FatDave

Anna Karenina - Tolstoy. Read it after War And Peace, a novel which grabbed me and shook me and dragged me along with all the troubles and worries and changes and rises and falls. I sobbed my 30 year old blokey eyes out when what happened happened (trying to stay spoiler free here). I read Anna Karenina and I just couldn't sympathise with the protagonist at all. I found that by a third of the way in I hated her, and rather than shock at the ending, I felt a liffle bit of relief, especially for her long suffering squeeze Count Vronsky. God what a chore it was.

I hear good things about Worksop - http://www.matterseyrapc.org.uk/ I'm not a member yet but when I can afford my FAC I'll apply. You have to stand 6 months as a prohibationary member (this is apparently the law, though I'm told this is sometimes waved if you're already a member of another shooting club) and the club will tell you how many supervised shoots (and likely club meetings) you have to attend in that time. There are a few shotgun clubs around, the one's I've attended are Sheffiled Muzzle Loaders's http://www.smlagb.co.uk/ which meet every first and third Sunday of the month at Owler Bar. They specialise in old fashioned muzzle loading guns but you're welcome to use modern breach loaders too. They have monthly (ish) full bore rifle and pistol shoots too, which they hold in Doncaster. Another option is Wortley Sporting Clays - http://www.wortleysportingclays.webeden.co.uk/ (WARNING: the website can be slow, and have a look at that "we are here" map. Are they about the best directions you've ever seen?) it's a large shoot held about twice a month (dates on the website) and it'll cost you about £20 to shoot 50 clays, which includes gun and shells and somebody to walk round with you. One of the guys who runs it is John Brown - http://www.brownslockstockandbarrel.co.uk/ in Hillsborough, so it's best to let him know before you turn up. He got me into shooting and sold me my first gun. They're very approachable and understanding for complete beginners like I was.

Thanks for that, we all thought that he was the only person in the world that has bowel cancer. A man will die slightly earlier than he had hoped, nobody survives life anyway. We mourn less for the man, more for the work he will never create. The Bridge is my favourite novel, it has made me a lifelong fan. Between Banks and Pratchett we're losing two of the greatest writers in their fields. For every Banks the world flukes out, there are a million Paris Hilton's, Jordan's, and TOWIE rejects. The queues for X-Factor reach for miles while only the very rare, and very lucky, will ever know Iain Banks's name.

That's the quote of the year. What does my head in most is when people put something like, 'can't wait for the new films, hopefully they'll do a good job this time.' We those people who think that they didn't do a good job last time need to take their opinions, go away and watch something else, because the films weren't made for them.

Decent advice. I'd like to add, make sure to check the waranty seal. If the seal is broken, then it's likely that the machine has been chipped at some point. Mate of mine bought one from Cash Converters (spit) in Bradford, and paid not much less than full price. He got it home and tried getting on the net only to find that the XBox had been banned, so he could never play online with it. If you're not bothered about playing online, then there are loads of banned XBoxes on ebay and they're a lot cheaper than the ones which aren't banned.

Vernon God Little - DBC Pierre Just finished it actually. I'm usually sceptial about 1st person present tense novels but this one is a work of genius. Like Catcher In The Rye but with a school massacre thrown in.

I'll 2nd that. Here's a list of people the world would have been better off without then (though yes there are some for whom that statement is correct): http://www.soveriegn.freeservers.com/drugs.htm

Yeah, ALS is pretty decent.

Hargate Hall. We got married there a cpl years ago and we've been back to visit since. It's a huge stately home in the Peak District, you rent the entire place and grounds for the full weekend. There's enough room to sleep 70 odd people, and the price of the rooms is usually passed on to the guests. It cost us £500 to hire it after people'd paid for their rooms. http://www.hargate-hall.co.uk/ Go visit the place and you'll fall in love with how quirky the bedrooms are. ---------- Post added 17-02-2013 at 19:43 ---------- Oh, and sorry I don't sound too enthusiastic about it, but I'm dog tired. But the place is just beautiful. We fell in love with it, so much so that when they had a competition to win a weekend there by writing about the place, I had to enter: http://blog.hargate-hall.co.uk/emma-and-davids-wedding/

Dead Space are indeed awesome games. I'm a bit soft when it comes to horror games, so I looked forward to the release of the latest one with a bit of dread, knowing I hate playing scary games, but also knowing that I HAVE to play it as the series is so good. Best to start at the begining though, you should be able to pick the first one up dirt cheap.

