Clarkkent

Perhaps he takes it off when he goes to bed - with his wife, that is.

[quote user="sweet 17"] From each, according to his means; to each according to his needs. [/quote] So said  Karl Marx. (I wonder what Groucho would have said?) According to, I think, the Grauniad, Dave's Big Society has been characterised as "From each according to their vulnerability, to each according to their greed". In the case which Wooly refers to - if the facts are correct - this seems appropriate.

[quote user="JK"] If the poppy were a universal symbol of remembrance then I don't see that a player should not wear one if he wants to.  But it is a peculiarly British emblem with the proceeds of  poppy sales going to British Service charities.  It is a national rather than international symbol.  Stop Press: FIFA have agreed that the poppy can be worn in the black armband. [/quote] It would be more accurate to say that the poppy is a Commonwealth symbol rather than a British symbol. I noticed that in Los Angeles, during the week, David Beckham was wearing a poppy when being interviewed. Some years ago, I saw a poppy which had been placed in a sand tray in front of the cenotaph in the Peace Park in Hiroshima.

Val. Thank you for your message. It is now some years since I lost my wonderful wife but the pain is still with me. There is very little anyone can say that will help you. Cherish the good memories, they will help, perhaps not now - but in time. I think that you have been very brave in telling us of your loss. And I think that the opportunity of continued life for other people is a most wonderful gift. You have my very best wishes.

And they said exactly the same when the pound went decimal. Perhaps it is just a perennial objection to change: the old was familiar and comfortable, the new is stange and threatening.

I decided to sit back and wait for some response on this. But there has been none. Yet we had a thread a little while ago suggesting that the UK was a basket case because some peaceful protesters against banking excess had pitched tents near St Pauls ...    

Frank, if you think that 60 is a great age then you must have been born middle-aged! The list you provide is for disabled octogenerians. I am shown photographs of events at which I was present but I am never on them. I think that I am being stalked by a grey, bald stout-ish person that I don't know, because he keeps pushing his way into the photos. I know what I look like - I see myself often enough in mirrors - and I know that I can pass for 35. And as for sex, I think young women these days are so burdened with work and family and child rearing that they are too weary to accept my entreaties for nights of passion that would exceed their wildest dreams. Poor things, they don't know what they're missing! Do you know Roger McGough's poem, Let me die a young man's death? Or when I'm 104 and banned from the Cavern may my mistress catching me in bed with her daughter and fearing for her son cut me up into little pieces and throw away every piece but one

Rather more, I imagine.  The birth-rate in countries traditionally associated with [cue sinister music]  'mediæval religious thinking'  is rather low… The highest birth rates are in sub-Saharan countries like Mali and Niger, both of which are almost 100% Islamic. What do you know about the treatment of women in such places? Case proved!  [6]  

Someone better versed in chemistry may correct me, but if salt can be tasted in cooked food, then that means that the salt has been held in solution during the cooking process and has not combined with any other chemical to form a different chemical substance. If that is so, then it matters not whether the salt is added during preparation or serving - any perceived taste benefit from the early adding of salt is just that: a perception. Professional cooks add salt because that is what they have been taught to do and they have not given the practice any thought. My kitchen is a salt-free zone, my table is not. I gave up adding salt years ago, I do not add salt to my food but anyone eating with me is free to do so. I think that they are masking the true flavour of their food in favour of a learned taste experience. There is sufficient naturally-occurring salt in our everyday food to provide that which is physiologically necessary. I eat out socially quite often and occasionally find the food presented to me to be so salty as to be unpleasant.

2326194010 So, while I have been on the planet over 4,673,000,000 extra people have been born. I wonder what it would have been if people had not been influenced by medieval religious thinking?

