at9

In US parlance I think a trolley is also called a streetcar. What in the UK we call a tram. I've travelled on the ones in downtown Portland, Oregon where travel is (or at least used to be) free in the downtown area.

There are a few circumstances in the UK where you can be fired immediately but that cannot possibly apply here. There must have been "Gross Misconduct", usually violence towards a colleague, customer or property.

Kitty, if you've been working for them for more than 2 years you have definite rights as regards redundancy under UK law. It sounds like they have not done the whole thing correctly and legally in which case it's time to take them to an employment tribunal. Consult the CAB or a lawyer. If you've been with them less than 2 years you have fewer rights. It's not entirely clear whether they are sacking you or making you redundant. Either way, you can ask them to put it in writing with reasons otherwise they are in breach of UK employment law. I am not an expert in this field, you definitely need professional advice.

These links may be useful:

https://www.gov.uk/redundant-your-rights

https://www.gov.uk/dismissal

https://www.gov.uk/employment-tribunals

I knew you would get the gerund reference :-)

"Let's say their doing splendidly."

Megan, I do hope you were deliberately leaving that howler around to keep the rest of us on our toes*. Otherwise The Grand Punctuator General may need to find you an appropriate punishment. Perhaps an encounter with a militant gerund on a dark night.

*Deliberate usage for HHP :-)

"Being honest.. roughly 80-90% of the Jews on the planet were *exterminated*."

Don't know where you're getting your figures from. According to this site http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/jewpop.html it's a little under 40%. There's no need to exaggerate, that's still terrifying enough.

"Theres no difference in what modern media does and what Hitler did. Exploiting people is wrong regardless of which side its on."

I'm not sure what to say about such a breathtaking claim. Comparisons with the nazis are widely invoked.for many reasons, most of which are spurious. I would ask HHP members to reflect on the claim that media exploitation is no different to waging large scale war and planning and executing mass murder.

I thought 150 million seemed a bit high.

There were many Jews who fought with honour for the Kaiser in the Great War. They managed to hang on to some privileges in nazi Germany for a little longer but ultimately they were still systematically killed. German Jews were probably the most assimilated Jewish community in the world. Very much thinking themselves German first, Jewish second. Much as many of us would define ourselves by nationality before religion. This was in contrast to the Jews of Poland and the rest of Eastern Europe who very much defined themselves by their religion. The German Jews widely thought that Hitler and his henchmen were just yet another little local difficulty to be overcome. After all, they occupied many important positions and hadn't they served the fatherland in WW1? Even after Kristalnacht there were still some who couldn't believe that mass murder was the future for them. Even the nazis hadn't quite got that far in 1938, the "final solution" was only finalised at the Wannsee conference in 1942.

Some German Jews escaped to France, holland or other European countries which were subsequently invaded by the nazis. Many did not survive. Although many Jews escaped to the US and UK there was a lot of pressure against such immigration within those countries.

The nazis forged some strange alliances too. Some arabs, who must have been untermenschen in nazi eyes, were brought in as allies because they hated the Jews. If Germany had won the war I wonder what would have become of them.

As for the Roma and Sinti peoples that were systematically murdered they were perenial outsiders, even more than the Jews. They had few communities to which they might escape., few people outside Germany who might speak of their plight.

I recently heard in the media that Hitler put more than 150 million to death. So why are we so focused on the Jews if they were only 6 million?

First, as dww has said, it's not a numbers game. I think the 150 million figure may be the total number of lives lost on all sides and for all reasons due to WW2. Including soldiers killed in combat, civilians killed by bombing etc as well as those Jews, Sinta, Roma and others murdered in cold blood by the nazis.War is a nasty business, even when neither side resorts to deliberate mass murder.

I know many people whose relatives were murdered in nazi concentration camps. I also know a number who escaped (or their parents escaped) in time, including one family who managed to get out in August 1939. Apart fromthe 6 million Jews let us also not forget the million+ Roma, Sinti, homosexuals and other "untermenschen" who were murdered.

