Nordic Saint

Aretha Franklin has only ever appeared in the UK once before and that was by royal invitation at Buckingham Palace in 2002. Her only previous appearances in Europe were in 1968. Apparently, it's difficult for her to fly as she has to be carried off the plane through the rear exit: "Airplane landings after throwing back the booze until she was drunk as a skunk traumatized her. She had to be taken off the plane by the rear exit to avoid reporters." She also cancels most of her concerts at the last minute. So, it's unlikely she'll appear even if she is booked.

If Life’s a Lousy Picture, Why Not Leave Before the End Don’t worry One night we’ll find that deserted Kinema The torches extinguished The Cornish ripples locked away in the safe The tornoff tickets chucked In the tornoff shotbin The projectionist gone home to his nightmare Don’t worry That film will still be running (the one about the sunset) & we’ll find two horses tethered in the front stalls & we’ll mount & we’ll ride off into our happy ending by Roger McGough 1969

Where do you think Pompey will finish this season? Online poll: http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/sport/football/pompey/vote-where-will-pompey-finish-this-season-1-7205401

If you support a team, I don't think boycotting or walking out of their games is the best way to protest or express your opinion. The attendance at the Ian Branfoot boycott game v Ipswich still delights Pompey fans to this day. They think it's one of the best things we've ever done. Liverpool fans could have used 'No to 77' placards and banners covering the whole Kop and it would have been televised nationwide and appeared on the back pages of all the papers. Instead they just turned the game in Sunderland's favour and possibly cost their team 2 points. On the plus side that may well prove to be the difference between us and them finishing 6th.

Especially when all of the experts, including referees, are split 50/50 as to whether it even deserved a red card. He's got a 6-match ban almost on the toss of a coin. Both of his red cards have come from Clattenburg, who has a reputation for giving red cards for offences most other referees would only give yellows for. Anyway, let's not forget he made our only goal in the match and was doing a very effective job of controlling possibly the most dangerous attacking midfielder in the game, Payet. The MOTD panel said if Bertrand had playacted as much as Payet he could have got Byram sent off for a far worse tackle.

If we were total idiots, we could do that, and Man. United could have given away Roy Keane and Arsenal could have given away Patrick Vieira when they got far more red cards than Wanyama, but amazingly they weren't idiots so they didn't. As long as most of his games are not refereed by Clattenburg, Wanyama will get no more red cards than any other top defensive midfielder.

Where do you think you will realistically finish this season? 6/7th Which three teams do you tip for relegation this season? Villa, Newcastle, Sunderland How do you rate Slaven Bilic first season as a manager in the Premier league? Your best manager for a very long time West Ham sit in sixth place after 24 games having briefly occupied the third spot but what league position can West Ham realistically achieve this season under Bilic? 7/8th If you could have any current West Ham player in your team who would you choose? Payet Do you understand what the 'West Ham way is' and what it means to Hammers fans? I guess it used to be about playing attractive football, but that got lost under Allardyce Which Saints player should we include in our Fantasy dream team? Jose Fonte Which Saints player should West Ham players fear on Saturday 2nd Jan? Charlie Austin 14 Supporters' Trusts came together to petition the Government for a public inquiry about West Ham's occupancy of the Olympic Stadium. Does the fact that West Ham got a good deal bother you personally as a football fan? To be honest, I guess many fans feel a bit jealous and wish it could have been their club instead How do you rate Ronald Koeman's season? It's taken him a while to get the new team playing well but now they are firing on all cylinders and so should do even better in the second half of the season. Hang on, we're 7th after a bad start. Maybe we can finish higher than 6th. How do you expect the Saints to set-up against West Ham on Saturday Team/formation prediction? Koeman rotates the midfield quite a bit so several permutations are possible. He always seems to have at least one surprise selection up his sleeve. What is your score prediction for the Saturday? I've no idea.

I'd love to see us get into Europe again and make a better job of it next time. Right now, 6th or 7th looks distinctly possible, but 5th is probably beyond us, so whether we do may depend on the cup winners. Perennial top 10 finishers? I'd like to see us become the next Leicester!

Wanyama has always tried. Like Fonte, it took him a while to adjust to the new players around him. If you look at the stats, he has run as much, tackled as much and passed as much if not more, than any other player in the team. This myth about him not trying should be knocked on the head now. It's massive disrespect to a player who has done a terrific job for us since he arrived from Celtic.

