Whitey Grandad

Well he will shortly have experience of relegation. What are the extra-curricular activities like in Hull?

A large part of that is due to the fall in the value of the pound against the Euro.

The 80s were 30 years ago. Houses were more affordable, transport was cheaper, food was cheaper, going to university was cheaper. Indirect taxation is now much higher than it was then. Individuals may be better off, but you would expect that with career progression. Why is my opinion a rant, whereas yours is fact?

I'm nowhere near retired and not likely to since all our pension funds were stolen by Gordon Brown. GPD per capita is distorted by the fact that there are 10 to 20 million more people in the uk than are offically recognised by the government. All other indicators of 'affluence' have been bought with borrowed money. Taxation is punitive, council tax, income tax, NI, inheritance tax, stamp duty. There is less disposable income now than there was 15 to 20 years ago.

They're all tainted. Nobody backs a political party unless they stand to gain from it. Tobacco advertising, taxation, it's all corruptive.

There are some people, not many but I am among them, who say that the universe is not actually expanding but that time is slowing down (or is it speeding up?) and that the red shift is actually due to the light getting tired having travelled such a long distance. Mathematically it is the same thing.

I thought that was his sister

That's what stars are for, to show us that we are a part of something much bigger. Only humans can really appreciate this, the humble ant or stickleback doesn't even notice the stars.

Yes it changes from one outlet to another. Whatever floats your boat. Modern engines are far more adaptable.

That's absolutely not true in the slightest. In fact, none of the above is true.

When I first started driving (riding a moped, actually) petrol was 4/- a gallon. I worked on Saturday mornings and a tankful was half my weekly erarnings

It was more by accident than design. The covers over the tank filling valves were always distorted because the cars drove over them and the access pit was always overflowing with water so it was inevitable that some should get in the petrol.

Prices were always going to rise whatever the government. It's an easy target and one that's almost impossible to avoid, unless you stay at home all day.

It's the photons I feel sorry for. Imagine travelling all that way for 13 billion years and then smashing into a Hubble. Awe-inspiring video, by the way. What are the figures, 10 to the power 22 stars in each galaxy and 10 to the 22 galaxies? Or is it only 10 to the 20?

It's all down to the additives. My business is next to the storage tanks at Hamble and all the tankers fill up with the same product but just before they leave the terminal they get topped up with the anti-knock chemicals and other stuff that make it burn more cleanly. There is a definite difference in the performance and some engines can have problems with their valve seats. My missus's car always used to stall at traffic lights until I told her to stop using ASDA in Chandlers Ford and then she was ok. Their tanks were always full of water.

I loved that TV series. I saw a couple of episodes recently and I wish I'd stayed with the memories.

The salvage of the German High Seas Fleet by Cox & Danks is an incredible story for those interested in such exploits: http://www.naval-history.net/WW1NavyBritish-Shipbreak.htm And of course, HMS Vanguard: http://battleshiphmsvanguard.homestead.com/DeathofaBattleship.html There's a comment at the bottom about the steel being used for a whole-body scanner in Sweden.

Sic transit gloria mundi. I always find it sad when any ship reaches the end of her career and I'm not sure which is the more noble end. Rotting away up some creek is always unpleasant. The upper reaches of the Hamble and other rivers are full of old hulls sunk into the mud with just a few ribs left poking above the silt, and when you read of their history trading along the west coast of France and Ireland it is depressing to see their current sorrry state. At least those that have been used for target practice have given useful information that may help to save the lives of future sailors. What was the name of that old wooden warship that was scuttled off Portsmouth (in the 1960s?) ?

How about the 'fuel price escalator' ?

I can't give up for 40 minutes.

Imagine making a spelling mistake and having to chisel it out all over again.

Sic, quidquid.

Oi mush, I sit there!

For comparison Juventus are building a new stadium, but only 42,000 seats. One newpaper described it as 'in the English style', which I took to mean that the seats were closer to the pitch. http://www.juventus.com/site/eng/JPL_newstadium.asp

Absolutely, if it prevents the other player form reaching the ball. It doesn't have to be deliberate, just careless. If it impedes the other player, slows them up, buys time for the goalkeeper, prevents the other player from having a clean attempt at the ball, then it can be considered a foul. The important thing is not so much whether there is contact with the other player but whether there is contact with the ball, and it must be ball before player.