mockney piers

Well you actually sound alot more balanced than you give credit for. If it's any consolation I went to a comp with a good mix of kids from the middle class estates and the so called rougher estates and we all mixed pretty well. I think casual violence is pretty much endemic to the whole english experience. What I like about London is you're much less exposed to it; every time I head back to Herts it's everpresent and usually shocks me even though I spent 18 years with it all around such that I barely registered it. I managed to balance my interests in drugs, petrol bombs and girls (the last being mostly aspirational and theoretical if I'm going to be honest with myself) and generally stupid behaviour with a path that ended up with university and borderline alcoholism. Still it all more or less panned out in the end. Totally agree with you about our sedentary lifestyle. That coupled with the politics of envy and a culture of consumption is a large part of why society is going a little bit loopy at the moment. any way, where we....flipping nonces* was it? *yes *Bob* it would seem the sweary-mary filters are on, this was as close a match as I could think of at short notice

Lol, is that in Richard Desmonds back catalogue perchance?

Chav, I do sympathise with you to quite an extent, but you're not helping stereotypes, and may indeed be as much a culprit yourself when you define working class as fighting and scaring posh kids, and middle class as getting an education and gardening. I know that a large proportion of those that I studied with came from poorer backgrounds, mostly from yorkshire, Lancashire and the west midlands (I went to Keele). My own father is resolutely working class, largely autodidactic and managed to end up a tour guide teaching art, architecture and culture to people from all over the world. He, in my experience never once resorted to violence (well, maybe one incident involving a neighbours house and some bangers but I probably deserved a clip round the ear). Of course he survived a civil war and didn't have the luxury of associating violence with a bit of a larf.

If you embrace a phrase then it looses all power to offend. I like to think of Mrs Mockney and I as the Mick and the Spic!!

As Ant once said, lounging should be a badge of honour. It allows a thread to breathe a little, a surreal turn can be more revealing than a narrow framework sometimes.

As the toxins continue to eke out of the system via cold sweats and the shimmering things hover at the edge of my vision I'll reflect my unnerved, melancholy mood with a bit of music Boards of Canada - Telephasic Workshop enjoy

Nope, pretty commodities traders are the most insufferable of the lot. How about strippers dressed as nurses?

"Save on booze by drinking cold tea instead of whisky. The following morning you can create the effects of a hangover by drinking a thimble full of washing up liquid and banging your head repeatedly on the wall." "Weight watchers. Avoid that devilish temptation to nibble at the chocolate bar in the cupboard or fridge by not buying the f*****g thing in the first place, you fat b******s."

I get the train from denmark hill to E&C (5 minutes) which makes the trekking relatively pain free. It may be one change too many for young Ant though.

actually if you're going to go the whole oyster zone thing I'd get off at Elephant & castle to get the northern line. For one you can actually get on the tube without having to wait 3 trains, and 2 there's not much bus lane going up borough so the bus slows down significantly.

Remortgaging guide; could be useful as we have it looming over the horizon. Nice one, I shall give this a peruse.

I took the train from ED to London bridge and then walked up to the top of bishopsgate for many years. By getting a return seasonal rather than a travelcard you save lots of moolah and it forces you to walk whether you like it or not; as I'm often prone to the lazy option that was a bonus. Mind you I got on that train recently and it's ALOT busier than it used to be!!

Keef, is that a simultaneous reference to opal fruits and the opel cadette?

They do ales. Usually a Harvey's plus a couple of guests. Have always been good quality in my experience. Nice selection of unusual bottled belgians, porters etc too. As I've said a couple of times, I for one am glad of a proper pub nearby (in greater East Dulwich*) but it's off the beaten track and needs a good pool of regulars to make it work. Jamie's and his lady are new to this game from what he's said and it'll be a very steep learning curve. I wish him all the best. *Alan, if you missed it you'll enjoy this. http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,21588,21588#msg-21588

?85 for zones 1 and 2. Does seem to go up at a rate that would shame inflation though.

I'm pretty certain feeling dirty and ashamed is the only reason for messing about with a pair of europop lesbians!!

I mean, how could I resist... TATU - All The Things She Said and thanks to keef, what a surreal gem TATU - How Soon Is Now?

Nobody disses TATU. Not on my watch!!

Out of interest, have we had any feedback of actual sales that have come about from the forum, commission free etc? It'd be great if there had.

I'd echo bleep's advice (there's a really rubbish in joke for computer spods there I'm sure). Possible alternative, a combination of little fold away bike thing and monthly return from Denmark hill to Blackfriars should set you back very little.

A top description of events there huguenot. I'll just add that it was all terrific, especially the Italian sash on the civil presario, the scrambled egg, the weather, the setting. Well everything. By the way that's not a calm dreamy look, that's a rictus grin of terror as I was about to kick off the speeches, but the jazz band decided to milk the ending of the tune for a further 2 minutes and I ended up looking like a spare part/idiot next to them. I've a couple of snaps of the general environs here but as I'm ploughing through a near half a thousand photos chronologically, the wedding ones will go up tonight and onto the pool.

As it's all just a bit of a lark

That's just the poiont though. Those laws are slready in place. The owner of the dog that savaged her granddaughter to death got serious prison time, and think how guilty she must to feel. I'm all in favour of licensing the right to own a dog, with the requisite tests etc. But yet another in yer face piece of knee jerk legislation moving towards a state where all requisite behaviour is stamped down in law is moving towards a police state, or the United States; I forget which.

Monsay I usually shiver with the fear and order in a ruby. George Canning is a viaible option. And it is called Hoopers now, insisting on using its old name won't stop change. Damn cotton gin!!!

Sorry James, it was a bit juvenile of me, but you were doing a straw man and they have an amazing ability to irk me, even when down the reasonable end of the scale as yours was. For my tuppeneth's worth I don't think there should be any sort of legislation regards this. We've already have enough 'anti-social' laws passed by this short-sighted government and another approach is needed altogether. As for dog's I happen to think them rather lovely, and it would be a pity to start alienating another section of society (their owners, I like dogs but they're not 'that' bright) thanks to the actions of a few. If you're interested I too was bitten on the face is a mere 4 year old but have suffered no lasting trauma. This is not to say ther aren't issues need addressing but further criminalising normal society is not the way forward.