V511

Just had a BT engineer round at our offices. He reiterated what Karter said above. 170meters of cable stolen. About 1500 customers affected. They will have engineers on it 24hrs and estimate it will be fixed on Sunday. They have put a temporary cable in place but it is limited capacity so a few people may get their line back but the majority won't.

Thanks Mockney, will check it out (tu)

Only the England Cricket team could go from cruising home to victory, to collapse and probable defeat, to drawing it on the last ball....all within 30mins. Genius or chaos....i can't decide Are there places showing the World Cup other than Hoopers?

I speak as someone who has never been a union member and would never be, but criticising unions for trying to save their members jobs is like criticising turkeys for not voting for Christmas. What do people think unions should be doing in these circumstances? The more that ordinary members of the public actively engage with the broad organised movement opposed to the cuts, the greater the possibility of changing their focus, pace and depth. This economic policy is by the governments own admission, a gamble. There is no conclusive proof that a deficit reduction policy is the correct one for the present circumstances. Economists diverge on the cuts vs stimulus debate. Is it of no coincidence that the economic policy chosen is the one that correlates exactly with the political philosophy of Conservatism which is to favour a smaller central government and public sector? My point being that these cuts are a choice - economically and politically, they are not an inescapable essential truth. Small steps and actions like joining demonstrations such as these, add weight and support to the voices challenging that view.

Hong Hong next to the Kwik Fit on Grove Vale do really good Sweet & Sour chicken balls. They use good quality chicken, the batter is crispy and not to stodgy and the sauce doesn't taste artificial.

Was surprised to see Tina & Jared go, but on Strictly it feels that you've got to be either a very good dancer or very good entertainment to survive....and I guess she was just a little too average in both. I agree with you mightyroar - Gavin, Felicity or Michelle to go next week. I'm torn though about Gavin. I want him to leave but want Katya to stay in >:D< Anyway, roll on next week.

I totally *heart* Strictly. Glad to find a thread about it :) Just some of my thoughts on last nights Halloween special. Pamela & James - She's got great natural dance ability and can perform it well but HUGE mistake aside, for some reason the jive didn't seem to work for her. Tina & Jared - Much better job in their Argentine Tango but they seem to lack personal chemistry with each other. Kara & Artem - For me, this was the Dance of the night. Dramatic, technically very good and finally some performance from Kara. Patsy & Robin - Bless her, but Patsy always looks like she's dancing at a wedding after 4 glasses of wine. Felicity & Vincent - Quite flat and boring, and what has happened to her top lip? Jimi & Flavia - Really great performance piece. Who would have thought a zombie could do the Paso Doble so well. Michelle & Brendan - The spat between Len & Brendan was the highlight of the dance. And Len was right IMO...lacking A LOT of content which is fair enough as she missed 2 days training. Brendan could have just defended the dance of that basis but threw a bit of a strop. Gavin & Katya - Gavin, Gavin, Gavin...you are like polished floorboards....flat, shiny & stained. How can a person be that lacking in personality. What a waste of Katya's very impressive charms ;) Scott & Natalie - Didn't quite understand the high marks, but then i'm not a huge fan of the Viennese Waltz. All that spinning makes me dizzy just watching. Ann & Anton - Can we start a campaign for a medal for Anton? He needs something for all his heroic efforts. Matt & Aliona - They are my favourite couple since the start but this was a poor dance. Lacking in content and nervously executed. He is probably the best dancer in the show but the choreography wasn't great. Sorry Aliona...we still love you. Result show is on 20mins or so and my bet is on Michelle/Brendan & Gavin/Katya in the bottom 2. Probably Michelle will go.

Thanks for your efforts James.

Just been to the new Leisure centre and here are some thoughts. I am a regular gym user there and for those like me who really liked the imbalance in the number & type of machines, the gold star reliability of said machines and the ease of getting on a machine in peak time, you won't be disappointed. In fact you will be delighted as imagine all that in 1/3rd of the space for the next 6 months. Basically, most of the bike & weight machines have gone. There's about 8 treadmills, 4 step, 3 bike type machine, 2 cross trainers (1 not working), 1 rowing machine (computer not working), 1 multi gym weight, 1 bench & dumbbells and area for 2 mats. Plus, as the room was designed as a studio one wall is all mirrored...and yes the machines are all facing that wall, so we can all enjoy seeing our wobbly bits flapping about! Oh and the air conditioning wasn't working. And you have to change in the swimming pool changing rooms which a) don't have a lot of seating space b) have the lockers backing on to the seating benches so people can't get to their locker without you moving and c) it means that you have to walk back through reception to get to the gym, which when you're coming back all hot and sweaty is not the best look when passing those eating their foccias and caffe lattes in the cafe. All in all i'm delighted at the changes... :'(

Thanks Peckhamgatecrasher. I love TMS and am listening to it now but fancy watching a bit of it on saturday locally.

Hi all Apologies if this has been asked before but is there somewhere in or around ED that is showing the cricket?

I agree with you HAL. The various levels of reality weaved together created an original and engrossing plot. Throw in the trauma of Cobb's past relationship and the background to it. AND then casually slip that ending in...very good indeed. I have the feeling that the ending was designed purely to get the audience to think and question what they had just seen. I suspect Nolan doesn't actually care what the truth of that moment is....he's more interested in us exercising our minds a little. Job done I think after looking at the hundreds of theories and counter theories already out there on the net. A very fine piece of film. p.s. i'm not a DiCaprio fan but he did a really good job in this.

