Plenty of Nothing

Lloyd George and the Dragon

This is the 102nd anniversary of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. Source.

Lurcher Lightship No. 4

The Lurcher Shoal is located 20 miles off Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. From 1904 to 1969 the Canadian Coast Guard had a lightship positioned there to divert ships away from the the hazardous feature. There's an automatic buoy in place now. Lurcher is also the name of the rectangle of sea that includes the shoal. Source.

Eaton's Catalogue Fall & Winter 1922-23

Source.

Dukla Trenčín

Dukla Trenčín are nicknamed Vojaci, the Soldiers. Source.

Poprad visit the Pavol Demitra Ice Stadium in Trenčín near the Czech border to play red and yellow Dukla Trenčín. Poprad are currently 5th in the standings and Trenčín are 11th.

Dukla Trenčín go back to 1962. They won the Czechoslovak Extraliga in 1992, and the Slovak Extraliga in 1994, 1997 and 2004. They won the Tatra Cup in 1985 and 1996.

The name Dukla comes from the Battle of the Dukla Pass in the autumn of 1944, when the Soviets entered Slovakia from Poland. Dukla is a commonly-used name for sports clubs founded in the Soviet era, so don't confuse Dukla Trenčín with Dukla Michalovce, also in the Slovak Extraliga, or Dukla Jihlava of the Czech 1. liga.

Pavol Demitra, Marián Hossa, Ziggy Pálffy, Miroslav Šatan, Jozef Stümpel and Zdeno Chára all played for Trenčín. 

So far this season:

2023/9/17      Dukla Trenčín 4 - 0 Poprad

2023/10/27    Poprad 5 - 2 Dukla Trenčín

[Dukla Trenčín 1 - 5 Poprad]

They Received Every Man a Penny

A Masonic token marked Lodge Crawfordsburn Greenock No. 1121. Source. The average salary in the Championship is £600 a week. Source.

Morton host Dundee United.

The Tangerines are top of the division with 31 points and a +27 goal difference. They have allowed only 6 goals, though one of them was to Morton. Last weekend they were knocked out of the Scottish Cup by Queen of the South.

Morton have completed a third of their 2023-24 league matches, have accumulated only 8 points, and are adrift at the bottom of the Championship. If they continue to play to form they will end the season with 24 points (worse that 2013-14) and a -30 goal difference (worse than 2000-01). Both those seasons ended in relegation.

2000-01    36      9      8    19    34    61     -27    35    9/10 First Division

2013-14    36      6      8    22    32    71     -49    26    10/10 Championship

Last season Hamilton had 10 points after 12 games and they went on to be relegated. Fewer than one quarter of the Championship sides that were in last place on December 1st went on to avoid the drop. (See below.)

There's talk that free agent Josh McPake is on trial with Morton. He made ten appearances with the club in 2020-21.

[But the pitch is frozen and the match is postponed.]

The other Championship matches:

Dunfermline 3 - 0 Arbroath (November 28)*

*A Plenty of Nothing Championship League Cup Round One match.

Ayr United (6th) vs Arbroath (9th) (postponed)

Dick Campbell resigned following last weekend's cup loss to The Spartans, making Dougie Imrie the senior manager in the Championship and eighth in the SPFL overall, and he still hasn't spent two years in the job.

Dunfermline (4th) vs Queen's Park (8th) [postponed]

Inverness CT (7th) [1 - 2] Raith Rovers (2nd)

Partick Thistle (3rd) [2 - 1] Airdrieonians (5th)

Other matches:

Banks o' Dee [4 - 1] Strathspey Thistle

Albion Rovers vs Linlithgow Rose [postponed]

Largs Thistle vs Gartcairn (postponed)

Peebles Rovers vs Edinburgh United [postponed]

Eglinton vs Carluke Rovers [postponed]

FC Isle of Man [1 - 3] Squires Gate

Haverfordwest County 1 - 1 Cardiff Metropolitan University (November 28)

Cardiff Metropolitan University [4 - 2] Aberystwyth

Carrick Rangers [2 - 2] Loughgall

Scottish Junior Cup, round 4:

Benburb vs Arthurlie [postponed]

Darvel vs Larkhall Thistle [postponed]

