Hamilton Saint

You would rather he read some "pro-war", jingoistic verse by Rupert Brooke — the sort of patriotic nonsense that the establishment (and the public) applauded in the early days of WWI — when everyone was gung-ho about the conflict? By the end of the war, most of the combatants realised that the whole effort was a futile and criminal enterprise. The almost-universal refrain at the end of that war was "Never again!" The poems that matter, then, from WWI are those from the likes of of Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Edmund Blunden, Isaac Rosenberg, Rupert Graves, and Edward Thomas. Poems that remind us (on Remembrance Day) about the reality of war — and about its futility. They are needed to counter the stirring, patriotic sentiments that are often full of empty rhetoric and delusion. But there are still reactionaries who want to justify — even glorify — the futile sacrifice of such warfare. This was clearly evident in the lead up to the WWI centenary, when revisionists talked about the need — back then — to protect the homeland, and to struggle for freedom against the demonic Hun. The need for an "anti-war" element in any Remembrance Day ceremony is clear: our children must know about the reality of war; and our leaders (political and military) must know that they are accountable — and must not sacrifice our young people on behalf of a lie. And the anti-war message, of course, is not an insult to "everyone who attended". You'll find that many agree with the notion that one can both honour our war-dead AND decry the obscenity of organised warfare. That includes many veterans. ... If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace Behind the wagon that we flung him in, And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin; If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,— My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori. — Wilfred Owen

It's true here in Canada: no sausage roll; no Cornish pasty. But you can get samosas and tyropitas and spanikopitas. It's a travesty!

Southampton FC Canada https://www.facebook.com/SaintsFCCanada/?fref=ts

But Mane and Tadic switched sides a couple of times.

Saint George is clearly Sarnia Saint.

I understand every little bit of "What part of 'It's none of your god damned business don't ya'll understand'." And I don't agree with any part of it, either. And neither do you; because you then go on an extended rant about the "ongoing Islamic colonization of the UK" — which, following your logic, is "none of your god damned business" either. N'est-ce pas?

Take a look at this graphic: it shows the details about 994 mass-shootings (i.e., four or more shot) in 1004 days in the U.S. It has a simple, but effective, visual impact. http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2015/oct/02/mass-shootings-america-gun-violence

My wife and I will be there next week (Oct 13-17); we're staying in the San Polo area.

What I don't understand is why Saints Player starts so late for many away games. For Saturday's game against Chelsea, for example, it didn't begin until 5 minutes before kick-off. Why?

I do, too ... this week!!

Nonetheless he says very complimentary things about Saints and the three Saints players he picked, and he makes some great comments about Mourinho!

The Hollow Men by T S Eliot

I disagree strongly with your point about the badge. I think it is brilliant in concept: the halo over the football suggesting the head of a saint; and the scarf suggesting the shoulders and arms of a person -- the whole top third of the design representing a footballing Saint. It's simple and clever at the same time -- very attractive. You would prefer the Southampton coat of arms? To quote John McEnroe: "You cannot be serious!"

No, the question is why you think he has lost interest. Give one real piece of evidence to support that claim. [Wild surmises to justify a highly-subjective opinion don't count.]

A 31 - goes through a very familiar region of Hampshire for me. First country you visited abroad?

Zero to the power of **** all? Dead musician that you wish you'd seen play live?

None! Who won the F.A. Cup in 1941?

Yes, but better to get well away from city-light.

I rely on Blackmore and Merrington for every game commentary. I've subscribed to Saints Player for many years. It's good - although annoying when the pre-game is delayed for away games 'til 10 or 15 minutes before kick-off. They usually have two or three ****-ups with connections each year, but overall it is worth subscribing when you live overseas.

Graeme Swann, Lawro's opponent this week, is a Newcastle fan. He says: "It's a good job it is not at Southampton because we always lose there but teams don't come to St James' Park and come away with anything. 2-0". I suppose he missed last year's game: Newcastle 1 vs 2 Southampton.

This is good news. Don't we tend to lose whenever he predicts us to win!!

I remember George Cole most from his role as the young Ebeneezer Scrooge in the classic film starring Alastair Sim.

That is funny!

Thanks for this; it's been perfect - no problems at all!

Post #171 and #172