Keef

Man Flu

Anna, Eternal Flame darling? Bon Jovi for me everytime!

All possible, but equally could be none of the above. As I said, I'm not a social worker, but I do work for social services as another kind of professional, and I have had involvement in child protection cases, and the social workers I have worked with have all been passionate about the children. They are human beings too, and have the same feelings as anyone else. It is unlikely that a social worker will think, I fancy an easy day, so I think I'll just forget about that complex case where the child is at risk.

First, I'm not a social worker. Second, and I don't know the answer to this, but how long was the abuse going on for? It may be that during most of these 60 visits the child was healthy. Third, no social workers are not trained to identify physical abuse. Forth, the mother, by all accounts, had been learning how to hide things from social workers her whole life. Just who out of the 60 visitors would you see fired, the social worker? Their line manager? The director? Do you not think that those people that visited are not laying awake trying to remember something they missed. I am sure they are punishing themselves quite enough!

Well no, it doesn't. When you consider Arsenal can field a team of school boys and they'd give anyone a match. I know you weren't full strength either, but I recognised most of the names on your team sheet at least. Anyway, lets just hope it pays off for us in the league, although I don't see how saving 3 or 4 matches is going to make a huge difference. Get rid of the stupid group stages of the champions league, that might save your players a bit more!

Sounds interesting. They had the pool tables a few months ago, so this must be reasonably new.

???? and microbite, can you say unreservedly that if you went to a house where such things were happening, you'd pick up on it? No, didn't think so.

Fair play spurs, but lets be honest, you weren't really playing Liverpool this time round. I feel sorry for those players, they get their one chance and get slaughtered. Unlikely to improve their chances of first team football.

Just hope Rafa doesn't play Ngog, based on the last run out he had!

Well yes, but the problem is they will ask questions and look for scapegoats, just as they did after Victoria Climbie, and nothing will change. They will have a report, and make more recomendations, and the government will win votes because it has made sure that certain things happen. In reality, the councils, hospitals, education system, will all make these things happen on paper, and in so doing, have no time to actually do any proper work. It's a rubbish situation, but it is unlikely to change.

Amen to that! I could have thrown a brick at the TV when listening to the reporter on (I think) ITV last night. It's unfortunate that it happens to be the same local authority as the Victoria Climbie case, but them interviewing the head of the council and calling for sackings makes me sick! At the end of the day, the report and recommendations that came from that case were a good thing in theory. In reality however, local authorities don't have the money they need, so they are doing exercises in performance management in order to show that they are doing the work in order to tick boxes and hopfully win another star and a few more quid from the government (never understood why the best performing councils are given most money, but there you go). What this means in reality is that the workers do not have the time to be out there doing the visits they'd like to. Also, social workers are not medically trained, and to expect them to go and "notice" physical signs of abuse (other than obvious bruising to the face or something like that) is not on. Did you get that idea from the TV? Or the newspaper maybe? What has happened here is bloody terrible, surely noone would dispute that, but all this blame at the feet of social services makes me bloody angry, because a lot of good people work really hard to prevent this sort of thing, and they are in an uphill battle through no fault of their own.

Here you go girls, being that the lads would happily keep his sisters busy, you're more than welcome to Jim. http://www.planet-corr.com/img/bio/jim.jpg

Good call on the Corrs Jeremy (for purely unmusical use). Although I was (in a minority) always quite the fan of Carolne. http://www.aeromaniacs.com/Corrs/Caroline00.jpg

Ta luv! http://www.brolive.org/photo_gallery/les-tests-skateboards2/sin_city_jessica_alba.jpg

Have posted this elsewhere, but for me, this is beauty captured in a single shot. Stole my heart when I first saw the film! http://content9.flixster.com/photo/36/95/09/3695099_tml.jpg She was very young then, about 17 or 18, but it's okay, I still very much would http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/images/bank/programmes_tv/drama/amazing_pritchard/300jodhi_may.jpg

I've suggested that before, think it was poo pooed

LOL! Now that is a pub we may find short of elbow space! Great pub though!

Good work Andrew. Did the photos from The Duke ever go up?

Christmas drinks last year were actually a let down in terms of numbers, as so many people had work parties, so could go either way.

I'm with you gg. Although the one with the female singer is kind of cool in a different take on it.

That was series 4. Fool! ;-)

Georgia, where are you talking about, the castle or the dog? Clockhouse probably deserves another crack at some stage, it was a very early venue, beene hoopers, remember turning up with fear n boozing and meeting Tillie Trotter for the first time.

The emoticon button is gone, but they will still appear if you type them out :-S

The Castle was a source of much contention, so we sort of started a night there for those who wanted to, before heading on to the CPT. Like the idea of the Wishing Well.

Remember the scene now but somehow missed Rawls. Doh!