Whitey Grandad

Of course. They’re both losses. You don’t lose any more points. It’s just a number. Why do you get so worked up over it?

Of course it is. We lost. That’s all there is to it.

Er... why?

I keep turning everything off and then turning it on again.

Reduce San Marino to ten men and put Mike Dean in charge. Simples

Yes. The school and teacher should have known better and the protesters outside could have achieved their objectives without all the fuss. This is not the British way.

It’s past my bedtime.

Reckless with excessive force? Nah, not for me. And look at the position of the referee. Right under his nose with a clear view of it. No complaints from any Leicester player either. Doesn't even qualify as a tackle. This is the problem with VAR. Slow motion doesn't give you any concept of the momentum of the players. All aroubnd me thought that the whole game was a bit of a laugh. Certainly not something that you would go on about year after bloody year.

It wasn't a tackle, that's the point. It was a leg stretched out. Bertrand had stopped moving by the time that the Leicester player arrived. Therefore not 'excessive force'. As I said, you cannot judge anything from a still photograph. Were you at that game?

And that is exactly why you cannot referee by remote image. At the instant that photo was caprured Bertrand had ceased his forward motion. There may have been some contact but even that is not certain. As I said above, neither the referee nor any of the players nor any of the spectators thought that it was even a foul. Total surprise all round when it was called back. This is the problem with only taking a snapshot view. It gives you a blinkered outlook on the world.

I’m not an expert on blondes. My eyes go all funny and blurry

That Bertrand one was never a red card. No one at the game or on the pitch thought it was even close to one. Only someone watching from miles away could ever have thought so.

What the feck is your problem? So, he lost a game or two but if you’re going to be selective you could invent all sorts of arguments. Seriously, you have a problem.

Embarrassed? Am I embarrassed? No

They are instructed not to flag by a higher authority.

The ‘agues’

They keep the flag down in case they make a mistake and raise it when they shouldn’t which might rule out an otherwise valid goal. I hate it too, but there again I also hate VAR.

The modern generations are not accustomed to death being a common part of their lives and I suppose we ought to be grateful for that. In the late eighteenth century and early part of the twentieth infant mortality was one in three in the countryside and one in two in the cities. My wife’s grandmother lost her entire family of two daughters and a son in their teens and early twenties to scarlet fever and then went on to have a second family of three daughters yet she was reportedly the most sweet and kind person you could ever hope to meet. No wonder they had a fatalistic outlook on life and a belief in religion and a better life in the next world.

Probably. These things come and go. At least it’s not as bad as the Black Death. Even then there are only partial samples but the DNA has been sequenced. I said that it was still around in the sense that the family of which it is a part is still with us today.

Spanish Flu is still with us yet we live with it. All epidemics eventually fade away.

My only encounter with Frank was when I saw him in the toy shop that used to be in the corner of Fryern Arcade. I seem to remember that he had a blonde girl with him.

Exactly! Even if there is any danger let the fans of the two pubs decide if they want to ‘risk’ it.

I think it’s weighted by length of time of restrictions or something. To be honest a curfew of 9 or 10 pm would have no effect on us since there’s nothing to go and see anyway.

You’re very welcome. I was a bit surprised too when I read something about it in The Times the other day. I had a bit of a hint when I saw that restaurants in France were open to some extent back in January (?). I can wait a couple of months or so before I start screaming my head off but by June I shall be climbing up the walls. At my age (71) I don’t have many years left I’ve just list one of them. In my unsociable lifestyle the chance of catching this virus is minimal anyway but I must say that the whole vaccination effort has been a majestic achievement. Now let’s start to enjoy the benefits of it.