Roy Harris's 3rd Symphony is one of my favourite pieces of music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyI_XmJnvO4 Paavo Berglund & the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Sibelius Symphonies & Tone Poems, mostly recorded at Southampton Guildhall in the 1970s.

Southampton is one of the worst cities in the country for classical music. Why is that? Apart from the visits of the Welsh National Opera to the Mayflower and some chamber music at Turner Sims, there really isn't much going on. Even Basingstoke has more classical concerts. Anyway, these are the ones I've been to in the last couple of years: 2013 March 19. Mayflower Theatre. Welsh National Opera. Lulu. 2013 March 20. Mayflower Theatre. Welsh National Opera. Madama Butterfly. 2013 April 9. Royal Festival Hall. Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Yefim Bronfman, Michael Tilson Thomas. Schoenberg: Them & Variations for Orchestra Op. 43b; Brahms: Piano Concerto No.2 op.83; Brahms orch by Schoenberg: Piano Quartet No.1; Brahms: Hungarian Dance No.1 2013 April 12. Symphony Hall, Birmingham. Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Hélène Grimaud, Jiří Bělohlávek. Smetana: From Bohemia’s Mountains& Forests; Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.5 Op.73; Dvorak: Symphony No.7 op.70 2013 April 21. Royal Festival Hall. Philharmonia Orchestra, Jonas Kaufmann, Jochen Rieder. Verdi & Wagner arias. 2013 April 22. Royal Opera House. Die Zauberflöte. 2013 May 14. Royal Opera House. La Bayadère. 2013 May 15. Royal Festival Hall. Philharmonia Orchestra, Rolando Villazón, Guerassim Voronkov. Verdi arias. 2013 May 18. Bournemouth Pavilion. Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Nicola Benedetti, Kiril Karabits. Wagner: Tannhäuser Overture; Host: Jupiter from the Planets; Korngold: Marietta’s Lied; Shostakovich: Romance from The Gadfly, Andante from Counterplan; Saint-Saëns: Introduction& Rondo Capriccioso; Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.2 2013 May 21. Symphony Hall, Birmingham. Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Boris Berezovsky, Neeme Järvi. Arvo Pärt: Silhouette; Grieg: Piano concerto in A minor; Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.6; Arvo Pärt: Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten 2013 May 23. Sadler’s Wells Theatre. 6000 Miles Away. Sylvie Guillem, Aurelie Caya, Lukas Timulak, Massimo Murru 2013 May 27. Royal Opera House. La donna del lago. 2013 June 5. The Anvil, Basingstoke. Philharmonia Orchestra, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Christoph von Dohnányi. Brahms: Piano Concerto No.1; Beethoven: Symphony No.3 2013 June 8. Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff. Welsh National Opera. Lohengrin. 2013 June 22. Symphony Hall, Birmingham. Opera North. Siegfried. 2013 June 27. Wigmore Hall. Marc-Andre Hamelin. Ives: Piano Sonata No.2; Brahms: Piano Sonata No.3 I F minor Op.5; Mozart: Piano Sonata No.16 in C major 1st movement 2013 July 9. Royal Opera House. Tosca. 2013 July 11. Royal Opera House. La Rondine. 2013 July 22. Royal Albert Hall. BBC Proms. Das Rheingold. Staatskapelle Berlin, Daniel Barenboim 2013 July 23. Royal Albert Hall. BBC Proms. Die Walküre. Staatskapelle Berlin, Daniel Barenboim 2013 July 28. Royal Albert Hall. BBC Proms. Götterdämmerung. Staatskapelle Berlin, Daniel Barenboim 2013 August 6. Royal Opera House. Bolshoi Ballet. The Sleeping Beauty. 2013 August 16. Bolshoi Ballet. The Flames of Paris. 2013 August 22. Royal Albert Hall. BBC Proms. Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Anna Caterina-Antonacci, Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Tchaikovsky: Fantasy Overture Romeo & Juliet; Wagner: Wesendonck Lieder; Prokofiev: Symphony No.5 in B flat major; Shostakovich: Folk Feast from The Gadfly 2013 September 1. Royal Albert Hall. BBC Proms. Orchestre de Paris, Janine Jansen, Paavo Järvi. Arvo Pärt: Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten; Britten: Violin Concerto; Berlioz: Overture Le Corsaire; Saint-Saëns: Symphony No.3 in C minor; Bizet: Galop from Jeux d’enfants, Farandole froml’Arlesienne 2013 September 5. Royal Albert Hall. BBC Proms. Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, Joseph Calleja, Xian Zhang. Verdi: (La forza del destino) Overture, (Attila) O dolore! Ed io vivea, (I vespri siciliani): À toi que j'ai chérie, (La Traviata): Prelude Act 1, (Simon Boccanegra): O inferno!… Sento avvampar nell'anima , (Aida) Triumphal March Act2, (Luisa Miller): Oh! fede negar potessi … Quando le sere al placido , (Rigoletto): La donna e mobile;Tchaikovsky: Manfred Symphony; Rossini: William Tell Overture 2103 October 3. Barbican Hall. London Symphony Orchestra, Christian Tetzlaff, Daniel Harding. Mussorgsky: Night on the Bare Mountain; Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto; Stravinsky: Firebird Ballet 2013 October 22. Mayflower Theatre. English National Ballet. Le Corsaire. 2013 October 31. Royal Opera House. Wozzeck. 2013 November 14. Sadler’s Wells Theatre. Liang/Maliphant/Wheeldon. Yuan Yuan Tan, Fang-Yi Sheu, Damian Smith, Clifton Brown 2013 November 28. Mayflower Theatre. Welsh National Opera. Maria Stuarda. 