SimonM

One of the Bread/cake stalls at the Farmers' Market is in fact the Blackbird stall from NCR! I think this market has detriorated a bit over the years...it used to be great to go there for fresh fruit in season - marvellous cheap strawberries in July and even an "Apple Fair" in September. But the fact is places like Pretty Traditional have pretty well cut this off at the knees now. It is okay as a destination walk on a fine Sunday still.

You tell 'em!, 1st time poster Chim...>:D

>> As i was saying we Italians beat your lovely germany at the world cup, and we may have had a slow start but we always come through in the end<< Ahem...North Korea 2 Italy 0..1966...*cough*:))

Anna, I don't think your account of YNWA and Liverpool is exceptionally biased actually. I do remember in the 60's quite a few football crowds sang it around the time of the Pacemakers' hit, but the Liverpool crowd stuck with it and without a doubt made it their own - at least as far as English football was concerned. The story of the "Top Ten" being played before kick-off at Anfield was new to me though. As for the song's own history, I do have "Carousel" on DVD :)) and the song was always a bit of a spine-tingler, so chuck in a good dollop of crucial football match emotion as well and the effect must be pretty inspirational. Gerry Marsden's original version though remains truly execrable B)

Ice cream is ?1.50 a single scoop, ?2.25 for two scoops, and it is gorgeous. For ?1.50 you can get a single scoop with a flake from a van in Dulwich Park (up 25% since last year). Double espresso at ?1.40 is terrific value. I have now gorged myself on all three of the cakes on the menu and will be back for more Ditto the smoked bacon, somerset Brie & cranberry sauce in a rustic baguette Sorry I know I am getting boring now....>:D<

I have never quite understood how or why YNWA became the Liverpool anthem. Did it result from Gerry & The Pacemakers no. 1 hit in the 60's or were G & TP themselves just paying their own tribute to their home team?

Sheffield United & West Ham have finally made it to court this week - the former suing the latter for ?30-50 million...

Yes, as Joseph Heller did not quite say, there's innuendo, there's double entendre and there's sheer filth. With dear Max Miller there was all three!

>>Not be an annoying pedant but this thing about Italy "cold starting" was put to bed by the ITV commentators last night. I would have thought this was fairly accurate but apparently in their last 15 opening matches of a big tournament (up until last night) they had won 10, drawn 4 and lost just one (to Ireland in USA '94). So really, they do quite well. >> I don't think the "cold starting" theory is any less valid despite the bare statistics. The thing is Italy tend to play better as tournaments progress - so they might have indeed won many first games but rather less convincingly then they win finals and semi finals. Against a team of real quality like the present Dutch outfit they lost - although admittedly without playing especially badly... Anyway some of us remember North Korea v Italy in 1966! >:D<

It was a cracker of a game - the Dutch seemed to keep putting on substitutes, each one more dazzling than the previous guy. Italy are notorious for "cold-starting" tournaments, but they now have an uphill task to get beyond the group stage. France v Italy looks like it might now be quite..er.. tense! Currently feeling quite smug though as I backed the Dutch before the start to win the thing >:D<....early days I know! It could turn out to be like the '74 World Cup where the Dutch played all the dazzling and amazing football only to lose out in the final to (West) German efficiency..

Well The Grauniad was advertising this - http://tinyurl.com/4782bk - last week. No idea how effective it might be but could be worth a go..

Ebay is your friend...>:D

I really think if Ronaldo does go to Real for ?75 million - or however absurd his price will turn out to be - then the pressure on him to perform will be so huge - and the Real crowd is notoriously impatient and fickle - that his failure to meet impossible expectations may wreck his career. Or he may get a long term injury in his 2nd or 3rd game with the same result. Man Utd on the other hand will spend probably less than half of this money on Santa Cruz of Blackburn - aybe Bentley too - nd never look back... Real will still do less well than the PL clubs in the Champions League.

Surely the days of Real Madrid as the best club in the world are well and truly over? I think if Ronaldo moves there his career will stagnate, relatively speaking. But clearly this story is not yet over...

I have all my hair too. It is locked in a tea chest in the attic. Next to the painting

fork wrying out loud?

I believe DulwichMum has Father O'Hooligan on speed-dial...truly a good, unattached man for you!:))

If I could think of a decent innuendo I would give you one.

It did not seem to matter to Michelangelo though...:)

>>A band of protesting yummies have climbed onto the roof with placards demanding that M&S buy this store<< Not a terribly credible explanation.....they'd not be doing any climbing, not in those shoes. They'd get the nannies to do it.B)

I got a baguette in there the day they opened.... Better than any of the supermarkets but not quite Mootown-class!:))

>>>have you read Fat Freddy's cat?<<< Oh!!!! Now *there* is a long lost classic from my youth! hehehehe

I would just like to interject in support of Louisa that she is totally spot-on about the merits of Ken Dodd!

You're just saying that cos he was a librarian at Hull Uni and not at an Oxbridge one...And wore a flat 'at :))

It's admittedly a while since I went, but "Still Luigi's" at the bottom of Gypsy Hill used to do the best local Italian food...