1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194 
DON'T BE CROSS
Page 19
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Take a stroll with us through the little side roads of haulage, the diversions and detours, the quirky, the quixotic and the downright strange...
It's nol often that On the Margin feels the stirrings of patriotism in its blackened little soul, but this week's Euro cup has caused our bottom lip to tremble and a swelling of national pride in our chest. Well it was either that or the first rumblings of indigestion following the 12 pints of strong (English) ale and the large jar of pickled eggs that we snacked on prior to the game. Regardless of its cause we were sufficiently moved to rush out and buy half a dozen cheap plastic flags for the car before nipping down to B&Q for some red and white emulsion to redecorate the front of our bedsit. A glass or 20 of G&Ts later and a swell of fervent patriotism upon us, it seemed like a wonderful idea to paint a ruddy great red and white flag all over our body just to show how much we ruddy well care.
The last thought that entered our head as we slipped into merciful oblivion underneath our cross-of-St-George duvet cover was: "I hope it doesn't go to penalties. Still not much chance of that happening eh?" Gah! And indeed double gah!
So while we try and find a way of removing several layers of gloss paint without the use of a blow torch or white spirit, spare a thought for customers of Walsall-based bodybuilder JC Payne. Earlier this month it sent out a press release heralding Euro 2004-based offer whereby customers could have the red and white cross emblazoned free of charge on all new vehicles. We imagine there will be some out there with faces as red as the cross this morning with paint scrapers clutched in angry hands.
There's nothing more that On the Margin likes in the mornings (well, apart from gin) than several rounds of toast and a nice cup of tea. It starts the day off nicely and helps us stumble back into the real world without looking as though we've been on a night out w'rth George Best and Oliver Reed for company. So we were delighted to receive our own special commemorative pot of jam through the post the other day courtesy of the FTA, on the back of its 'Jams ahead, economy behind' campaign. Our verdict? A little thin and uninspiring (nothing like the ETA of course). There are rumours that new pressure group British Hauliers is working on a commemorative pot of marmalade but early tastings reveal that it's extremely bitter...