#and it might have been the left lane turner

[variouslengthsofwire]

PSA: Those lines on the ground when you drive

You are supposed to follow them and stay within/between them. Yes, even when you're in an intersection. Even, perhaps especially, when you are turning. If there are dotted lines in the intersection, stay within them.

I was nearly hit in one intersection by someone who decided they were optional, right after a red-light-runner almost hit us both. Just two blocks later, I witnessed an accident parallel to me, when one person decided to ignore them. Totally different cars in all three almost or actual accidents. People don't know how to drive anymore.

[eternal-love]

Austin and Me

“Layla”

“Wife to the ‘king’. Icon to the world. Destined for more.”

Summary: At 18 years old, she fell in love with Austin, at 20 years old, she became his wife, by 22, she was his doll. In which Cynthia’s life changed drastically after falling head over heels with a man that promised her the moon and the stars. She takes us down the memory lane of what could’ve been— the perfect marriage.

Inspired by the book: Elvis and Me by Priscilla Presley.

I do not condemn any of the portrayals I decide to do about certain people, it’s just fanfiction. And it would be divided in parts.

English isn’t my first language so I’m trying my best!

MASTERLIST

When I surprised him with my new look, he was taken aback at first then a huge smile appeared on his face, even his eyes glimmered.

“Look at ya! You look like a little doll.” Austin said to me as one of fingers played with a piece of my hair. “It makes your eyes stand out more.” He then grabbed my chin firmly. “I like you brunette and with less makeup. This is what I like.”

Bullshit. All he said was bullshit. If he liked me so much when I looked like this then why did he go after Lily-Rose’s tail. Why did he take her out for dinner? Why did he make out with her afterwards? Was I ever going to be enough for him? Because he hadn’t touch me since we were in Australia. And whenever he did, it was loveless.

I confronted him about what happened with Lily, we were having breakfast and I had seen the photos ENews published of Austin and Lily making out after having dinner together.

“Baby, it ain’t nothing, it’s just publicity.” He tried to defend himself, I only glared at him.

“Don’t call me baby.” I spat out harshly, I don’t know why but knowing that he probably called Lily ‘baby’ made me gag. As it had happened with Olivia.

“It’s PR an-” I interrupted him, standing up from the my chair.

“What’s going on?! Why doesn’t she go back to France where she belongs?” I yelled at him as I hit the table with my hands.

I couldn’t really read his face, he was in between being mad and taken aback. Of course he also stood up and grabbed my shoulder, tugging me a little.

“Listen to me. Cynthia. I need a woman who understands that things like this might happen. Are you gonna be her or not? He asked, looking down on me as if I were an spoiled child getting reprimanded.

“Okay.” Was all I said as I left the dining room.

—————————

After the incident happening, Austin started to be loving all over again, he had invited to have dinner with him and some castmates. I decided to accept after he begged me for days, I was still mad at him but I decided that maybe this could help us get closer.

I dressed up, monochrome clothing, black pants, cute pink top, I styled my hair and we were on our way to the restaurant. It was a sushi place, it had private karaoke and everything. I recognized some of them, Barry Keoghan and his girlfriend, Callum Turner, Anthony Boyle and others.

It was a nice dinner and food was delicious, although my mind was somewhere else, I was worried because I had left Lori back home with the nanny.

“Don’t worry too much, she’s being well taken care of.” Austin squeezed my hand. I simply hummed and nodded.

Feeling someone’s stare, I looked in front of me and there surely was Callum’s gaze lingering my face down my neck. His eyes went back to my face and he quickly snapped out of his trance, smiling at me and then looking at me. Weird, I thought, but it was the first time in months that a man ever looked at me like that. He didn’t talk to me much, but he surely did talk to the wives and girlfriends of his castmates. But he did look at me a lot, his foot touching mine from underneath the table.

Austin had always been charismatic but he was very, very shy so a karaoke was like social suicide to him. But Callum— he was another story. After a few sips of some Asian liquor, he was sure to go next on the karaoke.

“You should sing an Elvis song, Aus.” I whispered to Austin, trying to cheer him because it was truly getting boring.

“No, Cyn— I’ll just embarrass myself.” Austin denied it, he stayed at the booth and I rolled my eyes, I saw Barry’s girlfriend and a producer’s wife laughing with everyone as Barry and the producer sang ‘Heart of Glass’ without hitting a single note.

Laughing but at the same time feeling like I wasn’t enjoying this as I should, Callum made his way to me swiftly. Clearing his throat and sitting on the booth.

“Should I sing?” Callum spoke to me with his amazing voice and British accent, catching my attention.

“If you want to.” I shrugged my shoulders.

“I’ll sing one for ya. You’ll see, cause now— your man is as boring as a math class.” I chuckled and thought he was just joking. But then he got up and grabbed the mic, quickly searching for the song. As the instrumental started to play— I recognized that guitar riff everywhere. ‘Layla’.

As not everyone knows, the song was written by Eric Clapton, confessing his love to George Harrison’s wife, Pattie Boyd. I thought he must be just trying to lead me on, everyone cheered for Callum and his god-awful singing. Maybe it was to play it off but he started to jokingly point at whatever girl was taken. Everyone took it as a joke, even Austin. But towards me, he was a bit more serious.

‘I tried to give you consolation from when your old man let you down.’

‘Like a fool, I fell in love with you. You turned my whole world upside down.’

‘Layla, you’ve got me on my knees. I’m begging darling, please.’

He sang it directly to me, he tried to be playful and everything, but I knew he was serious. I just chuckled and tried to play it off. Was it so wrong that I wanted to tear his clothes off even if my husband was besides me? I could say the same things Austin said: ‘I’m a woman, I have needs, it’s in my dna.’

When the guys went to pay, I saw Callum grabbing his jacket, I got closer to him.

“What was that?” I asked, wanting an explanation.

“What, sweetheart?” He asked, acting oblivious, seeing my annoyed face, he chuckled. “It’s just a song, baby.”

“Don’t call me baby, I’m not your baby.” I said as I rolled my eyes.

“Come on. I could’ve sang you an Spectrum song. What about ‘How you satisfy me’?” He looked around a little before starting to pretend to have a microphone on his hand. “Honey, your love is what I need…”

“It’s not funny.” I protested in annoyance, Callum looked at the guys paying, he then smirked and looked back at me.

“You know what’s funny? That you didn’t shut me off when I was staring at you, you liked it.” Callum whispered on a teasing manner.

“I’m a married woman, for your information.” I showed my wedding ring.

“That hasn’t stopped me before and it won’t stop me now. Austin doesn’t act like the married man either.”

That was like a stab in my heart, it was humiliating that everyone else knew he was unfaithful, he immediately dropped his smirk.

“I’m sorry— I just like you a lot.” I nodded at Callum, he was beautiful but, he wasn’t what I liked.

Callum just pressed his lips together, he was going to walk off but he stopped to say something.

“If you ever feel, lonely or abandoned. Just call me.” Callum said before he waved at all of us and walked out of the restaurant.

Austin and I went back home, I tried wearing black negligee, hoping he’ll touch me again. It didn’t work, he pushed me off.

“I’m not in the mood, honey. Let’s just sleep.”

Frustrated, I tucked myself under the covers and tried to fall asleep. I knew he was turned on— he was. He just didn’t want to touch me. My days were getting boring, I wished I had something to film, some script sent to me, anything. Everyday I woke up with the hope of getting a text or an email with a new script.

—————————

I thought of Callum’s proposition everyday, I was indeed very lonely. My mind went on and on about his words: ‘If you ever feel, lonely or abandoned. Just call me’

I ended up calling him, just a night out as friends, yeah, friends with capital F. I got ready, I wore a black short skirt and a nice little cardigan. I decided to wear my now light-brown hair on a side ponytail and I styled out my bangs. And surely, Callum and I met at the movies.

We were watching a foolish movie. I was barely even looking at the movie, I was looking at him the whole time and he knew it because I saw that stupid little smirk of his. Swiftly, he placed his hand on my knee, making me smile and look away shyly, like a teenager. After the movie, we got into his car— nervous to do anything wrong, I was very quiet.

“So, you’re lonely all the time?” Callum asked, breaking the silence. I stayed silent, looking out the window. “Tell me, you know it’s just your foolish pride.”

“I stay back home. I’m waiting for a good script to come to me.”

“So what do you even do? You’re lonely and no man is waiting by your side. You seem like the perfect target for a man like me.” Callum joked, I laughed too.

I felt at ease with him, we had a lot of fun even while driving around London. He parked in front of my house, I was in silence. He leaned in and kissed me, not aggressively but romantically, I liked the kiss so I continued it. I never thought I’d make love on the back of a car, afterwards I felt really regretful of it, I was just like Austin now— I had been unfaithful.

“What is it, sweetheart?” He asked after we had gotten dressed again. He caressed my cheek.

“I shouldn’t have done this.” I said in regret, but he just smiled.

“Hell yeah you should have done so. Time for him to get a taste of him own medicine.” Callum said, I had a mental argument with myself.

Should I keep this going or not? I was a woman with needs and wishes of being desired by my husband but he always decided to turn around and go with other women.

“When do we see each other again?” I asked him, if I was going to cheat, might as well enjoy so.

—————————

My relationship with Callum developed into an affair, very passionate affair. While Austin was away having his fun around London and on set hanging out with Callum, we both texted each other behind his back.

Callum reminded me a lot of myself actually, I had told him one time that I liked blonde-haired men and the next day he texted me telling me that he was at a hairdressers appointment, he surprised me with a selfie of him full on blonde, which he already was naturally. He was scolded by producers. I also told him I liked trench coats and men wearing black slacks, next Sunday night, he’s wearing all of that. I was starting to be as demanding as Austin— and I hated it. What if he was feeling pressured or if he started to feel like I felt?

“It’s boring being the same everyday, sweetheart.” Callum chuckled with me, caressing my cheek softly.

“I don’t want you changing yourself.” I said, a bit sternly. “But blonde does bring out your face more, it makes your eyes stand out more.”

I sounded just like Austin. Just like him. Callum and I spent that night together too, but we were surprised when Austin came home earlier. My acting career prepared me all my life for this, Callum was surprisingly smooth, as he pretended to be coming out of the bathroom fixing his shirt while I quickly made the bed and fixed my smeared lipstick.

“What is he doing here?” Austin asked suspiciously.

“He came over, he said he wanted to see Lori and he thought you were here.” I said confidently as Callum nodded from the couch where he was watching Lori play.

“I thought you were here, mate. Sorry bout that.” Callum said, playing innocent for most part. Austin just nodded and took off his coat, placing it on the rack, he bent down to pick up Lori and placed a kiss on her cheek. He walked up to me and he wiped some runny eyeliner. It had smeared on the corner of my eye because of Callum and I having out little get-together in bed.

“Your makeup is all smeared.” He said, his touch being anything but gentle. He then grabbed me by the waist and pulled me closer, he was jealous. Jealous because Callum was there.

“I know— the weather is wet. It makes my eyeliner smear.” I said, I used waterproof eyeliner.

We had dinner together all night, all of us, it was rather uncomfortable. Austin was really jealous.

“You like my wife?” Austin tried to be playful while hiding his jealousy.

“I’d snatch her and Lori at any minute.” Callum answered back jokingly. “I’m kidding but y’all are beautiful family.”

Callum said all while looking at me, I wanted to kill him right there. I just nodded and smiled. And you know what? For the first time in so long— I felt alive.

[9w1ft]

I saw that an article came out just in the last couple of hours about Sophie Turner staying the night at Taylor's place. Just to be clear, I do not think that the Travis Kelce stuff is cover for/about the Sophie speculation that's been happening - I think the fact that the NFL had a commercial about it ready to run makes it very obvious that this was all planned in advance - but I do think the Travis stuff is giving a little cover for all the attention Sophie and Taylor were getting.

It just makes me very sad, because it really struck me how much it feels like a lot of the loudest gaylors on Twitter and TikTok have in common with the loudest people talking about Travis and Taylor. Sophie is a real person who, by her own account, was blindsided with divorce papers basically a month ago, and who was then further blindsided by having her children withheld from her custody last week. People deal with difficult situations in all kinds of ways, of course, but I really don't think that her priority right now is starting a secret relationship with Taylor Swift. And the way that some gaylors think every bit of information about them is proof they're in a relationship, while making fun of Swifties for thinking Taylor and Travis Kelce being seen once is proof they're seriously dating, just really makes me sad. It all feels very dehumanizing.

yeah i’ve grown to learn to just tune out most of this, which is sort of sad but, it’s pretty hard to bridge the gap with people who are invested in taylor’s every move under the assumption that she is looking for people to date.

and i agree. it shouldnt be that hard to see how sophie’s circumstances would shape her current life priorities. though i guess, if you’re a gaylor that believes taylor is looking for people to date or if you think her lover is still a mystery, and/or you are more focused on discussing taylor acting gay, then you’d probably be more excited by/sensitive to instances of taylor notably hanging out with new people in gay ways, or not gay ways.

by contrast, i guess with kaylor, we are all kind of settled in to a story that is several stages in to their relationship and so i think there is less left that we might feel like we need to uncover.. so we don’t find then need to talk about it as much. it’s just another dot on a long line from point a to point b.

on top of that, people on tumblr these days tend to find their people and stay in their lanes and so there’s less conflict, and less of an urge to prove or disprove things to other groups, because you don’t really need to interact.

i hope anybody feeling overwhelmed by twitter can find a little peace and quiet here :) the coastal tumblr air does wonders 😌

[esper-aroon]

We do have right-side driving, so it's not that. It's just that - if you have a red light, that means you don't go. I can kinda see why that exception for right turns could be made, but it still feels kinda unsafe because you might be getting in front of another car that you haven't noticed and which is going fast because it's going straight ahead. It's not as bad as doing a left-turn on a red, but it's still less safe than just not going on a red. Feels like a risk I'm happy that the rules don't allow for here.

Also, idk if that rule could apply to every type of crossroad and traffic light setting? If the left-turn lane has a separate green light, then they have right of way to turn on green while the cross traffic stands on red. Anyone doing a right-turn-on-red from the cross traffic lane would then have to actually be checking their cross-traffic lanes (instead of left bc left side is also standing on red) for any left-turners who have right of way because of a green light. Unless that's been solved in some other way and I just can't think of it...

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Monday 24 August 1835

6 ¾

11 40

no kiss hazy morning F64° at 7 25 - out ¼ hour - Holt not come - then read a few pages of Bakewell’s Geology then out again at 8 ¼ - went to Walker pit - on returning wrote and sent George with little note to Mr S. Washington and enclosing Turner’s estimate saying I had not Holt but was satisfied with the estimate and the sooner W- agreed with Turner and T- began carting stones for the culvert the better - breakfast at 9 ½ - Had Mr Jubb soon after 10 - Mr Washington came soon after - walked down with him and Turner and pointed out the line of culvert - then took W- to see the Mytholm fog (aftermath) and asked what he thought it worth - 15/. per D.W. I said I valued it at 20/. he could not in say anything against my valuation (John Bottomely had told me on Saturday fog used to be worth this price) but on hearing there were a few parches less than 4D.W. said I should take £3.10.0 for the whole - would be glad to buy it himself - I said a tenant had spoken for it but I should 1st ask if Aquilla Green wanted it - I walked up with W- to the entrance gate - mentioned about taking ground from the breadth of the road in front of the house - desired him to speak to the commoners about it - he thought the road ought to be left 11 yards wide - then seeing there would only be in places about a couple of yards to take said 10 yards breadth would be enough - I was long before I could get him to mention the turns he would think fair - at last, he said for me to pay 4d. per yard - no! said I 3d. will be quite enough - then Mark Town and his wife waiting for me at the gate - had them in - they are against paying £10 a year - think they can vamp up the place for £20 or £30 very well, said I, you had best do it your own way - the less is laid out, the less you will have to pay - and I said I would nothing to do but the levelling away the ground - if any old doors or windows at Northgate that would suit the place, Mark might have them there - Charles H- to see after this - to look at the cottage this afternoon - had Mawson for a few minutes out of doors - rain sent me in about 11-  a little while with A- then had Booth - brought plan and specification of new cottage at Barraclough Lane-head including cowhouse everything but moving the ground to be done for £100 - to alter his plan in just so much as to put the chimneys in the middle of the ridge-stones (rigging) and lengthen the building 1 yard so as to make the large room 6 yards x 5 instead of 5 yards into 5 yards would be done for £105 - good plan - gave B- £15 in a/c - he had had £70 before on a/c - brought his bill for Hopkins’ barn £60.10.0 and his bill for stopping Spiggs loose £12.0.0 - so that he has money in advance - took him to look at George’s room - he will find flags and labour and new flag it for 1/9 per yard including everything but digging out the 6in. of clay, and covering the bottom with 6inch deep of engine ashes as recommended by Mr Washington this morning - ordered  the thing to be done at 1/9 per yard - then came Charles H- who had seen Mark Town and been over the cottage - what CH- said determined me to let Mark do as he liked and leave him to himself – CH- agreed he would level away the stuff for less than I should get it done, so told George to tell Mawson to let it alone - rain again - a little while with my father and Marian - then out again till 6 10 - Mawson’s 3 men began this morning throwing up the good soil near the entrance gates - dinner at 6 ½ - had George Naylor and Abraham Hemingway - the latter came for a cart-shed said I would do it if he would pay percentage and not without - agreed that SW- is to set out and estimate and then I will determine - George N- wanted a shed doing up - would give him a pound or two and a larch or two and no more - paid his bill £14.16.6 for carting stones for Bairstow wall and for brook wearing and new cut - he wanted to know if I would let him Pickells’s upper field - no! could give him no hope of it but I had not yet determined what to do - should not forget Mark tho’ had promised nothing - another speak before Mark - then A- and I had coffee with my father and Marian and staid talking to Marian till 9 ½ - ¼ hour with my aunt till 10 5 then wrote the above of today - rain about 10 m and about 1 ½ pm and 4 and a little after dinner F65 ½° now at 10 ½ pm

A-gave me fifteen pounds tonight to pay George N- she is afraid she shall not have enough for herself I must manage as well as I can and not get much of hers   A- sent to inquire after Mr John Edwards - answer from Pynest ‘very well!!’

[coppicefics]

Masked Omens: Week Five

[Image Description: Image 1 - A simple rendition of the Masked Singer UK logo, a golden mask with colourful fragments flying off of it. The mask has a golden halo and a golden devil tail protruding from either side. Below, gold text reads ‘Masked Omens’. 

Image 2 - A page from the Entertainment section of the Capital Herald, dated Saturday, 23rd January 2021. Full image description and transcript below cut. End ID.]

