start with a very long wait. I think we got there by 8am (think it opened at 9.30 or 10) and the queue was already several hundred feet long. That was in May and while it might be a bit quieter now - bear in mind that with Advent coming up, it might start getting busier again. My favourite site in Rome is the Pantheon - just awe-inspiring. And there's a fabulous gelateria just round the corner from it - Gialotti's

Because Apple powerbricks (laptop, iPod, iPhone) have detachable plugs so you can just whip off the clunky 3-prong plug and slip on the little US plug widget. It is handy since sometimes by the time you have an adaptor and then the clunky plug, the combined weight can be too heavy for some overseas sockets.

Actually, I live closer to Forest Hill station where the ELL will also mean the loss of a route into a central London station - no more Charing Cross trains. Two busy stations used - worse Central London services from both - but great, I'll be able to say my flat is nearer a Tube station. Not really that important to me. The rail passenger survey showed that most people's destination wherever they got on the train was Victoria and given how few people get off it at the interim stations rather than at the terminus, that would seem to be backed up by reality. Decanting trainloads of people who want to get to that final destination at an interchange which is already stretched (both Clapham Junction and Canada Water) just doesn't seem sensible. I do know that there will be more trains on the Jubilee line which should alleviate the CW situation. I've pushed my way onto trains at CJ, I've seen the scrums when the SLL terminates early at Battersea Park and you get full trainloads trying to get onto the next stopping train. The thousands on stations being improved by the ELL will only be the subset who want to go to somewhere other than London Bridge on the Jubilee line or into the east part of the City or those who are going south or west from Clapham Junction. Let's face it, the majority who want to go into one of the main termini might have more trains from their local station but will face longer journey times and more hassle to get there.

Can we add those who stand at the top of the stairs and remain there while the driver plays the 'no standing on the upper deck and stairs' message ad nauseam until someone sitting nearby points out that it's aimed at them...

Whoop de doo! Gosh... what would I rather do? Be able to get to Clapham High St three times more often (where I can't recall the last time I got off/on) or be able to get to Victoria where I go six times a week... hmmmm... Forgive me if negotiating my way around Clapham Junction's platforms trying to figure out which of the, admittedly, many trains to Victoria I'll actually be able to get on, doesn't rock my world. On the occasions where I've done this (when I lived elsewhere), it's always been a pain in the ass with arriving trains from the southwest generally so packed, it's hard to get on them. I'd far rather be able to get on a direct train to Victoria and back home again in 11 minutes rather than farting about at CJ begging people to move down inside the train. It won't be so bad in the morning with the SE trains still stopping but in the evening it's going to be a pain.

Sounds better than a retreat that a colleague did earlier this year which involved reciting mantras at different strangers at two hour intervals for 4 days with a similar list of contrabands. He came back slightly glassy-eyed but insisted it was worth it. Spending some time getting to know yourself rather than entertaining others can be a good thing. Roughing it with the bedroom and bathroom is do-able for a week especially since there will likely be slightly lower appearance standards than in your usual life. Very few sheep appreciate an immaculate makeup job while hiking - particularly at that time of year when you're dolled up in your waterproofs. So far as hiking boots go, modern ones are far more forgiving than the old leather ones in terms of needing to be worn in sufficiently. Take some decent socks (I tend to just wear normal weight merino wool ones rather than massive chunky ones) and get a pair that feel comfy from the get-go. The caveat around getting them bigger than usual is to do with your feet swelling slightly if you're on them for a long time. I'd say that if you can squeeze your feet into Jimmy Choo's for a day, the potential pain of hiking boots is nothing! You'll likely have more problems with aching calf muscles if you're not used to wearing 'flat' shoes than your feet. And hiking over walking? I'd suggest that hiking is usually over slightly rougher terrain and off the beaten track a little more. You walk on paved paths and gravel and can do so in Jimmy Choos. You hike over grass, mud, rocks and don't have a hope in heels.

