MrBen

Amelie Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Why doesn't GBK just trot across the road and ask > William Rose to make their burgers for them? This > would encourage local trade and would enable them > to inspect the preparation of the burgers whenever > they wanted. Funnily enough, the chef at Liquorish proudly told me that was where they get their burgers from. And incidentally I have had a very good burger at Liquorish so unfortunate to hear of the experience above. I used to go to the very first GBK many years ago and it was great but I have noticed that quality has declined on occasions as it has grown. Just my experience. The best burger I've had recently was actually at The Rye.

Nero Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Ask Morrissey. Nero Ha! I have a good friend who is a staffer at the NME. And have it on good authority that Morrisseys position is not as strong as he might think thansk to something called a tape recorder. He also had right to reply when they ran his comments past him again before publication. I guess they just didnt look too good.

You cant have any kind of public profile these days and not expect stuff lik ethis to come out. What I find interesting is the general media assumption that society judges everyone in the same way. The reality is that most people (especially younger generation) would find a truely honest politician refreshing. And tell me anyone who doesnt have a skeleton in their closet! I read this article and if anything feel MORE not less likely to vote for you. To go through that life experience, come out the other side and want to help people, society and the world in general is awesome. Good luck to you.

Yes Happy St Andrews day. This always puzzles me as nobody in Scotland celebrates it. As any good Scot knows its a' aboot Burns night these days. Which throws in the joy of haggis neeps n tatties. And poems by the bard himself. The Irish have St Patricks, Aussies have Australia Day or whatever but English dont seem to have a good nationalistic day. Why is that?

katgod Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hey Mr Ben, I've sat behind you and Mrs Ben in the > Bishop and been through the crazy egg thing with > you. How funny. And embarassing! And a recommendation for the manner in which MrBen complains too. I was brought up well. Sorry to have subjected you to that Katgod. MrsBen is used to the transatlantic way of getting your eggs however you like. Except it doesnt work in England. Unless it would seem, you are at The Bishop. And full service marks all round. But you raise a fine point - BRING BACK THE MACARONI CHEESE. Please.

Spoke to nice guy at The Rye today and apparently tickets are now on sale. Details I was given are: - Tickets ?30 - Black Tie - 9pm til v. late - Champagne on arrival and at midnight. - Canapes (nice ones) - DJ playing eclectic tunes / dancefloor - Fireworks in the garden - Tickets limited to 150 people

Keef - try the food. Remember that big red and white sign outside the Forresters that said "ALL MEALS ?1.99". Well its a bit like that but better. And with friendlier clientele. And Eggs Benedict. They could have kept the pool table though. I quite fancy my chances after 3 pints.

karter Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I can see dulwich prices just being corrected and > not dropping by a large amount. Thats it. Lets keep talking the market up! Even when its heading south...... Who truely knows what their house is worth in "real" terms now? Its all speculative. And like you say based on whatever anyone is prepared to pay at any given time. People have a short memory after a 10 year boom. That "bargain" 3 bed at ?650,000 in July 07 all of a sudden starts to feel like a shit load of money when prices fall back to ?550K and in a high interest rate environment (could easily happebn again). I'm not doom mongering but I think a modest fall would be great news all round as further sharp hikes (like the 25% rise in 2006) can only lead to armageddon following proven laws of economics and speculative behaviour. And I have a fair deal of exposure myself. Diversify your investments kids. And buy barrels of crude oil or copper or something instead.

