sadoldgit

Thanks BTF - best Christmas present I could have!!!

Thanks KRG and Whitey. It has been a difficult year but she does seem brighter now and keen to get herself better, which is a big part of the battle.

Bloody luxury. We used to wear crotch length iron boots with studs screwed to the soles of our feet.

This makes uncomfortable reading and I would never try to justify these deaths. There is still a difference in planning a raid in cold blood that will massacre children.

Nearly 2015 and a large percentage of mankind still acts as if we are still cavemen. All evolution seems to have done is to allow us to kill each other more efficiently.

I am not going to defend the drone policy but there is a difference between a remotely operated bomb missing its target and walking into a building and shooting a bunch of unarmed kids isn't there?

There isn't much choice when you go into a pub but need to lay off the booze if you don't like sweet or fizzy drinks. Huge gap in the market I would say.

As you say CB, it is all about the 5 years and maintaining power again so we get little or nothing in the way of long term planning and consistency.

They must be so proud of themselves. butchering a load of children.

It is one that the politicos constantly roll out though.

Just want to thank everyone who pm'd me with helpful advice and support when I first posted about this. I am please to say that my daughter is up to 50 kgs now and putting on a bit more weight each week. She is also about to start counselling and I have heard from my other daughters that the counsellor has my contact details and that I will be involved in the process. Still lots to do but I feel better about things and am so pleased that she is on the right track. Thanks again guys, you were a great help.

I agree about the Great British Public Pap. We are very good at moaning about things but not very good at getting things changed. The Poll Tax would be one of the few exceptions when people got motivated enough to stand up and be counted. It takes time for public opinion to make changes so we need people inside the system to do something about it. If the parties see it as a major election issue and put change at the top of their agenda that would be a start - but we know that none of them want to grasp the nettle because they are too afraid that financial institutions will leave The City and go abroad.

Isnt he just reinventing the wheel though Pap? We all know that there are inequalities in the system - there have been for years - and we can all spout off about it. It needs someone to actually take up the reins and do something.

It is going to take a lot more than either Bell or Brand to sort out the cancer within Parliament unfortunately.

I agree but he is over the top. The way he sits with his legs open, the way he looks around when someone else is talking before spouting more of his 6th form politics. The bloke is so far up his own back passage it is untrue.

The step up to the Premiership is a huge leap for managers of his background but he showed that he was up to it after a baptism of fire. I think calling him mediocre is harsh and I certainly wouldn't judge him by his time at Reading.

I guess we are all envious of the money and the ability to pull fit women, but the thing that irritates me about Brand is the narcissism.

There is no such thing as a false position. The only position that means anything is the one you are in after the 38th game. All the rest is just jostling for position.

I'd like to see him at a club like QPR when Harry gets sacked. He deserves another shot in the Premiership and with the right backing I am sure he would do well.

I seem to remember someone called Anthony Wedgewood-Benn changing his name to Tony Benn so that he could be taken seriously as a socialist. I can see why people don't take Brand seriously though. It is easy to preach from a position of privilege. He is entitled to spend his money as he wishes but could still lead a comfortable life and use his wealth to help the underprivileged. Words are cheap - actions speak louder than words.

Pochettino also inherited a good squad, does that make him less of a manager? Back to back promotions was no mean feat and if he hadn't have been sacked I think he would have had continued to be a good manager for us. I was upset when Pardew was sacked but I can't fault NA and hope he gets another chance in the Premiership soon.

The party system is a mess and failing us. We need more strong independent voices in Parliament. I am no fan of Brand but if he really does want to change the system then that is where he needs to be - and many more like him.

If you dropped every player after making one or two mistakes you would struggle to put a team out. What message does it send out if you drop players for making errors? That you have to play safe all of the time and not take any chances. Koeman is no mug and has done a good job so far. I think it is fair to say that he knows what he is doing.

Not really. Farage didn't bite and just sat back and let Brand make himself look silly. There was one small section when some of the audience got lively and a guy suggested that Brand should stand for Parliament (Brand just replied that he didn't want to turn into one of them which was a total cop out). I agree with Lord Duck about the dumbing down of the programme. It really needs revamping big time.