RoverAndOut

Astonished by this. Not a Drag Race fan at all, but have enjoyed her work on everything I've seen her on, very funny and entertaining. She was great in the Blankety Blank Christmas special too, as already said. She only came up in conversation yesterday as an example because of the ridiculous anti-woke backlash against drag. Agree that the "no further details" suggests either suicide or an overdose maybe? A real shame this one. Rest in peace.

This must be a record for most nonagenarians on a Deathlist?

It is 3 years since the last round of this game started and nearly a year since it finished but with another season about to commence and sacking taking place at an astonishing rate these days, surely the next round shouldn't last as long! The last game took long enough to finish that I ended up coming out on top, and with no Miracle Aligner around, and the support of Buffalo Phil and Great Uncle Bulgaria, I am happy to step into the breach of running what should be a relatively stress-free game (for everyone apart from those whose jobs are at stake!) After all, I've lurked around here long enough without actually running anything, about time I did something useful! This seems to have crept up on us, such that the 2023-24 EFL season starts next Friday (July 4th), so time's ticking to get this up and running! Entries are valid until midday BST on Friday August 4th 2023 via DM or you can post on the thread - but your picks are liable to be stolen! That gives you just over a week! Rules are pretty straightforward: Submit a team of 20 names. (Plus subs, but with only a week to go until the game starts, one or two subs max should be all that's needed). The first person to have all 20 names they chose leave their club (this can be due to resignation, termination, mutual termination, changing club or any other form of sacking) wins. It's as simple as that. Valid Leagues are any 2023-24 members of: English Premier League English Championship English League One English League Two English National League English National League North English National League South Scottish Premiership Scottish Championship Scottish League One Scottish League Two Welsh Premier League Welsh Cymru Alliance League Northern Irish Football League Premiership Northern Irish Football League Championship (I'll be reliant on your notifying me if your picks have gone in some of the more obscure leagues, mind you!) The last round saw 5 entrants, but it would be great if we could get a few more of you involved - I know there are plenty of football fans on here and the fruit is ripe for the picking (14 sackings across 11 Premier League clubs during last season, more since the season ended, and only 32 of the 92 league managers have been in charge longer than last summer!) so feel free to get involved. The more the merrier, it's just a bit of fun and gives us something to talk about between deaths. Good luck!

Hadn't actually spotted that, but fair enough. Lost her seat through no real fault of her own and led BwD Council for around a decade before becoming MP in 2015.

Only just noticed that apparently you can snicker at Chris Philp being Shadow Home Secretary but, alas, not sn i g g er.

A knighthood for Sadiq Khan is an "reward for failure" according to Shadow Home Secretary (*sN-word*) Chris Philp. Must be why he won an unprecedented third consecutive term of office last year, eh, Chris?

Ah bugger, missed it. Thought I could send it today, such as it was. Might still finish it and aim for a pyrrhic victory, although with so many survivors, knowing who will stay and go is tricky this year.

Well, if we look at it critically, the original run was on for 26 years: 1963-1989. New Who will mark 20 years when Series 2 of Ncuti's run airs next year. So perhaps there's a shelf life. But Who at its best is still fantastic, there's been a bit too much canon busting and a bit too little fun adventures recently.

Can't guarantee I'll get something in this year, I'm drowning in all sorts of other priorities at this moment in time, it will be even more of a last minute effort than last year if I do. I'll try but we'll see.

Admittedly with a several year or even decade-long gap between stories for absence to make the heart grow fonder.

I'm not going to pretend it was the best hour of New Who there's ever been, because it wasn't. And there have been better Christmas specials too (including in Moffat's time, starting with the excellent Christmas Carol), but as a bit of Christmas Day don't-think-too-hard-just-enjoy-the-ride entertainment it was perfectly serviceable. To answer some of your points: 1. Agreed about the slightly messy handling of Nicola Coughlan but she did a good job with what she was given and it was quite a refreshing change to have a companion who is pretty clueless for the most part (except when she's possessed) rather than the usual action girl type. 2. It didn't stop it from detonating. It detonated in the sky at a safe distance from the Earth, thus shining down on everything from her own mother dying in 2020 to the nativity in Year 0001. 3. Seen this argument elsewhere. The Doctor has been around humans for thousands of years and seen countless amounts of tragedy and heartache. Is it really that surprising he's a bit more emotional these days? 5. Do you think the fact that Covid has faded from the public's consciousness means it is no longer relevant to those who suffered loss during it? I thought it was quite a healthy reminder that the pandemic may be over but the effects are still being felt. The idea that Joy can never be at home on Christmas because it reminds her of losing her mother and saying her goodbyes over zoom. Would not surprise me to find similar stories of grief from real life. 5. Nice to just check in with Ruby. Not an important scene but a reminder she's still around, even if he refuses to call her. And Joy's light shines down on her too.

Might be feeling sentimental on Christmas Day but I really liked the Christmas special. Took a bit of time to get going, and the plot was Steven Moffat at his convoluted best, but the ending was beautiful, particularly Anita's (who will be the subject of much fan arguing about whether she's a companion or not ).

So...I've not followed every twist and turn of the whispers and rumours around Schumacher's condition over the years but to the best of our knowledge do we have any evidence that he has some level of consciousness? Is the mind willing but the body crippled? Is he in a vegetative state? Or is the truth somewhere in between? I mean, why would there be rumours of a comatose patient attending his daughter's wedding? Who is gaining anything at all from that? (And I do see that the wedding rumours may be false anyway, but how would they become so widespread if he was, indeed, a vegetable?)

