Huguenot

Ther lockers at ED station (under the bridge) are 75 quid per year (plus a 25 quid refundable padlock deposit). You can book them from [email protected] or phone on 01752 202116. I reckon that's cheaper than a pound a day! PS It's subsidised by the local council as a test, and they do a quick background check first (e.g. check your place of work). Hurrah!

No worries Scott, I drink in the Bishop every now and then, and most of us are extremely pleased for your success. Before your team's hard work it was very 'traditional' and very empty. On the subject of sweepingly inaccurate generalisations, and also because I'm generally quite tedious, I came to the conclusion over the weekend that whatever the conspiracy theorists say, there's only 1 SUV for every 100 other cars in ED, and only 1 three wheel pram for every 14 others....

Oddly enough, a workmate was bitten on the shoulder by a fox who had climbed in through her open window whilst she slept and prowled the room looking for a quick snack... The baby story can be found here.

Hmm, certainly would join a club that called me a member. How should this club be characterised? Like any good shed, I assume that it should give the aura of action, but the essence of inaction?

absobloodylutely (107 points on two doubleword scores) :))

*Raises eyebrows at Keef over BTTF Elizabeth Shue observation, he clearly is so in love with this dreamy eyed star of Cocktail that he sees here everywhere - surely he knows that it was the doe eyed Claudia Wells who played Marty's other half??*

Isn't that from the Karate Kid? Did that have a fit bird in it?

That's great stuff Snorks - it looks like the set for 'Threads'

Okay, it had to happen... But these unusual spectacles that Bumbalina gave me have the peculiar effect of ensuring I have eyes only for her. Makes it a bit difficult avoiding lamp-posts... Who are other guys seeing?

:))

A banana tree? And a big one at that...

The date sounds great! I'll look forward to it! On rules - perhaps players could decide before a game? If it's timed even single challenging (where the player has to take back the word if wrong, but neither player is penalised) has some impact, as it absorbs valuable time. Double challenging (where one player or the other is penalised their go depending on the outcome of the challenge) can be good for pros, but could limit experimentation for enthusiastic newcomers. (There must be people reading this now who never realised how complicated it could be!! Don't be! It's not really!)

That sounds like a new thread for that one ;-)

Tom, I really don't see that many SUVs in ED - maybe 1 in every 50 cars! I don't think that if we provide services for these guys that we'll be meeting the needs of the majority?

Exactly, I always thought Mockers was a wee bit Metro, but I couldn't call him an effeminate dresser - or a welsh one for that matter.

I'm ecstatic that anybody will take the time to do the sums!! :))

As a parliamentary cheer, hear him, hear him! is first recorded in the late 17th century and continued into the 19th; the reduction to hear! or hear, hear! occurred by the late 18th century. However, the use of the verb hear as an imperative meaning listen! is older: a notable example is the parliamentary-sounding Then cried a wise woman out of the city, Hear, hear (King James Bible, 2 Samuel 20 verse 16).

AP, the Met are on record as saying that they're due out 'within 3 years' on current plans.

Gosh Jo, that's 48 hours a month driving? An hour and a half a day? At an average 10 mph at 25 mpg (estimated London in an older car) you must rack up 48 hours x 10 mph = 480 miles @ 25 mpg = 20 gallons @ ?4 a gallon = ?80 to ?100 a month in petrol? Remember, the Streetcar (as an example) includes petrol costs. So to compare with your ?240 you need to add up: (Bought cost - Resale value) / months owned (be honest ;-)!) 1/12 of your annual insurance premium 1/12 of your road tax 1/12 of annual maintenance and repair fees (including emergency repairs, annual service, MOT make goods, oil, carwash, antifreeze etc.) 1/12 of annual MOT test Monthly petrol costs Interest on any car loan fees I'm betting you may find it surprsingly close to your ?240. BTW That many hours seems like a driving to work thing, that's where the question comes back to whether public transport can fit the bill: is it a 'can't' or a 'won't'...?

You're right Jeremey, but the argument moves the goalposts. If there was only one user per car club car, then your argument would apply. Car Clubs mean you don't build one car each. The idea is that the environmental benefits are in cutting car production by a factor of 5 or 6. The benefits are negligible in the actual use itself, unless the cash benefits of making fewer journeys influence the frequency of journey making. As I reckon, there are plenty of additional benefits. Considering the age, well most cars can do 100,000 miles+ plus. Most cars don't last that long, because they're not properly looked after, or no longer trendy. Car Club cars are likely to be better looked after and more efficiently used. The only people car clubs don't suit are the ones who are using their car so consistently that others can't use it during 'dead' time e.g. delivery men. If you're just using it to get to work, then you've got the whole working day when others could be making use of it.

I really like that idea Snorks. We could call it 'community' vehicles, and allocate maybe 4 spaces per street for either regular deliveries or car clubs? They could be situated at the 'blind' end of terraces (i.e. not in front of people's houses), painted up as such by the council etc. I notice in Herne Hill Spenser Road the Streetcar has a painted up location entitled 'Car Club', this must have been council-led surely? Richard Thomas, what do you think?

Indeedy, but for those people whose only issue may have been 10 seconds planning, I was hoping it may have a slightly higher priority. Streetcar works at its best when the 8,000 private cars in ED are replaced by 1,000 car club vehicles from maybe 5/6 car clubs. Real spontaneous flexibility could then be delivered! It would deliver benefits to users (low expense and high convenience), to residents (unclogged streets), to the car club (profits), and to the environment (eco footprint). Of course even this would be redundant with solar powered quantum teleporters, but I'm not sure what the first steps are, so I'm sticking with Streetcar. Incidentally, the biggest driver for an increase in number of Streetcars (and hence convenience) would be locals using them during the midweek, and more dedicated parking spaces. Has anyone got any of the latter going spare?

I'd do it after the fair, so we can promote it during the fair? We could put a flipchart up with the idea, and an invitation to visitors to the stall to sign up below...

Yes - you do need to be a little more organised, spontaneous journeys at the same time that everybody else has the same idea are not the forte. It works better if you do a little planning (e.g. I'll do the garden centre, sainsbury's and pick up that wardrobe from Tulse Hill on Saturday morning). I've just booked the new Peckham Rye one for 4 hours next Saturday afternoon! PS I hope nobody feels that 10 seconds planning isn't a price worth paying to avoid the ecological price of building a car?

I often wondered what led to their 'no test' policy before you buy pens. Was there a posse that raged through the store daily testing biros to destruction? Is there a hardcore of idlers that fritter their days away raiding stationers for unproductive testing sessions, destroying stock and laying waste to reams of scrap paper? Or is there indeed a covert cabal of sand-papery fingered communists who destroy the sell-on value of tested pens by wearing down the rubberised grips? I think we should be told...