AnotherPaul

That's a laudable idea Louisa, sounds nice too but what does "the British public are smart enough to make up their own minds about what is true and what is fantasy" actually mean? The Mail et al are insidious in that they peddle out of date scare stories which encourage the idea that we're more at risk from crime than we actually are. And they do this to sell papers, not to help us know more about what's going on. All the while real stories go unreported simply because the readership would be put off and buy some other rag. It's too easy to say tabloids are crap, they've been in the toilet for years. The Mail is particularly offensive as it has a veneer of intelligence which is why it's so popular with people who wish to seem well informed without all that difficult stuff they don't agree with. The Mail manages this by writing stories with more words than tabloids and they don't have so many breasts on display. It imbues a kind of clubby common sense and most importantly will never embarrass one in front of peers. But sure as night follows day, read enough copies of The Mail and any good decent human being's brain will turn to mush. And mushy brains aren't very good at deciding what's true and what is fantasy.

It made me laugh that a bridge collapsing in Minnesota made it onto the front cover of our city's esteemed evening paper. What's the most irrelevant story you've seen in the Standard? ap

Bloke beaten up on train. Sad but really, so what? We live in a city of 8 million, some of them will do nasty things. That's not news. A lot of journalists recycle, putting filling column inches and airtime ahead of timeliness. Handily it also means they don't have to go out and find stories which have just happened or, wait for it, investigate stories which aren't already bleedin' obvious. There's no dignity in it, or any value to us the paper reading public. How anyone can 'not be fan of The Mail' and still read it baffles me. The Mail, The Standard and The Express are pollutants and should carry health warnings as such. Which brings me to? ap

Nero, your rant is right, kind of. Yes everyone should be doing all the things they can to mitigate climate change, it's really not that hard but switching off lights and turning down thermostats etc. are lifestyle decisions. Athough the media would have you believe otherwise, the protest at Heathrow is about infrastructure rather than lifestyle. The government have been saying we as a nation should cut C02 which just doesn't square with encouraging BAA to plan a new runway which will add thousands of flights to Heathrow's annual capacity. So this isn't about saying we should live in a nanny state where n o-one gets to have any fun, just that building massive new airports right now is a very bad idea. I believe this is one instance where demonstrating can make a difference, it shows very clearly that some people care passionately about climate change - enough to be harassed by the police and camp out in a cold field for a week. So good on you Chav being getting involved. That this demonstration also stirs up discussion might mean more people start taking the issue more seriously. It also brings the Clarkson wannabes out of the cupboard. Making jokes at the expense of the Levellers and calling people tree huggers is plain lame. Some people in here probably think Lenny Henry is funny. ap

Terrible estate agents inflating prices, never the lovely people of ED saying, 'yeah, how much can we make on it?', It's too easy to hate estate agents. Some are nasty but they perform a role which puts them in a weird spot. Coming into our homes, assessing and attaching value to them, judging our castles. Bastards. My gripe with Foxtons is purely about the motors. There's the wank graffiti, all street and aren't we street tough but more importantly, for that size of car, mini coopers drink petrol like crazy. Cool looking for their brand but evil on the environment. Real bastards. ap

ED will be on Middle class murders with JimJohnNettlesBergerac before we know it. And damn those drunkard yobs, such a new phenomenon. etc. ap

I'd like to see a shop selling effigies/puppets/voodoo dolls of people from this forum, so we can kiss/smile at/shout at/stab/burn small versions of ourselves whilst reading and writing. Yes it's a bit weird but that's got to be better than more estate agents and white goods piffle. ap

A trusted friend of mine gives up some free time to act as a mentor assisting refugees to settle in London - and I don't mean Lauren Hill in case anyone was wondering. The woman who's receiving assistance from my friend works at a (a supermarket), not the ED one but that doesn't matter for the sake of this tale. Occasionally she turns up for work work to find out they need her to work in a different branch that day. (this supermarket) don't pay her whilst she's travelling to their other shop so she earns less that day and (the supermarket) save themselves an hours wages even though they asked her to travel. Nasty (supermarket)! I was never a fan but now I'll steer clear. ap (apologies, the supermarket's name has been removed, just in case. We are awaiting a reply from the supermarket involved to see what they say - the Administrator)

