From Turner to Taylor and Nuno to Bruno, if the Wolves have taught me one thing, then it’s that nothing lasts forever.
And so it came to pass that the Wolves Blog has written its final chapter, in another inevitable ending that deserves a final farewell.
My first-ever post was back in 2009, for a defeat to West Ham United in our opening fixture back in the Premier League under Mick. Full of verve and vigour, I poured over each syllable like I was holding the back page, in what felt like an act of duty to the handful of Wolves fans reading it – and my good friend Thomas who I was always so eager to please.
Since that 2-0 defeat to the Hammers, I’ve seen 11 managers come and go and hundreds of players do likewise, with varying degrees of success. The highest of highs will forever be *that* Neves goal at home to Derby County, as my Dad and I held eachother in the purest footballing moment I’ve ever witnessed. The low probably arrived during a midweek trip to Oakwell, which pushed us further to life in League One. As was ever the case as a dedicated blogger, I savoured writing both.
And a line I’ll always remember penning? It would inevitably revolve around Ruben, whose powers could ‘kiss the South Bank net and the hands of the stand’s old clock simultaneously’ (or something along those lines).
In the time it took to get from McCarthy to O’Neil, my Dad (‘Scooped’ for all you old school readers!) has gradually stepped away from the walk we’ve made since I was a little boy. It’s a walk that defines me more than any other. My son accompanies me these days in a circle of life that reminds me that the end is where we always start again.
It’s been some journey and I’ve felt genuinely blessed to document much of it through this platform over the years – and even more humbled that a few of you have read them and even posted some positive comments. Each and every one was savoured like a dog with a treat and I never took a single word for granted.
But anyone who knows me has seen a bloke that has gone from Paxman to pacifist in what feels like the blink of an eye. Where I’d once wage war with Moxey and Morgan as if I was channelling my inner Erin Brockovich, I would now cross the road to avoid a second of conflict. I’m not the same bloke anymore and the days of scheming over semantics like a Kevin McDonald maestro has been replaced by a Matt Doherty muddle. I struggle to make a meaningful contribution like the glory days. In truth, I’m struggling full stop.
I’m not great with endings, precisely because I have to let go of the past (if not the future I thought I’d be typing about), but life is nothing if not circular. We end in much the same place where I began typing back in 2009; fearful that the Premier League might chew us up minus a budget to make a good fist of things. The meat in the sandwich was tasty though, wasn’t it? It featured a double dip relegation, a European adventure, a trip to Wembley and a couple of Championship wins – all to a slogan that tough times don’t last, but tough people do.
Speaking of which, the restorative comfort I’ve felt from Wolves Blog has only been enhanced by the bloke who owns the platform.
Thomas.
My friend who will hopefully understand how much he means to me. He’s the most measured, mature, philosophical, knowledgeable and humble bloke I’ve ever met, with Yoda like qualities that separate him from anyone else I’ve ever met. It’s a relationship I hope will endure for many, many years to come.
In 15 years of contributing on this site, it’s time for us to ramble on as the world keeps on turning to a pace I can barely keep up with. During which time, I’ve seen my little boy grow into a young man and have bid too many farewells that my fragile old soul can deal with adequately.
But in saying goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello, so here’s to a beer if you fancy one in future.
Thanks for having me, Wolves Blog.
Your contribution to this blog, Ben, will always be fully appreciated down here in Devon. I can fully understand that over the years, the creative juices and bound to dry up a little but, for myself, I never saw any sign that you were struggling to find new ways to entertain and inform your readers. I can also understand how feeling you have a standard to match can create pressures of its own.
Good to be reminded of ‘Scooped’. A blogger from when I first found the blog maybe 10years ago.
Thanks for all your hard work Ben. If you’re ever in the Combemere pre-match, there’s a pint of fine ale waiting for you.
Evening Wolfstroker! Thanks for the lovely words, they really mean a lot.
You were always so reasoned with your post-match thoughts… Way more so than me at times!
I’ll hold you to that beer in the Combermere. Sounds lovely x
I’ve spent 15 years writing ‘thanks’ in this comment section for all your considered, lyrical efforts my friend, so it’s with sadness that I’m now doing that for the final time.
Your honest contributions to the blog over the last decade and a half have come to define it in all the big moments. While I’ve kept the wheels turning, you captured the essence of what it is to follow this great club in a way my output could never emulate.
