Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[ripple11]

 Yep, a great location to live.
 We frequently take the boys to Bushy Park and Hampton Court grounds to run around..... and you can even take up Real tennis 
 There a good pub nearby for sitting outside watching the river world go by, whilst sipping a lemonade.......
 http://www.the-albany.co.uk/
 Kingston, of course, is brilliant for shopping for those welcome party bits..... ..John Lewis/Bentalls etc.

[Dino]

Don't tell him there is liable to be children there,he will cancel the lease immediately.

[tikay]

Don't tell him there is liable to be children there,he will cancel the lease immediately.

Dream shattered, you had to spoil it, eh?

[tikay]

To all those who appear to have invited themselves to my "house-warming party". Next you'll be suggesting I allow alcohol in the house.

If I WERE to have one, I would not invite anyone who ate me out of house & home, or were a hairy inbred, tall, had 4 kids, were a miserable old git, or older than me. So that's Vinni, Chomps, Mr Giblin, Methuselah, & Thewy off the list. Someone with nice tits would be OK though.   

[Laxie]

Cool, I'm in!

[tikay]

Mmmmm      ....    Bushey Park, Eel Pie Island (where the Windup Radio Man lives) and Teddingon Lock on your doorstep - you'll love it.

Kempton Park none too far either    ....

Such happy days as a kid at all those places, Boulters Lock, too. The Thames is such a lovely playground, with some great spots along the way.

[tikay]

Very very nice!

I used to drive thru bushy park everyday when I worked in Esher (don't forget you have sanddown on your doorstep too).

A cold autumn morning in bushy park will get you giddy with wildlife excitement

Until you Posted that, I had not realised Bushy Park was close by - we used to go there as kids, a wonderful spot.

After you Posted, I went google mapping - incredibly, I now realise that I can actually see Bushy Park from my place, & I could actually walk there in just a matter of 2 or 3 minutes, or I would were I able to walk on water, as I am the wrong side of the Thames, so have to divert over Hampton Court Bridge.

I had a good look Online this morning, too - Bushy Park I recall for the deer, & stags, but it has plenty of water, too, "The Long Water", ""Heron Pond" amongst others, even a Golf Course. I'm an early riser by nature, & get up at 5am or 6am in the Summer, & can't wait to spend early mornings, & late evenings, in Bushy Park. A right bonus!

If I may ask, how do you, as a Leeds lad, know the area so well?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushy_Park

http://www.royalparks.gov.uk/Bushy-Park.aspx

[tikay]

Never knew this about Bushy Park......

During World War I, Bushy Park was home to the King's Canadian Hospital, and between the wars it hosted a camp for undernourished children.

During World War II, General Dwight D. Eisenhower planned the D-Day landings from Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) at Camp Griffiss in the Park. A memorial by Carlos Rey [1] dedicated to the Allied troops who fell on D-Day now marks the spot where General Eisenhower's tent stood

[tikay]

Food for though on Mon morning!

 3 companies control 90% of the global corn (maize) market: ADM ,Cargill and Bunge

58% of all corn(maize) seeds are provided by just two global companies: DuPont and Monsanto

DAI

I'm more interested in that than you may think, Dai. How did you come across that fact - not your line of business, is it?

How much of the world maize & corn crops are now GM?

It is a bit of a jaw-dropper that such basic commodities as corn are controlled worldwide by just two commercial organisations, but I suppose commodity markerts ensure the prices don't get out of kilter.

[tikay]

Redmond Lee (LOLUFOLD) was excellent on Saturday's Show, I thouight, he's a natural.

Guests booked for the next few weeks include Sam Razavi, Tony Cascarino (he's a footballer bloke), Mr Nikhita Persaud, Stu Rutter, Miss Jern Mason, & a random member of the public - Rupinder Bedi. G2L should be EPIC. 

[Bongo]

Food for though on Mon morning!

 3 companies control 90% of the global corn (maize) market: ADM ,Cargill and Bunge

58% of all corn(maize) seeds are provided by just two global companies: DuPont and Monsanto

DAI

I'm more interested in that than you may think, Dai. How did you come across that fact - not your line of business, is it?

How much of the world maize & corn crops are now GM?

