just_browsing

So I had to do the survey to understand what the concern was and I still don't know! I thought the campaign phrasings were largely ok, while the descriptors leaned oddly to the negative but left out more meaningful emotions like 'intrigued' maybe. Very interested to know what was inappropriate?

Enjoying the nostalgia and memories. As with others, we get ours through Milk and More (is part of big co, so there is that against it, but it's hardly a secret/niche thing) - returnable glass bottles of milk, orange juice, yoghurt, and much more besides (as per the name). And yes it comes in the middle of the night in an electric vehicle. So can still get out nostalgia fix, doubled when the Riverford chap comes too.

Rather misses the point to agree, and then instantly follow-up by pointing finger at "mostly left wing liberal types". So boring. I agree fully with hjt32, reading through these days is exhausting and I'm put off contributing - nothing to do with particular wing/agenda, just a sneering undercurrent that I fear limits many of us less prominent members from engagement.

Seeking asylum is legal. Equating asylum seekers with 'illegal' immigrants is one of the most effective and long-lasting tricks of those diverting blame for the state of the country. Sadly many have just followed that diversion, be it out of ignorance, laziness, or convenient alignment with other views they may hold.

Is this the second in a long series of Bloody... complaints?

There is a reason why I think only England and Chile (no idea why) have a fully privatised national water set-up, and why the UN recognises the right to water as a human right - "the right to water entitles everyone to have access to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible, and affordable water for personal and domestic use". Whoever is running pension funds should be shifting sharply, if they haven't done so already (and I'm sure they haven't for the most part).

Think I've likely over/misinterpreted this, but the line on " proud British person.. what side of the fence" struck me as a bit odd in relation to the Royal Family (or was it just the word Royal?). Whatever perspective you have on monarchy, I would have thought being skeptical/cynical about having our Royal Family in its current state is a perfectly legitimate "proud British" stance to have - all that taxpayers' money, profiting from our crumbling NHS, plus the challenge to proud democratic (waves around Magna Carta with patriotic pride/naivieté) norms like transparency and equality under the law.. On the post boxes themselves, afraid my own old-fashioned and nostalgic instincts kick in - I rather like them as one of our nation's benign historical legacies/quirks, without interpreting them as royalist bastions. I'll keep an eye out, just like I did for the Olympic gold ones.

Refurb/rebrand - see the New Shops thread. Always good to do a search before posting - often the case that this sort of thing has been raised (/discussed at significant length) already.

I first subscribed to Tortoise two or three years ago, and also subscribe to the Guardian, and eg Byline and various others - I do feel it is important to support good media if you can. Tortoise have done some interesting stuff, tried to really reach out to readership and have been quite trailblazing on topical podcasts too. Having said that, I still can't quite see how it all fits with the Observer and I worry it will make both worse as they have different bases and dynamics in my view.

While I sympathise with the staff, I also wouldn't go out of my way to support H&B - they are far from being a local, independent and I see the investment company that owns it got in various tangles re one of its founders (Russia, sanctions etc). From shopping angle, I used to like them but in recent years (no idea if that coincided with ownership changes) I feel as a brand it's lost its USP and charm. And as per other discussions, would hope the likes of Healthmatters aren't negatively impacted in these really difficult retail times. That's not me wishing they close forthwith, in case it reads that way, just highlighting they aren't the H&B I think they were back in the day.

Our son really doesn't interact with others much and very rarely gets out, but when he does, an ice cream at the cafe is a favourite treat (even when it's freezing outside). Like yours, it's a single-person data point - in our case, no illness. Bugs can come from anything/anyone - other people are far more likely to be the unwitting carriers, in my view. Having gone there for years and years, never had a concern re the ice cream. And generally do worry about linking an establishment with illness/standards, even as a question as, even subconsciously, the association may stick in people's minds (and if they stop the ice cream, we'll be devastated!).

And BYO in Nunhead, and JARR Market in Herne Hill.

You can just walk into Guy's and they will do it(my second vaccine was four months ago). 20 minute wait yesterday.

Sorry to chip in as know it's gone a little off-question, but prompted by previous post as I'm not as convinced by the linked article and the specific point on South Korea. It is not as if the only difference between South Korea and Italy is mask-wearing. South Korea did really impressive and comprehensive testing and tracing, as did some of the other Asian countries whose trajectory has been similar. Correlation doesn't mean causation basically. Look at Germany, the European country which has, along with Iceland, done the most testing and tracing as far as I can see, and where the number of deaths is significantly lower than Italy, Spain, France and UK. Personally, I'm just waiting for official WHO/UK advice to change, if it does, and sorry again as I know this is about purchasing masks, on which there might be a distinction between "proper" PPE ones that those on the frontline need and could still be in short supply vs more basic (but potentially, subject to evidence, still useful especially in terms of not spreading one's own germs) which, as others have said, seem to be available or makeable. Essentially, completely agree people should be able to get and wear masks if they want them, in a way that doesn't deprive those on the frontline, while of course needing to be careful of the risks identified by others - their potential as germ accumulators and false security lullers.