Canada Bob

Hello Reef... Back in Canada the now, and just popped in to see the Official Result ! Looks like you walked it, a few of us managed to hold our own, some with modest wins, but if there's one thing to be "taken to the Bank" it's that... The Bookie ALWAYS wins, nae matter how good we {punters} think we are, or how well we think we know the SPL {or owt else}. Drop me a line and I'll make arrangements to send you the Grand, you made the running and deserve to win it, yet I recall that you were thinking of chucking it when we were just a few weeks into it !!! bet yer glad I talked yer round hey ! All the Best, Canada Bob.

Hi Don... Works for me, pity you can't go though... Reef can you go ? do you want to go ? should be a good do by all accounts... I'd appreciate it if you guys could sort it out between you asap, as the do is on May 2nd. Might be an idea if we take a list of folks who would want to go ? and then take {maybe} the first name and add Reef to that ? If Reef can't go then maybe the first 2 folks to get their names down ? hope this don't tread on anyone's toes... Canada Bob.

Hello CaleyD... I can't remember what the intention was, {hence the post}, I'm also not sure of the "value" of the shirt, or the cost of shipping it to Oz etc, but whatever we decided on {if we did} or whatever is fair, works for me. As far as the free ale do, where I suppose there's a chance to meet the team, it's for 2 folks, it would have been me and a guest, but seeing as how I can't be there then there's room for two folks from our Comp to attend. I'm not sure who would want to go, or how we decide who goes, but as a suggestion maybe the winner of the Comp and the bloke who's been running it for us all season, I think that would be fair, but I'm open to any suggestions on that. Canada Bob.

Hi... I've just had the following email from the club... Hi Bob we are holding the Player sponsors night on Tuesday 13th May here at the stadium with a 6pm start. It is a drinks reception with buffet and a chance to meet the players and get your picture taken with then etc. As a player sponsor you are entitled to attend with a guest. If you cannot come you could 'appoint' someone to come in your place - if you PM me your email address I will send over details RSVP by Friday 2nd May Angela Here's the thing though, I'll be on me way back to Canada this Sunday, so I won't be able to pick it up, nor have the free pint, other than that I can't remember what we said we were going to do with this ? was it to be given to the winner of the Comp ? or what, anyone remember ? Canada Bob.

