civilservant

We can't blame the evil wind anymore. I agree that there's a lot more dogshit on the pavement these days - a rather disgusting obstacle course down Crystal Palace Road of a morning, especially the bit near Gumboots - and there also seems to be quite a bit of broken glass.

Brick sounds good - will check it out Point Blank is on extended release at the BFI - a reminder of when Brits did really beat Hollywood at its own game Source Code was ok if you didn't think too hard about the plot. But Moon:-( - sooo tinny and derivative, Lego sets built in a sandbox with a plot pinched from Solaris, Silent Running, 2001, Alien, etc etc. Interesting to speculate about whether Duncan Jones would have been noticed in a parallel universe where he had a different dad.

OP said "American woman writing about the American south" Adichie fits the bill only on account of being a woman - it looks as if the American bit of her book is based in New England. So still not right

and ©people need to remember to check woodpiles before lighting them on Bonfire night! ETA hogs will eat catfood - bread and milk doesn't agree with them

sorry, Laur, that's definitely not right - whole wrong continent

catisthenics

Wind activity That bitter east wind was busy re-distributing litter all over streets, pavements and front gardens these last couple of weeks I gave up tidying outside the front of my house until the wind died down, or I'd have been out there litter-picking all day everyday

thanks for the encouraging news, jonco - that's my commuting route and I will keep a hopeful eye out for Greendale hogs! attagirl, workingmummy, thanks!

what are you suggesting, louisa - that someone doing their eyes on a bus is a public health danger? Someone please enlighten me, I don't want to wade through 8 pages of posts. At that rate, walking into John Lewis would be the equivalent of wandering into a leprosarium - you know the bit at the front where the scary women in immaculate foundation tempt you with their lotions and potions, all no doubt well saturated with phthalates and other goodies. (Note re animal testing - there is now a complete ban on the sale of animal-tested cosmetics across the EU since last month)

buffy Father Ted

sully

Voyageur Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Offensive on public transport? > - Loud, tinny music from headphones > - Mobiles with shockingly loud ring tones (turn the frigging volume down you a**holes) > - people bellowing on phones, especially when discussing excruciatingly boring business matters > - women clearing gunk from underneath their hideous acrylic nails and dropping it on the floor > - farting/sneezing without covering nose/eating smelly food/filthy feet on seats. yes, yes, and yes makeup - certainly not btw, am I the only one to wonder about the personal hygiene of people with long nails, especially when the nails are long enough to begin to curl a bit?

testy

mmm, actually not a lot to go on those Southern women are always writing family sagas that always seem to win prizes could you narrow it down, perhaps? e.g. vague plot outline/author ethnicity/name of prize, that sort of thing?

don't mind the cold as much as that evil wind, so glad it's died down I thought that the North wind wooshing down Crystal palace Road all winter was bad enough, but a freezing east wind - that's even more brutal

there used to be a house off the Wimbledon end of Worple Road where the resident had done something very similar - he was trying to publicise his diffrences with Merton Council I used to walk past it on my way to the station 10 years ago. He died, it was all swept away, house was gentrified etc. Does anyone remember it? I can't find any trace of it on t'internet

John Grant UK tour - Shepherd's Bush on 15 May

agree, it's very nice, a worthy successor to the old Atlantic Bar and grill that used to occupy the same spot

I thought ours was the only dog into used tissues - he's a small terrier rather than a beagle but he will start questing up my sleeve if I've stored a paper hanky there! Not sure that this adds anything to the discussion, but Snoopy in the cartoon strip is a beagle: "Over the course of the strip's run, it was revealed that Snoopy had been born and raised at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm. His father used to run with hunting dogs, but would secretly run ahead and warn the rabbits. His mother is famous for her tapioca pudding, and in a 1990s Peanuts strip, came over on a World War I-era troopship to visit Snoopy and Spike, who had been ill with the flu. Out of all his siblings, Snoopy's brother Olaf was sold last. Before they were sold, Snoopy and his brothers and sisters made a band and one by one each was sold."

thanks LLC! will try it out when next up there

Nothing - sounds good - viva your Nan - clearly a cut above some Nans I have known btw where's the Osk? clearly a cut above some caffs I've known

It's a deal, Rosie! I won't come to yours, FRIED or not

LondonLogCo, The Minkey, you haven't quite got the point have you The 'simple basic homecooked offer' is several heads of broccoli short of what is good for your lazy backside, whether its you nan's cooking or your friendly local caff. You don't have to stuff your face at Gregg's to have a poor diet. The fry-up may be the chief offender, but it's also about the pies and the bacon, the sausages, the FRIED eggs, the white bread, the cheap oil, the melted cheese, the baked beans packed full of sugar and salt. The idea that a couple of scraps of boiled carrot, a pea or two or a fried mushroom will suffice on the veg front. Bleeugh. Now that's put me off my Sunday caff blow-out.

Local resident Occasionally shop in Iceland for basics Occasionally shop in M&S, but not for basics Not bothered whether we have an M&S in LL. There's one on the Walworth Road and in every major railway station if I need something from there. But am bothered that the planning application was so slipshod, and would oppose having M&S on LL under those conditions

The Minkey Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I don't see any relation to caff-culture, CS, > however, smoking and drinking seem to figure quite > highly. I love a good fry-up as much as anyone else. However, its undeniable that it's bad for you. The recent analysis actually puts dietary risk at No 1 for the UK, ahead of both alcohol (No 6)and smoking-related risk (no 2). Other diet-related risks such as high blood pressure, high BMI, high total plasma glucose and high cholesterol are also in the top 10 for the UK. This is linked to 'Western dietary patterns, characterized by high intakes of processed meats, eggs, red meats, and high-fat dairy products', pretty much synonymous with caff-culture.