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.

Greek, nah, I was Lucy the Slut from Avenue Q, gave the game away when I tried to dib my dob round the back of the tent with gorgeous Gaynor.

Tabby, if Alistair comes on I change channels!

Greekman,

do you by chance mean woggle vice wattle?

from a Google search of wattle....

Urban Dictionary: turkey wattle
turkey wattle - 1 definition - It is a vagina thats been used and abused.

Kim,

Thank goodness for that. I do have certain standards you know.

Robert A,

Yep. Your right Woggle not Wattle.
Like your definition though, but not going there.

Ok taken my medication, back to normality now.

Tabasco,

When I look a Alistair Darling, I'm amazed that his puppet master Gordon Brown can work him from so far away.
Did anyone else see GB's gaff today when he said faced by David Cameron's first question, on why his multi-billion-pound banks bailout had failed to filter down to the taxpayer, the PM replied: "We not only saved the world..." instead of "Saving the banks".
There appeared to be mass hysteria, even among his own benches. The only one stony faced was GB. I'm not in any way a Tony (I'm a straight sort of Guy Blair) fan but he would have laughed it off. GB doesn't have a clue. Anyone can make a gaff, it's how you deal with it that can make the difference.
GB's people skills are none.

Greek, it was all the talk of Rebecca - 'Last night I dreamed I went to Mandalay again' is the first line from Rebecca (Daphne du Maurier, book & film). Sorry, showing my age.

Yes. Did anyone strike out a Rebecca blow for animalkind and buy a Zoo magazine?

You know it makes sense. This month will end at the end of the month and they might just revert back to Jodie Marsh or something daft for next month.

Oh, and take your wife. It nearly worked with me. You might just be the first. ;-)

Get the Rebecca link now. As to Zoo magazine, what great free publicity for all such mags.

'Healthy wine'? I'm not sure I like the idea of this - defeats the object. Isn't part of the fun of drinking that you know its not good for you? They'll be inventing a wine that doesn't give you a hangover next. Where's the fun in that? Is nothing sacred? Hic!

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article5350578.ece

Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year to all. Thanks for the fun and interesting comments through a miserable year on the markets.

Seasons greetings to one and all.

As 2009 looks like being a bit of a bitch, remember a couple of points.

Yesterday is history
Tommorow is a mystery
But today is a gift, that is why it is called the present.

Problems are cowards. They never attack on their own. They hang around and attack as a gang, all at once. So celebrate the good times and the little victories. Make every nanosecond count, every reply sincere or witty or telling. Treat everyone as the most important person in the world. Then you will have your own personal gang for when the problems attack.
And even if it does get you down, the sun will still rise tomorrow, and children will still laugh, and one day, 2009 will be 20 years ago and you will start conversations by saying, "do you remember 2009 when we........................." and you will laugh at it all.

Have a great year everybody.

Alan

Cheers Alan, same to you and everyone! It may be a gloomy outlook but 2009 can still be a great year. Your health is your wealth; Alan can testify to that ;o)

Happy New Year fine people.

Happy New Year to all, and hoping it is a more prosperous one (not too difficult).

Greek.

Might be an election year when we get rid of this government....."Brown saving the world".....that really sums it up doesn't it !.

