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The Six Nations and Some Sunday Shares

Some thoughts on round two of the 2017 six nations, and a few Sunday shares.

INTRODUCTION

Yesterday saw the first two matches in round two of the 2017 Six Nations. This afternoon Scotland and France will fight out the final game of the weekend.

ENGLAND SQUEEZE PAST WALES

In the women’s match which preceded this England won 63-0, which gave them 89 unanswered points in their last 120 minutes of rugby (they were 0-13 down at half-time against France last week).

Wales dominated the men’s match for long periods, but too often did not turn pressure into points and eventually a 77th minute try put England in front for the first and only time of the match. England have not been all that impressive in either of their matches to date, but is the mark of champions to find a way to win even when not playing well.

IRELAND THRASH ITALY

Ireland were always in control of this match, with two players (Stander and Gilroy) recording hat tricks of tries. For the first hour the scoreline was semi-respectable but then the floodgates opened and the Irish winning margin mushroomed to over 50 points.

Two matches in to this tournament it is hard to see Italy doing anything other than bring up the rear, a long way adrift of the rest.

SOME SUNDAY SHARES

We start the shares with a couple of public transport related bits…

THE GREED OF THE PRIVATE RAIL COMPANIES

Private operators have creamed of more than £3.5 billion in profits from running Britain’s railways over the last ten years, while services get worse and prices go up. Click on the image below to read in more detail, courtesy of AOL:

Rail firms' £3.5billion profit despite passengers' fury at dire service

AN EXTENSION FOR THE BAKERLOO LINE

The extension, from Elephant & Castle to Lewisham is expected to open in 2028-9. Click on the image below to read the Time Out piece in full. I have already pressed a link on to my London transport themed website and will be writing about it in more detail in due course.

TfL has revealed where the new Bakerloo line stations will be

THE WENSUM VALLEY UNDER THREAT

The Wensum Valley is a very beautiful part of Norfolk, but a malign group of ‘planners’ are putting this beauty at risk – they intend to send a big new road through the heart of it. Please watch the video below to see what we are seeking to protect:

A COUPLE OF REGULARS

Another reminder that James and Sons next auction is on the 20th, 21st and 22nd of February, the first two days at our shop, the third at the Maids Head Hotel, Norwich. Click on the image below, from lot 891, to view a full catalogue…

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Finally, the Autism Awareness Cup 2017 will be taking place at Ingoldisthorpe Social Club on June 4th. Click on the image below to visit the website.

A Return After Long Absence

INTRODUCTION

The reason that I have not been blogging recently is that I have been ill. I returned to work yesterday, having left work early one week previously due to illness. Some traces remain but not enough to prevent me working.

SOME THOUGHTS ON THE ENGLAND
TEST CRICKET CAPTAINCY

After 59 matches in charge Alastair Cook is no longer England test captain. His replacement seems to be being decided between Stuart Broad (who has previously captained England in limited overs cricket) and Joe Root (the bookies favourite). 

My choice out of these two would be Root. Specialist fast bowlers are rarely successful as test captains owing to the energy that their specialism takes out of them when they are in the field. The concern over Root is whether having the captaincy will adversely affect his batting.

SOME PICTURES

These pictures are of missing February images that I created yesterday….

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Click on the image above to view a full auction catalogue.

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THE AUTISM AWARENESS CUP WEBSITE

To visit the new website for the Autism Awareness Cup please click here.

 

 

 

Trosapolitiker besinna er – Trosa politicians think again!

Anna here showcases a splendid letter from a former strategic planner at SL, Stockholm Public Transport (there is also more air time for a comment of mine)…

Anna's avatarAnnas Art - FärgaregårdsAnna

006-havsorn-gillsvikenSea eagle at Gillbergsvik Käftudden Trosa 2017

After Swedish text a google translation to English follows.

Politikerna i Trosa har fått ännu en skrivelse angående exploateringsplanerna för västra Trosa och Tureholmshalvön. Ni kan läsa den nedan.

Vill ni också agera och låta politikerna veta vad ni tycker om deras planer, skriv till politikerna.

Har ni frågor om hur ni kan agera kan ni eposta mig på anna@fargaregarden.se

Ni kan också läsa skrivelsen från boende vid Gillbergsvik Käftudden i inlägget Låt örnen flyga.

