shaun mc

Wembley was closer to 2/3rds full rather than the nearly half full that the armchair fans are trumpeting on here Having said that, 58k was disappointing, and 65k should be the initial target and go from there. Poor planning to allow Catalans to schedule their Paris game, the week after. However, I can imagine Catalans saying stuff you to the RFL on that one, after they were shafted for the £500k bond The seats in front of us had 6 (maybe 7) no shows. Looking at the gaps around the blocks I could see, I think there was a number who didn't turn up, and a small contributor to the seat gaps

A friend of mine who lives and works in London, had a spare ticket going for the lower bowl, and he couldn't give it away to either colleagues or friends this week. It was his first CC final. The over-riding reason was the Champions League final which kicked off at 5pm. We met up in Covent Garden after the game, and he never mentioned the size of the crowd, the conversation was all about the game and the crucial talking points The crowd was a bit disappointing, but the stadium was still nearly 63% full. The atmosphere was great There were a few extra factors influencing this year, such as the Champions League final, Wigan in Paris next week (poor planning there) and large gaps in their lower bowl section, the travel issues (though we always seem to have them) The biggest proponents of moving the final to a much smaller stadium seems to be those that either don't attend anyway, don't like London generally, and would be happy with a much smaller stadium and event for the final

Almonst half full? Are you trying to assert that Wembley holds about 115,000?

On the way home after another great Wembley weekend with friends 50 years since my first final. It shouldn't be held anywhere else but Wembley, but I can understand the issues over cost, other events taking the Rugby League spend and the lack of marketing towards the neutral fans. We have had seats for the past 5 years in Club Wembley. It was disappointing this year that all the bars were closed after the game. Is it cost cutting? Being able to get a beer after the game and let the crowds disperse was one the reasons we pay the extra - they are still not expensive. Will having Wembley closed early then contribute further to declining attendances? It becomes a spiral

Did Austwick show fell race on Monday, it's 8 miles and 1100 feet ascent, so not so brutal......normally. Set off at 1pm (about 27 degrees by then). I could easily have bailed out between miles 3.5 and 5, but I would have had to more or less do the race route back to the start. So I battled on. I dislike heat, prefer something around 12 degrees. Hosepipe at the finish was welcome. The bacon butty stall next to the finish not so welcome. I was nearly gagging at the smell of it. 20 mins plus slower than my previous attempt.

The Palatine - Lancaster brewery place The Little Bare - near Bare Lane station Tide and Tap

Just heard on Radio 6 about a bloke who today completes his visit to every non-League club down to the 10th tier, some 2500 ish The final club is Fulwood (near Preston)

Gels aren't for everyone, they seem to make some feel queasy, others can fuel an ultra just on gels A case of trying different strategies for fuel and see what works

Not been in for nearly 18 months, but according to the Utapp'd app, it seems to serving some good beers in the past few days - 14 different ones registered in the past 6 days

And in the print media at the time. I remember a weekend where I'd been to Old Trafford to watch an Ashes test. I think it was a 44k attendance. On the Monday after at work I popped into the adjoining office as I knew someone who would have the Times each Monday Ashes test - no more than 100-150 words in a corner of one page. Adjoining page - a full page of Galashiels v Jed Forest attended by 420

Agree with the comments. Punk IPA was a great beer when it came, but now it's nothing like it was. All the value taken out of it for profit, like any other macro brewer I invested in Brewdog back in the day (their 2nd Crowdfunder I think), as I was in tune at the time with what they were trying to achieve. Spent about £500 I guess, with about £50 of Equity Punk savings at their bars, online etc, since then Brewdog still have produced a decent beer or 2 recently, but their whole operation in the past 2 or 3 years stinks

Aye, saw that yesterday. Doom Bar was a decent beer until Molson Coors got hold of it. Can still get hold of Sharp's Chalkys Bite occasionally, which is a decent beer Went to Sharp's brewery in about 2012 when it was just in a warehouse near Rock. Not sure if they are still there, without Googling

A trend I've noticed in the past say 10 years is that there are a greater number of drivers who spend their in the middle lane. They'll accelerate up to the car in front of them in the middle lane, say doing 75mph, then slow down to 65mph to match the driver in front of them, and won't overtake. They'll stay at 65 until that driver moves into the left lane, then accelerate again

Looking forward to the ski cross and snowboard cross. (Haven't checked if they are in this year though). Usually a few thrills n spills and drama.

Stella is still marketed as a premium lager Its alcohol % has decreased in the UK from 5.2% to 4.8% to todays 4.6% InBev also decided to replace Malted Barley with the blander Maize, as a cheaper source of fermentable sugars Stella used to be known for being a bit more bitter than the cheaper English-style lagers. Even the ex head brewer of Stella admitted that large scale brewers are using less hops and the beers are of less distinctive character They've stripped a huge amount out of Stella in those 3 points, all in the name of profit and still its described as a premium lager. Maybe 15 to 20 years ago 'premium' could be used to describe Stella. It's a falsehood to now describe it as premium to justify its premium price. (Some info taken from a Pete Brown blog) Some good beers from Saltaire in Shipley, but Salt (also in Shipley) are better