Speckled Hen

I'm sure they know what they're doing and it'll be worth it in the long run

Yes. It is a pity folk planted pines in the first place.

Platillo's isn't in Crosspool. It is in Leopold Square.

Don't worry about it. There isn't a betting shop in Leopold Square yet.

seems to be a fair bit of unrest, protesting and violence happening in various countries lately

 

Thailand

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25825872

 

ukraine

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25823091

theres talk that the far right are instigating violence in Ukraine

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25826238

Perhaps they need Tony Blair as Peace Envoy.

Thatcher happened to the breweries. She thought they were too powerful so she abolished tied houses and forced them to sell off most of the pubs they owned. While she may have had a point about brewery power, the policies were ill thought through and badly executed and pubcos are the genie she let out of the bottle.

 

The best pubs nowadays are almost always Free Houses and introducing a scheme a bit like Right to Buy, where landlords could buy their way free of a brewery tie, would've been much more effective at transforming pubs into a real, functioning free market. With heavyweight Tory donors like Hugh Osmond (founder of Punch Taverns) throwing their weight around though, the industry was always going to end up concentrated back in the hands of a powerful few. That's basically why the pub industry is where it is.

 

Fifty-odd pubs a week are closing and while people drinking less is an issue, a lot of those pubs are still perfectly capable of operating at a modest profit if they didn't have an overbearing, debt-ridden Pubco to support. The trouble is, the Pubco has no interest in letting these pubs go independent so they can compete with their other pubs, so that's why they have a second industry turning old pubs in to houses and flats. A very profitable second industry it is, too.

A tricky one that. I look at the pubs around Sheffield in the 1980s and they were sheds. If you were lucky you could get Tetleys, Whitbread, Stones, Wards and Charrington beers, but one only per pub, with a choice of take it or leave it in most pubs. Now I can find 50 pubs around Sheffield where I can find more choice in the one pub than was available in half the city.

They weren't illegal.

That's a matter for debate. The fact that his role as peace envoy has left the middle east as a hot bed of violence and civil war isn't.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/legal-staff-ruled-blairs-war-illegal-1877854.html

Tony Blair is to be presented with claims that his decision to topple Saddam Hussein by force was illegal before his appearance at the Iraq inquiry this week. Two senior Whitehall lawyers are expected to claim that the former prime minister's decision to send British troops to aid the US-led invasion was illegal as it did not have the clear backing of the United Nations.

Sir Michael Wood, the most senior lawyer at the Foreign Office before the war, will give evidence to the inquiry tomorrow. His deputy, Elizabeth Wilmshurst, who resigned in 2003 in protest over military action, will also appear. It is thought they will suggest they believed military force was illegal without an explicit UN resolution giving approval for the invasion.

Britain and the US tried to secure such a resolution to put an end to the legal doubts, but failed to convince their UN partners. Ms Wilmshurst has never spoken publicly of events that led to her resignation; Sir Michael has never admitted advising the Government that the war would be illegal.

The man who took Britain into 2 illegal wars became Peace Envoy to the Middle East in 2007. How has the job gone so far? I'm not impressed, although his bank manager probably is.

I saw it too. I think it's going to be called something like 'Real Texas BBQ'. I hope it's good. I wondered when this sort of thing would catch on over here, what with The Common Room and Relish having a go at it. I have to say though, having had the real thing in America and trying the latter here, I'm a little disappointed.

I tried Damon's a few years back and thought they had copied it badly. If the cuts aren't available you can't do the dishes.

That is hardly a realistic reply. As is being demonstrated on a daily basis there are terrorists and jihadists around who are happy to blow themselves to bits as long as they can take others with them.

So as the no bombs option only exists in your little Utopia, I'll ask again which option you prefer.

 

1... Car bomb explodes in Baghdad killing 30 people.

2... Car bomb explodes in Whitby killing 30 people including several of your friends and relations.

I suppose if the car bomb is going to explode the further away it is the better particularly if some of those killed by the bomb were themselves plotting the next bomb attack.

People often brand themselves prats on this forum; usually the don't realise they're doing it.

Don't you? Well never mind I'm sure someone will point it out to you.

---------- Post added 10-12-2013 at 00:30 ----------

The clue is in the thread title; Girls!! Would you go out with a guy who didn't have a car?

But you choose to add the bit about it being the only indication of success.

