Only two games this weekend, with Ireland treating Italy like a Welsh prop’s face and England facing their sort of nemesis in Cardiff. France and Scotland have had their game postponed as a result of an outbreak of lurgies in the French camp which was due to Galthié being a messiah very naughty boy. Craigsman, of course, would never do this.
Italy vs Ireland – Rome
Gonna be a spanking. I was going to leave it there but to be honest I should explain why. Ireland will be hurting after a disappointing run against Wales and France and will be keen to get back on track by putting a lot of points on Italy (who last won against them in 2013). Ireland also have an almost full strength squad too. They are just missing Cooney who, for some reason isn’t included. No one apart from Big Faz knows why this is and it really needs to be a talking point on the notablog. Has anyone mentioned that? Someone should mention that.
Italy will score one or two tries but are always a few years behind the curve and they don’t have the players. I can see them holding out for the first quarter before the floodgates open and we can all talk about whether they should make way for Georgia.
13 – 45 to Ireland
Wales vs England – Cardiff
I’m not sure about this one. Have Wales been spawny this year or have they been tenacious when behind and fought back valiantly to win? I think it’s both. You have to be good enough to capitalise on your luck and some of the tries have been great. They have fielded a team with a mix of old and new heads and seem to be finally getting to grips with Pivac’s style of play. If they can get it right and build an early score, then it will be tough night for the Saes.
England seem to be wobbling a bit. With Eddie emphasizing defence and several players out of form they haven’t set the world on fire recently. That said, they should be tough to beat and I’m hoping that they will have a bit more confidence about them this week. Expect a lot of kicking and muscle which hopefully will see them home in a tight game. Some might complain about this, but not me.
30 – 22 to Wales or 20 – 15 to England
France vs Scotland – Paris(ish)
So this has been postponed. What a bunch of les muppets, eh (who I hope will fully recover)? I can’t even ask ‘which France will turn up’ just to sound like a knob. Ah well, let’s pretend that it’s going ahead and look into my crystal ball…
I reckon France at a canter. They are looking very good at the moment and will likely stuff the Scots up their holes. There will be some nice stuff from the visitors but ultimately France are becoming more and more evil every year. It started with some strange glasses, then came a blunt talking defence coach and a change of culture a few thought would be unpalatable and then selection of form players and a sensible game plan going forwards. Who’d have thunk it? Witchcraft, I tell you.
I could be wrong. No good ever comes from a postponed game. None at all.
35 – 15 to France
As foretold by Britney Spears
Onna telly this week
Friday 26th February
| Treviso v Connacht | 17:30 | Premier Sports 2 |
| Sale v Exeter | 19:45 | BT Sport 1 |
| Cardiff v Munster | 20:00 | S4C / Premier Sports 2 |
| Ulster v Ospreys | 20:00 | Premier Sports 1 |
Saturday 27th February
| Edinburgh v Scarlets | 12:00 | Premier Sports 1 |
| Bristol v Leicester | 13:00 | BT Sport Extra |
| Italy v Ireland | 14:15 | ITV |
| Newcastle v Harlequins | 15:00 | BT Sport Extra |
| Wasps v London Irish | 15:00 | BT Sport Extra |
| Gloucester v Worcester | 15:15 | BT Sport Extra |
| Wales v England | 16:45 | BBC1 / S4C |
| Zebre v Dragons | 17:15 | Premier Sports 1 |
Sunday 28th February
| Northampton v Bath | 13:00 | BT Sport 2 |
| Leinster v Glasgow | 17:30 | Premier Sports 1 |
Ovally Balls 
And considering it’s a respiratory disease how reliable is swabbing the end of the digestive tract?
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If I really wanted to humiliate someone grubbing around their butt wouldn’t be my first option.
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I doubt it would even occur as an option.
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*swivels eyes from trench*
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Whatever Jenkins is saying I imagine it’s nonsense. Unless it’s one of those 1 out of 1,000 times he has a point, albeit one that’s badly made and probably contradicts most other things he’s said.
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Some Australian researcher has suggested we should be testing for asymptomatic covid infection in children by using those swabs. When there was the usual predictable uproar she defended her words on the grounds they were for “research”.
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Apparently you can find live viruses down there, according to published scientific research.
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Finally, FINALLY, I’ve been discriminated against.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/mar/02/secret-pontins-blacklist-irish-surnames
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So once upon a time OT was googling himself and he stumbled across a rugby notablog that spent most of it’s time talking about some chap called Boa’s pronunciation of Oh Ma-Ho-Knee. The rest is history.
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Covid swab’s like to go two places so I assume they make them stick it in their mouth after shoving it up their bum.
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Darned viruses get everywhere.
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Saint and Greavsie were far better than the Ron Manager types we still get today
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I didn’t slag off his article. I gave it a one-sentence pffting, and rightly so.
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Someone should tell Pontins that his real name is O’Terry.
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That went well. In my haste I read OT as saying ‘not discriminated against’.
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Still, a steal’s a steal. Not even CMW or BB can thwart this one.
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Hope TomP wasn’t crushed under a dead horse with a right horrible twat sat on top of it.
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When Jimmy Greaves took the piss out of Donald Trump
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Evening all,
Have you had a good day? We’ve had a good day. First Mrs B was given a date for her antiviral stabbing, which is a big relief.
