Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls - TV Review

Using the word celebrity loosely I caught up with the new ‘Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls’ early today not an A-lister line-up but still I know most of them. I have a nasty streak in me that rather loves watching people suffer and are stretched passed their comfit zone.

Bear dropped them off not at the lovely beach spotted by former Olympian Iwan Thomas which he declared would be the new home but dropped them off on the outskirts of a mango swamp.

The ten celebrities enduring four weeks on the island are Breaking Bad actor RJ Mitte, broadcaster Iwan Thomas, singer Jordan Stephens, comedian Mark Watson, and actor Ryan Thomas I hope they have what it takes to survive the ordeal. They are joined by reality star Lucy Mecklenburgh, presenter Sharron Davies, ex-Pussycat Doll Melody Thornton, comedian Shazia Mirza and TV doctor Sara Kayat.

Once they reached solid ground, Thomas took control. Then began the force-march through the dense bush in search of Shangri-La, the beach. He was not making many friends the Olympian but the beach was found and all were happy! For a while anyway.

At the beach, they swam sat about in the sun and talked a lot but didn’t build a shelter or succeed in making fire not the best of starts. There was talk of a shelter but there was a small tiff about falling coconuts. The doctor was worried about the water situation because most of it was used on reaching the beach but step forward alpha male (Thomas) who spies a big green tree in the distance and came up with the theory “Big green tree = water source” can’t remember that in science.

Thomas put together a foraging mission to the tree with former Coronation Street Ryan Thomas and singer who was one-half of Rizzie Kicks, Jordan something setting off in high hopes. They may have not found water but a very angry swarm of bees attacked them with Ryan coming out the worse and it was not his day as later he was rolling around in the sand screaming with, cramp.

No food and laying on palms was not ideal but seriously no one seem to understand the need for the basics mainly Thomas who seemed to have taken control, less time talking more time doing.

After the failure of the Thomas water expedition a number of the ladies in the group when for a stroll looking for water when comedian Shazia Mirza spotted animal tracks and figured out the tracks will lead to water. With the water now duly found. and celebration under way a fire was needed to make the water drinkable. There was still a lot to do with a wants list of shelter, fire, and food is still a fantasy.

Then the clouds darken, thunder in the distance and the islanders waited for rain. When it came, they had some sense to full their three jerry cans. Still no fire and with Prime Minister Thomas revived after some water he decides a raised bed should be the next project. The island comedian Shazia quick to point out at not enough were working on the fire but the revived Thomas shouted, “I’m calling this. We need everyone.”

Breaking Bad actor RJ Mitte, chipped in on the subject of the fire but Thomas hit back saying we have water for tonight we don’t need fire now. After the work of getting the bed into position, the wood was rotten, the rain returns as night begins to fall, and it was cold.

Ryan gets a bit more action in the sand in the next episode with some good old fashion necking with reality star Lucy Mecklenburgh, are we on Love Island. In the outside world some viewers were shocked about the expletive language used by some of the Islanders someone counted them it could have been some newspaper researcher probably, 65 in total during the 44-minute episode.

That was Tuesday, we had a sneaky look of next week, it looked to have deteriorated, and I can wait.

It was a really funny watch and I would recommended it. Who wants to miss that, of course there is the Love Island angle with Ryan and Lacy, and will they do the dirty deed on TV. Will 10 become 9 or even less we will have to wait and see

Take me home to the Seventies

Me 1974

It has been brought to my attention that I live in my passed in particular the seventies. I suppose I do because I believe the seventies defined me to who I was until I hit mental health issues at the latter end of the era.

What a lazy day and with the internet and TV down because of a problem with the system it got me thinking if I had a time machine which year would I revisit from my past. Maybe 1985 the year of great change, I got married that year but no let us go further back to say 1974 a nice year for a revisit surprise, surprise.

I was 14 years old in August 1974 with a life of school and play to enjoy with no real worries in the world. I was a content teenager and it was a simpler life than 14 year olds have today. No gadgetry, you were lucky if you had a phone in your house and at home, your TV were just moving from Black and White to Colour. It was left to TV shows like ‘Tomorrows World’ on the BBC or futuristic films, comics and another BBC stalwart ‘Doctor Who’ to tell us about mobile phones and all the gadgets kids have today.

What were us boys wearing back than the height of fashion were Patch pockets, flares (bell-bottomed), platforms shoes, yes for boys and butter fly shirts with the rounded collar and a tan top. We thought we looked smart! For then maybe. I had a green pair of patch pockets but soon discarded them because every time you had to run your money fell out of the ridiculous pockets near your knees. It was difficult to run with your hands in your pockets to stop your stuff falling out.

Really, fashion was what you wanted to make of it there were youth tribes with a uniform but you did not feel the need to join. I had some braces however I was not a skinhead. Today the uniform is the ‘latest’ be it clothes or anything.

A takeaway was the Chippy and no one gave a flying frig about cholesterol. A bag of chips with lashings of salt and vinegar may be a fishcake on the side or a pie if you had good money. Now they stick your chips on a tray pop your fishcake or pie on top and flatten it. We had cafes, pie on a plate or a couple of ham sandwiches much more atmosphere than today with sanitised McDonalds’ and others like it. Pin Ball machines, one-armed bandits not a phone with a tiny screen.

