Huguenot

Aaargh! That's like bringing my own dog's poop home and putting it on my doorstep! Is there no place to hide??? :))

Only here can we hide from the disunofftopicablarianists! So now, energised into a sense of righteousness and false sense of untouchability by the peeps on this thread, Horse - I reveal you! Incitatus, make thyself known! We want to hear more about the knackers! Thank you DM for this haven from the night...

NO! Bad Uplands! I deon't know how busy the Drum gets, it's not like 72. I was thinking that if we get enough peeps confirming the date we could effectively take over the place. However, I may be talking foolish nonsense! How about t' Gowlett?

No clues - but he's a roman horse! Admin wouldn't tell us if he was a horse, but all the evidence was there... Apparently my reference to a clinical problem prompted an off-topic exchange and clarification of ruling status which has since been deleted by admin :( We're all standing in the corner now, and my initial slander naughtily remains unchallenged. However for the record, Mockney and the horse were right and I was wrong. I do temper that with the observation that the bacteria in question only seemed to be 'discovered' after life expectancy exceeded the incubation period. I also reckon that proto-Spaniards with Carribean roots seem to be getting a bad press!

Admin! Admin! Off topic! Off topic!

How about The Drum? The barman's a very nice pub.

A man? I thought he was a dog! This is all so bl@@dy confusing - there's a horse on another thread...

You mean you won't tell us if he's a horse? Damn bureaucrats.

Well it would depend on your definition of disaster. I suspect that mooncakes (leadcakes??), a tragedy in October Golden Week (the only time they should be cooked) would be disastrous by the following June. Having spent 15 miserable months with those commies, I can assure you that the questionable contents of mooncakes are a reflection of their overall cuisine. Chinese restaurants over here are quite different from the local restaurants in that they generally meet health and safety requirements and their ingredients at least have the intrinsic potential for digestion. Unlike sparrow vomit and mouse foetus 'chez Mao' which are both on the menu for high-rollers. I bet they don't do that at Black & Blue

Well I imagine he's supporting your view rather than tendering disrespect. ;-) I'd find it a bit concerning however, Domitianus was historically a pretender to the Roman throne rather than the real thing. He even went so far as to having coins printed in his own likeness to reinforce the claim. Cheeky monkey. To have his support is a bit like having a renowned bullsh*tter as your best mate. It rubs off.. I'm considering whether he's related to Incitatus whose major claim to fame, apart from being ridden by a Syphilite, was being an equine senator. It seems unlikely, given the penetration of latin scholars generally into society, that we have two on this forum. Admin, can you alleviate us of this pedantic burden?

No loopholes on this one Keef! Banks are allowed to charge you for expenses but not punishment - the reason they're currently refunding is that they don't want to expose this debate in court. You shouldn't assume full repayment - just 80% for the last six year's worth. The process should last no longer than 28 days. Give them a 14 day limit on the first letter, and after fourteen days commit to legal action after fourteen more...

Hmm, you may have paid all the bill Mockney, I distinctly remember behaving like the Hooded Claw at leaving time convinced that we'd paid the bill twice ;-) Nicky Nu is heading to the tasting at Black & Blue tonite. One suspects that the beer monster is already sneering in his self-righteousness. We shall have to see if there are any free places, or Mockney may well end up pawing at the window like Tiny Tim craving a prosthetic limb.... I object to my own use of the word 'prosthetic'.

