Flatboy:
you’re obviously not old enough to remember victorian times when there were loads of them – obviously there was a heady period in the early-mid 20th century where our streets were temporarily cleansed.

Yes, you’re right. And that heady period coincided with a move towards a more equal, higher-tax society with a cohesive ethos, not a Sod-you from the rich. We’re moving away from that now, to my disgust.

How about paying back the money you owe the credit card company?

I do. There’s a regular couple of semi-homeless junkies/ alkies who beg locally, sometimes selling the Big Issue. There’s no point in giving them food since they beg outside shops that feed them (eg the Bread Store on Glos Rd, Bristol), but I’ll give whatever I have spare. Yes, I know it’s spent on oblivion – but who am I to judge.

For you youngsters, may I also say that until 1980 I never saw a beggar on the streets of Britain. I went to Miami in 1977 and was really shocked to see them on the streets; I thought it was like the 3rd world. Then in the late 70’s, our society changed…..

I’ve said this a couple of times before, I know:
My wife had very painful shoulders & writsts for many years after an accident on her commute to work. We fitted Marys, and the pain cleared up quickly. V comfy.

Thanks, Stoner, and also for the education.

Entrepreneurship has been a dirty word for me since (sorry about this) Mrs T made a big thing of it, while simultaneously starting the deindustrialisation of Britain. It seemed to me that many of her favoured enterprises were a form of exploiting the poor. And since the word rentier was brought into play, her reliance on oil revenues to sustain the state was another factor in ebabling her to do that.

But as I said, good luck to the self-made men. If you can do it, it’s admirable – I just lack the idea to take forward.

Yeah, OK Stoner, I guess you’re right…but the word still seems to have shades of making money without getting your hands dirty.

I do admire people who use their skills to build businesses, tho’ – whether consultancy / flogigng their own capabilities, or designing & making goods like your mates & the JCB / Sinclair / Dyson types; especially the latter. I just want the idea to start running. The ideas I’ve had in the past have been at the wrong time for me. One day.

What do you mean by entrepreneur? The literal meaning is “Between-taker” or middleman…..buy cheap, sell dear. Not a role model.

Try eating some meat, then. You sound anaemic to me. 😉

MTFU.
You’ll be fine

TJ- I salute you. That’s an admirable thing to have done.

🙂

Sooty, stop wriggling.
Which of G’s posted FACTS are you disputing?
And why discredit the Endurance’s captain?

No, not cruel.
Try it & see, but put a big fat tyre on the front to take some of the sting out of the bumps.

Then if necessary, put the forks back

Sounds like food poisoning to me.
Ostrich burger?

Raw yogurt for you, Pook, replace those nasty bugs with something better for you

Hora, you might read a bit of history, too.
IIRC, I was there in the 70s and the 3-day week & recession was cleared up well before Thatcher took over.

She took the decision to downgrade the UK presence in the S.Atlantic, and removed the support vessels which gave Argentina the signal that we weren’t interested in the Falklands. She neglected the diplomacy and ignored the build-up of Argentinian forces. It was a war that she allowed to happen, and that gave her an election victory that she’d otherwise have lost.

Years ago, while touring in Australia, I was offered a really good job.
My wife hated the place ( it would have meant living in rural Queensland ) and it was a choice of work or woman, so we came back to Britain.

Yes, I regret the missed chance, but I’ve muffed other chances at good jobs and we’re still married 30 years later – so I reckon relationships are more important than work.

The one in New Forest / Bournemouth area is huge fun.

anything by Tom of Finland.

erm, hang on… 😕

The cleats should point inwards,towards the big toe.
That way they’ll be parallel on the bike and your feet will point outwards like a duck. Try it & see.

Mrs M has just bought a Samsung NC10. £320 at John Lewis, cheaper online via PC world.
Good keyboard & screen, literally half the size of my work laptop, prob all you ever need. It has a good battery life

Yes, congratulations and I hope you enjoy life to the full now.
I also remember your threads form a year or so ago – so pleased it’s working out for you.

Now for the 18 years of hard work…

Yes, I have, as has Mrs M & lots of our friends.
No rubber glove stuff, though, not up uranus. I now how tall I am, which I didn’t before.

There’s a good chance it will help you or your family over the long term, as the equivalent study of children in Avon, Children of the 90s, produced worthwhile information much earlier than expected.

Please go for it.

I’ve looked on ebay for one, but lots don’t sell.
Also, autotrader, trade-it, gumtree, advertise in the van window, etc

How much?

I’m on Streetview, from a shot last September.

😉

Bet you can’t find me!

I “think” that Ernie is a carpenter by trade, may be unemployed at the moment.

IF he is who I think he is, he’s a very bright & self-effacing, self-educated man. But with unkempt hair.

I dunno whether Diana Dors was from Priddy, but she went out with my mate Lou’s dad. She’s certainly from the Bath/Wells/Swindon axis.

(And Lou runs club nights & publicity for the Thekla, for the Bristol folks)

Budget only asked me for £70 for a weekend for an OK car….try them.
I’ve had ace service in the past

I hope that you gave her one –
of your Deputy Director of…cards. You never know.

One could ask the same of our royal family………

Alpin – are you referring to your pic of the Sanderson or the PA ?

Hmm. Since Alpin lives in Alpine central Europe, and the lady models for a German catalogue, I give the story a bit more credence. Let’s hope that husband can’t read English.

Well, what you quoted was not impartial, either. And I don’t think that mentioning the wages owed was inflammatory. It shows that the average wage was about £15k – not high at all.

Stoner:
Unite said an average salary payment of £1,200 was due to each employee this month, and a total of £45,000 in pensions contributions needed to be refunded to the workforce as a whole.

Senior representative Stuart North said: “We have accepted pay cuts and all the conditions.

“The only issue in dispute was that Mike Dolan wanted us to sign a document giving him the right to sue individual employees.

B+T had been profitable before its takeover – it was the financial engineering that shafted it. 450 ordinary blokes laid off so that some faceless **** could make more millions. It makes one sick.

Stoner – IIRC, the company in Frome just shut the factory down while the unions were negotiating, there were no strikes nor threatened strikes. The works was profitable, but new owners decided they could save money by offshoring. Result – no one in the UK won.

If I’m wrong, please find the relevant infos…

Mmmn. I’d say keep going young man, judging by the bikini pics elsewhere in the site

Do it! Do it!

Useless without pictures….

IMHO the route through Bath would be harder – the hill from there going north is a swine and too full of traffic.

Am I right….? No.

MS Accounting? Free version. From somewhere on the MS site

Great news. I hope that the various docs and medics can sort her out soon, now they know what the problem is..

🙂