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The Italian Grand Prix takes place today at Monza. It is widely expected that Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher will announce his retirement from F1 today after the race. If he does so this would be his last Italian Grand Prix in a Ferrari.

There have been many decisions taken by the F1 authorities in recent years that ‘favoured’ Ferrari and Schumacher and penalised his main competitors to engineer close finishes to the F1 championship but today I have seen the most blatant fix yet.

Fernando Alonso is leading the championship by 12 points making Schumacher and Ferrari’s job difficult to say the least. So it seems awfully convenient that at Ferrari’s home Grand Prix Alonso should receive a ridiculous penalty for something that he in the opinion of many didn’t do.

Alonso has had his fastest three laps from qualifying dropped for blocking Ferrari driver Massa dropping him five places down the grid to tenth.

This is without doubt THE most blatant pro Schumacher and Ferrari fix I have ever seen.

The Spanish press think so also with headlines such as “The FIA fixes the championship with another penalty to Alonso” and “Low blow to Alonso”.

It saddens me that a once great sport has to resort to such obvious and blatant fixing to engineer results. Are Max Mosely and Bernie Ecclestone really that scared of losing Ferrari from F1? Do they really think that fans and viewers will accept being treated as idiots? But I guess the most important and telling question is do they care?

Alonso has said today that he no longer considers F1 a sport and sadly I and many others will join with him.

In the year when F1 has lost the last great racers and individuals Juan Pablo Montoya and Jacques Villeneauve it seems that they may yet drive away another great driver.

RIP Formula One

Am I missing something?

George Best is the genius footballer that essentially drank himself to death.. is he not?

Why the hell is the life of a suicide victim being celebrated like this?

What message does this send to kids? Hey it’s OK to have everything and then throw it all away through self destructive drinking and drug taking; don’t worry you’ll still get a hero’s send off.

With modern day footballers being viewed as celebrities and apparently being able to get away with rape because of who they are this all seem very wrong to me.

I’ve just read about Gillette’s new razor the ‘Fusion’ – this thing has five blades PLUS a sixth blade on the rear for ‘precision trimming’.

For pete’s sake how many blades do you need? Well I’ll tell you… one.

When I started shaving as a teenager I hated it; I had terrible razor rash and suffered the whole day with a sore face. The problem was I really had no idea how to shave. I eventually gave in and grew a kinda beard; looking back on old photographs this was a mistake.

A year or so later I was in the Body Shop buying something or other and found a small leaflet that changed everything. I can’t remember what it was called but it should have been called Shaving For Dummies. I quickly read it and thought ahhhh so that’s how you do it. Pretty much everything I’d be doing was wrong.

I went and bought a razor and shaving cream and have never looked back.

Being the compulsive obsessive gadget freak I am I have tried many different razors, gels, soaps, creams and oils and over time have found that the simpler the product the better the result.

This is why I find the new multi-blade razors so amusing. I’m now shaving with what can only be described as retro equipment.

I use a traditional shaving brush and shaving cream; my brand of choice is George Trumper I’m currently using the sandalwood which is marvellous. The recipe hasn’t changed since King Edward was on the thrown and it is amazing. You need just to dip the end of your brush’s bristles in the cream and you will have more lather than you can use.

Then I use a Merkur Futur Brushed Steel Razor – yep that’s right a safety razor like your Dad or your Grandad used albeit a very nice modern take on a classic design.

You’ll notice that this razor has only one blade in contact with your face at a time but you know what… I have never had a more comfortable or closer shave in my life.

The secret to a good shave is water and warmth.

  • Shave after your morning shower or bath as this will help make your beard softer and easier to shave.
  • Use a brush as this helps work the shaving cream into your beard and most importantly lifts the hairs from your skin making them even easier to shave.
  • Use a sharp blade. Use as many as you wish but you have to try a classic safety razor.
  • Rinse with cold water to close the pores.
  • Use an after shave balm or cream DO NOT use aftershave unless you want to undo all your hard work.

Most importantly - enjoy.

I was beginning to wonder if I was just unlucky or fussy or both as almost everything I buy these days seems to be faulty when I get it home or goes wrong quickly; I’m pleased to see that I am not alone.

I mentioned this to a friend after his second Apple Powerbook power supply failed within days of buying the Powerbook and he’s beaten me to posting about it.
Looking at what’s gone wrong recently it seem that spending money and buying brands no longer guarantees that something will work or last:

  • iMac – first one had a noisy PSU fan
  • Mont Blanc fountain pen – has been for repair three times in less than 12 months
  • Baby’s cot mobile – on/off switch did not work
  • Mamas and Papas push chair – faulty rain cover and missing parts
  • iPod Photo – headphone socket failed
  • 2 Powerbook power supplies

To name just a few.

Reading my list you do have to wonder about the quality of Apple hardware…

I had lunch today with a friend that works within the rail industry and used to work for the London Underground.

I was telling about my lost wallet stolen cash situation and it seems that is very common amongst pick pockets.

At one station he managed they had a set of doors that were not used but had a small gap at the top; once a year they were opened to be checked and when they were hundreds of dumped wallets were found behind. All complete with cards or travellers cheques but minus money.

Perversely, I wouldn’t have minded as much if my wallet had been stolen but it was found by a member of Virgin Trains staff.

But why does that make it OK to steal my cash?

Last night I got a late train back from London following a business dinner. Having been to a “posh” restaurant I was still hungry so bought a beer and a sandwich on the train. Unfortunately I didn’t put my wallet back into my pocket properly or in trying to get comfy on the train I managed to push it up out of my rear trouser pocket.

Anyway, I get off at my station and on the way to the taxi realise it’s gone. Luckily I had enough change for my cab so I didn’t have to disturb my family.

I got home at 0030 and phoned the train company to see if I could get somebody to check for my wallet. I held at position 1 in the queue for 20 minutes and then gave up. Do you think they actually have anybody taking calls at that time of night? Would I have been number 1 until 9am the next morning? If they don’t take calls that late at night then switch the damn queue off.

However calling my banks and American Express was much better – all my cards were cancelled within 10 minutes.

I was called this morning by Wolverhampton railway station to tell me that my wallet had been handed in. All the cards were there but not the cash.

Why is it acceptable to take the cash? The cards I can replace but not the cash.

To be honest I wasn’t that worried about the cards or even the cash really; the thing I was most upset about losing were the photos of my daughter so I’ll be very pleased to get those back.