Alf Bentley

"Not all men are filthy ogling perverts", says man whose identity is based on his enormously outsized penis.

I'm sure most people are at a low ebb at least some of the time. I know that I am. It's easy to focus on the severe short-term negatives of lockdown and the potential long-term risks of other things going wrong, like unemployment and problems with the vaccine. But there is light at the end of the tunnel - in the shape of the vaccine. Unless there are major problems with that, things will look a lot better within a couple of months. We should be able to do more, travel more, see more people, have more fun etc. I'm pretty much writing off February and March, but focu

Yes, I'm all in favour of carrots so long as the nosebag isn't overfilled regardless of the performance of the horse! I just hope that, when it comes to the assessment in Feb, the Govt listens more to the scientists and not too much to their libertarian right-wing backbenchers. I completely agree that we need something to aim for - and it's tough for all, to varying degrees. My (hopefully realistic) personal aim is: view Feb/March as close to a write-off but look forward to being able to visit friends & make trips away within the UK by about May - and abroad b

https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-pm-confirms-data-on-easing-restrictions-will-be-assessed-before-mid-february-12198323 "Data on when coronavirus lockdown restrictions can start to be eased will be assessed before mid-February, the prime minister has said. Boris Johnson said the government will be "looking at the potential of relaxing some measures" before the middle of next month". I really hope that any such easing as early as mid-Feb is science/data-led and done cautiously. I hope this isn't Johnson being over-optimistic and/or seeking to do what "the people"

Only just heard that there were major anti-lockdown riots in the Netherlands over the weekend. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-netherlands-protes/dutch-pm-condemns-lockdown-riots-as-criminal-volence-idUSKBN29U0W3 "The police said hundreds of people had been detained after incidents that began on Saturday evening and lasted until the early hours of Monday, including some in which rioters threw rocks and in one case knives at police and burned down a COVID-19 testing station. [...] The police trade union NPB said there could be more protests ahead, as peop

Turbulent times in Russia. Will be interesting to see where all this goes: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55778334 "Hundreds of people have been detained as police try to stop nationwide protests in Russia in support of jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny. Mr Navalny's wife, Yulia, said she had been detained at a protest in the capital Moscow, where officers were breaking up the demonstrations. Thousands of people have already taken part in rallies in Russia's Far East. OVD Info, an independent NGO that monitors rallies, said that more than 800 peo

A mate of my ex-wife named his house in Hinckley "Sea View". (Not sure what this sub-thread is doing within the Grind My Gears thread, mind you....)

Presumably most of the others in Marbella will be vaccinated pensioners? Are elite sportspeople a priority group for vaccination? If so, you and Wayne Rooney could clean up in a grab-a-granny bonanza week.

That's about where I stand, too.... - Man City & Liverpool more likely to be in Top 4 than us - Man Utd & Spurs about the same chance as us - Everton, Southampton, Chelsea, Arsenal & West Ham less chance than us (and possibly in that order) If we finish above Spurs and Everton, I reckon we make it.

Good point. He also comes across as having a dry sense of humour. If he wanted to tell his story and got the right support (if needed), I'm sure it would be a good book. He also had a stint at Boro - and was a second-string member of the 2006 Germany World Cup squad, playing on home soil (had to double-check that, I admit). A supplementary "thing I can't get my head around", though......Huth was aged 5 when the Berlin Wall fell. Not challenging your point, as I'm sure post-reunification East Germany was an interesting place to grow up, just amazed at the passing o

I'm cautiously hopeful about Top 4 now (harder to predict Europa League) - so I'm at risk of being over-optimistic about PL, having started the season very pessimistic. Still comparatively few points in it, but I'm amazed at where we are currently. I think the achievement thus far is under-appreciated, given the injury problems etc. Before the season, given injuries and the extra pressure of Europa League matches, I seriously thought we might well be in the bottom half at this stage. We supposedly had a limited squad, but.... - New players have slotted

They should just wash it in chlorine and put it on sale full price. It'll be alright.

Do all Finns have fins - and if not finned, do they find that they're fined?

Shame. It would be a major achievement if we could start a viral conspiracy theory on social media connecting Avril Lavigne to the Loch Ness Monster. It would constitute an absurdist work of art and an appropriate commentary on modern life, I feel.

I blame the Libyan students from hell for everything.....