The 30 year rule allowed a small insight into the late 70's recently.
This caused me to pause and consider what happened then.
I'm sure you all remember, but as an aide memoire;
The sterling crisis. Oil shortages and rising petrol prices. The winter of discontent. The huge power wielded by the unions as union leaders hammered down the door of number 10 and demanded to be heard.
This was followed by the end of the steel industries, coal industries, car industries, engineering and manufacture in general.
Fast forward 30 years to a sterling crisis, an oil crisis, strikes starting in local government. The huge power wielded by financial and bank leaders as they hammer down the doors of number 10 demanding help.
The reaction of The Maggon in 1979 was to take them all on and shut down anyone who disagreed. What would she do now???
I disagreed with her policy at the time. The glories of the last 20 years have caused me to question whether I was right in my opposition of her. I now know that I was right in my opposition.
The powerful circles of opinion formers and the media are capito-centric, based almost exclusively in the south east. They had no qualms in supporting the destruction of an entire economy based in the north and midlands. Would they now support the end of our southern based financial industry? Would they hell.
Yes I hear the argument that the entire economy depends on our financial services, but in 1979, our economy was entirely dependant on manufacture and raw materials. There is almost no difference.
Tebbit was happy to tell miners, dockers, steelworkers et al to get on their bikes and look for other work. Will he now tell bankers to do the same?
The Maggon was lauded in the south for creating a hell hole in the north of despair amd ghetto to save the prosperous south. Who has the balls to tell the south to go to hell for the sake of the north?
I am not trying to portray an image of a divided country, or rest the blame and cure on the south. I am trying to draw the parallel of the late 70's / early 80's and now. The cure then was unpalatable and supported by many on here. If the same cure was applied now, there would be rioting in London.
So the question remains whether there is an alternative cure.
I suggested on here, some time ago that the best answer was for number 10 to guarantee secured payments of individuals. This has been done now in many ways and I still remain committed to the idea. Banks balance sheets will improve as less debt is written off and margins start to climb. The rest of the economy will benefit as people are more ready to spend.
In summary, GB is steering us in the right direction. Like The Maggon, he will need time for the benefits to work through. Unlike The Maggon, he will not be rescued by a war and he will not tell the whole south east to go to hell. For that, many should be thankful.

Just re-read that and I think I need a lie down. What a boatload of pompous crap.....................

Tony Blair is to receive the United States's highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, from his friend George Bush next Tuesday, at a White House ceremony during the latter's last week in office.

So that will be nice for him, won't it?

The medal, a five-pointed white star, was first introduced by President Harry Truman just after the second world war and later revived to reward eminent citizens for distinguished service in peacetime by president John F Kennedy.

Although among its previous 400 recipients there are American figures such as Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Bob Hope, Danny Kaye and Arnold Palmer, it has also been presented to every post-war president and to senior politicians and military men.

The medal is awarded "for especially meritorious contributions to security or the national interests of the United States, world peace or cultural or other significant public or private endeavours". It was not immediately clear last night under which heading the former prime minister had qualified. He is only the second British prime minister to receive the award, following Margaret Thatcher in 1991, though other recipients have included Lord Carrington, the former foreign secretary, and Lord Robertson, former defence secretary and secretary general of Nato.

Blair will find himself among others he will recognise. Donald Rumsfeld received the medal in 1977 for his original period in administration service; vice-president Dick Cheney got his in 1991; and President Bush has previously awarded other prominent figures involved in the Iraq campaign - Paul Bremer, the US's former director in Baghdad, General Tommy Franks, and George Tenet, former director of the CIA.

Blair was previously also awarded the US's other highest civilian honour, the Congressional Gold Medal, in 2003, for his support of the US invasion of Iraq, though he has never collected it.

He will receive next week's award alongside John Howard, the former Australian prime minister, and varo Uribe, the president of Colombia. A White House spokeswoman said the three were being honoured by the president "for their efforts to promote democracy, human rights and peace abroad".

The award was criticised by the Lib Dems, but Blair's spokesman said he regarded the medal as reflecting the courage of the British armed forces.

Presumably it allows him to give out free milky bars!

I think it is quite right that Tony Blair receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

I would just love to be the person that presents the award, as long as I could put it where those 5 points would do the most good.

I had a dream.

Dreamt last night that the FTSE finished 2009 back above 6000 points. Unfortunately those sharing my bed (Girls Aloud) did not agree.

If only dreams came true even partly. Now which part of my dream would I choose, and what are the odds.


Could have been down to all that Flu medication.
Still unusual dream (the ftse that is).

I sometimes dream of girls - but not aloud. I do it quietly and whilst I am asleep.

I think my wife suspects something, because she keeps saying to me, particularly whilst we are shopping, "In your dreams!" ;-)

I've just seen the news covering the guy that jumped into a frozen lake to save his dog. I must say I'm not sure I would have done the same thing.