Exeter have delighted, Saracens have excelled, London Irish have had their moment while Wasps have floundered and only Jimmy Gopperth has kept Newcastle alive

Leicester Tigers

Last season 1st (and champions) Current position 1st

Have they lived up to expectations? Nothing short of retaining their title will satisfy the Tigers but there is still work to be done. The Heineken Cup quarter-final defeat to Leinster highlighted certain issues, not least a suspicion that Ben Youngs and Toby Flood are feeling the effects of a hectic season. If they do happen to meet a resurgent Northampton in the play-off semi-finals, victory is far from certain. That said, Anthony Allen, Manu Tuilagi, Scott Hamilton, Thomas Waldrom and Martin Castrogiovanni have all done enough to merit a Twickenham finale.

Highlight of season Still to come, they hope, but their 37-6 victory at Bath was sweet.

Player of the season Anthony Allen

Predicted finish Finalists

Saracens

Last season 3rd (losing finalists) Current position 2nd

Have they lived up to expectations? No other contender is finishing faster than Sarries. Their bonding trips to Florida and the Oktoberfest may have raised eyebrows but the benefits are increasingly evident. One more win in their final game will equal the record of 18 regular season wins since the introduction of a 12-team Premiership in 1999, although losing to Quins on Saturday might suit if it secures a home semi-final against Gloucester. They have scored 28 fewer tries than Leicester but boast the meanest defence of any of the top four teams. Taking into account a glut of injuries, Brendan Venter's relocation back to South Africa and the Gavin Henson saga, this has been a cleverly judged campaign.

Highlight of season Their late-season surge, which currently extends to eight successive league wins.

Player of the season Ernst Joubert

Predicted finish Champions

Gloucester

Last season 7th Current position 3rd

Have they lived up to expectations? Yes, particularly if you saw their woeful opening-day defeat at Exeter. Consistency still eludes them and their defence has the occasional wobble but with ball in hand they can be deadly. Although Saracens blew them away in Watford recently, they are deserved play-off participants. In Freddie Burns, Charlie Sharples, Johnny May and Ryan Mills they also have a posse of talented young English-qualified backs. Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu this week scooped three awards at the club's end-of season awards: player of the year, player's player and try of the season.

Highlight of season Hard to look past their extraordinary 41-41 draw at Welford Road last month.

Player of the season Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu.

Predicted finish Semi-finalists

Northampton Saints

Last season 2nd Current position 4th

Have they lived up to expectations? They would not swap their present position but promise still has to be translated into silverware. Their first-choice XV is good enough to beat anyone, particularly up front, but their strength in depth has been less evident. If they ultimately falter, fingers will also be pointed at their half-backs. As Perpignan discovered, though, they can be mighty foes when Messrs Tonga'uiha, Hartley, Mujati, Lawes, Dowson, Ashton and Foden are all firing. Their lineout fell apart at Welford Road back in January but the Tigers will still be wary.

Highlight of season Reaching the Heineken Cup final for the first time in 11 years.

Player of the season Soane Tonga'uiha

Predicted finish Semi-finalists

Bath

Last season 4th. Current position 5th

Have they lived up to expectations? For their ambitious owner Bruce Craig, the answer has to be no. It was evident from relatively early in the campaign that other teams had more tight-five oomph and injuries to Butch James and Olly Barkley were equally damaging. Steve Meehan has been eased aside as head coach and Sir Ian McGeechan will be expected to guide the club into the play-offs next year. Nick Abendanon and Matt Banahan are maturing into fine players and Carl Fearns is an encouraging summer arrival. If Danny Cipriani wants to find somewhere in England to rebuild his reputation he need look no further.

Highlight of season Smashing Wasps 43-10 at Twickenham last month.

Player of the season Matt Banahan

Predicted finish 5th

London Irish

Last season 6th Current position 6th

Have they lived up to expectations? At the start of November, Irish sat atop the Premiership table and looked certainties for the play-offs. Once again soft mid-winter pitches slowed their progress and one or two players shrank when the going got tough. They also badly missed the experience of the underrated Declan Danaher and Sailosi Tagicakibau. Next season they will be without Seilala Mapusua, who is off to Kubota Spears in Japan. The challenge for the innovative Toby Booth will be to ensure the Exiles remain equally competitive without their midfield anchor.

Highlight of season Beating the Ospreys to end a ruinous 10-game losing streak in all competitions.

Player of the season Alex Corbisiero.

Predicted finish 6th

Harlequins

Last season 8th Current position 7th

Have they lived up to expectations? Not yet. They are finishing the season strongly but have too often lacked the ability to finish their forwards' approach work. Two draws and seven losing bonus points, more than any other team in the league, betrays a campaign of near-misses; the good news is that they are a young side who look set to improve further next year. If Joe Marler and George Lowe continue to progress they will be candidates for national recognition sooner rather than later.

Highlight of season Beating Munster at Thomond Park to reach the Amlin Challenge Cup final.

Player of the season Chris Robshaw

Predicted finish 7th

London Wasps

Last season 5th Current position 8th

Have they lived up to expectations? Rarely have Wasps caused their supporters more angst. Very little has gone right on or off the field, to the point where the future looks worryingly murky. Showpiece games in Abu Dhabi and at Twickenham attracted plenty of attention but heavy defeats in both fixtures swiftly diluted the promotional benefits. The Andy Powell saga, the departure of the director of rugby, Tony Hanks, a succession of injuries, a crumbling pack ... hoicking Josh Lewsey out of retirement betrayed the collective yearning for former glories. A failure to qualify for the Heineken Cup may offer short-term breathing space but the rebuilding job could take a while.

Highlight of season Beating Toulouse in the Heineken Cup pool stages.

Player of the season Joe Simpson

Predicted finish 8th

Exeter Chiefs

Last season Championship play-off winners Current position 9th

Have they lived up to expectations? To their lasting credit, the Chiefs have confounded almost everyone. Not only have they stayed up, they have claimed some significant scalps – Saracens, Northampton, Gloucester, Harlequins – along the way. At no stage did they appear relegation candidates, with Rob Baxter and Ali Hepher proving a shrewd managerial combo. The matchday atmosphere at Sandy Park also compared favourably with any ground in the Premiership. With a raft of new signings to bolster the existing settled squad, this could be just the start.

Highlight of season All of it.

Player of the season Tom Johnson

Predicted finish 9th

Sale Sharks

Last season 11th Current position 10th.Have they lived up to expectations? Mike Brewer was hired as head coach to oversee a dramatic improvement but it ended bitterly. The Sharks have won only six league games all season and Brewer's no-nonsense regime prompted their linchpin Charlie Hodgson to agree a summer move to Saracens. The arrival of Steve Diamond appears to have steadied the ship but the landscape has changed drastically since Sale were crowned Premiership champions in 2006. The promise of James Gaskell is undeniable but the loss of Carl Fearns to Bath is another significant blow. The only way is up.

Highlight of season The departure of Brewer.

Player of the season Sisa Koyamaibole

Predicted finish 10th

Newcastle Falcons

Last season 9th Current league position 11th

Have they lived up to expectations? Alan Tait has done his best but the Falcons looked short of firepower from the outset. Barring a last-weekend disaster they should now be safe but it is a brave man who insists they will prosper next season. Only the accurate kicking of Jimmy Gopperth, the Premiership's leading points-scorer, has kept them afloat; no team in the league, Leeds included, has scored fewer tries. Luke Fielden, Ally Hogg and Tim Swinson all deserved better but Micky Young's switch to Leicester will hardly boost battered northern morale.

