anyone seen him? I often wonder what he gets up to now.

Not bad at the moment. Xmas fucking sucked horribly as I was laid-off on the 22nd (3 days before xmas, quelles connasses). On the up side it was a horribly shit job, and the two guys I was working with both had Speed problems, with all the bad teeth/personality defects that go with it.

Now I seem to be plain sailing, putting plastic linings in reservoirs. It's hard work and long hours but when the sun is out and everything has thawed it feels like 20 degrees, plus my boss is a diamond and feeds us like kings, last friday for instance we had Gratin de la Mer, Maigret de Canard/frites, cake with custard. All with wine followed by coffee. All paid for by the boss.

........I hope nobody is feeling too jealous right now.

Living down here (in the South-West corner of France for anyone who doesn't know) has given me a very real understanding of the global financial crisis and how it has affected different countries.
I personally was unemployed for 9 months up to this time last year, and let me tell you, there was NOTHING. However, unlike in Blighty it was possible to survive on the French social security system and I wasn't made to feel guilty by anyone.

It was interesting to see you guys squeezed so horribly, especially with that debacle with those lying c***s at City Sprint and their innovative accounting practices. It appears that the basic upshot of Legacy Thatcherism is that the "mobile" workforce absorbs all the shocks so that belt-tightening is minimized higher up the tree.
I remember thinking to myself during the Blair years that I couldn't imagine a Britain without Thatcherism. It's still difficult to imagine, but I can see that the other European Social Democracies are much nicer places to live when the shit hits the fan.
What I really don't miss is some colossally horrible public schoolboy like osborne or cameron implying that the unemployed/people on benefits are in some way lazy when the real reason for their high benefits bill is totally f***ing obvious. C***s.

Saying that, I was jealous of you lot for a while, seeming as whereas you lost 30 percent of your earnings, there is usually some work somewhere in a huge city like the Smoke. Things are smaller and more personal down here and just over the border in Spain there is virtually no work whatsoever, with numerous premises boarded up.

How you?
And how are people paying their rent on 300 a week. Is hackney still cheap enough?

They moved back to the states. I'm good. Don't know but it seems people are moving away from Hackney so i guess not.

Glad to hear Matt is doing something interesting (I am wondering how the worldwide economic downturn has affected people with special abilities such as his).

What aboouuut...Kiwi Andrew with the dog on his head.... or Ricardo?

Oh of course I know Andy. Still about and the dog is still there.

@ Overdrive....same here, should we try harder??.....Arrrf, fuck it!

laowwwwwrer tutti frutti?

laowwwwwrer tutti frutti...i think she is an air hostess now...

difficult one.

jenny, - prince albert. very decent geezerbird with heavily pierced ears

keggs

that's so sad....

Jane?

I think I met Jane waaaay back, bit before my time I think- ranka would know if anyone. Pink nick aka Skiddy or lancealot is teaching drama at a school in Hampshire I believe and also has a hand in the Stoke newington international airport theatre/music venue- see quite a bit of him, I've been djing (somewhat fittingly autocorrect tries to call it "Ching" ) for them at glasto the last couple of years.

Jane's in NZ, just got back from a break in India.

nasty

no Imelda Nasty his daughter

I think we need a pint to weep into while we reminisce here. Ello Cavey, still got the beard an grey cave-mobile? Remember the Amex contract.mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Best money I everrrrrrrrrrrrr made. Il still be telling that one when im 90

continuing the theme...

i saw birdman yesterday- he has a beard, a wife, a child on the way and is in fine form

talk to me

Being a house husband, with out kids ,get to ride my bike every day, surf, rock climb ,swim, read books art galls life of reily really i would call it an early retirement but my visas about to come through so back to the dayly slog im in Melbourne at the mo maybe become a barrista then i could make Bill a Benjis special .living in a converted chocolate factory with a French neighbour are you still in France?

No, left shity sprint yearsssss ago after numerous shaftings of the usual kind. These days im over at Addi Lee but trying to find a good way off the bike. Still doing the rapping and producing plus entertaining my two kids, Layla and Max. Delphina (thier mum) is half french actually and her folks live in Poitiers so were over there quite often

ha ha it was not mirage it was fuckin Curly wurly i love the water be it St Kilda or Bells .Hook up, House of pain are playing at the Espy ,who the bloody hell are you?