civilservant

Help-Ma-Boab Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I had a hedgehog in our garden as a kid. Loved > that wee guy. Called him Sandy. > So sad that our own kids don't get to see/love/name hedgehogs :0(

Wheelchairs have (and deserve) priority in London. See TfL website http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround "All London bus routes are served by low-floor, wheelchair-accessible, buses which means that they are designed to provide easy access and onboard space, specifically for wheelchair users and buggies. If you get on a bus with a buggy, and the wheelchair space is available, please feel free to use it. If a wheelchair user wants to board the bus, however, you might be asked to fold your buggy up or move it to another part of the bus. Wheelchair users have priority over anyone else in this area because it is the only place for wheelchairs to travel safely. Please remember that, for safety reasons and general passenger comfort, buggies cannot be left in the middle of the bus. As a buggy user, you should be able to board any low-floor bus, unless the driver thinks that it is too crowded for you to travel safely. You will only be refused entry to board a bus if it is really necessary. Single buggies should be wheeled through the doors at the front of the bus towards the wheelchair area. If a single buggy is too wide to fit through the doors and down the aisle, it must be folded up. If you are using a double buggy, it's fine for you to get on the bus at the back exit doors, but please check with the driver first."

Agree that rudeness is never ok. But must say that though service might be patchy, it's still better than the place on the Rye (which is dirty, has squalid toilets and dishes up appalling food. Are those butties actually edible?). A pity, given its excellent building and location.

Actually I don't think it is a bad business decision. Cafes cater for people of all ages and the buying power of mums with babies/prams is limited compared to that of other patrons. If the Gardens becomes known as a baby-free zone, that would be attractive to all the people who regularly complain on here about having to share their space with babies. Speaking as a one-time baby sling user who graduated to a fold-up Maclaren, I think that London Mix makes a valid point about thinking about how one's choices impact on the rest of society, including cafe owenrs

A vote FOR the Gardens - they are older-child-friendly and also dog-friendly. Buggy-friendly unfortunately doesn't make economic sense - see what's happened to the Mag and to the Blue Mountain Cafe

There's never any suggestion that Reacher has disappeared from bureaucratic databases - all too often his old army buddies (and enemies) know where to find him. And he calls on his old army records when he needs to prove his bona fides. But he has a tiny carbon footprint. Plus he's an avowed feminist. A very appealing update of the ronin/Man with no Name archetype. I hope he finds whoever cast Tom Cruise in the role and terminates them with extreme prejudice!

There shouldn't be a problem with raising two issues in one appointment, but you'd only have a very short space of time in which to discuss both, and probably end up doing justice to neither. Also, the doctor wouldn't be expecting to discuss your son and so wouldn't have his notes to hand and would need to call them up etc. I'd suggest you book a double appointment - this is standard practice and the surgery should be able to accommodate you.

Thank you!

maritap Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > What's going on with this Jimmy Saville thing,why > have they waited till the man is dead to open the > can of worms > Hmmm I wonder what will be revealed They couldn't do anything while he was alive, could they? While alive, Mr Savile maintained the fiction that he was an honourable man through heavy recourse to our liberal laws on libel and slander.

hyphens! I wonder if people would be quite as keen about them if they knew why they arose. Essentially, hyphens originally denoted that a man had married a woman from a posher family than his own i.e. committed hypergamy. If a Mr Smith married above his station, say to a Miss Jones, then he would take her name and they would become Mr and Mrs Smith-Jones (or even Mr and Mrs Jones). In my own experience, many of the more modern examples of hyphenation arise because people need to keep track of which of their partners was responsible for helping to produce which sprog...

Thanks, Fly! do keep us updated

???? Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Re surnames| don't take your husbands but keep > your dad's - right on sisters well, I share my dad's genes, don't I, so obvs it makes more sense New Girl's post (i.e. pleading non-englishness etc) triggers the thought that most other cultures don't expect women to take their husband's name upon marriage. Not even in Muslim countries. It seems to be an English practice that's been exported worldwide.

???? Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Out of interest I talked to my mum about this and > she confirmed ... I agree with quids. AM, I've noticed that although old feminists like me persist with our 'maiden' names, many younger women in this country seem to be reverting to the practice of taking their husband's name. New Girl's contribution seems to be typical of a certain kind of post-feminism. As for which side of the kerb etc, I had no idea that there was a right side and a wrong side for men to walk on. I routinely walk on the road-side of the pavement when walking with young children, but that's for traffic safety reasons rather than the fear that they might be hit by the contents of a full ED chamber-pot!

Didn't Pascal say pretty much the same thing? Out of the mouths of...

Alan Medic Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If I'm walking on a footpath and a woman is > walking towards me, I am in the habit of moving to > the roadside of the path as I think for some > strange reason it is good manners. I must have > been brainwashed. Interesting! What happens if a man is walking towards you? For myself, if I'm walking on a footpath and any person is walking towards me, I am in the habit of moving to the roadside of the path as I think for some strange reason it is good manners. I also hold doors open for men, the poor dears. As for lady/woman, I'm largely indifferent, although there are times when I am moved to think 'what a prat' when addressed as 'lady'.

is s/he still there? Time to curl up for winter!

There is nothing intrisically dangerous about eating human flesh. The main issue is about overcoming cultural taboos (which I share). Prions/CJD/kuru are only an issue if they are present in the cadaver to be eaten. However they are rare, and cadavers can always be screened for infection. Other (non-controversial) kinds of animal flesh present similar risks - for example, CJD transmission from cattle to humans.

Really sorry to hear about your misadventure, PG, glad to hear you are better now. I too love to forage for mushrooms, but a bit nervously... although I've never yet tried nettle soup However, natural foods rarely go to waste - fruit and nuts are the only source of food for birds and other fauna. They need to eat now to build up their winter fat reserves and what's left over must tide them over the winter months. I hear from the berry pickers that there isn't much fruit out there, as it's been a hard summer with extremes of sun and rain, so what we take means even less left for them.

this sort of thing could never happen on LL! or could it? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-20001098

snowboarder Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > He was in the friday night project with Alan Carr > yes? > > Scary. still none the wiser, sorry!

I give up! :0)

so sorry, AM, deadly serious, no joke - but then dry cleaning bills never are, are they? a joke, I mean

you could put a tunnel under the fence to help small critters get through, a bit like the Elephant and Castle underpasses, I suppose! ... unless your garden has solid walls, in which case it'd be quite a bit harder to do

I think they advise leaving crawl spaces under fences for hedgies, who can't climb over fences in the way that foxes can. I also hear that hedgehogs cover vast areas every evening when they hunt for food, so the chopping up of land into gardens and the building of roads is not helpful for them - a bit like how the Enclosure Act did for the British peasant, I suppose

ah, so you already did but beware the wrath of Huguenot - he doesn't like anyone criticising the Council! You will be tarred forevermore as a cynic!