Chelsea is hard to catch- Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho believes a long winning run is required for Chelsea to be overtaken in the Premier League as he does not expect his side to endure a poor run of form.

Chelsea travel to Sunderland on Saturday as champions-elect in many people's eyes -- unbeaten with 10 wins from 12 games and six points clear at the summit.

Mourinho has confidence his side, whose last league loss was to Sunderland in April, will not suffer an alarming form dip and believes it would take something special for the Blues to be dethroned.

"It would take some other clubs winning every match," he said. "With my team, I don't believe in bad periods. I believe in a defeat. I believe that there are many, many difficult matches ahead of us, so many points to lose. I believe in that.

"But I don't believe in bad moments. The team is a good team, a solid team. The players know what they want and how to reach it."

Mourinho is so happy with Chelsea this season that he has permitted a Christmas party. A miserly Mourinho cancelled last year's festive shindig, with former Blue Ashley Cole instead attending Arsenal's party.

The Portuguese has given the go-ahead for a family party despite a hectic schedule of nine matches in a month, beginning at the Stadium of Light.

"There are Christmas parties and 'Christmas parties,'" said Mourinho. "This one I think the families deserve and the boys are very happy to be with their families."

The established perception is that Mourinho's teams are defensive, but the current Chelsea side are apparently breaking the mould.

Mourinho insists he merely works with the players at his disposal.

"I'm not a philosopher," he said. "I'm not somebody who sells smoke. I try to be objective, I try to be a coach, which is what I am.

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Are these Photographs? don't think so

One might be forgiven for thinking these incredible pictures are photographs, but they are in fact the work of a British artist who paints street scenes that look like the real thing.

Darren Reid has only been painting for three years, but in that time he has managed to create these intricate pieces of artwork of life in his home town of Derby in the East Midlands.

And in print, or even in front of your eyes, it is difficult to spot the difference between the paintings and what might be a photograph.

His style is known as contemporary realism and surprisingly, the 44-year-old is completely self-taught. 

Now his paintings are being snapped up by art collectors for four-figure sums - almost before the paint is dry on the canvas - after he was shortlisted for this year's John Ruskin Prize. 

The artist says he only turned his hand to painting after his dog, a cross-collie called Tubs, fell ill in 2011 and he spent hours at home nursing him. 

He said: 'I was always good at art at school but when I left at 15 it wasn't something I looked to pursue directly. Instead, I became involved in making signs.

'I never yearned to be able to paint in the intervening years and I don't think I'd have been ready to do the art I'm now doing 20 years ago.'

The first painting that Mr Reid tackled was of former cotton mill, Darley Abbey Mills in Derby - a building with which he is very familiar with - choosing to specifically feature the fire escape.

He said: 'I capture the scene I intend to paint by taking a photograph initially. But then it is down to me to adjust the scene as I see fit.

'For example, the John Ruskin entry is of St Peter's Street in Derby but people looking at it will realise the street is narrower than it would be in reality.

'And in Crossing The Tracks, which is a view looking across Derby's railway station, the angles are altered.

'The temporary bridge should be at more of a 90-degree angle but I wanted to use it to lead the eye along and into the painting more, so I reduced the angle.'

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Ryan Knight dies at 29

MTV's "Real World" star Ryan Knight was found dead on November 27 by a friend, reportedly choking on his own vomit. He was 29. According to TMZ, Knight was at a party having fun with his friends on Wednesday night before crashing on the friend's home.

Some people who were with Knight before he died said that the cast member of 2010's "Real World New Orleans" took "some pills" at the party. They did not share more details about the kind or its amount.

Fellow cast members on the show paid tribute to Knight on social media. Jemmye Carroll, Knight's roommate whom he dated during the show, shared some photos and wrote, "Words will never be enough to justify the connection we shared and the pain I will forever feel. RIP."

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