Applespider

binary_star - while it's true that white (Continental) veal has an element of cruelty to it and I'd join you in avoiding it, buying and eating British rose veal is a good thing to do. All dairy cows need to have a calf every year to enable their milk production to continue - female calves can be added to the dairy herd. But without a market for veal, the majority of male calves are just destroyed. Rose veal is so-called because it's pink - the result of muscle development since the calves aren't kept in crates and because their diet is more than just milk. And it does taste lovely... lightly pan-fried with a little garlic and a splash of white wine, or coated in breadcrumbs/parmesan...

aquarius moon Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I cannot understand people who say they love > animals, but are prepared to eat them and wear > their skins. > They kind of 'like' animals, eg dogs, cats, pets > etc. but are not true animal lovers. I'm quite happy to say that I only like animals as opposed to loving them. I hadn't realised that 'Britain being a nation of animal lovers' was an incontrovertible rule. So I'm quite comfortable both eating animals and wearing their skins - and yes, I'm perfectly well aware of where animals come from having spent several summers staying on a farm growing up where I regularly helped feed the veal calves etc. I do believe that they should have a good life prior to slaughter - so I do check the provenance of my meat and I wouldn't eat foie gras since I believe that to be cruel. So far as fur coats go, then I don't see why a fur coat is seen differently from a shearling one or a leather one. Mink, for example, are predatory vermin in this country. Our family has several fur coats/wraps that my grandmother bought in the 20s/30s - in the last few winters, we've worn them because they're warm and because the animals concerned have been dead for 80 years and leaving it in a wardrobe/destroying it ain't going to bring them back.

Keef Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Especially given that the plough isn't actually > anywhere near either end, but more or less in the > middle. Why not put it on Lordship Lane opposite > the Harvester, that would annoy a few people in > the low lands. While I accept that none of us NEED a Waitrose, that location would make me very happy. Pity that all the shops there are fairly small and occupied...

Not necessarily danrees. At the moment, I rarely shop for food in LL even on the weekend since I can't get everything I want there and since I need my Ocado order over ?40 for delivery, I get most of my groceries from them to make it worthwhile. Put a good supermarket there and I'd be far more likely, on the weekend, to go into William Rose/Moxons to pick up my main ingredient and then nip into Waitrose to pick up the other staples.

Because some of us don't want a ready meal (or a Simply Food for that matter); I'd rather be able to buy decent quality ingredients and pick up other bits of my weekly shop so that I'm not lugging multiple bags home at the weekend. That's things like good bread flour (Waitrose own brand is better than Allinson's or Hovis and cheaper) or perhaps fresh crab to name two of things I had delivered by Ocado last week. Yes, those people fortunate enough to work at home who can get to the lovely LL shops during the week may not need/want a Waitrose but why should the rest of us have to pay out the inflated prices (at the Simply Foods or Local/Expresses) or put up with the poorer selection at Sainsburys.

Mick Mac - 18 months ago, Waitrose didn't have their 'convenience store' model to implement in smaller sites. Now they can fit into a smaller footprint. I am curious about how much of their ingredients end up in the convenience model over ready meals since I prefer to cook myself.

One of the hotels in the West End for afternoon tea If you have last minute shopping to do, I think Selfridges and John Lewis also do afternoon tea (plus a champagne option)

It's too late for this year but earlier in December, Refuge had a 'Gift List' open at John Lewis where people could buy toys etc for the kids/abused mothers who will spend Christmas in a refuge. But I think the closing date was 13 December to give them time to organise distribution to the various shelters. Obviously there's no guarantee of it ending up somewhere 'local' either.

There was a study earlier this year about those who spent 30 minutes a day exercising were less likely to get 'snot' and if they did, their average 'snotty' time was 2 days rather than 9. There is a school of thought that if you have a cold in the head, it can be worth doing some gentle exercise it to raise the body's temperature and help fight it off. Once it's in the chest, no exercise. It does seem to work for me - I've had two warning sore throats that a good spin session has seen off unlike the rest of the office who ended up with nasty long lurgy.

Yes, I flew with the start of an ear infection once (I hadn't realised) and oh boy, was it painful... It felt how I imagine red hot skewers being stuck in your ears would feel while we were in the air. It was a relatively short flight (an hour or so) but it continued to hurt slightly and felt like I had blocked ears for several hours afterwards. While it didn't do any damage to my hearing, my ears are now more sensitive; they get painful in cold weather if I'm running/cycling and when I went skydiving, the combination of cold and pressure was agony.

Very sorry to hear about your attack. You'll probably feel odd for a good few weeks - and a little jumpy if you hear anyone walking behind you at night. It does pass... Hope the claret is helping...

I'm feeling quite relieved at the moment that I didn't have enough holiday days to go up to Scotland early for Christmas. I have my fingers firmly crossed that the airports re-open for my Thursday flight... although am considering trying to pick up a turkey crown to stick in the freezer just in case...

It has been partly planned for this year better than last. Last year, the buses just stopped serving this area almost entirely. At least this year, the buses are running with diversions to avoid the steepest hills - the problem is that there's a certain point at which the bus will get up it and that is also partly due to driver skill. I was on a 185 yesterday that passed two buses 'stuck' on hills. A while we all go on about gritting, if there's a lot of snow falling in a short period, it will cover the grit and make it virtually useless. There was an emergency gritter in Peckham yesterday when there was bus carnage along Peckham High Street - it was basically a truck of grit with several men trying to spread some out across the junction with boards and bare hands even...

