At risk of looking a complete geek...I walked under the wing of a Vulcan the other week (amongst various other aeroplanes). Smaller than I'd have imagined, and smaller than I remembered it being when I saw one at an early 80s air show.

My mistake, a big gay bear hug next time I see you then, as long as I don't have to listen to that potty mouth of yours. I just presumed they were all swear words previously.





She always looked bigger in her element than on the ground to me. Which museum were you walking round?

One of: East Midlands, Cosford, Coventry, Hendon, Duxford, Norwich, Newark, Sunderland, Carlisle or East Fortune?

[size=75The others to be found at Waddington, Woodford, Southend, Wellesbourne and Bruntingthorpe are less accessible to the public so I'm guessing it were non of those. [/size

Duxford.

Somebody had told me it was free and it was sixteen frickin quid. I rushed round in less than 2 hours and still found I'd missed whole hangars.

I was into warplanes in the late 70s and early 80s so it was a trip down memory lane. There were very few aircraft I couldn't name aside from a few that entered service after WW2 but had been pensioned off before, say, 1970 as the bits that interested me were the then (70s/80s) current aircraft plus the WW2 ones. That was odd as I hadn't given them much thought in 25 years (though I suppose I am prone to spotting errors in war films so perhaps should have known I'd retained a bit of info).

It left me interested enough to consider going to an airshow but didn't reignite any desire to read a book on them or look anything up on the interweb. I may go back in 25 years.

I know we're going off topic here and I won't persist....but you're a man after my own heart (RL and WW2/post WW2 aircraft). Women too by any chance ?? Please tell me not you're not gay ( a la TVOC

with his offer of a [igay hug[/i ) and it might just be destiny that we meet....

Actually TVOC would be welcome too...nothing against consenting gay guys. No religion for me vindicating my bigoted prejudices under a cloak of shameful 'respectability'...getting off topic here again, but isn't religion a eupthemism for superstition.... and who did create the creator ??

XJ824. A very clean example of those remaining and well cared for. No great history for her but she did spend six years out in Akrotiri, so she got plenty of sun on her back during that detachment.

The return to the air of the Vulcan aside airshows generally are pretty disappointing these days with airforces hard pressed to supply airframes for static display let alone flying items. The RAF role demo though is excellent and well worth a viewing. The variety and exotica has gone so it's all a bit samey for me these days.



Despite the evidence to the contrary it's all a front.

Nothing more than fingering on a first date.

you let me suck you off!

Only because of your pretty smile...

And here's the reply I wish I'd have made yesterday:

Except Soliola is a left centre and much more likely to end up at St Helens rather than Leeds.

Is that the place at Baginton? Just round the corner from me, it's never occurred to me to go and look.

Wellesbourne is pretty near me as well, closer inspection reveals that Joe Public can visit that one readily enough this June.

Re Coventry, the museum is attached to the airport at Bagington. From memory their example is XL360 which was one of the B2's modified to carry the nuclear Blue Steel missile. She's been there since around 1983, stored outside though so she's seen better days. Re-named the City of Coventry with that and a crest added to the nose.

The Wellsbourne Mountford Vulcan (XM655) holds a couple of open days each year and is one of the three Vulcans remaining that are in ground running condition. If it helps I can fully recommend visiting one such event if you get the opportunity and have a mind to attend. Likely as not it will be taxied by a current Vulcan display pilot and was used extensively as an instructional airframe for pilot training while tvoc's (XH55icon_cool.gif was being prepared for first flight.

Chillax fellow rhinos fans, he was with me and another mate who IS a Cas fan!!

He is Leeds through and through and he is so dedicated to the club he won't leave, garunteed, million percent!!

G;ad we didn't bother signing him then



Clearly Saints didn't have the faith in their untested, young 21 year old stand off that you did.

I like having a good discussion with TVOC. I like to think I am helping him see more than just the stats when it comes to rugby



Sometimes, I'll argue the contrary even if I agree with him, just for the sake of a quality debate, but don't let him know that

Always makes for interesting reading, The all knowing eye and the wise old owl. Would not however want to be stuck in a lift....

