My brother moved to Portugal recently and we will be visiting in June. They are about 2 hours NE of Lisbon. We are thinking about staying in Lisbon a couple of nights then stopping in to see family before heading down to The Algarve for a week of sun and sand. We would fly into Lisbon and then back to Dublin form Faro.

Anyone familiar with Lisbon/The Algarve? We usually Airbnb but our son (13) might prefer a resort with activities.

All advice appreciated.

I like a good book but I’ve pretty much only read biographies and memoirs since I left school. I think its time to broaden my horizons. But where to start? What are the must read classics/authors? Dostoevsky – any good? Catcher In The Rye? What about thrillers – I like films that have plot twists and surprises. I was scanning the Kindle store last night and decided enough was enough (almost bought the Graham Norton book) so let’s try and keep him on the backburner for a while.

TIA

We are in the very early stages of potentially purchasing a camper. I’m interested to hear of others experiences. We’d want something that sleeps 4 and has a bathroom. I’m also keen to understand what it like touring one of these things in the UK/Europe.

The wife and I were playing our YouTube music game last night. Put simply, one of us chooses a song and then the next choice has to be somehow connected. Last night it was the last letter of the artist had to be the first letter for the artist of the next song.

Anyway, most of the time we find ourselves using the official video of a song, maybe a TOTP performance. Occasionally though we find something a little more interesting. This happened last night. I needed to choose an artist beginning with ‘H’ and thought straight away of Howard Jones. What I found was a rather splendid performance between HJ and another 80s singer/songwriter. It’s a terrific performance and highlighted what a great song it actually is.

Inspired by a comment in the Stone Roses thread, what are the tracks on albums that provide some stark contrast to the overall feel of the album? I immediately thought of ‘Speedway’ on Music For The Jilted Generation. The first 6 minutes or so are very much in keeping with the energy and pacing of the rest of the album, but the last 2 minutes are a chilled out, swirling soundscape of blissful synths and whispered voices. It’s sublime.

By pure chance I am in the Dallas area for work so will get to see the full 4 minutes of totality of the solar eclipse. The fact that this is my last business trip (retiring next month) makes it even more special. My enthusiasm is being slightly affected by the wild weather that’s going to pass through this area later today and tomorrow.

I was wondering if others have been fortunate enough to experience a once in a lifetime event like this.

I was just trying to peel a hard boiled egg there and I’ve come to realize I’m just no good at it. There’s as much egg left stuck to the shell as there is for me to eat. It’s a poor show.

Wrapping presents. There’s another one. I’ve really tried. I’ve watched youtube videos but I’m just shockingly bad at it.

What mundane tasks are you really bad at?

I don’t drink coffee very often, usually just an espresso after a meal at a restaurant, but I’m finding myself craving them at home more often as I get older.

I’m looking to get a machine to do this. Would need to be able to do the frothy milk thing for my wife’s cappuccinos. I’d like it to be any good.

Anyone have any recommendations please?

Apologies if this has been done.

Just happened to catch the OFAH episode when they bury Grandad. The fact that Lennard Pearce had actually died certainly dialed up the emotion but it’s a beautifully written piece. The little exchange between Del Boy and Trigger at the beginning is so touching. It occurred to me that John Sullivan has always been rather good at this. There’s the end of Rodney’s wedding reception with Del Boy alone and ‘Holding back the years’ playing, the scene with Del and Rodney in the lift after he and Cassandra lose their baby. Ricky Gervais has created numerous moments in both After Life and Derek. I seem to find these little moments in comedy shows affect me more than they would in dramas.

I sort of made a commitment to do this about a year ago. Better late than never.

A personal journey through the studio albums of Madness. I’m sure for many of us there are bands that mean more to us than others. For myself, Madness were the only band that meant anything at all to me for many years. It’s an interesting journey of a band very much growing up in public and a young fan struggling to come to terms with growing up in private.

Part 1 – One Step Beyond. Released in the UK 19th October 1979

Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. Or not, as the case is here. Although this is the first LP release chronologically speaking, it wasn’t the first album of theirs that I listened to as a complete body of work. That would be Absolutely, more of which later. The band had been gigging in several guises since 1976. Their first single had already been released in August of 1979 on Two Tone, an arrangement which had been developed after Jerry Dammers crashed at Suggs’ place after a Specials gig in London. There was a lot » Continue Reading.

I want something to cover a few different situations. Need hi res for listening at home with headphones (must support FLAC) but also want to be able to use it in the car, preferably via USB but Bluetooth would be helpful. I like the look of the Fiio players but their lineup is very confusing. There seem to be some decent Sony players out there too. Are these two brands the only decent options out there?

I’m interested to know if anyone here uses an e-bike. I just ordered one after some research and a brief test ride. I fully intend to use it for the 16km journey to work (once we are fully open for business). I cycle fairly regularly but wasn’t keen on commuting on my regular bike as the hills around these parts would result in me needing significant cleansing once I arrived at work. There’s a pretty healthy 2nd hand market so if it doesn’t work out it won’t be a disaster, but I thought I’d give it a go.

