Huguenot

They'd have had trouble with their signs on trees... "Ye Golde for.. erm... Ye Golde"

Tandy Electronics

Given that it's a redistributive fund that improves social mobility, DJKQ, I'm staggered that you're against it. Or are you just against it because I said it was a good thing? Do you think it should be cancelled altogether?

The runaway best choice for overseas spending I believe is currently the Halifax Clarity card. With no loading and no fx charge it'll only cost you about ?1 for every ?100 you spend overseas. Typical credit or debit cards can cost you as much as ?7 to ?10 which is shocking. To get those results you need to pay it off in full every month.

It most certainly wasn't a foolish suggestion, I have done you a disservice! It was a thrilling conundrum, involving deception and misdirection in the highest of places. We are no more than pawns in their Great Game. It's a challenge that lies at the very core of Bitishness and even attracted the attention of GBS. It was, in short, a superb contribution for pedants!

Well I used to sell advertising on the LU, so stories of those kind were my in-trade! It reminds me of a tube fancy dress party where one chap came as Cockfosters - with an artfully placed can of poor quality Australian lager - and another who came in with a piece of turf that he stuck behind the telly - Hyde Park Corner. Now, back to me dictionary... I've reached 'specious'. Hmmm.

I don't think anyone is surprised that a part time fire crew isn't as good as a full time professional one. I do think FFs need to be very careful with stories of this kind as it looks suspiciously like an attempt to threaten and blackmail both the Brigade and the general public. This one, whilst of course extremely saddening for the family, appears to be somewhat smaller than the story makes out. In fact it seems to be simply a fire in the converted roofspace. The curtains in the top bedroom and still drawn and undamaged. With 2 fire crews already in attendance, it would have been a very crowded site - I can't see how three more crews could fit into it. Finally, the fire crews arrived at 5.20pm, and the strikers could only have arrived there at 6.15pm earliest. It seems very likely to me that by the time they had arrived the fire would have been under control if not extinguished. That may have been the real reason the crews were turned back. So not only does this scare story seem underhand, it also seem like it might not quite be giving us the full picture.

With Barons Court the mistake isn't the one you think it is. It should actually be Baronscourt as it was named after an Irish estate with connections to Sir William Palliser who built the district. Hence no apostrophe, but it should be one word.... Interesting eh?

I think that arguments along those lines are about as close to "the world owes me a living" as makes no difference. TBH it's all about you when it's getting what you want isn't it? Your bad luck, your lifestyle choices, your self actualisation, your entitlement - but it's all about everyone else when it comes to paying for it. I think probably that if someone has time to do voluntary work, they've got time to do paid work. Since you're making everyone else pay for your choices, you're effectively forcing everyone else to contribute to the charities which you are choosing - it doesn't seem very fair or charitable that? "I've paid into the system so this doesn't make me a scounger". I think that shows a basic misunderstanding of taxation - it's not a personal savings plan you can take money out of when you fancy it to fund lifestyle choices. I don't quite understand the point about EQ - I'm not trying to be sensitive about your needs, I'm saying your 'needs' are unreasonable and you're taking advantage of other people.

LOL - I just realised you asked who would turn up their nose at bus advertising, and of course the answer is you. :))

Again zeban, you're challenging me on the basis of suggestions I've never made and opinions I don't hold. I believe in welfare, and recognise the misfortune of people who have worked hard and not attracted the success that deserves. My alarm bells are screaming over comments like you're not taking jobs "because they don't suit my personality /values" This sounds like you're claiming benefits because it's a lifestyle choice. If this were true it would be outrageous - forcing other hard working people to be taxed to pay for your flat and your lifestyle choice. Maybe they don't like their job either, but have to do it because they recognise their responsibilities both to earn their own living, and to society as a whole. I can assure you that this doesn't in any way sound like a 'moral highground', far far from it. It represents a new low.

It appears that this is not a policy of the Royal Mail, it's a practice pursued by errant employees. This from the Daily Telegraph a year ago: The Royal Mail urged consumers, who feel they have been duped, to complain with full details of their postcode and postman by calling its complaint number of 08457 740 740 A spokesman said: "If there any incidents of this happening, we need to know. We want to deal with this. We always promise to deliver all parcels and packets, as well as letters, to people's homes. That's absolutely our policy." He added that any postman who was found to have not only incorrectly posted a "Sorry, you were out" card, but also left his parcels at the sorting office, would be disciplined. "It is a clear breach of our code. They will be disciplined, and if the circumstances merit it, they will face the sack," he said. Consumer Focus, the Government watchdog, said it was formally raising the problem with the company, as well as with the regulator Postcomm. Consumer Focus believes that the Royal Mail, by allowing postmen to mislead consumers in this way, has broken its license agreement ? something that should be penalised the regulator.

