DJKillaQueen

I would Quids but Islam doesn't have a figurehead at it's helm like that of the Pope, the ultimate authority for all catholics in the world (whether they listen to him or not). The Vatican are practically untouchable in Italy... He is what keeps Catholicism the same insane branch of Christianity it has always been. In that respect it is no different than the extreme branches of other religions whose leaders we freely condemn and wouldn't dream of inviting to visit this country let alone spending 20m for the privilege.

Yes I would be too.

Off topic.....have you actually started knitting anything yet LM? Back on topic......I like people who can knit >:D<

There's a very simple reason why the Tesco's and Weatherspoons of this country do well.....the vast majority of people are living on a below average income. The cost of living in many respects exceeds people's wages and until we change that......buy in bulk and sell cheap companies will continue to thrive (expecially in economic down turns).

From Guardian.co.uk Survey reveals that 77% of people questioned felt taxpayer should not contribute to cost of pontiff's trip. When Benedict XVI lands at Edinburgh airport on Thursday, he is unlikely to get the rapturous reception that greeted John Paul II on his visit to Britain in 1982. Over the coming days, the pope will be faced with protesters demanding action on clerical sexual abuse of children and voicing anger at the ?20m cost of the state visit, and must also contend with public apathy. A recent survey revealed 77% of people questioned felt the taxpayer should not contribute to the cost of the visit, with 79% saying they had "no personal interest" in the pontifical trip. But others believe Benedict's visit provides a rare chance to put the Vatican in the spotlight and ask the pontiff difficult questions. Human rights activists, secularists, survivors of clerical sexual abuse and reform-minded Catholics have formed a loose coalition to ensure the opportunity is not wasted. The movement is spearheaded by Protest the Pope, a group with nearly 9,000 Facebook members, which is planning a march in London in a week to demonstrate against the visit. Disparate as many of the constituent groups of Protest the Pope are ? from Doctors4Justice to Southall Black Sisters ? they appear to agree that child abuse is at the top of their list of grievances. Terry Sanderson, the president of the National Secular Society and a leader of Protest the Pope, said that while secularists objected to the government co-funding a religious visit, theresex abuse was "the one thing that the pope personally needs to answer for". He added: "He said that penance is a better approach to child abuse than altering the structures of the church. We are being told constantly that the church has changed its ways, but he's saying that they're not changing their ways." Andrew Copson, the chief executive of the British Humanist Association, said he saw the abuse as "another good example of how the Holy See uses its powers to frustrate justice". Copson, who does not believe the Vatican should be recognised as a state, wants to use the visit to question its status and practices. "We hope that people will realise that Pope Benedict is not just the head of a religion that has many adherents and does a lot of good work, but that he and the Holy See use their powers to make people's lives worse," he added. Others have a more personal interest in seeing the pontiff held to account. "There have been words of apology and statements, but as survivors, and for survivors, we want something substantive to come from the church," Anne Lawrence, the chair of the support groups Macsas (Minster and Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors) said. "We want them to commit themselves to finding out how many victims there are. We want the pope to say what he will do for victims of abuse." Until the Vatican developed a coherent policy on child abuse, set up redress boards and held inquiries, "the absolute scandal" of the church's involvement in sexual abuse would continue, Lawrence added. Although it is the secularists who are making the most noise, Pope Benedict also faces criticism from within his own flock. Pat Brown, the spokesperson for the British group Catholic Women's Ordination (CWO), said: "We are looking for the church to be more collaborative and to talk and listen to people more. It seems to us that the church is moving backwards, not forwards." Despite being a religious organisation, Brown said CWO had common ground with Protest the Pope. "We often find ourselves aligned with people we do not agree with on everything, but on the basic principles, we do agree: it's a nonsense that the Vatican should be seen as a state." But some progressive Catholics are giving the protests a wide berth. "We're not in the business of demonstrating or anything like that," Bernard Wynne, of Catholic Voices for Reform, said. The group, which describes itself as the church's "loyal opposition", wants a frank conversation on issues such as women's ordination, sexual orientation and clerical celibacy. To that end, it will pass six questions to the pope through his entourage. "What we have in the church is an appalling misogyny where priests, bishops, and some lay people would be appalled at women being involved," said Wynne. "There is a whole series of issues about the equality of women, but also sexual orientation ? One could only say that [the church] is intolerant of people of a different sexual orientation." Austen Ivereigh, a Catholic journalist and the organiser of an unofficial response unit called Catholic Voices, said that although the church was being "put under the spotlight as never before", he believed people were looking forward to the visit. "There has been criticism from a small proportion of the population who oppose the visit in principle and they have been very ferocious in their attacks, but one wonders who these people speak for," he said. "The attacks seem to be coming from militant secularists and radical humanists disturbed by faith who want to chase religion entirely from the public square and deny it any voice at all. "Their irrational hostility and fanaticism undermines their claim to pluralism and demonstrates that actually it is the pope who is the true humanist." Oddly, Benedict may get the warmest reception from Muslims, whom he most famously offended. "It's a brilliant opportunity for two of the biggest religions to come together and we're playing a part in some of the events," Kawsar Zaman, a spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain, said. He said the pope had "clarified" remarks in which he quoted a Byzantine emperor who described Islam as "evil and inhuman", but conceded that a "small minority" of Muslims might still be angry. "As with every issue, there are people who are going to be against it, [but] we can't have string attached to every Muslim," he added. "You always have the risk of people protesting." The pope's spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said that there had been opposition on past visits, but added: "In this journey to Britain, it's broader because there are more groups of an atheist nature or that are anti-papal which are active and have demonstrated." It astounds me just how easily the Vatican gets away with so much.

lol but you've drunk it all before it gets much above 1% proof..... And I had to add lime vodka to the glasses you gave me to get the kick I should have got lol.........

