An Fear Beag

And if it doesn't? Don't get me wrong. I see the attraction of the US and UK throwing their hands in the air and saying to Israel "well fuck you - you're on your own - do it your way." It would be my first instinct as well. However, if you do that, then you have to at least consider the possibility that Israel might actually lose. I doubt it would happen, given their military strength, but it is not an impossibility. What happens if Russia or China intervenes (indirectly) on the other side? What happens if other Arab states use Israel's weakened position as an opportunity to get involved and seriously threaten the very existence of the state of Israel? Do you really think that the US and UK are going to stand back and let that happen? Should they? In reality, they would still end up getting involved, but in a far worse situation than the one that currently exists. And if they didn't then intervene, what happens next? Do you think that Netanyahu is going to allow the destruction of Israel, without doing literally everything in his power to stop it, up to and including the use of nuclear weapons? I understand why you would prefer that the UK were not involved, other than to protect the people of Gaza. However, I think that is naive and unrealistic. I would prefer that the US and UK were in there at least trying to hold Israel and Iran at arms length, even if it seems like a forlorn hope at present. And to go back to my original point, I don't believe that Sunak's motivation is to have a "Falklands moment" and involve the UK in a war in the Middle East to boost support at home. I think that the motivation is more to try and prevent further escalation, however unlikely that might be.

I don't think it is that simple, to be honest. The US and UK are committed to the concept of a Jewish state in Israel, and it is not that easy to just walk away from that. Israel is considered to be an ally of both countries, and allies stick together, regardless of how crazy the current leader seems to be. Its a bit like watching your coked-up mate trying to start a fight with some local scumbags, who you know are just itching to stick a knife in him. Do you walk away and leave him to his fate, however gruesome that might end up being, or do you stick around trying to talk him down until the coke wears off, knowing that you are probably going to catch a few bottles to the side of the head in the process. Very tempting to do the former, but its not what mates do. Onw way or another, the US and UK are going to be involved. I suspect that they are aiming to stay involved at arms length as they currently are, shooting down drones and missiles and trying in vain to calm the situation down. Because if a situation arises where the existence of Israel is genuinely under threat, make no mistake that they will become far more heavily involved than they currently are, or than they would like to be.

I disagree with your assessment of Sunak's motives for getting involved. You are correct- this is not a vote winner. Getting involved in yet another unwinnable war in the Middle East would be deeply unpopular in the UK, as it would also be for Biden in the US. If you and I both know that, then you can be absolutely sure that Sunak and Biden know it too. The last thing they need during an election campaign is pictures of body-bags being taken off aircraft. The only ones who benefit from an escalation between Israel and Iran is Netanyahu and his hard-line cronies. That's why he has been goading Iran for the past few months (not that those mad bastards need much goading). Iran has now kindly given Netanyahu exactly what he needed to cling on to power while his credibility over Gala tumbles. I think the reason that the UK and US have got involved in shooting down Iranian drones and missiles is that they had very little other choice. What was the alternative? Allow the drones and missiles to strike Israel and give Netanyahu even more of an excuse to ramp things up? I may be completely wrong on this, but it seems like the US and UK are trying to dampen things down and prevent an all-out escalation, rather than getting involved in an unwinnable war themselves. I don't think for a minute that it will work. Netanyahu seems determined to dial things up to 11 regardless of the long term consequences, and the US and UK are in an almost impossible position of trying to both protect and dissuade their ally, who doesn't seem to be be paying them much attention.