Dela gärna detta inlägg vidare, så att många kan läsa och få information om frågan.

till-trosas-politiker-feb-2017-pdf_sida_1till-trosas-politiker-feb-2017-pdf_sida_2

Trosa politicians has got a new letter from citizen who thinks the exploitation of Trosa nature is not so good idea considering the need to save Trosa nature. You can read a google translation of the letter here:

“Letter to the politicians in Trosa
Municipal government, City Council,
Planning Board
For information…

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Why Trump’s Refugee Ban is Stupid

A devastating analysis of Trump’s refugee ban from Heather Hastie…

In short, it’s stupid because refugees are the safest of all immigrants to the country and it creates animosity where relationships most need development. Once again, Trump is building walls where he should be building bridges. Trump’s Executive Order During the election, Donald Trump made all sorts of promises that appealed to a certain constituency. […]

Source: Why Trump’s Refugee Ban is Stupid

Exclusive: Southern Railway contract to be investigated by National Audit Office

The real answer, as the organisation We Own It have pointed is a fully publicly owned and controlled railway system, but this is an interesting development regarding the worst rail operator in the country…

davidhencke's avatarWestminster Confidential

southern-railway-train-pic-credit-bbc A Southern Railway train: often overcrowded even if it runs. Pic Credit:BBC

CROSS POSTED ON BYLINE.COM

The badly managed and strike prone Southern Railway contract is to be investigated by Parliament’s financial watchdog, the National Audit Office.

After months if not a years of misery for commuters caused by failing services and strike action over safety  the NAO has quietly decided to investigate the Department of Transport’s  handling of the contract alongside another investigation into the modernisation of Thameslink services. Both are major commuter services  into the capital and both are owner by Govia, the country’s biggest privatised train operator.

The decision by the NAO has been quietly slipped out on its website as an update to the Thameslink investigation without an official announcement. Such a move is bound to cause some consternation for transport secretary, Chris Grayling, and his officials.

Publication of the report due this summer will trigger…

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Lights Out: Asteroid Triggered Freezing Darkness That Killed Dinos

An excellent piece about the extinction of the dinosaurs (except the feathered variety that we now call birds)…

It was the airborne sulfate molecules that led to the years of darkness and cold 66 million years ago after the asteroid slammed into Earth.

Source: Lights Out: Asteroid Triggered Freezing Darkness That Killed Dinos

The “Why Vaccines Don’t Cause Autism” Papers

A must read article for anyone interested in autism…

PLOS NTDs co-Editor-in-Chief Peter Hotez lists the key scientific papers refuting the myth that vaccines cause autism I have a unique perspective on the recent headlines surrounding vaccines and their alleged links to autism. I serve as President of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, a non-profit organization devoted to vaccines and immunization. In that role I am director of its product development partnership (PDP) based at Baylor College of Medicine – the Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, which makes vaccines for neglected tropical diseases – a group of poverty-promoting parasitic and related infections – including new vaccines for schistosomiasis, Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis, among others. But I’m also a father of four children, including my adult daughter Rachel who has autism and other mental disabilities. These two parts of my life place me at an interesting nexus in a national discussion of autism and vaccines. My position is

Source: The “Why Vaccines Don’t Cause Autism” Papers

Your resource: the definitive collection of vaccines-don’t-cause autism papers

A vital resource for people interested in Autism (and an excellent article by WEIT)…

whyevolutionistrue's avatarWhy Evolution Is True

Peter Hotez is co-editor-in-chief of the journal PLOS NTD (Neglected Tropical Diseases), is an expert in vaccination. Here are his qualifications:

Prof. Peter Hotez MD PhD is professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine, where is also Texas Children’s Hospital Endowed Chair in Tropical Pediatrics, and Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine. He is also the President of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development.

Those credentials are given at the bottom of his latest post on the PLOS Blog Speaking of Medicine, a post called “The ‘Why Vaccines Don’t Cause Autism’ Papers.” This is a site worth bookmarking.

He has another qualification to pronounce on the issue of vaccination and autism:

But I’m also a father of four children, including my adult daughter Rachel who has autism and other mental…

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