Blah Blah

http://content.tfl.gov.uk/technical-note-04-how-has-cycling-grown-in-london.pdf "In some locations, cyclists account for a significant proportion of the traffic. Cycle traffic is rising fast on the central London Thames road crossings, and counts carried out in the City of London in October 2012 found that cyclists accounted for around a third of the vehicular traffic in the morning and evening peaks." https://www.london.gov.uk/media/mayor-press-releases/2015/06/london-cycling-now-the-highest-on-record-as-rate-of-deaths-and The rush hour journeys were measured in the City and Central London and it is those figures that justify the spending on cycle infrastructure in those areas. So my point was that Scooting is quite wrong to suggest the cycling infrastructure is carried out disproportionately to need. He seems also to have forgotten that Crossrail, one of the most expensive transport infrastructure projects ever is ongoing and that new additions like DLR are relatively recent too. So there is plenty of investment in transport and it's ongoing.

27% of all journeys in London during rush hour are by cycle Scooting, so I don't know how you can say that cycling is only for a small percentage.

Haven't been there IlonaM but will add it to my list next time go there too.

I second Loz post. We too have a routine (around the kids) and work. Just on tumble dryers. They do eat a lot of power. Our home still had a little pantry in an extended kitchen when we bought it. And we turned that into a drying space by installing a low powered extraction fan in the window. So we hang washing in there (straight out of the machine), turn on the fan, and it's pretty much dry by the next day. I'm pretty sure the same would work in a small bathroom. Much cheaper alternative to a tumble dryer in the winter.

Jennys Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Have you been to the Sainte chappelle? > Breathtakingly beautiful stained glass. Seconded.

If you want a not so touristy attraction, check out the Catacombs!

Yes TTIP is worrying. It will open the way for NHS privatisation from a country that has the most expensive healthcare in the West. There have been recent examples of corporations buying up drug patents in the USA and then increasing the price of those drugs by up to 10 times. And it's alarming to note that in looking for solutions to the cost of NHS care, the government have looked to how things work in the USA, rather than looking at other European countries that have state and private healthcare combined. It's clear to me which model the Government prefers. There is sense in Mcdonnell opposing Osbourne's bill. Borrowing for consumption and investment are not the same thing and Osbourne is trying to say they are. The amatuerism from him is on blurring the lines of good economics. We don't borrow to buy food, but we do borrow to buy a house. That makes sense because the house is an asset. The food is consumption. In the same vein, a business will borrow to build a factory and buy plant machinery. They are assets against the loan. So when Mcdonnell argues that removing the ability for a government to borrow for investment and capital projects is a bad idea, he is right. What is amaturish from both him and Corbyn though, is the way they go about things.

I think anyone joining the property ladder post 2000 is pretty doomed unless they have the kind of job that is transferable to another part of the country. We bought in 1997, with parental help (on both sides) and were able to get a three bedroomed property, large enough for our family. We couldn't do it now. Part of problem is the desperation for first time buyers to buy anything, just to get a foothold. Even fix-me-uppers are overpriced now. I think the consensus is to look further out. Useful calculator from the Guardian here. Shows just how ridiculous the situtaion has become. http://www.theguardian.com/society/ng-interactive/2015/sep/02/unaffordable-country-where-can-you-afford-to-buy-a-house

No mention of the huge cuts to local authorities from government then?

Something came up on my facebook about this. It seems to be affecting the closure of three libraries, not just the Carnegie and I believe there was a public meeting last night? Every time I go into Peckham Library with my kids, every available study space, table is occupied, often with young people, for some of whom the library is probably the only quiet space they have to do homework. Every computer is always in use. Libraries are vitally important for many people.

???? I've always argued for PR even when the Tories didn't win elections. I've always held the view that our electoral system is bad for democracy and that it protects a two party system. And to be fair you know nothing about me DaveR, or my views beyond a few posts on here. Idiots do not make millions, or have best selling books. I don't agree with much of what he says, but that in itself doesn't make him an idiot.

Ahhh maxxi. Hard to tell sometimes if something is written in jest :) All I'm saying Dave is that 76.5% of the electorate didn't vote for the government we now have and that I am for electoral reform to a PR system as a result, even if that means we have coalition government forever.

