And God bless everyone.
Just to quickly get the cricket out of the way; it is hardly a pleasure to be proved right! A little more one sided than I imagined, but Australia have thoroughly deserved their victory, which is likely to be 5-0 in a weeks time. The demonic looking Mitchell Johnson has done just what I feared and become the star of the series. So well done to him, especially after all the stick he has taken over the years when playing us.
But another particular well done is called for. Brad Haddin, approaching 35, has had a quite fantastic series. Brilliant behind the stumps and equally so at No.7 in the batting order. He has been ridiculously good, and fully vindicates the decision of Darren Lehman the coach to bring him back into the team.
These two men, apparently in the wilderness this time last year, have been brought back and have personified the difference between the sides. We can hope that England learn from this horror tour and make the changes that are clearly needed. Players are no longer getting better in the England team environment.
Quiet night in for all of us toight, away from all the rubbish, but I'll put some predictions down anyway.
General.
A wave of people will arrive into the UK from Bulgaria and Romania. Chaos will ensue, and politiicans will spend their time lying about it and dodging the issue. A vile pox on all their houses.
Economy.
It will look as if it is getting better, but it is a mirage. All borrowed money and illusion. The state borrows and spends too much, and until it does not we will continue sliding down into eventual ruin.
Sport.
Sunderland.
Who knows! We are in the deepest brown stuff once more, but there are slight signs of hope. Only slight, but if Gus Poyet can keep this lot up, then he might be the manager we have been waiting for since Peter Reid.
In Cricket, there will be a bit of a blood letting over the Ashes thrashing, but probably not sufficient. England lose the summer series to India. Durham do well again, but miss Stokes and finish fourth and struggle to keep hold of the inspirational Paul Collingwood who is wanted by England.
Man Utd, astonishingly, win the league. Leicester, QPR and Ipswich are promoted.
I won't be betting on any of the above!
Happy New Year.!
Tuesday, 31 December 2013
Sunday, 17 November 2013
Ashes Prediction.
Back after rather a long time! So to anybody who might stumble upon these ramblings, hello again.
I thought I'd just offer my views on the forthcoming Ashes tour which will commence this week in Brisbane.
I do not share the common belief that this will be a comfortable win for England, in fact I make Australia favourites for the first time since the tour down under in 06/07, the last time they won a series.
Australia are better than that record suggests. In Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris they have two quite superb bowlers, and backed up by the ever reliable Peter Siddle and the improving Nathan Lyon as spinner their attack is more or less the equal of England's. They even have the advantage of a fifth bowler if Shane Watson is fit to bowl. England's attack is of course proven, and they might also have the fifth bowler option if they have the nerve to play Stokes as a number six bat, though that looks unlikely. So there is not much to choose between the tow sets of bowlers.
The batting line ups, again are hard to separate, although I would put England slightly ahead in this department. But England are playing away and in a country where they have seldom tasted success. A country in fact where very few teams have tasted success, Australia do not make a habit of losing test series at home.
This all depends on one crucial element of the game though. Can Australia develop a proper test match mentality? It's no use going off the pitch high fiving and looking pleased with yourself after a good day or even two good days-an old England habit. Test matches usually take four or five days to win, and often enough it is by getting out of trouble sometime during the match that a team can go on and win or draw the game. Australia too often lately have looked like folding once they are in real difficulties, as if they don't have the mental strength to see through a difficult patch and play the game from there.
If they can show this mentality Ausrtalia will probably win, home advantage probably being the key. If however they continue to play like a one day team when they are in trouble, they could get thumped.
I hope I am wrong, but I think Clarke and his team will have learnt from their bad recent mistakes in this particular regard. We'll all know soon enough!
I thought I'd just offer my views on the forthcoming Ashes tour which will commence this week in Brisbane.
I do not share the common belief that this will be a comfortable win for England, in fact I make Australia favourites for the first time since the tour down under in 06/07, the last time they won a series.
Australia are better than that record suggests. In Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris they have two quite superb bowlers, and backed up by the ever reliable Peter Siddle and the improving Nathan Lyon as spinner their attack is more or less the equal of England's. They even have the advantage of a fifth bowler if Shane Watson is fit to bowl. England's attack is of course proven, and they might also have the fifth bowler option if they have the nerve to play Stokes as a number six bat, though that looks unlikely. So there is not much to choose between the tow sets of bowlers.
The batting line ups, again are hard to separate, although I would put England slightly ahead in this department. But England are playing away and in a country where they have seldom tasted success. A country in fact where very few teams have tasted success, Australia do not make a habit of losing test series at home.
This all depends on one crucial element of the game though. Can Australia develop a proper test match mentality? It's no use going off the pitch high fiving and looking pleased with yourself after a good day or even two good days-an old England habit. Test matches usually take four or five days to win, and often enough it is by getting out of trouble sometime during the match that a team can go on and win or draw the game. Australia too often lately have looked like folding once they are in real difficulties, as if they don't have the mental strength to see through a difficult patch and play the game from there.
If they can show this mentality Ausrtalia will probably win, home advantage probably being the key. If however they continue to play like a one day team when they are in trouble, they could get thumped.
I hope I am wrong, but I think Clarke and his team will have learnt from their bad recent mistakes in this particular regard. We'll all know soon enough!
Sunday, 7 July 2013
SIR ANDY MURRAY.
It isn't yet but I wouldn't be surprised if he was asked to receive a knighthood shortly. I've little time for such things, but if ever a man deserved recognition of this kind it is Andy Murray, although it would be better left until he has finished playing.
Today, with all the almighty pressure of expectation heaped upon him he has performed a staggering feat, outplaying the Number One player in the world in Novak Jokovic. He has won in straight sets to bring delight to the whole nation, and I imagine many outside it.
But there is more to it than that. Murray could have become a very rich man just hanging around the top sixteen in world tennis. His talent would have seen to that. That and the fact that there are no other British players any where near being in the frame. But Murray has slogged himself stupid to get himself fitter and better, and has kept going after losing several finals. He deserves all that his coming to him, he has earned it all.
WELL DONE ANDY!!
Today, with all the almighty pressure of expectation heaped upon him he has performed a staggering feat, outplaying the Number One player in the world in Novak Jokovic. He has won in straight sets to bring delight to the whole nation, and I imagine many outside it.
But there is more to it than that. Murray could have become a very rich man just hanging around the top sixteen in world tennis. His talent would have seen to that. That and the fact that there are no other British players any where near being in the frame. But Murray has slogged himself stupid to get himself fitter and better, and has kept going after losing several finals. He deserves all that his coming to him, he has earned it all.
WELL DONE ANDY!!
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| Andy Murray holds aloft the Wimbledon trophy. |
Friday, 28 June 2013
The UK shale gas fiasco. A disgraceful dereliction of duty.
This week we have had to listen to the government promising that at last, the UK will start taking the issue of extracting the vast reserves of tight gas from the known reserves we have here. I will believe this when I see it.
This useless government is in thrall to the lunatic Ed Davey who is foisting windmills by the hundred and higher bills on the country, at the same time as allowing perfectly workable coal fired power stations to be closed to placate the EU. He is very anti shale gas, and can be expected to obstruct this with all his might. He MUST be removed from office, but the coward in No.10 will prevaricate and prefer instead to just settle for a few headlines.
This week we have also had the first clear signs of what some of us have been saying for a few years now. That "brown outs" or controlled power cuts are inevitable. Because- although they do not say this in public- we are closing down too much capacity to satisfy fanatics in Brussells.
So a common sense approach to shale gas exploration is very unlikely given the hopeless and disconnected thinking by this government, not to mention the disgraceful neglect of the issue by the last one.
Really. Trust me. Buy a generator!
This useless government is in thrall to the lunatic Ed Davey who is foisting windmills by the hundred and higher bills on the country, at the same time as allowing perfectly workable coal fired power stations to be closed to placate the EU. He is very anti shale gas, and can be expected to obstruct this with all his might. He MUST be removed from office, but the coward in No.10 will prevaricate and prefer instead to just settle for a few headlines.
This week we have also had the first clear signs of what some of us have been saying for a few years now. That "brown outs" or controlled power cuts are inevitable. Because- although they do not say this in public- we are closing down too much capacity to satisfy fanatics in Brussells.
