Sports Personality Of The Year...

Every year I watch. And every year I get angry. Isn't it about personality? Beckham?! For fuck sake...

On a lighter note...

Laugh a little...

Formatting?

This is where I fall down when creating 'that' document. I need help...

Busy doing nothing...

With all the time in the world to get stuff done how can I possible not have made a dent in my 'to-do list' today? I think I spend too much time on the internet...

Things that bother me...

Well lot's of things do actually... for instance, I haven't filled in the 'about me' bit on this blog. But I can't see that bothering other people too much and before anybody thinks it (or says it out loud for that matter)... 'Not feeling unloved'!

Not the case. Just being honest. And feeling it too. Honest.

Anyway, there are a couple of bits that have struck a chord with me for a while... (apart from what I have written above).

They are...

Passports? Why so long to get?
I probably have less birthdays than I have had...
Ruth Ellis... this just doesn't sit right.
Governments... need I say more?

There are a lot more but fuck it.

England lose again at the World Coup...

So England won't be hosting the World Cup in 2018. Disappointing isn't it? Well I'm disappointed. I might not be the biggest fan of the game, but I would have loved to have seen it over here again. It's been too long... and look what happened last time!

Instead it'll be off to Russia. You know? Russia. The gas people.

By all accounts, our bid was good, both commercially and technically. The presentation was good. David Beckham was in attendance... so was the PM. Even our future King turned up!

So what went wrong? Was it the Panorama program? The press? The pitch invasion at Birmingham that occurred on the eve of the vote?

But who cares now? The dream is over... And that's a shame but at least we can console ourselves with the knowledge that we do have the Olympics to look forward to. And for those, I can't wait. Just hope I can get some tickets...

Other announcements...

Qatar got the decision to host the World Cup in 2022. Who you ask? Qatar. You know? Qatar. The oil people.

Just sayin'...

A Grandfather of the House?

The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills; Vince Cable has today stated that he may abstain from a vote which he and his department are responsible for. He says he 'agrees in principle' that tuition fees need to go up, but will not be voting for it as it would be against his own party's policy...


What?! A coalition, as we keep being told, is about 'compromise' with regard to what was said before the election. Before the coalition. Or at least this is what the Liberal Democrats keep emphasising is the media... but I'm not going to write about that, others will.


St. Vince of Cable is looking more and more like a doddery old man. He was the man before the election wherever the economy was mentioned, but during the election the wheels started to fall off; and since the formation of the coalition has looked increasingly ill-at-ease with his political position. Trapped in a coalition that I don't think he really wants to be a part of...


If the Liberals do abstain, it'll be to try to regain some political ground, especially with the students... but at what cost? The minister not voting for a bill he'll be responsible for? I have had the thought previously that the reason Nick Clegg looks so down at the minute is, I believe, because he realises he has lost all political credibility as to where he says his principles lie. Should we be thinking the same about Vince Cable?

A short break...

More out of guilt than a yearning to actually go, we are off to Wales later to visit some relatives. But before we go... house cleaning? WTF?!

Why the sudden urge to leave the house in such high state of cleanliness that you could perform surgical procedures in the kitchen? I kid you not...

After we have cleaned will come the packing, which still hasn't been resolved...

'What do we need to take?' asked wife.

I replied 'All I know about Wales is 'There be witches''

Didn't go down all that well so now we are taking more gear than they took on the D-Day landings. Me and my big mouth...

So Wales? She thinks. I will be in Wales for a time... but at some point will have a day across the Mersey... even though we live 'rural' I still need my city fix every now and again. And I haven't had a fix of Liverpool for a good while now. Can't wait.

A prize! I won a prize?

Have a look at what I won...

It's a 2010 Tour of Britain Yellow Jersey... signed by the eventual winner, Michael Albasini! It came in the post on Wednesday.

Some discussions have taken place since then...

• What shall I do with it? 'Wear it?' 'Not with me!' came the sharp reply...
• Sell it? But what's a thing like that worth?
• Keep it? But where?

The obvious thing would be do try to sell it. I'll never be 'taut' enough to wear it so EBAY seems to be the obvious place but for the minute; I think I'll keep it. It's been ages since I won anything so in my head this could be the start of 'something'! So I'll keep it as a sort of talisman and lucky charm...

YOU NEVER KNOW!?

The other thing that has been discussed is the fact that I have no recollection of entering a competition to win anything... if you ignore my feeble attempts to win the Lottery and the occasional bet on a horse race.

But the parcel it came in was fully named and addressed up so I won't be complaining.

For now it'll hang on the door in the lounge before it gets stuffed into the back of the drawer or cupboard somewhere; but I do know what I'll be doing come the next Tour De France... cheering on my good friend Michael into winning and upping the value of my prize... Why not?!

Yep, next year during 'Le Tour' I'll be thinking 'Come on Michael...'; 'Go Team Sky...'; even though I think Andy Schleck will run out the overall winner. You heard it here first folks, though I'm guessing he'll be the tip of many a cycling enthusiast.

Anyway I need to get on with stuff...

Bed-time? Science for now...

This is the first time in ages that I haven't felt really tired... and it's really time for bed! I was about to go but some science just came on the TV. I just gotta stay up and watch...

A sad day...

Some breaking news... Norman Wisdom has died. They're all gone now, all the great entertainers. Time for some new ones to 'step up to the plate', (I hate that saying... reminds me of Lloyd Grossman). Time for the changing of the (very) old guard. If they can...

RIP Norman Wisdom.

Comedy. Genius.

Double bubble today... The unions and the Chancellor have annoyed me.

This won't be a long post today. But I thought I put down a few thoughts...

The tube is operating, barely... today because the unions have come out on what will be the 'second' 24 hour strike. Notice how I didn't put the 'last' 24 hour strike? I don't think it'll be the last... I just hope Boris Johnson doesn't capitulate too early or too much. Travelling across London on public transport can be a miserable experience even when the tube is operational, so quite what gives the tube workers the idea that they are so important to the machinery of London is quite beyond me...

I am not a fan of the unions. I am, however a fan of employee rights but this militant tendency that seems to always be a legacy of a Labour government is just a pain.

I said 'double bubble' in the title. George Osborne has annoyed me this morning also. Almost to the point of rage actually. Whatever that is... He's announced that people who earn more than £44,000 now lose child benefit. Nothing wrong with that in principle but when you consider that it comes down to individual earners... I think he's opened a huge can of worms. Let me explain...

If one person in a household earns this amount, all child benefit is lost. If two people in a household both earn £43,000 they don't. And George has done this to keep things simple, so he doesn't have to manage a system for keeping track of where the benefit should go... or rather, where it shouldn't go. He also wants to keep away from 'complicated' forms. Bless him.

So what exactly do these 'high' earners get in return for all their contributions over the years?

You wouldn't want to get too ill at the minute because the health service isn't all it's cracked up to be.

What about education? Education in this country isn't the best in the world. I think it should be... Perhaps if the standard of education was better the forms wouldn't be so complicated. Perhaps the forms don't need to be that complicated George? Patronising? I think so.

Perhaps if you can't fill in a form you should think twice about parenthood? Just saying...

I really think this is the wrong direction to take. I don't think it is fair. I don't think it has been thought through properly. And for what? To keep the system from getting too complicated... I just don't like it. This household will lose the child benefit... haven't got an issue with that. But I do think it should be based on the earnings of the household and not the individual.

