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My insurance is now up at the end of May. Am currently with Open & Direct and the renewal price came in dearer than last year. Has anyone else experienced this. Apparently car insurance has gone up this year generally.

However, went into a place close to work at lunch time and got quoted a price of £360 compared to the £414 of my renewal price so I was happy enough with that. However they first quoted £518 but were soon able to find something else when I told them the price I already had. Will change over this month. Am also going to forget about the direct debit this year and just pay all in one go. It was an extra £40-50 just to pay monthly!

I think he's alright and will do a good enough job. I liked his R1 evening show and have heard him talk about GAA a few times. He mentioned that he lived with a guy who use played for Monaghan when he lived in Belfast. He just comes across as a sports fan. He like football, rugby, NFL and baseball. I'd love to have had his jobs the jammy git.

Finally gave in and got an iphone last week. Delighted with it. Anyone have any suggestions for a good and simple car kit to install. Would love to play the music in the car through the iphone rather than the car full of CD's. My car dosen't have blue tooth. Is that a factor?

Cheers for the tips is lads. Some helpful stuff. My first preference would be to get a second hand bike around the £200-£300 mark but there not as easy to find as thought they would be. When doing my reserch and trying to find out how much everything would be, it was costing about £600 to get everything. Don't think I'll be doing that right away. As someone mentioned, the best way is to pick the gear up as you go along and get more seriours.

Depending on the sort of bike you are after, I may be able to help.  In fact, I have one out the back of the house you can have if you are anywhere near Belfast.  It may need some work done to it but it wouldn't be that dear, it's a mountain bike if that's any use to ya

It's a road bike I'm looking, but thanks for the offer.

Cheers for the tips is lads. Some helpful stuff. My first preference would be to get a second hand bike around the £200-£300 mark but there not as easy to find as thought they would be. When doing my reserch and trying to find out how much everything would be, it was costing about £600 to get everything. Don't think I'll be doing that right away. As someone mentioned, the best way is to pick the gear up as you go along and get more seriours.

Anyone on here do much cycling? Was thinking on investing in a road bike to cycle the roads and possibly joining a club. What sort of a budget would you give yourself for buying a bike for a beginner? What other sort of gear would you need? Is it easy enough to come by a decent second hand bike. Been told I need a 56cm frame and that is very important.

Sympathy for the Devil- Gun N Roses
Morning Glory (MTV Unplugged version)- Oasis
My Oaklohoma- Springsteen and the Seeger sessions band
Rollin- Limp Bizkit
Hit the Floor- Linkin Park

I would say Tyron would be favourites. Derry have lost Chris McKeague to oz and Derry really have't done much at this level in a long time.

Fan-f*$king-tastic. I hope its true.

I'll take a PM to please if someone would do the honors

You will have to make a full building control application to the local council and they will require a set of working drawings in order to give their approval. So yeah you will have to get them done. However if you just want to save the site by putting the foundations in you can make a building notice application by using the planning drawings. Few people I've come across are doing that and then going back and doing the full set of plans at a later date when economic times are a little easier. There are risks with this method in that when you do your full plans you might find you need a bigger/reinforced foundation if there are any structural engineers requirements and have to take out the foundations that you've put in.

Thats assuming you live in the north. I don't know what the requirements are for the republic in terms of building control.

. Take the best 12/14 teams in a one way league. The top 6 qualify for the all-Ireland series and the top 2 straight into semi-finals (ala NFL play-offs).


So how do you decide on the best 12 - 14 teams.
What would the other 19 - 21 teams be doing?

Two tiers. Sam Maguire (division 1) and Tommy Murphy (division 2) allowing for the promotion and relegation part on the method.

Right, this might be a little extreme, but I'm going to put it out there. I've been thinking about this for a while and it's sort of a combination of the NFL and the Guinness premiership/rugby league. Take the best 12/14 teams in a one way league. The top 6 qualify for the all-Ireland series and the top 2 straight into semi-finals (ala NFL play-offs). Also you would have bottom 2 being relegated to the second tier and top 2 from second tier being promoted.

Keep the provincial championships, playing them February to March. The league system would start in April and run to July. Play-offs in August and September.

Advantages include a structured season with maybe a minimum 14 games, 6 strongest teams will be in the all-Ireland series, 5-6 home championship games which could be split over a Saturday/Sunday, levels the playing field, taking away the excuse that Kerry get it easy (which I don't agree with). Threat of relegation from the championship means that most games should have something at stake right up to the end. Also it would hopefully allow so called weaker counties to develop faster.

Effectively it can be summed up in a condensing of the league from 4 divisions to 2, re-structuring of how the league is won and giving the Sam Maguire to the winners and swapping places with the provincial championships.

Probably to radical to ever get passed, but I'm putting it out there.

What does anyone think of the state of the economy? 6 people got laid off from my work this week. I had thought we had seen off the worst of the recession. We all took a cut in hours and pay in January and thought that would be the height of it at this stage. I was even thinking of asking for my money back as things had seemed to be looking better as we were quite busy. Do you think is there still worse to come from this recession, particularly in the construction industry?

