Loz

Had to laugh at Green Natalie having to read her closing statement. Wasn't going to risk forgetting her lines twice.

Not very enlightening, really. Farage and Sturgeon seem to be performing the best, with the Plaid Cymru women looking like she's about to fall asleep.

cle Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Paddington is the long change through the station so avoid. I did that change last week. 'Long' doesn't even begin to describe it.

Blah Blah Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > That in work benefits bill is up Loz. From what? Without the numbers, how do you know?

KidKruger Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Can you not just do a CHAPS payment from your bank? ?25 flat rate, sends by 2.30pm same day (or > next day, if you miss the deadline). ... and a really bad exchange rate, usually.

Productivity and tax receipts are indeed down, blah blah, and that is a big black mark against the coalition. But it would be plain wrong to say the economy is not growing - and at a rate that is currently faster than most major western economies. Even the Guardian (grudgingly) admits that. But another Guardian article also points out this is also the slowest recovery since the 1920's. Both views are correct. Tories will concentrate on one view. Labourites the other. It's always the way with one-eyed support. It's why I find newspapers during elections particularly useless unless you read a few and try and find the real truth. Personally, I think the economy is - relative to the rest of the world - in pretty good shape. But I also suspect that is more down to Osbourn being lucky rather than competent. And without knowing what housing benefit and child tax credit costs were in, say, 2007 (pre crash) and 2009 (pre-Tories) that single figure of benefits is hard is hard to judge. Is ?28bn good, bad or normal? I can find housing benefit in 2009 (?21.5bn according to http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11466178) but I can't find any of the others.

Otta Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It's not entirely unrelated though. The fact is that jobs are being created which are barely worth > having, and so food banks are needed. It'[s an important point which should be pointed out every > time the tories boast about their record numbers of people in work. In a wider sense of the current economy, I fully agree. But when they set yourself up as a 'myth busting service' but then widen the remit, then they look foolish. Especially if you don't look even deeper to show that it is the beneficiaries of these new jobs that are attending food banks. As I said, the Channel 4 FactCheck did this sort of thing with much, much more credibility.

DulwichFox Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > read the viva link > > And it had everything to do with the feeding process. > > Celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal has dropped his supplier of foie gras after embarrassing footage > of ducks being force-fed was released on the internet > > yet another case of Selective reading... ... and yet the quote from the Fat Duck itself said, "We were shocked at the video and the conditions in which the ducks were apparently being kept". i.e. nothing to do with the traditional feeding process. Which is unsurprising, as if you think someone like Heston Blumenthal didn't know how foie gras was made... well you'd be quackers!

He dropped his supplier, Foxy. Quite rightly if animals were being kept in the conditions described. Nothing to do with the feeding aspect, though. He'll find another supplier of foie gras. One with better conditions for the animals.

david_carnell Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > No one seems to care or be interested in this > today so I'll make this my last point. > > Of the 100 people on the list: > > 3 Tory Peers > 5 Tory Advisors > 12 Tory Donors > 1 employee of the Telegraph > Rooney Anand - head of Greene King brewery who > concocted a highly articificial tax avoidance > scheme > Richard Joseph - a convicted fraudster > Lord Bamford - originally withdrew from peerage due to allegations abouthis tax affairs You missed the non-exec board member of the Guardian Media Group that signed it! I don't know why you are getting so het up about this. 100 businessmen supporting the Tories is about as exciting as 100 senior union members supporting Labour.

Have you just woken up from a long coma, DC? All the papers are biased and print crap in the run up to elections. The one that made me laugh yesterday was the terrible Guardian "Reality Check" page, which attempts to emulate the excellent Channel 4 one. They took on the Tories claim they'd created 1000 jobs a day. An unnecessarily long thesis involving a lot of graphs finally, grudgingly, concluded that the claim was probably correct, but then threw in the entirely unrelated "but there are lots of food banks too". Just can't help themselves.

Sometime tonight, untie it. Given the weather this evening, it should be somewhere over Italy by morning.

Of the two accidents I've ever had, both were quite obviously not my fault, but in both cases the other insurance company tried to say it was. I think it must be standard practice. The first, the other car ran a give way sign, but the company claimed that because I hit the back door I should have had time to stop/avoid the crash! The second, someone tried to pass me near KCH (single lane part) and turned into me as they had to avoid an oncoming car. This time, they tried to say I hit the other car. In both cases I drew a very detailed map of what happened (I used Powerpoint) and, in the first incident, included photos of the junction showing the give way signs. Both times the other insurance company backed off. A police report, if you did one, also helps. You should always do one, just to cover your backside should the other driver decide they've been injured. It's also another official document to wave at insurers. I think insurance companies just try it on to test you. So even if you can't find a witness, ply them with as much detailed material as you can and you (cross fingers) should be OK.

You can edit your posts, littlemissj!

Few times you really want that, considering just about every TV screen and monitor is landscape. It also makes editing them together (should you ever want) a nightmare. Mind you, videoing in portrait is second on my 'irrational rage' meter to people actually videoing portraits. I've been in many a gallery where people wander around from painting to painting with a video camera. I feel the searing urge to beat them over the head with said camera whilst loudly shouting obscenities. Holiday videos are generally boring at the best of times, but this really would take dullness to a new extreme. Which poor sods were they intending to inflict this horror flick on?

Ditto with video on cameras. Why???

Dragged the kilner jars out from the cupboard on the weekend and bottled up this seasons batch of sloe and damson gins. The sloe gin is rather good, but my first attempt at damson gin is truly fantastic. It smells and tastes like liqueur cherry chocolates. Mmmmm.

Bic Basher Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I use Unblock US, which allows me to switch > Netflix regions, which gives me a wider range of > shows and films to watch. I recommend Netflix > Canada which has a broader range of world cinema titles. If you are watching through your laptop or android tablet, you can use Hola for free and do the same.

worldwiser Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ?2m + ?1m refurb = 600k per house cost price. Sell > for min 850k per house, ?1.25m profit. Surely there are only four houses? 24-30 Upland Road suggests only four, anyway.

You might have more luck with this over in one of the Family Room areas.

I used Event Tyres a number of years ago. They are mobile, so come to you. Did a good job at a good price.

Spiral, Series 4

From the US Embassy site: We do not recommend that travelers who have been arrested at anytime attempt to travel visa free under the Visa Waiver Program(VWP); they are required to apply for visas before traveling. If the arrest resulted in a conviction, the individual may require a special restricted visa in order to travel. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act does not apply to United States visa law. Therefore, even travelers with a spent conviction are not eligible to travel visa free; they must apply for B-1 or B-2 visas. If they attempt to travel under the VWP, they may be refused entry into the United States.

Well, he had to go, but is Clarkson's sacking the most expensive, ever? That's ?50m a year off the Beeb's budget.

I don't think there has been much difference since John Smith died. And that was over 20 years ago.