oracle saint

I was in Club Wembley with my son next to a table with Melvyn Bragg and a group of Carlisle supporters. Had a chat with him; decent bloke. After the game they had ordered drinks to their table for post-match refreshment but didn't turn up - obviously slunk back north with tails firmly between legs. Somebody had to consume the drinks so we happily obliged. The team came up to collect trophy through the spectators; I was at the end of the row so clapped them all on the back and shook Nigel's hand. Terrific day out.

A great cricketer and commentator but my personal favourite commentator was John Arrrlott. I loved his mellifluous rich tones and broad Hampshire accent; his voice was made for cricket commentary. Maybe RB was the greatest TV commentator though as I think JA was mostly confined to radio. He died in 1991 so if you are too young to have heard him you missed something special.

I looked at this a while ago and felt it would save me very little although it does some things that are quite interesting; e.g. it monitors your mobile location so it knows how far away from home you are. However how does it work if more than 1 person has a mobile and they are both in different locations? It also looks at weather forecasts and modifies its boiler switching instructions accordingly. However a standard cheap controller and thermostatic radiator valves will probably function more efficiently than relying on the vagaries of a weather forecast; we know how accurate they are! The other point is that the cost of the product would outweigh the savings; you can buy a lot of gas for £100/year. If you adopt a sensible approach to your heat requirements then along with some basic controls and an efficient boiler you will probably end up with a more cost-effective solution. Oh and to answer your question about the boiler being permanently on I think that the boiler would be constantly available to be switched on by a signal from the controller rather than the boiler constantly heating water. Hope this helps

A very positive Morgan here http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30797971

Use iWeb - £5 poet trade and no other fees. After much research I reckon it's the lowest cost way to trade. http://www.iweb-sharedealing.co.uk/share-dealing-home.asp

I agree with much of the content of the last 3 posts; although Fox is often like a rabbit in the headlamps often he was given little cover, particularly in the first half. Too often when Dyer received the ball, played it back and then took off like a scalded cat to receive the ball the player to whom he had passed the ball was not closed down - Steven Davis was at fault here though I'm tempted to overlook that factor and focus on the huge shift he put in - he kept going right to the end chasing, harrying and making a nuisance of himself. You can see why we've let in so few goals this season with him and Wanyama playing a key part in protecting the back four. I thoroughly enjoyed the game; I was puzzled why Saints changed their game plan after they had scored - or was it that Swansea changed theirs? Up until the goal Saints looked pretty threatening with the front four combining well. Then we scored and seemed to retreat into a more compact shape; did the players feel that they could hold out for a further 70 minutes? Is their belief in their own defensive prowess now so great that they feel they can defend a 1 goal lead for as long as necessary? The ease with which Swansea ripped us apart down the right was embarrassing - I was hoping for JWP to come on at half time to provide cover. When he did come on we seemed to tighten up though I also felt that Swansea changed their shape a bit and removed the emphasis on attacking down their right. I also thought that MP got the Rickie sub. absolutely right; Swansea were pushing up so high at that stage that it was crying out for some pace to exploit the subsequent space. What I did enjoy was for the first time this season that a visiting team came who could play football; the 3 others to date have been dross. Swansea were very good in possession; Bony was good in the air but often a bit isolated and yes - Swansea had several shots on target but most were a bit speculative and reasonably comfortable for Boruc. Shelvey I felt was pretty ordinary; many of his dead ball kicks were poor. Dyer was by far the most potent attacker. My MoM were Adam, Boruc and Davis; Clyne played very well and nullified any threat down the Swansea left though yet again any overlapping was notable for its absence apart from his forward run with about 2 minutes to go (when we were trying to close down the game - weird). Oh and finally one of the funniest sights I've seen at a football match when Wanyama thought he'd scored; slid on his knees facing the corner flag while the game restarted behind him without him being aware of this - I think that he, with most of the crowd (me included) was wondering why he wasn't being mobbed by the other Saints players. A good day out with a slightly flattering score but all credit to MP and the team - they must be in dreamland. Cortese presumably just thinks that this is exactly what he expected and paid out the Liebherr legacy for!

OK - introducing the phrase "visionary decision" was intended to be a little provocative - The9 reacted and swallowed hook, line and sinker. However in a reflective mood after half a bottle of indifferent Rioja I really would love to know more about Cortese's thought process and motivation. Italian banker (i.e. not steeped in the English game) appointed as chairman of Saints removes from his job a manager, almost universally loved by the fan base, who has achieved consecutive promotions and appoints an unknown foreigner who does not speak English. He knew this would probably provoke almost universal outrage and if MP had not worked out would have considerably weakened his authority. The safe option would have been to allow Nigel to carry on and keep his fingers crossed. Bear in mind that he doesn't own the club - he's answerable to others. How much mental anguish did he go through in reaching his decision? There must have been many subsequent moments when he experienced huge doubts and fears that the ice was becoming wafer-thin and he would be the next recipient of a P45. What an incredibly brave - almost perverse - decision. My conclusion is that he (NC) must have an incredibly firm vision (hence "visionary") of both his future ambition and the modus operandum to achieve it and he's willing to go out on a limb to pursue that belief. I'm not saying he was right; as The9 and others have observed it's maybe too early to reach a firm conclusion. Thanks Nick for raising your contextual thread; I've thoroughly enjoyed the last 4 years - can anyone really say they have not?

