*Bob*

Bragg followed by Double Benn (Tony and Mitch) Rockin'.

It's an entirely different festival now, post 'superfence'. One element remains - the stage / bands half. But the other half - the apocalyptic, 24-hour Mad Max-esque area centred around the Green Fields, has gone. This was where the party was always at for me and I rarely ventured out of it. It was comparatively dead after the fence.. transformed into a cross between a vegetarian food court and the Lambeth Country Show. Not that it was all roses near the end.. No Police, with dubious drug dealing by endless streams of dubious shady characters rife to the point of absurdity. I saw people wearing sandwich boards with prices on. Casualties littered the ground by morning, with the paramedic vehicles constantly sweeping through. Tents pillaged nightly. Some genuinely scary people and an occasional air (or worse) of intimidation and violence. But it was a genuine experience. A totally unpredictable, random experience. Tens of thousands of people (many, completely unhinged) on an unfettered four day path to total excess. It used to feel like a giant party - with some festival/bands thing on the other side providing an atmospheric backdrop. Now I think it just feels like 'a pop festival'.

I'm sorry to report that I was chugged on Lordship Lane yesterday at approximately 4pm. Three of them came at me - I tried to avoid them but one of them caught up with me just outside Somerfield. Description: Two white males, one black female (and no, I'm not racist, before anyone starts). All wearing light coloured tabards with red piping around the hems - and carrying clipboards. Just wanted to let everyone know so they can be on their guard. My neighbour has been chugged four times this year and says he can't remember it ever being this bad.

Don't descriptives such as 'rapidly growing' and 'by popular demand' look slightly absurd when half the posts on the first page in The Lounge were made sometime back in 2010? I've popped along from time to time for a look, but it's like going into an Angus Steak House, only with plastic chairs. I think you'd do better with a more realistic plea. Please join the Nunhead Forum. It's dead on its ass. If more people joined, it might get better.

Not yet.. but with Christmas only 201 days away, who knows what Santa will bring.

This one, which my Mum bought for me.

The 'line-up' (by which people usually mean the main acts) at Glastonbury has, notoriously, always been 'crap'.. but you'd have to be blind deaf and dumb to not stumble across at least a couple of dozen acts that surprised you. And stumbling across things has always been the way to go.. not stubbornly traipsing in line with your NME lanyard with various bands tediously circled in red pen so you can tick bands off like some sort of mundane musical treasure hunt. I preferred the old festival before The Fence went up - and probably won't go again - but anyone could see (especially in the last couple of years prior) that it couldn't continue in the way it was - and clearly plenty of people like the way it is now. The best thing about the new security is the burgeoning of dozens of smaller festivals - including those to cater for the 150,000 people who used to arrive without a tent and pay a nice man from the north west ?5 for 'special entry'.

I just worked in Gap for a year. I thought that was what it meant? I feel so foolish now.

The most common stuff to get spiked with is of course that old favourite, 'booze'.. In one of the incidents, we had two of our group go down in a spectacular way at the same time, quite early in the evening, about an hour after getting into a shite bar in Clapham. Not booze on that occasion. Of course if you spend several years holed-up in bars and clubs for half the week then it's more likely to happen than if you only pop out for a few on Friday night. Admittedly having the weekend streets filled with teenagers with their pants on their head after happy hour, trying to kiss lamp-posts and waking-up in a ditch has not helped claims of spikings, but that still leaves a whole lot of people (in our case, fairly familiar with the effects of most recreational drugs) who know what's normal and what isn't with regards to their own body over the course of an evening!

Didn't find out as such, only assumed in the light of no other evidence or reasonable explanation. I don't even know if it's possible to test for most of the likely substances after a day or two has passed, even if you wanted to. Experiences ranged from something identical to the circumstances that you describe (waking with no knowledge of the night before.. in one case - in a police cell) to others having more memory of what happened - knowing that you're going out of control for no reasonable reason - with others obviously seeing it happen, all of a sudden. TheMissus remembers leaving her drink alone for a while when it happened to her..

Quite possible, unfortunately.. at least four or five people I know have suffered 'spikings'.. Mrs *Bob* included. More likely in pubs/bars/clubs with a high arsehole content. Don't leave your drink unattended.

He should be safe for now. Most of the man-hungry hormonally imbalanced bunny boiling singletons will be down the pub by now, flashing their tits at anything with a scrotum. But when they get home (angry, drunk.. and alone) - there's going to be trouble.

So I asked - but apparently I'm still not single.

checkmeout Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I bet bobs single! Well there's no harm in asking

What is 'work'?

If only such a man existed.. sigh..

Studies have show that the 'ideal man' comprises the face of Johnny Depp, the brain of Heinz Wolff, the body of Brad Pitt, the hands of Peter Shilton and the legs of David Beckham.

Doesn't look like Cheryl Cole's American accent is working out. According to most Americans, it might as well be a monkey.

Because nature is inherently cruel and she has decided - in her ultimate wisdom - that you don't deserve any blueberries.

If there's one thing guaranteed to cause you more bitterness than writing TV jingles... it's gardening.

Check the Viburnum leaves for small yellowy-green caterpillars with black bits at each end. After rain on a warm day, sniff said Viburnum leaves and see if they smell like a mixture of animal poo and vomit. If so.. Say hello to the Viburnum Leaf Beetle..

condescending

StraferJack Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Nope - i still can't get past > > "The problem with a lot of these kids today". Be fair - this line has since been backdated to reflect the knowing, irony-laden cool that was absolutely definitely originally intended.. yes, honestly it was.. no really.

I'm still watching it

Actually, I have read one of them - 'Fred and Rose'. A friend of mine lent their copy to me whilst on holiday and it proved to be an excellent beach read. Indeed, I enjoyed it so much I bought it for Mrs *Bob* as a Christmas gift. Needless to say she was delighted.