Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

that is very common, but you're right to be very wary

Cynic,

"this year, it'll be the usual +/-200 miles just south of the loire - loches (just south of tours), valencay, buzancais, poitiers, parthenay, loudun and back to loches"


Is that the current geriatric cycle race.

Won't boast again of how I took part in the Tour de France when I was sixty.
-----------

I was married when I was a student and both my wife and I were on very limited incomes.

But we lived well, because we knew what and how to prepare food and cook it.
Also, had enough sense to go to the butchers "Greiges" about half and hour before they closed, to buy corners of bacon, rolled pork leg and trotters, not sure where we bought the lamb legs shanks and any beef we had was “cheaper” cuts.

After, that it was MacFisheries to buy the chickens livers, gizzards, hearts and wings. Fish if there was a “bargain” and salted for later.

Then the final haul for the week was down to the open air market, which was just closing and buying the vegetables and fruit which was left out and being sold off, by the stall owners who were too “tired” to put them away over the weekend and Monday.

Lentils and Beans from the Asian shops.

It seemed fun, but we knew how to salt some meat, process some vegetables and prepare food.

Other students used to come to our “flat” for meals and sometimes provide the “drinks”, in those days we didn’t imbibe much.

However, we knew how to “cook”, many other students were clueless, like much of the present population of this country.

Also, I managed to marry a woman, the nationality of my wife being known by the number of fridges her mother had and also the skill level of the mothers.

Good days.

========

we cycle just for fun ..... we only do 40/50 miles a day depending on terrain as that gives plenty of time to see sights, smell the flowers, have a pastis and a nice picnic (usually) lunch ..... it is also a prerequisite that we stay in towns/villages that can offer decent food

as for your cooking exploits, you're quite right, though confess i have never even thought about let alone tried to salt fish .... of course, fish is no longer cheap, and indeed there's no reason why it should be .... after all, who on earth would want to be out in a trawler in the atlantic or baltic in mid winter - or even at the beginning of summer as we now are!

I wonder how much lower Osborne can stoop with his correlations between Welfare System, Philpotts case and lifestyles of those on benefit.

He should remember his Bulllingdon club behaviour and the disconnect of his lifestyle with the majority of society.

He is an insult to politics and a very unpleasant little man.

Why do you harp on about his behaviour when he was a student? Are you that desperate find something to complain about? I think Osborne is doing avoid job. You may have noticed that Cable often compliments Osborne on his policies.

apart from thomas cromwell and denis healey, i'm not sure who would be rated as fine chancellors ..... george osborne certainly lacks charisma - unlike dh - but only history will be able to judge his efficacy in a time of huge international financial difficulty and crisis, exacerbated by the augean mess left by his predecessor, darling darling

Beat me to it Fred.

Just posted this on twitter and loads re tweeting it..........

Mick Tarquin Kipper‏@MickKipper

I see George Osbourne is using the Philpots as examples as people on welfare. The chancelor is SCUM and people should see through this.

confess i cannot see the relevance either other than the fact that he is currently very high profile, for obvious reasons ......however, it is certain that philpott had worked out exactly how to milk the system for all it was worth .... shame he wasn't obligated to work that hard to find a job or lose (all) his benefits

Denis Healey was quite good and I would add Nigel Lawson and Ken Clarke.

Fred hope you dont mind Ive re tweeted your excelent above post on twitter to my 2 threads which have 16,000 followers.

They should pass it on and expose the chancelor for what he really is, desperate out of touch and a weak little man who knows he and his sidekick Cameron face getting kicked out by their own party after the local elections.

golfinger is becoming as bizzare as Fred.

i think sticky must be suffering from SAD :-)

btw sticky, why have you dropped the attack against me re eating well on a % of the £56?
surely you haven't decided that i really
knew what i was talking about? :-)

Hays,

Osbornes' formative days seemed to be inveigled in his period as Bullingdon club members. His core values seem to be espoused by the values of that group, many of whom are in the present elitist government now, he has an ongoing disconnect with present society.

As describe by a tory MP, the cabinet is made up of "Posh Boys" and rants like his to-day are reinforcing the publics opinion of the present government.

It is laughable, when Osborne's drink bill for a week is probably more than unemployment benefit for somebody who has been made redundant or on basic pay gets for a month.

The same group, descry pensioners who may have worked honestly all their lives on survival incomes and live in "social" housing where they brought their kids up, now having to move out of their homes, because they can't afford the "bedroom tax".

Uprooting them from the social support and often families.

They are ill thought out, impractical policies which will come home to haunt the coalition at the next election.

I think it is right that they do. I only hope the next government of whatever blend will be more socially responsible and not rush into ill thought out actions without considering the consequences.

People wonder why the people are becoming "uncaring". When you look you can see that they emulated the Thatcher ethos and having that reinforced by the standards of the present government.

It is not what one has done that counts, but what one can get away with for oneself.

Cyners I used to think Nigel Lawson was a very decent chancelor. Come out with some rubbish of late mind but in his day was up their with the best.

you may be right; i don't recollect though good old Wiki will probably give a useful potted history and appraisal .... leon britton may have had a decent stab too

The size of Osborne's drink bill has no bearing on what people have on benefits. I would guess that there are many who's drink bill are even bigger. I don't think the government are uncaring. They are just trying to cut the benefit bill, which is one of the UK's biggest expenditures.

Skunk head .......whats his name ohh Lamont was useless imo.

GF. happy.

To be honest I am just challenging positions, but have no claim to purity.

I suppose my main irritation is the bloody hypocrisy and dishonesty of the con men in charge at present.

I have soem respect for the guy, who says that he himself is a bastard and acts like one, even though I may dislike him.

The "posh boys" probably have better brains than they sometimes appear to have. Why don't they use them for the overall good, rather than for themselves and those who have bought them.

=============

"...however, it is certain that philpott had worked out exactly how to milk the system for all it was worth .... shame he wasn't obligated to work that hard to find a job or lose (all) his benefits"



I think the same could be applied to the bankers, money lenders and tax avoiders hiding their "true" incomes abroad.

It would be nice to have a clean sheet and draw up the rules again.

B. difficult to do though.


----------------

Rants over for to-day.

Off to make a lentil, bean and pork soup and a date and bread and butter pudding, as a peace offering for to-night "supper".

Latest stats and still going very strong on the I D Smithgate affair.......


Sign this petition

with 419,089 supporters

80,911 NEEDED

At this rate the 1 million will be collected to table a debate in parliament. ( wasnt set up for this but talk now of transfering this over)

Going to be some very embarrased Torries when this happens and wouldnt put it past all the libs and right wing torries to vote with Labour.

Thanks Fred appreciated. Already lost one dissaffected follower but at same time loads and lods re tweeting your 2 articles. CHEERS.