Post 467 - A Gramblemas memory

 Welcome to The Grambler, the most ill-informed blog you are ever likely to see.

Stewart was an amazing person - A wonderful husband, a fantastic brother, a loving son and an adored uncle. He was also a brilliant friend and colleague and is missed by so many people. His family are determined that his death will never be in vain and are doing their part to beat bowel cancer for good. We are fundraising for the Bobby Moore Fund which is part of Cancer Research UK and specialises in research into bowel cancer. If you wish to donate to the fund, you can via The Grambler’s Kick Cancer’s Backside (cancerresearchuk.org).

If you haven’t already done so, please read the article which appeared in the Daily Record and learn from Stewart’s story that you must never be complacent. It makes grim reading for us, his family, even though we were beside him throughout his ordeal, or battle; call it what you will. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/lifestyle/heartbroken-widow-geraldine-smith-raises-3452997

Stewart began writing The Grambler when he was between procedures and hoping for some form of recovery. He loved all aspects of football and was a lifelong Motherwell supporter. His wish was that The Grambler should continue after his death and I have been happy to oblige. Read on and enjoy…

 

Story time...

Do you remember 'Five Boys' chocolate? [You must be incredibly old. - Ed.] You may recall the five faces were of a small boy in various states of emotion - Desperation, pacification, expectation, acclamation and realization (with a zed) it's Frys.

This week's edition covers all those emotions (probably) plus a few more... possibly including a few of the seven deadly sins.

What am I prattling on about, I hear you ask. I am talking about my first Christmas memory [Uh oh. Hovis time. - Ed.] Indeed. Cue harp strings and wobbly picture as I transport you back to a Christmas from long, long ago, some time in the last century where a three-year-old child (me) is opening his Christmas presents...

There I was sitting on the floor surrounded by all my Christmas goodies and working out what my favourite present was. Well, it turned out to be two presents, actually. I had been given two identical cars (I was already turning into a petrolhead) made of chocolate. Sorry pardon excuse me? Yep. Two gigantic (to a three-year-old anyway) chocolate cars wrapped in silver paper, which was coloured so that wheels, doors and windows were all realistic (to a three-year-old). What's not to like? (as the Americans might say) imagine it... a car I could play with and then eat. Not one, but two. Wow! I was one lucky three-year-old.

While I was brum brumming away with my chocolaty cars there was a knock at the door.

I was vaguely aware of the conversation from the hallway between my mum and Mrs Thickpenny (Yes that really was her name.)...

'Oh thank you. He will be pleased. Just a minute.'

My mother then came into the room where I was playing and, having a quick look around at my gifts, swiped one of my chocolate cars and whispered, 'It's for your friend Roger; I forgot to give him a present.'

Before I could say, sod Roger; he's not getting one of my chocolate cars, she was back at the front door lying through her teeth that she had bought this specially for Roger.

She came back into the room with a larger nose... I’d seen Pinocchio, I knew what happened if you told lies. She carried a parcel and tried hard to placate her inconsolable three-year-old nipper, not knowing that the tears were my way of expressing anger.

'I gave him the car because you had two (And your point is?) and I knew you wouldn't miss one. (What? I had two. One has gone. Of course I miss it.) You couldn't have eaten two. (I didn't get the chance to try, did I?)

She then presented me with the parcel which I probably said I didn't want, but, as with any three-year-old, curiosity got the better of me. The parcel was huge (to a small child), cylindrical and it rattled. Hmm... interesting. I opened it to reveal a gigantic (to a small child) tube of Maltesers. At least 10 times bigger than the wimpy tubes you get these days. Wow! It was even bigger than a pack of Pringles (to a small child). More like the canister a malt whisky bottle is presented in (Okay, I’m getting carried away now). Put it this way, it was big. I absolutely loved Maltesers to boot.

And I still had my chocolate car to eat. Yay! Win win!

So there you have it; my earliest Christmas memory of a greedy little bas... so and so who couldn't even spare a gift for his friend. I like to think of myself as being a bit more generous these days.

Just don't try and snaffle any chocolate off me. Especially if it's in the shape of a car.

 

 

.....oooOooo.....

 

Birthday honours...

Let’s move on to the birthday honours, shall we?

Were any famous or not so well-known individuals born on the 17th of December? Of course there were. Here are some that even I have heard of.

Humphry Davy 1778 - Chemist. Famous for his lump. I’m sorry, I’ll type that again, his lamp.

Herbert Beerbohm Tree 1852 - Ector, dear leddie. [Was his acting a bit wooden? Do you get it? A bit wooden. Tree. Oh, please yourselves. - Ed.]

Cyril Bird aka Fougasse 1887 - Cartoonist remembered for his wartime propaganda posters such as ‘Careless talk costs lives’.

Robertson Hare 1891 - Actor. The Archdeacon, The Venerable Henry Blunt in All Gas and Gaiters. Think of it as a less anarchic version of Father Ted... Maybe the Father Ted writers saw this and thought... wait a minute...

For the last time, I am not Father Jack

Ray Noble 1903 - Bandleader, writer, composer, arranger, radio comedian and actor. In fact, a right old smarty boots. Here’s his signature toon, The Very Thought of You.

Walter Greenwood 1903 - Novelist, best known for Love on the Dole.

Stephen Lewis 1926 - Actor. Inspector Cyril Blake in On the Buses. Factoid: Lewis was also a playwright and wrote Sparrers (or Sparrows) Can’t Sing.

Robert Robinson 1927 - TV presenter, game show host, journalist and orfer.

Jacqueline Hill 1929 - Actress. Lexa in Doctor Who.

Ray Wilson 1934 - Footy bloke.

Tommy Steele 1936 - Entertainer. Had a few hit records including this novelty song, Li uh wa boo.

Rosemary Martin 1936 - Actress. Mrs Bulstrode in Middlemarch.

David Harman aka Dave Dee 1941 - Singer. Frontman of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich. A clip? Why not, here’s Hold Tight.

Christopher Cazenove 1943 - Actor. Ben Carrington in Dynasty.

Bernard Hill 1944 - Actor. Captain Smith in Titanic.

David Mallet 1945 - Music video director. You may not know his name, but he was a most prolific director of videos and concerts in the 1980s, 90s and beyond. Here’s a short video you might recognise, Games Without Frontiers.

Simon Bates 1946 - DJ.

Martin Smith 1946 - Drummer with Simon Dupree and the Big Sound and the follow-up band Gentle Giant. Let’s have a bit of prog, here’s Alucard.