For the uninitiated these bikes provide pedal assist at various different levels, so while you still have to put some effort in you can combat hills and headwinds much more easily. The model I chose has a good amount of storage and should give me 80km of use on a single charge. I’m rather looking forward to it.

My WD MyCloud mirror NAS seems to be on its last legs. The hard drive on it is constantly working and it has me a bit worried. I’m backing it up today. I’d like to buy something a little more robust but not sure where to start. Primary use is for streaming FLAC to the Sonos system. I’m also going to transfer all my old video files to stream via the VLC app on our Fire TV cube. I am about average in tech competency. The great thing about the WD box was its simplicity which I’m all for, but interested to know what others are using. Is there an option to use SSD for faster loading etc?

Just over 4 years ago I was sitting with my wife on our sofa in our home in Texas. I was in consoling mode as she was in floods of tears, absolutely horrified and shattered at the election outcome. I wasn’t doing much better but was riding on a wave of Oban. I do vividly remember something I said back then. Clutching at straws I suppose, but I remember saying “what if he turns out to be really good at this?”. Oh how we laugh about that now.

Last night Biden & Harris led a brief memorial event at the Lincoln monument, honouring the now 400,000 Americans that have died during the pandemic. Sadly one of those souls was my dear father in law back in August. With no funeral or family gathering possible in all that time it felt like a little bit of closure, and it was also a signal of some hope for a more compassionate way forward. We moved to Ireland last July and, family aside, have felt very distant from our lives over there. Ironically, our latest binge on TV has been ‘Aerial America’ on the Smithsonian channel (check it out it’s wonderful). I » Continue Reading.

I am getting more and more forgetful as the years go by. While up in the bedroom the other night doing final ablutions before settling in my wife chirped up “we need more toothpaste”. Now, what she was really saying was that I needed to make sure that toothpaste was added to the shopping list which is on a notepad on the fridge downstairs. This is where I employed my now tried and tested memory jogging protocol. When I take my slippers off at night they are left right at the side of the bed so I can climb right into them when I get up. When there’s something I need to remember in the morning what I do is chuck one of my slippers so it’s way over by the bedroom door. When I wake up in the morning the missing slipper is duly noted and (in this instance) the toothpaste got on the shopping list.

I’m happy to say this system has yet to fail. It has however now taken on a rather more sinister element. There will come a time when I will wake up sans slipper and not remember why. My wife is monitoring this situation » Continue Reading.

My set up is as follows. I have a nice amp that has speaker connections for 7.1. I have a set of Martin Logan speakers for my fronts and a ML centre channel. I’d like to keep this ‘as is’ . What I’m looking for is a way to add surround speakers wirelessly. I’ve looked around online and can only find wireless surrounds that work with a soundbar (which would I assume replace my existing front and centre speakers). Is there a way to just get wireless surround speakers and keep everything else the same? TIA.

Having been away from these shores for 20 years I’m not clued up on cars here. Here’s what we’re looking for

A saloon (is that what you still call it?). Nice sized boot, decent space in the back. We are going to buy used 2016-2019 maybe. No high end brands unless there are bargains to be had.

A hatchback. Can be 2 doors. Economy is the key here as it will be my commuting car. Would consider hybrids.

I do like to have nice tech. Bluetooth, USB or SD slots for music. Satnav is nice but not essential.

All advice appreciated. We are in Ireland btw.

I went to the Radio 1 roadshow once in Exmouth. Liz Kershaw and Bruno Brookes as I recall. It was a pretty sparse crowd really with most toward the back of the crowd shouting “wanker!” at Mr Brookes for most of the hour or so I was there. It was all quite shit and I really shouldn’t have bothered.

This has nothing to do with that. This is about Tahiti 80.

This, for me, is the sound of summer in the U.S. I was living in Connecticut when I first heard about the band and this particular song has stayed with me. I think it was summer of 2003. Long hot weekend afternoons on the balcony of my condo watching baseball (Mets)and drinking G&T’s, bike rides. Bliss.

What are the more obscure songs that put you in mind of summer?

The wife and I love this time of year and feast on a lot of old telly. They don’t seem to make Christmas episodes like they used to do they? Some of our favorites:-

Frasier – always any good but some of the holiday episodes are superb. The one with the Jewish girlfriend is pure farce and just wonderful

Father Ted – Father Jack in the department store creche

Peep Show – “Merry Chrismark!”

The Office (UK) – Actually very poignant and moving in places. The party stuff is eerily accurate.

Not Going Out – there’s a great episode with the role playing game that Lee gets for everyone

I love Christmas telly, me!

” I just farted and shot the cat”

“He’s over the wall picking up shit”