St Landrew

Got close to capacity today. Although how they will ever do that, when they have to have a gap between rival supporters anyway, is beyond me. 32,689 - 30,890 = 1,799 short of filling all the seats. Not bad at all.

Hmm, can't really agree with a lot of that. As I've said before, I've read all the Holmes stories, and it may help if I say I've re-read them on many occasions. So when it comes to age and the respective character of the players, I think I've got a prety good idea. Ian Hart is certainly NOT too young to play Watson. He is supposedly playing a character in his early 40s. We're not talking about the bumbling character Nigel Bruce [of the Basil Rathbone era] made Watson out to be. Watson was actually intelligent and quick of mind and body, and in any other situation, he would more than have held his own. However, he was partnered by a genuis of logic and observation, in Holmes, who was actually very channelled in his intelligence. He could certainly be a bit of a thicko, in some areas, where he had absolutely no interest at all. In these general areas, Watson was more than his equal. But Watson was definitely on Holmes's turf, and so obviously lagged behind. Holmes' genius is to be able to gather the threads and make the leap of logic, that no other fictional detective is capable of. Many adaptations quite portray Watson incorrectly, let alone Holmes. Alongside Jeremy Brett, David Burke played Watson too slow of thought, and although Edward Hardwicke had his character right on the money, he was beginning to be too old for the part. For my money, Jeremy Brett was an excellent Holmes, if a little too theatrical and emotional. Holmes was a minimalist. He was cold in character, and only thawed in exceptional circumstances. Brett was a little too warm, IMO. I think Roxburgh gives a very good account of Holmes, although being The Hound Of The Baskervilles, this is almost Watson's adventure, and so we don't see as much of Holmes as we usually might. Roxburgh's Holmes is cold [anaemic is pretty good], calculating, and he makes errors. People die, or are gravely injured, because he doesn't solve the case in time. This is all found in the stories. However, one performance doesn't allow us to make a real judgement when based against so many of Brett's, whose performances definitely got worse as he aged, gained weight, and lost health. It also didn't help that ITV would inevitably try to screw up the stories by blending several of them into one episode. I have all the JB Holmes episodes. For my money, it's a shame the Beeb didn't do them instead. BTW IIRC, Holmes would occasionally take a 5-7% solution when on a case. No, I'm not expecting great things of the Downey Jr Holmes. However, I won't blank it out.

Hmm, don't know. So far the new regime has over-achieved, especially when you consider the sticky time at the beginning of the season, where AP's new winning approach was slowly being adopted by the players. 28 points [really 38] is not bad at all. Just imagine where Saints would be if Pardew had been able to come in earlier to make his mark. They may well have carried something like the present form from the start..? And that means the top 2 or 3 area. So far, I've given evidence to suggest that not making the playoffs would be a let down. But all this is ahead of the schedule. This is the change around/settling in season, and the next one is the promotion one. In that case, I don't think it'll be a let down if we miss the playoffs. But it is entirely possible that we won't, in any case. If we do make the playoffs, then we'll have to win them. If, having got there, anything less will certainly be a let down. Do you see what I'm getting at..?

I did. I'm still trying to work the bloody thing out.

Been away doing completely different things today. Picked up a bug from somewhere too, so the nose is treaming a bit. I'll just drown it in alcohol. Anyway, enough excuses... I gather the lads didn't play that brilliantly again, although we were all over Exeter City in the first half. They went down to 10 men and we sat back so that they could score, which allowed us to put Papa Waigo on, so that he could score in the dying minutes. Honestly, I think someone is going to report us to the Football League at this rate. 3-1 yet again. By my reckoning, that the 6th or 7th time we've had that scoreline..? Not complaining in the slightest though. It's all points, and 7 away from the playoffs. It's very do-able, but we'll need to keep what players we have and to strengthen, IMO. I suspect the boardroom might be talking a lot about moving up the schedule in the 5 year plan. I mean, what is the point in staying in League One longer than you need to..? Roll on Colchester. That'll be a test.

This being the Robert Downey Jr/Jude Law effort..?

Seeing no version of The Signalman in the schedules, I decided to get my old home made DivX disc of it down from the shelf. It never fails. It's not the ghostliness of the story, which is quite gentle by today's standards, but the quality of the story and the performance of the actors, primarily Denholm Elliot [the signalman] and Bernard Lloyd [the traveller]. It's perfect for snuggling well into your armchair with a good whisky or brandy. I can always recommend it. And my old DivX CD is standing up very well in the quality of its play too.

I think you can find highlights of that Cup game on Youtube. Including the penalty shootout. Just shows he wasn't up to being SPOTY.

Forgive me if I dont take the research of such a well respected newspaper as The Daily Express with any seriousness at all.

Not anymore.