But that’s probably why it’s worked so well isn’t it? And why our friendship endures.
You’re passionate and poetic, I’m reserved and analytical. Fire and Ice. Bull and Mutch.
I will treasure the countless conversations brainstorming articles we might put out in those bright-eyed, bushy-tailed early years. Those sunny days out at Peterborough (driving back with the windows down and the 2-0 win pouched thinking promotion was a certainty, only to end up relegated) and Derby (in a year we did go up) and the not-so sunny jaunts to Barnsley and Sheffield Utd in between. Schlepping from The Hawthorns to Molineux on the day they stuffed us 5-1 and then speaking to the Danish reporter when news came through that Mick had been given the bullet the next day. The interviews with Lambert and Thelwell. The radio appearances. The Fans Parliament stories. All things I wouldn’t have experienced without Ben and without Wolves Blog.
I will miss the blog, but am consoled by the fact I will retain a great friend. Onwards and upwards old boy.
Wotcha mate. So I’m the Andy Mutch to your Steve Bull?! I’ll take that!
The biggest tangible success story from this blog, for me, has been our friendship. I look forward to many beers / cups of tea in the future and I will be inviting myself to yours regularly, so be warned! ?
Thanks for all of your kind words mate. You’re a hero x
I deliberately said ‘Bull and Mutch’ in that order so it was clear I was the workhorse and you were goldenballs.
Thank you both for the incredibly considered and entertaining pieces faithfully each week. Hopefully either or both of you can throw out the occasional ‘special’ to maintain to provoke further debate on the mighty Wolves. From a very grateful supporter in good ole Norn Ireland. Best wishes
Endings
One definition of life is that it’s a series of endings.
Astro physicists theorise that the Bing Bang birth of the universe itself was borne out of the cataclysmic end of another.
So who remembers the last time they went out to play with their friends, or the last time they read a child their bedtime story?
Who knew then the finality of those moments?
The trick is to replace each ending with a beginning. Easy when you’re young, not so much with age.
My regular contributions here ceased when Clives time on earth ended, just a few days after our last chat over the phone. If only I’d known so I could have told him how much I loved him.
And his loss is one I’ve struggled with massively.
My grandchildren were the beginnings that replaced my parents, my second wife renewed what my first wife destroyed and a sort of serenity now compensates for the energy & vitality of a younger Scoop.
But there’s no beginning capable of filling the void of a 60 year old friendship.
After all, I already have a faith and have been a Wolves fan all my life!
So perhaps I’ve discovered a definition of mortality – running out of beginnings?
With or without the blog, our journeys will continue.
And as I head inexorably towards my last ever round of golf, I’ll carry with me the friendship, warmth and wit of so many of you who I wouldn’t have met without Wolves Blog.
Thank you all for being as family through the good times and bad.
Thomas and Ben began something 15 years ago which has now run its course.
I wish them and everyone here many happy new beginnings; they are richly deserved x
Beautifully written Scooped. Made me think & brought a tear.
He’s a talent, my old man! Thanks for the reply x
Sage words as always Pops.
If you’d have sent replies like this a few more times back in the day, then everyone would have known that I’m the inferior wordsmith!
You’ve got plenty of rounds of golf yet… And the walk we always made down Chapel Ash will be replaced by a stroll along some fairways in Kington soon. A happy thought if ever I had one. New beginnings and all that x
Ben,
You and Thomas have changed so many lives over your period of time on “The Blog”
I meet people from the Blog all over the UK, some I talk to others don’t even know I’ve been two rows behind them all match, I v’e made some good friends and some great one’s, all of which you and Thomas in part facilitated the initial meetings through this Blog.
I appreciate the sentiment of you and Scooped days turning into yours and your son’s days, as I remember meeting you at Maccies on the Penn road with my Grandson on the way back from his Sunday game, you with your son after his. For a long period of time he substituted Jen Wolf on the North bank. Be warned Ben, he’s discovered females, now Saturdays are their time. As sure as Dog made apples your son’s time will come too, so maybe then your Dad can come full circle and return.
Anyway, thank you for how you made the Blog a great outlet of Pleasure, pain and passion for us guys, it helped to ease the pain of being a Wolves fan, ( never easy)
Stu I’ve changed my phone and therfore lost your no…I’ll retrieve it via wolves disability..Stve.