So that's child benefit sorted out. As for the tube? How about we close it? Let's face it, we somehow get around the capital when the tube workers strike anyway. Why not close the tube and invest all the money saved on a bus service that really serves? Why not close the tube, pave it and install some lights? You sell all the outdated trains as scrap and be left with the perfect underground urban cycling network? Just a thought...

So that was that then?

Today is the first day of October. It is raining. Nothing more to say really...

A truncated tale of two brothers...

David: Mummy, that weird boy is following me again.

Mummy Miliband: Don't worry David he's...

David: But he followed me to school...

Mummy Miliband: But...

David: Then he followed me to university...

Mummy Miliband: Yes I know David, bu...

David: He did the same course as me.

Mummy Miliband: Now look!

David: And now he follows me to work... I can't even go for a piss!

Mummy Miliband: Yes I know! But he's your younger brother Ed. Please be nice to him. He has no friends.

David: He's a twat! Is he autistic? Have you seen him clapping? Has he got a cold? Can he not blow his nose?

Mummy Miliband: How can you say those things David? He's your brother!

David: I didn't. It's just what all the others are saying...

An invitation for a walk...

I've been invited on a photographic walk. Along the Thames path from Teddington to the Thames Barrier. AND I CAN'T GO!

Busy boy at the minute! But it certainly has given me an idea for something to do in the next few weeks... I was 'speaking' to the organiser and she said words to the effect of 'Walking in winter is just too cold!'... for me, that is the perfect time for walking along the river.

The river at winter is lovely.

Pictures to follow...

Some thoughts...

Like I said, just some thoughts (and some observations in no particular order)...

My mum came to stay for a few days today. I love her and am really glad to see her but, why is it that I have already marked on the calendar the day she goes back home?

I don't normally, but this year I did. I have been hearing some music around for a while and liked it and thought to myself 'Need to get that...'. And then they go and win The Mercury Prize! Yep... The XX. So I bought it. Their CD. It's good! Actually better than that... like Interpol or Joy Division. But more dreamy.

Today will be nine years since those towers fell. I remember it. It'll also be nine years since I was stood on top of  Mount Vesuvius...

Today I am going to apply for a new passport. It's been too long. It's time to get back on that plane.

The early bird...

This is the second morning in a row that I been up since just after 6.00am. In truth, I've been awake for ages moving around the bed in periodic spasms, until I got bored of that. So I got up to do some stuff.

First thing? Coffee. Black, unsweetened.

Second thing? What is morning, (early morning!), TV actually like? Let me tell you? It's rubbish...

Third thing? Some chores. You know? The quiet stuff you do everyday. But why is it when you try to keep the noise down, the 'Gods of making all things slip, fall, crash, rustle, creak, bang, whistle etc' form a conspiracy? The neighbours must think there is an orchestra tuning up in the kitchen...

I've given up doing the chores until later. Until then, I'll enjoy this coffee while watching TV. Brilliant.

Still waiting...

Can you believe this? Still no reply from Marlow Rowing Club to the email I sent to them. Do they not know the depth of my rowing talent?!!

Oh well...

The message...

Did I tell you I had emailed Marlow Rowing Club about rowing again? Well I did...

They have just replied asking me about aspirations...

What are they? I know what an aspiration is! But I need to realise what mine are... I need to get back them.

Time for a change...

I just got a new watch so I need never be late again. Also I need never look at the back of my arm again...

I knew there was no watch on my wrist. But why then when being asked what time it was? Or for myself, wondering what time it was, would I always look at the back of right wrist?

Anyway, here is a picture...

What you think? It tells the time, the date and the day. Brilliant. Now if only mobile phones were this simple...

Midlife crisis... Or what?

I have been thinking about starting to row again. It is something I used to do a lot of and actually got quite 'good' at... or so friends (and the memories) like to tell me. And I'd never really got it out of my system when I was abruptly 'forced' to stop.

'Forced to stop'? Well, a career in education usurped any free time that I had. And a collapsed lung (attributed to the activity of rowing), contributed to me bringing my time in the sport to an end anyway. I could (and did), for a while coach, but I never really felt satisfied with my progress toward the various targets that I given myself all those years ago...

But now I have time. Or at least, more time to fill and along with family and all the other stuff, I have decided to try and fill some of it with rowing. I'll let you know how it goes, if it goes at all but I have sent a brief email introducing myself to the 'local' rowing club and await a reply...

How exciting? Like I said, I'll let you know...

Employment versus leisure...

I am gainfully employed. But I would like more leisure.

Recent lack of blog activity...

No excuses really... been busy. Doing nothing as it turns out... I have a job, a job I really enjoy but that contract will end in about 12 months so I thought I'd have a look at what's out there.

Looking didn't take long. There is not a lot to look forward to if, you are in possession of the slim, vain hope of finding useful, gainful employment... which is actually rather depressing. Actually... 'very' as opposed to 'rather'.

I'll post something more cheery later in the week. I have some job sites to register with and I need to finish the short film I've been editing. I read last week that the screenplay I was going to write (having never done it before!), was already in production...

Underground Crime. Garage stylee...

So let me get this straight...

If I take a stepladder, deface a sign (actually several across London town), annoy motorists, steal safety switches, damage property etc. I won't be arrested because I have committed no crime?

Grow a set the Met!

They're taking the 'peace' aren't they?

So Greenpeace have fallen out with BP...

On the day when it was confirmed that Tony Hayward, the guy widely blamed for the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, would be taking a non-executive role within the company and on the very same day that the oil firm reported record losses, Greenpeace resort to 'criminal damage'. Allegedly.

The environmental group thought that by turning all the fuel off at around fifty BP petrol stations in London, they could influence the new man in charge, Bob Dudley, to steer the company in a greener direction...

I think Greenpeace missed the trick here. Some thoughts...

• BP have just recorded record losses. The only direction the new man will take is to reverse the current financial position of the company he now runs. The shareholders will see to this...

• If I was driving in London this morning, I would have been more than a little annoyed with the action Greenpeace decided to take. If you needed to fill up this morning, you would have had to continue driving in the hope of finding another filling station while being made to run the risk of not making it...

• If this mornings action had caused anyone to run out of fuel then wouldn't this have just caused a huge number of tailbacks? Tailbacks which would've contained lots of engines running in cars which were rapidly going nowhere... all the while belching out fumes which will only damage the environment? Genius for an environmental group.

• Removing the safety switches? From a petrol pump? Bit risky don't you think? Wasn't it a faulty safety switch in the Gulf of Mexico? And look what happened there. In London, we had environmental amateurs taking off the switches... I'm assuming none of them were petrochemical engineers but I could be mistaken...

• It is not the fault of the public! So why inconvenience it?

They call the people who carried out this mornings protests 'activists' but won't they end up being seen as being less peaceful and more... for want of a better word, 'militant' than they make out?

What will this mornings 'huff and puff' achieve? I'm guessing nothing. I don't think it will even gain Greenpeace one new member. Not that this protest was a recruitment drive... but if it did, it wouldn't be me joining their ranks. Maybe I'll feel differently in a few days... but somehow I don't think I will. So me and Bob Dudley may have something in common here, because I can't see him thinking it will achieve anything either.

By the way... as it stands, no crimes have been committed.

This from the BBC website: 'A spokesman for the Metropolitan police said they were monitoring the situation but no crime had been reported and no arrests had been made so far'

If only MP's were like us normal people...