Mockney, I love you dearly, but your junk website isn't accurate - there has been no change in the banking code since before chip'n'pin. The onus has always been on the customer to detect and defend against fraud, and the onus has always been on the banks to assume innocence unless they can prove that fraudulent transactions are the responsibility of the card owner. It doesn't always work this way as it's not law; by and large the banks review your transaction history to establish motive as a measure of innocence: outrageous but staggeringly effective. It's surprsing how many granny's cards get 'stolen' immediately after chav daughter hits her overdraft limit! There is an ombudsman to defend one's position. As for this guff about access to details and PINs, nonsense. Retailers retain the right to amend existing orders but have no access to PINs, if they abuse this they go to jail. The same law applies to Direct Debits, which isn't new, and is very useful. Most users (as per this website) get their cash refunded. I've been victim of 3,600 GBP card fraud in me time, as it's not possible to travel between Norwich and Southend in 3 mins and 27 secs. You should work harder to establish foundations for your anarchist theories! ;-)

Out with Mockney last night. So spizzered I couldn't remember if I'd paid the bill. If it's the people that make the place then Dave the barman is a very nice pub! Next time I need to get irrationally tonkered and discuss the Cathars, recent history of Cirencester, Tess of the D'Urbevilles and contemporary pop (when I was right and everyone else was wrong), I shall do it there... Hurrah!

That's a particularly nice looking cross-section

I'm offended by my own use of the word 'Snorky' in that post. Erm.. I mean 'crazy', no, ah, oh dear, blast...

It has been suggested that some of the forumites should technically be known as recidivists. Didn't Snorky first crop up as one of the first individuals encountered in the land of the Houyhnhnms in the Swifitan dystopia "Gulliver's Travels"..? They had a name didn't they? However this may involve a crisis in the pre-frontal cortex, an area implicated in planning complex cognitive behaviors, personality expression and moderating appropriate social behavior. One may find Dullard a handy moniker for this crazy bunch ;-), although I couldn't possibly comment. For the rest of us I quite like Edish to rhyme with Swedish rather than reddish, because it's easier to say and of course the Swedish are a good looking nation...

A message then from your roving reporter... [i should add for commercial lurkers that these photos are copyrighted to myself and have identifiers in the encoding!] The exterior damage is quite minimal, but it belies a significant degree of the damage on the inside. The piles of semi-burnt stuff in front of the door is stuff they've pulled out from the inside - menus and the like: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/158/404600381_b8d500d0b9.jpg?v=0 Dan Rigby (one of the owners) was kind enough to let me inside for a few snaps. The largest outlay looks likely to be on the equipment - those big old fashioned fryers have quite a waiting list. You can't clearly make out the floor but it's washed in foam (as opposed to water, which wouldn't be much good for an oil fire.): http://farm1.static.flickr.com/143/404600218_87606feae2.jpg?v=0 The customer facing side is less damaged, however that big burnt metal sheet is actually the back of the serving counter not customer seating. It seems that the shop was well put together from a safety perspective - even the fish on display at the front didn't get cooked! http://farm1.static.flickr.com/137/404600310_26c76d2b47.jpg?v=0 Poor old Dan's having a nightmare, with the various comings and goings managing to break the lock on the door! http://farm1.static.flickr.com/128/404600139_d813bb68f9_m.jpg Clearly before the insurance company comes in it's difficult to assess the cause of the fire. It co-incided with turning on the fryers to warm up for the day's business but could be something electrical or even a secondary cause. From these photos most of the damage is focused around the nearest deep fat fryer. They've not had to deal with a similar fire before (so I'm not sure about the Fulham info Incitatus, they don't have one there). But they said similar damage next door took 9 weeks to make good. The two major delays will be the time taken for the insurance company to assess and the time taken to get new fryers. All very sad - this is a great local business with great food! Dan (as you'd imagine) is gutted; they're just opening the Stoke Newington Branch, and trying to launch a series of summer events including a competiton to win trips to the Isle of Wight for some odd-ball music festival. I've got his email address if anyone wants to send their sympathies, or you can contact them through The Sea Cow

Okay, going down now...

Buddy list? Buddy list? Am I missing out....?

They do have some great original bottled beers and peculiar cider, just not on tap

Those are great! Thanks Andrew, much appreciated!

Well, I don't think we should tell! ;-) You'll have to come on the next one then!

So is Shambles the one with the beard on the left then?

Might have to come after the Welsh game....