Thanks so much for the kind words Stu. You’ve always been extremely kind. I remember once bumping into you at Birmingham Airport (or did I dream this?!)… You treated me like royalty, telling your friends who I was. I didn’t feel worthy.
And again at Elland Road. You were fulsome in praise of the stuff I’d write and tell friends! I never took it for granted. And yes, I remember Maccies well!
I’m thrilled that you’ve met some friends through this place. That’s a legacy to be genuinely proud of. I am proud, and hope we can have a beer soon
Thanks again Stu Wolf x
I’ve always been in awe of your level of writing and the passion with which you wrote. I’ve often wished you were at the helm of our beloved club.
Like with Thomas, I will miss your inspiring accounts of what happened, for me, many hundreds of miles away.
It will not surprise me one bit to see you as a best selling author one day.
I wish you and your family well.
I’m genuinely lost for words GoWolves. You’ve got me feeling a bit emotional here (which doesn’t take much, granted!)
I had no idea you thought any of the ramblings I’d pen were much cop!
This message alone has made 15yrs of blogging worthwhile. I’d like to buy you a drink to say thanks sometime.
(funnily enough, I wrote a manuscript during lockdown, but it was a load of rubbish! I might revisit it and see if I can get it self published. You can be the first to read the pile of nonsense!)
Thank you again. Hope to say thank you in person one day x
We shall all miss these wordsmiths of the beautiful game but listening to the adulation being lavished upon Abu Dhabi tonight, albeit prematurely, who could blame them.
Collectively, we are still no match for proxy, oil rich states with a bottomless pot of gold that enables them to keep sucking up the world’s talent before rendering them journeymen that even then we could still only dream of recruiting.
A club for whom FFP seemingly has no significance and whilst never totally dependent upon VAR, it’s always there as a safety net lest a team from the lower half of the table should ever benefit from a questionable refereeing decision.
I feel that we have called upon these fine chaps more often than was humanly fair to help facilitate our venting about a battle that can no longer be won in this modern era.
God bless you all…
Thanks for the comment Hertford. You actually make a really valid point about VAR. It has had an effect on my appetite and enthusiasm for football, I can’t lie.
This has cascaded down to my writing, as it feels like I’ve had the life sucked out of me. So it does have something to say for itself. I didn’t want to end on such a decisive topic though (which genuinely angers me), as I didn’t think it deserved my recognition.
I can’t associate with the game anymore and it makes me sad. Let’s hope it’s thrown out soon. I won’t dwell on it though as I’ll get all angry like the old days!
Thanks for reading over the years mate
Dang ! Here I was thinking I’d get chance in future to spar with you lot again after a few years of absence due to life commitments … but if I can’t even find the time to type a few comments I’ve no idea how you’ve found the time to run this blog ! How did you do it … Magic.
Whilst I haven’t had chance to comment I have still read every article – match report and comment, almost always being my first port of call when on the throne…
This blog has been the standard to which all other Wolves online communities have been held to. And failed. You have created a space – leading by example – where the love and enthusiasm for our club can be enjoyed, discussed and at times thrashed out.
Now, sadly the council is closing the park and we must all scuttle away to our various Co-Op car parks to vape and harass people buying groceries…
Thank you for your time and insight. You have done yourselves proud.
You will be missed
Admant
Ahh Admant. You were always one of the elite posters on here and I’ll let you into a little secret…
… If one of my blogs ever received a comment from you, I’d feel it was a successful mission! I always looked out for your name and if I saw it, I’d be buzzing!
You will be missed too. Very much. Thanks for all the constructive comments and insight over the years. Would be lovely to say hello sometime x
Poignant last words, Ben.
This is such a sad time to say goodbye to the blog.
I’ve been a Wolves follower since 1959 and that will, naturally, carry on til my last day on earth, but a fairly recent contributor to this blog and have really enjoyed my short time here with the ‘real’ McCoys.
By that I mean you guys who have been at the Mol ( and away grounds )through all the good, lean and very lean times.
I’m from the South and had family connections with Wolverhampton and very rarely met anyone else who was a Wolves fan and coming here was a real joy for me.
Thanks again to you, Ben, Thomas, Paddy, Ben R et al for all the blood, sweat and tears that you have shed in allowing us all to share our love for our beloved football club.
