PHILINFRANCE

A propos prats - unless you are referring to the act (verb) of hitting somebody on the backside, the noun that suggests somebody is stupid is prat, i.e. it only has one letter T. Still on the subject of prats, you might to look up the difference between your and you're. It occurs to me that, as you seem to consider women (footballers) as somehow insignificant, inferior even, you might try and find a nice (female) teacher to help you with your English.

Each to their own, but I only recall the burger ?.

I saw that. No need to moderate the written thread, unless it becomes slanderous....

A wonderful goal, but why the Spanish commentary?

Whenever I have had a G&T in Spain, I have always chosen Larios as it seemed very similar to Gordon's - even a similar label - and, obviously, far cheaper. I was in Valencia a few weeks ago and the barman suggested I try Wint. I was sceptical, but tried it and was impressed - served as you say, although I declined the fruit.

I don't know about Gloucester Road, but I remember having a burger from Schwartz Bros. in Bath a few years ago: it sticks in my mind because I was surprised at the Germanic name of the restaurant - I assume they must be connected as it would surely be a huge coincidence if not. A propos coincidences; I also had the blue cheese version, with loads of red onion. I also remember it being expensive - almost £10 for a (very nice, to be fair) burger and chips.

Not any longer - it’s been called off!

Please enlighten me. What is a ‘dockers half’? As you were told off for serving one, I assume it is the old trick of passing an almost finished pint glass to the ‘naive’ barman/maid and asking for a half, safe in the knowledge your glass would be filled with two thirds of a pint, but you would only pay for a half. The trick disappeared when metered beers were introduced, but I should be interested to learn the meaning of the phrase.

I thought I was doing well (compared to Paris prices) when I sat down on a terrace outside a nice bar in the old town and paid €2.50 for a 25cl glass of Amstel!

I have no idea, but perhaps 1982 when they beat Bayern Munich to win what was then the European Cup? I seem to recall City were going through a rather sticky period at the time.

Don’t worry. I didn’t know that Tony and Anthony Rougier weren’t the same person.

I was going to suggest exactly the same; Bill Dodgin and Bill Dodgin junior - Rovers vs Fulham?

Hmmm. Apart from the fact that Ellis Short sold Sunderland a few years ago and, in any event, the match is being played at Fratton Park - Portsmouth's home ground - this is a pretty insightful post. Ah, I see I am not the only one to have noticed some 'inaccuracies' in this post....

I have just come back from a week in Valencia, so can relate to your comment about the place being empty. It was extremely relaxing walking around with very few tourists, not only in the old City, but also in the 'cultural' hotspots of Oceanographic and the Arts and Science complex - it was the only day that was overcast with sporadic showers, so ended up a day well spent. I first tasted Cruzcampo in Malaga a few years ago, but could only find it offered in bottles, similar to Estrella this time in Valencia. I far prefer to try a (local) draught beer when visiting foreign climes, and was pleasantly surprised to discover a new one (for me), Alhambra; somewhat surprisingly, I can't recall seeing this on offer when I visited Granada. A propos draught beers, I couln't help but notice that the well known 'local' beer, Amstel, was frequently offered whenever I requested a draught beer - una cerveza de barril, as I am sure you well know. Now, I am familiar with Amstel from my time in Belgium and, latterly, in France, and I have always considered it a slightly wishy-washy beer, almost best to be avoided, so I was astonished when I finally succumbed and accepted one as the only choice one sunny afternoon; it was quite malty and, to be fair, was very enjoyable, so, of course, I had another and, perhaps, even a third: further enquiries established that it is actually brewed in Valencia and has been since the 1950s! One final point/question. When you state that prices (in Sevilla) have fallen through the floor, do you mean just food and drink or prices in general, i.e. property, hotel accommodation, clothing etc?

What a coincidence. Out of interest @Red-Robbo, did you know that the King William was a Sam Smith pub, or did you read the Bristol Live article?

Is that Lloyds, as in the bank, or Lloyd’s, with an apostrophe, indicating its history as a coffee shop frequented by insurance underwriters/brokers and ship/cargo owners?

I saw that, and I also noticed that Perry Ng was on the bench, which I found surprising as I always rated him and was slightly disappointed when he left Crewe for Cardiff as I quite fancied him here. As it turns out, we seem to have made a better choice by signing George Tanner.

Re. the family, I mentioned swearing in my post, and I remember reading some time ago that the owner was prone to turning up in his pubs anonymously and unannounced to listen out for swearing behind the bar. I can’t remember the details, but I am pretty sure there were some draconian punishments for guilty pubs.

A propos MSN Messenger, I recall some years ago when my daughters started using this new service. It seemed a bit complex, more for the youngsters if you like, so I never got to use it. Unfortunately, now I have become relatively computer/smart phone savvy, it seems MSN Messenger has come and gone and left me behind. Not to worry, I still have my fax and telex.

Hmmm. They are both doing quite well this morning at Lords.

A wise decision, an absolutely awful beer. Sam Smith, however, was a lovely pint, and, back in the day, I enjoyed many of them in St. Nicholas market. Do you know whether it is still sold (on draught) in Bristol, as I have never been able to find it on my trips back home? Perhaps the pubs that used to sell it have been banished due to swearing ?.

I think he went there initially on an emergency loan - I seem to recall his first match was supposed to be against Rovers, but it was called off in strange circumstances - and he then signed a permanent contract around the same time as Rene, our goalkeeper/pundit, joined as assistant manager (for a few days - it was at the time Power was running the show). I assume he was just happy to join a club and get some playing time.

Smokie, in fact ?, as they were obliged to change their name due to some form of legal threat from Smokey Robinson, he of 'The Tears of a Clown' fame, with his Miracles. I first heard the 'Who the F' version back in the mid-90s being sung by the Austrian, DJ Otzi, he of Hey Baby fame, and just assumed his was the original version. It was only some years later that I discovered the original was actually by a 'manufactured' Dutch group called Gompie, named after a café - the Chubby Brown and Smokie version was actualy released some time later. Some useless trivia for you.

Our crossbars are much wider ?.