No alternative?

I passed an advertising hoarding tonight and was regaled with a picture of a soldier in desert uniform. It advises us that he doesn't need an alternative voting system, he needs body armour. So, we've established he doesn't have the requisite equipment to protect him. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but that's happening now, under the present voting system. How's that working out for him? Just asking.

Good Weekend

Despite atrocious conditions, one referee refusing to travel and another missing the ferry, Paisley 1st XV made it to Mull. 10-0 down with 15 minutes to go, a couple of flashes of genius sealed the deal and Paisley won 10-12. They showed a huge amount of character to make a comeback and rightfully celebrated long into the night.

On Sunday, after I'd told everyone Scotland would nick a win, they came pretty close to doing it. Young Jackson is starting to show some star quality and Geoff Cross, when he came on, shored up a creaky scrum. Hats off to England for playing some sparkling rugby, but I suspect Johnno will be the less happy of the two coaches right now. Wales got away with taking a quick lineout with a different ball on Saturday, but on Sunday, England didn't.

All in all, I'd say I've had a good weekend, if a somewhat hungover one.

Oldies but goodies

Paisley's Development XV played Bishopton today at Holmpark, and with few exceptions, the old farts stole the show. Seve, Fraz, Spud, Tony, scarred hoary old veterans, putting bodies on the line (OK it's a bit dramatic, but you get the gist) and paying the price for it. On the other side, Kevin Mason (elderly Munsterman), Eric Pirie (52, would you Adam and Eve it?) and others too numerous to mention (actually I don't know their names) played their part in making the game a joy to watch.

Of course, some of the younger contingent made a difference. Brian (quick), Marcus (quicker) and Gordy (shit off a shovel) caused some damage to a slightly (guffaw) older Bishy defence, but I believe they employed tripwires to good effect. Youngest guy on the pitch, Gav, managed to mess with the heads of several of the home older, wiser (guffaw) Bishy players. Having almost managed to get Eric's blood pressure up enough to throw a punch at him, he turned, grinned and winked at his Dad, who seemed relatively pleased. If I may be serious for a moment though, I'd appreciate it if Paisley would desist throwing hospital passes to Tank just as the opposition pack arrives on his doorstep. Tank would likely appreciate it too. He is, after all, around five stone dripping wet. By the way, he had a very good game too today.

The score? Oh, I'm so glad you asked. We lost 7-5, but one of the Bishopton players, who shall remain nameless (Kevin Mason), admitted that we were the better side and should have won. I'll settle for that.