Not my Chopper

Because we were out all day, we used our homes for a pit stop to grab something to eat or drink and that was if you were playing local. Playing over the park, around the river building dens in the mud jump gullies lighting fire with no adult interference. We would knock up the mileage riding our bikes with enough money for a small bottle of pop and a packet of crisps. I would be riding a Raleigh Chopper not some streamline racing bike as my Chopper weighed a ton and was useless for going up hills but I loved it.

Want to go steady with a girl! They were harder to crack back then because overall, they listen to their parents and the best you could look forward to was some necking and a fumble, top only, outside the clothes. Fourteen-year-olds today just grow up to quick and look to book a hotel room on the first date. We had porn magazines and would get excited about a centre fold today with the internet porn is a click away, full on porn if you know what I mean.

Any girl knocking my from door when my parents were out my neighbour would be right out on the door making sure distance was kept on orders of my mum. “No girls allowed in the house “if my parents were out. My neighbour was a lovely lady and I would listen to her because I had respect for her.

Football friendship 1974 style

Llandaff Pool

A good Saturday afternoon would be a trip to Ninian Park to watch Cardiff City on the Grange End were underneath it would rain money after a City goal. There was a reason for patch pockets. The Empire Pool or the three pooled Guildford Baths would be a place to go and on a crazy hot summer afternoon Llandaff Fields open air pool.

Funny, I thought I respected my teacher’s even if I lied to them all the time. The biggest lie was no small lie it was over five years of secondary school involved three stitches and one games lesson missed that I stretch to five years of no participation in any Games or PE lesson unless I fancied it but that was rare. Somehow, over the years, the three stitches on the bottom of my foot moved to my knee and the funny thing is today my knee is shot, karma my old gym teacher could say. I left school with no exams and that would be something I would change if I went back in time, without a doubt.

I remember money was tight, really tight and dad working every hour under the sun and moon he did a lot of night-time over time. There was money for little treats but with three sisters and a brother, there were no holidays but for the odd trip.

Then I grew up.

Unemployment 1974

There were riots, demonstrations, unemployment, strikes, and rockets to outer space. Cold wars became memories and real wars became headlines. I found out about lies, political assassination, and buying on credit. There were babies and bills. There was social movement and political awareness.

I wanted to default on the problems of the world today. I want to live in a time before all the shit in this world. I sometimes feel if the was a pill to end your life without pain I would take it, because I am not a fan of now. But I have a wife, my boys, my family, and some good friends who make it worth hanging round for so the pill can stay in the bottle.

Sunday Crush - Valerie Leon - Hai Karate

It’s Sunday so it must be crush day and to days offering gives me fond memories. Up to day is British model and actress Valerie Leon.

Those of you with an age to remember the seventies she starred in a TV advert for ‘Hai Karate’ a men’s aftershave. A buxom woman she played a woman who drives small and puny men wild by wearing aftershave, in a series of commercials for the product.

I was a fan of the product and it was the first aftershave I use but it did not attract the attention of a buxom mature woman or any female. One could live in hope. Looking back it was an easy sell, beautiful woman scantily clad and compared with the other big seller ‘Brut’ fronted by Henry Cooper and for Christ sake show-jumper Harvey Smith as faces of the product! It was an easy choice.

Leon appeared in several of the Carry On films, and was a Bond girl twice and starred in one of my favourite Hammer Horror films, Blood from the Mummy's Tomb. She plays Egyptian queen, murdered but somehow puts herself into a trance, the high priests believe it would help remove her of evil by removing her hand and sealed up for all eternity in her tomb. A couple centuries later her tomb is discovered, shockingly her body is perfectly preserved as if she had only recently died.

Being curvaceous and sexually attractive in the seventies she was not out of work, there was high demand with filmmakers and TV makers with British farce films and TV popular for big boobs, stockings, and suspenders. But the smouldering Hai Karate glamourpuss - did not perhaps provide an ideal template of desirable womanhood for a young boy who was only dimly aware of the mysteries of sex.

Road to Wembley and the Welsh Cup Final

I am getting forgetful in my old age I missed an article I was supposed to post over the weekend with both the FA Cup and the Welsh Cup in play. Has you must know by now in the opening round I pick a team which leads me to the final by following the winner. Yes, I am that nerdy.

In the Extra Preliminary Round of the FA Cup, I picked Little Common because it was their first appearance in the competition but they lost 3-1 to Eastbourne United. That meant a change of team with Eastbourne hopefully carry me beyond the Preliminary Round. However, it was not to be they crashed out 3-2 away at Littlehampton.

• First Qualifying Round Littlehampton Town v Chipstead Att
• Preliminary Round – Littlehampton Town 3-2 Eastbourne Att-
• Extra Preliminary Round - Little Common 1-3 Eastbourne Att- Match Report

It was also the opening round of the Welsh Cup and like with the FA Cup I picked a team I believed never played before in the Welsh Cup. I have explained before I always pick a team playing home and Cardiff based and this time it was Grange Allstars.

