shoshntosh

not trying to cause outrage here but i think, because it's a tiny tesco (like a sainsbury's LOCAL)that it's really designed to be approached on foot, rather than by car. if travelling by car, obviously sainsbury's -- with the gargantuan carpark -- is a better choice.

obama is slipping steadily in the polls b/c palin has given the right something to be excited about. AND she does speak perfect redneck-ease... i know this because my family are all texas rednecks (albeit of the stacked variety) and they LOVE her. in fact, last week i was having a truly awful day when my dad phoned, out of the blue, just to tell me how excited he is about sarah palin, and how much she reminds him of ME (!!!! does my own dad know me AT ALL????), and how i should really "give her a chance... just listen to her". obama made a cynical choice when he chose joe biden (in my view) and mccain made a genius choice when he chose sarah palin. i think it was the turning of the tide and i am devastated. i have the same pit in my tummy that i did 4 and 8 years ago. i didn't think obama could do it... then i did... now i don't again. am sort of kicking myself, really, for having dared to hope that he could make it to the white house. it may be, as you say, "politics as usual" but it will be, as sean says, at least politics with some sort of moral compass.

it was the worst concert i've ever been to in my life. the last thing i expected from Her Madgesty was this train wreck... awful sound (apparently due to "tower being down"???), she came on over an hour late (leaving loads of people stranded at wembley tube at midnight), lip-synched most of the show, destroyed her old pop hits by playing electric guitar through them, and most gallingly, left the stage every three-four songs for an outfit change, during which time we watched videos!! yes, she's incredibly fit (for any age let alone 50) and a fantastic dancer. but i couldn't even see her from where i sat and the screens were so small that they didn't help much. total waste of ?100, but even more gutted about the waste of an evening. ok, rant ended. anyone else have similar view?

i agree that there is a huge choice of very good primary schools in the area, but most important is what james said: finding the right school for your child. as for secondaries... this sometimes involves a bus ride.

in love with someone at the duke?? i am really kicking myself now for not having turned up last night.

excuse me, but why has only benjaminty picked up on the obvious... the problem here, sweets, is your lack of "output". of course she went sniffing round the neighbours... what are you waiting for?? there's no golden wreath waiting at the pearly gates for those few who deny themselves their worldly pleasures until marriage. and let me tell you, most of the fun sex happens BEFORE marriage!! so get out there and get laid. meanwhile, to cheer yourself, watch a film called "The 40 yr old Virgin". as for the girl... people who are casual with your heart are better out of your life. (i am honestly not trying to be casual here by the way).

that is actually quite funny MP! (leave it to you to always make me chuckle) if we are getting back to foxes... i am actually indifferent to them. apart from having felt an odd pang of jealousy on one or two of the numerous times they have woken me in the night with their... erm, vigorous and vocal copulating. by the way, i once literally saw a duck gang-raped by a group of other, larger ducks. it was actually really upsetting to witness, even though i don't care much about ducks. suffering is difficult to bear. whether it is the duck's, the fox's, MadWorld's, or the Administrator's...

i'm sure not a nice experience for you -- but what a hilarious post! welcome!!!!!!!!!!!

cdonline, therein lies the rub. i am fond of saying to my husband "the appearance of impropriety can often be as or more damaging than impropriety itself." (okay sean, who did i steal THAT line from??) my very good (child-free) friend john was in the supermarket with his wife when they encountered a small girl on her own, sobbing. they asked her what was wrong and she said "i lost my mummy and daddy". without thinking john scooped up the toddler and began carrying her to the customer service counter at the front of the supermarket. naturally you can see where this is going... before arriving at the customer service counter john (with his wife following behind him) ecountered the very angry father of the little girl, who not only snatched the little girl from john's arms but basically accused him of attempted kidnapping. poor john. he has told me that he will never try to be a good samaritan again (when children are involved). of course he should have handled it differently. but how sad that he needed to think like a criminal in order to avoid being thought of as one.

similar to the greatest fears thread of a couple months back... but this time: COMPLETELY IRRATIONAL FEARS. i'll start. i'm sure it's terribly freudian but i have an irrational fear of snakes in toilet bowls. i saw an episode of pet rescue (or something like it) as a child where a snake was found coiled in someone's toilet and i've never been able to shake the image. totally ridiculous i know. anything more embarrassing than that? come on, make me feel better...

