damp squib

The Ireland-based board is most likely in place precisely because it does what it is told by the people with all the power in England. I have no doubt that most of the people in England involved in Rugby League Ireland did not have malign intentions but they have effectively hijacked a national sporting organisation and are using it for the benefit of English Rugby League players of Irish descent and to the detriment of the sport and it's players in Ireland.

Fan of Catalans and Toulouse but more of an overall fan of the game since 2012 when I accidentally watched a challenge cup semi final on TV. First live game was watching Ireland get destroyed 50-0 by Australia in the 2013 RLWC in the ####### rain in a Limerick stadium that ran out of beer at half time.

I can see why you would think that but it is more complicated than that. In my experience the degree to which a person is genuinely connected to their heritage generally correlates to how well the population of that heritage has integrated into the new country, or, to put it more bluntly, how much discrimination they experience in the new country because of their heritage. I see a noticeable difference between people of Irish heritage born and raised in Britain up to around the 70s and early 80s and how their relationship to Britain was affected by discrimination to the point where they solely or primarily identified as Irish, compared to the next generation who are primarily British-identifying and have a more superficial relationship to their Irish heritage. People of Tongan heritage in Australia are no doubt raised with constant reminders of their “Tonganess” by Australian society in a way that people with Scottish heritage don’t experience in England. That creates a much stronger and more genuine connection for better or worse.

I have to admit I had my doubts about whether Bateman would make it in the NRL but I've been well and truly proved wrong. I really hope English backs start to have similar success soon...

Yeah I think they were necessary to explain the background and everything.

I saw Peterloo last week and I highly recommend it. A very timely look at England's radical history. It can be a bit heavy on the speeches as you would expect but they build up the tension well to the final massacre. The best part about it though is that it really shows the tensions building between the working class and middle class in the reform coalition which would lead to the future betrayal of the former by the latter. Great performance by former Wigan Ladies player Maxine Peake as always.

The story is that Irish is Whiskey and Scotch is Whisky but like most of these things it's only really taken off in modern times as a marketing ploy (like the Guinness two part pour). Scotch and Irish distilleries have used both spellings at various points in history. The real insurmountable difference is between Uisce Beatha (Irish Gaelic) and Uisge Beatha (Scottish Gaelic).

It's pretty common in Ireland to drink whiskey with water. My favourite pub in Dublin gives you a jug of water as standard with any whiskey. It's actually physiologically impossible for the human tongue to detect any kind of subtle flavour in a cask strength without some dilution so as you say any faux "purist" who objects hasn't a clue.

Did you receive those messages personally? If you got it off social media it's almost certainly fake.

It's impossible to taste anything in a cask strength whiskey without adding water. Many 40% whiskeys are improved with a drop or two to taste as well. My local always gives you a small jug of room temperature water with your whiskey.

I don't do it myself but it's a decent compromise between my desire to share the wealth and my knowledge that my brother would pour himself a glass of my 21 year old Redbreast and douse it in ginger ale without a second thought.

Would appreciate a review of the Amorik. It keeps calling to me from the airport duty free...

I think they're probably the best value Irish whiskeys at the moment. Bushmills 10 is my go to pub whiskey if I'm not trying something new. Blackbush has the advantage of being drinkable as a whiskey and also cheap enough that you don't mind others taking some to drown it in coke.

It's an awesome jersey. If only the Ireland one wasn't a international war crime against fashion...

Yeah, what do the Germans know about beer?