Umbrellas Out!

A busy few days and dodging the rain showers has meant that my grass is desperately overgrown and I can't get on it to cut it. I've been to one wedding evening (I wasn't very well), and yet another wedding evening, I've done a day at a local Hospice summer extravaganza to try to help them raise money and many other bits and pieces. I've even cleaned someones carpet using one of those new fangled carpet cleaners - it worked well. I've been to Derbyshire on business and the Queen's had her birthday.

Well the jubilee celebrations are now at an end and life sort of draws back to some normality, except that it's Euro2012 football tournament and as I write this, England have just drawn with France 1-1. Now although I did ten years on the committee of the local Boys League and I am on the board of Directors of the East Riding County FA, these days I am more interested on how football is run than the actual game itself.  When I was a kid I supported Hull City AFC which as the nearest local team and my dad was a junior there in the 1950s. These days I remain firmly neutral and to be fair, its great. The only team I 'support' and by that I mean I really want them to do well, is my national team, England. I follow Hull City in the news and watch for the results, but that's about my only interest in them now although of course I hope they do well.

I've never been to the national football stadium at Wembley either the old one or the new one and I don't think I have the passion to go to be honest. Given a free ticket, I might get myself there one day - I might put it on my bucket list.

I was never very sporting, I never had the stamina to run about for hours on end. I played a bit of cricket which I enjoyed tremendously, and I love cricket to watch and even now, I rarely miss any cricket on the TV or radio if I'm in the car. I've been to Trent Bridge in Nottingham to see an England test match (I think it was against the West Indies) and I've been to Headingly (Leeds) to watch England versus Australia which was abandoned after a vandal broke in on the night after I went and daubed the wicket in oil to protest against a miscarriage of justice! Idiot! 

Its a bit noisier now at test matches but I have to say I love the atmosphere that is portrayed on the TV, lots of singing, dressing up in fancy dress on Saturdays and great coverage. Different from the stuffy old days. I wish I had the time to go these days; you never know, I may do.

Chat soon - stay dry

Ta-ra

Sunny side up! Unless you're an England fan

This beautiful balmy Sunday evening finds me safely ensconced in a room at a training venue somewhere in the Midlands, near Coventry in the centre of the UK. The journey was an easy one along four motorways and then the byways of the West Midlands. I'm here for the week leaving the family at home with a list of 'things to do,' you know, water hanging baskets, feed the fish, put the bin out on such and such a day.

I managed to spend some time in the garden today before setting off after tea and have enjoyed the reported 28 degrees Celsius and sunny skies. Four new perennials were planted out in the semi shade this morning and I hope they survive the bedding in process. I've had to water the grass with the sprinkler as the first signs of grass stress were beginning to show. It looks fine, but being away, I won't see the results of the hard work making the garden looking in a reasonable state for at least another week.

I'm watching the Argentina Vs Mexico World Cup game as I type this and it's been very entertaining. Unlike the dreadful spectacle of an England side which wasted 90 minutes of my life watching uninspired, uncommitted, highly unimaginative drudgery. I won't go on, I don't need to but England were beaten by three things: a woeful, inept performance; a very good German side; and although its almost not relevant, the decision by FIFA supremo Sepp Blatter not to have goal line technology in major competitions. The fact that an England shot went over the goal line by two feet and was not spotted by the five officials doesn't mask the fact that England were, frankly, rubbish. Blatter nevertheless should be ashamed and should consider his future.

I hope you have a great week and have a chance to catch a bit of the sun.

Chat soon

Ta-ra.