Darryl Way 1948 - Musician. He has worked with several bands in his long career including (Joy of joys!) Jethro Tull. So here’s a track from them, with Way on violin, Acres Wild.

Fr*d T*lb*t 1949 - TV presenter and n*nc*.

Paul Rodgers 1949 - Singer. Here’s an early hit for his band, Free, All Right Now. [Yes, thanks. - Ed.]

Patrick Murray 1956 - Actor. Mickey Pearce in Only Fools and Horses.

Owen Brenman 1956 - Actor. Dr. Heston Carter in Doctors.

Hattie Hayridge 1959 - Comedian. Played Holly in Red Dwarf for a while.

Sara Dallin 1961 - Singer. A bit of Bananaramarana. Have a clip. Here’s one that reached number one in the U.S., Venus.

Ginger Wildheart 1964 - Musician. Frontman of The Wildhearts. Let’s have a clip. Here’s I Wanna Go Where The People Go.

Juliet Aubrey 1966 - Actress. Gloria Woodrow in The Constant Gardener.

Ian Kelsey 1966 - Actor. Howard Bellamy in Doctors. He’ll know Owen Brenman, then.

Mick Quinn 1969 - Musician. He was a founder member of Supergrass, so here’s a track from 1997, Richard III.

Desmond Askew 1972 - Actor. Richard in Grange Hill.

Paula Radcliffe 1973 - Runny bloke.

Andrew Lawrence 1979 - Comedian.

Simon Ramsden 1981 - Footy bloke. Ex-Motherwell, you know.

Steven Frayne aka Dynamo 1982 - Magician.

Greg James 1985 - DJ.

Thomas Law 1992 - Actor. Peter Beale in Eastenders you slag!

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve received a letter. How sweet...

Dear (the late) Dave Grambledee,

I did enjoy your band Dave doo, Dopey, Bonky, Mac and Tosh. I know you had a number one with The Legend of Xanadu, later covered by ELO and Oliver, Newton and John, but did you ever have a record that nearly made number one but not quite? I seem to remember one that was a bit like Zorba the Greek.

Yours with kindest regards,

Ben Ditt.

[That is definitely number two material. - Ed.]

 

 

.....oooOooo.....

 

Gramble time...

How did The Grambler’s predictions fare the last time we had a gramble? Erm... We won. Sort of. £1.50 back from our £2.20 stake. What happened? Read on...

 

Middlesbrough vs Luton - Home win

Result - Middlesbrough 2 Luton 1

Yay!

Matt Crooks' stoppage-time winner saw Middlesbrough beat 10-man Luton Town.

The game came to life when Jordan Clark fired in an impressive opener, but the lead lasted just five minutes as Chuba Akpom headed Boro level.

Tom Lockyer missed a great chance to put Luton in front just after half-time, before Akpom hit the angle of post and bar a few minutes later.

Luton had Amari'i Bell sent off for a second yellow card inside the final 20 minutes, and after a barrage of chances substitute Crooks volleyed home in the 92nd minute.

 

Millwall vs Wigan - Home win

Result - Millwall 1 Wigan 1

Ooh! ’It the bar!

Will Keane's low strike just after the 30-minute mark opened the scoring for Wigan, his eighth goal of the season.

Zian Flemming equalised seven minutes later with a storming volley from the edge of the box.

Danny McNamara saw a shot fly narrowly over the crossbar for Millwall and Keane also headed just over, as both sides tried in vain to find a winner through the second-half.

 

Exeter vs Sheffield Wed - Away win

Result - Exeter 1 Sheffield Wed 1

Ooh! ’It the bar!

Callum Paterson struck a stoppage-time equaliser to extend Sheffield Wednesday's unbeaten run to nine games with a draw at Exeter.

Wednesday started well with Josh Windass forcing Jamal Blackman into saving his early free-kick, while Exeter saw a Cheick Diabate header cleared off the line.

Mark McGuinness headed narrowly wide of the Exeter goal, while Tyreeq Bakinson - on as an early substitute for the injured Barry Bannan - fired just over the crossbar after a lovely Wednesday move.

The Grecians looked far sharper after the break and broke the deadlock in the 56th minute. Exeter wing-back Jake Caprice cut onto his right foot and let fly with a fine shot from 25 yards that flew across the face of goal and went under goalkeeper David Stockdale, who will feel he could have done better.

Jay Stansfield could have made it 2-0 in the 79th minute when Stockdale's awful pass went straight to him, but the goalkeeper redeemed himself with a good save.

Wednesday offered little as an attacking threat after the break but in stoppage time, Callum Paterson's curling, side-footed shot from 18 yards into the far corner earned the Owls a point.

 

Morecambe vs Charlton - Away win

Postponed

Boo!

Sutton vs Colchester - Home win

Result - Sutton 1 Colchester 0

Yay!

Colchester lost midfielder Alan Judge with a serious-looking leg injury and also finished with 10 men after Ossama Ashley was sent off early in the second half.

The visitors were the brighter of the two sides in the first half, with Junior Tchamadeu embarking on a fine run, but he could only fire wide of the mark.

At the other end, Kieran O'Hara produced a good save to deny Omar Bugiel.

The hosts were awarded a penalty by referee Peter Wright just before half-time when Craig Eastmond was fouled by Ashley in a goalmouth scramble.

However, due to the injury to Judge, who was hurt in the incident, Rob Milsom waited nearly 10 minutes before he hammered the spot-kick home.

Ashley was shown his second yellow card for hauling down Bugiel in full flight seven minutes into the second half.

O'Hara made a great save to keep out Ali Smith and also denied Eastmond and Harry Beautyman before Tom Dallison squandered a late chance to earn Colchester a draw when he fired over.

 

What about some predictions for this week? Well, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there are none. That’s not strictly true. The Grambler has made his/her/its predictions, but Mr. Bet-Free-Six-Foive (in my Ray Winstone voice) won’t accept the bet. Just think how much they are losing... There’s my £2.20 bet and all your £2.20 bets; that means they are losing in the region of... erm... well, £2.20 anyway.

 

 

.....oooOooo.....

 

Teaser time...

Yay! How did you get on with the five teasers set last time? Here are the answers.

1. Who am I?

I was born in Opole, Poland in 1978. A striker, I made 137 international appearances for Germany and hold the record as the highest scorer with 71 goals. I also hold the record for scoring the most goals at FIFA World Cup finals with 16.

