dave

Bumping this old (non-ED) thread - I quite liked Hamburger Union (out of the yuppy burger places it always seemed the best/tastiest). Until a few weeks ago when I went to one of the ones near Charing Cross - and discovered that it's now a pale imitation of its former self. Expanded menu (containing some of the old things) but a dramatic dip in the quality of ingredients and preparation of the food (and speed of the service). Looked pretty much the same, but didn't taste anywhere near as fresh/good. And why might this be? Well, possibly it's not entirely unrelated to the fact that the original founders/owners have sold out to the Angus Steak House Group... Beware - Hamburger Union (apart from the branch in Hampstead which was retained during the sale) is not what it used to be...

Retrieving the litter and giving it back to the litterer with a gentle "I'm sorry, I think you dropped this..." often works a treat in this sort of situation. They know that you know that they didn't drop it at all, but they're generally too embarrassed to do anything but mumble, say thank you and carry their litter away.

In a purely anecdotal/straw poll way, I think that generally (not always, particularly when there's a straight bit of road with no speed camera) motorcyclists are among the most considerate and best drivers on the road. However, they need to be differentiated from the scooter maniacs who are high on confidence and low on common sense. As someone who cycles and tries not to break any of the rules of the road (but who has been known on occasion to go through a changing light or to hop over the tiny little bit of footpath at the end of Deptford High St) I do find the behaviour of the militant tendency of really aggressive cyclists (cycling down the pavement, straight through red lights etc) makes me want to shout at them. I don't though. So far. And I try not to preach at people about the benefits of cycling. Though I do complain about the state of the roads to anyone who'll listen. Bus drivers in this town are mental. Full stop. They treat everyone equally badly. Not sure I would be any better if I spent my working life driving around London in something resembling a big barge, though.

Mrs Mia Wallace? I don't think it would be a date... And even if it was, she'd probably want to order the five dollar shake.

au contraire - I'm not generally a fan and thought she was very useful on the offensive against the Daily Mail...

"Can I help you at all?" - Tubbs, The League of Gentlemen "That would be an ecumenical matter" - Fr Jack Hackett, Father Ted "Oh my God, they killed Kenny" - various, South Park "Let's be careful out there" - the first Sgt from Hill St Blues "yada yada yada" - Jerry Seinfeld, Seinfeld "Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a ..." Dr McCoy, Star Trek "Oh boy" Dr Sam Beckett, Quantum Leap (and yes, I know the last two make me a bit of a saddo...) "Good pol-ice" - Jimmy/Bunk/Kima/Lester, The Wire

I suspect that the generally relaxed and flexible approach to parking on Lordship Lane is one of the reasons why you have a thriving high street there. Stop people getting there in their cars without it being a complete ballache and you stop a lot of the potential custom on the high street.

I'm a bit disappointed in the lack of good resources (like the factcheck.org which keeps a track of US Presidential races) to allow the undecideds (like me) to make their minds up. Every discussion seems to be hugely polarised. I don't like Ken but I don't have any faith in Boris. I will probably vote for Paddick but I am also sure that it's my second choice which will be the one which winds up counting. And I have no idea who to give it to. For what it's worth, I'm sorry that nobody from outside mainstream party politics has raised their hands and shown themselves to be a credible candidate. That surely gives a very poor message on the value placed on a contribution to British public life and London generally.

There's some pretty clear guidance on the principles here, but the news probably won't cheer you up:- http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/WorkingHoursAndTimeOff/DG_10029788 A couple of things to note - you don't have an automatic right to any enhanced pay on public or Bank Holidays. Everything is governed by your contract and/or your staff handbook if you have one. One of the troubling things about employment law in the last 10/15 years has been the creeping erosion of rights for the lowest-paid workers - while the framework on obligations has been tightened up and we have things like the minimum wage, there are gaping great holes for employers to drive through treating their employees like serfs. It really does come down to the employer and the contract.

Can put in a good word for the post-takeover Page 2 (aka The Village Inn). The welcome is warm and the atmosphere is great. And there doesn't seem to be the same favour towards one particular ethnic group (the Irish, of whom I am one) reported about elsewhere. One caveat - due to some sort of limitation, there was only Guinness/Cider/Lager on tap the last time I was in. But they do have some good ales in bottles.

Bumping this old thread - has Camberwell Grove been reopened yet? I ask because I was driving home last night - from Vauxhall Bridge I always tend to wind up coming down Camberwell New Road and then turning up Camberwell Grove to get to DKH. Last few times (I don't tend to come that way very often) the Grove has been shut and I have wound up winding my way through the backstreets of Peckham. Anyway, last night the satnav thing suggested a right turn onto Denmark Hill - but you're not allowed to turn right there unless you're driving a bus (and I wasn't). So. What's the news with the Grove? And failing that - what's the best alternative route? Or does one have to go through Peckham?

