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politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Is Any Other Party worth a bet for South Shields?

SystemSystem Posts: 11,002
edited April 2013 in General

politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Is Any Other Party worth a bet for South Shields?

The South Shields by-election ought to be as close to a certainty as it’s possible to get as by-elections go.  With Labour the sole main party of opposition, in a seat that they’ve held since 1935 where they’re defending a majority of more than eleven thousand secured on a poor national share, it should be no contest.

Read the full story here


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Comments

  • MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053
    edited April 2013
    First: and if a UKIP candidate cannot beat an unknown independent in SS, then I'll eat my proverbial hat. David Herdson is way off base in this, verging on complete fantasy.
  • @MikeL

    Would you be prepared to eat it in Dirty Dicks, Mike?

    I don't think there's much chance, but if it did happen I'm sure we would all like to see you do it! :-)
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 48,909
    Is Paolo di Canio standing?

    :)
  • MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053
    edited April 2013

    @MikeL

    Would you be prepared to eat it in Dirty Dicks, Mike?

    I don't think there's much chance, but if it did happen I'm sure we would all like to see you do it! :-)

    Notice the get-out word "Proverbial". I havent got a cloth hat or cap; perhaps a paper one will do.

  • AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    Can a Polish immigrant stand for election?

    They seem to be getting all the best jobs these days.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 48,909
    edited April 2013
    AveryLP said:

    Can a Polish immigrant stand for election?

    They seem to be getting all the best jobs these days.

    May be a good idea to "Czech" the eligibility rules :)
  • PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    OT Does anyone know if the Thames nr Camden froze in the winter of 2011? I'm watching a tv show called Nikita which was supposedly filmed there but the snow is piled up to 4ft deep against some buildings and the river is frozen [though it looks faked to me].

    @AndyJS - just seen your earlier comment ;^) I'm still about, just not very interested in the micro-stuff and silly media trivia - hopefully something more meaningful than who parked in what space or went to what nightclub or whataboutery will be replaced with a real story. I can be barely bothered to read the rubbish that passes for informed comment in the broadsheets or their wittering on Twitter.

    We really are at the bottom of mid-term if this is the best on offer.

    For anyone interested - Nikita is quite good as a TV version of the Bourne Identity/assassin drama genre.
  • Sunil_PrasannanSunil_Prasannan Posts: 48,909
    edited April 2013
    @Plato

    The last time the Thames in London froze was in 1814! Um, must be a little bit of artistic licence!

    For the upstream sections (ie. west of Windsor), the last occasion was 1963.

    Wiki article on "frost fairs":
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Thames_frost_fairs
  • HurstLlamaHurstLlama Posts: 9,098
    "OT Does anyone know if the Thames nr Camden froze in the winter of 2011?"

    The Thames near Camden? The Thames must be a good mile, at least, from Camden. SO I think the answer to your question must be a resounding no.

    As an aside I don't think the Thames has frozen in or near London since the early 19th century.
  • another_richardanother_richard Posts: 24,967
    Perhaps that should have been "Does anyone know if the canal at Camden Lock froze in the winter of 2011" ?

  • MikeK said:

    @MikeL

    Would you be prepared to eat it in Dirty Dicks, Mike?

    I don't think there's much chance, but if it did happen I'm sure we would all like to see you do it! :-)

    Notice the get-out word "Proverbial". I havent got a cloth hat or cap; perhaps a paper one will do.

    I'll buy you a sugar hat for the occasion, if it transpires! Somehow though I think you are safe, and I won't need to spend any of my coppers.

  • CharlesCharles Posts: 35,758
    edited April 2013
    Plato said:



    For anyone interested - Nikita is quite good as a TV version of the Bourne Identity/assassin drama genre.

    Trust me on this - the original (in French) is absolutely worth watching. The Assassin (with Bridget Fonda; 1993) was a very poor quality remake.

    Luc Besson, 1990. Fantastic film. Probably one of my all-time top 10.

