DaveR

"You don't think we can assume that people (especially the press, Helen Hayes MP, Mayor Sadiq Khan to name a few of the local heavy weigh supporters, have done their homework prior to supporting the boycott?" No - it would be safer to assume the opposite. Politicians like presenting situations as binary - this is right, this is wrong, and we're on the right side, support us. The press like an eye-catching story - 'Poverty wages paid by greedy fat cats - SHOCK!'. Life is almost always more complicated than that. And financial statements of listed companies definitely are.

"DaveR you don't believe London has a higher cost of living than other places in the UK? Are you living in cloud cuckoo land?" That's not what I said. What I said was (but more clearly this time perhaps): Unsurprisingly the LLW is based on a model that includes rent, but the model assumes that all single people over 18 are living independently. The Living Wage Foundation say explicitly on their website: "The rates apply to all workers over 18 ? in recognition that young people face the same living costs as everyone else" Well, some do and some don't. But to say that ?9.05/hour (what Picturehouse pay) is not a 'living wage' means, applying the model used to calculate it, 'not a wage that can allow someone to pay London market rent to rent a flat/studio/room in shared house'. Which may still be a valid criticism, but is not IMHO grounds for a boycott.

"Yeah, I spotted that too, perhaps updating their website to the factually correct figures might be a good start for Picturehouse." The Picturehouse website is accurate - you are confusing the National Living Wage (set by government, replaced the National Minimum Wage for over 25s) with the London Living Wage (calculated by the Living Wage Foundation, no legal status but they offer accreditation for employers). I won't be boycotting the Picturehouse. I support the existence of a legal minimum wage and I think the doom laden predictions about resulting job losses have been largely proved to be wrong. On the other hand, I object strongly to the demonisation of any business that doesn't pay a self-defined 'living wage' as put out by an essentially political organisation. In particular, the methodology for calculating the LLW assumes that everyone over 18 is either renting their own place or paying private rent in a shared property (as far as I can see each of these is weighted approximately 50:50), which I suspect is the main element of the higher London rate. I don't buy that, either as a representation of reality or as a 'minimum standard'.

"The original is nice in context, but if you have no emotional investment in the right beef ragu recipe you're free to do whatever you please." I once heard a story about a guy from Naples who criticised his wife's cooking by saying "My mother makes ragu - you make meat and tomato sauce". It was apparently regarded as the ultimate insult.

I had really good pizza at Pizza Pickup on Rye Lane - thinner and crispier than the Naples/sourdough style at a lot of other local places. They seem to be very quiet, which is a shame, and a bit of a surprise given the number of decent food places in the immediate area.

The evidence does not suggest that the key (long-term) weakness of the NHS is funding, but structure. But for as long as it is political suicide to suggest that alternative systems may actually be better (as in France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, for example) nothing will change, and 'the government' will be blamed. Even the 'Socialist Health Association' agrees: https://www.sochealth.co.uk/2015/01/18/international-comparisons-say-nhs/ as does (perhaps less surprisingly) the Adam Smith Institute: https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/healthcare/comparing-apples-to-apples-nhs-still-ranks-below-average

Rather than editing my post above yet again, and having now read the summary of the JRF report cited, it also acknowledges that their results show the opposite trend to other measures of relative poverty, based on %ages of median income. The authors' explanation is that those measures don't capture the true picture. Natch.

"Nearly a third of people in the UK live in a household where there is not enough money for adequate food, clothing and housing and the basics of a social life, up from a quarter at the start of the financial crisis, according to new research. The number of people living in households with income below a minimum standard rose from 15m in 2008-09 to 19m in 2014-15, according to analysis by researchers at Loughborough University for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Most of the increase happened in the three years until March 2012 and was not then reversed." It is worthwhile drilling down into the methodology a little. The Minimum Income Standard for a family with two parents and two children is ?39,000 per year. It is calculated from the gross income necessary to meet a list of weekly 'outgoings' that include rent, food etc., but also ?107/week for social & cultural activities, ?85/week for travel and ?49/week for clothes, for example. The essential point is that MIS is not intended to be and should not be considered a poverty measure (JRF consider 75% of MIS indicates poverty so c.?30k/year for a family of four). It is a measure of what "is enough to cover what the public think is needed for a minimum acceptable standard of living." (that is the actual definition). Edited to add: There is a calculator on the MIS website - that's where I got the figures above from. If you try some variables you get some surprising (to me at least) results, that also put the report findings into context. For example, the MIS for a lone parent with a baby, a toddler and a primary age child is apparently ?73,000/year, which seems a lot. It may be explained by the 'outgoings' including ?440/week for childcare. http://www.minimumincome.org.uk/

