Pizza Express

How have they done it ? I mean, what level of marketing (sorry sales promotion) do you need to employ in order to con people that peasant food is actually aspirational middle class fodder? I often pass our local PE on my to the pub on a Saturday and am totally astonished by number of dweebs willing to part with their hard-earned for a crusts of bread and some insipid plonk.  But then to be honest who really cares. If I want an authentic Pizza then I will visit a restaurant staffed by Italians (or at least someone with vague Italian connections), leastways not a spotty faced gap year student or some sullen Eastern European.

Gastro-pubs -Whaat !

I realise that pubs are having a hard-time what with cheap supermarket booze, the smoking ban and greedy
pubcos constantly hiking rents. But do we really need 'gastropubs' ? Am I alone in thinking that pub food should be limited to a combination of fried egg, chips, pies, ham, sausages, cod (battered)  and peas ? Easy to store, cheap to buy and quick to cook - everyone's happy. Except that apparently they are not. Today's metrosexual want olives on the bar, a choice of wine and something oven-baked or pan-fried - not that they realise that there is no other way to bake or fry something the pillocks.

Pubs are primarily for drinking, restaurants and cafes primarily for eating - got it ?
And while we're at it why can't we have government support for local boozers. When I grew up these places offered a social service, essentially fostering sensible drinking with the older generation of fathers, uncles, neighbours etc.. keeping tabs on the exuberant youth. Now we seem to have the unfettered youth herded into 'theme bars' under the watchful eye of  100s of police on overtime just a few years older acting as temporary guardians. Blair et al wanted to bring in a continental style 'cafe society', sadly the witless buffoon failed to realise that we already had something better in place 30 years ago.

O-levels deliver a 2 tier education system.. so what ?

The opposition parties have declared that the re-introduction of O-levels and CSEs will deliver a two tier education system. Yes, maybe, but so what ? Is this automatically a bad thing ? O-levels can be academic subjects Maths, Chemistry, History or what have you while CSEs could be more vocational, carpentry etc.. Thus bringing us more in line for example with one of Europes most successful education systems - The Netherlands. The comprehensive bilge offered by Labour has to stop - it's helping no-one .

What's more while we're at it  - no not everybody needs a degree  Mr Blair ! You conned a generation of students like you conned the Iraqi weapons inspectors - how you can show your face in public defeats me.
Years ago the best retail management training you could get was as a Marks and Spencers trainee, armed with a couple of decent A-levels you learned on the job. Absolutely no need for a degree from the University of West Humberside or wherever - you shyster !

Airport Passenger Duty - Good !

Can't stand these bleating morons who contuinue to gripe about APD. Look,  thanks to EasyJet and Ryan O'Neil flights have never been cheaper (in real terms) with or without APD. BTW did you morons know that there's no duty on aviation fuel ? Thought not. So book you flights and get on with it quietly  if you must. Me ? I'm staying in Blighty !

Laurie Penny - Ugh !

Who is this woman that writes such precocious piffle ? And what makes her qualified to voice her irrelevant view via a 'quality' (ahem) newspaper - shame on you 'The Independant'..