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  1. She's clearly terrified of independence, which is why she's done everything in her power for the last 7 years to avoid any chance of it ever happening. Even if she's eventually forced into trying to hold a second referendum .... she won't get it ... and even if she does, she won't win it ... and even if she wins it she won't go ahead with it unless there's a guaranteed path to relinquishing independence by joining the EU. The is no one in the SNP who will even contemplate an independent Scotland. The only thing the SNP wants is a continuation of it's own seat on the gravy train.
    4 points
  2. From reading the previous posts, the memories of 1972 come flooding back. I was 18 when I drunkenly saw the year in and 19 when I drunkenly seen it out again. Having left school by the start of the 70's my love affair with music was taken to new levels by been able to afford my own stereo system. This meant I no longer had to share the family radiogram downstairs but could immerse myself in the luxury of my own tastes rather than the mundane dirges played in the living room. My hi fi was, however, rather quickly augmented by a pair of good high quality head phones after my parents threatened early eviction due the "incessant bloody noise" emanating from my room. My passion was music. The opportunity to hear new bands and LP tracks was severely limited in the early 70's. John Peel (late night) and Alan Freeman (Saturday afternoons) were the only radio shows outwith Chart singles, though the pioneering OGWT was a bonus on BBC2 late Monday evenings. My other outlet was hanging about in Glasgow record shops listening to albums being played while browsing before making my weekly album purchase, cash flow permitting of course . To supplement this, each Thursday was eagerly awaited to purchase the latest edition of Melody Maker. No self respecting long haired, flared denim wearer was seen without it tucked under his arm. Album charts, new releases, and live gigs & tour dates were eagerly consumed not too mention Banner headline exclusives that sometime left me in despair. Chris Welch exclusives - "BRUFORD QUITS YES" "FREE TO SPLIT" "GILLAN LEAVES PURPLE" It was a golden age for music, great bands, fantastic live music at Green's Playhouse and some of the most jaw dropping vinyl music sleeves to boot. I still have all my vinyl from that era with many more supplemented at a later date from charity shops, record fairs etc. My Top 10* from 1972 as follows:- YES - Close to the Edge GENESIS - Foxtrot WISHBONE ASH - Argus DEEP PURPLE - Machine Head AMERICA - Homecoming JONI MITCHELL - For The Roses FOCUS - Moving Waves CARLY SIMON - No Secrets FREE - Free At Last STEELY DAN - Can't Buy A Thrill * Probably a few I've missed due to 50 year memory deterioration! 😁
    3 points
  3. Agreed. We need this guy to deal with players and their agents
    3 points
  4. Back in the day, I used to pin concert tickets to my bedroom wall. When I left the parental home for University, my Mother took them down and placed the several dozen pastel shaded pieces of paper into an old cigar box. When Mum passed a couple of years ago, the cigar box was a surprise find in the attic. Prices to see a band plus support in the early 70s at Greens Playhouse - Apollo, Glasgow varied between ten bob and £1.50. We all had Saturday jobs/paper rounds and It was just affordable to see a gig. My earliest ticket is the Rolling Stones March'71 and it cost 19 shillings and sixpence(97.5p). During 1972, I saw Free in February, Mott the Hoople in April, the Faces in June, Stone the crows in September and, the Average White Band in December. I have a memory of my best mucker having two tickets for Bowie but the concert was cancelled. Further, failing memory also has Billy Preston backing the Stones but I saw them again in '73 and do not remember any support; thus could Billy have backed the Stones in '73 too? My favourite gig of the above was the Average White Band. Anyone interested in six Scots lads doing proper soul, check out You Tube's recordings of AWB playing LIVE on Soul Train in 1975. Live performers on Soul Train were Hens' Teeth. There is also great footage of AWB doing the Crusaders, Put it where you want it' live on the Old Grey Whistle Test in January'73. As stated the prices were reasonable and you would attend gigs with mates where the band performing was necessarily one of your faves(it was reciprocated when you dragged them along to your choice). I saw a number of questionable bands over the years because of this arrangement. In 1972, I saw Hawkwind at the City Halls, Glasgow; the highlight being the space cadets surrounding me at the gig. Lemmy had a few interesting warts on his visog and the heavy breasted Dancer at the front of the stage was an enjoyable distraction. There was a strong rumour that Curtis Mayfield was coming to the UK to play a live concert for TOGWT. He was looking for a warm up gig and flying into Prestwick. The QM Union was most likely and as a 15 year old schoolboy, I was prepared to kill. I had a cousin attending Glasgow Uni' and as there were no photographs on Matriculation Cards issued in 1971, I was willing to move on up; even though the Christian name on the card was, 'Elizabeth'. I don't know if Curtis played Glasgow in 1972?