HARE’S DEATH POOL 2024 – 11th Edition As the 10th edition of this long-standing pool bubbles up nicely to the boil, its time to turn our attention for a few minutes to the 2024 edition. This pool has had a welcome surge of entries in recent years, culminating in a whopping 57 players last year. Thanks to you all for playing, and hopefully you will take some time out of your busy December to throw together a team for next year. I am aiming for 60 teams – don’t let me down! I know a few deadpool regulars have said that they are taking a step back from most pools next year. Hopefully you can all make an exception for this one. It takes minimal effort to enter. No research needed - the first 25 names that come into your head will do the trick. New participants are especially welcome, and I promise not to be (too) rude to you this year! It’s dead simple to enter - just gather together 25 names and send them in. Add a few names to your DDP team, and you are there. If you are worried about a QO in other pools, no need to panic - this is (usually) the place for them. Your picks just have to die, and they have to take their bloody time about doing it. The rules are published below -they are exactly the same as last year. So the ban on local criminal types is still in place, with my good wife being the arbiter of how famous the criminal is – if she has not heard of them, they are out. The requirement for a proper obit stays the same, although as is traditional it will be the lowest of low bars on QOs. I will ask very nicely, pretty please with a cherry on top, for players to take heed of the following request for formatting your team before entry. Although it is dwarfed by the gargantuan effort of running the DDP pool ( ), it still takes a good bit of work to set up any pool, and you can make my January a lot easier if I don’t have to spent ages re-writing lists and deleting numbers. SEND YOUR TEAM TO ME BY PM, OR POST IT UP ON THIS THREAD. NO OTHER METHODS OF ENTRY ARE ACCEPTED. · List picks in alphabetical order of FIRST name. · Put names in Capital letters. · Do not put numbers in front of the name. This is the worst of all as I cannot get a spreadsheet to remove them automatically. But please do count them to make sure that there are actually 25 of them – it’s not that difficult. · Put description in brackets after name, only if they are really obscure or likely to be easily confused with another celebrity. Trust me- I know who Jimmy Carter is. · Mark one pick as a Joker (or wildcard- I’m not getting into that discussion again!) I will accept entries that are not in this format. But I won’t be happy about it. And I am not a happy person at the best of times. Best of luck to you all.

Before anyone mentions it, I know Josip Manolic is a hit for a few players here. It will affect the top 10, but not change the leader, so I will wait a bit before another update.

Perhaps. Alternatively, it is an attempt to sell the game to people who either a. wouldn't normally be into word based games, or b. already own the standard game, but might buy the new board to play with kids etc. One persons "dumbed-down woke inclusive nonsense" is another persons "let's make our product sellable to as wide a customer base as possible"