Read the fic here!

The Capital Herald - Saturday, 23rd January 2021 Entertainment, page 15

Top section: Stream of Consciousness: Shows To Make You Think A whole host of great documentaries, old and new, have just been added to streaming services Who doesn't love a good documentary? You can learn all sorts of things, and you don't have to do any of the research for yourself. Over the last couple of weeks, loads of people seem to have been tuning into the wealth of documentaries available on various streaming services; here are a few I particularly enjoyed. Green Planet (2020) is not your standard nature documentary; while there are some extremely cute shots of animals (including gorillas, whales, and giant squid) the main focus is on sustainable practices people are experimenting with in all sorts of industries and contexts, and the way they allow local wildlife to flourish. It's thought-provoking stuff. We're As Folk (2019) takes a look at the contemporary folk movement, interviewing figures from the second British revival right through to the present day; contributors include Seth Lakeman, Frank Turner, Anathema and Bellowhead. With folk-festival anecdotes aplenty, the documentary explores the intricacies of the genre and culminates in all the contributors performing a once-in-a-lifetime rendition of 'She Moved Through The Fair'. Gadget If You Can (2015) might be a little outdated now, but that's what makes it such a compelling watch. From watches that tell the time in 21 capital cities concurrently to hoverboards that actually, well, hover, this is a fascinating look at the new devices that seemed to be just on the horizon when it was released more than five years ago. Some have since appeared; some remain pipedreams. All are interesting! Making Fast Friends (2012) is the oldest documentary on this list, and the narrowest in scope. It was released alongside the SEGA charity single 'Fast Friends' and gives us a behind the scenes look at what happened when Sonic the Hedgehog teamed up with a whole bunch of children's TV presenters to make the record. Although largely factual in nature, it does also feature animated 'interviews' with Sonic and Knuckles, so it's entirely suitable for watching with your family. And P-White fans, in particular, will not want to miss this a second time around. A War Without War (2021), by contrast, is both up-to-the-minute and extremely disturbing to watch. It is composed of a mixture of expert analysis of the situation developing on the ground in Celestan and grim footage allegedly smuggled out of the country by fleeing residents. Moreover, with more episodes promised, it forces the viewer to acknowledge what is happening as the country breaks apart, and asks us the difficult question: can you have a war without war? Dinosaurs: The Punchline (2013) is frequently mistaken for a mockumentary thanks to its tongue-in-cheek title. It is, in fact, a thoughtful exploration of how religious groups respond to apparent conflicts between scientific facts and the tenets of their faith. Without shying away from the realities of science as we know it, this film takes a surprisingly sensitive approach to investigating how science and religion intersect in the modern world. By The Numbers (2018) looks back at the history of the televised National Lottery, along with its competitors on other channels and the entertainment chosen to appear directly after it. Featuring clips and interviews with stars from Marjorie Potts aka Telepathic Tracy, whose show aired after the draw for over a decade, to Marvin O. Bagman, whose sports-based quiz show had, at the time of the documentary’s release, the corresponding Channel 4 slot. It’s not groundbreaking, but it is very entertaining. CITRON DEUX-CHEVAL Have I missed any amazing documentaries you think I should be talking about? Drop me an email at entertainment@capitalherald.co.uk or leave a comment on our website and I might feature your recommendations in a future issue.

Centre left: Memory Lane: Kilcridhe Now there’s a vicar I’d have loved to meet at the altar Ask any male-attracted person of a certain age – well, my age and up, really – if they remember Kilcridhe, and you'll be met with flushed cheeks and a glassy expression. We remember Kilcridhe, all right – or perhaps it would be fairer to say that we remember Father Jacob MacCleod. It's hard to believe that heartthrob Jacob was Anthony Crowley's first major role on television, and harder still to believe that he was also one of his last. The show ran for only two six-episode series, between 2005 and 2006, but in those twelve hours I think it's fair to say a fair few of us fell irrevocably in love. Kilcridhe was named for the fictitious Scottish village where it was set, and largely revolved around the goings-on of the local church and its new minister. Much of the series' drama centred around Father MacCleod's ongoing attempts to fill the pews, which saw him trying everything from hosting a bake sale – for which he ended up baking everything himself – to arranging a community talent show, with predictably bizarre results. But during the course of these adventures, each episode also introduced us to one or more of Kilcridhe's residents. We got a glimpse into the little struggles and joys of their lives – most of which quickly became Jacob's struggles and joys, too. My main memory of this show is that it was pretty. Not just Jacob, but everything about it, from the location they chose for the exterior shots, to the tone added in post-production; everything was just slightly more saturated and colourful than real life, not enough to be jarring but enough to give the whole thing a strangely dreamlike feel. In fact, as Jacob remarked as he prepared to leave for Edinburgh at the end of series one (not knowing if he would return or if the show would be cancelled), “leaving [Kilcridhe] feels like waking from a dream, like going back to reality somehow”. It was, perhaps, for the best that Kilcridhe was cancelled after only two series. Shows originally envisioned as limited series rarely keep their charm past a second extension, and the central actor was to encounter personal problems not long after the end of the show. That's not to say that a revival couldn't work, perhaps with a completely new protagonist. But Father Jacob MacCleod lives on in the hearts of his many fans, smiling that enigmatic smile of his, and when that's not enough, there's always online fanfiction. So much fanfiction. SARAH JEUNE Memory Lane is our regular feature, looking back at the books, shows and films of yesteryear through a nostalgic lens. Do you miss something you’d like to see featured? Just send the show name (plus channel and airdates if you know them) in an email to: memorylane@capitalherald.co.uk - your prayers might just be answered!

Centre right: Correspondent’s Corner Stop talking about it Anathema is making waves again as she does the talk-show circuit to promote her new album, Narrative Devices. It's a very pretty album from a very lovely girl, but she does keep getting hung up on one point. Every time somebody describes her music as country, she interrupts to tell them it's folk. Well, I'm no music expert, but even I know that folk is a very European genre, and the United States' equivalent is country, or country and western music, to give it its full name, and to continue to argue to the contrary is simply courting controversy for controversy's sake. It is unbecoming of a young lady – even, or perhaps especially, a young lady with Anathema's obvious talent – to continue to argue with her elders on the subject, and even to correct the likes of Graham Norton and Giles Brandreth. These sage bastions of broadcasting deserve more respect, and they couldn't be more gracious in accepting their 'mistake'. But surely a young musician in the first flush of success should take the time to learn about what she's actually doing? It doesn't seem very much to ask. It’s not entirely her fault, of course; the youth of today are given far too much freedom by their parents and, on top of that, are often propelled to disproportionate success with no chance to prepare for it. Is it any wonder that it all goes to their heads? But there is no excuse for not making an effort to keep their egos in check and defer to their betters on matters of terminology and best practice. Naturally, we all hope that Anathema will enjoy a long and successful career making the music she enjoys the most and , more importantly, music we can all enjoy too. And I also hope that she will, eventually, acquire the humility so rarely found in young people these days and accept that she does not always know best. If she listens to the counsel of older and wiser heads than hers, she might even learn something. ANDY SANDALPHON What can’t they do? If there's one thing that's becoming apparent with every passing week of The Masked Singer UK, it's that celebrities are no longer to content to stay in their lane. No, these multi-talented marvels seem determined to push themselves to the limit in every possible field. So far, we’ve seen sergeants become singers, rugby players become rockers, doctors become divas and authors become, er, audible. And with weeks still to go in this competition, we still have eight masked celebrities to guess. Eight people whose day jobs probably don’t include getting on stage and belting out pop standards are still waiting to impress us with talents that aren’t even their thing. I mean, if I could sing and dance like the contestants on the show, you can bet your life I’d be making a living from it. It would be my number one talent, and I’d be rubbish at anything else, because most of us only get one main skill. Not these jammy gits, though. For them, this is a sideline. It's not just The Masked Singer, of course – from proving their talent for trivia on Pointless Celebrities and their wordplay wisdom on Celebrity Catchphrase to demonstrating their culinary qualities on Celebrity Masterchef and The Great Celebrity Bake Off, it seems that wherever you look someone is adding a new string to their bow. Being a phenomenally talented actor, singer, or footballer is all well and good, but more and more stars are now keen to show us that they really can do anything and everything. And why shouldn't they? It's phenomenally entertaining television to watch. And for those of us who sometimes feel inadequate compared to our famous idols, it can be very reassuring to watch, for example, a comedian weeping into his cupcake mix on Bake Off or an Oscar nominee fall on her face on Dancing On Ice. When they do well, it's amazing; when they do badly, it's life-affirming. That said, I've been blown away by the talent of the contestants on The Masked Singer this series. It's so inspirational, in fact, that I might take up watercolours. EDWARD BIGGS Bottom right (in blue box): Citron’s Quick Picks Fast favourites from Citron Deux-Cheval Look: Sea Change by Hastur LaVista There's never been a journey to to the top quite like P-White's. This authorised biography charts a course from children's presenter to global superstar through interviews, pictures and anecdotes. While the research sometimes seems a little slapdash, the story at the heart of the book is more than interesting enough to hold it together. And since it's authorised, Maputi themself has contributed plenty of private insights and observations. [Image description: A book, its cover featuring a blue-green gradient with black, dripping lines spilling across it. The title reads ‘Sea Change’. End ID.] Listen: Narrative Devices by Anathema Anathema's first album was well-received both within the folk community and beyond it. Now her second album, backed up by an obvious increase in resources, looks set to enjoy similar mainstream success, and deservedly so. The theme this time seems to be the act of telling stories, but it's also a story in itself. You'll have heard the singles, but it takes on new meaning when you play it in order! [Image description: An album cover featuring hands holding a book. The words “Anathema” and “Narrative Devices” are printed on it. End ID.] Laugh: Newtral Stance by AutoTuna on YouTube It's not the first time beleaguered commentator Newton Pulsifer has had his words edited into a supercut. It's not even the first time his frequent disagreements with the VAR have been autotuned – including by YouTube user AutoTuna. But this new edition adds an extra dimension in the form of a flat, robotic voice duetting – and duelling – with the frustrated human, taking the hilarity to a whole new level! [Image description: A screenshot of a young woman wearing a call centre headset (specifically, the woman who cold-calls Crowley in Good Omens and gets Hastur instead). She looks extremely bored. End ID.]

Advertisement, bottom right: IS THIS YOUR CARD? [Image Description: Two business cards with a white-to-yellow gradient, overlapping so that they are slightly fanned out. Printed on the left-hand side of each is ‘This is to certify The Amazing [blank] as a [blank] training under Mr A.Z. Fell.‘ The one behind is filled in with ‘Your Name-’ and ‘Sorcer-’. The front card is filled in in a more child-friendly font, with ‘Your Name Here’ and ‘Junior Magician’. Below this is space for a start and expiry date, filled in with ‘08/20′ and ‘08/21′ respectively. On the right-hand side of the card, a logo shows a rabbit emerging from an upturned top hat, and below it are the words ‘Harry’s Junior Magic Academy’. The word ‘Junior’ is in the same child-friendly font as before. End ID.] IT COULD BE. Membership is open to under 12s and 13-18 year-olds at www.harrys-magic.com

End of transcript.

[thewidowstanton]

Archive feature 2012: ‘Mr Follow Spot’, Linford Hudson

Following this year’s Olivier Awards when Linford Husdon’s lengthy career received special recognition, we thought we’d mark the occasion by posting this feature. I was lucky enough to be shown behind the scenes at the London Palladium by him and to stand on the famous stage while he shone his light on me. He’d deiblerately left me in the eyrie, that is the follow-spot room to see if I could find my way back down. Luckily, I bumped into someone who knew the way!

By Liz Arratoon

It can only be The Mousetrap that’s had a longer West End run than Linford Hudson, who next October will have worked at the London Palladium for 50 years. Slim and dapper, the softly spoken British Jamaican is the historic venue’s elder statesman, and describes it as “my theatre, my home”. Its Hall of Fame, lined with photos and ephemera of past and present stars, reads like his personal CV. He knows every crevice of the building, even pointing out a tiny nick he made in a wall when he first arrived to record his height.

Linford came to the UK on September 9, 1963. It might have been traumatic to leave his island home and hit the capital in the Swinging Sixties, but he loved it. He’d watch TV’s Sunday Night at the London Palladium with his mother and walk past the Drury Lane and Aldwych theatres after school, taking in the scene. “I loved the hype of it all, the little lights flashing and dancers dancing, and kept going back. It was glamorous.” Just a month later, he saw an advert in the Evening Standard for a job at the Palladium and knew it was his way into a world that already entranced him. “It was for a pageboy. I came along and they employed me and I’m here still.”

He’d show people to the boxes and take messages or mail to management and artists. At 18, they said he’d grown too tall, but something better lay ahead. He explains: “When I was a pageboy I’d go up to the bio box [follow-spot room] in my break to look around and watch the shows because theatre was my first love. Mr Peter King, who was in charge of the limes, didn’t mind and said he’d teach me. I never looked back.”

But things were very different then. One of the hardest things to learn was the lethal carbon arcs; the red-hot carbon rods he had to put together to create a flame, which shone through a reflector and two lenses on to the stage. “They’d last 28 or 30 minutes. You’d have to turn them off and change them over with pliers in about six seconds without burning the theatre down, because we had a wooden floor then.” Linford laughs off the scars on his wrists, saying: “I could do it blindfold.” They also gave off noxious fumes and he had an allowance for milk, which supposedly neutralised the effects.

Another thing he had to learn was the feeling, the finesse of the lights, making the movement of the iris – the pin spot – smooth. “You have to fade it. Once you can feel a song, after a while you get used to it. I conquered it because Mr King was a very good teacher.” For example when someone such as Shirley Bassey lifted her arms, hit a high note and took a bow, he’d have to be ready to capture it down to her fingertips.

The equipment obviously advanced with time, and Linford reels off its technical details. Every spotlight – and there are about 20 types; German, Japanese, American Super Troupers, English and French – has its own sights, which he doesn’t use because “it can make you late on a cue. When you have artists going off and others coming on, there isn’t time to fade off and pick up again.” The huge lights give off incredible heat, which in summer is almost unbearable, but despite such hardships, and spurred on to succeed by a racist insult from another staff member, he mastered the job easily.

He has since lit show after show and everyone who was or is anyone. When asked to name his favourite or greatest star – maybe Josephine Baker who “still had an amazing physique and voice in her 70s”, Ella Fitzgerald or Judy Garland, whom he lit but never met – he’s slightly nonplussed. “That’s the biggest question because I’ve worked with them all. You find nice people, you find miserable people. Roy Castle was a brilliant guy, Frankie Vaughan (pictured above) was brilliant, Harry Secombe… the old boys were brilliant people. I can name names right down the line… Ethel Merman, Bette Davis, so many wonderful artists, man. Better Midler was fun to work with, Debbie Reynolds when she came with Carrie Fisher was brilliant, but my favourite lady, who I call my English rose, was Julie Andrews. Charming!”

The list is endless, and though the father of six and grandfather of ten stopped collecting autographs for a while because his kids kept taking them, he held on to Frank Sinatra’s. He remembers heady times when he was earning £12 a week and Sinatra sent his bodyguard with a massive £1,000 tip to share with the crew. “I worked with Frank here, at the Albert Hall and Festival Hall but you couldn’t get close to him. With Sammy [Davis Jr] it was different.” They’d go to London’s Playboy Club together and Sammy, always known as a big spender, would throw parties for everyone in the Palladium bar and take them and their families to events such as a new James Bond film.

Though known as Mr Follow Spot, he’s been much more than that. “I’ve been a plumber, carpenter, electrician and follow-spot operator here. I love rigging. I’d climb along very long trusses without a harness in the old days. It kept me fit,” he says, grinning. Down the years, Linford has also worked in TV and film, lighting Live at the Apollo and movies such as My Life with Marilyn. He’s worked with all the Royal Family; the Queen Mother, the Queen, Princess Margaret, Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales on Symphony for the Spire at Salisbury Cathedral, and spent three days preparing and lighting her funeral at Westminster Abbey, which he says was “an honour”.

He’s lit 41 Royal Variety Performances – more than anyone else ever – and counting. “That show is the show,” he says, “All the people in the theatre business want to work on it. I missed a couple but all those boys at the Coliseum are my pupils. I taught at the National Theatre and the BBC. Everywhere I go, someone wants me to teach them, and I’ve been doing it for 25 or 30 years so I can pass it on.” His legacy to the business is indeed huge.

Now 66, the Palladium has told him to take a break, meaning his minimum 12-hour days are down to a more reasonable eight. “They invented a job for me, so I still come in and take pride in the building I love. It’s magnificent. It’s given me a very good living and taken care of my family. I’ve no regrets. Once I perfected my work everyone gave me jobs… the 02, Wembley Arena. When there’s a big show, they call for me. I’m semi-retired but when they call I still go and do it.”

It’s doubtful anyone in the business can imagine the Palladium without Linford, but he says should that time come, the theatre will be in safe hands. Its lighting team of Danny Turner, George Antoniu and Chris Barstow is headed by chief electrician Dave Draude, whom Linford describes as “a brilliant guy, brilliant knowledge, brilliant brain. He’s very good at his job. His boys are brilliant too, and will take care of this place for me. All my friends have moved and my teachers have passed away but I’m glad I can walk out of the building and know everything will be all right.”

This feature first appeared in The Stage in 2012

[thebibliosphere]

as an editor and writer, do you think the "no flashbacks ever" unofficial writing law is accurate or flawed? or does it depend on the editor/writers involved? is there a way to get away with doing them that isn't dreadful?

I think saying something can never be done is in the same snobbish vein as people who say “prologues and epilogues are dead!” like excuse the entire fuck out of you, but who died and made you king of the slushpile.

I’ve seen some truly awful flashback/prologue/epilogues in my time, but just because some authors fail to find a way to use them correctly, doesn’t mean the rest of us need to suffer from the restrictions of their ineptitude. A good editor will tell you if something isn’t working, or if there’s a better way to do it. A bad one will tell you you ought never to do something simply because it’s currently out of fashion.

As for how to do it well? I dare say if I sat down and tried it I could think of ways to do it, but the main questions to ask yourself are: does this add to my narrative in a way I could not otherwise achieve? Do flashbacks and visions work well within the world I have created? Is there another way I could relay this exposition in a way that is more effective? Does it feel convoluted and heavy when I do it? Does it slow the narrative down? Do I want to slow the narrative down? What effect am I trying to achieve by doing so?

If say, I were writing a fast paced contemporary piece, I would not use the above writing tools in my narrative. Now, an epic fantasy sci fi where the lines of reality are blurred and I can get away with heavier world building exposition? Sign Me The Fuck Up. 

