There's also Jacomo:

www.jacamo.co.uk/shop/

I've bought the semi-ex a few things there and the quality and service were perfectly fine.

Just a reminder that the Soiree returns this coming Sunday, 9th Jan 2011 (ack!) at 10:30 PM GMT (11:30 in western Europe, 5:30 on the NAmerican east coast, 2:30 on the west coast).

If you are over 40 and haven't yet attended one of the Soirees, please do try to come along. They've been great fun, and easier to follow than the main room for those who are new to chat. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

I generally have a fiendish sweet tooth, and prefer carbs in general over protein, but I definitely go through phases where my cravings shift for a week or even a month. Eventually it all settles back down to the usual.

This story appeared yesterday in The Age, Australia's newspaper of record (ie the big serious one) about a policy being proposed in the state of Victoria:

Doctors want to put the fear of fat into you
Jill Stark
January 2, 2011
Advertisements showing damaged vital organs or people drinking liquefied body fat should be used to shock Victorians into giving up junk food and sugary soft drinks, health groups have proposed.
The Australian Medical Association says campaigns promoting healthy eating habits and exercise have failed to curb the obesity epidemic and shock tactics are now needed.
In a submission to the state government seen by The Sunday Age, the AMA describes obesity as ''Victoria's most pressing public health issue'', and calls for a $25 million advertising blitz to help tackle the crisis.

tinyurl.com/2ftcxvm

Though I can't find it now, I saw a news item somewhere else about a national policy in Japan that levies fines on corporations if their employees do not lose weight and bring their blood pressure and cholesterol levels down.

So, let's assume that one of the founding principles of Size Liberation and Fat Activism is that size is not a good predictor of health, but that perhaps more exercise and healthier eating is overall a good idea for all people, fat and thin. Is it acceptable for governments to terrorise people, as Victoria is proposing? Is it ok to impose fines, as in Japan? Or are these measures we should be fighting against--petitions? letter writing campaigns? collections for ads in newspapers? picketing?--because they are so full of fat hatred?

What do you all think?

I think the discrimination is more towards patients than employees. Moreover, 220 on 6' is not loads. I'm fiarly sure you're safe.

I don't actually believe it's *possible* to fit a size 46 waist into size 36 trousers/jeans.

As with all communities, there are people interested in feeding who are thoughtless at best and abusive at worst. But to tar us all with the same brush, and to then extend that to any practice of gaining in reality, is *quite* the leap of illogic.

Just like we don't judge all heterosexuals by the ones who beat their partners, we shouldn't all be judged by the thoughtless and abusive feeders. And just as people are entitled to pickle their livers in alcohol if they so choose, why shouldn't we be allowed to choose less healthful eating habits if we think the pleasure is more important than longevity?

First of all, it's endlessly intriguing to me that men in their late thirties and forties hope that young women will consider chatting with them, but that they feel just fine about blowing off women older than they. Intriguingly, lots and lots--though obviously not all--of young men are perfectly happy chatting with a 50 year old woman. I find the contradiction between those interesting--has something changed about age and women between those two generations? or do men's attitudes about age change as they get older? Curious.

Anyway, I think one of the problems this thread and others like it have is that it takes those of us who answer as if we are representative of all women on the site. But we're much more participatory, and more likely to have filled out dating ads and have info on our profiles, and so on.

For my two cents, if a woman hasn't filled out a dating ad, and you can't find info on her, then 'So, what brings you to the site?' seems like a perfectly fine question to ask. If there is more info available, then something more personalised is definitely in order.

New term = fun and interesting

Perpetual advertising, multiple times a week, of another website = cheesy (imho)