louisiana

I'd recommend Lionel Shriver's We Need To Talk About Kevin. Not to be read by anyone who is pregnant or is contemplating children. (For those already with young children, it is too late.) Louisiana

SeanMacGabhann Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > West London to LL - worst type of journey. Any > bands playing Shepherds Bush Empire or Hammy Odeon > have to be WAY up on my list to even contemplate > the journey back > > Louisiana - any time i arrive at Kings X it's the > 63 all the way home - off at the Rye for a quick > hop down to LL How long do you reckon it takes, end to end? I'm just trying to figure out the 'safe' time that would be needed to reach Kings X when travelling 7-9am period (with a ticket only valid for a particular train, so no risks). Louisiana

Hi Talisman I'm fine with weekdays, and am around during the day, but I'm sure most others are not. From my perspective, weekend is probably better, as Mr Louisiana can then be here, and he is a massive Grand Designs fan. Maybe I can send Mr L round for a few hours on Saturday? He's a dab hand around the house and with tools (unlike me), has installed kitchens etc. Louisiana

As a coda to previous post, my daftest regular journey is to my hairdresser in Westbourne Grove. Bus to Elephant, tube to Paddington, bus for the rest. And a similarly long trip is to an old client based at Westbourne Studios - that's the dreadful Metropolitan Line from Baker Street, so an end-to-end of at least 90 mins.

Ludo, my dear boy, ludo. You know, a board and counters and dice, and you just move round the board. A different thing entirely from judo. I'm a 7th Dan ludo player. B)

10 second stagger to the office, most days. Some days - average of once per week? - I travel to clients, but they tend to be everywhere/anywhere. Today I was in Leicester, or rather Narborough, but more often it's somewhere in the City or Canary Wharf (I've been up quite a few of the taller buildings), or somewhere in Scotland, or from time to time Brussels, Copenhagen, US. I love the buses. I just got off the train at St Pancreas, and Kings X underground station was shut, so I hopped on a 91, then a 176, which deposits me 100 yeards from home. For the City, it's usually the 40. For Westminster, the 12. And this morning I took the 185 to Vauxhall, to get to Kings X. But my fave is the 176, all the way from Oxford Street. I do a lot of reading, listening to new music. I only use the local trains if time is really pressing (and the flight will leave without me:-S) and the traffic might be bad. Back in 1991, I got on the train at F Hill, changed at L Bridge for Cannon Street (then I worked near Cheapside), and was carried off when the train crashed. I soon after left the firm and never commuted again. The occasional times I do use the trains, they are all too remeniscent of the ride on that day: cattlewagon conditions etc. And by the time you've got to the station, put up with late and no-show trains, changed and so on, not really much faster. I use London City airport a fair amount (no queues!), and wonder which is the fastest trip there from here. My usual is BR to L Bridge, eastbound Jubilee to Canning Town, DLR to airport, but I think the New Cross route might be a viable alternative. Bicycle is not really practical for many work trips: far too much luggage, and often long haul. Louisiana

scrummyyummymummy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Honestly, haven't you lot got better things to > think about? I have always found the EDD a > fantastic foodie shop. I have been shopping there > since it opened and have never encountered grumpy, > rude, snobbish or particularly short staff and the > manager is bloody good at knowing his job. It may > be small and cramped at seasonal times of the year > (where isn't?) but the quality is excellent and it > would be daft to take my buggy in at these > times-it is just not practical, and there are > planty of other shops where it isn't practical to > take in a buggy or small children, or wheelchairs > etc! And also wondering whether the writer proposes that wheelchair users crawl on hands and knees and tums into this particular 'highlight' of the ED firmament. A curious and ill-informed attitude to disability, if you are right on the author DM (and illegal too, AFAIK, if they were to refuse/protest at wheelchair access/use). Louisiana *suddenly very depressed by the idea of braying shopkeepers wishing wheelchair users to disappear*

As in 'it takes one to know one'?

scrummyyummymummy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > If you want lots of space, cheaper prices, and > boring display etc go to Tescos! Or if you want better cheese, go to The Cheese Block. They are not exactly grinning from ear to ear in there either :-S, but at least they don't take that Tesco 'pile em high' mode of display to Babylonian heights of excess, and the cheese selection is better and better kept in my view. Louisiana *snuggling up with a brand new bar of Valrhona Caraibe, frankly unimpressed by the godawful sweet stuff that serves as an excuse for chocolate at Easter*

By the end of the working day, my mental capacity stretches to...ludo. Louisiana

I saw a monkey puzzle seedling in a garden centre the other day, and wondered whether we could plant one on the roundabout at Goose Green.

Does anyone on here have any experience with 'monovision' (one eye for distance, one for close work), either by using appropriate contact lenses or using Lasik? A friend (approaching 50) has recommended, but I'd like to hear from others (and can't stand the thought of varifocals). Louisiana

And talking of lyrics, has anyone ever worked out whether the Fall's additional lyrics on their cover of Sister Sledge's Lost In Music mean anything at all at all? Brilliant cover, but bizarre combination of lyrics.

