bridge too far

But if twins were unplanned? I'll tell you a quick story. I know of a family who had a little boy. When he was 3 they decided to have a second child and that would be it. They waited until he was 3 so that by the time the second child was 1, their son would be in school (no more nursery fees for him) but they could afford to pay nursery fees for that second child and both parents could carry on working full time. But, to their great surprise, their second 'child' turned out to be two children. Once the twins were 1, they couldn't afford for both of them to work full or even part time because they couldn't afford two lots of nursery fees (at £80 a day each). They didn't PLAN to have two MORE children; they would have been able to afford nursery fees and, therefore, both work full time had they had only had the one. What would be their solution if your measures were to be in place? Abort one of the unborn twins?

And if the second child (and third) is a twin?

I do wonder how many more defeats / U turns / delays Duncan Smith's department will be allowed before he gets the chop. He's been in charge of a catalogue of disasters! And Jeremy Hunt lost his court appeal yesterday too

I'm glad your mother had a good experience. I'm coming at this not from a principled 'knock the private medical provision angle' but rather from the fact that private hospitals are not scrutinised in the same way as NHS hospitals are. You would be amazed at the amount of examination, clinical governance and compliance the NHS is subjected to and, it seems, private hospitals aren't. I well remember, years ago it's true, when the instrument sterilising facility at a Hampshire hospital broke down. We approached local private hospitals but their instrument sterilisation processes didn't meet the required standard.

Faith, Hope, Charity and Verity are very old names. When my latest granddaughter was on her way, her parents had decided boy and girl names but, as soon as she arrived, they changed their minds completely. Their final choice suits her so much better than the name originally planned for her.

So you're not worried by that article, Ron and by the fact that private hospitals don't have to meet the criteria as NHS hospitals do? I would be very, very worried. I can't fault the exemplary treatment I had 10 days ago from the ambulance crew to hospital treatment at an NHS hospital. My concern would be, as an NHS patient, if I was sent to a private hospital that has a contract with the NHS. Mr TF was sent to a Spire hospital a couple of years ago for a knee op on the NHS - his treatment nowhere near matched mine.

There is an apocryphal tale that a British couple named their daughter 'Anaesthesia' (not sure they spent it properly though)

Oh yeah

Not so modern - think Jackson Pollock who died in 1956!

You might read this article with some alarm http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/28/mid-staffordshire-private-hospitals-fail

What do you like your better halves to wear? Florida Marlin just mentioned Clinique Happy - the 'female' version is one of my favourites. Calvin Klein Eternity Summer and Moments are always welcomed too

My man likes Paul Smith and so do I

Thanks for posting that VW - it's useful to hear all aspects of the issue.

Interesting view on the whole sad tale http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/the-grangemouth-dispute-makes-it-clear-who-really-runs-the-country-8907430.html

The Met Office is damned if it does and damned if it doesn't.

"As of late April 2008 INEOS was at the centre of an industrial relations dispute with Unite the Union over pension policies affecting the workforce at its Grangemouth Refinery. The company had taken the decision to close the company's final salary pension scheme to new employees due to the costs associated with its continued operation. It is also claimed by Unite that workers at Grangemouth are paid £6,000 less than workers at other similar facilities."

Meh - he's far more articulate than me

The Wiki page for Ineos is interesting. It seems to be an asset stripper in part (look at the bottom of the page). Its head office is in Lyndhurst http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ineos

Clever, clever Ineos 1. Engineer a dispute 2. Threaten to take toys home if union doesn't capitulate (and remember, the union was carrying out its member's instructions) 3. Union capitulates so bring back toys 4. Secure investment including government loan guarantees and 'grants' 5. Continue to run operation with help from the taxpayer at a lower cost base thereby increasing profits and dividends

Ensure I never walked on wet decking

This is a bit of a dark version that I've not seen before. I'm impressed Hypo - where did you do that?

Just discovered Sky Arts is screening the Paris Opera version of the ballet 'Coppelia'! So there is an upside to being marooned on the settee after all!

I'm crying with laughter here Well done Hatch

Not on that list but I hate 'have a conversation'. Err no - just 'talk to'

My personal 'hate' is 'going forward' but I was amused to hear my very ambitious daughter talking about a recent business case she'd written and how she'd have to 'back fill' a position! I said I thought that was taking the whole casting couch scenario a bit too far