Tim Turner

I'm sure you didn't mean to do this, but the way the pics are cropped in the preview image (on my browser, at least) means that Ms Kendal's face is only visible in one. Two focus on her breasts and one on her legs - which, ironically, may reflect the way a lot of men in the 70s thought of her.

That's humanism! We've teamed up with our patron Stephen Fry, to explore humanist ideas about some of life’s big questions in four animated shorts.

Love this from Humanists UK. #Thatshumanism is the perfect introduction to the humanist approach to life, featuring four animations narrated by Stephen Fry, and brand new posters all about humanism for schools. humanists.uk/thatshumanism/

I spent a day at a Headingley Test on the Western Terrace once. It was fun for a couple of hours, but by mid-afternoon, most of my neighbours were more interested in the beer snakes than the magnificent century Joe Root was compiling.

Yay! Unlike TOTP episodes, I clearly remember sitting down to watch this in the TV room at college.

For what it's worth, I was there, and I laughed.

I spotted this too - it’s a disgrace.

Part of the essence of being a football fan is having a matchday routine that barely changes from year to year. Now we have to rethink it every sodding week.

Join me and tell Chancellor Rachel Reeves: no more airport expansion while we’re in a climate emergency 🚨🌎
@friends-earth.bsky.social 👇

‘Dressel’s Garden’ – a new translation from the German My new translation of a long(ish) Jürgen Becker poem (the first ever into English) has just been posted on the US site, Asymptote. Do click the link above and have a look at it. You can also hear a…

My new translation of a long(ish) Jürgen Becker poem (the first ever into English) has just been posted on the US site, Asymptote.
martyncrucefix.com/2025/01/25/d...

Dressel’s Garden - Asymptote You can be sure: a picture postcard is not enoughto disentangle the background to the imagefor a visitor, perhaps, who looks beyond the staircasefor a few motifs. After all, it’s not yeta comple...

If you're into poetry, check out a new translation of Jürgen Becker's 'Dressels Garten' by my talented friend mcrucefix.bsky.social - with a bonus reading of a section of the original German by yours truly: www.asymptotejournal.com/poetry/dress...

The front cover of 'Picnic on Craggy Island, the surreal joys of producing Father Ted', illustrated with snapshots of the filming of 'Father Ted'

These have arrived! - the finished, hardback copies of a little book I've written about the joyfully unpredictable experience of producing Father Ted.
Publication is Feb 20th but I'd like to give away two copies early - RT by Saturday 6pm and my dog Watson will pick the winners.

You guys were absolutely on it that night at 229 and you played all my favourite Long Ryders songs (well, apart from 10-5-60, but that was always going to be a very long shot). Good venue, too, even if they did pretty much run out of beer!

No need to apologise. Well, apart from making me read Julie Burchill... 😀

Wrong link, I assume - this is a Julie Burchill article from 2016 where she manages to completely overlook HMHB's joy in the minutiae of life and portrays Nigel purely as a class warrior.

My top 5 gigs of 2024:
1) The Long Ryders (229)
2) Police Dog Hogan (Half Moon)
3) Bruce Springsteen (Cork)
4) Sons Of Town Hall (St Pancras Old Church)
5) The Hanging Stars (Jazz Cafe)

@sidthesquid.bsky.social @policedoghogan.bsky.social @officialbruce.bsky.social @thehangingstars.bsky.social

You can see why he and Elton made such a good team. They've both got a sense of humour - much influenced by the Goons, I would say, especially in Elton's case - but GT is a little more serious when he needs to be.

To be fair, he does look about 16. I'm surprised he was old enough to drive that Rover 2000.

Being a speedway fan is very 70s, though I don't know where he'd have gone to watch it live. White City, maybe?

An odd one, this, quite apart from the mufti (nice chunky-knit sweater, btw). Why did they ask him his occupation? What did they think he was going to say?

Also, someone needed to explain to him that he could play at Wembley, or in Division 1, but not both at the same time.

I always liked Bobby, and the fact that his answer to the 'Hobbies' question is exactly what I'd have said at that time makes me warm to him even more.

His profile picture suggests an entertainer too, rather than a footballer. Why wasn't he photographed in his Watford kit?

Another vote for duckling as favourite food, I note. Different times.

Of course - I did know that. Any others?

I didn't know he'd played in a European club competition while at Spurs. That must have made him unusual, if not unique, among Watford players in the 70s.

Presumably, many reading his professional ambition would have thought, "Fat chance" – but he only went and did it.

Oddly, I have no memory of seeing him play, even though he made more than 70 appearances at a time when I was going to the Vic fairly regularly, if not every game.

That's an, um, interesting choice – like one of today's players wanting to meet Vladimir Putin, say. But I seem to remember that Amin was often portrayed as a figure of fun in Britain in the 70s, so maybe that caricature was who Laurie had in mind.

Another one whose favourite food is duck. I wonder if any footballer would give that answer today? Presumably this was the heyday of duck a l'orange being the sort of thing you'd order in a fancy restaurant, and thus a sign that you'd made it.

Poor old Arthur. One thing I learned from 'Champions' was that Ken Furphy considered signing him from Middlesbrough in 1966 along with Terry Garbett, but he wasn't available. Maybe we'd have got a better version of Arthur if we'd had him 10 years earlier.

Was this questionnaire pre-GT? If so, you've got a point. When I was too young to go to footy on my own, my dad used to take me, and had a very low opinion of Ross. For years afterwards, he was incredulous whenever I raved about Ross's latest feats.

I love these questionnaires. 'Favourite food: Meat'. Care to be more specific, Ross?