DJW1

5 hours ago, STEVIE B said:

......This is a holiday thread, maybe start a shopping/grocery topic. 

Perhaps in the future we'll be able to go to Uranus for our holidays

3 hours ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

A bit of nominative determination in that article.

 

The Woodland Trust senior conservation advisor is called Ed Pyne.

Perhaps they should call in the Special Branch.....or The Birch...

27 minutes ago, FoxesDeb said:

How cold was it in December?

In the photos we took, we were wearing winter coats, but I don´t think it gets too cold in Rome.

A quick search says average max of 13C and average min of 5C in December. October looks a good time to visit: longer days, max/min 22/12C.

On 15/06/2026 at 01:36, bovril said:

So I know we have some Netherlands experts on here and I'm currently trying to persuade my balkan girlfriend who's sceptical of anywhere in continental Europe north west of Vienna that it'd make a good trip in September.

 

Would love a sleepy town with pretty architecture, canals, some nice cafes and possible day trips. Is that too much to ask for? Oh, and relatively accessible from London by train. Ain't gettin on no plane

Also, Haarlem. Close to Amsterdam. I´ve not been but it looks good in the photos

On 15/06/2026 at 15:03, Harry96 said:

People recommend Rome for August? 

Too hot and too many tourists in August. I was there in June a few years ago and it was very busy.

We went in December 2024 and it was much less busy. The temperature was fine and it was light until about 6 p.m. You can be out from 9-6 then have a meal/drinks in the evening or go to a museum/gallery. We went to the Vatican museum (Sistine chapel etc.) late afternoon (best to book ahead). There´s so much to see in Rome!

11 hours ago, MPH said:

 

0898 12 11 85.  Should have been the only number you were calling..

To check whether Marc North and Tony Spearing were in the team 😃

8 hours ago, davieG said:

Do you remember Dial-A-Disc?
Holly Conquer | September 28, 2022

Dial-a-Disc was a telephone service provided by the Post Office for 25 years, from 1966 until 1991. 

It enabled callers to hear the latest hit records - it could be seen as the first iteration of on-demand music streaming.

How did it work?

After dialling either 16 or 160, you would be connected to the audio coming from an 'EA9' (Equipment Announcer) tape machine. They were capable of playing 4 minutes worth of tape and played on an endless loop.

This meant that you were likely to start the call mid song!

It was possible to stay on the line for a number of loops, which could rack up a hefty phone bill.

At the service's peak in the early 80s, it was bringing in over 200 million calls per year!

Here is a video where you can experience (or re-experience!) what would happen when you dialled 160...

Dial-a-Disc played one song a day - the top 7 records in the charts that week.

This was soon increased to the top 8 by playing two records on a Sunday.

 

 

https://atlasrecords.co.uk/blogs/all-about-vinyl/do-you-remember-dial-a-disc?srsltid=AfmBOorNkVk4-e5TRs7ZeGi41jyMKepCWpfe3XYE9FCfZBRQ-3JQiTd7

I used it occasionally, to hear the hits of Mud, The Rubettes and, er, Gary Glitter

Telephone numbers to ring and hear the latest cricket scores

On 04/06/2026 at 23:59, davieG said:

Nice to see Yugoslavian wine on offer!

We used to go occasionally and I was allowed to drink half a pint of cider.

I think my mother even treated herself to one of their coffees with the cream floating on top

If his team is going to play out from the back, then I see no place in it for the likes of Hamza and Thomas. I imagine that Martin has come because he has been promised money to bring in some players that can play his style of football. He ain´t going to try to patch together a team from youngsters and free transfers.

If he has modified his style then those two might continue to be the full backs, with strict instructions to just defend, get the ball and (as Brian Clough told Roy Keane) give it to someone with more talent  (and in the same colour shirt )

6 hours ago, PAULCFC said:

If anyone is looking for a place to come not far away(about 3 and a half hours) I'd recomend Nortumberland......Moved here 2 years ago and it's a different world up here!

I'll be there in July: Newcastle, Whitley Bay, Hadrian's Wall..,..

