tonyXIII

Of course she did! She just didn't like your camera.

Good luck, Bleep!

I've got a piece of sellotape on my finger, too. I can't remember why.

As soon as you mentioned BMW, I knew it would be about some berk doing something selfish. By their actions cars penis extensions shall ye know them.

What? Haven't they finished that bloody cricket match yet?

Did you buy any of his potions first? Let us know how you get on with the ex-lovers.

Is that what is meant by "the scenic route?"

Just finished "The Last Voyage of the Valentina" by Santa Montefiore. A decent story, but, imo, an unsatisfactory ending. With no 'new' books to go at, I'm now re-reading "The Wind in the Willows". Wallowing in nostalgia for my lost youth. I (probably my dad, actually) bought the book when I was about ten. The world was a different place.

Just had to turn the central heating back on after about 10 days without it. It's not freezing, but it is cold here in Crete. IN LATE MAY! I blame Trump.

Be careful what you wish for. The grass is not greener on this side of the fence. Life is better, but pay is worse - much worse. I couldn't afford to live here if I didn't own my house (so no rent) and I couldn't afford to move back to the UK (due to rent prices) unless I went back to work. Wild horses wouldn't drag me back into a UK school, so I am kind of stuck here. Good job I like it. I know you have had some issues recently and I really hope things take a turn for the better for you, but I don't think moving to Greece is the answer. Good luck with everything.

Bentley hatchback!!! That is just SO wrong!

Sure am, mate.

It's persisting down here. I thought we'd seen the last of winter, but it returned yesterday with a vengeance.

Well done, Kiyan!

By "something better", do you mean golf?

Hope things get better for you, Bleep.

Don't feel bad. If someone chooses to lead with their chin, it's almost direspectful not to punch them on it.

Good for you. Use that time to good effect. Good luck.

I lived in North Manchester as a boy, so Bury was just up the road. Maybe it was a local thing. Thanks to you and Futtocks for the replies.

On the Rant thread, Bleep mentioned eating black pudding at St.Helens and liking it. I have a question but didn't want to derail the other thread, so here it is. Bleep didn't mention how his black pudding had been cooked. Today, it seems that the default method for this delicacy is frying slices of the long, cylindrical stuff wrapped in plastic (edit: remove the plastic before frying). However, when I was young, my mum used to buy it in a real skin, tied in 'horseshoe' shape. She would boil it for about 5 minutes and serve it for tea with lots of pepper, bread and butter and a large cup of tea. When I first came across fried black pudding, I was quite taken aback. Does anyone else do boiled black pudding?

It's too much like hard work. Or should that be "hard works"?

The posts on here about misdirected feminism reminded of my dad. He was a teacher back in the 40s and up to the 80s. some time after equal pay for women came in, he told me it was a mistake. I thought, "You're mad." However, his was a pov based on the social structure of a previous generation. Men go out to work and women stay home and raise the children, so pay men a much better salary and women a much lower salary. Sexist! Really? In the context of his upbringing - early 20th century - is it so ridiculous? Probably not. But it'll never come back and that's probably for the best, but it does imply a truly significant change in the structure of society.

Be careful! Bifocals and varifocals take some getting used to. You might want to avoid staircases when wearing them. I wear a very thin pair of reading glasses when teaching (I can see the students over them and read the book through them - much like bifocals). I once forgot to take them off, walked out of the classroom and missed my step on the staircase. I avoided a nasty fall only by reaching out and grabbing the bannister. You have been warned.

That struck a chord! I thought I was just getting old and cranky, but you're right. I've become a lazy thinker. WOW! Thanks for that. BTW. I'm serious. No irony intended.

You should create a few 'dummy personae' and post comments. Perhaps enlist some friends to help you. Then you could moderate all these new comments to show how even-handed you are. Once you're up-and-running, you could morph into a news channel and go head-to-head with CNN, Fox and the BBC. After all, news doesn't have to be true any more, does it? You make your own news. Farmduck News Corp coming to a channel near you, soon! Yay!