Prologues and the like are very good for creating a sense of oration, like you are being sat down and read to from a text long since forgotten to the passages of time by an old man with a snowy white beard and the zeal of madness in his eyes. But, in the hands of a different author, it could also be used to give the narrative equivalent of an introductory handshake. This is my world, this is the narrative tone we’re going for, bathroom is down the hall on your left, bedrooms to the right, and yes, sorry about the mess on the carpet. The cat’s just been sick.

Flashbacks, dreams and other forms of internal and external analepsis (that’s injecting backstory to you and me, internal being central to the character experiencing it, external referring to the world they are in) can perform a similar role. It can either serve to break up or cement the narrative as the author desires. Breaking it up may create a sense of instability or fragility pertaining to the internal state of your main character.

Or, like the pensieve in Harry Potter, (which I didn’t see a lot of people bitching about the same way they do “flashbacks” even though it’s a literal vessel for retaining and reliving memories, making me believe that most people bitching about certain things don’t actually know what the fuck they’re complaining about. The time turner on the other hand was handled like a piece of shit, but that’s another argument for later.) it can be used creatively to give the author more narrative freedom to introduce their main character(s) to elements of exposition in their world, that otherwise they wouldn’t get to experience, and would perhaps, need to spend several pages of conversational dialogue imparting. So what would have been worse in that instance? Fourteen pages of dialogue telling you the story, or a quick hop skip and a jump down memory lane that lets the author show it to you?

It’s almost as though sometimes, not using valid narrative tools….could be worse…

At that’s what it is, at the end of the day. It’s a narrative tool and one worth having in your toolkit, even if you never foresee yourself using it. Like that miniature blowtorch you picked up at Home Depot that one time on an impulse buy cause it was on sale. You only went in for a hammer and nails but it was there and while the higher reasoning part of your monkey brain is telling you it was a waste of money and you’ll never use it, not with all the other tools you have, there’s another smaller, more ancient part of you, grinning in the darkness. Because it knows. It knows that what no matter others might say, fire is indeed sometimes the solution. How you use it however is up to you. 

You can either burn down the village by doing it poorly, or, you can figure out how it works and how best to contain it to better fuel your purposes. And if you decide you prefer to do it another way, great, fantastic, we are glad you found your way. But it’s just exactly that, your way. So I guess to answer your question a little more briefly than I have up until now: 

Said is not dead, there is no one correct way to write. Anyone that claims otherwise is, in all kindness and honesty, talking out their arse. 

[fan-of-mulligan]

FOM BLOG: AFC WIMBLEDON 0-2 GILLINGHAM - LEAGUE CUP FIRST ROUND - 2022 / 2023 SEASON

My Thoughts On AFC Wimbledon 0-2 Gillingham - 2022 / 2023 Season - League Cup First Round.

The journey to AFC Wimbledon took just under three hours from where I was picked up in Rainham to arriving outside AFC Wimbledon’s Stadium at 6.20PM, The road being closed next to Strood Train Station and the busy traffic in London added additional travel time on to our journey, but we left early enough so that we arrived with plenty of time to spare, and looking ahead to AFC Wimbledon V Gillingham, of course, League Two is our highest priority, but the prize on offer for both clubs is progressing into the second round of The League Cup, potentially getting a money spinning second round tie against A Premier League Club, and the finances generated from a money spinning second round tie could well see Neil Harris get additional funds to strengthen the squad.

I had posted my predicted starting line up earlier on in the day, And I had predicted that Jake Turner, Cheye Alexandra, Bailey Akehurst, David Tutonda and Lewis Walker will all start for Gillingham, I wasn’t sure if Alex MacDonald was going to start, but Gillingham need to make as many changes as possible, whilst at the same-time, still name a strong enough starting line up that can win, because having won 1-0 against Rochdale On Saturday, Gillingham can build up confidence and momentum if we were to win against AFC Wimbledon In The First Round Of The League Cup.

Eventually, Gillingham’s Team News Appeared On Twitter, And Gillingham Lined Up As Follows….. Jake Turner, Will Wright, Max Ehmer, Elkan Baggott, Cheye Alexandra, Shaun Williams, Olly Lee, Alex MacDonald, David Tutonda, Scott Kashket, Lewis Walker Substitutes: Glenn Morris (GK), Ryan Law, Bailey Akehurst, Ben Reeves, Jordan Green, Joseph Gbode and Mikael Mandron - Neil Harris has decided to switch formation to a 5-3-2 / 3-5-2 formation with Will Wright, Max Ehmer and Elkan Baggott as our three centre back’s and Cheye Alexandra and David Tutonda at wing back, Alex MacDonald starting was a surprise, and Scott Kashket and Lewis Walker will lead the line for Gillingham.

Joseph Gbode is back on the substitutes bench having missed Saturday’s 1-0 win against Rochdale At Priestfield Stadium, But the rest of the youth team players are in Seville, So it is not like we can call upon Freddie Carter, Matt Macarthur, Ronald Sithole or Sam Gale to be amongst the substitutes bench tonight, the eighteen players in the match-day squad are the only eighteen players available, Because Stuart O’Keefe and Dominic Jefferies are both unavailable due to injury, and both O’Keefe and Jefferies not being in the squad just highlights the lack of midfielders Gillingham have got available for selection, and the small squad also reflects on the importance of this match, Because if Gillingham were to win against AFC Wimbledon, and get a home tie against Southampton or Crystal Palace for example, a sell out capacity crowd at Priestfield Stadium could raise additional funds for Neil Harris to sign a few more players.

The Attendance For AFC Wimbledon V Gillingham on the opening day of the season was 7752 (1172) Gillingham Supporters In The Away End, Looking around New Plough Lane For The League Cup Tie, the attendance might be 2,500 - 3,500, the interest in the early round’s of League Cup and FA Cup Ties usually see low attendances, and AFC Wimbledon V Gillingham is a local match, Gillingham could have been drawn away from home against Newport County or Plymouth Argyle In The First Round Of The League Cup, So we have at least avoided a long distance away journey, And if the scores are level after ninety minutes, there is no replay, no second leg and no extra time, we will go straight to a penalty shoot-out, And Gillingham won 10-9 on penalties against Crawley Town in the first round of The League Cup Last Season, before losing on penalties against Cheltenham Town in the second round - hopefully, Gillingham can build on the 1-0 win against Rochdale at the weekend by winning against AFC Wimbledon and reach the second round of The League Cup - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!

FIRST HALF:

Gillingham created the first goal-scoring opportunity in the sixth minute of the match, Paris Maghoma clips the ball down the line for Ayoub Assal to try and get on the end of, But Elkan Baggott manages to get to the loose ball first and Elkan Baggott passes the ball short back to Goalkeeper Jake Turner, And Jake Turner kicks the ball long down-field first time and Will Nightingale wins the aerial challenge up against Scott Kashket, And Shaun Williams gets the ball under control, takes another several touches in possession of the ball before threading a fantastic through-ball through to Lewis Walker to run on to, And Lewis Walker had beaten the offside trap and was through on goal one on one with Goalkeeper Nathan Broome, And Lewis Walker’s poked effort towards goal goes wide of the far right post, and that was a golden goal-scoring opportunity for Gillingham to open the scoring, and will Gillingham regret not taking that opportunity and going 1-0 up, because whoever scores first could well be the side who progresses into the second round of the league cup.

Lewis Walker had to hit the target at the very least with that effort on goal, If Goalkeeper Nathan Broome makes the save then fair enough, because Lewis Walker was making his full league debut and Me and Charlie both mentioned that it would be great to see Lewis Walker score his first goal for Gillingham against AFC Wimbledon, just so that Lewis Walker is up and running for the season and getting that first goal is so important for any striker, Scott Kashket scored on Saturday against Rochdale, it would have been great to see Lewis Walker score that opportunity to give Gillingham the lead, also, what a fantastic defence splitting pass that was from Shaun Williams.

Eight Minutes Into The Match, And Elkan Baggott is penalised for a foul on Kyle Hudlin and AFC Wimbledon have been awarded a free kick, and from the resulting free kick, George Marsh quickly plays the ball over the top through to Ayoub Assal inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Jake Turner was quick off his goal-line to prevent Ayoub Assal from getting on to the end of that quick free kick from George Marsh, and the ball goes out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick.

Nine Minutes Into The Match, And Will Wright’s long pass down-field towards Lewis Walker runs all the way through to Nathan Broome, and moments later, Gillingham had a half chance as David Tutonda wins possession of the ball down the left side of the pitch, And David Tutonda runs forwards in possession of the ball before continuing his run into AFC Wimbledon’s Final Third, And David Tutonda’s low cross almost manages to pick out Scott Kashket, But Nathan Broome gathers the loose ball inside AFC Wimbledon’s Penalty Area - Better from David Tutonda - who has got competition for the left back spot in Ryan Law and Bailey Akehurst, And against AFC Wimbledon, David Tutonda is lining up at Left Wing Back, which is perhaps David Tutonda’s more preferred position on the pitch.

One of Olly Lee or Alex MacDonald were penalised for a foul on the halfway line, and from the resulting free kick in the thirteenth minute of the match, AFC Wimbledon had the chance to open the scoring, Chris Gunter passes the ball short to George Marsh, And George Marsh takes a touch to control the ball before squaring the ball to Will Nightingale, And Will Nightingale takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball down the line towards Isaac Ogundere, And Isaac Ogundere passes the ball back to Will Nightingale, And Will Nightingale passes the ball back towards Paul Kalambayi, And Paul Kalambayi passes the ball back to Goalkeeper Nathan Broome, And Nathan Broome takes a touch to control the ball before playing a short pass forwards towards Chris Gunter, And Chris Gunter takes a few touches in possession of the ball before passing the ball down the line towards Paris Maghoma down the main stand side of the pitch, And Paris Maghoma passes the ball back towards Paul Kalambayi, and Paul Kalambayi takes a touch before passing the ball square to Will Nightingale, And Will Nightingale passes the ball inside to Paul Kalambayi, and Paul Kalambayi passes the ball square to Chris Gunter, And Chris Gunter takes a few touches in possession of the ball before passing the ball down the line towards Paris Maghoma, And Paris Maghoma passes the ball inside centrally to George Marsh, George Marsh then plays a first time pass back towards Chris Gunter, And Chris Gunter plays a one / two with Ayoub Assal before passing the ball back towards Paul Kalambayi, and Paul Kalambayi passes the ball short out-wide to Chris Gunter, who has to pass the ball back towards Goalkeeper Nathan Broome, And Nathan Broome passes the ball short forwards towards Paul Kalambayi, and Paul Kalambayi passes the ball short out-wide towards Will Nightingale, And Will Nightingale runs forwards in possession of the ball before playing a short pass out-wide to Isaac Ogundere, And Isaac Ogundere passes the ball back to Will Nightingale, who plays a short pass inside to George Marsh, And George Marsh switches the play towards Chris Gunter down the opposite side of the pitch, and Chris Gunter passes the ball forwards towards Ayoub Assal, and Ayoub Assal turns out-wide in possession of the ball before laying the ball off to Paris Maghoma, And Paris Maghoma plays a one / two with George Marsh before playing a short pass out-wide to Chris Gunter, And Chris Gunter takes a few touches in possession of the ball before passing the ball down the line towards Jack Currie, who works his way into a central position on the pitch, And Jack Currie passes the ball centrally towards George Marsh twenty five yards from goal, And George Marsh see’s his low effort towards goal routinely saved by Jake Turner In Goal For Gillingham.

But this passage of play very much see’s Gillingham on the back-foot, looking to hold our shape, making sure that the back five cannot be broken down easily and very much a different style of play to the pressing front-foot possession based style of play against Rochdale in the opening league game of the season, and from here, AFC Wimbledon created a even better goal-scoring opportunity when Jake Turner throws the ball out-wide to Will Wright, And Will Wright takes a touch to control the ball before running forwards in possession of the ball and Jack Currie times his challenge to perfection and Nathan Young-Coombes is on to the loose ball, and Nathan Young-Coombes takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball short forwards towards Jack Currie, And Jack Currie takes a touch to control the ball before running forwards in possession of the ball and threading a pass down the line towards Ayoub Assal, and Ayoub Assal uses his pace and skill to take on Cheye Alexandra and run into a more central area on the pitch, And Ayoub Assal is twisting and turning inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Ayoub Assal eventually passes the ball back towards George Marsh, and although Scott Kashket puts in a challenge, the loose ball runs kindly towards Will Nightingale, And Will Nightingale’s driven effort towards goal is saved and parried back into the danger zone by Jake Turner and Ayoub Assal is on to the loose ball inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Ayoub Assal works his way into a shooting position, before seeing his shot towards goal take a big deflection off Cheye Alexandra, and Goalkeeper Jake Turner prevents the ball from going out of play for A AFC Wimbledon Corner Kick.

Great save from Jake Turner to prevent Will Nightingale from opening the scoring for AFC Wimbledon, yes, the ricochet did not bounce fortuitously towards Ayoub Assal or Nathan Young-Coombes, but Jake Turner deserves that bit of luck after making a excellent save to prevent Will Nightingale from scoring for AFC Wimbledon, and the hosts are asking more questions of Gillingham defensively.

Twenty One Minutes Into The Match, And George Marsh tries to pick out Isaac Ogundere with a threaded pass down the line, and the last touch quite clearly came off David Tutonda, and the ball has gone out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick, when quiet clearly, AFC Wimbledon should have been awarded a corner kick, And In The Twenty Fourth Minute Of The Match, Will Nightingale is penalised for a foul on Lewis Walker, And Gillingham have been awarded a free kick, and from the resulting free kick, Shaun Williams whips in a high and hanging cross towards the edge of AFC Wimbledon’s Penalty Area and Elkan Baggott wins the aerial challenge up against Paul Kalambayi to header the ball on towards Scott Kashket, And Scott Kashket’s Volleyed Effort Towards Goal clears AFC Wimbledon’s Crossbar, but even if Scott Kashket had opened the scoring, Elkan Baggott was penalised for a foul on Paul Kalambayi, and I have to say that foul against Gillingham was a very soft decision.

Twenty Six Minutes Into The Match, And Jake Turner comfortably saves Chris Gunter’s long ball down-field, And Gillingham are awarded another free kick when Jack Currie is penalised for a foul on Scott Kashket Down The Main Stand Side Of The Pitch, And From The Resulting Free Kick, Will Wright whips in a dangerous cross towards the far post, and although Elkan Baggot wins the aerial challenge, The Gillingham Defender was flagged for offside and the chance has gone - Will Wright was in a similar position on the pitch for his cross for Scott Kashket’s goal against Rochdale On Saturday.

Cheye Alexandra and David Tutonda are both penalised for two fouls in quick succession and David Tutonda’s Foul on Isaac Ogundere is in a promising position on the pitch, and from the resulting free kick, Paris Maghoma floats the ball towards the far side of Gillingham’s Penalty Area and Kyle Hudlin's Knock Down is partially cleared by Will Wright and Isaac Ogundere’s first time driven effort towards goal goes well wide of the far post and the ball almost goes out of play for A Gillingham Throw On, Both Wing Backs in Cheye Alexandra and David Tutonda have been pushed back and both players need to get forward to provide Gillingham with more width in this 5-3-2 / 3-5-2 formation.

Elkan Baggott is then penalised for a foul on Nathan Young-Coombes, and understandably, Gillingham Supporters are starting to get frustrated with Referee Craig Hicks, Because every challenge see’s a free kick awarded in AFC Wimbledon’s Favour, and from the resulting free kick, a quick pass back to Paul Kalambayi allows Paul Kalambayi time and space to pass the ball square to Chris Gunter, And Chris Gunter takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball down the line towards Paris Maghoma, And Paris Maghoma plays a one / two with Ayoub Assal before passing the ball out-wide to Ayoub Assal, And Ayoub Assal runs down the line and lays the ball off to Paris Maghoma, who is being double marked by Scott Kashket and Shaun Williams, So Pari Maghoma passes the ball back to Chris Gunter, who passes the ball out-wide to Ayoub Assal, and Ayoub Assal lays the ball off to Paris Maghoma, And Pari Maghoma has no choice but to pass the ball back to Paul Kalambayi, then Paul Kalambayi takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball square to Will Nightingale and Will Nightingale just about manages to get the ball under control before passing the ball centrally to Paul Kalambayi, And Paul Kalambayi passes the ball square to Chris Gunter, And Chris Gunter’s pass down the line is intercepted by Cheye Alexandra at the expense of conceding a throw on.

And from the resulting throw, AFC Wimbledon had the chance to open the scoring, Jack Currie throws the ball short to Paris Maghoma, who manages to retain possession of the ball before seeing his threaded pass cut out by David Tutonda, who turns back on himself and passes the ball back to Elkan Baggott, And Elkan Baggott passes the ball forwards to Olly Lee, who plays a first time pass back to Max Ehmer, And Max Ehmer takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball square to Shaun Williams, And Shaun Williams plays a one / two with Alex MacDonald before passing the ball forwards towards Scott Kashket, And Scott Kashket passes the ball back to Elkan Baggott, And Elkan Baggott passes the ball forwards towards Olly Lee, And Olly Lee turns and passes the ball forwards towards Alex MacDonald on the halfway line, And Alex MacDonald is knocked to the ground by Ayoub Assal - and we thought it was a foul on Alex MacDonald at the time - and Ayoub Assal runs forwards in possession of the ball for AFC Wimbledon, And Ayoub Assal continue’s his run forwards towards the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Ayoub Assal threads a pass through to Kyle Hudlin, And Kyle Hudlin’s first time shot towards goal is brilliantly saved by Jake Turner with a out-stretched leg, and that save from Jake Turner keeps the score-line goal-less.

Thirty Four Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham had the chance to open the scoring against the run of play, Will Wright had kicked the ball long down-field and AFC Wimbledon Goalkeeper Nathan Broome tried to kick the ball clear and Scott Kashket managed to nip in there to intercept the ball, but the ricochet went fortuitously towards Nathan Broome, who was able to save the ball at the second attempt, neither Scott Kashket or Lewis Walker have been able to get on to the ball in AFC Wimbledon’s Final Third with the hosts dominating the vast majority of the first half, and that’s why Me, Charlie and a few others wanted to see Cheye Alexandra and David Tutonda push higher up the pitch to provide Gillingham with additional width, Because Lewis Walker and Scott Kashket have had to run into the channels with Gillingham essentially lining up with a back five.

