Britain's (allegedly) Got Talent

A very pleasant warm balmy day today allowed me to spend some leisure time in the garden potting some plants up that had come through the post, replace a well worn, split garden hose that's been in the family for thirteen years, finally put a pump in the fountain, water the weed and feed into the grass and pump up the wheelbarrow tyre. I know how to have a good time!

The local football team in the Premiership, Hull City have been relegated today. I'm surprised they lasted so long, but they have been poor of late and that's an understatement. Dogged by poor management, under performing and, in some cases, obscenely overpaid players as well as financial problems, it was just a matter of time. I don't support them, but I am still sorry to see their demise from the top flight.

The fish are unwilling to come to the top of the pond and take the food I'm putting in for them which is a little puzzling, but perhaps they will become hungrier as the temperature rises. They look healthy enough if not a little lethargic. The pond plants are looking really good after I re-potted some into new baskets having spilt them and the picture above is the first plant to flower, a beautiful marsh marigold.

As I type this, my family are watching Britain's (allegedly) Got Talent. I want to go out for a looooong walk when this sort of stuff comes on. Sorry if you like it - it makes me cringe. There are some real strange people on there but I suppose you have to give them credit for having the bottle to go on knowing they'll be laughed at and ridiculed. Perhaps their loved ones should also have the courage to tell them not to humiliate themselves on national TV if they really haven't got any talent.

My sister in law came round about half an hour ago and brought a bottle of wine - I've given her three clematis plants I have in pots that I no longer have use for and she's put them up against a fence. I'm glad they have been put to use and I'll enjoy the vino. She's a star!

There's no-one on Facebook, MSN or Skype, so it's an early night with a good book and a drop of that Shiraz I think.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Chat soon

Ta-ra.

The best laid schemes of mice and men...

What a glorious day - the sun has shone throughout, what a shame we didn't have this at the height of summer - but not complaining.

I should have shifted some rockery stones we obtained from an acquaintance who no longer has a need for them but the new car arrived today slightly unexpectedly, I thought it would be early next week, so we have that proudly sat on the drive and it took me 10 minutes just to work out how to set the bluetooth up on the phone so I can drive and talk hands free. Many of the features are voice activated which was a shock, but for a change unlike other voice activating systems, this actually works without repeatedly asking you the same question over and over again until it gets it.

While attempting to read the handbook for some of the more obscure features the car has, I had Gillette Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports 1 this afternoon hosted by the exceptional Geoff Stelling. I had to endure the ignominy of commentators describing Hull City being thrashed 6 - 1 by an in-form Liverpool side at Anfield. Not that I'm a supporter you understand, but being the team closest to where I live, I have always followed them with interest and I hate to see them humiliated like they have been this season.

The manager Phil Brown is a nice guy and has achieved a miracle in taking Hull City through the Championship to the Premiership, but clearly, Phil is not the man to see the survival of the team in the top echelon of European soccer. He's obviously an exceptional Championship man, but the time has come to move on. City supporters should give thanks for what he's achieved and allow him to move on with dignity to another challenge more suited to his skills and abilities.

Who's available to take the mantle and challenge of keeping Hull City in the Premiership and making it a team that has consistency and can sustain a life in the Premiership? Who knows, but I hope they come soon before the situation becomes unrecoverable.

I've been looking at having another pond in the garden to be home to pond plants rather than fish. The current ponds are so successful at growing plants they are growing too fast and I have had to discard some that I haven't been able to give away, so I thought a nursery might be good and it would be a semi wildlife pond for the animals we have around.

That's now changed after a visit to an imports place in Hull when we were looking for chimineas this morning. Instead we've bought a small fountain arrangement which sits in a circular wall arrangement. Oh well the best laid plans... so I'm now having to arrange a flat concrete base to be laid to cope with it all. We still couldn't find a chiminea we like either.

Alcohol isn't something I've been able to have in quantity in the last few months because of the diet, except for the odd sherbet here and there. However, I'll remember the taste fondly with some memorable quotes from the famous and not so famous about the nations favourite past time - booze:

"It is bad when you refer to alcohol as: 'Pain go bye-bye juice.'" - Patton Oswalt.
"Booze is the answer. I don't remember the question." - Denis Leary.
"Beer. Helping ugly people have sex since 1863" - Slogan on a T shirt.
"May favourite drink is a cocktail of carrot juice and Whiskey. I am always drunk but can see for miles." - Roy Chubby Brown.
"My idea of fine wine was one that merely stained my teeth without stripping the enamel." - Clive James.
"Wine - very nice. I wonder how they got the cat to sit on the bottle." - Stephen Fry.
"The last mosquito to bite me had to book into the Betty Ford Clinic" - Patsy Stone - Absolutely Fabulous (BBC)
"I was in love with a beautiful blonde once. She drove me to drink. I never had the courtesy of thanking her." - WC Fields.

