david_carnell

I was only messin' BB. ;-) I'm sure he's a lovely chap and does wonders for women's egos across the land. Fatism - yet another prejudice to be overcome. Huzzah for Gok! And apples.

Without being geeky I would imagine the motorcycle in question (a Brough SS100) is actually the one from the David Lean film which is why it is outside the cinema rather than TE Lawrence's actual motorcycle he died riding which I think is in the national Motorcycle Museum in Beaulieu. I could be wrong of course and happy to stand corrected.

I find the lost art of indicating to be the most annoying issue. I step off the pavement expecting a vehicle to carry on down the road and it suddenly swerves in nearly running me over. This happens a lot. Everyday. No exaggeration. However, all road users, including pedestrians, need to exercise caution in urban environments. But for the love of God, use your indicators!! (6)

According to industry insiders Gok used to be a bit of a porker himself. His secret weight loss diet? Apples and cocaine. Gak-Wan anyone?

Do I want my children's schooling to be run by the lowest bidder in a dutch-auction? Do I want my hospital to be staffed by those on the lowest wages to reduce overheads? Should these areas be run "for-profit" or should we accept that is almost impossible and merely look for the best service and try to reduce inefficiencies as sensibly as possible? To get back on topic somewhat - QUANGOs - who says no one wants them and they provide no service. Not to you perhaps. But to someone. I don't benefit from meals-on-wheels but my council tax goes towards them. I don't object to this but believe it to be socially beneficial that I help old people not starve-to-death.

Goodness. This is almost impossible not to fisk but I'll try. SeanMcG has eloquently expressed many of my opinions already but I think I'd like to make a few points. The good ol' British Potato Board always takes a battering on these sorts of arguments as an example of govt. spending gone mad. As dc and Sean pointed out it is industry funded and no more a tax on potato consumers than the CBI is for businesses. On defence, I'm not convinced we need to spend more but we certainly need to spend better. Both Labour and Tories have committed catastrophic procurement errors in the past (Apaches, SA80s, Tornados etc etc) and this certainly needs to be more effective. As an ex-forces chap, MM, you'll know this is often due to competing needs of the different services as much as incompetent senior officers and civil servants. Not to mention the disaster that is BAESystems (although I could have a whole other thread on this). Private armies are already used extensively by both the MoD and the private sector to carry out tasks that the army don't have the manpower for. They are rather unaccountable, however, and very expensive. Wiki "BlackWater scandal" for examples of how it all goes horribly wrong. I know what you mean when you say that the state should not dictate to people what is best for them but I think on matters such as healthcare and education many people are not (and I'm desperately trying not to use the word intelligent) "forward-thinking" enough to always make the best decisions for themselves. Why should I bother to invest in private healthcare when I'm young and healthy? The reason the state provides these servies through taxation is to ensure that everyone is cared for regardless of their own shortcomings. The same applies to the state pension and free education. It is not a perfect system by any means but I don't think a pre-1945 model of healthcare would be pertinent today. I agree entirely that govt. spending should be held to account and I think Select Committees and bodies like the NAO do this effectively. Govt does have shareholders - they're known as voters. If you think govt wastes your money you can vote them out. In a fair market the libertarian tells us to choose another supplier but I have doubts as to whether "fair" markets will truly exist. Look at the examples of privatisation that took place in the 80s and 90s and ask whether we're really getting better value for money? It is a mixed bag at best. The most recent example found that the opening up of the postal market had had no noticeable effect on the quality of service but had raised prices. Health and education are not goods to be bought and sold by the private sector like commodities. They are intrinsic human needs and as such, I believe, cannot be provided on a for-profit basis. There is improvement needed, without doubt, but the day MegaCorp run my local hospital or school is the day I move to Venezuela Sweden.

For those in search of true Mexican apparently Wahaca in town is meant to be excellent. It's run/owned by Tommi Myers who won the first series of (the new) Masterchef. Cheap and very cheerful by all accounts.

Where/when is this monstrosity of fashion opening? Number 82 means nothing to me I'm afraid.