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100263/?ref_=sr_6

  • AndyJSAndyJS Posts: 29,395
    @Plato

    Micro-stuff does tend to be the province of male anoraks and I know it can be rather off-putting to people not in that category.
  • AndyJSAndyJS Posts: 29,395
    Apparently the new Tory candidate in Corby is only 24 years of age which is maybe a tad young for such an important constituency.
  • PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    edited April 2013
    @Charles @Sunil @HurstLlama

    Many thanks - it seemed very unlikely and I thought Camden was way off the river but my geography of that bit of London is largely about the strange shoe shops/lots of studenty types with tattoos... the background shots looked more like somewhere in E Europe and there were too many foreign number plates on the cars - but then there were also Tube signs so I was rather perplexed and wondered if Camden wasn't as I remembered it!

    I still can't see any reason to fake the Thames being frozen just so someone could fall in, and say it was in Camden since I'd imagine 99.9% of the US viewers would never have heard of it - most peculiar stuff.
  • edmundintokyoedmundintokyo Posts: 17,136
    @Plato, frozen scenes are part of the aesthetic of Nikita. I'm not sure why, but I don't think it would work properly without them.

    PS I went to a museum last week that was supposed be only open in summer, but luckily it turned out it's already summer. As you can see from this picture:
    http://pbs.twimg.com/media/BGvYGltCAAEVzwN.jpg
  • RogerRoger Posts: 18,891
    edited April 2013
    @Andy "Micro-stuff does tend to be the province of male anoraks and I know it can be rather off-putting to people not in that category."

    Don't want to worry their little heads with detail do we. Run along I'm sure there's work to do in the kitchen.....
  • anotherDaveanotherDave Posts: 6,746
    Plato said:



    For anyone interested - Nikita is quite good as a TV version of the Bourne Identity/assassin drama genre.

    "Alias" is OK too.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alias_(TV_series)
  • MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053

    MikeK said:

    @MikeL

    Would you be prepared to eat it in Dirty Dicks, Mike?

    I don't think there's much chance, but if it did happen I'm sure we would all like to see you do it! :-)

    Notice the get-out word "Proverbial". I havent got a cloth hat or cap; perhaps a paper one will do.

    I'll buy you a sugar hat for the occasion, if it transpires! Somehow though I think you are safe, and I won't need to spend any of my coppers.

    Sugar? Fagh!!!!!

  • edmundintokyoedmundintokyo Posts: 17,136
    edited April 2013
    On topic: "Labour has already lost one by-election this parliament to an ‘Any Other’
    candidate"

    George Galloway is not an "Any Other" candidate. George Galloway is George Galloway.
  • PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    An interesting blog post about race/culture and political correctness from Khyberman - worth a read, its clocked 20k views and for a very minor blogger - that's quite something

    http://bantiblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/racism.html
  • AndyJSAndyJS Posts: 29,395
    New German opinion poll:

    Infratest dimap:

    CDU/CSU: 41%
    SPD: 27%
    Green: 14%
    Linke: 8%
    FDP: 4%
    Pirate: 3%
    Others: 3%

    http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/index.htm
  • RogerRoger Posts: 18,891
    @edmundintokyo.

    "PS I went to a museum last week that was supposed be only open in summer"

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnwsIfn0vyM

    Anything is possible!!
  • AndyJSAndyJS Posts: 29,395
    edited April 2013
    @Roger

    I was having a go at male anoraks like myself with that comment, not everyone else, although maybe I didn't phrase it very well.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,747
    "Still, stranger things have happened"

    In 1546 the Mayor of Warsaw allegedly died as a result of spontaneous human combustion. Anyone got a more recent example?
  • MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053
    Farage say's that 53 Ukip candidates will be standing in Cumbria:
    http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/ukip-leader-nigel-farage-expects-record-showing-in-cumbria-1.1047951

    Looks like Ukip are really getting a national organisation into being at last.
  • PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    @Another_Dave

    Thanks - will have a looksee. Revolution has got a lot better towards the middle/end of S1, and I'm rather hooked on Once Upon A Time. Shame Zero Hour got canned after just 3 episodes - it had potential and a good plot.
  • MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053
    edited April 2013
    @Plato
    If you really want to watch good TV have a look at "Game of Thrones". Unless you've seen it already.
  • anotherDaveanotherDave Posts: 6,746
    MikeK said:


    Looks like Ukip are really getting a national organisation into being at last.

