St Landrew

No, there's no doubt you can get away with that easier with a scooter. It's all that panel protection, that does it. Today I had my thermals on, over my underpants. On top of which I had my cycling shorts. Then I had my ordinary clothes, and then I had my protective motorcycling gear, with special socks, boots, gloves and helmet. Not forgetting the earplugs. I also put my heated grips on maximum, just to see how warm they would be, as I'd never had them that high before [i actually had to turn them down]. And I went out for a ride, and visited people along the way. In the end, I stopped at some good friends who didn't mind me stripping down to whatever was comfortable. Biking is not as easy as car driving, unless you live in the mediterranean, or elsewhere temperate, or here in the warmer months. But it is invariably a sight more enjoyable.

Finally watched Solaris this evening all the way through, without interruption by telephone, e-mail, the front door, someone talking to me, etc.. I think I've tried watching it/recording the bloody thing half a dozen times by now, and never have I been successful. Well, lucky for me, last week Film4 showed it yet again, and this time I nailed it. And for good measure I cut out all the adverts and left it for a few days before I came back to it. So I'd had all these tiny moments before, which meant absolutely nothing to me, except I noted that it was very quiet, and very slow. Which in a film of under 1hr 30mins, is going some. And yet it is a film which has more story than dozens of films made in the 21st century. I thought it was a space film. It isn't, it just happens to be set in space. I thought it was a film about rescue. It isn't. It's actually is a story of love lost and finally regained. In fact the rescuer is being rescued, in a way. The idea of the planet Solaris gives the film the scenario that dead people can return if we dream about them enough. Dreams are about our experiences and our wants and needs. And what does a widower [George Clooney] dream about other than the premature lost love of his wife [Natascha Mcelhone]..! And so she appears and reappears in reality to love him again. Because he is an astronaut, with a disciplined and logical mind, it is all the harder to accept. He despatches the first replica of his dead wife of the ship, and knows he has done the right thing. But then he sleeps and she comes back to him. And in the silences, between them, there are a lot of things said. It's a melancholic film, but ultimately an uplifting one. As with all slightly mysterious films, there's a twist at the end. All the performers get their parts just right, and director Steven Soderbergh paces and shoots it brilliantly, IMO. If I think I'm bored with a film, I tend to look at my watch, and if it shows an elapsed time that is way shorter than I expect, then the film's a bad one. This one whizzed by, despite the pedestrian nature of it. I looked at my watch as the credits rolled. Good film 8/10. But you all saw it before me anyway.

Yes, I saw SImon Callow's programme too. Very good it was too. I saw Chimes At Midnight many years ago. I also known about the stage production of Moby ****: Rehearsed. What little thought I'd given it, in the past, had been that it was an obvious mistake to do such a production. But with the help of Simon Callow, and interviews with Peter Sallis [of all people] I began to get an idea of the power that a theatre production might have [i do like proper theatre, I just never get around to going]. I bet Welles was f****** awesome as Captain Ahab.

How about NOT making your mind up about motorbikes until you've done your CBT..?

If the club has decided to have a go at the playoffs, given that they are within touching distance of them, then I think it is imperative that Saints strengthen in January.

Yes, but Boothroyd inherited players that were used to winning.

I agree mate, he certainly wasn't. But he possessed a talent for making people think so.

I did some looking on the internet earlier today. Couldn't find a thing. Have we all had the same thought..? Quite eerie, really.

Have you tried typing 125 Scooter into Google and seeing what kind of price you can pay for a new bike..? You'll be surprised. Aside from that, Vespa aren't the only manufacturer. Now quite a few companies make scooters, as it is most definitely, a growing market. See what I mean..? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_scooter_manufacturers For build quality, I doubt you'll do better than a Honda or maybe Yamaha, although the Italian Piaggio group, which includes Vespa, do make some sweet ones. Check out the Gilera range. They are pointing the way scooters could be going.

I rode a scooter for a couple of years back in the mid 1970's. Even then, my Lambretta was a reliable and cheap form of transport, easily more than able to get through the traffic. With the scooters of today, the experience has changed little except that it has probably got better. The modern scooter is an entirely sensible means of two wheeled transport, probably more so than a motorbike. As for being terrified, I've no doubt you were terrified the first time you got behind the wheel of a car. Have you ridden a pushbike before..? Just to give you some encouragement. My niece, who never before took any risks, suddenly decided to pass her motorbike test, earlier this year. Now she rides her Honda 250 around nearly all the time, and the other day passed me down the dual carriageway doing a very naughty 100+ mph. She said she just wanted to get the, never done the ton, out of the way. Thing is, you get used to it. Within a few weeks you'll wonder why you left riding a scooter/motorbike for so long. PS, get some decent clothing. You'll wonder at the cost of roadtax. The price is laughable [£15].