So we are at the quarter mark, and the first quarter has seen plenty of action as racers jockey for position. Before we get to the business end, a few bits of housekeeping to be done. Oscar Quitak, a pick for @msc, is widely accepted by deadpoolers to have died on 31st December, although nothing resembling a QO has appeared. Ideally I would like something more solid before allowing in a sub. However I am going to invoke rule 5.1 which says that "picks are not accepted if it cannot be reasonably ascertained that they are actually alive". Quitak is out, former SDP founder Bill Rodgers is subbed in. Nigerian politician Rotimi Akeredolu definitely died on 27th December. He was a pick for @drolwho evidently has not been keeping an eye on his team. Ma Shitu is subbed in. A thorough search of all the names has picked up a few hits who were missed along the way. A gentle reminder again folks: it really helps if players do an occasional check on their own picks, as there are too many obscure names for me to look them all up regularly. January 11th - Yuri Solomin - picked by @drol January 16th - Laurie Johnson - picked by @msc February 6th Robert M. Young - picked by @Torva Messor These are the fallers since the last update: March 26th: Swami Smaranananda March 29th: Ma Shitu March 29th - Imogen Stuart April 2nd - Juan Vincent Perez April 2nd - Maryse Conde April 2nd - Veljko Bulajic April 2nd - Zhang Lixiong April 4th - Lynne Reid Banks @arghtonis absolutely nailing this one, racking up the early hits in the pool that rewards delayed gratification. As they mentioned in the post above, there were three more hits this time around as they race into an unsustainable lead. Even more unsustainable is @drol's second place, as 7 hits have also been racked up to get there. @gcreptilekeeps in touch in third place, but 6 down is not ideal. @Famous6Evagets their first hit of the game to rise off the bottom, where 8 players still linger on nul points. This is the full leaderboard, which also appears on page 1. There won't be an update for a while, as I psyche myself up to sort out who won last years Jokers pool. But please, please, please keep an eye on your picks, and let me know of any hits along the way Arghton (454 points) 7 hits [Abdul Taib Mahmud, Jaako Valtanen, Ma Shitu, Paul Vachon, Solihin GP, Swami Smaranananda, Zhang Lixiong] Drol (313 points) 7 hits [Jonnie Irwin, Ma Shitu, Mario Zagallo, Manohar Joshi, Toby Keith, Yuri Solomin, Zhang Lixiong] Gcreptile (290 points) 6 hits [Franz Beckenbauer, Jason Smith, Jonnie Irwin, Paul Vachon, Thomas Stafford, Zhang Lixiong] Captain Chorizo (277 points) 5 hits [Glynis Johns, Lynne Reid Banks, Paul Vachon, Philip De Gaulle, Roland Bertin] Yorkshire Banker (269 points) 2 hit [Laurent De Brunhoff, Lynne Reid Banks*] The RadGuy (251 points) 6 hits [Brian Barczyk, Charlie Bird, Franz Beckenbauer, Joe Shannon, Jonnie Irwin*, Toby Keith] An Fear Beag (190 points) 5 hits [Charlie Bird, Frank Kitson, Imogen Stuart, Jonnie Irwin, Mike Sadler] Toast (186 points) 4 hits [Dave Myers*, Glynis Johns, Jonnie Irwin, Toby Keith] Buffalo Phil (184 points) 3 hits [Iris Apfel, Jonnie Irwin, Juan Vincent Perez] GrimUpNorth (185 points) 5 hits [Dave Myers, Derek Draper, Jason Smith, Jonnie Irwin*, Toby Keith] Prophet (156 points) 3 hits [Jonnie Irwin, Malachy McCourt, Stan