Zola

Politics aside (more so given the Mod notice below), I would prefer France over Argentina to win

I know this is way off topic but forgive me on this occasion. Just nice to have another Brit on board (even though I myself have dual nationality as I'm also South African living in England) Okay, back on-topic :)

PS. You're not a former Brit are you? I only ask because of your user name :)

As far as I know jacket spuds are still the order of the day on Bonfire Night. Along with those ads you mention - because yet again some people are born stupid and don't realise that holding a lit firework (or putting one in one's mouth while lit) is incredibly dangerous! Darwin 1 - Stupid People 0

I had an exceptional odd dream about marrying a man! As most regulars on here maybe aware I am lesbian, and as such have always felt a greater affinity to women rather than blokes. (not that I hate or despise men, or anything like that. But I just prefer the company of women) But last night, I had a most peculiar dream that I was dating a guy I had met at university 3 or 4 years ago. Really nice guy, very personable and friendly. And for whatever reason I asked him out on a first date (in my dream); and we took it from there. So much so that in my dream he ended up proposing and me accepting. I told my parents and they were relieved. And the next thing he's walking me down the aisle of a church etc. The thing is, I haven't seen this guy since those uni days; and he only popped into my head because I read an article about History undergraduates finding it hard to find a job (he was studying natural history amongst other things) Weird!

We have similar cretins here in the UK. The whole country celebrates Bonfire Night (November 5th), with huge bonfires and fireworks (both large displays done by professional organisations, and private individuals in their own back garden); but you can bet your bottom dollar, some titwit will let off fireworks days, even weeks before the 5tth - and sometimes in broad daylight! So where's the sense in that? Some people are just born stupid

I am 5ft 10, my dad was 6 2, mom 5 7, and my sister 5 8. I am tall and gangly, but I do get slightly miffed when guys come up to me and say "My, you're a tall girl aren't you?" (especially when I'm wearing heels) I so want to reply with something incredibly rude or as equally condescending, but I rise above it... just!

I do prefer bald men to guys who have to resort to "comb overs" with their remaining few strands of hair, as if people wouldn't notice. The only problem with bald guys is that - over here at least - they can be easily mistaken (stereotyped) for skinheads - antisocial hooligans! But by and large I think most bald men carry themselves very well, and don't seem to be bothered by the lack of hair on top because it's no big deal these days.

I'm only a 32b - hardly worth the bandwidth ;-)

I am not very imaginative with my hair- more often than not I will let it grow down my back until it gets in the way; or I will crop it back into a bob. The idea of spending £100+ for a new style doesn't do much for me, especially if the stylist's "vision" differs to my own! I did read somewhere that constant cutting, styling and general messing about with one's hair over a period of time can make your hair become dull and lifeless over time. Not sure how true that is, but I just go for a cut when it needs it.

Golly gosh! I really must get round to watching this show again soon - I am beginning to lose track of some of these support guys and gals! Such fond memories, especially of Margaret and Ainsley!

Do you think your original love for the show back in the day is still as strong today? I must admit I have lost some of the "love" since I first started watching it some 10 years ago. Perhaps back then I was only 15, and here in the UK we didn't have much access to US cable TV and broadband streaming. As such I only ever got round to watching network shows such as The West Wing, while HBO shows like The Wire and the Sopranos just past me by back then. As a consequence TWW remained my key show back then. 10 years on, and having access to all manner of shows from different countries and different media broadcasters, I do find TWW rather quaint and wholesome - no bad language, no sex or violence, no shock values - just a typical network show trying to hold its own against the rising forces of HBO and Starz etc. I still have a lot of affection for TWW, but times have most certainly changed, and I find myself having to be in the right frame of mind to watch it other than to dip my toe with random episodes here and there. Whereas with something like "The Wire" I will watch in its entirety because it feels more "real" somehow. <I suspect I am not making much sense - its 2:15pm here in sunny England, and I've had a couple of glasses of wine to cool me down. As a consequence I will shut the hell up :) >

i wish some sites would stop with the "Sign up for our newsletter" pop-up as soon as I jump onto their home page and start scrolling down, or hover my mouse cursor towards the "close tab" box. Does my head in!

Fortunately I only get "boob sweat" when I go out long distance running (which is something I do on a regular basis); that said, my <flattish> chest does "glisten" a little when its hot and humid when I'm sitting at a desk or in a datacentre doing so IT work for a client. But its the bra that really peeves me off - I know its only doing its job, but golly gosh I feel like I am being crushed round the chest when its hot and sticky, and my boobs are crying out to "breathe" This morning I am WfH. It's 28°C outside, and slightly warmer here in my office, but at least I can wear a low cut blouse and enjoy some cool "freedom" without a friggin' bra :)

The West Wing board seems to have gone a little quiet lately. Am just wondering if anyone has got round to watching - or re-watching - the show again? I must admit it has been quite a few month since I finished my last "marathon" indulgence ,and am currently busy watching other shows. But I think nearer the end of the year and the darker colder nights start to roll in, I will no doubt be back "in the room" again for a few more weeks with my favourite political characters. Still can't believe the show is almost 20 years old from its original broadcast!

Gosh I really hate wearing bras this time of year! I am only a pathetic 32b, but all the same it doesn't matter what kind of "snug fitting" bra I go for they all become extremely uncomfortable in this hot and humid weather. Because I'm a consultant I do spend a lot of my time working from home, which means I can wear t-shirts, blouses or camisoles with nothing underneath; or I might even walk around topless in my own home on really hot days! But when I have to dress-to-impress for new or existing clients, I can barely wear a bra for more than a couple of hours in this heat, and then I have an urge to rip the friggin' thing off regardless of where I am.

