louisiana

*Bob* Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Don't forget the artistic scattering of vintage > sheet music. You read my mind, *Bob*

I do like to hear Bill Nighy's voice popping up on the radio. As you were.

Well you'll be voting for a different set of candidates and will end up with a different MP, for starters, and the impact of your vote may be quite different (different majority?). The main point of the rejigging was to equalise the number of voters in each constituency, as the figures were previously very unbalanced (Peckham was the smallest constituency in the country). So each vote will now count for roughly the same across Lambeth and Southwark. But the political impact is something else.

For many years I've been itching to replace piano that I had. But they are big, heavy, difficult to move. Should I just buy a ukelele instead? Or will the joy I get out of having a piano again outweigh any practical downsides? (Provoked by leafing through Barbican music shop sheet music shelves...for piano.)

Roll Deep Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Age is irrelevant. The ability to misbehave is > essential. Man or woman. I'm with Roll Deep on this one. Plus: 50 is the new 40.

ratty Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > So more important then ever that we get out and > vote to try and keep the tories out eh??? > > Point noted - thx v much I thought the Tories were already in!

In this election year, some interesting changes to the Dulwich & Welst Norwood constituency boundary. http://election.pressassociation.com/Constituencies/general.php Major change in losing the South Camberwell area, and in general the constituency seems to have moved west (losing to east, gaining to west). More info on Boundary Commission for England website: http://www.boundarycommissionforengland.org.uk/ The change index is quite high, and it looks like TJ's majority would have been much reduced in 2005 with the new boundaries.

MrBen Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It amazes me how many people will consider you to > be an expert by the virtue of being Scottish. The > truth is that lots of my countrymen know jack > about it I know. Mr Louisiana is Scottish and I introduced him to the island malts (Lagavulin, Ardbeg and the rest of the Islay malts, Talisker, Highland Park). We're currently enjoying some of the limited production bottles coming out of certain Islay distilleries (accessed via membership schemes, pretty high in alcohol and amazing effect in the mouth). - which is why Glenmorangie is the top > seller (not a bad dram by any means but...). > > It's all personal taste but I'm with BN5 on the > Highland Park - a fine dram. If you like them > smoother then the Balvenie range and Dalwhinnie > always go down well. Get into Islay for the peaty > ones - Ardbeg or Laphroig is still hard to beat on > a cold day from the hip flask. > > As it happens I'm organising a whisky tasting wit > at Vinopolis , London Bridge in February. It's a > chance to try a range of unusual bottles with > expert Duncan, learn a bit, have a laugh and to > eat cheese. Lots of it. Last time we had some > amazing stuff - including a bottle of 1966 Glen > Albyn (which I then bought). Apart from that > specific year it's rather nice. And now in the > Fellbrigg vaults for a special occasion.. Oo, let us know when this is for. Aimed at beginners? Or exploring the further regions of the malt?

I popped into the new Sainsbury's just to see what they had. The wine selection looks worse than Costcutter (special offer on Mateus Rose, anyone?). The bread is the usual 'Sainsbury's indifferent'. Just one type of bottled real ale (just like in East Berlin supermarkets before the wall came down). Well at least it's got a cash machine to provide an alternative when the Lloyds one breaks down. I'll probably use that sometime.

At present: - I'm getting misdelivered post almost every time the post person calls. Yesterday and the day before, for example, which were the only two days this week I've received post, I was handed envelopes clearly and correctly addressed to a completely different part of East Dulwich - I'm getting Recorded Delivery 7 days after it is handed over to the Mail - Out of 13 packages expected since 3 January (from different suppliers), I've received just 3 so far. But I have to say things haven't been much better than that for months (since September). And at least the current postie (we seem to get so many different ones) does not stride through the earth in my garden border, squashing and killing my plants, as the last one did.

I keep mine on. 17 degrees if I'm in and awake, 14 if I'm out and about for a few hours, or at night, and 10 if it's wintry and I'm away. Otherwise the place takes around 36 hours to reheat to normality in depths of this winter. I work from home, and being unable to type from freezing hands (no I won't wear gloves when typing) costs me money as well as being no fun.

Nail varnish remover? (acetone, a solvent)

Kalamiphile Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Am I the only person that missed the opening of > another supermarket? Where is this new > Sainsbury's, thought Tesco metro's monopolised the > market! I missed it too. And I live around the corner. Last week I went to Sainsbury's DKH for first time in a year. I looked into the eyes of some mackerel on the fish counter, and decided it was just too long since the fishies had breathed their last. Will continue to buy fruit and veg at Val's, which I've been using since some people on this forum were in short pants.

