UKC

What have you asked for this crimbo?

the missus has asked me what I would like, and as I have all the gear (and more) I need, it's time to get some ideas for some totally unnecessary bling to adorn my rack/harness with. Will not however be asking for the ropeman 3.

In reply to Derry:

Santa is bringing me a baby daughter.

In reply to Rampikino:

ahh, the ground anchor. got me one of those already!

In reply to Derry:

I've asked Santa for some new bedding.

Really excited as it's been about 5 years since I've had new / clean sheets and a duvet an that



cheers

Gaz

In reply to Rampikino: me also. Good luck and enjoy the festivities. But beware, as my uncle stated, best not to eat a flake whilst changing a nappy.

Santa isn't real.

In addition;

bah humbug!

In reply to Derry: one o' those cheapish down jackets from uniqlo, to keep me toasty...

In reply to The Big Man:

What date?

(Good luck by the way)

In reply to Richard Carter: Lies!

In reply to Derry:

A Sony RX100 if I'm lucky.

Someone's now going to pop up and say it's rubbish. lalalalala

In reply to Derry: Hoping for a Nissan GTR but I feel I might be disappointed.

In reply to Derry:

A dog

In reply to Tall Clare:

But a dog's not just for Xmas. Ask for another present too

In reply to Derry: Some new trainers and a puppy and a new car and some new cycling kit and a puppy and a titanium road bike and a puppy and £5000 cash.
A selection box wouldnt go amiss either but I wouldnt want to sound greedy.

In reply to nniff:

Fixed that for you.

Hopefully an 8a onsight as I will be climbing in Antalya on Xmas day. That would be better than any material object anyone could realistically get me.

In reply to Tall Clare:

What flavour?

I'm currently trying to type with a dog's snout in the crook of my arm!

In reply to Jamming Dodger:

You forgot the lego set you've been pestering for over the last 20 years....


Sxx

In reply to nniff: ...But a dog's not just for Xmas

No, if you carve it well enough you can get boxing day out of it as well


da da boom.

tish

In reply to butteredfrog: ahh bugger, you were well ahead of me

I have left hints for a nice wine decanter and cork screw

In reply to Game of Conkers: I'd rather the full bottle!

In reply to Derry:

i've let the kids and wife know that puncture proof tires for my bike and/or a filleting knife for fish would be appreciated for a long time to come

In reply to Derry:

parents have offered to make a contribution towards

http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?hl=en&safe=off&client=fire...

In reply to Tall Clare:

Awesome, woof! ()


I'd love a dog, I need to make sure I can give it the time first, or it wouldn't be fair.

In reply to Derry: I've been really good this year, I'm hoping Pa christmas will drop me off a canadian canoe in the garden

In reply to lost1977: and I'm sure the fact that it looks a bit like a Star Wars X-Wing pilot's helmet is in no way part of the attraction...

In reply to Derry:

New house and a cat, all being well.

In reply to ripper:

guilty, thought a full TT helmet would be excessive but i love the slide down visor on this lid

In reply to Derry: A trip to Morocco ! Christmas Day in Marrakesh...

In reply to Derry: Snow and a good looking woman! Aren't too many round here

In reply to Derry: my first rope .
http://www.theepicentre.co.uk/catalogue/climbing-gear/ropes/smart-10mm-x-50...

In reply to Derry: Santa has just delivered a spaniel to my drive! I suspect someone may be wondering where she's gone though...

In reply to Submit to Gravity: ...and they've just found her.

In reply to Derry:

I haven't...it's not Christmas

In reply to sarahkeast:

nice, spent a couple of Christmas days in Fes and a couple of new years in Marrakesh

In reply to Cameron94:

I would love it to be that I'm not spending yet another year on my own.......

In reply to lost1977: as would I my friend, as would I

In reply to Steph-in-the-West: fingers crossed for you... I'll be spending a few days back at my parents' place with the rest of my loony family, sure they'd be happy for you to pop round but the last three words of your name suggest that might be geographically...

In reply to ripper: meant to say geographically inconvenient!

In reply to Steph-in-the-West: I hope you find somebody to share your company with! I imagine that Christmas is the worst time of year for some people (not all) who don't have a close group of friends or family around them.
On the plus side think of all that great tv you can watch

In reply to Cameron94:
Same here but there's plenty around here.

In reply to danrock101: I presume that was in reply to my first post. Haha unfortunately I can't say the same for here!

In reply to Derry:Something chainsaw or bike related I think. Might buy the chainsaw myself and ask for some PPE like a helmet, and one or two small bike bits.

In reply to Derry:Stihl 261. ()

In reply to ripper:

Hi Ripper - that's a really lovely offer thanks - but yes - I live 7 minute drive from Bosigran so quite a ways off. I'll be with sister and nephews for Christmas, it's the rest of the year.....

In reply to Cameron94:

Thanks for your wishes - with sister and nephews - but sleeping in campervan with my 2 dogs!!! It's the rest of the year.....


