So, I won my 39p. Article 50 has been triggered, and the two-year process has begun. Why then do I have a sinking feeling, like there is something nagging at the back of my mind, as I do when there is something that I know I’ve forgotten? I have a sense of slowly-approaching doom, and I don’t think it will become clear until it is almost upon us. I think it has been pointed out several times in the Houses of Parliament that if we are aiming for the same deal as we had before, why don’t we just keep the same deal? The paucity of thinking in this regard is quite scary. It has been suggested that -if- we have to fall back on WTO rules then we can copy and paste the existing EU tariffs and work to those. If we are going to do that, and we are going to transpose the EU bill into UK law, I have to ask: what is the point?
And in my view we are being softened up for “no deal”. It takes two to tango, and I think that if the EU negotiators don’t see things in quite the same way as David Davis - and they won’t - then the UK team will walk away from the table. There is no way that we can have the same deal as a non-member of the EU as we had as a member. We contributed £250M per week last year, and that was used in the running of the EU: paying farmer subsidies, paying regional development funds, paying the salaries of regulatory authorities. We can’t reap the benefits of those initiatives without paying in, so if REACH have to rubberstamp our chemicals, we will have to pay a fee for that. Yes, Regional Development Funds and farmer subsidies will be handled nationally, but we will have to set up bodies to oversee those disbursements. We will have to replicate REACH for the domestic market - BREACH, if you will, and we will have to do this for other EU regulatory bodies. Bureaucracy in the UK will explode come 2019, and the Conservative party will no longer be able to claim to be the party of small government.
In the 36 hours since we triggered Article 50 there have already been disagreements; May suggested that we have the “divorce discussions” and the “future relationship” discussions simultaneously - that has been poo-pooed by the EU. She linked security to a trade deal, and the EU has described that as a non-starter. To be honest, I expect the discussions to go quite badly wrong, although I’d be quite pleased if they didn’t. I understand that our standards are harmonised with Europe, so you’d think discussions would be easy, but I don’t think the mainlanders (I can’t call them Europeans, since we are also Europeans) will make it easy for us. But then, I’ve been feeling pessimistic about the way things have been going for a while. Anyway, hold onto yer hats, it’s going to be one hell of a ride…
TTFN.
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Tuesday 17-03-21 Six Nations Round-Up
And so the Six Nations comes to an end for another year. It’s a great tournament and I really enjoy watching it. This year, highlights for me were Scotland beating Ireland and Wales. Their appetite and attacking play has really changed in the last two years or so, and it is a joy to watch. The way they physically threw themselves into the game against Wales had me worried / looking forward to the match against England. Eventually though, that fixture turned out to be a bit of a damp squib, meaning that England dominated the match from the start, and the end result was never in doubt. Scotland’s final game against Italy yesterday saw them keep a clean sheet against Italy, but there were points where the old style of game play surfaced again, where they passed back and weren’t able to go forward. Maybe that was due to Italy’s forwards, but it was a bit concerning.
The game between Wales and Ireland last week was a brilliant, breath-taking game, quite literally. TW was holding her breath, she was so excited…! I could have done with a lie-down in a dark room to calm down afterwards.
There were two outstanding games which I think will be talked about for years to come; the first is of course the England - Italy game, or “ruckgate” as it will be forever known. Basically, Italy didn’t want to come to Twickenham and get beaten by England on England’s terms, and so they refused to commit men to the ruck area. This completely confounded England, because they had their routine all sorted: take the ball in, get tackled, go to ground, ruck over, recycle, take the ball in… How could England progress without a vital phase of their game? Unfortunately it took England much longer than it should have done to adapt to the game Italy were trying to play, but they still won through.
There have been rumblings that the laws of the game need to change to prevent teams playing like that in future, but I think it was a high-risk ploy, and if you play like that you risk losing massively; so it is self-managing. It was a fascinating match to watch though.
The other match which stretched the bounds of the game was the France-Wales match, which took 20 minutes of extra time to play a scrum. So the game took 100 minutes to play. Unfortunately at 80 minutes Wales were ahead, and by the time the clock showed 100 minutes, France had taken that lead. I think Wales should have won, so it was a pity, from my point of view, that the scrum had to be reset so many times.
It was though an exhilarating competition all round, with some brilliant moments and some awesome contests, and I can’t wait until next February comes around…
The game between Wales and Ireland last week was a brilliant, breath-taking game, quite literally. TW was holding her breath, she was so excited…! I could have done with a lie-down in a dark room to calm down afterwards.