Burbage Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > louisiana Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > The worst year for honey bees was 2007/8. There > > was a fairly major wipe-out, in the US and > > elsewhere. This was not a figment of anyone's > > imagination, Huguenut. > > I'll bite. > > > It depends on who you talk to, and I'm slightly > suspicious of figures compiled purely from those > submitted by beekeepers who responded to a survey > (there's a risk that the only folk who turn them > in are the folk who've lost colonies). Quite. So the figures from BeeBase are also highly suspect. Of course all figures have to be treated with caution. Unfortunately, as many beekeepers are keeping bees without any central record (there are still many not on BeeBase), it is quite difficult to gather figures. And of course until beekeepers started to experience serious problems, they often did not consider it necessary to be part of any such exercise. Even in the > US, colony numbers were only affected in some > areas, and seem to be back to normal. > > > 2008/9 has not been as bad. But many keepers > are > > still experiencing 25-30% colony loss. Which is > > not to be sneezed at. > > And equally many are experiencing none. Or, at > least, none that can't be explained otherwise. > > > There does not appear to be any single > explanation > > for what we are seeing, though I'd suggest > > personally that the US experience is not > > unconnected with the stresses that US > > agri-business puts on bees. > > The USDA's National Honey Reports make interesting > reading. They do. But to what extent would you say the bee business in the US is comparable to that in the UK? The 'mobile task force' aspect for example? > > > Varroa mite is not new. But it is now (as of a > few > > years ago) resistant to the so-called remedies > > proposed by big pharma just 10-15 years ago. > > The remedies were pyrethroids, familiar to > gardeners for decades. They were used because they > worked but, because mites reproduce rapidly, and > they were used haphazardly, the mites developed > immunity quickly. That's no different from how > MRSA developed, and the pharmaceutical industry > isn't being blamed for that. > Who is blaming big pharma for that? It came up with treatments, a short while later the treatments proved not effective. This is a common pattern. > > > The UK bee research and monitoring efforts have > > been seriously affected in recent years by > > government budget. Posts were being lost (cut), > > just at a time when things were going > pear-shaped, > > which has had a serious impact. > > Monitoring hasn't been much affected, as far as I > know. In fact, through the use of GIS over the > last ten years, and the development of BeeBase, > monitoring here is likely to be better than ever. BeeBase is taking off, but it's unfortunate they chose a name already used by so may other projects. Monitoring will improve. > Research has suffered, chiefly through the closure > of Rothamsted, but new initiatives are coming on > stream. It would be nice to have lots of money > spent, but we're not alone, and it's sensible to > pool our efforts with European partners rather > than spend lots of money replicating their > research. Absolutely. > > New > > money means the situation may be recovered, > just > > about. It shouldn't be necessary to make a big > > public stink just to stop essential services > being > > cut. But that's so often the case, here and > > elsewhere. > > The new money is for pollinator research, which > includes moths and all sorts of non-honey bees. Which has led to all kinds of side arguments about why the focus should be on honey bees and less generally on all pollinators. When there's a given limited pot, people will inevitably fight over it. > About a tenth of it's going to honeybee research, > though what they'll research is still a matter of > debate. As has been pointed out, the US did put > serious money into CCD research, but to no great > effect. I don't suggest the gamble wasn't worth > taking, but spending more money won't necessarily > 'improve' the results. Quite. > > > There continue to be issues with DEFRA and what > it > > is doing with government funds in this area (as > > opposed to *research* funds for a range of > sources > > including some from government). BBKA has > recently > > walked away from one major bee-keeping > government > > project, for some very good reasons. ('Welsh > > government and language' should perhaps not > have > > the same weight as 'organisation representing > > 15,000 bee-keepers'.) In a sense, this whole > > thing has galvanised bee-keepers into acting > > together, whatever government plans. > > DEFRA's allocation of resources is a mystery unto > DEFRA. But they did consult on, and published this > year, a national Bee Health Strategy which has > gained consensus in promoting best practice > without unduly burdening beekeepers or > panic-mongering. Really? Consensus? I seem to recall reading in various publications recently that BBKA has abandoned the Healthy Bees Plan (HBP) Project Board. And Dr Helen Crews (Head of Inspectorates at FERA) also went to the press with her comments on this move, expressing her "disappointment" at BBKA's move. And Tim Lovett (president of BBKA) did likewise, expressing different and opposing views. It doesn't look like a consensus situation to me. BBKA has effectively declared UDI with respect to promoting honey bee health and education. Lovett said the project as run by FERA "will deliver little if any worthwhile outcomes for bees and beekeepers". Fairly strong words from a not very militant institution. The Bee Inspectors, the resources > and training provided by the National Bee Unit and > the strategy itself are very good indeed and, to > my mind, provide a robust framework for > sustainable, inclusive beekeeping. That deserves > some praise (though we should still complain about > it, to keep them on their toes). > > On the other hand, the BBKA remains happy to > endorse the products of the agrochemical business > (presumably 'big pharma'), and there are more than > a few awkward sorts who wonder why the BBKA is so > cosy with producers of the nicotinamide pesticides > that the French beekeepers are so upset about. Ah, don't forget the Germans. They too are not happy. It's certainly a bone of contention for many, and not just in France and Germany. > > > The only certainty is that bee-keeping is now > most > > definitely not hands off. If you do not monitor > > and control for various diseases, continuously, > > you will lose your hives. And even then... > > It never was, Over history, there has never been more bee disease than now. That is a step change and needs to be dealt with. Hence the increasing promotion of BeeBase, inspectors, research etc. Beekeepers need to contend with what they have not had to content with before. and the same applies to children and > goldfish. Unfortunately, we live in a world where > even Yucca plants can die of neglect. I'd suggest that an integrated management system for bee diseases is a little more involved than watering a yucca plant or feeding a goldfish. As I say, there has been a step change. People have to deal with that, and we are seeing the fall-out of that rearrangement of the goal-posts. > > Apologies for biting so comprehensively. Sceptics > in search of references will find most of the > numbers scattered about at > http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu. I won't cite all > the documents as I've got better things to do on a > Friday night. How about some UK sources? Or European ones? After all, this is the UK, and we don't have a range of the agri-business dynamics present in the US.

