Twinky

Well I might be finding out about someone soon. I forgive him I forgive him I forgivehim Iforgivehim Iforgive If I say it enough maybe I won't get so outraged at his behavior.

Jeff, you seem to be getting some good advice here. Couple of things occurred to me: 1. You can really help him develop his critical thinking skills (sounds like he's doing pretty well for a five year old) 2. He can see the close-mindedness of his mother's group and if he takes it to heart, he will never fall into a cult, or into cult mentality, himself!

Cadbury's chocolate is made in the US by Hershey. Not a patch on the Brit variety, nothing like as smooth and not so much flavor. Pizza is very boring but I will give you Americans credit on deep pan pizza, which I first discovered in Boston, Mass - delicious. GC, what have you enjoyed most about Brit cooking, apart from your mum-in-law's roast dinners? I made my Christmas cakes a couple of weeks ago. A very heavy fruit cake. C cakes are often topped with marzipan and icing, but I don't like either, so my cakes are just topped with glace cherries and brazil nuts or almonds, arranged prettily. There is about 3 lb fruit in each 8" cake with just enough cake mixture (flour, eggs, that molasses again, brown sugar and other goodies) to hold the fruit together. The fruit is soaked for a couple of days in brandy. Over the next few weeks I will be sprinkling a little brandy over the cakes. By the end of December they are lush! It is so rich that only a very small slice is perfectly satisfying. There are several cakes and I give them away to very special people, as seasonal gifts. I still have a tiny slice left from last year's cake (made Oct 2007) which I am saving for...why exactly am I saving it?

Funny, Mark! That there are a load of magazines called "The Way" shows non-exclusivity and therefore no infringement. Specially since there is no element of confusion. The Way (Jesuits) is in the UK where TWI is not (or not sufficiently). The Way (Canadian mag) is in Canada, again where TWI is not (or not sufficiently). The Way (Jesuits) are not known enough in the USA and not "published" there. SO nocause of action. In any event, TWI only fights through the court people littler than them. Thought it was interesting that The Way (Jesuits) give a potted history until 1986. A date which is clearly significant to more than one Way organization.

Maybe Ron can't let us know??

Agreed, White Dove, but these are the verses that they used that I heard: Mt 5:25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison And particularly: 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? 2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? 4 If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. 5 I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? 6 But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers. 7 Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? 8 Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren In any event, we were all so conditioned that it was us who were copped out, useless, such failures – why would we argue against the MoG who had such wonderful insight) (barf) Like a wife beaten by her husband – we’d become conditioned to believe it was our fault. Specially when we were beaten up by Bible verses. As such we had no right to complain, much less sue.

I don't think the mother cat was abusive of her babies. But she was taken into the CPL as being "uncontrollable". CPL just thought it was a fat cat, but a couple of days later, the kittens were born. We had a little cat once which had a litter of 3. She so loved her babies, that she was keen for us to see them, inspect them, handle them - when the kittens were only a day old. That's fairly amazing. These two... Tuxy is mewing away. She has just walked off (using the litter tray, perhaps). Crypto is sitting her normal 4 f away, gazing at me. At least Tuxy is not whining her piercing whine. They just escaped into the other half of my house, up into the bedrooms, Tuxy as ever the ringleader. She whined at the door till I opened it and then Crypto shot downstairs. Tuxy does tell me where Crypto is, if she has gone missing. But they are now safely back downstairs. I don't want to beat Tuxy though I have come very close. Once early in the piece I did hit her hard when she weed on the carpet. You can tell from this thread that it had the desired effect --- not.

Well done, didn't realise you had been an innie. You've been here long enough to know the kind of things we've had to deal with. You'll probably go through some of it, too. You know you are not alone, what you might feel is actually in the "normal" range. You are not a grease spot, God will never leave you or forsake you, nor will he beat you up or refuse to listen to you. Maybe you can listen to him a bit better now (LOL). TWI can only control you to the extent that you let them. No more intimidation from "leadership"=no more control. Be at peace. There is so much more to life than TWI; in fact, TWI was leeching the life out of you.

Ham, not taken too soon; not soon enough. Mother cat was violently aggressive - defensive of her new babes - person tending them could not handle the kittens. She managed to give 2 pairs of them away when they were several months old and they have made reasonable cats. Mother was then very defensive of the remaining two (mine) - the Cats' Protection League woman who had them from birth has the scars to prove it. My cats have inherited the scaredness of their mother. They're scared of they don't-know-what. Underneath the exterior behavior I think they're quite affectionate and like me. Would love to let them have the run of the house but I can't cope with the potential mess (pee location). She has peed in my study on the couch cushions and a rug, pooed on couch cushions twice, and peed on the coir mat by the front door many times. She has been upstairs on occasion but I simply daren't trust her. Oh here she is, come to visit. Miaowing. Wants something (food?). My nose tells me litter tray needs attention.

