tegwini

I thought that laurier was laurel in English.  Clearly not the oleander! My laurel hedge is enormous and copes with VERY cold winters - I want to shorten it as it is now  about 20 ft tall along the roadside - shorter in the garden because of the slope.   Anyone interested in cutting it ?  

There had been some discussion on the forum about differences in costs between booking directly with LD and the various agents also taking bookings for LD.    I have always been convinced that it has to be cheaper to book direct.  Others on this forum disagree. But today I made a booking and initally was on  'A ferry to' site which on google has a very similar domain name.  So as I am always curious I checked both. But, the differences are :  (for identical tickets)   during June:  (cut & pasted) The cost of your booking  174.00 GBP   =   LD - direct booking           The total price of your tickets will be 222.56 GBP  = A ferry to A ferry to    seems almost as if it is LD as the sites are so similar, and some might think that they are on LD's site, after a similar domain name, format, layout etc.  BUT THE PRICES CLEARLY ARE NOT  !      Quite a saving I think. tegwini

And, engineering - or qualifying as an engineer has little status in the UK. And I mean here someone with an engineering degree. Both my brothers did engineering degrees (one civil, one electrical/electronic)  Since pay for graduate engineers is so poor, less than for example most in the finance industry, they ended up in the US with much better jobs.   One was really very clever and was involved in the 'digitising' of mobile phones. Sad really.

Wooly-  I quite agree, but lots of this originates with our useless socialist government. Recently we have bought some bog standard things :    car trailer, filing cabinet (low tech) and shopped around a bit, bought new, and neither made in the UK.  Does this make sense ?  (both from France- no shame there is being an artisan). Sadly this useless government wants so many to go on to university to get a useless degree followed by a 'Mac' job.   Is this to massage employment figures ?  And, still, even now,  a shortage of artisans/tradesmen.  And soon all kids at school to 18!   

Just off the ferry (Caen -S'ton)  bus loads of kids - Pommies the noisiest, French kids more civisilied - a bit.   But, some adults so loud too. Need to organise the dates better next time.

A scary scenario ...  and I too could see this coming and said so quite some time ago. But, I would have thought that the burgeoning population  - 70 million predicted by 2020  on our already  massively overcrowded islands, and will presumably  need homes, will cause rising property prices- eventually.   NuLab also made clear that the UK needed this population increase.   A new city -  every year ,   larger than the size of Southampton ! For those of us old enough to remember this is the second time Labour has messed up and needed the IMF.   Tax and spend is the mantra for them,  as they have no idea of basic economics.  Nor of much else either. Tegwini    

Also  sorry to hear of your diagnosis  LB. I only wrote about cervical cancer where even the gov'ment now accepts that a promiscuous lifestyle often leads to this awful disease.  The programme to vaccinate young girls  against  Human papillomavirus (HPV)  is controversial to some people, but it might reduce the incidence of cervical cancer. But, lifestyle changes are also needed, as promiscuity causes other STDs too. 

http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/cervicalcancer/CC_causes Although I have no strong feelings either way on Jade Goody, and have never watched BB  I checked out the causes of cervical cancer to confirm what I already knew. Difficult not to have heard of Jade Goody, and her lifestyle.    The following is from the above website - obviously there are exceptions,  But - A woman has a higher-than-average risk of developing cervical cancer if she: Has had multiple sexual partners Began having sexual relations before the age of 18 Has a partner who has had sexual contact with a woman with cervical cancer OTHER FACTORS - tobacco use,  bad diet, contact with the Human papillomavirus -  a greater risk  of contact with this virus is via multiple sexual partners. So it is possible to reduce the risks.  

If the Mods wish to censure me then so be it, it will be a first in my posting history. I can live with that. edit:  The way this forum is becoming overly PC, if the mods wish to ban me I can live with that also. Steve Fujeirah Emirate, U.A.E + 50 (in France) Steve You would be missed massively  by most of us - even the Mods I am sure  would agree and not open 'the door' for you! Regards Tegwini  

Odile - lots of nit-picking, moans and gripes from you this week  - on this topic and elsewhere- And yet you ignore my post : "What would have happened to his lovely  'hamster' " quote Odile Do you mean Richard Hammond ?   They call him 'Hamster' since he is small/vertically challenged - this is NOT PC and is quite unkind to him- shame on you ! Clearly you  are PC when it suits you!    Or is it OK to mock short people  ?

"In my view because the BBC is now run by a bunch of people who get a thrill out of stirring things up Fresh out of university many of them... learned everthing except good manners it appears .No doubt some yougster is in charge of deciding what is newsworthy these days" .Frederick Absolutely spot on ! Tegwini 

"What would have happened to his lovely  'hamster' " quote Odile Do you mean Richard Hammond ?   They call him 'Hamster' since he is small/vertically challenged - this is NOT PC and is quite unkind to him- shame on you ! Tegwini  

Thanks Russethouse for bringing some balance to a topic that's gone wonky! Some members seem to have had a bad week - the snow ? cabin fever ?  Oh, and may I use the word 'wonky' ? Does it have any 'inappropriate' meaning that I have not heard of ? Cabin fever is easy to sort - I personally shovel snow- c’est necessaire enlever a la pelle!    I don't mind if someone wants to correct this, no accents, sorry,   But this is a topic that's off topic, and I've had enough of it ,  and the rest,   and will not bother to look at it again! Regards Tegwini