6 hours ago, bovril said:

So I know we have some Netherlands experts on here and I'm currently trying to persuade my balkan girlfriend who's sceptical of anywhere in continental Europe north west of Vienna that it'd make a good trip in September.

 

Would love a sleepy town with pretty architecture, canals, some nice cafes and possible day trips. Is that too much to ask for? Oh, and relatively accessible from London by train. Ain't gettin on no plane

I was in Leiden a few years ago. A small city, not far from Amsterdam. Canals, gabled buildings, plenty of places to eat. 

Sounds like a good opportunity for a young person.

1 hour ago, Md9 said:

Spends a lot of time moaning about England and only pops back over for the odd riot then goes off to wherever he hides out while he winds everyone up again gets arrested and then begs for everyone to help pay it ? Rinse and repeat every few months and somehow everyone donates to the clown 

He´s a veritable John Bull, except that he is the son of an Irish immigrant and holds an Irish passport

In relation to the war in Ukraine, I have a couple of queries that may be nonsense, or may be obvious.

1. Bearing in mind the Russian´s stockpile of missiles, including nuclear  warheads, why have they not obliterated Kiev in one night? Apart from the use of drones, in some aspects this war is like WWII (or even WWI), with the front line shifting relatively little from one week to another.

2. Could it be that, although the NATO countries and others have called for the war to end many times, in fact they are quite content to keep fighting a proxy war against Russia, in Ukraine? This prevents the Russians from moving their sights further north and also means that any casualties and loss of infrastructure are limited to Ukraine.

Just now, Parafox said:

You were a perve even back then? 

It was the best way to fit in 

I only share my childhood experiences on FT because a therapist would cost 100 quid an hour 🤓

On 11/06/2026 at 16:09, foxfanazer said:

Probably not unpopular in this country but Maradonna should've been booted into the stands in the build up to that goal. I think the same thing everytime I watch it

If only there'd been VAR, for the first goal

Don't remember that one. Probably did the foxtrot 🦊 as well.

I always wanted to play football out in the rain, but learning the dances meant I could dance with the sexy (female) games teachers at the Christmas party 😃. 

We had to do one term of sewing and cooking (2 hours per week) each year for the first two years at my comprehensive school.

If the outdoor games lesson was cancelled due to rain, we had to do dancing with the girls: Waltz, Gay Gordon etc.

3 hours ago, Free Falling Foxes said:

 

👍 Thanks 

19 hours ago, Free Falling Foxes said:

Will it work on Ivy?

I swear that stuff grows a few inches each time you turn your back.

I've read that most weed killers don't touch it because of their glossy leaves. One site suggested crushing some of the leaves to cause cracks in surface so weed killer can get in.

Tried it. Didn't work. 

Can you cut the stems instead?

If you have no other option, you can try applying the weedkiller to the underside of the leaves

1 hour ago, davieG said:

It didn’t ask everyone to agree. It trusted audiences to understand the joke.

Admit it, after all this time, it's still bloody funny!!

Nearly 50 years later and Life of Brian is still doing exactly what great comedy is supposed to do… making people laugh, argue and think.

It’s hard to imagine many films creating the same kind of reaction today. It was fearless satire that poked fun at human behaviour, authority, politics and the strange things people do when they stop questioning the world around them.

For many fans, it represents an era when comedy was prepared to take risks, push boundaries and step into uncomfortable territory.

Love it or hate it, very few films are still being talked about decades later… and maybe that’s the biggest sign of just how brilliant it was.

Would Life of Brian get made today?

 

 

I don't think it would.

The Pythons had problems finding funding.

Finally they were put in touch with someone in the City of London by George Harrison, which is why he appears in the film (although I've never spotted him!)

1 minute ago, DJW1 said:

The teacher was Mr Gillespie and I think the girl was Julie Clifford. 

As Calvin Harris put it, it was aceptable in the 80s 😃

51 minutes ago, SpacedX said:

Her initials weren't JP were they? - Because I observed precisely the same scenario. 

The teacher was Mr Gillespie and I think the girl was Julie Clifford. 

As Calvin Harris put it, it was acceptable in the 80s 😃