Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very frightening me.

France vs Iraq was delayed at half-time for two hours due to a storm.

Fifa has no power to make its own rules, it must adhere to the advice of local authorities.

In the United States (home of the brave),

recommendations of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are used.

The NOAA says that if any lightning strike is detected within eight miles of a stadium

the game has to be stopped.

How would that work out distance-wise in the UK?

If you are in Manchester at Old Trafford or the Etihad,

you can just about get away with lightning in Rochdale.

A game could continue at Stamford Bridge if there was an electrical storm

at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - but it would be too close

if lightning was at Emirates Stadium.

There might be an issue if there are electrical storms around the final group games,

which are supposed to be played simultaneously.

If one game is halted, will Fifa have to stop the other one, too?

My solution? Just play through the bloody storm softies!

Austria goalkeeper Florian Wiegele is the tallest player at the 2026 World Cup.

His height is 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in)

If they adopt my suggestion put a small wager on him to be hit by lightning first.

regards

Titus

regards

Titus

A Warning to the Curious BBC1 (1972)

Based on the ghost story of the same name by M. R. James

First aired on BBC1 on December 24th 1972.

It stars Peter Vaughan who is probably best known

for playing Wolfie's girlfriend's Dad in Citizen Smith

and 'Grouty' in Ronnie Barker's prison sitcom 'Porridge'.

A familiar face on UK TV back in the day.

He is ably supported by Clive Swift, another much loved supporting actor

who played Hyacinth Bucket's long-suffering husband in 'Keeping Up Appearances'.

Great to see these guys get the leading roles for once.

regards

Titus

link

Congratulations to my beloved Egypt.

Their victory over NZ has ensured they will progress to the next round.

regards

Titus

Porcupine Tree

Cinerama

Tel Aviv, Israel

November 15th 2000

Remastered FM.

Medium plus quality with DJ chat between tracks.

Some weird compression especially noticeable on the vocals at times.

Israeli suppression?

regards

Titus

01 intro

02 Even Less

03 Slave Called Shiver

O4 Waiting

05 Up the Downstair

06 Shesmovedon

07 Pure Narcotic

08 Tinto Brass

09 Feel So Low *

10 Russia on Ice *

11 Signify

* with Aviv Geffin

link

World War 1 in colour (2003)

Part 6

Victory and Despair - End of World War 1

This is the final episode

although there is some bonus material which I will post soon.

The WWI armistice was the agreement between the Allies and Germany

that halted fighting on the Western Front.

Signed at 5:00 a.m. in the Compiègne Forest in France,

it took effect at exactly 11:00 a.m. on November 11th 1918.

This marked the end of the war's major hostilities.

Kaiser Bill abdicated and buggered off to the Netherlands:

Any level-headed observer, at the time, could see that the terms of the armistice

would merely sow the seeds of future conflict.

regards

Titus

link

Cardiacs

Jibberish - A Live Collection

Reposted from April 2025

My compilation of wonderful live Cardiacs recordings culled from a range of sources.

Including one from just two days before Tim's heart attack.

All have had some remastering.

regards

Titus

Disc 1

Radio 2XS Barn Session - December 11th 2004

01 The Breakfast Line

02 Big Ship

03 The Duck and Roger the Horse

04 Fast Robert

Marc Riley's Rocket Science - October 15th 2005

05 intro

06 Hope Day

07 chat

08 As Cold as Can Be in an English Sea

09 talk

10 Will Bleed Amen

11 talk

12 Stoneage Dinosaurs/outro

Disc 2

Marc Riley's Brain Surgery - June 23rd 2008

01 Silvery

02 talk

03 Jibber and Twitch

04 talk

05 Gen/outro

BBC 'Inside Tracks' (aired June 13th 1999)

06 Signs

07 Firey Gun Hand

London Astoria - November 12th 2004

08 The Everso Closely Guarded Line

The Garage, London - October 18th 2003

09 Dirty Boy

Salisbury Arts Centre - June 30th 1990

10 Is This the Life?

link

Go Go Socceroos!

Show those Yanks what the descendants of British criminals are made of.

post-match verdict: Another comfortable win for the USA.

regards

Titus

World War 1 in colour (2003)

Part 5

Mayhem on the Eastern Front - Combat on the Eastern Front

Tanks were first used in combat on September 15th 1916,

during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette (part of the wider Battle of the Somme)

The word "tank" was a code name used by the British during development

to keep the weapon secret under the guise of water tanks.

The British Army deployed 49 Mark I tanks.

