Alf Bentley

Paroled because he was in a stable relationship?

Nice to see you, to see you....

I had a similar reaction to Hamnet. Haven't seen Sinners yet. I did see Sentimental Value, which was a much more affecting film for me - more authentic and more nuanced. Glad to see it's also got a lot of Oscar nominations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irregardless "Irregardless is a word sometimes used in place of regardless or irrespective, which has caused controversy since the early twentieth century, though the word appeared in print as early as 1795. The word is mostly known for being controversial and often proscribed, and is often mentioned in discussions on prescriptive and descriptive lexicography". Long history....controversial.....proscribed....often mentioned in prescriptive and descriptive lexicography?! Multiple good reasons to use it, then. Oh, and regarding the core issue, we do indeed have a turgid, hate-inducing style of play that needs reform, if not revolution... Phil is our leader - or Katy, maybe!

For a split second, I thought we'd signed an exciting new Saudi striker.

Yep, the relegation battle could get interesting. Forest going down would be hilarious. Spurs going down would be beyond hilarious. Leeds seem to have the fighting spirit to grind out enough points overall, I reckon. God knows if this is a corner turned for West Ham, but Nuno has a decent record overall. Bournemouth could easily get drawn into it, as you say - maybe even Palace, given the mayhem there in recent weeks...

Thinking about it, maybe Rutte was being smarter than I realised calling Trump "Daddy", as he clearly has Daddy issues. By all accounts, his father was a horrible, domineering man, super-critical and demanding obedience. He even features - as a carnt of our time - in Woody Guthrie's memoir "Bound for Glory". Donald was the golden boy who followed in his Daddy's footsteps adopting all his horrible attitudes - whereas his elder brother ended up drinking himself to death at least partly because Daddy Trump was so hostile and dismissive towards his "failure" of a career, opting to become an airline pilot...

Sounds like it....for now. C4 News quoted him saying he was cancelling his proposed tariffs as he'd just had a great meeting with NATO boss Mark Rutte and they'd agreed a framework deal for Greenland's security. Perhaps Rutte called him "Daddy" again and it made all the difference?

I've heard more rational political speeches from blokes leaning on a bar in a pool of spilt ale with 10 pints in their guts and spittle running down their chins...

Impressive, as you say. A speech that future generations may read about in history books. Also a long speech... So, I've re-posted selected bits that seem particularly important to me - notably the bits that are bolded. A few comments... - "interests diverge": I wonder if he was considering the distinct possibility of other nations, including UK or EU, taking the nationalist-autocracy path - or the misguided fortress path... - "not every partner shares our values": I presume he was thinking of the deal Canada has just done with China. Relations with China need to be handed very carefully re. security & long-term strategy, but there's an argument that, for the UK & EU, carefully calibrated partnerships with a reliable, so-far-only-moderately-aggressive autocracy like China are a better idea than partnerships with an unreliable, demonstrably hostile, expansionist quasi-autocracy like the USA (though hopefully that last definition can yet be reversed). - Supplementary to the above...the response of other nations matters, but perhaps US domestic politics matters even more? Will US constitutional/democratic institutions persist? Will US courts deem Trump's aggressive use of tariffs to be illegal? Will rebel Republicans in Congress block his actions: e.g. his ability to order an invasion of Greenland? Will meaningful mid-term elections be possible? - "The TransPacific Partnership" (TPP): I'd forgotten that the UK joined this a year ago - the only European nation to do so, I think. Would be interesting if the EU also considered this or at least Carney's proposed "EU-TPP bridge"... Oh, and to save other ignoramuses having to Google...."GIUK" in Mac's previous post = "Greenland, Iceland, UK" (Note to Mac: please avoid exclusionary acronyms - we don't all have brains the size of yours! )

I wouldn't bank on Trump believing that. Yesterday he commented on the UK supposedly having made insufficient use of North Sea oilfields, compared to Norway. In a separate comment about the strategic/security importance of Greenland, he made additional passing reference to the Faroes and Shetland....

Sounds more like "I've discovered you're about to quit and to shit on the Tories, so you're sacked". Jenrick has yet to comment several hours later. Farage confirmed he'd been talking to Jenrick but claimed nothing definite had been arranged. BBC suggested someone discovered Jenrick's draft "I quit and you're shit" speech and handed it to Badenoch....Whoops!

