Why Wasn’t Schumacher Black Flagged ?


Schumacher nearly put Barrichello into the wall with his “late” closing of the “door” during yesterdays Hungarian Grand Prix.

Once again showing the style of driving that has put many drivers “out of the race” during his career. In this case it was his former team-mate from his days at Ferrari. And once again Schumi accused Barrichello of whingeing.

Of course it’s never Schumis fault. Well in his mind anyway. Thankfully we have TV cameras and Stewards who can take a rational look at the evidence.

And what did they decide ?

They have handed down a 10-place grid penalty for the next grand prix in Belgium.

To my mind he should have been black flagged yesterday AND given the grid penalty for the next race.

What a Scorcher


Way To Go Webber !!!

In what could have been another processional race Mark Webber stormed to the finishing line to take the chequered flag to win the  Hungarian Grand Prix and to take the number one slot for the championship as the F1 circus heads into the mid-season break.

What a performance Mark gave.  A combination of the rolling out of the safety car followed by Vettel being given a drive thru penalty, after being caught asleep (his own words) when the safety car went in, put Webber in the front. But he still needed to pit for a tyre change. Mark then proceeded to lay down scorching lap after scorching lap until he had built the buffer he needed to allow him to pit and rejoin the circuit ahead of Alonso and his own team-mate, Vettel. After that there was no looking back.

Mark now leads the championship a position that he has every right to hold. However, although there is now a 3 week break Mark will not be able to rest on his laurels. There are only 20 points separating the top 5 drivers which is going to make the remaining seasons races very interesting.

But for the moment, well done Mark.

Isn’t This Contempt Of Court ?


Shouldn’t this yob be sent to jail ?

Paul Rossie attacks an innocent passer-by, is given a suspended sentence by the court. Then the clown boasts about it on Facebook.

To me that has to be contempt of court and he should be re-arrested and jailed.

Read the full story here

Well Done Artemis


Congratulations to the crew of the Artemis.

They are a four-strong rowing team who set a new record for crossing the North Atlantic when they reached the finish line on Saturday. The previous record has stood for a 114 years and the team sheared 11 days off  it rowing from New York to the Isles of Scilly off the southwest English mainland.

The new record now stands at 43 days, 21 hours, 26 minutes and 48 seconds.

Well Done Lads

Soham Murderer Must Not Be Compensated


Huntley carried out a despicable crime and got caught. Now he is reaping his just rewards, one of which is that he has been attacked by another inmate. Well hard cheese. The old saying “If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime” seems to apply here.

Its being stated that he could win £100,000 in compensation but  it could cost the British Taxpayer £1 million in legal aid fees if he follows through with his plan to sue the Ministry of Justice .

Well here is one British Taxpayer who does not want to contribute anything to his legal aid.

What a kick in the teeth for the families of his victims, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

I’ll Continue The Experiment


According to the Telegraph “American researchers found that a plant extract contained in the skin of red grapes helps protect the body against ageing”

Apparently they found that some substance found in grapes has been shown “to prolong life in yeast and animals such as roundworms and fruit flies”. On that basis they decided it would be a good idea to carry out a study on human beings.

So the scientists carried out a study on twenty human subjects of which only ten were actually given the substance over a trial period of six weeks. The results of this experiment apparently show that the substance, “resveratrol” , can have beneficial effects which could reduce the possibility of developing diabetes, heart problems, strokes and ageing.

On that basis alone I intend to carry on with my own experiment, to carry on drinking red wine which is my favourite tipple.

What I need to know is how many bottles a week I need to consume ?

I presume that the reduction in cholesterol that other scientific reports have indicated are not negated by this new substance.

And another question, Does this resveratrol negate the negative effects of the alcohol contained in wine.

I guess what I need is a scientific study which looks into all the reports that say that red wine is bad for you and balances them against all the reports that say red wine is good for you.

In the meantime I will humbly go ahead with my own experiment. Needless to say I won’t be publishing any reports.

However, I am prepared to participate in any official experiments.  My preference is for full-bodied reds so if you could send experimental supplies to my home address at …….

Glorious Butser


Although I won’t go into the whys and wherefores, I spent an hour or so with Becky, my granddaughter, up on Butser Hill earlier today.  Although it was clear enough to see over to the Isle of Wight, down to Portsmouth marked by the Spinnaker Tower, down the Solent and way over to Southampton we just sat looking out over the Meon Valley with East Meon to the fore. The view from up there can rightly be described as breathtaking.

Currently there are no sheep, or cattle, on the hill so there are many wildflowers  in bloom including Musk Thistle, Willowherb, Harebell and Wild Carrot. The scent of the latter drawing such a variety of insect life including flies, wasps and butterflies (blue & white) all busily gathering nectar.  You will need to be quick though,  if you want to see the flowers. A lady walking her dogs informed us that there may well be cattle moved onto the hillside soon. They will then be followed by natures lawn mowers, the sheep. She also told us about her two dogs, both border collies and both rescued dogs. The youngest had been beaten as a pup and was very cautious of people. Although neither of them was very cautious of young Becky they both steered clear of me.

That’s the nice thing about just sitting. Passers by will stop and talk to you. After the dog walker had moved on with a cheery “nice to have met you” she was followed by a formally dressed chap carrying a camera attached to a huge camouflaged lens. He wasn’t quite so talkative but did wish us a “Good Morning”. I assumed he was a twitcher, although he equally could have been a peeping tom. With a lens that large he could probably see into the bedrooms of the cottages in East Meon a couple of miles away. Really, just kidding. Moments later he was followed by his wife, assumption on my part,who was  carrying a large rucksack.

From the hill the patchwork landscape was constantly changing, cloud shadows moving across the fields darkening then brightening with their passing. For a while we watched a Kestrel working below us. Soaring, hovering, swooping then hovering again while other birds, especially the skylarks,  provided a musical backdrop calling on the breeze.

Occasionally we could hear the distant bleating of a flock of sheep and further over a herd of cattle were laying under the trees. Doesn’t that mean we can expect rain ? Although later on our way home we passed a herd of cattle, all stood up. Obviously they listened to a different weather forecaster.

As the cloud cover thickened, reluctantly, we had to call our visit to a halt due to someone being a little cold and hungry.

Who mentioned “cattle cake” ?