Huguenot Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I don't think I suggested it was a figment of > anyone's imagination did I? You used the words "red herrings", "lunatic fringe" and "extreme views" amongst others. Your views, or those of others? Hard to tell, as you quoted widely without quotation marks or other indicators. "Figment" and "imagination" seem quite tame in comparison, non? > > There are certainly those who think it's the end > of the world, and plenty who don't - or at least > plenty who suggest that throwing money at the > problem won't necessarily help. Like we read, the > beekeepers only asked for 8m in the first place, > and it seems the initial 2m has been granted, with > more available if it should prove beneficial. > What's to complain? > > I can't work out your point on big Pharma - were > you implying that they swindled the public? At the > same time you also seem to be asking for a remedy > from them? It doesn't seem fair to slap them and > then beg them to save you? I said "Varroa mite is not new. But it is now (as of a few years ago) resistant to the so-called remedies proposed by big pharma just 10-15 years ago." I don't see the word swindle there, or anything similar. Do you? The fact is that the remedies then proposed don't work now, and stopped working shortly after introduction, so in a very short space of time something that was widely proposed (and hoped for) as "the solution" stopped being so. That is all. We have very similar patterns with other drug types (over different time spans). There is no intention there at all of indicating blame or suggesting deception. Merely an indication of what often happens with proposed remedies. The term "big pharma" is widely used as shorthand for 'the major multinational pharmaceutical companies'. It's a lot shorter. They're the ones that often come up with new products (in contrast to small national pharma copycats). There is no implicit perjorative meaning. This time and experience did prove to be a step-change, though, as it then meant accepting that there was no solution, and that varroa would become endemic; that it could not be erradicated. There may have been a reluctance in some quarters to accept such a position; not sure. But I think there is acceptance now. > > I didn't understand what you meant about the BBKA > walking away from a project because they don't > like the Welsh? Not because they don't like the Welsh. Because they felt unhappy about non-beekeeping interest groups having equal influence at the table with those representing beekeepers. Being Welsh does not necessarily make you an expert on bees perhaps? Or perhaps the Welsh have their own varieties of Welsh-speaking bees :-S In general, this is so often an issue where people put money on the table and then expect decision-making input for themselves regardless of knowledge, representativeness or whatever. > > I don't see how stress from agri business could > only happen in one year? Sounds like another > opportunity to take a potshot. If you've done some reading around, you'll understand that many are casting around for possible explanations. At present, all are theories, and it's likely that there are many possible explanations which have combined in complex ways. As I pointed out in my post "There does not appear to be any single explanation for what we are seeing..." Would you say that's a potshot position? Really? Stress from agri-business will happen in many years, and there will also be efforts to take remedial action over time in response to events. So what happens out there cannot be regarded as a controlled experiment. There are too many things changing over time to permit a set of figures to be interpreted in a simple way. The agri-business experience with bees is also very different in the US from the UK. Which is why the US experience is not necessarily that relevant to the UK.

