75ZT Community

New SIM arrived today and it has worked great from the off in my SIM-card router. It is with 3 but because 3 has merged with Vodafone you apparently get the faster of whichever of those networks your SIM-card router/phone can connect to. It is noticeably faster than my SIM with Sky which it is replacing, Sky I believe works on the 02 network so the difference in speed could be attributable to either or maybe both of them. Just need to find a suitable deal for calls and texts but with time running out on my Sky deal for that service I might play safe with my mobile number and port it to a cheap payg SIM.

Remember though, PAYG as we know it is largely disappearing. I have one via Tesco, and they keep threatening to force me onto some kind of contract. Except, they don't have any details of where to take any monthly payment from. I only keep it as O2 (that Tesco piggybacks on) is the only network my 75 compatible Nokia works on.

I'll also mention It's great to chat about 'nonsense' as we've had a bad week. Some will know already, but we lost my Dad on Saturday morning. So right now we are helping Mum navigate it all.

Saddened to hear of the loss of your dad Duncan, never an easy time no matter how prepared we might feel to cope with life's inevitability. I had attended a few funerals before my own father passed and it was only then that I felt the stress of having to be actively involved in the administration of the occasion. For me it was a time for reflection but with so much to do that had to be put on hold, probably not a bad thing as the administration kept me busy which helped me to cope with the sadness of the occasion. Keep your head up and best foot forward.

Regards PAYG, yes the deals are not as good as they were and the industry looks to be moving away from them. I do have a long-standing traditional PAYG deal with O2 that I've kept going as a backup for my contract deal with Sky, but since O2's merger with Virgin something has changed. Checked in recent days and while the phone and the service appear to be working my account is nowhere to be found. Tried to convert it to Virgin Media as per the online instructions but my mobile number apparently can't be linked with any account. Further investigation will be required but PAYG is not looking to be as appealing as it once was.

Duncan sorry to hear about your dad, stay strong for your mom, she will need you now in these sad times.


Started to do my new shelves in the shed yesterday, hoping to finish them later today, then organising begins and hopefully i can bring myself to throw somethings away but it will be hard, as i never like to throw anything away.

Looking a bit wet and overcast here today in North East England so might stay indoors and prep some of the veg that was bought at the prices reduced for Christmas. Most of it was bought for a pittance but a very small amount I acquired for free at the local Lidl where it was being given away in the closing hours on Christmas Eve.

My condolences to Duncan and family, old age, as they say, is a privilege not granted to many.


I also had a Tesco PAYG for as long as I can remember. Recently they stopped PAYG altogether and offered PAYG Essentials which is a contract, £2.50 per month. 100 MB data, 100minutes call and 100 texts. As I use just under the quotas it is not a bad deal at all for me. As I understand it the Essentials was a one off offer to existing PAYG customers. New customers start at 500's for £5.00 per month. It's operated through the Tesco mobile App. Change bundles, top up etc.

Managed to get someone on the phone today who helped to recover my payg account. Sounds like 02 is using what might be India for its customer service, in my experience communication can be difficult but today I got lucky. I suspect that they are all well-educated and that they mean well but some are better than others and maybe more practiced in their understanding and use of the English language. Today was a case of third time lucky after failures on previous days, no need for any repetition with a guy who understood the problem and knew how to resolve it. Pleasantly surprised when I got into my account to see that my credit balance is higher than I had thought. So that's my existing payg sorted which means I can now focus on finding an alternative for my Sky deal which will expire soon.

Well thats the engine oil changed again on the freelander 2 , also replaced the rear brake pads that operate in conjunction with the electric handbrake, (an advisory on last weeks MOT) Also picked up a Varta battery at £79. (code chilly15) 85ah 800CCA. special offer on ebay as a spare as the one on is coming up to 5 yr old
(Price goes back up to £93 tomorrow)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/277331874052

takestock wrote:Well thats the engine oil changed again on the freelander 2 , also replaced the rear brake pads that operate in conjunction with the electric handbrake, (an advisory on last weeks MOT) Also picked up a Varta battery at £79. (code chilly15) 85ah 800CCA. special offer on ebay as a spare as the one on is coming up to 5 yr old
(Price goes back up to £93 tomorrow)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/277331874052

Hi Dave.
Nice few little jobs sorted out on your lovely FL2 oil change for me in March then again in September, twice a year for me spring and start of autumn, still need to do the PTU drain plug just waiting on the weather to pick up so maybe around the same time in March, not washed it now for at least three weeks, battery was a good buy.