The game was provisionally to play at the home of the Allstars but they had to forfeit that advantage due to a lack of a suitable pitch.

I knew little about the team but found them on Facebook and Twitter, which was helpful. The (Allstars) were beaten 1-0 by Llantwit Fardre who now have an away trip to Pencoed Athletic in the next round of the competition.

Has a little side project and as a Cardiff boy I like to keep an eye on the Cardiff based teams in the Welsh Cup and in the opening round there were eleven teams of which including Grange Allstars five of whom took an early bath. In the next round, STM Sports will join the fray and play another Cardiff team, Butetown.

• Qualifier Round Two – Pencoed Athletic v Llantwit Fardre Att
• Qualifier Round One - Llantwit Fardre 1-0 Grange Allstars Att

Must see TV - Week beginning 26/08/2017 - My Choice

Saturday – Gold – David Jason: My Life on Screen 6pm

This three-part series looks back at the career of Sir David Jason, with the opening instalment explaining how he ended up starring in his first TV series, 1967’s Do Not Adjust Your Set.

Writer and co-stars Michael Palin, Eric Idle, and Terry Jones moved on to Monty Python, while Sir David began a long association with Ronnie Barker in Hark at Barker.

‘I owe him a great deal,’ he muses – he also went on to join Ronnie in Porridge and, of course, Open All Hours (and had a surprising role in The Two Ronnies). Packed with clips, interviews with co-stars and a guided tour from Sir David himself, this is an absolute treat. Continues tomorrow and Monday.

Sunday – ITV – Victoria 9:05pm

I was late to the first series, watched it on catch-up, and was surprised that I ended up enjoying it, as it is not my cup of tea as a rule. So Jenna Coleman returns as Queen Victoria for a second series of the lavish period drama. The first series was well received by critics and the viewing public who love a costume drama.

Set shortly after the birth of Victoria’s first child in 1840, Victoria season 2 catches up with the young queen, her courtiers, and the politicians of the day.

Monday – Sky Atlantic – Game of Thornes – 9pm

The season finale tonight and a long wait for the final series 2019 I have heard, a long wait. There is so much left dangling coming into this finale. All of which means there is going to be a lot to resolve in the hour and 20 minutes Monday.

So far this season we have seen emotional character reunions, storylines converge, old truths revealed and some truly gripping drama, but after the events in Beyond the Wall we have more questions than ever about what the finale may hold, and on a larger scale, how the show can possibly wrap up entirely.

Monday – Premiere Sky Cinema – Ouija: Origin of Evil 10:10 pm

In this horror sequel, a game of Ouija leads to supernatural activity. In 1967 Los Angeles, a widow making ends meet as a psychic (Elizabeth Reaser) is stunned when she obtains an Ouija board that actually enables her to talk to the dead pushing her income to a higher level. While it is great for her business, the board also allows a vengeful ghost to possess her nine-year-old daughter (Lulu Wilson).

Tuesday – Channel 4 – The Great British Bake Off 8pm

No longer on the BBC shock horror. I will miss the old crew but will give this Channel 4 show my support but will I like it? Critics who have seen the opening episode have given it the thumbs up saying it was the same show with a few tweaks.

Reports are commenting on a loss of 17-minutes airtime dual to ad breaks with the new judge Prue Leith, replacing Mary Berry as advised fans to record the show so they could fast-forward through the ad breaks. The £75m question is will the viewers follow the show from BBC to Channel 4 that cross over to commercial TV don’t always bring the audience.

Tuesday – Channel 4 – Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls 9pm

Bear Grylls abandons 10 celebrities on an uninhabited island and we sit back a watch them suffer! What could be better?

Alone and marooned in just their clothes and with a handful of basic tools, they must survive entirely on their own wits.

They'll have to make shelter, hunt for food, and keep safe: Last year's series saw one contestant flown to hospital after falling from a cliff while another had to give himself stitches following an accident with a machete.

Wednesday – Discovery Channel – Treehouse Masters 8pm

Treehouse Masters, in my opinion, is one of the more original shows out there. It follows Pete Nelson who owns Nelson Treehouse and Supplies which obviously builds tree houses for their clients, which can range from families, zoos, museums etc. The show bears a striking resemblance to the old Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in where it follows the construction of these beautiful structures and then at the end reveals it to the family.

The difference between the two is that Treehouse Masters does it for paying clients, where the Extreme Makeover did it for free for families in need.

Thursday – Fox – Lucifer 9pm

Lucifer, bored from his sulking life in hell comes to live in Los Angeles only to help humanity with its miseries through his experience and telepathic abilities to bring people's deepest desires and thoughts out of them. While meeting with a girl in his nightclub (called Lux), a shootout involving him and the girl leads him to become a LAPD consultant who tries to punish people for their crimes through law and justice.

Friday – BBC 1 – Comedy Playhouse 10:35pm

The Comedy Playhouse strand ran on BBC One from 1961 to 1975 and spawned numerous, much-loved series including Are You Being Served?, Last Of The Summer Wine and Steptoe And Son. In 2015, Comedy Playhouse revived and further three pilots are to be aired on BBC 1.

