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Marmora Man

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Everything posted by Marmora Man

  1. A bar called "Le Cercueil" was a lot of fun 20++ years ago - tho' I hear from recent visitors its now a part of the accepted tourist trail and not a lot better than The London Dungeons and similar tourist tat. it used to be decorated in dark and macabre way - with coffins as the tables and faux skulls to drink out of. It's somewhere off Rue des Harengs. ETA: My best memories are drinking good beers, eating moules frite and watching the world go by in the streets off the Grand Place. If you have wheels getting out of town to visit the Battle of Waterloo site is worthwhile (at least I thought so), tho' you wouldn't know the the British were even present, let alone won the battle, from the rather Francophile museum.
  2. Monty - 3 wickets already in India's 2nd innings - looking good. India 5 down and still 8 runs behind.
  3. As the effective speed when driving to and fro in Southwark (or anywhere in London) is seldom more than 20mph I don't see this as a problem. Perversely, its easier to drive at speeds in excess of 20mph on side road and residential areas. Standardisation could help reduce dangerous speeds on these roads.
  4. There is a more than a whiff of self interest in various charities laments about austerity and government cuts. Some while back the Charity Commission introduced a change that allowed charities to actively lobby and become involved in politics. Since then a significant number of the larger and more high profile charities have appointed the well connected and politically experienced detritus of New Labour years in government. These individuals take exception to the, relative, dismantling of the Welfare State apparatus & benefits that Gordon Brown did so much to inflate. They now seem to form a chorus of informal opposition to the current government policy. This is driven as much by politics and a desire to protect their position and existing government funding / contracts as it is by a wish to protect the beneficiaries of various charities.
  5. StraferJack Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > And vice versa? I'd be happy with that > Very happy to agree with the vice versa - which would, coincidentally, reduce the size of the House of Lords and, probably, reduce the amount of earnest but ill informed religious comment on politics, an additional benefit.
  6. As an atheist I'm not sure I have a dog in this fight but ............. Religion is a set of beliefs, mostly of ideas and concepts that cannot be proven - virgin birth, re-incarnation, heaven & hell, transubstantiation, speaking in voices, prophesy and so on. The CofE which evolved (?) from the Catholic Church has held, for many centuries, a belief that women cannot / should not preside over certain elements of their Christian rites. It seems that this particular belief is also evolving and that within 10 years it will be held by only a small minority of believers. 10 years in over 2,000 years is, comparatively, a very short timescale. Leave them all well alone to deal with this internal crisis of belief in their own way. To suggest that parliamentary / legislative action is required is just plain wrong. Step down that path and once the CofE is "fixed" then what next? Fixing the English Catholic Church to appoint female priests, instructing mosques to permit women to preach on Fridays, outlawing a belief in re-incarnation? Leave well alone - government gets far too involved in far too many things. It should stand well clear of religious arguments.
  7. StraferJack Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Bigwade's prejudices may indeed be anti-Tory, but > it's not an outlandish prediction is it? Perhaps not but, as you know, I prefer more rational debate and position taking to blanket statements with no evidence.
  8. Bigwade12 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The Tories will be wiped out in most of London in > 2015 , with or without boundary gerrymandering > attempts Interesting prediction - based, I presume, upon a definitive survey of your own prejudices?
  9. northlondoner Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Ha ha! Maybe marmora man was the " rich" customer > ! My bank manager might demur at that description.
  10. Very churlish. I am never happy when faced with poor service but to wait several years to raise a complaint, and to do so anonymously, is poor form. I used LL Carpets exclusively to re floor our entire house over a three year renovation project. They were unfailingly helpful, polite and very flexible over working around an ever changing timetable. The tenor of your comments seems, tto me, to indicate that you have something of a chip on your shoulder.
  11. Interesting debate - probably worthy of a thread of its own. First question - which of us reading this thread would pay more tax than they have to? I watched Margaret Hodge chair the Public Accounts Committee where she and her fellow MPS gave us lots of posturing but little useful outcomes or ideas. The plain fact is that the reason why companies pay low rates of tax lies with the government and not with the individual companies or their Finance Officers. The problem is, as Peckhamboy has pointed out, far more nuanced than a simple "they should pay more" response. By employing staff they do support the country by paying NI and through the staff's PAYE - what would the LibDems prefer, higher unemployment and a lonely position on the moral high ground, or companies moving to UK to take advantage of low corporate tax rates and bringing with them new jobs and employment opportunities? The Laffer is a good illustration of how as tax rates vary from Nil to 100% so the revenues they generate creates a curve topping out at, in UK, around 44% - 46% (higher than it was about 10 years ago) and demonstrating that very high tax rates reduce tax take.