    There was a speech on the local elections at the UKIP spring conference.

    http://youtu.be/ufbWFqCEeZk

    There seems to be a problem with the sound when I try to re-watch the video now, but if I recall correctly they mentioned trying to give everyone a chance to vote for a UKIP candidate, but that there were 500-600 candidates getting extra support (I think that was just a personalised leaflet).
  • PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    Novel...

    RT @eaamalyon: Ref Kevin Stroud has decided Barnsley's kit is too similar to Palace's, so Barnsley will wear CPFC away kit. Absolutely brilliant.
  • JamesKellyJamesKelly Posts: 1,348
    edited April 2013
    Andy - it's amazing how stable the German figures have been for months now. They've oscillated a bit, but only within a fairly narrow window, and rarely making one of the usual coalitions possible. On this poll, the FDP would miss the threshold, leaving the CDU/CSU effectively tied with the SPD and Greens on 41%.

    I think the main remaining question is whether Merkel's far greater personal popularity than Steinbruck will prove crucial when the campaign proper gets underway. But as the CDU are already at an unusually high level the popularity of Merkel may already be factored into the figures.

    I read an interesting article about the opposition holding a clear majority in the Bundesrat, and how there are parallels to the way in which the SPD and Greens were able to use their Bundesrat majority to paralyse Kohl's legislative agenda in the run-up to the 1998 election.
  • PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    MikeK said:

    @Plato
    If you really want to watch good TV have a look at "Game of Thrones". Unless you've seen it already.

    I've seen S1 and some of S2 but got a bit bored towards the end - the dwarf is superb and the soft porn lesbian stuff is front and centre! I'll have to give it another go. I gave up on Psych - I dipped into S4 and it hadn't grown up at all from S1.

    SeanT recommended Spartacus and Walking Dead IIRC - the reviews have been very patchy so have those on the list for a rainy afternoon...
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,715
    edited April 2013
    Interesting article Mr Herdson. I raised the possibility a few days ago and was smartly slapped down.
    IIRC someone important in the local Party has already stressed the need for a genuine local man. Or woman!

    The Shields Gazette website makes interesting reading.
  • FinancierFinancier Posts: 3,916
    Plato said:

    An interesting blog post about race/culture and political correctness from Khyberman - worth a read, its clocked 20k views and for a very minor blogger - that's quite something

    http://bantiblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/racism.html

    Plato:

    Thanks for the link. Interesting regarding race=culture which is denied by the Leftons as he calls them. He also mentions religion and then shies away from it.

    He is right regarding slavery being practised by all races. Last time I attended a slave market was about three years ago and what was most shocking was the disregard for the dignity of humanity by the slave traders. The slaves were from aged 5 upwards and of both sexes.

  • anotherDaveanotherDave Posts: 6,746
    @Plato
    The Game of Thrones books are better than the TV series.

    http://www.georgerrmartin.com/book-category/?cat=song-of-ice-and-fire
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,747
    edited April 2013

    @Plato
    The Game of Thrones books are better than the TV series.

    http://www.georgerrmartin.com/book-category/?cat=song-of-ice-and-fire

    I did enjoy the books but his extremely annoying habit of killing off every character he has developed and you have got to like is a bit frustrating. The end of the last book almost made me wonder if I wanted to read another one.

    Edit. Yay! My 100 comment badge. I will print it off and wear it with pride. Who needs likes when you've got badges?

    Edit edit. Oh, 31 people have got there before me. Not so special then. Still...
  • anotherDaveanotherDave Posts: 6,746
    DavidL said:


    I did enjoy the books but his extremely annoying habit of killing off every character he has developed and you have got to like is a bit frustrating. The end of the last book almost made me wonder if I wanted to read another one.

    As long as he doesn't kill off Arya, I don't mind. Whittling down the cast to allow room for more Arya chapters is a feature, not a bug. :-)

  • MikeK said:

    Farage say's that 53 Ukip candidates will be standing in Cumbria:
    http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/ukip-leader-nigel-farage-expects-record-showing-in-cumbria-1.1047951

    Looks like Ukip are really getting a national organisation into being at last.

    Only 22 UKIP candidates in Warwickshire - same number as TUSC. Greens(!) have a full slate of 62.
    A very weak showing considering this is on the HS2 route.
  • RogerRoger Posts: 18,891
    @Financier

    "Last time I attended a slave market was about three years ago.....The slaves were from aged 5 upwards and of both sexes."