Answer - Miroslav Klose

2. Who was the first player to be shown a red card at the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals.

Answer - Wayne Hennessey (Wales)

3. Which two players captained England the most times?

Answer - Billy Wright and Bobby Moore (90)

4. Who has won the most International caps for Spain?

Answer - Sergio Ramos (180 - in my darts presenter voice)

5. What is unusual about Qatar’s Stadium 947?

Answer - It was fully built from recycled shipping containers and the structure can be removed entirely after the World Cup. Presumably, it could then be rebuilt somewhere else.

 

What about five for this week? As I write this, I know that the World Cup final is between France and Argentina. So...

1. Who am I?

I was born in Paris in 1998. A forward, I began my senior career at Monaco before moving to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 for a fee of 180 million euros, making me the most expensive teenager to be transferred. I have played 65 games (and counting) for France and have scored 33 goals (and counting).

2. Which Argentinian has made the most Premier League appearances?

3. Which Frenchman has scored the most goals at World Cups?

4. How many times have Argentina been runners up at the World Cup?

5. Argentina last won the World Cup in 1986; who won the ‘Best Player of the Tournament’ award?

 

There you have it; five teasers to test you. As always, try and answer them before shouting out Hey Googly, Syria or Alexis. Please feel free to pass on the link to your pals so that they can enjoy The Grambler’s footy teasers too.

 

.....oooOooo.....

 

Remember the serious message...

As usual (at the risk of repeating myself), I remind you of the main reason for continuing to publish this blog – to raise awareness about bowel cancer. If you have any bowel problems, don’t be fobbed off with the line that you are too young for bowel cancer to be a consideration. Just point your doctor in the direction of (the already mentioned) Never Too Young | Bowel Cancer UK

 

 

.....oooOooo.....

 

Please, take a few minutes to watch an informative little video from Mersh (a great friend of Stewart’s).

Click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26HWQXMalX4. The amount raised is a little out of date; it is now sitting at...

£66,220

 

 

…..oooOooo…..

 

And Finally...

And finally, Cyril? And finally, Esther, I am indebted to a Mr. M. Barratt or Mr. S. Stevens for this week’s concluding item. Anyone who has stuck with the blog over the years knows that Stewart (the founder of this wonderful blog) had a particular favourite Christmas song and it is this... Merry Christmas Everyone. [Hear hear. - Ed.] That video still looks a bit dodgy, though.

 

That’s all for this week folks, but remember you can read the musings of The Grambler every week (well, most weeks) by going to the blog at www.thegrambler.com where you can also catch up on any previous editions you may have missed.

 

Happy grambling.

 

Post 466 - The most wonderful gramble

Welcome to The Grambler, the most ill-informed blog you are ever likely to see.

Stewart was an amazing person - A wonderful husband, a fantastic brother, a loving son and an adored uncle. He was also a brilliant friend and colleague and is missed by so many people. His family are determined that his death will never be in vain and are doing their part to beat bowel cancer for good. We are fundraising for the Bobby Moore Fund which is part of Cancer Research UK and specialises in research into bowel cancer. If you wish to donate to the fund, you can via The Grambler’s Kick Cancer’s Backside (cancerresearchuk.org).

If you haven’t already done so, please read the article which appeared in the Daily Record and learn from Stewart’s story that you must never be complacent. It makes grim reading for us, his family, even though we were beside him throughout his ordeal, or battle; call it what you will. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/lifestyle/heartbroken-widow-geraldine-smith-raises-3452997

Stewart began writing The Grambler when he was between procedures and hoping for some form of recovery. He loved all aspects of football and was a lifelong Motherwell supporter. His wish was that The Grambler should continue after his death and I have been happy to oblige. Read on and enjoy…

 

Story time...

Before we start this week’s (g)ramble, let’s pay a visit to a couple of Scottish gentlemen...

DOUGAL: Hamish!

HAMISH: Oh, hello Dougal.

DOUGAL: You seem a bit engrossed in that book you’re reading.

HAMISH: I am. It’s very exciting. I borrowed it from that English chap in the village.

DOUGAL: The fellow who makes hessian bags?

HAMISH: That’s the chap. He and I both enjoy the same kind of literature and we lend each other books all the time. It’s my turn to lend him one next time.

DOUGAL : You mean...

HAMISH: Yes, that’s a book I owe sacker.

 

Let’s crack on, shall we?

Have you received any dodgy phone calls or messages, lately? No? Well, be alert because there are a few scams out there at the moment.

Christmas seems to be the time of year that scams are most prevalent. Is that because we are all too busy Christmas shopping and carousing to notice that someone is trying to dupe us?

Apparently, there is one scam at the moment where you receive a call purporting to be from your phone/internet/mobile provider or bank advising you of some changes taking place. Surely, you would spot it was a scam straight away, because they always get something totally wrong, like suggesting that they are from a bank or internet/phone/mobile provider other than your own. They are easy to spot. But, these latest scams seem to have the correct information to hand. If you are able to check the number calling you, it even seems legit. It would be very easy to be taken in.

How can you stay safe? Well, banks claim that they would never phone you about such matters. Not the actual bank, obviously. Buildings can’t make phone calls. People who work in the bank say they would never call you. Ahem, where was I? Oh yes, you would never get a call from someone at your bank out of the blue. If you were to receive such a call, it would be somebody inviting you to come into the branch to discuss something. Face to face. Remember that fact and you shouldn’t go wrong.

What if you didn’t twig straight away? After all, dodgy phone/mobile/internet providers might well phone customers to discuss, say, their tariff [Their tariff. Now what? - Ed.] ahem... How can you protect yourself from such unscrupulous scoundrels?

Well, if they didn’t bother asking you to give a character or several from your password (usually by means of the phone keypad), that ought to trigger alarm bells, but maybe some are smart enough to ask you for that information. Ah, I hear you say, they could ask you to put in such info and say that it is correct and dupe you that way. Well, this is where you can use a bit of subterfuge (Ooh, that’s a good word; I must look up what it means.). How? Tap in some wrong information. It is very likely that whoever is on the other end of the telephone line would accept whatever you put. If that happens, say nothing and hang up. Chances are you won’t hear from them again. [What if they call your bluff and say that the characters you’ve put in are incorrect? Eh? Answer that one, smartypants. - Ed.] Erm... Is that the time? I really should get on with this.

