Quote: Billy Bunter @ 14th November 2019, 9:38 PMIt depends on the source of the pension of course. I was in receipt of a pension - and proud, therefore, to call myself a pensioner - three years prior to qualifying for my state pension.
Don't stick up for him. I accessed my company pension too at 55.
Quote: Billy Bunter @ 14th November 2019, 9:38 PMIt depends on the source of the pension of course. I was in receipt of a pension - and proud, therefore, to call myself a pensioner - three years prior to qualifying for my state pension.
Thanks for that clarification, Billy.
My original post now contains no mention of her entitlement (or lack thereof) to a pension as I have no wish to court controversy.
Chappers has been in a bit of a bad mood these last few days.
I can't imagine why. 
Quote: A Horseradish @ 14th November 2019, 3:15 PMNot a lot of TV but a mate of mine visited after his father's death. Hadn't seen him in six weeks. Normally, it's three, To cheer him up. I had promised him Detectorists which oddly he hasn't seen and then I found I didn't have it so now it is on order. I gave him the choice of the dozen or so DVDs I have in my living room (I've got a hundred more in my main DVD library in my bedroom) and he opted for an episode of Don't Drink The Water and an episode of the Muppet Show.
I have just done an audit of my DVD stuff actually. Much of it is second hand so I have bought it all on the cheap:
A - British Sitcom
01 Only Fools and Horses
02 Hancock's Half Hour
03 Fawlty Towers
04 Dad's Army
05 Father Ted
06 George and Mildred
07 Detectorists (on order)
08 Desmond's
09 Black Adder
10 Watching
11 The Royle Family
12 One Foot In The Grave
13 Count Arthur Strong
14 Last of the Summer Wine
15 Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
16 Hi-De-Hi
17 Rising Damp
18 The Vicar of Dibley
19 The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
20 A Fine Romance
21 I'm Alan Partridge
22 Yes Minister
23 Home To Roost
24 Bread
25 A Sharp Intake of Breath
26 On The Buses
27 Man About The House
28 Citizen Smith
29 The Thin Blue Line
30 The Top Secret Life of Edgar Briggs
31 The Green Green Grass
32 And Mother Makes Three
33 Dinner Ladies
34 Twenty Twelve
35 'Allo 'Allo
36 Steptoe and Son
37 Are You Being Served?
38 Two's Company
39 Red Dwarf
40 The Dustbinmen
41 The Fosters
42 Butterflies
43 Bless This House
44 The Liver Birds
45 The Likely Lads/Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads
46 Terry and June
47 Brush Strokes
48 The Good Life
49 Chef
50 Absolutely Fabulous
51 Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt
52 Don't Drink The Water
53 Father Dear Father
54 Citizen Khan
55 You Rang M'Lord
56 Oh Doctor Beeching
57 Just Good Friends
58 George and the Dragon
59 Get Some In
60 Rab C Nesbitt
61 Keeping Up Appearances
62 Ever Decreasing Circles
63 Sorry!
64 Fresh FieldsB - British Various
01 Morecambe and Wise
02 Les Dawson
03 Marty Feldman
04 Abigails Party (film)
05 The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer
06 Being There (film)
07 The Two Ronnies
08 Trigger Happy TV (on order)(Plus The Snowman/Father Christmas and Touching The Void (film) : also several football and opera DVDs)
C - American Sitcom
01 Bilko : The Phil Silvers Show
02 Cheers
03 The Big Bang Theory
04 Get Smart
05 Mister Ed
06 Alf
07 Taxi
08 Police Squad
09 Mork and Mindy
10 The Golden Girls
11 Frasier
12 Happy Days
13 The Simpsons
14 The Flintstones
15 Becker
16 The Dick Van Dyke Show
17 Malcolm in the Middle
18 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
19 Bewitched
20 The Munsters
21 I Dream of Jeannie
22 The Addams Family
23 Dharma and Greg
24 Roseanne
25 Soap
26 Married With ChildrenD - American Various
01 The Muppet Show
02 The Banana Splits
03 Top Cat
04 The Furchester Hotel(Plus Buena Vista Social Club (film))
Impressive list Horsey. Only recently I was thinking about buying The Muppets boxset. Do you have the discs in the cases or a wallet? My collection was taking up so much space I put all the cases in storage (parent's garage) and just have the discs in wallets. As long as I put them back they stay in good condition and it saves a lot of space but I miss having the boxes to look at.
Ben Elton, The man from Auntie
I'm watching and being somewhat appalled by the BBC's interview with Prince Andrew.
