Wiltshire Warrior Dragon

I've gone back to bread-making on a fairly regular basis, though not sure whether lockdown has been the motivation for this. I do it about once every ten to fourteen days, and buy commercially produced bread in between. I have settled on a mix of three flour types - stoneground wholemeal, strong white bread and seeded - in equal proportions.

They'll be dancing in the streets of Perpignan tonight!

Almost any article on bird life in the New Forest will have pictures of a nightjar and a Dartford warbler. From early May to early September, the former are not hard to hear, and quite often to see; it's just that the window of opportunity each day is limited to about two hours - one each round dusk and dawn. Nightjars, of course, are quite widely spread in summer throughout England, albeit in quite specialist habitats. Dartford warblers, by contrast, are very much a bird of south of England heathland. They are resident all year round; indeed, they, sadly, have a potentially suicidal inclination to stay put, even in the worst winters, and not even flit across the English Channel. They can also be fearfully hard to spot. So, Mrs WWD and I struck really lucky yesterday, on our daily dog walk in the forest, on this occasion, the track across Fritham Plain. We thought we saw a pair flitting about some bushes near the track and then one came out and stood on the track only about 20 yards ahead of us. It only moved away when disturbed by two oncoming walkers and their dog. Once you think you have seen one of these warblers, it is easy to say quite quickly whether or not you really have. They are very dark, but actually have a lovely maroonish-orange chest and a striking red eye. In profile, the long, typically cocked tail is a bit of a giveaway too. Here is a link to the RSPB page about them: Dartford Warbler Bird Facts | Sylvia Undata - The RSPB Over 25 years hereabouts, Mrs WWD and I have probably seen them on average about once a year.

Les Dracs' squad has some useful returnees in the 21. They include Bousquet, McIlorum, Drinkwater, Kasiano and Sam Tomkins. Whether they are all fit enough to make the 17 is, I suppose, another matter.

Les Dracs' website reporting this morning that Hull FC have been cleared to start training today, so the game will go ahead. The website also reports that two of their French players - Da Costa and Romano - have signed one-year contract extensions to the end of the 2022 season.

Phil Clarke, son of Colin, both of Wigan and international fame.

That's why club dietitian is such an important role, JonM.

Points taken, gents - sorry. I will stop reminiscing. In any case, nostalgia's not what it used to be!

You're right, Les. Bristol numbered from the back, so the Full-back was 'A'. Leicester did it the opposite way round. As I recall, Bath wouldn't use the no. 13 shirt, so their three-quarters were 11, 12, 14 and 15, with the full-back no. 16.

....except the clubs that used letters, not numbers!

Good preview, ST, with which I agree (sadly!)

London -v- Toulouse, and the women's curtain-raiser, are free to subscribers on OurLeague.

The birthdays column of The Times (no less!) reports that Billy Boston is 87 today. Happy birthday, great man!

Is that the female version of monk-hurl?

born 5th June, 1998. So 23 years and 59 days...or thereabouts!

Why do we have to call it 'Origin'? Why do we have to ape everything Australian? I could have sworn we had a really well established name for Lancashire -v- Yorkshire contests; something along the lines of 'Wars of the...' no, the last bit just escapes me!

Les Dracs have Davies, Baitieri and Garcia absent, but welcome back the two Michael Mcs - Ilorum and Meeken. Too close to call and Steve Mc has the challenge of deciding who to put up against Ryan Hall. I think the great Catalans' run might just end tonight.

Louis Jouffret Jean-Philippe Baile

Tony Gigot sounds to have had a good game at Post Office Road and has capped it all with a 40/20 with just two minutes to go.

Casty in for a try. Fev 6 TO 21

Gareth Gale in for a try, with the goal added - 6-12

Sounds as though Johno Ford made a saving tackle on the hooter to keep it 0-6 at the break.

No disrespect to RavCee for trying to answer the question, but the Wikipedia entry looks doubtful. The club was not founded in 1950, as suggested. Mike Rylance's seminal works on French rugby league, The Forbidden Game and The Struggle and the Daring, both make references to Celtic de Paris. They were one of the clubs represented at the meeting to agree details of the first competitive season of treiziste play, well before WWII, and may be the Parisian club that took part that year; it is not entirely clear to me whether it was them or SO de Paris. At one point, both these clubs appear to have been playing in prewar professional competition.

I think your comments sound very fair, WCL. I think Trinity did very well in the circumstances.

Another Yaha try in the closing seconds, after great play by Davies. Maloney goals. FT 40-20 Sounds as though Trinity ran out of a bit of steam in the last ten minutes, conceding two tries and see another by Les Dracs chalked off for a forward pass.