Cassius

Keef - you know the saying - if you don't drink, don't smoke, eat healthily and whatever you may not live to be 100 but it will feel like 100. I'm a bit undecided myself - already too old to 'live fast die young', but not wanting to be a creaking door!

I bet if you are planning to die when you are 70 you will change your mind when you are 69!

Some sort of tree I believe.

wee quinnie Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Overseas travel - I am not saying it's rubbish, > but it's definitely usually a bit of a letdown. Agree with Brendan - I always find coming back to England the letdown!

Sean - I get what you are saying, but for every person who is at the clinic who does not need to be, there will be someone who does need to be and who could be put off by this telephone system. What about people who can only talk on the phone at times of their choice (ie if you work in a call centre or if you drive for a living)? What about people who clam up on the phone? Surely the NHS which is paid for by us all should be available to us all.

Apparently a fox's todger has barbs on it - so it goes in easily but has to be ripped out........ Ouch..... Sorry if T.M.I.

I always say there's plenty of time to be middle aged when you're old - but appreciate that is still very subjective.

Without sounding mean (but it does) I think Helen Mirren now in her 60's would be delighted to be called middle aged!

Never: ever drink Southern Comfort again eat tripe/haggis/sweetmeats own a Celine Dion CD go to a gornoporn movie have a pedicure resist but probably give in to: writing a will visiting IKEA travelling through terminal 5 being nice to my partners brother

At this practice now you also have to check yourself when you arrive on a computer screen - fine for people who are au fait with computers but not everyone is. Still hopefully this will mean that the receptionists can answer the phones a bit quicker.

I love taking Fridays off so that I can get myself into the mood for the Hives gig at the Academy tomorrow!

It will also make it easier to park outside your house!

Goodness did Stephen Lawerence's mother die the same week as Damilola Taylor's (also got wires crossed) how very very sad.

Jah Lush Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Cassius Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > I guess Sophie Lawrence's bereaved family know > > all about the uglier side of tribalism! > > It's very unfortunate that Mrs Lawrence, who > passed away last week, didn't get justice in her > lifetime for what happened to her son in what was > a blatantly vicious and racist attack on her son. > Those five bastards seem to have got away with it. Hi Jah - I was referring to Sophie Lawrence who was kicked to death for having the audacity for being a goth - however I also agree that the Taylor case was a tragedy, and hope in death she has found some peace.

I guess Sophie Lawrence's bereaved family know all about the uglier side of tribalism! Editing to add that I agree with Moos - I have more in common with similar age group etc of people from Amsterdam than I do with those from my home town in Devon.

david_carnell Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I drink Belgian beer in an Irish bar, eat Indian > curry on the way home. At home, I sit on my > Swedish sofa and watch American T.V shows on my > Japanese TV! You use and embrace world culture all > the time. Sometimes you just don't realise it. And a lot of people don't - they drink bitter (or probably think Carlsberg or Fosters is English anyway - and most of it is brewed here!). A lot of them think foreign food is 'muck' - and IKEA might be big here (if that is where you got your sofa) but there are none in the South West. Try going into a Conservative club in the Midlands or a Working Man's club in the East End and find out how much they embrace world culture.

SeanMacGabhann Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > I think the whole idea and worry about it is > becoming increasingly.... not irrelevant - it > still has negative and positive impacts... but > people being born now would do well to look at the > wider world. The world is opening up in ways it > never has before and it is more useful to see > oneself as a world citizen than that of a specific > country IMO I see and understand what you are saying here Sean - but how do you explain this concept to someone whose only experience of 'abroad' may be somewhere where they only came across other English people, ate English breakfast in the English cafe, bought a MacDonalds as soon as they got to the airport etc etc. Or to someone who has never been abroad and never will. How does one approach them and sell them 'world citizenship'?

On a purely personal and subjective note I have to say that the most openly racist people I have ever come across have been Chinese.

There used to be a processed cheese in Australia called 'Coon'.

Perhaps it could just be an open air drinking area - various off-license outlets in the area - lie back and enjoy the 'view'.

The time scale used to be 7 years and it was a sliding scale of how much you paid % wise depending on how many years ago you gave the money - there were also allowances for 'wedding gifts' etc - seems strange that even your giving away your own money/possessions comes under the remit of tax inspectors.

Surely it's enough having to cope with the death of a family member without the threat of maybe having to sell the family home in order to pay for inheritance tax - it's not as if you have to even be that rich any more to get caught by it.

No it's an incentive to GET married! I sure as hell don't want anyone other than my family/loved ones to benefit from my death if I should die without proper tax planning.

Well I never saw that before in my life and I certainly wouldn't have voted for anything that involved the closing of roads!

The savings made in inheritance tax would suggest otherwise (if of course you don't divorce)