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Diary - Tuesday 23 March 2004

23 March 2004

Town's bid to snatch the Football League record for the most players used in a single season goes from strength to strength with 34-year-old former Bradford winger Jamie Lawrence enlisting in Nicky Law's hastily assembled black and white army until the summer. After itty-bitty spells with Leicester, Coventry and Sunderland, "Town's latest edition" (© gtfc.co.uk) joined the Bantams in 1997, scoring 14 goals in 172 appearances, and was a regular starter during Law's own tenure at Valley Parade before switching to Walsall at the back end of last season. A London-born Jamaican international, he most recently turned out for his adopted country in a 1-0 friendly defeat by Brazil last October, returning to first division duty for the midlands outfit - who have released him to GTFC on a free - just two days later. "I have never lost here at Blundell Park," declares Lawrence, who is sure to discover very soon that there's a first time for everything.

As if this were not reason enough to convince wavering Mariners supporters that they will still enjoy second division football next season, Town's bid for third-tier survival is boosted by the news that the not entirely unsuccessful loanee Craig Armstrong has extended his sojourn at Blundell Park for the remainder of the current campaign. The versatile Sheffield Wednesday reject - who now-destitute Huddersfield once deemed to be worth three quarters of a million quid - has turned out eight times for GTFC so far, in an interesting variety of positions across the back four, and with no prospect of a return to first-team action at Hillsborough has thrown in his lot with the Nicky Law revolution - for another six weeks, at any rate.

Which is just as well really, because there's not much chance of Georges Santos coming back to Cleethorpes, even though Ipswich are prepared to let him leave on a free. The immense Frenchman, who endeared himself to all right-thinking Town fans in last year's relegation season by winning lots of headers and kicking people, was given a two-year contract at Portman Road after leaving Blundell Park on a Bosman last summer but is now deemed surplus to Suffolk's footballing requirements and is already in talks with Watford, before you get all excited. Yeah, it's a shame; he could probably do a job up front for a Nicky Law side.

Guest Diary is on the old email with a peace offering to Dave Otter of Grimsby Town Supporters Trust. "I'll join his trust if he'll buy a T-shirt," says GD, who admits: "I seem to keep ruffling Dave's feathers." Over to you, Mr Otter... meanwhile, back in Canada, James Booth has leapt to his keyboard to explain his sombre expression - pointed out yesterday by Emma Gillingham - in the T-shirt modelling photo that made it into the Yorkshire Post last week. "Although I am not looking too happy," admits yer man, "for once it was not the Mariners who caused my misery but my adopted team - the Toronto Maple Leafs (honest, Leafs not Leaves) who were losing on the night of the picture. Normally when holding a beer I would look much happier, sorry I have become the unofficial miserable git poster boy for the T-shirts." James, your grandchildren will be proud.

In curry news today, the food colourings that give dishes such as tikka masala their distinctive hues are often being used in dangerously large quantities, according to trading standards personnel. A survey by Surrey officers has revealed that over half of the samples taken in their county contained illegal levels of colourants such as tartrazine, sunset yellow and ponceau 4R - substances that have been linked to hyperactivity, asthma and even cancer, and are banned outright in many countries. "I'm staggered that so many are using these colourings at these levels," says Chad Rahman, National Curry Chef of the Year 2002 and 2003. Diary readers are urged to be vigilant and report any suspicious Rubies to diary@codalmighty.com.