DiggsUK

I think the nack is to have succeded in doing all those things you wanted to when young. If the test were to take into account the last 10 years only, only the pie-eating would drag me down... Regards

I thought this would be about 'The Jam' - one of the best bands to come out of the UK ever! Personally I like 'Eton Rifles', 'Going Underground' et al, but my fav. is 'Down In The Tubestation At Midnight' with probably the most memorable bass lines since 'Dirt' by the Stooges or 'Stranger On The Town' by the Damned. Never mind.... Regards

Sadly Edna 'tis true - nothing major or pervy you understand, just all those things one does when 'growing up'. Come to think of it, one trip to Amsterdam could probably have given me a 70 stretch and no pocket money for 10 years by itself! Hanging one's head in shame.... Regards

111 years in prison and a £7,000 fine. Can't be right..... Regards

What about 'The Second St.Valentines Day Massacre'? Regards

Katie, I do think that's the one! If you could make me a CD I would be truly in your debt. I'll pay for postage of course. Thank you. Iain

Edna, feel free to set a question... Regards

I first got into the Stooges after hearing a compilation of unknown Australian bands doing covers. I taped it and wore it out. If any of our Aussie contributors know anything about this double album, I would be most grateful for a shout as I would love to get hold of a copy. Regards

Is it 'Unchained Melody'? Regards

A handsome pair of gents, Shawna. Looks like you had decent weather for it too. Any tales of drunkeness, lewd behaviour, fighting or long-kept secrets revealed? Regards

Edna, I used to dream of a Renault 5 Gordini myself, so i know where you are coming from on this one. Regards

Me too. I was going to ask Miss Vicky whether that is her real or 'working' name, but I shan't for fear of causing offence. Plus, some seedy low-life here has probably posed this question already...... Regards

I agree with Kevin and Marc. Terrorists choose 'soft' targets because operations are easiest to conduct for all manner of reasons, availabilty of explosives and 'carriers' being fundamental in this instance. The other major factor here is the lack of effective intelligence on the part of the Indonesian security services. In the West most anti-terrorism measures are covert and intelligence-lead as opposed to via a visible security presence, and to achieve this requires years of 'mixing' with the groups and communities involved on an international level, something the Indonesian security services probably haven't been able to achieve yet. Unfortunately as Kevin rightly says, the image portrayed by Westerners in Bali doesn't help, and one can understand how resentment exists that can be magnified by 'brainwashing' techniques on the part of the terrorist leadership. The West needs to understand the reasons for this resentment and do something positive to counter it before this sort of incident will stop IMO. Regards

No, Marc LeMar is a jerk, but he still entertains me. JR is a very funny man with an eye for the ladies plus 4 poofs and a piano. I listen to Radio 2 on Saturday mornings on the supermarket run, and look forward to shopping because of it. I can't quite get a handle on Suicide and some of the more obscure Roxy Music tracks, but most of is is up my alley. Regards

I take my hat off to that chap! If I could write like that I would do so on a regular basis, and probably earn a living from it. A spewtum-filled rectum is surely an image to behold, as is the thought of call centre full of testicle-jugglers.... Regards

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Its a tingling in my spider-senses, you have time on your hands at the moment plus the extra cash always comes in handy.... If I have offended you in any way ladies..... typical, eh? Regards

Why do I think Miss Vicky and Foxy are in fact two alter-egos of the same person? Regards

Just a thought - anybody heard who will be getting the contracts for cleaning-up, rebuilding and waste disposal yet? I just hope Mr Bush won't make the mistake of having companies with links to his cronies make billions out of this. Couldn't happen..... could it? Regards

Its been harrowing to watch, the main news item over here since it happened. From what I can understand there will be a backlash against the Government as a result of their gross dereliction of duty towards their own citizens, and quite right too. I don't know how it is reported in the US, but over here the emphasis now is upon the lack of urgency on the part of the Government, the inferrence being that had those affected been white, middle-class types they would all have been evacuated much sooner. It appears Mr Bush has distanced himself from the images to avoid reinforcement of the link between himself and the disaster, and that he has offered up a fall-guy in his place. I can't imagine for one minute the population will be hoodwinked by this though, and that ultimately it will be Mr Bush that takes the blame for the inaction. It was interesting to see the 'fall-guy' interviewed yesterday and the interviewer asked why it had taken 5 days for supplies to reach some people in the US, when supplies were being dropped within 2 days in the recent Tsunami disaster. He didn't have an answer.... I have talked about gun control before, and the sight of armed gangs roaming around the streets and waterways makes me glad we don't have the same attitude to weapons over here. Perhaps if there were fewer guns the matter of getting food & water to those that need it would have been simplified, as would the evacuation. Maybe private individuals would have been more willing to help if they didn't run the risk of being shot for their efforts? The article posted by Amy showing the prediction of this was amazing! We all know that this sort of event cannot be prevented, however a little more planning on the part of the authorities could have made so much difference. This is something we will all end up paying for. You can bet multinational insurers will bump up premiums abroad to recoup the US loss, oil prices have already gone up, and the fear of flooding will make Governments thing again about the amount of land they release for housing development. This will lead to a reduction in land supply and a consequential increase in the cost of that still available, increasing the price of housing in those countries affected. Sounds far-fetched I know, but in the crowded UK it will have a real impact upon the price of housing in the south & east particularly, where our John 'two-Jags' Prescott was considering a relaxation on the use of floodplains to ease land shortage. You can bet that he won't do it now. The clear-up will be horrendous. We had a cellar flood a few years ago, and whilst it didn't take long to get rid of the debris, the smell of chemicals and sewage didn't go for months. All that contaminated water was added to the river system ultimately. Multiply that pollution by many millions and you have whole ecosystems wiped out, with a ripple effect around the whole world. The human race will be the master of its own end. Cheery thought. Regards

I sometimes leave my kids in the car if I need to pop into a shop for milk and such. My biggest wory is that they will trash the insides. I would never do it on a slope.... Regards

It was a news item for a couple of days over here, with no mention I can recall of the 3 day mourning period. Perhaps Iraq is a bigger subject in the US than in the UK? I got to thinking about the foreign aid question, and couldn't work out what other countries could do except express sympathy. Financial assistance would be a drop in the ocean to the US, and practical assistance would be impractical given the problem is immediate and requires helicopters to fly in food/water and fly people out to transit points. I wonder how quickly all the people trapped could be picked up if the thousands of helicopters in the US were 'requisitioned' Dunkirk style for a day or two? Regards

Its a hoary old chestnut, this one. I'm convinced that regardless of wishes of populations, Governments don't give aid to other countries unless there is something in it for them. The old adage about the 'free lunch' rings true IMO. We as individuals give money with no calculated return, but Governments do not. What probably gets up the noses of non-western countries is the scale of media attention given to this particular disaster, in comparison with disasters in their own countries that kill many more, but receive little attention from anybody. The 1000 people killed in Iraq recently when worshipers stampeded on a bridge fearing a suicide bomber springs to mind. Compare the amount of media coverage.... I'm in no way belittling(?) the effect of the hurricane on the (particularly poorer and less mobile) people of the deep south, just trying to understand why the perceived lack of support from other countries has happened. Regards

If it hasn't already been said, I will go for Fleetwood Mac. Oh bugger, it has.... Regards

I went up the A1 past Wetwang and close to Cockermouth recently. You know, many of these names were given when the districts were of 'dubious' repute, and were a direct reflection of what actually went on - saved on directions I suppose. This doesn't explain why there is a hamlet called 'Dog Bottom' near us though, or the reason for calling an East Anglian village close to where I once lived as Pulham St.Mary. Regards