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ALL THE INDICATORS SUGGEST…….

Mar 4th, 2007 by admin

All the indicators suggest that human nature and the achievement of earthly bliss (or anything even remotely resembling same)  are incompatible – or do I mean mutually exclusive? –  because of a mathematical  anomaly. Spell it out? Certainly: there are infinitely more saints in the world than  sinners, and  yet…… and yet any time a space traveller approaches Earth and asks his pilot, “Who’s winning down there?”  the answer is always the same: “The bastards!”

So far nobody has been able to work out why this is so,  [actually I have been able to come up with an explanation, but it is so depressing that I have decided to keep it to myself for now], and nobody has been able to change things though many very big names have tried. Nevertheless this disgraceful imbalance must be fought tooth and nail and for ever, but not all the time. It is a reason for  concern, and one should be concerned, but if one became obsessed one would go mad.

Besides, we who dote on sport of various types have access to a little oasis in an otherwise harsh environment; an oasis where the odds are  not so blatantly loaded in favour of  those with neither morals nor scruples. There we can find much to enjoy, and there we can build up the strength we will certainly need to continue fighting the good fight.

As the thoroughbred horse is a thing of great beauty, and a thoroughly virtuous beast (most of the time), racing will be our staple diet.

And if the  world outside sport becomes so unpalatable that one cannot help noticing, we will give those responsible the benefit of our advice. And on the odd occasions when Sport’s bad eggs (even racing has a few, often lurking in the most unexpected places)…. when Sport’s bad eggs poison the atmosphere, they will be called to account.

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  • SPORT 74 (NOV 1 2017)

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  • SPORT 73 (OCTOBER 1 2017)

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  • SPORT 72 (1 SEPT 2017)

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  • SPORT 71 (2 AUGUST 2017)

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  • SPORT 70 (JULY 1 2017)

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  • SPORT 69: 1 JUNE 2017

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  • SPORT 68 (3RD MAY 2017)

    STARTING April 8th. Grand National.  The Start. Total Cock-up. Who was to blame? The BHA. Has the BHA been charged? Good heavens no! 31 jockeys are “on report.” Then silence.…

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  • SPORT 67: 2 APRIL 2017

    OVALTINE? We understand that the developed world has stopped sleeping properly and is consequently malfunctioning. Serious concern has been expressed and much time and money is being devoted to the…

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  • SPORT 66 (MARCH 1 2017)

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  • SPORT 65 (FEB 2 2017)

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  • SPORT 63 (4TH DECEMBER 2016)

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  • SPORT 59 (END OF JULY 2016)

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  • SPORT 58 (END OF JUNE 2016)

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  • SPORT 57 (END OF MAY 2016)

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  • SPORT: GRAND NATIONALS 2016 (Aintree and Ayr)

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  • SPORT 55 (END OF MARCH 2016)

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  • SPORT 54 (2ND MARCH 2016)

    HAD TO GET A RUN INTO…. Our racing correspondent writes: There seems to be some correlation between the number of horses injured on the racecourse in recent months and the…

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  • SPORT 53 (FEBRUARY 2ND 2016)

    ABPs Donec’s policy is to entrust its financial observations to someone who knows all about right and wrong but nothing about money. Why? Because accountants are not always to be…

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  • SPORT 52 (NEW YEAR’S DAY 2016)

    Without the PSYCHOLOGY, which turned out to be a trifle too turgid, and can be kept for another day.   TINGLE CREEK CHASE, SANDOWN FIFTH DECEMBER, 2015. Sire de Grugy jumps…

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    January 2, 2016
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    December 4, 2015
  • SPORT 51 (END OF NOVEMBER 2015)

    SPORT 51 LADY JOCKEYS Donec’s oldest operative reminisces: “How well I remember foxhunting in my youth, with three packs in particular, Old Berks, Tedworth, Royal Artillery, and there was another…

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    November 30, 2015
  • SPORT 50 (END OF OCTOBER 2015)

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    November 5, 2015
  • SPORT 49 (END OF SEPTEMBER 2015)

    SIMPLE VERSE AND BONDI BEACH St Leger disqualification Donec’s only written comment in the run-up to the appeal was to express relief at not having to adjudicate. It was a…

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    October 3, 2015
  • POST 48 (END OF AUGUST 2015)

      RICHARD HUGHES RETIRES Once again R. Hughes is ahead of the game. Only now have I had time to collect my thoughts on this extraordinary man. I first became…

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    August 31, 2015
  • SPORT 47 (END OF JULY 2015)

