Lost Teesside

I stumbled upom a nice new website this evening 'Lost Teesside' . It is part of the FMTTM website and chronicals the lost landmarks of Teesside.

The first entry featured 'North Riding Infirmary' , the ENT Hospital on the corner of Newport Road, which I must have passed many a time on the 266 back to Nunthorpe. Some of the text could be better written but this is Teesside remember.

The second entry is the The Royal Exchange which I seem to vaguely remember. Apparently in it's hayday the Exchange set the world price for Iron and Steel.

The Royal Exchange in Middlesbrough, part of 'Lost Teesside'

Silly emails

I tried to register with a UK betting company today not to place a bet but to watch some live darts. And to watch the live stream you had to be registered. Whilst registering I noticed that 'Netherlands' was not an option in the drop down list so I chose Belgium as the nearest country.

I later received a mail explaining why this was.

"Unfortunately, we are unable to accept bets from customers who are registered in the Netherlands and for this reason we have had to close your account.
The reason for bet365 not accepting bets from the Netherlands is that the Dutch monopoly lotto won a case against Ladbrokes in the Dutch courts. The Dutch court held that Ladbrokes were operating illegally under Dutch law accepting bets over the internet from Dutch customers, despite the fact Ladbrokes operate from the UK. However, this is being challenged in both the European and Dutch courts and we are very hopeful that the decision will be eventually overturned. When the case is finally completed we will re-evaluate our position and hope to welcome Dutch customers back to bet365.
To let you know, we are now offering Best Odds Guaranteed on every horse race every day. Just remember to take the price and if the SP is bigger we will pay you out at the bigger odds! You can find out more information by selecting 'Offers & Promotions' from our home page.

The bet365 Team"

I loved the way they explain why you can't use their services but then continue to tell you what fantastic offers they have that you can't use.

Samba comes to the Riverside again

Alfonso Alves has brought the Samba beat to the Boro again. The last time we heard the samba beat was for the signing of little Juninho, for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd time.

But with Alves we have an exciting goalscorer at last. His record in Holland speaks for itself.

45 goals in 38 appearances for Heerenveen is an exciting prospect but can a striker from the Dutch Ere divisie step up and do the same in the Premiership.

Alves set the all time club record with 34 goals in the 2006-07 campaign with Heerenveen, butyou have to look at how easy it is to score goals in the Dutch Eredivisie.

I don't think Alves will find it so easy in the Premier league and whether his £12.5M price tag is justified we will have to wait and see.

One thing for sure he must be glad to be playing in the Premiership and avoiding all those glamorous clubs like De Graafschap, Excelsior, FC Groningen, Heracles, Almelo, NAC Breda, NEC, RodaJC, Sparta R'dam, FC Twente, FC Utrecht, Vitesse, VVV-Venlo & Willem II.

A report from Dagblad de Limburger : from Saturday.

Dollemansrit eindigt met arrestatie
Een dollemansrit van een dronken automobilist is zaterdag geëindigd met de arrestatie van de 26-jarige Maastrichtenaar. De politie had de bestuurder een stopteken gegeven omdat hij slingerend reed. Maar de man negeerde het bevel en ging er vandoor.
Hij haalde daarbij de gevaarlijkste capriolen uit. Verschillende mensen moesten zichzelf in veiligheid brengen door opzij te springen of hard te remmen. Uiteindelijk kon de politie de man op de Burgemeester Bauduinstraat klemrijden en aanhouden. Daarbij raakte een agent gewond aan zijn hoofd. De Maastricht had niet alleen te veel gedronken, maar had ook een ontzegging van de rijbevoegdheid. De politie zoekt getuigen van de dolle rit, die onder meer over de Terblijterweg en de Czaar Peterstraat ging.

And the fantastic translation site says:

Dollemansrit ends drank is Saturday ended with arrest A dollemansrit of a motorist with the arrest of the 26-birthday Maastrichtenaar. The police had the driver a stopper sign given because he swinging reason. But the man ignored the order and were off. He got near it the most dangerous capriolen out. Different men had to bring to jump itself in safety through aside or to brake hard. Finally the police could the man on the Mayor Bauduinstraat klemrijden and arrest. An agent besides touched wounded its head. The Maastricht had not only too much drunk, but also an ontzegging of the rijbevoegdheid had. The police seeks witnesses of the mad ride that went among many over the Terblijterweg and the Czaar godfather street.

The "Different men had to bring to jump itself in safety through aside or to brake hard." was including me as I had to almost dive to the pavement to avoid the pissed-up driver. Not a nice way to spend your Saturday morning if you have to work.