Hurlford United vs Caledonian Locomotives [postponed]

Johnstone Burgh vs Dundee Downfield [postponed]

Largs Thistle [2 - 2] Lochee United [Lochee win on PK]

Rothie Rovers vs Bellshill Athletic [postponed]

Stonehaven vs St Cadoc's [postponed]

Vale of Leven vs Auchinleck Talbot [postponed]

2023-24 UEFA Champions League group stage, matchday 5 (November 28):

Lazio 2 - 0 Celtic

2023-24 UEFA Europa League group stage, matchday 5 (November 30):

Rangers 1 - 1 Aris Limassol

2023-24 UEFA Conference group stage, matchday 5 (November 30):

HJK 2 - 2 Aberdeen

2023-24 AFC Champions League group stage, matchday 5 (November 28 - 29):

Group G: Incheon United 2 - 1 Yokohama F. Marinos

Group H: Ventforet Kofu 3 - 3 Melbourne City

Group I: Kawasaki Frontale 5 - 0 Johor Darul Ta'zim

Group J: Urawa Red Diamonds 2 - 1 Wuhan Three Towns

45th Empress's Cup, Round 3:

Match No. 21: Orca Kamogawa (N1) [2 - 3] Fujieda Junshin High School (Tokai)

Match No. 22: Osaka University of Physical Education (Kansai) [0 - 2] Ehime FC Ladies (N1)

Match No. 23: Viamaterrasu Mitazaki (N2) [1 - 0] Toyo University (Kanto)

Match No. 24: AS Harima Albion (N1) [3 - 0] Speranza Osaka (N1)

Match No. 25: Iga FC Kunoichi Mie (N1) [2 - 0] Fukuoka J Anclas (N2)

Match No. 26: Nittaidai SMG Yokohama (N1) [2 - 1] Teikyo Heisei University (Kanto)

Match No. 27: Sfida Setagaya (N1) [1 - 0] Tokyo Verdy Menina (Kanto)

Match No. 28: Yokohama FC Seagulls (N1) [2 - 1] Yamato Sylphid (N1)

Matches 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 are tomorrow.

J1 promotion playoff final:

Tokyo Verdy [1 - 1] Shimizu S-Pulse

[Somehow Verdy only needed a draw to earn promotion.] [Japanese Wikipedia Tokyo Verdy article: "Due to the regulation that the top ranked teams in J2 will be promoted, it has been decided that they will be promoted to J1 next season." It would have taken ten minutes to do penalty kicks.]

JFL promotion playoff (tomorrow):

Okinawa SV [2 - 1] Vonds Ichihara

Canadian Premier League:

York United has been bought by a Mexican consortium.

Pacific FC has released former HFX Wanderers goalkeeper Keiran Baskett.

The proposed A League second division is due to start in 2025, with eight teams confirmed so far: APIA Leichhardt, Marconi Stallions, Sydney Olympic, Sydney United, South Melbourne, our guys Preston Lions, Wollongong Wolves and Avondale FC. These are mostly diaspora clubs, which in the past the powers that be have tended to view as potential trouble, but it was an A League fixture that provided a big riot last December.

A while back I said that former HFX Wanderer Iida Kodai had signed with Sheikh Russel KC of the Bangladesh Premier League. Their season runs from December to July, but there have been some preseason games already:

2023/10/20    Sheikh Jamal 1 - 0 Sheikh Russel    friendly

2023/10/27    Sheikh Russel 0 - 0 Rahmatganj MFS    Independence Cup group stage

2023/10/30    Bangladesh Air Force 0 - 1 Sheikh Russel    Independence Cup group stage

2023/11/4      Abhani Limited Dhaka 2 - 0 Sheikh Russel    Independence Cup group stage

Sheikh Russel KC is named after the youngest son of the first President of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Practically the whole family was killed in the military coup of 1975. There's a Canadian angle.

Last on December 1st, but avoided relegation:

2018-19        Partick Thistle

2016-17        St Mirren

2014-15        Livingston

2012-13        Dumbarton

2010-11        Dundee

2008-09        Airdrie United

2000-01        Airdrieonians

Historical matches:

1882/12/2      Morton 2 - 2 Thornliebank (Renfrewshire Cup R2)

1944/12/2      Hibs 0 - 1 Morton

1967/12/2      Hibs 0 - 1 Morton

1995/12/2      Morton 3 - 0 Clydebank

Goals by Marko Rajamaki (2) and Derek Lilley.

