CHAPEL END CHARLIE

Well I never claimed that homophobes held mass meetings on Poole Quay every Friday! That is very obviously not the same thing as saying the problem does not still exist.

Oh at my age I'm seldom to be seen in pubs and never at EDL rallies my friend. I must repeat that in my personal experience homophobia is still quite commonplace in this nation. I will concede however that perhaps if you spend most of your time surrounded by the younger generation then you might form a different opinion on that.

I would hope that most right-thinking people will agree that homophobia is obnoxious and long past its due 'sell-buy' date. Those of us who live their daily lives out in the real world however will know that this form of prejudice is still quite commonplace in both our workplaces and in wider society. I for one wish that were not so. Therefore, even in this relatively enlighten day and age I think those in the public eye, such as Premier League footballers, who make a point of openly revealing their sexuality do still deserve some degree of praise for that display of what is afterall 'moral courage' methinks. The world may indeed be changing in this respect - that does not mean that the odd 'push' in the right direction is no longer required.

Well it's been coming all season frankly, but Lewis Hamilton wasted no time in killing off his competitors (remote) title chances in Texas and thus become only the second Britain ever to be crowned three time F1 champion. This is of course a considerable achievement by any standard. And what a thrilling race it was with plenty of close racing and drama aplenty. Those who consider F1 to be too boring for their tastes should remember that when a little water is added to the mix the sport can become a truly exciting and gloriously unpredictable spectacle. It's a pity that it is not always so - but having spent a lifetime following this formula I well know that a single team/driver being dominant is quite common and overtaking has always been difficult. As for the camp's main challenger this season - Nico Rosberg - you could almost see his sense of resentment towards his Mercedes 'team mate' seeping out of him after the race. As a Brit I'm not entirely unprejudiced of course, but to be fair Hamilton can indeed be a pretty ruthless racer out on the track - all the great drivers are. I hope however that he's not quite as brutal a champ as Schumacher was in his prime. Hamilton will put you on the grass if need be all right, but Schumacher would put you in the wall if you were in his way. Ultimately I think Rosberg needs to look more at his own shortcomings if he wants to understand why Lewis out-drives him so very often. So can Lewis match Vettel and win a fourth F1 title? The immensely wealthy and talented Mercedes team will probably be strong again next season, but so will Ferrari I reckon and nothing lasts forever in F1 ... but I wouldn't be all that surprised if he did.

Football fan mentality 101: Player wants a transfer but is unsuccessful: he's a decent lad at heart who deserves a second chance. Player wants a transfer and gets one: he's a utter rat who deserves to have his legs broken.

One method of protecting the bonnet of your new Ferrari from the horrors of stone chipping:

^ Those things are among the most hideous carbuncles ever to deface a motor vehicle I think. But there again these cars aren't exactly pretty either and Joe Public is snapping them up like free chips:

I had thought that this old thread would die from natural causes soon after our erstwhile Canadian friend got himself banned due to excessive stupidity. How very wrong I was! But in plea of mitigation, how could I have possibly been expected to realised that even the vast North American continent was populous enough to contain yet another Saintsweb member of near equal density? So what have we learnt recently? Well it seems that violent crime exists not only in the United States but here in the UK too. Now I can't speak for any other 'little englanders' on here, but having only spent a mere half a century living in this country this stunning 'no sh1te Sherlock' revelation certainly comes as a bit of a bombshell to me. Naturally ten bloody months of trying to hammer home the perfectly obvious (and statistically proven) point that because of our lack of a US style gun culture the UK's homicide rate is actually a mere fraction of the US one is not enough. Perhaps twenty months will suffice to finally get the message across to our more 'hard of thinking' members. In other news, it seems that the moribund old insult 'Limey' has been resurrected for some reason and brought back to vigorous health again. Wow - I can only wonder what derogatory term of choice anyone IDIOTIC enough to use this type of prejudicial language would employ against other groups they did not happen to like - such as black people perhaps? Strike that question, methinks I already know the answer ...