So a common sense approach to shale gas exploration is very unlikely given the hopeless and disconnected thinking by this government, not to mention the disgraceful neglect of the issue by the last one.
Really. Trust me. Buy a generator!
Tuesday, 25 June 2013
UK. Justice and hypocrisy.
Trenton Oldfield, an Australian, went for a swim last year in the Thames at the same time as the Cambridge v Oxford boat race was taking place. He was making a point. He felt that the race was an elitist anchronism and that much the same could be said of London generally. These are hardly sensational or rarely held opinions, even if they were unconventionally expressed.
Astonishingly he has been deported from the UK, following the serving of a six month jail term for his misplaced bout of recreation, itself an incredibly harsh sentence. He has apparently been told that "he must learn to obey the laws of this country whilst in it".
Mr Oldfield is an easy target. He is white, male, Australian and probably not a Muslim . So the judge will have felt safe in his sentencing, and the immigration authorities will have felt safe in their absurd and draconian behaviour in deporting him.
Contrast this with the ridiculous circus surrounding the likes of Abu Qatada and Abu Hamza, who spent years between them preaching hate and inciting violence in this country.
The immigration authorities spent these years hiding behind any excuse they could find rather than deal with these odious men, and many others like them. The immigration authorities are still doing this, as are the police who repeatedly ignore crimes of this nature.
The likes of Hamza and Qatada are Muslims, therefore they must be tolerated and indulged in a way that disgusts every decent man and woman in this country, or at least those who do not need the BBC to think for them
You are well out of it Trenton. .
Astonishingly he has been deported from the UK, following the serving of a six month jail term for his misplaced bout of recreation, itself an incredibly harsh sentence. He has apparently been told that "he must learn to obey the laws of this country whilst in it".
Mr Oldfield is an easy target. He is white, male, Australian and probably not a Muslim . So the judge will have felt safe in his sentencing, and the immigration authorities will have felt safe in their absurd and draconian behaviour in deporting him.
Contrast this with the ridiculous circus surrounding the likes of Abu Qatada and Abu Hamza, who spent years between them preaching hate and inciting violence in this country.
The immigration authorities spent these years hiding behind any excuse they could find rather than deal with these odious men, and many others like them. The immigration authorities are still doing this, as are the police who repeatedly ignore crimes of this nature.
The likes of Hamza and Qatada are Muslims, therefore they must be tolerated and indulged in a way that disgusts every decent man and woman in this country, or at least those who do not need the BBC to think for them
You are well out of it Trenton. .
Friday, 21 June 2013
A Levels. Over for now!!
Not mine of course, my exams might have been completed in Latin, so long ago did they take place, but my son's. They have taken quite a bit of my time as well in different ways, but they are done and so now he has to wait until mid August for his results.
I really do hope he gets the grades he needs to get into the University of his choice, and not just because he is my son. But because he has genuinely worked very hard and sacrificed a lot of time, (almost all if it these last few months!) so he deserves to do well. We are proud of his efforts whatever the outcome and have told him so.
I will be back on here shortly to bang on about abortion. This casual slaughter is just getting out of hand, and when I get a bit of time I think I should put in my two penneth.
I really do hope he gets the grades he needs to get into the University of his choice, and not just because he is my son. But because he has genuinely worked very hard and sacrificed a lot of time, (almost all if it these last few months!) so he deserves to do well. We are proud of his efforts whatever the outcome and have told him so.
I will be back on here shortly to bang on about abortion. This casual slaughter is just getting out of hand, and when I get a bit of time I think I should put in my two penneth.
Thursday, 6 June 2013
Euro saved. Greece impoverished.
That's about the sum of it, although this will come as no surprise to anyone who has spent any time at all reading and thinking about this subject.
Today Bruno Waterfield in the Telegraph has laid out in fine detail just how low the Eurocrats will stoop to protect their precious currency and with it the EU. In the same paper Ambrose Evans Pritchard embellishes the point.
There really seem to be no depths to which this disgusting cabal of criminals will not stoop to feather their own nests, and to avoid admitting that they have been wrong all along.
Of course it is not just Greece that is suffering the effects of the EU economic jackboot. Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy are all suffering in ways that are completely unnecessary. France too will have to pay a price in the end if this grand folly is persisted with for long enough.
I hope I am wrong about this, but I think that the time for a peaceful resolution to this grotesque, man made tragedy is already behind us. The only question now seems to be just how much blood will have to be shed, and whose, before countries are allowed to find a way to sort their own future out, however painful that might be.
But as much as the EU and it's Euro fanatical protaganists are to blame for much of this, it is surely time for the countries themselves to realise that life outside this club is not only possible but preferable. The EU is not the cosy, protected land of endless handouts and mutual back scratching they thought they were entering all those years ago. It never was, it is an iron fist in a velvet glove.
Better off out guys, better off out. As Gorbachev put it when he was asked about the EU, " Why re-invent the Soviet Union?".
Today Bruno Waterfield in the Telegraph has laid out in fine detail just how low the Eurocrats will stoop to protect their precious currency and with it the EU. In the same paper Ambrose Evans Pritchard embellishes the point.
There really seem to be no depths to which this disgusting cabal of criminals will not stoop to feather their own nests, and to avoid admitting that they have been wrong all along.
Of course it is not just Greece that is suffering the effects of the EU economic jackboot. Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Italy are all suffering in ways that are completely unnecessary. France too will have to pay a price in the end if this grand folly is persisted with for long enough.
I hope I am wrong about this, but I think that the time for a peaceful resolution to this grotesque, man made tragedy is already behind us. The only question now seems to be just how much blood will have to be shed, and whose, before countries are allowed to find a way to sort their own future out, however painful that might be.
But as much as the EU and it's Euro fanatical protaganists are to blame for much of this, it is surely time for the countries themselves to realise that life outside this club is not only possible but preferable. The EU is not the cosy, protected land of endless handouts and mutual back scratching they thought they were entering all those years ago. It never was, it is an iron fist in a velvet glove.
Better off out guys, better off out. As Gorbachev put it when he was asked about the EU, " Why re-invent the Soviet Union?".
Saturday, 25 May 2013
ISLAM AND HATE.
These two words just seem to go together with each outrageous act that passes.
Tonight it seems a French soldier has been stabbed in the neck in public, although no one yet knows who has done this. But would you want any money on it not being another deranged Islamist?
The government there, just as here, will be desperately trying to say that these heinous acts are nothing to do with Islam, and that Islam does not allow for such atrocities. But that is just the point. Islam does allow for murder, and the Koran encourages it.
No sane person would contend that all Muslims are terrorists.
But just as surely, no sane person could deny that almost all terrorists are now Muslim.
Tonight it seems a French soldier has been stabbed in the neck in public, although no one yet knows who has done this. But would you want any money on it not being another deranged Islamist?
The government there, just as here, will be desperately trying to say that these heinous acts are nothing to do with Islam, and that Islam does not allow for such atrocities. But that is just the point. Islam does allow for murder, and the Koran encourages it.
No sane person would contend that all Muslims are terrorists.
But just as surely, no sane person could deny that almost all terrorists are now Muslim.
Sunday, 19 May 2013
Astonishing play by Broard.
England beat New Zealand.
England should really always beat New Zealand at cricket, so overwhelming are the odds in England's favour.
But every so often New Zealand put a team together that looks to be a threat against the so called bigger teams. This side they have now looks to be just such a team in the making. A good bowling attack, superb inspirational captain and a genuinely promising batting line up.
At about mid-day today New Zealand were in with a serious chance of beating England in the first of the two test series. They had whittled England out cheaply and faced a target of 239 to win with a day and a half to go. Not easy but most thought it was at least possible. Some thought it probable and that England were at least 20 runs short in their second innings.
Enter Stuart Broad, who in a blistering spell, wiped out the New Zealand batting top order taking seven wickets. This was Broad at his best, fast full and accurate. Unplayable.
.
England should really always beat New Zealand at cricket, so overwhelming are the odds in England's favour.
But every so often New Zealand put a team together that looks to be a threat against the so called bigger teams. This side they have now looks to be just such a team in the making. A good bowling attack, superb inspirational captain and a genuinely promising batting line up.
