Meenzer

I don't know that they necessarily are. Maybe it's more the case that we should all be in it together against the toffs.

Buy-to-letters? Well done, you broke the housing market.

See, as a Gosforth child with a dad who's a dyed-in-the-wool Lib Dem, I was all ready to tar myself with the middle-class brush until I read what NJS said about "good working class values (community/humility/work ethic)" - because that's precisely what's been instilled in me, from my dad and the generations before him, even with my relatively comfortable upbringing. And I can't imagine feeling at ease with it being any other way. I suppose (as others have said) it's a question of whether aspiration - and success - means automatically surrendering your class status. My folks are now, and will retire, Gosforth stock but they bought their first house in Benwell for next to nowt after years on a mortgage waiting list and grafted their way up to the comfort they were able to provide me as a kid. So I've never wanted for a safety net, but equally I've never been spoiled (if anything, they were over-keen to ensure I wasn't ). But I think I would still automatically tend to equate "middle-class", or at least "comfortably off", with precisely that safety net - if you know you could go back to your mam and dad in the worst-case scenario and have them bail you out, even if you'd never have the brass neck to actually go through with it, then there's an argument you've edged into middle-class territory. Question is, is that so bad?

Only reason I might give it a look.

Q: What's the cleanest country in Europe? A: Cleanland! (Finland!) @TheMansDaddy is my friend.

Now there is.

Which is irrelevant to your tendency to extrapolate "all" from "some".

"I" is a verb now? (Also: bastid. )

Nahhh, not racist. Just ignorant.

Not got to know many of them, have you?

Sorry, I forgot that every post in this thread had to start with an adjective. Actually, rephrase that: Sorry. I forgot that every post in this thread had to start with an adjective.

Didn't stand the Fish up tonight. Let him never complain again.

If only there were some way of finding out...

And miss out on your well-practiced technique?

At least I text you in advance. Wait, is that worse?

Bonkers, man.

Liiiiittle bit narked because the quizmaster didn't turn up to the pub tonight. "Illness" apparently, as if that's any kind of excuse. Had a good chat with a couple of old friends and the red wine was above paint-stripper standard, though, so it turned out OK in the end.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19400974 Scary stuff, there must be loads of these kind of situations (in various countries) even now.

Shell out for a good, good steak. (Assuming she does red meat, but I doubt you'd do her if she didn't. )

Sacrilege! Some mature cheddar should always be sprinkled atop a cottage/shepherd's pie before it goes in the oven.

Yes, but this is the Cooking thread.

Lush. Sounds spot on, we've got friends coming over for crap DVDs and wine on Saturday night so I might well give it a go then. Cheers

Let us prey he's not.

I want that and lots of it. Cookery thread pls!