Huguenot

Ah indeed, just the bobbin left, because everything of value had been removed. Very good.

*scratches ear and looks doubtfully at Fabricio before looking suspiciously at KalamityKel and zeban* Even if you were as unusual and assymetrically shaped as you claim, you should recall that even Quasimodo only found love after his first public appearance. Besides, as covered on another thread, in general women seem to put looks at a rather low priority when choosing partners. Perhaps you're judging yourself inappropriately? Instead right there at the top are commitment and social skills, both of which you'll struggle to demonstrate from behind your keyboard. If nothing else, you might get a 'pity' shag. ;-)

On the subject of strange things that happen to wine, I've discovered that half finished glasses of wine left overnight in our tropical environment will develop a fur only if they were sipped previously by women. Those drunk by men are clean as a whistle. That may be because women are inherently sweet and nutricious, or it may be because they're mouldy. Not sure which.

"Most of us can only afford - or indeed want - one car" Whilst technically correct if by 'most' you mean slight majority, we're still talking huge numbers that have two cars. We shouldn't use flippant assertions to allow these people off the hook. Over 30 percent of households now own 2 cars, the average distance travelled for the second car is only 15 miles per day. That's around 7m 'second' cars that could easily be little electric runabouts - almost 25% of the UK 31m total. The number of households with a car over two litres has grown from 2m to 4m in the last 10 years. A completely pointless and greedy self-indulgence. If marketing electric cars only serves to draw people's attention to these kind of ignorant and selfish decisions then it will have achieved something.

I think leaglebeagle's very much of the fairer sex, but I could be worng ;-) It may be that these ladies don't want the full glare of publicity from your heartfelt but very public entreaty. My lady friends have often told me that they're not at all enthusiastic about metting strangers 1:2:1, particularly if they're local and might embarassingly encounter them repeatedly in Sainsbury's. Hence they would prefer to attend social events that allow them to gain a comforting first-impression before risking it all. Why don't you try those? A quick glance at 'What's On in ED' offers the Curry Club, Forum Drinks, The Goose is Out, Backgammon, Language Lounge, Role Playing, Drawing Club, Weds Night Book Club and a Choir. In fact, with all those great options, a lady could be forgiven for wondering about your motivation for enforcing a strict 1:2:1 policy? If the ladies you seek would like to see social skills in their beaux, then what better place to prove them then at an event?

I think the by-product of the bacterial infection of 'corked' wine is called TCA. It thoroughly destroys the wine, and won't be removed by cooking - so it'll ruin your food too. 'Corked' isn't the only way wine can be spoiled for drinking though - it could be 'cooked' by storing at excessive temperatures, or 'oxidised' by exposure to air. Wine affected in either of those two ways won't spoil your grub, as the act of cooking both superheats it and oxidises it anyway. Having said that, storing wine uncorked for long periods in your fridge isn't good for cooking for the same reason that your shouldn't do it with old ham: exposure to the air attracts various fungi and bacteria that may be unhealthy and will multiply over time regardless of the temperature. The fridge slows it down, but doesn't stop it.

Besides, Fabricio is Portuguese, and Guido is Italian - a simple mistake to make amongst greasy haired southern european types. If you wanted the all-Italian trattoria waiter with socks down your pants feel, you'd have needed to go with Fabrizio. :)

Unlike a petrol car, of course, electric cars don't burn up fuel when they're stationary ;-) Be a little cold though. Having said that, it get's far colder in Canada, and they say all you need to heat the car is a single candle! Always keep one in the dash! The promotional material for the Leaf makes it very clear that these are not motorway cars - they're town cars. The average distance driven by car in the UK is 20 miles. Well within the capacity of a Leaf. That is what they were designed to target. If you want a 'distance' electric car buy a Tesla (250 miles per charge) or a Daihatsu Mira (350 miles). If you want greater assurance than that then buy a hybrid. You wouldn't buy a bicycle to haul containers Dickensman, you'd buy a lorry. That doesn't mean bicycles are rubbish. That aside, I think it's a wee bit destructive to try and manipulate extraordinary weather as a justification to attack electric vehicles. The massive upside (40% increase in fuel efficiency in the UK) of electric cars far outweighs the occasional freak weather disadvantage. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, but you could interpret your snide comments as a deliberate attempt to undermine those who are trying to create a better world for us all. Nothing too clever about that.