Mister Winner is a sitcom starring Spencer Jones as Leslie Winner, a well-meaning but hapless chap who is prone to accidents, complications, and landing himself in unusual and often somewhat dangerous situations.

Leslie plans to propose to his girlfriend, Jemma Smith, but unknown to him, she is having doubts about their relationship, as he doesn't take life seriously enough. Jemma is a young professional from Croydon, who loves Leslie, but doesn't know if that is enough, as he doesn't have a job, any money, or take her anywhere. But he makes her laugh more than anyone else ever has.

Early morning trip to the Bakery

Last week while on the bus going to the dentist on reaching Victoria Park, Cowbridge Road Cardiff East I noted many new shops/eateries had opened up directly across the road from Victoria Park. One in particular caught my eye ‘Pettigrew Bakeries’.

Looking in from the bus it looked beautiful from what I could see I deemed a visit was on the cards. I should have checked their opening times as I popped up Monday before meeting friend Gillian on the only day there were shut so lesson learnt.

So today I had an appointment were the nurse over the Health Centre and I decided to shoot up to Vicky Park on the bus and have a lookies at the shop and jump back on the bus in time for my appointment.

The bakery opens Tuesday to Saturday 7:30am to 4:30pm and Sunday - 8:30am to 1pm baking both traditional and Artisan breads.

On entering the shop, the smells were to die for with the oven cooking up a new batch of bread and the smell and colours of the different cakes/pastries helped with the ambiance of the shop. There was plenty of breads to choose from but a large white Sandwich loaf caught my eye and I asked for it to be sliced large and oh boy compared to other bakeries I have try this was a thick cut. The nurse wasn’t happy as the conversation turned to dieting later at the Clinic. But I could not wait to get home and try it toasted and later a sandwich.

I toasted the crust at the end of the loaf. I just love the crust. It was an excellent piece of bread baked in house and tasted much better than the mass-produced rubbish out there people will pay for a quality product.

I bought a Belgian Bun for the wife but there was a lot of cakes and other pastries to choose from and I picked up a sausage roll for myself, a £2.50 sausage roll! I just had to try it. I was somewhat surprised it wasn’t baked in house but supplied by Coopers of Shrewsbury.

The sausage roll was short and stubby but I still cut it in half to try it hot and cold. Cold or hot, they were a tasty treat the pastry was bronzed to perfection and delicious and the sausage meat filling was flavour some and packed. Maybe they are working on their own sausage product. The Bun when down a treat with the wife and few more brownie points to yours truly.

Later I had some equally lovely ham sandwiches and you can guarantee I will be making many a re-visit to Pettigrew Bakeries’.

Cardiff v Burton Tonight

I expect plenty of changes tonight for the EFL (Carabao) Cup against Burton Albion with Neil Warnock resting many of the squad from the win over Wolves for the last game this weekend coming against QPR before the international break.

Recent signing former Wigan striker Omar Bogle is in line to make his Cardiff debut after he was an unused substitute at Wolves on Saturday.

The line-up I expect will be closer to the one that played in the first-round win over Portsmouth and a very different squad that faced Burton in the opening fixture of the season where the Bluebirds won 1-0 thanks to a late Zohore goal.

A win tonight could see the Bluebirds pull one of the big boys of the Premier League a Manchester United or Chelsea would be a great for the Cardiff City Stadium even an away trip. I am looking for the team picked for tonight’s fixture to carry on the perfect start to this seasons campaign I have always and still believe the League Cup is the easiest route to a Wembley final for a committed team.

The third round draw will take place on Thursday August 24 but wait for it! The draw will take place in Beijing, yes China and at around 11am local time. Do the maths the draw time is around 4am here. You can then follow the unveiling of the fixtures on Twitter via the EFL’s Carabao Cup Twitter feed if they get it right and you are out of bed excitedly waiting.

Neil Warnock is telling the fans to 'enjoy' the success.

What can you say about the Bluebirds … "Fan – Dabi – Dozi", a catchphrase right out of the mouth of Wee Jimmy Krankie and meaning fantastic. Top of the league, unbeaten after four games and Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock is telling the fans to 'enjoy' the success.

I would like to think we could go all season without a defeat. Realistically there will be difficulties to the season but as Warnock is suggesting I will follow the wave of excitement the club is generating. It was a good win for the Bluebirds only spoilt by the reaction of the Wolves manager and their fans on social media.

The manager is blaming the referee and suggesting Warnock’s game plan was to be aggressive which made me laugh because maybe the Cardiff boss saw a weakness in the Wolves team like they are a bunch of pussies. We can bet other Championship managers have taken note of the possible weakness. The old chestnut, “Why is a Welsh club in our English League” was prominent which tends to happen when we are winning coming from some Wolves fans who also took up this aggressive question. Get a life I say.

Season find in the Championship must be Nathaniel Mendez-Laing a free signing from Rochdale who would have thought that. I will hold my hands up at when he signed I was not impressed with a freebie from Rochdale and after some research there was still little to excite me. Boy was I wrong! Warnock sprinkled some of his footballing wisdom on Mendez-Laing and in the process turning a freebie into not just a fine addition to his squad also a seven-figure asset to the club.