Thirty Five Minutes Into The Match, And Jack Currie whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross from the main stand side of the pitch towards Nathan Young-Coombes and Kyle Hudlin, And Jake Turner gathers that cross from Jack Currie with ease - Jake Turner Has Been Gillingham’s Best Player In The First Half, And Jake Turner has more then played his part in ensuring that the score-line is still 0-0 at New Plough Lane - And Moments Later, AFC Wimbledon have a throw on down the main stand side of the pitch in Gillingham’s Final Third, And Jack Currie hurls in a long dangerous throw and Will Wright headers the ball partially clear and away from goal and Paris Maghoma is on to the loose ball and passes the ball out-wide to Jack Currie, And Jack Currie takes a touch to control the ball, whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Will Nightingale’s header towards goal goes just wide of the far post, and yet, Referee Craig Hicks points towards the corner flag for A AFC Wimbledon Corner Kick - that was no way a corner kick for AFC Wimbledon - and from the resulting corner kick, Paris Maghoma whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Cheye Alexandra headers the ball away from goal at the near post and Scott Kashket is harshly penalised for a foul on George Marsh, And AFC Wimbledon have been awarded a free kick and Gillingham cannot even put in a fair challenge without a free kick being awarded against them.

And from the resulting free kick, Paris Maghoma whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Kyle Hudlin headers the ball across the face of goal and Max Ehmer headers the ball clear and Scott Kashket manages to retain possession of the ball on the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area and lay the ball off to Lewis Walker, who is clipped by Kyle Hudlin and Gillingham have been awarded a defensive free kick - queue large cheers from Gillingham Supporters in the away end, as a refereeing decision went our way - But from the resulting free kick, AFC Wimbledon had another chance to open the scoring, Goalkeeper Jake Turner kicks the ball long down-field and Paul Kalambayi wins the aerial challenge up against Lewis Walker and Cheye Alexandra is on to the loose ball and passes the ball inside centrally towards Olly Lee and Olly Lee passes the ball square to Alex MacDonald, And Alex MacDonald plays a short pass out-wide to David Tutonda, And David Tutonda losses possession of the ball and Alex MacDonald is on to the loose ball for Gillingham, And Alex MacDonald passes the ball back towards Elkan Baggott, And Elkan Baggott passes the ball square centrally towards Max Ehmer, And Max Ehmer passes the ball out-wide to Will Wright, who plays a first time pass down the line and Jack Currie intercepts the ball from Scott Kashket, And Paris Maghoma passes the ball back to Chris Gunter, And Chris Gunter plays a first time pass forwards towards Jack Currie, And Jack Currie lays the ball off to Paris Maghoma, who passes the ball square to Will Nightingale, And Will Nightingale runs forwards in possession of the ball before laying the ball off to George Marsh, And George Marsh switches the play to Chris Gunter, And Chris Gunter lays the ball off to Paris Maghoma, And Paris Maghoma takes a touch to control the ball before whipping in a dangerous cross which Max Ehmer headed away from goal, and Will Nightingale keeps the ball in play and whips in a dangerous low in-swinging cross and Nathan Young-Coombes first time volleyed effort towards goal is saved and gathered at the second attempt by Jake Turner - who is doing everything he can to keep the score-line goal-less.

And Gillingham are just standing off AFC Wimbledon, there is little pressure on the opposition and the back five and three central midfielders are being compact and as organised as possible, but I can only see AFC Wimbledon winning based from what we have seen in the first half so far, and the only reason why AFC Wimbledon are not winning 2-0, Is because Jake Turner has put in a excellent performance in goal, Elkan Baggott’s performance has also been impressive, and we cannot judge Scott Kashket or Lewis Walker because Gillingham have had very little of the ball, although, Lewis Walker had to hit the target at the very least from Shaun Williams through-ball.

And Jake Turner is busy again, this time saving a clipped through-ball through to Nathan Young-Coombes and Ayoub Assal, and from here, Jake Turner kicks the ball long down-field and Chris Gunter wins the aerial challenge and Will Wright is caught underneath the ball trying to header the ball forwards and Kyle Hudlin was able to pass the ball down the line towards Ayoub Assal, and Ayoub Assal has to turn wide and away from goal, before turning out-wide towards the byline, and Ayoub Assal flicks the ball past Will Wright, but a heavy touch from Ayoub Assal allowed Jake Turner to save the ball comfortably - but it is just one way traffic from the home side, and Gillingham need to go in at the break still preserving this 0-0 score-line.

Max Ehmer was then penalised and booked for his challenge on Nathan Young-Coombes, And Max Ehmer has been booked three times in the opening three matches of The 2022 / 2023 Season, Two more bookings and Max Ehmer gets a one match suspension, Gillingham desperately need to sign one, or even two more centre back’s, But if Max Ehmer is suspended, then Will Wright has to play alongside Elkan Baggott in the heart of Gillingham’s Defence, and from the resulting free kick, Chris Gunter’s cross-field cross from the free kick see’s Will Nightingale header the ball down the line and the ball goes out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick.

Forty Four Minutes Into The Match, And Jack Currie has whipped in a fantastic cross and Elkan Baggott makes a crucial headed clearance and Shaun Williams wins the next aerial challenge, But Paris Maghoma is on to the loose ball for AFC Wimbledon, And Paris Maghoma passes the ball out-wide to Isaac Ogundere, And Isaac Ogundere retains possession of the ball despite the attempted challenge from David Tutonda, And Isaac Ogundere passes the ball back to Will Nightingale, And Will Nightingale runs down the right flank in possession of the ball and whips in a dangerous cross which Will Wright is able to block and Shaun Williams and Alex MacDonald between the two of them manage to pass the ball back to Elkan Baggott, who boots the ball clear.

And just as we reach added time at the end of the first half, both teams had the chance to open the scoring, Ayoub Assal has possession of the ball for AFC Wimbledon down the main stand side of the pitch, And Ayoub Assal threads the ball through to Jack Currie on the over-lap, And Jack Currie passes the ball back to Ayoub Assal, and Ayoub Assal takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball back to Paris Maghoma, And Paris Maghoma passes the ball back to Chris Gunter, who passes the ball centrally towards Paul Kalambayi, and Paul Kalambayi passes the ball square out-wide to Will Nightingale, And Will Nightingale passes the ball back inside to Paul Kalambayi, and Paul Kalambayi passes the ball sideways to Chris Gunter, And Chris Gunter kicks the ball long down-field and Kyle Hudlin wins the aerial battle up against Elkan Baggott to flick the ball on, But Jake Turner was able to gather the ball with ease.

And the final noteworthy moment of the first half see’s Nathan Young-Coombes penalised for a foul on Shaun Williams, And Gillingham have got themselves a great chance to open the scoring with the final chance of the first half, and from the resulting free kick, Will Wright’s floated cross was comfortable for Nathan Broome to save in goal for AFC Wimbledon, and after two additional minutes of added time, the half time score-line at New Plough Lane Is AFC Wimbledon 0-0 Gillingham.

HALF TIME: AFC WIMBLEDON 0-0 GILLINGHAM

I uploaded the following on to Social Media At Half Time: Turner has kept the score-line at 0-0, And Baggott has put in a excellent performance, but other than Turner and Baggott performing well and Gillingham are not losing, not many positives to take from the first half. Gillingham need to make changes for the second half. - And Me and Charlie were talking about those changes that Gillingham need to make at half time, Alex MacDonald looks way off the pace through no fault of his own, and does Ben Reeves come on for the second half, Do Gillingham look to switch to a back four and bring on Jordan Green for Cheye Alexandra, Because Gillingham have got options on the bench in Ryan Law, Jordan Green, Ben Reeves and Mikael Mandron.

But if that first half performance continue’s in the second half, there is only one outcome and there is only one team who is going to win, and the only reason why AFC Wimbledon are not winning already is because Jake Turner has put in a fantastic performance in goal for Gillingham, and without that performance in goal, AFC Wimbledon would be winning 2-0 and there be no way back for The Gills, but with the score-line goal-less, Neil Harris can speak to the players at half time and Neil Harris will surely be thinking of making some substitutions, or make a change tactically.

Both teams will know that there is a massive prize on offer and Premier League Teams not participating in European Football enter The League Cup Second Round Draw, and Gillingham or AFC Wimbledon can be drawn against one of those sides if they can find a winner in the second half, hopefully, It is Gillingham who come out on top and can find the winner against AFC Wimbledon - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!

SECOND HALF:

One thing we did notice prior to the start of the second half was how late Gillingham were getting back on to the pitch compared to AFC Wimbledon, Neil Harris was clearly not happy at all with Gillingham’s First Half Performance and neither were we as supporters, Because If Gillingham want to win against AFC Wimbledon and progress into The Second Round Of The League Cup, Then Gillingham have got to put in a much better performance and start causing AFC Wimbledon more problems defensively.

Forty Seven Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham Have A Throw On, And From The Resulting Throw, Gillingham had the chance to open the scoring, Will Wright throws the ball short to Shaun Williams, And Shaun Williams passes the ball back out-wide to Will Wright, And Will Wright takes a few touches in possession of the ball before passing the ball forwards towards Olly Lee, And Olly Lee manages to retain possession of the ball and passes the ball out-wide to Cheye Alexandra, And Cheye Alexandra passes the ball inside centrally towards Shaun Williams, And Shaun Williams takes a touch to control the ball before firing a low driven effort towards goal which goes just wide of the far right post - Now Goalkeeper Nathan Broome Probably had that effort on goal covered - But Shaun Williams was willing to try a speculative effort from distance to try and open the scoring, and perhaps that was one thing Neil Harris told the players at half time, just try and get some shots off on goal and give Goalkeeper Nathan Broome something to think about, Because other then that one on one chance with Lewis Walker, we have not seen much from Gillingham as a attacking threat.

Fifty Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham had a half chance to try and open the scoring, Will Wright kicks the ball long down-field, And Scott Kashket has the pace to get on to Will Wright’s Long Pass ahead of Paul Kalambayi and Paul Kalambayi shoulder charges Scott Kashket off the ball as Goalkeeper Nathan Broome gathers the ball inside his penalty area - no penalty for Gillingham and there were appeals for a penalty - but AFC Wimbledon had done enough to ensure that Scott Kashket did not get in through on goal from Will Wright’s Long Ball Down-Field.

And From Here, Goalkeeper Nathan Broome rolls the ball short to Will Nightingale, and Will Nightingale takes a few touches in possession of the ball before passing the ball square to Paris Maghoma, And Paris Maghoma takes a touch to control the ball before pinning the ball out-wide to Chris Gunter, And Chris Gunter takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball inside centrally towards George Marsh, And George Marsh passes the ball out-wide to Will Nightingale, And Will Nightingale passes the ball inside towards Paris Maghoma, who skips past two challenges from Scott Kashket and Lewis Walker before running forwards in possession of the ball, And Paris Maghoma continue’s his run forwards down the left side of the pitch, And Paris Maghoma cuts inside and whips in a dangerous cross towards the back-stick, And David Tutonda clears the ball out of play for A AFC Wimbledon Corner Kick - And David Tutonda had to make that clearance because Isaac Ogundere was ghosting in at the back-stick to try and get on to the end of that cross.

And From The Resulting Corner Kick, AFC Wimbledon had the chance to open the scoring, Paris Maghoma whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Will Nightingale has headed the ball back across the face of goal and narrowly wide of the far post, and that was the chance for AFC Wimbledon to open the scoring, and I thought that header from Will Nightingale was in and AFC Wimbledon had taken the lead!!!!!!!

Fifty Four Minutes Into The Match, And David Tutonda’s Low Cross In AFC Wimbledon’s Final Third is blocked by George Marsh at the expense of a throw on for Gillingham, and the atmosphere raises in volume from The Gillingham Supporters in the away end, and from the resulting throw, David Tutonda throws the ball short to Alex MacDoanld, who gets disposed and David Tutonda times his challenge to perfection and Scott Kashket is on to the loose ball for Gillingham, And Scott Kashket is very harshly penalised for a fifty / fifty challenge up against Ayoub Assal and AFC Wimbledon have been awarded a defensive free kick - much to the irritation and frustration from The Gillingham Supporters in the away end, because that was not a foul.

And after that stoppage in play, Gillingham make there first substitution in the match with Alex MacDonald being substituted and Jordan Green coming on in his place, Alex MacDonald has played fifty five minutes in his first starting appearance for Gillingham in almost a year, and you can tell that Alex MacDonald is going to be way off the pace until he builds up his match fitness and match sharpness levels, but playing for fifty five minutes against AFC Wimbledon is really going to help Alex MacDonald, and Jordan Green can hopefully come on and make an impact for Gillingham, Because Gillingham need to do something to start causing AFC Wimbledon more problems defensively.

Fifty Seven Minutes Into The Match, And Gillingham Have A Throw On In AFC Wimbledon’s Half Of The Pitch, And From The Resulting Throw, Cheye Alexandra throws the ball short to Olly Lee, And Olly Lee takes a touch to control the ball before taking a few more touches and passing the ball square to Shaun Williams, And Shaun Williams passes the ball out-wide to Cheye Alexandra, And Cheye Alexandra takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball back towards Will Wright, And Will Wright passes the ball back towards Max Ehmer, And Max Ehmer passes the ball back towards Goalkeeper Jake Turner, And Jake Turner passes the ball out-wide to Elkan Baggott, Elkan Baggott then takes a touch to control the ball before kicking the ball long down the line, and even though Isaac Ogundere gets to the ball first, David Tutonda reacts to the second ball quicker, And David Tutonda retains possession of the ball before back-healing the ball towards Shaun Williams on the touch-line, And Shaun Williams passes the ball back towards Jordan Green, And Jordan Green runs forwards in possession of the ball towards the edge of AFC Wimbledon’s Penalty Area, And Jordan Green see’s his attempted pass charged down and Ayoub Assal passes the ball centrally towards Paris Maghoma, And Paris Maghoma kicks the ball long down-field and Max Ehmer takes one touch to control the ball and another touch to pass the ball out-wide to Will Wright, And Will Wright turns and runs forwards in possession of the ball before threading a pass through to Jordan Green, And Jordan Green lays the ball off to Olly Lee, And Olly Lee passes the ball forwards towards Shaun Williams roughly twenty five yards from goal, And Shaun Williams passes the ball out-wide to David Tutonda down the left side of the pitch in AFC Wimbledon’s Final Third, And David Tutonda runs inside AFC Wimbledon’s Penalty Area in possession of the ball and David Tutonda is clipped inside the penalty area by Isaac Ogundere, And Gillingham are not awarded a penalty kick.

That was a penalty all day long, Every Gillingham Supporter was appealing the penalty decision, David Tutonda was clearly tripped inside the penalty area and there is a real sense of anger and frustration towards Referee Craig Hicks because even fifty / fifty challenges have been awarded against Gillingham in this match so far, and with the score-line goal-less, the opening goal in this game is so important and if that exact same incident happened down the other end of the pitch, we know that AFC Wimbledon would have been awarded a penalty, and it would have been the correct decision if AFC Wimbledon got a penalty, so why didn’t The Referee point to the penalty spot when David Tutonda was clearly fouled ???

Play continued when Chris Gunter passes the ball forwards towards Ayoub Assal, who takes too long in possession of the ball and this allows Jordan Green to intercept the ball and runs into a more central position on the pitch, And Jordan Green is fouled by George Marsh, and this time, Gillingham have been awarded a free kick in a promising position on the pitch, but still our anger and frustration is aimed towards Referee Craig Hicks, who hasn’t awarded Gillingham a penalty kick for the foul on David Tutonda, which is going to be “the” controversial talking point at the end of this match, and from the resulting free kick, Gillingham had the chance to open the scoring, Will Wright’s curling effort towards goal from twenty five yards out had to be turned around the post by Goalkeeper Nathan Broome, And Nathan Broome had to make the save because Will Wright’s effort on goal was heading into the far left corner of the net, and from the resulting corner kick, Gillingham had another chance to open the scoring, Will Wright whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the near post which AFC Wimbledon were able to clear away from goal and out of play for A Gillingham Throw, And From The Resulting Throw, Cheye Alexandra hurls in a long throw and Kyle Hudlin headers the ball partially clear and away from goal and Paris Maghoma lays the ball off to Nathan Young-Coombes, And Nathan Young-Coombes is challenged by Olly Lee and Jordan Green is on to the second ball, And Jordan Green passes the ball back to Shaun Williams, And Shaun Williams pass forwards is intercepted by George Marsh, and Paris Maghoma’s threaded through-ball see’s Will Wright get a crucial touch to divert the ball back towards Goalkeeper Jake Turner.

Sixty Two Minutes Into The Match, And Will Wright tries to pick out Scott Kashket with a long pass down the line which is over-hit and the ball goes out of play for A AFC Wimbledon Goal-Kick, Scott Kashket had the pace to beat Chris Gunter, But Will Wright’s pass was just too long for Scott Kashket to get on to the end of, And In The Sixty Third Minute Of The Match, Shaun Williams is penalised for a foul on Ayoub Assal, And AFC Wimbledon have been awarded a free kick in a promising position on the pitch, and from the resulting free kick, Paris Maghoma whips in a high and hanging cross and Jake Turner was able to save and gather the ball at the second attempt, and from here, AFC Wimbledon were able to create another goal-scoring opportunity, Jake Turner rolls the ball short to Elkan Baggott, And Elkan Baggott passes the ball down the line towards David Tutonda, And David Tutonda on the stretch passes the ball forwards towards Scott Kashket, who is fouled by Paris Maghoma, but play continue’s as Paris Maghoma runs forwards in possession of the ball before kicking the ball long down-field and Kyle Hudlin knocks the ball down towards Nathan Young-Coombes, and Nathan Young-Coombes see’s his driven effort towards goal brilliantly saved by Jake Turner, But had Nathan Young-Coombes opened the scoring for AFC Wimbledon, the goal would not have counted because Nathan Young-Coombes was flagged for offside.

And after the flag was raised for offside, both teams made a double substitution to freshen up there attacking options, For AFC Wimbledon, Ethan Chislett and Josh Davison both come on to replace Nathan Young-Coombes and Kyle Hudlin, And Mikael Mandron and Ben Reeves come on to replace Scott Kashket and Shaun Williams - Shaun Williams getting substituted suggests that Neil Harris is looking to protect the experienced midfielder for the away trip to Tranmere Rovers.

And having just come on to the football pitch, Ben Reeves is penalised for a foul on Ayoub Assal, and that foul saw a huge melee amongst players of both sides and AFC Wimbledon Supporters were calling for a sending off and Ben Reeves was booked for that challenge on Ayoub Assal, and there was a long stoppage because Referee Craig Hicks wanted to speak with his Assistant Down The Main Stand Side of The Pitch - And having re-watched the highlights, I think Ben Reeves is fortunate that only a booking was shown for the second challenge on Ayoub Assal, and from the resulting free kick, AFC Wimbledon had the chance to open the scoring, Paris Maghoma whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Mikael Mandron headers the ball partially clear and away from goal towards the edge of the penalty area and Isaac Ogundere’s first time effort towards goal clears Gillingham’s Crossbar by some considerable distance.

