Marmora Man

There's also the chap that has written a book about East Dulwich that references all the street names - he may know something.The book is usually on sale in Cheners.

As we get older we sometimes begin to doubt our ability to "make a difference" in the world. It is at these times that our hopes are boosted by the remarkable achievements of other "seniors" who have found the courage to take on challenges that would make many of us wither. Harold Schlumberg is such a person: QUOTE FROM HAROLD I've often been asked, 'What do you old folks do now that you're retired?' Well...I'm fortunate to have a chemical engineering background and one of the things I enjoy most is converting beer, wine and vodka into urine. I do it every day and I really enjoy it. Harold should be an inspiration to us all.

MrBen Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I'll see you down there Quidsy. For I'm going fly > fishing and for that the west country is > superb.....and if you know where to go, not a > hooray or Jamie Oliver diffusion in sight. Just > me, a burbling river, the wildlife and hopefully a > nice meal and a birthday pint with at the Arundell > Arms after....:)-D Aaahh - the Arundell Arms.I used to live within 3 miles of there, and enjoy a spot of fly fishing too. Now full of envy. Some other positives for the West - North Devon - scruffy, agricultural, beautiful walks and seasides. A few really good restaurants, builders that not only turn up but also clean up after they finish work, my first married home, the birth of my two sons, one day I'll return on the proceeds of selling off in ED.

My birthday treat at Franklins was a starter of lobster, prawns, fennel and salad - superb. To follow calve's liver with black pudding - again superb. Wine was fine - tho' noted the mark up was a whopping 100%. Overall - a very good meal. Mrs MM enjoyed her Barnsley Chop and was happy to pay using her Premium Bond winnings (first time ever they have exceeded ?50)

This story is now officially an urban myth

Not the postcode that was wrong - if you're unhappy with your purchase it's because you made the wrong decision. Postcodes don't decide.

A woman walked into the kitchen to find her husband stalking around with a fly swatter "What are you doing?" she asked. "Hunting Flies" He responded. "Oh. ! Killing any?" She asked. "Yep, 3 males, 2 Females," he replied. Intrigued, she asked. "How can you tell them apart?" He responded, "3 were on a beer can, 2 were on the phone.

For my journey to Syria I did apply for a visa here in UK. It was very simple, took 48 hours and cost, from memory, about ?35. Using that visa to cross the border from Turkey to Syria with limited Turkish & Arabic language skills proved more difficult. A taxi driver helped me - as did a small wad of local currency paid to an official (Turkish side). The taxi was then stopped to shake us down again but the driver was able to argue that we'd paid our "tax"

I too saw the balloons and envied them. I took a balloon flight as a birthday present years ago - over the Herefordshire countryside. A wonderful experience. One thing I noted was that the balloonist had little control over exactly where we landed - this made me wondewr if, just occasionally, the London balloonists may land in someone's back garden rather than Dulwich Park, or Peckham Rye.

I'm not seeking to suggest that everyone should be bungey jumping into their eighties. Sean McG has perhaps read my thinking most closely. But to expand - Can one retain, and continue to enjoy, the fine feeling(s) that accompany a first love, early professional success, marriage, parenthood, a physical or mental obstacle overcome (mountain climbed, book published, first music gig and so on). Life, when young offers every year new and exciting experiences - inevitably the opportunities to tackle new experiences decline with time. I don't want to spend my later years looking back at my "life" - I want to continue to be part of, and enjoying, life to the day I die. As a retired military man I do meet people whose "finest hour" was their military life, constantly harking back, everything else they see as second best - I find this sad and disappointing. So to restate the exam question for further discussion - over the course of an expected long life how should we ensure that it doesn't fall into two parts "Life" and "Existing" - with the latter being the greater period.

