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.

Yes yes, faults for sure, but this Land was a lot less green and pleasant then, with Government being only partly in control, due to huge power of unelected unionists who "probably" had a hidden agenda to cause economic trouble.
The Unemployed figure was not really any worse then, IMHO - today any white males over 50 are simply not counted.

Fat cats and loadsamoney = still with us, and it is endemic from the top of politics and commerce.

Moneyplus, you forgot to mention the Pension Pot MP's receive..... that "money can't buy" - along with over-generous pensions for all Local Authority pensioners - - - we are becomming a 2-tier state: for white males it starts at 50 and while ladies about 65 - as women gradually take over employment markets. At exec-level this is nearly white-male dominated ( but let's face it, they aren't exactly working for shareholders!) - so it may take some Legislation, but the Boards can expect a minimum 50% female target within the next 5-years, I expect.

The 2-tiers are those folk with well-funded pensions who will continue to have nice homes, holidays and cars - - - and others who have missed "private schemes" and rely on the State - they will be relyant on Winter Fuel payment, bus-passes and if they have their own house will find it is a mill-stone as all utility charges are at top prices, relative to their income. Car tax, speeding fines and insurance is still at levels that mean low-income homes are unduly hit making a car almost impossible to run except for those in employment.
Oddly it is a Labour Government that has made the existing situation even worse, esp in connection with Council Taxes anad "fines" to balance their books mainly aimed at motorists, because they are seen as an easy target.

Meanwhile our streets are being taken over by criminals, gun/knife gangs and supermarkets that dictate the shape and look of our shopping.
Their out-of-town emphasis means that you always need a car, or a good friend with one.

Bah, Humbug!

Maggie sent tropes to the Falklands because they were invaded ,she helped push Saddam out of Q8 because he invaded ,but do you really think she would have gone along with that moron Bush to kill 600 000 people in Iraq like Blair did ,i don't think so ,in fact she would have told him ,no no no .

Now i am seriously fed up.
I have just tried to tax my car online.
And it will not let me. It cannot, for the life of it, work out that even though my insurance expired at noon yesterday, a new one started at the same time. It will let me in 72 hours, and then I can wait 5 days for the disc through the post so I cannot use the car.
This was bad enough. The thought of shuffling along a queue of old ladies at the post office, all sniffling with cold and talking about dead friends fills me with dread. But then I called the DVLA to point out that their inability to operate a sensible computer system should not make me a criminal, and perhaps it would be better if they got real people to do the job instead of form 4b at the local primary school.
Typical of any large body, getting through the automated system and speaking to a real person was more difficult than getting Salman Rushdies home number from directory enquiries.
Today at least, my opinion is that the anti-christ walks among us, and he is employed as a high ranking civil servant.

Anyway i used to have weird dreams about Maggie when i was in my early 20's i don't want to go in to them here.

There quite beautiful ,, i'm sure it was all wrapped up with power and that stern look ..

Funny how you consider Bush a moron, but have a desire to live where (arguably) 50% of the population supported him..................................
Anyway, having pervy dreams about The Maggon is very suspect.
Can't you fantasise about Wilma Flintstone, like the rest of us normal types?

No Al since the war most americans don't support him ,and like you there is a lot about the USA i don't like, however in my mind i'm trading up from where i am now .I will have a swimming pool that i can use all year round, sunshine every day, and a big V8 engine that won't cost me my life savings to run.

Nothing wrong with dreaming about Maggie and where is Bos these days ????

Wilma more of a teasing little flirt though.
Dunno about Bos. I think he must have given up when the thread got beyond pictures of mucky wimmin.
And leave the big V8 out of it. My big V8 will sit quiet in the garage if the DVLA are left to organise something as difficult as road tax.

Well for today at least this thread should be called The Talk To Just About Everyone Thread.
But seriously, I have never seen so many opposing strongly held beliefs being aired on a thread where the level of good manners have remained.
Most such discussions would by now have descended into personal insulting comments.
We appear to have far more behavioral moral standings than out glorious leaders.
Perhaps we should start our own political party!
Donations to me via the Birmingham Port Authority PO Box FJ546 or the Project to protect the shorelines of Nottinghamshire PO Box 678A.

Famous people are dying of a drugs overdose and they are not Amy Winehouse or Pete Doherty and do not appear to know Kate Moss. Amazing or wot?

Aggie is still in. Amazing or wot? This just shows the power of the vote if you like good cleaning ladies.

And wot about Ashley Cole? Should Cheryl forgive him for all three times when he hadn't gotten Aimee pregnant on none of the occasions, because he was drunk at the time, anyhow? Allegedly.

Alan,

Inflation under Harold Wilson hit 27%

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/politicsobituaries/story/0,,563492,00.html

Under Calaghan 26%

http://www.austin-rover.co.uk/index.htm?govtf.htm

When Thatcher left office it was 9.48% and under John Major it went to 3.41%

http://www.euromonitor.com/pdf/wcssample.pdf

The Unemployment figures in Thatcher's time included people who were on the then equivalent to incapacity benefits.

Todays figures are 1,000,000 unemployed and 2,640,000 on incapacity benefits (they do not work). If you also add in the fact that kids at Uni aren't included in unemployment figures (in Thatchers time they had to be found jobs - now they just get sent off for a wasted 4 or 5 years at so called universities in my opinion just to keep them out of the unemployment figures) you come up with a far higher real jobless total than ever there was under Thatch.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7173453.stm

'Loadsamoney economy'? Would you rather have a 'nomoney' economy?

'North/South divide'? How can you blame her for that? There always was one - the difference being all the jobs used to be in the North. Under Thatcher us poor neglected Southerners got a look in - but the south still has the poorest county - Cornwall.

Jeffrey Archer? Pure gold in entertainment value (and I don't mean his books!).

Norman Lamont? Ditto.

The sinking of the Belgrano - a bit of a cheap shot if you read the circumstances surrounding it and it pails into insignifigence compared with Irag and Afghanistan under B Liar.

The poll tax - agree with moneyplus on that one.


I think the real reason you dont like her is that she didn't keep pigeons , wear a flat cap or race whippets!

hiya jimmy.

p.s. Sorry, that may have been a bit racist!

I'm thick skinned (and headed) Oblo. ;-)
Funny thing is, The Maggon was never popular in the north cos thats the area that suffered under her policies, to the benefit of the south. One could argue that the reverse was true of Blair. The south suffered (in terms of the council tax at least) for the benefit of the north.
Politics is one of those delicious areas were we will never all agree, and thats great, just how it should be.
But how come a pinko commie called Oblomov supports The Maggon?
Sorry, that may have been a bit racist. ;-)

No milk for schoolkids ........... less fat kids.

No milk for schoolkids ............. less fat dairy farmers.

I hasten to add that I actually think dairy farmers in this country get a bit of a raw deal.

I just admire the character in the book, Alan. He's everything I'd like to be, really. Fat, lazy and indecisive!! Still, you can't have everything!!!!!

What a good day , where have you been BOSLEY , come back ,we need you ..

Loving this thread guys - great manners, hilarious observations (mainly about Trev) and reminiscences and reasoned discussions about politics. Excellent :-)

gorgeous ,in her younger days.