I've just started collecting the comics (due entirely to the awesome Dredd film) and I can confirm that early on he does infact de-helm. He is only shown from the back and the reaction of the criminal is one of disgust at Dredd's appearance. I was hoping that this would be some kind of story arc but I take it by your post that it's never really revealed why he's got a face the proverbial slapped arse. *EDIT* jumped the gun a bit, didn't see Beakerzoid's reply until after, which pretty much rendered mine redundant.

Nope but I'd love to. I can write but I make up for that with ZERO (and I can't capitalise that enough) drawing talent. I have several ideas (most quite Ennis-esque) for graphic novels, but wouldn't really know how to get them off my brain-paper and into the real world. Oh and in response to the eye-rolling so prevalent that I can just about hear it, Graphic novels are gaining respect yearly. Several have won notable literary awards, including a Pulitzer for Mauz in 1992. This year’s Pulitzer board has also publicly said that they would not rule out a graphic novel for the prize.

Harold's Going Stiff - 7/10 Zombie comedy filmed in Sheffield. Pretty funny, though the comedy detracts from what should have been some easy heartwarming set pieces. My rating might be a little bit biased by how much I love hearing a Yorkshire accent in films. I will say this though, a southerner (which in my opinion is anybody south of Chesterfield) who watches this would be led to believe that in Sheffield it's nowt but fields and houses are about five miles apart.

Rec3 - 3/10. Utter garbage. They should have stopped after Rec2 and ended on a high.

Anybody who kills themselves as a result of a practical joke can't have been very happy anyway. Anybody who kills themselves and leaves kids behind is a scumbag who deserves no sympathy from anyone. The lesson we seem to have been told to take from what happened last year is do nothing that concerns anybody else in the world in case they overreact massively. Not a fan of Richard Hammond or this kind of cheap comedy, but do I think it should be filed in a box marked "Thou Shalt Not"? No, of course not.

Oh my God what a classic. The 2nd one anorl was pure corny shock horror genius.

John Dies At The End - 10/10 Absolutely blinding film. A B-movie through and through, the cgi is laughable, and there are some truely dire blue screen sets, but it was well cast and well made. In fact it was done so right that it works perfectly. There were parts I actually screamed with laughter. A modern cult classic; proof that a big budget would have done nothing that a well written zany story and shrewed casting decisions couldn't. A rare gem. Off to Amazon now to buy the book.

I've seen them in cartons in co-op in Hillsborough.

Just finished it misen, and I'd agree with your review. A couple of cheesy lines didn't spoil it, nor did Karl Urban's over the top angry-face. If only they'd have found a place for Miley Cyrus or Rihanna it might have been a hit, as it is it will remain a rare gem with a small cult following.

That's the one... Found this to download it: http://www.moonstonetavern.co.uk/

"The Gods pause a moment to contemplate your fate."

Read: Don't offer an opinion, or give aid, or ask for help, or register complaint without expecting insult. Well done, you were born for the internet.

To clear up, I never said it was the postman, it says that nowhere. Secondly, the package was very pell packaged, and was torn with purpose, not through wear. Every Christmas it's the same story, cards come opened, some torn open, some carefully opened along the seal. The kindest explination for this is that the machines RM use are too harsh on the mail, and if this is the case then they aren't fit for the job. I think it's safe to say that the most obvious explination, considering the way the damage done, is that there are thieves working in them thar offices. levisage, for you to reply with such an offensive, overboard, and insulting comment like that, the first things I thought were that you were either a troll or an internet hard man. Having looked over your last posts, however, I can see that you're neither of those things, and so I would just ask that you please keep such abrasivness away from light hearted posts if they have my name on them. ---------- Post added 21-12-2012 at 20:41 ---------- The mail goes through so many different hands it's impossible to tell who did what. Chances are that it wasn't the posty, as they're usually the ones having to make excuses on the door step, but someone in an office at the sorting room. I will be complaining, and suggest you do the same. Nobody will be held to account, I'm quite sure, but somewhere, on some wall at head office will be a chart which describes the number of complaints for each region, and with enough input action will be taken on a managment level.

...for not stealing out of the parcel you opened today. I know how that temptation is there, especially with it being Christmas and all these mysterious pressies passing through your hands. Who wouldn't rip open cards looking for money? Who wouldn't take the chance of a free presant when it comes into your sorting office? The answer is human beings who would think theft of Christmas presants inhuman. Luckily for me I'm a nerd and the thieving get who opened my private mail wasn't, and so the comics inside were safe from him, but not from the elements after he left the box open. P.S. Does anybody know where I can buy a schitzo sharp-toothed clostrophobic ferret with AIDS from with free delivery?

All good points, well made. And then... My God, really? I know that there are some people who like the entirely forgettable DotD remake for some reason, but better than the original? I feel that the universe has just been turned on its head.