Erithacus

Yup, got sent down to the garage with a half gallon plastic container on many occasions as a sprog. Came back home with one arm longer than the other. Then came the battle to get the wick level - it always tried to twist and would crumble if provoked too much. And the smell...

I bet he never had a good curry in his life. Either that or he couldn't afford air travel.

Not another one! This year has seen a lot of greats of my youth go. It's getting to that stage now. Terry was a fundamental part of the Two Tone movement in the late 70s and it's difficult to accept he's gone. Such a talented musician. Enough, 2022!

Talk about having a stiffie...

So here we are. Again. What is going to stick in my craw is watching either Argentina or France sewing another gold star on their shirts whilst ours gathers dust.

If the game is declared on a 6:00 kick-off may well be too early for a lot of potential supporters, what with schools and rush-hour traffic. And the Four Wheel Poll Tax, Clean Air Zone. Might not be a big crowd. I will be there if it goes ahead, skirting around the fringes to avoid the £9 hit.

Cars with headlight main beam switches on the floor. 'Deluxe' models that actually had a heater or motorised wipers. Doing the tappets every month, changing the oil every six months (before multigrade) and ripping out the points/condenser if it didn't run well - usually after every rainfall.

I'm old enough to remember when Christmas was in black and white, and Santa's workshop was in Hong Kong. This year's modern traditions will once again include not buying any presents and only sending Christmas cards if received first. Merry Humbug.

That'll be three home games on the spin, then: Coventry, London City and Oxford in the Cup. Busy month for the girls - hope the injuries don't mount.

Free kick, quite central outside the 'D'. Symes hit it into the top right corner, not a thunderbolt but beautifully flighted shot - a bit like Rashford's the other night against Wales.

A foggy and chilly HPC but no problem for the girls. A solid performance all round, with increasing dominance in the second half, resulting in the win and into the hat for the next draw. Without Ffion Morgan to open up the wing, there was a chance to move the ball through other channels; Emma Symes was able to power through the middle on several occasions. Meanwhile the defence was lead by Layzell and kept the visitors to a few sporadic shots; Bentley did what was needed when needed. Shania Hayles pounced first on a loose ball at the back to score the first and Symes wafted a twenty-yarder into the top corner Good to see Brook Aspin doing some drills with the squad too.

Made it back in one piece it seems this afternoon. Be interesting to see the debriefing and whether the mission performed well enough to risk a human crew next time.

Pity. Was one of the early top players at a time when the women's game barely had a pulse. Wand of a right foot.

The speed and angle of entry are crucial factors in a successful re-entry; get either badly wrong and it will result in a disaster. It might cause the vessel to 'rebound' off the atmosphere, or drop too fast - causing overheating or possibly drop into a part of the Earth where there is no recovery plan. There are some decent vids on You Tube, including from Nasa, and others like Scott Manley.

Beat me to it, exAM! The lido was towards the western side of Greville Smyth park, close to the modern A370 runs today. I've marked up a map from the very same Know Your Place website: the City ground in red, the park in green and the lido in blue, viewed roughly in the same direction as the aerial photo: The park has had many phases when it was planted, then paved over and back again over the years.

Am thinking Sir Geoff Hurst MBE is sat at home today with a bit of a smile.

A bit too foggy today:

The thought often crosses my mind: in a century or so will the people look at our twenty-first century architecture and revere it in the way we revere the nineteenth and eighteenth? Then I wake up.

Great shot, thanks to a drone. I did try to go up the bridge on a similar foggy day last year or so but ended up wandering around the Clannage and Cumberland Basin instead. Always thought it would be a good time to be there when the mists rolled underneath.

Really disappointing to lose the unbeaten run today. For the first half hour or so we were all over Brum and dictating the play. Every loose ball or 50-50 went our way and we kept the pressure on. It just needed a goal when on top to secure things but the chances were a touch scarce. Gradually, Birmingham got into the game and started to close down a lot of movement. Give them credit but they slowly squeezed us out. We started the second half started like we finished the first - on the back foot. Whilst trying to move upfield we were caught by a ball wide when Cataldo and Powell were out of position. In fairness it was a good sweeping move that got us at the far post. Sadly, we didn't really have the neccessary to respond immediately. After 67 minutes we took off Layzell (injured?) and Palmer (who was fading from the game), which seemed a little risky at the time. Hayles was also taken off again - hope that injury will go away. However, we managed to get some momentum as the time ran out. Two strikes against the woodwork and a couple of scrambles in the Birmingham box were the limit today. Disappointing for the 3,000 in attendance; we now have four wins from four at the HPC, but only one point from two games at the Gate. Saw a few players (especially Harrison) who looked lame at the end. She had a strange game, starting up front then dropping into the middle when Palmer went off and occasionally turning up at right back. Hopefully the injured will be fit for the trip to Charlton in the Conti next Sunday.

Insane! Unreal catches by receivers with just the one hand and defenders hanging all over them. And the rollercoaster that only the NFL can create, unpredictable, scandalous athleticism and unthinkable twists during regular and overtime. Some people ask me why I like American Football so much. Those who understand need no explanation; those who need an explanation will never understand. ???

Ouch! That's getting close to home. Arguably the best band to come out of Ireland (you may contend others), one that made the world sit up and take notice in their own way. Fabulous musician and performer, he is going to leave a big hole in the scene.

It's quite common for the fixtures computer to arrange both clubs at home for league games, but there is a convention that one will move to avoid a clash soon after they are released. However, in recent years it appears that the concerns are being quelled and we have had both teams playing on a Saturday a few times now. Cup matches are quite uncommon (seeing as City don't appear in the hat until January). I assume that the police will look at the possiblities of both Bristol crowds meeting up, but also the possibility of away fans mingling at Temple Meads - suppose two Midlands visitors get on the trains south for example.

Just read that Redskins DT Dave Butz has died, aged 72. I can remember watching him and the dominant Washington sides of the early 80s when Channel 4 started. Butz won the Superbowl twice in his career.

The conjunction will travel north across Britain for a while, finishing around Aberdeen in 2026. Just goes to show that the magnetic power of the planet is always on the move and that Terra Firma is not that firma after all.