2013 December 2. Royal Opera House. Parsifal. 2014 February 9. Barbican Hall. London Symphony Orchestra, Yuja Wang, Jaap van Zweden. Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.3 Op.37; Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2 Op.27 2014 February 25. Royal Festival Hall. Li Yundi. Schumann: Fantasie in C Op.17; Liszt: Tarantella No.3 from Venezia e Napoli; Traditional Chinese: Colour Clouds Chasing the Moon; 5 Yunnan Folk Songs, In that place faraway; Beethoven: Piano Sonata in F minor ‘Appassionata’ 2014 March 5. The Anvil, Basingstoke. Vienna Tonkünstler Orchestra, Barry Douglas, Andrés Orozco-Estrada. Kodaly: Dances of Galanta; Rachmaninov: Piano concerto No.1; Dvorak: Symphony No.8 2014 March 10. Barbican Hall. Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Ivary Ilja. Glinka, Dargomyzhsky, Borodin, Rimskykorsakov, Tchaikovsky, Medtner, Rachmaninov, Sviridov songs 2014 April 4. Barbican Hall. Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Truls Mørk, Mariss Jansons. Haydn: Cello Concerto in C; Bruckner: Symphony No.7 2014 April 13. Barbican Hall. London Symphony Orchestra, Daniil Trifonov, Valery Gergiev. Messiaen: Les Offrandes Oubliees; Chopin: Piano Concerto No.2; Scriabin: Symphony No.3; Bach: Transcription of Violin Partita in C BMV 1006 2014 April 22. Royal Opera House. Faust. 2014 April 29. Royal Festival Hall. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Joseph Calleja, Andrew Greenwood. Rossini: William Tell Overture; Tchaikovsky: 6 Romances Op.6 no.6; Verdi arias. 2014 April 30. Royal Opera House. La Traviata. 2014 August 27. Royal Albert Hall. BBC Proms. Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Wu Wei, Myung-Whun Chung. Debussy: La mer; Unsuk Chin: Šu; Wu Wei: Dragon Dance; Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in D minor; Brahms: Hungarian Dance No. 1 in G minor Allegro molto 2014 September 3. Royal Albert Hall. BBC Proms. Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sir Roger Norrington. Beethoven: Symphony No.8 in F major; Berlioz: Romeo & Juliet Romeo Alone; Dvorak: Symphony No.9 in E minor; Faure: Prelude to Pelleas et Melisande Suite 2014 September 30. Royal Festival Hall. Daniil Trifonov. Bach arr. Liszt: Fantasia & Fugue in G minor BMv542; Rachmaninov: Variations on a Theme of Chopin Op.22 2014 October 9. Barbican Hall. London Symphony Orchestra, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Rafael Payare. Dukas: The Scorcerer’s Apprentice; Beethoven: Piano Concerto No.2; Rimskykorsakov: Scheherazade 2014 October 17. Mayflower Theatre. English National Ballet. Coppélia. 2014 November 3. Barbican Hall. Mariinsky Opera. Boris Godunov. 2014 November 13. Barbican Hall. London Symphony Orchestra, Denis Matsuev, Valery Gergiev. Balakirev: Russia; Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No.2, Symphony No.3 Op.44 2015 January 8. Royal Festival Hall. Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, Gustavo Dudamel. Beethoven: Symphony No.5; Wagner: 2015 (Das Rheingold) Entry of the Gods into Valhalla, (Götterdämmerung): Siegfried’s Journey , Siegfried’s dream & funeral music; (Siegrfried) :Forest murmurs, (Die Walküre): Ride of the Valkyries, (Tristan und Isolde): Prelude & liebestod 2015 March 28. Mayflower Theatre. Welsh National Opera. Hansel und Gretel. 2015 April 17. Barbican Hall. New York Philharmonic, Joyce DiDonato, Alan Gilbert. Salonen: Nyx; Ravel: Sheherazade, Valses Nobles et Sentimentales; R. Strauss: Rosenkavalier suite: R. Strauss: Morgen; Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake suite 2015 May 17. Royal Festival Hall. Philharmonia Orchestra, Daniil Trifonov, Vladmir Ashkenazy. Sibelius: Nightride & Sunrise; Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No.3; Sibelius: Symphony No.5 in E flat 2015 May 18. Queen Elizabeth Hall. Takacs Quartet, Marc-Andre Hamelin. Debussy:String Quartet in G minor Op.10, Preludes Bk.2 Nos. 4,5,6,7,11 &12; Franck: Piano Quintet in F minor 2015 June 5. Royal Festival Hall. Philadelphia Orchestra, Lisa Batiashvili, Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Nico Muhy: Mixed Messages; Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No.1; Tchaikovsky: Romace; Rachmaninov: Symphony No.3, Vocalise 2015 June 10. Royal Opera House. La bohème. 2015 July 5. Royal Opera House. Guillaume Tell. 2015 July 9. Royal Opera House. Falstaff. 2015 November 22. St. John’s Smith Square. Jerusalem Quartet. Haydn: String Quartet No.1 in G Op.77 No.1; Bartok: String Quartet No.6 B119; Dvorak: String Quartet in F op.9 ‘American’ 2016 January 1. Royal Opera House. Cavalleria Rusticana & Pagliacci. 2016 January 12. Turner Sims. Navarra Quartet. Mozart: Quartet No.1 in G K80; Haydn: Quartet No.25 in C Op.20 No.2; Beethoven: Quartet No.14 in C sharp minor Op.131 2016 January 28. Royal Festival Hall. Philharmonia Orchestra, Håkan Hardenberger, Santtu-Matias Rouvali. Sibelius: Lemminkäinen's Return Op.22 No.4; Rolf Martinsson: Trumpet Concerto No.1 ‘The Bridge’; Sibelius: Symphony No.2 in D major Op.43 NEXT: 2016 February 16. Turner Sims. Vienna Piano Trio

