Richard51

You beat me to it Sweet [:D]...Please post WoolyB I love my slow cooker and use it a lot.  I have black turtle beans soaking as I type ready for a slow cooked, Mexican bean chilli tomorrow.  The one we have in France (crockpot) we brought over from the UK as we hadn't seen many - but, s0d's law, since we brought it over we've seen a few about. Mrs R51

We went to Le Mont Dore / Superbesse last week and would ditto the comment re school holidays.  Several idiot parents taking five year old complete novice children on blue and red runs by holding them in front while they snow ploughed (at a snail's pace) down the middle of the piste.  Several near misses and one bad accident (fractured leg) as a consequence.  The problem is, it is difficult to avoid the school holidays as they are spread over four weeks...

It took us about ten minutes to open our HiFX account - I just scanned and emailed the documents.  (I have a copy of my passport etc saved as pdf anyway).  With regard to the rates - if you are transferring >£5k then HiFX is great.  For smaller amounts the rates are not so competitive.  We tend to transfer a big chunk of money (via HiFX) a couple of times a year.  While we are in France we spend using our NW credit card.  If we need additional small amounts of cash we use our Halifax credit card (which is cheaper) or our NW debit card. Edit:  You don't have to install anything to use HiFX's online transfer.

It does make me think that women should stop whining and learn a few sarcastic comebacks and - on the subject of Andy Gray's trousers - there are many.  This episode makes me (as a woman) feel as though the world thinks that all women are inadequate simpering Victorian misses in need of protection. Mrs R51

I sent two parcels to France on 7th December.  One arrived two days ago, the other still hasn't arrived. Mrs R51

It is very difficult to remain objective with yet another bizarre dabble into the web, again disguised as research. By definition, food poverty in the UK is not what I would describe as the real poverty referred to previously in the thread, which is I believe more to do with not having anything at all to put through the mouth. I'm not cynical about charity as such, but I am just a little cynical about people who publicise there involvement. Mr R51

An expert in poverty as well Gluestick? Mrs R51

[quote user="Gardener"] Apologies for the selective quoting, but I wonder if any British family living in France willing to adopt an Haitian child would be prevented from doing so, if they didn't speak French well enough, even if they could offer that child a home, love , security etc. [/quote] My niece (living in Western Canada) adopted a little girl from Haiti.  My niece doesn't speak French.  She started to adopt her little girl before the earthquake but the process was accelerated after the disaster - not least because all the adoption records were destroyed and the country simply didn't have the infra-structure in place to continue with a formalised process.  Re the point about looking after your own - I think there is very little real poverty in the UK.   The EU ( and hence the UK Government) defines poverty as 'living on less than 60% of the median income' and absolute poverty as 'living on less that 50% of the median income'.  This means half of the children in London, Wales or Manchester are living in poverty. This is not poverty but being marginally less well off than your peers.  In a review of the current measures of poverty (survey by Save the Children) such things as not having a laptop or internet access, not having a TV, sharing a bedroom with a same sex sibling, not having an annual holiday were suggested as measures to define poverty. If the government really wanted to address the plight of disadvantaged children in the UK they would invest in interventions that actually had a long term impact rather than constantly focussing on minimising the cost for that year or for their tenure of government. Mrs R51

I have one of those RH and I use it a lot - more than the more conventionally styled one.  I dropped lucky with mine.  The lid had a tiny chip (hardly visible) so I got £50 knocked off [:)] Mrs R51 ps My prezzie was a Halfords chamois leather....lucky girl that I am

[quote user="Simon-come-lately"]Hi Mrs R51 - don't understand? The Amazon Kindle DOES have more functionality than just e-books - that was the point of my original post. It has a web browser with FREE internet access globally, an mp3 player, an audio book facility, dictionaries etc. And it weighs less than 250g! And as for a comprehensive choice of books - I'd say 520,000+ books in the Kindle store alone is pretty comprehensive - no to mention all the other e-book sites you can download from. Plus, for EmilyA, nearly 24,000 auto/biographies and around 13,000 travel related books. Maybe we're not talking about the same thing? Simon :-)[/quote] I prefer the iPad for look, feel and functionality.  Re relative pricing I just looked up Orhan Pamuk's 'My Name is Red' and it is £7.43 as a kindle book and £4.39 as a hard copy.  Nuff said.