Building Cars Live - BBC2 this week. A entertaining look at the many processes involved in manufacturing a modern British car - broadcast mostly from BMW's huge 'Mini' factory on the Oxford Ring Road. Fronted by James May, this ambitious two part programme attempted to follow one particular Mini from its 'birth' at what is known in the business as a 'Body-in-White' stage, right through the entire production process until the completed car finally left the production line ready for delivery to its new owner. Unfortunately being a live broadcast (with some pre-filmed inserts added) we hardly ever got to see our one particular red Mini progress down the line as the problem of co-ordinating a live TV broadcast with the variable speed of the production line proved too difficult a problem to overcome. Our Mini was unfortunately often just out of 'camera shot' at the critical moment - such are the perils of live television! Nevertheless, if you wanted to gain a brief insight into how modern cars are so well and efficiently constructed - an achievement attained in no small part thanks to robotics and the motor industry's (Japanese inspired) 'Just in time' and 'Continuous Improvement' philosophies - then this was a very interesting and worthwhile effort I thought. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p033zfvw/building-cars-live-episode-1

I saw Ridley Scott's latest big budget Sci-Fi spectacular 'The Martian' at the cinema yesterday, and I'm pleased to say that I greatly enjoyed it. Boiled down to its basic elements, the plot is a admirably straightforward one. A future NASA manned Mars mission has to hurriedly evacuate the planet when an approaching storm threatens to topple their rocket off its base - with obviously disastrous consequences. In the process of the (rather panicky) evacuation one Astronaut - played by Matt Damon - is accidentally left behind by his departing comrades. The rest of the film is the story of his struggle to survive alone, with grossly insufficient supplies available, and NASA's attempts to mount a rescue mission before he inevitably succumbs to the Red Planet's unremittingly harsh environment. Unlike so many other sci-fi films much of the science featured seemed plausible enough (to my unscientific mind anyway) and the special effects on offer are yet again very impressive indeed - we should never take what cinema can do now not for granted. If I were to be hyper critical, then our hero was inordinately fortunate on occasion I thought and I did wonder why Mars has such violent weather when the Martian atmosphere is so very thin. I might also add that Matt Damon, while perfectly adequate here to be fair, leaves the cinema goer with the impression that he is 6ft of regulation (vanilla flavour) Hollywood leading man. Watching his various films over the years I often find myself wondering if very much is going on inside that oh-so handsome head of his. But make no mistake this is a damn good movie that I dare say will entertain anyone interested in space travel. I might also add that what a treat it is to see a optimistic future for Humanity portrayed again in the cinema - a near future where for once not everything to come is some grim dystopian nightmare we see predicted so frequently in film.

And yet he clearly had no realistic chance with either Leicester goal yesterday did he? A good man I think and a exceptionally faithful servant of the club. When he eventually retires if SFC feel he still has something worthwhile to offer the team going forward, then that would be 'all well and good' as far as I'm concerned. However, business is business and he shouldn't be kept on the payroll just out of a misguided sense of sentimentality. Not that I think that is likley to happen anyway you understand ...

