Roland Butter

Janet, in that case I recommend that you never read Anthony Bourdain's book Kitchen Confidential!

Maybe it's old age creeping up on him, but whenever I've seen him interviewed on TV recently he's always been churlish and misanthropic (or, as we say in South London, a bit of a ******). Maybe he's decided to go away and try to rediscover the joy in life through the medium of black pudding ... Fortunately, wildlife programmes don't really depend on the presenters, for me. The animals pretty much speak for themselves.

Welcome to the Forum. Feel free to plunge right on in.

From what I remember of my trip to Brookvale, Kylie, that would have been a pretty unlikely scenario!

Did you ever see the Father Ted episode, And God Created Woman, where Ted becomes infatuated with the visiting author Polly Clarke? That reminds me of Mrs Doyle's "critique" of her novels

I'd give it a go. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it, but on the whole I thought it was a good story (if a trifle long).

Welcome to the Forum, Andaira.

It's probably a generational thing. My son loves it, but it doesn't do a thing for me at all.

That's impressive! Well done to him ...

I think that's illegal

Given that it's meant to be a bit of escapist trash rather than a documentary for snake fans, you can probably put that down to dramatic licence. And as for the swearing, that's probably there to add a touch of realism. I know what I'd say if a venomous snake dropped on me from out of the luggage rack (and it wouldn't be "Oh bother!")

Very, very bad for you, young fella. Have some vegetables instead...

I don't think this is the end of the independent bookshop, but they have to position themselves as "niche" vendors. OK, they can't compete on price, and if all you want are the latest Harry Potters, Dan Browns or Richard and Judy books, then it doesn't make a lot of sense to buy them at full price from your local bookstore (unless you want to support the local economy!). But good independent bookstores can offer things that the big chains don't. Go into, for example, Daunts in London and you'll find books that you can't find in Waterstones or Borders just down the road - and arranged in an imaginative way which leads you to "discover" things you might never have heard of otherwise. And staff in independent bookshops are, I find, generally more knowledgeable and willing to suggest new authors to explore (I tried to find a copy of Love In The Time Of Cholera in the huge Borders in Oxford Street recently, and was staggered to find the assistant had heard of neither it nor Gabriel Garcia Marquez). And you can't browse on Amazon the way you can in a proper bookshop! Just as "e-books" won't mean the end of the printed word, so too, the power of the big chains (whether in the High Street or online) shouldn't mean the end of the independent booksellers - provided that they have the wit and the imagination to compete on those things where they beat the chain stores, such as service, knowledge and, dare I say it, love of books.

Welcome to the Forum, Vanessa.

There is no way you're old enough to remember that! He used to wear a helmet which was supposed to shoot out flames. On one occasion, he filled it with petrol and then set light to it - with predictable results! Those were the good old days, before health and safety

Welcome to the Forum.

Hi, and welcome to the Forum.

I'd describe him as a poor man's Stan Bowles with knobs on. It's well worth a read, if only to marvel at the sheer audacity of some of the things he did. Not sure about the claim to "greatness", but it's an entertaining story.

I'm expecting you to get nothing less than an "A" - don't let me down

I have actually read that book, so here's a quick summary: It's non-fiction, the biography of ex-footballer Robin Friday. Born in West London in 1952, Friday was a wild youngster whose youth was spent truanting from school and generally getting into mischief, including a spot of burglary here and there and some time in prison. The one thing Friday did have was a flamboyant talent for football. Although professional clubs steered clear of him, probably because of his indiscipline, he was persuaded to have a trial with a local semi-professional team, Hayes, who recognised his talent and signed him. Working on building sites during the week, and playing for pocket money at weekends, Robin Friday's fame soon spread. Always a self-confident player with no respect for reputations, Friday had the ability to match, and scouts from professional clubs came flocking to look at this "wonder boy". In 1974, at the age of 21, Friday's professional career was launched when he signed for Reading in the Fourth Division. He made the transition to professional football effortlessly, terrorising opposing defenders with his outrageous dribbling and sheer unpredictability, as Reading stormed to promotion. At the same time, Friday was a manager's nightmare - unpredictable, individualistic and with little self-discipline. A poor trainer, liable to go missing on alcohol- and drug-fuelled binges, yet adored by the fans for his skill and carefree approach, Friday had one saving grace - he was an unpredictable but hugely talented player who won matches! No "big" clubs came in for Friday, but after two and a half years at Reading, he signed for Cardiff in December 1976, after 121 games and 46 goals for Reading. Almost immediately, crippling injury struck, and despite his attempts to come back, Robin Friday disappeared from football as quickly as he'd burst on the scene - by the end of season 1977/78 his career was over after just 21 appearances for Cardiff. After that, Friday just disappeared back into the life he'd come from - picking up casual work around West London, drinking and experimenting with drugs, brawling here and there. Most fans forgot all about him, until one day in 1991, his body was found in a West London flat - dead at the age of 39 from suspected heart failure, due perhaps - who knows? - to his wayward lifestyle. A tremendously talented player who - for reasons partly to do with his own approach - never got the chance to show his talents on the biggest stage, Robin Friday truly was "The Greatest Footballer You Never Saw". Hope that helps. I did keep that book for a long time, but unfortunately I'm pretty sure I no longer have it, but if you can track it down, it's a great read.

Fair point, ii, but your timing's let you down . As the events of the last few months have shown, raw, unbridled capitalism is every bit as much a failure as the tightly regulated "command economies" of the so-called "communist" system. I don't accept that the market economy makes it necessary to treat staff badly. Clearly, differences in skill, knowledge and responsibility need a differential reward structure - nobody's saying that a street sweeper should be paid the same as a brain surgeon. But there's no reason why a company can't treat all its employees with dignity and respect, irrespective of their their skill levels. Does the Chief Executive of Amazon get timed when he goes to the toilet? If not, then why should his packers? Indeed, providing good working conditions isn't necessarily inimical to returning a profit. There are many companies in the private sector which do both - the John Lewis Partnership is a shining example of this - even in the present economic downturn, its sales are holding up. Treat your employees well, and you'll have a more stable, better motivated, more productive - and therefore more profitable - workforce. There's been a lot of talk in this thread about choice - well, employers, too, have a choice about which route to profitability they take. But I know you were just playing Devil's Advocate, anyway (You can have your head back now ....)