Loz

Does no one here want to attack the use of 'smug middle class' as an unnecessary description? Or is that not a terribly-worthy enough a cause to get upset about? And can you really be sure that they were middle class? Perhaps they were upper class people having a dress down day.

I think what ED lacks is a good 'special occasion' restaurant. Any nationality will do, but upmarket, quality cooking with matching service all of which you pay a necessary premium. Something that Le Chardon should be, but doesn't deliver.

I know I didn't stick a smiley in, but I hope your sarcasm detector was working correctly when you read my post. OK, the Harry Potter reference was a little thin, but the 'the big boys/girls/transgendered' piece was a bit of a clue.

Ebico are great! I've been with them a couple of years now. I keep checking the comparison site and I'm always at or about the best tariff. Yep, they sub-contract out to Southern - they make no secret of that. But as Southern have one of the better customer service ratings of the big boys/girls/transgendered, that's not such a bad thing. Ebico set the price, though. Best of all, the pushy sales person of a description-that-must-not-be-mentioned didn't know who the hell they were, which made things rather amusing when it forced him/her away from their normal sales patter.

Sue, The first line of the OP said, "A horrible, rude man called last night at 9pm, trying to switch me over.". Would you agree that it was entirely necessary to mention that the person in question was male?? Or do your sensitivities not stretch that far?

You probably right, the Irish generally have a great sense of humour. Actually, its generally do-gooder bleeding-heart council types that stick their oar in about such things. I give you in evidence

Sadly, I can. I'm sure this is racist in some way and will taint my username for ever and ever. I apologise in advance to any Irish people offended. Two Irish men, out of work, pass a sign with TREE FELLERS WANTED written on it. One says to the other, "Aaah, if only there be one more of us, we could apply for that..." Doesn't work in print, really.

You're certainly leading by example... B)

TJ is hardly the worst thing about Labour. No, no, that would have to be that sexist old 70's dinosaur and PM in waiting (hopefully waiting a looooong, long time). Yep, step forward Harridan Halfperson. Nice to see a few more protesters standing on her roof again. Ha ha.

Blackfriars train goes from Denmark Hill too.

I've been there loads of times and never been less than impressed with their service. Ten quid inside and out.

Variable speed limits (like the M25 scheme) have a very good effect on congestion. These are intelligence-driven raising and lowering of the speed limit over huge sections of the M25 in response to traffic levels. Fixed, varying speed limits over short distances have the opposite effect as the slowing down/speeding up/slowing down of traffic has a major knock on effect. Ever wondered why a busy motorway grinds to a halt for no apparent reason? It can be caused by a single car a mile ahead applying their brakes (and more importantly, their brake lights) momentarily and causing a ripple that travels back through the traffic until the whole lot comes to a temporary halt.

I think you are (maybe purposefully) missing the point there, SeanMac. It's not the point that that the speed limit has dropped, it's just that - like my Gallery Road parking example - the speed changes every mile or two for no real reason. If I make a mistake I get fined ?60. All well and good and I have no problem with that. The problem here is that if the council makes a mistake and issues a 'dodgy' parking ticket they are not punished in a similar way. There is no incentive for the council *not* to make mistakes. Parking wardens have no reason not to issue incorrect tickets. It's like I make a bet with you on the result of tonight Euro match. If I win I get ?60. If I'm wrong we just call the bet off, OK? There is no independent body that says 'Gallery Road parking is inconsistent. Fix it.'. No one that says to a council, 'the court has said that bay is illegally marked. Stop issuing tickets on it until it is fixed'. Much as I hate to say it, we need an Ofpark.

Walking along Gallery Road yesterday, you could see the purposeful confusion at work. On some parts you must park with wheels on the pavement intermingled with others where you must park completely on the road. There seems to be no rhyme nor reason as to why each bit is designated the way it is, and certainly no reason for the whole road not to be 'wheels on'. The signs showing which bit is which are vague. Unsurprisingly, the wardens had a field day.

