david_carnell

And I imagine if you add up all the holiday home and retirees in the Dordogne or Spain you'd get "something the size of Milton Keynes". It doesn't mean anything though does it - beyond the fact they got a cheap gite 15 years ago and like a bit of sun. London is cool, multi-cultural and at the forefront of global culture so there are a load of reasons French and every other nationality come here. I don't for a minute suppose they think, "ooh la la - a 40% income tax, c'est magnifique!". The only reason this attracts interest is that they are celebs. And just as many feck off from Britain as arrive - see Lewis Hamilton who needed to decamp to Switzerland for the "peace and quiet". If we all shat ourselves everytime some celeb with more money than morals decided to invest in cuckoo clocks then we'd all be in race to the bottom to attract these selfish free loaders. Where does it stop? Why not have a 20% income tax and attract of of Europe's piss-poor actors to these shores. Now Winner has popped his clogs we need grey-haired smarmy wankers to star in pointless adverts. Film stars are especially grevious offenders. Bemoaning any reduction in state aid to the film industry yet as soon as they are asked to contribute they do a bunk. Utter twats.

It's a pretty accurate description (KidKruger excepted) of any Woss Kemp tv show. All show and no go. A dodgy voice over but nothing bad actually happens does it?

Love it. Military incompetence is always worth a snigger. http://www.cracked.com/article_19981_the-5-most-embarrassing-failures-in-history-war.html "The emus easily outran the truck and led it over such rough terrain that the gunner didn't even manage a single shot. The chase ended when the truck crashed through a fence, because at that point the universe was just throwing Looney Tunes tropes at them. Having had their share of humiliation, the weary soldiers had no option but to admit defeat after a week's combat. The score: 10,000 fired rounds and less than 1,000 dead emus"

And as if I knew it was coming: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21193525 Yikes.

Oh, I don't richard, mainly junkies I reckon. Them and murderers. Or perhaps people on shift work, those who have jobs that finish late, parents of young children who need emergency medicine, someone needing contraception or any other over-the-counter product at short notice......just the people who use a chemist the rest of the time but could do with it being open a bit later.

And the reason it's so low in Swansea is that no one has anything to steal!

Well I'm all for wholescale reform my good man. Although I suspect our reforms might look a little different. ;-) Land tax, anyone? The scale of debt and deficit is large. But adopting a discredited economic tactic that time and again has been shown to ruin economies for decades seems positively dopey. Oh, and not just the rich btw. You and me too!

Whilst we disagree on much, Quids, I think we can agree that whatever tactic this government is using to reduce debt/deficit it's not working.

http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2013/01/david-cameron-tells-porkies-about-britains-national-debt/ Debt is rising. The economy is shrinking. OECD suggests world recovery is slowing and Britain is in line for an unprecedented triple-dip recession. Let's call it failure. http://www.lrb.co.uk/v35/n01/john-lanchester/lets-call-it-failure

I thought it was a pregnant fish?

Does getting lost in bear-infested woods in Transylvania whilst sh*t-faced on cheap vodka count? No, on reflection, probably not.

Good quality non-stick frying/saute pan, medium-low heat for pancakes, probably a little higher for eggy bread. Grease pan with a little butter or oil first. A poor quality pan will have heat spots that cause food to burn and stick to it. Afraid there isn't an easy solution to that beyond deep frying but that's probably unadvisable for everyone on a regular basis!

James - I can find no-where in the application mentioning a needle exchange. Can you? If not, would you please edit your previous post to quell further "fears" about this development.

Taking deliveries, customers.....you mean like the three pubs, shops and the existing doctors surgery all have already?

Have cleared snow and salted the length of my block. Got some funny looks from passers-by on Sunday when I was doing it mind.

On my way to Herne Hill yesterday a guy was jogging topless along Green Dale. Impressive but still a twat. Reminds me of the "tango man" at Sheff Weds.

Me too. My bottle of Xmas sherry (1.5lts) didn't even last until New Year let alone now. What's you tipple Quids? I'm a fan of Sainsburys range of Amontillados and Olorosos.

Am I naive to think that as the Eastern giants (India, China etc) raise their standards of living as their economies grow, that wages for those in their factories making every garment and geegaw trinket, that we currently consume in the West, will rise? Therefore the price of those items will rise, putting them beyond the reach of many British consumers? Eventually we'll have to stop finding cheaper and cheaper labour around the world, no? Or are we to assume the whole process becomes more and more automated to remain cheap? But what then for the thousands of factory workers currently making this stuff? Will they all go on to become project managers and consultants?

Hueguenot - there is a delicate balance to be struck between supporting British farmers, supporting farmers in the 3rd world and ensuring neither the farmers in the 3rd world or the land they are farming is being unsustainably exploited. See for eg cotton in Aral valley or sugar in Cambodia. Both are things unable to be grown in Britain (with the exception of sugar beet, also phenomenally environmentally unfriendly) and so can be used to help developing economies but in fact merely contirbute to further environmental degredation (Aral Sea) or see native subsistence farmers evicted from their lands by governments selling to multinational sugar conglomerates (Cambodia). There is also a vicious irony in importing food from nations where they often struggle to feed their own population.

Or we could even have a community-run school. Instead Harris has been imposed without consultation. Whilst I appreciate their current record in education the mantra of choice, so beloved of politicians, seems to have deserted parents here.

Having read the report and, given that Harris academies are not mentioned by name, I would instead leave you with quotes from the summary: "...the evidence considered by the Commission does not suggest that improvement across all academies has been strong enough to transform the life chances of children from the poorest families..." "...academy status alone is not a panacea for improvement." Meanwhile it recommends that measures need to be taken before committing to more academies including: "...to ensure that an increasingly academised system is fair and equally accessible to children and young people from all backgrounds" and "...to ensure that academies demonstrate their moral purpose and professionalism by providing greater accountability to pupils, parents and other stakeholders. The role of governors is more important than ever in an academised system, and their scrutiny and challenge should ensure effective accountability." James - you seem unwilling or unable to listen to the very legitimate concerns parents have about the role of academies in the education of their children. Your only response is "they get results" and "we need a school" which, whilst undeniable in the short time they have existed, does not satisfy those of us concerned with the long term implications for education in the local area, Southwark and beyond. There needs to be a mature, sensible and timely public debate about this rather than a petition that leads down a road of no return.

Information on academies released today: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-20960500

Well, El Pibe is captain of the CPTCC so I'll defer to him but happy to help try and pull this together. Belair is grass but not great quality. Colleague who plays for Streatham and Marlborough CC (based nr the Grove Tavern on Lordship Lane) says their pitch is for hire for about ?250 but that includes use of a pavillion and possibly (and dangerously) a bar. So far we have: El Pibe (Spanish) Tom (Irish) Help Me Boab (Scot) David C (English) TBC Otta (Blind) Dems (Northern) Onion (Bahamian) Brendan (Saffa) Fear'n'Boozin (self explanatory) It's certainly an exotic mix!

Hmmmm.....Southwark council reckon it's twice that price though: http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200073/parks_and_open_spaces/538/bookings/1 ?100 for a full day. I suppose divided by 22 that's not too bad.

I think Belair Park have a ground for public hire. From their website: Cricket pitch: The pitch can be booked by calling the booking office on 020 7525 1050. A short session (1/2 day) is ?27.00. A long session (1 day) is ?52.00. Not sure if this includes stuff like boundary ropes/flags and stumps/bails.