calm down already peeps. seriously... let's get to the heart of the matter. which isn't foxes, poison, bill hicks, rats, whips (though might be nice), or the "sport" of fox-hunting. the issue, it seems to me, having just read this thread for the first time from start to finish, is about whether we are sympathetic to other people's tragedies -- WHETHER OR NOT THEY WOULD BE TRAGEDIES TO US. and whether we always need to go for the cheap gag, or counter-attack, when it's not reaaaallly necessary, is it? i know many people (especially tosh) want to engage in some way, and often the forum reads like a series of people trying to outdo each other with their wit and clever banter. fair enough. makes for great reading and sometimes even important debate. but when the chips are down and someone is writing from the heart about what was quite obviously a painful experience for them, could we not just then let our hearts lead? and if we've got a moral problem with it because it smacks of hypocrisry or whatever, can we not still be sensitive in how we deliver that news (if we feel utterly compelled to do so)? is it so bleeding necessary to bring out the worst in each other? and does this forum ALWAYS have to be funny?? bunch of anti-sentimentalists!!!

SteveT, what are the rents like? and how do you know this (i mean this honestly)?

HIGHLY recommend featherdown farm stays for a fantastic holiday (esp with kids) check out their website... it's like luxury camping, or camping for people who value sleep.

tyrrell road... is it TIER-rel, TIE-rel, or tier-REL? and why those pesky double rr's???

crazy question, and i'm almost afraid to post for fear of being attacked on here!! (forget about all the pervs out there!) BUT .... what would have been wrong with going up to the guy and innocently asking "so, which one is yours"?? this would have provided him with the (fair) chance to explain. As it is, because he wasn't approached (and given the benefit of the doubt, as hope it would always be our inclination to do), we are now, some of us, worried (esp when someone mentioned they also saw him at the herne) perhaps necessarily but perhaps unneccessarily. this entire thread could have been avoided? in a populated place i guess i really don't see the harm in just asking someone. not like "hey you pervert" kind of way... am i being naive? come on, bring on the vitriol...

is there a difference between a mast and a "mobile phone base station"?

apparently sainsbury's is a hotbed of nastiness at the moment... recent handbag snatchings from "right under the woman's nose" and also an accident involving a child and a trolley. i was encouraged today to be "vigilant" whilst shopping there (by a staff member). you certainly don't hear about these sorts of things happening at iceland.

love it! especially the russian-esque spelling of "faux".

good point about serious questions this morning... certainly SOMEONE at the luau i attended last night should have shown some social responsibility (or at least some sympathy) and stepped in when i was dancing badly and drunkenly (pina coladas go down soooo easily) in a grass skirt to the barenaked ladies with a.... (shudder shudder... in fact i'm now feeling a little sick) high school musical microphone in my hand. worse still, i didn't even know the words to the song but i'm pretty sure i was pretending i did...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/26/world/middleeast/26censor.html?em&ex=1217304000&en=8c688bd0553f84fc&ei=5070

the hubbie and two smalls were walking home from the common yesterday when a lit cigarette stub came flying out of the 1st floor window of our neighbours and landed a foot away from hubbie. quite apart from whether it was deliberate (i don't think it was -- had it been me walking by then i would think it might be, but not tosh) isn't it a really bad idea to throw lit cigs out the window? and if you agree that it is, then do you think he should have said something? (i.e. knocked and the door and said something like "i'm sure you don't realise that your cig has just jumped out the window"). i tried something similar once when i saw a teenage girl (in school uniform) drop a drink box on the ground, smash it with her foot, and then leave it there, about two foot from a bin. i picked up and said "oops, i think you dropped this" in as nice a way possible. she nearly kicked the ~*@" out of me! nobody else at the bus stop supported me or stood up for me... but then when the girl sauntered off a few said "god, kids these days" "what are her parents like" etc. leaving me with the distinct impression that they agreed that what she had done was unacceptable but that what i had done was perhaps equally so. i was also once in a car with a guy who pulled over another driver b/c the other driver was drunk... sort of like a "citizens arrest" but without the arrest. how far do we acceptably take social responsibility???

and the evening ended in an SM-induced brawl...

geez, and i wasn't planning on going to the forum drinks on friday as i will be halfway to cornwall (with any luck). but all this talk of sean "my favouritest forumite" macgabhann being felt-up, being a hottie, etc (not to mention the reference to pinball wizard, easily one of the best songs ever) has got me feeling that i need to change my plans so i can see for myself what all this fuss is about. now, how to persuade tosh (aka mr shosh)... >:D<

has anyone heard of the new shoes called "limos". apparently so vertiginously high that you can only manage to walk from your front door to the limo in them. made by christian laboutin. dulwich mum... are you wearing these on holiday?

what about one lightning mcqueen croc (on left foot) and one sneaker (on right foot)?? my son's favoured pairing. isn't there an british olympian who wears one black shoe and one white shoe?