Highlight of season Beating Leeds 22-5 at Headingley in February to boost their survival hopes.

Player of the season Jimmy Gopperth

Predicted finish 11th

Leeds Carnegie

Last season 10th Current position 12th

Have they lived up to expectations? Neil Back had challenged Leeds to push on towards the top half of the table. It never looked like happening, particularly when Hendre Fourie, Steve Thompson and Marco Wentzel were missing. The departure of the director of rugby, Andy Key, did little to improve things and, ultimately, Leeds possessed insufficient quality to compete with their wealthier rivals. How they must have cheered when Bedford looked like upsetting Worcester last week; it is now hard to see them escaping. If they do finish bottom, they will have to rely on the Cornish Pirates overcoming Worcester over two legs in the Championship play-off final.

Highlight of season Beating Northampton would rescue a wholly forgettable campaign

Player of the season Hendre Fourie

Predicted finish 12th

Olly Murs has admitted that he would love to give up his solo career and join boyband Blue. The X Factor star claimed that he was a huge fan of the four piece vocal group when he was a teenager and told The Daily Star: “I’m a huge Blue fan. I was obsessed with them [...]

View the original post Eurovision 2011: X Factor’s Olly Murs would quite like to join Blue! on Unreality TV

Remember those cool Star Wars posters by Olly Moss? Well, Ollie Boyd ran with the idea and made these for the prequels. May the Fourth be with you, dudes.

The Best Links:

1. Redesigned Star Wars Posters

View List ›

Olly Murs Manchester : M12 6AP on 2011-05-07

If you live in Los Angeles and love pop culture themed art, this weekend is Christmas, Hanukkah, Spring Break and the Super Bowl rolled into one. Saturday, 24-year-old U.K. artist Olly Moss is having his first solo art show at Gallery 1988 Melrose. You may know Moss as the guy who did Locke's Secret [1], last year's Rolling Roadshow posters [2], some incredible Star Wars posters [3], the Thor cast and crew poster [4] and a ton of classic t-shirts [5]. Yeah, the guy is amazing (I own seven of his prints myself) and this show will feature almost 200 new pieces inspired by the world of movies, comics, music and more. However, Moss's show is top secret so we don't have anything to show from that...yet. Luckily, Gallery 1988 now has two locations and their second show is equally as awesome. Thursday in Venice they'll be opening The 3B Show, the sequel to last year's epic 3G Show (which [6] we then highlighted [7] in four [8] parts [9]), featuring art by The Autumn Society. This year, the show features art from Back to the Future, Beetlejuice and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (and probably Bogus Journey too). Unlike the Moss show, there are a ton of images available from The 3B Show and you can check them out after the jump. The 3B Show is curated by Chogrin and all of the below pieces come from The Autumn Society's website [10]. We've chosen a small sampling but head over to that site [11] to see a ton more both from these artists and others. Mouse over each piece for the name of the artist. [gallery columns="2"] The 3B Show opens from 7-10 p.m. Thursday May 5 at Gallery 1988 Venice,  214 Pier Ave., Santa Monica, CA. The show will be on display through June 3. Olly Moss's show open from 7-10 p.m. Saturday May 7 at Gallery 1988 Melrose, 7020 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles CA. It will be on display through May 20. Art from both shows will go on sale on gallery1988.com [12] after the openings. You can head there [13] for more information. Hope to see a lot of /Film readers at both events. [1] http://www.slashfilm.com/cool-stuff-olly-moss-saul-bass-inspired-lost-poster/ [2] http://www.slashfilm.com/cool-stuff-olly-moss-rolling-roadshow-movie-posters/ [3] http://www.slashfilm.com/cool-stuff-olly-moss-star-wars-trilogy-posters-mondo/ [4] http://www.slashfilm.com/cool-stuff-olly-mosss-cast-crew-thor-poster/ [5] http://www.slashfilm.com/cool-stuff-olly-mosss-poster-remakes/ [6] http://www.slashfilm.com/cool-stuff-the-3g-art-show-ghostbusters-goonies-and-gremlins/ [7] http://www.slashfilm.com/cool-stuff-the-3g-art-show-ghostbusters-goonies-and-gremlins-part-2/ [8] http://www.slashfilm.com/cool-stuff-the-3g-art-show-ghostbusters-goonies-and-gremlins-part-3/ [9] http://www.slashfilm.com/cool-stuff-the-3g-art-show-ghostbusters-goonies-and-gremlins-part-4/ [10] http://www.theautumnsociety.com/ [11] http://www.theautumnsociety.com/search/label/3B [12] http://gallery1988.com/ [13] http://gallery1988.com/

Olly Newport has torn the curtain away from some mighty persistent mysteries with this stop-motion animation about the only money we love to hate.

Full story at Vimeo via Neatorama.

Your money’s worth of animation.

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(vimeo link) Oh no! This place is infested with coins! This short stop-motion animation was produced by Olly Newport. -via Laughing Squid

“Coin”, stop-motion animation by Olly Newport. See Also: Coinstar, Stop-Motion Animation by PES via Have you seen this?! Host your website or blog with Laughing Squid Web Hosting.

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Host your website or blog with Laughing Squid Web Hosting.

When Courtney of Little Glass Box sent us photos of her amazing 105 year old row house in Baltimore, we knew we had to house crash the heck out of her, so here we go. First lets meet the fam (there’s Courtney, her son Olly, and her hubby Ryan): How funny is that photo? You [...]

Olly Brown on why Perpignan's a team more Catalan then French.

I know you guys love a gorgeous outdoor wedding as much as I do… and this Austin lake side celebration is what you need to get you in the spirt of the upcoming summer wedding season. The genius behind the lens was Sam from Sunny 16 Photography and the beautiful couple is Ashley & Olly.

The event took place at Vintage Villas on Lake Travis and gracefully blends the elegance of the day with the natural landscape and light. The view is absolutely breathtaking!

































These two are definitely in love!


These are just a few of the stunning photos of Ashley + Olly's wedding. You totally have to take a look at the entire gallery to get the complete, amazing feel of the day!

GORGEOUS new girlgroup Wonderland are hoping to snare a few more male fans as they tour this month with Olly Murs.

Eighteen blogs have recently joined my Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator: Olly Grender – http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/olly-grender Lord Tyler – http://lordsoftheblog.net/category/lord-tyler/ Nicola Prigg – http://priggy.wordpress.com/ Gavin Hamilton – http://ghmltn.blogspot.com/ Matthew Lambert – http://iradar666.blogspot.com/ Richard Farnhill – http://richardfarnhill.mycouncillor.org.uk/ Tony Jebson – http://blog.jebbo.co.uk/ Matt Doughty – http://logicalconclusion.net/ Rebecca Taylor – http://centralhove.mycouncillor.org.uk/ James Baker – http://jd-baker.com/ Zadok Day – http://zadokday.wordpress.com/ Michael Hall – http://michaeljameshall.wordpress.com/ Peter Banks – http://peter4scottward.wordpress.com/ Kris Castle – http://bemusedpuma.wordpress.com/ Hornsey Ward – http://hornsey.mycouncillor.org.uk/ Andrew Emmerson – http://andrewemmerson.co.uk/ Andy Pellew – http://www.andypellew.org/blog Focus on Bar Hill – http://focusonbarhill.blogspot.com/ Good luck to all the new bloggers, and why not take a moment to pop over ...

