poch

We're now at a point where if you have an education somehow you feel ashamed.

Obama on lies...

Gary Neville called UK politics 'a total shambles' on ITV's coverage of footie last night...

Thanks all. Think we're actually going to go for The Pelican. Main decider was manager being chilled about us playing some music, plus nice cool space.

Thanks for the suggestions! And thanks Renata. I'm not really looking for a separate space - more a bar where we can reserve some tables. Will check out Batch and The Hope.

Anyone got a particular favourite? Or could share a hidden gem? Am looking for a birthday party venue - somewhere that looks nice, with a nice atmosphere, where I can hopefully reserve some tables/space. Also hoping to play some music.... Have looked at Near and Far at the Levels, the new Nines, and Peckham Springs but if anyone has any bright ideas, they'd be gratefully received! Thanks.

David Schneider this morn after Boris tweeted that Jacob RM is a 'principled, dedicated MP.' REMAINER UNHAPPY WITH BREXIT WE?RE GETTING = undermining our negotiating position, traitor, enemy of the people. BREXITER UNHAPPY WITH BREXIT WE?RE GETTING = principled person who wants the best for our country.

'We can't all move our businesses to Ireland like Rees-Mogg. We can't all get French citizenship like Nigel Lawson. We can't all live off our EU pension like Farage. British people will suffer from this shambles & be forced to bear the brunt of hard Brexit.' Enjoyed this from David Lammy this morn...

You're probably right FL. But he is exhibiting fascistic traits ('a political philosophy that exalts nation and often race above the individual...). And I'm not so sure of the merits of being cautious about the term considering where we are right now (kids locked up in cages; babies separated from mothers; the separation of nearly 2,000 children from their families over the last six weeks). How governments go about penalising so-called 'law-breakers' is the nub of all of this...

And also the lies re. the separation of families being Democrat policy. It wasn't. It's his. And the lies about the German crime wave, which he then of course blames on immigrants. Crime rates in Germany are at their lowest since 1992. The use of the word 'fascism' is appropriate now.

https://www.channel4.com/news/trump-doubles-down-on-border-policy Worst yet by a long stretch

Also - had an interesting chat with the sales rep for Lucozade in Barry's newsagent yesterday. He services 400 newsagents in London and the SE. He said a lot of the newsagent owners had voted for Brexit. A lot of them have changed their minds...

rendelharris Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Jacob Rees-Mogg has just tweeted that "The Brexit > dividend is obvious, if you spend less on one > thing it is available for something else." Felt > compelled to reply "I spend many hundreds of > pounds per year to keep up my subscriptions with > various agencies and professional bodies. If I > ditched them I would indeed have hundreds of > pounds extra - and I would lose tens of thousands > as I wouldn't get any work." You should! How can he get away with this crap? Smaller economy = less spending on EVERYTHING

Am going! Looking more and more likely it's going to be a soft Brexit - Labour limping in that direction - which means a botched outcome that doesn't satisfy anyone PLUS years more of this crap. PEOPLE'S VOTE MARCH JUNE 23rd!

Thanks you! Really helpful x

Does anyone know of any good ones in and around that bit of Forest Hill? Any recommendations gratefully received! Thank you!

Beryl20 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > In these topsy-turvy times every vote for Labour - > far from giving May a bloody nose - will be > claimed by May's government as a vote of support > for its policies; its Brexit policies, to wit. > This already happened last year after that 2017 > general election, with the hard-right MPs crowing > about Labour voters' support all over the media so > I'm neither guessing nor speculating what Friday's > right-wing headlines will be - should Labour vote > do well tomorrow. > ...Seeing as to date Jeremy Corbyn either imposed > a 3-line whip on his MPs to vote with the > Conservatives on anything Brexit, or ordered them > to abstain, not a hard claim to spin. Beryl's right. A couple of mornings ago Liam Fox was justifying a hard Brexit because of the combined percentage who'd voted Labour / Tory in the General Election ie. a high percentage of voters voted for 'pro-Brexit parties'. It's often an argument (full of holes but John Humphries didn't bother to expose them) that's wheeled out. Jeremy Corbyn has consistently failed to hold the government to account re. the mess we're in (rarely brings Brexit up at PMQs - simply doesn't feel it). UKIP are a very good example of a party who have heavily influenced policy without converting support into a) parliamentary seats or b) large numbers of council seats. A local election is a brilliant opportunity for expressing discontent with the two main political parties, and for expressing proper dissatisfaction about Brexit.

