Kingsland Codger

An abstainer is a weak person who has yielded to the temptation of denying himself a pleasure - Ambrose Pearce

For some of us, even Southampton is North ...

One of the problems is that many Kingsland regulars (of which I am one) will have nowhere else to go. The Itchen will be sold out, and a ticket in the Northam will mean standing up for most of the match/the entire game - something many of us would love to do (as we used to in the Good Old Days) but simply can no longer manage. So they won't buy a ticket and the club will assume, not unreasonably, there is little damand. A problem with no easy solution. I've handled it by buying a ticket in the Itchen but the race will be to the swift.

I was in a great position to see his offsides in the second half and the lino was spot on in every one of them. You say Waigo 'knows the offide law perfectly well'. I disagree. All the evidence so far this season shows he does not understand the offside law. I'd love to say otherwise and I'm sure there are some who will say he's a professional and of course he knows the law. All the evidence says otherwise. Having said that, as has been pointed out in earlier replies, he set up the goal and in the first half he chased down two apparent lost causes and won two corners. Good for him. As for curing the offsides, AP should hire a top quality referee who is a native speaker of Waigo's mother tongue (French?) and have him explain the law to him together with tactics and techniques to avoid being caught out. The problem has gone on for too long for it to be ignored

A classic! It caught me unawares and made me do the nose-trick with my whisky and soda.

On the Tokyo-Hiroshima-Tokyo leg of your trip you should also arrange to spend a day or two in Kyoto. This is the old capital and the place is full of temples and castles. Places to Google/Wiki are Kinkakuji (The Golden Pavillion), Ginkakuji (The Silver Pavillion), Ryoanji (The Temple of The Peaceful Dragon) - with the famous stone garden and Nijo-jo (Nijo Castle) with its medieval 'nightingale floor', designed especially to squeak when walked on, thus providing a highly effective warning against assasins. If you're seriously into Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines then nearby Nara should also be on your list, but if you just want to dip a toe or two in the culture then Kyoto offers more than enough. Exeter game is on Boxing Day? I should be in the Platform Tavern by 13:15 ish just after the ferry docks (assuming the pub is open that morning - I'll check out tonight if it is). I'm tall, in my mid 50's, will probably be wearing a red-and-white quartered rugby shirt and will be with a few others of similar age.

To clarify one thing in my earlier reply - when I say the Japan Rail Cad is 'a must' I meant this to mean it is a seriously-good-bargain-and-well-worth-considering rather than an essential requirement and you will be denied access to the train station without one! I've visited Hiroshima several times. Well worth a visit but be prepared - it can be very emotional. Have a look at the story of Sadako and the one thousand paper cranes as this might make your trip to the Children's Statue more insightful. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadako_and_the_Thousand_Paper_Cranes Also see ... http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/index_e2.html and ... http://www.japanvisitor.com/index.php?cID=357&pID=1303 Just south of Hiroshima is Miyajima - an island with the large red shinto shrine gates that rise up out of the sea. You can see a photo of this in the final (BBC) link at the end of this post. If you have the time/energy to visit Nagasaki then I would recommend it as the experience is different and more positive. The regular cost of return tickets on the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Hiroshima will be more than the cost of a one week Japan Rail Pass, hence my enthusiasm for it. For an online Japanese train timetable, together with fares have a look at ... http://www.hyperdia.com/en/ . Needless-to-say, Japanese trains are extremely puntual, clean and, you've guessed it, overcrowded. Train groping - 'chikan'? Yes, a real problem such that some Tokyo trains/underground now have designated 'women-only' carriages during the rush-hour times. These are clearly marked. Shinjuku I've been to a few times (I lived in Tokyo from 1978 to 1994 and visit frequently) but it wasn't really in my patch. It is a very busy part of central north-west Tokyo. When I first started living in Tokyo the train station at Shinjuku had no signs at all in Romaji (western alphabet). It is a very Japanese district and therefore even more worth a visit - just be prepared to become a bit lost. Roppongi is a much more cosmopolitan area with plenty of restaurants and bars and was the only place in Tokyo where I ever felt as though I blended in (I'm 6ft 3in). But where ever you go for the night life it will be fun and pricey. Beers are usually about Yen 1000 (£6.60) for about a pint. Love Hotels certainly exist, although the famed 'Meguro Emperor' closed many years ago. Capsule hotels are also found easily enough, mostly near major railway junctions. Look at Tokyo as not so much a huge city but more as a collection of towns all linked by the train/subway (subway=tube). For online maps of the Tokyo train system go to ... http://www.tokyotopia.com/tokyo-train-map.html Other areas in Tojyo you might want to visit are Shinbashi, Shibuya and Akihabara - the latter is where loads of elctronic gadgets are sold. Food? You name it, they've got it so it's not all raw fish. Yakitori is chicken on sticks, udon and ramen are different types of noodles, tonkatsu is deep fried pork, korean barbecue restaurants are plentiful. MacDonald's, Pizza Hut, KFC are all there for the unadventurous. I'm sure you'll have tremendous fun - just be polite in your own way and you'll be fine. If you would like to talk directly, I can be found in The Platform Tavern in Town Quay on match days. And in the meantime ... http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/japanese/