Bloody hell, I’m welling up now…
Thank you for reading over the years Aquilador. And a massive congratulations on your years of service to our great club over the years.
I’d have been fascinated to read a blog from you, come to think of it. The best players you’ve seen over the years? The highest of highs and happiest of moments? Where Nuno’s revolução would rank amongst McGarry’s finest, Cullis and Co?
I’d love to hear all this. Maybe the next blogger ball will allow us to meet and I can ask you all of this? If you don’t mind!
Thanks for reading over the years. Up the Wolves!
Benny boy, you are one of the most talented writers I have ever come across. Always loved reading your stuff and enjoyed your company on the rare occasion we’ve managed to grab a beer together. Keep in touch mate, lots of love x
Ahh Benny Boy. Love you man. Let’s get a beer soon? I can tell you how much I admire you in person.
Well done with all you’ve done here too. You’ve given this blog a real lease of life over the years x
Well bugger me. I wake up and open this Blog only to read Ben’s post.
Only one year has elapsed since meeting Thomas and Ben at the Bloggers’ Ball .. you were both missed last Saturday night and now it’s obvious why you didn’t join us.
I really hope you’ll come in the years ahead as listening to your thoughts if no longer able to read them would be , well , a privilege.
The Bloggers Ball cannot die even if this forum does.
Thanks Ben for your passion , vitriol and wordsmithing. Good luck too.
Yesterday we visited Greenwich and stood on the meridian line. This moment defines for me WMT.
Wolverhampton Mean Time. The clocks have stopped. Dog’s not barking… and so on.
Soon we will
Be back home ,6000 miles west from Mill street Brierley Hill where my Dad first taught me about the Wolves nearly 70 years ago. Now, How can I possibly stay connected?
Without you and this Blog and the BLOGGERS?
(And wherever did Nenad end up?)
My watch will remain set at WMT.
Thanks again Ben.
You’ve brought a tear to my eye reading this Marin. Thanks so much for penning such a beautiful comment.
And you’re right, there has been a lot of passion – and vitriol – over the years!
I’m sure the Blogger Ball will continue and of course, I would love to be there. I would have been at this one, but I’ve been a bit low of late and I just found it all a bit too daunting somehow. Daft, eh? I’d have been with the brethren and a room full of people who share the same passion and has such respect for one another. But I already feel much more like my old self and we’ll definitely meet at the next one. We’ll be on Wolverhampton Mean Time, of that I can promise.
God bless mate. See you soon x
In Thomas’s “OVER and OUT” article I wrote the things I’d miss and what they’d mean to me…
And BENNIE BOY .. this is exactly what talent I referred to in you.
I personally know you as a friend .. but a writer of art .. you’re at the very top.
I readily recall those painful months of yesteryear listening to mouthpiece MOXEY and how you took it upon yourself, Thomas too, and rightly so, to challenge the top brass of Molineux…
‘… WHERE’S THE MONEY GONE ’ was the blog headline (I think) and in you tore, along with Scooped, to write some hard hitting analogy of the clubs finances at the time…
It was the glue that bonded us all together… and sadly now that ‘Gorilla’ stuff needs attention..
BEN (and THOMAS of course) .. you’re both brilliant and the hard part for me … I can’t see a new beginning..!
My mate TwixFix! What most people won’t know is that the match day experience itself is enhanced by you sat next to me every home game.
Copious chocolate aside, it’s the experiences we’ve shared that I’ve tried to get down on paper over the years.
I used to think that if I can capture the mood that we felt sat next to one another in a report, I would have succeeded.
We managed it now and again didn’t we?!
I’ll be in touch soon mate. Apologies for not making the ball. I’ll be at the next one. Keep in touch x
Ben, there has never been a shirt made with a sleeve big enough to wear your heart on.
And I love you for it.
Your writing has inspired me over the years and quite often brought me to tears. Such a shame that in future I won’t be able to click on to ‘Wolves Blog. It’s a blog. About The Wolves’, lean back and take in the sounds, sights, and smells of Molineux that flood out of – what I always like to imagine is – your pen.
A quill actually, fuelled by an inkwell full of memories.
The blog has come to an end but I would dearly love to see The Bloggers’ Ballbash remain a date in everyone’s diary for at least as long as I am walking this planet.
The mates we have lost over time can be remembered and honoured, and hopefully new friends can join the party.
