espelli

I didn't see the exact date (as I was driving at the time!) But it was either Saturday or Sunday at 12 something. Sorry I can't be more helpful.

There is a yellow "Traffic Incident" board there now which may serve as a useful visual cue to slow down/look around etc.

I remember a very well read copy of "Forever" doing the rounds at school, with the pertinent pages turned down! I enjoyed lots of her other books too. I had forgotten how much I loved the Flowers in the Attic series, thank you Pickle! I also devoured the "Across the Barricades" series by Joan Lingard. As a teenager I was determined not to read the classics that my mum recommended which means I haven't read Anne of Green Gables or Little Women etc. After them being recommended on here I think I'll give them a go!

All of the above are fantastic books, I especially like Louis Sachar and Malorie Blackman - Noughts and Crosses is amazing. A couple of other ones to consider are The Bailey Game by Celia Rees, which is excellent and resonates for social early teenagers (it is also reassuringly lacking in pages if that would be intimidating) and Inkheart, Inkspell and Inkdeath which are a trilogy by Cornelia Funke and are also gripping. Inkheart was made into a film earlier this year which may or may not help her to get into the story. Perhaps she might like biographies of some of her heroes in celebrity land, a break from novels might be what she is after?

Next time the cone is there, move the cone, park your car and put the cone on top of your car. Or take the cone hostage and send a ransom note :)

I agree with CitizenED. In my experience (not as a parent, but as a teacher) generally the children who are slapped - or sometimes beaten - by their parents are not better behaved or more disciplined. In fact they are usually the opposite - they know that no one in school will use physical punishment. They are just more likely to beg and cry for me not to tell their parents. They repeatedly fail to make the link between their actions at the time of doing them and the resulting beating when their parent finds out. They behave very well for their parent but are out of control away from them. That is enough to convince me that it is an ineffective tool, and as CitizenED says above, that it is centred on the control of the parent rather than the child having their own standard of behaviour. I think it is also interesting that if you slap an adult it is assault but if you slap your child it is discipline.

Jimmy two times: Yes I did and I haven't stabbed anyone either. But there was not a large gang presence where I grew up. My point was that it is the presence of gangs that provides the climate in which it is more likely to happen. If you re-read my post I also did not say that anyone who grew up on a council estate is likely to stab someone!

Wombat, I disagree. You have the option not to put yourself in those situations. You assume that everyone else does too. I think that any of us who didn't grow up living on an estate where there is a large gang presence can not really understand how young people end up doing things that as an individual they would never do. The children who go on to join these gangs are scared of what will happen when they get older. Children as young as 9 are seeing close up what is happening and it scares them that they cannot see another way to live. It is all very well for someone who goes home to their comfortable life to tell them that they have choices, but they don't always see that they do. Some of them get involved young as an insurance policy, others hold out for as long as they can but often turn to the gangs when an older family member has something bad happen to them. A few manage to steer their way through it unscathed. For the children I work with this is their future as they see it. None of them are bad, they are children who are scared to grow up because they have seen what happens when you do. I am not making excuses for any of the violence and nor do I think it should go unpunished. I am pointing out that from our perspective, on the outside, we may not see the whole picture.

Wombat, Dickensian London is not so far away and many inner city areas have families living in not so dissimilar circumstances. The poverty trap or whatever you want to call it is real and for many young people, whilst individually they may be against joining the dominant culture where they live, they do not feel it is realistic for them to stand alone. Peer pressure is very strong and can lead to all sorts of extreme behaviour becoming normal. I agree with you that people are often only contrite and ask for second chances when they are caught. My personal view is that this is not just a problem in low income urban areas with gang crime etc. I think the immense sense of self-importance and entitlement goes across all sections of society. It is expressed differently by different people but is still there. I was in a shop on LL the other week when a very nicely dressed and well spoken woman demanded service immediately because she was very busy. The shop assistants were clearly dealing with other customers and were aware that a queue was building up. Her loud demands were met - ahead of several others waiting in the shop - and she flounced out disgusted at the lack of customer service. No laws were broken and no-one was injured, but it was anti-social behaviour. A sense that her needs were clearly more important than anyone elses. It is not far removed from wanting respect at all costs - if respect is all you are in a position to claim it becomes very important. It's all about me.