Why am I so keen to tell you about potential scams? Tonight, as in this very evening, Mrs G received a text message. It was from an unknown number and stated simply, ‘Mum, I have lost my phone and am using a friend’s. Whatsapp this number to contact me.’ She knew immediately that it was a scam having only moments before received a message from our son. Now, I have no idea what the outcome would have been if she had done as instructed, but, after speaking to a few of her friends, it was plain that this message was ‘doing the rounds’. They had either received something like it or knew someone who had received it.

My advice? Apart from being wary about any odd-looking messages, I would suggest that you immediately contact your ‘son’, by calling their own number.

Festive time of year? Goodwill to all men? Bollocks! There are some right b******s out there ready to fleece you.

 

.....oooOooo.....

 

Birthday honours...

Let’s move on to the birthday honours, shall we?

Were any famous or not so well-known individuals born on the 3rd of December? Of course there were. Here are some that even I have heard of.

Samuel Crompton 1753 - Inventor who revolutionised the spinning industry with his invention the spinning mule. No, I don’t understand that, either.

Rowland Hill 1795 - Postman.

Joseph Conrad 1857 - Orfer.

Jack Judge 1872 - Songwriter and music-hall entertainer famous for writing this, It's a Long Way to Tipperary.

Anna Freud 1895 - Shrink, like her dad, Sigmund.

Les Ames 1905 - Crickety bloke.

Edward Underdown 1908 - Jobbing actor. Air Vice Marshall in Thunderball.

Jimmy Jewel 1909 - Comedian.

Trevor Bailey 1923 - Crickety bloke.

Ralph McTell 1944 - Musician. He had one huge hit. Would you lke to hear it? Of course you would. Here’s Streets of London. [Here are Streets of London, surely. - Ed.]

Paul Nicholas 1945 - Actor and singer. Cousin Kevin in Tommy. Here he gives an over the top performance as Kevin aka School Bully.

Ozzy Osbourne 1948 - Singer and songwriter. Front man of Black Sabbath. Let’s have a clip. Let’s have a bit of headbanging with the band’s biggest hit, Paranoid.

Nicky Stevens 1949 - Singer. One quarter of Brotherhood of Man. Have a clip. Here’s Oh Boy.

Mike Stock 1951 - Record producer and songwriter. He holds the record for having written/produced the most number ones for different artists... Dead or Alive, Mel and Kim, Ferry Aid, Rick Astley, Kylie Minogue, Kylie with Jason Donovan, Jason Donovan without Kylie, Sonia, Band Aid II plus ‘Various Artists’ singing this, Ferry Cross The Mersey.

Mel Smith 1952 - Comedian, writer, film director, producer and actor, not forgetting would-be pop star. Here’s a bit of Mel with Kim (Wilde).

Eamonn Holmes 1959 - Broadcaster with dodgy legs... ‘Oh, may pyoor leyugs are soo soower.’

Tosh McKinley 1964 - Fitba guy.

Natalie J. Robb 1974 - Actress. Moira Barton in Emmerdale.

Kevin James 1975 - Fitba guy.

Rod Jones 1976 - Musician. Founding member of Idlewild. A clip? Why not. Here’s You Held the World in Your Arms.

Jennifer James 1977 - Actress. Geena Gregory in Coronation Street.

Dan Snow 1978 - Historian and TV presenter.

Daniel Bedingfield 1979 - Singer. Had a few hits back in the noughties. Here’s Never Gonna Leave Your Side. Incidentally, if you are one of those people whose laptop/computer opens with a random image, you might recognise a location or two in that video.

Martin Canning 1981 - Fitba guy.

Tom Lockyer 1994 - Pêl-droed.

 

Now then, what about the 10th of December?

James I of Scotland 1394 - The well-known king.

E. H. Shepard 1879 - Artist. Famous for the illustrating The Wind in the Willows and Winnie the Pooh.

Victor McLaglen 1886 - Boxer turned actor. Sgt. Quincannon in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.

Mary Norton 1903 - Author of children’s books. Famous for The Borrowers and The Magic Bedknob (later made into the Disney film Bedknobs and Broomsticks).

Rumer Godden 1907 - Author of such classics as The Black Narcissus and The Greengage Summer.

Harry Locke 1913 - Jobbing actor. 137 credits on IMDb, but often played nameless characters such as Detective, Tobacconist or Photographer. My favourite was from the post-war George Formby film George in Civvy Street where Locke’s character was listed as ‘Demob Suit Fitter’.

Dorothy Lamour 1914 - Actress.

Gerald Thomas 1920 - Film director/editor/producer. Best known for the ‘Carry On’ series of films.

Harry Fowler 1926 - Actor. Joe Kirby in Hue and Cry.

Don Charles 1933 - Singer and record producer. Here’s his only song to trouble the charts, Walk With Me My Angel.

Alan Fennell 1936 - Writer and editor who wrote many episodes of the Gerry Anderson children’s series such as Fireball XL5, Stingray and Thunderbirds.

Kyo Sakamoto 1941 - Singer famous for a very famous song sung in Japanese. I’ve given a link to this song before, but I’m going to do it again; here’s Sukiyaki.

Peter Sarstedt 1941 - Musician. He had one or two big hits back in the sixties. This wasn’t one of them: As If It Were a Movie.

Ken Campbell 1941 - Actor, writer and director. Known as a ‘one-man dynamo of British theatre’.

Ann Gloag 1942 - Businesswoman, activist and charity campaigner. Co-founder of the bus company, Stagecoach.

John Birt 1944 - Former Director-General of the British Broadcorping Casteration.

Christopher ‘Ace’ Kefford 1946 - Bassist. Founder member of The Move. Here’s a live version of the band’s first hit, Night of Fear.

Clive Anderson 1952 - Television presenter and lawyer.

Jack Hues 1957 - Musician. Best known as frontman of Wang Chung. Let's Go. [We’ve got this blog to finish. We can’t just go. - Ed.] That’s the name of the song. [Oh. - Ed.]

Paul Hardcastle 1957 - Musician. Had a huge hit with N...N...N...N...Nineteen, but this isn’t it: Don't Waste My Time. [No need for that attitude. - Ed.] That’s the name of the song. [Oh. - Ed.]

Keith Jayne 1960 - Actor. Stig in Stig of the Dump.

Kenneth Branagh 1960 - Ectaw, dear leddie. Famous now, but he wasn’t even credited in his first film role: a student in Chariots of Fire.

Steve Huison 1963 - Actor. Lomper in The Full Monty.

