Horsebox

James Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > A petanque tournament? LOL! How delightful. Does this mean that you'll be there then, James?

It was massive fun and as expected we went crashing out in the first round, 13-1, but at least we didn't have to kiss fanny . Didn't meet any celebs, Ted Max, but did see the eventual winners play in the semi final in the vieux port, which was a very good match. Talking of celebs, It seems that as we were the only English team registered, the sports desk from La Marseillaise newspaper sent a local hack down to cover the game and do a small piece on our team which is more of a result than we got in the game itself :)-D You can read it here

Short notice I know but the nice people at Ricard are putting on a Petanque triples tournament in Battersea Park, this Sunday 13th. 11:30 - 18:00, free entry, just turn up and play. First prize is Eurostar tickets to Paris. The only condition is that you must have a team of three. There will be a Rioard bar there if you wish to sip a refreshing Pastis whilst you play. There will also be people from the English Petanque Association there if you just want to come down and have a casual game or find out more about the game in London Can't offer any more info as there is no website but I do have an e flyer which I will try to attach, or if that doesn't work then try to contact [email protected] Hope to see you there.

Mockney, I'm very interested in chucking in my (hopefully) factual 2pence on this but am in the process of packing for a holiday and so time is limited. I will add this: There are 10 armed commands in the Met Police, including CO19 (who are responsible for the ARVs as mentioned above), SO15 (anti terrorism officers but most definitely NOT all armed), Diplomatic Protection Group (DPG, the ones that buzz around town in the Red cars), Royalty Protection (many have concealed weapons), Airport security officers plus the various Specialist Crime Directorate officers (again not all of whom are armed). AFAIK, officers wishing to work in an armed role have to go through a very tough training / fitness /assessment regime before being accepted into the role. Once in the role and fulfilling their duties, they are then "armed" as a matter of course and until they transfer out and into a non-firearms role. As for the "weapons in boxes and paperwork if you open them" goes, this sounds like the process of old, whereby weapons were kept at the local nick and each job would be judged on it's merit and the firearms issued accordingly. I think that your copper mate may have been bigging it up a bit, so to speak (although I will happily eat humble pie if wrong).

...no, not striking or surrendering or eating cheese. It is in fact petanque! I'm off to Marseille in the morning with a motley crew of merry men. (and women). Once there we shall compete in the Mondiale de Petanque de Marseille. It kicks off on Sunday and is something of a knockout tournament so if we don't win our first game then it's an early Pastis bath for the chaps. I'll report back next week and let you all know how we got on. A bientot... Horse

Sean, is it a case of D/L straight to the phone on mobile internet or via PC and a cable?

mockney piers Wrote: > Police armed? I'm against the bobby on the beat > having a gun, but seeing as the majority of patrol > cars have firearms in them, the debate is somewhat > moot. Mockney, where did you get this from? I'm quite sure that the majority of patrol vehicles do not have firearms in them. Not having a go, like, just genuinely surprised to hear this.

snorky Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > bad feeling about the way this is going Yes, me too. Something to do with "ordinary decent people". Speaking of which, Louisa, can you please provide a link to the figure that your Thames valley friend gave you? The one about London being a million miles ahead of other major cities in terms of violent crime (was it 85%?) I forget now and can't go back to the page. Thanks.

You mean to say that it's not consultation gone crazy? How disappointing.

Interesting. My landlord phoned me earlier this week to clarify when exactly I moved in to the flat as he had some tax forms to complete. I wonder if this is related?

When I clicked on the thread I was expecting to hear that the Bishop was closing down.

Keef, forgive me if I'm incorrect here but it seems as if you have a soft spot for the CPT.

I would have to go with the regular (not extra cold) guinness tap in The Castle P.H.

No vouchers chez horse, crystal palace road. I'd like to see these bags. Well done anyway, monica.

My drink of the moment is the 'Perfect Manhattan': 4-5 ice cubes in a mixing glass 1 1/2 measures of Maker's Mark 1/2 measure red vermouth 1/2 measure white vermouth 4 drops Angustora bitters 1 teaspoon maraschino cherry juice stir gently for 10-15 secs Strain into a Manhattan glass Add a maraschino cherry Serve Rinse Repeat. Always repeat.