I will recommned them although I have never used them because Katie recommends them and I like her.....(tu)

Well I wanted to ski...and did that......I wanted to have a glider lesson and did that (and loved it)....I wanted to have a go at karting and really loved that......and now I want to have a go at rally driving.........anything fast and dangerous - I want to do it....>:D

Yeah but there's no alcohol in the champagne so it's only half champagne to go with the half French no doubt! ;-)

The best one had to be the window cleaner pretending to be a happy customer recommending his company. The OP had the username of said company...remember that one? Of course as window cleaners go, he wasn't a pathc on Katie's gardening services!

Beyonce - I am Sasha Fierce.

Hmmm I never took Quids for a Peggy Mitchell type..... Altogether now 'oom pah pah, oom pah pah that's how it goes' la la la...... I like people that are caring, genuine, and honest. I like Brazilians too because they know how to have fun.

No this isn't any kind of special cider. And the duty increase was 10p...not ?1.20 which is the difference of what I can pay for the same bottle in another average pub. And to say the only reason I had to buy a bottle is because those pubs are only selling one type of cloudy flat cider on tap (when most cider drinkers prefer clear filtered types).

That's brilliant news......well done.

But what denotes bland? When I go to a pub I go with friends and the atmosphere I enjoy is the one created with and by my friends. I pay very little notice to anything else bar, is the music too loud (or do I like it)?, is the beer overpriced (definitely true in half the pubs in ED - ?4.80 for a bottle of cider? .....c'mon really). I might notice other things like decor (if it's exceptionally pretty or dire) or whether I can sit outside, but too much is being made of this mythincal idea of a pub intself being bland or otherwise. From what I can see, many (not all though) of the objections to Weatherspoons are nothing more than typical ED snobbery (just like the Waitrose vs Iceland debates that have raged on here sometimes). Many people with lower and average incomes live in ED too and there should be something that they can afford. Weatherspoons do I think, a good job of serving that market.

It wasn't my ladies footie team was it?

You wake up said child and fold up said buggy (and then it takes up less room than it needs to). Dita....it get's worse as you get older and you'll find that bacon alone is not enough.

WHY OH WHY do mothers think it's ok to fill the disabled space on the bus with pushchairs. Take the kid out and fold them up like my mother did when I was a kiddie.

It's a day and media images that I'll never forget as long as I live. It's a day that almost 3000 familes will never forget too. My thoughts are with them.

Yeah I'm with Mockney on this one too.

The local landlady didn't notify the authorities when my father (who went there every day) stopped going. It was three weeks before his dead body was discovered at home, so don't make me laugh that local pubs are any better on the one than chains.

They think the savings will come from getting some of the unemployed into work but they haven't factored for the new unemployed that are goig to arrive when the public sector cuts hit. They also can't legally reduce the base rate of basic benefits....so JSA/ Income Support/ ESA....anyway so they only way they can cuts benefits is by taking people off more expensive benefits and putting them onto cheaper ones whilst taking away additional benefits from some like DLA and so on. Every government talks tough on benefits and then the reality sets in. Fraud and the excessive bills for families with lot's of children apart, there's not a lot you can cut. The biggest section of the welfare bill goes to pensioners and state pensions (around 60% of the bill). The no. of pensioners is set to increase, so whilst additional benefits like winter fuel allowance/ TV licence/ travel passes can be means tested, any savings will soon be swallowed up by growing numbers of pension claimants. It's a timebomb that can't be fixed without massive investment in job creation. Nick Cleggs constituency in Sheffield sees the unemployed outnumber available jobs by 8-1.....you can't demonise the unemployed when there aren't the jobs for them to look for. Pity that Sheffield Forgemasters won't be getting the grant now that would have created those much needed 3000 secure jobs. Oh and the outfit is very funny.........lol...........

And don't forget a Whicker Man and candles marking out the pentacle.

I like your post....but won't add to it as I'm in enough trouble as it is apparently lol! I've lived in this area for twenty years and there's never been anything around here as far as I'm aware (apart from the monthly drinks at the Rye Hotel). We could organise something amongst ourselves though. Maybe restart the forum Pink Drinks. Can't remember who used to organise that (one of the guys I think), but it would just take picking a day, venue, and putting it in the 'what's on' section. It would be good to have something locally that's both les/gay in addition to the Rye Hotel thing once a month maybe.

I'd like to learn golf.