James

What's on the jukebox?

Oops! Didn't mean it mischievously. For once... Can I put my hand up and admit to being totally hypocritical on the gentrification subject? i.e. I always rant on about the bl**dy Claphamites etc. but equally would never be seen dead in one of the old men's boozers that used to dominate Lordship Lane. And I get excited at the idea of posh new shops and bars despite myself. There, I've said it. I feel so much better!

So what happened to this then? Was just thinking wouldn't it be great if we had a Konditor & Cook or similar?

"young student-look-a-likes who dress in rags and then drop money on champage at the EDT and snap up ?250k 1 bed flats somehow" Mummy and Daddy come in handy, don't they?

I'm always suspicious of people who moan about empty buses clogging up the system. I don't see all these empty buses - maybe I am not looking in the right places or something??? in any case I would rather have more frequent buses that can be relied upon - albeit with a few surplus ones running now and again - than go the Tory route of letting decent public transport go the way of the Dodo, forcing everyone back into their cars. Agree with Sean, Bob and others that the buses have obviously improved since Ken. Even the trains seem to be getting a bit better too since the renationalisation of Railtrack - its privatisation under the Tories was a total farce & disgrace which Boris was no doubt in favour of (all it did was line shareholders pockets).

Agree about Blears Mockney. Revolting little puppet of the Blair/Brown machine to be found trotting out the party line everywhere she goes (does she have her own opinion about anything!!?). That's what I like about Ken - whatever anyone says about him he's his own man.

Know it's a bit far but reckon they'd love Brick Lane & Spitalfields on the weekend

Dick Emery!

The big question for me is which side of the CPT? It's like two different pubs stuck together. The "modern" side looks better but I kind of have a soft spot for the chintzy side... do they still have masking tape on the seats?

At the risk of sounding unpopular I think Ken is doing a great job, despite the best efforts of the Evening Standard and their cronies. The buses have improved beyond all recognition, and congestion charging is a pretty massive success too. He also seems to be trying to pull the train operators into line on the whole Oyster issue (until now they have just been trying to run off with the profits). The last thing we need is some affable loon like Boris to come in and ditch all of this in favour of pulling strings for the Kensington & Chelsea brigade. Let's face it, he seems like a nice bloke but he is a Tory - so that's where his interests will lie.

This will prepare them perfectly for the real world where people never need to compete with each other at all. And when you fail a job interview you get a kiss on the lips and a consolation prize.

Totally agree Nero. To be honest I think what they really want to do is have a go at feckless babyfathers who run off. But they are a bit scared to say it overtly as they might be accused of being un-pc/dredging up all that nasty anti-single mums Tory rhetoric from the 90s. So we're told that marriage is like some sort of magic sticking plaster & if people are bribed a bit they will stay together instead of divorcing. Agree about the family thing being taken too literally as well. Where does it leave gay parents, single parents, people who don't believe in marriage (it is a fundamentally religious institution after all) etc? A recent study of "happiness" among different societies found, unsurprisingly, that the most contented people who report the fewest social problems come from 3rd world societies where family ties are strong. To promote the consumer-friendly 50s idea of the nuclear family is missing the point completely. It's all about extended family networks where responsibilities are shared, kids grow up with lots of contact with role models of both sexes and people feel part of something bigger than they are - irrespective of anyone's race, sexuality or anything else. To my mind, marriage has little or nothing to do with it. It's more like the idea of the family clan - which goes back much, much further (surely Tories should approve?)

ChavWivaLawDegree, how can you possibly call yourself a chav and go to this? It's about the most un-chav thing imaginable!

Oh go on, you know you want to

Give him a break! We all make mistakes and you wouldn't think there would be a traffic warden working that late. I don't think Jamie is advocating habitually parking in disabled bays. He made a mistake, and is paying a huge price for it. Some sympathy is in order, surely?

Yes, they are amusing. Definitely!

Yeah right Jonboy! The giveaway is surely the fact that his posts are about ten pages long, repetitive, inflammatory and virtually nonsensical in places. I think what happens on here is that we all decide the person we agree with "won."

Jamie you are a stressed man! I know it's really frustrating but if it's any comfort it happens to us all. The councils are b**tards, it is a total racket but it's not worth getting depressed about. My partner got one the other week, at first we were livid but now we're thinking okay, worst case we lose some money. At least we are both alive and healthy - and that's worth more than ?60. (Sorry if that sounds patronising, I'm trying to cheer you up):)

Um, are we reading the same posts? They seem to be written in the style of a whining teenage boy. I don't think he is gonna win any prizes for debating. Sorry Domitanius.

Great point about the topless woman on the bus Ganapati. That says it all

Agreed, I don't really like gratuitous PDA's that much (couples of whatever orientation eating face - yuck!) so if you're a prude, so am I! But you'd be surprised at the times I've had abuse shouted at me for holding hands with my boyfriend or putting an arm round him. It's like those stories of mixed-race couples being spat at - you find it hard to believe but then if you're not in that position yourself you wouldn't know what it's like.

When people exhibit irrational behaviour, therapy can often help. Irrational fears/disgust usually means the person has long-standing issues which need addressing. Nothing to be ashamed of Dominanius, we all have our issues. The key is to confront and challenge them. E.g. irrational disgust of gay people often comes from boys and men whose sense of masculinity is fragile due to environmental factors (lack of male role models and stable family life can sometimes be a factor). I have no idea where your irrational disgust of breast-feeding comes from, but you should explore it. You might be surprised at what you discover about yourself.

Whoever mentioned the analogy with a gay couple holding hands in public had a good point. If you substitute that for breast-feeding on this thread you see how odious the repressives' argument becomes: "Don't mind if they do it behind closed doors but don't rub my face in it" etc. Nasty and narrow-minded.

Think I am regularly conned and taken in by this. Still, I can't stop myself when I see something prejudiced or misinformed. That dog leads thing had to be a deliberately misleading one, didn't it? And some of the breast-feeding posts are a bit dubious. I would expect them in Bromley or Tunbridge Wells but not here... (oops, being prejudiced myself now)

Stop this now. You are threatening my fun!