malumbu

I thought they were really cute. They only came in for warmth and food. They'd be clever so and sos and not seem to follow the mouse code in terms of their runs. I'd catch them occasionally and they'd try to knaw through the plastic trap. You'd watch telly late at night and suddenly you'd see one. Did try and catch them by hand but can they run quick. I blocked up a ventilation hole and they went. They never bred under the floor boards. I don't miss them, just not particularly freaked out by them. Fox/cat/dog poo in the garden far worse.

It was open house (of Dreams) last week Was I the only one there Is on one else interested? Perhaps if it was the Waitrose House of Dreams

I spent three days at Iceland's HQ for training in 1998. A very progressive company and I enjoyed telling everyone I was in Iceland for a few days. Ho ho. I turned down going to the usual suspects. What I found was a very progressive company, who picked up execs from the usual suspects and at the time were almost single handedly keeping the high street going (days before cheque cashing shops and poundland). They were the first (and probably) only chain to shift to organic veg - sadly a home goal as their demographic didn't want organic. I still have difficulties going into the shop due to the horrid branding - sounds a bit shallow, but I expect many of you can outcompete me there. Where I work they have to have Pret a manger's both side of the street to save people crossing the road, and the queue's are out of the door at lunch time. Meanwhile the independents are just managing. It's a load of twonk really.

http://www.stephenwrightartist.co.uk/images/JPEG/house-of-dreams-11.jpg

Not sure what toasties have to do with anything. Pub fights. We used to get them outside the Greyhound in Sydenham. That was twenty plus years ago. There was often brawls in Streatham when we used to go to the pictures there. Haven't seen a fight for years. Maybe I go to the wrong pubs. Looking back on the Boys from the Blackstuff, not enough cigarette smoke but I like the wadge of fivers at the end which was a small fortune. At about 40p a pint. Not also a proper pub with blokes drinking proper ale. None of this crapt ale nonsense. OK returning to Liverpool did see two most excellent brawls there, like the wild west, in the late 80s. One we were sitting down watching music, to get a late license you had to have entertainment. It all kicked off, but you had this odd situation where a number of people got up to join in, and a number sat down to get away from it. Genuinely think it was a free for all rather than someone getting picked on. Memories

You'll find that most birds want a bloke who can swim

Last thing I think about in East Dulwich is street cred. This comes with white working class areas, and probably in more recent decades more ethnically diverse areas. I fear both have been ethnically cleansed from Lordship Lane. Perhaps a topic for another thread? I asked the question in the sour dough place in Honor Oak Park - "has this restaurant been ethnically cleansed". Confused the waiter! I and others have earlier commented on other threads about the joys of living on, or close to, the front line when we were rebels with a cause. This was challenged by others saying it is a good thing that our streets are safer places etc. Personally I think it is about getting the right balance, but this is a line that has been crossed around here. I fear that gentrification simply pushes out social issues to other areas. As said think this is a separate thread.

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Cabbies blocked the streets round Victoria on Tuesday wanting their special treatment, which is looks like Boris is giving them through limiting mini cab numbers. Ban Uber and they will win the lottery (or perhaps that is ban cyclists as well). I imagine that cabbies were not out in support in the 1980s for mining communities or print workers. What is worse is that there was a knock on effect with the Queen gridlocking central London on Wednesday. Dunno what she has to complain about.

HMG should include implants under the NHS for middle aged patients to reflect the dreadful drill and fill attitude of dentists in my youth. It was beneficial to intervene rahther than promote prevention perhaps as late as the 1980s so you have a whole generation with fragile molars. Jealous of all of you under 30 with far better dental hygeiene when you were growing up. Hats of to Kings BTW for a lovely restoration of my daughter's teeth, that were overcrowded and to my own dentist for saving at least two of my teeth, when others would have extracted leaving the decision of a gap, a far from acceptable bridge, or the expensive but only proper alternative of dental implants. Drill and fill is not an urban myth; the state once paid for dentists to have a very lucrative lifestyle by carrying out unecessary treatment, they get this from private patients now but at least there is a choice rather than coming out of our taxes. And the other thing that is not an urban myth is successive governments not wanting to grasp the nettle and push all water companies to put flouride in the water. The most easily avoided public health issue.