Oh Geisha ... London. Glad it's there, traps the tourists. Saves the rest of the country, the best bits, for the locals (LOL). Not a place I'd like to live. Nice to visit, nice to get away from. The BM is a great place and you could spend a week there and still not see it all. There is a lot of regional variety in Brit food, although there is also standard fare you can get everywhere, especially if you eat at "chains" of restaurants or pubs. And of course most "foreign" foods are also available, Indian/Pakistani, Thai, Chinese (several varieties), Japanese, Mediterranean. In larger cities you may find African or (say) gumbo or other types. Curry is said to be the most popular food in the UK. But you can't beat my roast lamb, roast potatoes, and fresh seasonal veges. Maybe followed by home-made apple crumble. Mouthwatering. And I only have pasta tonight. :(

Okay, so Tuxy...is in disgrace. Bad cat. Saturday I was out all day, came in, cats hungry but food still in their bowl, both quite fussy and friendly and affectionate, rubbing around me; managed to pick Tuxy up and she settled on my lap. Took her to my door and collected and read my mail. Made a short phone call. Friend arrived. Cat escaped. Food still in bowl. Friend sat on couch, I went near couch to where wine glasses are stored. Surprised Tuxy at side of armchair sitting unusually...peeing. I mopped it up and scrubbed the carpet with bio washing stuff. And then I gave them some fresh catbix AND PUT THE BOWL RIGHT OVER THE WET SPOT. Crypto didn't have any difficulty in helping herself and ate normally. But every bit of Tuxy's body language was that she hated to be doing this. She was disgusted. She couldn't stand it. She cringed away from it. But the food bowl is staying there - well until she pees elsewhere and it has to go in that location. Now she does not like me, will not let me touch her, will eat from my fingers if it's tasty enough but otherwise ignores me, won't play or will only play after much provocation... Still follows me about and whines with that piercing whine... Maybe I was at fault, should have fondled them a little (if they'd let me touch them) or played with them a little, and perhaps given them some fresh food as soon as I came in. But it is still not "normal" for Tuxy, to pee because she thinks she is ignored or fondled (not ignored enough!). She definitely knows better and it was sheer naughtiness, as far as I can tell. Treat the place like a toilet - she can jolly well eat in the toilet. If she doesn't like it, she can go to the Cats' Home and live there.

Mark, that comment deserves to be in Groaners!

Hey, Brit food can be very good. Bonfire Night: is what ist's usually known as. Guy Fawkes Night doesn't really cut it. People build bonfires and put effigies on the top (symbolising the burning at the stake of GF and his comrades in an unsuccessful deadly Catholic plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament). So bonfires are lit and fireworks (symbolising the gunpowder that was to blow up the Houses of Parliament) are let off. But probably for many, they don't recognise the symbolism. In more recent years, bonfires have become unfashionable, and public fireworks displays are more common. HP sauce: good stuff. Even nicer is Beetop but that is rare even in the UK. The tuna baked spud sounds horrible. Not sure I would feed it to my cats. Not sure what Americans would call treacle. It's a cane sugar derivative. Maybe molasses. We also have syrup, which is a golden variety, less thick, still sticky. You could use that instead. Or any other kind of treacly-syrupy thing - would be a waste for maple syrup though. Now if you are visiting the UK and want a reasonably priced meal: try the British pub. There is so much competition nowadays for money and zero tolerance of drink-driving, so pubs, especially country pubs, have diversified and often offer extremely good value wholesome fare at reasonable prices. Cheaper than more trad restraurants, but not such luxurious surroundings. My "local" is a country pub about a mile away. It makes a nice stroll of an evening, through fields or country lanes. Nice views on the way. Pub has a garden which is very pleasant in the summer. In the autumn and winter, beverages cn be enjoyed in the bar or lounge of this tiny 16th century pub, snuggled up to the huge inglenook fires. Duck your head under the massive oak beams, and you'll be all right. Has the usual range of normal beers and also serves (this being "the West Country") ciders. Usually a guest beer and a guest cider. The great thing about this pub is that it has a great chef. The menu is quite small and changed every month. Ingredients are all fresh, and sourced locally - the menu tells you where the veges are from, and who supplies the meat or poultry (if not shot in the nearby fields - pheasant, say, and rabbit). Everything I've had there has been delicious and beautifully presented. Afterwards you could play pub games (dominoes, card games, darts). And the mile walk home is just enough to let the drinks go through so that you can enjoy an undisturbed night's sleep. Oh, I meant to say - feel free to keep the marmite sandwiches. It's something you either love or hate. And I don't love it... I grew up in the town where it derives from (it's a by-product of the brewing industry). After I'd left home, on the train back I always knew when it was time to start gathering my things. When I could smell the town... but no more. Pretty much all gone now.

Okay, folks, it was my comment "landslide" that got this started as a "political" row, though others picked up on it and made it so. All I meant was, that this new Prez has a significant mandate. None of the recounting of previous elections. He is clearly the "winner" no matter how the votes are counted. I didn't mean it to be argumentative or political, it's just pleasing to see that he has a clear majority. If you would like to replace "landslide victory" with "clear majority" - okay, let's just let bickering over words drop away, leave WD alone, and get on with comment or congratulations.

