patchy

His "brilliant" performance, as Bellamy described it, was a shining light in an otherwise patchy team performance, and his emergence adds to the coach's defensive options for the rest of this campaign.

But the 28-year old-Californian has been patchy at best ever since he blew the chance to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March.

Monday will bring a little patchy rain to Scotland and Northern Ireland during the day, with a few isolated showers in southern England and Wales overnight.

Despite the odd good result – the first Welsh Assembly election in 1999 in particular - it has been a patchy and often poor electoral record.

For now, gold's importance for Sahel governments and the patchy enforcement of ethical gold standards mean that the commodity is likely to continue changing hands, regardless of its origin.