HonaloochieB Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > No of course it isn't, you silly bastard. > > I'm sorry if that sounds a little harsh, it's > mainly down to your use of 'lol' and an emiticon > for no apparent good reason. Not there's ever a > good reason for the use of either in my opinion. > > I'm not so sure about that. Your post kind of made me lol and :))

I especially liked the part where it mentioned "the miserable lives of commuters".

You seem to have touched a nerve with some posters, Nero. It might be a big deal for the person who has to pick bits of litter out of their privet hedge. On a recent lunch break I was walking past a bus stop close to my office where a woman was sat, presumably waiting for bus. As I approached she pulled out a packet of cigarettes, unwrapped the plastic, ripped off the foil and preceded to light up, but not before dropping the rubbish on the floor. What really surprised / annoyed me was that she was actually sitting less than a metre from a bin. I stopped and said "Excuse me, you appear to have missed the bin." Her response: "Wot? If you're so fucking bothered then YOU pick it up." Short of questioning her sanity and/or intelligence or offering to smoke the cigarette for her as well, I wasn't really sure what to say back, and although I did pick up the litter and put it in the bin, I left the scene feeling that despite my moral victory, in her mind she probably felt that she had the upper hand. I hate littering in all it's forms and usually pointing out that someone has dropped something is enough to embarrass them into thinking about it and stuffing the offending article into their pocket. Doesn't always work though.

I can't say I'd be that bothered if a MacDo appeared on Lordship Lane. I recognise that it's not the best food in the world but I'd rather that than take a chance in some of ED's scruffier fast food emporiums. You never know, the warm glow of the Golden Arches may compliment the exterior of Foxtons...24hr news, 24hr cheese burgers. Re the unions issue, it's not just Ronald and his cronies who are guilty.It would appear that Tesco employees in the USA are also forbidden to join up. Walmart, parent company of ASDA are also notorious for their anti-union stance. Tesco USA Unions article How many people opposed to McDonalds on the basis of their workers rights record, shop in Tesco or ASDA, I wonder?

I quite sure that the same mail went around about a year ago. Snopes says it is a false chain mail.. http://www.snopes.com/politics/gasoline/gasout.asp

Louisa Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Glad to see Le Moulin was a strong performer on > this star based system. Especially, may I add, in > the hygiene department. This was an area for which > this establishment was placed under such scruntiny > by so many of the biased posters on this forum,on > various ocassions, not so long ago and I am glad > this system adds further proof to my argument that > a restaurant does not have to constantly be > redesigned to suit the latest fad in styles to be > worthy of being an eatery in this area since > gentrification. I stick by Eric and Margaret, and > I hope a few more of you can bare to get past the > exterior to try some of the culinery delights now > we have this myth put to rest. > > Louisa. I've eaten there, Louisa. It wasn't too bad. The food was fresh and well cooked but the service was so old school that it made me feel a little uncomfortable i.e. mains being brought out and then vegetables / sides dished up for us from separate plates. Your friends Eric and Margaret seem nice, though. Very chatty people they were.

What I find really bizarre about season 2 is that when it aired on BET (Black Entertainment Television), the network felt it necessary to edit out most of the waterside / dockers / Valchek / white people storylines, apparently because their core audience (black viewers) would not be interested in it enough to watch. How patronising to their viewers is that? Article here: http://www.dailybruin.com/news/2007/apr/16/ibets_editing_butchers_wire_story_linei/

No you are not, ant.

snorky Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Is this a private lynch mob or can anyone join in > ? Snorky, see below. This is definitely a team effort. sweetgirl Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > if > anythings gonna get done, we need to work together > edforum!!!!

My sister works for an airline so buys me duty free premium spirits when she returns from each trip. It's a good way of keeping my bar stocked with the best ingredients at reasonable prices. Wine - we buy this from Nicolas & occasionally G&B, or keep an eye out for what good stuff is being sold in Sainsburys. Somerfield usually has a decent Gigondas for about ?7, which is well worth buying. I've given up buying beer for home consumption, too easy to drink too much and it does tend to enlarge the waistline:-$