ECCOnoob

Don't go wetting your knickers yet. I remind you of these points... .....However, when asked "who would you vote for if you were voting on education policy alone", support for UKIP almost halved, at 4.1%, suggesting that the surprising amount of student support for UKIP is not due to their education policies. Student support for UKIP has not been as high as amongst the general population, however, and they are behind the Greens by a wide margin.

Fat chance. Why do we need an airport in the city anyway? Who are all these people jetting in and out every day. A handful of holiday charter flights are hardly enough scope for a massive operation that an airport is. We might well be 4th biggest city (although im not entirely sure that's correct in any event) but we are also one of the hilliest. Does not make a very good geography for building an airport for anything larger than city hopper type aircraft. We had that. It was in place during the more booming years of the 90s when businessmen did (assumedly) fly in and out. Those days are long gone and even the largest and most corporate companies have changed their working methods and slashed their jet set lifestyles. Technology has moved on. Requirements for travel have changed. With Manchester just an hour or so away having a good range of Europe, US and even some far east routes and now Doncaster catering for the budget and charter airline crowd there is absolutely no need for another airport. Both of those airports have taken decades to be established just to get to an break even level. Its simply not viable or necessary to have another. The city airport vanity project we had was just that. A vanity project. As if it was ever going to be realistic long term prospect that enough people would actually spend time and the pay additional fares flying to their destinations interchanging via Amsterdam just to be able to stay local and avoid travelling to Manchester or East Midlands. Ludicrous. I would rather see money spent finally getting the railways improved and some electrification of the mainline.

Earning peanuts is better than being unemployed and earning nothing. Having a reason to get out of bed in a morning and earn your own keep is better than sitting on your arse all day waiting for the next dole hand out. Comments like yours totally riles me.

I am surprised you say a grey area. Are you definitely looking on the official transport for London site. Be careful of any copycat or fake sites. If you don't have an oyster card day travelcards are available from the stations or ticket machines. They are fixed prices dependant on how far out of London you are. If you are staying within the centre a Zone 1-2 travelcard is valid on all buses, tubes and overground trains (commuter ones). This is a charge of £12.00. If you are staying or planning to travel into the suburbs you might need to up to a Zone 1-5 travelcard. This has the same access to all the integrated transport and is £17.00. There should be no such "grey areas" on these types of tickets. I think you might get some discount if you have an oyster but make sure you use the one and only official site. https://www.tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/ There are lots of and lots of scam sites out there.

Why not become a cabbie. Surely after getting your taxi licence working and earning is better than being unemployed for 3+ months. Why should your family intervene what you do with your life. You don't have to stay being a taxi driver but whilst you are out of work why the hell not. Even more so if you are feeling the way you are and seem to want to work. Getting back out there should raise your self esteem and money coming in, im sure will stop you feeling depressed.

The PM is absolutely right. Its the price we pay for free speech. Sometimes someone somewhere will be offended by it. It becomes a legal issue if the context, publication or direction of a statement is inappropriate. However, the basic principle of free speech remains and so it should do. I could not give a flying fig what the pope says or thinks. He is the head of an organisation which sole existence is based around a mythical spiritual being. That comment maybe offensive to some right? Well I have freedom of speech to say it. Just as someone has freedom of speech to disagree and argue it. Would you be all critical about it if Milliband had said it about the Pope's comments??? Would you??? Is it just because it was a tory saying it??

I think there is more to this. Plenty of sensible sized saloon hatchbacks and super minis are still available. I think what is becoming more of a problem is the faux aspirations of people and sheep mentality that has developed in recent years. Look at a certain group of parents. We all know who they are. None of them can imagine insisting on owning anything smaller than the size of a army jeep just to make them feel that they are transporting little Deliah and Tarqin safely each day. These yummy mummies then clog up the supermarket car park and take up 3 spaces of street parking when they pop for coffee and then proceed to block up half the road when they insist on parking bang outside the school gates, just in case their little dahlings have to walk more than 2 yards. Then we have a certain group of retirees. The ones who insist that they must have a SUV or Estate just because they own a jack Russell and occasionally take it for a walk or just because they may occasionally buy a pot plant from the garden centre. and then of course there is the ridiculous trend that certain people insist their car must be some sort of 4x4. The ones who demand that sort of "facility" just because we have a piffle of snow twice a year. All this has created a situation where a large amount of the populous are driving the equivalent of off road jeeps, people carriers, despatch vans and prestige saloons just to go to work or the bloody supermarket. The actual purpose of why these vehicles exist has been completely lost and I can bet that at least 2/3 of the sales of such vehicles are for city dwellers who don't need them for any of the reasons they are designed for. That in my mind is absolutely ludicrous and unless it stops now, we are going to have a real problem. Yes, car parks are not designed for such vehicles but I doubt that designers of urban underground and multi storey car parks expected half of their users to be driving off road trucks. They were designed for cars. Cars which should be the type of car used for urban locations. I would rather these types not be encouraged by creating bigger spaces. Now, before I receive the inevitable shouting down, I am not saying that EVERY user of one of the above vehicles is doing it unnecessarily and SOME may have a genuine use for one and thus will have a legit reason to park in such places. However, I simply do not believe that every user of the above actually NEEDS it.

