Marillionboy

The thing about drinking your weight in beer is that your weight increases with each pint so you'd be there forever! I'd be up for a Sub2way challenge like that: I'm currently addicted to Tesco Healthy Living wraps: the Chicken Salsa and Chicken Caesar ones are astounding. And the Weightwatchers Chicken Fajita ones I bought one day when they had sold out of everything else are sublime too. Just eaten four today. And four yesterday.

Always a writer. And now I am one! I used to want to act as well and I did but gave it up a few years ago as I spent most of my time doing it working in call centres!

Yes quite, and the one thing I am very very anxious not to come across as being guilty of. If anyone is still speaking to me after the play has finished, hang on for my novel, which is an unashamedly happy tale of Aberdeen life.

That sentence is referring to one man's life in his home town: his predicament and work is emasculating and so on. It's not meant to be a blanket statement. RM,it's a perfectly valid question, and I hope to God it does run in Aberdeen at some point. But getting new work commissioned there is nigh on impossible.

Brilliant, thanks fella. I'll be home sometime this month for a few days so see yous in the Moorings!

I fancy Davina

Thanks guys. I'm not sure it will be filmed but the script will be published on 5th April by Oberon Books...

For those of you who are interested in my stage play set in Aberdeen which opens on 5th April at the Royal Court Theatre in London http://www.royalcourttheatre.com/whatson01.asp?play=420 The cast has now been finalised. It is... JOE MCFADDEN DAWN STEELE CLIVE RUSSELL The director is RICHARD WILSON. Anyone still interesting in coming along to see it, do hope you enjoy it! Best Simon xx

Not too terrible, the castings start tomorrow, waahey!!!

Come on, we're Scottish, you didn't really expect anyone to answer this seriously did you?

tv tanned on the money as usual. Usually the answer to all free speech arguments is Voltaire's "I disagree with everything you say but I shall defend to your death the right to say it." The law makes exceptions for speech which is incitement to racial hatred, in some cases blasphemy or offensive behaviour etc, eg shoutin c*** in the street in broad daylight. Theresa Villiers has just made a brilliant point on Newsnight about the law Irving has fallen foul of not being a law to restrict free speech but a law to prevent the exoneration of mass murder, that some lies are too damaging to be permitted, and that something happened so terrible it has to be remembered for what it was and not allow any ambiguity to move in. I personally don't believe people should be put in prison for their beliefs, but I wonder if Irving really believes thre holocaust never happened or if, being a supporter of the far right himself, he is merely using this slogan to try and attract followers.

Oh for fuck's sake.

Actually its not the cigarette that gives the pleasure, its the relief from craving one. Its the same as wearing a tight pair of shoes all day for the relief of taking them off. You create a craving in the body which it is then pleasurable to satisfy.

Do love that whole "I think you'll be there" thing he does at the end. And anyone else noticed how everyday someone gives us "an extraordinary/remarkable/very unusual" game?

Used to love the place, hate it now. It was at one time the most easy going pub in Aberdeen, anyone could go in there, the mixture of people was great and the food was good too. But it seems to have become Chav Central, maybe because of the Belmont St plushing up taking away some of its business. Maybe it's just me but the amount of trouble there's been whenever I've been in there the last couple of years...feels grim and not in a fun Grill/Nepune kind of way.

And you never see black people walking dogs as someone pointed out to me a while back. Like Karl Pilkington says, you never see old people eating Twix either.

David Irving was a former pupil of my school and used to come back to speak every year. He was a good speaker but his research, though careful, was clearly abandoned when it came to his conclusions. But I agree that imprisoning someone for an opinion, albeit one used to support his extreme right-wing cause, but equally one derived from historical study, is hardly appropriate in a democratic society. And what's more, the Nazis exterminated not only Jews, but also the disabled, homosexuals, mentally ill people, anyone who wasn't their idea of perfection.

INtersting how worked up thedse smokers are getting. Believe me when you give up you'll re-read this thread and feel so stupid. Your addiction is talking, not you. TV Tanned one but last message summed it up perfectly.

I feel I am reasonably qualified to comment on this as I was a very heavy smoker who quit four years ago and am not one of those ultra- fascist reformed smokers. The bottom line is of course this ban is good because smoking fucking kills people and not just the smokers. It's a no brainer. The truth is that when you are addicted to something you see things from a warped perspective. If you smoke you become very defensive about it being restricted etc. Addictions overcome your basic human decency and common sense, you can be so hooked on something you beg, steal, get snappy with people around you when you can't get it. But just think for a second about smoking in pubs and the effect you are having on others. Forget the prissy "non smokers are all poofs" argument: smokers: you are fucking non-smokers up and you have no right to do that. People once found the idea of a ban on the underground ludicuous and outragoeus and now can't imagine otherwise: this will be the same. I think a smoking area wouldn't be a bad idea and no smoking on stage is ridiculous: actors smoking herbal cigs in plays harms no-one. But as far as pubs go, my view is it should be up to the landlord but if a pub goes non smoking thatit is incredibly selfish for smokers to object as it is not to punish them but to protect others. If someone I loved developed cancer from passive smoking etc etc. But while it being up to a landlord would be fine, if it was hardly any would do it for fear of ruining business. A ban for this is I would say perfectly reasonable because the health effects are SO huge and the only way to achieve it is by legislation. It's no more a violation of cilvil liberties than the laws for noise pollution.

On top of which she was a complete bisom. And on top of that when she arrived she pointed out that I had been meant to accompany her to something earlier and had clearly forgotten and as a result she was in a bad mood with me. Clearly not with my credit card though.

Next time I'm in The Moorings. Basically it got off to a bad start as I was in a cab and it stopped at the lights and my ex crossed the road and I realised I was wishing it was her I was taking to dinner. It was downhill from there really! The food on my plate was nice though. I spent most of the night staring at it so I remember it very well.

Bastard place. Had the worst date of my life there. Absolutely nothing to do with the restuarant I hasten to add.

"for it is the number of a man" not a day then. God that film has a lot to answer for.

One thing I cannot tolerate is people doing that bandwagoin "isn't valentine's day shit commercialism" bollocks. I don't have any views on it one way or the other, but I have to say rainbow princesses "happy hallmark day" really made me grin, best slice of cynicism i've read yet on the whole issue ever. Her posts always make me laugh, she's cool so I'm surprised she's spending tonight with a Chinese takeaway.