DaveR

"I disagree with that Atila, there are a lot of weak minded people out there who can be easily influenced by these 'lifestyle' adverts." There's a huge difference between being weak-minded and being addicted, which is commonly understood to mean a condition where there are discernible physical consequences to exposure/withdrawal. It's also very difficult to argue that gamblers are significantly hampered by lacking access to basic information - the most basic information about all gambling is that there is a degree of risk and that the odds are an indication of risk. To an extent therefore the bookies do the work for you, in that you don't have to study any form to know that a 100-1 shot is unlikely to win and therefore a high-risk bet. I agree with Attila in that it is too simplistic to talk about 'victims' all the time - after all there are obviously plenty of people on here who like a bet but have some self-control.

This thread bears compelling (and occasionally eloquent) testimony to one of the defining qualities of the English (and probaly the British, and Irish) - our love of, addiction to, obsession with, words. Whether spoken or written, British culture revolves more than any other I know around words Even our musicians are as well known for their lyrics as their music, and the roll call of great British visual artists is a short one - how many have been name-checked on this thread so far? We also have an ability to absorb all sorts of curious foreign ideas and practices and then blithely assert that they have always been English (this is more of an English than British trait) which makes the whole job of defining domestic culture so much trickier.

Batter (for a lot of pancakes) = 8oz flour, 2 eggs, 1 pint milk, salt. Put it all in a big bowl, mix it up with a whisk until it's smooth. Put it aside for 1 hour or so. Cooking - heat a non-stick frying pan until really quite hot - like if you touch it with your finger even for a moment you say "ouch, that's hot". Put in a piece of butter about the size of an almond - it will melt and sizzle - and then enough batter to cover the base of the pan. Tilt the pan around so it covers the base. Then leave it until the edges start to come completely away from the pan. Turn/toss it, give it another minute or so, and it's ready. Put a little bit of butter in before each pancake. After the first one or two it gets easier because the pan is nice and hot and you learn how much batter you need just to cover the base of the pan, so nice thin pancakes.

The standards commissioner has accepted the complaint against Jacqi Smith (having rejected it twice) - bbc the most annoying/depressing thing about this, and all the other MP's expenses rows, is that all they are concerned about is whether a particular practice can somehow be said to be within the rules, as opposed to being fair and honest. Jacqui Smith must know that the honest thing to have done would have been to claim expenses relating to her sister's house (she supposedly pays ?100/week rent) rather than her family home, but she just says "it's within the rules"

Never drink in a pub with a flat roof, or a pub with either of the words "railway" or "station" in the name.

In London, you find the neighbourhood that suits your current lifestyle (and deep-seated prejudices) and stick with it, until something changes (bit more cash, wife, kids, new found love of shopping centres etc.) and then you move on. But each step along the way you insist that there is nowhere else you'd rather live.

"Anyone else tired of being surrounded by screeching toddlers?" Yeah - do you want one of mine?

So are we all agreed that, in a cafe or restaurant, the toilet is the best place for changing a baby's nappy......and for feeding that same baby? Or is it another thread started by the man who honestly doesn't hate children? (welcome back, domitianus)

"Let's face it: on the whole, South London is a bit of a dump, compared to North London" It's true if you're talking about "North London" as referred to in Guardian profiles - "Jocasta runs her ethical design business from her Victorian house in North London" - i.e. Islington, Camden, Highgate, Hampstead. But Dalston??

"In terms of actual percentages, the majority of those figures have a negligible difference. Certainly not significant to warrant the cacophony of snobbish tutting on here." B&llocks. Robbery - Nunhead 4 x ED Drug offences - Nunhead 7 x ED Burglary - Nunhead 40% higher than ED The perception that ED is a lower crime area than Nunhead is correct. But as you say, within an area there are lots of other factors that make you more or less likely to be a victim. I've never thought of Nunhead as unsafe, and I don't now I've seen those figures (I was surprised that Nunhead rates higher than the Southwark average for robbery)

You can't have this sort of debate without a pint in front of you - it just doesn't seem right

I feel as sorry for JG and her family as I would anybody else in the same situation, and I'm certainly not going to make judgments about whether she could have been more proactive about being tested etc. The debate about the corrosive nature of the cult of celebrity isn't changed by the fact that JG is sick. I wasn't interested in her or her life before, and I'm not now. I think it's unlikely she will have anything original or interesting to say now (she never appeared to before), whereas John Diamond, for example, was a features/diary writer with an established audience who simply carried on writing.

