candj

oy vey!

Here you go ... Hotels in Paris

Pandemic is a geographical reference, not an indicator of severity of whatever it's referring to. It is an epidemic spread over a broad area. Hope that helps.

As some of the previous posters pointed out before, it is a flu and like other flus we need to be diligent about washing hands, covering mouths and noses when sneezing and coughing, and teaching our children to do the same. Just to keep it in perspective, according to the CDC, the common flu alone kills between 30,000-50,000 a year in the States. Not intending to scaremonger, but just to point out that this one isn't really that bad (has only killed 23 people in Mexico because of a delayed response in going to the hospital) as far as we can tell. The overreaction by some governments has cause more harm than good (ie, Egypt culling 300,000 pigs without any suspected cases of Swine Flu, China quarantining ALL Mexicans regardless of where they travelled to and from, etc). Keep well, wash your hands and go on with your lives. Best, -C

TP18 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > HonaloochieB - interesting comment, I thought > given the amount of time you spend on this forum > you could use a date and/or a night out. I have a > theory about you - the longer you go without the > sex, the funnier your threads are - and you have > been HILARIOUS lately. Interesting insight, perhaps you two should meet up!? Username 'Miffy' started a thread about singletons in ED meeting up if you do a search for them.

daizie Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > my friend has the best approach. When in a shop, > cafe pub or restaurant in dulwich, he puts out his > leg and trips unruly children up, they soon stop > :)) Nice people, your friend doesn't have a beard does he (or she)? :))

How can someone "love the place, but mostly hate the people?" Are they not one in the same? I find that to be a fascinating predicament to be in. It's nice to walk down the street and think that someone (who doesn't know me) hates me, but loves the broken, cracked pavement I'm walking on. Nice. Where is the new Sean when you need him? Best, -C

DD, try going down to one large Americano in the morning instead of two and upping the fiber in your diet and drinking more water for pooing issues. The feeling tired, depressed is just withdrawal and you should get over it in a week or so. Hopefully. I think one coffee in the morning is perfectly fine, health-wise. Like the other self-confessed coffee snobs, I have a nespresso machine at home and have one VERY good cappuccino in the morning and it works. Occasionally if I feel very tired, I'll have two, but that's all.

If people wanted to queue on the side street, there is nothing stopping them and has nothing to do with a second door, they would just have to cut through the queue to leave. People like to queue on the LL part of the butchers because we like to see all the goodies in the window we're about to buy!

Due to daft threads, the new and improved SeanMacGabhann has emerged!

PeckhamRose Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > They're so pretty. I bet California's panicking. > Doesn't take much to panic them Americans but > specially on the west coast where - without legal > and illegal Mexicans - the already dying > California economy would be on its knees. Now what > they gunno do! Thanks for your input! ;-) Best, -C

Louisiana, It's the May day holiday (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) in China. Enjoy the lotus blossoms on the West Lake in Hangzhou, truly magical and the weather is absolutely perfect now. Have a lovely time. Best, -C

Yes, a bit of bad timing, but better safe than sorry. I was going to PM you a recent article saying that swine flu was spreading and although it hasn't hit the state Cancun is in, you'd probably be flying direct to Mexico City (before switching planes) where it was a problem. Mexico will always be there and something now to look forward to! Best, -C

So sorry, you did say camping! Sorry, I'm half asleep. Good night! PS- We do have friends who own a Gite in France, but they don't have a swimming pool.

There was a recommendation for babyfriendlyboltholes.co.uk in the family room, a website with villas all over France. We haven't tried it ourselves, but do plan on it next year. Have a lovely time. -C

Agree with louisiana about SW Turkey and can highly recommend Bodrum. Very beautiful and has one of the wonders of the ancient world.

Bawdy-Nan, I would presume a fully established tree would normally not require watering as its roots would be able to obtain water from underneath the pavements. However, a newly planted tree will need watering to establish itself. I pestered the council a few years ago to replant a tree that they had cut down at the end of my street. My husband and I watered the flimsy little thing ourselves as it was during the hose-pipe ban and very dry that season and now the silly thing has grown a bit wonky which will probably result in it getting itself chopped down. Alas!

