CHAPEL END CHARLIE

The sun is shinning and our already pretty decent squad is strengthening further. For perhaps the first time in our top flight history Saints fans can look forward to the new season with a realistic sense of optimism. Our painfully ambitious chairman is actually achieving his ambition of rubbing shoulders with the elite of the world game - his invitation to the party written upon the back of a lorryload of (semi-extorted) Liebherr cash. And who amongst us could blame him, afterall spending other peoples money has always been the most intoxicating of prospects has it not? So all is well with Southampton Football Club then ... It seems to me that 'living the dream' is all well and good, but dreams are for those who sleep and the time will come when the sleeper must awaken. In the harsh light of day, when the money runs out (and it will), SFC will remain the middle sized regional football club it has always been. A middling club that (like many before it) has unsustainably spent way beyond its means trying to turn itself into something it fundamentally can never be. There will be consequences of course, because any individual or organisation that pretends to be something it is not is heading for a fall in my experience. So we can only enjoy it while it lasts I suppose, because the summer is short and winter approaches. But let's not kid ourselves too much because somewhere deep down inside we all know this is going to end in tears one day don't we?

Thanks, I'll make sure I watch that. The Supermarine Spitfire and Arvo Lancaster may be the most famous RAF types to emerge from WWII, but the De Havilland Mosquito fully deserves a place in public esteem alongside these icons of our aviation history in my view. An unusual aircraft not only because of its outstanding performance, wooden construction and lack of defensive armament (speed=protection in Geoffrey De Havilland's view), but because of the fact that De Havilland's had to almost force this design onto a reluctant Air Ministry who were more interested in developing conventional bombers. One of the sure signs of a truly successful combat aircraft design is its adaptability, and in this respect the Mosquito - equally excellent in the bomber, fighter-bomber, reconnaissance, and night fighter roles had few equals. This is not to say that the 'Wooden Wonder' was without its faults, the glue employed to construct the airframe could fail with disastrous consequences (this factor may have have been involved in Guy Gibson's death) but the records show that aircrew assigned to a Mosquito Squadron had a much better chance of surviving a tour of duty compared to their less fortunate contemporaries sent elsewhere. During the latter stages of WWII when the mighty US aircraft industry was producing vast numbers of highly effective types for their own and allied use, there was just one foreign design that the USAF still really wanted because it was clearly superior to anything they could manufacture for themselves - the De Havilland Mosquito.

1 - To avoid any future misunderstanding, if I had intended to portray someone as a Tory voter (or of possessing a centre-right political viewpoint) than I would have been careful to employ a capitol 'C' when spelling 'conservative'. Note the use of the lower case in my post, which clearly signifies that the alternate definition of 'conservative' was intended. In that sense some of the most 'conservative' politicians of the 20th century were actually members of the Communist Party. 2 - The argument you then go on to promote is a very familiar one which can be readily summerised as: We may not need a nuclear deterrent today, but it might just come in handy one day. There are multiple problems with this idea, not least of which is the profound consequences on our conventional defences that financing the Vanguard Class replacement (a project known as 'Successor' within government) will entail. Unlike past generations of UK nuclear deterrent (such as Polaris or V Bomber for example) this time HM Treasury has been very careful to ensure that all Successor costs are carried by the MOD budget alone - IE there will be no special funding allocation from central government this time. In a era where our national debt is now measured in £ trillions, then the budgetary implications of that decision will almost certainly be disastrous on our (already pared to the bone) RAF, Royal Navy, and Army. So if it comes down to a choice between your 'might come in handy' argument and the (very real) need to defend this nation and its varied international interests & commitments with meaningful conventional armed forces ... well I for one vote for the latter. 3 - It should be abundantly clear to any observer that to argue against the ruinousness expense of another generation of UK nuclear weapons is not at all the same thing as arguing that NATO (by which we mean the USA of course) should also disband its strategic forces. If you really still loose sleep worrying about a old cold war style nuclear Armageddon scenario, then rest assured that as long as we maintain our NATO membership then any such insanity would - by treaty obligation - entail a appropriate response from all other NATO member states. It seems to me the UK (and French) independent deterrents merely duplicate a perfectly adequate capability that already exists - surely an extravagant and wasteful policy in this day and age. This explains why other comparable NATO states to the UK (such as Germany, Italy or Spain) have not seen the need to maintain their own nuclear forces. 4 - Yes the world is indeed a insecure place - it always has been - but the promise of security via a pensionable old policy of 'Mutually Assured Destruction' may well prove to be an illusion I'm afraid. A thermonuclear exchange between NATO and democratic Russia is almost unthinkable now, while nuclear warfare between 'little england' and a true superpower such as China is surely an absurdity. The real nuclear threat we may face is from the so called 'rogue states' (a highly pejorative phrase that) and/or the emerging wave of sophisticated and well funded terrorist organisations. A nuclear missile submarine is unlikely to stop a fanatical terrorist group from trying to do its worse. The 'Rogue State' threat can be better countered by negotiation, or by a new generation of defensive measures currently known as Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) that I have already advocated on here. I say nations truly concerned with their nuclear security would do well to concentrate their efforts on curtailing the number of these murderous weapons in the world, rather than building more of them. .