Katie1977....that is superb. I thought I recognised Mr Ed from somewhere.

Hi Marmora Man. Good question for a thread. 1) Italy is always a bad example of coalition governance. The majority are effective and stable though - think of Germany and Switzerland for example (the swiss have had 4 party coalitions since the 50s or 60s I think). The issue of effectiveness seems to be about the political culture of the particular nation - for most it works, for some it doesn't. 2) I understand your point about the devolved parliaments and assemblies of the UK, but my take on it is that the key principle to assess is whether there is an ability to work together. If Martin Mcguinness and Ian Paisley can sit in a cabinet together and get things done, then frankly shame on others that can't or won't make it work. 3)You're assuming that a formal coalition is what will happen. I doubt that the Tories seek a coalition if they were the largest party but short of an overall majority. Rather they would seek to form a minority government and try their luck. They are simply scared to give in to any demand by the Lib Dems to change the electoral system. On a wider point, nobody expected a hung parliament like this. If the voting system were changed to something which generally return coalition governments then the parties policies and behaviour would I think alter to suit the demands of cooperative government. In this system, having clear distinct choices between parties (not that i think there is that much) is more effective at producing big overall majorities - so they accentuate the difference. 4. Not sure I follow your point here - an individuals vote has no guaranteed outcome already, unless in a safe seat, so what is different? 5. True, Britain isn't used to hung parliaments but as they say 'past performance is no guarantee of future results'. There is no reason to assume what type of policies will be enacted because we don't know what the setup will be on May 7th. I think you're projecting your own political preferences and wishs onto the question. 6. The idea that the economic situation would be handled better by there being one clear policy for me doesn't stack up. If the one clear policy is the wrong policy then we're even more screwed. Odds are that by having a jointly worked out policy its more likely to have been considered and critiqued rather than one based on a single parties ideology. (Personally I take the Keynesian policy to the current economic situation. Cutting spending now would be the wrong policy)

They had a very similar question on QI - Grizzly Bear vs Lion Apparently in the early 20th century in America they used to have these fights and the bear won every time. Its got a very hard skull and immense power in its arm to swipe the lion and crush its skull. So i'm guessing polar bear vs tiger would be the same.

Hello all, I posted this today and if anyone is interested let me know. http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?28,425143 S.

Sorry to hear you saw that Jaws and had to defend yourself afterward. I was involved on another thread with Silverfox and he had the same traits there - too suspicious and lacking empathy for other peoples experiences and situations. Best to give him a wide berth in my opinion.

On the general issue of your question about ideology, i don't think that there is a covert agenda - it looks quite clear to me. Current western societies i think, are products of the Enlightenment/Liberal/inherent human rights socio-political movement. The development of the possibility for this type of situation to be, feels like a natural extension of that. I think that those who don't fit into the heterosexual category feel there is still a long way to go though (which i agree with). So this couple may arguably feel more that they are fighting the system and society rather than the system being biased toward them as one of your points suggests. On your point of biological family- yep, you're correct that its not true in this case. Yes, a 'pregnant man' is semantic word play but does it matter to us? It does to them, but all i can say is that it doesn't confuse me or worry me and (this isn't meant as any critique) but I don't understand why it would matter to anyone else. I recognise you seem troubled by it, but I can't identify with that. It just feels instinctively a non-issue to me. Whereas to you it instinctively feels something. All i can suggest is to maybe step back and consider why that is for you? V.

ok...i understand what you're saying but it seems like you're not allowing this couple any agency/decision making role in this situation. Just for the sake of discussion, if we assume they passionately wish to be they sex/gender they want to be and desire a biological family as opposed to adoption, is your position then that society/governments/ social services etc should be saying no to them? I'm asking just to clarify so that the discussion can go forward on a clear basis.

I think the problem we are having with the thrust of your question is that you seem to be arguing that a 'politically correct' ideology has enabled this couple to be the way they are and to have this unconventional family. It's seems to me that the opposition you are facing here is the counter question of 'so what?' It seems to me (and tell me if I'm wrong) that you have a issue with these people and their idea of a family unit. If that's correct, that's your opinion, but not one shared I think by many on this thread-hence the opposition. As Hugenot said - it's a matter of their human rights and equality which I fully support. The issue of a PC ideology is secondary to me.

Steady guys...you're in danger of hitting Godwin's law... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law

Silverfox, You have forgotten about those born as intersex - or hermaphrodites in older language. The world of sex, sexuality & gender is a huge and ever evolving discourse all of which has not much to do with a persons suitability to be a parent. To question one unconventional couples suitability misses the bigger picture of how many heterosexual people are unsuitable to being parents. There are thousands and thousands of them. If you want to involve yourself in other peoples lives then at least focus on those people that have the biggest impact on the greatest number. V.

Hello all, To go back to Silverfox's first post - "I'm just trying to decide where I stand on this" My question is why do you feel you need to decide on this issue? I don't even view it as an issue, its just a couple of peoples lives out of 6 billion. Spread some joy & love Silverfox and don't worry about other peoples idea of love and families. V.

Sounds like it could be fun. I have no experience in acting/improvising etc but would be willing to give it a go.

yep...myself, a work colleague and another forumite - dancingbottom - are doing it. We've had a couple of training rides as all of us haven't been on bikes much for years. want to join us?