I was responsible for the first low key bloggers get together at APV, what seems like a lifetime ago, and since then, thanks to people like Steve Biles, Dougie Singh and Lord Twix, it has become legendary, with ex Wolves players gracing us with their wit and fond memories from the golden years when we were a force to be reckoned with in the footballing firmament.
We must keep it going.
And you, Thomas, Paddy and Ben Rasmin will always be welcome.
Bloody hell Doog…you’ve gone and done it. You’ve actually made me shed a tear. I was doing OK up until reading this!
A single positive word from was always a monologue for my mind, and here I am with compliments like this.
The shirt sleeve not being big enough was such a lovely line. I am not so good with such plaudits. I could say something similar around a clothing metaphor…a pair of shoes you were being too big for us mere mortals to fill?
I look up to you mate. I did reference you in my comment on Thomas’ blog so you’ll be getting a big head now!
I am unashamedly repeating myself and I don’t care.
There’s an intangible quality to you Doog, and I’ve never been able to put my finger on it.
I can’t quantify it either, other than to say that on the occasions we say hello, I always leave wishing we had 5 more minutes.
I hope we can find those minutes in the months to come. It would mean a lot if we did.
A legacy from blogging that I’d really be proud of.
Will keep in touch! x
Thanks for your contributions, too.
Say, I just saw this and so as a farewell gesture, maybe we can figure a way to make the below effort blow up….
The Premier League will next month vote on a proposal to scrap VAR – but its chances of success have been described as ‘unlikely’.
A resolution to bin the highly controversial system, introduced in 2019, has been submitted by Wolves in what is a highly significant and potentially historic move.
Link to the article in the Mirror ….
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/premier-league-club-var-vote-32820179
Thanks John. I’m sure we’ve agreed and disagreed even more over the years, but there’s no doubt that this place was all the better for you being here.
It has always been a pleasure! Let’s hope they bin off VAR as a proper send off!
Nice one Ben. I always enjoyed your comments, even when I totally disagreed.
Thanks for all your contributions, Ben. I can relate to your feelings towards the game generally, and they mirror my lack of attachment to the club and football generally these days. The blog accompanied my years of peak interest, and I’ll always be grateful for that. I wish you all the best for the future.
Thanks ever so much German Wolf.
I was going to ask a daft question and ask where you’re from!
Danke, Auf Wiedersehen, and up the Wolves!
Thanks for all of your articles and posts over the years @Ben.
You always brought a reasonable view point and articulated it so well, (even if I didn’t necessary see it the same way – I knew where you were coming from).
To lose the WolvesBlog after it being part of life for so long it going to be a miss.
Hopefully it is onwards and upwards for one and all, wherever the future might take you!
Thanks again Ben
(and all other contributors and posters)
UTW
Thanks MadBandit! I’m sure I was the mad one for large parts, but it meant a lot that you could see my point of view, even when the red mist would inevitably descend!
This is going to be a loss, for sure. But onwards and upwards like you say.
Thinking of you mate.
Ben
Ben, I’ve already reached out to Thomas but just wanted to drop you a quick message of thanks too.
I’ve been reading and commenting since the start. Your posts were always worth reading and boy do you have a way with words – nobody could put it quite like you. You always wore your heart on your sleeve and really captured what it is to be (and suffer as) a Wolves fan.
I always found you a great foil to Thomas on the blog. You didn’t have to check the byline to see who was writing. ‘Strap yourself in, this one’s from Ben…’ Perhaps you were the Bakary Sako, the Ruben Neves or the Pedro Neto, while Thomas toiled away in midfield breaking up the play and keeping us ticking over. The extra bit of magic to complete the jigsaw (don’t worry, that’s not a reference to Frankowski).
Hope you’re doing well anyway mate and all the best.
Thanks Rich. Such kind words. I am storing every one and will look back in the weeks and months to come, when I need a little lift.
Some really special times and it always meant a lot to read your comments. I’ll take being Sako! (That was a nickname Thomas once had for me. He was ‘Pirlo’ to me!)
Keep the faith and all that! x
Ben …. thank you for being great fun when i’ve called you out for your posts .
you are all top boys and we owe you a debt of gratitude for friendships formed and great memories of boozey nights out with likeminded people and giving us far away supporters a room that we could enter night and day , at anytime, and talk all things Wolves
i am deeply saddened that the blog is no more but thank you all so much
Some memories to last a lifetime London, and some friends to endure for the same amount of time, I hope! See you at a future Bloggers Ball!
