St Landrew

Hellboy Umpteenth time I've watched it. Such a fun film, made just right, with vivid characterisation which lifts almost directly off the comic book page. I love the corny jokey asides too. Abe-Sapien is about to dive into the depths of an underground reservoir where monsters lurk... Abe-Sapien: Remind me why I do this..? Hellboy: Rotten eggs and the safety of mankind..! Abe-Sapien: [shrugs] Ah!

And the old 4-step rule, for goalkeepers, has come and gone in the intervening time. I remember the first match I saw where the rule had been reversed, and the keeper was whizzing about of over the penalty area, with the ball.

game

Yep. Said the other day that Huddersfield V Oldham might be pivotal. In truth, it is no more important than any other game, but it sends out a signal. They are 11 points away from Saints, with 6 [for them] and 7 games to play. It's do-able, but probably not. I just hope the players have more faith than us lot.

trim

hunting [you set 'em up]

Good

I had to pop into B&Q at about 2.30pm, prior to the Orient match. Plenty of Saints shirts in there, mostly worn by kids.

Sherlock Holmes & The Case of the Silk Stocking That Jonathan Creek adventure got me interested in going back to a Holmes adventure [You're right, Block 5] I've had for a few years, on disc, and it was time to drag it out again. I've just finished watching it, in fact. It was entirely new, at the time, and there are elements in it which Conan Doyle would hardly refer to. An ouvert reference to sexual deviation; a callous side to Holmes, which traditionally, although his character was cold, wasn't uncaring; the general languid nature of this Holmes, and his conversation with women. Traditionally, Holmes didn't talk to women except to question them, and he certainly didn't have any interest in them at all, except one. Rupert Everett plays this Holmes quite deeply and quietly, and his furrowed brows let us know he's thinking and investigating. Ian Hart plays his Watson [quite well, I thought], and does practically all the leg work, rather than sharing it 50/50, with Holmes. It's a good story, if you're tempted. A little darker than some of the traditional adventures [but certainly not all], which is helped by an enormous amount of fog everywhere, even for a London Peculiar..!

pork

I doubt his influence reaches the Withdean. Just go to the Beeb website and see the highlights there. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/8601629.stm

I was working and a very faint radio was on, in the distance, so I could just about get the gist of things. From what I heard we certainly scraped that one, without dominating in any way. How's Jaidi, and how did he come to be injured..? Lallana produced a bit of magic too..? Was there a touch of new manager effect..?

Oldham are indeed important. Their game against Huddersfield is certainly one we need for them to get a positive result. A draw will do fine. So tuesday night I'm a temporary Oldham supporter.

OK folks, now go to a very belated Post match reaction thread. Apologies for not having something sorted for you earlier.

Sorry that this thread never opened. Perhaps we can turn it into a belated match reaction thread.

Comments here please. BTW, I'd appreciate a fellow mod unlocking this at the appropriate time, as I might not be around. Cheers COYS.

Peter Piper [the bloke who picked a peck of pickled peppers]

Yep. Of course we've never told the French it's Le Channel de Angleterre [said in best Franglais].

In case any Pompey fans at home missed this:

I love the subject matter, but instead of watching Wonders of the Solar System, which for some reason I can't enjoy [i've watched two of them and I think the presenter Dr Brian Cox, annoys me too much], I watched the new Jonathan Creek episode. It was mildly interesting, but I didn't feel that I'd missed anything from those episodes a few years back [i'd seen none until this one]. Alan Davies plays it very down-to-earth or maybe he can't act, I can't quite decide, and the analytical snuff is a cross between Holmes and Poirot in their more fanciful stories, although this is present day, of course. I got the feeling the show's budget was being stretched a bit though, because although the props and locations weren't cheap, the technicalities of making it were. On one or two occasions, the continuity was bloody awful, for example Paul McGann [yes, an old Dr Who, number 8 or 9] holds a book open, while between spare fingers a bloody great big white coffee mug dangles. Change of shot, book is there, but the mug is gone. When you're dealing with a show where your target viewers are going to be on their toes, observation wise, that's poor..! Mildly interesting, all the same.

stoops

Never walked out early - ever. Mind you, I'm out the door pronto, as soon as the final whistle goes. Nowadays, I can so rarely find the time and expense, to attend anyway, that I can pretty much guarantee not to leave early. Unless the match is abandoned, of course.

mock

Agreed. As to the performance, I suspect Brighton had something to do with it. I was working late, so I neither watched the game, nor listened in, so I can't comment. All I know is a comment from the highlights summariser on the Beeb website who pointed out that Saints had the majority of the possession in the second half. Perhaps that's where Pardew thought that Saints had bossed the game. Maybe it's more of a disagreement on choice of words, than anything else. Just looked at the fixtures for every relevant team. It's still too close to call, because there are games between teams above Saints that are beneficial whatever the results. My gut feeling is that we'll NOT do it, not by several points, but that doesn't stop me supporting the cause.

spinning