It is a bit of a jaw-dropper that such basic commodities as corn are controlled worldwide by just two commercial organisations, but I suppose commodity markerts ensure the prices don't get out of kilter.

I think it's more interesting that maize is totally reliant on humans to grow (i.e. it couldn't survive in the wild) and yet no one has any idea how our ancestors managed to domesticate it.

[outragous76]

Very very nice!

I used to drive thru bushy park everyday when I worked in Esher (don't forget you have sanddown on your doorstep too).

A cold autumn morning in bushy park will get you giddy with wildlife excitement

Until you Posted that, I had not realised Bushy Park was close by - we used to go there as kids, a wonderful spot.

After you Posted, I went google mapping - incredibly, I now realise that I can actually see Bushy Park from my place, & I could actually walk there in just a matter of 2 or 3 minutes, or I would were I able to walk on water, as I am the wrong side of the Thames, so have to divert over Hampton Court Bridge.

I had a good look Online this morning, too - Bushy Park I recall for the deer, & stags, but it has plenty of water, too, "The Long Water", ""Heron Pond" amongst others, even a Golf Course. I'm an early riser by nature, & get up at 5am or 6am in the Summer, & can't wait to spend early mornings, & late evenings, in Bushy Park. A right bonus!

If I may ask, how do you, as a Leeds lad, know the area so well?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushy_Park

http://www.royalparks.gov.uk/Bushy-Park.aspx

Ah - well Im not really a Leeds lad, Im from Wigan (0-7) St.Helens (7-18), then Reading for Uni and then London for 6 years, before finding Leeds!

5 of my 6 years in London were spent in Twickeham, and I worked in Esher. Therefore my drive to the office, what I used to refer to as "Londons greatest commute" (that was tongue in cheek as I went against the flow of traffic and it took 15 minutes), involved driving through Bushy park (from Teddington entrance down past the fountain and out at Hampton Court). The Deer and Stags were my favourite on a frosty morning, I simply cant imagine a more tranquil drive to work! The 20mph sighs through bushy park have to be the most redundant in the country, why on earth would you speed past that!).

I loved the whole area, Twickenham/Strawberry hill I loved (despite the fact it was a very family area and I was 24), I had Richmond and Kingston for nightlife, Esher was a beautiful place to work, and I was 25 mins from Waterloo. Much more importantly I could be outside the M25 in 15 minutes.

Should you ever find yourself up early on a Sunday, then I recommend "arthurs" for a posh sunday fry up. Its on the corner of Twickenham Green (where I lived) and interestingly enough used to be the old public toilet! With just a small detour it would be on your way to the sky studios (I presume you go to Isleworth).

So yes, I know the area really well, and although I dont miss "London", I never really considered those places London.

I guess as a conclusion, house prices and a "desire to return north" was my reason to leave

[mondatoo]

Enjoy the bachelor pad, would you class me as tall ?

[RED-DOG]

To all those who appear to have invited themselves to my "house-warming party". Next you'll be suggesting I allow alcohol in the house.

If I WERE to have one, I would not invite anyone who ate me out of house & home, or were a hairy inbred, tall, had 4 kids, were a miserable old git, or older than me. So that's Vinni, Chomps, Mr Giblin, Methuselah, & Thewy off the list. Someone with nice tits would be OK though.   

That's Mitch sorted then....

[gatso]

It is a bit of a jaw-dropper that such basic commodities as corn are controlled worldwide by just two commercial organisations, but I suppose commodity markerts ensure the prices don't get out of kilter.

why? I'm surprised the figure is as low as 58%. the seed is protected by patent so farmers have no choice but to go to the patent holders. as a farmer you want to buy the variety that's going to give the highest yield for your soil/weather conditions.  it's like any business, you could buy the cheap stuff but it's a complete false economy

the level of gm maize is probably about to go through the roof as china look likely to allow its use from next year. I suspect that will also increase the market share of the big seed companies

I could be wrong but the other stat (3 companies control 90% of the global corn (maize) market) looks to be a fairly irrelevant one as it probably refers to import/export and such a tiny % of maize (probs only about 10% of global production) is traded internationally, most countries just grow their own and many regularly have export bans. wheat is exactly the same