Some recent reads: 'One Step Behind' by Henning Merkell You may be aware that I much admire Nordic crime drama in both its televised and written forms. However - probably because of the tedious BBC TV adaptations - until now I've avoided Henning Merkel's 'Wallander' series of crime novels 'like the plague' as it were. It turns out this was a bad mistake because the novels are actually rather good. This tale, the story of Inspector Kurt Wallander's methodical manhunt for a depraved and ruthless Swedish serial killer (a man who can't abide the happiness of others), is full of tension that remorselessly builds towards what is a truly terrific climax. 'U 333' by Peter Cremer The remarkable story of one U-Boat commander and his submarine at war. The most remarkable think about Cremer's story is that he - unlike nearly all his comrades - survived the experience somehow. Indeed, many young sailors posted to U-333 considered this assignment as almost akin to a form of 'life-insurance' policy so reliably did their skipper bring his boat home after every mission - all this despite some massive action damage being incurred to the boat, and indeed its commander, at times. Aggressive, skilled, and utterly determined to sink as much Allied shipping as possible, despite some (mild) criticisms of Hitler's leadership I did find myself wondering whether Cremer was really just a professional naval officer doing his duty for his country, or perhaps a rather more enthusiastic Nazi sympathiser than he dare let on in print. In 1944 Cremer was posted away from U-333 in order that he assume command of a new submarine then under construction. His old boat, under the command of another officer, was soon lost at sea with all hands ... 'Bring Up The Bodies' by Hilary Mantel The follow-up to 'Wolf Hall' (the author's massively successful first book charting the rise of the Tudor statesman and fixer Thomas Cromwell) the story here takes up more or less where the first book ended. Just like 'Wolf Hall' this admirable historical novel is beautifully written, carefully researched, and hard to criticise meaningfully. Just like the first book, it is also strangely hard to love too - at least that is what I thought. 'The Second World War' by Anthony Beevor If I recall correctly I'm by no means the first person on here to read this new(ish) history of that terrible war. I'm happy to confirm that those who thought this history a splendid book are absolutely right. I guess I've read more on this subject than most have, but even I found much here that was new to me. I would even go so far as to say that if you are only going to read one book about WWII, then you could do much worse than to make this history the one you choose.

This is surely a fair question, to which the only apparent answer would be 'nothing' because it is just ''one of those things'' afterall. I'm reminded here strongly that Stalin once said that the death of one man was a tragedy while the deaths of millions a statistic. Well the statistics are clear enough here I think - the scale of firearm related violence in the US (and indeed Mexico) is both huge and highly abnormal when evaluated with other broadly comparable nation states. Observed from the relative safety of this side of the Atlantic Ocean, it would appear that either a great number of US citizens long ago reached their own personal 'compassion fatigue' limit with regard to gun violence and they therefore no longer care much when their fellow Americans are slaughtered with such monotonous regularity, or perhaps the culture (or is it cult?) of individualism and mistrust towards governance in the USA has become so extreme now that this is regarded as somehow being more important than Human life is. Interestingly the USA was not always like this. When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated back in 1963 for example, the homicide rate in the USA was 4.6 per 100,000 people - I.E. rather higher but still comparable to the 3.0 rate European nations exhibit today. By 1970 however the US rate had doubled, and by 1980 it had reached a huge 10.1 per 100,000. Researchers point to several possible explanations. Post-World War II 'baby boomers' had come of age in the 1960's, which resulted in a marked increase in the number of young men (the most violence-prone group) in the population. The 60's also marked a shift among many social, cultural and economic forces that worked against violence in previous eras. America began moving into a post-industrial economy, governmental authority came into question with the Vietnam war, and the traditional family was threatened by things like divorce etc. Excluded the Vietnam War experience, obviously these explanations are not entirely adequate because many of the above factors also occurred in Europe too, but without the same increase in (mainly) gun-related murder because firearms were less freely available there. However we apportion the blame for this growing American tragedy, I find the most remarkable aspect of this phenomena is the fact that so many otherwise sane and rational US citizens either can't comprehend, or refuse to accept perhaps, that they even have a problem that needs to be urgently addressed. Indeed, one wonders that if at some point in the future opinion on the gun issue in northern and southern US states starts to divide whether the political cohesion of the United States itself might come into question.

^ Thanks Hamilton I've long known this poem's famous ending and I'm also familiar with the expression 'On the Beach' as Nevile Shute employed it in a novel of his that I much admire, but somehow I've never read 'The Hollow Man' in its entirety before. A remorselessly bleak, but somehow hauntingly beautiful, poem.

^ The mystery of whatever happened to my missing Cadbury's Fruit & Nut bar is solved ....

Good stuff my friend - any news on new maritime patrol aircraft?

You may well be right - depressing isn't it?

With Syria still mired in a disastrous civil war that appears to have no end in sight, a war that we here in the West seem utterly unable to decisively address, other nations are now being drawn in. New Russian air bases are now being established in the region with the aim of propping-up President Assad's hated regime in its struggle with ISIS. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/11889645/Russia-preparing-air-strikes-on-Isil-if-US-does-not-back-deal-to-keep-Assad.html Putin's motivations are of course entirely self-serving rather that humanitarian. However, might ensuring the continued rule of a brutal dictator be considered 'a price worth paying' somehow if it led to the end of the war and the defeat of the ISIS menace?

