chrisp65

Trees, it's like any espionage. They should be thankful people are keeping them on their toes. If high flying footy types want to do secret under the radar ops they probably shouldn't do it in their private jets. For all you know this was a way of gauging opinion, it's just taken off a bit more than they could have expected. Different weather and Villa Talk could have been shouting about why on earth we were interviewing another Fergie recommendation but this time with no managerial experiance and no proven ability to deal with the awkward squad in our dressing room. It can't be that hard to have a quiet informal secret talk if you put your mind to it. It was done with good intentions. End of. It's a learning curve for Lerner and co. I just wish the curve was a little steeper!

Villa stayed up, AM sacked I'd suggest the jury is still out.

Nice twist on the temperance viewpoint. I've been to a Methodist fund raiser where they raffled a bottle of port. Gambling for booze in a Methodist Church. Things have clearly moved on.

I'm not sure you read it all? Part of the deal was that the Sal Army would try and get a few interested in God. I certainly wouldn't fall into a trap of not challenging the religious - they most certainly should be challenged. But it's a real world dilemma you haven't answered. Do we not do the good charitable work, or do we accept a religious group doing it? Real life, everyday life is not about absolutes. My town currently has a patch of land for which there are three plans. Allotments and drop in centre. Supermarket extension. Nothing. Public opinion is such that everybody wants 'something' to be done with it. But don't like the supermarket plan and voice concerns about the God Squad. But no none religious volunteer group is willing to step up. So it is a real dilemma, the only people trying to contribute in a positive way in my area is a religious group. As it happens it isn't the Sallies, in reality it's the United Reformers. At present, it loos like the land will go undeveloped. But atleast that'll give the great unwashed somewhere to drink white lightning and burn stuff. I find that a bit sad.

Here's a scenario for people, and there's no wrong answer, so feel free to make a dick of yourselves: Your town has a particular problem with vagrancy, homelessness and substance abuse. You've seen it, gangs of 50 year old blokes with red faces and bad beards pissed by 9:00am, cold, ill, not looking forward to another winter. In amongst them, a couple of younger people, some females. Your local police don't have the resources to move them on all day every day. The council doesn't have the money to set up a hostel and drop in centre. The govt doesn't give a flying f for anyone below them. Strangley, no middle of the road non agenda volunteer grouping has come forward with a plan. There is no impartial philanthropist riding into town. BUT. But, several groups have offered to step in and build and staff a drop in centre and overnight hostel. It has long term accommodation for those trying to get off drugs or fresh out of prison. It has first night emergency bunks for scared kids needing somewhere safe for one night. It even has a community garden where it encourages the community to grow stuff allotment style to help feed itself healthily and cheaply. YOU are the head of planning / all powerful mayor and have the casting vote on whether to say yes to this enterprise. Do you vote yes or no if it is: 1) To be run by the Salvation Army and they will try and persuade those attending to sit in the occassional church service? A small per centage will then hopefully become christian. 2) to be run by the BNP, they will treat everyone that arrives equally, but will distribute leaflets. 3) to be run by the local hinduh community, at a very modest profit after several lottery grants etc 4) part of a Tesco funded master plan for the whole town for my part, I'd go with 1) and this is loosely based on something currently happening in my town

ah I was hoping for advice from your goodself or Mr Mooney, I suspected it was all a bit over produced funk influenced lift music. But didn't want to sound like I was starting a fight. So go earlier? I'm currently back on an old piece of vinyl, Brubeck live in Newport, an album I must have had for 20+ plus years. A lovely sound, just the right amount of pop and crackle. Anybody catch Dexy's on Jools Hooland last night? Not bang on the money, but good enough for me to look for some tour dates. Mick Talbot back on the keys bless him.

bought Tutu by Miles Davies yesterday on a whim, went in for Cramps, Smell of Female, but they wanted the full £14 Miles Davies was £5.99 should I stick with it? Ive played it this morning and i'm thinking I should have gone with the Cramps

I think this is why I haven't really bothered. The intention of the thread looked sound. But pretty quickly you've got people being accused of being nutters and mental. The odd thing being I thought there were rules on labelling other groups of supporters etc.. This might be why the 'debate' isn't exactly knocking back and fore. Just piss taking by the oh so clever brigade is just a bit dull. I'd love to get into a discussion about the role of Oxfam, whether Quakers are a power for good, whether anyone really believes their God has a white beard and a really big chair. If the Methodists persuaded 250,000 people to sing in church rather than drinking themselves into early graves would that be good or bad? But frankly the level of discussion from some just stops debate or the exchange of ideas in its tracks. Discussion on the origin of social mores and whether it's worth paying lip service to religious code isn't going to be permitted. I do wonder if one or two people in this thread have had a bad early experience with a Jesuit priest and a strap on that has slightly coloured their world. Is it better for someone to believe in God and carry out charitable works on weekends and tithe 10% of salary to Oxfam and have a sticker for the Alpha Course on their car. Or are you less mental if you keep yourself to yourself and spend your money in sweaty computer game shops and arguing on the internet about whether Batman is better than Wonder Boy. Which one of those two has helped humanity move forward? There is a massive debate to be had on whether kiddy fiddlers are attracted to catholicism, or whether it's the odd rules of catholicism that turn them deviant. Really, how can they want 'normal' men to lead their communities but then tell them they can't marry and mustn't clack one out in private either. Should churches amass money, or chuck it all at poverty issues world wide. If you were in charge of a massive uneducated primitive population, how would you harness their potential to push civilisation forward? would you attempt reason, consensus, brute force? Or design a compelling religion with stories the simple folk could remember and cause people to self police themselves due to an all seeing eye and afterlife consequences? Would the Staple Singers have been better or worse without their mix of politics, religion, soul and 'soul'. Personally, I'd rather an hour listening to the Staple Singers than a lifetime listening to Oasis. Anybody ever watched 'the God Channel' on cable? Why do these channels always eventually get around directly or indirectly to asking you for money? So much to 'debate'. Or we could just tell people they must have mental problems. With the possible exception of myself, nobody is perfect. Why can't we be a bit more civil about others? Do unto others and all that.

well, that saved me a fortune over the last few months now I've got to rebuild contact with all those people that have previously blagged me tickets I've also got to man up and book a couple of corporate seats early on next season, having been quite clear to the sales woman that I couldn't take Clients to villa this season as it didn't qualify with the tax man as entertaining. chuffed, and having a little celebratory drink

Seriously, look at the rules. It does not say you can only play either attack OR defence, you can have players doing both.