Stephen Billington 1969 - Actor. Greg Kelly in Coronation Street.

Daniel Betts 1973 - Actor. Tenuous link time: He played A. A. Milne in an episode of Mr Selfidge. A. A. Milne who wrote the books for which E. H. Shepard (see above) provided illustrations. Told you it was tenuous.

Brian Molko 1972 - Musician. Frontman of Placebo. A clip? Indeed. Here’s Pure Morning.

Charlie Adam 1985 - Fitba guy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve received a letter. How lovely...

Dear Paul Gramblas,

We are writing to ask you a question. We both recall you playing Vince in Just Good Friends and Cousin Kevin in Tommy, but didn’t you also have some hit records? If so, what was the most successful?

Yours,

Dan Sing with Dee Captin.

 

 

 

.....oooOooo.....

 

Gramble time...

How did The Grambler’s predictions fare the last time we had a gramble? We won. Yay! Really! Five out of five! £8.70 back from our £2.20 stake. Woo hoo! What happened? Read on...

 

 

 

Accrington Stanley vs Barnet - Home win

Result - Accrington Stanley 1 Barnet 0

Yay!

Ethan Hamilton scored a late winner to send Accrington Stanley through to the third round of the FA Cup with a narrow win over National League side Barnet.

For much of the tie, it looked like Barnet would force a replay at the Crown Ground, but Hamilton struck with six minutes remaining.

Rosaire Longelo's cross was not dealt with by Barnet goalkeeper Laurie Walker and it fell for Hamilton to turn in.

The hosts almost took a very early lead as Korede Adedoyin struck a post in just the second minute before Longelo forced a save from Walker from inside the area.

 

Oxford Utd vs Exeter - Home win

Result - Oxford Utd 4 Exeter 1

Yay!

Billy Bodin scored twice late on as Oxford beat League One rivals Exeter 4-1 to cruise into the FA Cup third round.

Matty Taylor put Oxford ahead in the ninth minute when he capitalised on a lapse of concentration by defender Cheick Diabate to fire first-time past Jamal Blackman from 20 yards.

That is the way the score remained until 11 minutes from time, when Oxford netted the first of three quick goals before Exeter responded with a late consolation.

Substitute Bodin doubled Oxford's lead with a simple far-post tap-in after Exeter failed to clear Taylor's cross from the right.

Cameron Brannagan made it 3-0 with a well-placed shot into the far corner before Bodin got his second with an unerring left-foot finish.

Exeter substitute Matt Jay pulled a goal back a minute from time.

Sam Nombe went close for the Grecians with a first-half drive that Ed McGinty turned around his post, but with the U's scoring three times in nine second-half minutes the Devon side finished well beaten.

 

Portsmouth vs MK Dons - Home win

Result - Portsmouth 3 MK Dons 2

Yay!

Colby Bishop grabbed a penalty brace to send Portsmouth into the FA Cup third round with victory over fellow League One side MK Dons.

Pompey dominated the opening 20 minutes but fell behind when Dons forward Darragh Burns got in behind to clip over Josh Griffiths after a quick counter-attack.

The lead lasted just three minutes as Reeco Hackett-Fairchild latched on to a stunning Jay Mingi through ball to fire into the bottom corner for his fourth goal of the season.

The lively Mingi was hacked down by Josh McEachran in the 35th minute before Bishop sent Jamie Cummings the wrong way to complete the comeback.

Pompey thought they had taken control when Bishop thumped his second penalty of the afternoon, after Hackett-Fairchild had been taken down by Bradley Johnson.

But Mo Eisa pulled one back in the 62nd minute after Conor Grant had squared in the box but the visitors could not force a replay, despite Grant forcing a fine save out of Griffiths in the closing stages.

 

Morton vs Queen of the South - Home win

Result - Morton 4 Queen of the South 1

Yay!

No match report.

Linlithgow Rose vs Sauchie Jnrs - Home win

Result - Linlithgow Rose 1 Sauchie Jnrs 0

Yay!

No match report.

Yay! Well done The Grambler. What have you come up with this week?

Game - Result - Odds

Middlesbrough vs Luton - Home win - 5/6

Millwall vs Wigan - Home win - 17/20

Exeter vs Sheffield Wed - Away win - 19/20

Morecambe vs Charlton - Away win - 19/20

Sutton vs Colchester - Home win - Evens

The bets have been placed - Ten 20 pee doubles plus a single 20 pee accumulator. If the results go as predicted by The Grambler, the Bobby Moore Fund will be richer to the tune of a whopping

£13.02

No chance.

 

 

.....oooOooo.....

 

Teaser time...

Yay! How did you get on with the five teasers set last time? Here are the answers.

1. Who am I?

I was born in Nova Venécia, Brazil in 1997. I began my senior career with América Mineiro before moving to Fluminense followed by Watford and Everton. I am now at Tottenham Hotspur. I have 39 caps (and counting) for Brazil and have scored 19 goals (and counting).

Answer - Richarlison (de Andrade)

2. Which countries will host the World Cup in 2026?

Answer - Canada, USA and Mexico

3. Who has played the most World Cup games having appeared in five tournaments?

Answer - Lothar Matthäus with 25 (But Messi is right behind him on 24).

4. Who was the youngest ever World Cup goalscorer?

Answer - Pele (aged 17)

5. What was the highest aggregate score in a World Cup match?

Answer - Austria 7 Switzerland 5 (1954)

Shall we have another five for this week? Yes, let’s.

1. Who am I?

I was born in Opole, Poland in 1978. A striker, I made 137 international appearances for Germany and hold the record as the highest scorer with 71 goals. I also hold the record for scoring the most goals at FIFA World Cup finals with 16.

2. Who was the first player to be shown a red card at the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals.

3. Which two players captained England the most times?

4. Who has won the most International caps for Spain?

5. What is unusual about Qatar’s Stadium 947?

There you have it; five teasers to test you. As always, try and answer them before shouting out Hey Googly, Syria or Alexis. Please feel free to pass on the link to your pals so that they can enjoy The Grambler’s footy teasers too.

 

.....oooOooo.....

 

Remember the serious message...

As usual (at the risk of repeating myself), I remind you of the main reason for continuing to publish this blog – to raise awareness about bowel cancer. If you have any bowel problems, don’t be fobbed off with the line that you are too young for bowel cancer to be a consideration. Just point your doctor in the direction of (the already mentioned) Never Too Young | Bowel Cancer UK

 

.....oooOooo.....