Hey you guys, it was good to talk to you by phone, wish I could have been at the BBQ with you. Had ma own big steak and a bottle of red wine... hence not ringing you back later (well, there is a big time difference!). And I promise you I was wearing my Cafe T-shirt, just to show solidarity!

Jeff, I think you're doing about as well as can be expected. Matrimonial separations are difficult at the best of times, and often get treated as "possessions" to be handled in some arbitrary manner. With the added complication of cult-abuse as well, it is horrendous. Your son will see the difference between you and the people his mum hangs out with. Always encourage him to speak to you openly and never disparage what he says. You can let him know (as you do) that you disagree with others' behavior - even his, if necessary - but without making it nasty. It's really your opportunity to show "no condemnation" to him. Be ready to take immediate action if you think he is being abused - physically, sexually. Let him know this, without of course encouraging him to make things up. How old is the lad?

And actually, why shouldn't he? Sometimes an opinion from a different POV is what's needed. And just because a person has a different politican POV doesn't mean that he/she isn't patriotic, a good worker, and cannot think. (A bit like Waybrain only seeing what it wants to see, really, when there are really committed Christians of other backgrounds out there doing the Lord's work.) It has been said that politicians of any party have more in common with each other than with the people they are supposed to represent.

I put a note in the topic in Open, the topic started by Brushie. It's just gone Bonfire Night (5 November) and no doubt people will be having bonfire parties over the weekend. Tis the traditional time for baked potatoes (done in the oven, but very traditionally done by wrapping up and placing in the bonfire embers) and bonfire toffee, thick, sticky and tough on the teeth. A good evening out: poking at the bonfire, letting off a few fireworks, then inside for hot drinks, soup, crusty bread and the baked potatoes. Then the next day kids go out and collect the rocket sticks, remains of bangers and other fireworks, and keep this smelly collection in their bedrooms till their mums have had enough and throw it in the rubbish. (This part does not have any traditional food accompaniments.)

The election result has been really well received in the UK. Black communities here have especially enjoyed it, and there is nothing like the polarisation of black/white here, compared to in the USA. One headline reads: "He's black, from a single parent, so what excuse is there now?" pulled from a longer quote reading: "He's a black man, from a single parent background, so what excuse do these kids [drug dealers whose excuse is that they are from single-parent black families] have now? Obama know what it feels like for people to say, 'You're no good' and to prove them wrong." It's not just the black community in the UK which is delighted with this result, lots of whites and Asians are, too. This man has so very much to deal with in the months and years ahead. Eight years of greed to sort out. War. Financial complications. International expectations. I do hope that the excitement at his election does not quickly turn to anger as he attempts to tackle the huge problems in front of him, to which there are no quick, let alone instant, answers. He and his prospective administration tem certainly need those prayers that Mark mentions.

Sorry, WG, my post earlier was a bit misleading. I know you didn't say those words, you were quoting from the book/book review and you were not advocating this wicked behavior. (Problem with words but no gestures...) Guess I should have said, "He WHAT????!!!!! to a child?????" (not "you what") Still though. No, I haven't heard of this particular abuser.

Hi NowISee. Yes, I've thought about a kitty aviary sort of thing. A sort of generously sized rabbit run might do it. Longterm goal is for them to be outdoor cats but they are so very nervous that if something scared them I am not entirely sure they wouldn't run off and not return. They cannot be caught except with great difficulty, and that's in any room in my house - never mind outside. Remember these cats are so scared that it was three months before I even saw one of them; life behind the fridge was The Best for her. Other spent three weeks behind the cabinet housing radio and other stuff before I caught a glimpse of her. Plan is to familiarise them with the outside of the house (smells, etc) for a while before I let them out. I will ultimately cut a cat door in the door so that they can get in and out at will. Holes in wall inappropriate, walls are 18 inches thick of solid stone. Hole in window inappropriate as double glazed, sealed units. I've used a water pistol with another cat when it misbehaved, like attacking furniture. However the "punishment" has to be meted out at the time of offence otherwise not associated, and I've only caught Tuxy physically in the act once. A success story with Crypto. Yesterday I thought I heard a miaow from her. Today I got a miaow at midday (demanding food) and another early evening (likewise). I responded immediately so as to encourage her. Then this evening I came in and they were milling around. I opened a sachet of cat food and they were both there, and many distinct miaows from Crypto. It seems so strange and slightly shocking, seeing this bright pink mouth opening and shutting in her densely black face. But definite noises, not her chirruping sounds.

You WHAT????!!!!! to a child?????

Am pleased about that. Landslide victory too. None of this recounting business. Here's wishing him well.

Somehow it's never occurred to me to put "love" and Chris Geer in the same thought. Huh, what a bizarre idea.

For goodness sake get rid of Bush wannabes.