Why has this thread been hijacked by a discussion on race. I was going to simply add "only one? (offensive woman)" to make a totally hilarious point about the change in demographics on LL. I can see you are all laughing so loud that you are spitting out your brunches. But not on a LL pavement cafe today as the weather is horrid

Thought I'd actually look at the definition as I expect many confuse dildos and vibrators. Still reminds me of silly conversations when I was in my early teens at school and a fave silly joke about the lady who had a 'strapadictomy' operation. Interesting to hear that dildos are banned in some Southern US states. So wiki defines this as A dildo is a device designed for vaginal or anal penetration, usually solid and phallic in shape. Some expand this definition to include vibrators. Others exclude penis prosthetic aids, which are known as "extensions". Some include penis-shaped items clearly designed with vaginal penetration in mind even if they are not true approximations of a penis. Some people include devices designed for anal penetration (butt plugs) while others do not. These devices are often used by people of all genders and sexual orientations, for masturbation or for other sexual activity. Well thers you go.

Bricklayers Arms. Forest Hill Tavern was of course once the Royal Oak. My fave is the Sun in the Sands, as on the radio when they report on traffic congestion the Blackwall Tunnel is always backed up to there. And then one day I found there was a pub called the Sun in the Sands (think it may now be shut); how excited was I. Anyone for pub cricket?

You are still all missing the point. There is a total oversupply. They clog up streets. They polute. Politicians kowtow to their lobby. A tory government, a tory mayor. Pro-market. Yet black cabs are not a market working well. They may be wonderful drivers, going through numerous hopes and great company. But still too many of them. I knew some great tool makers. A desirable white collar job. No tool makers any more as technology and loss of manufacturing industry makes them almost redundant. And print workers. And film developers. And wheeltappers and shunters.

Sad news in deed, but some good alternatives in the area including our own Ivy, and the Amersham Arms. I used to enjoy the 'South of the River' and 'Off the Tube' cabaret at the EDT, when it was a rough old Millwall pub downstairs before many of you lot moved into the area! Half of the Radio 4 luvvies crowd used to do a mid week impro session - always joked that Stephen Frost (bless) was the unfunny one on 'Whose Line is it Anyway'. Strange, but despite all the good stuff at the Hob, I've never particularly liked the place (nor the Pie and Kilderkin before that). Better pubs in the area. I liked some of the Edinburgh warm ups when you'd get six in the audience, four or which were with the act. Saw Paul Nichol to the excellent 'Naked Racist' where he had to do a retake of the last bit when he got his kit off. Surreal. I had a thread on this on SE23.com but the fascist who runs the site took it off as he didn't understand that I was talking about a comedy act. RRRRssss

Good posts but missed one of my main points. They spend much of the day idle. When they have a punter it must be pretty lucrative. If this was any other area of business it would have gone bust. I use a black cab about once every five years. Perhaps a mini cab once or twice a year. The latter is more comfortable and half of the price. I have plenty of choice of reputable companies in the area. We shouldn't have a delivery system by design, the market should provide. Sparkies and gas fitters are qualified and registered up to their eyeballs due to the safety implications. You don's see groups of electricians parked up waiting for business they are out doing work. If they charge too much someone will undercut them ie competitive forces.

Wow. I was going to put something subtle but you have said it all. Wow again. OK my subtle comment was about me cycling with successive children on the back, neither of us with helmets. We just didnt in those not so far off days. We all survived. Now if this was now some of you would be posting about me cycling with a kid on the back with no helmet, calling childline, and writing to the Prime Minister. Mr/Ms cyclists I will be quoting your much more articulate views. Thanks. I think this thread is now dead. I'll talk about me dangling my baby out of a balcony another time, and allowing my toddler to pet a crocodile on another thread.

