Cassius

Strawbs - do you mean the restaurant on Marylebone High Street? How long ago did you eat there, I went there last summer and was incredibly disappointed. Service was very slow, our red wine was WARM and I was not impressed by the food. It was a shame as I thought it had a great vibe and location.

Oh I agree about eating out, but I thought this thread was about giving good ideas about what to cook/eat at home. I absolutely agree that it's about time chefs were a bit more original in their offerings.

Mmmm - hope she's got the right postcode for Lewisham CAB - they are becoming very fussy who they see these days.

"the days of nut roast, lasagne and f-ing risotto are over." What's wrong with a risotto made with the best arborio rice, good stock and white wine and either asparagus, squash or other suitable vegetable? Still served in the best Italian restaurants and if made properly can knock the socks off most meals.

There are millions of pasta dishes that are veggie, then there are risotto dishes, vegetable curry dishes, vegetable cous cous, vegetable gratins, omelettes, souffles. Like MW74 I take my own lunches in - not only do I know exactly what ingredients have been used, I don't use any packaging and I save myself money.

It was OK, nothing special, I wouldn't go out of my way to watch any more. The characters were stereotypes and I think it will all be a bit predictable. Thought The Devil's Whore was better.

I am planning my summer holiday.

That will be a relief for those poor girls who have been stuck outside Moxons for months. Looking forward to it opening (at last)

Hi Keef - yes I realised that after I posted - it is such an emotive subject and there are so many posts to be read so quickly I jumped to the wrong conclusion.

"'civilised'? you say. Because what those evil lowlifes did was really bloody civilised. Whatever happens to those scumbags in prison is justified as far as I am concerned. i'd be surprised if they last 2 weeks inside given the media coverage this case has received." Maybe that is why their identities haven't yet (as far as I know) been released.

I don't weep over much - this I did. I fully understand that crimes are committed in the heat of passion/drugs/alcohol. This is different - this is NOT one crime, this is many many crimes perpetrated over many months committed against a totally innocent victim. This is why there is heat and passion and anger about it. It is hard not to want an eye for an eye in such a case even if the inner voice tells you that makes you as bad as them. The saddest thing is that this is just one case that has been highly publicised, due to the final tragic death of the child - how much other abuse is going on?

No - I was saying that NO matter how much the perpetrators suffered as children (if they did so) they had a CHOICE whether or not to continue that pattern of abuse and cruelty. They - not the system commited the crime (and if I misunderstood the post which said the system was to blame - apologies). And the details are out there, I haven't had to search them out - just listen to the BBC news - and I only listed them as an indication of how low people can go.

Keef Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > So no-one (apart from the parents + friend) is at > fault then? you can't seriously be saying that > > The system, not an individual, is at fault, but if > you have proposals / money for a better system, > I'd love to hear it. > > The system is as it is exactly because of a > similar case, and to make sure it couldn't hapen > again. Now what? Sorry - was it the system that bit the childs ear, that pulled out his fingernails and broke his back or was it a sad and evil human being?

I think a lot of the problem is that the social services are damned if they leave the child with their (abusive) parents and damned if they take them into care. I would not do that job if it kept the roof over my head - that amount of responsbility for whatever money they earn (probably not much). However at the end of the day a small child has died horribly at the hands of the people that SHOULD have looked after him and there is a natural human need to blame someone, anyone. The system let the child down and questions do need to be asked so that this doesn't happen again (although I am sure it will). At the same time for every child murdered in this way - how many old people are subject to abuse in their own homes also by the people that they love and trust (as well as in care homes)?

And a lot of people are abused as children and don't go onto make the same mistakes and to abuse in turn. And you have to be more than just stupid to stand by and watch a man use your child as a punchbag and to torture him in this way.

The Herne are doing Tribune - it's from Cornwall and very nice too.

Why not contact CAMRA and see if they can help/advise. I've been to several real ale festivals with a choice of 40 or 50 real ales from around the country which are brilliant for trying new things. The key would be variety. Real ales have so much variety, from more straight forward bitters, to pale ales and heavier more malty beers.

I don't think you can blame the staff at Fusion for not knowing what is going on - they are not imformed either. It is a shame that the baths are so grotty as the actual building is lovely with the skylight. The ladies changing room was re-painted (badly) about 4 years ago, and were closed for about 6 weeks. I could have painted them myself in a matter of days!

Mmmm - I'd give him a tip - 'I don't want to listen to your bilgewater mate!'

Agreed Keef - whatever happened to live and let live?

Jon Gaunt for Sarah Palin as President - says it all really.

Angela - career, money, no kids and obviously no SOH!

Agreeing with Strawbs and adding: people who think their bag deserves a seat on public transport more than you and give you daggers when you assume that they should actually put their (over-sized) bag on their lap and let you sit down!

jimmy two times Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > No lock for her bike, no money and cycling around > at 2am at night.......silly cow. Obviously you have always been perfect in life - never made a mistake, never done anything silly or anything that you might regret in future - lucky wonderful you. However even if she was a silly cow for not being as thoughtful as you would have been, she was still a human being in distress and thus deserved a modicum of sensitivity and care.

BBC weather warnings - as if we should all be terrified and alarmed at what is just 'weather'.