Turn off the phones, lock the kids in the soundproof basement, prepare your food and drink and turn on the telly, ‘cos it’s time for the European cups again.
Prognostication is not my forté, but I’ll give it a bash for the Big Cup matches.
Northampton v Racing 92
I was surprised to discover that Racing 92 are only in 8th position in the Top 14, whereas the Saints are sitting pretty in third place in the English Premiership. However, Racing know how to bring their best game to an important match, so I’m going for les Parisiens by 7.
Cardiff v Toulouse
Can’t see anything other than a Toulousain trouncing of the hosts by about 15 points.
Leinster v Bath
With Bath languishing at the bottom of the Premiership, this can only go one way. Blue Meanies by 40.
Bordeaux v Leicester
The two top teams in their respective leagues, again to my surprise. I’ll raise a glass of Haut-Médoc to the home side by 3.
Clermont Auvergne v Ulster
Having attended this fixture in a previous competition, ordinarily I’d say a safe win for the home side. However, TomPirracas’ sleuthing informs us that Clermont is a Covid-ravaged camp, so that and downright foolish optimism leads me to predict Ulster by a point.
Exeter v Montpellier
Another tough one to predict, so home advantage to provide a narrow win.
Ospreys v Sale
Ospreys must be exhausted after last week, but Sale are not doing very well this year. Ospreys by 7.
Connacht v Stade Français
Connacht are on good form, and have been unlucky to narrowly lose a couple of their matches so far. I have no similar insights on SF, but they are towards the bottom of the table. Connacht by 4.
La Rochelle v Glasgow
Two fifth-place sides competing. Hmm. Chez nous by 3.
Wasps v Munster
Given Munster’s very depleted squad, Wasps by 15. At least.
Onna telly this week
Friday 10th December
| Northampton v Racing 92 | 20:00 | BT Sport 2 |
| Lyon v Gloucester | 20:00 | BT Sport 3 |
Saturday 11th December
| Cardiff v Toulouse | 13:00 | Channel 4 / BT Sport 2 |
| Leinster v Bath | 15:15 | BT Sport 2 |
| Bordeaux v Leicester | 15:15 | BT Sport 3 |
| Clermont v Ulster | 17:30 | BT Sport 2 |
| USAP v Dragons | 17:30 | S4C |
| Exeter v Montpellier | 20:00 | BT Sport 2 |
Sunday 12th December
| Ospreys v Sale | 13:00 | BT Sport 2 | ||
| Connacht v Stade Français | 13:00 | BT Sport 3 | ||
| La Rochelle v Glasgow | 15:15 | BT Sport 3 | ||
| Wasps v Munster | 15:15 | BT Sport 2 |
Ovally Balls 
Also having my first ever dabble with expanding foam to fill some big gaps round a window where a lot of plaster fell out when the wallpaper was stripped. This hasn’t reached its conclusion yet, but at this point I would say I have made a fucking horrible mess of it. Don’t know if it’s got anything to do with accountancy, maybe it will have once I’ve managed to cover it up.
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Doorframes/architraves aren’t too bad. Skirting boards will do for your knee joints….
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@Trisk – The skirting boards are only finishing the job that has mostly been done by cricket. I hate the architraves (if we’re going all terminological), there are so many surfaces on them.
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I tried to fill a gap overhead…. ended up needing a haircut…. girl who cut it did a brilliant job as I was expecting to have to go to a No1 – it was just fairly short (by my standards)
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I’ve seen architraves with mainly flat surfaces – but only ever in DIY/hardware stores – never in a house
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I’ve taught English to some accountants and auditors and read Amernic and Craig’s 2009 paper
“Understanding accounting through conceptual metaphor: ACCOUNTING IS AN INSTRUMENT?” to help me to think like they do and to find some useful metaphorical language that they could use.
When I went to check the title of the paper, I found they then produced a paper the next year called “Accounting as a Facilitator of Extreme Narcissism”.
I leave it here only for information.
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People who like to demonstrate how to caulk/fill gaps/paint etc on Youtube often have very simple skirting boards and architraves. Theirs also don’t ever seem to have been painted badly and then suffered decades of wear and tear.
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Apart from the ones who are doing half-baked botch jobs with commentaries that suggest they’re either pissed or out of their minds.
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” ACCOUNTING IS AN INSTRUMENT”
There’s just too much choice to know how best to represent this when singing ‘I am the Music Man’.
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I finished reading Keith Ridgway’s magnificent “A Shock” yesterday. Dodgy plastering can lead to Great Art.
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@tomp
I know Keith, he’s a good bloke. Didn’t know he was a novelist
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I don’t think I’ll get the audiobook version where he reads it himself.
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He’s done very well for himself. He fell out with the bosses as Sheffield University but has succeeded in setting up a new facility as part of the National Manufacturing Institute of Scotland in, er, Sheffield.
