As Irish football seeks new heroes, both on and off the pitch, a veteran one has been tipped by Mick McCarthy to spearhead his Euro 2020 qualification crusade.Shane Long hasn’t scored for his country since October 2016, but right now he’s McCarthy’s only striker burying Premier League goals, three so far in April.The Southampton forward’s purple patch is all the more welcome, given he bagged just one goal between January 2018 and January 2019.For all the talk of McCarthy blooding young talent during his second stint at the helm, the prime remit is qualification. On a one-campaign contract, he’ll gladly accept a 32-year-old leading the line when they face second seeds Denmark in Copenhagen on June 7.It was the nature of Long’s technique after seven seconds against Watford on Tuesday, rather than him breaking the record for the quickest-ever goal, that heartened his international manager.“Shane will be remembered for the record, but he should be … [Read more...] about McCarthy encouraged by Long’s return to form
Wallpaper football pitch
A TV fan’s paradise: Gorgeous five-bedroom, £1.2m mansion with a top-floor cinema
We all love the cinema. Everyone who goes to the cinema invariably comes out with a slight tummy ache saying: "I love the pictures, we should come more often." Well, supposing that those very same people have a handy £1.2m to spare and have a taste for truly massive four-storey mansions with their own private cinemas, I may just have found a solution... Located on the veritably prestigious Waterloo Road where mansions seem to have multiplied like rabbits, this genuinely massive five-bedroom home is not only large in every regard - from its cavernous rooms to the fact that it legitimately has four different floors of rooms - but it boasts a certain quality as well. And that's a rare combo.Regal and understated from the outside, the property is exceedingly lovely, but not the kind of house to make you do a double take and offer to buy it a drink. It has a class to it, mainly defined by the electric double gates and the classic pillared entrance, and a knowing air that just says: … [Read more...] about A TV fan’s paradise: Gorgeous five-bedroom, £1.2m mansion with a top-floor cinema
Times’ reader’s comment: Decent homes standard
PUBLISHED: 08:30 24 March 2019 Tony Blair introduced the 'decent homes standard' in 1997. Photo: PA PA Archive/PA Images Letters, contributions and comments sent in from Times’ readers this week. Decent home not in sightTrevor Ellis, Chalk Hill estate, Wembley, writes:I believe the decent homes standard introduced in 1997 by the Blair government was a commendable initiative but I believe the standard wasn’t set high enough.I’ll never forget the impression that was left on my mind when I was invited to view a flat on the now demolished Chalkhill estate in 1989.One of the things that I noticed was the wallpaper throughout the flat had started to turn yellow with age. I also noticed that there was no gas central heating except air vents through which warm air blew.The walkway walls were covered with graffiti, entry doors were broken and the lift was out of order.I later found that the walkway which was built above my flat was often used as a makeshift football pitch … [Read more...] about Times’ reader’s comment: Decent homes standard
12 things we miss about Christmas
Christmas these days is all very lovely, of course, but there are certain elements we can’t help mourning. Take a trip down seasonal memory lane with our nostalgic selection of 12 things we miss about Christmas past… 1. Woolworths A Somerset gent called Derek Parker recently made the news (it must have been a slow Brexit day) for owning Britain’s oldest Christmas tree: a 3ft artificial job bought by his mother from Woolworths for seven shillings when Derek was a baby. He still displays it every year - and it’s a reminder of the central role Woolies used to play in all our Christmases. Until it went bust a decade ago, its 800 branches were a quite literal one-stop shop where you could pick up an assortment of 24 Christmas cards, a spare fuse for your fairy lights, a Care Bear for your little sister and that album on cassette that your teenage brother wanted. Not forgetting some pick ’n’ mix, just because it was there. A survey this year found it … [Read more...] about 12 things we miss about Christmas