I'm more concerned with whether the money is well spent and actually makes a difference. Harman is a classic modern 'soundbite' politician - announce the money (at least three times), get the good press, and move on, rather than hang about for 5 - 10 years and see whether anything much has been achieved.

"Could be playing 1st division next year!!" Natural level for 'the budgies', James G As much as I love an East Anglian derby, it feels wrong for Norwich to be in the same divisions as us, rather than looking up enviously from a lower league. Come on the Town!

Hang on, I already had hit wicket in my 7, so with timed out and hit ball twice thats 9?

Caught, bowled, lbw, stumped, run out, caught & bowled (does that count separately? - should do), hit wicket, handled ball.........er....er....I'll think some more

Look no further...

Bobby Robson Alf Ramsey John Wark Steve Redgrave Martin Johnson The last two are my nod to sport outside football and ITFC, but if I was 100% honest I'd probably sacrifice Johnson and Redgrave for any two of Muhren, Thijssen, Mariner, Butcher, Beattie or Burley.

"we've killed over half a million Iraqis" Not sure about that number Not saying any particular figure is completely accurate, but the IBC critique of the Lancet figure (650,000, but even then 31% attributed to the coalition) is quite compelling.

"the Palestinians have long been open to negotiated settlements" that's the key point though - Arafat had his time but it was never clear that he could deliver an end to violence on the Palestinian side (particularly where there were external bodies willing to fund continued mayhem when it suited them) The difference between the UK govt and the Israeli govt situations is that the UK could be sure that the people they were negotiating with could deliver. How many supporters would desert Hamas if they actually followed through on their offer of a cease-fire in pre '67 borders, and how many new groups (backed by Iran or someone else) would spring up who are willing to suicide bomb civilian targets? There is a lot of interest in peace on the Israeli side, but real peace, not just a temporary absence of attacks.

"It's so much harder to speak and find middle ground and commit to genuine compromise, but it's the best for everyone. With two workable legitimate states, trade, security, jobs and peace will flourish and the language of walls, bombs, and reprisals will fade into history." A worthy sentiment that is too often only addressed to one side i.e. Israel and far less often to the other players - not just Hamas and the other Palestinian groups but also Iran, Syria, Egypt etc. The telling analogy with Northern Ireland is that the war effectively ended when the Republican political and military leadership accepted that they could never win it and were able to persuade the majority of the movement that political engagement was a better strategy.

"So when Israel is urged to respect world opinion and put its faith in the international community the point is rather being missed. The very idea of Israel is a rejection of this option. Israel only exists because Jews do not feel safe as the wards of world opinion. " Not exactly a response, but an alternative opinion

"The important thing to remember about professional football is that it's basically a child's game but with Range Rovers, Aston Martins and big-titted blonde girls getting pumped in the local Marriott." - The Daily Mash (thanks for the link MP) Pure genius

All this business about how 'real' you are as a fan is just boring - we all like to poke fun at glory hunters and late adopters but that's all it is - a bit of fun. I was born in Ipswich, and I support Town, but that's only because my dad and my grandad were fans who went to a lot of games and started taking me when I was a kid - a fair few other local kids supported Liverpool* (it was the 1970s). It's not offensive to sneer at other people based on the extent to which they "associate" themselves with their club, but it's pretty sad. *although Ipswich has a huge amount of local loyalty - you see far fewer Premiership club shirts around the town than in many other similar places. Or maybe it's just lack of imagination.

That particular scam was closed down, but I am reliably informed* that PhonepayPlus are not ruling out there being similar scams around, which apparently often re-surface around Christmas. So it is still sensible to be cautious about stuff that doesn't come from a recognised delivery service. *the scams guy from PhonepayPlus told me yesterday