Olly Morgan, arrière de Gloucester, s'est déboîté l'épaule ce samedi au cours du match nul épique de son équipe contre Leicester (41-41). Sa saison est certainement terminée.

Gloucester full-back Olly Morgan is set to miss the remainder of the season after dislocating his shoulder during the draw with Leicester.

Olly Morgan will miss the rest of Gloucester's season after dislocating his shoulder in the 41-41 Premiership draw at Leicester.

Midhurst and Petworth Today

Global clipper race will be no jolly for Olly Midhurst and Petworth Today This is his fifth year with the Clipper Race, having joined the training team after working at the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) and with disadvantaged young people through the Cirdan Sailing Trust. Introduced to sailing by his father at a young age ... and more »

Olly Osborne is delighted to be named one of the elite skippers for the Clipper race Picture by Onedition Published on Mon Apr 18 07:41:16 BST 2011 CHICHESTER skipper Olly Osborne has been named as one of ten elite skippers who will take charge of teams for the Clipper 2011-12 Round the World Yacht Race.

In a blur of joyously glorious skill and laugh-out-loud defensive howlers this was the highest-scoring draw in First Division history, and the lessons learned will be profound. Leicester, surely, will attack Gloucester's forwards much harder if the sides meet again in the end-of-season play-offs. For their part, the Cherry-and-Whites have run into injury problems at the wrong time – the latest was a dislocated shoulder for the full-back Olly Morgan – but they have the building blocks of a team for next season and beyond.

Bath 19-15 Harlequins

Bath were down to the bare bones for this one, so entertainment was never going to be high on their list of priorities. They were missing a back row's worth of senior talent, in addition to the long-term absentees Olly Barkley and David Barnes – the latter's injury being so long-term that he announced his retirement last week.

A few minutes before kick-off the prop David Flatman pulled out with a hamstring complaint; after barely 20 minutes Stuart Hooper, a lock playing out of position to cover for the crisis in the back row, was invalided out of it with an arm injury. Peter Short, playing his 100th game for Bath, was forced off at the end. All in all, they did well to hold on for the win.

"If you look at their team-sheet," said Brad Davis, Bath's defence coach, "Easter, Care, Evans, Monye, Brown – for us to nullify them for 80 minutes was outstanding."

Predictably, Conor O'Shea, Quins' director of rugby, took a different stance. "We didn't play as we could," he said. "Everyone is very disappointed. For the first 20 to 25 minutes of the second half we were average beyond belief. That wasn't a performance level that anyone can be happy with."

The win has done wonders for Bath's prospects of qualifying for next season's Heineken Cup. They are two points ahead of Quins in the race for sixth, with a game in hand. Quins may have to rely on Northampton winning the Heineken Cup, which would earn the English an extra slot, or they could win the Amlin Challenge Cup themselves, which would seal qualification. They face Munster in a semi-final at Thomond Park. Not that O'Shea was accepting defeat in the race for sixth.

"It's nip and tuck," he said. "Let's not talk about the snakes and ladders. We just need to win games, like we needed to here."

The good news for Bath is that Lewis Moody is hopeful of being ready for the game against Wasps at Twickenham this Saturday, as is Simon Taylor. But the best players here were still to be found in the back row. Ben Skirving stood out . "On form, he's got to be our No1 back-row, hasn't he?" said Martin Haag, Bath's forwards coach. "I know we haven't got much to choose from."

Quins benefited from the perennial excellence of Chris Robshaw.

"I think he is absolutely phenomenal in everything he does," said O'Shea. "If he's not in the England squad it's testament to the strength in that back-row area, because he'd make plenty of other sides. Sometimes you're accused of bias when you're talking about your own players, so I'll leave it to you guys to decide what he does week in week out."

We all decided he should be on the plane to the World Cup in New Zealand.

Bath Vesty; Banahan, Carraro, Hape, Abendanon; James (Biggs, 70), Claassens (capt); Catt (Bell, 60), Mears (Dixon, 65), Wilson, Short (Lilley, 79), Grewcock (Lobbe, 60), Hooper (Ovens, 21), Mercer, Skirving.

Try Claassens Con James Pens James 4.

Harlequins Brown; Camacho, Lowe, Turner-Hall, Monye; Evans, Care; Jones, Gray (Cairns, 48), Andress (Johnston, 48), Kohn (Vallejos, 72), Robson, Fa'asavalu, Robshaw (capt) Easter

Pens Evans 5.

Referee D Pearson (Northampton) Attendance 12,203.

Leicester 41-41 Gloucester

Leicester may still be well placed to win a third successive Premiership title but they have become vulnerable on their own turf. A draw here against Perpignan in the Heineken Cup in December cost them home advantage in the quarter-finals and they have failed to win their last two league matches in front of their supporters, after last-minute mistakes.

Finishing in the top two will not be the passport to the final of old. The Tigers used to be the masters at closing out a game but in their new guise as a rainbow team who play with dash and colour, they no longer have a shade of grey. Their director of rugby, Richard Cockerill, promised his players an uncomfortable week after they let a 14-point second-half lead slip against a Gloucester side who were without most of its first-choice back line and who lost Olly Morgan with a dislocated shoulder in the opening 10 minutes.

The Samoa centre Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu not only denied Leicester victory with a long-range interception try as the countdown clock ticked to zero, profiting from Jeremy Staunton's decision to float a long pass rather than kick the ball dead and bank five points; he was also the most perceptive player on the field, the one cool head in the maddening heat.

Leicester surrendered their home league record last month when Billy Twelvetrees missed a penalty with the last kick of the game that left Saracens with a one-point victory. The Tigers blew a 14-6 lead in that match; when they led 34-20 on Saturday, going into the final quarter, with Alesana Tuilagi completing a try hat-trick in 14 minutes, they looked to have all but secured home advantage in the play-offs.

"We set our standards high and that was not good enough," said Cockerill. "It was unacceptable and it is going to be an uncomfortable week for some. It was loose and there were so many mistakes that perhaps the players thought it was a testimonial match. Bizarre."

The two sides could face each other in the play-offs. Gloucester's three points took them back to third in the table and on Tuesday they play the team immediately below them, Northampton. They are the Premiership's mavericks, having lost to all the bottom four sides but yet to taste defeat against any of their rivals in the top four.

"Our work ethic was outstanding, something that had been missing in the last couple of weeks," said their forwards coach, Carl Hogg, reflecting how his side could within a week suffer an abject defeat at Sale and then draw at the home of the champions. "Our effort and desire told in the end and we showed superb resilience and character to bounce back after conceding some soft tries early in the second half."

The scoreline was from the Super 15, rivalling the 50-47 victory by the Hurricanes over the Cheetahs on the same day, but some of the tackling was far from super. While Fuimaono-Sapolu schemed openings, too many of the 10 tries owed more to inept defending than attacking brilliance. It was, at times, like the Barbarians playing Sevens and with just a measure of control, either side would have won.

Leicester's England half-backs, Ben Youngs and Toby Flood, looked in need of a rest, mentally rather than physically jaded. A few months ago, they would probably have seized control of the game and left Gloucester without even a bonus point, but they were sucked into the anarchy and it was Youngs' failure to stop Tim Molenaar that allowed Gloucester to equalise with 13 minutes to go.

Twelvetrees looked to have salvaged victory soon after, only for Staunton to give Fuimaono-Sapolu the last word. "We have got to be smarter," said Cockerill. "We are playing too much sometimes in our own half. We are not making the right decisions at the right time. If we face Gloucester again in the play-offs, we know it will be tough."

