A Lad Insane

Back on topic the two places that I have visited that most remind me of Sheffield are Antwerp and Bilbao.

The consensus here in Chez Vegas is that the lights are from the circus that is in town.

Police helicopter over Clay Cross. There is a rumour somebody has got a job.

My grandad and grandma Charles Arthur and Eva Mary Ann Dolling lived on Little Lane for many years. Their three children Roy, Les and Vera were all born there. Grandad went through the first world war and was extremely superstitious. When the bombs were falling in the second world war there were 13 people in the air raid shelter so he made one stand outside!

Both my Grandad, Fred Clayton and my dad Roy Dolling worked at Firth Browns, Fred worked there for over 50 years and worked the last few years in the stores and dad worked there before moving to Firth Vickers, When I was about to start work my dad asked me what I wanted to do and I said I wanted to join him and grandad in the steel works, he told me not to such a silly bugger and to get an office job. Now I'm retired and I still remember his words of advice,

Really enjoyed the game. Thought the Owls slightly shaded it but both teams had chances to win. The Wednesday players work rate was excellent and showed a fair degree of skill. Please leave off Nuhui as the lad run his socks off and looked really upset to be taken off. He may not be Ronaldo but he gives 100% and his luck in front of goal is bound to change. Finally, a big thumbs up to the Derby fans who joined in the round of applause in the 33rd minute.

It's about time that both sets of fans accepted neither club has a pot to pee in, however, I suspect that would only trigger an argument about if they did have a pot which teams pot would be bigger.

When I was growing up in the late fifties/early sixties money was very tight in our household but I never went hungry and my mum and dad always ensured that there was food on the table. In this day and age it beggars belief that any parents would let a child go without food throughout an entire weekend. This is child abuse at its worst and Clive should be on the phone to Social Services rather than raising it in the House of Commons where he is experienced enough to know that Tory Boy would dodge the question to score a cheap political point.

Just a thought. What happened to the phoney sheikh that used to work at the News of the World? I hope he hasn't fetched up a Bramall Lane in a new guise as a Saudi Prince.

I personally would never have a tattoo done by anyone who I haven't seen their work or who has been personally recommended. You need to remember that a tattoo is for life and if you rush into it you may have a long time to have regrets. I love all my tattoos and I have no regrets about any of my tattoos as they all mean something to me but I did my research first and used the tattooists who had the experience to do the job. Good luck with your tattoo!

I had my back piece done by Jim at Thou Art and I can recommend him but I think he has gone back to Scotland. I spent quite a few hours in the studio at Thou Art having my tattoos done and all the artists seemed very professional. The tattooists at Q Tattoo are also very good.

Give the lad a chance. Everyone makes mistakes at his age (I know I did) and if he has a chance to shine at a new club I hope he takes it and doesn't waste his talent as a number of players have before.

What's the odds on Sticky Vickie and Juicy Lucy?

The HMRC are the most useless organisation I have ever had to deal with. Since I retired I have made 5 separate phone calls to sort out the tax codes on my pensions. The average length of time it has taken to speak to a 'real' person is in excess of 45 minutes and on one occasion it was over an hour to get through (yes I know I'm a pudding for hanging on but part of you thinks that after the next 'you are in a queue and we will get to you as soon as possible' there is a remote chance that they will pick up the phone). If that isn't bad enough they seem only to employ people who only have a passing knowledge of tax affairs (the reason for 5 calls was they didn't get my tax codes right on the first 4 occasions despite their acknowledgement they had screwed up and they would put it right immediately. I'm not usually someone to moan but the HMRC would test the patience of a saint.

The largest authorities will always have the highest level of Council Tax arrears as they have the largest sums to collect. A better comparison is the amount of arrears divided by the number of Council Tax payers. An analysis on that basis shows that Sheffield City Council isn't as bad as the gross arrears figure appears to show.