    3 points
  5. Born in 1968 I didn't really start listening to and appreciating music until late 70s and early 80s so my influences were from a different era and genre. However, now appreciate music from all eras and genres some great albums on this list. I'd say the following also worthy of a a mention 🙂 Joni Mitchell – For the Roses Black Sabbath – Vol. 4 Lou Reed – Transformer Roxy Music – Roxy Music Aretha Franklin – Young, Gifted and Black
    3 points
  6. Sad thing is they will still be in power after the next election because the opposition is so pitiful weak and mealy mouthed.
    2 points
  7. You are so right. The seventies is the seminal era for me. Think you could have added Steely Dan to the list though...
    2 points
  8. What a great year for music. My favourite album, Exile On Main Street, was released and there's a load of other classics that turn 50 in 2022. Here's a list of my favourites: Allman Brothers Band - Eat A Peach. David Bowie - The Rise And Fall... Can - Ege Bamyasi. Johnny Nash - I Can See Clearly Now. Ry Cooder - Boomer's Story. Funkadelic - America Eats Its Young. Aretha Franklin - Amazing Grace. Marvin Gaye - Trouble Man. Humble Pie - Smokin'. King Crimson - Earthbound. Van Morrison - St Dominic's Preview. The Rolling Stones - Exile On Main Street. Stephen Stills - Manassas. War - The World Is A Ghetto. Weather Report - I Sing The Body Electric. Stevie Wonder - Talking Book. Neil Young - Harvest. I think I was born too late. Any older Bears have other favourites or any other moments of note (musical or otherwise) from 1972 (ECWC notwithstanding)?
    1 point
  9. White ball and IPL type cricket is making players sloppy ,sadly test cricket for most comes second to their bank accounts.
    1 point
  10. Regarding Newcastle, it's being reported that Ashley is looking into taking the new owners to court (sound familiar?)...
    1 point
  11. I was just looking at the fixtures for this (will stick on Nigeria to see how Aribo's getting on) and noted Comoros are playing. I feel a bit daft but I've never heard of this country. A quick investigation shows it's an island nation and the only member of the Arab League fully situated in the Southern hemisphere.
    1 point
  12. me too, born in 1972, so the new wave of punk and NWOBHM were my influences to escape 80s pop, but i had a great time.. and still do, exploring the early 70s with Sabbath, Zeppelin, Dust, Hawkwind and Motorhead and being favs on the heavy side and post 76, The Ramones, Damned, Pistols, UK Subs and Cock Sparrer my punk favs with special mention to the Wedding Present
    1 point
  13. Sauchiehall Street tonight... Sauchiehall Street most nights.
    1 point
  14. shes: Australian hunger and English desperation bring dead Test to life Gideon Haigh Sunday January 09 2022, 9.00am, The Times This summer, Australia want it all. They have the Ashes. They have the kudos. They’re not satisfied. Strictly speaking, this was a dead Test, but as it entered its last hour it looked vitally alive. And at 6.50pm, with the floodlights ablaze and ten Australians so close to James Anderson that N95s would be been justified, it might have been the closing scenes of a vintage Ashes from yesteryear. In the end, the caution of Pat Cummins’ declaration on Saturday may have cost his team a series whitewash, but there was a streak of ruthlessness here too. Australians expect an opponent to earn victory. England were left this last day with nothing but safety to play for. Even if they drew, their side of the Ashes ledger would remain at zero. They were warring for neutrality. More properly, of course, Australia paid for six dropped catches across the Test — had Marcus Harris at short leg held Ben Stokes (16) before lunch, the game would probably have been done with an hour to spare. There were, to be fair, some signs of weariness in Australia’s efforts in Sydney. Their cricket lacked the unwavering precision of the first three Tests. Their outstanding player, Usman Khawaja, was their freshest: when he ran up to Steve Smith with a brainstorm in the last over, one half expected him to seize the ball and do the job himself. Australia’s pacemen may also have been a little short in England’s second innings, in search of the uneven bounce this pitch promised but did not quite deliver. But with the second new ball they roused themselves. In a stunning over, Cummins pinned Jos Buttler with an inducker and prostrated Mark Wood with a yorker, the Australians celebrating the reviews as though their captain had just nodded in a World Cup goal. When Jonny Bairstow nicked on to his pads, the team mobbed Marnus Labuschagne at silly point and would not let him go. Jack Leach pushed Mitchell Starc cautiously down the ground soon after, and the bowler himself set off in pursuit, as swiftly as tired legs would carry him. When Stuart Broad nudged into the covers, Labuschagne pursued it in his helmet, slid, pivoted and threw flat to the bowler’s end though two had been safely completed. There was honour for England in the last day too, albeit with some familiar weaknesses. Haseeb Hameed perished after an hour and half of strokeless defiance. He received 84 balls in the Test, was dismissed by two, dropped from two, scored from eight, was beaten by eight. In hindsight, Haseeb’s tour has turned on that leg-side strangle in the second innings at Brisbane, which nipped a promising innings in the bud — his tour has tailed away since. The chest guard resembling a telephone book stuffed down his