Now the Saints highlights alone are up on the BBC Football website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/8432002.stm Sorry David, this doesn't help you at all. It just means we home based fans don't have to bother finding 49m 11secs or so.

More importantly, what about their comments of Lung Nectar, i.e. the fresh air..? Seems odd when they ordinarily don't give a toss.

Yep, thoroughly enjoyed that one. If I had been Hammond, I would have let the handbrake off too. That looked steep. I thought May was quite brave barrelling down the descent in the Suzy. I do wonder whether May and Hammond are as resourceful as the programme makes them appear. I mean, I assume they are not, but sometimes, I wonder. Clarkson, I know I assume correctly, IS an unresourceful idiot. Rather him than me on that narrow high-pass though. I did something like that in the Southern Alps of NZ, and I can still feel my sphincter cramp up when I think of it, about 17 years later.

Oh sorry matey, I did read it on Boxing day. I didn't realise you wanted a thank you. I take it you enjoyed it.

Anyone had a go at The Orson Welles Sketchbook in the last few days. A bit self indulgent, but there are few people who could witter on about something I know nothing about and remain interesting. Here's episode 4 on the BBC iPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00plbtd/The_Orson_Welles_Sketchbook_Episode_4/

But obviously not so easy for you..! They're ALL bloody important, but whether he scores or not, L[a]mbert is a player who, if left out for any reason, would leave a gap which no other player would be able to fill.

Ah, now William S. Baring-Gould was quite an authority on Holmes. He even wrote a "biography" of the detective, which I have, and argued that it wasn't a work of fiction..! http://www.alibris.co.uk/booksearch?cm_sp=narrow*middle*hard&wquery=Sherlock+holmes+of+Baker+Street&qwork=6054434&qsort=pr&browse=2&binding=H

There's no harm in saying... ok, my mistake.

I like your style. Slightly hard to please..?

There you go, updated: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00pjhhh/The_Football_League_Show_2009_2010_26_12_2009/ Of course, you could just wait for slightly more extended highlights on the BBC Football, Southampton webpage. But then you won't get Steve Claridge's comments on Saints progression back up the league.

Indeed, unless you want to pay for bound or limited editions, you can pick up the complete short stories in one volume, and the novels in another, quite cheaply. Pretty amazing for the world's greatest detective. When I read the whole lot again as an adult, I picked up two books from Chancellor Press complete with original sketches by Sidney Paget, £7.99 [stories] and £5.99 [novels]. They're well out of print now, but even today you can find a something similar: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Sherlock-Wordsworth-Library-Collection/dp/1840220767/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b That's a far better deal than I got 25 years ago.

I think Fry and Laurie would have been awful as Holmes and Watson. Maybe if Hugh Laurie had been Holmes they may have had a chance. But Stephen fry just isn't hard edged enough, and I've seen too many soft portrayals of Holmes and Watson, as if they belong to a set of detectives including Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. Frankly, Holmes is much, much grittier than that pair.

Agree on Rupert Everett, although I think Holmes would have loved modern forensic detection. He was the first [fictional] detective to use forensic methods, after all. It is said that Scotland Yard actually did begin to be more scientific in their methodology due to ACD's accounts, although I'm not sure of the validity of that. As the episode involving Everett, I thought it fine, and nothing that ACD couldn't have written, as all the Conan-Doyle elements are there. I completely missed the scottish Dr Bell series, and I hope some day that they are repeated. I agree that modern TV producers may have missed a trick. But then Mycroft was such a stay-at-home. He was either the clerk and computer at Whitehall, in his rooms, or at his Diogenes Club. He did nothing other than that. As Sherlock said, of Mycroft's ability to be a detective; he is incapable of it..! Not much scope there then, unless you meant something other than a detective series.

I think tic-tacs may not have the full wysiwyg editor selected. I'll see if I can set it myself. EDIT: Should be OK now. Perhaps when Tic-tacs comes back wondering how it was changed, perhaps you can enlighten, if I'm not around.

Yeah, The Blue Carbuncle isn't bad at all. My personal favourites from the Granada series are The Bruce-Partington Plans and The Musgrave Ritual. Upthere in terms of the stories, should have been The Sussex Vampire, but ITV screwed it up, as they so often do.They did it with several adventures, also notably with The Mazarin Stone. I couldn't tell you my favourite story from the text. Many of them are of comparable quality. I also think radio is almost the prefect medium for Holmes tales. What did you think of Rupert Everett in The Case Of The Silk Stocking..?