Yeeuurrrk - I'd rather listen to Gold radio!!!!

In reply to Derry: A seperation

In reply to Derry:

I quite fancy one of those little 'Grilliput' collapsible fire grills.

In reply to Rampikino: anytime now...

In reply to Derry: I hate this part of christmas. I now have to sit and think of a list of things I want for presents to make it easy on people when:

(a) If I wanted something, I'd just go and buy it
(b) There isn't anything I want
(c) If I DON'T give a wish list, I will wind up with some abominable crap which I have to pretend to like and store under the bed.

In reply to Wonko The Sane: if you really don't want anything, you could just pick a charity and ask them to make a donation? or with oxfam, they do little fridge magnet things showing the nominal item that your friend/relly's donation paid for.

In reply to Steph-in-the-West:
I live 7 minute drive from Bosigran ...

Wow a nice spot - had a couple of great days at bosi this year, including a right old battle on suicide wall!
hope the new year brings you joy and, y'know, someone suitable... x

In reply to ripper: Actually not a bad idea. I don't give to any charities with connections to religion, but I did hear about a 'gift a goat' thing a while back where someone buys some African family a goat on your behalf. I'm not sure they particularly want a goat, but they could trade it for a mobile phone or an Addidas top I guess.

In reply to Wonko The Sane:Smile Train is a good charity, they repair children's cleft lips in developing countries and countries where the operations can't be afforded. An operation is £150 so people might have to club together but it changes thier life.

In reply to Wonko The Sane:I guess lots of charities are good charities, thinking about it, it's impossible to support them all though.

In reply to Derry:

So you're getting quite excited about planning surprises for all those that you hold dear then? Finding nice gifts for them all?

In reply to Wonko The Sane:

Oh well. I'll drink the mixed pack of 20 real ales that I had bought for you myself instead then.

In reply to Wonko The Sane:

I do that at work - I tell them they aren't getting cards off me (I mean - how would I know where to stop eh?) and give to a charity instead...

Here you go:

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/oxfam-unwrapped

In reply to ripper:

Not done suicide Wall but have fallen off the top pitch of Little Brown Jug _ seconding - and yes it's glorious down here. Thanks for your good wishes - make me feel all warm and gooey!!!!

In reply to tlm:

We had our wedding list with Oxfam unwrapped and it went down well - I was worried people would think it was a bit too alternative, but about 85% of people respected our wishes.

Nothing I really want, but J has said he'll buy me some new boots (not walking boots, don't need those). I prefer shopping for presents for others than thinking what I want.

In reply to Wonko The Sane: yeah oxfam did the give a goat thing, but there was a whole range of other things you could give, depending on how much you wanted to give

In reply to ripper:

Ah right. I don't give to charities with connections to religion. But I know where to find an alternative.

In reply to Steph-in-the-West:
>yes it's glorious down here.

Yep hoping to get down again in the summer and explore a bit further - and hopefully choose a weekend without the tent-flattening gales this time!

In reply to Wonko The Sane:

Er.... what makes you think that Oxfam is anything to do with religion???

Yes, Quakers were involved in originally setting it up, but so were Oxford academics and other social activists.

In reply to tlm:

Yes, Quakers were involved in it's setup.
I prefer to give to charities with no religious connections.

also, they have quite high running costs I'm lead to beleive.

In reply to Wonko The Sane:


I checked out the figures before donating, as most charities make them publicly available and they seem quite reasonable (9%). So I thought this might have been a bit of an urban myth.

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/donate/how-we-spend-your-money

In reply to Wonko The Sane:


Which charities are those then? I think that you would be hard put to find a charity with NO religious connections at all (no religious people involved in setting them up).

Here is a discussion paper on Oxfam and religiion:

http://policy-practice.oxfam.org.uk/publications/avoiding-some-deadly-sins-...

In reply to tlm: Nice chart.
It's very pretty.

Doesn't say anything at all though. Hardly a broken down budget, is it?

In reply to tlm:

There are lots of charities that don't have any religious affiliations out there - for instance, many (but not all) non-profit organisations have charitable status, as do a lot of independent schools (that last has always baffled me).

In reply to Derry: surely if wonko chooses to give to one charity over another that's hardly a bad thing, if he's bunging a few quid to any good cause it's, well, all good isn't it?

In reply to Tall Clare:

...but more so than something like Oxfam?? Oxfam was originally set up by a mixture of people, some of whom just happened to be religious. It isn't a religious charity in the way that Christian Aid, for example, is. It doesn't have any religious affiliations. I've been in choirs that are charities! that is even weirder!

In reply to Wonko The Sane:

You can ask them for more detailed information if you want it.

In fact, their annual report and accounts have links here:

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what-we-do/about-us/plans-reports-and-policies?intc...

I just wanted to make sure that you were basing your decisions on evidence and not hearsay

In reply to ripper:


Hmm.... maybe. So a few quid to my choir is as good as money to cancer research, giving clean water to a child, or saving the planet. You take your pick, I guess...

