Laugh, cry or shout with livid anger; what else is there to do when the world is going mad. There is particularly some thing very irksome about the smirking visage of Sep Blatter. He appears to sail on like a mighty whale, ignoring minnows and flattening any thing in his way. He isn't corrupt though. No need, his salary is thought to be a smiggeon over £1m and by pure chance his son is in charge of the company dealing with all the 2014 WC sponsorship. When the Swiss government and Coca Cola have had enough you know things are bad. Even our own FA is taking a stand, hang on ; I must have miswrote!

By gum, this is a rum do! 10 minutes in to this new adaption of Lawrences masterwork/twaddle. This is supposed to be seriouse drama but the laughter can not be stopped. The dialogue is just too close to the memorable parody "Brass" screened on ITV many years ago. Timothy West was never better as the tyranical mill owner, Don from Coronation Street was his grovelling lacky.
I now defy any one to dramatise the great man/charletain Lawrence with out causing mirth!

Any one read the recent "Fab" biography of Sir Beatle? Its a corking read and fairly well balanced with warts and all. The warts are not too big but a lifetimes adulation would create a few on any human. Whats the Massive view?

Do any readers follow international cycle sport? Most particularly the Tour de France. Alberto Contador the Spanish "winner" of last years event has been given a 1 year ban for drug use.Errr hang on one year! For spoiling the greatest cycling event of the year and contaminating with suspicion all the other riders.That can't be right. Contador has been caught out because he did not stop utilising the growth hormone quick enough and the tests are constantly getting more refined. He put the blame on contaminated beef from Spain (NB - no other case ever reported of this type of contamination). He has now put the back up of the whole of his home lands beef industry. Not clever.
Contador did not do this on his own. The whole team and support network must have been supportive of this abuse. Are they to be punished? As detailed on the Word news letter last week there is still a mighty shadow over Lance Armstrong and his multiple wins. We have even had a recent +ve drugs test on an English rider at a non-professional level. Now when people are utilising drugs to enhance sport as a hobby the world is crackers.

Your thoughts?

In any part of life or human activity there is a decent way of doing things and there is the other way. By any standards the humiliating slow removal of Avram Grant at West Ham fits in to the latter. Grants life started in tragedy with the loss of close relatives in the Nazi camps, he must now think he is living in a lunatic asylum.I always hope for the best from people, but you are dealing with two men who are self confessed pornographers. Human dignity is not top of their list. On top of which you have a chief executive who thinks its a good idea to spell out each bit of Grants humiliation in a Sun column.
I know Grants on a lot of money, I know he will get a massive pay off. Some things however are just wrong.

Any one care to argue?

You have read my previouse blog on the great student question.The question is are they hard working misunderstood academics or was "Bottom" a searingly accurate critique. My son is just completing his first holiday at home from college. My only comment is that summer is going to be bloody long, particularly if he does not get a job.In the the dark and distant past when I was a student (fags 12d a packet, four course meal for 6 and still have change from 19/6d)I hated being away from home. I counted the weeks off on a calender and my parents were pleased to see me back. Scan forward 30 odd years and times have changed. He is at home under sufference (his and ours)on top of which no temporary student jobs can be found this side of 2015.
He is not a bad lad, just that the house is not big enough for the 4 of us. Any body in a similar situation?

Any body else catch the series of 4 progs called Birds Britania on BBC4?No, I am not an ornithologist, 80 years old or a twitcher. But by the end of the 4th edition you knew some thing was very, very wrong in British Birdland.We are systematically stripping the countryside of all wildlife (not just birds)by global warming and industrial farming. This has all happened in 40 years. Imagine the countryside in another 40 years? No, you wouldn't want to.
Yes I admit it. I'm loud and proud and a twitcher.

Some things rotten, very rotten in the state of Groening. Many evenings I have sat with my 8 year old attempting to laugh at the Simpsons and errr failed. Its clever, very clever . In fact perhaps too clever for its own good. But funny -no,no. When did the rot start? Perhaps about 5 years ago, did they get new writers in because the funny bone then began to dissapear.
My 8 year old now wants it switched off. Imagine the heartbreak. Please some one let me know what is happening?

