Monoclinic

Pots and kettles (a groanworthy choice of cliché), your comment is hardly PC now is it? Reminds me of one of my favourite jokes from my school era: Apparently one in five people in the world are Chinese. As there are five people in my family, statistically speaking one of them should be Chinese. Well there's my mum and dad, my older brother Colin and my younger brother General Cash My Cheque*. I suspect it is Colin. * Sorry, I half inched the Chinese name from Spike Milligan. It just popped into my brain and subsequently blocked all other "memory" neurons!

The winter ski season last year in the alps...

Out of curiosity what is banana crumble like? Crumble has been the UK dessert of choice to show off to the Belgies. Unfortunately I fear this may have backfired. One person has gone away and replicated it using bananas instead of the spiced apple variety I made for them. I think they now want to replicate it for me yet the idea of banana crumble conjures up the funeral scene in four weddings and a funeral. Thankfully no ducks were killed in the making of said crumble. As for tasty salad - usual greenery plus roquefort, pears and walnuts is delightful if you like sucré-salé (sweet and salty). Another Belgian speciality (no, not chicons) is tuna with peaches (though usually it's in a baguette with tomato and lettuce). I thought the idea of this absolutely repulsive at first but after undergoing the when in Rome approach I actually found I quite like it. I think it is only mayonnaise with the tuna if anyone is brave enough.

I guessed pretty early on you were talking about a thread. Then you mentioned it to be extremely long so I am guessing it is this Dicky thread everyone talks about. I must salute you for having the courage patience and time to read that. As a newishcomer here I have always wondered what is so fascinating about that thread but could never be arsed to do the legwork or should that be eyework. Maybe here is my chance to find out. Belgium has not driven me to such depths of boredom and despair (yet) to delve into it myself but if I ask nicely would you care to write an abridged version in less than a few lines (or words preferably)?

As I suspected then, it really is grim - Costa lot for crap Coffee.

Ahem, rumour has it that it's grim up north. Do you really get 90 minutes worth of sunshine in a week, let alone a saturday afternoon?

What about Rene Magritte? Or Paul Rubens (technically Flemish as it was pre-existence of Belgium)? Or more importantly The Muscles from Brussels himself? If you really want to knock yourself out then you can peruse this list... http://www.famousbelgians.net/categories.htm Of course Johnny Hallyday as yet does not qualify having only a paternal link to Belgium and with the paperwork that they love to create here its doubtful he ever will be! PS: I am not "A Belgian" so I too cannot qualify.

Yeh!! I wasn't going to be the one who suggested it but let's play: I'm in! But don't worry about spinning the bottle as I'm naked already... Cheers, BHB Okay I'll go for Michael Foot (in the billiard room with the lead piping)

Aye, it's all a fix. Just like the Special Olympics Non-competitive sports days ring any bells? Meanwhile in my rant fest I have yet another thing to enter into room 101 and this is a little delicate... It's the Catholic church, or more's to the point their money management. Let me explain. I have just had a lovely holiday in Italy which naturally involved seeing lots of churches to check out the famous masterpieces (why on Earth the turtles turned to crime fighting I'll never know). Artwork is far far removed from my comfort zone but what I do know is that all this marble and gold and priceless paintings could probably feed Africa for a millenium. Okay a slight exaggeration but it just seems wrong that you have so many people (I think of Albanian or Romany origin)outside the churches begging when inside it is like Lex Luther's private museum. I believe there was a parable about a little old lady that donated all she had and that it was worth more than the donations of the rich. Shouldn't these churches therefore be following such an example and donating all that they have? Bible scholar needed here to answer this dilemma methinks. If you go to the big cities in Italy it isn't just the Cathedral but many other churches that possess such riches. Maybe they could sell off a few things to help fund a charitable scheme? As long as they don't flood the market of course! I hope no-one finds this offensive, if so I apologise. I certainly have no problem with the religion just the monetary aspect!

I hear the Sudan is where you pick up old tricks? I suggest your wedding outfit should comprise a pair of underpants and two pencils and that to overcome the language barrier try the word "wobble". Has to be 'wibble' or else it won't work... although saying that it wasn't a complete success for Captain Blackadder either. Oops, sorry I stand corrected. How many times shall I write it out?