Hi Thinlizzy, Where in Mexico are you going? If you stay near to the touristy areas, it will be more expensive, but still very inexpensive compared to London! Their economy, which relies a large portion on tourism, has taken a hit because of the spate of violence on the border with its American cousins (an area for any tourist to stay away from). Assuming you pay your hotel bill by credit card, I'd say $500 would be plenty. Try to exchange as little as possible into Pesos as they are basically worthless. Many places take American dollars and in fact would rather have them. Have a lovely time. Best, -C

Yes, Huguenot is quite right, if you don't know any Mandarin, it's best to have a pocket phrase book as the Chinese do not speak much English. At the very least, your hotel will provide you with a card to show the taxi drivers where to take you and where to bring you back. Many of the 'cool' bars are on the Bund (the waterfront, called Wei-tan in Mandarin) in the two imposing 1920's buildings on Guangdong Lu. The buildings have great views, but there is much construction in this area and you can't really walk along the river now. You can take a river cruise along the Huangpu river which is nice, but takes about 3 hours (it goes to the mouth of the river on the edge of Shanghai). The old French Concession, where we live, is very lush and full of trees, coffee shops, bars, cafes, bookshops, etc. and of course, Fuxing Park, the sight of the first communist meeting in Shanghai (I think a statue of Karl Marx commemorates the spot). It's a great area to just hang out and people watch. Shanghai's metro is very good and quite extensive and you should have no problem using it. A good website is smart shanghai for up to date info on the city. Again, I'd be happy to make restaurant recommendations, or whatever other info you might need. Also, I can pm you with some Shanghainese swear words which occasionally comes in handy! Best, -C Dulwichmum - Shanghai has many public toilets that are manned by staff who regularly clean them. They are cleaner than ones I've seen in the UK. Alas!

Louisiana, My family and I currently live in Shanghai, but are leaving at the end of May and coming back to London. I'd say that it's no city for R&R (if that's rest and relaxation). Shanghai is a bustling, vibrant, manic city full of people (is more densely populated than Beijing), cars, bicycles, fabulous architecture (Chinese, French Art Deco, ugly modern, fabulous modern), dirt (city is under huge construction because of the push to get it ready for the World Expo in 2010), even more fantastic restaurants (French, Chinese, Shanghainese, Cantonese, Japanese, etc), bars, etc. You name it and it's in Shanghai (or China for that matter). The Bund is the best skyline in the world and we have so many trees in the city it makes me weep (with hayfever, if anything else). It has a great contemporary art scene, if you like that. People spit, people shove, people stare at foreigners like they were from Mars, but they couldn't be nicer and it is a thrilling city to say the least. We are 2 hours to Beijing, 2 hours to Hong Kong and from Shanghai, you can take the train to Hangzhou (capital of the Song Dynasty) or Suzhou (China's version of Venice).... You can be uber upscale in terms of living accommodations or you can rough-it if that's your thing. Shanghai is a glamorous city covered in dust. Let me know if you have any questions or need any recommendations and I'd be happy to help. Have such a fabulous time. You will love it! Best, -C

Thanks for the Econ 101 lesson, Mick Mac. I do agree with all of your arguments especially the fact that taxing ?150,000 income at 50% will ultimately have a negative effect. Although it's only .05% of the population I don't doubt that we will see people who don't have to be in the UK leave or at least take their money elsewhere. It certainly does seem like a pre-election ploy on the part of Mr. Brown.

I don't like underlining myself. Looks too messy. For emphasis I use all CAPS. Easier and less hassle. I also wondered about Sue's xxxxxxx. I always thought she was giving big kisses to someone before she disagreed with them.

SeanMacGabhann Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > > Rubbish generalisations irk me. Ditto! Best, -C, B.A., M.A.

Based on the original Eggheads, it's hardly a quiz show is it?

What *Bob* said.