Bill McLaren

Hawick. Late January, 2010. A small borders town with a world famous rugby club, and an even more famous son. Bill McLaren who died on 19 January 2010 at the age of 86 in his home town of Hawick.

Much has already been written, and many rugby fans will have their own favorite memory of Bill.

My mother for instance: You never needed the commentator to tell you if a kick had gone through the posts, or indeed to see the Assistant Refs raise their flags, because Bill would always advise "The crowd will tell you" by raising a cheer if it had or a silence if it hadn't, you see.

As a child watching this wonderful, and sometimes bewilderingly complex game, which I had only recently started to play, Bill McLaren had an ability and turn of phrase to make the game easier to understand, and welcome you into the rugby family.

He will be missed, but not forgotten. No commentator could ever be as good, in any sport, though many will try.

England the third best team in the soccer world?

Spain are favourites at 4/1. Brasil are registered at 5/1 as second favourites. But looking at third favourites is where the fun begins. The biggest laugh is that England are registered as either joint second, or marginal third favourites on 5/1 or 11/2, depending on which accountant you wish to place your investment.
Hang on, England? I am currently typing this with amusement and bafflement in equal measure. I will admit to not having followed football as closely as I have in previous seasons. But I am not convinced (by a long stretch) that England are semi-final contenders, let alone the third best side in the world.
Let’s look at the case in their favour: an easy group. They should beat the USA, Algeria and Slovenia, you would think, and handsomely top the group. Traditionally England has always been slow starters in World Cups, so a draw against the USA is not off the table just yet. If they don’t get two wins in the first two games – will Capello rest his stars against Algeria? A bit of doubt, criticism in the press, an injury to Rooney and the whole band wagon may come crashing down.
But let’s assume they qualify top of the group – if all the results in the group stages go according to form, it would seem that England have the easier side of the draw. This means that both Argentina and Germany top their respective groups, pools B and C respectively. Both have relatively easy groups, which should see them safely on the other side f the draw. (But with the erratic Maradona in charge of Argentina – who knows what will happen)
This brings back memories of Italia ’90. England reached the semis that year, on an extra time goal from Platt, a Lineker penalty and New Order song. Well there won’t be an official England song this year, but the chances of a semi final isn’t too distant a prospect.
My doubts do centre on the captain Terry and I’m not comfortable cheering on Lampard. I still think captaincy should have gone to Gerrard, and my West Ham bias makes cannot bring me to like the portly one. But I will still be watching with interest.
Who do I think will win? That is a subject for another day....

Bankers Outrage !

Anger is in the air. The public are up in arms. Musicians are threatening not pay their taxes. There is even a Facebook group that has been set up. (Things must be getting serious.) Put simply, public servants in a nationalised company are getting paid bonuses, in a recession, when everyone is feeling the pinch. All for doing less badly over the last twelve months than the previous twelve.

That’s right, greedy bankers are greedily giving themselves wads of cash and the chances are we will have to pay for it. At the time of writing the Facebook group NoBonus4RBS has over 16,500 members, which has grown by over 10,000 in 24 hours. Will the Government step-in and stop the bonuses? Will the country demand an end to the financial madness and have all the banks nationalised? Will the banks become more politically and PR savvy?

Neither of these scenarios is very likely, not in the short term. There is a case to be put (rather galling by the banks themselves and others of their ilk) that it is in our interest for the bonuses to be paid. Then the banks can keep talented staff, stay competitive, and pay back the money they owe to the tax payer.

What is really galling is they may be right, but do the banks have to be so bloody arrogant about it? It’s at this point that it’s best your author admits they were once employed in the banking industry. And like most of those in this sector didn’t get to see anywhere near the lavish sums quoted to be bestowed upon the privileged few.

This being the UK, revolution is not on the agenda. Bankers need not fear the guillotine. Not that I would advocate such a thing. No, much more likely is some compromise and fudge, if anything, which may not be such a bad thing in the end.

Heap as much abuse as you like, or even set up yet another Facebook group in protest. But with the bankers getting those bonuses, and the rest of us being saddled with the bill, it’s hard not to conclude that the most prudent thing would be for the prospective job seeker to try and find a career in banking. Then try and join the elite few, and engineer a situation where such lavish bonuses are heaped upon oneself. Payment of bonuses whether the economy is doing well or badly, are hardly a disincentive.