Hamilton Saint

Correct - and, in the reverse process, this pagan festival (called Boxing Day Sales) has been moved one day away from December 25th. to indicate its irreligious nature!

It's an example of taking a pagan celebration (Samhain) and institutionalizing it into the dominant (Christian) cultural tradition. Part of that process requires shifting it by several days, in order to hide its pagan origins (November 1st to November 5th, in this situation; and Christmas is on December 25th, instead of December 21st - the winter solstice).

You've fearlessly covered all the bases - we'll lose; we'll draw; or we'll win.

No, you're certainly not alone. It's great to be in an era now where I don't approach most games with an underlying sense of dread. Now, I seem to be full of optimism about our short-term and long-term outlook. And that's exciting. Long may it continue!

Your key point (which I highlighted) was that we were "stuck in a rut". My key point was that we are not in a rut (which implies no change ahead), but things were about to change as our injured players come back into regular service.

No, I reckon we're about to emerge from a significant dip in form caused primarily by a few key injuries. And the return of those players (Boruc, Wanyama, and Clyne) coincides with a much better run of games in the next two months. I expect a consolidation of our position, at minimum, but possibly a push for seventh or sixth place - if a team or two above us have their own slide.

Yeah, if we turn up, we could get three points; but if Man City take to the pitch, instead of Saints, we're sure to get nothing from this game. Likewise, if some other team emerges from the tunnel, instead of Sunderland, it probably means we're at the wrong stadium - which also means zero points.

Or a revelatory form of weltanschauung?

Nice! Have you read Che's The Motorcycle Diaries?

Yeah, I was in the Lord Nelson last August. I usually come over to Hythe on the ferry from Southampton and drop into the Lord Nelson for lunch and a pint (or two). Then walk up into Hollybank Estate to visit the bungalow I lived in from 1960-68.

DM says WBA is playing 4-4-1-1 Anelka playing behind Long.

Let's get three points, today!

To be honest, I am sick and tired of these "instant" legends and "instant" icons. Being a celebrity is not the same as being a legend, or being an icon. Hugh Grant is a celebrity; Laurence Olivier is a legend. Saul Bellow was a famous American author; Ernest Hemingway is a legend. Duncan Edwards was one of the most talented palyers of his generation, cut down before his prime; Stanley Matthews is a legend.

Yeah, that's embarrassing!

I went to teachers college right out of high school (in the 1970s). Got my certificate, but couldn't find a full-time job. Got a position in the laboratory of an oil refinery - testing samples off the production line. Could have made a career there. But after a couple of years I quit in order to attend university. Never regretted it at the time, but in the current economic situation, I would have to think long and hard about doing that sort of thing again. When you're young and single, without your own family, these sorts of decisions are much easier to make. And there were a lot more opportunities back then.

I have a pair of B&W DM4 speakers that I bought in 1973. They are still going strong - but one of them was disfigured at the front, bottom, right corner by my dog, who nimbled on it when she was a puppy!

"... the streets will separate ..."? The stars will fall. The sky will collapse. All life as we know it will end.

But the article (and Rough Guide list) is not about top places to live; it's about top destinations to visit.

Ridiculous. Just trying to be trendy. It may have improved as a destination (I was there in 2009 and 2012), but has nowhere near the same pull as Paris, New York and London - which have immense charisma and a vast array of things to do and places to see.

We made our mortgage payments every week, instead of four times per month - 52 payments per year, instead of 48. Significant saving in interest over the life of the mortgage. We've paid off our house - great feeling. And one year left on a two-year loan for the new car. Then I'm completely debt-free. Nice!

See post #8. It's Delgado, not Delgardo - maybe that's what confused you.

I took my son to see it. I thought it had some good moments, but overall was quite boring. Much too long. And, with these sorts of films, becomes tiresome with non-stop OTT special effects.

Almost anything? Pro-nazi attitudes? Which implies anti-semitic views? You don't find that offensive? As the great conservative philosopher Edmund Burke once wrote: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." People may be free to express an opinion, but if that opinion is pro-Nazi and, therefore, antisemitic, it needs to be challenged at every opportunity.

This statement in your article doesn't make sense: "Rickie Lambert blasted himself into infamy ...". I presume you have a mistaken sense of what the word infamy means.