It is a bit scary but end of the day, occasional malfunctions aside, better for them to be there. Wet is better than burnt. Very big chance actually. You would be surprised how much water a fire sprinkler will spread. Take a look at this one that was knocked accidently by a fork lift.

Same for me. I have to say I have some disbelief over our fellow poster's JL story. I simply do not believe that even for a newbie of Sheffield they would really think that Hartshead Square was the official car park for John Lewis. Surely alarms bells would have rung when JL was nowhere in sight in front, alongside or behind the car park. Surely alarm bells would have rung even more when a 10-15 minute walk was needed to get to the store passing various other and closer car parking areas. Notwithstanding the fact that signs showing the charging tariff were displayed before entry and a quick look on the JL website gives this clear note: There's a car park attached to the shop which has 322 spaces. There are also other car parks situated on Charter Row, Carver Street and Furnival Gate. If their tale is really true I would say lesson learnt. Don't be so blindly reliant on a sat nav. use your own eyes!

Really?? I would have thought the long consultation periods and negotiations between management/unions and the fact that cuts in the public sectors have been announced since early 2010 was a big bloody hint that they may have to make some people redundant. Strike action for what exactly? Except for another boost to the union incomes and ego massage for certain big wigs of union members what exactly are they trying to achieve. There are cuts all over the public sector. We are talking about a handful, yes HANDFUL of people who have faced a compulsory redundancy. Everything has been done by the book and all within consultation and notifications required within the law. What more do they want. Of course they are chasing contracts. They need to make money to fill the massive hole left by government cuts. They have to operate with a commercial mindset otherwise they would simply not be able to provide the vital services they do with the tools and facilities that are required in a modern college. I think you need to check what mandatory services and mandatory targets they have to adhere to. You will find they are being filled. I agree that it is a big big shame that Adult Education places are being cut down to virtually nothing, but when money is slashed you have to focus on the priorities i.e. 16-18 further education. Adults wanting to learn new skills, learn a second language, retrain for a new job etc have other options available to them, there are other training providers out there for ADULTS. There are other way to fund such training for ADULTS such as employer sponsorship, training grants or (dare I even say this) paying for it yourself.

The OP seems to be forgetting the fact that many of these so called "low paid" jobs simply cannot be done on a self employed basis. It's only the employers who are creating them and us consumers fuelling the demand. Uniformity in product, pricing and service delivery is what we demand. Not everyone has the skills nor wants to work self employed. As you don't and can't have self employed checkout workers, waitress staff and production line staff how are these people supposed to work without the security and benefits of an employer.

"...they couldn't care less" I take that as Police bashing. How does x person know "they could not care less" its been less than 24 hours. What do they expect to happen? How do they know what is and what isn't been done by the police for a non urgent theft crime yes, I said it. Those two words which sum up exactly what this is. NON URGENT. Oh and then along comes the predictable... Yes, the resident forum right winger. So HH, prey tell what you expect a petty thief to get these days. 2 years? Life sentence? Hands chopped off? I'm totally sick of it. The police (in fact the entire legal system) is facing massively difficult problems, even more so with the cuts. The people out there doing the job are worked to the bone yet all they get is they are too controlling or not controlling enough. They are always present harassing and challenging "innocent" people going about their business but they are never there when you need them. They waste their time dealing with petty crimes when they should be out there catching the "real criminals" but then are never there attending to petty theft within two seconds of an incident happening..... ..... ...... on and on and on it goes. Who the hell would want to work in anything that is about the words "serving the public" is beyond me. With the constant attitudes and criticism they get I don't know how they stop themselves telling the public to chuff off.

Oh here we go again. Another thread full of Police Bashing. Ok, prey tell oh mighty experts What exactly are the police supposed to do with this? Its been less than 24 hours. Fencing stolen does not hit the top of the priority list such as person attacked, person assaulted, suspect in pursuit. Its been reported and they will commence their investigations. What more do you want. Round the clock surveillance? SWAT team screaming round looking for the suspects?

What a strange thing to do. I always make up my own mind rather than follow what other people "think" Personally, I was took by surprise by the format and can never understand whose idea it was to smash together Stars in their eyes and a recycled Harry Hill stand up routine. It could have been so much better if he had just done the gig straight like all the other presenters but it was not actually too bad if you can get over the hump. Certainly been far worse offerings on a Saturday night such as the ghastly Take me out.

