Mess

The way that Notts bounced back after being well beaten by Mansfield last week shows immense character particularly against Gillingham the early front runners in L2. Even with midfield general John Bostock missing Notts controlled the game for long periods and thoroughly deserved their win. Lewis Macari had a very assured debut crowned with a cracking goal. A win on Tuesday is essential to get ready for the visit of Hollywood next Saturday. We pricked their bubble at Meadow Lane last season. Here's hoping for a repeat performance this season. COYP. I can't say I'm not worried about M

Dry vs canned petfood was always a lively debate when I worked in the industry. Big dogs will eat almost anything whilst small dogs are more like cats and quite fussy. Dogs prefer canned food to dry but dog owners enjoy the convenience of dry food. It smells better too. Cats are rather indifferent to dry food and much prefer canned food. It's unwise to feed cats dry food exclusively because they can easily develop kidney/urinary issues.

Spot on Cliff. Trying to satisfy two consumers when developing pet food products is quite a challenge. The product developer has to bear in mind that the cat or dog doesn't care how much the product costs or what the label says or even if it delivers good nutrition. They only care about how good it tastes. It's the pet owner who has to be persuaded to buy it in the first place. If they won't, their pet never gets the chance to try it.

Phil, Petfood companies have access to increasing amounts of offal because people are eating less and less of it. Cats and dogs love liver, kidney, tripe and associated fat (dogs only) and lites (lungs). Chicken heads and feet used to be freely available until the Chinese began to buy it up for their human population.

My early career in food was in the Petfood industry. I spent eight years with Mars. Three years in their Peterborough factory and five years in Melton Mowbray. I began as a R&D Chemist and most of my time was spent formulating their products to generate improvements or cost savings. Contrary to popular belief there's a lot of science behind the products and when I later became one of their palatability scientists I had to delve into the chemistry of flavour to try and work out what cats and dogs like to eat. Now that was a challenge and absolutely fascinating. Mars Petcare produc

Sounds good to me Phil. Best with the kidney on the pork chop IMHO I'm a man of simple tastes. A bacon sandwich, egg and chips, steak and chips, cottage pie, mushy peas, cheese on toast. They all tick my three boxes. I like McDonalds too which the foodies would dismiss I'm sure. I used to like KFC but the chicken is not so good these days. Pizza Hut is nice but the posh pizzas have too much garlic for me. A Sunday roast (not lamb though) with cauliflower cheese and properly cooked ie crisp roast potatoes.

The psychology of food and eating is complex. I worked in the food industry for many years. I'm a chemist by profession so have a good technical insight into food. Usually I work on the basis that if the food is safe, tasty and moral/ethical ie not an endangered species or human then it's OK. Yet there are things I still can't bring myself to eat because I can't get my head around it. Take crocodile for example. It ticks all the aforementioned boxes yet I wouldn't eat it because it just doesn't sit right with me. Another example is pork kidney which I love yet there ar

I thought Forest started quite well but after Odoi's superb goal they started to look disjointed. Burnley we’re unlucky with the VAR ruling I thought the footage was inconclusive it which case the goal should have stood. Amazingly Forest are up to 8th. On that showing I think that's the highest they're going to get this season. Burnley look so much better than their position in the table. I think they will survive and could well be above Forest at the end of the season.

Salford are a big team that go in hard. Not unlike Sutton really. Bullying giants I've heard them called. Notts were a much better footballing side last night and it showed. Didzy McGoldrick and Dan Cowley ran the show although Bostock and Baldwin were very good too. I can still remember that awful game back in November 2015 when we lost 2-0 to Salford in the FA Cup when they were non league. That was a real low point for Notts and now look at us. I see others say that Notts haven't played any top sides yet apart from MK Dons. Well we face Swindon, Gillingham, Mansfield and Wrex

Oz, The Notts v Milton Keynes game was played in 31 degree heat so credit to both teams getting through that. Notts were without Jodi Jones (international duty with Malta) and Didzy McGoldrick (groin niggle). I think they would probably have won if these two had been available but on the day a draw was fair. Taking a point at MK Dons is an excellent result which the majority of teams in L2 won't manage this season. Notts are starting to look a real prospect. Promotion again this season is looking achievable but as we're only 7 games in I need to temper my enthusiasm a bit perhap

I worked with a woman a few years back who insisted on saying that something was pacific rather than specific. We also used a material in the development department called lambda carrageenan which she called lambada carrageenan. She has to go down as the most untrustworthy individual I ever had the misfortune to manage. Her partner was sacked for sleeping in his office during the night shift which he was supposed to be supervising. A couple of ne'er do wells as my dear dad would say.