At about mid-day today New Zealand were in with a serious chance of beating England in the first of the two test series. They had whittled England out cheaply and faced a target of 239 to win with a day and a half to go. Not easy but most thought it was at least possible. Some thought it probable and that England were at least 20 runs short in their second innings.
Enter Stuart Broad, who in a blistering spell, wiped out the New Zealand batting top order taking seven wickets. This was Broad at his best, fast full and accurate. Unplayable.
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| Stuart Broad wheels away after another wicket. |
Tuesday, 14 May 2013
Knee knocking time for Sunderland.
And for us poor supporters.
Tonight it will be Arsenal V Wigan. If Wigan fail to beat Arsenal, Sunderland will stay up. The odds against Wigan doing this are about 7/1.
Why do I think this will not go the way I want it to!
Actually, in other circumstances I'd like Wigan to stay up, especially after their heroic FA cup win last Saturday. But I'm afraid it is almost certainly us or Wigan, so I am an Arsenal supporter tonight!
Tonight it will be Arsenal V Wigan. If Wigan fail to beat Arsenal, Sunderland will stay up. The odds against Wigan doing this are about 7/1.
Why do I think this will not go the way I want it to!
Actually, in other circumstances I'd like Wigan to stay up, especially after their heroic FA cup win last Saturday. But I'm afraid it is almost certainly us or Wigan, so I am an Arsenal supporter tonight!
Monday, 13 May 2013
CRICKET. DURHAM WIN AGAIN!
I have to say that this is unexpected. Durham finished the 2012 season very well, but we have a young team and were expected by many, (not me, I think we'll be okay) to be in a relegation scrap in the County Championship.
But today Durham completed their fist ever win at the Oval, which makes it three wins out of five this season, and including the games since Paul Collingwood took over the captaincy, eight wins out of eleven.
This is stunning form and if it is kept up we would romp away with the Championship. But while this form is actually very unlikely to be maintained, it does look as if the signs are there that Durham are growing again after a difficult couple of seasons following our two titles in successive years. Since then we have lost experienced quality players in Di Venuto, Plunkett, Blackwell and Harmison who now seldom plays. But young guns in Rushworth, Borthwick, Stoneman, Wood and now Ryan Buckley are standing up and playing their part.
These are great signs. Durham in this match, who were missing Graham Onions who is playing for the England Lions, fielded eight home grown players out of the eleven involved, with only the inspirational captain Collingwood over thirty.
Watch this space I think they say!
But today Durham completed their fist ever win at the Oval, which makes it three wins out of five this season, and including the games since Paul Collingwood took over the captaincy, eight wins out of eleven.
This is stunning form and if it is kept up we would romp away with the Championship. But while this form is actually very unlikely to be maintained, it does look as if the signs are there that Durham are growing again after a difficult couple of seasons following our two titles in successive years. Since then we have lost experienced quality players in Di Venuto, Plunkett, Blackwell and Harmison who now seldom plays. But young guns in Rushworth, Borthwick, Stoneman, Wood and now Ryan Buckley are standing up and playing their part.
These are great signs. Durham in this match, who were missing Graham Onions who is playing for the England Lions, fielded eight home grown players out of the eleven involved, with only the inspirational captain Collingwood over thirty.
Watch this space I think they say!
Sunday, 12 May 2013
Nearly, nearly there!
Sunderland 1-1 Southampton.
This might be enough to keep us up, although our history of needing last day results suggests it might not be.
We now need Wigan, who heroically overcame the billionaires of Manchester City yesterday to win the FA Cup, to get less than a win at Arsenal on Tuesday night.
Our knees are still knocking!
This might be enough to keep us up, although our history of needing last day results suggests it might not be.
We now need Wigan, who heroically overcame the billionaires of Manchester City yesterday to win the FA Cup, to get less than a win at Arsenal on Tuesday night.
Our knees are still knocking!
Saturday, 11 May 2013
Chance to seal it.
A relegation that looked close to odds on a few weeks ago can be banished into improbability if we beat Southampton tomorrow. We have not got the best record against them recently at home, so it might be regarded a a mini hoodoo, another one!
We have a lot of players missing through suspension and injury and Southampton are playing well. A draw would suit them. It would suit as a well I think, and I would take it now if it was offered.
Pessimism I know, but it's hard to shake off after fifty years of calamity!
As St Luke said: It's the repenting not the sinning that counts.
I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. St Luke 15:7
St Luke was right of course, there is always room for contrition and forgiveness.
And this week another "sinner" has repenteth.
Michael Portillo is the latest of the erstwhile Euro enthusiasts to see the light and recognise the damage being inflicted on Britain as a result of it's membership of the EU
He has now publicly recognised that being a member of the EU, far from being inevitable and the "only way forward", is in fact a brake on it's interests and will damage the country in the long term. He has concluded
that Britain will be better off out. These "better off outers" are growing in number among those members of the establishment who would once never hear a word said against the sacred project. Recently Nigel Lawson, the former chancellor has come out with similar arguments.
Others will follow. Some will lurk in the background, hoping the tide turns back in their favour, but they may have a long wait. Some, such as Max Hastings will come to the full conclusion that their senses are leading them to; not only is the EU bad for Britain, which Hastings belatedly conceded a couple of years ago, but that we have to actually leave this backward looking organism as any meaningful reform of it is impossible.
The next inevitable step will be for members of the current establishment to voice the same doubts, and come publicly to the same inevitable conclusions. There are a lot of vested interests involved, and they will fight tooth and nail to retain their position, snouting at the EU trough. But their time is coming to an end, and it would be better for them to let it happen peacefully.
Hundreds of millions of people are becoming increasingly frustrated, and they will not be placated forever with a bit of a welfare handout from Berlin every year or so.
And this week another "sinner" has repenteth.
Michael Portillo is the latest of the erstwhile Euro enthusiasts to see the light and recognise the damage being inflicted on Britain as a result of it's membership of the EU
He has now publicly recognised that being a member of the EU, far from being inevitable and the "only way forward", is in fact a brake on it's interests and will damage the country in the long term. He has concluded
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| Michael Portillo has repented. |
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| Nigel Lawson has repented. |
Others will follow. Some will lurk in the background, hoping the tide turns back in their favour, but they may have a long wait. Some, such as Max Hastings will come to the full conclusion that their senses are leading them to; not only is the EU bad for Britain, which Hastings belatedly conceded a couple of years ago, but that we have to actually leave this backward looking organism as any meaningful reform of it is impossible.
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| Max Hastings has nearly repented. Keep thinking Max, you're almost there. |
Hundreds of millions of people are becoming increasingly frustrated, and they will not be placated forever with a bit of a welfare handout from Berlin every year or so.
Monday, 6 May 2013
A great point!
Sunderland 1-1 Stoke
The hoodoo hangs over us still.
Eighteen Premier League games now on a Monday without a win, but it could have been so very much worse. 1-0 down inside ten minutes, a man sent off and not playing at all well for almost all of the first half.
But a superb rally in the second half. We probably should have even won, hitting the post and having the best of the chances after our equaliser. A terrific wholehearted effort , in particular by Adam Johnson who looked an England player tonight.
It's only a point, and by itself is not likely to be enough, but the boost the players will get from that result and second half performance might spur us to get enough to scrape to safety.
Too close to call though and not just for us. But at least we are fighting.
We are not down yet.
Another Hoodoo to shoot down?
We play Stoke City tonight.
At home. They are now safe and have nothing to play for. We beat them twice last season, should have beat them twice the season before, and have already drew away with them this season. Stoke have won only two out of seventeen games away from home this season. We have only lost six from seventeen at home, and that includes games against Man Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal, from whom we are very unlikely to take points in any case. We really HAVE to win, certainly not get beat.
Setting out the prospects for the game like this, Why should I possibly assume we will get on the wrong side of things?
That the game is being played on a Monday is the reason.
We have not won a premier league game on a Monday for eleven years, during which agonising time we have apparently had seventeen attempts! This had slipped by me, maybe I'm becoming inured to the pain of seeing us not win these games, although last Monday hurt quite enough to remember for another eleven years.
We need a result tonight though. So come on lads, tear up another hoodoo.