Keef Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I guess I really should try The Bishop one > afternoon, in an attempt to change my opinion of > the place... Went in there on Saturday night > (quite late), and was immediately reminded why I > hate going there, it's too busy, full of tossers > on heat, and the doormen are rude bastards! C'mon Keef I doubt you went in there with an open mind did you? I reckon you went in thinking "I hate this place" and you always will so it never stands a chance in your book. But that's exactly how it should be. If everyone thought every pub should be like The Bishop it would be a sad and tragic day indeed. Personally I think it's a great offering in its space and deserving of its Best Bar award this year - it has good service and consistently good food. Yes it is becoming a meat market on Fri /Sat nights and yes it's not the place to go for a quiet pint at these times. But when that's what I want the CPT is wins hands down. The little blonde lady that keeps following me around (MrsBen I think) has a thing about hard eggs. She only eats them if they are ROCK HARD. Each time we go out for an ED breakfast it's the same charade...she asks for "hard eggs" they come back a bit soft. Then they are duly sent back again, usually with eye rolling and tutting from the waitress. Or total disdain if it is somewhere like the Blue Brick (great fry ups there). I can sympathise - after all what decent person wants ROCK HARD eggs?? And so to The Bishop - first batch came back hard enough in my book but as usual not for MrsBen. She complained and got a smile and an apology. The chef then politely asked if she'd mind if he cooked a fresh batch. They came back extra hard. they asked her if it was good enough. It was. She was happy. What a palava (I have to put up with this each week!) but be honest - where else would you get service like that after complaining in ED? Go on a Saturday lunchtime for a nice meal and avoid the evenings. I'm like a tosser on heat in there after 7pm.

snorky Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > not souness. > > not ever. Agreed! I too am saddened but not at all suprised. He was smart enough to get a free trip to South Africa in too before he went. I think he was great for Scotland - all the players respected him and he had the right attitude or "aura" about him as Pat Nevin said today! But if the choice was between: 8 months sitting on my arse til the qualifiers for ?350K OR next week in the big time for 1.5M I'd probably choose the latter too if I was a younger manager. My choice? Assuming Jose is not interested...ha!...Craig Levin.

jumpinjourno Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Its an ITV drama due out in the summer... any idea > what it is called or who is in it... Yes I do. It's called "Budgens" - a new reality show following the lives of shop workers in ED's premier 24 hour emporium. Episode 1 finds Ali and Ahmed short staffed and struggling to serve the great, the good and the drunk of East Dulwich with bacon wheat crunchies, cigarettes, fairy liquid and warm tins of Carling. It features cameos from James Nesbett, Timothy Spall, Kate Ford and Blue the dog from the Drum.

What does everyone think of Scotlands qualifying group vs England? I reckon we did alright could have been better but could have been a lot worse. All our games are a nice 1 hour flight (Macedonia aside). And only 8 games for us not 10. I am looking forward to a trip to Oslo.

I cant believe anyone is suprised that nobody decent wants the England job. Jose /O'Neil /Scolari can earn as much if not more at a big European team without the hassle, family harrassment, media villification and general personal abuse that seems to come with the job whenever England don't make the semi finals at the world cup. Its right up there with being the Iraqi Minister for Tourism. Even Sven copped it and his record is now starting to look rather good. Therefore I predict it will go so a more mediocre name who will happily put up with the abuse and mental scarring in return for ?4-5 million. Or that Italian geezer who cant speak English and doesn't really know what he's getting himself into.

I too am a fan when non musical intellectual stimulus is required. Veering off slightly there are some great digital stations now. My current favourite is The Jazz - finally a proper Jazz station! The old Jazz FM never actually seemed to play any jazz and is now more approprately Smooth FM and up there with Magic for Mini Cab drivers everywhere. 6 Music is also a favourite for off the wall, old classics and new indie. And I have a guilty pleasure in Virgin Classic Rock - which is unashamedly playing November Rain by Guns N Roses every 2 hours along with Bowie, The Eagles and Genesis. Digital Radio is great!

Bucks Fizz, Edinburgh Playhouse, July 1982. Quie proud of that.

And whats even worse than that Keef is England fans not even cheering on England! Last night I saw fans booing their own team off the pitch and the pub I was in got a bit lairy too. I can understand the frustration but if England fans were more supportive in defeat I reckon it would actually help the team. Perhaps I'm naive here but the tartan army celebrate after the a game regardless of the result! And when we DO win we dont really know what to do!