    I hope you chose wisely.
  • NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,261
    Can't see it myself - we'd have heard about reverberations in the local party if there was a dramatic explosion brewing with a local hero poised to stand alone. Galloway is as Edmund oberves a special case! Because not much is happening at the moment we're maybe making too much of South Shields - like other recent safe Labour by-elections it's not likely to set the heather ablaze.

    Think that any EU citizen can stand in the County elections, but you have to be British for Parliament. Interestingly I don't that's not true everywhere in the EU - didn't Nick Clegg once stand on a Dutch Euro-list?

    Lots of Labour selections coming up, then a pause till after the May elections, except for places like London that don't have any.

  • MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053

    DavidL said:


    I did enjoy the books but his extremely annoying habit of killing off every character he has developed and you have got to like is a bit frustrating. The end of the last book almost made me wonder if I wanted to read another one.

    As long as he doesn't kill off Arya, I don't mind. Whittling down the cast to allow room for more Arya chapters is a feature, not a bug. :-)

    I have a feeling that Lord Snow will still be around if a bit altered. ;)

  • PongPong Posts: 4,693
    The daily mail, for all their sins are offering a free fiver on the grand national via this link:

    http://wwwm.betbutler.co.uk/mail/

    Decent offer if anyone fancies a casual punt.

    No card details required.

    Must be placed before 4pm.
  • MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053

    MikeK said:

    Farage say's that 53 Ukip candidates will be standing in Cumbria:
    http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/ukip-leader-nigel-farage-expects-record-showing-in-cumbria-1.1047951

    Looks like Ukip are really getting a national organisation into being at last.

    Only 22 UKIP candidates in Warwickshire - same number as TUSC. Greens(!) have a full slate of 62.
    A very weak showing considering this is on the HS2 route.
    You could always offer yourself as a candidate, No_Offence_Alan.
  • IHWIHW Posts: 8
    @HurstLlama

    The Thames (and the sea in the Thames Estuary, as well as elsewhere) froze in the Great Winter of 1962/3 and also in the bitter winter of 1947. Those who lived through both say the '47 winter was worse - not least because coal was rationed (under Attlee!) so people could not afford to heat their homes..........
  • shipmate1shipmate1 Posts: 37
    Thanks Pong - just had a random punt
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,747

    DavidL said:


    I did enjoy the books but his extremely annoying habit of killing off every character he has developed and you have got to like is a bit frustrating. The end of the last book almost made me wonder if I wanted to read another one.

    As long as he doesn't kill off Arya, I don't mind. Whittling down the cast to allow room for more Arya chapters is a feature, not a bug. :-)

    His treatment of the Starks has been shocking. I cannot think of another series that at least starts focussed on such a family and then imposes such carnage. Even Arya has been put into a holding role on several occasions and treated pretty brutally.

    Can Jon survive? That just might get me to buy the next one.

  • SlackbladderSlackbladder Posts: 9,704
    Got my pennies on sea bass and Colbert station for today...good luck to you all.
  • MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053
    Going over to Aintree now. Good luck to all.
  • anotherDaveanotherDave Posts: 6,746
    edited April 2013
    DavidL said:


    His treatment of the Starks has been shocking. I cannot think of another series that at least starts focussed on such a family and then imposes such carnage. Even Arya has been put into a holding role on several occasions and treated pretty brutally.

    Isn't that just true to life? Win-or-die is not a bad description politics in feudal country. Russia being a current example.

  • stjohnstjohn Posts: 1,777
    STJOHN Grand National bets

    Tea For Three
    Colbert Station
    On His Own.
  • anotherDaveanotherDave Posts: 6,746


    Only 22 UKIP candidates in Warwickshire - same number as TUSC. Greens(!) have a full slate of 62.
    A very weak showing considering this is on the HS2 route.

    Mr Farage's "common sense" tour might be the best indication of UKIP's focus.

    http://www.ukip.org/content/latest-news/2997-nigel-farage-the-common-sense-tour
  • FinancierFinancier Posts: 3,916
    Roger said:

    @Financier

    "Last time I attended a slave market was about three years ago.....The slaves were from aged 5 upwards and of both sexes."

