Monday 24th August 2009

I finished reading Matt Le Tissier's autobiography Taking Le Tiss yesterday and as expected, its a great read. Le Tiss spent his whole career at Southampton Football Club at a time when they had numerous managers and an arrogant, pompous Chairman in Rupert Lowe. We find out that the late Alan Ball was Matt's favourite manager to play under, while Ian Branfoot, Greame Souness and Glenn Hoddle were not so popular with "Le God". We also great a great insight into Matt's team mates over the years, with amusing anecdotes about the likes of Jimmy Case, David Speedie and Richard Dryden.
Its clear from reading this book that Matt Le Tissier is as big a fan of Saints as any one else and has been hurt by the club's recent downfall. The harshest words in his book are reserved for Rupert Lowe and I'm sure most fans will agree 100% with what he says about the pompous, egotistical toff.
This book is a must read for every Saints fan, who can relive the glory days by reading about Le Tiss reflecting on his best moments and favourite goals.




Last night I watched Armando Iannucci's political comedy In The Loop on DVD, the funniest film I have seen this year. Having already watched the film at the cinema a few months ago I knew what to expect, but I loved it just as much as watching it first time.
In The Loop is about the diplomatic relations between the UK and America in the lead up to a war not too dissimilar to the Iraq conflict. In England, the plot follows the hapless Minister of International Development Simon Foster (Tom Hollander), who is made to support the war by the Prime Minister's brutal enforcer Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi). Across the Atlantic, US Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomacy Karen Clarke (Mimi Kennedy) and Major General Miller (James Gandolfini AKA Tony Soprano) try to avoid going to war.
The script is excellent and takes swearing to a whole new level, particularly the lines of Malcolm Tucker and his "attack dog" Jamie MacDonald (Paul Higgins), who takes his anger over a leaked document out on a fax machine in one particularly funny scene.
In The Loop is a great parody on the diplomacy over the Iraq war, which involved the infamous "dodgy dossier". This situation can be likened to that one and it shows that politicians will spin intelligence to support their actions which otherwise would have little evidence to back up.
Like The Thick Of It, the TV programme its based on, In The Loop is a must see film for any one with even the slightest interest in politics, diplomacy or international relations.