I've been watching a docudrama/biopic type thing on the TV tonight. Believe me, there was nothing else on worth watching! And then I was reminded of this...

Bob Blackman... You nutter!

Currently, the MP for Harrow East (by happy coincidence), shares the same name. Now wouldn't an elected member doing a star turn like this make politics more interesting? (Especially if it was done in the Chamber!?) I think so... And wouldn't seeing the elected member smashing a tray into their head make you feel better?

It would perhaps demonstrate to the wider public that MPs do sympathise with the electorate. After all? Smashing your head into something hard? Don't you feel like you've been doing that for a while already?

Some people really are dumb...

So, due to a silly piece of parking, myself and another half dozen motorists are trapped in a one way car park. The 'parkee' eventually returns to her car, (yes it was a woman) and proceeds to adjust the seat, tune in the radio, check the oil and tyre pressures etc... (I may have made that last bit up but I am trying to paint a picture here).

On uttering those oft used words to myself 'Oh come on...', she alights the car, walks over to me and asks 'Is there a problem?'

A test of intellect should be incorporated into the driving test. And my Friday was going so well...

Holidays. They're for resting aren't they?

To the east we went. Actually to the north east. After moving house earlier in the year, it was thought a holiday was in order or at least, a short break. So a visit to the Norfolk coastline was hastily organised.

As luck would have have it the weather visited Norfolk at the same time has us and the first day was spent dodging the raindrops. Actually it chucked it down steadily from the small hours of the night and through most of the day...

Buoyed by the idea of the reliable, summery, British weather I got in the car, drove along the coast looking for a break in the clouds...

I enjoyed Norfolk. I thought it was lovely. Haven't been there for an age but with it being so flat, it is always bloody windy. And because it is so rural... if you take a wrong turn, you just have to go back from where you came and find the right one. Apart from that (as I said earlier), lovely...

Three questions arose from my visit to that Norfolk place though...

1. Does it have an accent? All I could detect was 'broad cockney'.
2. When not in the holiday season... what do norFOLK do? I mean, there isn't exactly a ton of stuff to do there in the holiday season, which is partly why Norfolk was selected. That and Dave and Emma's wedding photographs...
3. With not a lot to do... why was I so knackered when I got back?)

I might go back to Norfolk someday but it won't be any time soon... the drive back home was horrendous due to a slight car accident bringing Norfolk, (almost in it's entirety), to a total stop. This I am guessing was down to the lack of roads. Seriously, look at the map. There aren't that many.

I'm now looking to have another short holiday to make up for this one. I mean? Where else can you go on holiday and thoroughly enjoy the best of the sunshine on the way home in the car?

Sport - The ideal way to rest and recovery... and wealth?

I could get used to this you know? A summer of sport. A summer of lounging... and I am not even going to mention cricket. Or the Grand Prix...

For the last month, nations from around the world have been kicking a football all over South Africa in the hopes of winning what must be the ugliest trophy in sport. And when you win it,  no-one can see that you've won it because all the names of the winning countries are on the underside of the base. But does it matter? The winners will know and this year, there will be a new name on the base. Netherlands face Spain in the final on Sunday and neither have won it before. It'll be a hard fought game I'm sure...

Other sports... the Wimbledon thing has finished and Britain has a champion... well, two actually. Not in the singles and not in the men's singles but in the boy's doubles. And well done to them! (Though their names escape me...)

I was at Henley-on-Thames last week for the Royal Regatta. I'll be there again next year and will probably even camp over. Really enjoyed it this year. Great racing, great weather and great company but it was all too brief... so an overnight stay is definitely in order. Of course this would allow me to try some of the excellent refreshments that are on offer...

Other rowing... the third and final round of the world cup takes place this weekend from Lucerne. Follow the results here.

http://www.worldrowing.com/index.php?pageid=116

Some horse racing has gone on. I usually go to Royal Ascot but didn't bother this year... enjoyed watching Workforce win the Derby though.

Currently the Tour de France is happening in France. As a bit of a cyclist myself, I really enjoy watching this. It is in my opinion, a great spectator sport. In particularly the prologues... Stage 5 today so barely into to the thing... a couple more weeks of this is bliss. This'll get me a bit closer to September and the Tour of Britain. (I'll be watching the final stage in London...)

And the blog title... I need to 'rest'. Cleared the 'dumping ground' that is called the garage yesterday. It could (and possibly should) be incorporated into the Olympics as an endurance sport... Or maybe be included on the Krypton Factor but in reverse? You know, start with a pile of crap and make it all fit into a garage...

So a rest is in order. I am knackered! To recap, the TdeF for the next couple of weeks, the Rowing World Cup for the next couple of days with the World Cup final thrown in on Sunday which, I will be watching somewhere with some friends no doubt. So who'll get their names on the bottom of that trophy? No doubt this will be discussed on Sunday before the game. And probably during too. And my answer will be 'I don't know... but I hope they'll be wearing orange'.

Wij houden van Oranje! Come on the Netherlands... make me just that little bit richer!

So tennis isn't our sport either? Bollocks...

Well? So much for Andy Murray. And I do not mean that in any derogatory way either. He has played brilliantly... but he got found out yesterday. Sometimes? Actually most of the time, the scoreboard doesn't reflect the game. Just look at 'that' recently played football match where the linesman missed a goal...

I'll stand by what I said in my last post. Andy Murray will win a major one day. And not just the Wimbledon thing. I had him down to win the US in 2008. He'll come good in the end...

Elsewhere in the news...

1. Fabio Capello kept is job! Which I personally don't mind. He is a very good manager. The FA need to realise this. The players need to realise this. Some already have, but it'll be too late for them...
2. The FA 'top bods' kept their jobs... no justice really. Saying they would make Capello wait two weeks to learn of his fate shows how indecisive they are... (In the end they only needed four days).
3. David Beckham managed to get tickets for Centre Court today even though he's been in South Africa for the last few weeks! Go home folks... it is all a fiddle! Money talks. Campers on the pavement who have been waiting weeks to get a ticket, go home without a ticket...
4. It could have been worse. Beckham could have gone to Henley... and then what? (It's called a boat David...)

And Germany will win Euro 2012. Just you watch...

Tennis is the new football? God I hope not...

Football? So England have crashed out of the World Cup. Again. Hardly surprising when you consider that the Premier League is the most commercially viable (and therefore most rewarding) league in world football. When you remember this, who would want to bother playing for their country? Clearly not those chaps who wore the 'three lions' on their shirts on Sunday. More apt would have been 'three lion cubs'... ignoring the goal that was(n't), the save and the ball hitting the bar... clearly boys were sent to do the work of grown ups.

And after all this... the guy I feel most sorry for isn't even English. Watching Fabio Capello today being interviewed on TV, after the disaster of his first tournament in charge of 'Football England', he was apologetic, humble... desperate. He said, (in broken English) that he wanted to stay in the job and put things right. (Cynics might suggest he's got '12million' reasons for staying in the job...)

Was it made clear to him at the outset 'the poisoned chalice' that the England football team has become? Was it in his job description that whatever the contest... England will win? No matter what and under any circumstance. But wasn't the target for this tournament the quarter-finals? With that sort of approach they didn't deserve to win... but they did only miss the target by one game. So through rose tinted spectacles... not that bad really?