I heard there had been a stabbing. Don't know any more than that though.

Sandperson Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I'm glad it's not Dengue fever though ;) So am I, if there was a chance of having that again I'd run for the hills :))

Thank you Ted, is there anyone who is trustworthy?! The Jury Team site says: clearly Sir Judge himself is not as transparent as the website claims. Louisiana they are great websites thank you for posting them.

Thank you Louisiana, that has made everything much clearer. I agree with Ladygooner and was brought up to believe that I had a duty to vote out of respect for those who died so that I could have the choice. London Candidates list This lists all the parties and independents standing in London. Does anyone know anything about Jury Team or Libertas.eu? Is it worth voting for either of them or will it split the vote so the BNP gets a bigger share of the vote and therefore a seat or two?

I will vote, although I'm not sure who for yet. Does anyone know how your vote is counted if you do not spoil it but also do not mark a vote for any of the candidates? A friend of mine was putting it forward as a way of saying none of the above thank you whilst not leaving all the voting to BNP supporters.

I will vote, although I'm not sure who for yet. Does anyone know how your vote is counted if you do not spoil it but also do not mark a vote for any of the candidates? A friend of mine was putting it forward as a way of saying none of the above thank you whilst not leaving all the voting to BNP supporters.

I'm really sorry if my posts were seen as scaremongering. I did not intend them to be that at all.

I'm really sorry if my posts were seen as scaremongering. I did not intend them to be that at all.

Not necessarily but your original post reminded me of the symptoms I had when I had Dengue Fever (mosquito spread tropical disease)My eyes would hurt if I looked in a different direction too quickly. This does not sound like Dengue though if it is over in a day or two. Sorry to panic you! just worth mentioning in case you had been somewhere tropical. Dengue is not as bad as malaria although it feels pretty horrendous when you are going through it! Hope you feel better soon.

Not necessarily but your original post reminded me of the symptoms I had when I had Dengue Fever (mosquito spread tropical disease)My eyes would hurt if I looked in a different direction too quickly. This does not sound like Dengue though if it is over in a day or two. Sorry to panic you! just worth mentioning in case you had been somewhere tropical. Dengue is not as bad as malaria although it feels pretty horrendous when you are going through it! Hope you feel better soon.

Sue have you been anywhere tropical? Or been bitten by an insect recently?

Sue have you been anywhere tropical? Or been bitten by an insect recently?

Emily, it's understandable that you are miffed that they didn't take the time to compliment you on your fabulous taste and excellent housekeeping standards. Donating to charity shops is a good deed and the recipients are supposed to be grateful. Perhaps you could get in touch with Head Office to complain? Or maybe the shop saw the quality of your donation and decided that it would get more money (for the cause) putting the items on ebay. ;-)

Gnomes

It will be on video and you can request a copy of it under the data protection act. This will mean that someone will need to trawl through the footage and it will make it more likely that they will investigate your complaint if you have a copy as well. They may charge ?10 for the privilege but it might be worth it to get them to investigate it fully. I agree with Sue, a letter to the top can be very effective. What a horrible experience. The staff should have stepped in. I hope you are able to resolve this.

In the early 90s I hitched a lift from Ceres (South Africa) up to the Namibian border with a very nice bloke. It started with a few beers and then included a swim in a dam that was just too tempting to pass by, finished off by chasing another car with Windhoek number plates to the border (a long way out of this guy's way). The second guy then gave us (two 18yr old girls) the keys to his car and went to sleep in the back. He only woke up when we had to stop at a police checkpoint in the dark in the middle of the Namib desert. Brilliant fun. I loved hitch hiking, met some great and scary people and it made long journeys much more enjoyable. It also made me realise the lengths some people will go to to help a couple of strangers.