There were two outstanding games which I think will be talked about for years to come; the first is of course the England - Italy game, or “ruckgate” as it will be forever known. Basically, Italy didn’t want to come to Twickenham and get beaten by England on England’s terms, and so they refused to commit men to the ruck area. This completely confounded England, because they had their routine all sorted: take the ball in, get tackled, go to ground, ruck over, recycle, take the ball in… How could England progress without a vital phase of their game? Unfortunately it took England much longer than it should have done to adapt to the game Italy were trying to play, but they still won through.
There have been rumblings that the laws of the game need to change to prevent teams playing like that in future, but I think it was a high-risk ploy, and if you play like that you risk losing massively; so it is self-managing. It was a fascinating match to watch though.
The other match which stretched the bounds of the game was the France-Wales match, which took 20 minutes of extra time to play a scrum. So the game took 100 minutes to play. Unfortunately at 80 minutes Wales were ahead, and by the time the clock showed 100 minutes, France had taken that lead. I think Wales should have won, so it was a pity, from my point of view, that the scrum had to be reset so many times.
It was though an exhilarating competition all round, with some brilliant moments and some awesome contests, and I can’t wait until next February comes around…
Friday, March 17, 2017
Friday 17-03-17 Comics
I've decided to start actually reading my comics, and rather than just buying and hoarding them. I have been collecting a series called Red Thorn, which is basically on a whim because it said it was set in Glasgow. It's okay, but it's about demi-gods and myths, which is not what I was expecting.
It's enjoyable enough, but I'm still not sure whether the main characters are likeable or good or evil, so I'll wait and see how the first story arc turns out.
It's enjoyable enough, but I'm still not sure whether the main characters are likeable or good or evil, so I'll wait and see how the first story arc turns out.
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Tuesday 17-03-14 Interesting Times
As the saying goes, “may you live in interesting times”. I think it was meant to be a curse. Well, the bill conferring authority on the Prime Minister to invoke Article 50 became law yesterday, and on the same day Nicola Sturgeon announced her intention to invoke a second Scottish Independence referendum. We are indeed living in interesting times.
The world as we know it is disintegrating around us, and things are going to change beyond all recognition. We will be out of the EU by March 2019, probably without much of a deal with the other members. It certainly feels like Theresa May is preparing us for that eventuality. If the negotiations are tough, we may not have much leverage and so we will come away with nothing.
At the same time I think that if Scotland does hold a second referendum, this time they will vote to leave the Union. It seems that the Scots feel that they are not being listened to, and their concerns are not being addressed. If that feeling spreads widely then I can see Scotland voting themselves out of the Union. And it will be David Cameron and Theresa May who can take responsibility for that unfortunate turn of events.
Then there are other days when I think it won’t have any impact at all. Go figure.
The world as we know it is disintegrating around us, and things are going to change beyond all recognition. We will be out of the EU by March 2019, probably without much of a deal with the other members. It certainly feels like Theresa May is preparing us for that eventuality. If the negotiations are tough, we may not have much leverage and so we will come away with nothing.
At the same time I think that if Scotland does hold a second referendum, this time they will vote to leave the Union. It seems that the Scots feel that they are not being listened to, and their concerns are not being addressed. If that feeling spreads widely then I can see Scotland voting themselves out of the Union. And it will be David Cameron and Theresa May who can take responsibility for that unfortunate turn of events.
Then there are other days when I think it won’t have any impact at all. Go figure.
Saturday, March 04, 2017
Saturday 17-03-03 PaddyPower and I are Parting Ways
Paddypower and I are parting ways. It’s sad to say, it did seem to be a blossoming romance, but unfortunately things were not well in paradise.
It all came to a head on Tuesday night. Previously Paddypower (hereafter known as PP) had falsely reported goals, or stopped reporting on games altogether, which was annoying but manageable. Tuesday night, though, things were different. Brighton were playing at home to Newcastle, and it was a top-of-the-table clash. Since I lived in Brighton for ten years, and have worked there for nearly twenty, I was not only financially but emotionally invested in the game. Mum and Dad were also at the game, since they have season tickets, along with quite a few friends I work with. Yes, I had a small wager (70p) on the game, in Brighton’s favour.
TW & I decided to start watching Apple Tree Yard, the recent BBC drama, since we’d recorded it and heard some good things about it. I had the PP website up on the laptop to follow along with the score.