But is it really possible for him to stay in the job? Sections of the fickle public have already made their minds up. Officially, he'll find out in a couple of weeks time when some people, who no one has ever heard of..., who run the English FA..., decide whether he is still in charge of the national team. HIDEOUS! This decision won't be taken by these people at all. The decision will be taken in the court of public opinion, championed by some sections of the press and these 'decision makers' will sack Capello in the hope that they will keep their own jobs and of course, their huge salaries.

Honestly, I am gutted for him, but I don't really see a way back for him from this. I hope I am wrong but if I'm not, who will replace him? Redknapp Senior? Beckham? Hodgson? God forbid, Shearer? The manager should stay and the manager's managers should go. Or at least some of them. Clearly the FA is now 'top heavy' and it is time to wield the axe... (The removal of the 'get rid' clause just prior to the start of the tournament demonstrates how inept they are. Doesn't it?)

Soundbites for the press followed by knee-jerk reactions are one thing; but if you take your eye off the ball (no pun intended), you may end up throwing the baby out with the bath water...

Up until two weeks ago, Capello could do no wrong. He had won trophies as a manager everywhere he went. He didn't win one here. It just happened to be at the World Cup... he just happened be in charge of England.

Not being a huge football expert, I have always said that a manager can only say so much. Once the whistle is blown it is up to the players. Sure the manager will shout instructions to his players... but can't the opposition hear them too? Just a thought...

And so to the tennis. And Andy Murray... isn't he doing well? The only guy to the quarter-finals without dropping a set and with some big fancies now starting to struggle, he should win... right?

But hold on a minute... here we go again! Andy Murray could become the first British Men's Singles Champion since 1936 and then again he might not. England could have won the World Cup a second time but they didn't. If Andy Murray fails, it won't be for the lack of trying. When England failed in South Africa? I think it was...

So what do we learn from all this? Looking backwards is not gonna win the next big trophy. England could be football world champions but aren't. Murry might win Wimbledon. That'll be up to him and his opponents. But the point is this; singing about the past will not get your heroes to the place you want them to be.

I think it is time some sports grew up. They need to stop banging on about the past. It was more than a lifetime ago in my case. The future is where new champions will appear from. And if the Dutch happen to appear as champions of football in a week or so... then so be it. I'll be gutted that England didn't win. But I will feel somewhat compensated by my own little victory. I backed the Dutch before the tournament kicked off to be outright winners. They have it all to do with Brazil as their next opponents but at least they have given me a run for my money which is way more than England would have done...

Something else we are crap at...

Tennis. The annual 'Let's put a ridiculous amount of pressure on the guy to win something' festival has started. Andy Murray is at Wimbledon again for another shot at the title and all of a sudden, everyone loves tennis...

Everyone that is... apart from me. He might win. I actually think he will ultimately win it one day. But having great auntie Maude shouting 'Murray... Murray... Murray...' from the queue outside is not going to help him win this year. It didn't help 'Henman... Henman... Henman... '

I'm actually enjoying the tennis at the minute. It makes me watch the other channels to see what else is out there. The Parliament channel for instance...

One thing that does annoy me about tennis in the UK is the people who manage it. They are 'disappointed' that only one Briton has made it through to the second round proper. Andy Murray actually went through to the third round yesterday so well done to him... But should we be thanking 'The Lawn Tennis Association' for this? Who is picking up the bill for all this 'disappointment'?

There must be something better than this ('The Lawn Tennis Association') to run Tennis UK. Who funds it? Because seriously, the LTA should thing about giving some of that money back. It just isn't working.

I have been trying to come up with an alternate name (using anagrams thereof) for 'The Lawn Tennis Association'... I could only come with 'sinister clowns' ignoring the fact that I haven't got the letter 'R'. I haven't got an 'H' either but that's a completely different word altogether. But who cares if my anagram is correct? Like the lack of Britons in the second round of Wimbledon... nobody will be too 'disappointed'. I'm not.

World Cup Latest!

Always a fan of history, me. But this is how the World cup is starting to shape up...

The French capitulate early in the tournament and are finished. We now get to take on the Germans while the US may or may not take them on at a later date? History repeating itself?

We'll know Japan's position later tonight.

It's been a while. Well about a week actually...

Where to start? What to type? I'll begin by announcing that I received a postcard from Finland (cheers Marika) in the post (where else?) this morning. With a Father Christmas on it. It's June! But I don't mind, a postcard always makes me smile... you can can read an earlier blog about it. If you like...

Sun's here today so I am letting some wet clothes from the laundry sunbathe outside. They are loving it. It'll be a nice change for them, as I regularly forget that I have washed them and they stay in the machine for a couple of days... resulting in bad smells and them having to be washed again. So to take advantage of 'global warming'; by only washing them once this time, I have done my bit for the environment as well. I'll be out there in a while but just having a little cool off at the minute while watching the Royal Ascot coverage from the BBC. Usually go (on the Saturday) but haven't bothered to get a ticket this year as I went to Cheltenham for the jumps festival instead. Brilliant... if a little cold. It was in March.

Luckily for me I went to an airshow last Saturday. Genuinely interested even though I don't like the flying bit. But it was too busy, too hot, too exposed and too damn noisy. Adequate burgers though...

The following day I went to Reading to watch some rowing. I'll be honest with you... I used to row and I miss it. I really do! Not just the racing but also the training, the early mornings and the sessions in the cafe after the outings. Never did a sausage sandwich taste so good...

Some rowing (at Reading)...

So Reading it was to get a rowing 'fix'. And it was lovely; I went on my own and it has really put me in the mood for a trip to the Royal Regatta at Henley at the end of the month. Hadn't arranged to meet anyone there and had a lovely day lazing by the river. But later... I went into Reading itself. Not so good...

J.K.J. got it so 'right' in his famous book. Read chapter 16... 'We came in sight of Reading about eleven. The river is dirty and dismal here. One does not linger in the neighbourhood of Reading...'

Not strictly 'right' in the truest sense of the word. The river is gorgeous. Clear, rubbish-free, overhanging willows in the margins etc... (see the picture below).

But the outskirts of the town? Truly grim, or at least the bit I found myself in; which wasn't all that far from the Reading central. And this was a shame because I'd been there before, (a stop-off from a very expensive trip to London on one occasion... but that's another blog for another day), and it is just not how I remember it. Maybe it is. Maybe it was always going to be a disappointment going back because I had always had so much of a giggle when I'd been there before. There was always a bar/beer involved at some point.

There was no bar or beer involved on this occasion and perhaps that is why I saw the place in a different light. I'm sure I'll go back again at some point... probably to watch some rowing races, but I don't think I'll look forward to it quite as much.

One thing I can say about my visit was that the burgers at the rowing club were more than adequate...

Apart from the football World Cup, the rowing version continues tomorrow from Munich. Watch here...

http://www.worldrowing.com/index.php?pageid=116

Something for the weekend...

I don't know what people are up to this weekend but I'll be having both a busy one and a quiet one. Let me explain...

A busy one because on Saturday I'll be going to an airshow. Lots of flying types, noise, aeroplanes and dodgy burgers. You  know the scene. On Sunday I am off to Reading Regatta. Haven't been there for years and quite fancy a day out watching some decent rowing and minding my own business. There. Busy.

A quiet one because Matt came over last night to visit, see the new house, catch up etc and ended up staying over. No problem there, but as I surveyed the numerous empty bottles in the kitchen when I got up this morning, I began to realise why I was the feeling the way I was...

1. Extreme tiredness.
2. Wuzzy tummy.
3. Feeling of light-headedness that persists even now.
4. Not really being in the mood today.

