revolution saint

Well with some rough calculations with 36% of the vote the Tories should have got 234 seats and the Lib Dems 149 with 23%. As it didn't quite stack up that way I'd rather have a lasting legacy that delivered proper electoral fairness. If this parliament delivers that it will have more of a legacy than many parliaments. I doubt that, on the economy, any of the parties would act much diferently in terms of overall taxation although the burden of taxation would probably be different. As for cuts they'd all deliver the same - some would probably promise more but I doubt they'd deliver them.

To be fair to portsmouth fans they'd probably budgeted on the club being out of existence by the time of the cup final and had reallocated the money.

I worked at Solent when Plummers was being converted and helped run a lot of the network cable there. Was really good fun - got to play football in a department store which doesn't happen often.

That got me through. Best tenner I've ever spent. I wrote the speech about three weeks in advance and then practised it every day till I knew it off by heart. That was the key for me - most people aren't lucky enough to be a natural but practise really does come close to being perfect. The good thing is, as everyone will tell you, everyone does want you to do well. Get a good early laugh in and it will seem much, much easier. That said I would never, ever be Best Man again.

I thought we deserved the ten point deduction so just accepted it. To be honest I'd have taken minus 20 because administration turned out to be the best thing that happened to us - we didn't just get any old owner, we got the best owner. We got lucky and I feel sorry for any club in administration at the moment - I don't think anyone will be as lucky as us in the third flight again. That said I can't wait for the new season to start and it's been a while since I could say that.

Big Society much like 'Back to basics' and 'The third way' is a politicians way of saying "frankly we don't have a clue". It's doomed to failure and even if the Tories get in I'm betting we don't hear much about big society in a years time. Personally I think it's a slogan dreamt up by a PR company designed to deliver a positive message. I'm always wary when a politician talks about what they can't do - they should concentrate on what they can do. It indicates, to me at least, a paucity of ideas when it comes to policy.

Career politicians or ones that operate under a sense of noblesse oblige? Either system will create good and bad politicians, greedy ones and ones that feel they have a sense of duty. The difference is that Noblesse Oblige would restrict the opportunity for talented potential politicians yet to make their fortune. What matters is if you end up with a wrong un you can remove them - the Tories and Liberals have that as a manifesto pledge (and possibly Labour too) which can only be a good thing.

Bailing out the banks was pretty much the only thing we could have done. Not saving them would have resulted in the entire banking system collapsing but fair play Labour recognised it early enough and did it. Long term we'll probably break even on the deal. I don't remember the Tories saying they'd do much differently except maybe moan, whinge and take a bit longer to come to the same conclusion.

He's got to be toast now. Doesn't sound like he has much of a defence and I'd like him to be brave enough to come out and admit to it. I'd still give him a lifetime ban though. He's a great player but my sympathy lies with those players who have played and beaten him. Imagine how they feel now? He's tarnished their achievement by being greedy. Poor old Steve Davis gets his best result in years and it's overshadowed in a minute. I'd strike Higgins from the record books - his past championships should count for nothing.

That was good. I'm really looking forward to some cracking battles between Lorenzo and Rossi this year.

Any chance of having a world cup forum? It's not that far away now.....

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11906_6129900,00.html Fair play to him - I never thought he could keep up the dutch style of speaking english for so long but he's proved me wrong. He is, how you say, a top manager for sure.

Of course most stereotypes are based on fact but perhaps it is a tired cliche. Personally I don't care what's being served as long as it's done quickly and there are no queues. I do think that if real ale was introduced it would just cause all the real ale fans to argue amongst yourselves - you'd never agree on which real ale. 12 years behind a bar taught me for many "ale" fans half the fun is bickering about what's good, whether the pipes are OK and numerous other things. When this happened i would always go down to the cellar waste 5 minutes and then go up, serve them exactly the same and they'd be overjoyed at the change. Which just goes to show they didn't have quite such discerning tastebuds.

Personally I would say the priority would be to serve everyone who wants to be served and not the quality of the beer. Without wanting to stereotype but everyone who wants real ale.....well if that got served you'd be moaning about the cellars, the pipes and the plastic glasses and if they got that right? You'd be moaning there weren't comfy chairs so you could think of other things to moan about. A football stadium is not the place to enjoy your "ale" it's about necking a quick pint at half time and whatever gets served the quickest is the best. As for lager doesn't it all taste fairly similiar? Maybe I don't have sophisticated taste buds but I drink a lot of lager and some I like more than others but I don't consider many brands undrinkable.

I'm not against career politicians and i don't care where they went to school. As long as they do a good job and are accountable then it's OK. What I don't like are the unaccountable Lords drafted into the cabinet such as Mandy or Lord Sainsbury. How did they get this power and how do we get it back from them? Everyone in a position of power should ultimately be accountable to us and we should have an opportunity to take that power from them. I also dislike the lauding of businessmen as some kind of guru. Running a country is not the same as running a "for profit" company and of course there's always the inevitable conflict of interests that could occur.

I would say my choice would be Alan Johnson. Here's an interesting thought though: What if the price of a Lib Lab coalition is bye bye Gordon? You could end up with Vince Cable as chancellor and a new PM. I think a lot of people could live with this scenario except the Tories. Surely it'd be their nightmare?

No Antonio then? That's fair enough - if he's not going to be with us next season there's no point playing him.

Highway to hell mate! Oh and spoke to Gareth yesterday - he's up for a ST next year as well (beardy weirdy ales permitting of course).

Thank christ for that.

Don't think so but lads I spoke to weren't sure. They also mentioned they were thinking of a system where you could pay for your halftime pint before the match, get a ticket and then pick it up quicker at half time - bit like they do at theatres. This was only an idea though - don't think it's definite.

I heard this last week from a couple of lads who work there as well. Compass are the catering company and their contract is up at the end of the season so Cortese has decided not to renew and bring it in house. Apparently he wants gourmet food and people served twice as fast. They were also talking about a "super bar" which would have about 20 tills and just sell beer. There wasn't any talk about what beer they'd be selling though.

New Forest East Ladbrokes - 93% chance of a Conservative win Finktank - 100% chance of a Conservative win Yep, PR would be a disaster.........

I apologise, although i could of course argue that UKIP is an extreme party and ironic given your concern about extreme politics. Shouldn't you be voting for a main stream party, or is that next week's opinion? You really are a gift though - don't stop.

says the BNP voter....would have thought you'd enjoy polarisation of politics? At least your vote would count more than it does at the moment.

IF the next parliament delivers PR and a fully elected House of Lords then it'll have done a lot more than most previous governments. It will have put paid to the argument that unless you live in a marginal then your vote doesn't count. It will remove hereditary idiocy. What is there not to like?