[quote user="EmilyA"]I thought about it long and hard, but still think the downloads are quite expensive for more recent books. Yes, the classics are free, but we have got most of those that we have ever wanted to read. It just can't match the price of Abe books for most of the things we buy and I think biography, travel etc are seriously thin. (We have got about 7,000 books just to put my feelings about it in context.) Agree it's great for travelling and holidays. I will get one eventually I think, but didn't ask Father Christmas for one this year.[/quote] I agree Emily.  MrR51 was going to buy me one - I'm an avid reader so he thought it would make a good present.  However, when I read more about it just seemed very limited.  Proprietary books at a price not much below a hard copy - and then not a comprehensive choice.  Like Chancer, I like to travel and tend to travel very light (viz 8kg for several weeks).  If I'm adding to my luggage weight I would prefer a device that provided more functionality than just e-books. Mrs R51

Never mind the 'TV star', Julian - what about the real hero, Bradley Manning: http://www.armycourtmartialdefense.info/2010/12/typical-day-for-pfc-bradley-manning.html Mrs R51

Sorry, totally agree with Cable.  Monopolization of the media, especially by the likes of Murdoch, is bad news.  Mrs R51 Ps: Wooly are you p1ssed????

Sorry to go off topic folks but, Rose, you have a pm [:)].  Back on topic folks... [:)] Mrs R51

[quote user="Dystopia"]Sexual assault charges are one of the most difficult to disprove. The question of whether or not the act was consensual can only be settled by taking one party's word against the other's. Either way, I believe that the timing of the arrest warrants were a little too conventional, and that what wikileaks does is irrelevant to the personal life of its founder. [/quote] It maybe easier in this case as the accuser posted a rather positive appraisal of Julian's 'performance' on twitter after the 'incident'.  The comments were later deleted when she realised they inconsistent with her claim.  What she forgot is that web pages are cached and so can continue to be accessed long after they have been deleted. Mrs R51

[quote user="KathyF"]We live up in the hills of Mid-Wales and after 36 hours of snow "showers" we now have at least 10" overall, plus modest drifts in our lane. (Thank goodness the wind dropped early on is all I can say!) We're not going anywhere for a day or two at least. [:)] [/quote] KathyF,  I have just taken up a 12 month contract in Powys and have to get there for 8.30am Mon - what's the situation like in Wales atm and what is the local forecast for the next 48hrs? Heading for Newtown, Powys from Staffs Mrs R51

[quote user="woolybanana"]What is wrong with conditional acceptance into a country whereby certain behaviour overrides family links?[/quote] Totally agree WB Mrs R51

Rose I think we may be near neighbours [:)].  Bob - love the ariel photos but also loved the plane - I'm insanely jealous [:D].  Coops - I hope that whichever way the road takes you that you have a wonderful time - more important than the views are the lovely people you'll meet on the way. Mrs R51

[quote user="NormanH"]What is the value of spelling... [/quote] A basic communication skill?  It demonstrates the fact that the writer has taken the time to write something that is comprehensible to the reader? On that second point Norman......

It would be helpful, though, if they could master spelling first....

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/David-Beckham-Studies-Professor-Ellis-Cashmore-Defends-University-Mickey-Mouse-Degrees/Article/200808215077370 I think most of the above are modules in 'media studies' or similar degrees.  But the argument still holds.  How does a media studies graduate compare to a chemistry / maths graduate?  Not too well I would imagine.  Not, of course, that you'd find too many chemistry graduates now as they are closing most university chemistry departments due to lack of demand.  But then who wants to study something complicated like chemistry when there is the option of Beckham or Madonna on the menu??

[quote user="NormanH"]The failure of private enterprise to seize the opportunity has nothing to do with Blair and Brown. What private money preferred to do was develop the Financial sector after the Conservatives de-regulated it, with the consequences we are now seeing. [/quote] 'What private money preferred to do was..' ship manufacturing out to the cheap labour centres in the far east to make a quick buck.  It's greed that destroyed UK inc. Mrs R51

Sadly, Chancer, no [8-)]

[quote user="Hoddy"]Coops, I know I can look it up. I just think that, especially with questions lie this, it's better to give a location. For example, Benjamin lives in Staffordshire, but my knowledge of the availability of square pastry in Leek would be of no use to him if he lives in Cannock. Hoddy[/quote] Leek, Staffordshire...someone calling?? Mrs R51

Btw - I may have been a graduate entrant at KPMG but I left school at 16 and worked my way through uni (studying at evenings and weekends eventually getting a masters degree in physics) and then changed career to accountancy.  Some jobs do require a degree level understanding of the subject e.g: scientists, mathematicians, medicine etc.  Most of the current jobs that describe themselves as 'graduate professions' don't.   Most job descriptions today have rather a wide range of interpretation - an 'engineer' can be anything from a lathe operative to a designer of micro-electronic circuitry...  Distinctions have become, sadly, blurred. Mrs R51