It's not a certainty at all. You even admit to knowing of such people in your following sentence. You know of another one now - me. I don't understand why you assume everybody who can afford to buy a car would choose to do so.

Loser. Loser Loser.

I don't know you and probably don't want to. The other folk I know who don't drive who could afford to aren't old enough otherwise they would.

You are simply making a statement that you are some weirdo like the ones who won't have a TV or a phone. Yes you can live like that but why would you want to? You can live without central heating, double glazing a passport or man made fibres. But if you can afford not to you just brand yourself as a prat.

What are you.. Amish?

Provoking points Speckled Hen, I guess it depends how one describes success and whether financial success makes up for a lack of success in other areas-emotional/social.

 

Throughout my professional life I've encountered many people who've been extremely successful financially, but are unable to maintain relationships because they've made their material success pre-eminent, in other words they 'believe' it compensates for other shortcomings in their lives and personalities. But over time it constipates a relationship, what's the point in driving a car or wearing a diamond that a dullard bought you?

 

I know more frustrated women who are the beneficiaries of the largesse of wealthy men, than I do happy women who are with emotionally intelligent men who communicate and have a genuine interest in them, that's what maintains a relationship and through experience realise what we're all seeking from a partner.

 

The other point to remember is how competitive the marketplace is, the financially successful man who looks like Brad Pitt is a rare 'prize', purely for superficial reasons, and he knows it-in fact he doesn't even have to be high on the eye candy scale. The swivel heads who patrol Nonna's, Napoleon's or West 10 hoping to catch his attention will invariably encounter a rude awakening when they discover he isn't exclusive to them

I never mentioned the largesse of women. I was replying to Cyclone who was doing his best to misquote me to try to get out of a corner.

Sucess or lack of it have little baring on whether you can maintain a relationship, although a life in the spotlight may well.

But certainly If a person has the ability to afford a car he will buy one. I know of very few folks who could afford a set of wheels who don't drive other that through infirmity. I don't understand why you assume that folk with money to buy a car would be more likely to be dullards than folk who wear cycle clips.

There are some wonderful pubs & restaurants out in Derbyshire that are only accessible to motorists or very fit cyclists. I'm sure a romantic weekend away in the Yorkshire Dales is possible without a car, but if you have to set off back 15 minutes after you arrive it is pretty pointless.

So because you've seen your directors park their cars, the only definition of success is to own a car.. How very... Limited.

Who said the only definition of success was to own a car? That would be you. Your mind seems very limited.

Successful people have the ability to buy things. So they own nice houses, nice cars, nice clothes. They take nice holidays and eat in nice restaurants.

If you go to a nice restaurant you see the nice cars of the successful people parked outside.

I drove through Dore this morning and I don't think I passed too many of the successful people's houses that didn't have at least 2 cars parked outside.

Do you consider yourself successful? If so do you own a car? If so why?

---------- Post added 09-12-2013 at 10:10 ----------

I would think success is something we each personally define, for ourselves? Sure, financial success is nice, but there are many ways and standards by which we can measure ourselves and aspire to be better.

This may be true but the first thing a footballer does when he hits the big time is to buy a big set of wheels and a new Rolex.

Oh dear, that's not good. Strange since vandals don't tend to have the balls to graffiti prominent buildings. I think Sheffield actually has some pretty nice and interesting street art (I use that phrase to differentiate between something which actually looks good/has artistic merit and something which is just messy scribbles) and generally in the well used parts of town you don't see much graffiti.

 

I tell you what though, you want to see a proper case of nice buildings ruined by graffiti, go to Copenhagen. I have never seen such swathes of graffiti covered buildings. Nice ones too, in the city centre.

There's a difference between authorised street art and defacing a building. The mural on the Riverside is a case in point.

Did someone pass a memo that made car ownership the definition of success?

Judging by the directors who park their Jaguars in the numbered parking spaces at work and those that chain their bikes to the fence I would say yes.

Oh how nice to see the big wigs at Unite begging on their bended knees.

 

For a union used to holding the country and government to ransom, they're now holding out their little hands pleading that their members get their jobs back!

 

Irony. Nice.

When £55,000 average salary and a final salary pension scheme with retirement at 57 just isn't enough. I'm thinking that might no longer be on the table.

This has all gone very quiet

The charitable trust is in a hard position. Nobody is disputing that.

 

Does that justify breaking the rules and selling off capital assets that were gifted along with instructions that they never be sold?

