Christmas Tree

Hmmm, but then you apparently missed what went on in the 80s. I'm actually quite surprised that as a taxi driver you aren't feeling the pinch a bit through petrol rises if nothing else. The thing is, you can't use personal experience or anecdotes to gauge what is happening, you need to look at regional and national statistics. Low growth, high inflation, pay freezes, and rising unemployment are evidently not good things, especially when you compare our economy relative to others, and our region to the South. And this is true whoever you blame things on. Given this, I would have thought you could be a bit more restrained in your childish triumphalism at the Conservative 'victory', as people are genuinely suffering from the cutbacks you can't apparently see. This is my main beef with you, and I suspect is why you're largely disliked on this board. Just a thought. Very Insightful response to a pretty straight post You are not telling me that the sudden leap in petrol is due to the tory cuts???? At least they have cancelled Labours sneaky rises that were due to come in. Im afraid ancedotes and how people feel is a lot more relevant than statistics. You can tell when something is eating away at the general public from your day to day life. This isnt as far as the people I come into contact with. I suspect its a bigger topic at the Polly Toynbee / Guardian loving dinner parties than the local. Nice little typical Renton dig btw. Always surfaces when you seem to have nothing current or to the point to say. I wouldn't know about these Guardian parties CT. Sorry for the dig but it's true, you're not liked, are you? Your tory rhetoric is bound to wind people up the wrong way on a Newcastle board. I'm not asking you to change your opinions but your gloating doesn't do you any favours. If the outcome is intentional, then that just makes you a wum. Which given some of your football threads is entirely plausible actually. Its starnge though how I seem able to have many political discussions on here with lots of people, yet it is only you who cries this war cry all the time. A tad sad really.

Where abouts in France are you again? The capital. Just tell him.

Hmmm, but then you apparently missed what went on in the 80s. I'm actually quite surprised that as a taxi driver you aren't feeling the pinch a bit through petrol rises if nothing else. The thing is, you can't use personal experience or anecdotes to gauge what is happening, you need to look at regional and national statistics. Low growth, high inflation, pay freezes, and rising unemployment are evidently not good things, especially when you compare our economy relative to others, and our region to the South. And this is true whoever you blame things on. Given this, I would have thought you could be a bit more restrained in your childish triumphalism at the Conservative 'victory', as people are genuinely suffering from the cutbacks you can't apparently see. This is my main beef with you, and I suspect is why you're largely disliked on this board. Just a thought. Very Insightful response to a pretty straight post You are not telling me that the sudden leap in petrol is due to the tory cuts???? At least they have cancelled Labours sneaky rises that were due to come in. Im afraid ancedotes and how people feel is a lot more relevant than statistics. You can tell when something is eating away at the general public from your day to day life. This isnt as far as the people I come into contact with. I suspect its a bigger topic at the Polly Toynbee / Guardian loving dinner parties than the local. Nice little typical Renton dig btw. Always surfaces when you seem to have nothing current or to the point to say.

"Deficit Deniers"

I still believe on the whole most people know this needs to be done and are just getting on with it. Its just not a day to day topic that is cropping up in my world, be that the school yard, the taxi or the pub. Think most people are just being a little bit more careful than usual. Everyone knows we all went a bit potty with credit and the re-adjustment has to happen. Heard on the news yesterday that it was the top 20% that lost out due to yesterdays changes.

While everythings not rosy, its still refreshing that the short list for this award is so.....short

The other thing worth noting is that the beginning of this tax year, yesterday, was meant to be the day when all the massive job losses were announced (according to Labour scaremongers). I dont know about other councils but Ive heard nothing locally about major job losses in South Tyneside. Could it be that this is being handled very carefully and more cost savings are being found. Maybe just not replacing natural wastage is also occurring. Im sure there will be job losses and each one is nasty for those involved, but the large scale job losses predicted last year dont seem to be happening here. What about elsewhere?

Where abouts in France are you again? My little 83 year old mother is well pissed off having just spent two months at my sisters in St Cyprien where the weather has been pretty wet by all accounts. Tried explaining that feb and march is technically still winter however shes not a happy bunny

poor bastards. Its night time there now as well I think.

Absolutely love this time of the year when the trees just start to get their new leaves.

Evening Chronicle Could be great news if it also encourages Barton to sign up.

You don't ask a barber if you need a haircut likewise you don't ask military men if they need ALL the kit in the world the main reason for buying the carriers was that they are going to be assembled in G Brown's back yard Precisely

Stick to the kids pool with his armbands on more like it. Chez and Renton are doing lengths. Guess which ones renton?