In reply to tlm:

Agreed - just disputing your assertion that most charities are religious in some form.

In reply to tlm: hardly the point I was making - most people tend to have causes they feel stronger about than others, for eg. I will always give to charity looking to help disadvantaged humans over one that helps animals, but if one human-helping charity is church-affiliated in some way and another isn't, I don't think it matters to the ultimate receipient of that help which of those charities I gave to. do you?

In reply to tlm: Again with the pretty charts.

All this stuff is easily manipulated.

so for instance, they have £96m to come off the £385m income. Ok
then it says 'charitable activities' where 'costs' are further defined as 9%. But which costs?
So of the remaining charitable activities money, is any of that being paid to employees not indiginous to the area being helped?

But even taking their best case scenario of the costs being transparent....... the running costs are still very high in my opinion and there are better places to put the money.

Though I recognise that larger organisations have more clout on the world stage.

In reply to Wonko The Sane: Do you really need to see a detailed breakdown of any charities accounts before you'll bung a couple of quid into their collecting tin? Also, if you believe that they're manipulating their figures, you should take your complaint to the Charities Commission, I'm sure they'll be pleased to investigate it for you.

Th bring the discussion back on topic, I'm considering getting a slow cooker from Santa this year

In reply to owlart:


No, exceptions are amnesty and the poppy appeal.

Otherwise, yes, I want to know that the money is going to the people it's intended to help and not on salaries of NGO employees.

Since I'm giving the cash, and give a reasonable amount to charities..... I think I'm allowed the choice even if it appears to bug you.

In reply to Wonko The Sane:Smile Train could suit your criteria, though obviously the choice is down to you.

In reply to Timmd:

Ta for that. I quite like this idea. Appeals to me.

Though I think I've found a present I want along the goat line too. There's a place in Brighton which does great goat curry.

In reply to Wonko The Sane: Give a man a goat curry, and you feed him for a day. Give him the opportunity to do a goat gag though, and he'll milk it for all it's worth...

In reply to Tall Clare:

I wasn't asserting that at all. I was saying that if you call Oxfam a religious charity, then virtually any charity could be called a religious charity. Sorry - I probably got too convoluted there...

In reply to Wonko The Sane:


I do agree that it's better to think about where your money is going and what will happen to it. I certainly do, myself. I like to donate a regular amount, so that the charity can plan a bit, and so that I am donating to something I believe in, rather than to whoever shouts the loudest, so good on you for questioning...

In reply to ripper:



Milking goats??? Ewwwww.

In reply to Ava Adore:


Depends whether it is male or female on the Ewwww stakes I'd have thought.

In reply to Ava Adore: ooo yes - i rarely drink cows milk because I think it has contributed to bouts of painful sinusitis in the past (and because now I'm out of the habit), but goat's (and sheep's) cheese, yoghurt etc? yummy!

In reply to Derry:

With any luck I will be getting a new 2 piece wetsuit for spearfishing

In reply to Derry: have asked nor want anything, hoping we put the money towards a nice holiday some where hot.

In reply to ripper:


I can recommend Porthgwarra; Hella Point (for Helluva Slab); and Pordenack (park at Land's End for the latter, tell them you're climbing and you should get a reduction in the fee). Enjoy

In reply to Derry: he better bring me this or there will be trouble

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Texts-Dog-October-Jones/dp/1472200705/ref=sr_1_1?s=...

In reply to Wonko The Sane:

We had a lovely goat curry at the Jamaican restaurant in Inverness a few weeks ago; we enjoyed it so much we went back the day after for second helpings. Recommended, if you're up that way and it continues to survive the downturn.

T.

In reply to Steph-in-the-West: thanks! if we make it i imagine we'll camp at Trevaylor, St Just, again - I'll bear your recommendations in mind, and i quite fancy a look at kenidjack too... (and a few pints of Doom Bar, Betty Stoggs, Tribute....) x

In reply to ripper:

Trevaylor is a great site - I spent "summer" 2009 there in a tent with my dog. (Long story). Started raining July 4th and stopped first week in September

i quite fancy a look at kenidjack too...

Descent route is a bit iffy - steep slippery grass. If you do go, call National Coastw*tch at Cape Cornwall www.nci.org.uk/capecornwall before you leave and let them know details - times, number of you etc and they'll keep an eye on you (I used to volunteer for them).

(and a few pints of Doom Bar, Betty Stoggs, Tribute....) x

Can recommend Heligan Honey; Cornish Knocker also and The Star and King's head in St Just;
Hope you have a great time x

In reply to Derry: Probably at Bob Scott's this year, or if the snow is cack, then the Red Squirrel or if its sh1t there, then Skye )
I think it was 2009 when I had a Xmas at the Bob Scott's Bothy. 2 guys left on Xmas morning, leaving me a load of coal, wood and Whisky.
Snow up to your knees, cold as anything and clear skies. That night I had a roaring fire, loads of candles and a fair old amount of booze, brilliant )
Although I did keep on thinking about the Blair Witch Project when I went to bed?! :-/