Lewis Walker was penalised for a foul on Paris Maghoma, And AFC Wimbledon have been awarded a free kick in a decent position on the pitch, and from the resulting free kick, Josh Davison whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross towards the back-stick and Will Nightingale and Mikael Mandron both challenge for the ball at the back-stick and Paul Kalambayi’s first time effort towards goal inside the six yard box went over the crossbar, and the ball has somehow gone out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick - Elkan Baggott may have done just about enough to put Paul Kalambayi off from opening the scoring for AFC Wimbledon - But had Paul Kalambayi’s effort on goal hit the target then AFC Wimbledon would have scored.

Seventy Three Minutes Into The Match, And Ethan Chislett threads a pass through to Jack Currie, And Cheye Alexandra not only manages to get a faint touch on the ball to divert the ball away from Jack Currie, But Cheye Alexandra kicks the ball against The AFC Wimbledon Player to win Gillingham A Goal-Kick, But In The Seventy Fourth Minute Of The Match, And AFC Wimbledon had the chance to open the scoring, Chris Gunter throws the ball down the line towards Josh Davison, who retains possession of the ball before passing the ball out-wide to Ethan Chislett and Ethan Chislett passes the ball back to Jack Currie who turns back on himself and runs into a more central position on the pitch, before switching the play to Will Nightingale down the main stand side of the pitch, And Will Nightingale runs forwards in possession of the ball before passing the ball forwards towards Ayoub Assal, and Ayoub Assal gets the ball under control before passing the ball back to George Marsh, And George Marsh takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball out-wide to Will Nightingale, And Will Nightingale takes a touch to control the ball before threading a pass through to Ayoub Assal inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And Ayoub Assal takes a touch to control the ball before eventually firing a low cross across Gillingham’s Six Yard Box, And Cheye Alexandra makes the vital clearance to clear the ball out of play for A AFC Wimbledon Corner Kick when it looked likely that Jack Currie was going to score for AFC Wimbledon - Great defending from Cheye Alexandra.

And from the resulting corner kick, Paris Maghoma whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Elkan Baggott wins the initial aerial challenge and Ayoub Assal gets the ball under control inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area and did Cheye Alexandra foul Ayoub Assal when The AFC Wimbledon Player was bundled down inside Gillingham’s Penalty Area ??? AFC Wimbledon Supporters believed that they had a case for a penalty, but AFC Wimbledon’s Penalty Appeals were waved away.

Ayoub Assal is then penalised for a foul on Jordan Green In AFC Wimbledon’s Final Third, And Gillingham have been awarded a free kick in a very promising position on the pitch, and from the resulting free kick, Will Wright has fired in a driven free kick across the face of goal towards the near post and Goalkeeper Nathan Broome makes the initial excellent save and Olly Lee and Mikael Mandron react to the loose ball and Mikael Mandron sticks the ball into the back of the net to give Gillingham the lead, and it was a free kick from Will Wright which saw Scott Kashket score the winning goal on Saturday against Rochdale, and it was a free kick from Will Wright which see’s Mikael Mandron open the scoring for Gillingham against AFC Wimbledon In This League Cup First Round Tie.

But Referee Craig Hicks went over to speak to the linesman and there is much discussion regarding if the goal is a goal or not, this is a massive call in deciding how this League Cup Tie is going to go, and after a minute of discussion, the offside flag goes up, much to the frustration from The Gillingham Supporters who were moments earlier celebrating Gillingham taking the lead against AFC Wimbledon, and even looking back at the replay of the goal, it is not clear cut if the goal is offside or not, but with Mikael Mandron’s goal being ruled out for offside, and the no penalty decision for David Tutonda, it does appear to be one of those day’s where decision’s are not going to be going in Gillingham’s Way, and depending on the result, will depend on the discussions about this offside decision, If AFC Wimbledon Win, Mandron’s Goal be disallowed will be a huge talking point, If Gillingham were to win, we still be talking about this decision, but we will be delighted that Gillingham have progressed into the second round of The League Cup.

AFC Wimbledon then make another change as David Fisher replaces Isaac Ogundere, and Gillingham still have Ryan Law, Bailey Akehurst and Joseph Gbode on the bench if Gillingham need to use up there two remaining substitutions, We spoke about Gillingham having six subs on the bench for Gillingham V Rochdale, and the strength of the substitutes bench has greater importance with the implementation of five substitutes In The Football League This Season.

And Jordan Green is penalised and booked for a late challenge on David Fisher, and from the resulting free kick, Will Nightingale’s long ball down-field is partially cleared by Max Ehmer and George Marsh’s long ball down-field is headed clear by Will Wright, and Elkan Baggott boots the ball clear and away from danger and Will Nightingale headers the ball down towards Ethan Chislett, who flicks the ball around the corner and Elkan Baggott and David Tutonda between the two of them clear the ball out of play for A AFC Wimbledon Throw On - It’s just getting a bit nervy and scrappy in Gillingham’s Defensive Final Third At The Moment.

Eighty Two Minutes Into The Match, And David Tutonda is penalised for a foul on Ayoub Assal right on the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, And From The Resulting Free Kick, AFC Wimbledon had the chance to open the scoring, Paris Maghoma whips in a dangerous in-swinging cross and Jordan Green headers the ball partially clear and away from goal and George Marsh’s driven effort towards goal clears Gillingham’s Crossbar and AFC Wimbledon are pushing for the goal which will surely be the winning goal now, whoever scores will win this League Cup First Round Cup Tie.

Eighty Four Minutes Into The Match, And Ryan Law comes on to replace David Tutonda, And because Gillingham have stopped the game three times, Bailey Akehurst and Joseph Gbode cannot come on, even though Gillingham have used four of our available five substitutions in this match, And AFC Wimbledon now have a throw on in Gillingham’s Final Third, And From The Resulting Throw, Ethan Chislett throws the ball short to George Marsh, And George Marsh passes the ball back to Paul Kalambayi, and Paul Kalambayi passes the ball back to Goalkeeper Nathan Broome, And Nathan Broome lays the ball off to Paul Kalambayi, and Paul Kalambayi passes the ball square to Will Nightingale, And Will Nightingale switches the play to Chris Gunter, And Chris Gunter takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball down the line towards Ethan Chislett, Ethan Chislett then runs inside into a more central position on the pitch before passing the ball through to George Marsh, And George Marsh passes the ball short to Ayoub Assal, and Ayoub Assal passes the ball through to David Fisher on the over-lap, And David Fisher stands the ball up towards the far post and Jack Currie’s Header towards goal is saved brilliantly and gathered by Jake Turner In Goal For Gillingham.

And from here, Jake Turner kicks the ball long down-field and Paul Kalambayi wins the aerial challenge up against Mikael Mandron and Ayoub Assal headers the ball on towards Josh Davison and Ben Reeves is on to the loose ball and Ben Reeves passes the ball back to Max Ehmer, And Max Ehmer passes the ball down the line towards Ben Reeves, And Ben Reeves back-heals the ball towards Elkan Baggott, And Elkan Baggott passes the ball inside to Max Ehmer, And Max Ehmer boots the ball long down-field and Will Nightingale headers the ball away and George Marsh kicks the ball into Gillingham’s Half Of The Pitch, And Elkan Baggott’s headed clearance drops to Ethan Chislett, and Ethan Chislett passes the ball square to Josh Davison, And Josh Davison is running forwards towards goal, And Josh Davison works his way into a shooting position before firing a driven effort towards goal which clears Gillingham’s Crossbar - And that was the chance for AFC Wimbledon to open the scoring!!!!!!!, And Gillingham need to hang on to penalties and hope we can take AFC Wimbledon to a penalty shoot-out and try and beat AFC Wimbledon on spot kicks, Because AFC Wimbledon look very likely to score the winning goal right at the end of this match.

Eighty Eight Minutes Into The Match, And Paris Maghoma is penalised for a poor challenge on Mikael Mandron, And Gillingham have a free kick here, and could Gills score a last gasp winner against AFC Wimbledon ??? - And from the resulting free kick, Cheye Alexandra passes the ball back to Will Wright, And Will Wright passes the ball back to Goalkeeper Jake Turner, And Jake Turner passes the ball short to Max Ehmer, And Max Ehmer passes the ball down the line towards Elkan Baggott, And Elkan Baggott takes a touch and passes the ball forwards towards Ben Reeves, And Ben Reeves lays the ball off to Ryan Law, And Ryan Law passes the ball inside to Olly Lee, And Olly Lee takes a touch to control the ball, and another touch to try and pick out Mikael Mandron with a long pass down-field, which is over-hit, and the ball goes out of play for A AFC Wimbledon Goal-Kick.

And it is from the resulting goal-kick where Gillingham take the lead, Goalkeeper Nathan Broome kicks the ball long down-field and Will Wright headers the ball forwards towards Jordan Green, who spins past Paris Maghoma and runs forwards in possession of the ball and Jordan Green is fouled by Ethan Chislett and Paul Kalambayi gets the ball half cleared and away from goal and Cheye Alexandra is first to the loose ball and passes the ball forwards to Mikael Mandron, And Mikael Mandron cuts inside into a more central position on the pitch, evades the attempted challenge from Paris Maghoma, And Mikael Mandron has culled the ball into the bottom left corner of the net and there is nothing that Goalkeeper Nathan Broome can do about that - AFC WIMBLEDON 0-1 GILLINGHAM.

Queue the incredible celebrations from The Gillingham Supporters in the away end at New Plough Lane and it is such a decent finish from Mikael Mandron, who had a goal ruled out for offside earlier on in the match, no offside flag this time, great strike, great goal, and maybe, just maybe, Gillingham have done enough to reach the second round of The League Cup without having to rely on the lottery of a penalty shoot-out.

And after that goal for Gillingham, AFC Wimbledon make there fourth substitution of the game as Quaine Bartley replaces George Marsh, Now it is all about seeing out the rest of this match for Gillingham and making sure that AFC Wimbledon do not score a equaliser, And just as we enter the ninety first minute and Gillingham have to defend for the remaining six additional minutes of stoppage time, Ben Reeves long ball down the line almost picked out Mikael Mandron, And Goalkeeper Nathan Broome comes rushing out of his penalty area to kick the ball clear and out of play for A Gillingham Throw On.

And From The Resulting Throw, Ryan Law throws the ball long down the line and Will Nightingale wins the initial aerial challenge, but the second ball drops kindly to Jordan Green on the edge of AFC Wimbledon’s Penalty Area, And Jordan Green out-muscles Paris Maghoma and Ethan Chislett and runs inside AFC Wimbledon’s Penalty Area in possession of the ball, And Jordan Green has cooly placed the ball into the back of the net with a very composed finish and there is nothing that Goalkeeper Nathan Broome can do about that - AFC WIMBLEDON 0-2 GILLINGHAM.

And that will do, that second goal from Jordan Green just gives Gillingham some much needed breathing space, and there is still plenty of time remaining, but with a two goal lead, Gillingham have put themselves in a very commanding position to progress into The Second Round Of The League Cup, However, even with that two goal advantage, AFC Wimbledon had the chance to half the deficit and set up a grand-stand finish, David Fisher has possession of the ball for AFC Wimbledon In Gillingham’s Final Third, And David Fisher runs into a more central position on the pitch and passes the ball square to Ethan Chislett, and Ethan Chislett takes a touch to control the ball before passing the ball out-wide to Jack Currie, And Jack Currie works his way into a decent crossing position, And Jack Currie whips in a fantastic cross and Quaine Bartley’s glancing header goes just wide of Gillingham’s Right Hand Post, If AFC Wimbledon had scored, it would have set up a very nervous final few minutes of the match and AFC Wimbledon should have scored with that chance as well.

And the final noteworthy moment of the match see’s Goalkeeper Nathan Broome kick the ball long down-field and after six additional minutes of added time, and thanks to late goals from Mikael Mandron and Jordan Green, Gillingham have progressed into the second round of The League Cup, Me, Charlie, Ben and quite a few others have spoken about The League Cup perhaps giving Gillingham the option to strengthen the squad, and I have mentioned to Diane a few times about Gillingham’s dreadful performances in cup competitions in The 2021 / 2022 Season, So to win against AFC Wimbledon and progress into The Second Round Of The League Cup is great to see.

FULL TIME: AFC WIMBLEDON 0-2 GILLINGHAM.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS.

If you were to compare and contrast leaving New Plough Lane after Gillingham lost the opening league game of the season 2-0, compared to leaving New Plough Lane after Gillingham won 2-0 In The League Cup, it is night and day, granted, everyone knows that this squad needs several reinforcements, but maybe those reinforcements are more likely depending on who Gillingham get in The League Cup Second Round Draw, and who do we want in that draw ??? - Southampton, Crystal Palace, Fulham, or Brighton & Hove Albion at home, and most of the supporters I spoke to wanted a home tie in Round Two, Because it meant it would be easier to travel to, what we were all keen to avoid were long distance away trips to Newport County and Forest Green Rovers, but the one thing we were all in agreement was this, whoever Gillingham get, at least we are in The Second Round Draw, and we are not watching the draw thinking Gillingham would have got this team had we won against AFC Wimbledon.

The draw has happened since then, Gillingham V Exeter City, OK, It’s not the money spinning cup tie against Southampton or Crystal Palace we were hoping for, but it is a home tie, and credit to Paul Fisher for making tickets as cheap as possible because £10 for A Adult Ticket is a very good price, and it took almost the entirety of last season for Gillingham to do a ticket deal, so to do a ticket deal for The Exeter City Cup Tie should be applauded and congratulated, But Exeter City are favourites going into this tie, Exeter City are The League One Side, Exeter City have started this season strongly and they have got a decent record at Priestfield Stadium, this match will not be easy at all.

We got back on the coach, ready for the short trip back to Kent, and once everyone was back on the coach, we were on our way back home, celebrating Gillingham’s 2-0 win against AFC Wimbledon, and looking forward to who Gillingham get in The Second Round Of The League Cup, But the mid-week fixtures are coming thick and fast with Harrogate Town, Exeter City and Charlton Athletic all mid-week fixtures, and with a small first team squad, the quick turnaround in matches means that Gillingham need to add reinforcements to the squad.

STAT - Gillingham’s 1-0 and 2-0 wins against Rochdale and AFC Wimbledon were the first back to back wins and back to back clean sheets since 2020, that is a horrible stat.

Man Of The Match Is Jake Turner, kept the score-line goal-less for the first half, and in the second half, Jake Turner made a number of important saves to prevent AFC Wimbledon from opening the scoring and Jake Turner starts in goal for me when Gillingham play against Exeter City, and I am sure that Jake Turner will start in goal for Gillingham against Charlton Athletic In The Football League Trophy as well.

Mikael Mandron and Jordan Green scored there first goals of the season, just days after Scott Kashket scored the winner against Rochdale, It’s important that our attacking players get the first goal and get up and running as early as possible in the season, And maybe Scott Kashket, Jordan Green, Mikael Mandron, Olly Lee, Ben Reeves and Lewis Walker will share the goals, rather then one player scoring fifteen to twenty goals a season, although, Gillingham do need to sign another winger and striker to really strengthen Gillingham’s attacking options, because it was the lack of depth in the squad and lack of game changers on the bench which were one of many reasons why Gillingham were relegated on the final day of The 2021 / 2022 Season.

The Youth Team were in Spain, but still had time to watch AFC Wimbledon V Gillingham, Co-Chairman Paul Fisher was delighted with Gillingham’s result against AFC Wimbledon, And Paul Fisher has spoken about getting the player recruitment spot on and we may well have to wait a few more days to get our preferred transfer target and our support on Tuesday Night was appreciated, I think we have heard more comments and more communication from Paul Fisher  then we have heard from The Chairman, yes we had The Chairman Chats Video Clips, but those video clips kept talking about The Factory and The GFC School, and very early on in his tenure as Co-Chairman, Paul Fisher is talking about player recruitment, which is what supporters are thinking about first and foremost.

A Win, A Clean Sheet, Through To The Second Round Of The League Cup, players got game-time who needed a runout, It’s two wins in a row, and there is some positivity building at the football club, but the fixtures are coming thick and fast, and hopefully, Gillingham can build on this momentum with wins against Tranmere Rovers, Harrogate Town and Walsall - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!

[alaffy]

The Gilded Age, Ep.5 – Charity has Two Functions (Spoilers)

Nathan Lane, it’s Nathan Lane!  ….And he’s gone.  

Still, it looks like this won’t be a one-off cameo, so that’s good.  Starting again with the downstairs; we have two types of storylines going on with them.  One type involves the intrigues of those upstairs and the other is, I guess, a way to get to know these characters?  The second type of storyline needs to go.

Take, for example, in this episode.  We have the ongoing story about Turner, Ms. Russel’s maid.  Turner tried to seduce George and, seeing as how that failed, she’s now become a spy in the house for Oscar.  Now, this is a very interesting storyline because it advances the plot.  

On the other hand, we have the…thing with Armstrong.  From the little time we’ve spent with this character we know she’s a Lady’s Maid and a racist.  But, in this episode, we spend somewhere between 5-10 minutes learning that, on her days off, she goes and takes care of her mother.  And that her mother is pretty nasty towards her and nobody knows. Okay?  Maybe if we had spent more time with the characters downstairs I’d feel something about this.  But, right now, these little scenes they’ve had in each episode just seem to stop the story.  Maybe this is something that should have been done second season, after the characters have had more screen time.

Well, Birtha is definitely making her way into society.  Mrs. Morris, understandably, is unhappy about this.  However, it’s clear Mrs. Morris has no idea how to pick her battles.  As she manages to insult Bertha, just before everyone finds out Bertha is about to receive accolades for her donation; and is very prejudicial towards Peggy in front of Clara Barton, who clearly does not approve of such behavior.  Mrs. Morris didn’t do herself any favors for showing up to this event.  Good.

Also, is Bertha Irish? Because, if so, that line about being a “potato digger’s daughter,” takes on a whole different meaning.  

I also like that they show that Clara Barton isn’t a fool.  She knows she’s being used to climb the social ladder.  But, hey, so long as it benefits her cause….why not?

Marion is Marion.

