Huguenot

Sorry for any confusion Quids. Judging by submissions so far, it seems that few others have had too many difficulties. Responses have been sufficiently wide-ranging to suggest that the questions are't as loaded as you feel. Q18 gives you the option to say that your opinion hasn't changed. If it hasn't then Q19 and Q20 should be ignored as they say 'If your opinion has changed, what....' I've clarified this in the question for you, so hopefully it will address some of your concerns?

Good points SS, but I hope I can reassure everyone that the 24 questions can be completed in just a couple of minutes and it's great to get everybody's point of view! In the end this survey will only be representative of those people who respond to EDF surveys about CPZs ;-). Amazingly, in the first couple of hourse we've had over 50 respondents, so quite a lot of people do care! We felt that whether people were affected by parking problems, and whether people were well informed would probably have a bearing on how they felt about a CPZ but apologies if it's a bit lengthy. As with the best bar votes, it's a bit of fun - you never know, everyone might agree with your view!

I see what you're saying Karter - but it still seems a bit short on stats. As you've mentioned, we do now have a bus lane and parking restrictions in place on LL. So when these were introduced, did takings go up or down? FH doesn't seem a reasonable comparison - I'd be staggered if FH was a destination shopping mecca before the red route. The provision of small local retail services seem more likely ruined by local people driving to Sainsbury for the greater variety, rather than disgruntled FH visitors being unable to park their car having flocked there from Croydon, Clapham and Dartford.

Has anyone got any valid stats that show the impact of a controlled parking zone on local trade in a similar urban suburb? I understand that some people's gut feel is that trade will drop, but there are equally plausible arguments that suggest most shoppers will find different routes to getting there and will spend more time and money in LL when they get there. Can the local traders who vigorously campaigned against the bus lane and rush hour parking restrictions on LL (because of similar concerns) demonstrate that these two elements actually did damage their business? Or did they (as it appears) actually herald a new Golden Age? Looking for cold hard figures here rather than just another round of speculation....! ;-)

I knew it!! They've got to stop pushin' so hard....

Gosh Gangsta P, is there a brioche dans le four? I t'ink we should be told? ::o

I have the utmost sympathy with the guys working at the NHS, my own family were teachers and encountered a similar attitude there. Horrifying. However, I reckon that a 'from each according their abilities , to each according to their needs' system is bound to attract disproportionate attention from the freeloading dregs of society. Hence there's something of a paradox in an 'inclusive' NHS insisting that it's society that's got it wrong, not their utopian ideal. To compound this by shrugging off accountability against performance targets is verging on denial. The Singaporean system, incorporating both subsidised healthcare for all, and exclusive offerings for the egotistical manages to wag a comedy two fingers at the UK in terms of quality of healthcare and efficiency of cost. The like-for-like total healthcare expenditure (private and governmental) per capita in Singapore is half of that of the UK, when the gross national income per capita is only two thirds. Hence more disposable income for me to spend on panty-liners. At some point we've got to say the NHS just doesn't work, and it's probably the underpinning ideals that contribute most heavily. They create utter confusion and employee distress due to an entirely unworkable corporate vision. Letting go of this utopia doesn't mean we don't care, it just means we're pragmatic and rational. Mind you, that isn't to say that the UK should copy the US, which falls far behind in nearly all major healthcare quality metrics. A vast proportion of the yanks have no healthcare at all! Worrying... worrying... there'll be yank tanks on the streets before we know it! :)

Many thanks for your kind words! :) Apparently there is nothing further wrong with me that a few more days in panty-liners won't cure... ;-) I'm developing a kind of guilty thrill from it all. I've been fortunate that I've never had to have surgery in Blighty, but the services over here were first-class. The doctor saw me in less than 10 minutes, and everything went smoothly from there. The Hospital felt like a cross between a five star hotel and a pretty efficient engineering business. The whole place was built for scale, the operating theatre was one of a rank of about 10-15 identikit jobbies in glass and steel. The staff were charming and efficient (and not verging on brusque in the way that efficiency is often misinterpreted in the UK). Interestingly though, the tuna sandwich was still crap, but I'll put that down to cultural differences ;-) And hey, I'm still smiling... *shows gap-toothed wonky grimace*

I had a pretty good shot at this one for this year... Sleepless night on the 30th with pain in my darkest bowels, doctor's at 8.30am on the 31st, hospital by 11am, in the operating theatre under general anaesthetic by 2pm, pole-axed wearing a nappy as midnight struck. Oh, how we laughed.... ;-) Beat that if you can!

...Good King Wenceslas...

