dita-on-tees

probably off topic but... not only are pensions unaffordable for many private sector workers but the amount needed in a pension pot to drive an income that you can actuallu live on in retirement is obscene. With a money purchase pension, which the majority of private sector workers will have, you have to buy an annuity before 70. I was doing some work on annuity rates a few years ago and was horrified that for your average retiree at 65 you need a 460k pension pot to purchase an annuity which gives an income of 20 - 25k a year (its even worse for women due to life expectancy). Average private pensions pot sizes are 26k. Bleak mathematics in action

If everyone in the WI was like Helen Mirren I think I would be ok with it. I really enjoy "traditional feminine pursuits", jam making, sewing etc, but I also like getting raucously drunk and talking c*ck. I find these aspects of my personality had to reconcile in polite meetings.

Dont skip the cherry chocolate - they were great and i was loving the bits of cherry in the brownies. Take a recipe, make it your own with a secret ingredient. Ladymuck's famous brownies!

very simple, mushroom sauce - soak porcini mushrooms, some morels if you can get them, fry with finely chopped garlic and shallot and some sherry. ad creme fraiche or cream, then parsley and black pepper to taste.

i am sure they will be perfect!

So true - I adjust all my clothes myself otherwise I look ridiculous. I wish I had known about this earlier - my sister is getting married in vegas to avoid a big fat northern family wedding and bought a purple frock from Debenhams - Ma is going to spend the next 3 weeks adjusting it, this site would have been perfect and unique. I will post it to her before the needlework starts!

I was going to ask what the service was like, thanks for that - it is hard to get unique black tie stuff. I saw the measurement thing - incredibly thorough!

woaaaah thats an amazing site GG am loving the full length red strapless dress. I do wish my life was filled with black tie parties...

It has a bad rep... but Croydon. Its easy on the overground. It has an LK Bennett, a well stocked House of Fraser and all the other fashion brands like Zara and that. If I want to torture myself and become an irate grumpy old woman I go into town.... this is rare though.

and a bag with SWAG written on it....

ha ha I havent heard tuppence for years, nana always referred to lady bits as a tuppeny bit, shortened to tuppy. ha ha.

Wow I have ridden the beer scooter home before but not a genuine beer bus. Genius. If Carlsberg made buses....

Ha ha this reminds me of my Aunty Susan who when looking after my nanas dog was horrified to see it was on heat scooting it bits on her new, also, cream carpet. I have never laughed so much as a Scottie dog in knickers with a sanitary towel (as a none dog owner this may be entirely normal though)

DJKillaQueen Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > No I still have flashbacks to my last Sambucca > adventure - 'Post Traumatic Sambucca Disorder' > will be with me for a while yet......! You have PTSD...? so do I after than night and I didnt drink any of the vile stuff. ;-)

But you haven't remained silent, indeed you have hinted at volume. In addition, by linking the two statements with your flawless grammar you have also suggested: a) I may not have got a degree from a good university b) I may not have got my degree from a time when a degree was worth something. Bah, anyway the only syntax I am interested in is the duty on my wine.

Roundabouts. Get me everytime. I am a great parker, 3 point turner etc. drive me to a roundabout and I lose it completely. License/licence/lysense I haven't got one no matter how I spell it. Boooooo.

Ladymuck Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > dita-on-tees Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > > ah well least you haven't had 100 driving > lessons > > plus, and still no bloody license... > > ha ha ha ha I am such a moron! (oh and the "regardless" was a crossed posted not a dismissal!) > Sorry sweetie...I just CANNOT resist this...but I > think it's licence! Please forgive me...the > temptation is TOO great. You know I love you > really!:))

Regardless... its probably gardens. I believe he has more than one.

Ladymuck Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > Well Dita, I failed my English Language O Level > four times before I eventually passed. In fact I > obtained all of my qualifications (bar French O > Level) whilst attending evening classes/working > full time:-$ as I left school at 16. Still as > thick as 3 planks:-S. ah well least you haven't had 100 driving lessons plus, and still no bloody license...

mockney piers Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Dita, for a self-confessed grammaphobe, that's a > beautifully (not to mention flawlessly) written > piece of prose! You don't know how long it took to draft..... and review..... and correct.

I find posters who correct other poster's grammar thoroughly obnoxious. Grammar is badly taught these days and not everybody has had access to an education which gives confidence in using the English language. I didn't learn how to use a comma until I was around 22, and I confess I still struggle at times. Pointing out the grammatical mistakes in a post always feels like a superior swipe and suggests that what the poster has to say is somewhat less important than a misplaced dot. I got 10 pages into that Lynne Truss book and thought, hmm life is way too short for this poo.

Two canaries on a perch. One says to the other, Can you smell fish?

nah its full of northerners - clearly you just dont get our accents

Damn not on iplayer, my tv doesnt really work all that well. what night is it on?

Taking someone to a restaurant to finish them is way too stressful and raises expectations of a nice evening out. Do it in a cafe, during the day and go down the "subtle honesty" route. Sorry utter boring response, I suppose you could always kill yourself and then you wouldnt have to put yourself through it.