Leicester Hamilton; Agulla (Smith, 55), M Tuilagi, Twelvetrees, A Tuilagi; Flood, Youngs; Stankovich (Cole, 55), Hawkins (Chuter, 57), Castrogiovanni, Mafi (Crane, 63; Staunton, 70), Skivington, Croft (capt), Woods (Newby, 57), Waldrom.

Tries A Tuilagi 3, Hamilton, Twelvetrees Cons Flood 5 Pens Flood 2.

Gloucester Morgan (Taylor, 8); May, Trinder (Molenaar, 59), Fuimaino-Sapolu, Voyce; Burns, Lewis (R Lawson, 69); Dickinson (Wood, 59), S Lawson (Azam, 59), Harden (Doran-Jones, 59), James, Attwood (Brown, 64), Cox, Hazell (Strokosch, 64), Deacon (capt).

Tries Fuimaono-Sapolu 2, Morgan, Hazell, Molenaar Cons Burns 5 Pens Burns 2.

Referee G Clancy (Ireland) Attendance 24,000.

Leicester 41-41 Gloucester

Leicester responded to last week's Heineken Cup quarter-final defeat to Leinster in Dublin by saying they needed to learn from the experience. Getting the ball to Alesana Tuilagi more may be a start. The Samoa wing scored three tries in 14 minutes at the start of the second-half after Gloucester had led 17-13 at the interval, but he did not finish on the winning side in what was the highest scoring draw in Premiership history.

Leicester have traditionally been in the business of handing out lessons, but their pre-eminence in England has not helped them in Europe in recent seasons. Today showed why. Leicester have metamorphosed from a side adept at grinding out victories and wearing down opponents into one of greater ambition, but at times they need to play with control; they too often flick the wrong switches. Their opponents, Gloucester, are themselves a side for whom the word expanse now means more than the girth of their front-rowers.

So a fixture that not so long ago would have involved two gnarled set of forwards hogging the ball had an air of frivolity from the start, as if the sun had removed inhibition. It was Super 15 rather than old school, both teams claiming a try bonus point and three in all. All cavaliers and no roundheads. And no generals.

The opening minutes belonged to Olly Morgan, the full-back whose England career has been blighted by injuries. He opened the scoring on five minutes, taking advantage of defensive uncertainty in Leicester's midfield as he ran on to the floated pass of the centre Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu following a lineout taken by the former Tiger Brett Deacon.

The lead lasted a matter of seconds. Billy Twelvetrees hoisted a high kick that fell to ground a few metres outside the Gloucester 22. Morgan was waiting and duly made the catch, but no sooner had he taken the ball than he found himself in the embrace of the prop Martin Castrogiovanni, who had made ground from an onside position.

Morgan had nowhere to go except to ground. He tried to hold on to the ball, Castrogiovanni fell on his right arm and the full-back's game was over. As help ran on, Leicester helped themselves to the turnover, even though Castrogiovanni flopped off his feet, and Ben Youngs looped a long pass to the right wing where Scott Hamilton had a free run to the line.

Morgan suffered a dislocated shoulder but Gloucester did not wilt. It was already a match of counter-thrusts with attack prevailing over defence. Leicester should have taken the lead when the wing Horacio Agulla found himself in space, only to spook himself, and had to fall back on a Toby Flood penalty. Freddie Burns failed to respond after Boris Stankovich was penalised at a ruck but he atoned by taking a quick penalty on halfway and releasing Fuimaono-Sapolu, the most perceptive player in a madcap match, for a 30-metre run to the line.

The half ended with Flood and Burns exchanging penalties. Gloucester were on the attack when the countdown clock reached zero, Deacon preferring to kick the ball out of play rather than risk another passing movement. He knew there would be a reaction and it came two minutes after the restart, Flood freeing the elder Tuilagi with a flick pass to charge through Henry Trinder and the Samoan then left Trinder on the ground again near halfway to put Leicester 10 points ahead and on course for victory.

Burns's second penalty did not stem the flow. A flowing move saw Manu Tuilagi free Hamilton, whose hopeful inside pass was seized by Alesana Tuilagi for the bonus point try and a 14-point lead. Ordinarily, it would have been enough but Gloucester are dangerous on the road against the better sides. They may have lost at Leeds and Newcastle, but they won at Northampton and Bath and within 10 minutes they were level through Andy Hazell, after Matt Cox took and gave a pass in one movement, and the replacement for the hapless Trinder, Tim Molenaar.

They profited from Leicester's refusal to tighten up. Twelvetrees restored the lead 10 minutes from time and there were 20 seconds to go when Jeremy Staunton only had to kick the ball downfield to end the match. He chose a long pass to Thomas Waldrom which was intercepted by Fuimaono-Sapolu, who had an unopposed 65-metre run to the line that silenced all but a couple of hundred in the crowd. The Tigers had never conceded more points at Welford Road in the league and they may be entertaining Gloucester in next month's play-off semi-final.

She’s one half of The Olly Girls on the E! reality show Sunset Tan. I am deeply saddened I knew that without looking it up… Anyhow, Holly Huddleston, Uh YUMP!! Digg this! Share this on Reddit Share this on Facebook Tweet This! Buzz up! Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon Share this on [...]

Check out the latest video from Olly Murs - the fourth from his debut album - for his new single Busy. And guess what? Unlike other graduates from the X Factor university, Olly co-wrote the track with Adam Argyle and Marton Brammer.

Busy will be available as a download along with two b-sides: Takes A Lot and an acoustic version of Please Don't Let Me Go. The new single is available on 29th May.

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Can someone explain this watch to me? Is the window at 12 a jump hour indicator? Also, does anyone have the watch, Manbushijie lists it as 39mm diameter but I'm keen to know what the lug to lug distance is? Image: http://manbushijie.com/upload/product/2010-6-26/16136.jpg Cheers, Olly

It was time for an away-day by a north London canal yesterday as we were treated to lunch and the annual BBC Music Magazine Awards ceremony at Kings Place. The music industry was in a remarkably good mood, all things considered, and there were some great prizes to celebrate. Record of the Year went to Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet on LSO Live, with the doughty band headed by Big Valery. Not that he was there - but subleader and chairman Lennox McKenzie had a good story about how VG phoned him five minutes before they were due onstage in Vilnius, and said "I'm here..." "Where?" "Look up..." And over went an incoming plane...

The person who was there to present them with the award, though, was Prokofiev's grandson, "Nonclassical" musician Gabriel Prokofiev (right). Something about his face is... a chip off the old block. Just look at Grandpa (above). It was a really nice thing to do and made everyone very happy.

It was a good day for "best of British" admirers, with wins for a disc of David Matthews's symphonies, Purcell's The Fairy Queen from Glyndebourne on DVD, and so forth. But Russians other than Prokofiev were also well represented: Alexander Melnikov took the instrumental award for his Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues, and the chamber music award went to violinist Vadim Repin and pianist Nikolai Lugansky for their disc of Franck and co (left) - the boys themselves couldn't make it to Kings Cross, but sent in a wonderful thank-you video in which accents and aspects alike were absolutely worthy of Creature Comforts. The France-based label Harmonia Mundi scooped no fewer than three awards. I was sitting next to them and by the end we had to be careful not to kick the glassware. Felicitations, mes amis - vraiment un good haul and jolly well deserved.


You can see the full list of winners and watch the awards ceremony online by clicking here.

