JoshC.

If I had a penny for every time I heard this, I wouldn't have needed to take out a loan for my tuition fees...

People mention about how Slammer is the last Sky Swat as though it's important. But Thorpe don't advertise it like that at all. Only enthusiasts know it's the only one in the world, and probably are the only ones who care at the moment. Sure, Merlin have a particularly liking for Firsts and Onlys, but if they're not advertising it, then it means nothing.

I see what you're saying, and this is sort of where my fear of misinterpretation was coming in earlier! I struggling to put exactly how I feel about this all into words, so sorry if the following sounds like a rambling load of nonsense... The welfare system should of course not be there for people who simply 'don't want to work', and it should be made to be a very unattractive option for people who consider it. But then there's the people who actually really need it, who have fallen on hard times, etc. The main focus should be being housed and fed; most definitely. But if they can't afford some of the 'luxuries' like internet or a (simple) mobile phone, then it could leave them out-of-touch with society. It starts to make things an uphill struggle in my opinion, which just doesn't help matters. As you said earlier, living on benefits shouldn't be easy, but it shouldn't be unnecessarily difficult. It's of course very difficult to get the balance right, and it seems the balance sways towards being friendlier rather than stricter. Ian mentions the free access of public libraries. Personally, I've local libraries to be appalling, from their opening hours to their resources. They feel out-of-touch and neglected in today's society. Maybe if these were improved (and quite significantly), I'd feel more okay with saying that having your own basic phone and internet connection wasn't a necessity. I guess also my opinion comes from someone who's grown up with technology becoming ever-advancing. If I was looking for a job, my first thought would be 'Let's look online to see who's hiring, where to go, hints and tips, etc'. Any application would include a mobile number so wherever I am, I'd get the call. If I didn't have the internet or a mobile phone, it would be more difficult to get the ball rolling and keep it rolling in my opinion. As I say, I'm really struggling to get my thoughts down on this (I've spent the past 40 odd minutes typing and deleting, typing and deleting to get to this!), so sorry if it doesn't really flow or anything.. I guess calling them a necessity is wrong, but I just feel that in today's society, they're basic tools which can really help anyone, and help is what people should have the most access to. I think it's a case of there's quite a fine line about this all, and I we're simply just on different sides about it?

Might be seen as playing devil's advocate here a bit, but in today's society, for your average person, I think having a mobile and internet is a necessity. I'm certainly not saying people need £40 a month contracts to get then the latest smart phone with 8GB of data our whatever, nor super super fast internet. But a basic mobile phone and an internet connection will help people so much of used appropriately in my opinion. Of course, of someone is living off benefits it shouldn't be their main priority, but I'm not particularly opposed to the idea of people spending their £70 or whatever a week towards that. (I'm not sure if I've slightly misinterpreted your post here, so apologises if I have!)

*Awaits a barrage of unoriginal gifs being directed towards Tommy*

Bumpty bump: http://whatson.ae/dubai/knowledge/27410/ferrari-world-new-record-breaking-roller-coaster/ Another new coaster for Ferrari World is 'Flying Aces', featuring a '51 degree lift hill' and the world's tallest loop at 52m. Great to see even more investment in the park, but does anyone ever actually care about the a roller coaster having "the world's tallest loop"?

Out of all the parties, Green is the one I'd be most inclined to vote for. But, like others have said, some of their policies are great, whereas some just...aren't. Which makes it difficult to vote for them. I kind of got annoyed as well by some of their broadcasting, namely... Sure, it's quite funny, but it feels very cheap and accepting that some of their policies aren't the best.. The other 'big' parties are just a no for me as well.. So, unless a MRLP candidates is running in my area (I actually haven't checked), then I'll be spoiling my ballot this time around.

A world of triple posting. Meh. I did this again today! Same course, etc. Went really well, as this little feedback sheet shows...

Let's move any political discussion here to avoid a topic derailment: http://forum.maniahub.com/topic/10940-general-election-2015/(surprised it's taken this long for such a thread to come about, but we need one!)

So the general election is happening THIS THURSDAY. And we don't even have a thread for it? Disgraceful. Discuss all things electiony here. Are you voting? Where do your allegiances lie? Or are you apathetic to the whole process and feel much bigger change is needed? Even if you're not old enough to vote, still feel free to contribute your thoughts! (PS: This thread could get very opinionated and very messy very quickly; let's try and keep handbags away from this yeah? )

Seems to change a lot. Usually it's every 3 trains, but sometimes it's more (I've seen it anything up to once every 7 trains, though that was in 2012) or less. Some Summer Nights that I went to they had it going off every train which was pretty sweet.

From TPM's Facebook: One of Swarm's water effects is back working again.

Question: Why is this only open on weekdays? (Never been to AI or given it much attention, so this could be a really stupid question. I'm just a bit confused!)

Have I missed something? Where / when have people been calling the show inappropriate? :S

Well that explains why they kept the Carousel control booth. How else will they keep their ladders upright when not using them?

*6 months, since they've had closed season too. Hopefully this can be open by June time when all the school trips start happening in their hundreds. I know it's not got a brilliant throughput, but every little helps and SBNO rides are never a good reflection on any park...

Has it? Completely missed it on my visit then..

So this thing is testing now: No duelling yet, but that will come I assume.

Yeah; almost doubled the size of the land really, with a few new rides and a couple of play areas / exhibitions. Highlight for me is a Zamperla Demolition Derby which looks pretty fun actually In fairness, they had Air Race last year which is a fabulous addition to the park's line up in my opinion. I'm fine with them investing in Thomas Land as much as they want, but other parts of the park need attention too Buffalo, Pirates Adventure, the god-awful Wild West shoot out are all rides which either need removal or complete overhauls. If they sort them out, then they've actually got a pretty solid selection of attractions for a full day out. Another major coaster would be nice, but it's not a necessity at this stage to be fair.

Phill: "I'm scared, I want to go home. They've got super spinny things on this Carousel" Adam: "Oh go ride Thorpe Park's Carousel. Oh wait, YOU CAN'T. HA."

More Thomas Land expansion coming next year: Credit to Theme UK's Facebook. Nice to see the park continuing to invest and I'm glad Thomas Land has worked for them, but the rate they're going, it may add well be called Thomas Theme Park with Drayton Manor Land.

Double posting? How wrong of me. I've had it confirmed today that (assuming I get the grades) I've got a scholarship for my Masters Degree!

Carrying on with exam-esque theme, my first wave of exams is over! So yay, slight celebrations before my second wave begins in 2 and a bit weeks time.

Don't include the 's' in "https://" part of the link ie: You used this: http://youtu......... Fixed it for you though