    I hope you chose wisely.

    Unfortunately Roger, you were not there for purchase!

    I was there to observe for a NGO.
  • PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    Awww - when crime gets this harmless, the world is a better place. Never had a tortoise but did have a bunch of terrapins and what little characters they are.

    Staff at the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium assumed Cashew the tortoise had been stolen when they couldn't find him. An employee later found Cashew trapped behind a panel in his enclosure.

    Concerned about embarrassment being caused to the museum, the staff member hid Cashew in a lift. Officials later found the tortoise and said that the thief must have brought him back. However, the employee later came forward to explain the situation.

    The museum's chief executive Jerry Enzler said: "The action taken by the employee on Thursday afternoon was wrong and is not reflective of the integrity of the staff who dedicate themselves to the highest of Museum & Aquarium standards."

    Read more: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/odd/news/a471023/museum-staged-tortoise-robbery-to-avoid-embarrassment.html?utm_source=twt&utm_medium=snets&utm_campaign=twitter#ixzz2PhF4BBdc

  • RodCrosbyRodCrosby Posts: 7,737
    Betfair goes down...
  • AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    Financier said:

    Roger said:

    @Financier

    "Last time I attended a slave market was about three years ago.....The slaves were from aged 5 upwards and of both sexes."

    I hope you chose wisely.

    Unfortunately Roger, you were not there for purchase!

    I was there to observe for a NGO.
    I guess Roger was thinking of the market at White City.

    Open most days when they are not recording.
  • AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    RodCrosby said:

    Betfair goes down...

    What fence?

  • HurstLlamaHurstLlama Posts: 9,098
    edited April 2013
    IHW said:

    @HurstLlama

    The Thames (and the sea in the Thames Estuary, as well as elsewhere) froze in the Great Winter of 1962/3 and also in the bitter winter of 1947. Those who lived through both say the '47 winter was worse - not least because coal was rationed (under Attlee!) so people could not afford to heat their homes..........

    Gosh, getting involved in climate pron, now. I must be more careful in what I post.

    Anyway, Yes the Thames did freeze over in 1947 and in the winter of 1962/3 but upstream of Teddington (Windsor was the most downstream, I think). Therefore not in or near London, though I grant you what I think of as near London may not be to everyone's taste.

    As for Atlee's government, one must remember that it actually rationed bread (which had been freely available, off-ration, throughout WW2). In fact the more I read about Atlee and his gang, something I have only done since I retired, the angrier I get. A more incompetent, if well meaning, bunch of buffoons under a more useless "leader" it would be difficult to imagine - well until Cameron and his clique got their sticky mits on the levers of power.
  • SlackbladderSlackbladder Posts: 9,704
    Bookies will be happy today
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,835
    Win for the bookies !
  • PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    edited April 2013
    @HurstLlama
    in the bitter winter of 1947.
    My mum used to regale us with tales of 1947 when her family had to dig themselves out of their house as the front door was top to bottom with snow drifts 12ft deep - it took days to get to the end of their lane and the nearest shops.

    When I first moved down South - I once asked why there weren't any snow posts and was met with blank looks and then even odder ones when I explained what they were. Funny how just 300 miles can make such a difference to ones experience of weather that's commonplace elsewhere on such a small island.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,706
    No great surprises in the national, O/T I see John Looney's defection to the Tories got a small mention in the Telegraph
  • PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    HYUFD said:

    No great surprises in the national, O/T I see John Looney's defection to the Tories got a small mention in the Telegraph

    Really! What section?

  • AveryLPAveryLP Posts: 7,815
    Three (Cappa Bleu, Rare Bob and Teaforthree) out of the first five home but no winner!

    Two nowhere (Balthazar King and Roberto Goldback).

    No lottery win but should buy a lunch.
  • MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053
    edited April 2013
    Seabass got eaten! Steamed, fried and poached.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,715
    Plato said:

    @HurstLlama

    in the bitter winter of 1947.
    My mum used to regale us with tales of 1947 when her family had to dig themselves out of their house as the front door was top to bottom with snow drifts 12ft deep - it took days to get to the end of their lane and the nearest shops.