[quote user="Joe"]Why is the former PM spoken about in such terms.To say she is "leeching" is not a nice turn of phrase. So were here policies that bad.Where I lived in the Kent near the coalfield. I saw things that opened my eyes. Is it obvious that Margaret Thatcher is to blame for the state of the UK ?. Did MRS THATCHER destroy British industry????[/quote] No, she didn't. But she changed its nature. Manufacturing is still a significant section of the UK economy. What has gone is the old, labour intensive, metal bashing, hand-crafting industries - but they are going from all western rich countries. They have gone to places like China and SE Asia where labour is cheap. The sort of industry that remains is either very high tech or specialised or both. Without British industrial input, Airbus would just be a .. bus. The wings - very complex structures - are made in the UK, as are Rolls-Royce powerplants. In spite of perceptions to the contrary, motor car manufacture is healthy, with Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Tata and BMW all operating successfully. Even Longbridge is producing cars again! There are significant food manufacturing companies, petrochemical companies and pharmaceutical companies. Mrs Thatcher reformed industrial relations - to the benefit of everyone (union members included). What she did get wrong, however, was her espousal of Reagonomics and her belief in the powers of competition. She had a choice when North Sea Oil revenues began to build up. The money could have been used to develop, re-inforce and expand the national infrastructure. She chose instead to give the money away as tax breaks to the wealthy in the expectation that increased wealth would "trickle down" and benefit the population as a whole. This did not happen - increased personal wealth was squirrelled away in places like the Cayman Islands! And competition? This produced short term benefits. Her abolition of the tied estate in the brewing industry did result in more brands of beer being available in individual pubs, but it has also resulted in a massive shrinking in the total number of pubs. Hardly increasing competition. (Her tied estate logic should have led to BHS goods being available in Marks & Spencer!) The ease and freedom by which foreign predators can buy into British industry has also meant that strategic decisions are no longer taken in this country. Is Cadburys any stronger or more secure for having been devoured by Kraft?   Edit The Beer Orders was not the only factor in the decline of the pub - but it was significant!

[quote user="Hoddy"]When I watch Stephanie Flanders on TV, even though she is always serious, I think of her father. Hoddy[/quote] She looks nothing like him. He had a big beard ...   All Gall This old man he played six "France and England they don't mix Eytie, Benelux, Germany and me - That's my market recipe!" They don't write 'em like that any more!    

Have you checked Expedia or LastMinute.com?

I note this comes from the Guardian. Will the Daily Mail maintain a respectful silence?

I know that it is only a few hours now before your ordeal. But if you so choose it need not be an ordeal. You say you are talking to a committee. Does this mean that it is a group of people who are going to arrive at a decision, and you want to them to make a decision in your favour? If you feel that you must have a script, then make sure your script is legible: use double spacing, try to avoid complex expressions, and keep your arguments as simple as you can. If it is feasible - summarise your main points. State your objective - the decision you want them to make - and then provide a set of bullet points which lead to and support your objective. Print this out and give copies to your audience. This way you will ensure that they have all the information you consider important for their decision. Tell them you are nervous - you may gain their support. Remember - they are only people, not dragons. If they are hostile just look at them and imagine them sitting on the toilet severely constipated! Idun, you are articulate, you are passionate, you are honest ... you can do it.

[quote user="Gardian"] Frankly, I don't think that its that big a deal. [/quote] I agree entirely. All food in the UK (with the exceptions of milk and ale) is sold in metric quantities. And frankly, it doesn't matter. I would guess that most people look at the size of the pack and determine their choice that way. Who cares how the weight is expressed if that's the size you want to buy. I buy the fuel for my car in litres and express its consumption in miles per gallon (which is more intuitively acceptable than litres per 100 km, anyway.) Those of us who went to school and learned Imperial measures are better at mental arithmetic than those who only know metric ... aren't we?  [Www]

There seems to be the perceived wisdom that if there is a UK-wide referendum on Scottish independence, the majority of  Scots will reject the proposal but the English will be overwhelmingly in favour! Interesting interview on Radio 4 with a man from MORI who pointed out that a majority of Conservative supporters is still only a small proportion of the the UK electorate. Conservative right-wingers, such as John Redwood, make much of "this is the majority view in the country" but on other occasions will point out that people elected to Westminster are representatives not delegates. I don't think that there is any serious attempt being made to withdraw Britain from the EU at the moment - this is a bit of sabre rattling by the Conservative right wing to show the leadership that they are not happy with coalition. I have long held the view that when a new government is elected, the new prime minister is given a heart-to-heart by the senior Cabinet Office civil servants ... "well, Prime Minister, we know what you said in your manifesto, but let's now face a few home truths. First of all, membership of the EU ..."  

