SeanMacGabhann

Why so aggresive? No need to generalise and put words in people's mouths before they say anything is there? Aaaanyway - back to the point. So - you live in close proximity to the pub, as per the other people who are so upset by the noise. That's good as it makes it easier to compare people's points. The kids thing is interesting as logic would expect very loud noise to affect them but if you are saying it doesn't then it seems the situation at FHT isn't as bad... Which is a point that could have been expressed much more politely I would have thought - but who cares about that

Well you have to have a better argument before assuming you get to call them "small minded attitudes" for a start, I would have thought Given that most people complaining live near the venue in question (and haven't complained about it until the very recent changes) maybe you could elaborate on how far you live from the venue, how often you go, n what capacity and if you have noticed any changes in recent months. Just for comparison....

plenty of children and families knocking around mightyroar. With several "doing" and "making" tents, as well as circus activities to boot. Several of the food stalls do "kids" portions as well. And they all love they way the woodlands are lit up with fairylights. I didn't see the playground however

Mr Administrator Spangles is baaaaaaaaaaaack ruth, WHAT are you talking about? What is with the conspiracy theories? You have started to post for the first time and have used it to tell people off. It's not just this forum that would see you told off for what is esentially rude behaviour. Where has any harm been wished upon you? Of any kind much less the vicious kind? And Troll is a common internet phrase for peope who go around stirring up trouble. Not unique to this forum at all

seems to be a concensus from what I've read as well TheePope - glad I missed them Madworld I've posted a few pics on flickr - I can't link to it at work but you know, do the math....s at www.flickr.com and search for me

Comus You can click on the "reply via Private Message" button under every post and this will allow you to send a message to that person only, which should be secure enough to pass on any email address. Do make sure you are replying to the right poster however!

I'm with Keef - make it stop. i don't think it should be locked - there MIGHT just be someone out there who can distil everything into a pithy paragraph and the we can all go "ahhhhhhh! now I see what he/she meant" - I just don't think it's any of us who have already posted! So, I'm withdrawing on this one....

I see it the other way Aced...It was the repeal of the Glass-Steagall act in 99(?) which allowed retail and investment banks to exist in the same corporation, that has partly led us to where we are today. I can see banks being forced to choose to be one or the other

have you people no concept of The Lounge?

Giggirl I sure have been to the Chapel before. I saw Luka Bloom a few months back, and in the summertime Someone Who Posts A Lot In The Music Room suggested we see an afternoon performance by a singer who was very sweet and nice and could have done with a cuddle and a nice cup of tea Nice proper pub behind the Chapel as well for pre/after-show drinks

Ah but you got on a coach 2 hours before we would have. A good fairy from the woods plucked us from the queue and drove us to salisbury station. For which favour i shall forever be in her debt. It was still train etc from there tho mad world so fret not. We had a beer in the plough about 2 ish to recover

Wolfie. . Calm down. You made a tongue in cheek comment. . . So did someone else. That is how it read to me anyway. Your reply didnt leave much room for doubt.

lol - ok I hear you!

I would argue that the staff don't leave a LOT to be desired.... No-one is perfect. Compared to the service in sister pub Crown and Greyhound in the village, they are made of aceness. I would go further and say I have never jad a single problem with the staff in there.. The food tho'....

School kids being killed is not the same as they are being killed BECAUSE they are school kids tho surely? Possibly, but examples would be useful in disproving or proving James' point Black People - couldn't get away with saying anything on the radio such as A Bad Thing being "so black" Asian People - ditto Pikey - I don't think so Jew - etc etc People DO still attack them it's true, but the societal boundaries are in place to disaprove of any discrimination or what have you. Calling someone tight-fisted a "jew" on morning radio would be a major problem. And quite rightly so IMO James' point is that unlike other minorities, there is less of that "official" disapproval. I think that's the point anyway

Well, that's always a good lesson *Bob* but it isn't the primary lesson on this thread. Or shouldn't be anyway... James making clumsy mistakes linguistically is not the same thing as... oh wait, maybe it is!

aha ok good I still think the debate isn't going to go much further unfortunately. I noticed parallels in this article in today's paper about the increase in attacks on gypsy families in Europe http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/16/roma.race The line that stuck out for me was "On a wider level, many Romanies or Travellers simply don't mention their family backgrounds. On a writers' tour of Romania in 2000, one friend said to me, "I think the attitude of most people here would be, we don't understand why you talk about having Gypsy blood. If you kept quiet about it, you could pass." In other words - 'keep quiet, never let on that you are "different", be ashamed, be fearful - because if you DO make it obvious that you are "different" you have little right to complain when people attack you.'

was that aimed at me taper? I mentioned school-ground behaviour soley to point out that it acts as a breeding-ground for the attitudes which lead to many of the violent attacks perpetuated later on. Reading my posts as a whole on this thread I sort of thought I was arguing much the same as what you have just said?

