Reading the below report .. I am sorry to say they have opened a can of worms where all clubs will need to be treated the same .. whether fair or not, the 2 match ban of Essien sets a precedent

report


ESSIEN BANNED FOR TWO GAMES
Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien has been handed a two-match ban by UEFA for his tackle on Liverpool's Dietmar Hamann.

Following a meeting of UEFAÂ’s control and disciplinary panel in Nyon, Essien now knows he will miss both home and away legs of the Barclays Premiership champions' next European clash.

The Ghana international has been punished for his challenge on Hamann, catching the midfielder just below the knee as Liverpool held Chelsea to a goalless draw in their final Group G match at Stamford Bridge.

The challenge went unnoticed by German official Herbert Fandel and that led to UEFA studying video evidence of the incident.

UEFA issued a charge of gross unsporting conduct against the 23-year-old, who attempted to diffuse the situation by apologising to Hamann, insisting the challenge “was accidental and that there was no malicious intent”.

Essien, who escaped disciplinary action earlier this season following a similar tackle on Bolton Wanderers' Tal Ben Haim, has since stated he is “not a violent player”.

The Football Association were unable to act on that occasion as Essien was cautioned by referee Rob Styles in a game Chelsea won 5-1 in mid-October.

In this instance, UEFA stepped in as no action was taken at the time by the officials.

Ingredients:

* Pieces of square brown bread
* fillings
* stick pretzels
* marachino cherries
* raisins

Make your favorite sandwich between two slices of square shaped brown bread. Trim off the crusts and cut the sandwich in two diagonally. With the longest cut side across the top, and one tip facing you, decorate the sandwich with two stick pretzels on each side of the top for antlers, two raisins for eyes and a half marachino cherry for the nose.

I have made hundreds of these boxes in my life! Birthday and Christmas cards work well. Did it with postcards, or any other stiff paper.

Look here..

If you have any ideas.... please feel free to share it with us!

:xmasprep:

Just played it but was unable to submit my score :bigcry:

Am I the only one ? :confused:

Richard & Judy start their new book club on 18th January and these are the choosen titles:

The History of Love by Nicole Kruass
Leo Gursky is a man who fell in love at the age of ten and has been in love ever since. These days he is just about surviving life in America, tapping his radiator each evening to let his upstairs neighbour know he's still alive, drawing attention to himself at the milk counter of Starbucks. But life wasn't always like this: sixty years ago in the Polish village where he was born Leo fell in love with a young girl called Alma and wrote a book in honour of his love. These days he assumes that the book, and his dreams, are irretrievably lost, until one day they return to him in the form of a brown envelope. Meanwhile, a young girl, hoping to find a cure for her mother's loneliness, stumbles across a book that changed her mother's life and she goes in search of the author. Soon these and other worlds collide in The History of Love, a captivating story of the power of love, of loneliness and of survival.

Labyrinth by Kate Mosse
July 1209: in Carcassonne a young girl is given a mysterious book by her father which he claims contains the secret of the true Grail. Although Alais cannot understand the strange words and symbols hidden within, she knows that her destiny lies in protecting it. It will take great sacrifice and faith to keep the secret of the labyrinth safe - a secret that stretches back thousands of years to the deserts of Ancient Egypt ...July 2005: Alice Tanner stumbles upon two skeletons during an archaeological dig in the mountains outside Carcassonne. Inside the hidden tomb where the bones lie crumbling, she experiences an overwhelming sense of malevolence, as well as a creeping understanding that, however impossible it seems, she can somehow understand the mysterious ancient words carved into the rock. Too late, Alice realises she's set in motion a terrifying sequence of events that she cannot control and that her destiny is inextricably tied up with the fate of the Cathars 800 years before.

The Farm by Richard Benson
It was like being the village idiot with O-levels. I jack-knifed trailers, got outwitted by even the dimmest animals and was dragged through a hedge backwards on a tractor ...' Richard Benson was never cut out for the family farm, but he returned from London when his dad had to sell up and found that their shared loss was part of a profound change in rural life. In the house after the sale, dad gave a heavy raspy sigh and sank against my mum. Everything seemed to freeze for a moment as the clock kept ticking ...'

The Conjuror's Bird by Martin Davies
With echoes of Tracey Chevalier and Andrew Taylor's "The American Boy", "The Conjuror's Bird" is a dazzling debut novel, spanning three centuries of secrets and surprises. It seems a long time ago that Fitz and Gabby were together, with his work on extinct species about to make him world-famous. Now, it's his career that is almost extinct. Suddenly, though, the beautiful Gabby reappears in his life. She wants his help in tracing the history of The Mysterious Bird of Uileta, a creature once owned by the great 18th Century naturalist Joseph Banks. It soon becomes clear that Fitz is getting involved in something more complicated - and dangerous - than the search for a stuffed bird. To solve the puzzle, he must uncover the identity of the amazing woman Banks loved - a woman who has disappeared from history as effectively as the specimen he is hunting. A mixture of detection, romance and history, "The Conjuror's Bird" has all the makings of a word-of-mouth bestseller.

After reading the latest outburst from Ferguson and with Keane making statements, is it time for the man to leave Man U


Irate Ferguson hits out at press

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson
Man Utd v Wigan
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson accused the press of hating his club in an angry outburst ahead of Wednesday's game against Wigan.

"They have a hatred of United," said Ferguson, who later attended a news conference with the national newspapers which ended abruptly.

"It's always been there. It goes with the territory, I suppose, of us being such a high profile club.

"I understand it a bit but they go too far. They try to fragment the club." full story BBC

_ _ _ _ _ _ _


Don't think many Arsenal fans will be upset

Perth - South Africa's injury crisis got worse on Monday when fast bowler Makhaya Ntini had to have stitches in a cut to his left hand after hurting himself in the field on the second day of the match against a Western Australia XI.

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_i...672C363353

Hi everyone

I have been put on the recruitment drive.

There is a position available for a supervisor with quality control experience. This position is in the north west ( warrington/ Leigh) area. This position is available to start the second week of january.

Anybody interested and would like further details please PM me.

Would consider anyone with experience who is looking to move to the uk with valid work visa.

Thank you

Regards

Lizz

Sports Personality: The winners

Andrew Flintoff was named Sports Personality of the Year

Andrew Flintoff was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year with an overwhelming victory in a public vote.

The England cricketer beat sailing's Ellen MacArthur, with footballer Steven Gerrard in third.

Flintoff's England team-mates were given the Team of the Year award, while football legend Pele earned the Lifetime Achievement honour.

In total there were nine awards on a star-studded night of sporting celebration at BBC Television Centre.

Read more here...

Me thinks Ellen MacArthur should have got it :jive:

:mmm: :mmm: went to the doc on Friday and still waiting to see what i'm having!!!

bubs wouldnt move!!! Even the doc said we've got a stubborn one!! lol

baby was quite content sitting on his/her bum!!! Even kicked back at the proding!!!

Hopefully next time!