Germany and Austria gave us Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Goethe, Schiller and so many more who ascended the peaks of civilisation. And also gave us Hitler.

As for "never again" let us not forget Stalin's post-WW2 purges (at least 10 million) , former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and likely several others I have failed to mention.

In all those poor enslaved commie European countries the total tax on road fuel is around the 50% to 60% mark and has been for many years. Hence the good Doctor's ironic laugh at 20%.

I have a pair of UK9 New Look sandals. They fit my UK9 feet but are a touch small. In my experience Aldo stock what they call UK9 and it seems like nearer UK7. Clarks do some UK9 and they are usually pretty true to size. Next do many styles in UK9/EU43. I have a pair Next ankle boots that is actually a bit large. Doc Martens do some of their heels in UK9 but again thay may be a bit small.

I think the thread title gives a clue as to area. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leeds

You should be able to use US credit cards in most places but sometimes you will have trouble due to lack of chip and PIN. 

Chip and PIN has made credit card fraud much more difficult.

There are many places that will not accept Amex or Diners cards at all.

When comparing UK and US prices please remember that in the US the tax is added at the till. In the UK and most other countries the sticker price includes tax so what you see is what you pay.

A friend used to do high end professional audio installations in the 1980s. He told me of a specialist rock music recording suite which had (I think) Westlake monitors which were claimed to do 140dBA at the mixing position. This is threshold of death stuff, even for rock balancers who've been deaf for years. This capability had to be verified using an SPL meter. Nobody was volunteering to be inside the room at that sort of loudness so they used the peak hold function on the meter. They put on a tape and got out. Outside the "soundproof" door it was still subjectively quite loud. The spec was met.

There's a big difference between a sound proof room and an anechoic chamber. DWW is presumably referring to the latter. Being inside one is totally weird - I went in the one at the BBC's research labs once many years ago. Making music of any kind in one must be well nigh impossible as the musicians can't hear any reflections off the walls. I suspect that an anechoic chamber will also be pretty much soundproof but a soundproof room will not be anechoic.

Why do I keep thinking of Grayson Perry when looking at this guy. Though Grayson Perry is living and working in the liberal world of art and  artists, not in rural/small town America.

Please don't take this personally but you may well get better responses by using a more helpful thread title. "Can you help me" doesn't help us to help you. I don't usually look at threads with that sort of title on any forum. Something like "Shoes for Rocky Horror" would be much more helpful.

There are still a few more chances to catch the current UK Rocky Horror tour: http://rockyhorror.co.uk/tickets-tour-dates

Anything here? http://www.alternative-footwear.co.uk/womens-shoes-and-boots/shoes/high-heel-sandals.html

I've never been to Doreen's but I know people who have and apparently they're helpful: http://www.doreenfashions.com/index.html Might be worth phoning them to ask, surely it's a common enough request for them.

FInally, it doesn't have to be exactly right. When I was at a recent Rocky Horror Show performance there was quite a variety of heels on display in the audience.

Have fun!

Remember that most rental cars in the UK (and the rest of Europe) are manual (stick shift). You will have to request an automatic if you want one and usually pay extra.

UK petrol (gas) prices work out at about $7 to $8 per US gallon. Pretty similar over most of Europe too.

17th July? Unless you have a time machine or mean 2014 I don't think that's possible.

Just go to a store and buy them. Guys sizes are usually two sizes smaller than womans(number wise) ex- I'm a size 10w and size 8m is us sizes. Good luck!

UK sizes are nominally the same for both men and women. EU43 = UK9 which is the largest standard women's size you will find in the UK. Even then it's quite rare. Sometimes EU42 is called UK9 which just shows you can never be quite sure without trying on. Some brands run small - Aldo UK9 are nearer UK7 in my experience. Clarks will usually be true to size.

If you're a UK10 I'm amazed you even got into a pair of UK7 boots.

They certainly still advertise them: http://www.punitiveshoes.com/index_en.shtml

Here's the address on streetview: http://goo.gl/maps/YcDhD It's actually only a few miles from me. I reckon it's a unit within that commercial building.