Football clubs have a tendency to change their kits a lot these days.
New strips are seemingly brought out for reasons both commemorative and spurious. 100th anniversary. Anniversary of a major win. Anniversary of moving ground.
But Christmas. That's a new one on us.
So congratulations to Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund for spotting a gap in the market, and launching new kits designed to be worn during the winter holiday season.
And major kudos to Bremen, because if you're going to do this kind of thing, do it properly.
For while Dortmund's new winter kit looks just looks like a standard kit - slightly retro, some shading and embossing, but otherwise could be a home kit - Bremen have gone the whole hog and redesigned the club badge. Into a Christmas tree.
This is, in fact,the 11th year that Bremen has swapped out their traditional diamond-shaped club bandage for a more festive looking one, which will be worn as a one off during the final home game before Christmas, against Nurnberg on December 16.
In every other respect, it's the same as the normal home kit. Except it's got what looks like a car air freshener for a badge. And it comes in a lovely gift presentation box.
At least Dortmund's kit will get outings in three matches - against Greuter Furth on December 17, Mainz on Christmas Eve and then again three days later against Fortuna Dusseldorf.
Ho. Ho. Ho.
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MATCH INFO
Europa League final
Who: Marseille v Atletico Madrid
Where: Parc OL, Lyon, France
When: Wednesday, 10.45pm kick off (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
It's Monty Python's Crashing Rocket Circus
To the theme tune of the famous zany British comedy TV show, SpaceX has shown exactly what can go wrong when you try to land a rocket.
The two minute video posted on YouTube is a compilation of crashes and explosion as the company, created by billionaire Elon Musk, refined the technique of reusable space flight.
SpaceX is able to land its rockets on land once they have completed the first stage of their mission, and is able to resuse them multiple times - a first for space flight.
But as the video, How Not to Land an Orbital Rocket Booster, demonstrates, it was a case if you fail, try and try again.
Company%C2%A0profile
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Young women have more “financial grit”, but fall behind on investing
In an October survey of young adults aged 16 to 25, Charles Schwab found young women are more driven to reach financial independence than young men (67 per cent versus. 58 per cent). They are more likely to take on extra work to make ends meet and see more value than men in creating a plan to achieve their financial goals. Yet, despite all these good ‘first’ measures, they are investing and saving less than young men – falling early into the financial gender gap.
While the women surveyed report spending 36 per cent less than men, they have far less savings than men ($1,267 versus $2,000) – a nearly 60 per cent difference.
In addition, twice as many young men as women say they would invest spare cash, and almost twice as many young men as women report having investment accounts (though most young adults do not invest at all).
“Despite their good intentions, young women start to fall behind their male counterparts in savings and investing early on in life,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, senior vice president, Charles Schwab. “They start off showing a strong financial planning mindset, but there is still room for further education when it comes to managing their day-to-day finances.”
Ms Schwab-Pomerantz says parents should be conveying the same messages to boys and girls about money, but should tailor those conversations based on the individual and gender.
"Our study shows that while boys are spending more than girls, they also are saving more. Have open and honest conversations with your daughters about the wage and savings gap," she said. "Teach kids about the importance of investing – especially girls, who as we see in this study, aren’t investing as much. Part of being financially prepared is learning to make the most of your money, and that means investing early and consistently."
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