No you wouldn't. My flatulence has been terrible recently....

Wheeler will be twenty for the majority of next season, so far from a write off age just yet. The Soliola signing is for 2010 so we will have to wait to see where they see him in their side and where Wheeler fits in the remainder of this season first. I'd expect Soliola to play left side but that could be centre or second row. I expect he'll be devastating in either, as I said yesterday he would have made a blinding signing and I expect he still will only not for Leeds now.



I think he figured that out for himself but happy to play along for giggles.

They had enough faith to continue with him at left centre V Les Catalans yesterday where he repaid that faith by scoring the winner.

Let's wait and see the extent of the latest Soliola injury.

Soliola & Fitzgibbon it must be the curse of Super League!...
Interesting that the Roosters website is referring to him as a Forward now aswell...

In their defence mate he has been lining up in the second row a bit lately with saitamata(sp) sa playing centre!

yes, maybe Saints will find that the solution to their needs from centres isn't so easily filled by an external signing and maybe lies with promoting a youngster.

Imagine a club that would do that eh?

You can only do that if you have a quality youngster coming through who is ready when asked to make the step up. From what I've seen so far Gary Wheeler is one such youngster.

If a club doesn't have such a player ready then what should they do?

Just to return to the Hall & stats thread. Whist I agree he has improved a lot this season we should not get carried overboard particularly with regard to stats. Stats do not take into account that fact that Hall has the great benefit of playing outside Senior this season. Also we make most of our effective attacks down the left as Web links as a left side SO. So of course he has much more chance to make the extra metres and scores. One stat is missing. How many points per game does Hall give away with bad handling?

Stats show Peacock making the most metres but don't show that many times his 'extra metre gained' results in slow PLB's and so wasted attacking opportunities- one of our big problems this year. Quick PLB's are more important than individual's extra metres gained. Saints are masters at the timing of going to ground early and getting up quickly so their attack is moving forward before the defence is ready. Fielden in his prime at Bradford was a master of this tactic but it doesn't show in the stats.

I've said before and possibly earlier in this thread that statistics aren't the be all and end in in adjudging a players' performances.

I've not based my praise for Hall on his statistics alone but my general view of his play. What the statistics doe help though (especially with a winger) is with an indicator of work rate. Halls statistics in this regard are phenomenal. I think overall, in terms of consistency in what has been a pretty sub par season so far Hall has been our best player.

Of course, playing outside a quality centre will help but TVOC demonstrated on a thread a few weeks back that Hall was actually performing very well on the right wing last year.

How many points per game does Hall give away? I think his handling is fine. You're not blaming Cas' try on Friday on him are you? If so I'd take another look at the pass given to him by the dummy half which would've been hard to take in dry weather.

To supplement that comment I also posted this on the [url=http://viewtopic.php?t=408951&start=60St Helens forum[/url after the Murrayfield Magic weekend:

[iRyan Hall's 2009 tries:

V Celtic (H) - Intercept off a Tony Duggan pass
V Hull KR (A) - Pass received from Paul McShane
V Manly (N) - Pass received from Ali Lauitiiti
V Wigan (H) - Pass received from Ali Lauitiiti, High Kick by Rob Burrow
V St Helens (A) - Pass received from Brent Webb
V Les Catalans (H) - Pass received from Keith Senior, Grubber Kick by Danny McGuire
V Salford (H) - Pass received from Keith Senior
V Huddersfield (A) - Pass received from Keith Senior
V Les Catalans (N) - High Kick by Rob Burrow, Pass received from Ali Lauitiiti

Senior has been directly involved in three of the twelve (25%), the same as Lauitiiti. The point here is that wingers are not solely reliant on their centre's supply of ball and as good as Senior has been (and continues to be) Hall deserves some credit as a try scorer. He also scored tries on the right last season without a settled centre to feed off and Leeds' right wing (Hall/Smith) outscored Donald on the left two to one over the final twelve matches of last season. [/i

Out of date now with Senior supplying the pass for Hall's try on Friday night at Castleford but you get the drift.