Corbyn may well have brought a new generation of supporters to the Labour cause. However, if this new poll is any guide he may he may be in danger of scaring off large numbers of existing Labour voters: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/Jeremy_Corbyn/11876480/One-in-five-Labour-voters-more-likely-to-defect-to-Tories-after-Corbyn-victory-poll-finds.html

Some recent TV I have have seen and enjoyed this week: An Inspector Calls - BBC1 Sunday. One of those old stories that you already well know, but like so much you are quite prepared to see retold. In this new version of J. B. Priestley's famous morality tale (the screenplay adapted by 'The Suspicions of Mr Whicher' writer Helen Edmundson) the key role of the parents went to the ever reliable Ken Stott and Miranda Richardson - and very good they both were in all their smug upper middle class Edwardian pomp & pomposity. David Thewlis too was suitably determined and sombre as the 'Inspector', although I must say that those familiar with (the quite wonderful) Alastair Sim performance might miss that unique sense of almost spectral 'unearthliness' that only he could bring to it. The proverbial 'tough act to follow' if ever I saw one. Would I Lie to You? - BBC 1 Friday A frequently 'laugh out loud' funny and never less than entertaining panel show that seems to improve with every single series. It goes without saying that the bedrock of this series ongoing success is the easygoing relationship the 3 regular cast members have now formed together - indeed it is hard now to imagine this show without Lee Mack, David Mitchell and Rob Brydon. Having said that, I seem to recall that Angus Deayton was the original host when the series started - when compared to Rob Brydon I think it safe to say that Deayton is not much missed. Why is it that the BBC is so very good at producing genuinely funny panel shows (HIGNFY, QI, Mock The Week ... etc) but can't buy a decent Sketch or Sit Com any longer for love nor money? Desert Car Kings - Quest Thursday. One of those cheap imported US 'reality' shows that fill up time on obscure channels. This one is not quite as awful as most of the type are - indeed I must admit that I rather like it. The format here is that a huge Arizona car scrap yard is pillaged to restore battered examples of classic US cars from the fins and chrome era of 'America's Glory'. Naturally this all has to be done against the clock for some reason and the usual BS personality clashes are manufactured to spice up the action. Nevertheless, there are worst ways to waste a hour I suppose.

Fewer tits and spelling mistakes?

Indeed, for example the Nazi scheme to motorise the masses via Autobahn construction (itself in part a job-creation measure) and their 'saving stamp' plan, a plan that might have lead to every family having their own subsidised Volkswagen one day, can all be seen as rather 'Socialist' in concept. Needless to say, in other regards they were obviously VERY far from being a leftist party 'power to the people' party - despite the 'S' in NSDAP standing for 'sozialistische'. None of this has anything to do with poor old Jeremy Corbyn of course.

Having just forked out an outrageous £40 for a CHILD'S size replica shirt, I can confirm that discussing design options now comes a distant second place in at least one Saints supporting household to the small matter of football clubs not arse raping their fans at the till

How can you lead a nation when you refuse to even sing its national anthem? How as a leader can you expect loyalty from others when you have spent your entire political career refusing to display that quality yourself? How can you possibly appoint a man who has vowed to 'destroy capitalism' as your Chancellor of the Exchequer? Opposites attract they say, but Jeremy Corbyn and the Parliamentary Labour Party looks like a marriage made in hell. Already 100 Labour MP's - including senior Shadow Cabinet members - are apparently determined to support the UK's continued membership of the EU come-what-may, while their new leader is a long term opponent of the Union. His future SNP allies are also committed to the EU and there seems little prospect of a future Labour Government without Scottish support. So to lead this party effectively for the first time in his life Corbyn will have to learn to how to compromise on his cherished principles, just like any other serious grown-up politician would. Can he stomach that idea ... watch this space.