Couch potato Why do folks feel the need for an alternative ? if I went to the Dr's with a boil on me *** I'd just be happy to have him get rid of it without looking to replace it with a haemorrhoid.. The "better system" is to get rid of the folks who ride on the backs of the working man, and for me that covers the whole spectrum from the kilted greek to the idle sods who think they are entitled to a free ride through life at the expense of the tax payer. I don't blame any particular stripe of government, one is as bad as the other, nor do I lay the blame the monarchy, they are no more than symptomatic of the rot that will eventually sink the ship. The Tories build up a MASSIVE civil service employing thousands of gobshytes who otherwise wouldn't be employable in the private sector, 40% of the UK workforce is now employed by one level of Government or another. From town hall to whitehall the land is flooded with pretenders who think they are worthy of the money that government {at one level or another} throws at them, not to mention the obscene pensions that the rest of us have to fund for them. This lot make up the core of the Tory support, {why bite the hand that feeds you}. Remind me, those files/cd's that got lost in the post, listing the details of people receiving "benefits" of one kind or another, 20 Million folks was it ? 20 Million receiving benefits when the total working population is only around 30 Million folks ! these folks represent the core of New Labours support. As long as they get the hand outs New Labour will get their votes... Either way one party or the other milks the working man, its not Taxation anymore in the UK its Confiscation. You work and pay income tax, you spend the money you pay VAT, you save the money you pay tax on the interest, you pay your stamps for a lifetime then pay tax on your pension, how fekking disgusting is that, a lifetime of contributions to qualify for a meager stinking pension that sees our old folks having to decide between eating and heating. Unfortunately most of us have no {political} flag to rally round so we have no way to bring a halt to this madness, but all things come to an end, I just wish I'd be around to see it. At some point folks will realize that what masquerades as government is little more than a Mafia, if you want to run for Parliament you get vetted, if they think you might be a loose cannon you won't get selected, but if you fit their mold they'll bring you into the fold. What truth do we have in government ? do they respect us at all ? or do they lie to us at the drop of a cap, think Mad Cow Disease {"get the burger down you"}, or the Iraq war, and lots of other situations where their lies cost innocent people their lives. They talk about "open government" yet right now they are fighting like buggers to stop us knowing how much they've been stealing out of the till. I can't wait to see how much Ruth Kelly {our local MP / Minister of Transport} has been pocketing. I'll have a little side bet with you, I'll bet she's hived off more in "expenses" in the last 5 years or so than any of you have in the bank, no matter what your job is, or how long you've been saving. How do we get folks like Kelly passing themselves off as "socialists" she'd fly her flag on any ship as long as it gained her wealth and influence, where did this woman come from, how the **** did Westhoughton voters fall for her without even knowing who she is, or anything about her background. Check the Google link on her...born in Limavady, to this day is an IRA stronghold, her grandfather a convicted and jailed senior member of the IRA. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Kelly Who passes these people off to us ? are we so dumb we don't know who we are voting for ! no wonder the Tories say that Wiginers will vote for a pig on a wall, if it's wearing a red rosette ! Have you ever listened to this woman ? born and bred in Ireland, but you'd never know it from her practiced "middle england" baritone tones, sounds like she's bigger balls than a pawn broker. What sort of "socialists" are members of secret organizations {Opus Dei}, having the nerve to seek election by "us" then rather than represent the views of constituents decides to vote according to her conscience ! aren't they there to represent us, rather than {in the case of this stem cell thing} the church of Rome ? What sort of a socialist is Tony B Liar, soon as he's had his fill of power he drops nicely into a Directorship of an International Bank {for starters} getting $5 Million a year from one appointment. When was the last time he dropped into a working men's club {yea, I know, just before the last election}. By the way, how long before you find out that Tony B converted to catholicism so that he could be inducted into Opus Dei, a further career move for him, when this comes out remember who told you first... By the way, if you're a catholic don't bother applying to join Opus Dei, yer not good enough for them, it's "invite" only, amongst the rich and powerful. I've given up on England, it's too far gone to be turned around {in my lifetime}, but you are in a better position, being Scottish you still have your flag to rally round, try that in England and you're a racist, but more than than you have a stronger link to your heritage, what have I got ? hotpot and red cabbage and a nation so fragmented that they are all at each others fekkin throats. If you asked almost any Englishman if he was proud to be English what do you think most of them would say ? {right now 700 people a day are leaving the UK, the vast majority from England}, on the other hand how do you feel about being Scottish ! You have the chance to go your own way, stand on your own feet, sort your own problems out, and free yourselves of the leeches that seek to hang on yer ***, go for it... Canada Bob.

