Halo Stickman

Even my eldest son, who was a first grandchild on both sides of the family, would concur with you regarding 'the prince effect’! As well as his grandparents, he had a lot more exposure to crèches, play-groups etc than his younger brother did. On balance, he’s ended up the more sociable of the two, but I’m not sure whether that has more to do with his early upbringing or that he takes after his mother more than he does me – Mrs Stickman is a lot more sociable than I am (apart from when she’s in one of her stupid moods ).

My first son spent a lot of his pre-school years being looked after by his grandmothers, but by the time the second son arrived we’d moved away, so no longer had this option available. By then, however, I was working part-time from home, so was able to spend most of my time looking after the second son myself. Fortunately, now that they are both grown up, it is almost impossible to say which of them is the more messed up

Run a ball century for Vince – carry on like this and he’ll be batting his way into the England team.

Oh Tokes, you’re such a little tinker! Although, seemingly not as little a tinker as bletch in photo 2.

Kids of today, eh? We might as well p1ss in our best hats

Girl/boy/whatever: "But make sure you wear a bloody durex!"

Sorry to hear about this, Bear. Regarding the gene tests, obviously, only you can decide the approach that best suits you. There’s a lot of sense in what pap says above, although I tend to live by the maxim that a healthy man is a man who doesn’t know what’s wrong with him – probably not the most sensible approach, but there you are. Not sure what I’d do in you situation, to be honest. Remember, though, medical advancements, new treatments and therapies are constantly evolving – by the time you’re in your 50s there could well be a cure for these sorts of conditions. By the way, has anyone else in your family suffered from this condition?

Agree. This is one of the reasons I’m happy for MoPo to carry on using a translator. Also, some foreign managers who struggle with English often come across (unfairly) as bumbling fools.

Count me in. Fantastic player with an excellent attitude.

Agree, but would also add Davis to that list. The rest were pretty good as well.

I think you may be onto something GM. If humans all became very tiny then we could stop worrying about rising population. Plus, think how many spectators we could fit into St Mary’s – season ticket-holders and PAYG people would be able to bring as many mates as they like to watch Man Utd, 42 could drop his campaign, and Boruc might be able to keep his drop kicks in play.

Thought Osvaldo transfer was too risky, and don’t think we addressed the keeper situation properly.

… as opposed to the classic bell-end curve distribution more commonly encountered on here 8/10. Marks deducted for missed opportunities in Cups and slightly dodgy transfer strategy.

“Do you feel lucky, punk? Go ahead, make my day.”

In was an in-house affair played behind locked doors at St Mary’s – The Rested v The Rest. Result unknown.

I’m starting to think MoPo may be sexist – we haven’t had a woman playing for us since Fox left.

One of the most disgusting foods I’ve ever experienced is a Japanese dish called Natto, which I think is fermented soybeans … oh, and a side dish that an Indian chap served up to me and my mates in his restaurant many years ago after we’d ripped the p1ss out of his cricket team. Whatever that was I dread to think – suffice it to say, it produced an instantaneous gagging reflex in all six of us.

I don’t like to be picky but there’s something not quite right about the cleavage in the second pair – I need to study them a little bit longer.

Yes, much more than it does these days, sadly.

Miss Bletch? Yes, I do! This place isn’t the same without all those clouds, bubbles and words – although big boobies do go some way towards filling the void.

Send her out for a take-away.

Was this the weird stuff that I first experienced as a young ball fiddling with my knob in bed trying to find Radio Luxembourg – or was that something else?

Oh yes, I quite agree, those people represent a minority of fundamentalists who obviously aren’t practising mainstream Christianity (for want of a better phrase); that’s why I referred to them as a sector of the ‘so-called’ religious community. As for myself, I try to keep an open mind about most things, and steer clear of fundamentalism of any kind.

I’ve read and enjoyed most of Dawkins’ books over the years; indeed, it was his The Selfish Gene that initiated my interest in evolution and genetics etc. He is very good at explaining sometimes complex ideas to the layman. However, I’m disappointed that he has become – whether intentionally or not – a sort of mouthpiece for what some might call fundamental atheism. I would prefer him to concentrate his energies on addressing evolutionary issues such as epigenetics and the latest theories on group selection etc. I know Dawkins says it was 9/11 that compelled him to speak out against religion, but I suspect there may also be more personal reasons behind his decision. Ever since the publication of The Selfish Gene in 1976, he’s received some terrible abuse from certain sectors of the so-called religious community – he gets regular correspondence from people saying that they hope he and his children get cancer, die, and rot in hell etc.

To be fair though, Tokes, I find all that photographing and finger-printing by surgically-masked officials at Japanese airports rather unwelcoming