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    August 1, 2015
  • SPORT 46 (END OF JUNE 2015)

    MARIA SHARAPOVA bites the poussiere, well done Serena. In a way I am pleased that my crusade is unnecessary: when I watched the semi final, her screams sounded infinitely less…

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    July 6, 2015
  • SPORT 45: END of MAY 2015

    WHIPPING EXCITES BARONET Sir Mark Prescott is a man for whom I have recently developed a profound admiration. He is very knowledgeable. I have no doubt that he knows all…

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    June 3, 2015
  • SPORT 44 (A HISTORIC EDITION)

    THE ELECTION I first noticed Cameron when he stole Winston’s gift to Racing – the Tote – and sold it to Fred Done. After that I kept a jaundiced eye…

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    April 30, 2015
  • SPORT 43 (END OF MARCH 2015)

    STARTING At Cheltenham the starting was so much better than in previous years. However the present system has an Achilles Heel, which will betray it sooner or later. Flat racing…

    Read more…

    April 5, 2015
  • SPORT 42: END OF FEB 2015

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    March 3, 2015
  • SPORT 41 (END OF JAN 2015)

    BITTAR Donec regrets Paul Bittar’s resignation and is astonished. Since the 1990s, when Lord Hartington (now the Duke of Devonshire) and Christopher Haines took racing by the scruff of the…

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    February 3, 2015
  • SPORT 40 (NEW YEAR’S DAY 2015)

    Happy New Year!  First the very best news CALIFORNIA CHROME In Sport 38 we praised him for finishing third (beaten a head and a neck) in the Breeders Cup Classic,…

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    January 1, 2015
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    December 1, 2014
  • SPORT 38.5 (DIRTY WORK AFOOT)

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    November 16, 2014
  • SPORT 38 (END OF OCTOBER 2014)

    STARTING  UNDER NH RULES Donec returns to this subject reluctantly and with apologies. Needs must, because the signs are ominous. Recently the BHA’s Mr Stier issued a press release to…

    Read more…

    November 4, 2014
  • SPORT 37.5 (STARTING UPDATE)

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    October 12, 2014
  • SPORT 37 (END OF SEPTEMBER 2014)

    GBB Toby Balding, who died recently, trained winners at the highest level. His record is superb. What stopped him from doing even better was his belief that there was more…

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    October 5, 2014
  • SPORT 36 (End of Aug. 2014)

    RACING The prospect of Paul Bittar’s departure from the BHA is a source of great sadness. Before he was even in the hot seat, in 2011, he had taken stock…

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    August 30, 2014
  • SPORT 35: End of July 2014

    STARTING (big fields under NH rules) The sporting world is abuzz with the rumour that the perfect big-field start has not only been seen in Britain, but has actually been…

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    August 4, 2014
  • SPORT 34 END OF JUNE 2014

    C4 Racing  –  Waving or Drowning? We are looking for reasons why 20 percent less viewers (than last year) watched C4 Racing’s Ascot Gold Cup  coverage. Possibly it’s because the…

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    June 29, 2014
  • SPORT 33: End of May 2014

    STARTING The Grand National Fall-Out has yet to hit the ground. A Disciplinary Hearing is due on 11th June. It would be nice to find it applying itself to improving…

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    June 2, 2014
  • SPORT 32 (End of April 2014)

    STARTING I am pleased that chaos (at the start of the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National) has not triggered the kind of knee-jerk reaction that can only make…

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    May 4, 2014
  • SPORT 31 (End of March 2014)

    THE BUDGET. I understand that the recent budget contained provision for a measure requiring offshore bookmakers to contribute towards racing’s finances in the same way as bookmakers based in Britain.…

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    March 30, 2014
  • MUPDATE 16: February Round-Up

    Football A My interest in the round ball game is more than half-hearted, but less than full-on: mainly I confine myself to the Premiership and the pan-European club scene. The…

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    March 3, 2014
  • Mupdate 15: January Round-Up

    John Porter of Kingsclere (1838 -1922) Wikipedia suggests that the great trainer’s father wanted his son to become a lawyer, but his son opted for the turf. When it was…

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    February 6, 2014
  • MUPDATE 14: December Round-Up

        Racing 1 The Starting Jungle is fascinating.  On Hennessy day at Newbury   the 1.50 was a 17-runner hurdle race.   The field came on to the course from the…

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    January 8, 2014
  • MUPDATE 13 (OCTOBER ROUND-UP)