At home. They are now safe and have nothing to play for. We beat them twice last season, should have beat them twice the season before, and have already drew away with them this season. Stoke have won only two out of seventeen games away from home this season. We have only lost six from seventeen at home, and that includes games against Man Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal, from whom we are very unlikely to take points in any case. We really HAVE to win, certainly not get beat.
Setting out the prospects for the game like this, Why should I possibly assume we will get on the wrong side of things?
That the game is being played on a Monday is the reason.
We have not won a premier league game on a Monday for eleven years, during which agonising time we have apparently had seventeen attempts! This had slipped by me, maybe I'm becoming inured to the pain of seeing us not win these games, although last Monday hurt quite enough to remember for another eleven years.
We need a result tonight though. So come on lads, tear up another hoodoo.
Saturday, 4 May 2013
Tories obliterated. Labour trounced. UKIP on the way.
Often enough in the past, a party, typically the Liberals in one of their various guises, have been the repository for protest votes against the sitting government of the day and against the political establishment generally. Something of the kind happened on Thursday, but it was much more than that.
UKIP, which stands on what would previously have been said to be traditional Conservative ground, has mushroomed to about a quarter of the votes cast. They are picking up votes form all sections of the electorate and they are doing this is all over the country, representing a continuation of a gradual trend. This trend has every chance of progressing on an upward curve as, after this even the BBC can no longer avoid mentioning them.
The BBC and most other media outlets will now of course go all out onto the attack. Muck racking, fabrication, distortion and much else will all now be employed against a party that speaks to people in a manner that suggests they are listening at the same time. A priceless asset. But dirty tricks might not work here, people are not that stupid.
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| Everyman Nigel Farage having a pint with somebody. |
UKIP have a popular and charismatic leader in Nigel Farage, a man who most people it seems would be "happy to have a pint with". This is another priceless asset. Whatever his failings, this everyman quality marks Farage out as an entirely different beast when compared to the polished mannequins who belch out the same tired cliches and pre-prepared, civil service written jargon.
Labour look to be in complete denial about what is happening. They have nothing to say, nothing at all. They appear to be waiting in hope that UKIP will hoover up enough of the Tory vote to squeeze them into No 10. They may well be right in this, as the perverted nature of boundary changes down the years means that they could win an election with only 35% of the vote, whereas the Tories will probably need closer to 42%.
It appears however, that there are more than enough people who would be sufficiently appalled at the prospect of another period of destructive Labour rule to keep them out of power, but the votes are split between the Tories and UKIP. The Tories and UKIP could probably pull in about 55% or more of the vote in any general election, but can they find a way to hold their noses and work together?
Not much chance I would have thought, especially not with David Cameron at the head of the Tory party. He seems more Eurofanatic with every month that passes. A marriage between Cameron and Farage, who are polar opposites on the matter of Europe, looks impossible.
These two men will never be able to work together But the country badly needs such an alliance.
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
UK POLITICAL ESTABLISHMENT. RUNNING SCARED OF UKIP.
It looks like the Labour Party are now getting seriously worried about the emergence of UKIP as a threat in the forthcoming by election in South Shields, and also I imagine as a serious one in next years European Elections. They have been attempting to smear the UKIP candidate in the by election, even though they are bound to win the seat, Labour having won there at every time of asking since the 1930s. So it is safe to calculate from this that they are rattled over the votes that UKIP will take from them in those European elections.
And it is little wonder. The Tories, Liberals and Labour now represent the old reactionary establishment, slow to change and completely out of touch with the British people on the single most important issue of the day; membership of the increasingly anti-democratic EU. These three parties have all had many among their number who have in the past, sometimes covertly, been keen advocates of the UK joining the Euro. This particular noise seems to have died down of course, but no admission of being wrong has been heard.
We have even had the ridiculous Ken Clarke trotting out rubbish about anyone not agreeing with him being a racist or a xenophobe or any one of the usual cheap insults this lot come up with when the idea of a debate is too exhausting to think about.
They won't get away with this forever, and if there are any really clever politicians out there among these three parties they will seek to harness the growing tide of opinion against membership of the EU, a tide of opinion which is growing despite all the propaganda of the BBC and most of the press.
An evisceration at Villa Park.
ASTON VILLA 6-1 SUNDERLAND
Not so much down to earth with a bump as with an almighty crash. We were roundly thrashed last night, although we gave away three , you could say four of the goals that went in on a testing night.
Relegation is a real possibility for both clubs and also for Newcastle and Wigan. With us now losing Sessegnon probably for the rest of the season after a red card offence, (a bit harsh in my opinion), I'm afraid we are now really looking for others to fail to help us out, particularly Wigan..
But despite injuries and suspensions, we have two home games coming up against teams not a lot better than us, Stoke and Southampton. I would have settled for this prospect a few weeks ago when the next win just wasn't in sight. It just seems a bit more duanting right now.
Hopefully the lads can put last night's horror show behind them and find a way to get some points out of these next two games.
Sunday, 28 April 2013
Can we keep this run up?
Sunderland go to Aston Villa on Monday night.
Villa are having a hard enough time of it along with us, and are a club that some think should be nowhere near the drop zone. But we are both there, and I'd take a point now happily as I think their pace could really unsettle us.
We have four games left including tomorrow and one more win will do it I think. If we can avoid defeat at Villa we might be nearly there.
Come on lads. How about another surprise!
Villa are having a hard enough time of it along with us, and are a club that some think should be nowhere near the drop zone. But we are both there, and I'd take a point now happily as I think their pace could really unsettle us.
We have four games left including tomorrow and one more win will do it I think. If we can avoid defeat at Villa we might be nearly there.
Come on lads. How about another surprise!
Saturday, 27 April 2013
Brilliant Root.
I managed to get to the cricket today at Chester le Street. .
I watched Durham, who were favourites to win the match despite a rain induced and generous decleration, lose to a simply stunning innings from the young Yorkshire batsman Joe Root. He failed by only one ball to carry his bat, but it made no difference as his side won because of his epic 182.
This young man will be one of the cornerstones of England's batting for years to come. A disappointing day for Durham, but a great day for Root, Yorkshire and English cricket. This man will be a world star in less than three years.
I watched Durham, who were favourites to win the match despite a rain induced and generous decleration, lose to a simply stunning innings from the young Yorkshire batsman Joe Root. He failed by only one ball to carry his bat, but it made no difference as his side won because of his epic 182.
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| Joe Root on his way to winning the game for Yorkshire today. |
This young man will be one of the cornerstones of England's batting for years to come. A disappointing day for Durham, but a great day for Root, Yorkshire and English cricket. This man will be a world star in less than three years.
Thursday, 25 April 2013
Cricket. At it's best it can't be beat.
It can of course be a bit droll at it's worst, though of course you could easily ask what game that doesn't apply to.
But at it's best, in a thrilling test series, spread over five tests and about eight weeks, if the whole result rests in the balance throughout, there is no game that can match it.
It's very early in the season but with the Aussies having announced their touring squad for the up coming Ashes series, ( a better squad than most are calling it I think, some good bowlers there and a close series in the making), and Durham already into their third game, you could almost think summer was on it's way. Apart from the cold easterly winds and the persistent bouts of rain that is.
But lets hope for better and look forward to a great summer of the greatest game. Hopefully starting with a win for Durham this weekend! We are 60 runs ahead on the first innings, so we have a chance.
But at it's best, in a thrilling test series, spread over five tests and about eight weeks, if the whole result rests in the balance throughout, there is no game that can match it.
It's very early in the season but with the Aussies having announced their touring squad for the up coming Ashes series, ( a better squad than most are calling it I think, some good bowlers there and a close series in the making), and Durham already into their third game, you could almost think summer was on it's way. Apart from the cold easterly winds and the persistent bouts of rain that is.
But lets hope for better and look forward to a great summer of the greatest game. Hopefully starting with a win for Durham this weekend! We are 60 runs ahead on the first innings, so we have a chance.
Sunday, 21 April 2013
The Horse Puncher!
Over a week old now, but just in case anyone out there hasn't seen the astonishing and ridiculous sight of a man punching a horse, I thought I'd put it up here.