For a man who never suffers with a hangover, this is new territory for me. So there... a quiet one for me. I definitely think I've earned it. Oh yes...

And I quite fancy this too... so glad it is not this weekend. Never go for things 'Espana' as a rule but I think I'll be paying it a visit. Fingers crossed for the weather...

http://www.winesfromrioja.co.uk/tapasfantasticas/ 

Football? I really fancy the Netherlands to win the World Cup.

One wedding & a tutorial...

Well the summer has actually started and it is progressing rather well (if you ignore the forecast for thunder storms tomorrow), but to be totally honest... I don't really care either way.

This morning I completed my final tutorial for the summer. No more students. No more mathematics. No more physics. No more chemistry. No more biology. For a while anyway...

Today is the day of Emma & Dave's 'other' post-wedding thrash. And it promises to be rather good refreshing, relaxing... you know? Just like a day on the beach should be. However, being on the Chilterns beaches are few and far between. A solution? The beach (actually several bags of kiddies play sand) is coming to us. You just can't beat a sand castle, an ice cream, several beers and good company. Genuinely looking forward to it.

Only that is all happening later... and so is the Derby. Workforce all the way for me.

Today it will mostly be...

World Cup Champions 2010?

A short 'bolt-on' to my last blog. I have thought of possibly a worse situation that we might find ourselves in. Not that I hadn't considered it before, come July 11th? What if England make the final of the football World Cup and lose it?

On penalties?

That doesn't bear thinking about...

1966 and all that? Time for another beer...

For someone who doesn't really watch the 'National Game', you know? Football? The next few weeks are going to be hell. I am already fed up with the World Cup... (Notice that it doesn't need to specify the sport, unlike cricket and rugby union, I guess because it is so important).

The major supermarkets reported through the news over the weekend that they were anticipating bumper sales and profits from the World Cup. How (I almost hear you ask), are they gonna do that? Well, the obvious one is beer... Oh yes! It will soon pass into law that no Englishman can talk about, (let alone watch), a game of football without a beer in his hand. Either at home or in some pub. But the marketeers are planning a real assault on your wallets and purses by plugging into the nation's pride. Look around you. How often do you see a St. Georges Cross at the minute? They are on newspapers, TV, crisp packets, soft drink cans, silly flags you can stick on your car, facebook profiles... Everywhere! You name it... it'll have red cross on a white background (romantically fluttering in the breeze), even toiletries! But not just on my deodourant can. I mean real toiletries... children's disposable nappies! Yep! Flags on nappies. It must be true because I saw it on TV.

We compete in World Cups all over the world. Every year. We recently won a World Cup in cricket... only the shortened form of the game but still a WORLD CUP! This team got to go to Downing Street and 'everything'... it was on the news.

Last Saturday Britain's rowers (yes, not strictly English but some are...), won six World Cup Gold Medals (amongst others). All from different events. Did you see that on the news over the weekend? Thought not... you can read about it here...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/rowing/default.stm

They are off to Munich for the next round... so stay tuned, but not to the news.

But with football it's different. It would appear, to anybody who didn't know that the tournament was yet to take place, that we had already won.

And this gave me food for thought... I hope En-ger-land really do go on and win the World Cup. For one thing it'll stop 'us' banging on about 44 'years of hurt' etc... But what if we actually do win it? What will it be like then? (Have you seen '28 Days later'?)

The 'man on the street', (generalising I know!) has already started planning where he'll be watching the 'beautiful game'. Tesco's are asking us to buy a bigger TV! Sky are offering free HD boxes! Economists have even estimated how much it is going to cost industry through 'sickies' and people watching online at work. John Barnes is even trying to make us buy Mars Bars by singing!

But if we actually win the thing? How many equivalent 'days work' will be lost then? What cost to industry if the dream comes true? So cheer away and with a bit of luck, should we need it in the event of a penalty shoot-out, we will triumph. World Champions again! But be warned. The morning (and following weeks!), after the night of the final will be so much worse than the six months we have had to put up with already. And that was before the first ball of the World Cup was even kicked...

Everyone has one of these... 'A favourite list'

It's all got a bit silly recently. The summer keeps threatening to come... it did this week. Briefly. But then it went away again. The left and the right got into bed together and (if you believe the press), are 'happy bed-fellows'. Blur got back together to announce a tour. I might have just made that up though...

Anyway, the title of this piece of prose. I thought I would bang out one of these because, well I don't know do I? Perhaps I'm bored...

Book: Three Men in a Boat - Jerome K. Jerome
Film: Roman Holiday
TV: Histories/Sport
Sport: Cycling/Horse Racing
Colour: Gotta be red
Drink: Black coffee
Food: Meat
Music: Interpol/Pixies/Ennio Morricone but it really depends on what day it is...

And that's enough of that. Bored yet?

Roll up! Roll up! It's the austere Olympics...

Well they've gone and done it! The Olympics or the 'Games of the XXX Olympiad' to give it's proper name, is being turned into a sideshow. This morning it was announced that the budget will be cut by £27million. The current Government were always going to impose spending cuts when you consider the state of the economy and government debt left after the disasterous Labour Government. But the Olympics? They could have left this alone... couldn't they?

With budget cuts coming so soon before the Games actually take place, I just hope this has been thoroughly thought through... right to the final and future conclusion. That is, that if the 2012 Games take place with the appearance of being... cheap, we may never get to host them again.

So where should the cuts start? Obviously they'll be fiscal and the shortfall in money will come from elsewhere. But what if it doesn't? If cuts to the budget are inevitable - and it seems they are coming, maybe everything 'Olympic' should be cut? Here are some thoughts...

Gold, Silver and Bronze medals? Old hat. How about Tin, Iron and a Chocolate egg. You decide which medal each should replace.

The 80m Sprint.

The Double Jump.

Men's Octathlon.

The Short Jump.

I don't agree with cuts to the Olympic budget. It should be an honour to host them; whatever the cost. And in that lies the problem. Other countries who were disappointed at not being awarded the 2012 Olympics may be counting their blessings now, considering the recent global recession. If 'we' get this wrong... 'we'll' all have egg on our face. And it won't be made of chocolate.

What? The furniture is too heavy? Get ice cream...

This weather is brilliant! Apparently we are already about 6 degrees above average. And for the third day in a row... with not a cloud in sight, we are stuck in the mid-twenties. Which in old money is about 78 fahrenheit...

The sky is a brilliant blue with nothing in it but aeroplanes...

But there is a downside... the grass grows at a million miles an hour and almost constantly looks like it hasn't been cut properly. I ignore the grass situation and look for a nice, easy job in the house... you have to be careful in what you do in all this heat! So why do I find myself moving heavy furniture about the house? How did this happen? What possessed me to think that today was the day that this needed doing? I must be missing something...

In situations like this... only one of two things will work. A fork-lift truck... it doesn't fit in the house. The second thing however, does fit in the house. And it's called iced-cream.

News Flash: Britain to host the Olympic Games... Great idea. Bad design?

It's the year 2010 and the summer is just about to really kick in. Brilliant! So that leaves only two summers before we play host the 'Greatest Show on Earth'... and I am not talking about the Russian State Circus, which I'm sure, is quite good...

Nope! I am referring to the Summer Olympics. For the first time in more than fifty years, Britain has been entrusted with this very precious jewel. They are coming to London and some of the events will be hosted just down the 'street' from where I live. Hooray! We will host the Olympics - the first time since 1948 - and we, as a nation, will be thrust into the spotlight. But is this such a good idea?

