malumbu

Advice on banks in particular First Direct most useful. My issue was with the Nationwide who lured me into partial switching and then dropped the key benefit (cheap cash abroad) and then pesetered me to switch to the first paid for account I've had and put the price up, slashed the beneftis and gone on this major charm offensive about how good they are for savers. Trouble is savers are screwed at the moment and likely to remain so for a long time. Thanks for your posts.

When boys bands were more fun

The authorities are after those driving dangerous vehcles, avoiding tax and generally those who flout the law (often those driving uninsured may be up to no good). We shouldn't get into a panic about the odd day. Worse would be if the vehilce was nicked when uninsured. I did enjoy the car clamped over the road for non-payment of VED (car tax). If you are a net twitcher you can check whether your dodgy neigbour's car is taxed and MOTd using DVLA checker or this one https://cartaxcheck.co.uk/

There was a great documentary a few years ago about working in a hospice - clearly St Christophers in Sydenham - a happy but of course sad place, where the very dedicated staff will also have a weep when someone passes on. Even more so at a childrens hospice no doubt. I expect that GOSH will be just as sad when they can't save a child. I suppose that time will tell on this one, but similar decisions will be made every day without the same media interest.

I'n not debating. I'm giving my views which are correct and you should all adopt. It's a competitive market and the BBC need to pay accordingly. The value of those tssers who used to do Top Gear demonstrates that. For many I understand why they command decent salaries. Chris Evans is an annoying opinionated so and so. Entertaining but still the former (and oh so sycophantic when with celeb guests). He's not worth 5 time Jeremy Vine

There are few pubs with only locals propping up the bar. They will have gone bust years ago or sold on for residential use or turned into a coffee bar or estate agents. Sadly some successful pubs have gone that way too. Should I get the chance I would love to take Ken, Brian or whatever his name is around some successful pubs that still retain some of the things that I want out of an establishment - sense of community, good beer, reasonable prices, not beholden to the family market. There are a few left! I was going to start off with the Woolpack in Emmerdale, then onto the Vic in Albert Square, The Rovers Return and finish with the Bull in Ambridge. The latter has a great review on Tripadvisor https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g186420-d4415022-i79934830-The_Bull-Worcestershire_England.html

Nationwide has just put up the cost of my Flex plus account and dropped some of the features with this. This follows them closing all of the convenient branches for me (yes I know that some had to go), poor returns on savings accounts and earlier the main features of the Flex account that got us all switching in the last decade were dropped. I do still like that they are a mutual but not particularly fond of them at present and see that they have got an advertising charm offensive at the moment. My other bank is Barclays, boring but reliable. I had accounts with Santander/Abbey, some of this as I used to have accounts wity the National and Provincial, but repeatedly found their in branch service shocking. In the days that you did most of your banking in branch, after the N&P went, I found the queues too long in the then Abbey National. I put some of my late mother's savings in the B&B, who were great at the time, but when absorbed into Santander I had to again suffer the latter's poor service. I've dilly-dallied around with Yorkshire BS (best high street rates and very old school filling out forms), Britannia (shocking and good riddance) and Clydesdale. The Post Office aka Bank of Ireland lost my ISA application so I missed out on a year (more fool me) and I was left waiting over an hour in Metro bank which just appeared gimmicky so I gave up on them. Lloyds (then with TSB) were totally incompetent when managing a club account, and just gave up on me but did compensate the club quite well, switched that account to Nat West which were fine, although now closing the branch next door to where I work. I do raise ocmplaints at times my fave was with Lloyds who lost paperwork on three occasions. Looking at the Which guide Nationwide come out second whilst most I have had delaings with are down to the bottom of the list: http://www.which.co.uk/money/banking/bank-accounts/guides/best-and-worst-banks So I stay with Nationwide?