I suppose you could look at it like this.

You are allowed to live in a stately home rent free provided you maintain it in a good state of repair. But you decide that if you allowed the gate house to fall into disrepair and sold it your family could each buy a new Jag and flat screen TV.

The only problems are that the property doesn't belong to you, and that irritating requirement that you look after the place. Apart from that it's a great plan.:help:

SCC and SIV are fully to blame.

 

It is an athletics stadium, so get some athletics in it.

 

A good rule in event management - if you can't get a top event to you then create your own. Maybe not with the top stars, but get local athletes in, admission £1 each to public, then make money on drinks and food, plus merchandise sales.

 

What did they decide to go - create a festival where there was no athletics, but live bands and tv screens.

Just spotted that Belfast is hosting the World Fire & Police Games. That's the sort of event that would have fitted perfectly into the stadium. I thing those running the stadium just lacked vision.

---------- Post added 01-08-2013 at 13:56 ----------

There seems to be a battle going on between the cities of Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield where each is trying to outdo the other, whether it's shopping, airports, entertainment etc. I think Sheffield should stop playing catch up and be a driver.

Well we lost our airport, stadium and now the Sevenstones shopping development. Perhaps Sheffield's bus just has the wrong drivers.

Do Council staff, Planners and Councilors get free parking while going about Their job.

Why is it O.K. for council vehicles to park while going about their every day job without getting tickets.

If it ok for them then that is unfair on other citizens and businesses who need to work and park in the city centre.

This often seems to also happen when the utility companys are working in an area, it is an unfair advantage over private companys .

That's an interesting question. Some years ago I ran a factory for a multi national. I had a company car and my own parking space in the factory car park.

I transferred to Sheffield where the car park wasn't large enough for all the company cars already there and was issued with a parking pass for a car park that was also used by the public as well as public sector staff.

After a few weeks the tax man got on to me about taxing my parking as payment in kind, even though I didn't actually receive anything I hadn't been receiving previously. We did mention that the staff of several council offices including the town hall also used this car park. It seems to have been resolved by the council taking over the entire car park and allowing their employees to park for free.

Ironically I have attended several meetings at the town hall and have been issued free parking passes for the very car park I used to park in. It's not really packed out.

I take your point, but some of the stuff about it being difficult to get to the city centre or their being a lack of parking available and it being difficult to find, is clearly not true.

 

There are as many parking spaces in the city centre as there are in Meadowhall, there are lots of new multi-storey car parks all easily accessible from the Inner Ring Road and the city centre is easy to get to. Sure, the roads are busy at peak times, but they are everywhere.

 

The area where the cheap car parks are situated is part of the city centre and some people find them useful. They are for example very convienient for Castle Market area and Wicker.

You just don't get it do you. There are parking spaces but not where people want to park. There are cheap rates but not when people want to park. You can make up what stories you like but Hammersons are moving their investment to Leeds not Sheffield. The city centre is dominated by Pound shops and pawn brokers and still those in charge try to fob folk off with tales of cheap parking if you don't mind parking where and when they tell you.

Is there a problem with immigration ?..since when ?

About 1959.

graves park starts friday till sunday

That'll be nice. It's a bit of a swamp up there following the rains.

Only in Sheffield. They've been very busy in other towns and cities.

 

I think its a chicken and egg situation. Sheffield ranks low in attracting business and city break tourists. They don't come because of poor publicity (Sheffield council's idea of tourism is to send them OUT of the city to the Peak District and keep their best industrial museum closed on a Saturday).

I'm not sure that protest marches did us any favours either.

I presume this is the stone built house at the end of the Upper part of Cobnar Road, where Cobnar Road becomes a footpath leading down to Woodseats? The house with the yard used as a through-cut to the park? Hmm...I wonder if it will include the outbuildings too?

And then of course they will want just a bit more parkland for a garden, and then a bit more for a garage, and as happened with the farm they will ask for a bit more to make it more private from the playing fields, and then a bit more for.. etc etc.

It's more that proper steam coal is tricky to get because not many people want it. Anthracite is generally supplied in too small a grade to be useful in a locomotive firebox - it falls out the grate!

I'm puzzled why it should be a problem. These guys aren't doing the London to Edinburgh express or a 600 ton night freight. They can put any grid in the firebox and burn any coal as the longest steam line is only around 18 miles and rather lacking in gradients.