You walk in, there are clothes to buy (and NSM useful clothes, more like The Limited). And then, upstairs -- groceries! WTF?

I remember that one of the big old department stores in NYC (Gimbels, maybe) used to be like that. I thought it was neat.

Is it the idea of the food being upstairs that's weird? I'm trying to remember where the other department stores put their food.

Harrod's kept it in the basement.

Harvey Nichols London kept it on the top floor. I'd never really thought of it before. I wonder if the other M&S followed similar layouts?

::tries hard to remember the Montréal M&S::

There used to be several Marks and Sparks in S. Ontario that I had access to until they bailed on North America. The ones I remember all had food on the ground floor at the back. Clothes at the entrance, men's and women's separated by a centre aisle. My sister even worked at one for some extra dosh when she was a student.

William was a lion.

Actually, William went as a leopard. But William also went with Harry when they both got their costumes. So they each get props for the other's stupid choice, as apparently neither of them noticed that Nazis or lions had very little to do with the theme of the party....

...which was "Natives and Colonials". A lot of people have pointed out that this is the really distressing thing; that the young British upper classes feel the need to keep reviving the Empire in all its (outdated, offensive) glory.

SA, M&S food is the best. It's the only thing which has kept the company viable in recent years, as people have gone off its clothes.

Maybe they are American-style because the English find the word "cookie" funny? Suddenly can't remember having eaten a single cookie/biscuit while in England. I think Jaffa cakes don't count, right? I did have those.

I've eaten so many cookie/biscuits. I'm addicted to digestives with my tea. Now I like tea. I didn't drink tea before I came to the UK.

You have no idea how distressing I found Marks & Sparks in England. You walk in, there are clothes to buy (and NSM useful clothes, more like The Limited). And then, upstairs -- groceries! WTF?

Well, I come from the Land of Wal-Mart. So it wasn't that unusual for me. Except it's cheap-ass food and even cheaper-ass clothes other than rather nice things on both accounts.

Also -- M&S has great underwear. I could do with a Marks and Sparks style bra fitting around now.

I took Jilli's advice on that, and one of the first things I bought in this country were two M&S bras. Then I went back and bought two packages of M&S underwear. It's the best underwear I've ever owned.

Is it the idea of the food being upstairs that's weird? I'm trying to remember where the other department stores put their food.

Marshall Fields in Chicago puts it in the basement.

SA, M&S food is the best. It's the only thing which has kept the company viable in recent years, as people have gone off its clothes.

The clothes are far too expensive for the style and the quality, I think. I couldn't even find anything I liked on the sale racks. But the underwear is brilliant, as I just said a moment ago. I apparently felt the need to tell you JUST HOW GREAT M&S underwear is. It's that great.

I do like their food--it's still kind of expensive and has a yuppie atmosphere, but the sushi is decent for all that it's cooked. I only ate it on the train back to Wales, when there was a Simply Food available and I didn't have enough time to go to Yo!Sushi.

What's to be warned about re Season 4 of Farscape?

What everyone else said. Others will disagree, but I found season 4 Farscape to be a bigger drop in quality than, say, the last few seasons of Buffy (which I loved large chunks of, and never felt as betrayed by). I realize there were meta reasons for it, but a lot of it was still inexcusable.

That said, PEACEKEEPER WARS managed to undo the damage. What a great sendoff.

Cooked sushi? Huh?

Some sushi is cooked -- inagi (one of the eels) is, for instance. Sashimi's always raw, methinks.