I suppose it depends what your goals are... or maybe what they should be? There will be a few people (or maybe a lot of people) who's goal will be to get rich taking money from the tourists by selling bits of  'junk' memorabilia. And where will these tourists stay, eat and drink? The hotels will be booked to capacity... you won't be able to get a table in an Indian or Chinese restaurant for weeks... the bars will be fully... er, full. Along the way others may reach their own goals and win an event (rowing and cycling are my fancies). But will we be able to give out any medals? Let us not forget... We are skint! The money side of these games, I hope will be sorted at a later date. (Presumably and hopefully after the games. Could we be seen to be hosting these games on a shoestring? If we do that we will never, ever be awarded the games again...)

But before the games have even begun some winners are already starting to emerge... The guy's or gal's who designed the 2012 logo. A design company (I'm guessing here), was paid a lot of money to come up with that. It looks like the sort of graffiti you'd see in a New York train tunnel circa 1983. So maybe New York should have played host? I'm not saying London is as clean as Paris but come on! Couldn't we have done any better than that?

But the absolute cherry on the cake for me was unveiled earlier this afternoon. Today saw the launch of the London 2012 mascots, Wenlock and Mandeville. Apparently they are blobs of molten metal that fell of the main stadium. They were 'based' on designs by children... presumably so the highly paid individual (I'm guessing again here...), who finalised the design will have some sort of plausible denial. Time to 'man up' folks! Who is running the show here? And who thought crotchless underwear was somehow appropriate? That was just genius...

Here take a look...

Whether we operate with a reduced budget or not. If we do manage to find some medals to give out. We really needn't worry. If we start to cut the money too much before we even get to 27th July 2012, we'll already be a laughing stock. And the people laughing loudest will be logo and mascot designers... because they will have already been paid.

So summer is coming which means (I guess?), cricket...

After the weekend... (when finally, absolutely, definitely... England won a worldwide recognised cricket trophy), I've only just got the spring back in my step...

I have struggled all day. And I blame it all on the game of cricket. Never did such a mundane game command so much attention or so much alcohol. I thought I had cured myself of cricket a long time ago...

Me: 'Cricket is boring... dull...whatever...' (or words to that effect...)

Dad: 'No you can't turn the TV over. Dull as he is...I wanna listen to Geoff...'

I didn't realise that at the time he was talking about Geoff Boycott. Actually SIR Geoff Boycott. Knighted for being... Yorkshire. Or something. What?! Nevertheless, it would appear that as you get older... cricket looms larger.

I went to a car rally yesterday. I was really looking forward to it as well. And for all of the right reasons too... old relics... carefully bought back to life... with love. And all that engineering! But I arrive and within 10 minutes what happens? It starts to chuck it down with rain... So what did I do? I went home and watched the cricket. Looking like an an old relic. The irony.

Like the countless times my dad was telling me why I wasn't about to switch Geoff off. Like me trying to explain to the uninitiated 'how cricket works'...  I simply gave in, admitted defeat and went home. And I am so glad I did. Because we are World Champions. And we don't get to say that often enough.

As for being cured of cricket. I play on the 30th...

Just a little quickie...

T'is Friday! Hoorah! And I for one am really looking forward to the weekend. Dunno how I'll be spending it but there will be certain conditions attached to it.

In no particular order...

1. The sun will shine. A lot.
2. No driving.

There...another blog. Wonder if anybody gonna read it?

Laughing all the way to the cabinet...

We have a new Prime Minister! We have a new Prime Minister! And soon we'll be getting a new voting system! And soon we'll have a new way of doing politics. And soon we'll have presidential style elections! And soon we'll be the 51st state! And soon we'll be getting... I think I'll stop there.

The 'people' have spoken and they want a new voting system. Rather unsurprisingly, one of the few 'people' to publicly state they wanted a new voting system were the Liberal Democrats and only 57 of them got elected... Not being cynical, just sticking to the facts.

Just exactly how many concessions did David Cameron and the Conservatives need to give away to ensure a majority? Concessions that were given to a third rate, THIRD PLACED party. I guess we'll find out in the next few days/weeks. So Clegg's tarting seems to have paid off... and good luck to him. Can't wait to see the fine detail of this... 'deal'.

On a cheerier note. Do you like the new curtains? I do!

Coffee please. It's been a long couple of weeks...

When second and third are first, it's time to step aside...

The Conservatives did urge us to 'Vote for change' and it seems some people did. Only the Conservatives, who polled the most in the popular vote and won more seats than any other party look like being excluded from government.

The Liberals had as their campaign slogan 'Change that works for you'... shouldn't that read 'Change that works for them'?

Labour for their part had 'A future fair for all'. Doesn't seem very fair to me...

Today is the fifth day of the what could be the longest, 'last dance at a school disco' in history. So the leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg (it would appear), is the darling of Downing Street and the Labour Party. Not bad for parties third and second respectively...

Clegg is perfectly placed to be Kingmaker. But will he be hoisted by his own petard when these coalition allies turn on him? Because they will. And what of his own party? What do they think of all this political toing and froing? Dashing from meeting to meeting? Won't this just wind people up to a point that when he does begin to speak, nobody will be listening?

And what of David Cameron and the Conservatives? Like the guy at the school disco with no one to dance with; they are looking more and more as if they'll have nothing left to do but go home. Alone. And I think this is exactly what they should do. This is a 'hung parliament' don't forget and as the saying goes 'Give a man enough rope...'. Brown did the only decent thing left to him yesterday and fell on his own sword and I am guessing that pressure will be mounting now for Clegg to do something, anything that will at least bring closure to this mess.

The Conservatives should leave the negotiations and say no more, watch the fun from the opposition benches in the full knowledge that you did not lose site of the politics that almost got you elected and that in the long term, coalitions don't work anyway. Vote for change? I cannot wait.

And the unlucky winner is...

Isn't this all getting a bit boring? It has been four days now and still the 'smoke-filled, backroom deals' continue... (not my words). And all the while the Dark Lord (Mandelson) moves among us...

So the Liberal Democrats (23% of the popular poll) are in conference with the majority holding Conservatives (36.1%). A majority, albeit not an overall one. In the wings, Labour 'wait' to leap into action if the Liberal Democrat/Conservative talks break down. (A Labour party that only got 29% of the popular vote).

If the talks break down with the Conservatives; and the Liberal Democrats do accept the offer of working with the current Labour Government... wouldn't this just smack of the Liberals Democrats just going for the highest bid and grabbing all they can get? That's not really setting an example of 'let's clean up politics' in my opinion. Coming so close after the 'expenses scandal' and appearing to totally ignore the results of a legitimate election.

Could this 'ill-considered' stance, in view of what Nick Clegg said after the results were in last week be dangerously close to the death knell for the Liberals Democrats? Who after all, haven't been elected for almost a century and who pride themselves on wanting proportional representation but who now find themselves in a position where they alone get to decide who'll be in charge? Hardly proportional...

In my view nobody wins. Certainly not the voters... 77% didn't want the Liberal Democrats. 71% didn't want Labour. But this is what we might end up with... (for balance 63% of the voters didn't want the Conservatives). But a Liberal Democrat/Labour et al coalition would be in power. So maybe Labour win (along with all the other 'losers'). Not so sure democracy does...

