Priti priti priti Patel

f**k it, i'm making this a "moving house thread" since I can't see one otherwise and am in need of advice. Looking at buying a wee 1 bed place in Dumfries and with the mortgage interest added in, the cost nearly goes up by a third. I guess that's true for everyone though right, so even though I'm getting a house worth say 60,000 and with the mortgage i'd be paying 80,000 - that's pretty much unavoidable unless you pay for it in cash? When it comes time to sell, you just have to hope that the value has risen to 80,000, or you've made that much with renting it out, etc. Is that right?

Can't believe I'm arguing this, but surely more point in a tuxedo you can see beneath a ball gown than a ball gown you can't see beneath a tuxedo.

Ball gown goes on top, obviously.

Apparently it's our London office Xmas party tonight. 400 people, tuxedos and ball gowns. I didn't realise and have come in blue jeans and a mustard jumper . Fingers crossed for working too late to go home and get a suit.

Maybe it is worth lawyering up. I did my US bar prep a wee while back now but I seem to remember schools being pretty strictly regulated as far as things like the ADA and certain constitutional rights. Lots of no win no fee lawyers in the US too. No harm in trying. Edit: i would suggest not putting them in writing. If they don't have them in writing, how could they have actually considered them?

I am loving the Chaplain's Corner stuff on the official site. What an excellent initiative. Fascinating insights into the lives of specific players and the dressing room in general.

I came up from London for that one. Didn't come again until 23 November...

Complain to the law firm and threaten to get the Ombudsman involved if they don't recompense you. If you weren't advised there was a deadline then his/her advice likely fell below the standard expected of a reasonably competent solicitor, so they're likely liable. Get them to pay the fine. I ken his/her job title is solicitor but that doesn't mean they're not just your average joe, a bit simple, capable of making mistakes, and they should reimburse you for that. Source: I practice international law, job title is attorney, but more or less a solicitor.

Sorry about that mate. Sounds like they were looking for a reason to punt you. With it being America, I doubt you have much protection?

The only reason a touch-pad will be slow is if your fingers are sticky. Beast behaviour.

Using a mouse on a laptop. Beast behaviour.

https://www.scotsman.com/news/people/christmas-dinner-fears-as-brussels-sprouts-lorry-overturns-in-fife-1-5062906 "Hello, Police Scotland press office" "Hi, it's Janey GodBradley here, ahv DM'd you on Twitter about the sprouts incident" "Oh aye, what can I help you with love?" "Do ye ken how many sprouts get made in Scotland every year?" "Eh, naw. Fucken millions I wid imagine" "That's brilliant!! Cheers"

I read on Pie and Bovril that he's signed for Patrick Thistle but also that he hasn't. Time will tell.

Cosying up to right wing Americans is not a trait I have taken from my namesake.

Office secret santa. No-one forced to partake but you can if you want. I thought it sounded like fun, a chance to get a wee gift under £10 of something I wouldn't normally buy for myself but might appreciate. Got a decent book on the previous time I did this. I drew the name of a guy who worked as a magician while a student before coming into law. He's a new father as well, just back from paternity leave, so I got a bib for the wee one saying "My dad's magic" and then, as a footnote, "at litigation". All good fun. Just got my present now, looking forward to a well thought out gift based on the interests I put down on the form: motorcycles, reggae, surfing, travelling. Thought football would be too generic. So what did they get me? A President Trump toilet brush. Ffs. ETA: They misspelled my name on the wrapping paper.

I have posted this on here before. There is no "hard core" of fans that won't drift away. They used to say we had a hardcore of 1700, then it went down to 1500, then 1300, and now 1000 - despite someone pointing out there were fewer than 1000 QoS fans on Saturday (as at various other games over the past 12 months). The crowds will keep dwindling and any sense there's a minimum number we can rely on is misplaced.

Police used cars filled with civilians as shields while unloading on a cab known to have a hostage it from all sides. Victims included a random member of the public caught in the cross fire. You would think this might focus minds on whether police can really be trusted with firearms, (aside from the obvious race issues that half the country doesn't care about). In any other country it would, but not the greatest country in the world. Nah they say they went outside after hearing the "execution", chased him into a back alley, killed him there, and only then did the same officers discover their colleague murdered. Doesn't sound right to me, but I wasn't there.

Fair enough, my other half is American so she has the view of counselling as something everyone does, just a third person in the room to help the conversation, rather than the way people in the UK see it, as something you only do when you're really broken. For us, one counselling session was enough to undo a lot of things we were having to talk through again and again. Like, for example, me feeling a bit limited because she was sometimes a bit negative about doing new things, and her explaining that was a reaction to stuff in her childhood. Normally that would have kept coming up - me suggesting something, her saying no, then we'd talk it through - but we would never realise there were things beneath the surface. The counsellor was just there to say "tell Maggie Thatcher why you feel that way" etc. It defo helped, even if we weren't at a bad stage, and it sounds like it could help you express to your Mrs how drained you sometimes feel by the kids and your need for a bit of support and tenderness, etc. Give it some consideration. The American approach to counselling is definitely healthier in my opinion (and there's not many American things I do think are better!) ...

@buchan30 I don't have kids but honestly we all end up having silly arguments and feeling drained and looking at the couples around us. To be honest with you, I am probably a person other people look at and think my relationship is grand. From the outside, I'm a lawyer and she's a professional classical singer so we're setup well financially, no kids whereas all my siblings were knocked up by 21, and we're always talking about each other and happy etc. But truthfully we have huge struggles and sometimes I don't even know if we're a good match. I need more tlc than I've been comfortable telling her. She carries a lot of stress from her job. I'm more sensitive than average and get upset by silly things. She wants me to appease her dad and I think he's a huge c**t. Etc etc etc. When it got real bad we actually went to counselling. I'm just too embarrassed to even tell my best mates that it's not a perfect situation all the time. That's not to say it is not amazing sometimes but just it's not always that way. The only way it would be easy is if you were with someone just like you experiencing exactly the same things as you all the time. That's impossible. So there will be friction, it's inevitable. Counselling was a huge help for us. We only went to one session but it was so helpful in expressing what you're feeling and understanding the other person. So much so that even during the good times we still say we should go back when we have the money. Maybe something like that would help you and Mrs B?

That's hilarious because we all know how much RN hates them But also, RN, hope you are okay mate.

This post from a Dumfries jewellers https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2617801358314520&id=173523289409018 Remarkably the phrase "Black Friday Weekend" isn't the most annoying part of it. The post asks people to guess how many lights there are. Despite not specifying that you have to make a comment too, one person's done it and the unthinking masses of Dumfries have followed along. "1000 looks great" "2000 so stunning" etc etc. What a town

Chucks away a little bag of coke at the end, no wonder he managed to get the knife!

Not sure that's legal tbqhwy.

Stabby man gets executed