Now, dear reader, when you attend an awards ceremony, you get a party bag when you leave. So what's in the BBC Music Mag Awards goody trawl? The magazine, naturellement- in which you can read, among other things, my Composer of the Month article about Dvorak. Next, a couple of the discs - not sure if we all got the same ones, but in my bag were the Bach Motets conducted by Masaki Suzuki and the debut disc prize CD (which I've heard, reviewed elsewhere and gave 3 stars out of 5). Next: a glossy copy of BBC Gardens Illustrated, a bag of Kettle Chips, a pocket-sized bar of Green & Black's white chocolate (...all gone!) and a packet of grow-your-own tomato seeds. I'm sure there's a metaphor in the tomato seeds. If I find it, I'll let you know.

Huge thanks to Olly Condy and his brilliant team for a lovely day, and all best wishes to Daniel Jaffe, the magazine's erstwhile reviews editor, who is leaving now to write a big biography of Gustav Holst.

Plus: The crying keeper; brothers sent off; why 64 points are needed to avoid the drop; and has a player ever persuaded the ref to change his mind? Send your questions and answers to knowledge@guardian.co.uk and follow us on Twitter

Last week we looked at the presidents, PMs and kings who have attended run-of-the-mill fixtures on foreign soil and were stumped by King Olav V's mystery trip to Selhurst Park. Fortunately Norwegian Eagles from Stavanger to Tromso (including the grandson of King Olav's Nato attaché no less) have been in touch – Olav was not only at Selhurst Park but also at Highbury and White Hart Lane; and his death in 1991 has had unforeseen repercussions for a tiny north Norfolk club.

But first to south London. "The late King Olav of Norway did visit Selhurst Park," says Sigve Ims. "It was a First Division match against Arsenal. I remember watching the match on Norwegian television and later got a programme from Selhurst Park with a picture of our then chairman Ray Bloye and the King in the directors' box. It happened in the early 70s when Bert Head was manager and John Jackson was in goal."

Which means that we can narrow his visit down to two matches in 1972 – a 2-2 draw in April and a 3-2 Arsenal victory in October of the following season.

"I'm not a Norwegian Eagle, rather a (blonde-ish) Aussie Eagle, but I do have a copy of Hy on Palace, a sensational collection of photos from Hy Money, Palace fan and pitch-side photographer from the 70s to the 90s," writes Phil Hawkins. "Page 122 has a photo taken during the period 1974-1980, when Ray Bloye was chairman at Palace. The photo is labelled 'King Olaf of Norway' and clearly depicts a gentleman that bears resemblance to Olav V, seated next to Bloye in the directors' box at Palace."

And, after the Knowledge got in touch Hy very kindly allowed us to use her pictures. From the poppy in his lapel, it would seem the game in later October, the 3-2 away win for the Gunners, is the game in question. The result would explain Ray Bloye's slightly exasperated demeanour in the picture below.

So after a fortnight's search, waylaid by whispers, clouded memories and dead-ends, we have photographic proof of King Olav at Selhurst Park. It seems, though, that he was not there to cheer on the home side.

"Our former king was an avid Arsenal fan and that's a fact," writes Christian Nilssen. "He visited Highbury many times during the 80s but his son Harald, the present king, supports Tottenham. When Harald celebrated his 70th birthday in 2007, the Scandinavian branch of the Tottenham supporters' club presented him with the official Spurs yearbook from 1936-37. Rumours that his favourite player is Ledley [King] may or not be true."

Here is Olav at Highbury in 1985 and very dapper he is too. But he also found his way along the Seven Sisters Road to White Hart Lane. "This article from Aftenposten (in Norwegian) was written in connection with the North London derby match in February 2008,": writes Øystein Hellesøe Brekke. "Among other things they interview the former Norway and Tottenham goalkeeper Erik Thorstvedt. The journalist states that King Olav was an Arsenal supporter. Thorstvedt replies: 'Yes, but he was at White Hart Lane occasionally as well. I remember meeting him after a match, and for some reason it slipped out of me: 'Send my regards back home,' as we parted."

King Olav's relationship with football in England did not end with his death in 1991. Indeed, it meant bad news for Cromer Town. The Crabs set up home at Cabbell Park in 1922 after the land was bequeathed to the town by a local benefactor, Evelyn Bond-Cabbell, who had been moved by the mass unemployment in the region among returning First World War soldiers. But an unusual clause stipulated that the lease would expire 21 years after the death of Queen Victoria's last surviving great grandchild. Which, as it transpired, was our old friend Olav.

"The trust disappears 21 years after King Olav's death," said Benjamin Cabbell-Manners, Evelyn's great-grandson, in 2009. "I can confirm that when the trust goes, the legal right for the football club to play at Cabbell Park goes with it."

With a year to go, time is running out for Cromer Town to find a new home. "We would love to stay at Cabbell Park but realise the chances of that are quite slim," the club chairman told the Eastern Daily Press last month. "We are keeping an open mind and we cannot say we will not move. It could see the end the club but so could moving to somewhere that is not sustainable."

THE CRYING GAME

"I remember as a boy watching Match of the Day one Saturday in the late 1970s and seeing a young goalkeeper, who'd had an absolute howler of a game, in tears and being carried off the pitch shoulder high by the opposing team," wrote David Brydon last week. "For no good reason I've always thought the game was QPR v Chelsea and that Chelsea lost 7-0. I also remember the goalkeeper had ginger hair. Did this really happen or had I eaten too many Sugar Puffs before bed?"

The Honey Monster has not been messing with your head, David, although it was Burnley rather than Chelsea, and the unfortunate young stopper does not appear to have been carried from the pitch. The custodian in question on 27 October 1979 was the 19-year-old debutant Billy O'Rourke.

"O'Rourke had been understudy to the long-serving Alan Stevenson for a while before finally getting his chance when Stevenson was injured," begins Tom Prankerd. "As luck would have it, his big break was televised on Match of the Day. But he was awful (try and work out where he was for the seventh – after charging out too early, it looks as if he just kept going), and let in seven goals. I can't find any reference to Billy being carried off by QPR, but he was certainly in tears."

As Matt Round points out, it is worth keeping an eye on Clive Allen after he misses a sitter for the seventh allowing Glenn Roeder to score:

In O'Rourke's defence he was hardly helped by some utterly inept defending and the correspondent for the Burnley Express named him as man of the match. The result left Burnley bottom of the Second Division, having picked up five points from their opening 13 games. O'Rourke would go on to play only 13 games for the Clarets before making nearly 100 appearances for Blackpool in the 1980s. He died at the age of 41 after suffering a brain haemorrhage in 2002.

OH BROTHER

"My club, non-league side Guildford City, have just completed what I think may be a unique, albeit unwanted, record," wrote Matt Howell last week. "Have there been any other instances within senior football of two brothers being sent off for the same club during the same season while playing in the same position? Regular goalkeeper Antony Hall was dismissed last weekend, further to the sending off of his brother Michael during a cup match earlier in the season. It was Antony himself who suggested this might be a record and I'd be interested to see if he's correct."

The Hall boys have some company at the very top of the English game. "Fábio da Silva was sent off in a League Cup match against Wolves for a professional foul on Michael Kightly during the 2009-10 season," writes Tim Hill. "In the same season his brother (and twin) Rafael was also red carded while playing against Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final."

THE MAGICAL 64

"The battle to avoid relegation in the Premier League seems extraordinarily open this season, with most of the league not yet certain of safety with only six games remaining and even the bottom clubs within touching distance of the 38 points usually cited as enough to avoid the drop," notes Olly Dean. "This being the case, what is actually the point at which it becomes statistically impossible to be relegated in a 38-game, three points for a win league?"