The whole thing was handled pretty badly. Were split over 3 office's and the boss told 1 office first which led to rumours in our office which left a pretty bad feeling all week. Also some people were given a month's notice and some people were told it was effective now, which I'm sure isn't exactly legal.

The way it was done was that everyone was talked to at some point over the last 2 days and told they were all right or not. However he hasn't talked to me yet which I'm not sure is all that great a sign.

From bbc.co.uk/news

Noel Gallagher has said intolerable "violent and verbal intimidation" and a "lack of support" from management and bandmates forced him to quit Oasis.

In a statement, on his blog at Oasisinet.com, he said: "The details are not important and of too great a number to list."

He went on to thank fans after his decision to leave Oasis brought an "amazing" 18 years to an end.

Noel left after relations with brother and bandmate Liam hit an all-time low.

Glorious memories

The guitarist said: "I feel you have the right to know that the level of verbal and violent intimidation towards me, my family, friends and comrades has become intolerable.

"And the lack of support and understanding from my management and bandmates has left me with no other option than to get me cape and seek pastures new."

He went on to say the rock group's success had been a "dream come true", adding: "I take with me glorious memories."

He also apologised to fans in Paris who were disappointed when Oasis cancelled following a bust-up on Friday.

"Apologies are probably not enough, I know, but I'm afraid it's all I've got," he wrote.

He also said sorry to fans who hoped to see them at the V Festival in Essex last weekend.

"Again, I can only apologise - although I don't know why, it was nothing to do with me. I was match fit and ready to be brilliant. Alas, other people in the group weren't up to it," he said.

"Now, if you'll excuse me I have a family and a football team to indulge," he concluded.

Noel earlier explained that he "simply could not go on" working with his brother and bandmate Liam for another day.


 
You can't control Oasis - they do what they want to do - that's the beauty and the skill of the band

Alan McGee


Oasis's history of troubles and triumphs
Your memories of Oasis 
The group's spokeswoman said Liam and the other remaining band members would consider whether to carry on without Noel, the chief songwriter and lead guitarist.

She said: "I expect in the next couple of days a decision will be made as to how to continue or if they continue."

Alan McGee, who discovered Oasis and signed the band to his Creation Records label, said Noel's departure was "a sad day for music".

The rift was "more serious than anything that's ever happened" between the brothers, he said.

"It's obviously the worst fall-out that they've ever had, and they've had some pretty bad ones," he told BBC News.

"But they love each other - they'll come back together," he predicted.

"I think you'll have a reunion tour in about five years time. They love each other. When people love each other, they'll always make peace."

Mr McGee said Noel no longer felt any obligation to stay in the band, which reflects a wider shift in society, he believes.

"Whether you're an electrician or a rock 'n' roll star, you can only do and be who you want to be," he said.



Fans give their views on Noel's decision to leave the band Oasis
"He is the same as everybody else - he didn't want to do it any more and he stopped. People don't do anything now that they don't want to do."

The former label boss recalled that he spoke to Liam two weeks ago. "He was great. We spoke about Noel and I said 'do you love him', and he agreed that he loved him."

The pair will now make solo albums, he predicted, before reconciling.

Mr McGee compared Noel's songwriting to that of Neil Young, Bob Dylan and John Lennon, describing him as "as good as the people that he admires".

But the brothers were difficult characters, he said. "You can't control Oasis - they do what they want to do. That's the beauty and the skill of the band."

The brothers have always had a fractious relationship, and a string of tours have fallen apart over the past 15 years.

But until now, neither Gallagher has officially quit the group.

Some Oasis fans at the Reading Festival, which is currently taking place, were not surprised to hear of the band's break-up.

'Disappointing'

Lorraine Hoodless, 30, from Wimbledon, south London, described herself as a "disillusioned Oasis fan".

"It's not come as a big shock," she said. "Maybe Noel would do better on his own anyway as he's the one behind the music.

Ben Coburn, 25, of Harrow, north London, said: "It's disappointing but it was always on the cards because they don't get on."

Al Smith, 23, from Hampshire, said: "I was just about crying when I found out. One of the best ever gigs I've ever seen was Oasis back in 2004. There's no one else like them."



I was a big fan of the band but thought this has been coming. While they have never been the best of friends they seemed to be really not getting along lately. Undoubtdly the first 2 albums will be remembered, and for me the Masterplan B-side album is fantastic, their other albums never reached the same heights. Although I do have some favourite tracks on each of the remaining albums with the last 2 albums being the best of the remining bunch in my opinion. I think Noel will do an album of his own with Gem probably playing along with him. He possibly has it written already. What Liam will do I haven't a clue? He'll do guest vocals here and there but I can't see him having a solo career. Oasis will be back at some point. As they are brotheres they will have to interact with each other at some point. It could be 5 or 6 years before we see them together again though. Glad I saw them at Slane this year.