The penultimate Question Time before the election was revealing where Labour, Greens and Lib Dems all spoke with one voice, that Brexit was a political not economic decision and that the single market was very much Thatcher's vision (supported by all those in her cabinet that I can remember snd a bedrock of all Prime Ministers that followed, including this one albeit that the country has decided). Great if someone who can explain to me that whist as PM that was genuinely so popular with her supporters at the time, and still loved by the Tory blue rinse brigade, the same blue rinse brigade are so anti Europe. Please feel free to pick anything apart that I have just said as interested in learning.

I'm on a roll now. Here is what John Betjeman wrote in 1972 - he's a poet don't you know. PRO means public relations officer. It (The Village Inn) could have been writtne today. https://sites.google.com/site/poetrybank/home/betjeman-john

Not rude, offering to take him round some pubs that I rate. We've lost sight that pubs are an important part of the community, as the pub co's maximise their profits. If I was going to be rude I'd say that I didn't ever think I'd see the day that someone posted about a pub selling rhubarb juice. Now I wouldn't do that would I? Don't take things too seriously. I'll post rude (but honest) things on proper pub review websites if I feel so obliged. And even then they will be bally funny. I'm only truly rude to posters that deserve it (or threads about artificial grass) and there are usually people more articulate than me in any case who do a better job. Power to the people. PS when I had my 18th in a local pub (my word they did they actuallty allow teenagers in pubs?!), the landlord had a fight with a gate crasaher. We were in awe. A fifty year old having a brawl with a 19 year old. That's when publican's knew had to handle themselves. Not sure if there are any fighting pubs left nowadays. And I thnk it was an M&B pub too.

Greg. I worked in pubs in the 80s. The breweries had managers who were well trained and experienced. Alternatively tenants (who leased from the brewery) would take some of the risk on themselves in taking on pubs. I have been recently to two of the pubs that used to be my favourites in London - the Royal Oak in Westminster and the Woodhouse in Sydenham Hill. In the past both would have managers for donkeys years that knew the pub, the beer and the clientele. Now they have incompetent staff and disinterested management (obviously in my opion) - both seem to change ever few months, about as frequently as the refurbs. And poor ale. Now this is the Young's former estate, so not representative of your chain. Yet both pubs are similar to the Dog in that due to their position they don't need to try to hard to get the punters. I'm worried from your postings that you don't have the experience to run a good pub. Others will of course judge. PM if you want me to take you round a selection of pubs in the area that I consider are well run, retain some traditional feel and have loyal customers. And not in competition with you.

Spose it depends on whether all of the Tories and DUP have to tow the line or not. Perhaps DUP will actually be a proper challenge as opposed to the LD poodles.

And for fox's sake get me a firkin pint, we forgave them at the time because their gaffs were so good.

agile is the in-word where I work.

Shagged sounds an appropriate term, not in the sexual manner. We'll all be shagged. Got to laugh......

The Goose was the first. No need for Wikipedia. The Fuselier and Firkin maybe the only one of the original five that I did not visit at the time. Or maybe the Frog at Paddington. Can't remember everything! I've got a beer mat somewhere with the five on. This is a good link not only about the Firkin but how pubs have been furked up by pub chains, very relevant. http://www.goodbeergoodpubs.co.uk/articles/what-happened-to-the-firkin-pubs/

When I used to visit there were five - the first one I went to was the Ferret and Firkin in the Baloon up the Creek. We then used to meet our nurse friends in the Fox and Firkin in Lewisham for a sing song on a Saturday night. Then the piece de la resistance, the Pheonix, oh joy. Went wrong when they stopped being a brew pub chain and then the Pheonix became a O'neils or O'reillys or some other stupid plastic Irish pub. It had earlier peaked when we did all 18 in one day circa 1993 for a stag do, on public transport, with all 18 still brewing. The Goose was the first, is still a pub but you wouldn't notice it in a back street. It's like kids saying "oh I wish I was your generation with all those great bands". Substitute great bands for great pubs. Anyway, happy days. It's not all bad I suppose and pubs have to generate a living.

tarafitness - I think that we are on different planets. The Phoenix and Firkin was the best pub in London when I turned up in these parts. The Great David Bruce had saved it from the ashes, it brewed its own beer, it had excessive amounts of character. Once Brucie had sold it to Allied then it was all down hill from my view. You are probably coming at it from a younger person's eyes with different experiences. But if I could put you in a time machine and take you back 20 years you may well be in agreement.

