Acid Casual

RosieH Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Yeah you're right. Bad day and I took offence > needlessly. > > Normally I just laugh at the idiots who slag off > PR while falling for it hook line and sinker. I'm taking this to PM. No-one's interested in us bickering.

RosieH Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Acid Casual, do a quick google search and then > come back and tell me that Tesco aren't involved > in any vile PR campaign > > It's naive to assume that they're doing it out of > the goodness of their hearts. They do it because > they know that's what the public wants and expects > from retailers. > > As a PR professional, I take offence at your vile > PR campaign comment - ill-informed, ill-considered > and frankly a little smug. And clearly, from the > tone of your post, it would seem that their PR > campaign is indeed working. Here we go as usual. Some daftie spoiling for a fight. Not in the least bit interested in what PR Tesco do or do not engage in, All I know is that they have done a good thing and they are not ALL bad. My opinion of them was pretty balanced as I recall. No white knights, but not the big bad wolf either. I couldn't give an Aylesbury Duck if you are offended by my comment. It was not directed at you personally, so look for a cyber-scrap somewhere else. Its not like I insulted your family or anything. Over and out.

nunheadbelle Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Apparently, each time Tesco opens a new store in > any area, it donates money to a local charity or > good cause. St. Thomas the Apostle Church in > Nunhead has been the lucky beneficiary this time, > with a donation from Tesco and Build Base (who I > assume fitted out the store). Don't know how much > they gave but it was a generous donation. (tu) > > Nunheadbelle Its not often you hear someone prepared to restore a bit of balance to a post about businesses like Tesco. For the record, I couldn't give a monkeys about them. On one hand, they are quite convenient. On the other, their own label brand is cr@p, but they are far from being the big bad wolf that people often make them out to be. Likewise McDonalds who are now an accredited partner with some fairly major environmental charities, and replant trees at the rate of 3 to every 1 cut down. They still make sh!te food however, and that's my issue with them, not their social responsibility. At the moment I am deeply immersed in setting up a CSR division at work and am having conversations with both charities and businesses. What is coming out loud and clear is that CSR initiatives are currently run at a snail's pace due to bureaucratic red tape, senseless "accreditation" and lack of simple standardisation. Client companies are absolutely sh!tting it to get off their @rses in most cases and just do good things in case they get a cynical sneer in response to doing so, which let's be honest, is often the response. When Tesco donated to St. Thomas the Apostle, I'm pretty they didn't stop to think "Is this going to deliver against our PAS 2050 credentials?" They just got off their @rses and did it, and be damned with what some silly little man in a governmental department has to say about it. In my view its just better to do good. Are Tesco wonderful and sparkly lovely? Most likely not, but fair play to them for their act of generosity and even more so for not shouting about it via some vile PR campaign.

Mick Mac Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The best pizza I have ever had in London is at The > Gowlett - I think their bases are spot on. Each to their own and all that. I agree The Gowlett's good, but too thin for my liking, and that's just my preference alone. The whole thin crust thing is a bit of an odd one for me. Authentic Neopolitain ones are by no means a Chicago style deep filled monstrosity, but they have a lovely doughy centre within a well fired bite. That just happens to be what I like and I really struggle to get one not only in London, but in the UK.

Jeremy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Personally I'd settle for a decent pizza place > open at reasonable hours, rather than a superb one > which is only open for lunch. I'm sure I didn't mention a thing about opening hours. just that if they do a good wood-fired pizza, they'll do very well. Move along. Nothing to see here...

In Brixton Market.

Yeah, I believe that Franco Manca is one of only very few pizza makers in Britain to be accredited by whoever the Neopolitain body of excellence is. Not in London, but in The UK! That makes them part of a very select few. We're pretty lucky to have them on our doorstep. Try them once and everything else tastes like Birdseye.

If they do proper wood-fired pizza with proper dough and base along the lines of Franco Manca in Brixton, they will clean up. There is no decent pizza place for miles around (apart from Franco M which doesn't deliver) Firezza's base is so-so when they get it right, but are unable to follow basic instructions as to how you like it fired, The Gowlett is OK, but again doesn't deliver. Google Franco Manca if you want to see an outstanding commitment to proper Neopolitain authenticity. The trouble they have gone to in order to reproduce the simple brilliance of the real thing (save a couple of additional toppings) is simply amazing. The quality control that takes in everything from the flour used in their dough to the exact timings of the perfect pizza is something rarely seen anywhere these days. If I lived nearer Brixton, I'd live on their pizzas.

Who cares if he's an astute businessman. Is this some sort of crime? I personally would not use him to move, because his service provided obviously does not cover my needs, i.e. helping shift and carry. What you want for that is a removal firm, not a man and van. He is pretty much doing what it/he/the van says on the tin. You can't even pursue him for false advertising. but if you pay cheap, you pay twice. Or at least end up doing much of the grunt work yourself. Who on earth trusts their removals to someone charging this little anyway? If you do, you should expect the worst. BTW, I'm not defending the quality of his service, just his right to park legally and go about his business. As long as he does within the confines of the law, even if it somewhat of a passive annoyance to a few.

