Saigon Raider

Finished The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larsen, this is about a year with Winston Churchill during the Blitz. Larsen is an excellent researcher and it reads like a novel a lot of the time. Don’t think this is quite as gripping as Devil In The White City or his book on the Lusitania but still very good. Was looking for a fun, easy to read crime novel and just started The Darker Arts by Oscar de Muriel. Had never heard of the Frey and McGray series but they have good ratings on Goodreads. Have enjoyed the start and looking forward to finding a new series to get into.

This is basically me right now. Every time I come up against a boss or even mini-boss I am getting killed every time. Not sure if it is the right tactic or not but I am trying to explore as much as possible to level up before fighting anything decent. Having just come from Halo Infinite what is so obvious is how small the margin for error is. It’s obvious I am going to die a ridiculous number of times before beating anything. The menus etc are also proving difficult to get to grips with and I am ending up on YouTube a lot!! I have avoided Magrit and gone to the Rountable Hall and then found the Lake instead of fighting that big fella.

I like Ciftci, but am I the only one that thought he looked absolutely knackered after 10 minutes on Saturday? Not sure he is close to starting games again yet. I would go with the same team with Zander back in goal.

Middleton was better today. I have been his biggest critic as I always felt he was playing at about 75%. He really battled today although I do think he could work the channels a lot better as he could have got behind that Hearts defence more often. That’s a small thing though as he was much improved.

That could be a decent shout. I think he gives us a good attacking option who gets into good attacking positions. I don’t want to see him in a midfield 2 or 3 but in a position just behind the strikers he gives us something different. I think a lot of the negativity towards him is a bit out of order to be honest.

He was excellent in the first hour tonight.

Psychonauts 2 for me - loved it.

I have been using the library to read physical books as I have found, over the years, to much prefer that over the Kindle. I find I read more but it does take away the option of reading in bed as my wife is always asleep before me and I can’t have the light on. We are moving back to Asia again in the summer so no point in buying physical books so the library is a great option. I listen to an audiobook while running but I struggle to get through them and have 2 Audible credits unused.

I finish every book I start (now I think about it, I don’t really know why) except for Catch 22 - given up on it twice.

Just finished Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie - nothing more I can say about give author, he is simply at the top of his game - this might be his best one yet. Halfway through Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe. Heard the author on the Adam Buxton podcast and found him very interesting. This is a book about the disappearance of mother of 10 Jean McConville in Belfast in 1972. Very well written so far about a period of history I don’t know too well (despite having loads of mates from N.I). It’s very good and will find his book on the Sakler family next.

I finished 12-5 on champs which is crazily good for me. Rewards were absolute trash and I ended up getting Stindl 3 times in a day. Black Friday has been really good I think and I have made a fortune with BPM and the league SBCs. Building towards Roberto Carlos SBC and almost there. It has helped having a son with covid so basically been in the house for the past 5 days. Have been using 87 Dalglish and his finishing is ridiculous. I reckon the gameplay has been good recently, the content has been improving and it is a better experience than last year.

Rayman Legends definitive edition is absolutely brilliant - my 9 and 7 year old have loved it for years and can do two player. My daughter also seemed to enjoy Kirby Star Allies.

Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart. Yes it’s unrelentingly grim but there were real moments of beauty there as well. I absolutely loved it and it’s a book that will stay with me for a long time.

I’m not sure anybody knows how many divisions you will drop. I ran out of qualifiers after losing three in a row 5-4! The Fellaini objectives on the no rules friendly was good fun and a bit different, completed in probably about two hours. I am really enjoying the gameplay but the content just all seems a bit lazy and shit. More SBCs with potentially league ones would help keep my interest, going on the app less and less this year.

Am now onto book #4 of the Conqueror series by Conn Iggledun, still enjoying them- so easy to read. Finished Mike Tyson’s autobiography. Was great for the first 3/4 but then the constant drinking, blow, shagging tales got a bit tiring. A Last English Summer by Duncan Hamilton. A diary of his travels visiting various English cricket grounds. He was a bit old fashioned but I still enjoyed it.