Whilst it's plausible that one bloke is so fazed by the moment that he can't wrestle his way through this teaser, that fact that over 50% of the audience are brain dead does suggest something untoward about the French.. The Majority of French People Are Dumb - Watch more Funny Videos

Indeed. I thought you'd like that one :)

I think they're just taking the piss AJM ;-) Personally I find Vegetarianism logically inconsistent - the lines between what is meat and what is vegetable are not easy to draw, as any taxonomist would assert. Also many vegetable consuming activites can't help but disrupt the ecosystem in both a micro and macro sense, and consequently impact negatively on the animal kingdom. However, if one overlooks those issues and muddles through to make a vegtarian choice on an ethical basis, then surely it behoves you to be evangelical? After all, if you think meat is murder, surely it's morally reprehensible to stand idly by whilst your neighbours commit such horrific crimes? I don't think vegetarians have any need to be righteous about restaurants catering for them. If there are economic reasons for catering for vegetarians, as in a vast untapped market, then vegetarians will be able to vote with their feet. If there isn't well that's the penalty for getting involved in a faddish cult ;-)

I understand after a little research that St. Thomas themselves claim the use of the apostrophe is attributable to there being two Saints of that name. This appears to be both post rationalisation, and it compounds the error by trying to insist that it is correct. The correct usage if it referred to multiple individuals would be either 'Saints Thomas' or a more colloquial 'Saint Thomases' either of which could carry the apostrophe and possibly an additional 's' according to taste. I say post rationalisation, because wall plaques in the older part of the hospital name it as "St.Thomas's". Hence the current usage seems to be a modern invention, and apparently quite arbitrary, and likely to be based on conversational convenience rather than grammatical accuracy. George Bernard Shaw campaigned long and hard that for the removal of apostrophes from posessives. He referred to them as 'uncouth bacilli'. I'm considering supporting him. It also lead to this rather clever assertion from one anonymouse commentator: "If in doubt it is better to leave an apostrophe out than to put it in. This is because if you leave it out incorrectly this will be put down either to an oversight or to an affinity with the views of George Bernard Shaw. On the other hand, if you put it in incorrectly this will be attributed (rightly) to ignorance."

That's an interesting use of 'hello' there. It almost turns it into a verb - to 'hello' someone. I hello you too Ladymuck ;-)

Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) gives students aged 16-18 up to ?30 cash each week to carry on learning. If the parents income exceeds 30k then they don't qualify, so it's definitely aimed at youngsters who might be under financial pressure to quit education early and help support the family. So in principal it's a great thing! So far as I understand it, it's not these payments that are being cut. The cash being cut is the twice yearly ?100 'bonus' payment. The cut isn't actually because of a reduction of the EMA fund overall, it's just that this money will be directed at opening up the fund to more disadvantaged kids. I understand that the cancelling of the bonus means that up to 80,000 more kids will receive the core payment. I guess regarding 'fairness' a lot depends on whether you agree this is a good objective.

annaj I'm not sure about the pedant arguing that St. Thomas acturally referred to several people, and hence the use of the apostrophe. If it were named after several individuals of that name, the correct term would be Saints Thomas, or Sts. Thomas and so on.

Gosh, no you're right. I've just been to Poundland's website and they do stock a lot of food. I always thought they were just bric-a-brac stores. I was thinking of that place on LL where they sell lots of plasstic buckets.

"The quicker we understand what in Dulwich isn?t vegan, the quicker we can make it vegan!" I shall assume this somewhat totalitarian agenda was a slip of the tongue! :))

Sure thing Louisiana, but in specialist areas like software development the Chinese workers get paid the same as their western counterparts - so there's a level playing field.

Hi Saila. The thing is to remember it from the point of view of the authorities. They need to make sure of two things: first that the property is actually yours, and second that the residents don't have a right to be there. On the first point, it seems a bit silly, but just imagine if some nut job had developed a hate thing for you (like stalkers for example). You wouldn't want them to be able to just call up bailiffs to come round and throw you out of your own house? On the second point, some landlords are complete turds. They might pretend their legal tenants are squatters in order to kick them out. There's another thread on here where people talk about how important it is that people have secure tenancies. So it's not that anyone doesn't want the homeowner to have their home back, it's just that the authorities want to make sure that everything is above board first!

They were when I was just getting started, I went on from selling classified to the glamour of bus advertising and netted myself a 10k bonus in my 29th year. That went on a top floor flat in Oakhurst Grove. Most people look down their nose at bus advertising, so there's rich pickings if you don't mind the hard work and embarrassment.

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