James Whitcombe Matt Bailey (I think) C Coultart (not M) is Cliff Andrew Frith

I'll take the Ruski's please. I'm planning on learning Russian in September and fancy bagging myself a female billionaire oligarch over a vodka and caviar. Any Russian bars in town? Spasibo!

And congrats to CitizenEd who managed the somewhat unfathomable feat of smashing the bails to pieces with a fielded throw. That's raw power for you! Or gravity.

Keef is correct. James (Whitcombe) only bowled two overs before disappearing noa train back to Bath....with Piers's kit! Me, I bowled all 7 of my allowance.

Quite. Annasfield - my other post was slightly in jest inc the womens lib comment. As it's my local I was bemused as to what had occured and would have been slightly disbelieving had photographic evidence not been produced.

wtf?!

Post! Post! Post! Why did this happen when I didn't go to Lucky 7s. That night gets better and better. And chance she'll be serving behind the bar next time? ;-) *waits for hail of abuse from East Dulwich women's lib*

clare Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Marching on together........ > > Yay...... Leeds are in the play off final !!!! Result!!! Freedman is proving to be a legend in white. Local boy Howson does the business to send us through. How much for a final ticket?

To be fair Brendan, and I'm hoping your not a big VW Beetle fan, they are one of the worst cars ever. Engine - air-cooled(!), slow, noisy, inefficient, polluting. 4 gears?! Ride - abysmal, shit suspension Interior - don't even go there unless you spend thousands on mods Handling - brakes are awful but as you can never go more than 30mph its not so bad. Corners are best avoided unless all persons and goods are firmly strapped down. But otherwise your point was spot on. That's why my next car is going to be one of these: The mighty Rover P5b Like a turret-less Sherman tank! Indestructible. All the bumpers are chrome. If you have a small ping just hammer and smooth it out rather than replace a whole plastic unit at the cost of hundreds. I have the same opinion on clothes. By stuff that lasts. Tweed mainly.

From the radio this morning as I went out the door: Oh, oh, oh, go totally crazy-forget I'm a lady Men's shirts-short skirts Oh, oh, oh, really go wild-yeah, doin' it in style Oh, oh, oh, get in the action-feel the attraction Color my hair-do what I dare Oh, oh, oh, I wanna be free-yeah, to feel the way I feel Man! I feel like a woman! Arrrgghhh (6)

Liquorish, The Mag and Spice Republic all also only get 1 star.

Agreed. Miss off the ani pasto and it becomes a bit more manageable or swap the dessert for an espresso. But back on topic, Locale certainly doesn't have that in mind. Some of the pasta dishes have two prices, however, to allow you to have it as a starter - but not all. The seafood linguine for eg is only available as a large portion at a whopping ?15. For that I'd expect it to be dripping in shell-fish and an exquisite tomoato and chilli sauce. Sadly it achieved neither. Contrary to other opinion, I found the wine list acceptable if (yet again) overpriced. The Viognier was excellent.

Plus there was that kid in the nets next to us. He looked useful. What did his Dad say their name was? Laura? Lira? Lara? Summit like that. Said he could lend a hand if we needed it. Yeah, so it was just me a Brendan, then.

I think there's a jukebox repair and sales place nr Thornton Heath/Selhurst Pk. Maybe they could do one on the cehap and all the regulars could fill it with their own music.

Ok, Court Lane Gate at 7 it is. Does anyone want to join us for our one and only practise session. Should be about a good hour of light.

Argh...overload. Trusses? Mine only have one set of flowers near the top. Should I snip that off. I have Gardeners' Delight, Plum and one I can't remember the name of that looks pear shaped on the picture. All planted in one grow bag. I have fed them once but will now wait on Ted's advice.

Ooh, excellent stuff. I just got some too. The woman told me to leave then in their pots for week and water them from below in a tray and then transfer them to a grow bag - which I did on Saturday. I've bought some feed which it says to give them once a week and I know you have to keep them well fed and watered to get juicy toms. Also, a very sunny position helps, I think. Anyone with anymore knowledge would be great.