Nice people thread 2 - now even nicer

PasturesNew

Davesnave wrote: »

The last one related to a gang who'd been removing people's catalytic convertors at dead of night.
Sounds like hard and difficult work to me.

There was a thread somewhere on MSE over the weekend, with a bloke asking about wholesale buyers of catalytic converters as he breaks a lot of cars and is currently flogging them one at a time. There's money in them it seems.... although I've no idea how much or if it's worth the effort for the reward.

PasturesNew

Somebody sent me a link to download some files, part of something I bought as a package 3 years ago and the guy keeps "giving" stuff out even to this day. 14 sets of some teleseminars, going back 14 years. Well, downloading those on a slow PC and a dongle's not fun. I've been at it 4 hours now. Downloading 185 files one by one, double-checking I've not missed one out .... then the HD aborted one as it was full, so I've had to move them over to my Ext HD. All faffing about.... and they're audio files. All important/interesting stuff, but I don't have speakers

But if I don't complete all the downloads, in this one session, I'll either never get round to it - or they'll be removed/taken down... so it's important to do it.

Only 19 to go... so on the home straight!

John_Pierpoint

Back in the days when the term "swinging sixties" was about to be coined - I was a impressionable teenager.
I read this book:
http://www.list.co.uk/article/2794-no-mean-city-a-story-of-the-glasgow-slums-alexander-mcarthur-and-h-kingsley-long-1935/
It was a strange story about how a city slum tighter packed than Hong Kong survived.
Obviously it referred to a time nearly a generation earlier, that would never be repeated: Gorbals had been rebuilt by Spence, housing was now the price of a packet of fags a day, unemployment was insignificant.
Cathy and Shelter had not yet come home. World paradise was clearly on the horizon.

In the book there is a interesting discussion about the advantages of being up the duff - the happy event could mean more money to spend as the "waine" or "bread snapper" provided an extra half guinea a week for entertainment and irresponsibility.

My memory might not be 100% accurate looking back a generation and a half after reading the book - but this particular passage stuck in my memory.

Glad to know we have made no progress - there must be an explanation, perhaps it is something to do with communities drinking from a granite catchment area?

PasturesNew

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

Back in the days when the term "swinging sixties" was about to be coined - I was a impressionable teenager.
I read this book:
http://www.list.co.uk/article/2794-no-mean-city-a-story-of-the-glasgow-slums-alexander-mcarthur-and-h-kingsley-long-1935/
It was a strange story about how a city slum tighter packed than Hong Kong survived.
Obviously it referred to a time nearly a generation earlier, that would never be repeated: Gorbals had been rebuilt by Spence, housing was now the price of a packet of fags a week, unemployment was insignificant.
Cathy and Shelter had not yet come home. World paradise was clearly on the horizon.

In the book there is a interesting discussion about the advantages of being up the duff - the happy event could mean more money to spend as the "waine" or "bread snapper" provided an extra half guinea a week for entertainment and irresponsibility.

My memory might not be 100% accurate looking back a generation and a half after reading the book - but this particular passage stuck in my memory.

Glad to know we have made no progress - there must be an explanation, perhaps it is something to do with communities drinking from a granite catchment area?

I deleted my previous posting as I felt maybe it was late/I was angry

John_Pierpoint

I think you have every right to feel angry.
Being a parent should be the most responsible thing you ever do.

Nobody has the right to mess up another individual's life chances by perpetuating the cycle of poverty at the expense of us fellow citizens.

That said, weakly showering kids with everything they want, using the fruit of a magic money tree, also does them no good at all.

tomterm8

John_Pierpoint wrote: »

I think you have every right to feel angry.
Being a parent should be the most responsible thing you ever do.

I dunno, the problem with anger is it is useless unless you can do something about the cause of your anger. And the young lad seems like a lost cause to me.

lostinrates

tomterm8 wrote: »

I dunno, the problem with anger is it is useless unless you can do something about the cause of your anger. And the young lad seems like a lost cause to me.

anger is only good if it is motivational IMO. Otherwise its a drain and a bad apple in your emotional apple store. I've been battling a small jealousy demon this week but I kicked it and it feels GREAT to have remembered how LUCKY I am.

Anyway, I bought a Clarissa dickson wright cookery book today and there is a recipe for mutton with caper sauce and I thought of you. Let me know if you want it.

tomterm8

Mm... it sounds like a good idea, I would love to have it. Thank you.

lostinrates

Here you are then:

serves 4

oil, 2 onions sliced,2 chopped carrots, two chopped sticks of celery, 1 leg of mutton, salt and pepper, 300ml of beer.

for the sauce; 50gr butter, 40g flour 600ml 1.2 litre boiling water, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 75grm capers, 50ml wine or caper vinegar

Method: In oil, fry the veg and place in heavy flameproof casserole. Rub the joint with seasoning and place on top of the vegetables. Pour n the beer. Cook either on top of the stove at a simmer or in the oven at 160c allowing 20mins per 450gr plus an extra twenty minutes.

To make the sauce melt 40gr butter in a pan, add the flour and work to a paste then slowly add the boiling water stirring as you go. When you have a sauce of the right consistancy and the lemon juice, the capers and the vinegar. Heat through, remove fro the heat and whip in the remaining butter.

vivatifosi

lemonjelly wrote: »

I have also just finished reading this book:

I have to say it is a fascinating autobiography, with a lot of insightful and humanist tones.

Now I have to select what to read next...

Glad to see you enjoyed the Derren Brown book, as well as meeting Mark Kermode (who sounded lovely). Did you decide not to read the novel or have you polished it off already?

I've got three books at the moment, I started the first one, then the second one came in to the library for me but with a string of reservations so have had to put the first on hold so I can read it in the loan period. The third will be read second as that too has lots of reservations on, but haven't picked it up yet. As you will see, I'm on a bit of a theme:

1. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lipstick-Jihad-Growing-Iranian-American/dp/1586483781/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289947115&sr=8-1
2. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mountain-Crumbs-Growing-Behind-Curtain/dp/0099537648/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289947147&sr=1-1
3. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nothing-Envy-Lives-North-Korea/dp/1847080146/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289947183&sr=1-2