"He's a disaster, but who would people like to see succeed him? If there was an obvious, strong, alternative candidate he'd have been replaced already." I think the view of the majority of the PLP is that any alternative candidate would be likely to do a better job than Corbyn, but he hasn't been replaced because the current membership of the Party at large support him. The selection of someone like Clive Lewis, a self-proclaimed "unashamed socialist" but without the baggage of someone like J McDonnell or D Abbott, would at least allow Labour to have a go at being a real left wing party but with a competent leader. I still don't think they would have a prayer of winning a GE but likely to be a lot better at being an effective opposition.

"Is it better quality? It's produced without the use of pesticides, so it's probably better for the environment - but I'm always a little dubious about health benefit / quality claims for organic. I often wonder whether this is simply an assumption that people make based on the price" The scientific consensus on organic food seems to be: no evidence of health or nutritional benefits lower pesticide residues, but no evidence that permitted pesticide residues in non-organic harmful to health clear evidence of greater land use for the same yield so to that extent environmentally unfriendly. I've seen surveys claiming organic food tastes better, but the obvious question is better than what? There's lots of high quality produce that is not organic. Also, it's not correct that organic rules prohibit pesticide use. The Soil Association are pretty coy about it, but there are permitted pesticides and herbicides.

"I know the increases are small but prices are going up. is this a result of Brexit? Possibly yes." Almost certainly not. Most staple foods are globally traded commodities with price fluctuations arising from all sorts of different events (affecting supply) coupled with increasing/decreasing demand, linked to cultural and demographic changes. Plus UK food retailing is a complex market with lots of different competitive pressures (though maybe not enough competition overall). The first post on this thread was nonsense, and tbh the whole issue is a red herring as far as Brexit/Trump/other populist outrage is concerned.

"The figures show that if you are involved in an accident even when it's not your fault then you are more likely to have an accident in the near futures. So they use that to recalculate the premium" This is the key point, and they will have re-calculated the premium reflecting the fact that liability was initially disputed and that they won't recover all their costs. Plus some of the pricing factors not connected with the customer might have moved adversely since last time, and the company's overall pricing model might have changed a bit. Generally, when you unexpectedly get a very high quote it's because the company has decided it doesn't want your business (not personally, but through risk modelling) and you will often get a much better quote somewhere else.

"....why do we get bad products in the first place, and as a society why don't we care?" The simple answer is that we get bad products because we don't care i.e. we continue to buy products where the price is so low that we are effectively on notice that it's probably not going to work, either very well or at all, and even after finding that out we fail to learn from experience. In that sense the market is working perfectly - the demand for crap stuff is there and is being supplied. I suspect that part of the reason is that we have become accustomed to lots of stuff constantly falling in price (either in absolute or relative terms) due to technological developments and more efficient businesses, so we expect this to be the case across the board. But pencil sharpeners have pretty limited scope for this, so the only way to make them cheaper is inferior materials and production processes. And I guess another reason is that really cheap stuff encourages a 'use once, throw away' mentality.

"As he moved away for tax reasons, I don't think we should welcome him at all." I don't think that's right. He's been effectively living in the US for some time, and (as I understand) spends more than half the year there, and so is liable to US tax on all his income, wherever it arises. An easy way to avoid double taxation (at least on income arising in the UK) is to be non-resident in the UK, but that's just recognising the reality i.e. he is resident in the US.

