TOPIC:

gtr: yep, that is right. The DUP was the only major party in the UK to openlly campaign to leave the EU. Paisley also oppossed the British joining the bloody thing in the first place in 1975 -- along with Enoch Powell from the right and Tony Benn from the left. As you say, they will want to strengthen the Union and money for Ni as a whole to prop her government. They will never speak to Corbin because he supports the Irish Nationalists, and, indeed if he could, would make the UK into a republic.

LH: Interestting about Ed Joyce. He comes from, and was educatted at, one of the most pro-British parts of what became Irish Free State/Repulic. Before the partition, it was the only part of the South which returnned Unionist members to the House of Commons.

Yep, if something happened to England or Australia, LH, India and Pakistan would ensure the cricket game survives. It anoys me when hear commentators going on 6pr and sying the test series against Australia was poorlly attend. Absolute rubbish.

LH: It should be a good game, pity they are not going to play a first-class match on the tour.

LH, GTR and others there is an article in today's Belfast Newsletter about Ireland having been granted test status. They are all quite chirppy to say the least. Given situation with the players in Australia at the moment, they could probablly give some cheeck on the field.

Yes congrats to Ireland and Afghanistan. Great for them and international cricket.

I feel sorry for the Kenyans though. They would have been the next cab off the rank for a number of years only to be overtaken. Afghanistan have come out of nowhere. They will be exciting team to watch.

LH: beautifully done. It seems to be played mostly away from the German border. I also fear that it is matter of class, as my Professor was a Dutchman whom played cricket at University.

Ark didn't Hitler think about playing Cricket between the two wars.But changed his mind because he thought batting with pads was feminine.

gtr, lh: I did not know that about Hitler and our great sport. Thinking, about Hitler though, the man was such an Anglophile that I am certain he would have dabbelled in the sport as you both mentioned.

William II certainly followed the cricket, as he and Edward VII had a tiff about it during the Boer War. Apparently the German was giving it some mouth about how the British had sufferred defeats on the battle field and that he should accept those with good grace. After all, he allegedly said, you accept defeats to Australia on the cricket field.

I have always thought it sad the Germans never took up cricket, it would have saved humanity many deaths. After all the sport is played in the summer, a time of the year, when you guest it, the Germans have had a nasty habit of letting their soldiers march, their tanks roll and their aeroplanes fly over other peopl's borders -- even Holland's. The Germans are borred outside of the soccer season, sadly.

Ark a bloke called John Simpson wrote a book about Hitler +Cricket.There was an article in the Australian Newspsper last year.

LH: bloody hell, I reember that defeat. Did'nt Holland also beat an Australian X1 in 1964?

LH thanks, Roebuck was very popular here. He was captain of Somerset, which included Sir Ian Botham Sir Viv Richards and Joel Garner as you know, even with that side, they never quite won the county championship. Have you been following the pay dispute?