I Am A Swede

In honour of Robert's return, here is his very first appearance on Emmerdale Farm, April 22nd, 1986:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYXZQ19KNkc

Nostalgia.... One of the best children's tv-series ever! It certainly lived up to the author Kenneth Grahame's own words about his book: "It is a book of youth...of life, sunshine, running water, woodlands, dusty roads, winter firesides."

Scotland votes against breaking away from the United Kingdom http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-29270441

What a nightmare! We've had parliamentary elections here in Sweden today, and the results spell chaos! The Swedish Democrats, a party with its origin in racist and neo-nazi movements have received 13% of the votes, the reigning right-wing parties have all lost a lot of ground while the left-wing parties have only made minor gains. It's going to be very difficult to get a functioning government. Neither the right nor the left wants anything to do with the Swedish Democrats, but at the same time the four parties that have governed Sweden the last 8 years are very unwilling to co-operate with the Social Democrats. It's a complete mess, and I think we're in for a bumpy ride.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd3d02cRINY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2KCEuF2GM4

I agree that Serena is a fantastic player, and definitely the best in recent years, but I think it's unfair to all the other greats who came before her to name her the best ever. It's virtually impossible to compare players from different eras, because their circumstances have all been different in regards to things like equipment etc Take Maureen Connolly for instance. After losing in the 2nd round of the US Championships in 1950 (at the age of fifteen), she then went on to win all the 9 GS tournaments she played in her very short career. This included a real Grand Slam in 1953, to the loss of only 1 set during all the four tournaments. Her career was cut short after a riding accident when she was only 19. Or Margaret Court, the most successful female tennis player ever. She won all the Grand Slam title (singles, doubles and mixed) at least twice, a feat no other player has matched. She won a complete set of titles before the open era started in 1968, and a complete set of titles during the open era. She won a true Grand Slam in singles in 1970, and in mixed doubles in both 1963 and 1965. Or Steffi Graf, the only player in history to have won all the four Grand Slam tournaments in singles at least 4 times. She won a Grand Slam in 1988, and 22 GS singles titles in 13 years (1987-1999). She won the first 21 titles in just 10 years (1987-1996). It has taken Serena 16 years to win 18 GS singles titles (1999-2014). After losing in the semi-finals of the US Open in 1986, and not playing the Australian Open in 1987, Steffi reached the final in 13 consecutive GS tournaments. So there are, at least in my opinion, other players who can make a claim on the title of best ever. I haven't even mentioned names like Navratilova or Suzanne Lenglen.

The men's final will be between Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic! I wonder what the odds would have been on that final before the tournament!