This absurd man took this crazy step after the derby between Newcastle and Sunderland last week. Sunderland won away 3-0, a highly unexpected result, and in a replay of incidents in the past when Newcastle have suffered a shock home loss, their own "supporters" decided to wreak havoc in their own city. This little episode was part of those disturbances. It is worth saying here that the idiot in question had of course not been at the match in question, and neither had most involved in the trouble. Rather they had been drinking in city centre bars and disgorged themselves, disappointed, onto the streets looking to assuage their frustrations. The police were the best and most immediate targets, with Bud the horse coming in for this special treatment. The individual has of course been tracked down and has professed himself shocked at his own behaviour. Well he would I suppose.
In a side note, it is worth recording that this man does not work and has not done so for eight years. Yet he can still afford to go boozing in Newcastle all day and join in a riot before fighting a police horse. He can afford all of this because he is on incapacity benefit, which pays him a significant sum of money as he is meant not to be fit to work. If you think that is incredible you are not alone, yet there are many, many like him in Britain today, even if most of them avoid behaving like a circus act.
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| A man loses his patience with his football team and decides to punch a police horse. |
This absurd man took this crazy step after the derby between Newcastle and Sunderland last week. Sunderland won away 3-0, a highly unexpected result, and in a replay of incidents in the past when Newcastle have suffered a shock home loss, their own "supporters" decided to wreak havoc in their own city. This little episode was part of those disturbances. It is worth saying here that the idiot in question had of course not been at the match in question, and neither had most involved in the trouble. Rather they had been drinking in city centre bars and disgorged themselves, disappointed, onto the streets looking to assuage their frustrations. The police were the best and most immediate targets, with Bud the horse coming in for this special treatment. The individual has of course been tracked down and has professed himself shocked at his own behaviour. Well he would I suppose.
In a side note, it is worth recording that this man does not work and has not done so for eight years. Yet he can still afford to go boozing in Newcastle all day and join in a riot before fighting a police horse. He can afford all of this because he is on incapacity benefit, which pays him a significant sum of money as he is meant not to be fit to work. If you think that is incredible you are not alone, yet there are many, many like him in Britain today, even if most of them avoid behaving like a circus act.
More of this please!
We have knocked down another gremlin. For many reasons, mostly including them being a much better team, we had not until yesterday beaten Everton for about thirteen years. This is ridiculous, and that is how the team decided to treat the fact. We had enough about us, in a way unimaginable a month ago, to deservedly beat a team that is one of the best in the league.
Maybe this is just the "new manager bounce " syndrome we see so often. Or it could be a result of the Italian manager Paulo Di Canio's attention to detail and his incorporating the legendary thoroughness of Italian football, which of course he grew up with.
Maybe both, but it should be interesting to see what happens if he can keep this team up and have a full season in the premier league. It would be delicious to see him succeed, if only to challenge the orthodoxy that the only people fit for jobs such as the one that became vacant at Sunderland are the people who have had experience of doing them before. Pick one from the merry go round they always urge, you need experience.
Well maybe you do, and maybe you sometimes need something different. Different is what we now have got.
This will NOT be boring!
Maybe this is just the "new manager bounce " syndrome we see so often. Or it could be a result of the Italian manager Paulo Di Canio's attention to detail and his incorporating the legendary thoroughness of Italian football, which of course he grew up with.
Maybe both, but it should be interesting to see what happens if he can keep this team up and have a full season in the premier league. It would be delicious to see him succeed, if only to challenge the orthodoxy that the only people fit for jobs such as the one that became vacant at Sunderland are the people who have had experience of doing them before. Pick one from the merry go round they always urge, you need experience.
Well maybe you do, and maybe you sometimes need something different. Different is what we now have got.
This will NOT be boring!
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| Paulo Di Canio celebrates Sunderland's goal yesterday. |
Saturday, 20 April 2013
Back down to earth?
That is what I'm expecting anyway
After a terriffic week, basking in our stunning win away against the old enemy, we today play Everton .
Everton are a team we never beat, whatever the occasion. It's now I think twelve or thirteen games since we beat them, and they have a very good team indeed.
I will be delighted with a draw if we can get one. We need another five or six points to stay up, and one of them today would be a mighty help.
Come on lads, surprise me again!
After a terriffic week, basking in our stunning win away against the old enemy, we today play Everton .
Everton are a team we never beat, whatever the occasion. It's now I think twelve or thirteen games since we beat them, and they have a very good team indeed.
I will be delighted with a draw if we can get one. We need another five or six points to stay up, and one of them today would be a mighty help.
Come on lads, surprise me again!
Human folly on a grand scale.
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| Teeside Wind Farm. |
These things are ruinously expensive to build, so expensive they are attracting a 200% subsidy, all paid for of course by us mugs in the UK. People here are now starting to notice that their energy bills are rising at an almost exponential rate. This is little wonder when costs such as the above and other green lunacies are top loaded onto them before they thud, ever heavier onto the front door mat.
We must be mad, truly mad to put up with this. Maybe it will take the brown outs and the rationing of electricity that will surely come within the next five years to bring us to our senses. Buy candles! But a generator.! Move to a sane country! Do one of these things or something similar if you have a need for constant light and electricity in the years to come.
Although on the flip side there will be employment on the maintenance of these installations. They will go wrong, and will need reasonably regular attention, although parking for your van looks a bit limited, so it will have to be a boat. But that is just another cost they can load onto the bills.
We must truly be mad.
Sunday, 14 April 2013
Newcastle 0-3 Sunderland!!!!!!!!!!!
A staggering upset today at st James' Park.
We have looked so flat all season that a performance of that kind was impossible to imagine. We were so committed, fired up and brave that, looking back on it, it would have been a surprise if we hadn't won. Much more to do of course, we'll need another two wins I think, but if we play with that fire we have a real chance.
I'm hearing predictable stories of Newcastle supporters causing mayhem and destruction in their own city. This has happened repeatedly down the years when they have lost a big game they thought they were going to win. I've never heard of this happening anywhere else. Defeat comes, why can they not just accept this?
But I will enjoy a beer or two tonight. Well done lads and thanks, you have given me and my sons one of those days.
We have looked so flat all season that a performance of that kind was impossible to imagine. We were so committed, fired up and brave that, looking back on it, it would have been a surprise if we hadn't won. Much more to do of course, we'll need another two wins I think, but if we play with that fire we have a real chance.
I'm hearing predictable stories of Newcastle supporters causing mayhem and destruction in their own city. This has happened repeatedly down the years when they have lost a big game they thought they were going to win. I've never heard of this happening anywhere else. Defeat comes, why can they not just accept this?
But I will enjoy a beer or two tonight. Well done lads and thanks, you have given me and my sons one of those days.
Saturday, 13 April 2013
Derby pessimism.
I'm old enough to be allowed pessimism.
But I have never had as much pessimism about a Derby as I have about tomorrow's game. We are poor in too many areas, have a truly awful record against Newcastle , (even when we have had a better team, which we certainly do not have right now, we have still done poorly against them), and on top of that the only luck we are at the moment having is bad luck. I'll be dancing in the streets if we get a draw!
But you never know. There must be a one in ten chance of having one of those days that makes being a supporter worthwhile. Well maybe one in twenty! But I'll not be expecting much.
But I have never had as much pessimism about a Derby as I have about tomorrow's game. We are poor in too many areas, have a truly awful record against Newcastle , (even when we have had a better team, which we certainly do not have right now, we have still done poorly against them), and on top of that the only luck we are at the moment having is bad luck. I'll be dancing in the streets if we get a draw!
But you never know. There must be a one in ten chance of having one of those days that makes being a supporter worthwhile. Well maybe one in twenty! But I'll not be expecting much.
Thursday, 11 April 2013
Margaret Thatcher.
Following the death of Margaret Thatcher, I have found it really unpleasant, almost sinister, to see the amount of abuse and vitriol being heaped on the memory of a woman who was last in power almost a quarter of a century ago.
She was of course a polarising politician, and I myself do not hold her in as high regard as many do. But what has struck me is the apparent age of some of the individuals who are busy pouring out their venom. Many would not have been born when she left office and many more would have been busy with the play dough in infant school.
It is almost as if they are following a prepared script, as if they had been taught to have a certain opinion, an opinion handed down like a tablet of stone.
They are entitled to their views of course, but how liberating it would be for them if they were to do their own thinking. Interest in politics is a good thing, but this type of behaviour is more to do with closing your mind down and meekly accepting a pre-ordained point of view. I would have hoped for far more from the young!