Fair question. I think you will find that pro CASD views are (very often) held by those conservative types who seem quite incapable of understanding that the strategic situation has changed out of all recognition since the end of the Cold War. The Soviet era Red Banner Northern Fleet has long gone now - I say the need to maintain a SSBN constantly at sea went with it. But I would go much further than that. Methinks that the vast sum we are about to spend on a new generation of nuclear weapons would be better directed towards our overstretched conventional defences and/or ballistic missile defence. That's not going to happen alas ...

It's a pretty sad day when a working man losses his job over a prank as harmless as this - a sign of the times I suppose. http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/saints/news/10551616.Builders_sacked_for_Pompey_shirt_prank_at_Saints__training_ground/

Recent Reads: 'Admirals' by Andrew Lambert. This is not a book I can really recommend to the general reader, but if naval history does interest you then methinks you will find this an informative and scholarly biography of the officers who did much to make the Royal Navy the superlative force on the worlds oceans that it once was. From Lord Effingham's defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 to Admiral Cunningham's role in steering the Royal Navy through the perils of it's darkest hour during WWII we learn again that the Human element in war is always key - for without good men and outstanding leadership to guild them then surely nothing much worthwhile can be achieved. Be aware that the author has deliberately excluded Lord Nelson's stellar career from this book on the (perfectly reasonable) grounds that the great man has overshadowed the achievements of other notable admirals, and in any case he has already written a history devoted to him. 'The Crucible of War' by Barrie Pit. A old, but extremely readable, account of the ebb and flow of warfare in the western desert during 1941. The story of the 8th Army's long struggle against Rommel's Afrika Korps is well known, but what I found particularly interesting here is General O'Connor's stunning (but almost forgotten now) victory against a numerically much superior Italian army earlier in this long and bloody campaign. With Mussolini's hopelessly ill-equipped, unwilling, and poorly led force routed, cut off, and utterly destroyed during the Battle of Beda Fomm there was perhaps a fleeting opportunity during January 1941 for our Western Desert Force to push on and evict any remaining Italian presence from their Libyan colony months before the highly professional 'Afika Korps' arrived on the scene to save their hapless allies and teach the British Army a lesson in how mechanised warfare is conducted. Instead Churchill's impossibly over ambitious dream of creating a new Balkan front led us to strip O'Connor of his best divisions at the key moment and send them off in a (futile) attempt to save Greece. In would be over two years later in May 1943 before we (with much US assistance) did finally manage to clear North Africa of the Axis forces - a grim reminded of the high price paid in blood and treasure for a politicians folly in time of war. 'The Red Coffin' by Sam Eastland. After so much military history I felt like some fiction might be in order so I've just started on this novel. A kind of detective story set in Stalinist Russia, this book has worked its way under my skin already and I look forward to seeing where this ride will take me ...