 

Please, take a few minutes to watch an informative little video from Mersh (a great friend of Stewart’s).

Click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26HWQXMalX4. The amount raised is a little out of date; it is now sitting at...

£66,200

That is the reason for this (g)ramble being a little late, I wanted the recent fundraising efforts to be included in the total. Over £3,000 raised since the last edition; Woo hoo!

 

 

…..oooOooo…..

 

And Finally...

And finally, Cyril? And finally, Esther, I am indebted to a Mr A. Williams, the well-known singer, who was born on the 3rd of December 1927. I didn’t include him in the birthday honours. Why not, I hear you ask.  Well, Christmas is nearly upon us and he did sing one of the most popular Christmas songs of all time... Ladeez and genullum, here is It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

 

Andy Williams when he was an Osmond Brother

[Some mistake, surely. - Ed.]

 

 

That’s all for this week folks, but remember you can read the musings of The Grambler every week (well, most weeks) by going to the blog at www.thegrambler.com where you can also catch up on any previous editions you may have missed.

 

Happy grambling.

 

Post 465 - Stupid grambling printer!

 Welcome to The Grambler, the most ill-informed blog you are ever likely to see.

Stewart was an amazing person - A wonderful husband, a fantastic brother, a loving son and an adored uncle. He was also a brilliant friend and colleague and is missed by so many people. His family are determined that his death will never be in vain and are doing their part to beat bowel cancer for good. We are fundraising for the Bobby Moore Fund which is part of Cancer Research UK and specialises in research into bowel cancer. If you wish to donate to the fund, you can via The Grambler’s Kick Cancer’s Backside (cancerresearchuk.org).

If you haven’t already done so, please read the article which appeared in the Daily Record and learn from Stewart’s story that you must never be complacent. It makes grim reading for us, his family, even though we were beside him throughout his ordeal, or battle; call it what you will. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/lifestyle/heartbroken-widow-geraldine-smith-raises-3452997

Stewart began writing The Grambler when he was between procedures and hoping for some form of recovery. He loved all aspects of football and was a lifelong Motherwell supporter. His wish was that The Grambler should continue after his death and I have been happy to oblige. Read on and enjoy…

 

Story time...

Before we start this week’s (g)ramble, let’s pay a visit to a couple of Scottish gentlemen...

DOUGAL:       Hamish!

HAMISH:        Dougal! It’s yourself.

DOUGAL:       It is indeed. Here, what’s that old and tatty-looking thing in your hand?

HAMISH:        It’s a holiday snap from our trip to Ghana all those years ago.

DOUGAL:        Och, yes. I remember it well. Let’s have a wee swatch... if you’ll pardon the expression. It seems to be a picture of someone sitting on some sort of beer delivery wagon... Hold on a wee meenit... That’s not me, is it?

HAMISH:        On dray? Aye... You.              

 

 

For sale. One printer. Hardly used...

Hang on, hang on, I hear you say. Has our favourite ill- informed blog turned to selling second-hand goods? No, not at all. It was just a means of beginning this week's blog. And it is relevant, I assure you. So, what's with the printer for sale? Pull up a chair and I'll tell ee.

About five years ago, I was getting a bit cheesed off with my computer's printer seeming to have a mind of its own. I refused to pay the wildly inflated prices that the printer manufacturer... let's call them Heinz... charged for ink, so I bought 'compatible' ink costing about a tenth of the 'official' ink's price. All well and good... for a while. You see, when I first set up the printer, I had to register it online. I didn't, at the time, think there was any problem with that. However, I soon realised that software within the printer's computer... yes, printers, along with a host of other household goods, have a computer... was programmed to spot so-called compatible inks. Don't ask me how, but it did, and suddenly compatible inks became anything but compatible. To me, it was all down to witchcraft.

I would buy said compatible ink and, for a while, the printer would operate just fine, but it wasn't long before it stopped printing. Somehow, it had spotted that the ink wasn't the official product.

So, rather than pay nigh on fifty quid to replace the ink each time it ran dry, I decided to get shot of the printer. And so, a perfectly good printer ended up in a landfill site somewhere, all because of its maker's greed.

I began looking for a new printer. I had decided not to buy another H... Heinz... product. My previous experience with them taught me to steer clear of them at all costs.

So, Mrs G and I headed to the nearest PC World [A theme park dedicated to policemen! Whatever next. - Ed.] Ahem... to look at printers.

'Ooh,' says Mrs G... or it might have been oh. No, it was definitely ooh... 'Look at this. You pay a monthly fee and they send ink to you whenever you need it. That means you wouldn't have to buy your own ink anymore.'

Surely there had to be a catch, but there wasn't. It was a genuine offer. Dependent on how many prints you required, you paid a set fee every month. So, if you did 50 prints or less, you paid £1.99 per month. Brilliant, we decided we would take it... then I spotted the catch... it was made by, you've guessed it, our old friend, Heinz.

Oh well, I thought, there was never a problem with the print quality so, if I didn't have to buy ink anymore, it ought to be okay... oughtn't it? What could possibly go wrong?

There was a slight problem when I first registered the machine. It wouldn't accept my email address as it was already in use. Of course, it was; it was me that registered it for my previous printer. Unfortunately, the computer that handled the registration process was not programmed to allow a user to replace a printer. No matter, I'll just register it under a different email address.

All went well for the next five years and then, without any warning, my printer refused to work; not because it was damaged but possibly due to something happening with my direct debit that meant payment didn't go through.

No problem, thinks I, I'll just sign in and sort things out. Now what email address did I use? You know what is coming, don't you? I could not for the life of me remember the address I had used to sign in five years back. Okay, try contacting somebody at Heinz... nope. Not possible. Okay, try another way.

Aha, thinks I, or it might have been oho, they have an online help service, I'll try that. Nope. Not working. Hmm...

I don't know what has caused Mr Heinz to stop talking to me, but stop he has. What could I do?

I tried registering the printer under a different email address. That doesn't work. Why not? Because the unit has already been registered. Jeez!

That means that I could not pass the printer on to anyone else even if I had wanted to.

No doubt some clever clogs somewhere knows how to bypass all the software dead ends. As I have already said, it is all witchcraft to me.

So, back to the beginning of this article...

For sale, one printer. Would make ideal doorstop or giant garlic press.

 

 

.....oooOooo.....

 

Birthday honours...

Let’s move on to the birthday honours, shall we?