OK - introducing the phrase "visionary decision" was intended to be a little provocative - The9 reacted and swallowed hook, line and sinker. However in a reflective mood after half a bottle of indifferent Rioja I really would love to know more about Cortese's thought process and motivation. Italian banker (i.e. not steeped in the English game) appointed as chairman of Saints removes from his job a manager, almost universally loved by the fan base, who has achieved consecutive promotions and appoints an unknown foreigner who does not speak English. He knew this would probably provoke almost universal outrage and if MP had not worked out would have considerably weakened his authority. The safe option would have been to allow Nigel to carry on and keep his fingers crossed. Bear in mind that he doesn't own the club - he's answerable to others. How much mental anguish did he go through in reaching his decision? There must have been many subsequent moments when he experienced huge doubts and fears that the ice was becoming wafer-thin and he would be the next recipient of a P45. What an incredibly brave - almost perverse - decision. My conclusion is that he (NC) must have an incredibly firm vision (hence "visionary") of both his future ambition and the modus operandum to achieve it and he's willing to go out on a limb to pursue that belief. I'm not saying he was right; as The9 and others have observed it's maybe too early to reach a firm conclusion. Thanks Nick for raising your contextual thread; I've thoroughly enjoyed the last 4 years - can anyone really say they have not?

I like this historical perspective. 127 league games to date in the last 3 years since we played Yeovil away and drew 1-1 in front of the massed assembly of fans numbering 5,854; we've risen 56 league places since then; what a wonderful journey. You've got to admire Nicola's chutzpah and single-mindednes in pursuing his vision. 3 questions occur: 1. Does anyone (other than maybe Art) think that appointing MP was anything other than a visionary decision? 2. Has anyone attended all those matches? (I think I've seen all the home games) 3. Has anyone on TSW ever before used the word "chutzpah"?

Raise your sights, Sir, seduce your taste buds and insult not the name of Le Tiss. If you are a pinot connoisseur then surely the first element of the comparison should be a good Gevrey Chambertin, possibly even a Chambolle Musigny? Something from the Côte de Nuits, anyway.

What a great idea! The government controlling prices; why not wages as well? Oh.... hang on; hasn't that already been tried? Anybody know how it worked out?

I owned a fairly smart garden flat in the south of France for 7 years. I only went there about twice a year and didn't bother to let it out (though tried to initially). The first 2 or three years were quite fun; a great area to explore and good inviting friends down. However the last two years I went down a total of 5 times; I realised it wasn't really a holiday any more after spending the whole of a visit redecorating and fixing some damp. It cost me about £8000 p.a. to run it and pay the various taxes. I also note that the French government has imposed a wealth tax on foreign property owners - an easy target for cash-strapped governments. The main problem though was that you have to keep on going back to the same spot; OK if you're not particularly adventurous but not too great if you want to explore other parts of the world. Given the amount of money the place cost to maintain it would have been less expensive to rent a property in different parts of the world for a few weeks a year. The other problem with Spain is the amount of property available that has been specifically built to cater for the Brits'. property-owning obsession. Don't expect prices to rise and if it's in a holiday complex you've also got the potential problem of the operator going bust - many of them do. However that does also make it cheap to rent. My advice, for what it's worth, is to rent a place for your holidays and let someone else maintain it. I'm not really trying to deter you from buying - just pointing out some potential pitfalls. Ultimately also I did make money when I sold about 3 years ago (due entirely to currency movements) so it is possible to escape with your shirt. I do know a few people though who have lost significant money though! Good luck

Well, the goals flowed last year and nobody complained we weren't scoring from open play. There was a certain preoccupation with the defence though! Oh, and by the way, we have 8 points after 5 games. Last year it took us 12 games to amass the same number. Do we really have a problem?

North Sea oil is always debated fairly vigorously in relation to Scottish independence. However there's little talk over how much of the national debt the Scots would take over. Furthermore if we ask them to also assume the bail-out costs of RBS I suspect that would probably put an end to the whole economic rationale of independence.

Somebody pulled a gun on me in Rio - many years ago though but apart from that I had a good time. Whilst there I watched possibly the dullest cup final match ever at the Maracana stadium - pretty lively pre kick-off and then 120,000 people pretty much went to sleep. Also safety-related my niece and her new husband were mugged there last year; had passports, money, etc. stolen. British embassy was useless; fortunately he's Italian and the Italian authorities got them back home. I guess the local hoodlums are really looking forward to the Olympics! Probably just luck of the draw; stay in a hotel with a safe and don't carry passports, too much money and bling - try and look really poor!