http://www.billmarshall.co.uk/blog the personal blog of Bill Marshall Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:24:15 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I've been listening to the radio this afternoon and it's done my spirit a world of good. Speaking as a 53 year-old it's just incredible to listen to the 53 year-old Greg Norman leading the Open Championship and doing it in style. Here is a man who has played only 5 ... http://www.billmarshall.co.uk/blog/sport/hey-who-said-53-was-old/ I'm writing this on the last day of yet another fabulous holiday in Slovenia. Dad and I reprised our visit of last year, returning to Bohinj and Kobarid. The weather was very much in our favour as we learned that the previous week had seen constant rain and the secret ... http://www.billmarshall.co.uk/blog/personal/the-further-delights-of-slovenia/ Could Gordon Brown's demise trigger Scottish independence? Last night's by-election result which saw a Labour majority of 8000 reversed to the Tories could presage more than just a Cameron government. It might convince voters who have previously supported the SNP but backed off from full independence to finally embrace their primary ... http://www.billmarshall.co.uk/blog/socialpolitical/unlucky-or-unelectable/ What a pleasure to see that the Man Utd v Chelsea final was a good game rather than an exercise in not losing. As with any penalty shoot-out, those who take the shots deserve praise for bravery rather than blame if they miss - the pressures are unbelievable. Alex Ferguson ... http://www.billmarshall.co.uk/blog/sport/alex-ferguson-and-the-holy-grail/ As a Scot and a rugby fan I was sorry to hear on the radio at the weekend  of the injury to England's very promising fly-half Danny Cipriani. The commentary sounded as though it was a bad injury with the liklihood of a substantial layoff. I'm sure every genuine Scots ... http://www.billmarshall.co.uk/blog/sport/danny-cipriani/ This is a time of year that I've always liked - the air is still fairly fresh (well, apart from the traffic pollution), it's bright and the evenings are longer, but most of all ... the Swallows are back! I saw the first few about nine days ago and so far ... http://www.billmarshall.co.uk/blog/personal/swallows-and-summers/ Not much of a birthday present. Not only have I still not recovered from a virus that's sent me to bed for the last four days, but I woke up to the news of the death of Humphrey Lyttelton. "Humph" was one of the best-loved personalities on Britain;  in some ways ... http://www.billmarshall.co.uk/blog/music-and-theatre/farewell-humph-and-thanks/ We've now got CCTV cameras in Dalry Road, on tall heavy poles. More surveillance. It's getting to the point you'll need to live in St Kilda to avoid the damn things. Did we vote for them? Did we agree to them? No we didn't. The British people regularly support politicians ... http://www.billmarshall.co.uk/blog/socialpolitical/surveillance-society/ So now everyone's queueing up to criticise Andy Murray for not playing in the Davis Cup. He really can't win can he? If he plays and aggravates an injury then they'll slag him off for being injury prone. If he protects the injury then he's lacking national pride. Good grief! A ... http://www.billmarshall.co.uk/blog/sport/andy-cant-win/ Mike Briggs and I have recently started a new blog about malt whisky called Discover Whisky. We'll be looking at both standard releases and special bottlings as well as looking at news from the whisky world. Do come and join in the fun and give us an excuse to do ... http://www.billmarshall.co.uk/blog/food-and-drink/dram-discussions/