I seem to have seen the same tours, if not at the same venues, as some of you. I've just copied and pasted my recent gigs from Setlist FM: Dec 1, 2015: Madonna, The O2 Arena, London Nov 1, 2015: Madness, Wembley Stadium, London Oct 30, 2015: U2, The O2 Arena, London Oct 25, 2015: Bob Dylan, Royal Albert Hall, London Sep 5, 2015: King Crimson, Brighton Dome, Brighton Sep 2, 2015: Sufjan Stevens, Royal Festival Hall, London Aug 29, 2015: Rae Morris, Victorious Festival 2015 Aug 29, 2015: Primal Scream, Victorious Festival 2015 Aug 29, 2015: The Magic Numbers, Victorious Festival 2015 Aug 29, 2015: Peter Hook, Victorious Festival 2015 Aug 29, 2015: Kill It Kid, Victorious Festival 2015 Aug 29, 2015: The Flaming Lips, Victorious Festival 2015 Aug 29, 2015: Laura Mvula, Victorious Festival 2015 Aug 29, 2015: The Fratellis, Victorious Festival 2015 Jun 19, 2015: Elvis Costello, O2 Guildhall Southampton, Southampton Jun 19, 2015: Larkin Poe, O2 Guildhall Southampton, Southampton May 31, 2015: The Beach Boys, Royal Albert Hall, London May 28, 2015: Fleetwood Mac, The O2 Arena, London May 23, 2015: Paul McCartney, The O2 Arena, London May 20, 2015: Andy Fairweather-Low, Royal Albert Hall, London May 20, 2015: Eric Clapton, Royal Albert Hall, London Apr 29, 2015: Sharon Van Etten, O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, London Apr 29, 2015: Sam Amidon, O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire, London Apr 15, 2015: Paul Simon & Sting, The O2 Arena, London Mar 8, 2015: Kip Moore, C2C: Country to Country London 2015 Mar 8, 2015: Jason Aldean, C2C: Country to Country London 2015 Mar 8, 2015: Ward Thomas, C2C: Country to Country London 2015 Mar 8, 2015: Lady Antebellum, C2C: Country to Country London 2015 Mar 8, 2015: The Shires, C2C: Country to Country London 2015 Mar 8, 2015: Brantley Gilbert, C2C: Country to Country London 2015 Mar 7, 2015: Florida Georgia Line, C2C: Country to Country London 2015 Mar 7, 2015: Lee Ann Womack, C2C: Country to Country London 2015 Mar 7, 2015: Sam Hunt, C2C: Country to Country London 2015 Mar 7, 2015: Brandy Clark, C2C: Country to Country London 2015 Mar 7, 2015: Sam Palladio, C2C: Country to Country London 2015 Mar 7, 2015: Luke Bryan, C2C: Country to Country London 2015 Feb 21, 2015: The War on Drugs, O2 Guildhall Southampton Feb 21, 2015: Amen Dunes, O2 Guildhall Southampton Nov 25, 2014: Kasabian, BIC, Bournemouth Nov 25, 2014: The Maccabees, BIC, Bournemouth Next up: Hosier at Portsmouth Guildhall and Tame Impala at Alexandra Palace.