    JUDICIAL REVIEW (PART 2) In my HARD WORDS  article (Sport) I suggested that it would not be too late to seek a Judicial Review of the Government’s decision to pocket…

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    October 28, 2013
  • HARD WORDS

    Ten years ago the BHB (British Horseracing Board, as it was called in those days) went to court to establish that the data generated by the racing industry was the…

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    October 2, 2013
  • MUPDATE 12 (AUG/SEPT ROUND-UP)

    The prophet Jeremiah never stopped castigating his fellow men for various shortcomings; to such an extent that quite soon (we’re talking about 600 BC) the average citizen took to the…

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    October 2, 2013
  • A LETTER TO MR STIER

    Dear Mr Stier, During your discussion with Nick Luck on Channel 4 television in July (or was it early August?), you explained your belief that the Rules of Racing concerning…

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    August 30, 2013
  • Mupdate 11 (July Round-Up)

    The Lions The ways of providence never cease to amaze me. A second judicial officer decides that Australian captain James Horwill did nothing wrong when he tap-danced on the upturned…

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    July 31, 2013
  • FALMOUTH FALL-OUT

    Falmouth Stakes, Newmarket. 12th July 2013. (Group 1, £102,078 to winner, £38,700 to the second) PART 1 At the 2-furlong marker, Elusive Kate, ridden by Buick, is galloping close to…

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    July 31, 2013
  • SIR HENRY CECIL

    I never met Henry Cecil.  Very, very attractive human beings are rare, and superb trainers are even rarer. To have passed a lifetime not that far away from one who…

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    June 24, 2013
  • Mupdate 10 (June Round-Up)

    Racing Ascot is already a bit of a blur in my memory – there was too much going on, and I was constantly being distracted. My strongest impressions? I suspect…

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    June 24, 2013
  • General 2: Cameron & Marriage

    Here we have a Prime Minister who wishes to encourage, applaud and recommend domestic arrangements between couples of the same sex. Why not? Such arrangements have been common practice and…

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    June 2, 2013
  • Mupdate 9: May Round-Up

    Racing 1. Just before the 2000 Guineas I was interested to hear a C4 voice saying: “There is no parade. The horses go down to the start one by one,…

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    June 2, 2013
  • SPORT 30: Horse Racing & Animal Welfare – Part 2

    I have read with interest the post-Aintree reactions of those most closely concerned with that meeting in general and with the Grand National in particular. I was reminded that the…

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    May 1, 2013
  • Mupdate 8: April Round-Up

    Racing Liverpool Foxhunters and Topham Trophy. In both cases the starts involved two bad practices (close-packed formation and a period of uncomfortable rotation) and both races experienced false starts. Grand…

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    May 1, 2013
  • Sport 29: THE AINTREE IRONY

    What new evidence has Aintree 2013 added to the Great Starting Debate? “Thursday, 3.40  Foxhunters. Large field wandering around at the start, under no form of direction or control. Followed…

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    April 8, 2013
  • MUPDATE 7 (MARCH)

    Racing 2.40 Cheltenham. 12th March.”They’re whizzing round” and “ Such-and-such  is sweating buckets.” Two of the comments from C4’s eagle-eyed watchers.  Describing the scene,in the holding area,  off the course, before…

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    March 29, 2013
  • Monthly Update 6: February Round-up

    Football In view of rugby union’s ongoing “trial” of Television Monitoring of Foul Play (with the power to intervene instantly), it is interesting to see Sepp Blatter bouncing with excitement…

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    March 3, 2013
  • BBC: Bottom of the Barrel

    On the evening of Sunday 17th February the BBC gave us  “Problems with Drink,” the finale of its “Blandings” series. This saga first saw the light of day in a…

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    February 20, 2013
  • BBC v WODEHOUSE: More Foul Play

    “BLANDINGS” BBC1     10th February 2013 “Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend” Let the credits roll. Guy Andrews (writer), Spencer Campbell (producer), Paul Seed (director), Michelle Buck and Damien…

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    February 15, 2013
  • BBC SAVAGES WODEHOUSE

    On Sunday evening (Feb 3)) I watched something called “Blandings” on BBC 1. This is based on a book of Wodehouse short stories called “Lord Emsworth Acts for the Best.”…

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    February 4, 2013
  • Monthly Update 5: January Update

    Racing Saturday 26th January saw the return of top class NH racing and another chance for the new look C4 TV to make an impression. This all came together at…

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    February 1, 2013
  • SPORT 28: STARTING! AGAIN? I’m afraid so!