    When I first moved down South - I once asked why there weren't any snow posts and was met with blank looks and then even odder ones when I explained what they were. Funny how just 300 miles can make such a difference to ones experience of weather that's commonplace elsewhere on such a small island.

    In Jan 1963, in Lancashire we got cut off from our outside toilet!

    It was only just outside the back door but the snow was blowing in so hard I couldn't clear it. Didn't make a lot of difference, as it was frozen solid!

    Very difficult to write this without leaving opportunities for jokes about back passages etc.

  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,835
    Which was the loose horse that finished 2nd btw ? Anyone know - that one looked full of running !
  • FinancierFinancier Posts: 3,916
    Plato said:

    @HurstLlama

    in the bitter winter of 1947.
    My mum used to regale us with tales of 1947 when her family had to dig themselves out of their house as the front door was top to bottom with snow drifts 12ft deep - it took days to get to the end of their lane and the nearest shops.

    When I first moved down South - I once asked why there weren't any snow posts and was met with blank looks and then even odder ones when I explained what they were. Funny how just 300 miles can make such a difference to ones experience of weather that's commonplace elsewhere on such a small island.

    Plato:

    There used to be some snow fences on the coast road across the Downs just west of Eastbourne.
  • PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    RT @DMReporter: GRAND NATIONAL: Fury for animal rights campaigners as no horses are killed during controversial race.
  • volcanopetevolcanopete Posts: 2,078
    Jonathan Neesom picked out the tricast.Chicago Grey is still running.
  • FinancierFinancier Posts: 3,916

    Bookies will be happy today

    The GN and Derby are usually the only two meetings when I have a remote bet (in memory of my mother who used her pin!), otherwise I only bet if I am present see the horses in the paddock.

    However I had a very successful double on the previous two races (near 8/1) and could not make up my mind for the big race so saved my money, thankfully.

  • PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    @OldKingCole

    " In Jan 1963, in Lancashire we got cut off from our outside toilet!"

    EPIC!

    I used to have a thermometer in my bedroom to see how cold it got - it was regularly 45F at night during the winter back in the 70s. My house is usually less than 10C now but that's considered appalling when it'd be 50F = positively tropical!
  • JamesKellyJamesKelly Posts: 1,348
    Nick - I think all Commonwealth and Irish citizens are eligible to stand for parliament. Wasn't Bryan Gould a New Zealander?

    Great to see a Scojockey triumph this afternoon. Well done to Ryan Mania.
  • PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    LOL - Headline of the Day

    http://twitpic.com/chg2mh
  • HurstLlamaHurstLlama Posts: 9,098
    edited April 2013
    From the Telegraph:

    "Beaten just a head in the Scottish National at Ayr a year ago, the 11-year-old had been well beaten in recent starts but came to challenge for the lead jumping the final fence.
    While the complexion of the National has changed so many times on the long run-in in the past, the result was scarcely in doubt on this occasion as Auroras Encore galloped all the way to the line under Ryan Mania to score by nine lengths."

    Assuming that is a true summary of the Horse's form, is there anyone else who smells a large rat? Well beaten in recent races but has the stamina to win the National by nine lengths?
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,835
    @HurstLama He only carried 10 stone 3 - very low ;) !
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,706
    Plato - It had a small mention as one defection to the Tories under the heading 'UKIP making further gains from the Tories'. Although in the print edition, unfortunately I cannot find it online1
  • FinancierFinancier Posts: 3,916
    edited April 2013
    Plato said:

    @OldKingCole

    " In Jan 1963, in Lancashire we got cut off from our outside toilet!"

    EPIC!

    I used to have a thermometer in my bedroom to see how cold it got - it was regularly 45F at night during the winter back in the 70s. My house is usually less than 10C now but that's considered appalling when it'd be 50F = positively tropical!

    Plato:

    I believe that 50F is about 10C - or have I missed your point? As a child ice inside the bedroom windows was a common occurrence and during some winters it did not thaw during the daytime. A bedroom fire in the grate was not allowed unless I was near death's door.

  • From the Telegraph:

    "Beaten just a head in the Scottish National at Ayr a year ago, the 11-year-old had been well beaten in recent starts but came to challenge for the lead jumping the final fence.
    While the complexion of the National has changed so many times on the long run-in in the past, the result was scarcely in doubt on this occasion as Auroras Encore galloped all the way to the line under Ryan Mania to score by nine lengths."

