Scotland in Spring - Part II

Back on the 1st of March, I posted some chilly photos depicting the vagaries of Scottish weather. Well, here we are 2 months on and Glen Tanar was looking awesome today as the 'little woman' and I walked the dog.

Speaking of Success

Good luck to the grinning eejits's mob in the UEFA Cup Final and what a game again to qualify for the final.

Oh so sweet.

Chelsea 3-0 Man Utd

Chelsea clinched a second successive Premiership title with victory over Man United at Stamford Bridge.

Jose Mourinho's side needed only a point to put the seal on another title triumph, and William Gallas set them on their way with a fifth-minute header.

Joe Cole added a brilliant individual goal on the hour and Ricardo Carvalho fired home Chelsea's third.

But the mood of celebration was dampened as England hope Wayne Rooney was stretchered off late on.

Chelsea boss Mourinho restored Cole and Arjen Robben to the side that lost the FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool.

And with only a point needed to secure the title, Chelsea made the perfect start when they went ahead inside five minutes.

Frank Lampard's corner was knocked forward by Drogba and Gallas stole in to head past the stranded Edwin Van der Sar.

There was a major scare for Chelsea and England two minutes later when John Terry was felled by a late tackle from international team-mate Rooney.

Terry lay motionless for a lengthy period with what looked like a shin injury, but just as a stretcher was being brought out, he recovered and was able to continue after several minutes' treatment.

Rooney was United's main threat, and he almost capped a brilliant solo run with an equaliser after 21 minutes.

He glided past Terry and Paulo Ferreira but pulled his shot wide with only Petr Cech to beat.

And he brought another fine save from the keeper three minutes before half-time, Cech diving low to his right to save Rooney's instant 20-yard drive.

Chelsea almost got a second when Cole curled a finish inches wide after 54 minutes - but he made no mistake with a stunning individual effort six minutes later.

Cole took out Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Mikael Silvestre with a single turn before racing on to fire high past Van der Sar.

Desperate United boss Sir Alex Ferguson made a change after 64 minutes, sending on Ruud van Nistelrooy for the disappointing Cristiano Ronaldo.

Rooney was then involved in an incident that casts a huge shadow over England's World Cup plans with 15 minutes left.

He stumbled into an innocuous challenge with Ferreira, but collapsed in again clutching the same right foot he broke against Portugal in Euro 2004.

Rooney looked in agony as he was strapped on to a stretcher, leaving the field to sympathic applause from anxious fans of both sides.

Chelsea's title party started in earnest at the final whistle, though the worries over Rooney were a worry for those celebrating as well as the United fans forced to accept their Premiership dreams were over for another season.

---

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho
"The result perhaps does not reflect how well Manchester United played.

"They really made it tough for us and were fantastic with their attacking movement.

"But we overcame it to confirm our position as Premiership champions."

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson
"It was harsh and I don't think 3-0 was a fair reflection of our performance.

"If you lose goals as softly as we did today you have to take your medicine for that.

"We had a lot of the play and made some good chances but we didn't make it count.

"But Chelsea deserve all the plaudits they will get and, especially on their home form, they are worthy champions."

Chelsea: Cech, Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, Terry, Gallas, Makelele, Joe Cole (Crespo 76), Essien, Lampard, Robben (Duff 66), Drogba (Maniche 85).
Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Geremi.

Booked: Cech, Makelele, Gallas, Joe Cole.

Goals: Gallas 5, Joe Cole 61, Ricardo Carvalho 73.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Silvestre, Ronaldo (van Nistelrooy 64), O'Shea, Giggs (Richardson 73), Park, Rooney (Evra 82), Saha.
Subs Not Used: Howard, Brown.

Booked: Ronaldo, Rooney.

Att: 42,219

Ref: M Dean (Wirral).

Cleaning - 'The New Therapy'

A happy woman?

Cleaning the house helps women feel in control of their lives, new research suggests. Despite spending longer in the workplace, nearly half the respondents (46%) described themselves as "cleanaholics".

Seven out of 10 women questioned admitted they could not leave the house in a mess without worrying about it.

More than half (58%) felt "depressed" if their house was messy, while 59% said untidiness and clutter made them feel tense.

Only 4% of the women questioned said cleaning was a "waste of time and effort".

The online housework survey of 2,000 women, average age 38, was commissioned by DiscoveryHome and Health. Dee Smith, executive producer of the channel's Cleanaholics series, said: "British women feel happier and more in control of their lives when their home is clean and tidy. "Judging by their high powered cleaning habits there are more desperate housewives on this side of the Atlantic than the other."

She added: "Cleaning is the new therapy."

Feeling Blue

Well that's the double done for and no chance of meeting the 'grinning eejit's' mob in the final either.

Done Drifting

Heather Nova is offering her new video 'Done Drifting' for all to view here.

.... and if you want to keep this video on your hard drive and view full screen in quick time/itunes/real/winamp etc. see comments.

New Beat?

Following a trek for charity some of the guys have a new beat in the Himalayas!







Sean is particularly pleased with the view of Mt Everest.

SiteAdvisor bought by McAfee

This useful application for both IE and Firefox has been bought by McAfee. If you want to try it - click here

Here we go again - another IE patch needed

Well ... guess what?

Try this on Firefox and there is no problem. Try it on IE and.......

Need I say more?