Actually, Quids' comment has been for me the most accurate post on the thread. The sole difference between these vans and the fleet of Foxtons minis that have swamped London is the aesthetic, and I notice that the original poster has not mentioned these. In fact, I have a mate who has married a wannabe footballer's wife who actually welcomes Foxtons' cars clogging up her street because "it shows the area is riding out the housing slump" naturally my response is "you are a stuck up twat" but she's just the sort of outraged nimby who'd start a thread like this. Live and let live. The bloke's not exactly Peter Rachman or Nicholas Van Hoogstraten is he? A few vans parked legally on a public highway. Big deal! Eff off and do something useful with your free time.

AllforNun Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > No stay on topic, this is what its all about, > getting to the core of the issue even if it's > cracks some rose tinted Eco Friendly specs ! Not sure about that, but to shatter a few myths, some of you might be amazed at what some of the guys I knew are doing now. I myself am in the creative media industry as is another of my friends, someone else is one of the best photographers in Britain, I have other friends who are accountants, civil servants, hotel managers, guest house owners and a whole lot more in between, so prejudices are only partly valid. That said, for every one of us, there was another two complete sociopaths. Just trying to say it as it is. Again, not to get too far off topic...

AllforNun Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Why would you be amazed ? Only if you just > believed all the shite fed to you in the > newspapers....is anyone ashamed of rioting during > the poll tax issue, i think not. This period was a > turning point for this country as is hurtled to > wards a polica state, and embraced capitalism with > wild abadonment, smash the miners and smash large > groups of men, the crowd can be a very dangerous > thing, especially to the state, it is after all > very unliberal. Not a million miles away there. Football hooliganism was a product of these times. Anyway, in danger of getting off topic, so sorry about that.

Actually, an ex-football "hooligan" Actions undertaken between the ages of 15 to around 20. A long time ago. Not going to go into justifications or otherwise on a thread like this.

Not strictly. As I've said, the events of that day are unrecognisable to me. It took several years after Heysel (I assume that's what you're referring to) until any sort of action was taken to deal with football violence properly by isolating hooligans from families when considering the problem, for instance banning orders, confiscation of passports, the football intelligence unit, etc. Within two years of the Taylor report, we all knew the game was up. What was the impetus of the Taylor report?... Tragic, but true.

I think one thing should be clear. Hillsborough was absolutely nothing to do with "hooliganism" and it does the victims an injustice to suggest otherwise. I expect I'll be quite unpopular here, but as an ex-football "hooligan" (although I prefer casual or dresser as a term of description) What happened that day bore no relation to anything I was ever involved in whatsoever, and without going much further, believe me, I know what I'm talking about. The sad fact is that what happened that day was an accident waiting to happen and could have happened to any club at any ground. Post Heysel, Margaret Thatcher would have quite happily closed football down in the UK, but as she couldn't do that, she elected to compound the already poor conditions suffered by football fans by being complicit in turning already dangerous and decrepit grounds into death traps with the introduction of fences and other measures of control. Did it deter me and my like? not a jot. Most of our work was done at train stations and en route to the grounds by the late 80's. Did it "deter" Dads and lads from misbehaving? Well, no because there was nothing to deter. So it is a tragic irony that the ill-considered response to Heysel ended up being the thing that killed those poor people who were totally blameless, God rest them. The government of the day have blood on their hands, as do South Yorkshire Police. I think one thing is certain though, I'd put serious cash on the my hunch that not one of the 96 that died would have had any sort of conviction for or involvement in football violence. A sad, sad day. JFT96.

Keef Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > (kids, ladies etc) > > The OP was with her other half, the guy on > Whateley Rd, was early 20s male, and the guy on > Bassano St was late 20s (and pretty big actually) > male, so this group don't seem to just be toturing > the weak so to speak. (Groan!) But would you argue that it is NOT a sensible recommendation to make to kids or women that they might pair up on the way home as opposed to walk alone? I'd have thought that would be precaution number one, no?

God, here we go again! Some poor soul gets mugged (sympathies to you BTW) and it rapidly degenerated at full speed into a slanging match. Maybe I could helpfully suggest that those likely to be at risk (kids, ladies etc) take sensible precautions like walking home together in pairs instead of squabbling like a demented cyber-harpy? I don't really care about the whys or where-forths. If has happened it is likely to do so again so why don't you all put your c0cks away and be helpful for once. Over and out.

I'm looking at this thread with interest, as a Saturday ritual for me and Mini-Casual (or under 5!) is to go for Fish and Chips. The only place we know that you can sit down is The Sea Cow. Any other suggestions would be welcome My experience is that it is a bit too expensive, but generally the food is nice, so I accept it. Last time the fat used was patently not hot enough, and the batter was limp and pallid, so we tried The Bishop the following week, which was much better, but more expensive again. For what it's worth, the guys in The Sea Cow have always been really nice to both me and the little one and until recently they have done nice fish but for some reason, yes I'd agree that the girl/woman in there is a bit moody. Dunno why, but that's my experience from every visit. I might give them another shot in a little while to see if the soggy batter was a one off.

