LadyTaTa

But the lyrics to Papa Was a Rolling Stone... surely the best intro lyrics ever.

Kids, eh?! That's a very good story. I think Donald Trump has been seen in Jean Georges so they're probably used to that sort of behaviour :))

I was posted there for a few months - I managed to eat in quite a few places that would normally be out of my league because it was just over 2 dollars to the pound at the time. I also managed to put on quite a few pounds... My boyfriend and I ate at Jean George at the bottom of Central Park http://www.yelp.com/biz/jean-georges-new-york and we still think it's the best meal we ever had. I always remember the sommelier running his hand up and down our chosen area of the wine list and asking "Where does Sir feel comfortable?" but in a lovely non-patronising way. So funny. The food was simply amazing and we'd like to go back for our first wedding anniversary. Not cheap though! Otherwise, Gramercy Tavern has good food, great wine and a really nice atmosphere (I got all excited when they showed it on Masterchef :-$). It's just such a nice room if that makes sense. We only ever ate in the cheaper front part of the Tavern rather than the more formal restuarant, but it was still great. Oh and if the weather is nice you can have a drink and some food on the lake in Central Park (I would go to the cheaper outide bar bit than the overly formal restuarant). Very romantic setting. Maybe more for a lunch though than a special occasion dinner. http://www.thecentralparkboathouse.com/ These are three places I wouldn't feel any fear about recommending. Hope you have a lovely time!

In the heat of July 2006 I had precisely 4 days to find somewhere to live, and ended up renting a flat on Peckham Rye common. But.... my only refuge from the heat of my welll-insulated flat was to retreat to the balcony (and smoke... those were the days...), keep the flat in darkness in the day and madly open all the windows as soon as the sun went down. One morning, I heard a tannoy system being tested. Then some weird country music started - it reminded me of maypole dancing. It kept going. And kept going. And kept going. The heat, the maypole music, the constant annoucements. No possible escape from all three other than leaving the area. How I came to loathe the Irish Festival (and Zippo's Circus). And now I find out I was part funding it - horrors! So VERY selfishly, I'm VERY glad it's not on this year!

Tried both ways with no discernable difference in treatment (some of my colleagues speak quite good spanish). It was the same at the hotel where we had our conference, plates being whisked away while people were still eating etc. I remember watching them wrestle a glass out of a guy's hand (non-alcoholic drink). Quite funny actually. I visisted Seville a few years back and found it to be much friendlier. Still, I had a very nice time in Madrid and I'm sure dita-on-tees will too. Some nice architecture around the palace and museums.

We went to Madrid with work in January and found the service in restuarants to be verging on offensive, so don't take it personally if you experience that (as I did for the first couple of days). Prado museum is excellent. I didn't get chance to go to Toledo but everyone raved about it.

Hey Jah Lush, St Paddy's Day is my birthday too - and I have 2 cousins and a friend who share a birthday on the same day. I wonder what happens in June... I'll raise a birthday drink to your mum too.

I thought I was high when I saw the Southwark Park tiger the other morning.

I had the Lombok Nasi Goreng & Malay Prawns. I thought it was deeeelicious!

I look forward to eating my around Herne Hill :))

Thanks - Thai sounds good...

Hi Linylou - actually I live in Peckham!

I've always thought Herne Hill around the park looks nice, and we've finally decided to go and visit it (seeing as it's just down the road and we've been here for 5 years!) Does anyone have a bar / restaurant they could potentially recommend?

I agree Zeban, it's soooo beautiful on the Amalfi coast - and I much preferred it to Capri. I happened to look at the prices of a very nice hotel I stayed at while in Sorrento about 7 years ago, and I could not BELIEVE how expensive it had become - about 5 times more expensive than before. Way out of our league now :))

It looks like there are some reasonably priced places with decent ratings on Capri if you look at tripadvisor. However, there's an island close by (Ischia) that I actually prefer to Capri and is waaaay cheaper. There's also another one, Procida, which I haven't been to but is meant to be nice. You can also take trips from these islands to the Amalfi coast which is beautiful, and a far more economical way of visiting that area. Boats run between the various islands fairly frequently, a good hotel on one of these islands should be able to tell you timings / reliability for getting to Capri. I once drove around Naples at night, it was without a doubt the most terrifying thing I'd ever done due to the driving style and 'characters' wandering the streets. That was until I woke the next morning and had to extricate my blocked in car while a queue of angry motorists waited. So - pass through Naples as quickly as possible, is my humble recommendation.

OK I've just re-read that and it makes it sound as if I think NoTW is somehow superior than The Guardian... which I don't... god I should just keep my opinions to myself!

Wikileaks publicised illegally-gained information - depending on the complexities of law (and your point of view) depends on whether you define that illegal or not. I would consider the NoTW behaviour indefensible, but then I'm not sure that leaking 'news' that, say, the Duke of York acting like an offensive drunk is a) a suprise and b) morally superior. Anyway, I don't want to start a wikileaks debate given this is a NoTW thread. I just think The Guardian is really up itself sometimes, without any good reason.

The parenthesis refer to the two types of wikileaks stories - one type being evidence of governments acting in a way they purported not to, or concealing information that is in the public interest; the second type being essentially a form of heat magazine for diplomats. In both cases, they were obtained by a means that is technically considered illegal. I don't read red-tops and I don't care for their standards, but I don't see how leaking an illegally obtained flimsy story is OK, whether it's from a diplomat or a celebrity.

I still think The Guardian is bloody hypocritical to publicise the wiki diplomatic tittle-tattle (I'm talking about the guff and not the 'cut off the head of the snake' stories), and then moralise about hacking Sienna Miller's phone.

Yes, I have to say she handled herself with remarkable aplomb.

Weird, I saw Lorraine Chase as well today, in The Victoria Inn. She was having a late lunch and getting bothered by an old drunk geezer.

Btw LadyAvon, the way the drive normally takes 45-50 mins door to door (including walking from West India Quay car park). On the way home we can do it in just over half an hour, if we're lucky. I learnt the best routes by asking mini-cab drivers :))

The 484 is OK, but only off peak - from my bus stop it's normally full and won't even stop to let anyone on. Still, thanks for the suggestions, much appreciated.

... is so frustrating at the moment. I have tried most obvious routes / short cuts and they all involve a road that is getting dug up and is frequently jammed or worse, gridlocked. This week it got even worse. Public transport? Jubilee Line has already had a major failure 3 times since the new year, and getting to PR station is a pain in the backside given Rye Lane is on/off closed. Even with the insance petrol prices, it's cheaper, quicker and more reliable for the two of us to drive in and park in CW. The thing is, there have been roadwords on all the routes to CW from ED for AGES... when will it end? Sorry. Rant over.

I thought The Victoria Inn had rooms?