Nordic Saint

Ravel, Debussy & Fauré String Quartets by Quatuor Ebène. If you like French music, it doesn't get much better than this album. I saw them play the Ravel Quartet at the Wigmore Hall. They are brilliant live. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=ravel%2c+debussy%2c+faure+quatuor+ebene&docid=607996708351509137&mid=DB2700DC04B7249E9E97DB2700DC04B7249E9E97&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

He was one of the great singer-songwriters. I saw him on his last European tour at the London Palladium in April, 2017. John Prine & Sam Stone R.I.P.

During the lockdown I've been watching and listening to the daily Metropolitan Opera House stream. You'd normally have to pay for it but they have made it available for free during the coronavirus crisis. Today's stream is a production of Rigoletto set in 1960s Las Vegas and it works surprisingly well: https://metoperafree.brightcove.services/?videoId=6154160288001

Yes, he is a real emerging talent. My all-time favourite pianist for Bach was Sviatoslav Richter. He was one of the greatest pianists of the last century and I was lucky enough to see him play Bach. This is a fascinating documentary about his life:

I don't think any of our current central defenders would be good enough to get into this team: https://www.unibet.co.uk/blog/football/ligue-1/ligue-1-team-of-the-season-201819-lille-dominate-after-brilliant-campaign-1.1186298

No, I didn't say that : you did, and what a weird thing to say. No wonder you are incapable of understanding anything when everybody else who heard the interview had no problem with it.

Would you continue to work for someone who was spreading false rumours about you and told you that he wanted you to find a job elsewhere? You'd have to be pretty desperate for your wage packet to stay under those conditions and say , 'Yes sir, three bags full, sir, anything else you want, sir?' Fonte hasn't given varying versions of events; he's simply told the truth.

Good luck to him.

Last season he led his Lille team to runners-up spot and a Champions League place, with the best defensive record in the league. This season, they were lying 4th when the league was suspended. He is still a regular for Portugal and has won 42 caps for them already, as well as two trophies.

And who did those 'stories' about that went on inside the boardroom or in negotiations emanate from? (In his interview, Adam Blackmore said, "Let's be clear the person you were negotiating with was Les Reed).

This. The problem is there were still many fans who lapped up the negative PR leaks about every player and manager Reed clashed with as if they were God's gospel. It's certainly tainted the relationship between fans and players and managers over the years.

Well, Adam Blackmore believes him and so does Dave Merrington, who during the interview phoned in and said it was a big mistake by the club. With regard to what Fonte asked for, he said it wouldn't even have made him one of the top 3 earners in the team. He said still loves going into training and helping the young players and hopes to play another 2 or 3 years at the top level and then will take his coaching badges and perhaps one day become a manager. Apart from the way he was forced out by Reed at the end, he was full of praise for Saints and said he enjoved every minute of his time here. He praised every manager he played for, including Pardew, who he spoke very highly of. He came across as a very humble person.

He loved being here and never wanted to leave Saints. His favourite manager was Koeman but he learned something from all of them. When he came back from the Euros he had offers from other clubs to more than double his salary but tuned them down. He negotiated for an improved contract here but was stonewalled by Reed, who then made up a story that Fonte had put in a transfer request, which Fonte was shocked to see, and then told Fonte he had to leave and find himself another club. He was earning less at West Ham than he had been offered at Saints and considerably less than he had been offered earlier by other clubs. Adam said he travelled on the train to London with Fonte who was almost in tears because of the way he had been forced out from Saints.

He was left with just a few days to find himself another club. I wonder how many other players and managers Reed did things like that to?

That conniving old bastard, Les Reed. He released the story that Fonte had put in a transfer request and then told him had to leave and find another club. That is so sad.

Yes, you are right. I like Boris. He has great charm and he is clearly intelligent but he seems totally lacking in common sense and, at times, is incredibly immature and childlike. His inability to learn how wash his hands properly, or use condoms, or even know what day of the week it is, comes from having led a very sheltered, privileged life. But, clowning around in front of the cameras, displaying his boyish charm, has got him where he is today. ]

Your 'somewhere in between' Covid-19 mortality rate is actually 3.4% worldwide according to the World Health Organization. But, with over 50,000 deaths more than normal in the UK so far, it looks like the rate is much higher than that in this country. Open your eyes and you'll find that people are dying all around you. I've never heard or seen so many ambulances in this country before. It's great to see the country starting to get back to normal again but let's not underplay this tragedy.

Then, of course, there was deaf Millwall Tony, in his butcher's coat, who everybody in the Milton knew.

Tall, skinny lad, with dark hair, who used to stand under the chocolate boxes in the late 70s and try to take on every group of away fans that got into the Milton, single -handed. I particularly remember him trying to break through a police cordon to attack a group of about 50 Millwall fans. I used to see him on his own standing at platform one at Southampton Central Station after games. I think he came from Eastleigh. He'd be about 60 now and possibly posts on here, for all I know.

It's the government that's driving it as they see it as a positive propaganda exercise, which is why it's probably going to happen whether we like it or not. "The Premier League has been encouraged by government to do all that it can to try and get the season completed, and feels duty-bound to do so." BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52500593

The police are not going to want to make it too easy though. A small stadium which is not hemmed in by residential areas will make their job a bit easier. Brighton would be an obvious choice.

Because hordes of local kids will see it as a great opportunity to get close to the players. Imagine if it had been at the Dell, for example. Are you telling me that all those people in terraced houses would have stayed indoors when that was going on next door to them?

Yes, I remember 70/71 as being a particularly good season, which would also explain your username.

My first Saints game was in 1963 but from 1980 to 2013, I was working abroad in various countries around the world, generally only catching 1 or 2 games each season when I flew back for visits, and the years I regret missing are definitely the early 80s, which I mostly followed from afar. The best years were the late 70s and early 80s. The late 70s were by far the best for atmosphere at games but the early 80s were the best for success on the pitch, with the team coming so close to doing the double in 1984. Things seemed to deteriorate after the departure of McMenemy, which was compounded by the post-Heysel decline of English football and the Dell's capacity becoming ever smaller. Since then, the Pochettino/Koeman years, 2013-16, have been the best. Looking back and remembering how I felt at the end of each season and how much I was looking forward to the next one: 1) 1981/84 2) 1976/79 3) 2013/16

Correct.