And thanks for taking some deep breaths before coming back at me on some of my more dogmatic Dingle moments!
Take care mate. Hope to keep in touch
thank you mate
Thanks Ben for all your magnificent posts, I will miss this blog loads. I don’t suppose someone else could take over running it…… I thought not, but it’s a fabulous platform and so sad to see it go, cheers and thanks to you all again!
Thanks Ben for all your words down the years. Your ‘We All Dream of a Team of Gray Breens’ (still faithfully bookmarked) got me hooked on this blog. It was the most hilarious and yet relatable football writing I’d ever encountered. Nothing has bettered it to this day.
Here’s wishing you all the very best in your current and future endeavours.
Kowloon, my old friend!
This was it! https://www.wolvesblog.com/276/we-all-dream-of-a-team-of-gary-breens
In fact, maybe this was my first ever blog and not the WHU report.
You were one of the originals who helped this site take off! We were a small band of brothers to begin with, but we did take off – thanks to your staying power, and others!
It was always a pleasure replying to you, as it is now.
Take care mate x
This is post is magnificent Ben, first time I’ve seen it magic stuff, and great to see the archive comments, cheers, the blog is dead…Long live the blog!
Thanks so much Bognor Wolf! It will be great to look back on blogs like these in the years to come, when the Wolves are back in Europe, winning the FA Cup and when life is generally perfect. We can dream, right?! Take care Bognor x
Just wanted to mention that, as a bare minimum, people can continue to communicate easily on X.com using #WolvesBlog. Can even have opinion polls. No predictions as far as I know but things can evolve.
I know I haven’t posted on here for a while, a bit like Thomas life has suddenly gone a little hectic!
I joined this blog when Jacket was appointed & was made to feel welcome from my 1st comment. I have made some good friends, sadly also lost a couple – gone but never forgotten.
So a massive thank you to both Thomas and Ben for their dedication & commitment for all they’ve done.
Take care everyone and Up The Wolves.
Hi Border Wolf. Thanks for being a constant presence and always finding the time to read. Take care and Up The Wolves!
Ben, thank you for all of your efforts. This really was a special place to come to. I’d also like to say “Thank you!” to Clive (gone, but not forgotten), and John (?) who introduced me to the blog. That was a weekend I’ll never forget.
Dallas it was my pleasure. John (Cotswold Wolf). Lately I ‘ve used other names as sometimes things got a bit personal.
Thanks Dallas Bob.
Very poignant to mention Clive. He was a one-off wasn’t he? There will never be another of his ilk and in many ways, this blog was defined by the great man. He will always be sorely missed. A hero of mine.
John might well have been my Dad. They were best friends from Highfields School days!
God bless x
Thank you Ben for all your wonderful articles. Truly passionate and sincere about the team we love so much. Good luck in whatever your next venture might be.
Vic
Thank you Vic. It means such a lot that you not only took the time to read, but thought they were half decent too.
Will hope to see you at the Molineux some time. Up the Wolves!
I’m not a jealous man but whenever I’ve read your offerings I’ve wished I had your talent.
Today you’ve left me in tears.
Thanks Ben.
Southampton beating West Brom last night is set to net Wolves an extra £5.15mWith 2 out of the 3 clubs coming up being Leicester + Leeds/Southampton,it saves the Premier League £103m in parachute paymentsThat £ will be shared between the 20 Prem clubs including newbies. Thanks Sandwell Town. You have just given us an extra £5 million quid. Tommy Doyle actually?
I must admit, this news caught me out.
No more Wolves Blog?!
Seriously?!
I guess all things eventually come to an end. Good, bad, indifferent, or in this case, something precious, that, week in and week out, just makes life that little bit better.
I always looked forward to reading the match previews and post match analysis. They are superbly written and must have taken a significant amount of personal time.
Equally, contributions from the blog community demonstrate what a wonderful, knowledgeable and passionate group you are; one that I have been so fortunate to be a part of for many years.
So, without further ado, I would like to say thank you for creating and maintaining this superb blog and thank you to all those who have read and contributed.
I will truly miss it.
UTW
Thanks for all the studious and well written comments over the years which have helped to make this one of the more considered and worthy blogs around. Best of luck for your future…