Hamilton Saint

You don't read very well. Or maybe it's poor reasoning skills. I did not say there has been no cod since 1992; I said the government imposed a moratorium on the fishery that year. And I did not say that the seal hunt ended in 2009; I said that the EU imposed a ban on seal products that year. Don't put words in my mouth. Don't make things up.

The Canadian Government shut down the cod fishery in 1992. The EU banned seal products in 2009. The collapse of the cod stocks occurred about 20 years before changes to the seal cull.

Nonsense. The seals had nothing to do with the collapse of the cod population. It was due to overfishing. Too many European boats - and boats equipped with trawling technology that could fish much larger areas with nets that could go incredibly deep.

I've watched this several times before. An awesome performance which took a lot of guts. The highlight was this: "Here’s how it works. The president makes decisions. He’s the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Just put ’em through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the Administration? You know, fiction!"

Be careful - otherwise urine trouble.

According to BBC Football yesterday: "Bayern Munich's progress to the semi-finals of the Champions League was 'about life or death', according to manager Pep Guardiola." Well, not bad. But, of course, Bill Shankly - as we know -outdid him in the hyperbole department: "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that."

This reminds me now of the wonderful George Carlin -a master of language. In this piece, he describes the differences between the language and terminology of baseball and football. If you know something about the games, this is brilliant!

And then there's the shotgun formation!

Assuming that you are referring to American football again (): the game consists of 4 quarters; each quarter runs for 15 minutes, but the clock starts and stops at the beginning and end of each separate "play"; the referee signals by whistle the when the clock should run or stop. So, the actual amount of time that the ball is in play is 60 minutes. Half-time comes at the end of the first two quarters. The referee has to constantly delay the re-start of the action in a televised game, in order to allow the broadcast of a couple of ads. Each team can also call three "time-outs" during each half of the game. Time-outs are usually called so that the coach can discuss strategy for upcoming key plays, or to stall the momentum of the opposing team. The teams switch ends at the end of the first and third quarter.

Some basic info about "real ale" here: http://www.camra.org.uk/about-real-ale

Nice one!

Yeah, right.

I said it was a generalization myself - or didn't you absorb that point. I was just returning the favour, because you want to characterize all Canadians as "big guy, big jug" people. "All Canadians are complete crumpets"? Nice alliteration there, but just another example of the simplicity of your ideas, and the crudity of your argumentative style. By the way, I am not your pal. Why would a pal of mine think that hurling insults is a rational tactic?

OK, I'll take the bait on this one. Point One: Obesity. If you check the figures (excuse the pun) - I'm using a 2007 WHO study - Canada sits 35th (61.1%) in the percentage of its population that are overweight (a BMI index number above 30). But the U.K. numbers are worse: 63.8%, putting it 28th in the list. Increases in the number of overweight and obese is a world-wide phenomenon - it's up 8% world-wide between 1980 and 2013. That 2007 study found U.K. residents were the third-most overweight people in Europe (only the rates in Iceland and Malta were higher). Point two: Obnoxiousness quotient. Your observations about Canadians, of course, were a gross (excuse another pun) generalization. I've traveled a lot over the years and noticed how different nationalities tend to behave when they're overseas as tourists. My observation (again a generalization) is this: Canadians tend to mix more with other tourists; they accommodate themselves more to local food and customs; they are not as loud and assertive as Yanks and Brits; and they are polite. Brits, on the other hand, tend to be more ethnocentric - they want to get food and drink they are familiar with; Brits are more likely to drink to excess than Canadians; Brits can be more bossy and self-assertive. And if you think that there is little difference between Canadians and Americans, you really haven't been paying attention! This year I was holidaying mid-winter in Mexico. The resort contained a majority of Americans. Previous years (4) I have been in Cuba - where the holidaymakers are primarily Canadian. The differences in behaviour are very noticeable. As a "mid-Atlantic" ex-pat, I am sensitive to these (often-subtle) differences.

Classic. I start reading through a thread with great interest and then, suddenly, there's a post from me. What?! Then I check the date. Jeez, this thread is two years old. But it still sounds fresh. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. Oh, and I still like DM - although his comment about "What Saints must not do now" always does my head in.

Thanks for the update. I first became aware of Badger beers about ten years ago. The beer and wine shop (now closed) just around the corner from my friend's house in Frome (Somerset) had a display featuring four or five of their bottled beers. They seem to specialise in flavoured beers - one I recall had an interesting peach flavour (Golden Glory?). We were down on the Dorset coast another time, in order to visit Thomas Hardy's Cottage, Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door, and decided also to do the tour of the Hall & Woodhouse Brewery in Blandford St. Mary (which makes the Badger beers). A very long but memorable day!

I did a tour of the Hall & Woodhouse Brewery in Blandford St. Mary, Dorset about five years ago. They make badger beers, available in bottles or casks - all (or most) are ales. They also do a few ciders. A very interesting tour, explaining thoroughly the brewing process. They also have vintage equipment located around the place, so they can compare the old ways with the new. At the end of the tour, you get a free pint in the brewery's own pub. We enjoyed a pub lunch there, too.

I drink mostly ale. (Might have a Grolsch, or Becks, or Heineken, occasionally). I like Smithwicks, Guinness, Murphy's Stout, Hobgoblin, Old Speckled Hen, London Pride, etc., etc. I like a beer with a distinctive taste. Lots of good Canadian ales, too.

There was something about your style that indicated to me.......not sure what it was.............that you weren't the other................you know, guy. LOL

Saints Player starts four minutes before KO. Nice!

Jeez, Sarnia, it would really help if you tried to grasp what I actually write. I explained in my last post your errors in posts #838 and #848. I'll try one more time: Hamilton is in the Golden Horseshoe but not the GTA; Toronto is in both the Golden Horseshoe and the GTA. It's pretty straightforward.

It's not just the spelling that concerns me, it's the factual errors. The GTA and the Golden Horseshoe are not the same thing, regardless of where you happen to live in the province! The term Golden Horseshoe has been around since the 1950s; it has always meant (at a minimum) the region of land bordering the western edge of Lake Ontario running from the Niagara River around to Toronto. It forms a horseshoe shape. The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is limited to the regional municipalities which surround the city of Toronto: Durham, York, Peel and Halton. There are major differences in attitude and culture between the people of Toronto and the people of Hamilton, even though they live relatively near to each other - just like there must be big differences in the attitudes of people living in Sarnia and Detroit, and even differences between those living in Sarnia and Windsor.

I presume you mean know-nothings? By the way, Hamilton isn't in the GTA. Nice try, though.

Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania a man brought a concealed, loaded pistol to Easter Sunday Mass. The safety catch was off and the gun was accidentally discharged - the bullet then grazing a congregant. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/gun-fires-accidentally-during-easter-mass-and-bullet-grazes-member-of-congregation-10158461.html Gotta be careful with all those crazed Catholics in the Cathedral praying to the Prince of Peace.

Forget Australia or New Zealand. Better to immerse yourself in a non-English speaking country, with a very different culture. I lived in Greece for 6 months before University in the early 70s. One of the best things I ever did. Went back there twice more in later years.