Cheap tickets - it is usually cheaper to travel via a European city (Paris, Amsterdam, Helsinki) than flying non-stop. £500 for a return should be your benchmark. Sometimes it can be £550 but I travelled there earlier this month for £440. I use Expedia, Opodo, Travelocity or Ebookers but sometimes if you go direct to the website of the airline it can be a few pounds less. It might be worth checking out Finnair as they sometimes have surprisingly good offers, as does Air France. BA, Virgin, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways fly non-stop but usually at a premium. On arrival at Narita airport don't be put off by the phrase 'limousine bus'. To you and I this means a 'coach' to travel into the city centre and this is a good way to get into town if you have heavy bags. The train is also available and if you have your Japan Rail Pass (see below) you can activate it at the airport train station. If you intend to travel around Japan, a Japan Rail (JR) pass is a must ... http://www.japantravel.co.uk The Tokyo subway can be difficult to negotiate but it's cheap (one of the few things that is), efficient and hopelessly over-crowded. It would be very convenient to buy a Pasmo card - a pre-paid card which you touch onto a reader at the ticket gate. Using one doesn't make any savings but you won't have to decipher a subway map to work out how much you need to pay each time you travel so it is a great time saver. You can buy one at any ticket machine area with English language instructions available on-screen. http://www.pasmo.co.jp/en/ Sadly, the latest weakness in the Pound means Japan has gone back to being expensive again (a couple of years ago it was almost affordable) but if you look around there are plenty of affordable local restaurants with the menu often displayed in plastic model form in the window as Verbal says above. On the bright side this is a country with a no-tipping culture so you save 10 per cent straight away. If you go, make it more early April rather than late March as early April is cherry blossom time. Japan is a large country with a big north/south span so where you travel inside the country will determine the clothes you need. There will still be heavy snow up north but it will be much warmer in the south. At that time of year Tokyo will be changeable, it might be warm but it could be cold. When I was living there in 1983 there was snow in Tokyo in April, but this is unusual. Verbal suggests visiting Tsujiki fish market for breakfast - this is one of life's Great Treats. The auction is a great piece of theatre and the sushi will be as fresh as you will find onshore. Japan is a great place, very safe and petty honesty is rampant (if you lose your wallet on the train the chances are very high it will be handed in intact) but beware of hostess bars which can be outrageously expensive but are usually easy to identify. Other websites you might find useful are ... http://www.japan-guide.com/ http://www.tokyoessentials.com/ http://www.tourism.metro.tokyo.jp/english/

Thank you for posting this. That's some finish for the winnng goal.

Neither, I fear. There is far too much spadework to be done if I am ever going to sniff salvation. We all know FIFA/UEFA talk a good deal about 'fair play'. We also know neither Blatter nor Platini will ever do anything about it. Therefore the only way to get a 'fair play' working party to report on video-technology, post-match citing and suspensions and similar possibilities is for individual FAs to demand them. Ireland alone will have difficulty in achieving this. Since England has suffered similarly, a combined Irish and English approach might be more potent. Personally I doubt it. But the next time a blatant handball incident it happens - and there most certainly will be a next time - then maybe the other unfortunate country might seek an alliance with previous victims. One day justice will prevail; but until that happens I shall have to content myself by singing "we shall overcome" regularly.