Two old women on a park bench. 'Isn't it windy?' observes the first. 'No, it's Thursday' replies her friend.'Yes' she agrees 'So am I, let's have a cup of tea'.

Ha ha! I suspect you're hoping to come across as mysterious Fabricio, but it's only a fine line between that and giving the impressions that you'll shag anything that moves and you've got something to hide ;-)

I can't believe that 42% of the population knows who Tony McCoy is. Sounds a bit Mugabe to me ;-) Either that, or people reading the back page of the Mirror in between races with their pay-as-you-go mobile to hand...

Well done! Not sure I completely agree with you, but the effort and commitment you've made is really impressive, and you deserve some success. Not sure bum-features Cameron will legistlate on the subject, but Ofcom might give them a nudge. By and large the type of production houses that make this stuff are more Kelvin MacKenzie than Richard Attenbrough. Unless Ofcom rule, the approach is likely to become more rather than less extreme.

I'm willing you Ladym. I can't remember what time you arrive, but we've got 15-odd people over on Xmas day so if you're up for it, we'd love a couple more!

Manchester rhyming slang perchance? Bobbins of cotton, rotten.

;-)

Apparently Ms_Lilith is either witless to the fact that I identified that link already, or she's ignoring me too. Yaya for prats. Go go gadget idiot.

That'll be La Cabina by Antonio Mercero. Excellent :) Watch it again, or for the first time, here.

Is it 'guido' as an insult to working class Italians, or 'guido' as in Messiah?

McCatllar, that's just abuse.

A valid post from McCatllar that turned into a string of insults. Tidy yourself up please mate, it's not big and it's not clever.

There's definitely fewer jobs than there are adults. Consequently I think there's also social stability benefits to having young people in education rather than walking the streets, even if it's a course in Golf Course Management. I suspect that a loans based educational system may see fewer 'unproductive' courses.

Don't know mate, I guess it's the latter, because I believe the figure for the former would be closer to 4m. However, I don't know.

I don't know who said growing population was a reason for this policy, I agree it's a complete nonsense. There is however a desire to see 50% of all 18 to 24 year olds in HE - a shift from 1.8m today to about 3m. I can see that not everyone agrees with this, but to be honest, there's a limited demand for blue collar workers in a technologically advanced society, and I don't think the answer to this is to go Pol Pot over everyone's ass. Other stated reasons for the changes include: ** Improving standards. UK is slipping rapidly downhill in the global HE stakes, and now sits in 15th position behind such luminaries as Poland and the Czech Republic. It's a cringeworthy national embarassment and demands more appropriate and competitive investment. Current tax revenue cannot acccommodate this, nor apply it appropriately. Politicians don't run good schools. Students deserve better choices, including the option for successful Universities to capitalise on their achievements and grow to meet demand. Everyone should have the opportunity to go to HE if they wish, and they should do it on a level playing field (current funding levels do not allow for this). No-one should have to pay unless they can afford it (clearly Brenda and I disagree whether 60 quid a month is affordable for someone on 30k a year.) Payments should be both affordable and proportionate (in line with the investment they've demanded in their education) The terms of the education should not be restrictive (it should apply ro full and part-time students on whatever terms they wish). ** Clearly there are those that disagree with these sentiments. Some opponents views (sometimes alluded to on this forum) could be summarised as "it's fine as it is, we don't need to be better than Poland, not everybody should have the choice of going to university, we can afford it through general taxation if we restrict entry and stop investing, students should study where they're told to study, and graduates on 30k can't afford 60 quid a month." I clearly agree with the Browne approach, I think these are sensible and worthy ambitions. I'm sorry about the 60 quid a month, but frankly that's just one piss up and a couple of taxi rides. If students start stamping around threatening OAPS and trashing our high streets over 60 quid a month then I think they're a bunch of canutes, and frankly they deserve to be both patronised and abused for their pompous self-regard.

What you'll be looking for Brenda, is anarcho-syndicalism

To be fair, I'm an interfering sod, and as a consequence I've been told to mind my own bloody business a number of times by people I've stopped to help. I appreciate that not everyone is so pig-headed that they keep taking the grief. It's possible that anapau may have appeared to be simply out of breath. There are undoubtedly tosseurs in the world, but let's not jump to conclusions!