shirt; the sleeveless sweater that hangs on him like a store dummy; the pad straps that seem to wind twice around his legs: all complete the image of a cricketer not quite substantial enough for his role. Zak Crawley, however, impressed, both in the full face of his vertical defensive bat and the alacrity of his attack: something about his willingness to pull was reminiscent of Michael Vaughan’s fine summer here in 2002-3. Australia may over the next few years see a bit of that bat twiddle, a kind of musketeer’s flourish, if England are prepared to keep faith him. Cameron Green, however, prevailed in the battle of the tallest, his yorker demonstrating how far down it can be for lofty men. With lunch came a swathe of rain, the ground staff performing their now-familiar outsized origami. It did not cost the Australians many overs, but they did lose some momentum. Mid-afternoon offered the fascinating spectacle of Stokes combining with his beleaguered captain and close friend Root, whom he has been tipped to succeed but disavowed any wish to: the man who wouldn’t be king alongside the uneasy crown-wearing head. If wishes were horses, the pair would have led a thundering victory charge, resurrecting Root’s leadership. At length, however, Root nicked off, adjourning for a penitent net session at the back of the Bradman Stand. Stokes, now with Bairstow for company, reached fifty with the barest acknowledgement. And with eight overs til the new ball, Stokes’s concentration wavered slightly. He came down at Nathan Lyon and miscued over the top. Next ball he hung back, and the ball turned sharply to take the edge — a collector’s piece of off spin to a left-hander. For all the excellence of Starc and Cummins, not to mention the meteoric rises of Scott Boland and Green, Lyon has been this series’ top wicket-taker, with 16 at 23.5. It made for the exciting final scenes, the slight Australian disappointment, the minor English satisfaction, if also the sense that 3-0 is barely distinguishable from 4-0, and that the teams in comparison remain roughly as they were. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-ashes-australian-hunger-and-english-desperation-bring-dead-test-to-life-2ndq2v79z
    1 point
  15. England squeaks the draw THE ASHES | MIKE ATHERTON The Ashes: England summon newfound resilience to avoid whitewash Sydney (final day of five): Australia drew with England new Mike Atherton, Chief Cricket Correspondent Sunday January 09 2022, 9.45am, The Times Australia’s fielders surrounded the bat in search of the crucial wickets JASON O'BRIEN/PA WIRE It looked like it was to be the defining image from the match and the series. Mark Wood, hitherto unbroken in spirit, had been sent to his hands and knees, head bowed and seemingly beaten at last, with Australians swarming all around in celebration. After a searing in-swinging yorker from Pat Cummins had damn nearly blown his foot off, Wood limped off. There was still over an hour to play and, three wickets remaining, another defeat looked inevitable. Somehow, in an epic last hour that will be long remembered by those who witnessed it, England hung on for the draw. It was a dramatic scene at the last, with the light so gloomy that the umpires had told Cummins he could not use his quick bowlers to finish the job off; with 12,000 supporters urging Australia on, and with James Anderson joining Stuart Broad in the middle for the final two overs of the game. On the sidelines, Ben Stokes pulled his sweater over his eyes. He couldn’t bear to watch. Stokes had played his part earlier, making his second half-century of the match, doggedly and in pain from his injured side. As had Jonny Bairstow who had batted for more than two and a half hours with his damaged thumb, whose face was smeared with sweat and whose sweater was caked in mud after an earlier, desperate dive into the crease. He should have been run out then, on two, and was dropped on 28 at slip. These moments were costly for Australia, as was the shower around lunchtime that stole seven overs from the contest. Earlier than that, young Zak Crawley had set the day off with a sparkling half-century, full of thunderous drives and pulls, but that seemed a long time ago as, with 13 balls to go, Jack Leach pushed forward to Steve Smith’s leg spin and edged to slip. Leach had played with great determination for 15 overs but now it was down to Broad and Anderson, two ageing champions, to salvage England’s pride, with the potential for a whitewash hanging on the outcome. Broad settled himself for a set from Nathan Lyon, who had earlier deceived Dawid Malan and found some sharp spin to break Stokes’s resistance. He likes left-handers. Broad pushed a giant stride down the pitch to every ball, and, drama queen that he is, did a touch of gardening on the pitch to ramp up the tension. The crowd jeered and booed him like a pantomime villain. Broad, you sensed, loved it. Maybe the touch of drizzle meant that the ball was hurrying from the surface, but Lyon could find no purchase. Broad survived. Anderson, whose fate in life seems to revolve around situations like this and who must have sensed that he would be called on again, calmly settled himself. Smith, who had earlier encouraged Cummins to place a silly point for Bairstow to Scott Boland, a piece of inspiration that had produced an immediate dividend, went in search of a piece of Ashes history of his own, with ball this time, not bat. Anderson resisted the urge to play his famous reverse sweep. He survived. So