bridge too far

Without doubt I'm a superior mother. Does that help?

Isn't there a correlation between the cost of a wedding and the length of the marriage? The more you spend the less time you'll spend together? Just live together would be my advice

But - and this is the salient point - in the eyes of the law the two issues are judged separately. He was tried and convicted for the rape, served his sentence and, it seems, was successfully rehabilitated. His case citing Human Rights has absolutely nothing to do with the rape case - nothing at all. This the way the law works.

I'm with Frank on this one. There are two disparate issues here. One is his crime and sentence, the other is his right to stay in the country. Most people, once they've served their sentence, are able to resume employment etc. That's what he did. From that article, it seems he was rehabilitated (isn't that what we all want prison to do to people?). He educated himself, and found himself a worthwhile job. I suppose he could have been a recidivist and lived off the state forever, but he didn't. He, too, was not an adult when he committed the crime - just like the victim. Don't misinterpret what I'm saying. I think rape is one of the most horrific of crimes, bar murder. But he's been punished for that. His dispute and appeal over his deportation is entirely a separate matter.

Nothing to do with the EU

Although of course, the council has nothing to do with the European Union "The council is a distinct entity and is not a branch of the European Union (EU)." "The European Court of Human Rights should not be confused with the European Court of Justice - the EU's highest court." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/4789300.stm

Aah I see what you're saying He isn't the one initiating the strike talk. In fact, I think it was Nadal who first mooted the idea. They are saying that their programme is so crowded these days, they don't have much downtime / recovery time. If you'd read the link I'd posted above, you would have seen that they are contracted to participate in a number of tournaments (usually the Masters, I think) as well as the Slams. Taking part in a tournament is very different to training and recovery (countless rounds for a start). Would you expect a footballer to play probably 5 x 4 hour matches in 14 days? And then fly halfway across the world and start all over again a week later? Without any recovery training? And of course a top flight footballer gets paid thousands of pounds a week whether or not his team wins. A tennis player only gets the moolah if s/he wins (apart from sponsorship etc).

Err, yes. Your point being? You were the one who said they have 40% of the year 'OFF'. Anyone who relies on fitness for their career knows that, even if not 'performing / competing' the fitness levels have to be maintained. From personal experience I know that that means training virtually every day of the year.

20 years ago, there weren't all the Masters tournaments that there are now. Here's the official story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/14977449.stm Of course, most of them don't earn the sort of money that mediocre footballers earn and they don't have 40% of the year off - they still have to train. It's as daft as saying footballers only work a max of 1 or 2 days a week for 11 months of the year.

It was quite noticeable this year just how many top flight players had to pull out of the US Open. Players don't withdraw from the Slams without very good reason and, in most cases this year, it was injury. They are contracted to play in the Slams and the Masters ranking events as well as the likes of the Davis Cup. And, if anyone had seen the Nadal Djokovic US final they couldn't have doubted the tremendous amount of work that goes into getting that fit with the stamina to play so brutally for 4 hours non-stop. He is not the one calling for a strike BTW - it was something all the top men discussed at the US Open. I don't understand the hatred for him. He's consistently made the semis in all the slams and is no. 4 in the world.

обезьяна chiclen petting звеец

Have you thought about engineered wood? We've got it in our sitting room - nicer than laminate but not as expensive as real wood.

I know someone with that name except that she spells it Portia - a character from The Merchant of Venice. So quite an old name, in fact.

What's awful? Ruth or Bridget? I didn't have much say in the matter. Strangely, the reason for my user name is complex, but part of it is because my dad used to call me Bridge (short for Bridget) for some strange reason.

Unfortunately for their 'fans', it seems the programme was pre-recorded so probably no opportunity for 'fans' questions.

Apparently, the two Russians are going to be interviewed on South Today tonight.

I was called Ruth, because my parents didn't want my name to be shortened. I am invariably called Ruthie Because it's an uncommon name, it does have the advantage of being remembered though.

Not Cameron FFS!!!!!!

It was easy choosing a name for my son (although we did choose a boy and a girl name for any eventuality). Strangely, that girl's name didn't figure when we were expecting the second child. My second daughter's name was an easy choice, although we just sort of hit on it.

22,155 according to the BBC

The spleen is necessary to fight off infection. When people have a splenectomy, they can't fight off infection so well. Some diseases, such as leukaemia, cause the spleen to enlarge. This is because people with leukaemia have an increased white cell count.

Your mate is entitled to a state funded redundancy package, I believe.

What is? Raising money for charity? Really

The ones in South Wales, having risked life and limb in an effort to rescue those trapped miners, have spent today (probably their recovery day) raising money for the families of the dead miners.

as do firefighters - remember that tower block fire last year, in which 2 firefighters died? I wouldn't comment if you chose to complain about your lot (if you didn't do it on an almost daily basis). But just be careful that chip on your shoulder doesn't develop into a chasm.