Just trying to think of some secular carols for a moment... Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly Jingle Bells We wish you a Merry Christmas Twelve Days of Christmas O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree (Secular in the sense that 'Chrsitmas' in this context refers only to the festival rather than a religious event, and the content refers to general celebrations rather than the events of the nativity) Any more..?

Intersting angle on that one of course Frisco - the [almost] midwinter festival was of course never originally a Christian festival, it was always thoroughly Pagan. Although Christ-mass (as in the religious service) 'celebrates' the birth of Christ, it's not suggested that it was actually his birthday. In fact the 25th December was the mid-winter solstice in the Julian calendar. There are also those that claim the date was also selected by those of a Jewish persuasion as a calculation of the most likely date of Christ's death... All very kinda convenient. You could also argue the dates were chosen specifically by early converts to half-inch the Pagan festival of 'geol' (this is still used today - witness 'yule'-tide). The 'twelve days' of Christmas were based on the Roman 'Saturnalia' which originally started a little earlier (17th December), but were also a great excuse to party. In that sense you could indeed argue that the Christians have usurped and monopolised the mid-winter festival, and that those of us who resist this pressure are fighting for the restoration of our right to get pissed in the darkest days of the year without assigning us to some transitory political-religious movement!

Good heavens. I just read this. I'm wondering if the BBC is now a nominated mouthpiece for this overtly political organisation?

It might be worth looking into the applicant - are they sufficiently robust to ensure that the site doesn't go derelict in the short term? Remember that Southwark Council may be favourably disposed because outdoor companies often deliver other 'rewards' such as street furniture to councils that grant concessions. It may also be possible to ensure that the site is only lit at reasonable hours. If it is a rotating site please also be aware that their intermittent rumblings can drive a chap to the edge of insanity... In the main though pretty ads aren't always a bad thing. Hello Boys... http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2413/2128201006_207ddf464c.jpg?v=0

:))

A very merry Christmas to all of you! Over here we've got Christmas trees and everything, but it's not quite the same in 35 degree heat! Mockney and Mrs. Mockney are over here a the mo, but I know they'd have been there otherwise. I shall try to divert them from their sorrow with a trip to the Singapore Turf Club. Enjoy the party, it hardly seems like a year ago that there were only eight people on the forum! :))

Bugger, this is it. Struggling like an early season streak for Wigan, slung from the top of the table pre Christmas, and what now? Mid table obscurity? A relegation struggle? Take it, take it, mixulee - I never wanted the title anyhow....

Is this the link you wanted to ED SNUB? Right Here

I once worked at Coomber Electronics winding the power cable onto tape recorders. They made those really ugly heavy tape players you had in school language classes during the eighties. They deliberately made them heavy and ugly with no detachable parts so that the kids wouldn't nick them. However as a result I grew a flap of skin from the first knuckle of my index finger where the cable dragged through as I wound it on. I also worked in the paint shop of a car indicator lamp factory. Being unqualified I wasn 't allowed to touch the paint machines, but I was allowed to put the hot freshly painted reflector elements into large boxes. So I did, around 1,500 hundred a day, one at a time, for three months. Since it was the eighties I had only one tape for my AIWA walkman. Simple Minds. I hate them.

Well I reckon that's either the melanic (black) version of the common two spot, or.... ...a b@stard yank Harlequin variant over here to drink our beer and steal our women. I don't think it's a pine ladybird as the dome isn't high enough, and the head isn't squat enough, but you pays your money and you takes your choices

The problem with being second is that all of a sudden I've turned into hypercompetitive mode. I even started doing some analysis in excel the other day... What a sh1tter, gotta get a life ;-)

This is the news

Do the Swedes count as a race then? ;-)

I used to live around the corner from that house and often wondered what the score was. Both that house 'The Edenburg' and opposite appear to have been retailers at some point. I'm guessing the Edenburg was a pub as it's an odd name for a sweet shop. The house opposite has recently had the frontage rebuit as accommodation, but they appear to have been forced to rebuild it with the same large-windowed commercial frontage. I'm guessing there's some planning permission limits that apply to both buildings. The Edenburg (with the 'sex' sign) appears to be converted for accommodation also - so it's not shut up. I've walked past a couple of times when the back yard's being cleared, there were a couple of pleasant ladies who appeared to be the residents. I notice that they appeared to have quite an eclectic range of yard ornaments, and drove quite a funky little mini. My conclusion was that they were probably just flamboyant residents with a slightly alternative outlook for whom the 'sex' sign was no more than a bit of fun. I can reassure readers that I've never seen any unusual comings or goings, and I'm sure the suggestion that they may be involved in illegal occupations was merely a witticism rather than a slur ;-)

I'm guessing you've only got the one bloke from Singapore? ;-)