My perspective is almost the exact opposite to the OP - I've always used budget airlines (except Ryanair) for short haul non business, but have used BA a number of times in recent years because prices have come down whilst retaining an edge in terms of customer service, in particular, and also having the best time slots. Haven't flown easyjet for a while now because not competitive on price. Generally agree with Lowlander above i.e. customers have benefited from market changes and carriers generally upping their games. I haven't had a really bad flight for years (though I would caution against transiting in Amman, no mater how cheap the fare is).

"Are you entitled to your item back?" On the basic facts above, yes, but you are probably liable to pay for re-delivery.

We've been to De Emhof, Het Heijderbos and Port Zelande (not necessarily spelled accurately). Preferred the first two because they are in the forest, Port Zelande on the coast - still good though, especially if you want to try kitesurfing or similar. They have a 'bird' rating (like stars) and the 5 bird resorts are going to be closer to the UK standard, though still not as luxurious as the UK parks are now. De Emhof is very handy for a day trip to Amsterdam. We love going to the Netherlands because the national cycle network is everywhere, so you can ride straight out of the park and onto cycle routes that take you anywhere.

We've been to Netherlands the last three years and are booked again for this year. It is getting pricier as the parks are being upgraded but still less than ?1000 for a week in a 'VIP' cottage at May half term - VIP includes fresh bread/pastries delivered every morning, which is a great extra. Going for a week also means you can have a day out or two without feeling that you're wasting the chance to use the facilities in the park. In past years we've had day trips to Amsterdam and also to the Efteling theme park.

"Remember that the bread only cost 75p and the cafes make sandwiches and then charge the customers some ridiculous price and make themselves profit." That sounds like the normal way to run a cafe.

If you haven't already booked, I'd go for a night flight if possible. Sling is fine provided baby not too heavy, but it's usually v. easy to take pushchair to the door of the plane, and it gives you the option just in case, for example, you get delayed. Also, probably obvious but it pays to be very friendly and appreciative with cabin crew, who can make your life easier, or more difficult! Probably the most important thing is to try not to get stressed - even if it's horrible it's only a few hours and then you're with family, and can relax. And 0-6 months is generally a very good age for long haul flights - it gets much harder once they are walking.

"....currently let on an agreement which is holding over to popular retailer ?Mrs Robinsons?," ....."holding over" means the agreed fixed term has come to an end but tenant has stayed, and is still paying rent, which landlord has accepted. No current lease does make the position more precarious for the tenant.

This may be a silly question, but how has it been getting on Thameslink trains at P Rye the last couple of days? I normally cycle but need to make other plans tomorrow.

If I was going to spend ?65 on a wreath from anywhere I'd get it from Fresh Flower Co - their stock is fantastic, and the arrangements are great. They're also very nice people. I've bought loads of flowers from there and I've always thought they were very good value. Obviously I don't go there when I'm making a charitable donation, rather than buying flowers - that would be stupid. Like I don't go to the garage when I'm after a bacon sandwich. Fortunately, I can tell the difference.

The Malaysian deli in Brockley is pretty good but the roti canai isn't great, tbh. Bungah Raya in Thornton Heath used to do good roti but the last time we went, no roti and the food overall was only ok. The best place I've been in London is Roti King, near Euston. We usually buy frozen parathas, fry them until crispy, and then do the squishing with the hands to make them all flaky. Big pot of chicken curry.....mmmmmm.

"Interestingly, even a Labour-commissioned report suggests that lack of supply is really not the story:" The report needs careful reading - it is not primarily a report into pricing (either buying or renting) but into declining rates of home ownership, particularly amongst younger people (28-40). The key conclusion re supply is this: "an excessive focus on the home ownership rate in isolation from other tenures risks obscuring the fact that greater levels of supply unambiguously lowers housing costs for both renters and owners ? something that is more likely to boost their wellbeing than any specific rate of home ownership" Edited to add - I have no doubt that the underlying economic modelling was done with scrupulous professionalism, but I couldn't help noticing that the named author of the report i.e. Mr Redfern will be very happy with the headline "Supply problems not the cause of the housing crisis". He is CEO of Taylor Wimpey, one of the UK's biggest housebuilders, and one of those routinely accused of artificially limiting supply to keep their margins up.