She was of course a polarising politician, and I myself do not hold her in as high regard as many do. But what has struck me is the apparent age of some of the individuals who are busy pouring out their venom. Many would not have been born when she left office and many more would have been busy with the play dough in infant school.
It is almost as if they are following a prepared script, as if they had been taught to have a certain opinion, an opinion handed down like a tablet of stone.
They are entitled to their views of course, but how liberating it would be for them if they were to do their own thinking. Interest in politics is a good thing, but this type of behaviour is more to do with closing your mind down and meekly accepting a pre-ordained point of view. I would have hoped for far more from the young!
Sunday, 7 April 2013
Last word on Di Canio.
Put so much better than I could dream of doing, and with wonderful restraint and dry wit, the ogre of all things left Norman Tebbit has nailed the whole story here.
As for the football, a much improved display today, culminating in us running out of time and steam against Chelsea, sees us level on points with Wigan who are third bottom.
Paulo Di Canio will need some luck , (which we are not getting) and continued improvement to save this team. But we are not down yet.
As for the football, a much improved display today, culminating in us running out of time and steam against Chelsea, sees us level on points with Wigan who are third bottom.
Paulo Di Canio will need some luck , (which we are not getting) and continued improvement to save this team. But we are not down yet.
Tuesday, 2 April 2013
Back to football.
Over the weekend, Sunderland AFC decided to remove Martin O'Neill from his post as manager. This is unbearably sad for many of us, who for so long had wanted him to be our manager, and welcomed him with open arms when he arrived about sixteen months ago.
After a blistering start, during which the team displayed all the typical qualities of past teams managed by Martin O'Neill, and which saved the club from what looked like certain relegation, we have now stalled to such an alarming extent that even those like myself, who would always have been last out of the Amen Corner for Martin, could begin to understand the reasons .
On the face of it this reversals of fortunes, which represents Martin's first failure in management is utterly inexplicable .The team have lost all the energy and passion they exhibited in those first few months and the team which survived comfortably last season , and has had £30m spent on it, looks doomed with seven games to go. I hope it remains inexplicable and that there is nothing ailing this dignified man that has transmitted itself to the team. So good luck in the future Martin, thanks for coming, God bless and don't stop supporting us!
But if you are a Sunderland supporter you expect if nothing else, a forthcoming calamity. It's what we are expert at. Bang on cue and as if to prove it we have appointed Paulo Di Canio as our new manager. A brilliant recent footballer, but a rookie manager who comes with a charismatic character, sufficient to light up the place. Maybe, just maybe it will be enough, but don't put your house on it!
But of course there is more than that to it. There has to be, it's Sunderland and nothing is straight forward. Mr Di Canio it turns out has in the past expressed some sympathy for an Italian fascist political party and is being pilloried for it relentlessly. As far as I know this political persuasion is is not illegal. Indeed it is probably half baked; asking a footballer about politics is likely to elicit the same sense as would asking a politician about football.
No matter. It is deemed by the media that he might be unashamedly "right wing" , (do these people know about the left wing origins of fascism?) and therefore he must be hounded. You wonder, had he professed a similar interest in Communism or Socialism, (not the fascist socialism of the 30's of course, oh no!) would he have been so treated? Well you don't wonder at all do you? You know. He wouldn't have been.
After a blistering start, during which the team displayed all the typical qualities of past teams managed by Martin O'Neill, and which saved the club from what looked like certain relegation, we have now stalled to such an alarming extent that even those like myself, who would always have been last out of the Amen Corner for Martin, could begin to understand the reasons .
On the face of it this reversals of fortunes, which represents Martin's first failure in management is utterly inexplicable .The team have lost all the energy and passion they exhibited in those first few months and the team which survived comfortably last season , and has had £30m spent on it, looks doomed with seven games to go. I hope it remains inexplicable and that there is nothing ailing this dignified man that has transmitted itself to the team. So good luck in the future Martin, thanks for coming, God bless and don't stop supporting us!
But if you are a Sunderland supporter you expect if nothing else, a forthcoming calamity. It's what we are expert at. Bang on cue and as if to prove it we have appointed Paulo Di Canio as our new manager. A brilliant recent footballer, but a rookie manager who comes with a charismatic character, sufficient to light up the place. Maybe, just maybe it will be enough, but don't put your house on it!
But of course there is more than that to it. There has to be, it's Sunderland and nothing is straight forward. Mr Di Canio it turns out has in the past expressed some sympathy for an Italian fascist political party and is being pilloried for it relentlessly. As far as I know this political persuasion is is not illegal. Indeed it is probably half baked; asking a footballer about politics is likely to elicit the same sense as would asking a politician about football.
No matter. It is deemed by the media that he might be unashamedly "right wing" , (do these people know about the left wing origins of fascism?) and therefore he must be hounded. You wonder, had he professed a similar interest in Communism or Socialism, (not the fascist socialism of the 30's of course, oh no!) would he have been so treated? Well you don't wonder at all do you? You know. He wouldn't have been.
Saturday, 30 March 2013
Us Versus Man Utd.
No optimism here about this fixture. How could there be? Every stat imaginable suggests a comfortable away win for the champions to be. We can only hope for one of those flukey draws that sometimes occur.
Realistically, I only hope our goal difference doesn't take a beating. Defeat is almost inevitable so a good performance might help us in this desperate battle against the drop. I'm not optimistic about that either.
Realistically, I only hope our goal difference doesn't take a beating. Defeat is almost inevitable so a good performance might help us in this desperate battle against the drop. I'm not optimistic about that either.
Friday, 29 March 2013
Pope Francis and his own way.
No doubt His Holiness will come from in for some criticism for this public display of humility. But in washing the feet of prisoners in this way he has already shown that the world has had a timely stroke of luck in seeing this amazing man become Pope.
On this holy day we should all of us, and not just Catholics, be thankful for his presence among us.
On this holy day we should all of us, and not just Catholics, be thankful for his presence among us.
Cyprus gone. Who next?
To all intents and real world purposes, Cyprus is no longer in the Euro. It uses the Euro as it's note of currency, but it's citizens can't draw their money out of the bank when they wish, even out of the healthy banks, and they cannot move their money to another Eurozone country if they wish.
They have a disconnected Euro, a second class Euro, a Euro which will put them in permanent thrall to Germany . They will be better off in the long run, (and not that long either) if they had no Euro at all.
But who is next? It won't stop there we can all be sure of that. The Euro is wobbling badly and faces an existential crisis of just the kind that was being denied a couple of months ago. " The threat to the Euro is over" it was being said.
Slovenia, a small state recently admitted to the EU and forced to take on the Euro, could be next up for the kind of help it could really do without.
For a good view on the Euro it's worth having a look at this article from a back on form Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
They have a disconnected Euro, a second class Euro, a Euro which will put them in permanent thrall to Germany . They will be better off in the long run, (and not that long either) if they had no Euro at all.
But who is next? It won't stop there we can all be sure of that. The Euro is wobbling badly and faces an existential crisis of just the kind that was being denied a couple of months ago. " The threat to the Euro is over" it was being said.
Slovenia, a small state recently admitted to the EU and forced to take on the Euro, could be next up for the kind of help it could really do without.
For a good view on the Euro it's worth having a look at this article from a back on form Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
BBC on strike.
What a relief!
Last night on my way home I switched on the radio in the car . It was just after 5pm and the radio was tuned into Radio Four, not a station I normally listen to theses days. I was about to change it when I realised that I was NOT being subject to the normal diet of propoganda and self serving "news" output from the BBC. It turns out that the journalists were on strike for 12 hours. They were not missed, and I hope they feel free to repeat the excercise daily into eternity, although I imagine they have all clocked back in today to collect their double time and expenses.
They are complaining about jobs and pensions. Aren't we all. But if they want to try and generate a pension outside the public sector feather bed, and they think they will be better off , no one is stopping them as far as I know.
Somebody, somehow should convince these people that there really is no magic money tree to be plucked from whenever they need just a "little bit more".