No, nothing to do with the thorny question of Scottish independence, but Money Week magazine is predicting an absolutely dire future for this once great nation as (they claim) our debt burden will soon overwhelm the UK economy's ability to support it with calamitous consequences for us all. Far from slowly recovering for the 2008/9 crash, we may actually be on the verge of suffering a 'Wiemar Republic' style economic meltdown once the current era of historically low interests rates passes. I must warn you now that now only is this piece very alarming, it is also very long. Therefore you will need to set aside sufficient time to watch it in full: http://pro.moneyweek.com/myk-eob-tpr123/PMYKP706/ To cheer you up - and you may need a little cheer after watching that - Money Week's view has garnered a critical response: http://coppolacomment.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/the-end-of-britain-not-yet.html I'm no economist so don't ask me who is right. I suppose we can only hope that predictions of our "devastating economic collapse" are very exaggerated.

A bit of a 'Ron Burgundy' moment for sure. Which reminds me: Stay classy Saintsweb ...

This lad has been perfectly straight with the club all down the line - he said months ago that he'd sign a pro contract here and he has now done just that. That however didn't stop some mugs on here assuming his word meant nothing and he'd be off to a 'bigger' club at the first opportunity. One can only hope they feel suitably embarrassed this morning. I suppose it's dangerous to draw too many conclusions from just one impressive season, and the reality of so much, so young, can lead a young man to go 'off the rails' on occasion - but not in this case methinks. Luke's future is looking so bright right now he should be waring shades. I expect he can afford a really nice pair now ...

The Good: I was deeply moved by BBC2's 'Piper Alpha: Fire in the Night' (BBC2 Tuesday). Just another near forgotten disaster to most of us now I suppose, but this terrible oil rig tragedy from 1988 (in which 167 men died) really deserves remembering. A simple unfussy programme that focused on allowing the survivors of this event to tell their (often harrowing) stories without the usual CGI rubbish or much in the way of re enactment. After seeing this awesome tale, it struck this viewer that the true cost price of petrol is not just measured in terms of money ... The Bad: Professional northerner Robson Green's 'How the North was Built' (ITV Tuesday) also made an impression on this viewer - but only in the negative sense. Do you too after watching a TV programme sometimes find yourself wondering what the hell was the point of it? Well that's exactly how this 'dumbed down' rubbish left me feeling. It turns out that coal and steam were important to the industrial revolution (!) and that miners were all admirable 'Salt of the Earth' working class hero types. Viewers also learnt that Manchester was once known as 'Cottonopolis' and the canal system was built to move goods around at low cost. This may have perhaps made an acceptable School's programme aimed at younger children, but any reasonably aware child over the age of 12 really should already know all this. Even if they didn't, then watching any of Fred Dibnah's old programmes would have made a much better guild than this insult to the viewers intelligence. A waste of electrons. The Ugly: There's a cheap scheduled filler called 'Heir Hunters' on that desolate wasteland otherwise known as daytime television in which a bunch of mercenary ghouls track down the relatives of (wealthy) people who have died without leaving a will - and take a percentage of the cash they then inherit of course. Penny pinching considerations aside, why the BBC would want to have anything to do with this gash is a mystery. Depressing stuff.

What really depresses a chap about this country sometimes is that our leaders know damn well that the above post is correct in all respects - but that will not stop them expressing a bogus sense of outrage anyway because furthering their own political agenda is more important to them than the simple truth.

As Film 4 was showing one of my favorite old movies this week 'Dr Strangelove' (a film I've come to think of as a old friend almost) I was quite unable to resist the temptation to see it yet again. For anyone who has inexplicably never seen this film, Strangelove is perhaps (after 2001: A Space Odyssey) genius filmmaker Stanley Kubrick's finest effort. Set in the context of the now long gone Cold War paranoia of the 1950's and 60's, Strangelove is often described as a 'black comedy'. Now you may have seen this term applied to lesser films, but rest assured none of them could possibly be quite as black, or as genuinely comedic, as this wonderful movie is. Feeding off Kubrik's fine script, there are many excellent performances on offer here, from the wonderful Peter Sellers playing multiple roles, to normally 'straight' actors such as George C Scott and Stirling Hayden playing against type and being very funny. But for me it's Slim Pickins performance as Major Kong that really tickles my personal sense of humour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLPnnPHkIuc Hard as it is to believe now but apparently John Wayne had been asked to play the role of Major Kong. The uber patriotic Duke however understandably decided to turn it down. So by default almost, a somewhat obscure actor best known for small parts in Westerns got the job. Looking back on it now, it's almost impossible to even imagine the film without Slim Pickins in it. PS - Trivial fans may like to know that the (then top secret) B52 cockpit was so accurately depicted by the set designers that Kubric feared an FBI investigation, and the famous gag depicted below was re dubbed from 'Dallas' to 'Vegas' during the editing process because it was considered insensitive to mention a "good time in Dallas" just a few months after Kennedy was assassinated there in 1963!

