bridge too far

Is the middle man from the Betfair advert Sam Allardyce's son?

flirty

thieves

Going back to mobile phones. There's an access roundabout to the M40 near me - at Cherwell Services. The roundabout is notorious for the number of lorries that take it too fast and overturn. Many times I've seen an artic driver negotiating that roundabout one handed whilst on the phone. Frightens the bejeezus out of me

It isn't your head you should be covering ........

Nick - it's as dry as dust but the attached gives a good idea of the background / history of PFI as well as the pros and cons of it. http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/lib/research/rp2003/rp03-079.pdf Useful reading if you want to know the facts about PFI.

frilly shirts

No - the construction work didn't start until around 2002 I think - but the original Business Case commenced in around 1996. The process is very complex and can take years. A Strategic Outline Case then Outline Business case has to be worked up for submission for approval by, firstly, 'stakeholders' (I hate that term) i.e. the local and regional health authorities and the Department of Health before it is then submitted to the Treasury for approval by the Secretary of State as a Full Business Case. After that, detailed planning has to be undertaken (i.e. every ward, utiility room, theatre, macerator, all the engineering) and has to be agreed by the Clinical Director of each department for whom accommodation is being provided. At the same time, the bidders have to do their design and costing work, ensuring that they incorporate the wishes of the Clinical Directors. Operational procedures (how the hospital works) have to be produced. The (usually 3) shortlisted bids are then examined and tested and, at the same time, the bidders have to negotiate their own finance for the scheme with their banks and other lenders. Incredibly detailed contracts have to be worked up, agreed and signed. These cover all sorts of stuff including, for example, deciding how much the successful bidder is fined if, for any reason, any areas are not cleaned properly or not available for other reasons. This is called the Payment Mechanism. Once all this is signed off the construction work begins. I joined the PFI team at the Oxford Hospitals in 2000. Work on that PFI scheme originally began in 1996. The hospitals were finally handed over about 2 years ago. Although we delivered two new hospitals, we didn't have to work around an existing hospital in quite the same way as QA did. At the time I left QA (2000) I had only just started preliminary work on the equipment schedules for that PFI scheme. HTH (as in HOPE that helps) - not sarky but speaking from hands on experience.

oils

That PFI scheme was one of the second wave and it began under the Conservative government. A moratorium was declared on all PFI schemes pending the outcome of the 1997 General Election. HTH

The blue corner of course - never the red one

You're so sharp you'll cut yourself one day my lad

basil

Why do men with huge bellies insist on going about shirtless?

How bizzarre, Norway. All three links you've just posted link to the same page from the Independent! How did you manage that?

toilet

I've got a hands-free contraption in my car. I'll use it for receiving calls but I never, ever make outgoing calls whilst driving, unless I'm stuck in stationary traffic.

follower

A court jester?

He did say on the BBC News just now that he has had to compromise due to being in the Demolition - sorry, Coalition. I wonder what he would have said had this not been the case?

philosophy

gossip

cold

superfluous

civil servant