While the tanks had a devastating psychological effect on German morale

and proved they could cross trenches, they were incredibly slow

and suffered from heavy mechanical unreliability.

Of the vehicles sent to the front, many broke down

Only 32 made it to the starting line,

and just nine managed to engage the enemy lines.

If I'd have see them fist I would have immediately surrendered.

Same applies had I been around to see Hannibal winding his way down from the Alps.

regards

Titus

link

...for Jobe

In the spirit of fair play:

regards

Titus

The "hydration breaks" at the World Cup are proving unpopular.

I propose we set up a pitch-side bar (with a beer garden for smokers)

and they can all have a chat over a pint.

regards

Titus

World War 1 in colour (2003)

Part 4

Killers of the Sea - Conflict on the seas

German U-boats were the scourge of the ocean:

Technology is key to warfare.

I believe we are seeing that now with the increasing use of drones.

The age of the multi-million dollar missile may well be over.

Cavalry had once been an innovation and most countries were still using it in 1914.

An estimated 8 million horses, donkeys and mules were killed during WWI.

The age of the Warhorse was over.

regards

Titus

link

Cartoon by Gary Larson

regards

Titus

World War 1 in colour (2003)

Part 3

Blood in the Air - Conflict in the Air.

My admiration for the veterans interviewed for this series brings me to tears.

Amazing that planes were used in WWI.

The Wright Bros. had made their first tentative flight in December 1903.

regards

Titus

link

Looking forward to England's opening foray into the World Cup.

Croatia are (on paper) the most difficult opponent in the group

and I'm bracing myself for disappointment while hoping for the best.

post match verdict: England played ok in the 2nd half

and deserved the win overall.

regards

Titus

Jukka Tolonen

Popstudio Live

Helsinki, Finland

September 22nd 1975

Remastered FM.

regards

Titus

01 Tiger

02 band intros/Windermere Avenue

03 Hysterica

04 Django 

bonus:

Finlandia-talo

Helsinki, Finland

September 14th 1976

05 Rambling/Air Rock

link

Phantasm (1979)

A cult classic and much loved favourite of mine.

The 'tuning fork' motif really hits the musical spot.

I once watched it at a late-night cinema re-run after consuming some...erm...mushroom soup.

First time I really understood the plot!

The wonderfully named Angus Scrimm steals the show

with his portrayal of the exquisitely intimidating Tall Man.

"You play a good game, boy, but the game is finished. Now you die."

Optional multi-subs are included.

Other languages available on request.

regards

Titus

link

World War 1 in colour (2003)

Part 2. Slaughter in the Trenches - Combat on the Western Front

regards

Titus

link

Faithful Breath - Fading Beauty (1974)

Formed in Bochum in 1967, Faithful Breath recorded their debut album in late 1973.

It is symphonic prog with lashings of Mellotron

reminiscent of early Genesis or King Crimson.

A second LP was released in 1980 but the band broke up.

They re-emerged in the early 80s, albeit with a changed line-up,

by which time they had morphed into a heavy metal outfit.

Fading Beauty lacks a bit of creativity at times

but it's still a worthy effort and a notable prog obscurity.

This is my slightly tweaked version.

regards

Titus

01 Autumn Fantasia: Fading Beauty

02 Autumn Fantasia: Lingering Cold

03 Tharsis

link

It Conquered Hollywood! (2001)

This is the story of American International Pictures.

AIP was formed on April 2nd 1954

by former Realart Pictures Inc. sales manager James H. Nicholson

and entertainment lawyer Samuel Z. Arkoff. (with ubiquitous cigar)

These wannabe movie moguls took on the mighty Hollywood companies

producing movies at a fraction of the cost.

AIP was dedicated to releasing low-budget films packaged as double features,

primarily of interest to the teenagers of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

The audio was a bit poor so I remastered it.

Thanks to ex-mixer for the recommendation.

regards

Titus

link

Uzbekistan are making their debut appearance at the World Cup Finals.

They are my official favourite underdogs.

It's a beautiful country:

I took these photos during the Napoleonic Wars

when I was working as a butler/runner to Sir Billy Himalaya.

Sir Billy had been appointed 'Emergency Viceroy of Uzbekistan and all her bits'.

His predecessor, Lord Henry "Jonty" "Fishface" Bassington-ffrench,

had his tenure cut short following a scandal involving a local punkah wallah chappie.

Lord Henry had been left with little choice but to return to London in disgrace

and join the Cabinet.

He still lives in Chelsea...with the punkah wallah chappie.

I believe it's considered quite normal these days

C'mon you White Wolves!

regards

Titus