We think we have a smart answer for this. If the bottom two lost 36 games and, say, drew twice against one another, and the other 18 sides won every home game and lost every away game (which is theoretically possible, if not particularly likely) then the third from bottom side would have 63 points (21 wins, 17 defeats) and would be separated from the champions only by goal difference. At the start of every season, therefore, the minimum tally to guarantee survival is 64 points.

Make sense? Has our A-Level Maths not come up to scratch? Is it arithmetically possible to be relegated on 64 points (or more)? Let us know at the usual address.

KNOWLEDGE ARCHIVE

"We've all heard that there's no point arguing with the referee because he's not going to change his mind," said Neil Jackson back in 2003. "But has there been a match where a referee has very publicly and obviously changed his mind after being convinced by a cogent argument from a player?"

For a clear-cut case of a referee changing his mind, we turn to that most prestigious of tournaments - the Hasaki Spring Cup 2002.

As lovingly remembered by Tokyo International Friendship Football League side Saitama Jets FC themselves, they were playing against Crescendo when a man with possibly the greatest name ever given, Matt Chunk, was deemed to have fouled his opponent, and the referee whipped out the red card. Luckily a fellow Jet was on hand to point out that the player - whose descent to the ground resembled Rivaldo's World Cup amateur dramatics against Turkey - had swiftly risen to his feet and trotted off in preparation for the free-kick. As if by magic, red became yellow.

Perhaps the most famous example came in the World Cup match between Kuwait and France in 1982. It all happened after the Kuwait players stopped chasing a French attack after apparently hearing a whistle and the French marched merrily on and scored. The referee let the goal stand (making the score 4-1 to France), at which point Prince Fahd, president of the Kuwaiti FA, ran on to the pitch to give the Soviet referee a piece of his mind.

Wth the Kuwaiti team threatening to walk away from the game, a slightly red-faced Fifa instructed the referee to disallow the goal (this time prompting an angry reaction from the France coach, Michel Hidalgo). A vital decision, clearly, since France went on to win the game 4-1 anyway. Prince Fahd was later made to cough up £8,000 for his one-man pitch invasion.

However Rob Parkin swears that a Bundesliga game between Werder Bremen and Cologne is "the most notable example of the ref changing his decision". After awarding Cologne a corner, the Bremen defender Frank Ordenwitz was honest enough to tell him that he handled the ball. Without so much as a glance towards his assistant referee, the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Cologne duly won 2-0 and Ordenwitz won the 1988 Fifa Fair Play award.

Click here for thousands more Knowledge questions and answers.

Can you help?

My team, Whitley Bay, have just reached Wembley for the third consecutive season in the FA Vase," writes Jamie Young. "In the season prior to that we were knocked out at the semi-final stage, losing the first leg 4-0, but then winning the second leg 3-0. Since that 3-0 win, we have not lost a single game in the Vase. With the final still to play this season, that leaves us on 25 games without defeat (including one replay). By my reckoning this beats Liverpool, who I believe played 24 games in the League Cup without defeat between losing to Nottingham Forest in 1979-80 and Burnley 1982-83. Is this a record for an English Cup competition?"

"This is all extremely vague but I remember reading a couple of years ago about a game in the 70s or 80s that possibly featured Manchester City, in which the (possibly) City fans, upon finding their team's performance somewhat lacklustre, spent the second half humming "When a Child is Born" by Johnny Mathis in prolonged unison," writes James Stevenson. "Did this actually happen or has my subconscious invented it because I really want it to have happened?"

"Several years back [2006]," begins Patrick Carr, "I asked the question if the then Drogheda United player Graham Gartland was the only player to miss two penalties in a shootout, in Drogheda United's heartbreaking 11-10 defeat by IK Start, and I don't recall anyone writing in to say someone else had done it at that time. Is it still a record? And, while we are step dancing on my poor Drogs pain, they are currently in bottom position of the Airtricity Premier League and, if they stay there, and all indications are they might (two points from the first six games), would they be the first team to be relegated from the same division two years in a row? They were relegated last year but reinstated after Sporting Fingal folded."

"Has a manager ever been given a touchline ban for criticising the officials for decisions they made in his team's favour?" wonders Alex Zarmakoupis.

Send your questions and answers to knowledge@guardian.co.uk

  And I couldn’t put in my FAVORITE item I scored on the clearance racks: this completely adorable plaid shirtdress that I picked up at Crazy 8. My little fashionista Gracie is rocking this dress!! (gracie is pairing  her cute dress with a black cardigan from Target and Kenneth Cole boots, picked up at Olly [...]

While I agree with Olly Grender when she writes in the New Statesman that "Clegg could walk on water right now and the Daily Mail would see it as a failure or a blunder" I am hardly surprised to see it confirmed by one of their journalists. The Mail backed Oswald Mosley. With judgement like that and the values of prejudice they espouse why would we want their praise? I would feel dirty!

Hi guys/gals, Been browsing the site and looking at everyones work. Some really cool info/projects.. Names Olly live in Green Bay, talent none.....

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 5:29:20 AM CDT

New high-def channels and VM Shorts launched

A swarm of Charlie Chaplins hit London's streets yesterday to announce the start of Virgin Media's annual short film competition, Virgin Media Shorts. And,?unrelated?although seemingly fitting, the cable TV provider is also to expand its high definition channel line-up with the addition of both Sky Arts 1 HD and Sky Arts 2 HD.

The image of Charlie Chaplin, otherwise known as "the little tramp", was chosen to represent the launch of Virgin Media Shorts because he's of the most recognisable, iconic figures in movie history, and joins previous film stars Gemma Arterton and Thandie Newton in kick-starting the competition.

However, rather than just send the Chaplins into the wild and hope for the best, Virgin Media employed the talents of 2009's Shorts winner and BAFTA nominee, Luke Snellin, to create a new short film using the black and white stars. And, hopefully, it will inspire other aspiring directors to enter their efforts.

“I understand just how difficult it can be to break into the British film industry, and as a previous winner of Virgin Media Shorts, I want to encourage other film makers to give it a go too," he said. "We chose Charlie Chaplin as the subject for our short film as he is perhaps the world’s most famous short film icon, as well as being one of the most creative and influential personalities of the silent film era. His abilities in directing, writing, acting and producing make him a real inspiration to budding film makers today.”

Like with Snellin, the competition can also prove to be a springboard to bigger and better things: “Virgin Media Shorts really is a fantastic chance for film makers to showcase their talent in a competitive industry," said Cindy Rose, executive director of digital entertainment at Virgin Media.?"In addition to Luke Snellin’s BAFTA nomination, last year’s winner, Oscar Sharp, won a BIFA nomination for his short film, whilst 2008’s winners Phil Sansom and Olly Williams showcased their winning film at Cannes Film Festival. This proves that the success of these entrants doesn’t stop with us.”

The competition is now open for entries at www.virginmediashorts.co.uk, all all films should be submitted by?12pm on 7 July 2011. After which time, a judging panel including actor John Hurt and director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Ultimatum, Green Zone) will decide which short film is deserving of the ?30,000 worth of film funding.

It also seems apt that Virgin Media has announced that Sky Arts 1 HD and Sky Arts 2 HD are coming to the platform from 26 April.

