Bud the Baker

St. David's Day just... BBC4 are having a Welsh Music night this evening Sir Tom Jones, Dame Shirley Bassey, The Stereophonics and the voluptuous Katherine Jenkins. I'll be washing my hair, maybe twice...

Lennon took over a Celtic team that was easily the strongest in the country with the greatest resources to hand and within two years had effectively lost the League after losing the New Year derby game. He's been a "dead man walking" since then (possibly earlier) but the Celtic BoD clearly took the gamble that he could keep things respectable till the end of the season - he hasn't and it's been LoL material...

This - without our Covid mishaps I reckon we'd have been in the Top6 easy.

Not my Favourite whiskey!

With a severely depleted squad where we've had to use players I would regard as not 100% match fit I feel recent results have been acceptable - we're in sixth spot and effectively in the driving slot for that elusive Top6 spot. I wish all the Eeyores would wait till we actually fuck it up before crowing about what I consider a reasonable run of form...

Civil Liberties Champion Priti Patel has just said in an interview that it's "‘Far too early’ to book an overseas holiday, Priti Patel warns". ‘Far too early’ to book an overseas holiday, Priti Patel warns (msn.com) This interview comes just a few days after Tony Blair our last "socialist" PM made another argument for the need to introduce Identity Cards this time in the wake of the pandemic - I'm hoping we can avoid this dis-spiriting outcome...

Kurt Cobain of Nirvana who were influenced by Scotch band The Vaselines who wrote a song called Molly's Lips about the aforementioned Ms. Weir who featured in a film called Comin' Thro; The Rye based on the poem by Rabbie Burns who wrote a poem in praise of first US President George Washington who was followed over 200 years later by the (self procliamed) best US President Donald Trump...

Excellent news on the team line up - as ever 70s rock stars BTO provide the answer tonite we should be Taking Care of Business and securing a Top6 finish! As The Ramones said in their Bay City Rollers inspired hit Blitzkreig Bop - Hey Ho, Let's Go!

The old hospital?

Only one song will do... Bachman Turner Overdrive-Taking care of business - YouTube

I fear it'll be like Thatcher & The Falklands again, few people now remember she was trying to negotiate the islands sovereignty away and made defence cuts that sent the wrong signals to Galtieri inviting the invasion and ultimately leaving the UK with a white elephant and that what people will remember about the pandemic will be BJs vaccination gamble paying off and not the 99 gaffes that preceded it - REJOICE!

As Baz says a more cautious approach from NS today despite us being a bit ahead of England on the downward curve of the current wave (3rd?) - all in all I'm happier with the schedule being proposed up here but Johnson has done well to resist the more rabid wing of his party. ************ Another Comedy Gold routine from today from Ruth Davidson, I'm in two minds whether her move to the HoL and the inevitable "I coulda been a contender" pish she'll come out with will be a miss - I'm expecting The Assistant Referee to go the way of all NSs previous opponents if she can avoid being chibbed by Alex Salmond! *********** Say what you say about Boris but no other European Leader was prepared to "bet the house" on vaccines, ignoring the second dose recommendations and sanctioning a possible pick'n'mix regime, the wisdom of fools - eh Antrin?

Amazed to say it but BJ seems pretty much on the mark today - third time lucky.

You betcha!

I like that idea - Hadrian's Wall was roughly where the current border is on the West Coast but on the East Coast it was closer to Newcastle! The location of Hadrian's Wall in what is now northern England, and the later Antonine Wall in modern-day Scotland

They should give us that fine back...

I knew he was a wrong 'un from the way he spelt Colin...

Lifted shamelessly from P&B...

Like I said when the last one quit, sometimes it's not the messenger it's the message.

The Beeb does seem to employ an awful lot ex-sportsmen as pundits as I said in the rugger thread last week, in fact I recall one Winter Olympics (Seoul I think) when Auntie had more correspondents than GB had competitors! The question is are they worth it - concentrating on football I'd say no. when I attended my first Saints game Joe Cocker was top of the Hit Parade and I've seen enough football live & on't telly to know a defence splitting pass from an 'orrible sclaff. I'd agree there seems to be more tokenism these days but the new guys'n'gals aren't any worse or more giggly than Mark "Lawro" Lawrenson? Outside of cricket I'd say there never has been a golden age of sports journalism, the present gaggle of cricket commentators who think dropping in a players nickname every 30 minutes or so adds authenticity to their witterings are sadly mistaken.

Isn't this the same story Frank manages to sell to one of the papers every 5 or so years?

Don't think so - I always fancied this summer with the "triumphant exit" I've already described,. Factors like "sources close to the PM " telling the press that his salary isn't enough to cover all his needs make me reckon riding off into the sunset, giving £100k a pop after dinner speeches, a mega book deal and company directorships will look like the cushier option compared to staying on, rebuilding the economy, saving the union and managing the right wing of his party. Desperate to see him go, quite the opposite, as a supporter of Scottish Independence I can't think of a better Tory leader. Anyway we won't have long to wait...

Well I have to go with FTOF rather than faraway, despite BJ saying for a week or so "it's about data not dates" it appears he's veering towards his right wing backbenchers and away from his scientific advisers... Whitty at odds with Johnson over 'big bang' reopening of schools in England | Schools | The Guardian

The argument is that P1-3 pupils pose less risk in terms of transmission of the virus. I would've included P7 too as I feel this is a critical year, more so than the first two at secondary level. ************************ The exit from Lockdown3 (2½ up here) is to, state the bleedin' obvious, likely to be the biggest decision the governments within the UK are going to face this year. A lot of the factors are coming together to improve the picture. I'd hope some restrictions on being able to meet and more types of shops being able to open will be announced on Monday, although as I haven't been into Ayr's town centre in 2021 I'm unsure what is actually open. Ultimately as England's case rates and deaths are falling to meet ours I reckon Nicola's "1% tougher" strategy will sorta dovetail with BJs. In the end there's only so long people will accept the lockdown situation and IIRC the whole point of the vaccine program was to allow a return to "normality". In an ideal world that normality will mean a real commitment to "levelling up" both domestically and globally but it's clear that bird has flown, taking with it new variants of the virus aplenty... Final bit of speculation - does anyone else see BJ resigning & cashing in using the slogan" Brexit completed, Covid defeated!" in the summer?

I like Flynn as much as the next Saints fan, he's the only name on my 17/18 Championship Winners mug still at the club but there's no room for sentimentality when it comes to the first team - still got a lot do do to earn a new contract AFAIC.