On the plus side I'm now looking forward to a quiet summer. No draping dirty flags out of windows, large bald blokes chanting that En-ger-land En-ger-land chant and the ability to attend music festivals without worry about a clash with the portugal match. England are at a regeneration point and will be back in it again before long. Perhaps this was what was needed. All eyes shift to Sundays world cup draw in Durban....

Mr Ben loves this....... Darling in the Daily Mash

They were shocking! I won't do my country a disservice by resorting to low level anti english sentiments but its better to fail with great passion and guts than pathetically. I can't believe McLaren says he will stay on - I am certain he will be gone by 5pm tomorrow. The poor guy is copping it already but nobody is saying anything about the players who were crap. Blame them. And be graceful in defeat. Why cant England just accept they were not good enough plain and simple? They always need someone to blame and the media down here pile on so much pressure.... Bring back the Rous Cup - I reckon we would take them home or away at the moment. Overall though I'm a disappointed that no British team is in the finals - they will be the worse for it.

And getting paid ?50,000 to do it!

I dont think he should resign. Letting NR go under would have been disasterous for public confidence, reflected badly on Labour and could have led to a mass public panic. Going forward Labours chances of winning the next election will be hugely influenced by how they manage the current precarious and rocky economy. Its all very well to brag about how well you are doing in a stable booming global economy but its when it gets rocky that decent leadership and management really shines through. And thats now. As for losing a couple of CD's - I do that all the time! That wasn't Darling's fault either. So he should stay on as normal for now. But I am still unsure as to whether he is a natural chancellor or just Browns puppet. The media can smell blood and I fear they wont let up on him easily.

Yet another sad indictment of what the once great Royal Mail has become. I recall country childhood days in Scotland when the postie would drive out to us on his round and offer to collect and post our mail at the same time! None of this suprises me at all. And what's worse, they are so large that complaining to them feels like attempting a run up a very fast "down" escalator. With one leg. My local experience: caught posty putting a "You were out" notice through my door when I wasn't and he hadn't even rang the bell. When I pointed this out and explained I was quite clearly "in" he just said " Sorry but to be honest we just don't have the time to ring and wait on doorsteps anymore. Its easier if people just come to the depot and collect them". Great! A DIY postal service! Remind me to drive the next letter I want to send round to the recipient myself. It would be quicker, more reliable and would actually get there. The best thing about the internet is it allows mass mobilisation of people against a common cause rather than having us all safely in our individual boxes. So let me know where to complain and I will do. The Royal mail needs a massive restructure and pulled into the elctronic era if it wants to stay a viable enterprise. Keep getting mail for other houses in the street too. Useless.

I am emotionally spent. But incredibly proud as to what Scotland managed to achieve in this campaign. If England played with half that passion they'd surely win the world cup every time. Great atomosphere in the EDT (thanks to Ray) never seen so many Scots out in SE22! Bottom line - our goal was offside, their second one wasn't. But no way should that last free kick gone to Italy. I still feel robbed. But we are now second seeds for World Cup 2010. Good luck to the English against Croatia. I'm not sure you deserve it but I would like to see one UK team qualify for Austria. Even if its thanks to Israel! :) And great to meet you good people from the forum. Sean, Floating Onion Mr & Mrs Assett, Michael P. Thanks for sharing it with me. See you all soon.

Souness has just announced on radio that the correct tactics will be for us to hold them for 70 mins and then start attacking for the last 20. Like he would know! Great defender in the day but what a t*t. I'm getting nervous now. And have already booked a consolation dinner with MrsBen in a local eatery to help me get over the result.

nicky Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Looking forward to it MrBen -promise not to bring > any PR girls, consultants or other upwardly-mobile > types with posh clothes! But you have to wear posh clothes Nicky- its black tie! I'll be in a nice Kilgour suit with a silver tie. (As anyone from SW4 should know, silver is the new black). I'm very up for posh clothes. People should start wearing proper hats again. And gentlemen should wear brogues.