A litttle tip for you Alex, take a cardboard box with you when you next pop into the office. Keep all your desk shit from rolling around the boot of your car. bye bye, it was emotional.

I'm close to doing that. It upset the kids this morning, which got me all manly and protective. I wanted to pull its head off. I'd prefer it to move on, but it's on borrowed time.

there is a crow (the biggest m/f crow I've ever seen) that's repeatedly trying to get into my house for a few weeks he would sit down the far end of the garden and watch, last week he decided the whole garden was his. Friday, he's on the door handle banging on the glass of the door with his beak! Same yesterday, plus when I got home and got out of the car he stood between me and the house until I got to within touching distance before he flew off. I kid you not, i woke up this morning and there is blood on the glass and blood on the door handle, the guy's a psycho. Just finished my lunch and there is banging on the conservatory glass, we run out, it's the ****' crow again. Seriously, it's like a bloody Hitchcock movie. I don't suppose anybody else has ever experienced this?

Whilst they don't have to happen, perhaps they should if we want to prove we really are a progressive society (at least until no marriages happen in church which would be the other way of solving the inequality). As mentioned earlier, telling Rosa Parks she can have a seat just not one down the front really isn't good enough. We are equal, or we are not. You can offer people their own separate bus, it isn't the same. Many years ago I had a job in a Working Men's Club. They had a rule that women couldn't join independently. The rule sounded sensible at the time. Women could join, if invited by men. They could also set up their own women only club if they wanted to. After years of bother, the rule was changed, women could join. Lordy Lord, it turned out the world kept turning. The club is still there.

I don't think that's quite right. I think there are a good few churches that would happily marry gay couples already. Not least, those with gay church leaders, but not exclusively. In many areas there is a don't ask / don't tell attitude to relationships. This is stretched to the limit when a leader is quite clearly living with another man. It's just that they've never said they actually play hide the penis, and the congregation hasn't bothered to ask (because they patently already know the answer). There are already 'blessings' carried out in churches whereby civil ceremonies are 'endorsed' later in a church. I've been to one, and it wasn't some trendy Islington urban church either, it was a chocolate box twee little place where the average age of the punters was well over 60. I think if the law on gay marriage was changed in late May, the first wedding would be around about early June.

the sooner the booze finally does for ferguson the better perhaps if he rates him that highly he'd like to head hunt him

Tapes! I've got a big old reel to reel and a very mixed bag of tapes, some country, big band, mantovani etc..

I wouldn't worry about it too much AJM. There's no major need for balancing the argument when the few diehard Nazis have so little to offer beyond portraying their selfishness as virtue. d'oh! I was sooo hoping to be first to point out that often bad manners can be dressed up by arrogant wannabe posh boys as good manners. That's the problem with Thatcher's version of the boys from Brazil. They have that same misguided belief that they are superior when actually they are just pompous, wilfully ignorant and scared of the masses diluting their privileged lifestyle. The revolution is still coming friends. It just might take a while to get out of Greece. (just being retro there)

Just before I go any further may I just say a big **** you, it is not a crock of geek shit it's a crock of geek gold :-) :winkold: ah I thought I'd got away with that. I know I must be wrong, the footfall figures tell me so. But big budget children's films based on comics just leave me cold. People in my Brummy office bang on about whether or not some made up character's utility bely will be like the 1962 comic or the first 1973 film or whether cat lady or Mr Tickle will be darker this time. Just leaves me utterly bored.

what's NHL?

Gay people should be made to have kids. That'll stop them spending all their money on interior design and cappucino.

As a genuine question and not some clever trap for those that are uncomfortable with the gay dad's scenario: what exactly would be the problem? is the worry that gays may be paedo's? Or that you can be turned gay against your nature? Or that you will be messed up for not being a standard nuclear unit? Or some other point I'm missing? It surely can't be that you don't think it would sit right with God? I'm one of those religious types and I don't see the connection there. I've got a couple of gay friends (that's such a cronically pathetic start to a sentence). As it happens the female friend is a psycho and would not make a good mum, regardless of sexuality she's so stressed about everything it would be properly bad. I've got a male friend that would be the best dad, he's single, inherited a comfortable amount of money, lots of spare time and passionate about outdoor sports. He must be godfather to half the kids I know and I'm pretty confident he could recite all their birthdays. Sexuality and raising children really don't relate. Sexual mores and being around kids - that's another story and I'd guess the stats would say the main abusers are 'straight' 'traditional' blood relatives.

If it doesn't harm anyone then it's nothing to do with anyone else. Gay marriage can be a wonderful thing, it can also be as shallow and stupid as traditional marriage if the two people entering into it haven't really thought it through. on your point 1) I've had the same one and only partner for 28 years and it's just completely and utterly awesome. Every day is different and I reckon another 28 years and I will have worked out how the other half thinks. point 2) If they are good parents, they are good parents. I'd prefer a kid to have two gay mums than live in care for 16 years.

Where might one find this film? £3 (three!) in Asda

staying blue now apparently do I smell a cunning stunt?