Fatty Facesitter

46 minutes ago, Shy Dad said:

Its my birthday and for the first time in years a group of people sang happy birthday to me just after midnight and have arranged that we have drinks today technically so I'm not by myself.

Blessed by the best friends.

Hope you're all well.

Happy New Year and happy birthday! 

Let’s face it, January is a bit of a miserable month in truth. It’s fucking freezing, we’re all skint until payday rolls round, all the festive decorations go back in their boxes, and your bosses all of a sudden decide they want to smash the opening quarter and you go back to work ruing how you didn’t feel relaxed enough during your Xmas break. 

But fear not, for apart from that rather gloomy initial outlook, there’s still a lot of good stuff to look forward to this month. 

Good Arrows! - World Darts Championships (1st to 3rd)

The first major sporting concludes in over the first three days as per tradition. It’s been a mixed tournament so far in terms of quality, but Luke Littler’s progression has been incredible to witness. Even a sub-par World Championships is still great to watch. Darts remains a fantastic spectacle capable of producing some wonderful sporting drama. I’ve never been live but I hope to save up some pennies and put that right for 2024. Good arrows indeed.

The Mike Castle Classic - The Traitors Season 2 (3rd onwards)

I was very late to the party on the first series having only caught up with it over the last couple of weeks. What a boat to miss. The best kind of reality TV bollocks. It may disappoint as they over complicate the brilliant original, but it should still be jolly good fun. If not, well, we’ll just have to revive the Mafia Scum threads. Don’t pretend you don’t want to. 

Snooker Loopy! - The Masters (7th to 14th)

One of the ‘big three’ triple crown events on the snooker calendar, the top 16 battle it out over a glorious week at Ally Pally. I’ve got tickets for the Monday night session featuring serial Welsh shagger and potting magician Mark Williams this year. First time I’ll have been in person at a snooker event in a while - will be nice to be back on with the punters having covered it from the press room previously. Always a great tournament with a great standard of play and an electric atmosphere. 

On the road to the big one - Royal Rumble (27th)


My favourite WWE event of the year - always good fun and it means we’re properly on the road to the annual spectacular of Wrestlemania as the picture starts to become clearer. I genuinely think this year’s Rumble has the potential to be the best in a while with HHH being able to fully put his stamp on it (I think Vince/Shane had a big hand in it last year but I might be talking bollocks). So it’s just nice watching a lot of bodies clatter into each other and throw each other out of a ring isn’t it? It always makes for fun cameos as well. Could this be Bossman’s year?

Football crazy - FA Cup 3rd Round (4th to 8th of Jan plus replays tbc)


I know, another sporty one, and not everyone gives a toss about the FA Cup anymore. But I’m a hopeless football romantic and I love watching the bigger teams take on some of the underdogs. There aren’t many standout ties this year sadly in terms of non league teams getting a crack at Prem opposition, but Wigan might spring a surprise when they host Man United, Liverpool vs Arsenal is an interesting clash, and Sunderland meet bitter rivals Newcastle for the first time in a good while. Maidstone United, the lowest ranked team in the competition, host League One Stevenage. 

Winner Winner Winner Chicken Dinner - UKFF Awards (Throughout)

I might be jumping the gun slightly as it might be Feb before the winners/losers are announced, but it’s always fun to look back on the goings on from the previous year and to celebrate and desecrate the goings on of yesteryear. Will Bacon complete another double? Will Chippy Tea take another thread of the year gong? 

What are YOU looking forward to in January? I’ve got a couple of railway trips planned to some big winter events as I enjoy my regular fix of train noncery. My brother and mother’s birthdays are both this month, agonisingly before payday, but usually a good excuse to hit the ale (I will not be doing dry Jan).

20 minutes ago, simonworden said:

It's great getting older with you all.

