oilworker

flux

You meaN WE'RE not allowed to already???

Heathrow

comptroller

Dingle

Untied

FTP

I was having a geology lecture but in all honesty I wasnt that bothered because I was hungry and looking forward to a lorne sausage sandwich and half pint of irn bru from the cafe - funny when I hear the name john lennon I always associate it with savory meat products of doubtful provenance...

Mick Mac - You are either a bit dim or simply being obtuse. Politicians come out with this sort of thing because they think it will make them appear more in touch with the "common man" or more clever for having risen from humble beginnings etc etc

"After all, how many peeps in this country go to a public (or even private) school? The vast majority of people around us are not the product of a public school" You speak for youself - in my last job we were team of eight and out of that 8 six had been to boarding school - I have diversified in my career into the legal/contractual side of things and have mixed with barristers solicitors judges etc. take from me - virtually NO ONE in that line of (very lucrative) business comes from a state school background...

Being from a council estate makes me feel slightly superior when I look at some of the privately-educated t*ssers I am surrounded by and realise that they would be working in Kwik-Fit if it hadn't been for their educational/social advantages. I guess it's just the stisfaction of knowing one has succeeded by dint of one's own hard work and natural talent. "Leans back in plush black leather chair and stares out of window at the snow-capped Alpine vista"

chip on one's shoulder

Mobile van what comes round sellin chips - a least it was on my council estate...

I did this journey every Monday morning for two years - Hugenots route is spot on for rush hour travelling and is the safest bet- a more direct route through streatham, tooting Colliers Wood and past South Wimbledon tube (often Bottle necked in Rush hour!!) then Wimbledon Chase is applicable for non-rush hour.

p.s. forgot to say dont forget you can also check in on-line thus saving more time - you just need to drop any hold bags off at the dedicated baggage drop off.

As TJ has said at that time in the morning taking a cab is a no-brainer - it will take about 45 mins tops - all other methods will be much longer. I use a firm called Butterfly Cabs - reliable and the cheapest I have found (not posh cabs though - just basic) they are on 0208 761 6568 - tell them Roger recommended them - I used them all the time until I got my scooter..

I used to work for a firm that was contracted to carry out these inspections...but for obvious reasons I can't say nuffink...

yes obviously - otherwise I'd be too busy grinding away in KwikFit or somewhere to have the time or inclination to contribute to this forum...

""I'm also curious to know why "Dulwich Village Infants and Dulwich Hamlet are massively over-subscribed because of the nature of their middle class catchment." Is it because the nature of the middle classes in their catchment is to breed like rabbits? Only asking.."" No it's simply a fact of their geographical position - their being in the middle of an area with a very low density of social housing (for inner London). Consequently many local parents are happy to use them as a free prep-school (with top-up private tuition of course) until their children move in to the private schol sector at seconadary level(or grammar for the clever ones). Given that we are talking more than GBP 40k saving per child using this approach it's not surprising these schools are heavily over-subscribed. It's also not surprising that house prices in the catchment of these schools are inflated because of this. Kindaha - I find it difficult to believe you seemingly don't know which class you belong to given you have used the classic middle class tactic of buying a (presumably quite expensive) property within the catchment of some good schools. The fact of the matter is that the middle classes monopolise all "good" schools (= schools with low numbers of disruptive children and high numbers of invloved supportive parents) and universities because of their buying power and knowledge of the system. I know all this because I was brought up in a council house and went to a school where only two children in the whole year went on to go to University. (Obviously I was one of them)

take insulated beaker of water in sealed container at room temp to approx 159,000 feet above seal level then break seal- water will boil sponaneously because of vacuum effect. (I think..)

I agree - gloves need washing once a week otherwise they get encrusted on the outside with snot and on the inside with sweat.(waht a horrible lot we are?) Does anyone else have problems with their helmets?/ Mine gets very sweaty esp. in summer - I put it in the washing machine sometimes or in the sink with disinfectant - this regime is prob not in accordance with manufacturers instructions..but needs must...

Not as much as the middle classes do - it's their defining characteristic..

i dont understand the "crude oil fields yet to be found " bit- how can this be quantified??"" It can't be - by its very nature it's an estimate based on historical data and projections. It's not as scary as it all sounds - we are massively reliant on oil and gas only because it is relatively cheap compared to wind/nuclear/bio-fuels atc. Once O&G starts to run out this will no longer be the case and much more effort (specifically nuclear) by the energy companies will be put into these than is currently.(Otherwise they will all go out of business). I'm just glad I work in a sector where the commodities we deal in are becoming more and more precious!

Given that you are using this forum you are almost certainly middle class. So be reassured this is a much more determinative factor in the success of your child's education than the school she goes to. Our children went to Dulwich Village Infants and Dulwich Hamlet - both these schools are quite ordinary where the quality of teaching is concerned but are massively over-subscribed because of the nature of their middle class catchment. Presumably Heber's like this?? btw what the fuschia is a "community school"??

We recently flew AA to Chicago and it was ok. Oldish Boing 777 but legroom was fine. We were delayed about 1 1/2 hrs leaving but had quite a long stopover in Chicago so it didnt really matter. Couldnt believe how old the flight crew (think Grecian 2000 advert) and stewards all seemed - older than us and we feel ancient (but they were mostly quite jolly (I am used to flying Alitalia/Air France where everyone is much younger..) You can get booze - but it is USD 6 for a can of beer!! Soft drinks are free.