the whitewash will be avoided, which is a small mercy to take from a horrible tour. Few observers who have followed the England cricket team over the past two years expected anything other than defeat, for sure. A combination of the historical difficulties of winning here — Len Hutton once said England teams had to be 25 per cent better to win in Australia — the batting frailties, in particular, and the strength of Australia’s pace attack offered a sobering assessment before a ball had been bowled. Yet it was hoped that England might throw a few punches, metaphorically speaking, that they could play with spirit and courage and find a way of taking the game to Australia from time to time. Only in Sydney, four matches into the series, has that happened, which is the real indictment of this team and its leadership: they have made a good Australia team look much better than they are. Here, at last, on the ground that England have historically played their best cricket, the action was competitive, not least when Bairstow and Stokes were in combination in both innings, when Crawley took the game to Australia’s new-ball bowlers in the second, when Broad marked his comeback with a five-wicket haul, when Wood hurled himself into the fray, and again through the fifth afternoon, when a real determination was evident to avoid defeat. Eventually, these passages added up to enough. Crawley played superbly for his 77 in the morning. At one stage he had scored 77 out of 91 runs, so confident and assertive was he (and so limited was his partner Haseeb Hameed). While his first-class returns are modest, he has presence at the crease and is capable of putting bowlers under pressure when they stray in line and length. If he can tighten up a fraction, hold his left side for longer (to prevent the bat coming across the ball), he has a future. He should be persevered with. Since a modestly promising start in Brisbane, Hameed has drowned in his own insecurities and caution. As in the first innings, he failed to profit from a dropped catch by Alex Carey and will not survive this Test. At the other end, it was a totally different story as Crawley set about Australia’s quicker bowlers with intent. With his tall reach and power on the drive, he forced bowlers from their comfort zone and then profited when they pushed back in length. The ball rang true off Crawley’s bat and his fifty came up in 69 balls, with eight crisp boundaries. With Cameron Green’s introduction, Crawley had clipped and pulled a brace of fours to the leg-side, and so it said something of the all-rounder’s game sense that he produced a pin-point yorker, winning a leg-before decision that Crawley tried and failed to overturn. When Malan was bowled by Lyon, cutting a ball that was too full to cut, England lunched precariously, three down. But in the afternoon, only one more wicket fell, as the middle order bedded in. Joe Root it was, undone by a combination of excellent, persistent bowling and smart captaincy. With the old ball offering a hint of reverse swing, Cummins set two straight mid-wickets for Boland, who, for two overs, targeted Root’s stumps and the knee roll of his pad. Then, he switched: extra man on the off side, extra slip, wider line, and it took one ball to find the outside edge. Boland’s start in Test cricket has been extraordinary. Bairstow and Stokes combined then for over an hour, backs to the wall this time in contrast to their first innings counter-attack. When he finally poked Lyon to slip, Stokes lifted his bat in agonised frustration, as if he wanted to bring it down on the nearest obstacle in rage, but then gently let it come to rest onto his helmet. There were 27 overs remaining as Jos Buttler walked to the crease. Buttler ate up ten of them, bravely with the pain he was feeling from his fractured finger, which will see him return to the UK on Monday. The second new ball arrived and Cummins summoned it and his own final reserves of energy, producing an inswinger to Buttler that deceived the umpire but not the DRS review. Then, two balls later, he floored Wood with a thunderbolt of a yorker. Wood went to his knees. Australia, at that point, must have thought they had done enough. For once, it was not to be. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-ashes-england-summon-newfound-resilience-to-avoid-whitewash-7jqw8rj9s
    1 point
  16. And don't forget little Jimmy Osmand with his long haired lover from Liverpool, should have been drowned at birth 😉
    1 point
  17. Panned on its release, On The Corner by Miles Davis really should be included. I mean who else was doing "Stockhausen plus funk plus Ornette Coleman."?
    1 point
  18. No real Rangers supporter votes SNP.
    1 point
  19. There's a part of me that really misses the numpties who used to promote the ScotNattery on here. The entertainment of seeing them justify SNP advice that a broken limb is no reason to bother your local A&E ... or that you should make your own way to A&E because ambulances can't be relied on to attend your (presumably) life-threatening incident. I'd really like to know the nationalist justification for Scotland's embarrassing plunge into 3rd world healthcare. Please, instead of lurking in the shadows, come back and make arses of yourselves all over again.
    1 point
  20. You can say what you like about Ian Wright as an individual but to claim every black person is the same is getting into very dodgy ground.
    1 point


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