I'm only a few minutes into the programme and already I've heard:
1. Jeffrey Epstein described as a convicted paedophile - although it's impossible to be convicted of paedophilia as paedophilia is not a crime: it's a sexual preference. One might as well use the expression "a convicted heterosexual" to describe somebody convicted of sexual offences against someone of the opposite sex.
The law is entirely unconcerned with sexual preference: it takes an interest in a person with a particular preference only if that person commits a sexual offence - and sexual offences are unlawful regardless of the presence or absence of a particular sexual preference in the mind of the offender.
2. The age of 18 described as "the age of consent in the US": that's blatantly false as the age of consent in the US varies between 16 to 18 years depending on state. Not only is the statement false but, much much worse, it effectively states that Andrew is accused of having sex with an underage girl.
The girl at the centre of the allegations against Andrew freely admits she was 17 when she met him. The sex allegedly took place in London where the age of consent is 16 and in New York where the age of consent is 17.
Having watched the entire interview, it appears that nobody in the world is alleging that Andrew did anything unlawful - or even immoral - during his association with Jeffrey Epstein.
The allegations are that he (a single man) had consensual sex on three occasions with a girl who was over the age of consent and who, unknown to Andrew, was paid $15,000 for her services to the prince on the first of those occasions. She has not revealed the financial arrangements pertaining to the subsequent occasions.
Andrew denies the allegations and says he can account his whereabouts at the relevant times but, even if they're true he's done nothing wrong as far as I can see.
There isn't a single shred of evidence that Andrew knew anything about Epstein's unlawful activities, including the alleged "trafficking" of the highly paid girl making the allegations.
So why all the fuss?
He might be lying his socks off, or he might not, but if we're going to condemn him on the basis of what he might have known, we're on very dangerous ground because if criminals were convicted in the absence of any evidence simply on the basis of what they might (but might not) have done, we'd all be hanged. 
I'm watching Episode 1 of The Crown on Netflix.
Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham Carter are excellent as QE2 and Margaret respectively - and that despite Olivia's having what one columnist recently described as a "distinctly left-wing face".
The whole production is magnificent!
I'm now watching Episode 2 of The Crown on Netflix.
No spoilers but Olivia and Helena are absolutely nailing it!
The entire cast is doing a wonderful job and whoever cast these actors deserves a medal.
A soap opera about a soap opera ?
Quote: john tregorran @ 17th November 2019, 7:28 PMA soap opera about a soap opera ?
Very much so, John.
I hear they wanted to call it "Coronation Street" but apparently that's already taken.
"Junk and Disorderly" has just finished on ITV4, which I was gutted about as I find it very entertaining and hilarious in part with, as I've mentioned previous, the banter the two presenters have between themselves and punters at the motor cycle boot sales/auctions (lovely seeing those old British bikes **) - speaking of which, I am absolutely gobsmacked at the prices the ephemera such as old oil cans, bicycle repair kits etc etc fetch!!! Original forecourt petrol pumps can fetch an arm and a leg!!
But, a new series starts on Monday at 8 pm - Hooray!! As I do miss that banter I had from friends at work, now that I have retired.
** The prices at the bike auction they went to were generally way above their budget - for eg. a 1936 Brough Superior went for over £80,000!!!!!!!!!!!! Bloody hell....................... 
Quote: lofthouse @ 16th November 2019, 9:11 PMBen Elton, The man from Auntie
The beginning of the end for Benji.
I'm watching Cold Call on Channel 5.
It's a new drama serial about a care worker (played by Sally Lindsay) who falls victim to a telephone banking fraud and is helped by an old friend (played by Daniel Ryan) to locate and go after the fraudster.
Daniel Ryan's character is a bit rough and ready but he's also very high-tech.
The point about these two actors is that apart from being two good actors, they are also very relatable. Sally is from just outside Manchester and Daniel is from a little bit further outside Manchester - well, Warrington actually but that's more than northern enough for me. Do you see what I did there?
Anyway, it looks like being a great little drama series: these two would be absolutely brilliant as Shakespeare and Hathaway.
Recommended!
Series one of men behaving badly
Harry Enfields 'Dermot' character has got to be one of the worst most tedious, dull boring sit com characters I've ever seen
Sheesh
Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood (after download, not on specific channel), very good movie. IMDB lists this with mistake, dots are not were they should be - "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood"
Quote: rrr 969 @ 21st November 2019, 8:37 AMOnce Upon a Time in... Hollywood
I've just watched it and, at 2½ hours, it's far too short!
One of the most entertaining films I've ever seen.
They say if you can remember the late 60s, you couldn't possibly have been there - but, even if your brain is too drug-addled to remember those years, this film will help remind you of that golden era.
Good old Quentin - he's done it again!