Agreed, it's a good room Lizzie. I have tried to book it for my 40th but it's already booked, so I'm guessing it's a popular choice

Tiger - several threads about Moulin have been raised (and some even locked!) It was mention on as an example I also like going to Moulin - but for Sunday roast it's possibly better suited to families than the papers and friends brigade

Ah, the Madge. Let me count the ways I hate thee Leaving aside the "looks great for her age" thing - (if I am married to anyone who looks like that when she is 50 I am reconsidering the deal. Not "good" - more "freaky") rumours abound about the trouble on this tour. Not that I will give tittle-tattle any credence Still, I have long been known to rant at the drop of a hat about how I am unable to understand women falling at Madonna's feet when she is clearly possessed by some weird.. thing. Those eyes. the purple leotard. The video dragging men off the street to sexually "tease" them. And as for Kaballah... People of her stature have bad tours - let's not damn her for that alone. And no-one does a good gig at Wembley really. Some top tunes over the years mind... And sorry you are out of pocket on the deal as well

This thread gets more and more bizarre. Judged on the last 2 posts alone, Rosie and James appear to be at cross-purposes and seem to me to be in agreement that the term "pikey" being of Romany origin has racist connotations (and we have been here before Lord knows) Yet, if you read James' comment on the Threshers thread he makes no such distinction. tsk tsk young man. I shall let you dig yourself out of that hole And yet (again) I think for the most part, people are arguing with James and mostly being correct - BUT missing the point. Pedantic scores are being achieved to no great point. Do people think gay people are being, not just discriminated against - not just in some workplaces, but on the streets and in violent attacks BECAUSE they are gay (versus your random street violence) ? yes or no? If YES then you would be hard pressed to come up with many other "groups" apart from racial minorities which suffer the same fate. I'm not trying to equate the two groups (and their subdivisions) but there are similarities You can say all you like about your gay friends using similar language, but to say it's the same misses the point. To say you feel uncomfortable with the idea of gay sex misses the point. The whole "we're here we're queer" aspect of Pride etc is an over-reaction to hundreds of years of "better keep quiet lest we end up in jail or buried under lime". We have reached a point where in some parts of the UK you can bang on about it (and my word do they) but it should be obvious to anyone why this might be. Not that many of us have grown up in a culture of fear and shame and disapproval that the average small town/wrong part of town gay person does. And what Moyles and co do is legitamise school-ground behaviour have we learnt NOTHING from Billy Elliot?? ;-) If the answer is NO then clearly you have never been chased down a street by 5 "queer-bashers" - doesn't half give insight

yes (not just refurb - new owners, layout, vibe - should be different from last visit)

My theory is that the Plough can only do so much with the food/menu as it is dictated by M&B HQ. For instance when they ran out of mash recently it was pointed out they could pop across to 3 shops within 20 yards and buy some spuds and make some more.. but you suspect they are not "allowed" Sundays and other busy times to seem to break the system. After camping for the last 4 days we dropped in this afternoon unable to face travelling any further and had perfectly acceptable meals and a really helpful bar staff Apart from occasional problems with the food I would restate my preference for the Plough being one of my favourite pubs in SE22

Jasmine Such is the spectrum of human life unfortunately. It is not unique to this forum. You can surely select positive examples of conversation on this forum as well - just as you would in any walk of life? If it were entirely negative, why would you keep reading for the "last few months"? For my money I think there HAS been a trend to more negativity* on here which I hope is "a phase". Maybe you can be persuaded to hang around and turn the tide? * by negativity I don't mean "unable to report bad service in a shop/bar/restaurant" - if these are bad then it's better for all concerned to know about them? But as several people pointed out about the staff on this thread for example, using chav as an insult without anything else to add doesn't help a great deal.