Not been on for a few days while upgrading and tweaking my daily laptop with a replacement OS. Took the plunge and opted to move from W7 to W10, tried W10 when it first came out but didn't like it so reverted back to W7. It has more of a Laptop/Desktop look about it now so should be a goer this time and won't be crippled by the regular mega enforced MS downloads that ceased in 2025.

Still got my phone SIM to sort, thought it was sorted with a call to Sky when I was persuaded to stay with a slimmer and cheaper deal. However when I checked my account a few days later the deal displayed is not what was agreed and is more than twice the price. Emailed Sky about it twice now but no reply as of yet. Thinking that I might have to Port away and let Sky chase me after blocking my bank account to protect it.

We are away for a few days in Butlins of all places, I mean £60 for four nights in a 2 bed apt was just to good to turn down. Saved £40 turning the heating off for four days at home
As a slight aside a simple room only obviously en suite for 3 days Fri to sun on July 3rd at Butlins Skegness is currently £90 for the complete weekend.
This is the weekend of the annual East Kirby Rover meet (where the Lancaster bomber is) Last year the closest decent place to stay for this meet was Prem inn in Boston at £100 per night. Think we will book in here for that.

[quote="WillyHeckaslike"]Not been on for a few days while upgrading and tweaking my daily laptop with a replacement OS. Took the plunge and opted to move from W7 to W10, tried W10 when it first came out but didn't like it so reverted back to W7. It has more of a Laptop/Desktop look about it now so should be a goer this time and won't be crippled by the regular mega enforced MS downloads that ceased in 2025.

I agree with you there on Win 7 to 10 upgrade. Win 10 is awful so we reverted back to Win 7.

Need to have a look for an alternative to Windows, perhaps Linux.

Some good calls Dave with those prices you mention and for the meet at East Kirby. Amazing to think that our country went from the Lancaster in 1942 to the Vulcan in 1952, in terms of cruising speed alone that is ~ 200mph to - 567mph.

I still retain some of the older OS's Mike for using my legacy hardware, things like printers etc.. I mainly use the internet for surfing and admin of emails and accounts, no streaming or gaming so I am quite a light user. The problem I was getting with W7 was it was starting to show its age when browsing with a growing number of pages opening painfully slow and sometimes not at all. The latest MS offering is W11 but I gather that it has stricter hardware requirements, while I won't say never I'm not inclined atm to splash out on a new computer to meet its requirements.

I've been surprised by W11 requirements. Replaced my parents PCs last year to get to W11. Turns out my Mum (god bless her) had a laptop that while old, could be installed with W11 via a restore.

takestock wrote:We are away for a few days in Butlins of all places, I mean £60 for four nights in a 2 bed apt was just to good to turn down. Saved £40 turning the heating off for four days at home
As a slight aside a simple room only obviously en suite for 3 days Fri to sun on July 3rd at Butlins Skegness is currently £90 for the complete weekend.
This is the weekend of the annual East Kirby Rover meet (where the Lancaster bomber is) Last year the closest decent place to stay for this meet was Prem inn in Boston at £100 per night. Think we will book in here for that.

That takes me back. I stayed at Butlins Skegness with a group of school friends from London in 1964. We were all 14 years old, quite an adventure.

Never got to Butlins or Pontings as our family was too poor. Standing on the promenade late last summer I was struck by the number of people using the beach and surrounding facilities, it was heaving. Took me back to the 60s which was when I last remember seeing so many people enjoying the seaside. A visit to the beach was a day out for many back then, there were numerous kiosks selling the likes of candy rock, candy floss and ice cream etc. along with all manner of other beach-related stuff of that era. Hot tea and hot water to make your own tea if preferred could be bought from the larger and more permanent buildings which also sold hot food, a bag of chips being a treat for us. We would pitch up with our own tent but they were available for hire as were deckchairs and windbreakers. Donkey rides were on offer and a large paddling pool was available to keep the younger ones safely entertained. There was a large and thriving funfair for those who had a little money to spare but it was beyond the means of our humble family at that time. It mostly went quite quickly in the 70s and for years afterwards the seafront looked abandoned and forlorn frequented only by the occasional walkers and dog owners. A lot of redevelopment has been done in recent years and it is looking a lot nicer but it has a way to go to capture the atmosphere and popularity of the bygone era of my childhood.

Butlins. Went as a kid many years ago, to Minehead. Lots of memories, not all good. My brother 'caught' Asthma there. Apparently quite common there.

hopefully the weather will pick up later today, so i can finish my shed replenishing off, and maybe give the cars a good cleaning, what wet January got soaked again yesterday while out sorting out one thing and another.

My shed is, as usual for this type of year, very wet.