Google for 'Couch to 5K' - it's an 8 week program to take you from not being very fit to being able to run 3 miles. It starts with you not running any longer than 60 seconds - even when you think you could carry on. Is there any chance you could do a 30 minute faster walk every day (or say 5-6 times a week)? My Mum lost a stone earlier this year by walking most nights for 30-45 minutes so it is do-able. Finding routes which have hills are good and getting your technique right - in terms of posture, arms etc. Here's a guide that I sent Mum that she found useful. It's also worth checking that you've got decent shoes on that are supporting your feet - particularly if you start running. Shin splints and sore knees can be down to shoes that just aren't right for your feet - the Up and Running shop on Grove Vale can give you some advice on what would work for you. Lastly, having some more muscle is also a good thing - you look more toned and it will raise your BMR. Trying to do some resistance training will help too. You don't need expensive weights - it can just be body-weight exercises (squats, lunges, pushups) - or get a set of resistance bands and use those. Good luck - it will be achievable. The hardest thing is getting the willpower to stick at it (speaking from experience!)

Depends what you're looking for. I've been over a few times to visit friends and stopped in at a few of the markets. I've rarely bought much though aside from gl?wein and the odd bit of confectionary. In terms of interesting gifts, I've found more at local open studios (e.g. Cockpit at Deptford/Holborn) It's a good excuse for a weekend break - but I'd recommend going to one in a city where there's more to do than just being known for the Christmas market.

> Applespider, where did you go for your alarm? Was > it expensive? I have been thinking about getting > one. Your dogs are probably more of a deterrent! I got mine from Classic Security who are based in West Dulwich. It's a wired one with a couple of sensors and was about ?450 including the 'text' service for a year. They service it each year for me too - since that's a condition of my insurance.

The police Safer Neighbourhood team will come round and give you advice free of charge. And yes, Callows came out and fitted the extra mortice lock on our communal door advising on the most appropriate type etc. My insurance company insisted I get an alarm too before re-insuring me so at least if I get burgled again, I (and my nearby keyholder) will get a text to let me know :-$

Sorry to hear about this... I was burgled 18 months ago and it is horrid. Another thing to be sure of is that your mortice lock on the internal flat door has a metal faceplate where the entire body of the bolt's 'home' is embedded into the door frame. I'd never realised, prior to being burgled, that mine was just the faceplate with the bolt going into the wood of the frame. Result - despite having a London bar, the burglars kicked the door in.

Forget Tesco town - we're turning into Sainsburys Silo - how many Sainsburys do we need within a couple of miles of each other. Would much prefer it had been some other chain to give us some choice although I suppose the limited size made it slightly less attractive and Tesco Express is already there at the Horniman. Not to mention that 'Locals' charge more than the bigger branches do. Convenience stores got way with that for years since they allegedly didn't have the buying power that the big boys did but now most of them are owned by the big boys and add an extra 10-15p per product just because.

Southwark will pay for both adults and children to have cycling training lessons. The idea is to make people more aware of how to behave on the roads when cycling (e.g. how to be more visible in behaviour to drivers) and improve their confidence. The lessons don't have to be done just as school sessions - they can be one on one. Linkety here (ignore where it says 2006/7 - it is still ongoing as a friend did it earlier this year)

I don't have a problem with kids (or to be honest anyone else) on the pavement where the pavement is relatively wide and there are relatively few pedestrians. I get nervous along some stretches of London roads when cycling - particularly along busy bus routes or where cars park on both sides. However, I have to mention the DC boy who hurtles down towards the Harvester from the top of Horniman on the pavement. It's not that wide, there's a bus-stop halfway down the road which is generally fairly busy at that time in the morning but he comes down with little disregard for anyone standing there. At least if you're going to use the pavement, if you get to a busier section, get off and walk. Although I have a friend who was asked by a PCSO not to even walk with her bike on the pavement which seemed pretty harsh!