Whoever gets the keys to Number 10, I think another election should be held within the next 12 months. Otherwise, the Liberal Democrats are in a win/win situation and get to decide who runs the country while getting to influence policy. Directly. From third place!

Whichever parties get to form the next government; won't it seem to the wider public to have been decided in committee? So where is the democracy in that?

When all is said and done... the Conservatives won, so they should govern. Think about it! The election has been called 'the race for Number 10'... at the Olympics people remember the winners. Rarely do they remember the 'also-rans'. Some people might not like that, but it'll be what some people want.

It's an election Jim... but not as we know it.

Well this is interesting. A 'hung' parliament. And not very well hung at that. The Conservatives won more seats, polled more votes yet it is really the 'third man' who gets to say who governs. We are all still waiting. And in the meantime, we still have that sad, deluded man in Number 10... and who is Jim anyway?

My first 'all-nighter' (for an election anyway), and it was all for nothing. Still no majority. Still no answers. And worst of all, no hangover! (Does Gordon count as a hangover?)

My views... Conservative minority government and another election in 9 months time. Get your money on folks!

Oh! And Workforce will win the Derby.

It's the quiet life for me... temporarily.

It's all gone quiet the last few days. After getting steamed up somewhat over the rather bland electioneering that has been going on, things have settled more or less, to a crawl...

But that said, it has been a busy few weeks so maybe the crawl would be just what the doctor ordered. I mean, moving house is never just a case of changing the place where you live is it? It is much more than that... I am still coming up with people and places that I need to get in touch with to tell them I'm not there anymore... So now I am still unpacking boxes. Still looking for stuff. Still saying I am never, ever moving again. Ever.

But it could be worse... I decided to move because, amongst other things I wanted a change. Gordon Brown will be moving next week... with luck and not by choice either. He'll be moving because other people want a change. Normally I wouldn't wish the stress involved in moving house on anyone. But for him? I'm prepared to make an exception.

Going. Going. Gone... Forever!

And I thought I was good at doing stuff 'online'... isn't the whole thing about doing stuff 'online' is to speed things up and to reduce the need for printing paper resources? Well, it sure isn't quick. I have been on the DVLA website for the last hour... (an hour of my life I'll never see again). The first twenty minutes was spent inputting information which the DVLA already have on their database. The remaining forty minutes was spent righting all the errors the 'online' form had asked me to confirm as correct... all the while telling me that presenting false information is a crime.

All I wanted to do was tell them I have moved house! The DVLA website said it would be quicker to do it online. But now for the punch line... I have to go and buy some stamps. Yes that's right. After doing it online I have had to print off the confirmation sheet so I can sign it and post it to them. I'm certain I could have just done that in the first place. About one hour ago...

Lights, camera, reaction...

£1.21 for a litre of fuel! That is outrageous... but the fuel companies are blaming the rising cost of crude oil. That was this morning. Following daylight robbery at the fuel pump, I drove past a speed camera while doing 33mph in a 30mph zone.

I didn't see it blink at me but I have a sinking feeling that I'll be getting a letter through the post in the next few days... How annoying? How very annoying?

Electioneering equals boring...

I would describe myself as fairly well informed and actually quite a little bit interested in politics. Even more so now with the election being only ten days away. But I am bored of the politic debate... it has become a very negative campaign with two out of the three mainstream leaders now knocking the others' policies rather than championing their own. When they aren't doing this, they are saying very little of anything of any substance. The third, who I think will do the best job needs to take the gloves off a bit more and join in. And I don't mean Clegg here...

With ten days left and the 'polls' seemingly 'level' (depending which poll you read)... the bookies are laying odds on a hung parliament... which I think would be bad. If the polls are to be believed, we could end up with a Prime Minister that over 70% of the population doesn't want.

What happened to 'old style' campaigning? I haven't seen a single candidate campaigning for anything.... apart from on TV. I didn't even know what my MP looked like until he got collared in the expenses shakedown last year.

I think the next parliament is going to be hard... and whoever wins this election, won't win the next. People seem to have very short memories when it comes to 'who caused the political mess'...

As for myself; I already know who I'll be voting for next week. And his name doesn't even appear on the voting forms... I'll be voting for me. The press keep talking about the 'floating' voters but what about the 'selfish' ones? I have always voted the same way, I agree with the party policies, but that aside, whoever gets this 'victory' in the election it is going to be a difficult term, so whichever party does me the biggest favour gets my vote. And if that makes me selfish then so be it...

Soundtrack of my day...

With little or nothing to do today... and not wanting boredom to strike. I am having my own 'mini' festival courtesy of the hard drive. Haven't decided on the headline act but the support acts are fantastic. Korn currently playing... 'Got the life'...

James Bond drives a bus...

A bit random I know (for the heading), but random is the future... with filming of 'Bond 23' being stopped due to 'money troubles' at MGM, I saw a bus with '007' on it this morning. Times are hard. I would have have taken a picture with my phone, but I didn't because I was driving... and that would have been illegal. And I didn't want to put the crime statistics up. Would it have been illegal to take a picture with a camera?

It's the marathon on Sunday and I know a few people who are doing it. I should have been but my entry wasn't accepted. I haven't decided if this was a good thing or not yet... I did want to do it and I'll apply again next year, but my body has never been subjected to anything like that before and after recently moving house, the training as been far from regimental. I'll content myself by watching it on TV with maybe a nice glass of something cold contemplating what could have been...

And happy St. George's Day to you...

Nothing very interesting...

Just not feeling 'it' today. Whatever 'it' is... it appears to be absent today. It's a shame really because the weekend was really rather pleasant. Perhaps it's the music I am listening to at the moment that is deflating my mood... so with nothing else to do I thought I would add something to this blog. (Actually, I do have stuff to do but nothing too pressing...)

A great weekend was had, managed to catch up with a few friends and didn't with others; (the 'others' are stuck in Cyprus due to a volcano in Iceland, the country not the shop!) The weather was perfect! With ash grounding all the planes, (We have chosen to live between four decent sized airports)... the sky has been a brilliant blue with hardly a cloud in it. Just gorgeous. I could have taken a picture but it would have been just blue. Looking out the window, I think it will be more of the same today. It is lovely here in the summer. Perched in a village on the edge of the Chiltern Hills...

So for today... improve my mood. I am not often this 'low'... using that word carefully. Just not as bouncy as I am normally... that's all. Perhaps a coffee will help? Anyway, the jobs I was putting off a little... do some bits in the garden. Herb patch and a French drain... then some mowing and later look for a job.

On the job front, I applied for a position on Friday which would suit my situation perfectly for the next 12 months. Fingers crossed hey?! But that is only one of many... more later.

Been informed this morning that some new furniture will be arriving this week. Joy! There is something quite relaxing about putting new bits of stuff together. Very relaxing indeed.

Anyway, I need to crack on... stuff to do. But first that coffee...

So what do I know anyway?

Well the Grand National didn't quite go to plan. King John's Castle refused to start, Mon Mome fell at the 26th fence and Character Building finished 7th... but at least they all live to fight another day! And so will I... my tips for the five domestic Classics will appear shortly...

If none of my selections were going to win (which they didn't), I couldn't think of any more fitting victors than AP, JP and Jonjo. Richly deserved.

The time has come...

So the time has come has it? According to our Prime Minister it has. Funny how the 'worst' kept secret in politics was made official and we are now headed toward a general election. Announced on a day when the weather really felt like it changed for the better...