Notts have bounced back in style after their opening day debacle. They still have issues with their defence but going forward they are formidable. Moving Brindley into a central defence position has made a big difference so here's hoping we can start to record some clean sheets. My dear late dad was a big Notts fan and he used to tell me when Lawton and Sewell played for them in the late 40s that they didn't worry about their defensive frailties they would simply score more. Perhaps the Kop needs to sing Vindaloo “We're going to score one more than you” or preferably two or three more tha

Notts have put their opening day nightmare nicely behind them and have now taken 7 points out of 9 in their last three games. Their win at Doncaster yesterday was full of good performances apart from the silly goal with almost the last kick of the game. The Notts following continues to grow with just over 2700 fans heading North to support their heroes and what a noise they made. Luke Williams spoke very highly of them after the game in which Macca nearly had a hat trick and Jodi Jones, Dan Crowley, John Bostock, Matt Palmer, David McGoldrick and Sam Austin all looked good.

Good summary Oz but you forgot about Derby's excellent 3-0 win at Burton. I have an inkling Derby might make the playoffs at least this season. The Stags softened up The Shrimps for Notts visit on Tuesday with a good win. Mansfield have started well and are flying high at the moment. Notts performance yesterday was so much better. Another win on Tuesday should be achievable now. I watched Forest on Sky yesterday and they could have had a very creditable draw if Mr Cooper had set up to attack The Gunners earlier in the game. Cooper has achieved a lot but if he continues to rely on d

I've supported Notts since 1959 so it's hard for me to be objective about Forest but as Oz has already said their preseason has been rather uninspiring and their opening fixtures are now looking very daunting. A draw at Arsenal on Saturday would be an excellent and unexpected result. A convincing win for The Gunners seems the most likely outcome but last season Forest secured several very unexpected results so you never know. Perhaps the most worrying aspect of Forest's preseason has been their inability to attract new signings. Rumours persist about them not paying players their bonuses

Oz, I can't say I'm happy with Notts start to the new season either. I comfort myself because our first game back in the EFL was away against a team of giants who are renowned for bullying their opponents. I thought we might get a draw last night against L1 Lincoln but according to reports we just didn't turn up. Saturday is going to be telling. We certainly owe Grimsby one after the playoffs two seasons ago so I really hope we can return to winning ways before too long. I thought Notts were going off the boil towards the end of last season but they managed to win the playoff

Indeed it is Jill, Janette is Elaine's older sister. I think Elaine was at Berridge too. IIRC the family lived close to the school. Janette is on Facebook as Janette Poyser.

Hi Robert, I hope you're well and life has been kind to you. I was at FFGS 1961-6. I vaguely remember your name. I think you would have been in the same year as my best friend and neighbour Peter Tulley and Tony Otter who was my ex wife's brother. You probably also know Geoff Burns and Jane Bird nee Richardson who I worked with at Boots. Lesley Harrison (now Purser), Carol Dickens (the sister of my good friend Charles aka Tony, who I'm still in touch with) and Elaine Casterton are all on Facebook. Peter Tulley was sadly killed on his motorbike on the Isle of Man in 1976. He went

Bournemouth beach and promenade starts to get very crowded when the sun comes out. We have small place in Southbourne which is much more relaxed. We're currently renovating a house very close to Castlepoint. It's quite a project which will keep us occupied for several months. Boscombe seafront is not bad but Boscombe itself is quite grubby. Its heyday was early in the 20th century when they built some wonderful houses but the shopping centre leaves a lot to be desired. We've not explored the posh bits of Poole too much yet but love the ferry over to Studland and Swanage.

I joined Boots in their D10 Quality Assurance Labs in April 1968. It was original called the Standards Laboratory and looked out over the car parks. It was my second job after leaving school in October 1966. My first job was as a school laboratory technician but the prospects were poor so on the advice of a friend at People College I applied to Boots. I was interviewed by Mr Sykes at Pennyfoot Street and was offered a job. I still have the offer letter with its beautifully gold embossed header signed by Mr Shipside. I was 17 when I joined and 22 when I left to go to Uni. I was sent o

Lizzie, I had my first Coke out a glass bottle with a straw back in the early 60s. I've loved it ever since. The Beatles used to drink Whisky and Coke but I think Bacardi goes better. They've got a Coke slush machine here on Bournemouth beach. Very nice.

Yes Phil I know that but what's the problem? Wow it cleans pennies. The pH of Coke is about 2.5, Lemon juice is about 2 as is vinegar. Stomach acid is 1.5 to 2. Phosphoric acid is part of the unique taste of Coca Cola as is the bitter taste of caffeine. Coke (and MacDonalds) is much maligned usually based on ignorance of food chemistry.

There's a lot of negativity about Coca Cola some of it justified like the high sugar content, but the nonsense talked about phosphoric acid and caffeine is just that. Speaking for myself I just love the stuff. Ice cold Coke from a glass bottle is IMHO quite delicious especially on a hot day. It's spermicidal properties are news to me. I suspect any high acid substance such as vinegar or lemon juice would have a similar effect but my wife and I are getting too old to experiment.

I was at the Beeston site from 1968-72. I worked with a bloke called Max Higgs. He was a chemical analyst in the D10 Quality Assurance laboratories. He was quite tall and had a West Country accent (could have been Bristol). He was a really nice bloke and helped me a lot. He joined Fisons in Loughborough about a year or two before I left to go to Uni in October 1972. I saw his obituary about 15 years ago.