This interwebby thing has the answers - personal experience here is great say for local shops but not so objective as teh attached. http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/driver-power/92413/best-breakdown-cover-2016 You'll probably find that AA/RAC are more expensive than say Britannia Rescue - my provider, through my Nationwide account (made good sense with all the others freebies thrown in). maybe worth considering similar to me? I had a policy thought my car but this was truly poo, with the call centre in Ireland, a 90 minutes wait and it was always an exceptionally busy time, if they even picked up at all.

Criminality has always been an international business. We've had gangs from Malta, Sicily, Turkey. Russia, Cyprus, the Yardies, Indian Subontinent etc etc and that been going on 100s of years. Albanians are nothing new having muscled into drugs and the like years ago. Not sure what your point is.

Wow, hadn't realised that M&B owned so many brands, including some pretty awful ones from my view. But then strangely enough Nicholsons, which seem to have better pubs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitchells_%26_Butlers Anyway, nobody has picked up on my point on the Beer Orders, and that they spawned the pub chain, and probably did Brake Brothers a lot of good, and that the pub chains are no better than the big brewers who was generally despised. The fall and diversification of our (then) big brewers led to the super companies hovering up all the brands such as Interbrew/Inbev and also the large regionals in particular my most loathed, Greene King. Based on their beer and closing down of other breweries.

Hi Greg. Will you be stocking M&B Brew IX and Highgate Mild? Did you know that the Moody Blues (most famous for Nights in White Satin - but did much more than that) were originally called the M&Bs after said Mitchell and Butlers Brewery, I expect you and most people don't know what I am talking about, but a bit of history the 1989 Beer Orders that were suppoed to improve our pubs contributed to many pubs being shut. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beer_Orders It wasn't all due to loss of trade but also running down some pubs as they were worth more as real estate rather than serving the community. Not sure where M&B fits into the great scheme of things in terms of good or the dreadful pub chains. You'd have to be pretty bad to fall to the standards of the former Youngs Estate. Pop into the Blythe or Ivy one night and hopefully you'll get a good idea of how a pub can still serve the community. Best if I reserve judgement for the moment.

keano77 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If farmers need to rely on subsidies they're in > the wrong business. > > And I thought that I was naive. Farmers will have subsidies whether we are in or out of the EU. When we take away the subsidies then our food security is threatened. Start listening to the Archers - the best source of info about Brexit.

I've clocked my first black RR since I've posted, smoked glass windows and a personalised number plate. Taxed and MOT'd (and much older than it looked, those personalised number plates can hide the age very well). No sign of collision damage but I'll keep my eye out. Not sure if my earlier comments were fair on RR drivers or it could be Land Rover Discoveries which also commonly come in black. Anyway whilst I may sound facetious I do hope that something comes to light.

Was it a smoked glass windowed RR (drug dealer) or clear glass (yummy mummy). Yes I am stereotyping but there is a reason we stereotype as these are often based in some way on fact. It's a shitty thing to do and as you say some celestial being will ensure they suffer in return. I've had incidents when people have at least kindly left a note - although one anecdote was "I am only leaving a note because people are watching and I am not leaving my number". There is a collection of drug dealer cars near me - would this have left damage on the RR? I've got some good links to 'official sources of information' (legal I hasten to add) but black range rover is a bit broad. I reported someone smashing into a parked car in Wales in a pub car park once, and was stunned as nobody else wsa bothered. The pub said "oh that is so and so he's been banned". Got the number though. Shame that there was not a witness. Before anyone accuses me of double standards community forum are good for this sort of thing, rather than people just whinging. We had a kid's bike stolen ourside the house once, and someone advised me to put notices on lamp posts in teh are. And it worked, bike had been thrown into a garden by naughty teenagers. Have you thought of putting some notices up at the spot? You can also put one up about karma aimed at the driver. Good luck