Midfielder Mendez-Laing is currently one of the joint top league scorers in the Championship. It’s just not down to Mendez-Laing, the whole team have made the jump forward under Warnock. On Saturday fellow midfielder, Joe Ralls picked up the plaudits from the fans, the defence have been strong and up front, leading the line the forwards have be contributing .

If you compare the team that played in Cardiff’s fourth game last season with Paul Trollope in charge, only four from his team made it into Warnock’s team this weekend and Trollope had Zohore unused on the bench. We now have a full Neil Warnock team we seen the beginnings of it last season and we are now reaping the awards of the vast football knowledge of the Cardiff City manager.

Jamie Lee Curtis - True Lies

Caught up with the film ‘True Lies’ yesterday a bit of a run-of-the-mill movie with the only saving grace the sexy striptease by the delectable Jamie Lee Curtis.

The film is watchable for over the top entertainment.

Long-time readers of my blogs will know I have an eye for a pretty lady of any size, shape, age or colour especially if you are a follower of my more adult Tumblr blog.

Since I´m a perfectionist, in some things anyway, things that matter which could be a non-entity to others I was reminded of how hot she looked in bra, panties, and stilettos! Her striptease was recently voted the best in a major film and surely, she got pulses racing in the cinema back in the day having turned my old ticker up a beat or two yesterday.

Sunday Crush - Marie Osmond

It was a big No. 1 in the UK charts for Marie ‘Paper Roses’ and was she going to be yet another one of the Osmond clan who would dominate the charts in the early to mid-seventies. But her follow up single was a big fail making her a one hit wonder but did I care! No.

I seem to have a thing about sweet innocent butter wouldn’t melt all American girls just look at my previous ‘Sunday Crushes’. She wouldn’t be an easy date with her brothers but well worth a try for this randy teenager. They were all Mormons. At the time, all I knew about being a Mormon meant you had to go to church like us Catholics.

It was uncool being a boy and liking anything Osmond even Marie. Most of my child counterparts (boys) were loved up on the likes Suzi Quatro, a leather wrapped American rock chick. She was a hottie but didn’t make it into my crush list. If the girls could have Donny why couldn’t have Marie I can’t remember many songstress who gave me that tickling feeling.

The complete innocent look of Marie was what attracted me towards her she didn’t dress as your average teen, more sophisticated and I had a fondness for that look. She was sexy to. No glamour model or any sexiness all that was well control by her family and management I could not even find a picture in a swimsuit from that time not even a bit of cleavage. She had an angelic singing voice that I first heard on the radio and you know what! She is still hot today… with the help of a surgeon.

Football Fanzines a fond memory

I have been looking through and reading a few of my fanzines form backing in the eighties today and it was very enjoyable. By the mid-eighties, nearly every football club had unofficial fanzines, which were not always welcomed by the clubs who saw them as competition for their official match day programme? Myself I still bought both but preferred the fanzine because the articles and comments were the conversation we would hear on the terraces.

They were once an integral part of the match day experience if you couldn’t wait or missed a game you could pick one up at Spillers Records in among the music fanzines. The reasons behind the growth is clubs marginalised fans in the 80s. Fans wanted more from the clubs than the run-around back then it was the fans who were the cash cows not TV money. It was the fans money the clubs wanted not their voices unless they were chanting for their team on match day.

The match programmes were a bland read and god help me I still collect them. The chairman and manager of the day would tell us fans not to worry despite losing the last four games there is light around the corner yes everything is sweetness and light. Player’s profiles and the odd stats and reams and reams of advertisements, which adds to the blandness of a programme.

Criticism via the fans in the programme was unlikely the letters page if there could be bother to print would be of the same blandness. It was left to the local paper and then fanzines until the internet to put fans views forward.

Fanzines were a place where ordinary fans could vent anger, have a joke, or recommend a good pub at the next away match.

What fanzines that are about today are polished and professionally glossy booklets and look more like the match day programme but still more interesting and far removed from the DIY production back in the early days but as their popularity grew and money was made the printing production was improved. One of the most popular fanzines at my club was ‘Bluebird Jones’ full of Cardiff related cartoons…. The fanzine was created by Mike Urban who sold thousands of copies at City games between 1993-1995, with each comic containing 32 pages and selling for just £1.

My favourite character is 70s MAN, who after a bizarre gardening accident is put into a coma for twenty years. On waking from the coma his only desire is to return to the football terraces but now things have changed and move on.

A few other Cardiff fanzines worth a mention are Bobbing Along, Intifada, and O Bluebird of Happiness.

I was angry and passionate about my club more than today back in the eighties as a fan we had a torrid time flicking from one disaster to another. The only highlights were the promotion 1983, Jeff Hemmerman great memories and 1988 promotion under manager Frank Burrows. The dark side was the double relegation to the basement of the Football League, Division 4 back then. Fanzines helped me through it reading what I was feeling.

I lived around the corner from Ninian Park, well the corner, and a bit and sometimes if I wasn’t at the game during those dark days the crowd were so small I could hear the players shout to one another.