Hi AliG, although I think Jim and Mark have nailed this one (apols), what car do you drive? That could have something to do with it if the scally's idea is to have legs. ap

Police are asking for new stop and rummage powers specifically to deal with ED mummy's bags and bugaboos rammed with bugle. But seriously, which buggies are best for the this task, three or four wheelers? ap

Nooooooo! I don't think Ken's ideal and a change might be good but if the choice is between him and Blonde Boris the Bumbling Baffoon then my vote is as good as cast. ap

Louisa you're making me laugh, your world view sounds like an Escher drawing in which the unhappy become less happy because they keep having unhappy thoughts which they can't get over, because they're unhappy (refrain). As for the 'mezze' cock-up, that's silly and insulting. I used to like it in there and have had decent breakfasts but that was some time ago. Now that the 'missing something' has been suggested I know why I've never felt quite right in there. It is a corridor with alcohol. (added) Sorry, what I said above was after reading page one of this thread, I'm a bit rusty at this. ap

everything counts. all links are valid. to start with, here's an oldish but wonderful site, http://www.requiemforadream.com/ ap x

1/4 and a bit Scottish, the rest is English - although from Stevenage which is another country. AP

Maybe someone would be so kind as to take the Southwark website to a dump.

white supremacist fascists who do lots of coke and go to Bristol Uni? i'm staying well clear. AP

I for one am shocked! The graffiti is of shockingly poor workmanship and should be scrubbed immediately. It's probably the work of Camberwell interlopers seeking some sort of ED inspired Cath Kidston backlash raining down upon SE5 'beauty spots' so as to kick off a major incident. Or it's White Stuff trying to look revolutionary. Or it's a some kno6 who thinks that's going to help. AP ps. we should take a look in the kid's blue rucksack. (edited due to poor spelling)

Hi Serenity, I have been made serene by your apology. Thank you. I would have replied earlier but have been sans forum for a few days so only heard of your new post late last night. I was a rather upset by your post so your apology is most welcome. It's the first time I've been bitten in here, quite a chastening experience For my own part in this mini-saga I must own up to being too blunt for my own good on occasion and was most definitely so in this case. I visited the FHT hungover, tired and for the fist time in over a year, with just my partner having dispatched the kids to nanny. My impression of the FHT suffered because of these factors and I could have been more tactful about what I said. I do agree, it's good to support new ventures, Good luck to you Kevin! So, apologies all round. Will be happy to share some beers with you in FHT sometime soon Serenity. We could also have a slice or two of humble pie - if Kevin serves it. AP

Positioning themselves as a bit dangerous is essential for White Stuff. Their products aren't risky at all, outdoorsy and ok but their punters believe themselves to still be youthfully wild. Sometimes. I am offended (in a very tiny way) by the crap mock graffiti type used to write the slogan but that aside, I'm with Sean and Belle on this, it's just a shop. Good luck to them. However I shan't be shopping there. I'm too wild. AP;-)

Serenity, :)

And then there's this for the children http://www.oneanother.ltd.uk/i/onhead2012.jpg

There had to be more?http://www.oneanother.ltd.uk/i/shit2012.jpg

Tillie, I heard last night (on BBC) that the ?400,000 is private money. Not sure how that could work.

Here it is. Agency: W. Olins Client: 2012 Olympics Deadline: ASAP Brief: We the committee, T. Jowell, S. Coe et al, would like a design which is quite new wave/rave. We're right into jaunty angles, strobing colours and faux graffiti. If you could work something into the logo which looks like Lisa Simpson doing a sex act that would be a nice to have. Tessa's son really likes fluro colours so some of those please. Budget: ?1000 rising to ?400,000 if needs be (to buy new pens n that).

I'll include VAT as it's part of the Olympics.