I don't see where you get that idea at all Bob. I don't think it would stand up to scrutiny any more than if you were to say the Scots vote Tory more than the English :015: After all it wasn't the Scots who were having street parties to celebrate the Golden Jubilee or whatever they call it, but they had them all over England. I've lived in Scotland all my life and I've never met anybody with a good word to say for them. But the BBC never tires of going out into the streets of London and getting vox pops of all the loyal subjects queueing up at Buck House every time there's a wedding or a funeral or one of them breaks wind. First of all regarding my comment on having the misfortune of being born English, I used to be proud of England, say until 30 years ago, then things started to change, change so much that I could see the writing on the wall, well, I thought I could, but it turned out to be worse than I could have dreamed of. The final straw for me {as a working bloke} was when Maggie Thatcher got in, life wasn't all that good in Wigan when Harold Wilson was in power, so I didn't think things would get better when the hard line Tories got in. Within 5 years the industrial base of Wigan, Bolton, Preston, Chorley etc were devastated, within 5 miles of where I lived De Havilland Aircraft {where I worked} closed down with a loss 3,500 jobs, British Rail in Horwich closed down with a loss of 5,000 jobs, English Electric in Preston packed it in with a loss of around 6,000 jobs, Chorley ROF and Leyland Trucks lost about 10,000 jobs between them, and their subcontractors were put on their knees, 25-30,000 engineering jobs down the drain in no time at all. Then Maggie closed the mines, then the Mills wrapped it up, and Wigan wasn't on it's own, places like Sheffield, Manchester, Derby, you name it finished up on the cobbles... Since then the way of life in England, at least, {at least the England I knew} has changed dramatically, work isn't the norm now, dole is the norm, when I worked at De Havilland {a 6 year apprenticeship} there employed 400 apprentices, same with Horwich Loco, English Electric etc etc, thousands of young lads learning trades, and that was just in engineering, not to mention building trades etc, now thousands of young lads roam the streets making England / the UK the most violent society in Europe {and beyond}. In my day a man took pride in being "working class" people stood on their own feet, if they needed help they got help, but they didn't make a career off living out of other peoples money, folks in those days were ashamed to take money "off the parish", now it's a way of life, generation to generation. Oddly enough few people consider themselves to be "working class" now, fact is they'd swear blind {at you} if you told them they were, they now convince themselves that they are "middle class" yet in reality they suffer the worst standard of living in the western world ! {try telling them that though, they just don't want to know}. Add to that, I don't know another country in the world where a young lass can get a free house as a reward for popping a few kids out, same thing with the riff raff that have never paid a stamp in their lives, yet they get priority over pensioners or others in genuine need of support. Along with the free houses goes the free cars, do you know that there's already 1 Million "Disability" cars on the road already, fair enough some folks are genuine, but 1 Million "disabled" folks out of a working population of around 30 Million !!! we had less disabled when Hitler was raining bombs down on us... So we finish up with the working men and women having to fund the Elitist b*stards at the top of the tree and the idle b*stards who wouldn't work if you attached jump leads to them... I've lived and worked in other countries and I've seen better systems, where the working class have dignity and are proud of their status, without the need to pretend association with r soles... I come back to see England knackered on its feet, binge drinking, thuggery {by 14 year olds} violent crimes against old folks or others who are easy targets, 12 year olds pregnant {the UK has the highest teen and pre teen pregnancy rate in Europe}, no go areas, where it's enter at your own risk, 10% of drivers being either banned or without insurance, drug use at record rates, and the dumbest high school graduates the nation has ever seen... I don't know who's doing the fiddling {maybe the whole fekking lot of them}, but my "Rome" is burning, and there's nowt I can do about it, except to not be there when the whole place goes up. I no longer have any pride in "my country" and it sickens me to think what my father and his 4 brothers fought for, "A Land fit for Hero's to live in" now you have to be a Hero to live in it... As far as my comment on the support I perceive of the royal family in Scotland, I'm not saying it's a high percentage by any means, I don't know the extent of it, but I rarely hear anyone in England or Wales with a good word to say for them. One last word on the "ceremonial" positions held by the house of windsor, including the kilted greek, you don't think they wear the uniforms {or the medals} just because they like to dress up do you ? for every "ceremonial" position they hold they get the "wage packet" that goes along with it, no doubt that's fekking tax free aswell... If you EVER get the chance, kick the bleeders out, appoint yer own King, {start off with Reef, he seems to know what's going on}, give him 6 months if he don't pan out pass it on to Clacher, give the young uns a chance... Canada Bob. Respect is EARNED not INHERITED !

Couch potato, Here's my thoughts on the "Rights" of the Queen or whoever is holding the job down at the moment, on their right to dissolve parliament or to veto Laws passed by the Government of the day, no matter who they are. What fekkin right is THAT ! "we the people" vote in the government that we want, they {are supposed} to govern in such a way as to reflect the wishes of the people, socialist or capitalist, that's OUR choice {supposedly}. Where would we be if the head of state could veto the wishes or direction of our democratically appointed government ! again this reflects nothing but a fekkin arrogance on behalf of the elitist b*stards who think the country belongs to them ! Thank gawd this royal ascent is nothing more than a lingering fetish between the establishment and those who seek to eventually join their festering ranks. Canada Bob.

Nor in Scotland (or Canada for that matter) but to imply they've no real support across all strata of society (even though I'm not one of them - a supporter that is) is disingenuous. Chris

Looks like the debate is warming up, grin... As some what of an outsider {being by misfortune English} I can't get my head round the affiliation that some folks in Scotland have towards the royal family. Excepting for the addle minded Alf Garnet's and the Vera Duckworth's you don't see folks in the rest of England or Wales bowing and scraping at the mention of their name. I just can't figure out the origin or the rationale for the Scottish allegiance to this foreign house. I don't know much about the history of Scotland, but I recall that Mary met with a ruthless fate, add to that the tens of thousands of folks {like you and me} who were put to the sword or worse, women and children included as these b*stards stole your land, your freedom and did their best to eliminate your heritage and culture. Don't you listen to your Anthem ? you have something to be proud of in Scotland, I'm not talking about the beauty of the place, but the stock that you're bred from, men who overcame oppression, families who survived these atrocities, is your allegiance/regard/respect to them, or to the direct descendants of the bloody lot who if they could have would have subjugated you, or wiped you all off the face of the earth... Amazing what propaganda can do, you start to think the way that the Establishment wants to think, they are so effectively/clever that you think "it's your own ideas or values". Your pride should be in Scotland, and from that in yourselves, would any of you prefer to be English {let's say}, or Welsh, or Irish etc ? Stand on your own feet, proud of your Nation rather than have your allegiance usurped by those who wouldn't *iss on you if you were on fire... Canada Bob.

