Marmora Man

Silver Fox said "This is not a case of the Chief Medical officer recommending that people have a flu jab because there is a nasty new form of Spanish flu around. The proposal will see all 2-year-old children embark on a 16-year annual flu vaccination programme from 2014. Why?" Because the flu vaccine, even over 16 years is estimated to be very, very safe. So the downside is very, very low. The upside is 2,000 lives saved a year and 11,000 hospital cases avoided every year. Socially and financially this makes absolute sense. I agree that a similar mass vaccination against TB might be a good idea - tho' altho' it is becoming a major problem again it is, at present, only effecting a small and discrete segment of the general population.

GORE VIDAL On US politicians - "The United States was founded by the brightest people in the country - and we haven't seen them since." On the US electorate - "Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half." On the press - "A writer must always tell the truth, unless he is a journalist." On art and politics - "There is something about a bureaucrat that does not like a poem."

Huguenot Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > MM Whilst I agree with the principals of your > argument if flu vaccines worked, they don't. > > Everybody involved must know this. Hugenot - you must be reading too many conspiracist blogs, I thought better of you. Flu vaccines do work - there are problems, one of which is the lack of "herd immunity", which the programme to vaccinate all children will address and improve. I can be as cynical as any man, and perhaps more so about health issues as I work inside the sector. However, I do tend to place a high degree of confidence in the medical research behind the Chief Medical officer's flu vaccine plan as do physicians I work with.

Greek Immigration: Official: "Nationality?" Visitor: "German" Official: "Occupation?" Visitor: "Not this time - it's just a holiday"

Children do not suffer unduly from flu (despite the 19 deaths quoted above). However, they do make excellent carriers of the virus and, as a result, transmit it into the wide and more vulnerable population. Vaccinating all children is expected to pay off economically and socially by reducing hospitalisations of elderly due to flu (I think but cannot confirm the figure is circa 11,000 fewer) and reducing deaths among the elderly by circa 1,000. All in all a good idea and neither a conspiracy by New Nexus lizards nor a Tory sop.

Bread Sauce: Approx recipe (Google for details) - Peel a small onion, stud it with about 6 cloves. Bring a pint of full fat milk to the boil with a bay leaf and peppercorns. Set to one side for 2 hours. Strain the milk. Stir in lots of fresh breadcrumbs and butter over a low heat. Ideally, should be slightly thicker than double cream - not quite pouring consistency. Serve warm with roast chicken.

Alan Medic said "I was particularly pleased that in this age of the celeb, the torch was lit by 7 unknowns" Yes I thought this was an inspired touch - made sense of the whole legacy rhetoric.

1. Now would be a good time for McCartney to retire - 50+ years and the biggest audience of his life. Enough, no more. 2. Could just see the fireworks from home - see file.

Brendan Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The Olympics, is that what?s on? So far all I?ve > seen is screen after screen filled with the faces > of festering pieces of excrement in government who > seem to be trying to one up each other. > > Oh and that really keen person. You know the one > who was team leader, blackboard monitor, prefect, > cheerleader etc. at school. You know, they now > work in HR or maybe marketing. Well they?ve > multiplied exponentially, probably through some > sort of mitosis (see the slides on the group email > for instructions) and now they?re @#$%& > everywhere. I think you're on the wrong thread - this one is for loving the event. There's another thread for the gloomy barstewards whinging.

Hoping for much from Henry V at the Globe as part of my birthday celebrations

Rang our bell too

stacey-lyn Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ilondoner Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Next I?ll be > > hearing bells. > Not at 8.12 this morning in ED you wouldn't have. > Not a chime, tinker or jingle. Nothing, nyet, > nada. Our door bell was rung at 8.12 - I thought it was a great, but bonkers, scheme.

What about the new cable car from the Millenium Dome? Overground to London Bridge, Jubilee and then cable car - at least it would be different?

It was possible to see some of the light show rehearsal tonight looking just to the left of Canary Wharf - if you can see CW you should be able to see the Opening Ceremony fireworks. One Tree Hill should be a good vantage point - with a thermos / bottle of something good.

James Barber Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hi MM, > Goose Green rounabout is better in terms of > residnets being able to freely move about - > whether on foot, bicycle or motor vehicle. > When a pedestrian couldn't cross directly in the > past they had to cross two arms of the roundabout > rather than one to make the same journey. This is not evidence - it's your views. I asked for evidence. Presumably a case was made to carry out the work with some cost / benefit analysis and some measures of success or otherwise? Before and after studies of traffic flow, pedestrian access, tailbacks etc? Or doesn't council planning work that way.

Otta Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > As I say, I'll enjoy some of the sport, but I'd > genuinely rather it be in Manchester. > > I work in Newham, and have to design routes for > SEN kids to use public transport. > > So tell me, what are these Olympics doing for me > other than making my life really difficult? > > You guys can get pissed off with the > "miserablists", I'm getting pissed off with being > called a miserablist because I'm not particularly > excited about the Olympics being in my back yard. Otta - the Olympics represent two weeks of your life and the life of the SEN children you assist and support. That's 4% of one year, 0.4% of 10 years and 0.1% of your working life of 40 years. If you engage the enjoyment mode of thinking you and the children will have a unique memory of "the time the Olympics came to London". I've just watched the Torch make its way down Peckham Road and the enthusiasm, enjoyment and general feel good factor was high - with genuinely thousands of people enjoying the moment.