I think that if a person HAS already complained, but to no avail, then it's worth letting people on here know if the service etc was enough of a concern. It is a much needed exchange of information and prevents others experiencing the same.

Very sorry to hear that you're feeling unwell Susanna. I do have to say Kudos to Ray for coming on here so fast and with some apparent concern. He's of course entitled to defend his position, but has done so constructively and with a bit of clarity. Some business owners on here might not have had the balls to do so. I think that raising concerns and a right to reply is what forums like this should be about. BTW, I've not been in the EDT for months, so have no vested interest.

Well said. I think snobbery, inverse or otherwise is the sole reserve of those who are still ignorant enough to believe in the class system Asset. They usually have quite deep seated anxieties either "Oh God these awful types from the estate/Peckham/Nunhead (delete where appropriate) will soon be on our doorstep" or just as bad... "Yeah, it's alright for them in their "big houses with their fancy shops etc..." The former is ignorance, the latter is self-validation. Either way, it's stupid and wrong. Class is now an irrelevance to all but those who cling to it as validation of who they are because they are scared to experience anyone or anything different. I love the fact that I've got mates I've had since school who mix nicely with the people I've met since coming to London, and both are very different types. The thing they have in common is sufficient social intelligence and lack of issues to get on. Also, in my job I'm lucky enough to work in the department that comprises the odds and sods of what I do. That means at various times I've worked with; Oxbridge graduates, former military personnel, ex-social workers, former town planners, ex-political speech writers, table dancers, Mormons, christians, jews, athiests, gays, straights, ex-bouncers, Harvard graduates, ex-teachers, ex-club promoters, former legal secretaries amongst others, and of course, me. It has opened my eyes and made me a better, more rounded person. Snobs or inverse don't get that opportunity, and I consider it the most fortunate part of my career. I really relish it. If you're a tw@t, your a tw@t. If you're not, you're not. Why where someone chooses to live should mark them out as on or the other is lazy prejudice.

No, I'll look that up. A few of my mates have written large chunks of various books on the subject of the clothes of casual culture. One even appears fairly regularly in photos in them. I won't however. I can't risk being recognised by clients (my boss knows however) I think that people underestimate the impact of casual culture on fashion because they tend only to recognise the stereotypes, and probably with good reason. I still keep in touch with a few old heads, who have moved on and like me have decent jobs and family responsibilities. The unfortunate fact is thought that for ever decent, bright but bored kid to whom it was a phase of a few years, you get someone who is a vicious sociopath. Not nice and not the sort of person I'm sorry to have left in the past. Some good days and some good laughs though...

Well Asset, as my user name suggests, I spent most of my youth traveling all over The UK and Northern Europe by train engaging in football related nonsense with like minded other youths, until I realised that other things were better fun than getting run over by 300 Millwall. If you are of a similar age, you will know that clothes are a matter of some pride to your common and garden football casual. Obviously, I am now older and a footy casual no more, but I will always have the casual state of mind when it comes to clothes, and it's not all about who can spend the biggest wedge. You can spend thousands and still look like a tool. Any premiership footballer will show you that. You'll notice that none of the names I mentioned include the expected brands, and that was always the point of being a casual - to look different, not the same. Somewhere along the line that all changed and that's why you see idiots on the train to South Bermondsey in their uniform of moody Burberry and the like. Sorry, a bit off topic, but there you go.

Erm! I dunno really. The homeware shop seems to have some nice stuff, but is cramped. As far as I can tell the boutique is women's wear only, so I have no need to buy anything from it. Even if they had a menswear section, I doubt it would be to my personal taste, but that's fine. Most blokes in East Dulwich don't look like me or dress like me, so why would they pursue the custom of a single person over the tried and tested? I guess the same formula works for their current stock. The women's wear is a bit on the bland side because most people that buy clothes in East Dulwich are exactly that, and that's not me being nasty or offensive. Why do you think that most high end boutiques (which no matter how people think of them, ED has none) are in the city centre or similar areas of high traffic? People go out of their way to visit them for a reason. Mrs Robinson are probably quite good at identifying the stuff that flies out of there, and d'you know what? If it was me and my livelihood I'd do the same. But I personally have no issue with people buying whatever they want from wherever they want. ED has a good range of shops for a residential area and I just think we should be careful what we wish for. If there was a menswear shop in ED that stocked Margaret Howell, Engineered Garments, Wool Rich, Superga, Spring Court, Baracuta, Barbour, APC, Smedley, Quoddy, Albam, Nom De Gurre, Rittenhouse, Our Legacy etc, I'd be there like a shot. Problem is, no-one else would be!

Is this sorry sh!t still dragging on 24 hours later!?!?!?!?!?