All the more reason for us not to behave in the way they did in 86. And of course FIFA/UEFA won't replay the match, of course FIFA/UEFA will do nothing. As you say, they've got what they wanted. But if anything is ever going to change, right now the Irish need our full support and we should be unreserved in giving it. A gross injustice happened to us in 86 and our howls were ignored (yes, even laughed at). A gross injustice has been done to Ireland and their howls should be listened to, especially by us.

I would say that since we English were the victims of a blatant handball in 1986 we are well placed to show Ireland every sympathy. What puzzles me is that now, 36 hours after the match, the silence from FIFA and UEFA is deafening. Well done to the FAI for putting FIFA on the spot and our own FA should hold a press conference calling for 'something to be done' as the handball cheating is still around, 23 years after it happened to us. For what it's worth, Henry should be banned from playing for France for the next 10 competitive matches.

Thank you for this. I believe I got the year wrong for the victory at Ibrox. It was 1974, not 1975 as I had posted.

September 1975. Texaco Cup. 3-1 win at Ibrox against Glasgow Rangers. I had just started at uni up there. A question for Fitzhugh Fella ... what was Saints first ever competitive match played outside of England?

05-06 Smith Niemi Bart who was injured at Newcastle and was subbed putting in goal Blackstock Kevin Miller

Royal Air Force March Past ... for those Brave Boys of the Battle of Britain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwJiWBc-aws&feature=related The Italian National Anthem is a lot of fun and Vivaldi - Nulla in mundo pax sincera http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08a0rxFOYrs Bo Jovi - Livin' on a Prayer Beatles - Getting Better

I don't believe Dimbleby gave Mr Griffin a harder time last night than he does with any other politician who holds a controversial view. I've seen him give others a very hard time. Some can brush off attacks easily (Ken Clarke and Boris J for example both appear to have that 'teflon' quality) whereas others, Griffin now being one of them, have difficulty handling it. Griffin wanted to be taken seriously, his party won the seats to allow him a place on the panel and last night he experienced the consequences of holdings his views - just like any other politician. Nor is Mr Dimbleby alone in this style of aggressive questioning. How many times did Paxman ask Michael Howard that awkward question about Derek Lewis and several years ago? 12 times, wasn't it? Nope, Nick Griffin came up against democracy last night. He didn't like it and he wasn't very good at it.

A couple of years ago we were 0-2 up at QPR and won 0-3. The Ray Jones (RIP) game.

I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes And just for that one moment I could be you Yes, I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes You'd know what a drag it is to see you Bob Dylan - Positively 4th Street

Amongst them ... Dexter Blackstock

Delighted to see the noun 'album' being used rather than the more modern 'CD'. Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon Barclay James Harvest - Once Again

Make sure you have an empty bladder as it wouldn't do to be caught short.

Although he was flagged a few times yesterday, there was also evidence that he was checking and delaying his runs to avoid being offside. As was said earlier - it's still work in progress. It was also encouraging to see him gettting his foot in and putting up with a bit of buffeting and barging from the defenders.

I align myself with Mornington Crescent, Le God Third Coming, Chap in the Chapel and Nineteen Canteen. I saw a magnificent football match last night with superb support from both sets of fans. Every bit as enjoyable as some of our better Premiership matches. The fact we were defeated was due to a wonder goal that might have been avoided but had we taken the chances that fell to MS and AL in the second-half then we would have been hope and dry anyway. But even then, the chances for MS and AL were a clear sign of our new-found ability to make goal scoring opportinities; and it wasn't as if either MS or AL missed the target - they were both saved superbly by the Rovers keeper. So whilst we can curse Lady Luck with her cruel twist against us, I look foward to the match on Saturday and believe that elusive 'emphatic' victory will occur.

If Trotman's loan period ends in January and Campbell becomes available around about the same time, would he be a useful replacement until the end of the season?