It might be the cheap, foul-tasting cider I’m drinking but this is such a lovely sentiment and I’ve never really thought of the forum like that before and it’s hit me in the loins. When you stop, think and put it into context in terms of one’s first time signing up, how the digital world and social media has evolved in that timespan, it really is quite remarkable that so many of us are still here posting. 

May we continue to grow old together in this sometimes maddening, but often wonderful place 🥃

EDIT - I signed up in 2004 so it’s been 20 years now. Madness.

I remember when the Borat film came out in 2006 and I have never laughed so much in a cinema ever. Haven’t watched it in a while so not sure how it holds up but I’ll never forget that. 

HNY folks! 

This is going to sound a bit wanky but one of the things me and some mates have been doing recently is being an ‘accountability partner’ for each other (I need a better name because it sounds really menacing). At the moment we’re doing it for stuff like exercise and DuoLingo. Nothing too intense, just checking in each other and giving each other a little encouragement. 

I’m on a mission to be healthier in 2024 and I work fully remotely now, so I need to get out of the bubble, off my arse and get my steps in and the like. 

If anyone’s up for being an AP for anything let me know. I’m determined to give the running another go - I keep having g so many false starts with Couch to 5K, I think I just need to get off my arse and actually try a 5K and just do it. I’ve been looking at Parkrun - they’re free and you don’t have to even run, you could walk if you choose. 

Here’s one for you - I’m going to try and make an effort to properly reconnect with one person each week. It could be an old mate from uni, an old colleague, etc. Doesn’t mean dropping everything to meet up with them but just reaching out, reminisce about old times and maybe schedule a meet up for later in the year etc. 

Also 2024 is going to be the year I go balls out on my little YouTube odyssey and really try and make something of it. I was trying out some new branding concepts, decided they were shit and focussed on generating new content ideas instead and now I’m super pumped.

Would anyone know where I could buy or download the original GTA for a MacBook? I watched a video on it recently and I quite fancy a trip back in time to the old days of helicopter views, purple roads and getting a big ‘GOURANGA!’ message after mowing down a group of orange pedestrians. 

We took a trip to the local recycling centre yesterday (my squeeze is a lucky, lucky girl let me tell you).

Whilst trying to fit an awkward old mirror into my humble motor, she uttered the words “Oh, it’s too big?” (Sadly this is the one and only time I’ve ever heard her say those words…)

Reminded me of the old Norton signatures posters were given if their sigs exceeded the stated sizing. 

Fucking hell. 4-1 over Raymond. Fantastic match. 

2 hours ago, SuperBacon said:

I'll be honest I have zero interest in darts, but I love this thread (similar to the cricket one) as everyone writes so well about it

Absolutely, especially @TheBurningRed - always provides great contributions.

2 hours ago, TheBurningRed said:

I’m so glad Smith lost. He’s had a shit year as world champ. Probably as bad as John Parts in 2008 or Rob Cross in 2018. But it’s always a pleasure seeing that mumbling Tory wanker lose. Dobey was fantastic however. 

Gary Anderson with a great point about Littler. They’re hyping him up so much on Sky and in the media and it’s going to do him harm. Same thing happened with Fallon and as Ando says, Josh Rock. Poor Littler got loads of abuse from (mostly) scousers yesterday. He had a photo taken holding a copy of The Sun. He’s a kid. Like he knows about something that happened 18 years before he was born. And if he does, I’m sure he doesn’t know why The Sun is scum. I doubt his parents knew the connection either. And they’ve had to come out with a statement apologising for it. Hopefully he can keep focus despite all this hype and beat Barney. 

Here’s a fun game to play when he is playing. Count how many times they mention he’s 16. Stuart Pyke mentioned it 27 times during his game the other night. 

