I will be heading down with a few mates from Newcastle, we go every year for a lads weekend on the beer :-) .  We always go on the far side which is cheaper to get in (not the reason we go there) and less crowded. There are usually at least 6 or 7 bookies standing and it is a lot easier to grab a price about your dog without having to wade through scores of punters.
   The one and only time I went in the other side it was like sitting in a green housei  in that glass fronted stand and very claustrophobic. We prefer to watch from outside, high up on the 3rd bend, which is a decent vantage point, though not good for calling close finishes from.
    Don't know what I am going for in the final, but I will not be investing heavily as I think this race is wide open. Currently I fancy backing the bitch to finally win a derby at Wimbledon, she has certainly been the most consistent, though I will have to sit down and go through the form properly.
    Bit cheesed off that I missed the price on Geordie Parker, I wanted to back him for the plate but got held up at work and didn't get home in time to get on :-(
    I recommend Derby Final night to anyone, the best nights dog racing of the year hands down.

    What a night! Horrible to see Phoenix Paddy go lame, I think he has fractured a hock.
     Back to the drawing board for me, all of my ante post bets went down the swannee on last nights card :-(
   Good luck with Farloe Premier. I might just save my money until the night of the final when we will be making our annual pilgramige from the North East to Plough Lane for the best nights racing of the year,
   Cheers,
            Steve

Has everyone lost interest already? :-)
  Looking at Tuesday nights card I think there is value to be found in Nervous Woody(T3) at 7/1 to win his heat.
It is a tricky heat, but I give him a better chance of victory than the three market leaders at a better price than all three combined. He did extremely well last round to qualify after taking a bump at the bend still posting a 28.94 in the process and his 28.59 in the previous round was blistering. He had everything his own way then and has a good chance of getting out ahead again in this heat.
  He should go clear of Calzage boy (T2) and Caulry Fast Trap(T4) by the first bend on all but his worst trapping form and traps 5&6 could easily come together at the 1st bend. Trap 1 Express Ego is the main danger for me, he should turn for the bend on the rails upsides Nervous Woody, but if Woody can get clear on the second bend he has the all round speed to see off T1's fast finish.
   Not a banker by any stretch of the imagination, but if this dog was from one of the more fashionable kennels you would be lucky to get 5/2.
   I have also invested on Droopy's Robinho before the last round at 10/1, if he can keep improving (which he should as he has had only 3three 4 bend races this year) I should get a run for my money, my main concern is his early pace, which is good but not in the same league as the market leader Phoenix Paddy(I have had a small saver on him). I am just hoping that P Paddy has peaked too early, though I may well be clutching at straws. After having an in depth look at Nervous Woody's form I have also had a bit of the 50/1 available about him for the whole event (e/w naturally).
EDIT- 10/1 currently available with Corals.

New Model Army.  All three decades.

(I don't expect to find too many in agreement with that)

Well you have found one! IMO the greatest band ever, good to find a kindred spirit in the poker community, I have a few bootleg recordings if you want any. One from December's US tour featuring a new song. PM me if interested,
   Cheers,
          Steve

Seriously Angie she is sort of related, she is my cousins half sister, I didn't know myself till his wedding two years ago. Even then I never recognised her till someone pointed it out, but I will still take that beer Tank lol,
   Cheers,
         Steve
P.S. as you well know Angie I only sniff glue on a weekend nowerdays

Gotta vote Cheryl here, she is my 1/2 cousin (true, believe it or not)

 As good a dog as Westmead Hawk is, I think a match up versus Some Picture (were it possible)  would be a none event. Some Picture was an awesome animal and without the prospect of any trouble on the first bend would simply be out and gone. There is no way I could see Westmead Hawk catching him. Some Picture recorded a winning time of 28.23, over 2 lengths faster than The Hawks best ever time at Plough Lane. I think only one dog, Greenane Squire, has ever ran faster around the 480 trip at Wimbledon.

    Westmead Hawk is a very fast dog, but his style of running makes him seem even faster than he is. As you say, Some Picture had tremendous pace all the way around the trip and you have to feel that W Hawk would give him too much of a start to manage to peg him back at the end.

    IMO Bolt is being a little hard on Rapid Ranger, he was a hell of a dog, don't forget in the Plate you often have an exceptionally fast dog ,who found trouble in the heats and failed to reach the final, surrounded by slower animals in the plate. This produces very fast times if the dogs are early paced as they tend to be out and on the bunny getting a solo. Rapid Ranger's winning times compare favourably with most previous winners, with only Some Picture and Westmead Hawk being a lot faster. He won both years in a time of 28.71 exactly 1/2 a length inbetween Chart King (28.67) and Tom's the Best (28.75) who were both in my opinion very fast dogs and just a length and a half slower than Moral Standards.

Another awsome performance from The Hawk! In the end i went in big on The Hawk (8/11 was available at the track) and also backed Mineola Farloe without Westmead Hawk (11/4 with Billy Hills) so managed to secure a doouble result. You have to feel sorry for Mineola Farloe, he did everything right, posted a fast enough time to win almost every Derby ran at Wimbledon, but just found one very special dog to beat him.
   Cheers,
          Steve

  Just noticed in my first post, I made an error " Mineola Farloe will lead up and will be clear at the start of the home straight" this should read Back straight.