Delighted with that result…first 30 minutes was the best of the season. Midfield three were excellent for that period with Bryson continuing for the whole game. MacPherson seems to get a lot of abuse here but he has a great engine, that’s 180 minutes in three days, he gets stuck in and I reckon there is a real player there. I agree Crawford can improve defensively but he is a good footballer moving forward and is well worth a place in the squad. United awful in the first half, no threat and Saints were happy for their defence to pass it around before taking it off them when they went forward. Second half was backs against the wall but the spirit of the squad was evident with the defence and keeper being excellent. Clark obviously excellent and the double save was right up there. Middleton was the best today he has been for months, battled hard and created. Once we get some more players back we will be fine for the season. Great atmosphere and was delighted we saw it through.

I’m going to throw this one out there…he maybe isn’t any good - they see him in training everyday and he doesn’t play - it could possibly point towards something.

Thought it was a really good game and we were just about worth a point. Our pressing for the first hour was very good, Kane and May worked their arses off and it was a shame about the half-time injuries. I like Crawford but thought he struggled physically later in the game and again our lack of available subs hurt us. People shouting for Eetu to come on? On what basis? With one sub left Middleton was the only choice unless he was going to bolster the midfield. Hearts are a good team, boy who scored the goal looked threatening all night although Zander didn’t have much to do 2nd half. Always quite good fun to have a good scream at an inept ref. Not stopping the game for head knocks, a handball and clear foul on Crawford for the goal and the throw-in/corner decision being highlights. After Livi and Celtic I was happy with the performance and result - a definite improvement.

Yep, that’s exactly it with qualification and weekend league. WL is only 20 games now…last week I got to 8 and gave the rest of my games away. I prefer the new system, seems much less stressful at the weekend, for me anyway. Qualification is a bit sweatier.

From a Gold preview pack last night: Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’m playing Psychonauts 2 on the Series X and it is outstanding. It’s a platformer but is incredibly creative and you play with a smile on your face the whole time. It’s also on Game Pass - highly recommended.

Thought Saints were pretty comfortable in the second half and defended well. Efe had an awful first five minutes then settled down and strolled 2nd half, Brown is also much better centrally, he is a decent player and will be useful this season. We improved when Crawford came on as I thought both our wingers were very poor. Still didn’t keep the ball nearly well enough, especially out of defence, far too panicky. Delighted for May and can only hope he goes on a run from here, expect him to start on Wed. Aberdeen just woeful, Samuels obviously not great but Ramirez was even worse - constantly falling over and no real threat.

My friend recommended Everything…but it just didn’t grab me. His next one though is absolutely sensational - bawling at the end of it.

Been managing to read a lot over the past few months: Underland by Robert Macfarlane - had no idea what to expect form this but it was brilliant. Each chapter is him investigating a different aspect of below ground - for example, how tree roots in a forest can almost communicate and divert nutrients to trees that need it or the below ground seed depository in Norway/Finland that holds millions of seeds in case of an apocalypse. It is extremely interesting - loved it 5/5 In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson - I am a huge fan of Larsen and some of his books (Devil in the White City, Dead Calm) are excellent. I didn't get into this one quite as much - tells the story of the US ambassador to Germany during the rise of Hitler. 3/5 Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts - don't know how much of this "true story" is actually true but I found it a real page turner. Aussie guy escapes from prison and ends up living in the slums of Mumbai. It's massive (around 900 pages) but I read it next to the pool on holiday and tore through it. Seems to really divide opinion online. 5/5 Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer - I read this due to loving Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close but it was nowhere near as good. Based around a Jewish author's trip to Ukraine to try to find a lost relative - the book jumps between different times and places. Couldn't really get into it. 3/5 #1 & #2 of the Conqueror series by Conn Iggulden - Charting the rise of Genghis Khan. I am enjoying these, very interesting insight into life on the plains and how the Chin Dynasty was. Didn't think I would like these as much as I do. 4/5 A Little Hatred and The Trouble With Peace - Joe Abercrombie - can't remember who it was but somebody on here first put me onto Abercrombie and I reckon he is now my favourite author. The Age of Madness trilogy is, somehow, even better than The First Law books and I didn't think that was possible. He is such a good writer, the dialogue is sharp and witty and the battle scenes incredible - characters are well rounded (Orso is a favourite) and it is just a fantastic reading experience. 5/5

It’s Gladstone Small, former England cricket player who famously has no neck.