giggirl

I don't quite follow you Declan. Angry about which particular aspect? Personally I'm angry that the Sisters of Mercy * actually have that much dosh stashed away because they won't have come by it by moral means. * Sisters of Mercy is a rather lovely Leonard Cohen song and I'm sorry that these so called brides of Christ have brought the name into disrepute

I've never met DM; I've met very few forumites. I don?t go to drinks (I might go tomorrow because it?s Christmas but I probably won?t). I do find the 'clique' accusation that frequently arises completely tedious. Most people on the forum are intelligent so I think if they disagreed with DM or anyone else they would say so (and they are saying so). I?ve read this thread (minus DM?s deleted posts of course) and I?m really not seeing anything that justifies your statement ?I feel that I have been ganged up against?. Obviously there?s been a big war of words with DM but I haven?t read her posts so how can I comment on what took place? From reading everyone else?s posts I?m honestly not seeing you as someone who has been ganged up on, or evidence of a clique closing ranks. If I?m honest I feel frustrated that you say you won?t post in the lounge any more because of this episode. I do think you?ve made your point now about DM and I think it?s time that everyone moved on.

Monica, The forum is not a single entity; we are all capable of reading a thread and drawing our own conclusions. Isn't that the whole point? Of course it's rather difficult in this case because DM has deleted her original posts. Nevertheless, we all have our own opinions and there are no winners or losers.

Toenail clippings. It's a really slow day on the forum then.

Actually Legal isn't it rather like discovering anything bad (horrific/strange) about someone you thought you knew? Remember Sonia Sutcliffe? She found out she was married to a mass murderer and swore blind she never knew. I suppose it's possible that she didn't. What about finding out that the nice old man down the road is a war criminal? There's a great scene in The Sopranos when the daughter explains to her younger brother what dad actually did for a living (not waste management).

I have a thought too but it might not be so coherent because I've had a couple of glasses of red wine. My behaviour towards others is constrained by what is appropriate legally, socially and morally. The other night on the bus I imagined myself in a society where I was the law and that no matter what I did I was not answerable to anyone. I sat and meditated on this for a long while and when I snapped out of my thoughts I was very shaken. I felt I had looked at something dark. There is a moment at the end of Lord of the Flies when authority is re-introduced to the children and this moment in the book made a lasting impression because there was a collective "ooohhhh I don't know what came over us" thing. It's a dark path. Has anyone heard of the Milgram obedience experiments? I was thinking about those on the bus too. I guess I first read about the Milgram Experiment 20 years ago and, like most people who come across it for the first time, I asked myself, "well what would I have done". Would I have administered an electric shock to another human being? I want to believe that I would have told Milgram to go fuck himself and walked away but can I be sure? Sorry, don't know where I'm going with this but I'm creeping myself out a bit.

I blame the scapegoats

Is that you Snorky? How you bin?

Raspberry Beret (best lyrics ever) - Prince

Even the MTH vinyl?

Hooch, are you quite sure that the plural of genius is geniuses?

Annaj - is this becoming an Obsession?

sophiesofa Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > naughty lady! It gives me an idea though - maybe > they should put on entertainment on the carriages > to distract people from the crapness of the tube > > Mondays: Comedy > Tuesdays: Music > Wednesday: Mingling > Thursday: TV/Film > Friday: Pornos It's been done. In the 80s there was "tube theatre" where you followed a group of performers around from train to train whilst they instigated various conversations / arguments with passengers along the way. It was a great idea. Ripe for someone to revive it now.

May I just chip in and say that my umbrella was pinched from under my seat at the EDT on Saturday night. It was chucking down outside so I wasn't best pleased. The place is obviously a den of murderers and thieves and should be closed down before the crime wave spreads to, say, Black Cherry.

Sophie I really think you should take a chill pill because you will mess with the wrong person and someone somewhere will smack you in the mouth for your trouble. Seriously. If someone physically put their hands on me, no matter how justified they felt in doing so, I would not be best pleased and I don't know how I would react. Sorry to state the obvious but this is a big city with millions of people and somehow we all need to rub along together on tubes and buses and whatever. It is often frustrating, especially as some people have no manners. But just let it go. Be a bigger person. You say this is a recent thing so maybe it's a sign that you're tired and need a break. I hope you're getting one soon. Jubilee line you say?

Actually I think Petunia Ponce is a great forum name. Might use it if I ever feel the need for an alias (who the fuck has time to have an alias?). Px

Essence of Petunia? Ponce.

If you are stuck without your bike I can loan you a Brompton foldaway thingy for the interim until you get yourself sorted out. PM me if you need it. You'll need to collect from Silvester Road. Px

Like the lighter fuel in Withnail & I?

Offer them to your girlfriends. Swapsies. One woman's Creed is another woman's Dior.

Did the Ryan report also investigate the Magdalene laundries? My aunt was incarcerated in one of those hell holes for her entire adult life (about 60 years). I?ve no idea why the family sent her there; all matters pertaining to my aunt were cloaked in secrecy and I could never get a straight answer. The most interesting answer I received was circa 1979 when my mother told me ?Aunty Nora had some problems with her monthy periods so it was best to send her somewhere?. I honestly believed, as I like to think my family believed, that she was leading a happy life with the nuns and being properly looked after. Some time in the early 90s I found myself reading a copy of Hot Press on a flight out of Dublin. I was about half way through reading an expos? of the Magdalene laundries when the scales fell from my eyes and I realised that my aunt was in one of those terrible places. She remained there until she died. I never met her. It is a massive regret to me that I did not go and find my aunt and see how she was living and if I could do anything for her. Without going into my reasons, I will admit that they were purely selfish. Of course now that the full facts are known of the horrors of the Magdalenes I?m really ashamed of myself. My family were wealthy Irish landowners and that makes things interesting. The family has mostly died out and what is left of the estate drones on ? like Jarndyce and Jarndyce ? being eaten up in legal fees and taxes. It?s a process that I have distanced myself from ? they can send me a cheque when they?re done arguing and litigating. Anyway, just thinking about it now has induced a wrinkle that I swear I didn?t have ten minutes ago. Sorry to bang on, here?s my point; right after my aunt died, the nuns were as quick as rats out of a sewer to try and stake a claim for my aunt?s share of the estate. I don?t have a close family ? not much unites us - but we?re all agreed that the Magdalenes won?t ever see a penny. The Magdalenes, Christian Brothers, parish priests of Ireland - they fucked up generations of God's children and I think we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg of that suffering.

Ah yes I see now. Sorry, I'm being dense. There was a time when you needed a serious chunk of change to pay your bar tab after a night out in Reykjavik. Not so much now.

If Apres Ski was an olympic event I would bring home gold for Britain, but as it is, I've given up coming down mountains on my bottom. It's undignified. I think the Icelandic currency is having problems so you might not need ?50bn as previously reported. Enjoy. Px

The Snowman

Dear Mockney - I'm depressed just reading your presse of the Blair Government. Personally, I'm reading the December issue of Conde Nast Traveller. It's not in the least depressing. I can pass it on to you when I'm done if you like? Px