Of course it is. We finished last season a mere 5 points above the relegation zone, and yet I'm now being told on here that 3 or 4 good - but essentially middle ranking in international terms - players will propel us above the likes of Arsenal and Spurs into the elite of the European game. If you really want to do that then you better forget about signing Damiao and start talking to his mate Neymar ...

Well obviously I don't agree with much of the above. This is not to say however that I think it's impossible that we could again this coming season turn over a member of the 'aristocracy' on occasion - this type of thing is a relatively common phenomenon in the PL - but to move on from that level to becoming a true top 6 or 7 club represents a step change in our fortunes. The final league table from last season shows the top 7 positions occupied by the following (very aristocratic) football clubs: Man Utd Man City Chelsea Arsenal Spurs Everton Liverpool With the possible exception of the perennially over achieving Everton, these hugely wealthy and successful clubs form a unofficial 'division within the division' almost. To finish as high as some think we will next season, then we will obviously have to oust one of the above group and outperform the likes of Newcastle, West Brom, Swansea ... etc. Fans on here who really think that we are on the verge of becoming permanent members of this exclusive group are allowing their hearts to rule their heads if you ask me. But they are no alone in their madness, indeed our chairman's insane dream of doing just that may one day be the ruin of this club. After all, pride does come before a fall doesn't it?

Some on here would do well to pull their collective necks in a tad before they make a fool of themselves. The problem with assuming we are going to do much better this coming season just because we may be about to sign all these good players we've been linked with, is that this theory ignores the inconvenient truth that most of the other teams in the PL with be trying to do exactly the same thing. The truth is we may need to strengthen the squad significantly just in order to maintain a 14th place finish let alone dream about genuinely competing with the aristocracy of the English game. Ask yourself this, are we going to find it easy taking 4 points off Jose Mourinho's Chelsea? For that matter, will Newcastle or Villa be as a poor again this season? I seriously doubt it shipmates. Talk of top 6 finish is gash, I'd be more than happy with a good cup run, a midtable finish, and no relegation scares this season frankly. Now what target the Chairman has set the manager is entirely a different question however ...

I hope I'm not the only one on here to have seen 'Best Possible Taste: The Kenny Everett Story' on BBC4 last week because it was top class. Oliver Lansley performance as Kenny was quite remarkably good - shut your eyes and you'd swear you were listening to the real Kenny - he even looks like him. This promising young actor is well supported by the equally excellent Katherine Kelly as his long suffering wife Lee. The script is taught, the direction flawless - 90 minutes of television that just flew by. I must admit Kenny was a hero of mine back in the day and (imo) he was little short of a minor genius. But like so many other abundantly talented people he had more than his fair share of problems to deal with. He was a man full of contradictions: flamboyantly gay, but his wife Lee was truly the love of his life. A recklessly brave and innovative broadcaster, and yet it took him most of his adult life to summon up the courage to 'come out' as they say. Such a interesting character, it's no wonder twenty years after his death he still holds a certain fascination for those of us old enough to have experienced at first hand his unique broadcasting style Maybe this drama pulled a few punches when it came to the full extent of his drug abuse, and Kenny's tragically early (HIV related) death. But even here I thought the script judged it just right, because in the final analysis I'm sure Kenny would want us to remember him in his prime. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00xzvlw/Best_Possible_Taste_The_Kenny_Everett_Story/

Well fun as the usual SWF internecine warfare is, and notwithstanding the (somewhat dubious) 'signed for next season' argument, it just can't be a good sign that this player - a full international in the prime of his career - hasn't played a single minute for this club yet can it? Patience is a virtue of course but playing careers are short, so if he can't persuade the manager to select him before too long then he might be well advised to take any offered loan deal that comes his way. I've seen on here apparently sensible fans arguing that the practice of clubs signing players with little (or no) meaningful input from their managers is the progressive modern way. Ummm ... I say if you are going employ a man to do a job of work then you better let him use the tools he's happy with or expect more situations like this one to arise in future.

