*Bob*

I think most people would have liked the idea of an open competition, but that would have come with its own set of difficulties. The winning design would have ended-up in the hands of a design agency anyway. And how do you (legally) deal with a logo entered in a competition that goes on to be a brand worth many millions in merchandising etc? If I was the Olympics Head Honcho I'd want to buy it and own it.

It does seem like a lot of cash. But it's such a typical tabloidy thing to do: "LOGO OUTRAGE COST ?400000!!" - as if its just a letterhead or something.

It's grown on me a little bit already.

I don't think it's entirely without merit. As a bit of design, it's actually quite clever. Anyone who has worked at such a task (ie trying to come-up with something to please a zillion committees, all of whom have their own different ideas about what the final product should be) will know what an impossible task it is. I think, when you look at it, you can see it ticking lots of boxes which were no doubt requested. I say congrats to the designers for getting the job! But I still find it hard to like, mainly because I think it looks old-fashioned. Retro can be cool, if done well. Old-fashioned can't be.

snorky Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Its LIsa Simpson performing a sex act.:'( ..on Woody Woodpecker. (Surely the filthiest name for a cartoon character ever devised)

Don't knock it, Paul.. Once the kidz get to play with these crazy shapes on their mobies, their PS3s will be in the bin!

It did take several decades of re-thinking and refinement to get to our (now celebrated) tube map. The early ones were rubbish!

It's a bit, er, 'eighties'. Which might be kinda-cool now (so they say) but will no doubt be hopelessly out of date when we actually get to 2012. Here's an interesting site (if you like that sort of thing) with all the previous Olympic logos. Design-wise, I'm a Helsinki 1952 man myself. The designers of the Munich '72 logo clearly lost the plot. http://www.mapsofworld.com/olympic-trivia/olympic-emblem.html

ok, ok.. I admit it. I'm East. I just wanted to say 'westside'. To be exact, I'm 3.2 miles from Brixton station (according to AA). Which might put me .2 over the Fuji-limit. How many miles is everyone else from Brixton station? Isn't this fun?!

And I'm delighted to report that the Mini is still running as well as it always did. Thanks for the refund - sucker! (This was before I had my second accident, of course)

snorky Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I'se on the eastern side of ED , but not too far > east - in fact, pretty much central. Thats doesnt > help does it ? As i suspected. I is 'westside' ("ur, ur, yo" etc)

And actually I do have prosthetic arms so I find you comment in very poor taste, Alan.

Asset, The piano may sell for ?50. It may sell for ?200. Good luck to the vendor. Pianos look nice in a room, but the instant you need the space they magically turn into 200Kg of cumbersome millstone. There are companies that make a nice living from charging people a hundred (or a few hundred if stairs are involved) quid simply for taking away such pianos (of which there are tens of thousands). My advice if you want to learn to play? Of course you don't need a Steinway. But pay properly for a real instrument, or get one for free by doing someone the honest favour of taking it off their hands free of charge. As I say, good luck to the vendor. If they can get cash for it, great, but in terms of its value as an instrument (ie not something to put a pot plant on top of), a piano which costs ?60 is worth exactly the same as one which costs ?160.. Nothing!

The sale price will be entirely dependent upon how much the potential mug - sorry, buyer - wishes to part with. With so many of them being born (every minute) the figure will be hard to predict.

We'd need two pianos for that, Mark. But I'm sure we can find another piece of firewood somewhere or other.

I shall try them. Though I suspect you live on t'other side of ED to me and may be a bit too far. Sniff.

There's no reason at all why a decent-playing piano (the most complex acoustic instrument on the planet with thousands of moving parts) can't be had for ?60. No reason at all. I can do chopsticks - really fast.

Do Fujiyama really deliver to ED?! (*licks lips*) I wouldn't have thought they'd go anywhere near.

ha ha! The world is awash with 'bargain' pianos. Generally, if you want a piano to give your front room a nice cosy feel (this accounts for around 80% of piano owners), there's always a free one somewhere who's owner can't wait for someone to have removed. But all of them will be useless musical instruments (unless you specifically want to impersonate saloon music from a western).

I would welcome a range of certified organic greetings cards, woven by native Bambuti Pygmies - using only the finest fairtrade pulp from sustainable African Blackwood trees.

Alas, I'm already piano'd-up - I was just curious as to the 'big-up'! 99p is indeed a bargain: assuming the buyer doesn't want to actually play it, of course. If they did want to play it, better putting the removal fee towards a real piano, I'd say.

Is this a Pal of yours who's selling, Alan? Why the 'big up'?!

The thread has not gone off-tangent, Mon. You say 'not another card shop' Dom says 'why not another card shop'? Personally I could do without a card shop at all. A small carousel stand in a petrol station will suffice for the occasional must-send (wealthy relatives, the recently bereaved you're too lazy to speak to, book tokens for nieces/nephews you never see etc etc). However, if someone's happy to splash down a sackful of cash opening a new one, then they must be sufficiently sure there is a demand. If not, they'll go down the pan.

Monica and-a Karter a-made-a themmanoffer they couldna refuse-a

Application of make-up: half and hour. Chatting on phone: 1 hour Lazy lunch at Green and Blue: 2 Hours Shopping for knick-knacks: 2 hours Having more than one greetings card shop to choose from? PRICELESS