Bowles] Wormfarmer (132 points) 2 hits [Iris Apfel, Phillipe De Gaulle] John Key (131 points) 3 hits [Derek Draper, Joe Shannon, Jonnie Irwin] Death By Arsenic (130 points) 3 hits [Glynis Johns, Maryse Conde, Toby Keith] WEP (126 points) 3 hits [Charlie Bird, Jason Smith, Jonnie Irwin] The Immortal (123 points) 3 hits [Dries Van Agt, Toby Keith, Wilson Fittipaldi] Salmon Mousse (123 points) 4 hits [Dave Myers, Jason Smith, Jonnie Irwin, Roy Battersby] Torva Messor (113 points) 5 hits [Glynis Johns, Jack Burke Jr., Jonnie Irwin, Joyce Randolph*, Robert M. Young] Imelda (112 points) 4 hits [Charlie Bird, Derek Draper, Franz Beckenbauer Jonnie Irwin,] Hell (109 points) 4 hits [Charlie Bird, Derek Draper, Glynis Johns, Jonnie Irwin] MariNisia (98 points) 3 hits [Glynis Johns, Jack Burke Jr., Thomas Stafford] Captain Hemlock (96 points) 2 hits [John Okafor, Toby Keith] LizLemon (95 points) 3 hits [Glynis Johns, Iris Apfel, Jonnie Irwin] Funeralopolis (94 points) 3 hits [Dave Myers, Derek Draper, Jonnie Irwin] Famous4Eva (92 points) 1 hit [Veljko Bulajic] Ghost of Christmas Past (92 points) 2 hits [Iris Apfel, Jonnie Irwin] MalePoster (87 points) 2 hits [Chita Rivera, Nikolai Ryzhkov] CalebH (86 points) 2 hits [Dries Van Agt, Micheline Presle] Etushispushingupdaisies (81 points) 4 hits [Derek Draper*, Franz Beckenbauer, Jonnie Irwin, Toby Keith] Wannamaker (81 points) 5 hits [Brian Barczyk, Franz Beckenbauer, Glynis Johns, Roger Donlan, Toby Keith] Nantonian (80 points) 4 hits [Derek Draper, Jack Burke Jr., Mario Zagallo, Stan Bowles] Book (76 points) 3 hits [Iris Apfel, Joyce Randolph, Mario Zagallo] ZZZ - Boring Predictable Team (76 points) 4 hits [Franz Beckenbauer, Glynis Johns, Jonnie Irwin, Toby Keith] The Old Lady (75 points) 3 hits [Derek Draper*, Jonnie Irwin, Toby Keith] Dying Probably (72 points) 1 hit [Phillipe De Gaulle] Lady Fiona (67 points) 2 hits [Jonnie Irwin, Toby Keith] The Unknown Man (67 points) 2 hits [Jonnie Irwin, Toby Keith] Diego (63 points) 2 hits [Glynis Johns, Iris Apfel] GooseberryCrumble (63 points) 2 hits [John Savident, Joyce Randolph] Etib80 (63 points) 3 hits [Franz Beckenbauer, Glynis Johns*, Micheline Presle] Guy From Future (62 points) 1 hit [Eleanor Collins] Bibliogryphon (51 points) 1 hit [John Savident] DeathBecomesThem (38 points) 2 hits [Franz Beckenbauer, Jonnie Irwin] Sean (38 points) 2 hits [Franz Beckenbauer, Jonnie Irwin] Msc (37 points) 3 hits [Glynis Johns, Laurie Johnson, Norman Jewison] CharlesDeGaulle (35 points) 1 hit [Toby Keith] Zsa Zsa’s (35 points) 1 hit [Toby Keith] The Old Crem (35 points) 2 hits [Glynis Johns, Jonnie Irwin] TQR (35 points) 2 hits [Glynis Johns, Jonnie Irwin] Great Uncle Bulgaria (32 points) 1 hit [Jonnie Irwin] Willy Wonka422 (32 points) 1 hit [Jonnie Irwin] Time (29 points) 1 hit [Chita Rivera] WhoamI (15 points) 2 hits [Glynis Johns, Joyce Randolph] Thatcher (9 points) 1 hit [Roy Battersby] JoeMoneypenny (6 points) 1 hit [Franz Beckenbauer] YoungOne (6 points) 1 hit [Franz Beckenbauer] Pedro69 (3 points) 1 hits [Mike Sadler] Tracey (3 points) 1 hit [Glynis Johns] BabyBlue (0 points) 0 hits Chel (0 points) 0 hit Death Impends (0 points) 0 hits Shamalka Amarasekera (0 points) 0 hits Sod’s Law (0 points) 0 hits TheKillingTime (0 points) 0 hits ThereWillBeDeaths7 (0 points) 0 hits Yvonne (0 points) 0 hits

