bridge too far

The guy on the ball in the first picture looks like Steve Harmison. But it can't be because I'm watching him in the ODI in Barbados ATM

Possibly, although I think she lives at her sister's house when she's doing her Ministerial duties and at her own house when she's doing her consituency duties. I guess her Ministerial duties take up more of her time. She should dump him.

Probably why she's reportedly given him an 'ear bashing' and he's apologised publicly.

And Labour ministers have eschewed a pay increase to which they were entitled, although MPs have had their salaries increased. http://uk.reuters.com/article/UKNews1/idUKL1734278520080617

Spot on (again) RS. Many 'wealthy (and not-so-wealthy) socialists' would say that, actually, they would want everyone to have the opportunities they've had and to be able to enjoy the things they enjoy. That's hardly hypocrisy, now is it

Remind me when the government was socialist? Not in my lifetime, that's for sure. And the Tories aren't? Just heard David Chameleon today talking about the merits of 'society' - is this the same 'society' that Thatcher denied the existence of?

:shock: No! Really? I AM surprised

Don't forget though Fuengirola, that JB reckons they're socialists To put the record straight: 1. Jackie Smith's husband has apologised for booking the porno movies. His wife wasn't even at home when he watched them. Difficult to see how she can be blamed for her husband's actions. As soon as she knew, she paid the money back. I suppose you could blame her for having a stupid husband though 2. Tony McNulty, who had sought advice and permission to claim his second home expenses, claimed £60,000 but this was over 7 years - less than 10 grand a year. I'm not making excuses for him, just seeking to put the facts rather than the fiction. 3. Today, Mark Field, a Tory MP, admitted that there were a number of Tory MPs also abusing the system, which he said undermined parliament's reputation. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7970731.stm

Mr TF reckons he loses out if he's working a night shift when this happens. But they do a deal where the day shift comes in half an hour early and his shift finishes half an hour early. It sorts itself out over time.

I saw Exeter play v Wycombe on Boxing Day. I was mightily impressed with them. Good passing game, keeping the ball on the ground.

You really do have a persecution complex, don't you

I just did. He said the economies of the past 25 years have been flawed and that they need to be restructured as they must not go back to how they were. So that's 13 years of the Conservatives and 12 years of Labour by my reckoning.

Yes, you're quite right. He did say it was 'rather formal'. He must remember that if he starts the letter 'Dear Madam' he should conclude 'Yours faithfully'. If he starts it 'Dear Ms Smith' it should finish 'Yours sincerely'.

I suppose, WC, it depends on how formal the letter has to be. Saying Dear Ms Smith or Dear Jean Smith is friendlier, don't you think? I don't often write business letters these days, but I'd only use Dear Sir / Madam if I was writing to someone I didn't know e.g. a company chairman, an NHS Finance Director (although I'd probably do some research to find out the name if possible).

If she's signed her letter 'Jean Smith' I reckon you should either say 'Dear Jean Smith' or 'Dear Ms Smith'. I'm a 'Mrs' but I'm not offended if someone writes to me 'Dear Ms TF'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7969515.stm

The figure of £800K leapt into my mind. I'm not sure why!

Absolutely necessary Jill. We got it about 3 years ago. She lived in a bungalow and just couldn't use stairs at all. Before we got it we tried the old pull and push but she got so distressed that we had to do something more practical. Also, it was causing us some back strain! I'm not actually worried about recouping the cost, or even part of it. I just thought someone might be able to make use of it for a comparitively cheap price. It was worth the cost to us just to have her visit and see her grandchildren and great-grandchildren who all live near to us.

Yeah - hindsight is a wonderful thing

Ours was an Acorn. As I've already indicated, they will try to help you sell a second-hand one. They won't buy it off you to sell on themselves. When I spoke to them they told me it was very rare to find a buyer for a second-hand one, in their experience. But I suppose they would say that, wouldn't they We've exhausted every possibility without success (along with hundreds of others on eBay it would seem). I suppose people who are given grants from Soc.Servs to buy one would rather buy a new one. There is also the issue of the track - it's purpose made for each property. The chances of one of my neighbours (with the same staircase as me) needing one must be fairly low I would have thought. If so, they would have seen our adverts in the local paper / shops. But thanks for the link - I'll look into it. I did look into it. They only cover Leicestershire and Warwickshire The other companies 'seeking second hand stair lifts' only buy back their own brands - Acorn don't.

I think you'll find that the Private Members' Bill was promoted by Dr Evan Harris, the Liberal MP for Abingdon. If such a Bill is on the agenda, the Prime Minister is duty bound to discuss the matter with the Queen as it materially affects her. So he wasn't 'spouting about this when there were more important things to worry about, was he?

We haven't had 10 years of Socialism. We've had 12 years of a Labour government. HTH

A few weeks ago we had quite a lively discussion on here about stair lifts and I said I'd let you know how I got on if I tried to sell ours. Sadly, I have now had to try to find a home for the one we had installed for when my mother visited. Firstly, I phoned the manufacturer. They don't buy back stair lifts. They do offer to manage the sale of a second hand one, by placing adverts in the local press (for which we paid) and fielding telephone calls if required. We asked them to take calls for us because of shift work / me often being in meetings. There was not one single enquiry. We then put it on eBay, asking for £350 - the charge the manufacturer makes to decommission it and reinstall it elsewhere. Not one single enquiry - there were hundreds on there and it looked like none of them were sold. We also put cards in local shop windows - no joy. I then contacted Social Services to see if they wanted it for free. Apparently, the way it works is this. If someone needs any sort of mobility aid they are given the money to manage themselves, rather than Social Services paying for and installing such an aid. This is because, these days, people are encouraged to manage their own needs with the money provided to do this. So Social Services didn't want it either. (The NHS do not install / pay for the installation of mobility aids. It is always Social Services). So we've dismantled it ourselves and will try to sell it for scrap. Without wishing to actually say 'told you so' - well, um, told you so

I referred you to this: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-thatchers-baleful-influence-lives-on-760508.html which describes well the 'influence' Thatcher and Reagan had in deregulating the Finance industry. Perhaps you haven't had time to read it yet? I don't quite get your connection between 'blaming Thatcher' and 'waxing lyrical' about Tony Benn (he renounced the Wedgewood bit in the 70s - he had to campaign to be allowed to do this). What point are you trying to make here?

Because you're Dog, right?