Were any famous or not so well-known individuals born on the 26th of November? Of course, there were. Here are some that even I have heard of.

John Harvard 1607 - Wealthy clergyman who left all his dosh to a university in the U.S. of A. [Really? Which one? - Ed.]

William Cowper 1731 - Poet and anti-slavery campaigner. His poem Light Shining out of Darkness gave us the line ‘God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform’. So now you know.

Dick King 1811 - Businessman. I’ve no idea who he was; it’s just a cracking name.

Emlyn Williams 1905 - Writer, dramatist and actor, isn’t it.

Charles Forte 1908 - Caterer.

Gerald James 1917 - Jobbing actor. Frazier in The Man with the Golden Gun.

Noel Coleman 1919 - Actor. Cat Priest in the first episode of Red Dwarf.

Dick Turpin 1920 - No, not that one. He was a boxer; Randolph’s brother.

Michael Holliday 1924 - Singer. He was dubbed The British Bing Crosby. See what you think, here’s Starry Eyed.  If you think he looks a little uncomfortable there, he probably was, as he always had a problem with stage fright.

Phil McCall 1925 - Actor. Famous for the line... ‘Pea and ham? From a chicken? Now, that’s clever.’ Ask any Scot and they will know what it means.

Jane Wenham 1927 - Actress. Mrs Jamieson in the Porridge episode, The Desperate Hours. Mr Barraclough’s, ahem, friend.

Michael Hawkins 1928 - Actor. Richard De Lacy in The Devil’s Crown.

John Selwyn-Gummer 1939 - Politician. Do you remember when mad cow disease (BSE) was at its newsworthy heights, he was the tw*t that fed his four-year-old daughter a hamburger as if to refute the evidence that BSE could be transferred to humans if they consumed beef. Feeding it to his daughter! Not even himself! What a b******!

Marcia Warren 1943 - Actress. Currently Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in The Crown.

Paul Burnett 1943 - DJ. Had a hit with fellow DJ, Dave Lee Travis, as Laurie Lingo and the Dipsticks with Convoy UK, a p*** take on the US original. Do you want a clip? Why not.

John McVie 1945 - Musician. Together with Mick Fleetwood, he is a member of Fleetwood Mac who has been with the band since its formation. Definitely a clip required, and definitely the one with his most famous bassline. Ladeez and genullum, I give you The Chain.

Brian Hibbard 1946 - Actor and singer. Doug Murray in Coronation Street, but perhaps more famous as the frontman of Flying Pickets. Here is their acapella version of Yazoo’s Only You.

Martin Lee 1946 - Singer, most famously with (the second incarnation of) Brotherhood of Man. A clip? Yes, indeedy. Here is their second of three number ones, Angelo.  Martin is the one with the moustache.

Julien Temple 1952 - Film director. His first film was The Great Rock ’n’ Roll Swindle. He also directed quite a few music videos for artists such as Duran Duran, The Rolling Stones and David. He is one he made with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Into The Great Wide Open. Hope you enjoyed singing along to that one.

Hilary Benn 1953 - Politician. Son of Tony. [Son?! Who gives their son a name like Hilary? - Ed.]

Keith Vaz 1956 - Politician.

Derek Murray 1960 - Fitba guy. Ex-Motherwell, you know.

Louise Harrison 1962 - Actress. W.P.C. Donna Harris in The Bill.

Des Walker 1965 - Footy bloke.

Colin Meldrum 1975 - Fitba guy. Ex-Motherwell.

David Partridge 1978 - Pêl-droediwr. Arfer chwarae i Motherwell.

Natasha Bedingfield 1981 - Singer songwriter. She had a number one with these words.

Karl Henry 1982 - Footy blowk. (That’s an attempt at a written Wolverhampton accent. Doesn’t really work, though.)

Jayde Adams 1984 - Comedienne.

Danny Welbeck 1990 - Footy Blorrrk (Manchester accent? Any better than Wolverhampton?)

Tamsin Egerton 1988 - Actress. Holly Goodfellow in Keeping Mum.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka 1997 - Footy bloke. (Not sure how they talk in Croydon.)

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve received a letter. How very quaint...

Dear Gramblon McVie,

I have been a fan of your band, Fleetwood Mac, from the very beginning when Peter Green fronted them. I believe you once had a number one record, but I can’t recall its title. Can you enlighten me?

Yours in anticipation,

Albert Ross.

 

 

.....oooOooo.....

 

Gramble time...

How did The Grambler’s predictions fare the last time we had a gramble? We won. Yay! Not a full house, but four out of five correct, so we got £4.18 back from our £2.20 stake. What happened? Read on...

 

 

Barnsley vs Milton Keynes - Home win

Result - Barnsley 3 Milton Keynes 1

Yay!

Goals from Jordan Williams, Adam Phillips and Herbie Kane earned Barnsley a 3-1 victory over MK Dons.

Phillips and Kane struck in the second half - after Mohamed Eisa had cancelled out William's opener.

The home side broke the deadlock in the 18th minute when Williams calmly volleyed home at the far post following a neat cross from Kane on the left.

MK Dons had a chance to equalise 10 minutes later when Eisa appeared to be one-on-one with Bradley Collins, but Liam Kitching made a last-ditch challenge to prevent the shot.

They drew level five minutes before the break, however, when Louie Barry found Eisa on the edge of the box and he slotted past Collins.

But Barnsley retook the lead in the 50th minute. Nicky Cadden picked out Phillips in the middle of the box and he headed beyond Jamie Cumming.

And Kane made it 3-1 in the 68th minute when he cut inside on to his right foot and struck into the bottom left corner from outside the box.

 

Lincoln vs Morecambe - Home win

Result - Lincoln 2 Morecambe 1

Yay!

Joe Walsh put the hosts ahead after 17 minutes before Ben House's sixth goal of the season.

Brighton loanee Jensen Weir pulled one back nine minutes from time, but it was too little too late for the visitors at the LNER Stadium.

Shrimps stopper Connor Ripley made a good early reaction save to keep out Charles Vernam's deflected strike.

Max Sanders' free-kick then took a deflection off Walsh to give the hosts the lead.

Kieran Phillips' strike smashed a post for Morecambe before Carl Rushworth made a good save to keep out Weir early in the second half.

Ripley could only parry Tashan Oakley-Boothe's strike into House's path as the Imps doubled their lead in the 67th minute.

Weir's fine strike got the visitors back into the game, but Lincoln held on for the points.