I am sure you can appreciate the difference between someone playing a fictional character (Juliet) and someone portraying a real life person like Mandela or King. In the latter case, we know what they looked like. In the former, they can look like anything you want them to look like.

As an aside, I like the Mail's idea that the National Trust "secretly" changing the scone recipe is "virtue-signalling". I would suggest that if you want to signal something, doing it secretly is probably not the best way to go about it.

Like Claire Danes, you mean? She doesn't look remotely Italian, and yet no-one batted an eyelid. Why is it that people will accept pale white actors/actresses playing characters that should have darker skin (Glenda Jackson, Helen Mirren and Judy Dench all played the Egyptian Cleopatra on stage, and no-one cared), but have trouble accepting black actors/actresses playing the same characters? And why are people obsessed that the actor/actress looks authentic? I have never seen an actress playing Juliet who sounded Italian (they all spoke English for a start!), and yet people suspended belief and accepted that they were Italian. So why is it so essential that they look a certain way? Except it isn't. It would be the very opposite of diversity, given the relative number of parts available to actors of different ethnic backgrounds. One big difference between The Jungle Book and Romeo and Juliet, is that while the jungle setting is essential to the story of the former, Italy is really not essential to the plot of Romeo and Juliet, in the same way that Denmark is not really essential to the plot of Hamlet. It is a play about star-crossed lovers, not about Verona. It could be set in Verona, Mississippi and the story would work just as well. So for the purpose of the play, it really does not matter what colour skin Romeo or Juliet have. Well, I'm guessing it's helping the actress who got to play the iconic role I will hold my hands up here and admit that I am not familiar with the version that you are referring to here - I have been speaking more generally. So if the director has come out and said that they gave the role to an actress purely because she black, then I will happily say that I disagree with that. However, more generally, I have an issue with people assuming that a role has been given to an actor/actress purely for the sake of diversity. Have you considered the possibility that he/she got the role because they are a bloody good actor/actress who deserved a shot at playing the part, despite peoples pre-conceived ideas of what the character should look like? How is giving good roles to good black actors/actresses patronising? Should we ban all non-white actors from doing Shakespeare (except Othello), because that is not how Shakespeare envisaged the characters 400 years ago?

I'm not sure that I see what the problem is with giving the role of Juliet to a black woman, provided she is a good enough actress for the role. It is a fair while since I read or saw the play, but I don't recall anything in it that would make it essential that she is white. Juliet is a fictional part - she can be anything you want her to be. It's just that people are so used to seeing her played by white actresses that they cannot imagine her as anything else. You could argue that it is based in Italy, and therefore Juliet would not have been black (had she existed!). But I don't think she would have looked like Claire Danes either, and people seemed to accept that okay.