The Drawing Room is generally full of political debate, lots of wind and sound that signifies nothing - let's try philosophy. "It is a small part of life we really live. Indeed, all the rest is not life but merely time" Senecca AD49 The average man will, today, live to 80+ and the average woman to 85+. How many of those years will we really be living life to the full - whether that's in pursuit of a career, of love, of a hobby or something more elusive. What will we do with the rest of the years? Discuss

I travelled alone as a 50-something male to Syria, via Europe & Istanbul about 18 months ago. I never felt lonely, threatened or in any way unsafe - tho' I'd acknowledge that two women travellers may seek greater security, so a package might be best. I was able to plan and pre-book most of my accommodation before leaving home and then relied on local transport as and when needed. It is a fabulous place to go and I'd recommend you take in at least: Aleppo (claims to be the oldest continuously occupied city in the world at 10,000 years!) - the bazaar / souk is great - not a tourist attraction as it is in Istanbul but a real, working Middle East souk - tho' there are now a few obvious tourist trap shops. Around the city you'll see priceless antiquities just built into the fabric of walls and houses - in UK these would be kept in specially air conditioned display cabinets in the British Museum - there you can see and get up close. Palmyra - Roman ruins in an oasis in the middle of the desert also a must see with the most incredible remains of a Roman City just lying around and also Crusader castles visible up in the hills above. Damascus was very metropolitan, even European but still had a special something about it - particularly the huge souk that still has bullet holes in the roof from French aircraft attack in the 40's - there's an ice cream shop "Bakdach ice-cream" in the al-Hamidiyeh souk which is sublime and where, experiencing problems in ordering my ice cream I was helped, bizarrely, by two Syrian GPs who are part of the Lordship Lane surgery and were visiting their daughter and her husband who were studying at Damascus University. I travelled Syria mostly by bus, taxi and train - and apart from a few language problems (very very few English speakers outside of Damascus - tho' a few more French speakers about) experienced no difficulties. I was there only shortly after a President Bush speech again describing Syria as being part of the "axis of evil" but no one I met was "anti westerners" and my memories are of incredibly friendly people anxious to improve their English and learn more about the world and what we thought of their country by talking to me on every subject - including world politics and religion. Go there - have a great time One company that does sell good tours - but at the eco / non invasive end of the spectrum is Explore (www.explore.co.uk) Also recommend these two articles - which, in part, inspired my trip: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/jul/01/railtravel.syria.istanbul http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/jul/01/syria.rail

Further to my post of Sunday I would add that if a progressive tax regime requires those earn more to pay more tax then surely the same principle should apply to possession of social housing. It'd progressive to give up social housing when you reach a certain level of income and regressive to hang onto social housing when you can afford unsubsidised accommodation.

There seems to be much bluster, some rhetoric, some pure spite but little light in this thread. I had thought to propose renaming it ?The DJKQ Blog? as probably 65% of its content is authored by DJKQ. However, I?d like put a simple point of view forward for discussion. First four assumptions: 1. Social housing is meant to be for those most in need 2. Today there is, for a variety of reasons, insufficient social housing to meet the demand of everyone who is finding it difficult to find and afford a home (rented or purchased) 3. Most welfare benefits, and social housing is a form of welfare benefit, are allocated on the basis of income (or lack thereof) 4. For the truly dependent there should always be some form of social housing but for many, social housing should be something that is transitory and getting on and moving out of social housing should be an aspiration. Many have made such a transition through their life from low cost flats to a comfortable private home as their career / life became more successful. Remaining in social housing while also earning significantly more than the average wage seems, to me, selfish. Therefore, I suggest, given the current state of provision of social housing there must be some form of selection AND, ideally, some growth in the social housing sector. At present, until there is less pressure on social housing, there is a logic to allocating, and removing, social housing on the basis of income. At the same time steps must be taken to improve the supply of housing and / or restrict demand. To improve supply ? a. Planning restrictions that restrict the provision of appropriate social and private housing in the areas in which it is required should be changed to encourage building. There are, approximately 20 million households in UK. Setting a target (hateful word these days) of a 1% growth in ALL housing would create 200,000 new units of accommodation a year ? over 5 years a million new homes would reduce pressure dramatically (and possibly prices of private houses). b. Provide incentives for private & corporate landlords (along with appropriate regulation of standards, safety et al ? I am not proposing a return to Rachmanism) to let out properties. c. Set in train, yet another drive to free up the many many empty properties across UK, but particularly in large towns, for the rental market. To reduce demand (for social housing): a. Look to reduce net immigration ? UK is a small island, the growth rate of the current resident population is at or about replacement level. Keeping net immigration growth low will reduce pressure on housing and other public services of all kinds.