Well bit late getting going this year but have just ordered the following RHUBARB - GLASKINS PERPETUAL - 150 FINEST SEEDS, SWEET PEPPER - SWEET BANANA - 125 SEEDS, SWEET CORN - SWEETCORN - DOLCE - 50 FINEST SEEDS, PEA - PETITE POIS - WAVEREX - 400 FINEST SEEDS, CHERRY TOMATO - CERISE - 0.4GM APPROX 140 SEEDS GIANT SUNFLOWER - SKYSCRAPER - 4M PLUS - 40 SEEDS RADISH - CRIMSON GIANT- 1000 SEEDS TOMATO - TIGERELLA - 120 FINEST SEEDS, ITALIAN COURGETTE - COCOZELLE DI NAPOLI - 30 SEEDS CUCUMBER - MARKETMORE 76 - 80 FINEST SEEDS, PEA - FELTHAM FIRST - FIRST EARLY - 300 SEEDS ROCKET -WILD - 2000 SEEDS, ITALIAN COURGETTE - BIANCA DI TRIESTE - 25 FINEST SEEDS SWEET PEPPER - BIG RED - 100 SEEDS TOMATO - GARDENERS DELIGHT - 120 FINEST SEEDS SPINACH All from an excellent seller on ebay called premier seeds direct http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Premier-Seeds-Dir...sid=p4340.l2563 I was also at the garden centre today and they wanted 30-40 snots for fruit trees. Walking around Morrisons I found various apple trees such as Cox's and cherry trees etc for 5 snots a go. Bargain imo

Not awkward at all. It was global, however some countries were more exposed to it than others and have recovered from it quicker than us. You also have to add in the inherent debt (forgotten its proper name) that Labour had built up during its term in office. Did we have to bail the banks out to such a degree? Why are we not getting this money back now that the banks are raking the profits in? Then there's Labour spending. They have spent like a pissed up lottery winner. Billions overspent left right and centre whether it be aircraft carriers that we didnt need or all these schools and hospitals that have been knocked down and re-built on the never never. Labour should have tacvkled the BIG issues like the welfare state, like the NHS, like the pension black hole when times were good, they didnt. I am not so stupid that I dont believe a world crisis occurred, but I do know that Labour helped stoke it and generally totally mis managed the economy along the way. Decisions they took will haunt this country for years. The national debt of this country was one of the lowest of the world's big economies before the banking collapse occurred. Its amusing you think we shouldn't have bailed out the banks, just like the tories said at the time. What do you think would have happened then? You're just simply wrong about the NHS, it compares very favourably with other health services considering we spend significantly less than many of our European and American counterparts. It's actually demonstrably very efficient as it is. I know I'm wasting my breath arguing with you about this because the truth doesn't suit your agenda. P.S. Those carriers are needed in Libya now. I'll think you'll find the chaps in the sub and the ground based Aviators are managing quite nicely.

Would have added one but wasnt sure how to do it. Should probably leave it til the end of the season though so we have something to talk about when the footy is finished.

It was close. His cross come shot on Saturday nearly got him in.

Knowing the way the internet is, I would have thought the IP Board user forums would have lots of ready made sql jobbies already.

Completely opposed by the Tories of course - no wait.... No regulation proposed in the past or even now would have prevented it - the underlying facts are that governments (and 99.99% of the public) didn't understand what the banks were doing but were happy with the "rewards". Vince told the Labour government what was coming and they chose to ignore him.

Anyway all you lilly livered Labourites, Im sure we'll get a good kicking in a few weeks at the local elections.

Im not arguing with that but listening to Renton you would think that this was just a tory master plan. The scale in which the NHS was privatised under Labour was huge.

Ahem ahem Tuition fees were introduced by Blair and Labour and their landslide government in 1998. They then went on to increased them by over 200%

The truth is that after Labour last fucked the country up good and proper, it was the Tories who came in and restored the nations finances and health. Although unpopular at first and whilst making mistakes like the poll tax, the good old british public new the score and kept them in power for 18 years. They left Labour an amazingly strong economy which they screwed up very quickly. The only way Labour could keep the tory good times going was to do everything in their power to encourage debt. People were encouraged to remortgage their houses to buy cars and holidays with the promise of ever increasing house prices. It will go down as a shameful period in british politics and YES THANK GOD THE TORIES ARE BACK. Its amazing how many people have been taken in by the lie. The UK's finances are in shit because of the financial crisis. Its sort of works tautologically, the current financial crisis was caused by the financial crisis. The governments of the world (you ignorant types tend to leave out the rest of the world from your analysis of 'british politics') were not encouraging people to remortgage houses. Banks were making credit available and people took advantage of that. Alan Greenspan is more to blame for our current situation than the entire set of decisions taken by Labour since 97. Labour totally encouraged a decade of debt by the reforms they made to the bank of englands responsibility and FSA rules. They were not simply innocent bystanders.

Not awkward at all. It was global, however some countries were more exposed to it than others and have recovered from it quicker than us. You also have to add in the inherent debt (forgotten its proper name) that Labour had built up during its term in office. Did we have to bail the banks out to such a degree? Why are we not getting this money back now that the banks are raking the profits in? Then there's Labour spending. They have spent like a pissed up lottery winner. Billions overspent left right and centre whether it be aircraft carriers that we didnt need or all these schools and hospitals that have been knocked down and re-built on the never never. Labour should have tacvkled the BIG issues like the welfare state, like the NHS, like the pension black hole when times were good, they didnt. I am not so stupid that I dont believe a world crisis occurred, but I do know that Labour helped stoke it and generally totally mis managed the economy along the way. Decisions they took will haunt this country for years.

St James