Congratulations on him being chosen to represent his country but the Commonwealth games have all the sports going on at the same time and were on in September/October. Taekwondo is one of the 'optional' sports that countries can choose to have alongside the core ones like athletics or swimming but I'd thought it had only just become one of those 'optional' ones so wasn't eligible for this year's Games. After a quick google, there is a Commonwealth Taekwondo Championship happening in India in January so I'm guessing this is what he's competing in - it's not part of the Commonwealth Games proper but it's still an international level competition so best of luck to him.

I got in around 3.30. At that point, the 185/176 were being diverted to go through Peckham rather than up DKH. They were then coming along LL and all the way up to the Horniman. It was a long and slow diversion through Peckham though so if you're trying to get to town (and really really NEED to go), it might be quicker to walk to Brixton and hop on the Tube.

Gina - learn HOW to lock it up once you have your good locks. You see so many people who just lock the top bar of the frame to a stand and wander off leaving their lights etc and quick release items still available. Make sure that you have the D-lock through your frame/back wheel assembly and that there's as little room left in the D-lock as possible (it helps stop them being able to stick something through it to get leverage). These days they don't cut through the locks so much as use a jack to lever them apart.Make sure the lock is facing sideways or downs rather than the keyhole facing up so they can't pour something in (to make you leave the bike there for longer). Amazon had the mini Fuhgeddabout it for under ?50 recently which is a v solid lock although handier if you know where you're locking it since it's a pretty small D. A cable lock that you can wrap round the other wheel, rack etc can also be useful (not much of a preventative but might make them move to an easier target)

Very sorry to hear about the burglary; it's a horrible feeling to come home and realise you've been done over. I'll third Callows as a locksmith; my insurance company arranged for the door to have the locks changed and by default, also changed my door on them. Get two good mortice deadlocks on it (top and bottom) to make it harder to kick in as well as your Yale and make sure you use them even when just nipping out. Best of luck; if you've got receipts or proof of ownership (even the EXIF data from pics you took with your Nikon help) then loss adjusters can be pretty reasonable so try not to stress too much.

I like saying dishevelled since it sounds slightly awry I quite like onomatopoeia too but it is less easy to drop into conversation.

I saw some people playing outside Oxford Circus tube station last night around 9pm which struck me as odd. Are you looking to find somewhere with chess boards/sets and a ready supply of players or somewhere that would give you space while you play your own games?

And then there's fashionable (as in exactly what the market prescribes no matter how ridiculous) as opposed to looking good in 'classic' clothes as opposed to clothes purely designed to keep you decent and/or warm. I don't subscribe to the viewpoint that poor should be reduced just to the last option. Clothes do serve a purpose beyond warmth and decency. They are vital in that first impression when working (or interviewing) and can give a huge boost in self-confidence and self-worth. If you are managing a retail shop (even on a partial volunteer basis which I don't believe is the case for the managers), then you really should have some local retail knowledge which would include a rough idea of clothing outlets/prices. And even if you don't when you start, a quick search of completed eBay auctions every so often would probably give you some idea of what harem pants are currently worth...

But, if there are items in there being priced above what was paid for them (and they're not genuinely vintage/retro), then that smacks of bad merchandising from whoever sets the price. If you've got no cost price, then your margin should be good anyhow unless you're in extortionate premises so you should really be pricing to sell and get a quick turnover of stock; it encourages repeat business if people feel they are getting even a slight bargain and encourages others to make donations. I'm not saying that they have to be stupidly low prices but they should be realistic given that the donated items are secondhand.

I didn't think you were supposed to give birds bread since it swelled up in their stomachs and could cause problems. I think I read that if it was all that was available, you should soak it something first (ideally something fatty). My sis had some of those coconut shell feeders a few years back and now she makes her own 'birdfood' and refills the shells or makes 'balls'. She buys a few tubs of birdseed, mealworms (very popular with the tits apparently) and some Asda value lard at 19p, mixes it all together. Works out cheaper than buying the actual fatball things yourself (although not sure she's been to the pound shop lately!) It's also worth bearing in mind that different birds prefer feeding off different things - some are happy with a flat surface like a bird table, others prefer something they can hang from (i.e. the peanut feeders or filled shells hanging off a fence)

If you've still got your old laptop, then just transfer your entire iTunes folder from one to the other (into the same file/folder). This will keep your playcounts, added dates, ratings, playlists etc. If not, there are various bits of software out there that will pick up everything from your iPod and transfer it over (Apple's own tools only transfer purchased songs). I've used iPodrip before although not sure if that's Mac only.

But brands change and models update... Gaggia UK went under last year and although you can find Gaggia on the market now, I'm not sure whether it's another supplier who has bought the right to import from Italy or manufacture under licence. A friend has the old Baby Gaggia and likes it. I have a Francis Francis X1 which I managed to get on the cheap 6 years ago as a sample which is fabulous and infinitely better than the genuinely cheap Krups that I had before. Most new models take both the 'pods' or proper ground coffee. It does depend on how much of a coffee geek you are. If you're really serious, then you want one that has good bar pressure (higher than 15) and you really want one with a copper or brass boiler/grouphead rather than stainless steel. If you just like a decent espresso and aren't a coffee connoisseur, then any of the ones around the ?150 mark will probably do the job. One thing to be aware of (and why I think my first cheap Krups died) is that they are very prone to limescale buildup which can seriously ruin your pressure and your coffee. Either get a softener or keep some bottled water just for coffee machine/kettle.

James Barber Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Street cleaners were told to go litter picking in > the snow as without salt being released for side > roads and pavements Southwark managers were > concerned clearing the snow might result in ice . > Fear of litigation. Well... if they'd cleared the pavements of snow, they might have got a little slippy at night while the temperature was so low. But, we've now got even more slippy pavements since they are impacted ice now with little sign of melting 4 days after the majority of the snow went.