Last night on my way home I switched on the radio in the car . It was just after 5pm and the radio was tuned into Radio Four, not a station I normally listen to theses days. I was about to change it when I realised that I was NOT being subject to the normal diet of propoganda and self serving "news" output from the BBC. It turns out that the journalists were on strike for 12 hours. They were not missed, and I hope they feel free to repeat the excercise daily into eternity, although I imagine they have all clocked back in today to collect their double time and expenses.
They are complaining about jobs and pensions. Aren't we all. But if they want to try and generate a pension outside the public sector feather bed, and they think they will be better off , no one is stopping them as far as I know.
Somebody, somehow should convince these people that there really is no magic money tree to be plucked from whenever they need just a "little bit more".
Saturday, 23 March 2013
Snow again!
In March. And not the type of snow we should be seeing at this time of year. The type that is something to look at before it melts when it hits the warmer March ground.
Oh no. This stuff is inches thick on the deck and drifting where it can, causing all sorts of chaos.
I won't be the only one who can remember reading ridiculous articles written by global warming fanatics who foresaw winters by now that would have no snow at all. I imagine they are all busy now constructing some bogus explanation for this unfortunate blow to their theories.
One thing we can be certain of; it's all our fault for driving cars, heating our homes, switching the lights on and eating beef. The great tragedy is that governments here and in the US and elsewhere are peopled by they type of suggestible, stupid lunatics who really believe this rubbish.
Oh no. This stuff is inches thick on the deck and drifting where it can, causing all sorts of chaos.
I won't be the only one who can remember reading ridiculous articles written by global warming fanatics who foresaw winters by now that would have no snow at all. I imagine they are all busy now constructing some bogus explanation for this unfortunate blow to their theories.
One thing we can be certain of; it's all our fault for driving cars, heating our homes, switching the lights on and eating beef. The great tragedy is that governments here and in the US and elsewhere are peopled by they type of suggestible, stupid lunatics who really believe this rubbish.
Shocking public subsidy of West Ham Utd.
I have no gripe with West Ham. They are a club similar in size and ambition to my own, with similar support base and expectations, (although recent history tells us that they are a tad more entitled to these expectations than we at Sunderland are!).
But the sight of them basically being given a publicly funded football ground worth about £600m+, (perhaps a lot more actually) is mind boggling. This is so obviously wrong it beggars belief
Assuming West Ham stay in the Premier League for the next, say ten years, which is not ridiculous given all the circumstances, it is safe to count on their annual turn over being on average £80m+ and rising over that period. And they are to pay it seems all of £2m a year of that whacking sum each year in rent! They will also have to pay what seems like 10% (£15m) of the conversion costs of the Olympic Stadium.
At the same time Everton are in financial limbo as they seek to find huge sums for a new stadium. Liverpool are committing to spending £150m + on improving Anfield. Arsenal had to find £200m+ to build the Emirates. Clubs up and down the country have had to take on the cost of building or improving their stadia. For some it has resulted in chaos as they could not, in the end, afford the scope of their ambitions.
For West Ham there appears to be no such risk in upgrading. This amounts to a public subsidy of a football club, who will enjoy into the future a huge competitive advantage on the back of the tax payer.
I, like many I know, have never had a gripe with West Ham. We all have one now.
But the sight of them basically being given a publicly funded football ground worth about £600m+, (perhaps a lot more actually) is mind boggling. This is so obviously wrong it beggars belief
Assuming West Ham stay in the Premier League for the next, say ten years, which is not ridiculous given all the circumstances, it is safe to count on their annual turn over being on average £80m+ and rising over that period. And they are to pay it seems all of £2m a year of that whacking sum each year in rent! They will also have to pay what seems like 10% (£15m) of the conversion costs of the Olympic Stadium.
At the same time Everton are in financial limbo as they seek to find huge sums for a new stadium. Liverpool are committing to spending £150m + on improving Anfield. Arsenal had to find £200m+ to build the Emirates. Clubs up and down the country have had to take on the cost of building or improving their stadia. For some it has resulted in chaos as they could not, in the end, afford the scope of their ambitions.
For West Ham there appears to be no such risk in upgrading. This amounts to a public subsidy of a football club, who will enjoy into the future a huge competitive advantage on the back of the tax payer.
I, like many I know, have never had a gripe with West Ham. We all have one now.
Thursday, 21 March 2013
Budget Bollocks.
The usual peripheral rubbish from a cornered chancellor who is not prepared to take brave enough decisions.
£10k allowance long overdue, but paid for by taxing some working people at over 50% of their earnings when you include NI. Insane and immoral that a normal guy who might decide to work harder or longer to try and help his family should be slaughtered for doing so. The price I suppose for a "Tory" government collaborating with left wing fanatics. Better if it, and any other measure , were to be paid for by less spending; that after all is what normal people must do when they are faced with diminishing income and rising bills.
All three parties here pretend that we can swim along forever without an adult debate about how to avert the bankruptcy of the country. The House of Commons is now in complete disrepute. With a few honourable exceptions, it is peopled by craven and complacent time servers.
A vile pox on all their houses.
£10k allowance long overdue, but paid for by taxing some working people at over 50% of their earnings when you include NI. Insane and immoral that a normal guy who might decide to work harder or longer to try and help his family should be slaughtered for doing so. The price I suppose for a "Tory" government collaborating with left wing fanatics. Better if it, and any other measure , were to be paid for by less spending; that after all is what normal people must do when they are faced with diminishing income and rising bills.
All three parties here pretend that we can swim along forever without an adult debate about how to avert the bankruptcy of the country. The House of Commons is now in complete disrepute. With a few honourable exceptions, it is peopled by craven and complacent time servers.
A vile pox on all their houses.
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
New Nuclear Plant!!??
EDF are it seems ready to build a new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point in the south of England.
I've only heard the headline story and have missed any details of what guarantees EDF have been given regarding the price they will be able to charge for electricity, which has apparently been a bone of contention up to now.
No doubt this will be another poke in the eye for us consumers.
But these things take ages to build anyway, (I'm sure the latest attempt by EDF to build a reactor in France is late and over original budget). I'd far rather a new swathe of gas power stations were built. There is plenty of the stuff, they are relatively simple and quick to build, and it might even mean there are less of those ridiculous, part time generating, bird killing windmill eyesores that blight the land right now.
Nuclear won't do it. Buy a generator is my advice.
I've only heard the headline story and have missed any details of what guarantees EDF have been given regarding the price they will be able to charge for electricity, which has apparently been a bone of contention up to now.
No doubt this will be another poke in the eye for us consumers.
But these things take ages to build anyway, (I'm sure the latest attempt by EDF to build a reactor in France is late and over original budget). I'd far rather a new swathe of gas power stations were built. There is plenty of the stuff, they are relatively simple and quick to build, and it might even mean there are less of those ridiculous, part time generating, bird killing windmill eyesores that blight the land right now.
Nuclear won't do it. Buy a generator is my advice.
Monday, 18 March 2013
EU theft on the Grand Scale
More disgusting evidence is emerging of the insatiable appetite of un-elected Eurocrats' desire to put themselves before the people they are supposed to be serving.
This disgusting mob of gangsters, in their various guises, are attempting a raid on people's personal wealth in crisis hit Cyprus, basically to shore up the Euro.
Cyprus is more or less bust after allowing it's economy to get wildly out of kilter, and be dominated by it's banking sector. Cyprus needs a bail out , so the EU say. But the Germans who will pay for all this are getting edgy and want to see some strict conditions attached, and who better to bully than little Cyprus?
Well it looks like a spectacular mistake to me. If there was anyone left who ever believed a single word uttered by an EU official, they will be thinking again now. Who would leave their money unguarded in a Portugese, Italian, Irish or Spanish bank now, when it could be pillaged by this lot? No not me either.
There will be blood over this me thinks, whatever happens. I just hope the Cypriots have it them to shove it to the EU, default, de-couple, devalue and get on with it's future.
This disgusting mob of gangsters, in their various guises, are attempting a raid on people's personal wealth in crisis hit Cyprus, basically to shore up the Euro.
Cyprus is more or less bust after allowing it's economy to get wildly out of kilter, and be dominated by it's banking sector. Cyprus needs a bail out , so the EU say. But the Germans who will pay for all this are getting edgy and want to see some strict conditions attached, and who better to bully than little Cyprus?
