Ashes

[Sweder]

But I was shocked to hear the interview. I thought you were Scottish, Sweder! Now why would I think that? Strange.

That's bizarre.
Back in the eighties I used to wear a tartan flat cap when working on cold show sites. This earned me the moniker Jock McSwede. As you now know my accent is pure sarf Lardon, albeit slightly mauled by persistent traveling.

I don't think of Motorhead as heavy, although SP might disagree
I know how daft this sounds, but I maintain (as I always did when arguing with my mates, all into 'poncy' Rainbow and Rush at the time) that they're a rock and roll band. OK, they're loud and fast, but most of the numbers are pure Johnny Kidd and the Pirates stuff.

As for obscure rockers, anyone remember Dumpy's Rusty Nuts?

[El Gordo]

That's bizarre.
Back in the eighties I used to wear a tartan flat cap when working on cold show sites. This earned me the moniker Jock McSwede.

I think this has been mentioned before once or twice, which may have wormed its way into GM's subconscious. I remember that I also thought you were Scottish at first. I think because you mentioned JMcS early on.

Technical note: In case you search, you may not find the reference. SP noticed a while ago that the early posts have vanished from the forum. I do actually have them all archived, so they're safe for posterity but a hiccup when I was upgrading the board software once meant that they didn't all get uploaded, and I haven't yet tackled the task of merging them all back together. If there are any mySQL experts around, please let me know.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Quite coincidentally, I just re-visited an early episode of Red Dwarf in which Rimmer castigates Lister's choice of music saying: What's wrong with the classics, like Mozart, Mendelssohn and Motorhead?

[Sweder]

Ah, no-one masters the art of the collapse quite like the England middle order.
Snatching defeat from the slack jaws of an odds-on draw is not something any old team can pull off.

The wee small hours can be ugly at the best of times.
My misery started when at 03:40 zulu I copped a phone call from an exhibitor looking for some fresh velcro to secure his drooping graphic panels. I pointed out, in sleepy yet measured tones, that a) EFI is a logistics company - we move boxes for a living - and b) seeing as how I was in Cape Town and he was in Singapore any help I might be able to offer might take a while. I considered inviting him to partake of simultaneous sex and travel but being the slave to customer service that I am I bit my tongue.

Awake (just) I reached for the remote, frantically hammering the mute button as the blurry image swam into focus. What? 7/ 79? For the love of all things holy . . .

Things, as D-Ream are wont to sing, can only get better . . .

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Despite Australia losing to India a while back after piling up a huge first innings score, even I said to someone as Collingwood notched up his double ton and England cruised past 500 on the second day, "Well there's no way England can lose from here"...!

It was simply an astonishing win for Oz. And the look of total demoralisation on the looks of the England player's faces when Hussey hit the winning run was nearly enough to make me feel sorry for you guys.

But not quite

And some people (even in this forum) still deny that test cricket is the most incredible, astonishing, undeniably brilliant game ever

Two nil, two nil, two nil, two nil... etc ad infinitum

[Seafront Plodder]

Sir Geoffrey of Boycott was his usual scathing self in post match analysis, questioning whether we have got what it takes to come back from this spectacular collapse to even compete in the next test.

And some people (even in this forum) still deny that test cricket is the most incredible, astonishing, undeniably brilliant game ever

Whoever could you be refering to MLC?

I agree, a 20:20 match is superb entertainment. Why I'll concede that the last hour this morning/evening was quite entertaining. It's the preceding four and a half days of dull tedium that one had to wade through first to get to the good bit, that's the problem.

[El Gordo]

Sir Geoffrey of Boycott was his usual scathing self in post match analysis, questioning whether we have got what it takes to come back from this spectacular collapse to even compete in the next test.



Whoever could you be refering to MLC?

I agree, a 20:20 match is superb entertainment. Why I'll concede that the last hour this morning/evening was quite entertaining. It's the preceding four and a half days of dull tedium that one had to wade through first to get to the good bit, that's the problem.

I'm almost with you there, SP. Actually being at a test match on a long hot summer's day, with a few friends, a hamper, couple of newspapers and a bar that's open all day really is one of life's great pleasures. Watching any but the final day on TV however, is rarely much fun. And even then, they only really stop mucking about in the last hour or two, and finally turn it into a sporting contest.

Surprisingly perhaps, I feel the same about Champions League football. The group stages usually amount to 3 months or so of tedium before the real stuff -- the knockout stages -- finally appear and it gets interesting at last. At least this week's final group matches have one or two issues to be resolved at last, but in the main it's been breathtakingly dull. It's awful to watch Chelsea lose while knowing that they've progressed to the next round in any case. A terrible waste of a defeat. It should be stored up and used in the knockout rounds. Bring back the good old days of knockout rounds from the very start. But of course, financially speaking, the turkeys will never vote for Christmas.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Whereas I could happily lie on a couch for the whole five days of a test match and wallow.

Bliss!