Plenty of ammunition for the fanzine warriors and I have not mentioned managers, he coughs - Alan Durban reams to write about there. Normally come match day on Sloper Road some nerdy looking guy would be standing there holding up copies of a fanzine with a plastic shopping bag at his feet full of them. You could guarantee some dumb wit would ask him if it was the official match day programme. If you couldn’t get a copy outside the stadium, you could end up chasing a seller around the terraces. I remember don't what the policy was selling a fanzine inside the ground but i didn't see anyone chasing them around the ground.

A few hardy publications remain loyal to the printed word in the battle was the internet.

Come on Cardiff City - Three in a row

Cardiff City could make a bit of history tonight if they beat visitors Sheffield United by winning their first three opening league games. I was shocked reading about this unwanted stain on the clubs history and I hope it is brushed aside tonight.

I woke up this morning looked at the ceiling and wished it was May and the season was over and we were top of the League but that soon drifted away and it was back to reality we were top of the League with a long way to go.

It was a great weekend with a win over the much-fancied Aston Villa who the pundits and the national media have installed as favourites for promotion. The win was in front of owner Vincent Tan, his first game in Cardiff for a number of years. The fans gave him a good reception the bad blood from the rebrand is slowly decreasing.

On the possibility of selling the club he made it clear, the club will listen to offers but there is no rush to sell. He also believes Warlock is the manager to take the Bluebirds back to the Premier League even with a restricted budget.

Although after such a win the negativity was soon back with the coals raked over the £10.5m for Andreas Cornelius transfer in the manager ship of Malky Mackay who Tan as a number of issues with. Once again, old wounds opened, sides taken again, and social media the battleground.

Cardiff manager Neil Warlock could make changes despite the impressive 3-0 victory over Aston Villa, Saturday. He could decide to start Striker Lee Tomlin who was among the substitutes against Villa and maybe use £1.6million signing Danny Ward. In defence Bruno Manga, could get the nod for a run out to night instead of Sol Bamba who could be rested ahead of next Saturday's appointment at Molineux with an at present unbeaten Wolves.

There is a transfer rumour that Warnock is interesting in signing Watford’s out-of-favour midfielder Ben Watson although the reports suggest the Bluebirds are not alone in their interest. If one is coming in one could be going out Fulham have made an offer for Cardiff City full-back Joe Bennett, according to some press outlets.

So tonight all fingers crossed for another Aston Villa type performance with the same outcome. Three points and top of the League, which would top off the night.

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder has no new injury concerns ahead of the trip to the Cardiff City Stadium. After opening the season with a 1-0 win over Brentford at the weekend they lost by the same score to Middlesbrough and their goal was scored by former Bluebird favourite Rudy Gestede.

Three POW films I like

The war in the Far East ended August 15 1945, 70 years ago and it will be remembered with celebrations around the world this weekend. Although, Japan didn’t formally surrender until September 2, 1945.

The war is particularly remembered for the treatment of prisoners of war who were subject to, beatings, summary punishment (executions), brutal treatment, forced labour, starvation, and even medical experimentation. At the end of the war, some Japanese soldiers took revenge for the surrender by murdering prisoners.

Below are three film from the POW gene based on the Japanese war and all three are in my top 100 films

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There are few Second World War films are as enduring as this multi-Oscar-winning examination of the stiff upper lip from director David Lean. Alec Guinness plays Colonel Nicholson, the epitome of British dignity and resolve who, after brutal treatment at the hands of his Japanese captors in Burma, leads his men in the building of a strategically vital railway bridge for the enemy as an exercise in keeping up their - and his - morale.

There is a sub plot to the film of a mainly British story with American actor William Holden playing a prisoner who escapes only to find himself dispatched back into the jungle to blow up said bridge with British commandos.

The mental battle between the camp Commander Colonel Saito played by Sessue Hayakawa and Guinness stands out in the film. To get his bridge built Hayakawa as release more and more authority to Guinness character. Nicholson (Guinness) is a hardnosed stiff upper-lipped British officer with a brand of pride, patriotism, and loyalty to the regiment. The bridge built but will Holden and the commandos have a final say if the first train will cross.

Another prisoners of war film set in a WWII Japanese prison is concerned with the harsh realities of surviving the terrible hardships of day-to-day life than planning escapes. With a mainly strong British cast consisting of the likes of James Fox (Flight Lieutenant Peter Marlowe), Tom Courtenay (Lieutenant Robin Grey), Denholm Elliott (Lieutenant Colonel G. D. Larkin), John Mills (Colonel George Smedley-Taylor) and Leonard Rossiter (Major McCoy).

American actor George Segal (Corporal King) plays a cynical hustler who seems far more adept at making the best of his predicament, and as such, the other prisoners either ally themselves with him or despise him. James Fox is excellent as the British officer who befriends him and humour, drama unfolds as the camps differing factions motives, and hypocrisies are exposed.

Perhaps the most pivotal scene in the movie is when King cooks a stew of dog meat for his closest mates in the camp. After one of the prisoners is order to kill his dog for killing one of the camp’s valuable egg-laying hens, King “acquires” the carcass. He hires a room invites some of chums for a dinner party. King makes a point of not telling his guests its dog until he’s dishing out plates and they’re literally slobbering at the smell. “Meat’s meat,” he tells them, with characteristic bluntness.