Gleno Dam Collapse, 1923

The Gleno Dam in Valle di Scalve, Italy, was built between 1916 and 1923, and collapsed on December 1, 1923, just two months after its completion, killing at least 356 people. Source.

Mommsen Stamp

This 1950 East German stamp commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Prussian Academy of Sciences features the smiling face of Roman historian Theodor Mommsen, who was born on this date in 1817. Source.

NASA in the Time of Star Trek

Still from "Court Martial" including a framed picture of the launch of Gemini 6. Source.

NASA missions with closest Star Trek episodes:

1966/9/8             "The Man Trap" (season 1, episode 1)

1966/9/12-16      Gemini 11

1966/9/15           "Charlie X" (season 1, episode 2)

1966/11/10         "The Corbomite Manoeuvre" (season 1, episode 10)

1966/11/11-15     Gemini 12

1966/11/17          "Menagerie, Part 1" (season 1, episode 11)

1967/2/2             "Court Martial" (season 1, episode 20) (picture of Gemini 6)

1967/2/16            "Space Seed" (season 1, episode 22)

1967/2/21            Apollo 1 fire

1967/2/23            "A Taste of Armageddon" (season 1, episode 23)

1967/11/3            "I, Mudd" (season 2, episode 8)

1967/11/9            Apollo 4 (uncrewed)

1967/11/10          "Metamorphosis" (season 2, episode 9)

1967/1/19            "The Immunity Syndrome" (season 2, episode 10)

1968/1/22-23       Apollo 5 (uncrewed)

1968/2/2              "A Private Little War" (season 2, episode 11)

1968/3/29            "Assignment: Earth" (season 2, episode 26) (used footage from Apollo 4)

1968/4/4              Apollo 6 (uncrewed)

1968/10/11          "And the Children Shall Lead" (season 3, episode 4)

1968/10/11-22     Apollo 7

1968/10/18          "Is There in Truth No Beauty?" (season 3, episode 5)

1968/10/25          "Spectre of the Gun" (season 3, episode 6)

1968/12/20          "Elaan of Troyius" (season 3, episode 13)

1968/12/21-27     Apollo 8

1969/1/3              "Whom Gods Destroy" (season 3, episode 14)

1969/2/28            "The Cloud Minders" (season 3, episode 21)

1969/3/3-13         Apollo 9

1969/3/7              "The Savage Curtain" (season 3, episode 22)

1969/3/23            "All Our Yesterdays" (season 3, episode 23)

1969/5/18-26       Apollo 10

1969/6/3              "Turnabout Intruder" (season 3, episode 24)

"Charlie X", "And the Children Shall Lead", "Is There in Truth No Beauty?" and "The Savage Curtain" first aired while there were NASA astronauts in space.

1973/7/28-9/25    Skylab 3

1973/9/8              "Beyond the Furthest Star" (animated series 1, episode 1)

1973/9/15            "Yesteryear" (animated series 1, episode 2)

1973/9/22            "One of Our Planets is Missing" (animated series 1, episode 3)

1973/11/16-1974/2/8    Skylab 4

1973/11/17          "The Terratin Incident" (animated series 1, episode 11)

1973/11/24          "The Time Trap" (animated series 1, episode 12)

1973/12/1            "The Ambergris Element" (animated series 1, episode 13)

1973/12/8            "The Slaver Weapon" (animated series 1, episode 14)

1973/12/15          "The Eye of the Beholder" (animated series 1, episode 15)

1974/1/12            "The Jihad" (animated series 1, episode 16)

Nine animated episodes first went to air while there were astronauts aboard Skylab.

Waterloo in Four Languages

English. French. German. Swedish.

By other singers: Spanish. Polish. Danish.

Mr Actually: "Actually, Napoleon surrendered at Rochefort-sur-Mer."

The Earl of Wharncliffe and the Dragon

The Earl of Wharncliffe slays the local dragon in a bas-relief in Sheffield Town Hall. Source.