That is a great book. If you like it, you might also like Slow Motion Riot by Peter Blauner. I'm currently working my way through the David Downing John Russell 'station' spy novels, set in Berlin from 1939 onwards. I'm now on the third one: Stettin Station. Having recently, reread Le Carre's Smiley novels, I find Downing better in many respects. All of his characters are interesting and believable and his description of everyday life in Nazi Germany is very convincing. I expect there will be films to come.

Surely, there must be forums on the internet for people like Turkish who want to insult people anonymously online? Personally, I haven't looked for such forums but I guess they must exist. Try Googling forum + helmets + sh1t + b0llocks, Turkish, and you should find something more appropriate to your needs.

There certainly is some bias there. Everybody who is excluding Leicester, currently top of the league and in their 48th season in the top flight and Bolton with 73 seasons there and 4 consecutive top 8 finishes from 2004 to 2007 might as well exclude Saints too, as this is only our 39th season in the top division.

I agree. The U21 team looked very badly coached and organised last night. Most of the players who looked so promising a year or two ago, like Sims and Hesketh, are going backwards. There doesn't seem to be the same high level of player development under Hunter and Jahdi that there was under Dodd and Williams. If Reed doesn't want to bring them back, perhaps we could poach the Huddersfield U21 coach?

It was a very cleverly worked move. Fonte took 2 defenders with him towards the near post while Austin stepped back to leave himself unmarked in front of of goal. He headed it down perfectly though.

It certainly was. I bet Man United would happily swap Schneiderlin for Wanyama now. Without Wanyama, Schneiderlin only looks a shadow of his former self.

He certainly put shift in against West Brom. He seems to at last be developing a partnership with Ward~Prowse.They're both only youngsters .

At least he's done better than this one, who seems to be totally useless without his help: http://http://www.fantasyfootballstrategist.co.uk/2016/01/21/1616/ http://www.redcafe.net/threads/morgan-schneiderlin-2015-16-bench-performances.406512/page-49 What a disappointing signing. A nothing player so far. He can't even get the things right that he was supposed to be good at. Been really poor lately. Not starting XI material IMO. Worrying performance. These are the games when you want him to stand up and be counted. Totally invisible and really quite poor. Positional discipline was shocking for someone who is reasonably famed for it

I've had a look at a replay of the game, and I have to agree, I was wrong about him. It was, at worst, a reasonable performance. From my viewpoint at St Mary's, I thought he just fell over for the penalty, but I can see now from the TV replay that he was on his way to scoring when he was pushed. Also, I hadn't realized how close he was to scoring when his shot was cleared off the line. I guess he set such a high standard with his performance against Watford that I was expecting too much. I like his attitude and hope he does well.

Targett had his best ever game for Saints v Watford, but he was poor again today. He was our weakest player out there. His pace, his crosses, passes and defensive work were all substandard. Let's hope he can show that Watford form again. He was like a different player in that game.

Credit must go to our 2 centre backs. Ighalo and Deeney didn't look any better against them and nor did the Arsenal forwards.

This sounds the most likely one now: http://sportwitness.ning.com/forum/topics/stoke-city-and-southampton-in-transfer-battle-price-a-little-high

Let's hope he's not allowed to coach our goalkeepers though.