  12. The Weymouth Hospital is managed by the BMI group of private hospitals. It's a small 8 bed unit just off Harley St. King's is undoubtedly trying to reduce its waiting list and at least one of its General Surgeons must have a private practice at the Weymouth.
  13. Kempton Park will be holding a Boxing Day reace meeting. Car, picnic of turkey leftovers, family and wellies - we used to do this and as long as it didn't rain it was a great day out. Come back via a decent pub for food, add a big cake and all done. Just a suggestion
  14. Now Presidente Hollande is in on the act - proves that even a socialist can like Foie Gras See: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/francois-hollande/9436332/Francois-Hollande-vows-to-defend-foie-gras.html
  15. Sentiment is not a good basis for planning healthcare services. Nor is idea that a local community will make rational decisions about healthcare facilities.
  16. The reality of war and servicemen is that lives will be lost. Any military commander has a duty to minimise losses but cannot guarantee to any individual serviceman that they will not die in the course of duty. Santerme can speak with more authority from an Army perspective - but from a Naval perspective and particularly a submariner's perspective the consequence of a bad command decision may the loss of all or most of the crew. In WWII German submariners suffered 80% losses - the highest percentage loss in any of the forces deployed in that conflict. For Great Britain Bomber Command and the Submarine Service experienced close to 50% losses (vastly more lives in the case of Bomber Command - but similar expectation of death / survival).
  17. the-e-dealer Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > 1. Don't build the Emirates stupid cable car ?15M Saved But already built with operating costs subsidised by Emirates. So nothing saved. > 2. Continue the cheap Oil deal we had ?20M saved. One off deal between old guard socialists enabling the poor of Venezuela to subsidise the wealthy (in comparison) Londoners. Not ethical. > 3. Don't upgrade Leicester Square - ?17M saved YES 17 Miliion. If you're referring to the refurb of the square itself then this was long overdue and a necessary fillip to London's long term tourist trade - will probably pay for itself in increased tourism spend. So not a lot there really. Of course we could use the technology to permi driverless tube trains - which could save significant sum of annual costs and reduce annoying and costly to Londoners strikes
  18. Who would you like to pay your fare? Fares only cover a prioportion of the cost of running TFL - Boris isn't pocketing the lot and running off to the Caribbean for fare funded whooppee. The taxpayer (local and national) also contribute toward the cost of TFL. Keeping fares low = raising taxes. Not a really good idea. Of course a debate on where to apportion tax funded spending would be a sensible idea - but simply calling, albeitly without thinking, for further tax funded subsidies is not appropriate in current hard times.
  19. Otta Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > That is a pretty crude slogan, but it has you > talking so it's done it's job. > > There are already empty old fire stations all over > London, the thought of more closing is scary. Why scary? A local fire station won't protect you from a fire anymore than a local shop protects you from starving. Good fire prevention measures - such as improved building materials, better design and building regulation, education all do more for us by preventing fires in the first place rather than concentrating on having a team on standby to put fires out. As has been pointed out at length in this thread the incidence of fires has reduced significantly over recent years through such measures as I've mentioned. The workforce and appliances can, and should, reduce in proportion.
  20. Your estate is the net of Assets / Money left behind minus any liabilities. The possible claims can be considered as potential liabilities - thus the decision of the executors of Seville's estate. However, I wonder what would have happened if the executors had been more fleet of foot and already distributed the money?
  21. I hear Anne Robinson is looking for a new PA - a welsh speaker should be perfect.
  22. I'd hang on in there until the overall job market improves. Even if the current job feels stultifying there are ways to improve. Talk to the HR dept and ask about training courses, volunteer to assist someone else in their project, look around and see if your job, the office, the factory or whatever could "do things better" - then suggest a way to do that. Even if none of these result in better pay - they'll make life more interesting, burnish your CV and help you while away time till it all gets better.
  23. Salsaboy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Is the gorgeous Clare Grogan going to be in it? She would be worth seeing.
  24. Ridgley Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > A saint @#$%& nightmare the most unfeeling bitch that governed this country. Strictly of course, she (Margaret Thatcher) was the first, and so far, the only woman to lead a government in this country. She can therefore be both the most unfeeling and the most compassionate bitch that "governed this country".
  25. Peckhamgatecrasher Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Love the Reacher books - couldn't imagine anyone > less like Tom Cruise playing the part. Yes - Jack Reacher 6'6" with fists like hams and weighing at in 220lb. Tom Cruise - 5'3" (with cuban heels), fists like fairy cakes and weighing in at about 140lb. Should be an interesting movie - will everyone have to stand in a hole when addressing the High Wookiness Titan III that is Tom Cruise?
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