JFH

Good to know that nothing riles you in everyday life, texas! Other than whingers on internet forums, evidently... Of course, you're right, this is a model flying site – but this thread is in the 'Soapbox' folder, which is marked up as being for anything not related to model flying, which is why I posted this in here. That's not to say that I wouldn't welcome any model shop/website tips, as you suggest. They're always handy!

That Zen V+ sounds just the job, Joe. Thanks very much, I'll pass the info on!

Ah, I hadn't thought of that. Thanks for the tip. Mind you, I don't know if the lad needs a new phone - he seems to have a new one every time I see him as it is!

My nephew's Ipod has broken and he's only had the thing for 18 months. The store said they could send it away to be repaired, but it would cost almost as much as if he bought a new one! Crazy. My brother's all set to buy him a new one, but I've read about other people having problems with them. Here's my question: what are the alternatives like? Do any of them match up to the Ipod in terms of functionality? I don't really have a clue about these things.

Me three!

I didn't get along to Sandown that often, but when I did it was always enjoyable. I did hear a lot of people complaining that it was going downhill the past couple of years, but it's still a shame to see the back of it. It'd be nice to have somehting to replace it, but I guess we'd have heard by now?

I'm sure I'm not the only one who gets annoyed at poor customer service in shops. Almost every time I go into my local Woolworths I seem to have a problem - huge queues and one person behind the till, and then when you get to the front, the assistant wanders off to find the CD you want, only to return 10 minutes later to say they haven't got it. Other times it's things like staff happily chatting to each other while people are waiting to be served. It drives me crazy! Especially when I hold the door open for somebody on the way in and they barge past without saying thank you - that's another one that gets my goat! I'm off for a lie down...

I'm just looking to improve my flying every time I head out (I'll never be a champion pilot!), and most of all to enjoy myself. But do any of you have any specific aims for the coming year? Is there a particular model you're looking to build or a new technique to master?

True seafury, it could be worse, but that's still a fair way to travel - it all adds up I guess. Does the journey ever put you off?

I'm lucky enough to have somewhere only a few minutes drive away where I can enjoy my favourite hobby. This can't be a typical situation for everyone though – there must be people out there who have to travel further afield. In those cases, I guess it takes some real determination to keep it up. I'd be interested to read about any of you who have to show real dedication to continue flying.