bridge too far

Given the extortionate (allegedly) salary that Mr Story Teller gets paid, you'd think he could afford to pay the players this month.

Very droll

I don't know what's caused your bad back but, with a lot of people, it's bad posture. Surely sleeping on something that moulds to a bad posture will only exacerbate the bad posture / back pain? I had back probs a few years ago (slipped disc) and the best pain relief for me was to sleep on the floor

It's a tough one, isn't it MOG? For me it's OK for self-deprecating humour. For example, it's OK for a Scot to tell a joke about Scottish meanness (allegedly) or a fat person to tell a joke about fat people - well that's my view anyway. But I don't find stereotyping particularly funny especially when it's done maliciously.

Having your football club's initials etched into your teeth :shock: That is the action of a crazy man

Surely any reasonable person wouldn't resort to insults anyway? Using insults to 'win' a point shows a lack of intelligence and reasoning to my mind.

If they don't get paid today, the players could claim the club was in breach of contract. They could call in administrators. IMO

Two interesting links in the Guardian yesterday and today: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/oct/01/russell-king-notts-county http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/sep/30/notts-county-nathan-willett-peter-trembling http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/sep/30/notts-county-takeover-questions Apparently the FAPP test doesn't apply to FL clubs :smt102

Including Southampton Art Gallery FFS!!!!!

It was a fascinating programme, I thought. I agree with you about the little Chinese girls. And the research that's being done into genetic predisposition to illness such as heart disease and mental health issues such as low self-esteem / anorexia should prove invaluable I imagine. I bet your little girls are a delight to you and their similarities and differences must be intriguing. I note what you say about non-identical twins. My friend Rosie has a non-identical twin brother. They don't look alike at all, but goodness me her son is the spitten image of her brother!

I've just been watching a very interesting programme about twins and it got me wondering. How many of you on here are one of a twin and are you identical?

Even though the majority of local authorities are conserative controlled these days? The reason the Guardian gets a lot of public sector recruitment advertising is probably the same reason that bastion of the left wing, the Times, gets a lot of (public sector) teaching recruitment advertising. Because they're known for it and that's where likely recruits look. Had you read the Guardian today you would have seen that it is critical of the government on a number of counts.

Probably because that's the world we live in now. Everything and everybody is instantly judged on appearance and soundbites. Such a shame. Labour are not the only ones so obsessed. As has been said before about Cameron - all spin / style and no substance.

Couldn't agree with you more. But it happens - I know.

Yes you're right to some extent. But I do still think that the basic tenets drive the two main parties still. However, I can't confidently say the same about the Liberals as they always have, and still seem to, adapt their policies to suit the situation. That's fine - except that I can't ever be sure how they're going to approach issues that aren't a current concern - which way they're going to jump off the fence. I do know with some certainty which way the two major players would react.

Good point, well made However my voting pattern has never changed because I tend to support the party whose basic principles match mine. I don't chop and change according to the pound in my pocket - to use that hackneyed phrase. I imagine a large number of conservative and liberal voters are the same. It's the voters who switch allegiance for relatively flimsy reasons that I don't understand.

Wrong word there I think

What's just as funny is the Sun's belief that it can sway opinion. Firstly why does it suppose it has the right to claim this - it simply offers attention-grabbing headlines often far removed from the truth. Secondly, if the Sun was to tell me to do something, I'd do the exact opposite.

Sometimes it doesn't matter how well off a family unit is, sometimes, if the mother devotes her time to caring for her children rather than doing paid work as well, she doesn't get the wherewithall from her partner to support her children financially. I speak as one who has been in that situation. Not allowed to 'work' but not given enough money to buy enough clothes for my children. If it wasn't for Family Allowance (as it was in those days) I would have been in even direr straits. No wonder I left him, dear reader

Johnny, whilst I see where you're coming from, I think you've made one small error. The 'upper middle class' as you call them are the uber-rich and the aristocracy. With a few notable and praiseworthy exceptions, this group will inevitably vote for the Conservative party (think of the root of the word 'conservative' - maintaining the status quo). So I think you should remove them from the 'over 50% middle class' calculation. The so-called middle class therefore make up JUST over 50% by your calculations (I've not checked them so I'll take your word for it). But many of the middle class are altruistic and have a social conscience and a perception of what is fair. So it doesn't follow that they necessarily vote according to how their pockets are hit. In fact, recent polling suggests that a large number of people would rather pay MORE tax if it meant better public services. However, there are probably an equal number of so-called working class who will vote Conservative. I'm not quite sure where the Liberals fit into this demographic, however

I did say I was ambivalent - maybe I should have said I had some reservations. There have been instances in recent history where we've had minority governments under the 'first past the post' system so it doesn't always produce a strong government. Of course, a strong opposition is just as important. Something that's sadly lacking at this point in time.

I'm fairly ambivalent about this but two things spring to mind. Firstly, as shown above, small parties can wield a disproportionate amount of power by prostituting themselves to the highest bidder. Secondly, a strong government (of whatever hue) is better for the country than one that is constantly looking over its shoulder to keep its coalition partners happy.

Any chance of a sensible report or two

It's working again!

Not working for me today either. Shame - I like playing Bejewelled Blitz