    Assuming that is a true summary of the Horse's form, is there anyone else who smells a large rat? Well beaten in recent races but has the stamina to win the National by nine lengths?

    Not really, Hurst.

    The horse hasn't had his ground for a very long time. That and the improvement in the weather is enough explanation for me.

    Scottish GN form has always been a good guide to today's race.
  • AndreaParma_82AndreaParma_82 Posts: 4,714
    edited April 2013
    4 people on the Labour shortlist.

    I found out just 2 of them so far

    PAul Williams...a GP doctor from Stockton

    Lewis Atkinson....from Gateshead CLP. Former NEC candidate. Former local election candidate in South Tyneside and Sunderland.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,715
    That was a very cold winter indeed. As well as a frozen toilet ..... our only one ..... we went out one evening having had a bath and came back to find the bathwater frozen IN the bath.
  • PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    @Financier

    I was joking that 50F was warm ;^ ) I had ice a few times but not too often as my bedroom faced due east and if there was any sun got it in spades - my brother had a bigger room that faced north and never warmed up.

    My home office faces NE and gets wonderful views of sunrises and was effing freezing even with the central heating and an oil heater on full blast. My fingers used to get too chilly to type in bad north windy weather... the more places I've lived in - the more I realised the importance of aspect to a home and its windows than ever.
  • HurstLlamaHurstLlama Posts: 9,098
    @Peter_the_Punter

    OK, if you say so, Mr. P..

    *Retreats, growling suspiciously, into his lair*
  • Well, I didn't fancy him, Hurst, but I wouldn't have put a line through him either.

    His age would have put me off, and recently the top weights have done well, but this isn't really a freak result.
  • PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    edited April 2013
    @OldKingCole

    "find the bathwater frozen IN the bath"

    Brrrrrrrrr. We used to walk back from our swimming lessons when I was a kid and our hair used to freeze solid as we'd no time to dry it before leaving the baths. The water was cold enough to leave us with goosepimples even after 30 mins of racing up and down. Bloody private schools...
  • HurstLlamaHurstLlama Posts: 9,098
    edited April 2013
    I bow to your superior knowledge, Mr. P.. However, though I know you don't like it, let me say I am damn glad that the flat is getting under way soon. Probably even more room for skullduggery than the National Hunt but I feel more comfortable with it.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,747
    Plato said:

    @OldKingCole

    "find the bathwater frozen IN the bath"



    Brrrrrrrrr. We used to walk back from our swimming lessons when I was a kid and our hair used to freeze solid as we'd no time to dry it before leaving the baths. The water was cold enough to leave us with goosepimples even after 30 mins of racing up and down. Bloody private schools...


    When I was at boarding school in Crieff in the 1970s we had 12 boys in the room and for very understandable reasons the windows were always open. In the winter we used to wake and find unmelted snow on the duvets of those unlucky enough to be near the window as well as the floor. I am sure it was character building really.
  • OldKingColeOldKingCole Posts: 31,715
    Wasn't too bad, Ms Plato. We'd only been married a few months, I had a new job, my wife had only been hers just over a year, and everything was still a big adventure.
    It was an old-fashioned end-of-terrace flat over an open-all-hours, with a superb view across a lake and up to the Pennines.
  • HurstLlamaHurstLlama Posts: 9,098
    @DavidL

    "... 12 boys in the room and for very understandable reasons the windows were always open."

    Sorry, Mr. L., but I don't understand why the windows had to be open. I admit I was a South London grammar-school grunt, but what was it about you posh chaps that meant you you had to have a constant supply of fresh-air?

    Smiley-face thing.
  • HYUFDHYUFD Posts: 116,706
    IDS: My life on the breadline and how I squatted illegally while staying in a bedsit with Betsy
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2304833/Iain-Duncan-Smith-My-days-breadline-disgraceful-BBC-wife-love-sustains-me.html
  • PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    @DavidL

    Our teachers used to tick us off for being soft as previous pupils had put up with frozen ink wells at their desks - and we still sat as the same ones with ancient graffiti that'd turn your cuffs blue.
  • 0.57/1 (aka 4/7) from Paddy Power on UKIP winning without Labour are double the odds on offer for the same bet from Betfair.