Can't agree the general election turned out for the best Maxxi. And the overwhelming millions who didn't vote Conservative over those who did would agree with me. Perhaps if those who didn't vote at all had voted, we wouldn't be witnessing the ideological attacks on the poorest that we are. But we have no way of knowing how those people would have voted of course.

I think his telling people not to vote did for him really. It's hard to have credibility campaigning for change if you start by telling people not to do the one thing that can bring about change.

There's more to narcissism than that. It's not an accurate definition of the condition. It would be correct however to define him as egotistic. I also wouldn't go as far as to call him an idiot either. Idiots don't become successful self made millionaires. He is also a fairly decent writer (not that I agree with him on many things) and again, not really the skillset of an idiot.

Yet another gaff that the Conservatives will be able to exploit. The inexperience and niaivity of the Corbyn/ Mcdonnell partnership is startling. I don't give Corbyn even 18 months if it continues like this. Polly Toynby made a good point in saying that Corbyn is so used to opposing everything, that he has no idea how to unify.

I'm not really interested in reading an article about a millionaire taking a taxi to appointments and meetings. It's not a story. I am more interested in the issues that Brand speaks about. I do think he is sometimes incoherant but sneering at him rather than considering the issues he's highlighting displays everything that is wrong with the mentality of parts of both the press and the public.

But who pays for the car? And is it really that unusual that someone uses a driver (taxi) to make sure they get to appointments on time? These are not the kinds of things that really matter. If wealthy people can't have views on poverty, then given that Parliament has been full of them forever and a day, no social reform would have ever happened. And at least Brand has a background in touch with ordnary people. Cameron certainly doesn't. Are you really saying that only if someone gives up their wealth, can they have a valid view on austerity? That's just bonkers. He also doesn't fullfil the clinical definition of narcissism either, given that he IS capable of empathy and doesn't appear to sufffer from underlying esteem issues, both of which are necessary attributes of narcissism.

????, when in London, Brand cycles a lot to get to places. As someone who has been to some of those anti-austerity marches, there are all kinds of people there, not just the loony lefty stereotypes that you seem to think everyone who opposes this government is. I do agree he's an egomaniac though, and his treatment of women has been very dubious in the past too. Don't really know the ins and outs of it all Duncan, just know they don't pay for their own tickets. I think most people though, given the choice, and flying long hual, would go first class if they could. I'm around the same height as Brand (I think) and leg room in economy is an issue.

lol now that IS funny :D

Most people who fly first class don't actually buy their tickets. They are paid for by whatever company, event etc is employing them to fly out. And a quick google search shows he was in Cape Town as part of a world tour. So the tour company (who like all tour companies do) fly their main act first class. Not quite what the person posting that pic on twitter was trying to make of it, is it.

It's also worth pointing out that it's not always poor dental hygeine that leads to dental decay, but lack of visits to the dentist. Fear of the dentist is a real issue, often formed through negative childhood experiences. If you then combine that with not everyone's teeth being the same, then some people will need more treatment no matter how well they look after their mouth. Some people have stronger teeth that are less prone to decay than others, just as some people have acidic imbalances in their saliva that subject their teeth to more attack than others. Teeth root into bone, so if you have healthy bone you are going to do better than if you have problems. It is also possible to overbrush, just as brushing within 40 mins of a meal is the wrong time to brush (at one time people were encourage to brush immediately after every meal). It stands to reason that where heathcare is private, poorer people can't afford to see a dentist as often, just as in the UK, only limited treatments are allowed on the NHS and the result is that many people who can't afford private dentistry lose teeth that would be saved under private treatment. Even the quality of something like a crown, is inferior in materials on the NHS.

Question Time audiences are notorious for digging up extremes in their attempts to 'reflect a wide section of public views'. I thought for Question Time, is was a tame one. The panel seems devoid of that 'go for the jugular' MP or journalist that it usually has at least one of :D On another note, Manchester is about to see a week of protest during the Conservative Party Conference.

My mistake, but it still doesn't change that your analysis of rental costs is wrong, as the table I posted shows.

Yes I just about remember the public information films John. I think the likelihood of a terrorist group getting hold of anything nuclear is slim Fox. You need scientists and facilities (costing billions) to operate and maintain a nuclear weapon. And from what I understand, the idea of a single button to launch a weapon is a myth too. There's a whole process of buttons and codes etc.