Golly gosh, it's almost 2pm here on a very hot sunny Monday afternoon; and all morning I have totally lacked any motivation to do any work - which is not good when you're self employed! The problem with being your own boss is that you have to motivate yourself to get things done; as opposed to working for someone else, in which case you're kinda contractually obligated. Perhaps its because of the heat, or the sunshine, and the fact I am working from home that I don't have the necessary "OOMPH!!" to get my arse in gear. It's my own fault really because if I don't do the work I won't get paid. But when you're sitting at home looking out of your window and seeing nothing but blue skies, and lots of colourful flowers and trees, you just want to drift into your back garden and relax. ho hum.... must..... try..... harder! :)

This^^ The pub we were in yesterday, is quite a nice pub by most standards, and attracts a very civil custom. But as soon as there's big soccer game playing some of these people (women too in some respects), go mad! Cheering, shouting, throwing abuse at the various TVs whilst other punters are trying to have a nice quiet drink. And yet this "phenomenon" only happens for soccer games! If there's a major rugby/cricket/tennis/F1 etc game going, there's not the same level of "enthusiastic" interest compared to a game of footie. Instead people will just casually glance up at the TV, watch for a minute or two and then return to their drinks - even if the England rugby team or cricket team should score/win, there's very little noise or loud appreciation. But when soccer is on - especially this World Cup - everyone seems to go a bit mental! (England won 6-1 yesterday, and the pub was like a packed football ground!)

It's 12 noon here in sunny England, and am in a pub beer garden with a couple of friends enjoying the day with a very nice Sunday Carvery (roast turkey and beef). However, the peaceful atmosphere here is being spoilt somewhat by some England football (soccer) fans mingling inside the pub itself getting ready for a World Cup game at 1pm (UK time) between England and "no idea!" So what this will mean is that when the match starts and these guys start watching it on the various overhead TVs running throughout the pub both inside and out here in the beer garden, ordinary drinkers are going to have to put up with them cheering and shouting and swearing for about 90 minutes. If England should win it will mean these guys will drink even more and become more rowdy and annoying; if England lose they will drink more and become angry and obnoxious. I know pubs love showing important sports events like this, but for customers who don't care about football or the World Cup, and just want a couple of social drinks with friends in the sunshine, it really is quite annoying, to the point where we will probably move on to some other pub that isn't showing the "big game" UPDATE 40 minutes into the game and England are winning 5-0. And as expected we can hear fans inside the pub cheering, chanting, singing and clapping. It's not too bad because we're still outside in the beer garden, but I suspect as the game goes on and the beer starts to flow, they will become even more unbearable! Does this kind of thing happen in bars and pubs Stateside when there's big game going over there (Super Bowl, for eg)?

Well I was born in 1993, which I guess makes me a hardcore Millennial. I do feel sympathy and annoyance with Boomers, Gen Xs, Zed's and even my own "entitled" generation. No generation is absolutely perfect, and you will always get older relatives banging on about "the good old days". But when you actually look back at those days via photos, books and TV documentaries and compare them with your own, you quickly realise that "your" era is far better in most all aspects. My generation have been lucky to be blessed with technology, cheap cars, cheap domestic white goods & appliances, holidays, entertainment, easy access to food, medical care, education etc. (at least here in the UK). A lot of which were not fully accessible to previous generations. The only problems we have is affordable housing, well paid jobs, and access to higher education that doesn't cost a friggin' fortune! Some of those problems can be laid at the door of the Boomers; but also political expediency, avaricious capitalism and exploitation etc. When I speak to my older relatives about this, they will always say "I have spent 40 odd years going to work, paying my income tax, paying my national insurance contributions, and paying into my state and private pensions; while also having to put with high inflation and interest rates back in the 70s and 80s than you could ever imagine! Therefore, I have paid my way and now I think I deserve my reward etc..." I guess they have a point. Perhaps us Millennials expect everything should be presented to us on a plate with the least bit if effort. And that's the complaint aimed at us from the Boomers and the X Gens. I don't think there will ever be a happy medium between the generations; and I suspect us Millennials will soon be taking pot-shots at the Zed Gens when they reach adulthood and their "complaints" about how tough their lives are, and that its all the fault of the Xers and the Y's

Season 2, is a wonderful season and doesn't really deserve the initial negativity it receives following on from the street-corner drug dealing of season 1. I must admit S2 was a massive shift in direction when I first watched it years ago, thinking it would be a logical progression from S1. But the writers took a chance and focused on a different aspect of Baltimore life that was directly ir or indirectly intertwined with the goings-on from S1. The more I rewatch S2 the more I really appreciate what the writers tried to achieve.

That's another great thing about TWW, I never realised we burnt down the White House! We were never taught that in our History lessons back in High School: I always thought after we got our arses kicked in 1776, we (the UK) left you to it

I found this rather useful link that will certainly help plan our route around Utah's National Parks. It's quite a long but very indepth article, that has certainly opened my eyes; and certainly adds a little more flavour to what we originally had planned. But as the article stresses - "less is more", even if we are going to be in that particular neck of the woods for four weeks. https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-g28965-c177493/Utah:United-States:Trip.Planning.html

Thanks for all the great advice, guys! We haven't worked out precise details with regards our chosen destinations, so I will get back to you on the specifics once we've agreed on a plan (although I might need your help during that planning process). What we have agreed on is to fly from London or Manchester to Las Vegas, hire an RV and drive to those first three destinations (which will occupy the first four weeks of our five week trip); And then from Red Rock, we might return to Las Vegas and fly out to Washington DC, and spend our final week there and Baltimore, before flying out from Dulles back to the UK. (does that sound feasible?) That's the initial plan at least, but subject to change no doubt. But the adventure begins on Friday 5th October, and ends on or around the 9th November.