The drama on the telly was pretty good, but I noticed that Brighton went 1-0 up after about 15 minutes. I double-checked it with flashscore.com, and it was confirmed, Brighton were ahead. I settled back and watched the telly, and kept one eye on the score. Half-time came and went with no change, Brighton were still winning. Then 60 minutes, then 70, and then 80 minutes, and things were static at 1-0. I was getting a little jittery, if Brighton won that would mean that they were clear at the top of the table. But Paddypower reassured me, the score was still 1-0 and everything was right with the world. And besides, I was focused on the story unfolding in Apple Tree Yard. Full-time was announced, and the score was 1-0. Excellent! I informed TW, Brighton are top of the table, they won!
I checked my winnings, but they hadn’t been awarded yet. No worries, that happens sometimes, it takes them some time to pay out. So I waited. And waited. And nothing. Hmm, I thought, maybe the game went to extra time. That happens sometimes, Paddypower stop showing the in-play score before the end of the match if it’s gone over 90 minutes. So I checked on flashscore.com, and they advised that the game had finished, but the score was 1-2 to Newcastle. What?
I checked with the BBC, they advised the same thing. Newcastle had won. PP had stopped updating their website at some point and missed the goals in the 81st and 89th minute. So I’d missed out on £1.78 as well as Brighton going clear at the top of the table, and happy family and friends the next day. Gutted. I did contact them on Twitter, they “apologised for the inconvenience”. Well, that isn’t enough, I’m sorry to say; they messed up. I mean, they’ve taken my cash, but they aren’t showing me the actual real scores, and for that reason I’m done.
I’ve still got a couple of pounds with Paddypower, but once those are gone, I won’t be refilling my account. It won’t be any great loss to PP I’m sure; I'm not a high-roller by any means, but if they don’t have reliable systems, then I don’t want to bet with them any more. It’s a shame; like I said, it was fun while it lasted, but if they can’t get the important stuff right, then there are plenty of other sites I can spend my money at.
TTFN…
It all came to a head on Tuesday night. Previously Paddypower (hereafter known as PP) had falsely reported goals, or stopped reporting on games altogether, which was annoying but manageable. Tuesday night, though, things were different. Brighton were playing at home to Newcastle, and it was a top-of-the-table clash. Since I lived in Brighton for ten years, and have worked there for nearly twenty, I was not only financially but emotionally invested in the game. Mum and Dad were also at the game, since they have season tickets, along with quite a few friends I work with. Yes, I had a small wager (70p) on the game, in Brighton’s favour.
TW & I decided to start watching Apple Tree Yard, the recent BBC drama, since we’d recorded it and heard some good things about it. I had the PP website up on the laptop to follow along with the score.
The drama on the telly was pretty good, but I noticed that Brighton went 1-0 up after about 15 minutes. I double-checked it with flashscore.com, and it was confirmed, Brighton were ahead. I settled back and watched the telly, and kept one eye on the score. Half-time came and went with no change, Brighton were still winning. Then 60 minutes, then 70, and then 80 minutes, and things were static at 1-0. I was getting a little jittery, if Brighton won that would mean that they were clear at the top of the table. But Paddypower reassured me, the score was still 1-0 and everything was right with the world. And besides, I was focused on the story unfolding in Apple Tree Yard. Full-time was announced, and the score was 1-0. Excellent! I informed TW, Brighton are top of the table, they won!
I checked my winnings, but they hadn’t been awarded yet. No worries, that happens sometimes, it takes them some time to pay out. So I waited. And waited. And nothing. Hmm, I thought, maybe the game went to extra time. That happens sometimes, Paddypower stop showing the in-play score before the end of the match if it’s gone over 90 minutes. So I checked on flashscore.com, and they advised that the game had finished, but the score was 1-2 to Newcastle. What?
I checked with the BBC, they advised the same thing. Newcastle had won. PP had stopped updating their website at some point and missed the goals in the 81st and 89th minute. So I’d missed out on £1.78 as well as Brighton going clear at the top of the table, and happy family and friends the next day. Gutted. I did contact them on Twitter, they “apologised for the inconvenience”. Well, that isn’t enough, I’m sorry to say; they messed up. I mean, they’ve taken my cash, but they aren’t showing me the actual real scores, and for that reason I’m done.
I’ve still got a couple of pounds with Paddypower, but once those are gone, I won’t be refilling my account. It won’t be any great loss to PP I’m sure; I'm not a high-roller by any means, but if they don’t have reliable systems, then I don’t want to bet with them any more. It’s a shame; like I said, it was fun while it lasted, but if they can’t get the important stuff right, then there are plenty of other sites I can spend my money at.
TTFN…
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