And then this happened. True story.
I was Fazzing, I can tell you. Anyway, for those of you who are less birthday rich than I and unaccountably can’t remember Flanders and Swann songs from 1963, the original is here:
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You see this rather proves my point from the other day. Anyone ask for an epic singalong about a thermostat?
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Sorry to hear about your woes Brookter.
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Hah! Hardly woes, but it was frustrating at the time — not just Mario and his sloping shoulders disappearing act, but the two hours on the chat line afterwards trying to persuade them to act like a responsible company and not a bunch of spivs. It’s British Gas and the Home Service thingy costs a fortune every month.
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Sounds irritating enough.
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@Iks – It was a good point well made. It’s possible that Kitson might have failed to take it on board though.
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🎵Feed me more of Brookter’s woes (Brookter’s woes)
Feed me more of young Brookter’s woes🎵
Bloody awful and hard to bear DCI, but a marvellous bounce-back for our enjoyment. Truly putting the art in thermostart!
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It was right some doggerel or play Super Mario Kart, but for some reason that didn’t appeal this afternoon, Mr Iks… (Joking apart — if they’d say, sorry we screwed but we’ll fix it it within a week, that would have been fair enough. It was the ‘you’ve got to go to the back of the queue which was mildly irritating….
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Bravo Brookter, and I’m sorry to hear the tale, what a rubbish way to conduct a business.
I can’t think of Flanders and Swann without thinking of Armstrong and Miller’s take off of them
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Whilst I’m here, Blues Birthdays Slight Return.
Ballyshannon’s finest, Rory Gallagher, born 2nd of March 1948.
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That Armstrong and Miller sketch does get them bang to rights, Ticht…
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Coincidentally, I was looking at a cassette with Flanders & Swan on, just the other day.
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@Refit – Pretty sure we had that exact compilation when I was a kid. Definitely something with most if not all of those on it and the Laughing Policeman first.
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This one, CMW?
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From the list on the right hand side which looks to be the whole lot I think there are maybe three that I wouldn’t necessarily recognise.
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Our copy is certainly no longer available if that’s what you mean.
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The only thing that makes me hesitate is that I want Digging a Hole to be there as well as Right Said Fred, but that could easily have been on another tape.
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Amazing stuff DCI. I’ve had a similar experience with the gas board. As part of our house works we need to move our neighbours gas meter as it encroaches onto our side. I don’t mind it as it wasn’t done on purpose and it was the neighbours on the other side of the fire.
Anyway, they came to move the gas meter a month ago and said they couldn’t because new regs meant that it had to go on a brick wall. So they fucked off and my builder built a wall and they came back today and said they needed to dig the pipe out 2m but couldn’t because it went under my neighbours extension. They fucked off again.
Luckily my builder is doing his best to shield me from this bullshit and has basically sorted it out without the gas board and I should get a refund of £700.
Unluckily I was going to two different IKEAs whilst this was happening.
We move back in on Thursday so that’s exciting!!!
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I remember wishing we didn’t have to listen to the Laughing Policeman first, but my Granma liked it. At this distance I do have to wonder if we should have been such big fans of My Boomerang Won’t Come Back, but I have to confess to still having some love for it.
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It was impressive how Imgur borked that.
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@CMW – Goodness Gracious Me is now very problematic.
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Ah, now I see a picture. Looks familiar though the track listing rings louder bells. The soundtrack to endless journeys from Aberystwyth to Norwich and back in the late 70s and early 80s. They were no joke.
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That’s Fd bait by the way, in an ideal world he would appear to say those journeys were nothing as his parents used to drive him 1600km into the outback and abandon him.
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I’m thinking Digging a Hole was on a different one that had Any Old Iron and Shame and Scandal inthe Family on it. Johnny Morris’ zookeeper thing would go on after one or other. Then maybe a story, can still see the Wind in the Willows cassettes in my mind’s eye.
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For me it was the soundtrack of trips from Bristol to Pontypridd through the early 80s.
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If the muppets did all of them then I’d probably show all of them to my kids. I know I’ve put this on here before, but I’m watching it again myself…
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Probably still use about half of those songs for various purposes even if often only to baffle other people while making myself laugh.
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I posted those pics to the family Whatsapp at the weekend and ‘A Windmill…” turned out to be an answer in the crossword my sister was doing at the time. What are the chances?
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Sounds a real nightmare, Craigs. I hope youre settled in properly soon.
As for silly childhood songs, most of my memories of them come from Junior Choice with Ed Stewpot Stewart on Radio 2 on Saturday Mornings (we didn’t go to the matinee at the flicks, for some reason) and the more adult version, name forgotten, which followed it. They played a lot of this type of thing – lots of dross, but also the real quality stuff like Tom Lehrer and Bob Newhart.
Anybody else remember ‘Hello Mudder, Hello Father’?
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Re silly childhood stuff around this time of year my dad reliably used to put on his best gangsta NYC accent and say the following:
Spring is sprung,
The grass is riz,
I wonder where the birdies is.
The birdies is on the wing.
Eh, that’s funny, I thought the wing was on the bird.
This has stuck with me for some reason.
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We got some Bob Newhart as we got a bit older, my Granma liked that too so she’s not all bad, but no Lehrer.
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