mockney piers

BM, it is that version. L&F is amazingly readable, it's not turgid or wordy in anyway I guess betraying his journalistic background. Amazing stuff though, it's just so vivid. If you make it to the FHT meet, I'll bring Writer at War along. I've not read Bleak House but attempted my first Dickens recently (Great Expectations) and enjoyed it enormously!!

*edit: doesn't seem all that bad, and there are plenty of links provided below to ongoing debates and consultations. plus it lokos rather nice* It seems Lambeth council want to bulldoze 1000 sq m of Brockwell Park to shove a road through it. There's a very short consultation period which has passed with almost no effort on the council's part. These chaps know more about it than me, but surely bulldozing london parks is meant to be anathema, I'm a little shocked by this http://www.brockwellpark.com/ This shows the area, which while not that dramatic, I can't help but think it's not only the thin end of the wedge, but indicative of a certain contempt of the residents by lambeth council. Do lounge if too far down the road.

I really dislike the guy and abhorred columbine and 9/11. Selective, manipulative and downright disingenuous. My attitude is I'm glad there's someone saying these things, I just wish it wasn't him. However I've heard a lot of good things about Sicko and will give him the benefit of the doubt and watch it. Perhaps he's decided to be a serious documentary maker in order to give his enemies less ammunition.

The Constant Gardener, John Le Carre, good return to form for him. Life and Fate, Vassily Grossman, amazingly touching and human novel and no surprise that the soviet authorities deemed that noone would be allowed to read it for 200 years. He doesn't pull his punches. A Writer at War about Grossman's time as a journalist with the Red Army, I just read in preparation for it and is fascinating for anyone with a historical bent if anyone would like borrowage.

" Does Ophelia know Hamlet's playing away?" tsk tsk, getting all literary on a football thread?!?! ;-)

Totally agree with you downsouth. My brother worked at Oddbins a few years back, and the passion for wine among the staff was so obvious. It didn't matter what job you wanted, you had to serve 3 months on the shop floor to understand what it was all about. I think that's gone now, but it's still has a great selection and an onus on staff to know what they're talking about. It'd be a sad loss to the area, not because they're also well trained in vermin control using traditional cudgel based methods, most particularly the thwap and the spludge.

Well maybe they've found a strong buy-in to the Oddbins brand in the area then. I have heard it from a good source that they plan to take the best spots and bleed it dry before offloading the husk of a company to some poor soul.

I've not watched Fisher, but regularly go to the Hamlets. Standard may not be premiership, but it's entertaining enough and infinitely better value for money. (freeloading aside for a moment). Plus you get change from a fiver for two pints in the bar.

"Oddbins is still thriving in my neck of the woods" Maybe that's because of the proximity to another Nicolas. Owners may be French but that doesn't automatically make them stupid. Most of the flagship ones have gone though, like the Battersea branch, or the Calais.

I had a look on google images, only to find a thousand screenshots of some World of Warcraft weapon, so I found a Goya painting instead, more culcha like innit. Basically anything blunt meant for thwapping.

Nicolas is a nice enough shop, but they have decided to kill Oddbins off, like blatting a defenceless chipmunk with large cudgel.

no london games festivals to go to?

Totally agree, but she's a busy lady you know, and tuesdays come about so rarely!!

Whether we like it or not the supermarkets are far and away the market leaders of wine sales in this country. I think they account for something like 80%. They do sell a lot of sh!te, but you can usually find some pretty good ones tucked away if you look; especially in the (slightly) more adventurous ones like Waitrose. Oddbins took an alarming dip because once their overlords Seagrams sold them off to some French company (castel?), the new overlords didn't really care for them except as an a means of getting their Nicolas brand into places with an established discerning wine market. SAd really as I love the oddbins philosophy, but they've struggled for many years, mostly due to mismanagement as wine people are usually pretty bad business people, the reasons are surely self-evident ;) The exception to the rule, and one of the best things we have on LL has to be Green & Blue. Go in, ask for recommendations, try something different. You don't have to spend a fortune, every bottle is hand selected for quality and/or originality whether 5 quid or 35 quid. Sean, why don't we just get a bunch down for a few bottles on a tuesday when it's take away price in shop; sort of an interum forum meet, it'd be cheaper than a tasting, just without the insights from Kate. *edited as I think the brand is nicolas, not nicole, I think I'm still besotted with the clio advert girl*

The troubles only really refers to the modern struggle from 68/9ish onwards. Sorry, just being pedantic; what a surprise. But your point stands that it's easy to portray 9/11 as a simple "what the bad guys have done to us" affair. Robert Fisk dared to question this pretty much the following day and was universally savaged (sensitivity not being his strong point) but blowback (a US term not mine, I knew it as something entorely different) has become a pretty accepted concept now. Don't say that just anywhere in the US though, as Stewart Lee discovered when doing stand-up out there.

Stone Roses - Fools Gold. Preferably with a bottle of beer in one hand tapping out the rhythm, a hat and some flares on.

Touch? Brendan, and also a very fair point. I don't really label myself as anything, but at a pinch I'm closest to liberal with decent dashes of socia-lism and very occasional bouts of misanthropy. Sean, that reminded me of today's swiftian classic (well the closing arguments anyway). oops, link omitted http://jonswift.blogspot.com/2007/10/glenn-beck-sees-good-side-of-fires-in.html

he he excellent. and thrice congrats :)

You're clearly fertile in the sack anyway. Congrats again btw!!

That's fair enough Brendan, but libertarianism for me is too tainted by the ideals of a pretty nasty bunch across the pond who have a philosophy of a very selfish (and often pretty self defeating) nature, more often than not backed up with an unhealthy obsession with firearms. Was Koresh the ultimate libertarian? Possibly, he's certainly a cause c?l?bre for many. I prefer the term liberal, it's less tainted, if a bit wishy-washy ;)

Talking of tears to the eyes, two old enemies *sniff* getting along *sniff* so well *wipes tears from face* Awfully dusty in here isn't it ;-)

I love these guys, and this song doesn't half sum up life at the moment. Phantom Buffalo - Anywhere with Oxygen Sorry about sound quality, they're not very famous, but do give it a listen.

"Im not in a positon to comment" Missionary perchance? ;-P

Blimey, you called that one!!

Birmingham 2 - 0 Wigan Chelsea 1 - 0 Man City Man U 2 - 0 Boro Portsmouth 1 - 0 West Ham - no worries all, Harry has a good record against his old team Reading 0 - 0 Newcastle Sunderland 2 - 1 Fulham Bolton 0 - 2 Villa Derby 1 - 3 Everton The Pool 0 - 1 Arse - Sorry Keef, but they're awesome at the moment. Fabregas has no peer at the moment. Spurs 1 - 1 Blackburn - I'll sit on the fence here, Blackburn are tough opposition.