A few weeks ago , I was in Manchester for the first time in 20 years, and I was shocked by the numbers of people sleeping rough on the streets. Its not the homelessness as such that surprised me - I see it every time I go into Dublin. It was just the numbers. I lived in Manchester years ago and of course there were people sleeping rough then. But I don't remember it at this sort of level. It seemed that every single street I walked down in the city centre had people sleeping rough in it.

I think that for the benefit of us middle aged folk who are confused about the whole "woke" world that we seem to live in, it might be useful to have an easy reference list of "THINGS THAT ARE WOKE". That way we can just check the list when we come across something that may or may not be "woke", so we know what to be annoyed at. So far we seems to have: 1. Margarine (I thinks it is the margarine that is "woke", not the scones, but I am open to correction!) 2. Licence fee increases 3. Historical accuracy 4. Comfortable workwear.

I must admit that when I glanced at @TQR's original post on my phone earlier today, I thought that he was seriously creating a thread to highlight "woke" nonsense in the world, and I was wondering what the fuck was going on. It's only when I read it properly this evening that I realised that he wasn't being serious and it is a thread to highlight the ridiculous use of "woke" to describe pretty much anything that someone doesn't like or agree with. As Torva said, what the fuck is "woke" about margarine? My mother has being using it for baking for as long as I can remember- she reckons it makes her cakes/scones lighter and fluffier (and yes I have checked - the marge she uses is vegan - no dairy additives at all.) She is 75 years old, and I don't think she has heard the term "woke", much less understands what it means. (To be honest, I am not sure I really understand what it means either). From a purely business perspective, it makes absolute sense to use vegan margarine for commercial baking - it saves on having to make 2 batches of everything. Vegans can eat the stuff, and non-vegans are not going to notice the fucking difference. I suppose the only reason they did it "secretly" is that if they announced that they were doing it, they would get a whole heap of shit from people who were determined to get offended over something that doesn't really matter. Which sounds a little bit "woke", no?

All in all, a fairly accurate prediction of our match. Apart from the last bit - it wasn't a good game! I knew I was in a spot of bother after the first week, when all of my ICU types survived (seriously Kaiti Grey - how?). My chances of success lay in getting an early lead that I could hang on to, and when that didn't materialise, I was always vulnerable to my opponents more long-term sickness picks. You are not going to win too many games if you don't score! Best of luck @max_bossetti - hope you go on and win it now.

Picked for my Irish theme team. Death is reported over the Irish media but I fear she is destined to remain on the Lost of the Lost. I didn't have high hopes for her to be honest.

Fucked if I know. I copy and paste off the Word document I use for the scoreboard, and for some reason random bits get underlined. I don't know enough to figure out why, or care enough to change it.

As next week marks the end of the first quarter, I will do a full google search of all the names to see what deaths we may have missed. To make life a little easier on myself, here is an update with what I have got so far. February 19th: Roland Bertin February 21st: Abdul Taib Mahmud February 28th: Nikolai Ryzhkov February 29th: Paul Vachon March 1st: Iris Apfel March 2nd: John Okafor March 3rd: Eleanor Collins March 4th: Joe Shannon March 5th: Solihin GP March 11th: Charlie Bird March 11th: Malachy McCourt March 13th: Phillipe De Gaulle March 18th: Thomas P. Stafford March 22nd: Laurent De Brunhoff And so we have a brand new podium, with @RadGuyhaving an Irish double of Bird and Shannon to take the lead. @gcreptileis in a familiar position near the top with a Vachon/Stafford double, while @arghtongoes one better with 3 hits in this update to move up into 3rd. 4 players have lifted themselves of the foot of the table as @Dying Probably, @GuyFromFuture , @Wormfarmer and @YorkshireBankerall get their first hits of the game, with Wormfarmer following up with a second hit to move into 8th. 9 players have still not bothered to take to the track yet, including twice champion @Death Impendsand also @chelwhose entire team could be lying decomposing in labs across Russia without anyone actually realising that they died months ago. Here is the top-10. Full scoreboard on page one. Full update next week. The RadGuy (251 points) 6 hits [Brian Barczyk, Charlie Bird, Franz Beckenbauer, Joe Shannon, Jonnie Irwin*, Toby Keith] Gcreptile (198 points) 5 hits [Franz Beckenbauer, Jason Smith, Jonnie Irwin, Paul Vachon, Thomas Stafford] Arghton (190 points) 4 hits [Abdul Taib Mahmud, Jaako Valtanen, Paul Vachon, Solihin GP] Toast (186 points) 4 hits [Dave Myers*, Glynis Johns, Jonnie Irwin, Toby Keith] Captain Chorizo (183 points) 4 hits [Glynis Johns, Paul Vachon, Philip De Gaulle, Roland Bertin] GrimUpNorth (185 points) 5 hits [Dave Myers, Derek Draper, Jason Smith, Jonnie Irwin*, Toby Keith] Prophet (156 points) 3 hits [Jonnie Irwin, Malachy McCourt, Stan Bowles] Wormfarmer (132 points) 2 hits [Iris Apfel, Phillipe De Gaulle] John Key (131 points) 3 hits [Derek Draper, Joe Shannon, Jonnie Irwin] WEP (126 points) 3 hits [Charlie Bird, Jason Smith, Jonnie Irwin]