I understand that, having miscalculated his earlier date, Harold Camping gave a revised statement about the end of the world and the commencement of the Rapture. In fact the world actually ended two days ago on Friday. So none of us are still here. Pity that. However, it must be said that it was Mr Camping's fourth attempt, and since the world will eventually end at some time in the future, it could be said that Mr Camping's predictions are becoming more accurate. He might get it right one day (in about 5,000,000,000 years time).   Pedantic point - evolution is a continuous process. It has no end point.  

[quote user="Joe"]Glad I live here.The UK has gone to h... in a hand cart.[/quote] Why do you say that ...  "gone to hell in a handcart"? What do you know about the incidence and nature of industrial action, political protest and civil unrest in France that makes that statement justifiable? I'm not suggesting that either country is necessarily more attractive than the other but I would be interested to know the basis for your judgement.

[quote user="sweet 17"] I'd be inclined to be very wary of those places. The management charges (garden maintenance and communal areas, eg) could be disproportionately high. Also, if you do become unable to look after yourself, I believe that they ship you off to some home anyway where you might be neglected, or ill-treated at worst and condescended to at best. Also, these "units" (can't dignified them by calling them "homes") can be difficult for you or your dependents to sell on at a later date. That's the worst case scenario but, the ways things are going, who's to say the "worst case" might not become the inevitable?[+o(]  [/quote] Are you speaking from direct knowledge or hearsay? There is a commercial property development company which is relatively well-known in Britain which, I think, does conform to some of the characteristics you mention. I have a friend who is currently trying to disentangle her mother from this company and is finding it difficult. The scheme that I linked in my earlier post is, I consider, rather different. It is one of five being developed by Birmingham City Council in conjunction with housing associations and a charity called Extra Care. I know someone in an Extra Care facility (not in Birmingham) and is very satisfied with her life. It is quite likely that the unacceptable conditions which you describe may not be found in these places. My mother spent the last 20 or so years of her life in a housing association sheltered complex - and found it a happy and fulfilling experience. In my earlier post I was talking about the problems which may face me if I made a particular decision.

Don't bananas have to be kept refrigerated or else they go soft and mushy?

[quote user="AnOther"] It would help if our dear Emma, the author of the article, understood the issue and thought it through properly.[/quote] To be fair (and I never thought that I would say that about a Daily Mail reporter) Emma is only repeating (or reporting) the ideas of the Intergenerational Foundation. [quote user="AnOther"] "On the one hand she complains of older people squatting in large multi bedroom properties and proposes help and encouragement for them to downsize, and on the other complains that "House ownership is virtually unaffordable for younger people in the parts of Britain where there is work." [/quote] I am one of these older (not that I could ever pass for being old) people squatting in a large house. In general, it could be said that I am well off; in reality I am asset rich but cash poor. My son and his partner cannot afford to buy a house of their own. One way that I can help them is by selling my own house so as to release equity and give me a pile of cash which could help them buy their first home. This leaves me with the problem of finding somewhere to live and I am likely to be in competition with my son for a suitable house.  One solution would be for me to look for accomodation in a "retirement village" such as this. These places are thin on the ground at the moment, but with a growing over-60 element of the population may become a sensible solution (though not everyone would want to be surrounded by elderly neighbours). [quote user="AnOther"]There are no quick fixes for the totally dysfunctional UK housing market. It's like dieting, short of shock starvation it takes at least as long to lose weight as it does to put it on - and UK has been gorging for decades. [/quote] Absolutely true. And it needs a firm policy decision - and action - from the government to ensure the problem does not get worse.

Since Kraft took over Cadburys they've been putting kryptonite into the Dairy Milk.

I can personally attest to the fact that packages containing Cadbury's chocolate can be sent from Britain to Japan with NO POSTAGE STAMPS at all. Mind you, it takes three months!

Wow! I can't remember anything until I was about three.