What a Sunday, 4 hours driving delivering our son to student halls of residence in Liverpool. All our friends and family have been saying it will be awfull when he leaves. Errr no! The house has been too small for all of us for several years. The regular rows, screaming and shouting has left us counting the days to the start of term. I think people consider us hard but they have not had to live with it.

Has any one else had offspring leaving home happy moment?

Be alert! The dvd box set of season 2 of Larry Sanders is avaliable in Oct/Nov. If it is as muscle damagingly funny as season 1 it will be a Christmas stocking must have.I could go on but if you know the series nothing more needs to be said. The Wire of comedy.

Any of the great and the good seen Shutter Island. I sat down last night to view it with Mrs 2Peach and hmmm. What a curates egg and so over blown as to be ridiculouse in the centre section. Too much homage to other films and not enough attention to make a good film. Good acting though. The Old Martin quality meter appears to be a bit volatile.

Dear bretheren, I have just left the tabernacle after listening to the latest recording from Brother Thomas Jones. You may remember Brother Jones.....
He was a simple poor Welsh lad from the valleys destined to be a common building tradesman except for a God given gift. He had an extrordinary set of lungs and pipes. He was beguiled by the riches and fornicating these could bring. He drank mightily from both cups and financed the binge at the Soddom capital of Vegas. He could blast a song, he could tame a song all in the manner refered by the sage Reeves as "in a club style". As the years wore on it was a good earner, however as his three score and ten years passed there had to be a reckoning. His son and Brother Holland whispered in his ear, "thou has blasted songs from Swansea to Glastonbury but thou has never given a piece of thy self". Jones thought deep and long, he studied the mighty footsteps left by Reverend Cash. He listened to the last work of Brother Plant and his mighty Welsh heart said to him, "this is good". He got some young minstrels who found cabaret an abomination and worshiped the essence of less is more. They then set to it before the good Lord sounded his trumpet for the last time.
When the work was finished they took it to the Island temple and one of the idiot priests said," That's rubbish, that is. No one will buy hymns!". The congregation knew better however, they knew Brother Jones had given a little piece of himself and it was good.

They did say, "Long may he Rock".

Amen

Trip out yesterday with 8 year old for "Toy Story 3" in 3D. Glasses on we waited for brains to be blown, and waited and waited. Errr is that it? Both your writer (55 and counting)and child suitably underwhelmed. This is not 3D, it is an effect and not a particularly convincing one at that.Once experienced (which you pay a premium) I could not see any repetition. Any one want any alledged 3D glasses?
However Toy Story is great, don't miss it.

Has any one else read D Day by Anthony Beavor? I first came across the historian on a spanish holiday when I worked (and the accent is on work)through his history of the Spanish Civil War. It was a small book but the print was microscopic. It was exceptionally detailed but dry. A history book for historians. His next block buster Stalingrad was a different tome. Longer but easier to read. That is if a description of unbelievable suffering is easy to read. It did however have a grip. The latest Beavor masterwork D Day is the finest. Many layers of light and shade descibe the insanity of war.
I don't know how he will improve on this.

You may know me, I am football supporting, middle aged every man. Clough (not Brian just Clough) is a legend in the every man house. We were sobbing in the cocoa at the documentary on Sunday night. Not the film, that was people seeking a laugh. You would have to have a heart of stone when he hoped Peter Taylor was alright in Heaven and not shed a tear.
Moving on, what do you think "Old Big Ead" would have made of the World Cup? I think we know the answer. He would be gasping for breath after shouting so hard at the travesty of a final. He would be purring with joy at the happy lads of Germany and their Total Football performances.
Clough was no saint, for a lot of the time he was not very nice. This was particularly when with drink. Which was a lot of the time. He did know football and he loved the game. He stated plainly what was right and what was wrong. For that he deserves respect young man.

Lecture over.