Enjoy:

Our fish 'n' chips are second to none of course and we retain a world class ability to laugh at ourselves:

With a very welcome day off from the drudgery of work booked I decided to spend in the afternoon at the cinema watching M Night Shyamalan's latest film - 'After Earth'. Far into yet another dystopian future, double hard starship trooper Will Smith and his estranged space cadet son Jaden crash land on a long abandoned planet Earth. Smith senior unfortunately breaks both his legs during the crash, so the boy has to go on a very dangerous solo mission - against the clock of course - to locate a missing emergency beacon and save the day. Along the way he encounters the planet's (nastily evolved) wildlife and a ferocious 'fear seeking' alien creature they were transporting. In my (somewhat jaded) opinion this film is little more than another 'par for the course' effort. Will Smith and Tom Cruise seem to take it in turns to churn out this type of visually impressive, but ultimately not terribly memorable, Sci Fi film as if they were the last two movie stars alive. The only really noteworthy elements here are this film resists the temptation to show us the relics of the old Human civilization, and that Will Smith fulfills what is in truth a supporting role to his son for once - to the extent of giving the boy top billing. Jaden Smith does all the action scenes in this film and his performance is perfectly alright, child actors very often are in my experience - but I'm far from convinced that he really has his father's obvious star quality. There again, at my age I'm no longer in the target audience for this type of thing perhaps. Don't get me wrong, impressive action sequences and great special effects are fine, but what movie makers don't seem to 'get' anymore is that the real heart of science fiction is that it was always the literature of ideas in essence. M Night Shyamalan made his name confounding the expectations of his audience - an ambition he seems to have grown out of sadly. So less action and more ideas please because action, however well staged, is just not doing it for me anymore.

One of the many things I tend to keep quite about on here is that, although I was born in Dorset, there is actually plenty of Welsh blood flowing through my veins. Perhaps this genetic inheritance explains why the works of Dylan Thomas have long appealed to me ... or maybe it's just because the man was a bloody genius. In any case whether you hail from Swansea or Swindon, Dylan's wonderful prose style combined with Richard Burton's oh-so-perfect delivery results in something that is really rather special methinks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuPO2Kvqlms

I first started to understand the raw emotional power of poetry when I heard (as a ten year old child) Sir Laurence Olivier recite the following poem during the World at War episode entitled 'Red Star' - a hour of Television devoted to the suffering of the Soviet people during the Second World War. It moved my young self profoundly back then, and forty years later its grip on me has, if anything, grown even stronger. An impossible conversation between a slain Russian soldier and his heartbroken father: Do Not Call Me Father (Anonymous, Soviet Union 1942) Do not call me, father. Do not seek me. Do not call me. Do not wish me back. We’re on a route uncharted, fire and blood erase our track. On we fly on wings of thunder, never more to sheath our swords. All of us in battle fallen – not to be brought back by words We are sand grains in infinity, never to meet, nevermore to know light. ................................... Farewell then my son. Farewell then my conscience. Farewell my youth, my solace, my one and my only. Let this farewell be the end of a story Of solitude past which now is more lonely. In which you remained barred forever from light, From air, with your death pains untold. Untold and unsoothed, never to be resurrected. Forever and ever my 18 year old. Farewell then my son, For no miracles happen, as in this world dreams do not come true. Farewell. I will dream of you still as a baby, Treading the earth with little strong toes, The earth where already so many lie buried. This song to my son then must come to its close. .

A Silly Poem by Spike Milligan Said Hamlet to Ophelia, I'll draw a sketch of thee, What kind of pencil shall I use? 2B or not 2B?

Feel free to post whatever you happen to like here - I'll get the ball rolling with this hauntingly lovely old piece by Walt Whitman :