SeanMacGabhann

Waterloo Bridge is the crowning glory in the 176 crown - still not my favourite bus Top post citizen tho - it;s so true how many wee vignettes one sees on the bus that restores faith in humanity - the bad stories exist all too often but on balance... buses for me

got to agree with DulwichMum and DeargDearg about the the land of (qualified) thousand welcomes but I get my Irish needs served locally by Val's (Clonakilty pudding, Tayto, Kimberly Mikado and.. Cocunut Cream - not to mention Barrys (Red and Green)

Be good to see you again Bradlington On the subject, plenty of people have started to become forum regulars without showing up to a drinks - are we likely to see any of ye this time?

Ultraconsultancy! There is a recipe thread on here should youwish to convert us men..

That many tourists wandering around in summer? I know our tastes may differ James but if you can't find anything there.....

I would say you are on fire today louisa. . . But ;-)

Have to agree with Brendan on this one - marinated meats on a proper BBQ = fantastic Slow roasted meats from the oven which I was raised on and still enjoy are great too - but I have converted to the other side!

Anyone going to the west end on the 176 who stays on the bus after Waterloo Bridge is ill-advised - the traffic becomes a nightmare. Hop off and scoot through Covent Garden a) excercise b) faster c) more eye candy

Funny you mention that Louisa - I had a Moroccan meal in Dublin just a couple of months ago. Well lush it was too Unfortunately, both taxi drivers I used spent the 20 minute journey outlining the fact that if Ireland wasn't careful it would go the same way as Londonin 10 years. I asked what he meant and got the kind of answer I don't fancy typing here Truth is Ireland is a much more vibrant different place than when I left and all the better for it - I love going back But the proliferation of money has meant that, in my opinion, it has lost some of it's happy-go-lucky nature and people have become a bit more self-centred - an example being they (in this case old friends and family when I go home) blame the demise of some pubs (ooh familiar ring to it) on the Euro, smoking ban and Polish people. When what ACTUALLY happens is that for the first time ever they have enough money to mount a huge telly on the wall and they spend evenings indoors watching the thing

I love Neon Lights - but it does go on.. there is a danger of others popping their clogs at some point during the playback ;-)

might be cool, but would anyone turn up ;-) * grumbles at the amount of jerk chicken he BBQ'd for the forum picnic which didn't get eaten last weekend *

The arguments seem to shift sometimes. I often hear drivers complain about the amount of empty buses clogging up the roads but when it comes to tempting them on the argument becomes "they are overcrowded" If it sounds preachy to you then maybe there is truth in that - I just don't necessarily see what's inherently wrong with preaching something once in a while. Driving a car is pleasurable and convenient (sometimes) but is inescabably bad for the environment (not just petrol - but the roadbuilding etc) It also makes us more reliant on a fast disappearing fuel oh you know the rest you don't need me to tell you. But you would have to be in serious denial to think there was no problems with driving surely?

Some good points in there Louisa. For me, there are aspects of my Irish heritage that I was glad to see the back of when I emigrated, so going to the Irish festival on the Rye doesn't fill me with warm cosy nostalgia. I do like the Castle, but I am often reminded of the same in there as well

Louisa your list of reasons paints a one sided picture - those things CAN happen but as often as not I have had unexpected and random encounters of a positive nature - something that has never happened when I drive anywhere It's a living soap opera every journey, and sometimes I don't need the aggro, but mostly it makes for an interesting 30 mins

prolific yes but not top of the shop.. that would be (snip! editor) i know of a few other Irish around these forum parts - I'll let them declare however

great link macroban - how useful would that station be now eh?

obviously me

Brendan - we are not disagreeing with your basic point. It's happened to people on here and to real (pardon the expression) friends as well. Sometimes the authorities have behaved inexcusably But what we are trying to do is to expand on the reasons why things have reached the point they have. A program that says "councils are over-zealous in issuing tickets and innocent people are sometimes caught up in it" is undeniably based on a truth but it doesn't begin to address the bigger picture, and will therefore not change anything

and sometimes it isn't...

As ever Citizen, some good insight there

interesting choice Mark - but like it

and I've been called worse wee quinnie - forums are like that unfortunately. It;s one of the reasons I always try to attend drink ups - when people know each other face to face the ability to hide behind an anonymous identity and call names is removed Of course the other reason I go is the beer ;-) Then again - if someone did call me Richard Littljohn..... I may not be so magnanimous

Irata's post was good, detailed and considered. And much of it I agree with. As ever, I feel compelled to reiterate that I believe the system is unfair and does go too far And yet... The "mistake" word was used. And while I'm absolutely certain that this is true (we all make mistakes) I can 100%, no questions asked, on the bible, on the grave of whoever, etc etc guarantee that one of the reasons councils have a zero tolerance policy is not because of mistakes Drivers (of which I am one, but not in London) have to start being honest and admitting that, as a group, mistakes happen far less than "taking a chance" does. And because so many people take a chance, ignoring those around them (people who rely on bus lanes, cycle lanes, crossing the road without getting run over, other drivers etc) drivers have become, frankly, a menace. I will take the pepsi challenge with anyone - stand with me at 7:15 am at the bus stop and just watch the number of drivers who park in the bus bay just to get some cash out, blocking both traffic and buses while they can't be arsed to park around the corner legally. Or witness the number of drivers on their phones/doing their slap oblivious to the cyclist they almost crush I'm not saying anyone posting behaves like this at all - it's just that so many people do that zero tolerance has been adopted and I can't see anything else happening until people start to use their cars less... Am I alone in thinking this? Am I wrong?? I'm not saying that someone who makes a mistake deserves to have a car impounded, pay a 3 figure fine and have to travel to some scary pound - I'm just trying to say that while, yes, councils are gaining financially it isn't enough to blame everything on that reason.

AnotherPaul? Taking things a bit far??? As if

now now DulwichMum, Lambchop are (as you well KNOW) a band (slash collective) from America who do the most wonderful music. Some of it laid back some of it soulful and uplifting have a listen Up With People