Apologies for the radio silence recently, I've been busy with all sorts but have been keeping an eye on the managerial merry-go-round, and thinking in most cases we've already had hits with the teams sacking their managers - Hull, Wolves, Millwall. Will do an update probably after Christmas but @Great Uncle Bulgaria is still out in front I think, with 17 hits following the sacking of Martin and the leaving of Selles. Ian Evatt looks on borrowed time at Bolton and Ange could feasibly fall victim to the ENIC sword of damocles that consistently hangs at Spurs, even if the fans are on his side. That would leave Daniel Farke at Leeds, who are riding high in the Championship but blowing hot and cold. Not impossible that a post-Christmas slump sees Leeds pull the trigger if promotion it at risk. GUB has to be favourite, but we'll see...

This feels like something that would find an audience here...

Just to update for those not in the loop: The Charity Commission has issued a report on the dealings of the Captain Tom Foundation today and found that they have "damaged public trust in charities". This stems primarily from the £1.47m they were given as an advance for 3 books based around Captain Tom: his autobiography, "Tomorrow will be a Good Day", a kids book, "Captain Sir Tom Moore: One Hundred Steps" and the preposterous "Captain Tom's Life Lessons". All 3 books claim that proceeds from them would go to the Foundation. The charity says it has not seen a penny of the advance or the proceeds. You'll be shocked, I'm sure, to find this wasn't an isolated case of Captain Tom's name being used to personally enrich the Ingram-Moores, who still deny doing anything wrong, of course. This was always the inevitable end of the messianic cult that erupted from him doing those laps of his garden. The circus was always going end in ignominy, especially once they kept flogging him for cash after he died. The BBC's had a field day today, 3 articles: The Charity Commision Report: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c86qdq67dd5o An insider's view by the former Chief Executive of the Foundation: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj6kg7wgw7no And "Captain Sir Tom Moore: What has happened to his legacy?": https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-66134840

First: HE'S NOT DEAD. Just some topical humour I thought some in these parts might appreciate...

Yes, and Trump won it. But as Crem (of all people) pointed out, the electoral college can do literally whatever they want. And it isn't representative of the true result of the election (i.e. how much support/votes a candidate received). You could lose by a single vote in 12 states and win every single vote going in the other 38 and the other guy wins the election and you have a landslide in the popular vote. The electoral college decides the winner, it doesn't begin to describe how people voted.

I know I'm better off not engaging but what the fuck are you talking about? She's got 73 million votes - only Biden 4 years earlier has got more as a Democrat. She's lost by 3 million votes - Trump lost by 7 million 4 years ago, Kerry was the last Democrat to lose by 3 million (and the last to lose the popular vote). She's got 48.2% of the vote - Hillary got exactly the same 8 years ago. Bill Clinton in 1992 (when Perot was a spoiler) was the last Democrat to get less (43%). She's lost by 2 percentage points - Trump lost by 4.5 four years ago. Kerry lost by nearly 2.5 20 years ago. She got 226 electoral collection votes - 1 less than Hillary 8 years ago. 4 Republicans have had less since the Democrats last scored less, when Dukakis scored less than half of Harris's total in 1988 (111). Only an idiot would base overall electoral performance on the electoral college. And you're not an idiot are you Mango?

Didn't see or hear her mentioned but there was a third balcony that I'm not sure was focused on. One had Kate and Sophie, one had the Duke of Kent and Tim Laurence, the third...I don't know. EDIT: Scrolled through the iPlayer coverage and found the shot of the three balconies. Think the left one has the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester in it. In which case, no sign of Princess Alexandra.

Cenotaph time, and his equerry laid a wreath on his behalf. Assumed this meant another non-attendance but then the camera cut to him standing unaided in full military dress uniform next to Tim Laurence on a balcony. Looked far better than he has recently, but at 90-odd, one bad chest infection or a fall could finish him off. But remarkably, doesn't look in immediate danger anymore.

I have barely looked at any election coverage from the USA this past year, the fact it was even competitive was demoralising enough, the prospect of the aftermath, whatever happened, was going to be awful. I've followed every election since 2004 to some extent, watched late into the night ever since until this year. There's nothing fascinating or entertaining about any of this, I would also recommend ignoring the news for the foreseeable.

And a year earlier they were a penalty away from the Premier League. Not a big Coventry fan (we've had some poor decisions and luck against them in recent years) but absolutely criminal they've sacked him. I'll post an update at some point in the near future. Ten Hag was one of only 2 Premier League managers not picked at the start of this game, the other being Eddie Howe.

Read an article on the BBC explaining why Trump won. Not difficult - of course you vote for the guy who offers simple solutions to complex problems. Who wants to vote for the ones who tell you it's complicated? It's a great gig too, because they're so complex that your simple solutions can't work but then it's all the other side's fault if only you give them even more power, then the simple solutions will work! Who cares that deporting millions of migrants will cost trillions of dollars? Or that it will deprive numerous American industries of their workforce? Just deport them! Who cares that the only way to end the Ukraine war is to cut off funding and let Putin have everything east of the Dnieper river (for now)? Who cares that the 2°C target is going to be obliterated when it's only your grandkids and great-grandkids who will suffer the consequences and you get cheap oil here and now? Who cares that you're going to finish that border wall you claimed you'd built 4 years ago (and Mexico paid for)? Who cares that the President is a sexist authoritarian demagogue when the other side are radical lefties (who are barely left of centre in reality)? Turkeys voting for Christmas, and the billionaires are delighted.

Getting rid of him altogether would make the forum much better.