dulwichmum Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > louisiana Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > daizie Wrote: > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > ----- > > > lol, personally i would seriously 'question' > > the > > > fragile mental state of the offended people. > > > > I'm with you there Daizie. It's the whole Mary > > Whitehouse thing. If a person is easily > offended, > > they should probably be tucked up in bed with a > > nice cup of cocoa. > > > Now these comments are really rather disturbing. > You clearly have no comprehension of the types of > things BBW was saying or doing on this forum. Yes > he was funny on occasion and could be charming, > but he did not learn from his mistakes and he > could be incredibly threatening and graphic with > it. I did not take kindly at all to being told > when I had been in Dulwich Park with my children, > because he recognised them from some photos off my > blog, or being told by him that he had worked out > who my husband was or had a photo of me he had > tracked down on flickr from my husbands photo > stream (it wasn't us thank God). BBW had no > boundaries and had no idea of socially acceptable > behaviour. > > I have been warned several times by admin, and I > believe that I have subsequently tried to behave > myself appropriately. BBW was an immature boy who > behaved in a chaotic and threatening, stalkerish > manner. He spoiled the culture on this forum, and > I am relieved that he is gone. Um, so Mary Whitehouse and bed and cocoa is disturbing? But flirting with the stalker is not? I'm glad you've got your priorities sorted DM!

daizie Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > lol, personally i would seriously 'question' the > fragile mental state of the offended people. I'm with you there Daizie. It's the whole Mary Whitehouse thing. If a person is easily offended, they should probably be tucked up in bed with a nice cup of cocoa.

SteveT Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > We as a society decided that the death penalty was > wrong and dropped it off the statute > book............ > Wrote woofmarkthedog. > > It was voted by MP's, not voted by the populace, > because when one of the national dailies held a > poll via their readership more than 70% were in > favour of keeping the death penalty. Indeed SteveT, that is one things we can thank our MPs for. It was ever thus.

That's previously happened in a house I lived in. Was neighbours shooting air rifle from roof of their house, down into our toilet and other rooms. Shocking and unpleasant.

Keef Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I think the figure is somewhat higher among > 'christians'. > > Any opportunity! Not really. In general, 'christians' and those with religious beliefs tend to have more conservative views than non-religous, here and elsewhere. US politics is dominated by the interests of the religious right, which has largely informed the political debate over many years, in old testament terms (do a state by state analysis of political colour red/blue vs. status of capital punishment...) In Uganda, we now have a government driven by 'christian' ideas wanting to impose the death penalty on various parts of the LGBT group, specifically. See Davis Mac-Iyalla's article in today's press on death penalty issues now facing Ugandans that don't conform to traditional biblical teachings of 'what is right'. This is tragic. It would be great to see our Archbishop coming out against killing people on the grounds of their sexual orientation, but I think the poor chap has too much to lose (the entire African flock). I do not understand the fence-sitting attitude the Anglican church is taking on all these matters. Do they really think they can keep the African flock *and* be at peace with their consciences? I could go on... In general, I don't think the terms 'liberal' (in the wide sense, not the political one) and 'religious' have ever really gone hand in hand in recent history. Please prove me wrong.

The worst year for honey bees was 2007/8. There was a fairly major wipe-out, in the US and elsewhere. This was not a figment of anyone's imagination, Huguenut. 2008/9 has not been as bad. But many keepers are still experiencing 25-30% colony loss. Which is not to be sneezed at. There does not appear to be any single explanation for what we are seeing, though I'd suggest personally that the US experience is not unconnected with the stresses that US agri-business puts on bees. Varroa mite is not new. But it is now (as of a few years ago) resistant to the so-called remedies proposed by big pharma just 10-15 years ago. The UK bee research and monitoring efforts have been seriously affected in recent years by government budget. Posts were being lost (cut), just at a time when things were going pear-shaped, which has had a serious impact. Unfortunate. New money means the situation may be recovered, just about. It shouldn't be necessary to make a big public stink just to stop essential services being cut. But that's so often the case, here and elsewhere. There continue to be issues with DEFRA and what it is doing with government funds in this area (as opposed to *research* funds for a range of sources including some from government). BBKA has recently walked away from one major bee-keeping government project, for some very good reasons. ('Welsh government and language' should perhaps not have the same weight as 'organisation representing 15,000 bee-keepers'.) In a sense, this whole thing has galvanised bee-keepers into acting together, whatever government plans. The only certainty is that bee-keeping is now most definitely not hands off. If you do not monitor and control for various diseases, continuously, you will lose your hives. And even then...

I think the IEA annual report on oil reserves is due out tomorrow (?) Some whistleblowers from inside the IEA have been at work in the press this week. Interesting...

Brendan Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Yep it?s difficult to judge another country with > such a vastly different society and approach to > government. And who are we to say anyway? Um, would you say the same about 1936 Germany? That it is 'difficult to judge another country'? 'Who are we to say'?

Here's the direct link to the Reverend Andrew Rumsey's statement about the cinema.

Spend more time in bed. You'll save a fortune on heating. Line your walls with aluminium foil. (Some bloke in a terraced house across the road from me did this back in the late 70s. His place was a furnace: entire ground floor heated with a single-bar electric fire.) Say no to modern appliances (DAB radio, flat-screen tellies). They cost a lot more to run that old skool ones. Invest in some all-in-one snug romper suits for adults. I have yet to find a reliable supply and may soon expand into designing/manufacturing some meself.