When the camp commandant summons the senior British officers and notifies them that the Japanese have surrendered, the war is over. After overcoming their shock and disbelief, the prisoners celebrate – all except King. He realises he is no longer the unquestioned (if unofficial) ruler of the camp. When Marlowe speaks to him before King's departure from the camp, King ignores his overture of renewed friendship

A battle of wills set in a Japanese POW camp at Java in late 1942, between Capt. Yonoi (Ryuichi Sakamoto), and rebellious British prisoner Major Jack 'Strafer' Celliers, (David Bowie), who admires Celliers' defiant stand.

David Bowie is outstanding as the defiant British prisoner whose erotic appeal undoes the Japanese commandant, played by Sakamoto, who was at the height of his fame as a musical icon in Japan. A as lot of been made of the sexual overtones between the two characters. Celliers and Lawrence (Tom Conti) are known to each other and Lawrence speaks Japanese and understands some Japanese customs, and has managed to earn himself a place as a liaison.

His acting is a tad (Sakamoto) hammy even by Japanese traditions, which conflict rather badly with the British (and in Jack Thompson's case Australian) acting traditions. Thompson is the commander of the prisoners and doesn’t understand either Celliers or Lawrence

TV Review – Eden: Paradise Lost – An Adult Lord of the Flies

I watched the two parts of Eden the opening first four episodes before it disappeared/cancelled off our screen for months before the remaining five shows were shown over five consecutive night. The participants had no idea the show was cancelled due to poor viewer ratings and they just carried on. Filmed by themselves and some fixed cameras some would finish the planned year.

Televised on Channel 4 the reality show dropped 23 men and women into the Scottish Highlands for 12 months and tasked them with setting up a new, idyllic society within 600 acres of land. If you remember when the BBC turned the island of Taransay in the Outer Hebrides into a social experiment and gave us Castaway a happy mostly fluffy place this turned into hell.

The first few months were hard, lack of food and building shelters but the bitching and pointing of fingers soon began. All 23 had a skill to bring to the community but a Life coach. She was soon a target for the gossips along with Anton the boatmen who left into the woods to build as winter cabin. Tara (Life coach) concludes she no longer wants to be part of the experiment, and leaves the first of many.

Due to poor ratings, Channel 4 took the show out of their schedule announcing they would be continuing filming for a later broadcast later. The inmates of Eden continued.

It returned to the TV schedule as Eden: Paradise Lost, which sounded ominous. The group is now down to 21 after another member of the community had left as the show resumed but all was not well in Eden. Anton was deliberately on his own in the woods having built his winter cabin and was the main subject of the gossiping and he didn’t help himself winding up the others. It was mainly the men doing most of gossiping, on the subject of Anton and the woman on their mind.

The community quickly breaks down along lines of sex with the dominant males controlling the food and questioning the women’s right to equal rations. More and more of the group were leaving, particular the woman as the atmosphere turn nasty. Yes, there was some romance but the alpha males of the group were left to beating one out in the woods. The block to them taking full control was Anton still in the woods but now joined by Carpenter, Ralph.

A plan was suggested to get Anton to hit someone so he could kick him out, which was later denied but it happen close to the plan. When Anton suggested he takes his share of the food to his cabin an intense argument breaks out, handbags really. With the opportunity and the group saying, they were scared of Anton a vote was called for and they throw Ralph’s name into the hat as well.

Anton was voted out but Ralph could stay but he decided to leave with Anton. While the others were looking forward to sharing Anton’s cabin, other stuff and his winter wood stock… he burnt the lot. So 14 become 12 on a dodgy vote by ignoring the two non-voting absent members, who should have had a vote and if Ralph had have voted for Anton they would have both stayed. Anton was not happy on hearing the news having burnt his home down and left.

The atmosphere in Eden remained hostile after the departure of Ralph and Anton with the community effectively split in two. The 'Valley Boys' as they call themselves are increasingly antagonistic who have taken to their winter compound. With another of the group leaving Rob the vet is pushed to the limits by the Valley Boys going on to an all meat diet.

Rob was unhappy about the increased rate of slaughter of the livestock, one night he just ups, and leaves, telling no one even his girlfriend Kate who decides to stay, although she is very upset. The group is now down to 10 and firmly split into to totally different camps.

Before the end, a Christmas get together for the whole group was in full swing when Kate who had been drinking alone, turns up exploded and left.

We then found out there was a mobile phone in the camp with the fingers point straight at the boys from the valley who were favourites to have the phone. A meeting was held and in the end, the culprit left it in a designated spot and it was recovered smashed. We also learnt the area around the camps were awash with contraband items. Food, drink, and allsorts were being smuggled in. At the end, 10 out of the 23 walked out of Eden and few people cared.

Must see TV - Week beginning 12/08/2017 - My Choice

Saturday – Premiere Sky Cinema – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 8pm

From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.

I am not the biggest fan of any of the Star Wars films I don’t understand why because it is the kind of film I tend to like.

