Nice people thread part 4 - sugar and spice and all things

neverdespairgirl

PasturesNew wrote: »

Soft water also doesn't ever scale up your kettle.

No idea why somebody'd use a water softener though generally - I've never seen one/known anybody to have one.

Our flat has one, but it goes into the hot water system only. So keeps the boiler, radiators, shower and bath cleaner of lime scale than would otherwise be the case.

neverdespairgirl

tomterm8 wrote: »

The 50% tax rate is a bit of a faux herring. If you can't avoid it, you aren't trying hard enough.

It's the bloody VAT that gets my goat.... How the heck do you avoid it if you want to conspicuously consume?

You look at that, and then look at some of the other countries and wonder...

Edit: I am not impressed with the swear filter... thought it would get that one, for sure.

the trouble with a 50% tax rate is, I think the tipping point in that you're keeping less than half of what you earn.

neverdespairgirl

sss555s wrote: »

Though understandable when there's a hoo-ha at the biggest best table with fine dining and champagne flowing for the government, also paid by the poor old tax payer.

I've no plans to leave the UK but i do despise the UK political system.

I think a bit like Churchill on this one - it's a lousy system, but everything else is worse.

I know quite a few people from other countries who were absolutely amazed at the expenses scandal, because they couldnt' believe anyone was shocked / surprised / bothered about a few thousand on dodgy expenses.

neverdespairgirl

misskool wrote: »

well, it's not a good start to the day when you can't find your wedding and engagement rings is it?

Ouch! Glad you found them.

My mother took her wedding ring off for a fortnight or so in the winter, because she'd cut her finger and the ring was making it worse. It was the second time she'd taken it off since October 1974 - the first was when I was born, 33 years ago, because it was a crash c-section and they didn't have time to tape it, just yanked it off.

zagubov

Read an interesting book recently about how time speedss up as you get older- an earlier post menioned that Generali had dealt with te topc of why Americans rarely own electrical kettles two months ago and it was actually much longer

The book described the various factors that make time seem to speed up and intrigingly also described ways to slow it down. Moving abroad and settling in a new country is exactly one of those things (learning a language or going off to study somewhere wouold be others).

An unexpected bonus there for you there Generali. I'm envious, as I just seem to blink and a year goes by!

silvercar

fc123 wrote:

I have now read all of Paul Towdrys books and really recommend them...........another reason for not popping in.

Googled and can't find!

PasturesNew

silvercar wrote: »

Googled and can't find!

Maybe she means this guy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Torday
.... and she only read the inside of the books, not the front cover where his name was

neverdespairgirl

lostinrates wrote: »

Mine was a will not a bert. He dnced with me when he was 105, outlived ---hmm, I think 5 out f seven children.

Eleanor of Aquitaine must have been from the deep end of the gene pool. She was in her 80s when she died - her date of birth was not known within the range of about 1120 to 1124.

She had 10 children who made it past babyhood - Marie and Alix by her first husband, Louis of France, and William, Henry, Matilda, Richard, Geoffrey, Eleanor, Joan and John by her second, Henry II.

William died as a young boy, Marie, Alix, Henry, Matilda, Richard, Geoffrey, Eleanor, Joan and John all lived to marry, and all had at least one child, and some of them had 10 or 11 children.

In her 60s and 70s she was still bucketing around Europe - going to Navarre to collect her son Richard's bride, Berengaria, then travelling around England to raise Richard's ransom, and to Germany to pay it. She also toured England when John tried to seize power during Richard's absence. When she was nearly 80 years old, she travelled through Aquitaine, was carptured and held by the Lusignans, negotiated her release, and travelled on to Navarre and Castile to fetch another bride, this one for a grandchild, and escorted her back through Spain and France.

When she was over the age of 80, she found herself beseiged in Mirabeau by her grandson, Arthur of Brittany, and held out until King John arrived to lift the siege.

She outlived all her children, apart from King John and Queen Eleanor of Castile. John survived her by 14 years, and Eleanor by 10.

One hell of a woman!

neverdespairgirl

zagubov wrote: »

Those with good genes are indeed fortunate but many of them may live long despite their habits rather than because of them.

I wish I had those genes!

When looking at my maternal line, I'm surprised by how modern medicine hasn't had an impact on those women.

My grandmother died at the age of 87 in 2002. Her mother died at the age of 87, in 1983. Her mother died at the age of 87, and her mother (my granny's great-grandmother) died at the age of 93, just after the end of the second world war. My uncle, therefore, had a great-great-grandmother until he was 5.

neverdespairgirl

lostinrates wrote: »

I don't suppose we have a bedside alarm/radio guru amongst the nice people?

Mine is utterly reliable, in that it will always wake me by 8am, but it's not always a pleasant awakening. It has no snooze button, and doesn't handle time changes well or allow for a lie-in on Sundays. It certainly doesn't make tea, but it does make a mess.