Tags: Virgin Media Home Cinema Television Virgin Media Shorts Sky Arts 1 HD Sky Arts 2 HD

     

Virgin Media adds Sky Arts HD to line-up and fills London streets with tramps originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 12:30:00 +0100

[Images: Mr Paparazzi / Big Pictures Words: Staff Writer ] Olly Murs was looking rather chipper when we spotted him leaving the BBC Radio One studios in London a short while ago. The X Factor runner-up stopped to sign autographs and posed for pictures with a small group of fans that had gathered outside waiting to catch a glimpse of the singer. Olly’s on Chris Moyles’ Radio One show every...

Source : Mr Paparazzi's Blog

Explore : Entertainment, Media, Radio, Radio One, TV

Olly Murs was the runner-up of The X Factor in 2009. Since then the loveable Essex boy has found his own style and sound, while proving the critics wrong by going straight to no.1 with his debut single, the reggae-tinged 'Please Don't Let Me Go'. Olly's blend of Stevie Wonder-lovin' soulful pop and reggae show no signs of stopping, with an eponymous debut album and a tour to follow in 2011.Olly Murs Real name Oliver Stanley Murs born on the 14th May 1984 and is an English singer " song writer, who achieved second place on the sixth series of The X Factor in 2009. In early 2010 he signed to Syco Music and Epic Records owned by Sony Records. After touring with the other X Factor finalists Olly began work on his debut album.His debut Single "Please Don't Let Me Go" went in at number one in the UK singles chart after releasing it on 27th August 2010. Olly's debut album followed his second official single "Thinking of Me", which charted a...

Wonder Dogs: Medical Marvels | Candy Cabs | Filthy Cities | Campus | Storyville – China's Bleak House | White Van Man

Wonder Dogs: Medical Marvels
7pm, Nat Geo Wild

The best part of More4's recent Crufts coverage involved heroic pooches who help their owners with everything from closing the bathroom door to answering the phone. This new series is that for a whole hour, allowing plenty of time for marvelling at cleverness and cuteness. Tonight, dogs who can detect oncoming seizures. Rebecca Nicholson

Candy Cabs
9pm, BBC1

A group of feisty women friends launch a girls-only taxi service. They are heart-warmingly bluff in the face of adversity yet nurturing and supportive towards each other. And they've no end of trouble with flamin' men. (Insert condescending eye-roll here.) Paul Kaye reprises every role he's had in the last 10 years playing a feckless waster who arrives to cause trouble. In trying to produce chirpy, working-class drama, they've succeeded in patronising all concerned in the way that, say, Linda Green just didn't. Julia Raeside

Filthy Cities
9pm, BBC2

Visitors to London, Paris and New York often remark, not without reason, on the filth that plagues their streets, as if the citizens of each are afraid that litter bins are fitted with electric shock mechanisms. This new series by Dan Snow will, at the very least, remind that it could be worse. Snow will dredge the past of all three cities, starting by summoning 14th-century London, a slum so putrid that Londoners routinely wore wooden platform shoes to keep the mess out of their socks. Andrew Mueller

Campus
10pm, Channel 4

Set in the fictional Kirke University and revolving around the lives of members of staff, Campus was first shown as a pilot on C4 in 2009. It was greenlit for a full series and the result is a car crash. Among the writers are some of the team who worked on Green Wing and there are certainly flecks of comedy pedigree. But the maniacally ambitious vice-chancellor Jonty de Wolfe is a hopelessly misfiring caricature. Not having a laugh track is no guarantee of naturalism and there's barely an ounce of plausibility in Campus. David Stubbs

Storyville – China's Bleak House
10pm, BBC4

There's a scene in this superb, albeit incredibly bleak, documentary in which poor Chinese workers watch televised New Year celebrations. "Abundant blessings rain from the heavens," warbles a singer. "All things go well." Watching this, one might instead concur with a quote from the Dickens novel from which this programme borrows its title: "The universe makes rather an indifferent parent, I'm afraid." Shot over 12 years, Zhao Liang's brave film follows victims of corruption, some driven half-mad with grief, endlessly seeking redress at Beijing's court of plaintiffs – while also spotlighting the sinister "retrievers", heavies employed to (physically) dissuade them. A shocking indictment. Ali Catterall

White Van Man
10.30pm, BBC3

The ill-advised nature of mixing business with pleasure is the theme of tonight's White Van Man. The charming but flaky Darren attempts to pull off the feat of working with Olly (Will Mellor) on the house where he's just spent the night with the owner, Lucy – with neither Olly nor Lucy suspecting what he's doing. Emma, meanwhile, pitches one of Olly's business ideas to the errantly-haired Ian (Dexter Fletcher). It's Toast Office – a toast-themed restaurant with free champagne, "so you can toast your toast". It didn't start well, but this has been an endearingly surreal grower, mainly down to Joel Fry as Darren. John Robinson

Harlequins 13-17 Leicester

Easter Day is a few weekends away, but it was marked on Saturday by one member of the Harlequins' pack who had spent the week listening to how the Leicester No8 Thomas Waldrom was going to storm into the England team at his expense after the New Zealand discovered he had a grandmother who was born in the Potteries.

Nick Easter finished on the losing side after a frantic finish, but he had made his point, his furnace stocked by the presence of the pretender, even though the Leicester director of rugby, Richard Cockerill, who had reacted to Waldrom's England qualification with the relish of a driver being given a speeding ticket, started with Jordan Crane at No8 and left Waldrom with a 20-minute cameo.

Easter wasted no time in charging through Crane and thought he had opened the scoring on 24 minutes after Scott Hamilton's shanked clearance had presented Harlequins with an attacking lineout that George Robson won. Easter found himself with a 20-metre angled run to the line, and he went past Horacio Agulla to touch down in the corner, only to be denied by the video referee having put his left foot in touch.

There were other 'English' match-ups: Danny Care against Ben Young at scrum-half; Joe Marler and Dan Cole at prop; and George Lowe and Manu Tuilagi in the centre, while the inside-centres, Jordan Turner-Hall and Anthony Allen, both capped early in their careers, needed to fight their way out of the semi-wilderness.

It made for a nervy opening with neither side overplaying its hand. Quins had the confidence of a side that had lost only one league match at home in 19 months, but it as checked by their appalling record against Leicester with their last win against the Tigers coming in 2003. So while Quins had largely the better of the first half, they created only half-chances and kept making basic errors.

Leicester were content to soak up pressure but lacked their usual snap on the counterattack. Youngs and Toby Flood were muted, not helped by their forwards struggling at the breakdown, and it looked like being a pointless opening period until Quins at last finished what they started.

Ugo Monye was hauled down just short of the line by Flood and Craig Newby, but Quins recycled the ball quickly. While in the second minute they wasted a two-man overlap when Olly Kohn cut inside, Care had an inviting gap even the slowest prop on the planet would have converted into a try.

A Nick Evans penalty gave the home side a 10-0 lead at the break and that inspired Leicester to start using their muscle. It took them little more than a minute after the restart to score their first try, Newby held up just short of the line before the bill was moved left for Alesana Tuilagi to score in the corner.

Leicester had been awarded three penalties at the scrum in the opening half and the game turned when Mike Brown prevented Hamilton scoring a try after Lowe had lost the ball in the Tigers 22. There followed a series of scrums resulting in the visitors being awarded five penalties and a free-kick, Harlequins losing Will Skinner and John Andress to the sin-bin and eventually conceding a penalty try after a seven-man scrum - Turner-Hall had been co-opted to the back row – hit the ground.