Does Gordon quietly think that it's time to get rid of this 'shower'?

So the time has come for what exactly? Four weeks of campaigning and what will it all come to? Whoever gets elected will have a hell of a job sorting out the mess Gordon as managed...

Whoever is elected, there is one thing I'm betting on... it's gonna be tough folks! And personally I think it needs to be.

The problems have been identified, (the list is endless). Now someone needs to find the solutions. That's what this election will be about. More so than in any election I have seen before... so you 'pays your money and takes your chance'.

Which brings me onto other things... 'The Greatest Horse Race of the Year' takes place on Saturday... The Grand National. I disagree with this often quoted 'fact' but that's by the by...

Of the forty runners that will go to post, I have strong fancies for a few. (To be refined further over the next few days...), they are as follows...

Mon Mome - last years winner. Ran a cracker at Cheltenham but worried about the weight but records are there to be broken, right?

King John's Castle - second two years ago but partnered with a jockey who has already tasted victory in the race. The horse needs to produce the form of two years ago but wouldn't shock me if it did...

Character Building - won the Kim Muir in 2009 at the Festival. Top trainer. Top horse. And there is always a story that comes out of the national and this could just be it. Character Building has new owners and only a few days before the race. These same owners bought a horse previously to run in the race; in 1992, an election year. That time three days before the race. The horse was called Party Politics and it won...

With the election being announced today and their previous winner being called Party Politics... a fancied runner (of mine) being owned by the same people who have once again bought it just prior to the 'greatest' race of the year. Could the stars be aligning? (This would also be the first grey to win for fifty years and the first ridden by a woman).

Like I mentioned earlier... this race always throws up a story and Character Building could be it. I hope so... maybe the runners in the race mentioned at the start of this blog will note the name. Character 'Building' not Charcter 'Destroying'... play fair, be nice and sort this mess out.

Two out of three ain't bad...

Well the bank holiday weekend arrived and I got to go racing. I didn't win anything. And the last horse I put money on was not looking all that clever as the vet put the screen up... it was at this point, I left for home...

But at least the rain stayed away... there done it! (You can't have a bank holiday without mentioning the weather).

And Cambridge won the boat race. And they won it well. Lovely!

So there, two out three ain't bad. If only I could have won some money...

Can it really be summer?

It seems that it has finally arrived! It did last Sunday (according to the calendar); so time for some decent weather and I don't care if it does rain every now and again. At least it has finally started to get warmer.

Winter seems to have gone on forever. It didn't, it just seemed as though it did. Here in the UK, we only have two seasons now; summer and winter. Summer lasts for three months...

So now the sun is starting to put in an appearance on a regular basis... my (already good) mood, like the weather, is set to get better. And it will further get better if three things happen on Saturday...

1. The rain stays away from the field I'll be standing in watching some horses' race... love horse racing.

2. Some of the aforementioned horses win with my money on them... love a little flutter.

3. Cambridge win the boat race... you have to be light blue or dark blue. And in this house, it's light blue. I used to row on and off with a guy who won the boat race with Cambridge, (he lost twice too). But once you've nailed your colours to the mast, you can't change can you? And if ever you get the choice as to whether to visit Oxford or Cambridge. Go to Cambridge... it is way, way prettier.

Things you hear said...

'All good things must come to an end.' As sayings go, this is my least favourite. Why must all good things come to an end? Why can't they go on forever? Surely a better saying would be 'All bad things must come to an end'? That makes more sense to me.

At the minute, apart from a few minor storms on the horizon, all is good. So why would I need the good stuff to stop? This would leave more room for bad stuff to start... and who needs that?

'Social Networking'

What is 'social' about it? Surely 'anti-social networking' would be better?

People don't talk to each other anymore.

I have lots of 'friends' on these social websites who I haven't spoke to in ages (or may never speak to again). But on this thing; we can chat. We chat all the time... but never face to face. And perhaps I am as guilty as the next person. I am writing this after all...

So if a face-to-face conversation is out of the question, the 'chat' thing on Facebook (to name one), looks like being the answer. But I still send post-cards. I write e-mails and will at a push, send the odd text but somehow, I always think a postcard will put a bigger smile on a friendly face and somehow, make their day a little brighter. Just think... a person has travelled, (not very far in my case sometimes), found a card, bought a stamp, written the card, dug out the address and entrusted it to the Royal Mail... (it's easier to send an e-mail don't ya think?!)

A postcard to brighten up someones day? I hope so. They always brighten up mine...

Too many cooks spoiling the viewing...

Why is it that whenever I switch the TV on nowadays, there is every chance that it'll be a cookery show? What was the trigger that sent this nation of fish and chip munchers into cookery overdrive? In actual fact, we are probably more a nation of curry eaters now anyway... isn't curry the UK's national dish?

Whatever the reason, it still doesn't explain the number of cooks, (I mean chefs) popping up on TV. And they're not just chefs and cooks either... from members of the public trying to win Masterchef 'to fulfil the dream they have had since childhood of owning & running a restaurant...', to Lloyd Grossman hosting and judging his own show, (not to mention making his own sauces for us to buy... where is the cooking in that?!), to Nigella Lawson? Even Sophie Dahl (the celebrated model) is having a go now. I have even seen a food quiz recently... but I didn't stay tuned in to see who won.

So what's going on? According to Reuters, in the UK the average mum relies on only 9 recipes to feed the family. So who benefits from all this 'cooking'? The people who sell all those weird and wonderful ingredients you'd never heard of until last month and now it's the 'must have kitchen cupboard occupant'? What about the books that have been written and that have been bought by people so they know what to do with that marjoram they bought yesterday? How about the people who write the books? Some Australian cook was on TV this morning, (she was making scrambled eggs as I flicked through) and she has written 16! How many recipes does she know?!

Perhaps the real beneficiaries are the people who sell kitchen gadgets. We all have them in the drawer. Something you bought a while back, used once and never since. Or maybe the people who sell kitchens? Surely with all those unused condiments and kitchen equipment etc, the life-expectancies of the cupboards are being shortened through the sheer weight of that unused 'junk' held within?

My advice? If you want it. Save your money. Don't buy that olive stone remover or the (absolutely lethal) mandolin. If you fancy something different or exotic, go out and have a meal cooked by somebody who knows what they are doing. Maybe a curry? You know you will anyway...

And if you still have aspirations of being a chef then do what Gordon Ramsey does. Cook anything. And I mean absolutely anything. Then drizzle it with olive oil... Done!

So what is 'bad' language?

So, for today I have been browsing the internet for a job... (didn't see anything of interest or anything that matched my skills set but that is another blog for another day...)

While looking for that elusive job and thinking about making a great impression in that interview; I got to wondering what constituted 'bad language'? Can there be such a thing as a bad word if it is recognised as being part of a language? If such words are used by an individual, surely this demonstrates a better vocabulary and understanding of the language?

Here's Stephen Fry's take on it all...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSQmk6gGTcE&feature=related

As a rule I try, (to varying levels of success) and limit myself to only three expressions of disgust/dismay and they all begin with 'c'...

'Cack', for mild expressions when only 'bad' language will do. 'Cock', a little stronger and for real naughtiness... 'Custard'. The last one being a combination of two expletives... you'll work it out.

Welcome...

Don't be fooled by the title of this blog... I am not idle, but at the minute have time to devote to this long forgotten art. Though that said; you can only really be idle if you have lots of work to do.