I feel sorry for Georgia. I get that, in that day and age, who a young woman married was basically the biggest thing in her life.  If you don’t have a good husband, you reliant on the good will of your family (like Adia).   However, Bertha’s got to start being realistic.  Georgia needs to be able to have some say in her own relationships. Also, and I hate to say this, but back then if a young woman wasn’t married by a certain age….if Bertha doesn’t allow Georgia to come out soon, she might not have any prospects to consider.

I wonder if Peggy’s falling out with her father has to do with this young man Peggy was involved with. I’m also glad to see Peggy seems to be a regular in the newspaper now.  I want to see her succeed.  It’s also interesting to see the relationship between Peggy and Agnes.  I feel as though Agnes sees something in Peggy that Agnes wishes she could have been.  While we don’t know all the details, we do know that Agnes had to make some pretty terrible sacrifices (as it sounds like her husband was abusive) in order to make sure that she and her sister weren’t left out on the streets.  So, when she sees that Peggy is working hard to make a life for herself and not one someone is trying to make for her, well, she wants to give her the opportunity to do so. I also think she realizes that Marion is just too naïve and too stubborn to listen to her Aunt (not that Marion should always listen to Agnes, but there are times…).  I think Agnes is also hoping that Peggy will be able to knock some sense into that girl (which, good luck there).  

[mg-bsl381]

The Greatest Surprise

I loved Patrick’s words about his family and 7.4 but one line caused me to wonder exactly what he meant.  This story gives my interpretation of that line.

I hope you like it.

The Greatest Surprise

 To many outsiders the arrival of little Teddy was the greatest surprise of the Turner family, maybe even to Shelagh herself but not to Patrick.  Oh Teddy was definitely a surprise and dare he even say it, a miracle. Not something a man of science such as himself found easy to admit.  How else do you explain something that medical science has no explanation for?

 Patrick had talked about his family to Mumtaz Gani, although her situation was very different to his own.  Yes, he’d had two wives but not at the same time.  He talked about the elements that made up his own unique family.  Three children from different circumstances but all equally loved.  He and Shelagh had created a happy family and although it had not been an easy journey with some ups and downs.  He shuddered to remember it but there was that decidedly rocky patch that nearly undid them following the adoption interview.  He couldn’t help but glance at Sister Julienne when he referred to his family as not necessarily average.  She knew all about his family as she’d been there from the beginning.

 Patrick thought back to the beginning.  It was hard to do as the start was veiled in the mists of time and unknowing.  With Marianne it had been different.  They’d met and realised after a very short space of time there was both compatibility and attraction so the path of love and marriage ran smoothly.  With Shelagh nothing followed the traditional ways of courtship.  It was a while before he realised the restlessness of his heart that eased when she was near was love.  He’d been in love before but this was so subtle and so gentle.  

 A shared cigarette and a desire to linger in her company had been the moment when he fully realised that his heart belonged to her.  As she walked away he felt a sense of absolute rightness but also a feeling of insanity creeping through him.  He had smiled to himself.  He loved her but she could never love him.  She was Sister Bernadette, a woman who had chosen to live apart from the world in service to God.  She would never give that up and even if she did, it wouldn’t be for a man like him.  

 That morning when he returned home he looked at himself in the bathroom mirror.  The face that stared back at him had dark rings beneath the eyes from lack of sleep.  There were lines too, from worry and exhaustion and his poor diet probably didn’t help either.  A man could not sustain a healthy lifestyle on a diet of fish and chips, fried bread, pies, tea and cigarettes.  He thought of her, with such pale unblemished skin and those blue eyes that sparkled with brilliance.  He was fooling himself that there was anything more to her feelings than regard for a colleague.

 There was something else though that evaded his rational thoughts.  Her openness in those little snippets about herself.  That peculiar talk about faith after baby Kelly’s death.  The other nuns didn’t do that nor did he want them to.  Only Sister Bernadette filled his thoughts and his dreams.  He longed to see her.  She was his oasis in the desert.  To him she symbolised life.  He had been mired in sickness and grief for so long and it was an arid, lonely place to be. When Timothy hurt his arm and turned up unannounced at the clinic, Patrick felt the weight of fatherhood and loneliness cloud around him.  Sister Bernadette’s soothing countenance was like a gentle breeze dissipating the clouds letting him see clearly.  He had wanted to hug her in relief that she had shifted the burden of care onto her slender shoulders.  Instead he thanked her and returned to his patient anything more would be considered inappropriate.

 It was only after a discussion over clinic supplies and a moment of rashness when he kissed her hand that Patrick realised the impossible might actually have happened. He thought he believed that Sister Bernadette might love him but he was in limbo as to what might happen in the future.

 Their subsequent meetings were filled with an unaccustomed awkwardness that saddened him. He used to have such a good rapport with Sister Bernadette but now their interactions were stilted and tense.  The only moment of relief was after presenting their case before the board.  There was a moment of shared euphoria that made Patrick’s heart soar then Sister Bernadette scurried away and he was left to forlornly follow in her wake.  The shared endeavour of the X-ray van united them in common purpose and it was a glorious day.  That was shattered with the revelation that Sister Bernadette was one of the unlucky ones.  He would never forget the events of that evening.  The look of shock that clouded her eyes and the silent examination when the only audible sound was her breathing in and out.  The crackles in her lungs screeched through his earpieces and he knew he might lose her forever.

 The next few months were unrelenting agony for Patrick.  Although he wrote countless letters to Sister Bernadette, he received none in return.  He grasped at the tiny morsels of information that came his way.  He was desperate to hear about her but wary of letting his true feelings be revealed.  Only the person who knew him best had an insight into his inner torment but not the cause of his suffering.  Timothy’s words about Granny Parker’s description of him was uncannily accurate but did nothing to ease the pain of separation.

 A note addressed to Timothy was a simple thing but to Patrick it was colossal.  Her words were tantalising but maddeningly her exact meaning was just out of his reach.  He felt buoyed up by knowing his letters had reached her.  Due course was infinite in his eyes but Patrick knew he had to carry on being patient.

 It was late October and the chill of autumn was seeping into winter when the telephone rang in his office.  Her voice was unexpected but more than welcome.  He had wanted to keep on talking but work as always intervened. He had driven with Timothy out of the city, down country lanes searching in a landscape that seemed be swallowed by the fog.  Her slight figure looked tinier than ever in a suit so that he wasn’t immediately sure it was actually her.  It was and his brain raced to comprehend the meaning of her clothing.  Her direct gaze was astounding and told him more than her words ever could.  Her words spoke of certainties and he knew without a doubt that he was part of her future.

 After four years of marriage and two more children, they had created a new family.  It didn’t matter to Patrick or Shelagh that things had been slightly unconventional and continued to be.  It was their family and they loved it.  

 Patrick thought back remembering what he’d said that night.  “At least one major surprise”, yes, of course Teddy was one but the other was far greater and in his mind more special.  The greatest surprise to Patrick was not their miracle baby boy but Shelagh herself.  He would never cease to be amazed and delighted by her.  It was a surprise when he admitted to himself that he had fallen in love with Sister Bernadette but the most wondrous thing of all was that she fell in love with him.

[aion-rsa]

Good Girls Recap: What Happened to Rio, is Boomer Dead and More

https://ift.tt/3857USq

NBC series Good Girls is a darkly comic crime romp which plays like Ozark meets Breaking Bad but with a bunch of mums. Christina Hendrix stars as alpha mother Beth, who is bored of her seemingly perfect life, while her little sister Annie (Mae Witman) is an irresponsible single mum who works at a grocery store. With Beth’s best friend Ruby (Retta), who needs money to pay for meds for her daughter who has kidney problems, the women go down an increasingly dark criminal path.

The season one pilot introduced the premise: Beth, Annie and Ruby decide to rob the store that Annie works in when they find themselves in dire financial states. Annie thinks there’s around 30k in the safe which would be enough to bail each of them out. But when they count the cash it’s closer to half a million.

Turns out that money belongs to shady gangster Rio (Manny Montana) – Annie’s dodgy boss Boomer (David Hornsby) had been turning a blind eye to money laundering via the store. Rio is not happy and he wants his money back. Unfortunately the trio have spent quite a chunk, in particular Annie who’s blown it on a new car, laptop, phone etc.

Now they have to work with Rio, initially retrieving ‘a package’ for him from Canada, which turns out to be laundered money, then taking care of an injured associate and then helping Rio ‘wash’ the laundered cash.

The structure of the show tends to see the girls come up with a cunning new way to make/launder money (or a stupid one like doing another robbery) and then inadvertently promise one criminal or another a ridiculous amount of cash to fix whatever mess they have found themselves in, meaning they are constantly grifting but never really have any meaningful, stable, available cash.

And of course criminal activities of this scale don’t go unnoticed. Family members, former bosses, employees and the cops grow suspicious as the noose tightens around the accidental suburban gangster mums network.

Here’s where we are left at the end of season three…

Is Boomer Dead?

No! Or rather, probably not. Boomer as you will recall was Annie’s awful boss at the Fine and Frugal where she worked. During the initial robbery he clocks her back tattoo and attempts to blackmail her into sleeping with him. When she won’t he tries to rape her, but Beth interupts and attacks him. The two women tie him up and keep him in a tree house but he escapes. 

Boomer is a perpetual pain in the ass for the women, discovering their money laundering racket with their army of shoppers and blackmailing Mary Pat (Allison Tolman) to marry him (who in turn had been blackmailing the girls). 

Beth offers Boomer a pay-off to disappear but instead he goes to the cops who put him in witness protection. Mary Pat manages to coax his location out of him and the girls head there with the intention of killing him, but tired of waiting for Mary Pat, he turns up at her place. When she tries to get away from him with her kids she accidentally – and then not accidentally – runs him over. She tells Beth, Annie and Ruby that she then cut him up and put him in the freezer. They get rid of the (packaged up) body at a massive tip.

Read more

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Though we spend much of season two believing that Boomer is dead, with Beth, Annie and Ruby in the frame for his murder (Mary Pat goes to the cops), and Rio hiding the body before the police can track it down and later using it to blackmail them, a shock revelation occurs toward the end of the season. Boomer’s not dead!!! Instead the body belonged to Mary Pat’s ex-husband Jeff who died of natural causes. Mary Pat hid the body so she could continue to collect his disability cheques.

Boomer’s been hiding in his grandma’s attic but she persuades him to come clean to stop Beth going to jail for his murder.

In season three Boomer is back. We learn he got a load of face tattoos before he went to jail (presumably for faking his own death and for his part in the Fine and Frugal money laundering operation). He pops back up in season three when Rio sends the women to pick up another ‘package’ – Boomer had set a fire and broken out of prison on Rio’s command.

The last time we see Boomer he’s in a sports bag in the custody of Rio and his men. We’d expect him back in season four in some capacity.

Beth and Rio

Part of the fun of the show is the fizzy relationship between Beth and Rio. He excites her, she fascinates him and there’s crazy sexual tension between the two which is consummated more than once. Though Beth ‘ends’ things with Rio – both professionally and romantically, the fact that he has hidden Boomer’s body (which is actually Jeff’s body – see above) to help the women out means he’s able to blackmail them into washing more money for him. He’s not going to let Beth go.

However, their relationship deteriorates fast after Beth shoots Rio. At the end of season two Rio abducts her and gives her a chance to shoot the officer who has been pursuing her, Agent Turner (James Lesure), but instead she turns the gun on Rio leaving him to bleed out.

Or so she thought… season three reveals he’s not dead – Agent Turner called an ambulance and saved his life with the agreement that he would become Turner’s informant. Not one to be controlled by someone else, Rio callously murders Turner. The case against Beth is derailed but Rio is hardly going to let her get away with trying to kill him. 

Faking a pregnancy Beth buys herself a bit more time, while establishing their own very successful money laundering business with the help of naive designer Lucy (Charlyne Yi), who Rio later murders.

The tension between Rio and Beth in series three is less sexual and more ‘who is going to kill whom first?’

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Dean buys a gun and plans to have a go at killing Rio but Beth dissuades him. Lucy’s boyfriend Max decides he’s definitely going to kill Rio after he discovers what happened to Lucy, but he bottles it at the last minute. He says he has a cousin who might be able to help but he too isn’t the man for the job. Eventually they meet enigmatic professional hitman Mr. Fitzpatrick (Andrew McCarthy), who demands an extortionate fee to do the job. Fortunately the money laundering means they are able to scrape together the cash. Unfortunately Fitzpatrick has a ‘no crimes of passion’ policy which means that when he finds out about Beth and Rio’s former affair, their contract is void – and the women still owe him for a load of outlandish expenses.

By the end of the series, though, Fitzgerald has put Rio’s hit back on his schedule after Beth proves she’s serious about killing him. 

Annie and her boyfriends

Poor old Annie doesn’t have a massive amount of luck in her love life. Reuniting with her ex-, Sadie/Ben’s (Isaiah Stannard) father Gregg (Zach Gilford), while his new wife is pregnant turned out to be a bad move which alienated her from Sadie. Later Annie dates her new boss at the Fine and Frugal, Noah (Sam Huntington) who seems great, until she finds out he’s FBI. In season three the object of her affection is Josh (Rob Heaps), a child therapist she meets when she’s sent to see an actual adult therapist. Josh becomes her therapist but she’s clearly falling for him. He has a girlfriend already (Lila) that he’s been with for many years and Annie attempts, but fails, to seduce him. 

Sadie/Ben

Annie’s kid who went by Sadie tells Annie in season two he’s a boy, and we understand that Annie wants money to help Sadie transition (there’s a reference made to particular drugs). In season three Sadie now goes by Ben which Annie accepts wholeheartedly, as does his dad Gregg, while Gregg’s second wife Nancy struggles initially to remember to call him Ben, and then overdoes it somewhat. While in season three Annie is struggling to get her life together, Ben is increasingly responsible and looks after his mum, including explaining to Annie’s new therapist Josh that she will become too attached and he mustn’t lead her on.

New business

Thinking Rio is gone, Beth, Annie and Ruby embark on their own independent money laundering operation while doing normal jobs on the side, each of which contribute to the business. Ruby works in a nail salon and pinches materials, including a particular shade of polish, Annie does valet parking and gets tipped in one dollar bills which they use for the paper while Beth works at a card and stationary shop which has its own printing press.

Once they get the design right (via Lucy) and the color and texture combo right, laundering money in high enough volumes to cover their increasing costs becomes a challenge. Getting actual criminals involved doesn’t work out especially well either.

When Rio is back on the scene everything gets way more precarious – he even sends a heavy to watch Beth’s house. Eventually Beth, Ruby and Annie are printing and washing the money themselves and still having to give a cut to Rio.

Constantly striving for independence, by the end of season three the ever resourceful Beth has come up with a new plan. She and husband Dean (Matthew Lillard) have bought the whole spa business he works for at a cut price (after she robs the place of all its merchandise). They will print the fake cash and use the spa business to wash it. 

Though she’s built her own fully functioning criminal enterprise by the end of season three Beth is still beholden to Rio. “When is it going to be mine?” she asks him. “You should have emptied the clip” he replies indicating that she won’t be free from him until he’s dead.

Meanwhile, Ruby and Stan (Reno Wilson) come to an agreement that they just won’t tell each other about their dubious occupations – Stan is working as security in a strip club, Ruby is… well you know. The situation works at first but begins to put real strain on their marriage, though by the end of season three the two are united.

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New cops

Turner may be gone but there are new cops working the case – notably Agent Phoebe Donnegan (Lauren Lapkus) the slightly Columbo-esque dorky but dogged detective who begins to crack down on the group’s counterfeiting business. She deduces early on that it’s women running things, and follows the trail to Ruby via the charity manicure and pedicure event she organises (as a front to get her hands on supplies of the very specific color of nail polish she needs for the fake cash). Agent Donnegan has swiped Ruby’s phone while getting her nails done and found it full of pictures of her, Beth and Annie, tipping her off to the fact that Ruby’s not in it alone. Chances are she’ll be the main antagonist for the three in season four.

Good Girls season four will air on NBC from March 7

The post Good Girls Recap: What Happened to Rio, is Boomer Dead and More appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2MFDSgH

[lifeofkaze]

[Haha, I reblogged and commented on the wrong chapter xD let's try again]

*takes a deep breath* Okay, so. I finally fought myself through this monster of a chapter and I have so. many. thoughts. Oh my God. I actually copied this into a Google doc so I could make comments as I go because there is no way I would have been able to remember everything that way. First things first, this was so good. I'm so invested in the story of the Founders and how it translates to the Vaults. I was *really* scared when I saw the sheer size of this chapter and read in the A/N that it's world-building-info dumping as you put it, but not at all. I had problems keeping everything we learned about Rakepick's past in the previous chapter but the pacing here was impeccable. Quick enough to not lose momentum but slow enough to let everything sink in.

Let's see..

Let's start with Slytherin's library. I like meeting Lane (for me, it was the first time) and I liked that the way her voice always remains low and calm reminded me of how guarded Carewyn always is, even when she's excited. The atmosphere was great and just imagine hearing the words of a person who's been dead for a millenium already, even if it's not his voice. Btw, Salazar was a smart cookie for inventing the world's first translation app xD

I'm just going through this, so I might repeat myself and it's all over the place btw. I found it interesting how Salazar referred to Godric as arrogant, ignorant and delusional when it comes to Muggleborns. This is basically what everyone is saying about him. And it repeats later; as wrong as he is in his views on purebloods, you made it so that you can feel that this isn't out of maliciousness but because he truly and deeply believes he's right and it's for the best. And although he is hurt and feels misunderstood by his friends, he still has noble intentions in finding a solution for their problem. Quite a writing feat, my dear.

I like that it's palpable that Salazar and Godric were really good friends and cared for each other. It's sad to see what happened with their houses and legacies over the centuries.

Haha, I love Duncan, he's a real mood. But it tugged at my heartstrings how he still tried to help and do something on his own even after he died. It's those little side comments that make so much of your writing, the same with Beatrice suggesting moving the statues, Barnabey being so cute and naive or Merula being snarky even in the face of danger. It adds so much to the credibility.

When they first entered the inner Vault, the atmosphere blew me away again. It was like when you visit a historical site and enter a tomb, this heavy, heavy silence hanging in the air when you know not a word has been spoken in this air in centuries and you're almost afraid to even whisper. My heart started beating when they received the warnings from the Founders.

One thing that struck me most about this chapter was the dedication to language. The research it must have taken! But I'm so glad you did it and let everyone speak a different language as well. It's so realistic and stands out to me SO much.

The statues in general was a great idea. Adding them wearing the objects that were bound to become Horcruxes was a nice touch, too. I love theses little "I see what you did there" moments so much. The warnings they gave were chosen well, because every line fit the respective personalities of the Founders I think. Also, the simple "Beware" had something of the Mines of Moria from LotR to me, the atmosphere of impending danger was the same.