It was not the end of the cards. The front rows had spent much of the game scuffling and exchanging insults, but when Marcos Ayerza escalated a dispute on the hour by dropping his head on to Marler's and inviting a two-punch response, and the referee, Wayne Barnes, sent them both off.

Evans kicked the resulting penalty to being his side back to within a point, but missed his second of the half 10 minutes later and Flood gave Leicester a cushion after yet another scrum collapse.

Quins spent the last five minutes on the attack, but two knock-ons by Tomas Vallejos and Tom Williams's failure to ground the ball after Easter's chip ensured their winless sequence against Leicester continued. The crowd blamed Barnes and loudly booed him off the pitch.

... Hotel and Country Estate and where greeted by their ever friendly staff who introduced them to Chris. Chris has been the Head Chef at the hotel for the past six years and has heavily contributed into the success of this award winning hotel. The researchers realised as soon as they met Chris, that he would be an asset to the Sussex episode which is due to air on Saturday...

Source : South Downs Living magazine online

Explore : Channel 4, Channels, Food and Wine, Olly Smith, Wine and Beer

An extended special edition for Mother's Day draws in famous sons and mums. With Olly Murs and his mother, David Walliams and his, plus Patsy Palmer and her son. And Chris Tarrant.

(TrendHunter.com) British artist and designer Olly Moss has re-imagined eight movie classics in minimalist black and red color schemes. Olly Moss first gained recognition online with his collection that turned N64 games...

The Reds go green and save pots of dosh; how London's buses have designed out cheeriness; and the bravest donkey in the north

Bright light often bathes Barnsley on that crest above the M1 which famously led the architect Will Alsop to compare it to an Italian hill village (as indeed did the Guardian, less famously, a short while before).

Now the light will be stronger than ever, with the news that Barnsley Football Club is to become the first major league outfit in the country to be powered entirely by solar energy.

If you think that gloom always surrounds the handsome South Yorkshire market town (and believe me, I have met plenty who still do), then think again. Photovoltaic panels on the roof of two stands and an outside wall at the Oakwell ground are going to be sun-kissed enough to provide enough regular energy for 140 homes.

That will meet the club's needs with some left over, which the Tykes and their technical suppliers will sell back to the national grid, in proper Yorkshire fashion. The club's general manager Don Rowing reckons electricity bills will be halved; savings running into tens of thousands of pounds.

The other excellent thing about this is that the roughly £1 million contract has gone to a firm in nearby Dodworth, Solar Europa, which is keen to interest other clubs. They've been given a hand in their early days by the Enterprising Barnsley programme which in turn has attracted £2.89m investment from the European Regional Development Fund.

Mind the doors, and your ps and qs

My younger son Olly Tweets perceptively from London, where he is part of a loosely-northern posse - not self-conscious or banging on about it like me, but just pleasantly self-assured about the complete excellence of coming from this part of the world.

'Northern cousins down for the weekend,' he notes before adding one of their reactions to the metropolis: "I can't believe London buses are designed so you can't say thanks to the driver when you get off."

Spot on. I wish I had known that when I wrote True North. Not to say that London bus travelers are irredeemably grumpy; they tend to be much cheerier than their counterparts on the Tube which I braved last night; but it's a telling difference in design.

Dotty the daring donkey

I have to share this email from the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals. The headline is: Scarborough donkey honoured for saving sheep from dog attack. What else can one say? I'm still tripping on strange images of this animal drama from the dear old resort's beaches, which have seen many excitements in their lifetime.

Actually, Dotty the donkey "galloped in to save her friend Stanley the sheep from being savaged" on a nearby farm, rather than the sands where Scarborough's more famous donkeys ply. Poor Stanley lost two teeth and suffered facial paralysis but is now fully recovered.

He now sleeps in the same stable as Dotty which is newly decorated with a PDSA Certificate of Animal Bravery on the wall. Row Brow farm also houses a strange and wonderful collection of rescued rabbits, goats, peacocks and llamas. This, too, is typical of the endlessly varied modern north.

Olly Murs tickets Manchester : M12 6AP on 2011-05-28

Olly Murs tickets Manchester : M12 6AP on 2011-05-07

Chewy Cannon, Lucien Clarke, Olly Todd, and Rory Milanes skating around NYC in a 90s vibe.

Kara Tointon, KT Tunstall, Holly Valance and Jenni Falconer are some of the stars who have thrown their support behind a new lipstick to benefit the Prince's Trust.

Kara Tointon

The Prince’s Trust was set up by the Prince of Wales in 1976 to help disadvantaged young people start their own businesses and get on their feet.

“Trust” is a new lipstick by Karen Alder, once a Trust supported business. It is a collaboration of brands, artists, celebrities, creative, marketing agencies and businesses, all working together to raise funds for The Prince’s Trust.

“I got my start in the beauty industry from The Prince’s Trust with an inspirational business mentor and invaluable loan that kick started my career,” said Karen Alder. “To be reunited with The Trust again has blown me away. I am so thankful for their support and looking forward to finally giving something back.”

To find out more about the lipstick and how to order it, click here.

Related past articles

• Celebrity Red Noses Raise Record Amount For Charity
• Naomi Campbell Announces Celebrity Charity Shop
• Celebrities Slip On Climate Week Tees
• Cheryl Cole Discusses Charity With Prince Charles
• Olly Murs To Take Part In Celebrity Charity Desert Trek

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Yesterday I blogged on the non story in the Telegraph about the Liberal Democrat re-brand. The great and the good of the Lib Dem blogosphere all did the same so here's a pick of the best takes on the story... 1. Olly Grender at The New Statesman 'The Lib Dems branding crisis' 2. Julian Astle at The Daily Telegraph (Oh, the irony, eh?) '"Lib Dems to change their logo, their name, their direction and their leader." Really?' 3. Caron at Caron's Musings 'Telegraph gets it wrong on Liberal Democrat rebrand' 4. Charlotte Henry at Virtually Naked 'The Lib Dem rebrand ...

Piano man has toured with Jamie Cullum and written for Olly Murs

Kicking off the week properly, Palace Skateboards just dropped their full six minute VHS edit of their recent mission to New York, the article from which could be found in Sidewalk issue 173. Featuring Lucien Clarke, Olly Todd, Chewy Cannon, Rory Milanes and Charlie Young, “Gangbanging at Ground Zero” awaits your eager eyes below… GANGBANGING AT GROUND [...] Related posts:

1. Palace Skateboards welcome Olly Todd!
2. Chris Johnson presents “Borrowed Ground”
3. Movements from Palace

Looking for a home....

Still looking for a home....

Free and noble spirit - glad of a meal.
My parents had a succession of ginger cats, all strays. The last one they called Olly after Orlando The Marmalade Cat who featured in a series of children's books. I see that Orlando Went To The Moon and then in another book Orlando Becomes A Doctor! Cute.

This cat made his move this afternoon. As I pulled up after being away over night the fur-ball ginger was pacing the wall outside of the house where I am staying. He, and ginger cats are generally male, jumped onto the car as I came to a full stop. Sooo cute. But unfortunately I can't take on a cat, as much as I'd like to.

The story goes that he lived across the road and when his people moved he wouldn't. He just kept on finding his way back to his known home area. Animals are just amazing at navigating their way back to where they regard as home, often traveling huge distances.

Ginger looks fit and well though. The new house owner is probably feeding him. Probably half the neighbouhood is feeding him! You have to like them don't you. Love 'em really. I think it is their free spirit and them being their own cat, so to speak, that makes felines so very attractive.