Some observations and further context on this having covered similar events in the past (not darts but the majority of this applies) and also picking up on the piece Luke did with The Sun - 

• Gary's comments come from a good place in terms of wanting to protect players from media scrutiny. Totally fair enough. 
• Only thing I'd say is that he's kind of tarring all of the media with the same brush, which I don't is an accurate reflection of the wider darts media landscape. There are definitely some shitehawks that rock up to some of the bigger tournaments from the tabloids, but there's also a lot of positive and well-meaning coverage generated by a lot of the darts media and the wider sports media more generally. Darts gets far more coverage (positive and negative) than many other so called 'niche' sports and I don't think that should be taken for granted. 
• Luke Littler is one of the stories of the tournament. It's perfectly natural and normal that the media would want to cover this unique story of a young player having an incredible tournament in more detail. It would almost be weird if they didn't cover it as a big story.  
• Typically at a tournament like this, Sky will want plenty of time to shoot features and promo shots with the players - as the host broadcaster there's nothing unusual about this and again Sky have been incredible in terms of what they've done for the sport. The Worlds in particular is obviously the most newsworthy event of the year and so the press rooms are packed with not just the travelling darts media regulars, but journos from many of the national newsdesks and video agencies. 
• The responsibility then lies with the media/communications team managing individual press requests. They are responsible for managing the players' workload in terms of media commitments throughout a tournament and working to make things happen. Unless it's a particularly outlandish request, they'll more often than not try to find a way to make this happen - it's good coverage for the tournament and it all adds to the statistics in the various washup review meetings once the event concludes. 
• With Luke being 16, this is clearly a special case and it needs special care and attention, especially from the PDC's perspective and how they handle his schedule and amount of requests. 
• Which leads me to my next point relating to his photo holding up a copy of The Sun. This will likely have been a media opportunity lined up by the PDC at the request of The Sun, where their journalist on the ground will have asked the PDC comms team if they can get some one to one time with him. 
• If the above is the case and this was set up by the PDC, somebody within their media team should have had the common sense to realise the sensitivity issue of this and the potential negativity that would have come from it. To me this is an enormous error of judgement on their part. 
• It might also be the case that Luke set this up with The Sun entirely by himself, in which case he should have been advised against doing this for the same reasons. Also it's something the PDC should have been aware of as it's taking place during a tournament - players are usually fined for doing any media activity outside of that jurisdiction. 

He needs an agent. He also needs the PDC's media team to get their act together one way or another. 

1 hour ago, hallicks said:

It was supposed to be a blockbuster evening, but turned into a bit of a damp squib. Once Bunting lost the 2nd set, his head just went. Felt bad for him, he seems like a nice guy and is clearly very talented. Hope he can put it together soon.

Michael Smith didn’t look like he’d recovered from the mind games of  “Madarse” (c. Glen Durrant) the other night. Didn’t help that he was playing Dobey, who was relentless and clinical.

Hoping that Barney vs Littler delivers a bit more this evening. Littler needs to keep playing with that freedom that he’s had so far.

Great summation. Barney vs Littler should be a cracker.

I thought the first half of the tournament pre-Christmas was a bit dull in comparison to previous years, but apart from some one-sided affairs yesterday the second half of the tournament had started quite well. 
 

That music as well blaring out in a massive stadium - that would be ace. 

He’s technically the first WWE performer I ever saw wrestle live - he had a dark match with Robbie Brookside at the first ever UK-based Raw taping in November of 2004. 

… Fuck’s sake, I want this to happen now. 

On 12/18/2023 at 7:47 AM, Onyx2 said:

Maven returns to chat more ex colleagues, but of interest is his final segment on Benoit. Honest, classy and professional. Start about 34 mins if you want to skip:

 

 

Love what Maven's doing on YT. Creating YouTube-style videos tailored to the platform is a great way of doig it when you look at his titles/thumbnails etc, but then the actual content itself I've always found to be an enjoyable watch too. 

[double post wanker, sorry]

13 hours ago, SuperBacon said:

Betting on Spurs? You idiot. 

I almost had a flutter on them but decided against it at the last minute. Wise move. 

