BaaLocks

Ah, the romance of the cup. So poignant until a ball is kicked and then - 99% of the time - it just becomes a game between two teams, one of which is clearly better than the other. Anyone remember Milwall getting to the final? Portsmouth? Fulham? Nope - because we think that Wimbledon, Wigan and Sunderland are how it always is even though out of >50 finals in my lifetime only 2-3 have been anywhere near like this. Same logic goes for all the games in prior rounds - for every Hereford, Sutton or Maidstone there is an endless supply of 3-0 and 4-1 boreathons. And the Tooth Fairy doesn't exist, Disneyland is just there to separate you from your money, Easter Bunny is just marketing and Valentines Day only benefits florists. Thank you!

Daytime telly ones that offer you chance to get cremated or write your will. But the absolute worst are the charity ones, "just £1000 a month could give Charlie the hamster the new wheel he needs for his cage". I don't challenge the cause, it's the sugary tug at my (all too absent) heart strings that I find just so hackneyed and repetitive. Someone, somewhere must be able to do a charity ad that isn't backed by violins?

Watched the second half on Bolton TV - I have a friend who subscribes 😀 - tbh it was a bit like the Alamo at times, amazing how much pressure Bolton had but, besides the much shared chest in - didn't really create much in the way of chances. The commentator was getting a little bit tetchy with it all, diddums!

We are a generous bunch us Ramkind, such generosity almost bought a tear to my eye.

I guess the stats don't lie but he has been the single biggest disappointment for me since Warne has been here. I really hoped he would be the steel in our midfield and the creator of much in front of him. I've seen him be neither and while we can't deny he's scored a couple of handy goals besides that I've often gone whole games wondering (genuinely) if he's in the team.

Agree with that, it had good closure and a 'rise - fall - rise again' story was always going to take three seasons. They did well to stop it when they did and most of the comments about it dropping in quality only really came about as soon as we knew it was ending.

Well the last time we played Carlisle on the last day of the season we won the division (indeed League) title and they were relegated. Looks like they are keeping up their half of the bargain, might be a push for us to repeat.

I think they've not done themselves any favours by setting the whole series up as being about Two Tone. It isn't really, it's about living in the early 1980s in Birmingham. Very little of the content actually relates to the band, unless this is some strange and weird set up. Once I stopped seeing it as a bit of a ska version of The Commitments it became a more interesting watch. Definitely not disappointed yet.

Two episodes in and it's starting to warm up gently. The lead characters accent is truly awful and it's easy to just let the whole thing become a nostalgia ride but there's a lot of plot in there to work through and I do hope it keeps developing.

Freedom of the city: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-68658551

Sad to hear that Cowans is in the advanced stages of dementia. Lovely post here from, of all people, Stan Collymore on the influence he had as a player and coach. I remember when he came to us I just had this feeling of 'he's a bit good for us' and his skill and awareness toally raised the team. Loved watching how he thought his way around a football pitch.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-63181481 Problem today is that they don't even have a PM to make the request. Half a million firearms estimated to have been smuggled in though. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-68668460

Reader warning @Crewton - I'm not ranting at you with what is below, just in general. Oh I'd agree with that point - if anyone needs convincing watch 'Once Upon A Time In Iraq' to see how it works to impose your views on others. But I'm not sure it's quite as simple as suggesting that the last colonial overlord is the one who is then tasked to lead on fixing the problem. It feels more first world / third world to me and situations like this, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen sadly just show that there is no compunction on anyone to redress the inequalities that have formed. I don't think anyone suggests we want to live in a world where everyone is equal to one another, but the level of inequality - and the total disregard to help those who are unable to provide in return - shames us as a species. And the suggestion that because we (first world) haven't always found the formula means there is no option is not really one we should consider - long term investment, education, support and a little bit of care and empathy. Has it ever worked? Well I'd suggest large parts of Latin America, parts of South East Asia and many parts of Europe (benefitting from EU funding, Ireland for example) have seen economic development from external support. But hey, let's not worry, slob out on the sofa and in a couple of weeks there will be some 80s pop star in the ad break asking you to give what you can (sadly, without tax refunded). Every little bit helps and all that. Oh, and we are helping some countries who need help. Place like Ukraine, Aghanistan, Nigeria so we can do it when we want to.

I didn't know quite where else to post, how about the first 20 secs of this? "Right lads, tight across the back, let's get a feel of the ball early doors"

Wht an utterly uninformed and ridiculous comment. The country is devoid of any infrastructure at all, even basic things like running water, food in supermarkets. The streets are ruled by random gangs of warlords with only criminal intent at mind. What do you expect them to do, write a letter to their MP? Maybe have a cake sale to raise funds for a new swimming pool for the kiddies? As @sage said, nobody from the outside is coming as there is no political benefit in doing so. Truly, it is a living hell - no hope to fix it yourself, no hope to get help to do so. We should collectively hang our heads in shame that the only time we care about our fellow (wo)man is when there is economic benefit to do so.

I thought he meant this fella. Too soon?

When Sharon has the surname Bromance it's a clue

I once went to a toilet in China where I couldn't breathe for the smell. On the way out I saw a banana skin in the corner. C'mon - this has got to be worth it's own thread.

Girl I went to school with was Greek Cypriot and got married, we were invited. I've never seen such of collections in the car park all owned by (tbf - very hard working) Chippy owners. I do hope, btw, I'm misreading this post and you didn't make a point of eating your sausage and chips in a public loo. That really is a bit weird.

Bean Mix from Nicky's Fish Bar (till 2021 https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/derby-news/nickys-fish-bar-derby-city-5305846) Beans on white toast when you're feeling unloved Neither need contact with plate or pot

I'm five episodes in and finding it a bit samey - just feels like the same story spun slightly differently each time. Some great cameos, for example John Thompson, and Sophie Glass character is very good but some of the casting feels a bit off. No more than the lead, the brother is excellent but the lead seems a miss.

Probably not the thread for you then tbh 🙂