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Mid 50s, beard, obsessed with mice. Could be the same bloke.
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Expanding foam. Eeek
Takes me back a couple of years to crawling around the house sub-floor void to put in PIR insulation & foam up the gaps. One of the least pleasant months of my life.
First time I used it made the mistake of not wearing disposable gloves. Spent the next week looking like I had some kind of hideous skin disease. there is a definite art to it’s use I do not have.
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Straight out of Ridgway.
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is that similar to straight out of Compton
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Similar but with more capital letters.
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CMW: things to remember when using expandable foam:-
1. use the right one e.g. don’t use insulating foam to fill masonry holes – it never hardens
2. don’t over-fill – it expands more than you think
3. once it is ‘going off’ it forms a skin which you can press onto to push the foam firmly into the crack/space filled
4. once hardened, you can sculpt it with a stanley knife
5, use the cleaning solvent to get the stuff off the spray gun and your hands.
It’s a godsend of a product (goodness knows what it does for the climate). Lime-mix mortar sticks to it really well so it is essential in renovating walls, installing plug sockets etc etc
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Looks like the French Govt doesn’t want me to visit UK over xmas – sorry to disappoint you all.
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@Slade – “3. once it is ‘going off’ it forms a skin which you can press onto to push the foam firmly into the crack/space filled”
This I didn’t realise. I have overfilled especially in the first place I’ve used it, but it’s not for want of trying not to, I just don’t have good enough control. Now I know I can manipulate it a bit once it has the skin I won’t be overfilling as badly. The first job has cleaned up OK anyway even if it was wasteful.
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So thanks!
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Posted without comment
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You’ll get a comment.
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That’s funnier than the video thaum linked to earlier.
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I’ll definitely revise my foaming strategy next time I have to do it. Lovely.
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confess I’m still stunned at the concept of Swayne existing and being an actual MP and speaking in public. staggering.
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Actually, think I’d rather borrow a slade to do my foaming.
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Definitely not a Swayne. He’d probably deny the existence of foam and that having to work is fundamental breach of his rights or something.
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Tory MPs were better when I were a lad (bad language warning)
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Fairburn? Oh for the days when being an alcoholic sex pest would see your career stopped at junior ministerial level.
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@tomp
I think being an alcoholic is still a career limiting move.
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I’m not convinced that being an alcoholic or a sex pest was as limiting as TomP makes out. Thought it was only being known by party leaders to be a paedophile that kept you stuck at that level.
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OT – seems to have worked out all right for Spaffer.
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@thauma
You read my mind.
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@Chimpie – “I’ll definitely revise my foaming strategy next time I have to do it.”
Going to make a nice sculpture for the Melbury with a stanley knife?
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Those were different times, of course.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-23355531
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Someone has actually done a photo montage of both Keith Ridgways..
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Now Oldham are TRULY famous – they appeared in a Roy Of The Rovers comic….
https://www.thefa.com/news/2019/jan/23/fa-cup-roy-of-the-rovers-230119
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Arse – how did I forget that?
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Cricket going well again.
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I’ve said before that this is not a word I use, not because of the profanity but because it is misogynistic.
Be that as it may… https://twitter.com/Cassetteboy/status/1471752027311116290?s=20
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hrmm, that’s annoying
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‘your’ Exeter team (no headdresses, please) to face Glasgow tomorrow evening:
Hogg, Nowell, Slade, Whitten, O’Flaherty
Simmonds, Maunder
Hepburn, LC-D, Nixon
Gray, Hill
Ewers, Skinner, Simmonds
Yeandle, Moon, Schickerling, Armand, Kirsten, Maunder, Skinner, Hendrickson
Let the Scots have a go at each other………………..big night for Hogg, Gray and Skinner
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Ticht – I saw that but I had nightmares of thaum posting it yesterday or something.
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So all Heineken Cup matches between French and English/Welsh clubs postponed.
Leinster defaulted by ECPR , 28-0 to Montpellier. Munster and Wasps due to go off as planned.
Our own NPHET are proposing a 5pm curfew on pubs and ‘hospitality’ – which has basically been met with hoots of derision . Being Xmas – midday drinking sessions are planned.
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Thankfully the fog forecast for Glasgow tomorrow appears to have disappeared into ‘overcast’ conditions, or ‘normal’ conditions as we call it here.
Hoggy’s already been back to Scotstoun – remember the last minute penalty to win it from the half way line that hit the crossbar? Don’t think Jonny’s been back since he went to Exeter though. Just hope he doesn’t get another hat trick.
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Too many things to do to get up a new post this evening, but I predict that Leinster will lose 28-0.
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Well, I’m glad we’ve got a match to watch tonight, it was looking a bit precarious for a while there.
Mon Ulster
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Beautiful words, Ticht: ‘MON ULSTER!!!!
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