welshbairn

I'd feel queasy about taking tickets reserved for Ukraine and Poland fans.

Rumoured by who? What are the charges?

It's trivial.

The traditionally Unionist Belfast Telegraph have taken against the UDA and are digging up humiliating dirt. Unsure if that's a new thing. A unit in the South East Antrim (SEA) UDA drugs cartel has been told ‘dues’ from its members will no longer go to paying bosses. But any hope the decision signals the terror group moving away from crime has been dashed. SEA UDA members in the Rathcoole estate in Newtownabbey have instead been told their £5 weekly payments will be put into an Eleventh Night bonfire fund. The money had previously been used to pay its leaders in the area. The overall sum is not insignificant because with around 400 SEA UDA members in Rathcoole, dues regularly came in at £2,000 per week, which is more than £100,000 per year. “The announcement about the dues was made by the 2IC (second-in-command) who we call ‘the Cokehead’ at a meeting last week,” a source said. “With all the talk of transitioning, when he said ‘No more dues’, we thought we might finally be stood down, which is what the vast majority of members want. “But no, we were told we’re expected to continue to pay money, only this time it will be for a bonfire fund, and we’ll have to go out collecting wood for it regardless of age or medical conditions.” Insiders said the Rathcoole UDA was deeply embarrassed by the size of its bonfire at the Diamond last July which was much smaller than in years gone by. The blame for this was placed on a lack of funds to buy pallets, which was caused by several significant PSNI drugs and cash seizures. However, SEA UDA gangs in Newtownabbey, Carrickfergus and Larne managed to build huge bonfires despite police pressure on their rackets. This left loyalists in Rathcoole red-faced, a situation they are determined to avoid this summer. Our source said: “There’s a lot of one-upmanship between the different units. To an outsider, it might seem childish, but there are UDA members who take the bonfire really seriously. “It’s like something out of Give My Head Peace. The majority of members just want the whole thing wound up instead of having to hand over money to bonfire funds and being forced to run around the place collecting wood.” The Rathcoole UDA’s cashflow problems have also forced it to cut weekly payments to former prisoners who served long sentences for the gang. Among those who had their ‘wages’ docked were convicted bomber Stanley Curry and feared gunman Harry ‘Turtle’ Smyth, who was jailed for planning to murder exiled loyalist Johnny Adair. Rathcoole residents have expressed fears that a bigger Eleventh Night bonfire will bring trouble to the area. Previous large bonfires at the Diamond have seen cars hijacked and set ablaze and a man attacked with a broken bottle. Locals said the Rathcoole UDA boss known as ‘the Cokehead’ had taken personal charge of this year’s bonfire. One explained: “He’s a complete waster and spent the St Patrick’s Day weekend falling about drunk on Buckfast and sniffing cocaine. “He even boasted on social media about going on a three-day bender. The bonfire will be a disaster with him in charge.” Sunday Life revealed last year how the SEA UDA had been in tentative talks with government officials about transitioning away from crime, similar to other loyalist paramilitary groups. However, many within the terror gang believe that this, and having two terror murals painted over with images of the royal family, is just a ruse to get the Paramilitary Crime Task Force off the leadership’s back. Last week the National Crime Agency (NCA) took official ownership of a holiday home linked to former SEA UDA leader Gary Fisher. A court granted the seizure after the NCA said the caravan had been bought with the proceeds of money laundering. The legal action spooked other SEA UDA leaders who fear their illegal property and business empires, amassed with drugs cash, could also be targeted.

Diddy aye?

It's a relatively short stretch of steelwork that needs replacing, depending on how damaged what's left is, it might not take that long to fix. By that I mean maybe one year rather than the 5 it took to build.

Do you use the old road via Beauly to get to Inverness?

Another press conference in a few minutes, might actually say what happened now, it looks straightforward. Only question I have is whether it's a recent thing that mega ships aren't escorted by tugs until they're past the bridge and in open water.

The sachet my father tore.

200 thousand tons hitting something sideways whose main strength is resisting vertical forces could do a bit of damage. Looks like the ship lost power so couldn't steer but still with huge momentum, you'd have thought tugs would be compulsory to lead it out of the harbour.

Oops. About 1.29 in the top left corner below..

He lost his other appeal to delay the Stormy Daniels Mushroom Penis trial, should start jury selection on April 15th unless they're successful with yet another delaying tactic.

Boo! P.S. The single page judgement of the appeal court. https://eddsa.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/public/2024_01134_PEOPLE_OF_THE_STATE_OF_v_PEOPLE_OF_THE_STATE_OF_ORDER_21.pdf

You can book seats for €4.90, might be advisable if you're catching a train straight after a match. (I see Arch got in first). I'd check the prices of the Germany only pass against the discounted all Europe Interrail pass before buying. https://euro2024.interrail.eu/en/go

Ismaning? I originally booked a hotel there but Garching looks much easier to get back to after the game, so I cancelled it.

Some juicy anecdotes about playing golf with Donald here.. https://eu.palmbeachpost.com/story/sports/2023/02/03/trump-and-golf-fancy-resorts-a-list-partners-cheating-at-highest-level/69857594007/

If they're keeping it a secret why the red dot?

Is there any word of them opening it up again? The excuse for closing it was the the work they were doing on changing the rules on entry/bronze but that seems to be done. Culter are quite open about having no plans to move towards licensing.

It's annoying though, clubs happy to be the big boys in a low tier league spend all their cash on players instead of setting some aside to upgrade their grounds, at the expense of ambitious clubs putting the work in to progress. Culter in the North Juniors being another example.

Are Brechin fans finally appreciating Gavin Price's man management and tactics or is he still a useless tosser by only winning 5-1?

I hope anti Russia Chechens fighting with Ukraine weren't involved. Russia will probably claim they were anyway.

Is that an advert for a door company?

Looks like some genuine resale sites on there, not pure scammers. Like Stubhub and Livefootballtickets for instance.

P.S.