Aye, you could say that LOL... I just believe in the dignity of all men {and some women}, at my age I can't alter my left wing stripe. In my book a man who gets up in a morning to go to work to provide for his family is worthy of more regard than an idle b*stard who expects us tax payers to carry him through life, one generation after another. Why should we pay homage to the kilted greek, he's no better than the long term unemployable, except he's living better than any of us, at our expense. Although I'm left wing I can't stand "New Labour" what a con trick that was, a bunch of spivs who have conned the working class, whilst raking in millions for themselves, the wrong type of folks are attracted to politics these days. In my 20's I wanted to "change the world" after 40 years of trying to make some adjustments to the balance I've come to the conclusion that the only world you can change, is your own, but that's not what a "socialist" really wants to do. How does it go, if your not a socialist when your 20 you have no heart, if you're still a socialist at 40 you have no brains... I've found that to be a truth... Obviously this issue divides folks right down the middle, but if there's one thing that we all benefit from it's the right to our own opinion, I've never felt the obligation to conform to prevailing conventions, nor do I need to claim some imaginary association the royal family to raise my self esteem, as I said, I'd rather be buggered... With some humour I recall when we were sworn in as Canadian Citizens, and I had to swear allegiance to the Queen :017: I couldn't stand them when I lived in Wigan, so you can imagine my chagrin to be 4000 miles away and having to swear allegiance to her :008: Canada Bob.

Odd how when me dad and his brothers went to fight for "King and Country" they were told they were Hero's, but when they came back 5 years later they suddenly became "Commoners", not fit to breathe the same air and the royal family, how's that work ? Add to that, when the war was over these Hero's couldn't walk on the land they'd fought for, couldn't fish in the rivers "owned" by the Establishment, and weren't welcome where they "knobs" congregate. Ever noticed how "they" try to segregate public events by pricing you out of events that they attend, think Royal Ascot, etc etc etc, they get in for nowt, you pay through the nose and still can't get the same seats. The UK is the most socially stratified society in the western world, where the rule of thumb is, the harder you work, the less you get paid for it, vs the less work you do the higher your status and wages are. The only useful service that "we" are to them is to maintain the status quo, we pay taxes to maintain them in a standard of living that they couldn't earn for themselves, and for the better part of 100 years the royal family paid nothing in tax, now due to the embarrassment they pay "what they think appropriate". As far as the benefits they bring to the UK, well how many of these tourists would visit London anyway ? I guess Thailand "benefits" from the sex trade that attracts peado's to Bangkok, maybe the money from that trickles down to some poor sod bare footing it with a rickshaw, to the same extent that it benefits the pensioners in the UK. Respect and regard should be a two way street, as they say in Wigan, "Honour all men, bow down to none" I'd rather be buggered than bend my knee or pay homage to the royal family or any of their hangers on. Odd how prevalent the Vera Duckworth syndrome is, where folks think it raises their own status by classing themselves as royalists ! fiercely defending an elitist group who {if the truth be known} wouldn't *iss on them if they were on fire... Canada Bob.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=A1z0ZEwy81c Canada Bob.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=InF9B3rParg Canada Bob.

Hard to resist this one though, afterall it was all down to a phone in vote on the night, but RTE had them all on the wireless Friday night asking folks what they thought, and 83% voted for Dustin ! No wonder he was backed down to 1/6 with Boylesports the 2/5 Hills had was stealing money ! and there's not many chances to steal money off Bill Hill, no way that I'd miss it. I would have voted meself on the night, but that dint seem fair somehow, not to mention it cost 1 euro per call :crazy07: I'm not "made of money" :004: Canada Bob.

Never in doubt ! Won it in a canter :clapping03: I bet Dustin's odds for the main event have dropped now :024: Told you this one was past the post :003: Canada Bob.