I had to chuckle a bit at Rowena's text... if it's so important for people to understand, maybe make it less cryptic, Lady Ravenclaw? Seems like Slytherin took they're shared brain cell with him when he left. But it makes sense for her, seeing as how highly she regarded wits beyond measure.

Thank you for that Timer Turner mention. I always wondered about the restrictions of them and thought something along the lines. Makes sense.

Being a proud Hufflepuff, I LOVE that throughout Helga kind of was the most clever one in her practicality, leaving her memories behind to the point that she gave CLEAR instructions in talking to herself. CLEVER MAMA HUFFLEPUFF <3

The idea of needing one person from each House to access the Cetus is amazing. Not only because of the symbolism but also - how likely would it be to have a Hufflepuff, a Gryffindor, a Slytherin and a Ravenclaw present when trying to access the pillar? Smart cookies, these Founders, smart cookies.

Another thing that made me chuckle was how shocked all her friends were when Carewyn wanted to go into the pensieve. Like, really? You're still surprised at this point? xD

I said it before, you did a great job in making the Founders *human* and I love that. That Gryffindor and Slytherin had such a high regard for each other and that BOTH had good (Salazar remembering Helga's birthday made me go "aaaaaw") and bad sides (yes! Gryffindor's sword wasn't grown on the pumpkin patch, thank you for saying it!). That they saw each other as equals is such a nice message that got twisted so badly.

Amazing idea to go into the white magic/love sacrifice thing. Funny to see Salazar knew about it's power and was interested in it when it was exactly this that led to his heir's downfall a millenium later because he didn't care. Also this remark about the dark wizard being brought down by it being funny... haha the shade xD

Oh God, only halfway through, I'm so sorry....

I adore your description of the Cetus and how it possessed the young girl. Utterly creepy but so scenic, I could see it right in front of me. The remark that the Cetus was basically a creature and can't really help it... that broke my heart a little. It reminded me of the obscurials from the Fantastic Beasts stories.

The action in this scene was so perfectly pulled through, like in the first chapter I could see the whole fight happening, gasping at all the right places while reading.

What broke my heart for real was Godric dying, and it did so on so many levels. Him truly believing it would end it. His friends rushing to find him but only coming upon his dead body. Helga screaming and crying over him and Salazar... Salazar being just this one tiny bit too late and learning how his health declined after. The pointless deaths are the hardest to stomach and this hurts. Ouch.

The scene with Helga got me really emotional. You can feel how sorry she is and the regret she feels for leaving future generations with such a burden. Thank you for making her more than this matronly witch who was "only" the fourth Founder, just like Hufflepuff so often is "only" the fourth House where everyone goes who doesn't fit.

The last scene of this chapter was amazing. You built the tension so incredibly well, my heart started beating fast as I was waiting with them for R to draw nearer, knowing they could be here any moment. This moment when time starts stretching and you can't take it anymore until the tension bursts. And I love that it didn't burst into a moment or last relief initially but was sad and regretting induced by Duncan's lovely speech and only changed into something positive after.

That being said, the way you instantly flipped the mood by cutting the last words of the song off with the sound against the door. Wow. That was masterful. Letting them finish would never have the same impact, being ripped from it brings them back into the situation with the exact brutality that you need to carry for the unfolding finale.

The last moment before the storm, when Rakepick starts singing with Carey almost made me cry. I cannot tell you why, there wasn't one particular moment or sentence that tipped me over but the sheer atmosphere and raw emotional power did the trick. That's some great writing right there.

*sigh* Long chapter, long comment, you called for it xD I really hope we get to read the finale to this wonderful fic (because this is definitely not a ficlet anymore, sweetheart xD) eventually! I'm too invested now.

Ficlet: This’ll Be the Day that I Die [Part 3]

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YES! AT LONG LAST WE HAVE PART THREE! *collapses* Geezus, this took forever! Prepare for something long and stuffed to the brim with exposition and world-building…hopefully wrapped up in an entertaining package, but even so. I had a lot of fun trying to explore the characterization of the four Founders of Hogwarts – although Slytherin is easily the worst of the batch as the resident blood purity nut, it was still fun to try to give him depth the same way I have Rakepick. It was also fun to give some spotlight to Carewyn and Jacob’s magical historian mother, Lane Cromwell! And my precious ghost boy Duncan. ^.^

I apologize in advance for my horrid Old English, Welsh, and Norse: take any translations I’ve done with a grain of salt, I profess no great knowledge of any of them. XD; I did do a good amount of historical research for this, though, so the pieces of that I integrated in should hopefully make the whole thing feel that bit more real, disregarding the magic and dangerous Dark creatures.

Thank you to those of you who reblogged/commented on the last part – @samshogwarts @dat-silvers-girl @mizutoyama @ruby-and-opal-withers @missnight0wl @that-ravenpuff-witch @weasley-adoptee @cursebreakerelmswood @nightrhea-hphm​ and @wandsandrings​! If you haven’t read the first two parts, I’d highly suggest you do so, as I fear you might be completely and totally lost otherwise. XDD And…yeah, I hope you all enjoy it! Please consider liking/reblogging/commenting if you do, and hopefully part 4 (which will be the last part) will take MUCH less time than this one did to finish!! xoxo

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

While Patricia Rakepick had told her tale to Carewyn, Jacob, and the Circle of Khanna, the battle at the Black Lake had raged, with the Hogwarts professors – led by Heads of House Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, Pomona Sprout, and Filius Flitwick – defending both the Lake and the castle from the forces of R. In the midst of the battle, Fawkes the phoenix was sent to the skies to track down his master, Albus Dumbledore, and bring him back to the school at once.

The reason Albus Dumbledore had left Hogwarts none of the teachers had known – for the night hadn’t really gone as Dumbledore himself had originally foreseen either.

In the Fenlands of East Anglia, out of open night air, appeared two figures in the high grass surrounding a modest reservoir. One was very tall with a long, white beard, a pointed dark blue velvet hat, and flowing robes the color of a robin’s egg and flecked with gold dust. The other was much smaller with shoulder-length blond hair, an off-white sweater with a chunky purple line zigzagged across the chest, and faded jeans tucked into a pair of scuffed-up black boots. This smaller figure released the taller wizard’s arm as he glanced around.

“Quite deserted, as to be expected,” said Albus Dumbledore. Once he gave another look around at the stars twinkling over head, he indicated the skyline to his right. “If my navigation is correct, I’d say our destination should be about a hundred paces from here.”

The smaller woman nodded politely, before immediately setting off at a brisk walk. It was impressive that a man so much older than her was able to keep step, given how quickly she moved. As she walked, she kept her wand at her side in her right hand and a very worn scroll close to her chest in the other.

Within a few minutes the pair had reached what appeared to be an old brick warehouse. It was deserted – it was so late that anyone who worked there had no doubt already headed home for the day.

Dumbledore and his traveling companion approached the back of the warehouse, both raising their wands. They silently lit them, looking down at the muddy, wet marshland just underneath the stilts and platform holding the warehouse up and out of the water.

“I daresay Salazar Slytherin would seal any records in such a way that only a fellow Parselmouth could open it,” said Dumbledore airily.

The witch nodded.

“I haven’t been able to study Parseltongue very thoroughly,” she spoke in a very soft, almost wispy sort of voice, and yet it was low enough in her throat that she clearly felt no fear or hesitation, “but I know what password Salazar would use – ”

Taking three striding steps forward, the blond-haired witch approached the edge of the marshland, the light from her wand creating dark shadows around her narrowed almond-shaped blue eyes. She opened her mouth and let out a messy cluster of hissing sounds.

At once, there was a rumbling under their feet. One by one, a set of stones burbled out of the murky water, pushing it aside, and formed a long set of cracked gray and black stairs that spiraled down in a wide spiral around and then under the brick warehouse and marshlands.

Dumbledore gave the witch a dewy smile. “Most impressive, Lane, my dear. What phrase was it that Slytherin chose, may I ask?”

“’As pure as the driven snow,’” answered Lane Cromwell, her soft voice sounding rather cool.

“Ah,” said Dumbledore, his own dreamy tone betraying some disgust despite himself, “for that was what Slytherin liked to think he was, in both blood and character. Very good.”

Holding his lit Elder wand aloft, the Hogwarts Headmaster led the way down the wet, cracked stone stairs, down into the depths of the shallow reservoir and then below it, under the ground. The murky water they passed was frozen in place almost as perfectly as the stone and earth under it.

At last they reached the base of the stairs and the small chamber it opened up into. Despite its modest size, it boasted a rather tall ceiling, as well as many completely filled bookcases full of dusty scrolls and books. In the far corner was a very old chair carved out of blackthorn wood, and in the very center of the room was a podium made out of marble, with beautifully intricate carvings of silvery, emerald-eyed serpents slithering up the base.

“Remarkable,” mused Dumbledore. “The library looks to be in very good condition, for its supposed age. This place likely hasn’t seen a living soul since Slytherin first abandoned it, oh…nine hundred and fifty years ago, wouldn’t you say?”

“Nine hundred and sixty-six,” said Lane gravely. “Since the day it was announced that Godric Gryffindor had passed away. But it’s very possible Salazar’s descendants may have come down here to check on this place over the years, to maintain it…at least until the last of them left the Fenlands, back in the seventeenth century…”

She tucked the scroll she was carrying in the waist of her jeans as she approached the podium. Bending down, the magical historian trailed a hand along the gleaming serpents carved into the podium.

“…This isn’t silver,” she realized. “It’s platinum.”

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. “A rather rare stone to find here, in Britain.”

“Yes, but it’s been well-documented that Salazar traveled to South and Central America in his young adulthood…the forests there are the only place he could have found the type of snakewood used to make his wand. And platinum would’ve been much more easily found in South America, during that period – the Spanish conquistadors found quite a bit of it themselves, when they arrived there in the eighteenth century searching for gold. But these stones…they weren’t carved naturally. Judging by the angles here – and here, as well…it’s clear that this was constructed with magic. There’s even magic inlaid in the emeralds, judging by the slight discoloration around the edges – very true to magical artifacts of that time period…”

It was striking how Lane’s volume never seemed to rise, even despite the passion in her voice. The magical historian’s blue eyes narrowed as she rose to her feet again and frowned at the podium.

“Salazar clearly created this podium with a special purpose in mind,” she said slowly, “more than just decoration…but I’m not sure what that purpose would be.”

“Perhaps I might be able to discern that.”

With a little nod, Dumbledore took a step toward the podium; Lane politely moved aside so that the Headmaster could examine it himself. He trailed a hand over the marble, looking over the carvings himself; he tapped the podium with his wand in several places and cast several silent, experimental spells. At last, he trailed his wand along the snake carved into the right-hand side of the base.

In an instant, the carved snakes began to glow, silvery light rippling out of their platinum grooves. Short, almost pulsing flashes of green flickered out of their eyes, and a voice seemed to echo throughout the room.

“Secgan! Ic dôð rôf Salazar Slytherin, ûphêah orgilde duguð cýf ealdefæder orgilde Hogwarts Stellan râd Foretâc.”

The voice was low, almost like a hiss, but as fierce as a king giving an order. Lane also noted a unique, rather beautiful accent, though it was hard to place exactly what kind.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow curiously. “‘Speak,’ you say? Hmm…”

Trailing his wand along the carved serpent again, he spoke very firmly,

“I am Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore – Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”

The serpents’ emerald eyes stopped pulsing, their light locked in place. There was an ominous hissing, and then another voice bounded off the walls of the small room – it was Albus Dumbledore’s voice, echoing back at them in perfect clarity, speaking words the Headmaster had never said.

“Speak! I am the great Salazar Slytherin, one of the four noble Founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”

Lane couldn’t hold back a gasp. Dumbledore beamed at Lane.

“It seems we have something of a translating magic here,” he said in an airy kind of amusement. “Upon hearing my response, the podium has repeated the phrase it greeted us with in my voice and language.”

Lane’s eyes, identical in color and shape to her children Carewyn and Jacob’s, lit up.

“Then this podium…would be able to translate anything written by Salazar Slytherin into Modern English?” she said excitedly, though again, her emotions couldn’t manage to make her voice any louder.

“Yes,” said Dumbledore. “It seems that, for all of his faults, Salazar Slytherin was at least shrewd enough to discern that language changes rapidly over time. Any descendants of his might have difficulty understanding his writings, without such a measure.”

Lane immediately descended on the shelves of scrolls and books.

“His family history might also explain that,” she said as she opened several of them and skimmed their contents. “Salazar’s family came from what is now modern Spain…evident by the name he was given, which had previously belonged to his maternal great-grandfather, Salazar Ordaño…and he was originally born near the coast of Ireland. People call him 'Slytherin from fen’ – but in truth, the Fenlands, where we are now, are merely where Salazar settled in his later years, after he’d married and started a family.”

“Fascinating,” said Dumbledore mildly, as he settled himself down into the blackthorn chair in the corner. “I presume that explains the accent I noted in the first voice we heard – the one that must have been Slytherin’s?”

“Yes. By the time Salazar was born, Ireland had transitioned into using early Middle Irish, as opposed to old Gaelic…but people living in England – where Salazar’s family moved to, while Ireland faced off against the Norse Vikings – were still using what we today call Old English. That’s the language Salazar would’ve used while speaking to the other three Founders. Early Middle English only started taking hold after Salazar died, after the Norman conquest in 1066 A.D. I daresay what we heard was something of a fusion between an Old Castillian and Middle Irish accent, speaking old English.”

“An interesting mix of cultures, indeed.”

Dumbledore’s tone was very pleasant even if it wasn’t even half as enthusiastic as Lane’s soft-spoken, scholarly voice. He placed his wand back into his robin’s-egg-blue robes at last, crossing his arms loosely over his chest and waiting patiently as Lane consulted the documents.

After about thirty minutes, Lane – an excited look in her eyes – brought a rather worn-looking leather portfolio containing a stack of parchment over to Dumbledore for him to look at.

“This looks like it might be a collection of letters…perhaps even a journal that hasn’t been properly bound yet,” she said, her hushed voice rather eager. “See the dates there, in the corners?”

Dumbledore peered over his half-moon spectacles at the line of runes and sketched crescent moons in the upper corner of the top page, and then down at the written lines below.

“Yes, that is what this seems to be,” he said, and his light blue eyes twinkled. “Given that I can only read about half of it…I would guess that it contains both Old English and Middle Irish – making it more than probable that this was written in Slytherin’s hand, wouldn’t you say?”

Lane nodded, looking even more excited. “Yes. Would you say the dates match up too? Judging by the condition of these pages compared to everything else I’ve seen, I’d guess these would be the newest documents, in this library.”

“I believe you said that Salazar Slytherin left Hogwarts in July 1022, correct? Less than a year before Gryffindor’s death? If so…”

Dumbledore turned several pieces of parchment over, consulting each of the dates, before settling on one near the bottom of the stack.

“…Then these moon runes match up perfectly.”

Lane’s face was soon consumed by a wide, slightly crooked smile like the one her son Jacob often wore. She moved over to the platform with new confidence, removing the piece of parchment Dumbledore indicated from the stack and placing it down on top of the podium.

The podium gave another low hiss. The piece of parchment fluttered up off the marble as if trapped in a magical gust of wind, rotating in mid-air of its own accord as the podium created by Salazar Slytherin once again spoke in Albus Dumbledore’s voice.

“Twentieth day of Harvest Month, 1022.

“Today marks the end of Hogwarts, as we know it.

“Despite all of my objections and disregarding all common sense, Rowena, Helga, and Godric remained obstinate in the decision to allow Mudblooded magical creatures to walk our hallowed halls in the upcoming school year. I urged them to reconsider, to the point that it bordered on pleading, and still, Godric absolutely refused to take heed. To my horror, not even the others would hear reason. I cannot fathom what virtue of theirs could possibly outweigh the safety of our school and our students – whether it is arrogance, ignorance, or just pure delusion – but whatever it was that fueled them to fight against me, it is a demonic magic that I cannot hope to exorcise.

“Although I can’t stand by and let Hogwarts fall at the claws of treacherous rats that my friends would deign to call 'students’…I cannot halt my research, when I’m so close to tracking down the answer. Although we were able to petrify the Cetus, and no one should be able to access it without opening all of the Vaults in their proper order, the Beast will claw away at our enchantments the longer it takes for us to find a way to nullify its power. The magic of sacrificial love may indeed be our salvation – and yet a sacrifice made by one who has never feared Death – on the contrary, has frequently been tempted by it, like Odysseus before the Sirens – cannot possibly be powerful enough to destroy it. I only hope that the documents I’ll find here in the Fen can help me track down the final answer. It may be the one thing I can still do, to protect my friends and the school we have created, now that they have fallen from grace. In the meantime, the safeguards I put in place should be able to protect the school, even in my absence, now that Garcea, Marvolo, and Amice have started their education – at least until I make my proper return, with the knowledge needed to finally slay the Cetus once and for all.”

The piece of parchment slowly stopped turning, fluttered back down onto the marble, and lay still.

Lane’s eyes widened. Dumbledore’s lips came together solemnly.

“I would say your hypothesis was correct, Lane,” the Headmaster said softly. “Slytherin was working on a method to destroy the artifact inside the Cursed Vaults.”

Still slightly stunned, Lane reached out to pick up the page of Slytherin’s journal, holding it out and gazing down at the lines of Old English and Irish she could barely read herself.

“Even after he left the school,” she whispered, “even after he broke off from the other Founders and ended their friendship over his anti-Muggle-born bigotry…Salazar was still trying to find a way to prevent Godric from sacrificing himself.”