Did a little digging on the adaptation I was writing about, and found the Beeb had made it back in 2002..! So it was earlier than the adventure involving Rupert Everett, by two years. I missed it back then, but I'm glad I've seen it at last. What a shame Roxburgh didn't carry on playing Holmes. Oh well...

Last night [Xmas Eve] I watched the latest adaptation of The Hound Of The Baskervilles. I've always been a bit of a Sherlock Holmes fan ever since I first read the stories, as a kid, and have invariably found the traditional screen portrayals of Holmes and Watson to be inaccurate to varying degrees. A few years back, the Beeb did a completely new Holmes story with Rupert Everett, and whilst it was very good, I thought Everett, as Holmes, was a bit too brooding. Ian Hart, as Watson, was excellent, and pretty much the best screen Watson I've come across. I don't know what it is with previous versions, but Holmes adventures are full of dark evil. Yes, there are the lighter stories, but more often than not, there is ample opportunity for serious adventure. One from the darker set is the Baskerville story. Unfortunately, it has been poorly made and remade so many times, and without fully exploring the depths of darkness of the story, that there is always something new that can be drawn from it. But it was with this inheritance that I had only mild expectation as I began to watch this one. And bloody glad I did, it's a little cracker. Everyone knows the story in some form, and this adaptation keeps reasonably well to the original, except that it shifts the time to the festive season. Once again, Ian Hart plays Watson excellently, and the rest of the actors throw themselves into their parts with gusto. This time, Holmes is played by Richard Roxburgh and although I was sceptical at first, I'm not at all sure a better choice could have been made. Conan-Doyle was Scottish, and so is Roxburgh, who leaves the slightest lilt to his cultured and clipped english. Together, Hart and Roxburgh team up very well indeed, and I would be quite happy to see a whole raft of adventures involving them. Also nice to see, in this adventure, that the story location of Dartmoor was properly used. It provided that sharper edge. http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/houndofthebaskervilles/

You didn't. It was whisky.

Warm enough for a nice swim.... oh..!

Poor 87 year old cardinal broke his leg. That'll take some mending.

Referring to the above, I think it's about time we had a separate thread about resource depletion. Probably another one about global population as well, because although the threads, including this one, are inextricably linked, they have separate areas of discussion as well. I might start them, but feel free.

Indeed. Where are all the planted trees going to go..? That's the bollix part.

Completely agree. Why are vegetables and fruit unnecessarily packaged..? Why are they not just sold loose..? Well, one thing is that packaged vegetables and fruit can be sold at a premium compared to loose items. I buy freetrade bananas only, and they are invariably packaged in a polythene bag. And why are there rolls of plastic bags for the loose stuff when paper ones would be better for the environment..? Why must they be separately packaged at all..? In one of the very areas where people could see a major change in policy, that is, in the way that their necessary food is presented to them at the point of sale, the old order remains. Packaging literally generates more profit.

I think you'll find that taxes will go higher and higher. But will it be a fair proportion of your earnings..? In an overcrowded and aging population, who apparently demand a better standard of living with every following year, services have to be paid for. And yes, those environmental taxes have to be gathered as well, and they will be higher now, because they were never gathered in the past.

The last decade OR MORE. Please read fully before you jump to your argument, WG.

Well let's amend that slightly. It is NOT fact that man is causing all this. However the evidence is compelling, if disputable. ... for every 100 scientists that says it is, there is one that says it isn't.. in the mean time we will just pay more tax.

Not me. I've decided to stop until I decide to start again. Roll on the annual food-to-bursting feasts.

I do find people's reasoning baffling when they point to a few weeks of cold weather and say that is evidence of a lack of global warming. I suppose I ought to mention to them that there is a southern hemisphere to the Earth. At this moment in time it is going into it's summer period, just as we are hitting our winter. There is of course, a thermal lag, which means that the hottest and coldest weeks occur well after the longest and shortest days respectively. Given that the years of the last decade or more have globally been amongst the hottest since records began, it is reasonable to suggest that however low the temperatures reach in the northern hemisphere, the southern hemisphere will make up for overall, at this time. And so it goes at other times of the year. This is why an examination and understanding of the Earth's Heat/Energy Budget is so important. There are variations in response of the Earth, to balance out the energy, but it will happen eventually. So don't worry about a bit of cold or heat, here or there. It's the rise in overall energy that needs to be concentrated on. As it happens. this rise in energy is a fundamental driver of climate change.

Aha, so you are the one person on the Earth who doesn't like Brazil nuts. I knew there would be one, I just didn't think it would be so close to home.

Red Dwarf again, and Backwards. Famous for the episode where the Lads are about to leave Backwards World, and Rimmer and Lister are wondering where Cat is. He is having a sh!t in the bushes, only it isn't quite the same in Backwards World. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CTD7x6JbIA Play from 7m 40s in. Don't Ask..!