Odile Why can't I express an opinion that something annoys !  And, is that the only comment you can make on my post - a criticism - as a teacher you too should know better. Tegwini

Sorry Tegwini I did misread what you had written yesterday.  quote Kizzy No problem Kizzy Kids can be cruel, I have taught teens for decades, now semi-retired so I have seen nearly everything. Your daughter will improve her French and start to help you I assume.  Children do pick on the odd child, it's a difficult thing to cope with, but from experience (my daughter was bullied at that age) it might help to try to ignore them, unless they become worse.  Inviting some around for 'tea' might help to isolate the little b****** !  Hopefully the bullying then might become 'history' Getting back to this thread I see that the BBC might have to say sorry to Carol T.     I have no strong feelings about CT (her lisp annoys), but object to stuff actually BROADCAST that is offensive, and it's not easy to find programmes after 9pm with the odd f word or violence.  I am not fond of the BBC and its wastefulness, and especially after the J Woss affair,   since unlike many on this thread  I pay the licence fee. Regards Tegwini

Hi Furry/Cynthia "If it makes Tegwini happy (and others of her tv licence paying ilk) to refer to other human beings by innapropriate names, then why spoil their fun. You can't teach a sow to peel an orange"   QUOTE FK Re-read my posts - and of others who agree with me , I spoke ONLY about the soft toy, and gave some history and info.    Show me where I wrote and used 'inappropriate names'. Clearly for some people comments by others are not allowed, and they can be rude too.   News to me that sows cannot peel oranges -  sounds inappropriate  directed at me  !   On this thread somewhat hypocritical ?  Tegwini    

Crumbs Cynthia You haven't perhaps been anywhere near Blarney? Tegwini

"Regardless of it being a doll or not, are you saying it's a true representation of a black person? Well if that's the case, why would they be offended then!"   Cynthia. No idea Cynthia, the original Golly was based on a circus character.  I can think of many  'white' dolls - eg cabbage patch dolls- do they represent white people.? Barbie, Bratz ...  Kids love/loved them, likewise with the gollies. Regards Tegwini  

"You have chosen to emphasise words ( and re arrange them), I was just trying to point out how the use of words can hurt people". Puzzled. "it was used in the playground, to the only child at that school who was English. By using this phrase it drew attention to her  as being 'different'. "   MY QUOTE it was used in the playground, to the only child at that school who was English. By using this phrase it drew attention to her as being 'different'. YOUR POST   Check again Puzzled - cut & pasted hence verbatim.  I would NEVER mis-quote/re-arrange someone's words!  I consider myself too professional for that !  Sadly children can be cruel, and some French kids and their parents resent the English 'invasion'. Fact. Tegwini  

"it was used in the playground, to the only child at that school who was English. By using this phrase it drew attention to her as being 'different'. "  Puzzled. But, as the ONLY English girl in the school she IS different! Reminds me of the 'Life if Brian' ... Tegwini

"Absoflippinglutely RH, what a slimy horny hypocritical toad he is,  -adrian-chiles-chemistry-with-christine-bleakley. surely everybody must know poor old Carol is harmless by comparison, when will all this inconsequential PC nonsense rebound. Wasn't the comment about someones hair compared with a doll? Hopefully the old saying 'what goes around comes around and he'll get his.' never did like the 'dumb' one show anyway, neither is Jo Brand funny anymore "   Just John.   I'll second that-   Jo Brand is crude - and sexist,  too many off-colour 'jokes' that many would see as non-PC. Tegwini  

"Why is is that white dolls are always made in the image of beautiful humans and black dolls are always hideous characatures???? "   Not so Cythia.  Lots of pretty black dolls - always have been. The golly was never really a 'doll'. Regards Tegwini

Soon we'll have the thought police - Big Brother is Watching You- as in 1984. So many ways of supposedly being offensive.     Even thinking  'roast beef' is an insult.   This originated  during the 19th century when the British supposedly were better fed than the French- thus a compliment  ? We should always show consideration, but it's gone too far and is now costing the UK taxpayer over £600 million.  No doubt the BBC has such a dept. for the likes of Adrian Chiles to tell tales to.  More cost to the licence payer, and to what benefit ? Very little benefit. Tegwini    

'A restaurant in the village has branched out into "Pizzas et Snaking"...'  quote Clair Seen worse,   not long ago in Salisbury we had     Toni's Pizza's   ! Tegwini

Golly soft toys are  greatly loved,  extremely popular, collectible and some very valuable.   They have been made for over a hundred years,  and were originally based on a circus character. They are Teddy's best friend.  In the UK they are made by Merrythought, Deans and a few smaller manufacters.  Steiff also make them, in their limited edition ranges, and call them 'gollywogs', most other manufacturers call them gollies.  Other German teddy manufacturers usually call them gollies. Such is their popularity that they are copied in the far east, exported from NZealand, Australia, USA and etc.  There are  many, many thousands around the UK in collections and toyboxes.  Decades ago my sister had an 'upside-down doll' - black doll at one end/white doll the other. She also had a golly.   Doubtless Carol Thatcher had one as a child. That might explain why she used the word, and I don't believe she meant to be offensive.   For me,   the entire debacle sounds like PC gone mad, and says lots about Adrian Chiles.  Sounds like something from a school playground! I find the constant use of obscene language and gratuitous violence much worse,   and often it is hard to find a programme that sticks to the BBC's original charter. Tegwini edit: correction- sister's toys...