I hear this in the voice of Oliver Hardy.... "Hard boiled eggs and nuts, huh!"

Yes, I wonder why that is? - Because she's put in some better parliamentary/speaking performances recently? But I doubt many people notice that? - Because memories of the Tory Govt are fading a bit, so some Tory voters alienated by the last Govt are returning to the fold? - Because some voters tempted by Reform are being put off or having second thoughts due to revelations about Farage, Reform policies or Reform in power in some local councils? The slight upward trend in Tory/Badenoch's ratings seems to be mainly Reform switchers returning. Labour's ratings remain low, but they mainly seem to have lost votes to the Greens. Though I'm sure it's not as black and white as that...

This is a more interesting one. Firstly, it seems Badenoch has sacked him and withdrawn the Tory whip because he was allegedly plotting to defect, while inflicting maximum damage on the Tories: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/crmdmkg8gymt I presume she has strong evidence. Cannot imagine that she'd have taken such action without it? Presumably he'll now confirm his defection? Secondly, only a few months ago, many were expecting him to stand against Badenoch and become Tory leader. She seems to have rallied her troops a bit and Tory poll ratings have crept up a bit (though still well behind Reform), so maybe he no longer fancied his chances of winning? Hopefully this all helps to split the vote on the Right? Also, I wonder how helpful it will be to Farage to keep stuffing his "new party of change" with high-profile Tories from a Govt still resented by many, whatever they think of Starmer & co?

I genuinely had to Google it to find out what the dickhead sign was. I don't think anyone's ever made the dickhead sign to me. One finger and two fingers certainly, the wunker sign occasionally....but no dickhead sign. Maybe I've been a lifelong annoying twat, occasionally a wunker but never a dickhead?

Eric Idle is still going strong.

Fancy some good news for a change? https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jan/12/london-homicide-rate-drops-to-lowest-in-more-than-a-decade I'm sure some will question the figures and it certainly doesn't mean crime isn't a problem in London, but.... "London’s murder rate has dropped to its lowest in more than a decade with police in the capital and the mayor saying it is now one of the safest cities in the western world. [...] In 2025, the Metropolitan police recorded 97 homicides in London, down from 153 in 2019, and down from 109 in 2024. In terms of longer term trends, a decade ago there were 120 homicides; in 2005, 181 homicides were recorded, with the peak this century being 216 in 2003. Homicides of those aged under-25 have fallen dramatically, with 18 recorded in 2025 compared with a peak of 69 in 2017. [...] The fall in the number of homicides comes despite a rise in London’s population, to 9.1 million compared with 8.1 million in 2010. Thus the chance of being a victim of homicide has fallen and according to Met figures there were, in 2025, 1.1 killings for every 100,000 residents of London, compared with 3.2 for Berlin, 2.9 in Brussels and 1.6 in Paris. According to the figures, London is safer than many if not all major North American cities, having a fraction of their homicide rate, which in New York is 2.8 for every 100,000 members of the city’s population, 5.6 in Los Angeles, 10.5 in Houston and 12.3 in Philadelphia. For young people in London who were at a greater risk of homicide, they are now at lower risk than older adults. In 2017, there were 2.51 killings for every 100,000 people aged under-25, while the rate for adults was 1.65. In 2025, the figure for adults was 1.1 for every 100,000, while for those under-25 the rate was 0.65".

No, I wasn't watching. Will see later. I hope you're not implying corruption? I'll judge later, but am a cock-up theorist, not a conspiracy theorist by nature.....though conspiracies do happen, of course....

Everton lose their penalty play-off v Sunderland after just 3 penalties. All 3 Everton penalties saved; all 3 Sunderland pens scored. I'm sure that's happened before, but I don't remember it...

.....says a Gooner! Fair play, Sir!

Yep. How bad are we going to feel when Enzo succeeds Pep and we see a smiling Winks lifting the CL trophy in a sky blue shirt?

Quite right, Mike. "A" could be anyone. I used to work in a small office where 3 of my colleagues were named Alun, Andrew and Anne. Mind you, I do suspect that the Royal Family might be involved. My money's on Princess Anne. There was always something a bit perverse about her obsession with horses.