My understanding, and I may be completely wrong on this, was that the term "nonce" is now taken to mean a paedophile. Or at very least someone who shags/abuses people under the age of consent. However, there is no evidence that Stagg had anything to do with underage kids. In fact, when he was questioned by the Gardai, the man in the car with him was in his twenties. Irish minister set to survive scandal | The Independent | The Independent

I think you need to learn to read more carefully. Emmet Stagg was many things, but there is absolutely no evidence that he was a "nonce", at least not by my understanding of the word. For those who haven't read about him, the scandal surrounding him was that he was questioned by Gardai after being discovered loitering in an area of the Phoenix Park known to be frequented by male prostitutes. That was it. He was not arrested and was not charged with, much less convicted of, any crime. One could charitably invoke the "innocent until proven guilty" principle, and say that he was just out enjoying a late-night stroll in a public park, which everyone is free to do. However, even if you assume that he was attempting to pick up a prostitute, that does not make him a nonce, as @Toastwould no doubt be happy to explain to you. From my memory of the event, there was a reasonable amount of righteous indignation form the usual sources, and a fair amount of snickering amusement. However, there was also quite a lot of sympathy for Stagg, as the Gardai leaked his name to the press despite him not having actually done anything illegal, something which they have a nasty little habit of doing.

It seems like only yesterday that the 2022 Joker's pool came to a conclusion, and here we are launching the 2023 edition. The principle is simple - just pick names from the list of 2023 DDP Jokers. The practice is anything but simple. There is a long complicated system of bonuses - half of which you get to see beforehand, the remainder remain hidden throughout the year, until they are revealed at the end. Once the deadline for submission has passed, I will then ignore the pool for most of the year, until eventually I am so bored at home that I will reluctantly give you an update. And finally when everyone has completely given up on the pool, I will declare a winner which people will be dubious about, but no-one will argue with because counting up the scores makes their brain hurt! I am told no-one every reads the rules, so I am going to put these important points up here - please take heed of them 1. TEAMS MUST BE SUBMITTED TO ME BY PM ONLY. ANY TEAM WHICH IS POSTED ON THIS THREAD BEFORE THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS WILL BE DISQUALIFIED, EVEN IF THEY HAVE ALSO SENT A PM. (This is because there are bonuses for unique picks) 2. TEAMS HAVE BEEN REDUCED THIS YEAR TO 30 PICKS, If you submit more than 30 names, your team will be the first 30 picks on the list 3. YOUR TEAM BECOMES "LIVE" AT MIDNIGHT ON THE DAY YOU SUBMIT IT. IF A PICK DIES BEFORE THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION, THEY WILL STILL SCORE. In fact if you do bother to read the rules, you will see that they can score a hefty bonus- so best to submit early. POOL RULES TEAM Choose 30 names from the masterlist below. All of these names were selected as "Jokers" in the 2023 Derby Dead Pool. Please also include 2-3 subs (In case any picks are found to have died before you submitted). Points are scored when one of you picks dies and receives a QO for DDP Nominate five of these names to be your wildcards. They will score double points on everything including bonuses. Entries must be sent by PM to me. No other method of entry is acceptable. Any team posted on this thread before the deadline for submission will be disqualified, even if they have also been sent by PM Your team becomes live at midnight on the day you submit it. An pick who dies between then and the deadline for entry submission will still score points. Picks who are found to have died before midnight on the date of submission will be replaced by your first sub, even if they were believed to be alive at the time of submission. Entries close at 23.59 on 8th February 2023. That's just over a week, so better get to it sharpish. POINT-SCORING +2 base point for a 'hit' PERMANENT BONUSES 1. + 3 pts if hit is a unique pick in DDP 2. +2 pts if hit is a Drop 40 pick in DDP -2 pts for every pick who is in the Drop 40 but survives the year. -5 pts if they were a Wildcard 3. +2 pts if hit is a deathlist Alumnus (i.e. They have appeared in a Deathlist from 1987-2023) If a pick is a DL Alumnus but survives the year, -1pt for every time they have appeared on the DL 4. +5 pts if pick is a solo pick in this pool. + 3 pts if they are only selected by two teams. +1 if they are only selected by three teams. 5. +5 if they die on their birthday 6. + 2 if they die on the first or last day of the month 7. If a pick dies between a team being submitted and the deadline for submissions , +1 point for every day or part of a day remaining before the submission deadline. 8. +5 if they die on 23rd February, 28th April, or 13th November (Host's Birthday Bonus) 9. +5 if they die on St David’s Day (1st March), St Patrick’s Day (17th March) or St Andrew's Day (30th November), because celebrating a Saint’s day is an excellent way to mark a nations history, traditions and achievements, -5 if they die on St George’s Day (23rd April), because anyone who celebrates St George’s Day is a xenophobic racist. 10. +3 pts for an unnatural death 11. +5 if a player gets 2 hits in one day +10 if a player gets 3 or more hits in one day 12. +3 if they are the first hit in the game. +3 if they are the last hit in the game. 13. +1 for ending the longest gap between hits. (The first gap to be broken is between the 1st and second hits, so no bonus will be awarded to the 2nd hit of the game. + 1 for the pick which ends a longer gap , +1 extra each time this happens i.e. first person to break the gap +1, person to break the new longest gap +2, etc ). 14. +1 for every person they guess in order from the first until they break the combo (+1 cumulatively each time this happens) [i.e. if #7 is their first hit they get 2 base points, if #19 is their 2nd hit they get 3 points (2+1) , if #30 is their 3rd hit they get 4 points (2+2), but if #17 is their 4th hit then they're no longer eligible for this bonus] 15. -2 for the most hits in the pool. There is also an extensive set of hidden bonuses. These are top-secret. So secret that even I do not know them. Seriously! - I'm still waiting for Clorox to actually send me the rules . In total there are 15 hidden bonuses, which may be applied before, during or after the game is running. Some of these may be "negative bonuses" (others may prefer to call them penalties!) The hidden bonuses will be revealed at the end, or possibly before then if it suits me to do so. In addition, there is +1 for hits at certain spots on your list. Which spots they are, however, are hidden until they are scored. The games concludes at midnight on December 31st 2023. The results will be announced some time before 30th June 2025. Or possibly later. Any disputes/queries about bonuses, whether by me or another player, will be settled by our non-resident adjudicator @Clorox Bleachman. Some, all, or none of these decisions will be fair. In case of a tie at the end of the game, the following tie-breakers will be used: 1. Player with most hits 2. If equal, player with most wildcard hits 3. If still equal, player with most points scored by wildcard hits 4. If still equal, both players will be disqualified, and the title awarded to the third placed finisher! Everyone confused? Excellent! Good luck to all!

As a mark of respect, all of the Phoenix Park rent-boys will be at half mast tonight.

Wait a minute! Are you telling me that photos are sometimes altered before publication to make the people in them look slightly better? Well fuck me sideways!!

I quit about 25 years ago after smoking for only about 7 years (started as teenager, quit when I left Uni). Even now, there is the odd day when I crave a smoke, usually after dinner. Those days have become rarer as the years went on, but they occasionally still happen. Sorry - I know that's not helpful

Best of luck with that. Hopefully a cut-down to zero. Never too late to quit. My mother-in-law is currently going through the horrors of lung cancer caused by years of smoking. Wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. (Or indeed my mother-in-law!) Lost a close cousin last year to lung cancer, also caused by smoking. Only in his late 40's. He left behind 3 orphaned kids. So do try quitting - it would be nice to have an OldWillz around here some day,