DaveR

If the paintings are oils of generic type scenes (landscapes and still life) on identical size canvasses then they are almost certainly mass produced in China. Nothing to stop you buying one if you like it, but it won't be a bargain and you won't be supporting struggling art students

What a great thread The combination of nimbyism and conspiracy theories from the objectors is so typically old-fashioned, suburban, small-minded English, I've come over all nostalgic.

"It's simplistic to think in terms of location in the current market, which is fractured along price boundaries more than geographical ones." It's also simplistic to ignore location, because there is still such a strong link between location and price. The price differential between ED and Nunhead for comparable houses/flats of whatever size and condition demonstrates that, but at the same time it is clear that ED is not like St John's Wood or South Ken where the premium for a desirable location is nailed on. Price across the market as a whole (as opposed to differentials) is ultimately determined by both incomes and the cost of credit. For the former, London will continue to have a concentration of comparatively high-earners for the foreseeable future. For the latter, lenders (with the assistance of government) are already openly exploring ways to get first-time buyers back into the market, and those lenders are going to regard London property generally as a better risk than most other parts of the UK. The higher up the chain you go, the more equity there is and the more secure it is. Conclusion - 4 double bed family homes, with gardens, near stations, in reasonable neighbourhoods with nice shops and decent primary schools are going to be in high demand anywhere, and there genuinely aren't many places in London Zones 2-3 that tick all those boxes and are cheaper than ED. Try Streatham.

On issues of the day "The Way We Live Now" is equal to anything Dickens wrote IMHO, but I agree that the Barchester stuff is more parochial. I'm afraid I'm genuinely having trouble getting beyond 'Dickens is better', because he just is. Better prose, funnier, and although many of the characters are one dimensional, they're pretty memorable.

Dickens is better

I'll read pretty much anything, although I do avoid obviously chick-lit stuff and I once tried Martina Cole(?) and it was loathsome. I hated the classics at school but am now surprised to find that I read and re-read Dickens, Hardy, Brontes etc. on a pretty continuous basis, mixed up with other stuff. Wodehouse and Waugh = genius, and I like Greene but get my dose of Catholicism more often from David Lodge I also like a bit of non-fiction - everybody should read this: The Big Short and this is fantastic (forget the film): The Perfect Storm

I had exactly the same thought, for clothes and shoes generally, but also books, toys - almost anything, in fact. How much stuff gets given away on this forum in the course of a year? Setting up a national network from scratch would obviously be difficult and expensive, but this should be capable of being done commercially. The basic costs of doing this in bulk are pretty low - as we know, there are companies who are able to make a profit shipping donated clothes from the UK half way round the world for resale at (presumably) very low prices. If the figures quoted in the programme are reliable (e.g. 80% of families on a particular estate in Glasgow on low incomes) you would think this business model would work within the UK.

Work going a bit slow today, *Bob*?

James, I think the problem is that raw accident data may not fully capture the problems with these junctions, and consequently using the Upland Rd junction as a model may not be ideal. Barry Road is unusual - it is a B road and bus route, quite long and straight, but also a residential road that is crossed by a number of other residential roads. I suspect that the pattern of traffic flow would suggest that both of these junctions would be better off being controlled by traffic lights, but the volume of traffic wouldn't justify it. As matters stand, neither junction feels very safe, and the works at Underhill Road won't change that.

"Children cannot do that for themselves, so we have to do it for them. Or if we feel intimidated by them, we can ask the police. Going into the legalities is irrelevant if the person who's child it is did not want them to be filming her son." You can't ask the police to act and then say the legalities are irrelevant - they can only enforce the law. Getting huffy about it doesn't change that. I agree that taking photos of children without asking their parents/carers is quite likely to arouse suspicion and/or anger, and it's pretty stupid to do it. But it doesn't benefit anyone either to persist with misleading info about whether something is legal, or criticise PCSOs on a similar basis.

I think it's fair to discuss the legal position because people should know what they can do, and what they can expect police and/or PCSOs to do if a complaint is made. I'm surprised at what the OP was told because I think police would be on thin ice legally detaining a person, seizing camera, deleting photos etc. It is widely believed that taking photos of children without consent is illegal, but I don't think it is, and it's better that people know that. To be clear, I'm not criticising the OP for not approaching directly - that's a decision that she made in all the circumstances, and I can understand perfectly well why she didn't. But I think it makes it harder to say "I don't believe their explanation" if it was given to someone else.

I'm pretty sure it's not a crime, nor illegal in any other way, to film either an adult or a child in a public place without their consent, and on the face of it neither a police officer nor a PCSO would have any legal power to seize a camera or insist on footage being deleted. Having said that, filming or taking pictures of someone else's kids (unless you are taking pics of an event - carniaval, parade etc.) is so obviously sensitive that it is (at best) stupid to do it without making sure people are happy with it. Just out of interest, NannyAdelle, did you think about speaking to them yourself?

You definitely need someone with solid lower league experience. Getting out of the Championship isn't easy, and the last thing you want is a manager who doesn't know how to win away at Scunthorpe. Plus, frankly, your squad is pretty sh!t and likely to get worse, so you want someone with an eye for players who will get you up.

