Nero

Yup, you have touched a nerve, and I am glad I have such a nerve. I firmly believe that is not anyone's job but the employee's to clean a table/counter/bar. What is wrong in asking for the person who works there to clean a dirty table? To do otherwise is completely illogical and lily-livered and at least partly responsible for bad service. So, would you stock the shelves of a supermarket? Would you cut change the lightbulb in the lobby of an office? If it makes you feel nice and warm inside that you are subsidising a huge company that really doesn't give a hoot about you or its staff, then good for you, but I could think of better ways of directing my good feelings. (BTW, I am not averse to direct action, such as picking up litter on my street. It improves my local environment and makes me feel that I'm making a contribution. But never in a cafe when there are staff at hand, whose job it is to maintain a comfortable and clean environment.)

It is Chinese. It is the most complicated character, though some believe it is completely invented. It says 'biang' and is a kind of noodle. This is an interesting site, for those who find this kind of thing interesting.

This is a peculiar character

This is a peculiar character

For heaven's sake, why not just ask them to clean it for you and then mention it to the manager. Would you go into a supermarket and stock the shelves yourself? FCOL!

A Routemaster was driven down Barry Road at about 1830 this evening, on the way from the Rye. It said 'special service' on it. Noone was on board, apart from the driver. Nice to see it.

Tazzi, This is a forum for any opinion. Non is more valid than another. It's a shame when someone or something is criticised, but that's life. I'd say BMC should have responded earlier to the customer's complaints. Two weeks is too long. If their service improves after this complaint, then I am sure that at least someone will post something positive about it.

The council (I presume) has put up bollards on the street off Etherow Street, opposite the entrance to the school. It's to stop anyone parking there, and I reckon it must have to do with stopping too many cars from congregating for the school run.

Louisa has a point. The NCR (and even she adopts, perhaps even invents, this trendy-middle class abbreviation) has sprung up to cater for the locals. It mainly sells 'boutique' version of items such as cake and coffee, as well as purely 'boutique' stuff in its own right, like pashminas. It is in no way a market as I experience in Stockport, Manchester, Leeds. It doesn't make it better or worse than a 'normal' market.

National Express is giving away first class rail travel to people who send in proof of a London-Scotland air trip. I've just booked myself 2 x 1st class return to E'burgh in July. Go to their website (NationalExpressEastCoast, I think) for details. We shall be gliding past Berwick with a dram in hand come 830pm in a few Friday's time.

I don't think there should be a permanent pedestrianisation. The present market on Friday and Saturday does not warrant such an undertaking. A Saturday-only ban on through traffic between, say, 9 and 5 might work.

The male-gay 'community' is now mainly concerned with enjoyment, including casual sex. Most of the gay people I know - they're all 35 and older - are not politically active and don't (put the camp into) campaign. Most don't even wear an Aids ribbon, even on December 1st. Gay men under the age of 30 are mainly interested in earning a wage, getting pissed and fucking each other. Those over are into their careers, household gadgets, holidays and entertainment. A small minority are campaigners for their cause. Now, doesn't that sound like mainstream society? Equality! Emancipation! Ladies, we've arrived! I've no idea about lesbians.

I'm really lost, here. (And disappointed, because I love a good bus-related rant, too.)

I don't mind more stalls, but I don't want any more of the same stuff. I used to love the word 'knick-knack', but now I don't care for it due to how much of the stuff is available in SE22. To tell the truth, the market doesn't really do it for me anymore. I used to think 'aw, innit nice', but now I find it a bit dull and wanting. It's good that it's there, but that's about it.

I have noticed that every time I try and board a bus in the area, I am asked to provide "cash" or show an oyster card. You would think that an oyster card is something they can issue free or for a one off charge but np - they want you to put your hard-earned cash "onto" the card as well! Sean, I don't understand what you mean.

A palm tree? What about a nice oak? Sheesh. PCGM!

Pauline Prescott on one side, Julie Burchill on the other and Camilla over the road in the big houses.

Well, just to show I am not an alcophobe, I shall be having an icy Apfelkorn soon, or a G and T (Bombay Sapphire export - 47%) and then either a Singha or a Tiger at Lombok. Prost!