    This looks like value to me, but do your own research.
  • TOPPINGTOPPING Posts: 40,950
    I was on about six. One of them finished third, Teaforthree. Thought Oscar Time was going best of all coming over the second last then he hit a brick wall.

    William Hill's machines down at 3pm so PP got the cash. Did anyone at William Hill think today might be a good day a) to make sure your computers don't break; and b) double check to make sure your computers don't break?

    Evidently not.
  • MikeSmithsonMikeSmithson Posts: 7,382
    @AndreaParma_82 Thanks Andrea. Where would PB be without you.

    The big question is whether the current leader of South Tyneside council makes it to the short-list or, indeed, any local councillors.
  • MikeSmithsonMikeSmithson Posts: 7,382
    edited April 2013
    Labour really need someone like the LD's Mike Thornton in Eastleigh. Good local man if a bit boring and no problematic back story.

    Ukip need a Diane James.

    The other partes are irrelevant.
  • PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    edited April 2013
    SeanT said:

    Plato, Spartacus is excellent, and so is Walking Dead, but with both you must persist - indeed Walking Dead doesn't get REALLY good until series 2.

    By contrast, the US version of House of Cards, which I am now dutifully trudging thru, is lame, laboured and rather lazy. It's one of those annoying ones which is just good enough you cannot abandon it, but easily so bad the experience is deeply irritating.

    I've got Suits and The Following to watch next. Hear they are pukka.

    Oh, I've watched the US HoC twice and it gets better with watching it closely. I really look forward to S2 which is now confirmed.

    Suits and The Following are SUPERB. So is White Collar [from same stable as Suits] for clever plotting, rom com drama.

    Red Widow is developing as is The Cult [aimed at teens/20s but quite compelling]. If you haven't tried Once Upon A Time - give it a go, it takes a few episodes to get out of the Buffy phase and then is rather clever and twists and turns.

    The US wipes the floor with the BBC and ITV output - even series like Motive which tells the audience who the villan and victim is within the first 2 mins is head and shoulders above the crap churned out here. It speaks volumes that torrent sites are almost 100% US output for their top 200 downloads.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,835
    TOPPING said:

    I was on about six. One of them finished third, Teaforthree. Thought Oscar Time was going best of all coming over the second last then he hit a brick wall.

    William Hill's machines down at 3pm so PP got the cash. Did anyone at William Hill think today might be a good day a) to make sure your computers don't break; and b) double check to make sure your computers don't break?

    Evidently not.

    Oscar Time finished 4th. Did you back E/W ?
  • AndypetAndypet Posts: 36
    HYUFD said:

    No great surprises in the national, O/T I see John Looney's defection to the Tories got a small mention in the Telegraph

    It got a paragraph in The Times as well.

  • MikeKMikeK Posts: 9,053
    edited April 2013

    Labour really need someone like the LD's Mike Thornton in Eastleigh. Good local man if a bit boring and no problematic back story.

    Ukip need a Diane James.

    The other partes are irrelevant.

    Trouble for Ukip then? It looks like they have, until now, scant troops on the ground and no local person of repute in a position to be recognised locally. Therefore the party may have to parachute in someone to stand as candidate. Hopefully it will be a person of Intelligence and empathy.

  • PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    SeanT said:

    Incidentally, I've been watching Borgen. It's pleasant enuff but how anyone can compare it to the inspired genius of the Killing (Denmark, series 1) is beyond me.

    You might as well compare Hamlet with Home & Away.

    I loved The Killing - its more credible than Homeland and interesting how many series are now crossing national boundaries to be adapted for other audiences.

    I adored Ugly Betty = its just so camp and AbFab with superb plotting - but its a rip-off of a Mexican TV show IIRC.

    The Killing is obviously not from the US, Red Widow is pinched from elsewhere, HoC isn't HoC... very interesting cultural stuff
  • PlatoPlato Posts: 15,724
    I think Kippers may have gone a wee bit too far using Native Americans to argue against immigration...

    https://twitter.com/GABaines/status/320577051448995841/photo/1
This discussion has been closed.