Why not just burn it all - small bar b q set would do the trick if you don't have access to a garden with bonfire space. Alternatively make it into paper mache models - or paper mache logs to burn on the fire / bar be q / chimena Then, in future, as Ruffers says, do it as you go along.

The Usual Suspects

Santerme, It is my understanding that the JSF wasn't yet meeting the spec anyway - too much all up weight for a carrier borne aircraft

The Nuclear Deterrent Force is not a weapon of war it is a strategic political instrument. To that end it should be paid for from central funds not MoD funds. As someone that has probably been closer to the deterrent than anyone else on this forum I have particular knowledge but cannot offer unconditional support for the concept or actual practice today. I do not agree with Santerme that giving up the Trident deterrent is necessarily a disarming. To deter it is necessary to be able to guarantee a massive retaliatory strike (UK has a no first strike policy) - that requires continuous availability, surviveability of the weapon platform and a credible "big bang". All three elements can be provided by nuclear tipped submarine launched missiles - albeit with a more limited range. A one megaton strike is pretty devastating - and should be a sufficient deterrent. Being able to deliver 32 one megaton missile heads is not 32 times as deterring. There is an argument that Trident could be dispensed with - the reality is that over its lifetime Trident and the nuclear deterrent force costs, at less than ?1bn a year over 30 years, far less that the next generation of fast jets for the RAF.

Yesterday I was given separate till receipts for: A can of pop, a newspaper, a sandwich, a second hand book from a charity shop, a prescription, an expresso and a packet of envelopes. All in all I was given 30 inches of paper, for which I had no use. In most cases I left the receipt with the shopkeeper, often receiving, in the process, black looks. Why does every shop insist on providing till receipts for such minor items? Could there not be a default setting that only gave out receipts when asked or for items above a certain value? I know the idea is a proof of purchase ? but unless I?m in a megastore the shopkeeper generally takes my money, gives me the goods and then watches me leave. Small things can matter ? annually across UK, let alone the world, we must be creating an almighty waste / litter problem; expending time, effort, money and, dare I a climate warming sceptic say, carbon and energy to make and throw away stupid pieces of paper.

BB - so you must work or live on Marmora Road. If it's the former that's unusual, if it's the latter you must also be disturbed by other road users using the road as a rat run, particularly early in the morning and late at night, to avoid the traffic lights and queues on Forest Hill Road.

Since Marmora Road is a residential road and nota through route - perhaps they are trying to tell you to carry on at turn right at the lights into Colyton Road?

You could try Aquarius at the end of Marmora Road. Not exactly fine golf (9 holes only) it's bult on top of a reservoir but at about ?200 a year it's doesn't cost the earth.

Cancel the free newspaper would be a start and a lot of the other self promotion activities of the Council. The only way I want to know that the council is doing well is by observing and experiencing good services - I don't need a freesheet / advertsing poster / bus ad or anything else to tell me.

Smiths of Smithfield is interesting different price bands on different floors - the higher you go the more polished the cooking and the higher the prices. I usually stick to the ground floor for a Sunday Brunch but dinners have been good in the upper reaches. Would also put in a claim for The Bleeding Heart - voted most romantic AND best business restaurant in 2007. It has a good back story and Bleading Heart Yard is where Little Dorrit used to live and visit in Dicken's novel.

I met a fairy today, who granted me one wish. "I want to live forever." I said "Sorry," said the fairy, "I am not allowed to grant wishes like that." "Fine," I said "I want to die when England next wins the World Cup" "You crafty bastard!" said the fairy.