Weiterlesen

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Friday 21 August 1835

7 5

11 40

No kiss. rather hazy but morning F66° now at 8 am in my study - stood reading last night’s paper (in my study) till 8 ½ then went out for ¼ hour about - breakfast at 8 ¾ - off to Halifax at 9 40 down the old bank to the Yorkshire District Bank and got £50     told Mrs Greenwood to tell G- I was returned and wanted his sawyers to cut up the oaks logs - then to Mr Parker’s office - the title deeds of Barraclough Lane head 2 cottages and garden all ready for signing and Speight would be there this morning - to sign them - title sufficiently good - paid Mr P- £76 being the whole purchase money he being to repay Mark Town the £5 deposit money - the cottages A- has bought in Hatters fold old tumble down concerns but materials and ground worth the money £450 - the late JW. A-‘s brother bade as much as that for them  - Mr P- had received Mr Harper’s instructions for making out the contract with Messrs. Nelson - told him to let me see the rough draft as there might be some alterations to make about the stables - they were not now set out quite as I intended - Mr P- inquired after A- but said not a word of S-s and looked grave - Qu’est ce qu’il y a? returned up the old bank - a minute or 2 with Robert Schofield and Joseph Sharpe at Park wood and sent them to make a new shooting down place for George Pickels opposite the house, and home about before 11 - met Washington and Holt at the gate - told the former to let me have Turner’s estimate of stone for the tail goit then walked down with H- along the intended line of tail goit - then home and took Charles and James H- and Carter with the shuttle down the Spiggs water - loose - had a little collier from the Stump X water drift to clear the goit and then put down the shuttle about 12 - had sent George to Ward for the iron-work - not ready - will send it at noon tomorrow - Holt will be tomorrow at 3pm and the iron-work will be soldered in, and the water dammed up and the lose in progress of stopping - H- says it will take 10 days or a fortnight to raise the water enough to stop Samuel Holdsworth’s plans - letting the heads to drive (today) to be worked night and day - but we shall beat them - then with H- to the Stump x drift - have driven about 40 yards length - will soon be under  the dirt-band, and have a good run of water - a reservoir to be made near the end of the mouth drift - thence to the road 50 yards ¾ in. bore pipe (lead) thence across the road to the house with a ½ in. bore pipe to William Green’s house - then walked with H- as far as the Lodge - looked about me a little thought to put the hall kitchen-gardens in the top Godley field instead of at the bottom of the low conery Ing and came in at 1 ½ - H- says there will now be no more difficulty in bottoming Walker pit - will be down in 6 weeks for this time, and in 3 weeks from there will be getting coal - said I thought of making a place that the banksman could live in close to the pit - H- said there should be 2 rooms of 5x5 yards each - and agreed that the present hut would be enough for sharpening and for the gin horse - sometime with A- while she wrote her note to the Trustees Hipperholm school asking when and to whom to pay the £5 annual rent charge out of Lane Ends farm - then wrote all the above of today till 2 ¼ - out at  2 ½ - walked Joseph Mann and A- rode the gray horse to see about Thwaite’s water and the trough in A-‘s Hipperholm lane - then 35 minutes with A- and her tenant Brook and Washington looking over the house Grieves has just left and Empsall’s cottage adjoining - walked then with Joseph M- who had waited for me into Mr Charles Robinson’s yew trees land to look at the water there with a view to getting it to yew trees house - impossible - a mere collection of top-water from the drainage of the field - JM said he did not know the strata thereabouts but should think water would be got at yew trees by sinking 12 yards deep - left JM at Hipperholm lane-ends about 4 and returned by Lower brea daisy bank and coffin lane - then sauntered along the brook to the Mytholm dam-stones- saw Thomas Pearson for a few minutes - some distant thunder and a flash of lightning and dark so made for the hut - a slight shower - asleep there for 40 minutes till 5 50 - then home at 6 5 - Mr Herbert Mitchell had been waiting 5 minutes to speak an office at Northgate - could give him no hope - should be glad to accommodate him if I could - there would be 3 shops and a small house but the house would be 3 stories (2 rooms on a floor) and have a cellar kitchens - he only wants 4 rooms - could I not build a place only 2 stories high - no! the ground too valuable there - very civil to him - he said he found he was already a tenant of mine - (i.e. for the Staups pew at the old church) - said yes! but I left that to the sexton of the church to manage as he thought fair and right as I understood he Mr HM had new [lined] the pew - A- not at home till 6 ½ - near ¼ hour with my aunt - dinner at 6 ¾ - coffee - ¼ hour with my father and Marian - Mr Washington this morning left for me with A- the keys of Mytholm farm house de la part de Mrs Dewhirst who has at last left the place - wrote the last 18 lines till 8 ½ pm then reading tonight’s paper till 9 20 among the departures see my own for my seat in Yorkshire - sat with A- then 25 minutes with my aunt till 10 20 fine day - a little hazy dampness between 8 and 9 am and vid. line 8 thunder and lightning between 5 and 6 pm fine evening afterwards F70 ½° now at 10 20 pm in my study - F73° at 11 ½ pm in my dressing room

[the-record-newspaper]

The killing of Rhonda Hinson Part 37

This photo was captured by Google Maps in August, 2012.  It is a picture of the residence of Mark and Faith Turner—the house where Greg and Jane McDowell came on January 26, 1996 at Mark's invitation.  Mark's house had been wired by authorities to capture conversation between the two couples.

By LARRY J. GRIFFIN

Special Investigative Reporter

For The Record

 “You know what’s worse than the fear of speaking the truth?  It’s the fear of uncovering it.” –Milton Fine, 2005.

When Greg and Jane McDowell appeared at Mark and Faith Turner’s Bouchard Avenue doorstep on Friday Jan. 26, 1996, neither visitor had an inkling that the sole purpose of the social assignation was to record the Greg’s voice and any incriminating statement he might articulate that would implicate him in the killing of Rhonda Hinson.  

But Mark knew; Faith knew.  They knew about the recording equipment concealed in the crevices of the crawlspace of the room adjacent to the living room and the transmitters carefully concealed within the creases of the curtains.  And though he ostensibly felt ambivalently about cooperating with authorities, Mark acceded to—for all intents and purposes—Detective James “Flash” Pruett’s plan to ‘set his friend up’ for the second time in eight days.  

In his detailed case notes, the detective typed a synopsis of the latter events of the day:

“Greg and his wife arrived at 6:30 PM and left shortly after 9:00 PM.  We had earlier instructed Mark Turner to unplug the equipment after Greg left.  We arranged to pick the system up while the daughter was away from the home at noon tomorrow [Saturday Jan. 27, 1996] Buddy Noles took possession of the items and will transfer the audio to cassettes.”

Subsequently, Detective Pruett called Buddy Noles at Western Piedmont Community College (WPCC) inquiring after the results of the taped visit. The response that he received was—yet again—disappointing:

“He said the audio tape of Greg McDowell recorded at Mark Turner’s home was of very poor quality and of no value.  He could not get any audio of the target voices.  He mentioned Mark stated Greg seemed to be in a hurry to leave and acted really nervous.”

For the third time—in as many attempts—the conscientious investigator had failed to obtain the information that he sought to acquire. At least twice, faulty technology was implicated.  

The next day—January 27th—Flash was on-call and worked from 2 p.m. until midnight.  He dealt with a multiplicity of breaking-entering-larceny (BEL) cases but did manage to interview William “Poncho” Holland in his office.  Of that encounter he wrote:

“He was one of the first county officers to arrive at the crime scene.  In his opinion, he did not feel the shot came from I-40.  He felt the car was moved from the scene to [Sic] early and complained of poor investigative techniques during the crime scene processing.  He pointed out the tire impression to investigative officers, left on the road by Rhonda’s car.  He felt she was in her proper lane and rolled back into the ditch. No one marked the highway where the impressions stopped.  He did not know the position of the overhead dome light.  He did recall being at the victim’s parents home and he did see Charles McDowell step forward when [John] McDevitt mentioned the McDowell’s [Sic] names. This statement would verify what Judy Hinson said about McDowell being at her home.”

[NOTE: It was previously reported that Burke County Sheriff’s Department Officer Bill Holland, was the first county official to arrive on the scene.  His arrival was noted in an undated Valdese Police report signed by Officer Danny Barus. In an article published by the News Herald, dated Sept. 2, 2001, the front page of Sgt. Bill Holland’s report of the events was pictured on Page 4A of the daily newspaper.  Dated Dec. 23, 1981, the typed narrative stipulates that Mr. Holland “arrived on scene at 01:25 Hrs.”—approximately 11 minutes after Lieutenant Harry Feimster of the Valdese PD became the first law enforcement officer of any kind to reach the crime scene.]

In his interview with Detective Pruett, Mr. Holland averred that he and his wife, Wanda, played tennis with Rhonda.  Additionally, he mentioned the name Rick Steiner—a tennis partner of Rhonda’s who purportedly had a “crush” on the then 18-year-old. Notably, in a News Herald photo published circa September, 1981, Rhonda and Rick are receiving checks for winning a mixed-doubles tournament.  The monetary presentation was made by the late Wanda Holland.  

As throes of Winter 1996 yielded to the promise of Spring, Flash’s attention turned to other salient, often baffling details of the Hinson case—specifically the clothing that Rhonda was wearing the early morning that she was killed.  Neither Judy nor Bobby Hinson had viewed their daughter’s clothing subsequent to her murder—they said as much in their initial interview with The Record.  

Detective Pruett located the clothing in the evidence room to of the Burke County Sheriff’s Department and retrieved Rhonda’s shoes to show to her mother and father who had journeyed to his office.  In his file notes—dated Tuesday, March 5, 1996—he recorded their shocking response:

“…The shoes we have were indeed the shoes Rhonda had on when she was murdered, but not the shoes she wore as she left home enroute to the party. Rhonda had called her mother from work [on Dec. 22, 1981] telling her about buying a new pair of shoes.  She and Greg McDowell had gone to lunch and shopped for a pair of shoes.  Rhonda held her foot up when leaving for the party and said, ‘how do you like my new shoes?’ Judy Hinson said they were dressy and darker beige than her blouse.  Rhonda also asked her father to bring her car to the front so she would not get her new shoes muddy.”  

“I really didn’t pay a lot of attention to Rhonda’s shoes; I paid more attention to the clothes she was wearing,” recalled Judy Hinson in a recent interview with this writer.  “I remember that she was on her way out the door when she held up her foot and asked, ‘How do you like my shoes?’  Well, I told her yes, yes I liked them.”

But when the Hinsons viewed the shoes at Flash’s office, Judy was particularly troubled.   “I didn’t realize that there would be blood on them; but, there was,” she said. “So, it was difficult for me to look at them very long.  But I did notice that inside one shoe there were toe impressions—you know the kind a person makes when they have worn shoes for a long time.”  

As he examined the shoes in custody, Flash noted flex marks, worn places, and marks on the straps—markings that would suggest that these shoes had been worn for some time.  However, that observation was not the most puzzling discovery relative to the footwear Rhonda was wearing when her lifeless body was found outside her vehicle by law enforcement on the early morning of Dec. 23, 1981.  The detective explained in his case synopsis:

 “The strangest part of all is the fact the shoes we have are 9 Ds, a full size larger than Rhonda wore.  Judy checked other shoes in Rhonda’s bedroom and discovered the sizes to be size 8.”  

“They were larger than what Rhonda wore—generally she wore a size eight,” Judy explained. “I can’t account for the size difference; however, there is a possibility that if her feet were hurting her, Rhonda may have asked Sherry [Pittman Yoder] if she had some more comfortable shoes for her to wear—or maybe even some that belonged to Sherry’s mother.”

Upon reflection, Ms. Hinson offered one other plausible explanation. “It also could have been that if Rhonda saw the shoes and liked them, then the correct size would not have mattered to her.  I mean, I would never buy a pair of shoes that didn’t fit; however, things like that didn’t really matter to Rhonda.”

The Hinsons still have the footwear that Rhonda wore to work on Dec. 22, 1981—before she came home to change for the Hickory Steel Christmas party. Judy attempted to locate the size of those shoes; but, there was no discernible size denotation.  However, she compared one of her daughter’s to one of her own size 7 and a half shoes and discovered that they aligned with each other.  

“I thought that the shoes Flash showed us were at least a size larger than Rhonda’s shoe size; however, it looks like they may have been at least one and a half sizes larger than hers,” Judy concluded.  

The stunning footwear conundrum raised a plethora of questions for Detective Pruett—he noted the most salient in his file notes:

“…Could Rhonda have left the old shoes in Greg’s car at lunch [on Dec. 22, 1983] and worn the new ones?  The new shoes cannot be accounted for in the inventory of Rhonda’s car.  Could she have met Greg and changed into the old ones before the fight?  Could the new shoes have been left in Greg’s car after the murder?  The new facts cause a problem for the scuff marks on the left shoe.  When was the shoe damaged?”

Then he drew a most chilling inference:

“On the other hand, it would limit the killer to be a person who had the new shoes.  Who else could have possession of the old or new shoes other than the person who shopped with her on December, 22, 1981?”

Six days after he typed his March 5th case file synopsis—Monday, March 11, 1996—Detective Pruett reported that he had sustained a foot injury while on an off-road dirt bike riding adventure with his son. “Unfortunately, I will be out of work for some time,” he noted.  

Unbeknownst to the able investigator, his injury would require extensive surgery and a prolonged recuperative period.  In fact, it would be over 16 weeks before Detective James “Flash” Pruett returned to work and the investigation into the killing of Rhonda Hinson.    

[junker-town]

The 6 best offensive lines in the NFL right now

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Retired NFL lineman Geoff Schwartz checks in on the top two tiers of OLs a quarter of the way through the season.

Every quarter of the NFL season, I’ll be doing an offensive rankings of sort. I don’t like to rank 1-32, because there are always many units that are close in the rankings. So I’ll use the tier system. Heading into the season, we had the Eagles, Cowboys, Saints, Patriots, and Steelers in the upper tier, followed closely by the Packers, Bears, Colts, and Chiefs.

Let’s see where the offensive lines stand now.

The upper tier after four weeks of the regular season has three of the five from the preseason rankings: the Eagles, Cowboys and Saints. The Patriots’ injuries have slid them down, while the Steelers just haven’t been the same — possibly because of the quarterback situation, but more because they lost their offensive line coach, Mike Munchak, to the Broncos.

It’s also worth mentioning, as longtime NFL reporter John Clayton told me last season, the rule of 150. If your starting offensive line has a combined age of 150 or over, it declines fast due to older players’ diminishing skills and injuries. I hadn’t heard about it, but it applied last year to the Atlanta Falcons, whose OL got worse as the season went along. With a younger right tackle, the Steelers are right at 150, so according to Clayton’s theory, their OL is supposed to decline, which is showing just a bit.

But enough about which ones have fallen. Let’s get to the best of the best right now. These are no order, FYI.

The top offensive line tier

There are just three in this group, at least so far this season.

Philadelphia Eagles

It’s no surprise the Eagles are in this upper tier. They are monsters in the trenches, even with some injuries hampering them. What makes the Eagles’ offensive line so unique is they have big bodies. Brandon Brooks at right guard and Jason Kelce at center are playing at their usual high levels. Both tackles, Lane Johnson and Jason Peters, are ranked in the top 10, according to Pro Football Focus.

As a unit, the Eagles are 12th in adjusted line yards, second in power rank (needing 2 yards or less on third or fourth down), and eighth in stuff rate, all of those according to Football Outsiders. These rushing numbers are all without having an elite-level running back.

In pass protection, they are a physical group, highlighted by Johnson. Their tackles are almost always on an island and give Carson Wentz plenty of time for work.

Here are some highlights of their offensive line, brought to you by Brandon Thorn. If you want weekly offensive line breakdowns and videos, he’s the man to follow.

Brandon Brooks is one of the biggest guards in the NFL, but is also one of the most skilled. Through the first 3 weeks he's shown some impressive variance in his sets & hands. - Snatch & trap - 'Flash' technique - Jump set This after tearing his Achilles 8 months ago pic.twitter.com/J0qppO23Yy

— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) September 26, 2019

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys might be the “best” offensive line through the first four weeks. I know, the Saints ate them up in Week 4, but one game shouldn’t change my opinion, or yours, for that manner.

I said before the season that Cowboys center Travis Frederick was the single most important addition for a contender. Having him back has solidified the offensive line and added some protection at left guard, where Connor Williams struggles at times. Zack Martin and Tyron Smith have been their usual excellent selves, and La’el Collins, fresh off a new contract at right tackle, is currently the highest-ranked tackle by Pro Football Focus.

The film backs up how Collins is playing:

Such a great rep by La'el Collins here to get the snatch in vs. Jordan 1v1 & put him on the turf pic.twitter.com/yVLz16Akc2

— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) October 2, 2019

The Cowboys are fifth in adjusted line yards, first in power rank, and seventh in second-level rank, which measures the yards earned between 5-10 on a given run. That shows me the Cowboys are opening up massive holes for the running backs. They are also playing smart football, which is something needed when running some of these RPO-style plays, as evidenced by Smith here:

Y’all ... freaking clinic footwork and execution by the @dallascowboys LT Tyron Smith on Dak Prescott’s long run. The Redskins run a gap exchange to force Dak to pull the ball and Tyron’s footwork and prep allow him to make a tougher block than it looks. Great work pic.twitter.com/V9IJFn3eSU

— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) September 17, 2019

New Orleans Saints

The Saints had an outstanding offensive line last season and returned four starters — all but center Max Unger, who retired. His replacement came in the form of Erik McCoy, a rookie from Texas A&M. He’s had his ups and downs, but luckily for the Saints, his ups have been higher than his downs.

Look at this finish by McCoy against the Cowboys:

Erik McCoy having a strong night. pic.twitter.com/bSbS7w3XAZ

— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) September 30, 2019

What I love most about the Saints’ offensive line is their versatility. They run a wide variety of run schemes and they excel in their ability to execute those blocks. Here’s an example from Week 1:

This might be the best blocked run play of week 1! All of the @Saints lineman get a plus on this toss play, including rookie center Erik McCoy. Huge hole for Kamara to sprint through. Notice the finish by everyone! up!! @CoachPaintCH pic.twitter.com/5FG1uT11Ag

— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) September 12, 2019

While they are big road graders, they also have nimble feet in pass protection, and their right tackle is one of the best in the game.

The second offensive line tier

A few units are knocking on the door of the first tier, but aren’t quite there yet.

Baltimore Ravens

Their offensive line has been great rushing the football. I was wrong on my prediction about Orlando Brown Jr., as I saw him more like Ereck Flowers. The big man has been powerful in the run game, leading this unit to the second-best adjusted line yards rate, while also being third in second-level yards. Also, Brown understands the pass pro isn’t passive.

There's some serious power behind Orlando Brown Jr.'s strikes pic.twitter.com/JtMG6NyNbR

— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) September 25, 2019

Lastly, left tackle Ronnie Stanley has come into his own and is having a Pro Bowl-caliber start to his season.

Indianapolis Colts

The fighting Quenton Nelsons! This dude is amazing at his job, as you’ve seen with the hundreds of videos I’ve posted in the last three seasons (including his last year at Notre Dame). The Colts are ninth in running back yards and seventh in adjusted sack yards.

They weren’t in the upper tier entering the season because of their right side, which is still the side of the line that’s holding them back. Don’t worry, though. They are still an above-average unit.

Green Bay Packers

The Packers continue to have a terrific tackle pass protection unit, led by left tackle David Bakhtiari. Their issue is at right guard, where Billy Turner hasn’t played well, and it’s messing up their pass protection at times. It’s hard to protect at tackle when the quarterback can’t step up in the pocket. The right guard is vital to the pass protection success.