 

Newport vs Gillingham - Home win

Result - Newport 2 Gillingham 0

Yay!

(Contender for cracking name of the week) Priestley Farquharson's first-half header helped Newport County on the way to a 2-0 win at home over Gillingham.

The defender headed home Aaron Lewis' 43rd minute corner, despite Gillingham goalkeeper Jake Turner getting a strong hand to it.

County doubled the lead when a long throw fell to Farquharson, and Gills defender Elkan Baggott (Hmm... also a contender) could only deflect the effort into his own net.

 

Swindon vs Crewe - Home win

Result - Swindon 0 Crewe 1

Boo!

Luke Offord's timely intervention just about kept Crewe level when Remeao Hutton got beyond his defender and delivered a dangerous cross to the back post towards Jacob Wakeling but the defender nipped in ahead of him to turn it behind.

Crewe took the lead after 23 minutes from the spot as Lachlan Brook was brought down in the area before Daniel Agyei coolly dispatched his penalty.

In the 50th minute, Ellis Iandolo had two chances to get Swindon level after he was picked out with a cross. His first shot was parried back to him before his first-time volley flew over the top.

The crossbar came to Crewe's rescue when Ben Gladwin played an inch-perfect cross onto the head of Luke Jephcott, only for his close-range header to strike the woodwork.

Hutton stood a cross up for Wakeling in the middle late on but he couldn't keep his header down.

 

Walsall vs Crawley - Home win

Result - Walsall 2 Crawley 1

Yay!

Danny Johnson scored a stoppage-time winner to give Walsall victory over 10-man Crawley Town.

Goalkeeper Ellery Balcombe's (There’s another good ’un.) heroics looked set to earn Town a point, despite Ludwig Francillette's (No, that is definitely the winner) 39th-minute dismissal.

But Johnson spun in the six-yard box to fire into the roof of the net.

Crawley took the lead after 11 minutes as Dom Telford steered home Ashley Nadesan's pull-back, but Walsall levelled three minutes later as Tom Knowles' free-kick was diverted home by Hayden White.

Town went down to 10 men before half-time as Francillette, booked earlier for hauling down Knowles, saw a second yellow for a replica foul on Johnson.

After the break, Balcombe smartly kept out Jacob Maddox's flick before diving full length to foil Donervon Daniels' 20-yard effort.

He superbly denied Isaac Hutchinson's header and Knowles' overhead kick before Liam Gordon struck a post from an acute angle.

Nadesan curled wide a great chance to pinch the points for Crawley before Johnson popped up to earn Walsall the win.

 

Well, I suppose most of you have been enjoying watching the World Cup games... some interesting results. However, there are still games back here in Blighty, don’tcha know. As is The Grambler’s wont, these games are the ones at his/her/its disposal.

The problem is that there are very few league games as it is cup weekend in England and Scotland, so these are the games from which The Grambler has ‘chosen’. And the random selections are...

Game - Result - Odds

Accrington Stanley vs Barnet - Home win - 11/20

Oxford Utd vs Exeter - Home win - Evens

Portsmouth vs MK Dons - Home win - 7/10

Morton vs Queen of the South - Home win - 4/6

Linlithgow Rose vs Sauchie Jnrs - Home win - 8/13

 

That last selection sums up why The Grambler should stick to league games. There is an added problem with cup games; if they go to extra time, the bet does not count. It's no wonder we never can beat the bookie.

Anyway, the bets have been placed - Ten 20 pee doubles plus a single 20 pee accumulator. If the results go as predicted by The Grambler, the Bobby Moore Fund will be richer to the tune of a whopping

£8.56

Hardly worth bothering with.

 

 

.....oooOooo.....

 

Teaser time...

Yay! How did you get on with the five teasers set last time? Here are the answers.

1. Who am I?

I was born in 1967 in Gassin, France. My senior career began at Toulon before moves to RC Paris, Brest, Paris Saint-Germain, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Everton. Why so many teams? Because I’m worth it.

Answer - David Ginola

2. Who was the last Swede to win a UEFA Champions League medal?

Answer - Henrik Larsen

3. Which coach has managed Benfica, Uniao de Leiria, Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Chelsea (again), Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Roma?

Answer - Jose Mourinho

4. Which club plays its home games at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium

Answer - Real Madrid

5. Continuing our international theme, what country hosted the first World Cup competition?

Answer - Uruguay

Shall we have five for this week? Of course, we shall, and it’s a World Cup special...

1. Who am I?

I was born in Nova Venécia, Brazil in 1997. I began my senior career with América Mineiro before moving to Fluminense followed by Watford and Everton. I am now at Tottenham Hotspur. I have 39 caps (and counting) for Brazil and have scored 19 goals (and counting).

2. Which countries will host the World Cup in 2026?

3. Who has played the most World Cup games having appeared in five tournaments?

4. Who was the youngest ever World Cup goalscorer?

5. What was the highest aggregate score in a World Cup match?

 

There you have it; five teasers to test you. As always, try and answer them before shouting out Hey Googly, Syria or Alexis. Please feel free to pass on the link to your pals so that they can enjoy The Grambler’s footy teasers too.

 

.....oooOooo.....

 

Remember the serious message...

As usual (at the risk of repeating myself), I remind you of the main reason for continuing to publish this blog – to raise awareness about bowel cancer. If you have any bowel problems, don’t be fobbed off with the line that you are too young for bowel cancer to be a consideration. Just point your doctor in the direction of (the already mentioned) Never Too Young | Bowel Cancer UK

 

 

.....oooOooo.....

 

Please, take a few minutes to watch an informative little video from Mersh (a great friend of Stewart’s).

Click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26HWQXMalX4. The amount raised is a little out of date; it is now sitting at...

£63,008 (still, but watch this space)

 

 

…..oooOooo…..

 

And Finally...

And finally, Cyril? And finally, Esther, I am indebted to a Mr B. Baker who with the help of The Pit Orchestra for our finishing item this week. Why? I noticed a certain past I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here winner, makes an appearance in a couple of this week’s clips. His name, according to Binky Baker, is Toe Knee Black Burn... so, take it away, Binky. Yeah, I know I’ve played it before... I like it. Okay? Okay.

 

Knee Toe Burn Black aka Lenny Gamble

 

 

That’s all for this week folks, but remember you can read the musings of The Grambler every week (well, most weeks) by going to the blog at www.thegrambler.com where you can also catch up on any previous editions you may have missed.

 

Happy grambling.