And the final word goes to Edmund Blackadder who, when rousing from a hangover said, "My head feels as though there's a Frenchman living in it."

Chat soon

Ta-ra!

Summer is a-coming in...

Solanum Crispum 'Glasnevin'

What a fabulous day. I have no idea what the temperature has been, but there's been no breeze to speak of and the sky has not seen a cloud all day. Simply glorious.

Most of the bedding plants have gone in today, some in the border and some in tubs and this year, for the first time I've had to put slug pellets down. We have loads of birds in the garden of every description and for the thirteen years we've been here, we've never had a problem because the blackies and thrushes go hunting for the little slimy buggers, that was until last year when all the hostas were left like skeletons after an invasion of slugs and snails. Anyway for all you slug and snail lovers, it says on the tin that the slug pellets are organic, it means it kills them kindly!

Gardening question: If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?

Ceanothus

Early summer flowers are here in force, the weigela are nearly in full bloom and the ceanothus is bright blue, taking over from the clematis montana that has just finished. The bearded irises are almost ready to come out and the hostas are in full leaf and with several varieties, I have a nice mixed green display. I have a nice tan and despite the midges, never got bitten once.

Tomorrow it's time just to sit and enjoy. It's a nice place to meditate and the birds singing help me to drift off and exercise the spiritual mind. The Met Officer weather warning for heavy thundery rain on Monday afternoon moving up from the south means a morning sun and meditation session.

Hull City have retained their place in the Premiership for next season by the skin of their teeth and hopefully they will be spending some brass on players that can stick the ball in the back of the net. Well done the Tigers.

How about a gardening story today?

A man went into the local flower shop. The assistant politely enquired, "Is there anything I can get for you sir?"
The man hesitantly replied, "Well I... erm.. I don't really know what to... erm... I..."
The assistant helpfully said, "Perhaps I can assist; tell me exactly what you've done."

Chat soon

Ta-ra!

The Great Game - (for the time being)

I don't support Hull City nor am I a fan, in fact I'm a footballing neutral but being my local team, I do follow them with interest. I listened today to the commentary on the local radio and frankly, they way the commentators described Hull City's play - it sounded dire and relegation could now be on the cards after their dream start in the Premiership. They needed to win against Blackburn and get the three points; in fact they lost, at home, 1 - 2.

The late Bill Shankly, a dry humoured Scot and legendary Liverpool manager once said, "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that."

My dad was a reasonable footballer and played for Hull City Juniors as a young man and finished his footballing days playing for Cottingham United. Indeed dad was a good athlete all round, probably thirty years before his time. I've wittered before about footballers wages - I earn in one year what a lot of them earn in less than one week! But at the end of the day (another cliche - sorry) they are being paid humongous wages for playing a game which of course is now big business all round. It has, in my view destroyed the game I loved as a kid which was good honest good quality football with no frills attached. There's the big six Premiership teams and the rest. Big money groups and self made millionaires are buying up clubs for silly money and expecting to get overnight success.

They change managers like they change socks but have forgotten one of English footballing fundamentals: Football is a culture in this country and will not, should not and cannot change overnight. Manchester United have got where they have after years and years of passionate commitment. Liverpool 50 years ago were in the second division and have grafted with the same guts and determination to get where they have today. Chelsea paid to get into the top and found success for a while but that hasn't been sustainable as yet and won't become so for many years. Arsenal won't find that elusive consistent success until they start to have a mix of home grown and foreign talent. When will the money men realise that success cannot be bought overnight?

But then what do I know? I don't have the answers, I am not a tactician but simply an armchair voyeur into the world of sport in general and some fans think people like me shouldn't have an opinion. The professional world of football needs to have a damn good look at itself because if you're not in the top handful of mega rich clubs, we'll see semi pro football as the norm in years to come for everyone else. The 'great game' will be no more.

Ian Rush, another home grown Liverpool hero was quoted as saying, "It's best being a striker. If you miss five then score the winner, you're a hero. The goalkeeper can play a blinder, then let one in… and he's a villain."

Chat soon

Ta-ra