Right, I never studied economics at school. I didn't understand about the free market and competition. And then many years later, under a labour government, I got a job which was all about making markets work. The most efficient way to supply goods and services (which is the definition of economics) is healthy competition, choice and good information. Yay I got it. Regulation and protectionism was bad and was the last resort. OK so the banking crisis showed the flaws but I still sort of get it. So why, with a Tory establishment, where we have a Tory mayor, he protects the cabbies, in part through regulation. Why do they have disproportionate influence. Whilst swathes of the eonomy were sacrificed when it was considered that this was not in the public's interests. Yet bally black cabs? They are polluting. They are inefficient. The market is inefficient. There are barriers to entry (the knowledge and restrictions on the number of plates). There is no direct price competition. Their rates are set favourably. They drive around much of the day looking for business, wasting fuel and polluting the air. They sit in ranks, wasting more fuel and polluting because the few clients they have prove very lucrative. They phone-in daytime chat programmes to give their bigoted views. Their professional association spouts nonsense about cyclists, Uber, Boris Johnson (funny he appears to be their savour) and the mag seems to be written by Richard Littlejohn (not celebrating the good, but criticising the rest of the world). So we have mini cabs, lightly regulated and yay providing competition. And we have Uber, yay, more competition. And now I hear my Big Job (BJ) himself wants to cut minicab numbers. Why? Please enlighten me dear reader.

The Grauniad's readers' question last week was a along the line: My friend has invited us to his wedding but not our young kids, should I ask him to pay for child care. There should have been a one liner: It's their wedding, they can do what they like. But of course most responses were waffly with many of them being outraged. Mine,not publishes, was to ask whether the friend could take over the running of one of my many local pubs cum creches.

Well done Mr Cameron. Hooray.

I half listen to the archers, and whilst I am predominantly hetro (and a bloke) I find the gay character on that has a very sexy voice. My guilty pleasure is of course the lesbian snog of Beth Jordache and Margaret from Brookie in around 96, which they deleted from the omnibus. I was cyling with a gay lady friend a few months after and we both enjoyed that. Fast forward twenty years and the world is a better place in many respects. But watching a coule of old editions of the New Statesman and Black Adder 2 and was surprised by some of the homophobic dialogue, and of course these were were right-on alternative comedians. Just a meida product of the age not really a slur against Rick and Rowan

Too many posts to follow. Some crumb of comforts. Went into work on Friday and was surprised to see virtually everyone was in a sombre mood. I'd made assumptions that some of the younger generation would be cock a hoop. Saved myself money by not getting drunk nor having a hangover, as per election night party in 92. I'd already planned for a bad result, but not quite this one. I work closer with government than any time in my career and can now say with evidence that there are a number of poohs at the top. Not all I hasten to add (watching out for my security clearance, Big Brother). Separately, on both sides of the coalition, there were several I quite liked working with. Anyway the point of my post is that Heaven 17 should rewrite the lyrics to Facsist Groove Thang. Not saying that the new government is a fascist one, but it would cheer me up.

Ethnic cleansing. Look at the change in demographics. It's happened around here. Elephant will be next. It was quite exciting when I lived just up the road from Loughborough Junction (still a well dodgy area). PS you can all clear off back to Clapham/Shoreditch. I'll let you judge whether I am saying this in jest (not sure myself).

Younger readers will not recall the dirty tricks employed by the then Evening Standard to stop the Maxwell paper gettng a foothold. Younger readers will also be stunned by Londoners actually paying for an evening paper. Still odd that a relatively cosmopolilitan capital would buy a rabid evening paper. Those of you buying the Times, Telegraph etc are probably that way leaning but wouldn't generally get the Guardian or Indie.

You expect it of the Mail and the Telegraph. Probably the Times to. And of course the Sun for the last 30 years. The Indie and Guardian clearly have more liberal views, and the Mirror being an inferior comic to the Sun, will maintain its labour views for generations. But why with around a third of voters likely to vote Conservative, and perhaps only ever maxing out at 40%, are our most of our daily papers so rabidly Tory. I peeped at the Telegraph letters the other day and was not surprised that many were very pro-Tory; but let's face it there is little doubt who most Telegraph readers will vote for. However in a lefty leaning metropolis, well at least this side of Penge, WTF is the Standard so pro-Tory?