Jeremy

Make the tickets ?1 each and sell loads and loads of them... but try to sell most people strips of 5 or 10 at a slight discount. That way, you still make a bit of money from people who don't have much cash but want to make a charitable donation... and those who want to increase their chance of winning and/or feel a bit more flush can spend more money.

I think Huguenot's views are somewhat extreme - most people wouldn't blame someone for using a car if it's significantly more convenient for a particular journey. There needs to be some emphasis on the government to improve public transport, not just penalising motorists. But I don't accept that that's the case with a journey into the west end, unless you're picking up a large/heavy item or something. I don't see that it's so hard to take a pram and a couple of bags of shopping on the train.

Bellenden Road is OK, but to be honest you can walk from one end of the shops to the other in about 30 seconds... there really isn't much there (and I'm local to the area). I hope it picks up a bit, but it's a bit of a funny area to open a shop because it isn't really a main thoroughfare like Lordship Lane.

"Poor" people never drove into central London, as genuinely poor Londoners do not own cars. Normal/middle-income people rarely drove into central London because there's nowhere to park, and even if you find somewhere, it's ?4 an hour or something. Companies in London only usually have parking available for the top brass. So I don't understand how it's affecting poor people, or even the likes of you and I. Why not penalise the wealthy (who choose a less socially responsible and environmentally friendly way to travel) by an amount they can afford? It's not going into anyone's pockets, it's put back into public funds and presumably put to good use.

Hey northlondoner... what exactly does the congestion charge stop you from doing? Why can't you take public transport into central London like most other people? Surely you can tell that the roads weren't designed for huge numbers of vehicles, and that there's not much space for parking. Tony.London Suburbs - not sure how it affects the poor the most. They can't be that poor if they own a car (which is a luxury in London, not a necessity) and can afford petrol!

I'm not massively into sport, but still never have time to get bored. I usually spend the weekends visiting or going out with friends, playing in bands, going out for meals with my girlfriend, playing the odd computer game, reading, watching movies, doing DIY... I actually don't know where I'd find the time to follow football.

That is exactly the problem, SimonM. And by putting their faith (and money) into this nonsense, people are propogating and legitimising a so-called treatment which at best can only act as a placebo. It's important not to lump all complimentary treatments together. It would be foolish to rule out the benefits of herbal medicines, and I'm even willing to accept that acupuncture may have benefits which are not yet understood by mainstream science. I was just reading about a guy called Edzard Ernst who is one of the few bona fide Professors of Complementary Medicine... many herbal remedies and a few other treatments have stood up to his research. But I think most of us can guess what conclusion he came to regarding homeopathy.

Unfortunately I'll be out of the country, but hope it goes well and I'll definitely be along to check it out some other time.

Ging - I do think I 'get' what they were trying to do (i.e. foster a music scene and community). It's just that the idea of donations clearly wasn't a good one, because it didn't work - at the end of the day, most people don't like giving away their money. I know from experience that it is possible for a place to offer the things you mention, while still breaking even because they have good stock which people want to buy.

That is a silly thing to say... surely the emphasis should be on proving the effectiveness of the treatment (which nobody ever has), rather than the cynics disproving it. Do you have 100% indisputable evidence that walnut whips don't cure cancer?

Hey, Brenda and Woofbitch... meet me in Mayrhofen next month and we'll race down the "Harakiri"... then we'll see who's the pussy!

KalamityKel Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > oooo I have a burning q... why when we drink, say > a pint or two, our bodies dont reflect the extra > weight? Erm... they do, don't they? Your body weight varies quite a bit as a result of water intake...

I definitely prefer skiing... I tried boarding a few years ago, but got fed up with falling over all the time. I've never felt so sore in my life. Most of the people I usually go away with are boarders. I travel at approximately double their speed down the slope, and they're very picky about what slopes they'll go down (nothing too steep, nothing too flat, not too much camber, etc). But I must admit that snowboarding looks a lot more fun in the powder.

dulwichdreadlocks Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If one person thinks homeopathy (and all other > alternative medicine) is a sham and waste of > money, and another person swears by homeopathy and > has found great relief since using it: why is the > person who thinks it is a sham so desperate to > stop the person who believes in it believing in > it? There's no problem when someone tries it as a last resort, or for a non-serious complaint. The problem comes when someone actually starts to trust unproven techniques over established medicine ... this could be extremely dangerous if the condition is serious. As a side point, it also bothers me when tax revenue is spent on homeopathic hospitals, when the benefits are totally unproven.

Queen of Dulwich Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > And to those of you who say it's all in the mind: > A homeopathic remedy is cheaper than anything the > conventional medical establishment has to offer. That's because it's water. > So even if it is a placebo (and we will never know > for sure) I'd rather take that. You're saying you'd actually choose homeopathic remedies over medicines with proven results? Because they're cheaper??

I went in there a couple of times, but the selection was pretty limited. I think for a second hand record shop to work, it needs a lot more stock. Having the shop manned by volunteers is not unusual in the realm of second hand or specialist record shops. But asking for charitable donations to pay the rent is new to me, and I would have been surprised if it had worked. The new format of regular gigs plus record fairs seems much more suitable (also the Half Moon has something approaching a proper PA, and of course a bar).

I always laugh when estate agents advertise a house in the heart of Peckham as being in "bellenden"... let alone "Bellenden Village!"

I do agree that sometimes people say things which may offend... I think that 9 times out of 10, these are innocent mistakes. People are sometimes ignorant about words which may cause offense, phrase things badly, or perhaps don't describe people in enough detail, hence giving the impression that they are generalising. This is clearly not "racism" in the true meaning of the word... ignorance and lack of tact, maybe. Perhaps the best course of action is to explain why their post may offend people, rather than wading in with strong language and leading the thread totally off-topic (not pointing the finger at anyone in particular here). I really think that you're more likely to get people to see your point by taking a diplomatic approach. Hostility will just lead to resentment on both sides. Of course, any genuinely racist posts (i.e. intentional offence, discrimination) should be reported, and I would hope that any such posters would receive zero sympathy on this board.

Brendan Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > We could also mention that a large portion of the > users of this forum meet up on a monthly basis for > drinks and extend an open invitation to all. There > are also many other smaller social gatherings of > different sorts arranged through the forum which > are also open to all. So before spewing forth > unfounded bile why not come and get to know who > the people who live around you really are. Because this person is a bit strange and prefers to wind people up, create alter-egos, and be generally annoying. I don't think they have any interest in meeting people, participating in sensible conversation, or normals things like that.

Strange, it's not like MW to get carried away...

Well at least you now have an incentive to go swimming more often. Definitely ask her if she fancies a bovril next time, or a game of Double Dragon. Trying to think of an amusing bovril-based innuendo...

Genuine query... have council budgets actually been significantly impacted by the recession?

SteveT Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I wonder what happened to 'respecting your elders > and betters'. Not sure about the "betters" bit... not sure what makes one person "better" than another. But respecting elders went out of the window a long time ago. In fact, the situation is now pretty much the opposite in some cases. There are plenty of teenagers willing to challenge adults - for instance the playing-music-on-moblie-phones is a direct challenge to other people on the bus.

Avoid the bus if possible. Avoid going out at all while the school kids are going home. Avoid kids in general. Works for me.

bridgetj Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > what are we all going to do about parking? Surely any car owner in their right mind would drive to Sainsbury's for their weekly shop, rather than go to Somerfield. However, a small Somerfield may be useful for shoppers on foot.