The fact is that our trains are not designed with any consideration of people standing at all. The aisles aren't generally wide enough for people to pass one another, there is no room for any large items to be propped/stowed and this means that you're going to get in the way - I have nothing but sympathy for the people who get trains home in the evening with their bikes - not going to make them any friends. However, there are a lot of people who hang about by the door just because it improves (by whole seconds) their egress time when they get to their stop - and often that isn't LB (or the other end of the line). I understand it, but I can't condone it.

Only thing I'd recommend is that the first thing you do in the iTunes is to change the default encoder to mp3 and make sure you're not making restricted copies - that means that you'll be able to move things to another player/manager in future with less pain than re-ripping everything from CD. By the way, having bought an iPod touch, I miss my old nano with its lovely and well-thought-out scroll wheel interface thingy. The touch one is hideous. And you can't have the Apple FM radio with it. So you're not missing out on anything except shiny screen, really...

In light of the discussion, this is interesting... Not sure how far the attendants are actively incentivised to give out more tickets (rather than simply keeping their job by meeting a minimum quota). I notice in Westminster/Camden they tend to be careful to take pictures of illegally parked cars now, though I haven't seen the same in SE London so far.

Been in a few times before and after the refit. Think the place is alright now (the new decor veers towards the identikit/soulless but pulls back just in time, in my own opinion). Not eaten there. Agree with the point above about the staff - they seem to be very good. My own gripe is that there's been football on the last few times I've been in, and it's visible (and audible) everywhere. Can't those who want to watch it be segregated from the rest of us?

Scarlet Fever - I had it in Belfast, 1983. Massively high temperature and my parents were bricking it. Locum GP told them just to use a cold wet flannel to cool me down. Proper GP was horrified. I can't bend the thumb on my right hand due to a bone spur/fused thing.

> true - not strictly a cover. Same might be said of Nothing Compares 2U. The tiny purple one's version of his own song pales next to Sinead O'Connor.

Comfortably Numb - butchered by the Scissor Sisters, but I thought the Van Morrison/Roger Waters cover (as featured on the soundtrack of The Departed) was fantastic.

I need to get out more. The Tide is High - Blondie (and later Atomic Mutton). Original was a B-side in the UK for The Paragons (yes, I did have to Wiki it). Agree re: Tom Waits/Downtown Train. The cover is, em, much more accessible. Definitive bigger-hit-cover version must be "My Way" by Paul Anka etc - does anyone think of him rather than Frank Sinatra (or maybe Elvis, or, em, Sid Vicious). Though honorable mentions must go to Step On (not originally the Happy Mondays), Don't Leave Me This Way (not originally The Communards). Do complete reinterpretations count? If so, you have Always on My Mind (PSB version). Think it was probably a bigger hit for Elvis, though.

A pedant writes... Van Morrison wrote "Have I Told You Lately" himself - though Jim Reeves did cover an old C&W song called "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?" long before. Scary thing is that Van the Man reckoned it's about his relationship with God. Don't think Rod Stewart (or numerous wedding DJ's) ever got that.

Yup - not sure whether you're talking about buying, selling, renting or what. I wouldn't recommend them. Our neighbours used them as a letting/management agent and haven't had a very good experience. I've phoned them about some issues and been told different things by different people in their office. PM me if you want details.

There is a clause in the sky t's and c's which means you are supposed to keep it connected to the phone line for 12 months after connection. I used to hear mine dialling home in the middle of the night when I lived in a "studio flat". Snorky, if you're having problems like that I would check your ADSL filters. The Sky box itself is unlikely to be causing the issue, but the filters are.

I'd have to vote again for the SE option. Nokia have come along a lot since I switched to SE (about 4-5 years ago) but the N series are known within the geek - sorry - "expert" community for their bugginess. The N95 is no exception, from the conversation I had with a (very knowledgable and credible) bloke in a mobile phone shop last week. If it's a camera which you mainly want, the mid-range SE phones seem to have the edge just now. One thing I would suggest is that you avoid anything which has been customised by Vodafone - they tend to make every phone try to fit their standard menu structure/look-and-feel, which has crippled at least one phone for me (a SE m600i since you ask). All the operators do this sort of thing to one extent or another, but Voda seem to be the worst, and SE phones appear to be the worst affected, for whatever reason. Saying that, I still can't convince my other half to move from her (non n-series) Nokia despite my praise of the alternatives...

"End of" Fine as part of a sentence, but just really irritating when left standing alone as some kind of shorthand (generally indicating that the speaker is some sort of dullard).

There's a problem in that people used to become famous because of something they had done - Ranulf Fiennes is a good example of that tradition being carried on, where the modern British (and maybe American) trend is towards fame for fame's sake. Does fame = money = power? I tend to think not in most cases. And certainly it doesn't appear to lead to happiness. Anyway, back to Heroes. I am quite looking forward to the series climax (what I believe is known by our transatlantic cousins as a "season climax") on BBC2 tonight.