Sunday – Channel 4 – Valkyrien 9pm

We now see more and more of dramas coming subtitled from Europe these days and if the story is right they can become very popular.

A physician desperately seeks a cure for his wife's terminal illness by working in an illegal clinic hidden in a disused Oslo underground station in this high-concept Norwegian thriller. He treats criminals, emergency patients, and others who can't or won't seek medical help in a regular hospital.

Monday – Channel 4 – Catching the Tax Dodgers 10pm

How good it is to see the other end were the rich and companies are ripping off the taxman not paying their tax. We see enough of the other end of the scale on the TV where benefit claimants are caught claiming money they should not be receiving.

This documentary goes behind the scenes at HMRC to reveal how they target people who aren't paying their tax with the dreaded tax collection agency doing their job.

Tuesday – Discovery Channel – Dive Wars

Australia 10pm

Abalone is the gold being sauced in this new programme for me and I had no idea what the hell was an Abalone until I read the programmes bio.

The find this Aussie gold involves diving deep into hostile waters, around Port Lincoln in the Southern Ocean searching for an ever-trendy scallop, beloved ingredient of many a Chef. In an ocean home to more sharks per square kilometre than anywhere else in the world and abalone divers, face the risk of death every time they dive. That doesn’t stop this group of fearless men and women who battle against their nerves to scour the ocean floor for the much-prized delicacy dubbed “abalone gold”.

Wednesday – BBC 1 – Celebrity MasterChef 8pm

I like food shows even being a fussy eater and the hit show has now returned. A group of celebrities will fight it out to be declared the winner and it is a long hard battle to the finish line.

Greg Wallace and John Torode will be hosting and they a hard to please and take no prisoners if you get it wrong in the kitchen. The first celebrity series aired in 2006 and was won by rugby star Matt Dawson last year’s winner was Alexis Conran

Thursday – Channel 5 - The Wright Stuff 9:15am

A morning television chat show, hosted by Matthew Wright, and airing on Channel 5 each weekday morning.

Wright invites a group of panellists two of which share the studio for the 5 days with a new guest panellists joining them each day. They review topical stories from the newspapers and discuss burning issues of the day interactively, via telephone or email, with members of the general public.

Friday – Channel 4 – 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown 9pm

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown is hosted Jimmy Carr and team captains Sean Lock and Jon Richardson or a guest captain. Basically a more adult version of the early afternoon Countdown with the normal letter and numbers.

Familiar faces from the worlds of comedy and entertainment join the team for comic innuendos, unpredictable conundrums, and laughs aplenty. Countdown's resident lexicographer Susie Dent presides over Dictionary Corner, while the queen of numbers, Rachel Riley is on hand to work the numbers.

Dunkirk - Film Date - Film Review

My local cinema is the Chapter Arts Centre and it was my first ever visit to the cinema with the wife. I have lived in the area for near 20 years. It is really an interesting place always something going on a gem of a facility.

So it is Dunkirk and first I have to say it has a lot to live up to with the 1958 film starring John Mills, Richard Attenborough, and Bernard Lee one of my all-time favourite films.

When 400,000 British and Allied troops end up trapped on the beaches around the French town of Dunkirk, the British come up with an audacious plan to lift the men from the beaches and the port of Dunkirk. They were hoping to save 30,000 men but in the end, many more were saved. I came out of the cinema wondering what all the hype was about I was not feeling it.

The acting was good and the uniforms looked real but having said these few good things, I felt let down. As for the characters, I found I didn’t care about them maybe because of the lack of a back story or the lack of dialogue. I like to identify with characters and I don’t remember any talk of home and family.

There was supposed to be 400,000 men trapped mostly on the beaches and sand dunes but it looked like 500 scattered around the beach, the screen looked empty. The British Army left tonnes of equipment so why did the beach just looked to clean.

Where was the near constant German artillery shelling of the beach and the air attacks or the background noise from the perimeter defenders?

I was expecting some action but for a couple of "dog fights" which consisted of one plane flying behind another and the same action is thrown up to us time and time again. Maybe six planes were used in the aerial battles for a budget on the film of £100million I was beginning to wonder where the money was spent.

If the beaches looked empty and the skies, there was a lack of ships as well. The problem with the film I found was the emptiness I just couldn’t believe I was seeing the Dunkirk I have read about. For instance, when the ship is torpedoed the scene of the water rushing on the troops trapped as it sunk was better because the camera angle was confined as well as the scene toward the end of the soldiers trapped in the blows of a small trawler with Germans shooting holes in the hull.

The movie failed to convey the magnitude of Dunkirk 340,000 men who were saved to fight another day but this film left you feeling like 300 were rescued. It is a shallow, visually entertaining snippet of what could have been a good movie and I was left wondering what if someone like Tarantino, had directed the film how exciting would it be.

Would I recommend it? Maybe depending on what you are looking for out of the film. The wife a total independent on her view due to the fact this is not her kind of film rated it 6/10 were I would knock one off the 6. The BBC shot a three parter some years about and it was better than this and on a BBC budget but you what to watch a film I would highly recommend the 1958 film.

I could list many films that are far superior to this Dunkirk.

1958 film

Shot of the beach 1958 film

Dunkirk 1940