How can it possibly be a red button issue to give a factually accurate description of a crime and a perpetrator? There appear to be two complaints here - one that the description does not have enough detail to make it worth giving, the other that it is better not to publicise the description at all because it might (unintentionally) cause racial tension. They both seem to me to be b*llocks. On the substantive point, I agree that looking at better street lighting and possibly increased police patrolling would be good, but on the latter point, the police will have a lot more data than us to inform their priorities, so can't expect too much.

My point exactly, Tarot Someone may not look like a complete fruitcake, but on the inside.....

Looks can be deceiving. Somebody pointed Tarot out to me in the pub once. He looked completely normal.

I've flown to the Far East with a baby at 2 weeks. To be honest, it was dead easy, but then I wasn't the one who had been through the labour and delivery - my wife had flown a couple of days before with our other child, then three. That was an emergency trip, and we definitely wouldn't have planned to go until baby was 3 - 6 months. The flight itself is unlikely to be v. difficult unless you are feeling terrible - baby won't care in all likelihood. Obviously you can't know now how you're going to feel, but if you are generally fit and are feeling well now there's no reason why you shouldn't be fine 6-8 weeks after the birth. Ideally you want to get the trip over as quickly as possible, but make sure you get some sleep. If you normally sleep well on planes, do it in one hit. If you don't, I'd make an overnight stop. If it was me I'd fly to Singapore, spend a night in the transit hotel inside the airport, and fly on in the morning. Transit hotel Having said all that, I wouldn't do it unless you will be staying with family or close friends when you get there, who will pitch in and make sure that you can get plenty of rest in the first few days. And minimum 2 week stay. Good luck.

Before splurging a whole load of cash on a new bugaboo, ask yourself a couple of questions: how man kids suffer any sort of harm, however minor, from being pushed around in a cheap pushchair? what tangible practical benefits can a ?600+ pushchair offer over a ?200 one? The answer to both questions is as close to none as makes no difference, so now you can ask yourself the real questions: How much am I willing to pay to be 'on trend'? Do I really want to view my pushchair as a capital investment, i.e. factoring in depreciation at point of purchase? Do I care if a certain type of mum sneers at me? (bearing in mind that type of mum will inevitably find something about you to sneer at any way) I guarantee that you can find a pushchair that will suit your lifestyle (in practical terms) every bit as well as a bugaboo for less than 50% of the price. Mothercare own brand are supposed to be pretty good. PS. We spent ?50 on a second hand travel system and then less than ?100 on a Maclaren. The travel system catered for two kids, we had to get another Maclaren for the second one.

Go for a steak here I guarantee no 'fusion' food

If you decide you want to bike regularly, invest in some serious puncture protected tyres changing tubes by the roadside is a pain, especially in the rain

"So you are going at 12mpr and assume that every cycle that overtakes must be doing 20mpr? What a stupid conclusion based on no evidence whatsoever" No. I was going at 12 mph, and people overtaking me going a bit faster might have been doing 15 and those going a lot faster perhaps as much as 20 - which is what I said. I have an idea what 20 looks like because when not cycling on a path also occupied by pedestrians, i have been known to struggle up to 20 myself. So my post was based on my judgment of actual events that I witnessed, and with some evidence. Your comments are shooting from the hip sitting in front of your PC. There is stupidity on this thread - just not from me.

"See Dave...most cyclists never get up to speeds of 20mpr......that's a complete myth. There was a discussion in another thread about this where I and Binary drew some stats and comparative speeds to that of professional cyclists. Pedestrians are notoriously bad at 'guessing' speed." My speed estimate (15 - 20mph) was based on me being a cyclist, with one of these: cycle computer showing 12mph and being passed by other cyclists going quite a bit faster I reckon that makes me better able to estimate their speed than you, DJKQ. See here for a sensible take on the issue: don't fall into the canal

"I am not a lawyer but have been involved in a number of discrimination cases and tribunals as a witness and as a Trade Union rep..." Now it all becones clear Man the pickets brothers, them mums are taking away our rights to wide parking spaces!! Scabs!!

It is unfortunate that threads on cyclists get so polarised - not much help to anybody On this issue I have a lot of sympathy with sarnges. In my experience the majority of cyclists treat park paths and shared areas generally as if they were cycle paths, and ride too fast. I use the Surrey Canal Path daily on my commute and see lots of people riding at 15 - 20 mph - too fast and inherently risky for pedestrians who have priority. Re using a bell, what's the worst that can happen? You ring and someone doesn't like it, but they know you're coming and you don't hit them. And speed is still relevant - if you're going so fast that you wouldn't be able to stop, ringing your bell does mean 'get out of my way'

Squatting was certainly common in London in the 70s, at least in part because inner london gentrification hadn't got going and so there were lots of empty, run down houses that it was not economical to let. There wasn't much opposition because nobody cared much about absentee landlords who had let the properties decay. It's a bit different now - if you go looking for a place with a 'To Let' sign and then find an open window (yeah, right) and move in as a squatter, you're just a thief in all but name.