Would that be served with custard or ice cream? I left my coat around here somewhere...

Rising to the bait a little on the tardy side but I'd like to add my two pennyworth here. "The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true." James Branch Cabell. Ignoring the obvious targets like Iraq, Darfur, Zimbabwe, it is easier to see the world outside of where we live with Rose tinted spectacles. The truth however is more often than not different. Britain is not a cesspit. Yes there are regions which desperately need improving but you will find these all over the so called developed world. Living abroad, immersing yourself in a new language and a new culture is a beneficial experience as it makes you realise that for everything your new country does better there is something they do far worse than blighty. That can frustrate. The Free Democratic Republic of Utopia does not, cannot and will not exist. For one you'd need a higher level of taxation. In other words, a no win situation.

Out of interest does anyone know how much it costs to change your name by depoll, say from iain to dave to jeremy for instance? Does it cost more if you specify that under no circumstances should the first letter (not) be (not) capitalised?

I hear the Sudan is where you pick up old tricks? I suggest your wedding outfit should comprise a pair of underpants and two pencils and that to overcome the language barrier try the word "wobble".

I just love the fact he takes the "job description" on face value. Then again he does rely on wikipedia; possible candidate for did you see spastics say no last night, sphincter says what or did you know Gullible has been taken out of the dictionary?

Typical squaddie behaviour... Nice song BTW. I hope she got a receipt for that, looks like it will have to go back!

Playing horsey in the bushes and ODing on Ketamin. I thought that was just your average teenage night out these days. Perhaps this can be attributed to falling literacy levels. If they'd have only read this book...

Is it that guy out of the Darkness? Oh forgive me that's Justin. Who's the anonymous poster then, too scared to pass comment?

Happy Birthday NAP! Time for a bit of R and R ... http://theboard.byu.edu/filelib/Images/couch_potato.jpe

and my point of view on symbology? A crock of sh*t. Then again, that's just my view.

Well Canadian Paul who gives a f**k what it means, I know for a fact that Franklin either was considered a deist or was a deist, since I had to read a page or two of his biography recently. The man created the light bulb and signed the deceleration of independence and he was a whole lot of other things that people remember him for. That's why he is pictured on the twenty dollar bill. Anyway I'm feeling weary right now. Can't be bothered to vote. I encourage others who wish to express the freedom of robbing the freedom of another member. Unless I am mistaken and forgive me if I am but didn't Franklin invent the Lightning rod and prove that lightning was indeed electrical discharges by flying a kite or something. I think you'll find Thomas Edison with his 1,000 odd patents invented the light bulb. If I am wrong, I'll apologise. As for symbology I think we can safely bannish the dark art and imprecise science of symbols to room 101. With symbols having more than one meaning or indeed words having more than one symbol I think you can probably arrive with sufficient justification at different answers for the same problem. That's just not acceptable in my book. Too wishy washy for me, no offence. Besides which I have a niggling feeling that the majority of people find it difficult to differentiate urban myth with the original meaning of the pictures on say a dollar bill. I'd count myself in on that - too many stories to separate fact from fiction.

I work with people who have at least a masters or at best a PhD, yet I still find it difficult to find a Belgian who has heard of Ayers Rock. In fact I have found one person out of at least 15 people (I gave up counting the number of people I've asked). Thankfully we are not geographers and so it goes to prove that it's not necessarily intelligence that counts when it comes to fact base knowledge... I fear I am working back to the eggheads again!

However: God you could almost start a spin off game, Head of states in a coma list 2007. Okay so the title needs a bit of work but you get the jist. My money's on Giorgio Napolitano, president of Italy. born 1925, could be a little young.

...errm Good morning, Mr Scream ! Coffee? Oh! You're awake at last! What does your avatar represent, BS? I much prefer yours to dave's. I wonder if you could offer some suggestions about choosing suitable DL avatars that dave could learn from? It's the dollar bill isn't it and thus the pyramid/masonic/illuminati (delete as applicable) stuff Dan Brown was wittering on about so much that I've forgotten the precise details.