Confused as to what to do but think am switching from Lab to Lib Dems. Brexit. Too many insipid Labour frontbenchers. Too many open goals missed at PMQs by JC. A high enough percentage swing to the Lib Dems / Greens won't go unnoticed even if Labour ends up holding onto the majority of the local seats...

Using the word 'lunatic' in a non-medical context is not as offensive as the using the word 'paki' (god, I remember that word swilling round London when I was a kid). The word 'paki' is a really nasty racist word used intentionally to diminish and belittle. Rendel's use of the word 'lunacy' had none of that malicious intent so I can understand why he'd be a little miffed about the comparison... But I do get what you're saying, RPC, about certain types of language use adding to deeply ingrained prejudices (although I'd re-iterate that the intention of the user is important, and that wouldn't have been RH's intention). ps. I'm a signed up member of the PC Brigade! James O'Brien (LBC) is very good on all of this. What's so wrong about not wanting to cause offence to others? Surely the benefits of that approach to life outweigh the potential harms (ie having to watch what comes out of your mouth occasionally...)

But yes Peckham Rose, agree that the text message first time round does blur the issue a little. I thought I'd get one this time round too...but ultimately my fault so will give them their cash...

Thanks everyone. I did sign something when I joined the practice but I'm afraid I can't remember reading the small print! Probably should have read a little more closely. I totally agree that a loss of income for the hygienist is a problem, and it must be really annoying when people don't pitch up. My partner's dentists in West Dulwich don't have the same 'charge if you don't show' policy so was really wanting to gauge how common this sort of practice is. Will stump up the ?35 and will mention to the surgery how other dentists locally get round this problem. The paying in advance idea would definitely focus the mind!

Could someone give me a steer on this one? Just been called up by a local dentist's receptionist who's asked me to pay ?35 for a missed hygienist appointment. I did forget about the appointment which was booked four months ago. Totally my fault but I was texted in advance of my last dental appointment there (so probably presumed I'd be texted with a reminder for this appt). Do I just have to stump up the ?35? Is this normal practice? Just strikes me as a little severe for a first offence... Just adding that hygienist is private - not part of NHS. Thanks!

My kids are younger but am already worrying about smartphones later down the line. There is a way you can disable Safari (so no internet access) but keep Whatsapp on an i-phone. Maybe a good middle ground? So kids would be in the loop on messaging and social stuff but not able to spend hours trawling through weird websites....

Latest OECD forecasts for 2019 show UK as the slowest growing economy (behind Italy) in G20. We've gone from top to bottom of the league of G7 leading economies since 2016, and sterling has dipped to its lowest level in over thirty years. Genuinely interested to hear the counter-argument which suggests British economy is performing well? Would welcome good news! The economic hardship stuff was the ballast of the Remainers' argument during the campaign (and was probably over-egged by Cam and Osborne) but Farage, Gove et al rubbished those arguments as 'project fear', belittled experts as blahblah says, and Liam Fox spent a lot of time talking about all the trade deals he'd have sown up by now. Caroline Lucas spoke very well yesterday about her incredulity re. the UK government knowingly and 'proudly' leading us towards a policy they now understand will certainly be economically detrimental. Heard someone on a podcast making the joke about the captain of the Titanic seeing the iceberg, heading straight for it...

Very aware of the London bubble etc but I wonder whether 'anti EU feeling outside of London runs deep and sincere'. Were people in Cornwall and Darlington etc really sitting around in the pub in the years leading up to the vote complaining about the EU and British loss of sovereignty? I'm not so sure. Immigration is obviously a real issue for some, and Remainers need either to make the case for a) the benefits of immigration or b) - with a heavy heart - the Belgium model ie an example of an EU country which has much tougher immigration policies and has the remit to enact these within the bounds of EU law.