Gosh, what a can (33cl) of worms I've opened. One thing that stops me drinking too much (more than a double G and T and a glass of wine a night, when not on late or dawn shifts) is the fact that is so calorific. I like to eat and if I drink too much as well, then I'll be scared of getting overweight. I think we know the potential dangers of booze and we don't like knowing it. BTW, try Le Marche, Mockney, in your Italian search. Cheaper and wilder than Tu/mbria (I just made that up and shall be seething if Conde Nast Traveller takes it up!).

I disagree, MadWorld. We know things now that we didn't know before. We can all say 'I know a woman who smoked like a chimney and drank like a fish but lived to be 99', but we all know really that that is an exception rather than a rule. We have free will and access to knowledge, courtesy of the government. Whether we believe it and act upon it or not is our decision. It's almost as if we can't bear to face up the fact that alcohol can be dangerous. It's like realising a good friend isn't really on our side and could, in fact, be a rather insididous enemy. And I think Jah Lush, who defines himself as a 'drinker' even though his EDF name does the trick without spelling it out, can't be dispassionate about the topic. Quality not quantity seems a good way to go.

I found myself drinking a glass a night, that turned into half a bottle which very easily turned into a full bottle. MadWorld74, you are answering your own question. You are indignant that the government should proclaim us alcohol dependent, yet you readily acknowledge that you need to cut down. And do you really think that the French and the Italians are like us when it comes to drinking? They are not. The pub culture doesn't exist, and the tribal, ritualistic drinking-to-get-drunk attitude doesn't exist in the Med. (That's not to say that people never drink to get drunk, as they do, but it's not got that lairy, loutish, Fat Les-ishness about it.) Booze is much more available and cheaper than ever before in real terms. It's become such a part of our lives that we don't understand how much we drink. I agree totally with Mockney in that cutting down on the just-for-the-sake-of-it boozing is a good thing. I am finding that I spend more on a fine wine or a good bottle of gin or vodka, likewise on good beers and bitters. As for that cold beer on a hot day abroad feeling, well, that is one I share. Icy Singha in Thailand or a cold Sam Adams in the US - I wouldn't want to give that up.

I eat organic because I believe it is better for the environment, not necessarily better for me. I do, though, think the fashion for organic will wear off as prices rise and as (some) purveyors of such produce continue to rip off their customers.

I enjoy wine too, but I don't really, truly love it and don't know that much about it. So, very often, I drink it just because it's there and I can. That, to me, is akin to eating indifferent food just because it is there. I love champagne and certain white and red wines, but most of the time I don't know what I'm drinking and whether I really like it. Right now, I look forward to a good G and T after 6 (good to me means the one that I like, not the one that Wallpaper* tells me to drink) with a decent tonic. Even as I write this, I feel an excitement, a kind of mini-rush. That to me suggests some kind of very strong attraction, but I get that with fish and chips, a good curry, bacon barmcakes, in fact, anything I really like. The thing is, I'm pretty black and white most of the time, but the booze questions - are we addicted, why do we do it, does it really have that much of a bad effect on our health - leave me with many grey areas. But I do feel sad when so much of Brits' free time is spent in a pub or elsewhere, drinking. It's so predictable and hackneyed.

The government is trying to let people know more about how many units they are drinking and how many they should be. My feeling is that Brits have a bad relationship with booze and we are in denial about how much we are dependent on it and how much we pretend we are not. My friend Kerry was a binge drinker and would drink to excess on most occasions. She hasn't had a drop for two years nearly now and, looking back, she realises just how addicted she was and how oblivious she was to that need at the time. It's got me thinking, and when I read about the Black Cherry and its blow-ins and how people go out to get drunk has really made me question why I drink. I also look back at my excessive drinking and really wish I hadn't done it. So, I reckon I am alcohol dependent to a certain degree - I associate booze with certain times of the day, special occasions, etc, and would feel odd if I didn't have a drink at those times. I've gone on the wagon for up to three months several times and admit that I thought about what I was missing even though I didn't feel a need to have a drink. How about you lot?

I really liked this place but have gone off it, too. It's just a bit too big to have a lovely local cafe feeling. The servers are on the whole good, but there are not enough of them. my advice? Take a walk to the Upper East Side and give Jacks a go. Or apply for a visa and go to SE15 for a Petitou nosh-up.