The show on RTE was REALLY tough, on all of the contestants, but worse still for Dustin, he got Booed before and after his performance :017: As a result he's drifted in the betting to 1.7 on Betfair, but you can't get much on :007: Most of the contestants were shyte, so Dustin doesn't have a whole lot of competiton, and this now seasoned performer has a MASSIVE Fan base here in Ireland. He's been number 1 in the charts, has his own show on TV, and has even considered running as an MP ! even though he didn't actually run "thousands of people voted for him" so although I've heard better Irish singers , Val Doonican, Jospeh Locke, Eamon Andrews, Anna McGoldrick Kathy Kirby et-al, Dustin is in a class of his own against this lot. http://www.eurovision.tv/page/news/gossip?id=429 Canada Bob.

Hills took my bet, 2,500 euro to win 1,000 euro, they had to phone Leeds before they'd accept the bet though :021: It's all down to Dustin now, but they had him on RTE last night and almost 80% of the folks who phoned in were voting for Dustin, and there were thousands voting for him, enough to statistically make the result a formality. You have to see him though, not just a pretty face, but a great singer too, best I've seen compete for the Eurovision Song Comp in 30 years ! best since ABBA in my opinion, an act that you'll never forget ! I might just grab some of the 20/1 on offer against Dustin winning the Euro Comp outright... don't forget Ireland have won this 7 times already ! Canada Bob.

Got one for you if you don't mind laying the odds... It's the qualifier for the Irish entry to the Eurovision song contest tonight, and word on the street is that DUSTIN will *iss it... He's not a bad singer, good looking lad too, but there's a massive gamble on him to win, already backed off the boards from 4/6 early days to 1/6 now. Billy Hill has him at 2/5 :003: I know that don't sound like much, but a monkey wins you 200 quid/euro :011: and I'll be trying to get 5 monkeys on to win a grand, if they'll take the bets. But... knowing Hills {like the rest of 'em} the f'ing price will have gone when I get there :018: Don't miss this one, this turkey is "weighed in"... Canada Bob.

Hi JK... Bookies hey, no nerve at all, if you want owt above a score on a bet they all sing the same tune 'the price has gone" :018: As for Harchibald... not a horse that I'd want to be on, seems to look all over a winner 2 out but then finishes with a wet sail... Haven't taken a real look at the Festival yet, and worse still haven't heard owt from the locals as to what they fancy... I've still to get over that goal that Bayern gave away, gutted me that did, I feel like throwing a pigs head into a Synagogue, just to see someone more *issed off than me... Canada Bob.

Can you SWEAR in here :008: Hard to believe aint it... 4-0 up, minutes on the clock, free kick to the Dons, defended by 2 Bayern players, attacked by half of Aberdeen, and the b*stard ball is in the net :019: That's the trouble with Germans, they can't defend when they're well in front a la 1942 :008: How come there's ALWAYS one for the fekkin Book hey ! Canada Bob.

How come when the Bookies are laying {say} 4/6 on Oddschecker that you can't get the odds when you turn up in their Betting Shops :008: Just been to Boylesports asking for the 4/6 that they had on their web site, only to be told that "the price is gone" how come the price is always gone :017: And to make it worse they drop one price but don't raise the other side of the bet :018: What is it with Bookmakers, if they see that they happen to be offering the best odds the price is gone before they've even laid a bet, the b*stards... Do they think that the amount of money that a punter puts on alters the result ? why have their own odds makers if they wont lay the odds :rolleyes02: I hear from one of the lads in Wigin that Corals wouldn't even offer him any price on the Bayern clean sheet, and all he was asking for was 300 quid at 4/6 :007: Hard work trying to get a bet on these days aint it... Canada Bob.

Either one would do for a Bus Pass !!!

Might have found a bet worth considering here... Bayern are 1/6 or worse across the boards, but the 4/6 about them keeping a clean sheet vs Aberdeen looks like value to me. There's only Corals offering that though, everyone else is going 1/2 or worse if you can even get on... Since the beginning of their Season only 3 teams have managed to score on Bayerns ground, and I don't see Aberdeen becoming the 4th :011: Other than that Bayern seem to like winning 3 bowt, and at 11/2 that's worth a small punt... I'll take the clean sheet bet though, looks safe enough to me... Canada Bob.

How long has Jack Duckworth been the Manager of Chelsea ! Talk about Spittin Image !!! all he needs is a flat cap ! Canada Bob.