    “Look at them now. They’re all bunched up and getting competitive.” A description, not of galloping horses  reaching the top of the hill at Cheltenham, but of the “holding area”…

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    January 17, 2013
  • Monthly Update 4: December Round-up

    Most of the things I think about, this winter, make me spit with rage. Perhaps it’s something to do with the weather. However, putting that sort of stuff into words…

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    January 8, 2013
  • SPORT 27: WELL, IT’S A START

    In recent weeks, watching racing on TV, I’ve noticed that down at the start there is a lot more walking going on, where once one saw horses milling about in…

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    December 21, 2012
  • Monthly Update 3: Postscript to 2

    England’s victory over the All Blacks was absolutely stunning. I don’t think they played better when they won the World Cup. The late great Carwyn James himself would have enthused…

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    December 6, 2012
  • MONTHLY UPDATE 2: November Round-up

    Rugby Union From what little I saw of the autumn internationals, we can look forward to a rubbish winter on a global scale. I have only two lasting impressions. South…

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    December 1, 2012
  • Sport 26; STARTING – 11th NOVEMBER 2012

    The start of the Badger Ales Chase at Wincanton on November 10th was interesting. The horses were on the track when the TV cameras first focussed on them, 13 runners…

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    November 12, 2012
  • Monthly Updates 1.

    At the end of November, we will issue an account of all that has caught our eye during the month, for better or for worse – the good, the bad…

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    October 30, 2012
  • SPORT 25: Starting Large NH fields

    I question the necessity of taking the runners off the course at the start, and it is certainly true that with large fields (15 is about the tipping point) it…

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    October 20, 2012
  • 24: FRANKEL, PART TWO

      My one worry about Frankel’s run at York, on Wednesday, 22nd August 2012,  concerned the journey from the racecourse stables on the far side of the back straight to…

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    August 24, 2012
  • 23: FRANKEL’S PLACE IN HISTORY

    In 1946 Fred Darling of Beckhampton, England’s premier trainer (seven Derby winners to his name), had in his care Tudor Minstrel, a two-year-old well enough bred to win him another…

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    August 16, 2012
  • Sport 22: JULY LOCAL SURVEY

    FOOTBALL The bare facts of the Eurochampionships speak for themselves. England were beaten (not at football, but at penalties) by Italy, who ended up as losing finalists. That means that,…

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    July 25, 2012
  • Sport 21: Amir Khan makes me weep

    I weep for the waste of talent so far. I weep for the tragedy which may well lie ahead. Am I over-reacting? Judge for yourselves….. Here is a young warrior.…

    Read more…

    July 15, 2012
  • 20: GRAND NATIONAL COMMENTARY?

    The Grand National, first run in the middle of the 19th century, developed into the ultimate test for horse and rider, over a long distance and across what used to be…

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    June 2, 2012
  • SPORT 19: STARTING POINTS 4

    . Haydock Park.12th May 2012 2.00 Hurdle Race 3 miles 18 runners 3.40 Hurdle Race 2 miles 19 runners   The runners stayed on the track throughout the preliminaries before…

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    May 20, 2012
  • MUNCH SCREAM NOT RUBBISH

    THE SCREAM by EDVARD MUNCH has recently become the highest price artwork ever to be sold at auction. THE SCREAM is a danger signal, a warning that human existence can…

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    May 11, 2012
  • SPORT 18: STARTING POINTS 3

     (BIG FIELDS, CHAOS) Aintree, 2012 Thursday.  I watched the Foxhunters, a big field, with I think two false starts. Amateur riders, and I am sure management will claim that everything…

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    April 15, 2012
  • SPORT 17: STARTING POINTS 2

    The first race on the Wednesday of the Cheltenham Festival (I had been otherwise engaged on the Tuesday) was the National Hunt Chase, with 20 runners ridden by amateur riders.…

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    March 18, 2012
  • SPORT 16: STARTING POINTS 1

    In the past, steeplechasers cantered down to the start, then walked round in a circle behind the tapes while tack adjustments and similar preliminaries were attended to. All this in…

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    March 4, 2012
  • SPORT 15: RACING’S LAST (AND BEST) CHANCE? BITTAR

    Mr Paul Bittar’s reaction to the whip problem has been a marvel to behold. One “Comment” in the Racing Post said “He’s the best Ozzie to come to England since…

    Read more…

    February 25, 2012
  • Sport 14: Horse Racing & Animal Welfare

                Throughout the Whip Debate so far I have been intrigued by occasional expressions of concern, within the racing community itself, about the public’s “perception” of racing’s Animal Welfare (AW) arrangements, …

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    January 21, 2012
  • SPORT 12: Dr Tim MORRIS (alias WHIPPERSNAPPER)

    No jockeys featured on the BHA’s Whip Rules Committee. Membership was restricted to BHA insiders. The functions of most of them suggest that they were Disciplinarians. (See BHA website). The…

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    October 26, 2011
  • SPORT 11: Latest Bulletin – Sport Dying!