Huguenot Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I heartily welcome the police station idea! haha I misread that and saw 'I heartily welcome the police state idea' :-S

SeanMacGabhann Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Cptn Birdseye > > Ooh I had a big reply all typed out but I've > deleted it because I'm not trying to upset people. > And I'm only trying to address the frustration > felt by anyone in Mixulee's position not tell them > what to do > > I would say that a family of 4 can buy things, > more regularly, and for overall cheaper and not > drive. For the most part. Those things that can't > be got, are more expensive, less convenient, more > desirable- well - for me - if I weigh it all up > it's not worth the hassle of dealing with all of > the traffic just for them. I'll find a way of > getting them > > Anyone here I would wager could, if they wanted > to, come up with at least 2 other ways of doing > the same weekly shop with a similar budget So the > question is why subject yourself to the > frustrations of the road and parking issues? I do mine with Ocado, once per 4 weeks. (Tesco, Sainbury's etc. will do the same) I get a 'green slot' (that means they are already in my area delivering). That means all the heavy/bulky stuff is out of the way, always, and I just have to worry about fresh things for some of the month. I'm one person, not a family of 4, but don't pay any delivery charges as it's over the threshold amount for free delivery. Plus point for me is I never have to carry heavy shopping bags (I have a duff shoulder), and I never have to find a parking space. No stress! No supermarket aisles stuffed with dysfunctional people! Plus point for my neighbours is I don't have a car parked outside 24/7, or clogging up LL at peak times. Plus point for ED is that I use buses/bicycle/trains, and don't clog up the local arteries. I'm starting to wonder why people without a car don't get a council tax rebate! Minus point for me is that I'm risk of getting mashed into tiny pieces by '4x4 man' or 'white van man'. Louisiana

I say - widen the pavements on LL. Introduce some kind of traffic calming - no parking on LL (shopping area) - controlled parking elsewhere The amount of nutty driving on and around LL makes it quite dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians. Crossing LL as a pedestrian is often 'your life in their hands'. Encourage pedestrians and cyclists by making it safer for them, and keep cars away from the shops, which may help to discourage the 'drive to the cornershop for the paper' brigade.

I too would patronise a local shop, but... I don't really care how large a shop is. It comes down to attitude and knowledge. At Evans the other week, the guy spent considerable time with me, and was knowledgable but also friendly and patient. I took several bikes out of the store for a tour around the neighbourhood, he went around with me looking at different things in the shop, he lugged bikes in and out of stands and checked them, and so on, and all with a friendly, happy face, though the shop was busy (Easter weekend). AW in Reading are good, but we recently went to a cycle shop near Newbury, and the staff could not have been more hopeless. They really didn't care much about anything except mucking aorund with their mates. At times, it was almost like you were getting in their way. I really wasn't keen on spending my money there. For too many independents, there's a prevailing air of 'we don't need your custom'. This is probably down to hired staff rather than owners (I suspect), but I sometimes think if owners realised what some of their staff get up to, they'd hit the roof. Though this is a consequence of inadequate staff training. The worst example was a clothes shop (not in ED), where the staff told a friend 'I don't think we have anything for you in here' to her face as she came into the shop. The shop has now shut down.

Do you find beer goes straight to your legs? It's always my excuse after we've propped up the bar for a while: "Sorry, Mr L, my legs is full of beer, no can do that hill, even in a low gear." Louisiana

Akcherly, make that a Garrotxa goats cheese, goes much better with the Priorat.:)

blinder999 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > good point Louisiana. I bet no-one would catch you > scoffing Italian-style flat bread or knocking back > late nineteen-eighties vintage Chateauneuf du > Pape. Absolutely. Though I am a bit partial to a nice walnut loaf with a chunk of Montgomery cheddar and a bottle of stonking 15% Priorat. :-S

Keef Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I was up at Horniman's with Mrs Keef on Sunday, > and told her about this very conversation. Her > opinion was that whilst it's not the prettiest > place in the world, it's a very very interesting > feature. She also commented that the middle > classes don't like to see council housing, and > world rather it be hidden away, which is probably > why so many people from Dulwich found it so > offensive. Wise lady my other half ;-) Having climbed a steep hill which provides panoramic views, I would indeed prefer to see, say, St Paul's cathedral, or St Mary Axe, to yet another badly designed council block. There are plenty of appallingly designed council blocks, all around. Just as there are many appallingly designed Barratt houses. Neither feature in my 'must see when I've managed to drag myself up the hill' top ten. Louisiana

blinder999 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > where do you stand on cacti? Surely the point about cacti is that you don't stand on them at all. Especially in bare feet. Louisiana

I need one done too. They were overhauled a couple of years ago, but now I have a broken rope. Louisiana

Yes, certain parallels with the lovely Losing My Edge

Dan Le Sac http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-MYVv4tgQc&mode=related&search=