 I am not saying he will be definitely third coming out of the second bend, but he is likely to avoid any trouble going around the first 2 bends due to the nature of his opponents running styles. Trap 1 is a railer and will hug the inside like glue, Trap 2 runs rails to middle and should be past Trap 1 by the bend, Trap 3 is a terrible starter and even the Hawk should be ahead of him by the bend, trap 5 is a Middle to wide runner and trap 6 is a wide runner. This should leave ample room for a dog with the Hawks track craft to get through into an good position coming off the second bend. Trap 3 should be behind him and if T1 & T6 are marginally ahead of him he will have a clear run through them as T1 will be tight on the inside rail and T6 will be on the outside. He has already beaten Traps 2 and 5 when they have had clear runs and he has been badly hampered.
   Traps 2 and 5 should be in the lead up that back straight, but again by their running styles there should be room through the middle for the Hawk to get through to the front unscathed. If, as expected, Westmead Hawk gets a clear run, I cannot see anything in the race being within 5 lengths of him.
    I am not familiar with the in running market on Betfair, but I don't invisage any trouble in the first couple of bends and he won't be slowest in the run up so he should get a lot better looking start than in past races. Not sure how this will affect the price though, I think this race couldn't be laid out better for him. I don't like backing odds on shots as a rule, but having assessed the chances of the others I am left with no choice.
    T1 &T6 are in my opinion just too slow and won't win without a lot of trouble.
    T2 & T5 have already been beaten by the Hawk with them getting clear runs and WH being hampered.
    T3 is superb in the latter stages of the race, but I just can't see any dog catching W Hawk when giving him a lead which will happen on all but his very fastest start.
    The way the race is made up I see the only potential spots for real trouble are if T1 breaks at his very fastest and goes into the 1st bend upsides T2 and bumping him across into the path of W Hawk, even with this happening I think WH can still catch T5 on the run in.
    Good luck!
   

    Just been having another look at the form as we will be making our annual pilgramige from Newcastle to Plough Lane this weekend. Westmead Hawk is the fastest dog up the back straight to the finish line I have seen in my life.
    Looking at the form I think Trap 2 Mineola Farloe will lead up and will be clear at the start of the home straight with Trap 5 Amarillo Slim lying second on the outside. Westmead Hawk should get a clear run into the first bend as Westmead Joe on his inside is a shocking starter and the two on his outside are wide runners and should be a length or so ahead of him at that stage anyway.
   He should have a gap in the middle between the railers and middle to wide runners opening up at the start of the back straight and use his track craft to bolt through, pegging back T2 and T5 on the third bend and barring major trouble hit the lead into the run in to power home.
  Well thats the theory anyway 

  Joe's Edge e/w for me, he had some good form last season, including winning the Scottish National (admittedly carrying a lot less weight), but he is still only carrying 10-10 and I have a feeling he has been laid out for this race. Obviously the two market leaders are going to take all the beating, but there is no value to be had backing horses at those prices in the National.
   So, in short, don't back Joe's Edge I have tipped it so it is bound to be the first faller in the race!

One of my personal favorites about the way we are destroying the planet:

BALLAD
(Sullivan) 1986

When they look back at us and they write down their history
What will they say about our generation?
We're the ones who knew everything and still we did nothing
Harvested everything, planted nothing.
Well we live pretty well in the wake of the goldrush
Floating in comfort on waves of our apathy
Quietly gnawing away at Her body
Until we mortgage the future, bury our children
Storehouses full with the fruits we've been given
We send off the scrag-ends to suckle the starving
But still we can't feed this strange hunger inside
Greedy, restless and unsatisfied.

I was never much one for the great "Big Bang" theory
Going out in a blaze of suicidal glory
Not foolish and brave, these leaders of ours
Just stupid and petty, unworthy of power;
Just a little leak here and a small error there
Another square mile poisoned forever
A series of sad and pathetic little fizzles
And out go the lights, never to return.
The affair it is over, the passion is dead
She stares at us now with ice in Her eyes
But we turn away from these bitter reproaches
And take up distractions to forget what we're doing

I stand on these hills and I watch Her at night
A thousands square miles, a million orange lights
Wounded and scarred, She lies silent in pain
Raped and betrayed in the cold acid rain
And I wish and I wish
We could start over again
Yes I wish and I wish
We could win back Her love once again

I missed the thread about the cards when it was up ,I don't get on here every day and tend to miss some posts as they go down the board, so I will add my two penneth worth here

I prefer A+ cards but searched for ages trying to find some poker size jumbo index ones, when I eventually gave up I decided to buy some Modiano's which I think are just as good. They most probably won't appeal to KEM fans as they are a fair bit thicker, which is the reason I prefer them. I tried KEMs and as someone else said in the thread they seem to warp really easily so I never bought any more and switched to A+. Modianos are available fairly cheaply from the States on ebay.
  There is a fairly comprehensive review of different cards here http://www.homepokertourney.com/cards_review.htm
click on the different Aces at the top to read each one.
   Hope this helps,
                    Steve

We have a sponsorship deal with them and all poker rights to the Fray Bentos name.
Anyone wishing to join please PM   

Click to see full-size image.

Fray Bentos " It's in the gravy!"

Just posting to say a big thank you to Adam,
                                                               my t-shirts have arrived and I am well pleased with them, feel free to use the Team Fray Bentos back print on any t-shirts, I am sure that you will sell hundreds 
   Thanks again,
                 Steve