    Throughout the world sport is under siege from criminals who wish to corrupt it in order to enrich themselves through the agency of worldwide crooked gambling and other ramifications of a sinful…

    Read more…

    July 18, 2010
  • SPORT 10: J’accuse…. Andy Murray

    For the first eight games of his Wimbledon semi-final, Murray played Nadal like a smart angler outwitting a less than brilliant fish. He achieved this by guile, subtlety and consummate skill,…

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    July 4, 2010
  • General 1: Democracy

    If democracy is adopted by a local community, local decisions will be made by the  majority of  those who live  in that community, and know a bit about what  goes on –…

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    December 23, 2009
  • Sport 9: CARWYN JAMES AND “THAT TRY”

    I have always known that Carwyn James was the greatest rugby coach ever (his Lions’ tours were both successful and his Welsh club Llanelli beat a touring All Blacks side).…

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    December 23, 2009
  • SPORT 8: Eye-Gouging, International Rugby Board blindfolded?

    In the third Lions’ Test, the wretched Springboks wore armbands in support of one of their forwards, who was banned for a misdemeanour in the previous test, and the International…

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    July 30, 2009
  • BBC Part 1: Could there be Life After Death?

    The parentage of the BBC was a marriage between the national despair at the pointless waste of human life for which the First World War was responsible, and the hope…

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    July 28, 2009
  • POLITICS 7: Western Democracy, Systemic Failure, Model Recall?

    Promoting “Western Democracy” has become embarrassing since that process produced George Bush and Tony Blair (followed by the Unspeakable Rictus, Gordon Brown) as the best it could offer in the…

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    May 6, 2009
  • SPORT 7: Paradise Spurned

    The FA is within touching distance of football paradise, but refuses to pop the question, tie the knot and live happily ever after. I wonder why. As things stand at this…

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    April 2, 2009
  • POLITICS 6: Democracy – The real cause for concern.

    Democracy 6: The real cause for concern. The only cause for real concern.

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    December 9, 2008
  • POLITICS 4 (MRSA Westminster variety)

    A crooked man recruits a band of equally crooked nonentities and tells them that they are going to go into politics, because in politics there are no rules against corrupt…

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    February 5, 2008
  • POLITICS 5 (Sewer Rats)

    For the sake of argument, let us say that the legacy of the Labour government, when its time is up, will be a level of corruption in government circles and…

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    February 5, 2008
  • SPORT 6: In her Hour of Need

    All at Donec are of Celtic origin, and usually indulge in a certain amount of hilarity when England suffers, but the dismal situation of her football team demands a multinational approach,…

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    November 25, 2007
  • Sport 5

    From our Sports correspondent. The time has come to tackle the weird and wonderful world of English Cricket – before it’s too late and the national side embarks on the…

    Read more…

    April 26, 2007
  • POLITICS 3

    POLITICS 3 His legacy. I suppose it must relate to his career. He started by persuading the Labour Party to shelve temporarily their more extreme socialist principles. That way, I…

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    April 1, 2007
  • sport 4

     From our sporting correspondent:   In Sport 3, I  referred to the disappointing form of the England football team. Since then we have had the game against Israel, which caused tumultuous…

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    March 30, 2007
  • Sport 3

    I know nothing about football, but I watch the best games fairly regularly ( International matches, European club competitions, also the top teams in the Premiership). One thing particularly intrigues…

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    March 22, 2007
  • Politics 2

    Let’s suppose that only the air we breathe is more pervasive than government. If air is poisonous, it causes long-term sickness to all the living things that breathe it. It…

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    March 20, 2007
  • CULTURE 1: Poetic

    There is a poem which goes as follows: Le tems a laissie son manteau De vent, de froidure et de pluie Et s’est vestu de broderye De soleil riant, cler…

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    March 10, 2007
  • Introduction to Politics

    The thing to bear in mind is the pervasiveness of government. It touches every single citizen all the time and in many ways. Just think health, education, employment, tax, law…

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    March 10, 2007

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