Fox, Timings for tomorrow in Pekham below 10:30 Old Kent Road A2 10:41 Trafalgar Avenue B215 10:47 Sumner Road B215 10:52 Peckham Hill Street B215 10:56 Peckham High Street A202 10:57 Peckham Road A202 11:00 Lyndhurst Way 11:00 Harris Academy at Peckham 11:57 Lyndhurst Way 11:57 Peckham Road A202 12:05 Camberwell Church Street A202 12:09 Lambeth 12:09 Denmark Hill A215 12:10 Coldharbour Lane A2217 12:30 Acre Lane A2217 If you spot a tall, bald man with a beard - that's me. Not relaying just watching.

James Barber says "Equally GG roundabout is better since it allowed pedestrians to cross all three of its arms.". Define "better" - for whom or what? I'd like to understand your evidence for this statement. In my experience all it takes is one person to choose to cross at the GG roundabout on any one of the three zebra crossings to cause tailbacks and delays in all directions to the detriment of drivers & pedestrians alike and creating unnecessary stress. Given that there are two (one recently installed on LL) perfectly good pedestrian lights within 75 yards of the GG roundabout and a third on East Dulwich Road about 100 yards away I cannot see the need to maintain these zebra crossings as they negate the purpose of a roundabout which is to facilitate traffic flow not to impede it.

Will there be fireworks? I hope there'll be fireworks. I estimate that EDF'rs will be able to see the Olympic fireworks if they go high in the sky by looking, roughly, NNE (025 degrees) from One Tree Hill. Now all I need to know is what time to start looking?

Some to be going on with: Raymond Chandler: "From 30 feet she looked like a lot of class. From 10 foot away she looked like something made up to be seen from 30 feet away" P G Wodehouse 1: "The voice of Love seemed to call to me, but it was a wrong number". P G Wodehouse 2: ?He had just about enough intelligence to open his mouth when he wanted to eat, but certainly no more.?

Two queries that I cannot resolve by searching the interwebby thingy. 1. Can I take my own picnic - I know I cannot take my own drink but is a tupperware box with marmite sarnies (or similar) OK? 2. How do I book tickets for the Mittal Orbit - I've been to the ticket booking site but can only find tickets for sports events. Thanks - I assume the combined knowledge of the EDF will have the answers

Jeremy said "But why is it a civic duty to keep tax payments to the minimum? How is twisting the system and exploiting loopholes good for society? Why do you suggest that we should be encouraging this type of thing?" Because this tests the tax laws and legislation. In engineering there is a concept of "testing to destruction" that determines the maximum stress / life / usage a piece of equipment can stand. Individuals and their tax advisors are testing tax laws and it is the duty of government and legislators to design a system that can withstand these sort of stresses.

uncle glen said " The Olympics should be permanently sited in Greece and everyone else should contribute to them- it may just keep Greece from going under". I think there is much in this argument and that it should be properly considered. Of course, if would cut right through the corrupt and self serving oligarchy that is the International Olympic Committee - which would be a fantastic added value element.

BBC link here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18944097 to this story. Since, for some reason, I cannot register to comment on the BBC website I thought I'd have my say here. Individuals pay tax as part of the civic duties that every member of a society should undertake. Individuals have many other civic duties to the society they live in (not killing, not stealing, helping old ladies across streets, being kind to children, being helpful to strangers and so on). However it is not, to my mind, the duty of every or any member of society to pay more tax to government than is legally due. The occasional philanthropist may choose to do so, but the more sensible philanthropist directs their charity to a specific cause or causes rather than expecting government to spend their money wisely. I would argue that is is in fact a civic duty of an individual to restrict their tax bill to the minimum under law. If government was also required to balance its books with a set cap on deficit funding then a creative tension would exist - where government must tailor its policies and spending to available funds and, where this is not possible, must legislate clearly and effectively to raise funds (taxes). Political parties would have to be very explicit about their tax raising and spending plans together with any associated budget deficit funding. They would not then be able to make unsustainable promises or borrow their way into an artificial boom. However, as a realist, I recognise that this utopia is highly unlikely to ever come about and it will continue to be far easier for lazy thinkers to castigate "the rich" for not paying their fair share.

St Lucia - 10 days. Arranged on the only Saturday morning I had in Plymouth before my ship departed on patrol until 2 weeks before wedding when I discovered the hotel I had booked earlier had been swept away in a hurricane and slipped down the hillside into the sea. It being 1988 there was no internet, 24/7 booking options and no Last Minute.com and the travel agents in Devon all shut at 13.00 on Saturdays. An interesting planning problem.