Does anyone else have any weird rules they've set themselves when putting together their bet slips/accas when it comes to certain teams? Some of mine - 

• Never add Norwich to the slip. They'll only let you down, or if you have them on a BTTS acca, you're openly willing another team to score against them. 
• Barnsley - 'Never bet on the Dingles' as a friend once told me. Twice they've been the only team left for me on an acca not to do the business. 
• Ipswich - Similar to my reasons about Norwich. 
• Northampton/Cambridge/Leyton Orient - I nearly always look out for these three teams and who they are playing and nine times out of ten, no matter how good or how shit they are playing in terms of form, they nearly always come through for me. Northampton and Leyton Orient once came through for me in the same match with the score at 0-0 deep into injury time. Goals in the 95th and 98th minutes gave me a lovely Brucie Bonus. 

11 hours ago, Devon Malcolm said:

 

I always thought he was an underrated player. Not in the sense that people didn't think he was talented - I think that was always the case, but he seems to be largely forgotten amongst other Prem strikers of yesteryear. Maybe because he was a miserable sod. 

West Ham are on a mad one. One minute they're flying, the next minute they get a couple of spankings, then they're flying again and into the top 6 as it stands. What a job David Moyes has done there. 

I genuinely don't think the football they play is that bad either. This notion of playing a certain way does baffle me slightly and I think it's largely a persona trait when it comes to a manager - they get tarred with a certain brush. I know they were on the defensive last night for the most part, but they always put together some good passages of play and they've got some tidy players. 

Rice giving away a penalty at the end in front of the Hammers fans, couldn't make it up. 

Ultimate Doom/Doom II

The original Doom is now 30 years old as of this December, which is nuts.

I’ve downloaded both of the iOS versions over the festive period (not exactly a festive game mind you!) after getting some iTunes vouchers from relatives. 

The iOS ports are great and everything from the original games is present, including things like Doom II’s Arch Vile and all the secret missions and the like. The controls are a bit fiddly but not too bad once you get used to them. Turning and shooting at the same time is a bit of a challenge on the more difficult levels especially when you’ve got a ton of shotgun/chaingun wielding zombies to keep dodging.

Otherwise it’s maniacal fun as always. 

“Alright mate?”

4 hours ago, Mr_Danger said:

Talk of Traitors in the telly thread had me remembering a prime candidate for this thread. Claudia Winkelman. Never has someone tried so hard to be funny and not made me laugh yet still come across as so appealing. 

+1. I feel like she’s someone who can do all the cheesy tele stuff quite well like presenting on Strictly/The Traitors and the makeup ads and what have you, but would still be good value for a pint down the boozer afterwards and be able to have a laugh at herself as well. 

61! Well preserved. 

Lovely that. Jurgen was absolutely brilliant throughout. Sometimes you watch these videos and the meet and greet parts feel really short and rushed - Jurgen gave him the time of day and physically pushed him around in his chair. A lovely, lovely watch. 

We've finally got round to watching The Traitors. Overproduced BBC filth... and yet very gripping. I'm ashamed to say we've binged nine episodes in a row and the rest will be gobbled up this evening. 

Memories of Mike Castle's old Mafia threads came flooding back... good or bad depending on your take on it. 

March 6th budget incoming which is fuelling election speculation. Could be 2nd of May. 

Only five months to go... what will become of this thread if they get the boot? They'll still be cunts after all so technically it wouldn't be off brand. 

British Rail - The Making and Breaking of our Trains by Christian Wolmar.

Fascinating insight into life before the Tories privatised BR (booo) and examining whether a lot of the criticisms levelled at BR (stale sandwiches, crap service etc) were actually valid among other things. You don't necessarily have to be a railway buff to enjoy it. Good read thus far. 

Some people like to celebrate the New Year with parties, singing Auld Lang Syne, watching the fireworks on the tele and the like. 

All fools' errands. This yearly post is the proper way to ring in the new calendar year. I've forgotten about Christmas already. 

Merry Christmas folks, hope you and yours are all safe and well and you all get spoilt xx