Me too, Strawbs. September was always dreadful - loads of trees near the local school and I was attacked riding my bike more than once. Crafty little buggers used to fly a big circle 50m away so they could attack the back of your head. Mind you, I must have learnt something - back in Oz for a holiday a couple of years ago I heard the chilling flap of wings. My girlfriend didn't have a clue what was happening, but I instinctively swung around with a small rucksack, missing the little bugger by a whisker. It was enough to send it packing, but it still followed us from tree to tree for the next 10 mins, waiting for me to take my eyes off it so it could have another go. Having said that, watching someone else get attacked is rather amusing. English magpies seem different though - bigger, nastier looking birds, but don't attack humans.

There's obviously not a lot of security at Deputy PM Harperson's House over in Herne Hill either! Is that fellow still up there?

I suppose it's all a matter of perspective, but I always think of that end as being at the bottom of Lordship Lane.

Or at the very least, have them confined to behind the bar. Eh?? What ever happened to NTV??

I disagree - had she wandered over and quietly asked what the problem was then this wouldn't be an issue. Read Woodie's post again - the barmaid was intentionally rude. Woodie deserves an apology and management deserve a place to explain her actions. I'll be steering clear of the Uplands until they do.

There was no need to try and embarrass you publicly by shouting out at you. Full stop. I think you should write to the Uplands, pointing out the barmaid's rudeness and lack of any customer service qualities whatsoever. Ask what is the pub's policy towards fathers. And, of course, request a grovelling apology from both the management and the barmaid. Finally, point out that any reply (or lack of) will be published on this forum.

I have a slightly different problem in that I didn't even get the 'you weren't in' cards. Someone has attempted to send me a parcel twice - the first disappeared off the face of the earth and so the second was sent registered mail. The tracking system showed a delivery was attempted but I received nothing. Annoying as, by the time I worked all this out, it was being returned to sender.

37. Having thirty seven items in a top ten.

I had a long, drawn out battle with the local moggie. At the moment I believe I have won, but I'm not lowering the defences yet. Not being a cat owner, my garden became claimable turf for the catlord that lived a few doors down. It would have huge dumps in the middle of my lawn to claim it. Hitting one of these with a flymo is a rather unpleasant experience. I once spied it through the patio doors mid-dump. Unable to get my keys in time I banged on the door, but it was rather determined to finish what it had started. I started with some green wax anti-cat pellets from Dulwich Garden centre. The cat took these as a personal affront. I scattered the pellets - it buried them and left a steaming pile in their place. I removed the crap and replaced the pellets. It turned into a war of attrition. I thought I'd really piss it off by attaching some of the pellets to it's favourite sitting post, but it actually counter attacked by leaving a dump on top of the post!!. I can't even begin to imagine how it pulled off this rather impressive balancing act. I then tried a dual tactic of Zoo Poo (lion dung) and chasing the damn thing away whenever I could. Got a sneaky one in one day when I noticed it basking in next door's garden, thinking it was safe from me. It got a rude shock when a blast from my garden hose hit it... The bottom line is - you have to establish yourself as top cat, then it will leave you alone. Clean up all cat poo ASAP, use lion dung and yell at the damn thing whenever possible. It will take time.

Seems a bit of skewed logic. Surely the onus is on the pedestrian, as they have the most to lose?

Slightly OT... Before I say any more, let me just say that I think the BNP are scum. But, I'm having trouble with the attitude of the other London Assembly members in dealing with the elected BNP member. "Won't work with him", "won't talk to him", "won't sit next to him". The unfortunate fact is that he was elected and, as much as it may upset people, he represents part of the London electorate. You can't support democracy on one hand then refuse to deal with a democratically elected person on the other. Extrapolate that idea to the extreme and you get Robert Mugabe. Much as I despise everything about the BNP, in a democratic society they have a right to exist. You need to understand and combat *why* one in twenty people think BNP is the answer, not try and ignore the fact they voted that way.