33 days to go until the opening test of the Ashes series, and news from both camps.For England, Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff is well on the way to recovery from surgery on his knee and expects to be fully fit for the Ashes.  Great news for the Three Lions.

On the other side, Andrew Symonds has been sent home for what are simply described as "alcohol related incidents".  Not such good news for the Aussies.So Flintoff is on the mend and Symonds is on the way home (after being on the p*ss)!!!Cue a barbershop quartet singing with Australian accents:"Goodbye Ashes ...... Goodbye Ashes ...... Goodbye Ashes ...... You're going to leave us now"

in the spirit of unbiased sportsmanship. would just like to say...GO AUSTRALIA!!!!

The truth is, Symonds was dropped for letting the side down by not drinking enough, and thereby coming across as not man enough to represent Australia.

Mike, maybe that's why I believe i heard a groan of "oh S**T" from the direction of Fosters HQ in Canberra :-)

But the paradox is that Aussies don't drink Fosters. Along the lines of "Why do they call Castlemaine XXXX? - because most Auddies can't spell piss!

Mike, I'm reminded of a poster ad for a New Zealand beer a few yeas ago asking "What do you call an intelligent Australian?" and suggesting the answer "A New Zealander". Someone used a felt tip marler to blank out "New Zealander" and in its place write "kangaroo" :-)