Well it looks like a spectacular mistake to me. If there was anyone left who ever believed a single word uttered by an EU official, they will be thinking again now. Who would leave their money unguarded in a Portugese, Italian, Irish or Spanish bank now, when it could be pillaged by this lot? No not me either.
There will be blood over this me thinks, whatever happens. I just hope the Cypriots have it them to shove it to the EU, default, de-couple, devalue and get on with it's future.
Sunday, 17 March 2013
My last Relegation.
That's what this will be, and I have no doubt at all that we are now down.
I think this will be the ninth for me, and that is quite enough for one man, although I realise there might be a few on here who have witnessed the one I missed. I have been going for 47 years and so I reckon I can allow myself this fatalism about our lack of prospects. Maybe it's all my fault ; I was born in 1957 and a few months later we were relegated for the first time in our history.
I have now come to the firm conclusion that we will always be a shite team, no matter what is done to try and change things. Not good enough for the top flight but a bit too good for the next one down. Nothing seems to make any difference.
We can win the cup and manage to lose the best players soon after and throw a good team away.
We can have bigger crowds than many, (including in the days when this really was a vital statistic), and still be out performed by the likes of Coventry, Southampton and so on.
We can put together a strong team, an aberration we now know, finish a good seventh twice in a row and within two seasons collapse to a pathetic 19 point relegation.
We can attract new owners who throw tens of millions at the team, and then when they run short find another who does the same, and we are still utter rubbish.
We can go and appoint a manager with an outstanding record of working with money and without it, the only time in our history we have actually done this, and still gravity pulls us back to our natural place. Down among the dead men.
I genuinely believe that this will never change.
That showing today was so bad, every team that still has us to play will be licking their lips in anticipation. I should be utterly baffled how a team managed by Martin O'Neill can be like this one. It does not begin to resemble one of his previous teams. It has no pace, no urgency or bite in midfield, hardly any craft, very little courage and no leadership. We are appalling at set pieces and are ridiculously easy to play against. But I am not baffled, it is just the way it is with us.
I imagine if Martin O'Neill had went somewhere else, say West Ham or Blackburn, then that team would be showing great signs of improvement and probably in the semis of the cup. It's just that his old feelings helped to drag him here. I bet he bitterly regrets it, but it is no good us saying the same as it doesn't matter. We are due a relegation, the football gods have said so, and it's coming, and with timing that could not be more agonisingly exquisite, it's going to come at just the right time to leave us marooned .
We are shite and I can live with that fact, but I don't see me being there to see much more of it with my own eyes, they have suffered enough.
Read more: http://www.readytogo.net/smb/showthread.php?t=767421#ixzz2NpZoWT7N
I think this will be the ninth for me, and that is quite enough for one man, although I realise there might be a few on here who have witnessed the one I missed. I have been going for 47 years and so I reckon I can allow myself this fatalism about our lack of prospects. Maybe it's all my fault ; I was born in 1957 and a few months later we were relegated for the first time in our history.
I have now come to the firm conclusion that we will always be a shite team, no matter what is done to try and change things. Not good enough for the top flight but a bit too good for the next one down. Nothing seems to make any difference.
We can win the cup and manage to lose the best players soon after and throw a good team away.
We can have bigger crowds than many, (including in the days when this really was a vital statistic), and still be out performed by the likes of Coventry, Southampton and so on.
We can put together a strong team, an aberration we now know, finish a good seventh twice in a row and within two seasons collapse to a pathetic 19 point relegation.
We can attract new owners who throw tens of millions at the team, and then when they run short find another who does the same, and we are still utter rubbish.
We can go and appoint a manager with an outstanding record of working with money and without it, the only time in our history we have actually done this, and still gravity pulls us back to our natural place. Down among the dead men.
I genuinely believe that this will never change.
That showing today was so bad, every team that still has us to play will be licking their lips in anticipation. I should be utterly baffled how a team managed by Martin O'Neill can be like this one. It does not begin to resemble one of his previous teams. It has no pace, no urgency or bite in midfield, hardly any craft, very little courage and no leadership. We are appalling at set pieces and are ridiculously easy to play against. But I am not baffled, it is just the way it is with us.
I imagine if Martin O'Neill had went somewhere else, say West Ham or Blackburn, then that team would be showing great signs of improvement and probably in the semis of the cup. It's just that his old feelings helped to drag him here. I bet he bitterly regrets it, but it is no good us saying the same as it doesn't matter. We are due a relegation, the football gods have said so, and it's coming, and with timing that could not be more agonisingly exquisite, it's going to come at just the right time to leave us marooned .
We are shite and I can live with that fact, but I don't see me being there to see much more of it with my own eyes, they have suffered enough.
Read more: http://www.readytogo.net/smb/showthread.php?t=767421#ixzz2NpZoWT7N
Friday, 15 March 2013
Pope Francis.
God Bless this man. He may turn out to be a great surprise and gift to the world.
Hopeless to try and improve on THIS, which is really worth a read. Coming from the UK. I know that such obvious truths will seldom be uttered in the media , especially on the BBC.
Hopeless to try and improve on THIS, which is really worth a read. Coming from the UK. I know that such obvious truths will seldom be uttered in the media , especially on the BBC.
Thursday, 14 March 2013
Press and hypocrisy.
What an appalling sight there has been for us to ogle at on TV tonight. (I know I should know better than look but shouting at the box is better than kicking the dog).
David Cameron, in a rare departure from the norm has got something right. He has said that he does not wish to implement the Leveson proposals regarding the press. God only knows the press is hardly perfect, and could do with being brought to book more often, but the sight of Milliband, and the increasingly seedy looking Clegg, preparing to climb into bed together in a bid to enforce press censorship is enough to turn the stomach of anyone.
Wouldn't they celebrate if they can manage this? No more MP's expenses stories. No more uncovering of MP's egregious behaviour in all manner of areas. Famous people who live by their appearances in the press, feeling safe from all scrutiny. And on and on and on.
This should make any sane person sick
David Cameron, in a rare departure from the norm has got something right. He has said that he does not wish to implement the Leveson proposals regarding the press. God only knows the press is hardly perfect, and could do with being brought to book more often, but the sight of Milliband, and the increasingly seedy looking Clegg, preparing to climb into bed together in a bid to enforce press censorship is enough to turn the stomach of anyone.
Wouldn't they celebrate if they can manage this? No more MP's expenses stories. No more uncovering of MP's egregious behaviour in all manner of areas. Famous people who live by their appearances in the press, feeling safe from all scrutiny. And on and on and on.
This should make any sane person sick
Sunday, 10 March 2013
Calamity at SAFC.?
Oh No! It's happening again!
Hello by the way to anyone who has blundered across this stuff before, I'd forgotten I did it!
My last effort was to eulogise the effect that Martin O'Neill was having at SAFC. An astonishing turn around which saw a deflated team turn into one full of energy and purpose, and quickly banish the fear of relegation which had looked certain only a couple months or so before that day.
But here we are in the middle of March in 2013, having spent over £20million and we seem to be sleep walking to disaster. No pace, energy, leadership or craft in a team that just does not look like a Martin O'Neill team.
I really cannot imagine what has gone so badly wrong, although I fully accept that he inherited a terrible team with very few players other Premier League clubs would have wanted. But we look like the worst or second worst team in the league, and we need another eight or nine points out of our last nine games.
Time, Martin to live up to all the lavish praise I have always showered on you. Somehow keep this rabble up and have a real go at getting some men in next year.
Hello by the way to anyone who has blundered across this stuff before, I'd forgotten I did it!
My last effort was to eulogise the effect that Martin O'Neill was having at SAFC. An astonishing turn around which saw a deflated team turn into one full of energy and purpose, and quickly banish the fear of relegation which had looked certain only a couple months or so before that day.
But here we are in the middle of March in 2013, having spent over £20million and we seem to be sleep walking to disaster. No pace, energy, leadership or craft in a team that just does not look like a Martin O'Neill team.
I really cannot imagine what has gone so badly wrong, although I fully accept that he inherited a terrible team with very few players other Premier League clubs would have wanted. But we look like the worst or second worst team in the league, and we need another eight or nine points out of our last nine games.
Time, Martin to live up to all the lavish praise I have always showered on you. Somehow keep this rabble up and have a real go at getting some men in next year.
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