"Run out of other people's money" Coming from a labour lovvie like yourself that has to be a wind up. Labour do nothing but spend other people's money. They even continue to spend spend spend when the purse is empty. Talk about rose tinted.

What a load of pony. Ian Bone. Professional poop stirrer. Good god. His last "anarchy" march contained a whole..... 80 people. WOW!! Monster Raving Looney would have more of a shot.

Don't think I ever said that. All im getting at is there's no excuse for demanding a printed timetable when there are perfectly reasonable alternatives out there. This whole thing is simple. Mrs X needs to get into her dense head. No more printed timetables. They are now available online, on phone or on bus stops. Cant use a computer....... call the travel line Cant use a phone...... walk to a bus stop and look. Cant do any of the above. You are not fit to be catching a bus on your own. Can do one of the above but chooses not too. Tough.

No I would expect them to be able to look at the timetables printed on bus stops or pick up a phone and call the travel line as has been said dozens of times throughout this thread. People can adapt.

I don't think he is paid to be. I get the impression that he is there to stir up debate and provoke responses. Judging by this forum thread, his studio callers and no doubt twittersphere its working perfectly.

Why? What exactly is patronising and condescending arguing against somebody making excuses for not moving with the times and trying to keep publishing an outdated and expensive resource just because THEY don't want change. My point is very valid. This current generation and certainly the next generations of "pensioners" are very different. Society is very different. The technology that people make out is so "new" and "unknown" has actually been around and embraced into society far long then people care to remember. Furthermore, more and more of these "pensioners" actually have more disposal income than us who work full time, have more car ownership and car use than their previous generation and believe it or not, actually have access and knowledge of modern marvels such as a telephone and computer far more than their previous generation. It therefore makes perfect sense. Does Mrs X on the radio show still boil a pan with water because she did not want to embrace the modern marvel called a Kettle. Does Mrs X on the radio show still go down to the bank each week and draw out her money and then round to each and every shop and business because she does not want to embrace the modern marvels of direct debits and telephone payments. Very doubtful. Reason: because in 2014 she will have little choice to do anything else. Therefore, she is more than capable of adapting. Now she needs to adapt to this.

Sorry, your point is?

You don't need to afford a computer. You just need access to one. Access to computers in this society is FREE for everyone. She is creating the barriers here and more fool her. If she is so reluctant to check online she needs to pick up the phone or toddle off to a bus stop and LOOK at the free timetable stuck on the stop. The woman is a moron. All this reluctant to change, forced to learn is horse crap. For the majority of these pensioners computers have been around in the domestic and personal levels for 40+ years now. Many pensioners own one or have had some basic skill of using one. Come 5-10 years time every pensioner will at some point had some use of a computer. Paper timetables should well be cut out. My mum in her 70s and spent the final 20 years of her working life using computers. She owns a laptop and tablet, and despite only knowing the basics she is more than capable of looking up some bus times. Telephones have been in the public reach for over 70+ years so if you are really that much of a luddite you are still capable of picking up the phone and asking when the next bus is. What is wrong with these people. Have they been living in a cave? If you can manage to pick up and read through a paper timetable book, you are more than capable of making a phone call.

They can. Mandatory retirement was abolished under introduction of the Equality Act in 2010. However, employers can have exceptions to the rules if they have what are deemed ".... proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim" More info here...http://www.ageuk.org.uk/work-and-learning/discrimination-and-rights/default-retirement-age---frequently-asked-questions/

Where do you buy your other goods from? The (many) things that you cannot get from the Farm Shop?

No it does not. It offers nowhere near. Where is the late night opening, competitive prices, plentiful supply, wide choices of brands and products, plentiful car parking, employing massive numbers of staff. I know the place. I have been there a few times as I work nearby. Also been to the other farm shop on the Welback Estate. Lovely places for an occasional treat or for something a bit special. Never in a million years would I do my regular shopping there. For one thing I would be broke after 2 visits. The costs of buying supplies from there on a regular basis would be astronomical. Where do I get my basics, my cereals, my tinned food, my cleaning and bathing products, my household goods, my ready meals. None of that from there? Cant pop in their after my shifts at 10pm, midnight, 2am can I? I get the point you are trying to make but its full circle again. Local independent traders do not offer the choice, supply and service of the supermarkets. We customers started the trend back in the 60s, that's when the self service, under one roof, out of town boom started. After 50 years there is no way we are going backwards Repeated stops having to call into the Butcher, Baker, Greengrocers, Ironmongers, Newsagent, Stationers, Homestore and Chemist each and every week. No thank you.