Key Quotes

"Anyone who believes that exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist."
(Kenneth Boulding)




"Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. "

(Raymond Chandler)





"Live simply so that others can simply live." (unknown)





"I cannot live without books" (Thomas Jefferson)





"Sport is war without the shooting" (George Orwell)





"New York is a great city to live in if you can afford to get out of it" (William Rossa Cole)





The secret of a happy ending is knowing when to roll the credits (Patterson Hood)































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Monday 28 February 2011

High and very lows

After arriving back home, I'd hoped for a weekend of rest. Yet by Saturday morning I was on my way round the M25 . The Dons having lost in my absense needed to return to winning ways against Altringham. The day was made more special by my friend's daughter being mascot for the game. Naturally I remembered back to when our children were mascots at Plough Lane many years ago. A wonderful birthday treat for a seven year old. She obviously brought the team good luck and especially captain Danny Kedwell who scored a hat trick in a 4-1 victory.

Sunday saw England take on India in the cricket world cup, once again cricket showed how games can ebb and flow. I've never been a great fan of Andrew Strauss, but he deserves real credit for one of the finest one day innings played by an English batsman. Nevertheless once he was out wickets started to tumble and it seemed that the victory that was likely at one stage would be denied. However sixes change games and England found themselves needing two runs from the final delivery. Not surprisingly the Indian captain played safe and put all fielders back on the fence to ensure the tie, and that was the outcome. The game a credit to both sides.

Now to the low points Wigan performed well but fell at the last to St George in the World Club Challenge, no disgrace and a keenly fought contest, where Wigan in thesecond half found the St George defence impossible to pentrate. The points difference perhaps reflects that the NRL remains the premier competition in the sport of Rugby League.

Finally the pits. The Carling Cup Final, after years of treating the competition as an after thought and a tournament to blood young players regardless of the result, Arsenal this season have "taken it serious". As a result the place in the final was delivery. With all the other leading clubs eliminated along the way, they faced Birmingham City.

Did it mean more to Birmingham's players ? I doubt it. To their fans ? Possibly. Birmingham have won nothing of consequence since 1963, of course it means a great deal. Arsenal's defeat 2-1 was the result of dreadful defending and the inability to deal with a tall striker who had a clear height advantage in the penalty area. Did I expect Arsenal to lose? It was always in the back of my mind, from the moment I knew that Fabregas and Walcott were unavailable through injury.
Nevertheless they should have had enough talent on the park to counter any threat that Birmingham could muster.

What hurts is that Arsenal's critics appear vindicated. The idea that you can't win trophies by playing "the beautiful game". That Wenger's weakness is his inability to buy quality defenders and/or a top class keeper. Even worse that overseas players don't want it as much as the type of journeyman playing for teams such as Birmingham.

Yet in spite of the hurt, the key point is that Arsenal are still involved in three competitions, and it's the job of the manager and players to put Sunday's defeat behind them, and refocus. On the plus side my attempt to obtain tickets for the game, which would have cost more than I can afford, failed. At least I didn't suffer the "losing at Wembley" experience.

A week away



The week away from the internet, email and my blog. A small price to pay for the chance to go to the USA. Seriously taking 36 students away is hard work, decision making, problem solving, time management, it taxes them all. It was my third trip to Washington DC, Philadelphia and NYC, and each one presents its own challenges and highlights.

I think I've done the monuments and buildings of Washington four times so at one level it offers few surprises.That said I still enjoy visiting the Jefferson memorial, getting that first glance of Congress and walkking through the mall. Its the first time I've taken a group to the Newseum and it certainly didn'y disappoint, infact a longer stay would have been beneficial. However the highlight of DC was the trip to the Library of Congress. I would enjoy an extended stay just to read,research and study there, the building is stunning, but nothing compares with the opportunity to view the Jefferson library; encased in glass the display shows the books that Jefferson sold to Congress after the original library had been burned by the British in the War of 1812. The chance to walk and glance at the books that had influenced him during his lifetime, will remain with me for years ahead.

Philadelphia always gives the chance to relive Revolutionary America. I never tire of soaking up Independence Hall and the National Constitutional Center was much improved, even if my abiding memory will be the small display featuring Bruce Springsteen.

Nothing prepares you for the entry into NYC more than the journey along the New Jersey turnpike. After miles of industrial wasteland, the sight of Manhattan stares one in the face. There's always something new to learn, to see, to experience. After two days of walking tours my foot injury was a cause for concern, but you can't pass up the chance for freetime in the city.

Basketball has played a sinificant role in my past, but devoid of the chance to witness it at the top level, my interest has declined somewhat in the last couple of years, yet to see a sell out game at MSG, to see the Knicks parade a new signing, Carmelo Anthony was a chance not to be missed. The Knicks didn't disappoint,as they have done many times before. With Carmelo and Chauncy Billips in the line up they begin to look like contenders. NYC cries out for success, only time will tell whether this is just another false dawn. The game was designated as Legends Night and it was a chance for the Knicks fans to salute past heroes, including John Starks participant in many of the historic 90s struggles against Reggie Miller and the Pacers.

On the final day I took the chance to go downtown to look at and photograph the Flatiron Building. On a previous visit I'd gone by on a bus, but this was the opportunity to take it in and take some phots. I like NYC away from the bright lights and obvious tourist beat. Lunch in Little Italy ( no more than a few streets now), was a chance to taste NY pizza and it was good.

This was very much my farewell tour, I hope to return next time as an ordinary tourist, rather than a party leader. That said I know the students experienced sights, flavours and sounds that will stay with them as they enter adulthood. I looked back as we drove to JFK airport, and remembered my first visit as a 16 year old, the opportunity to stay in NY with my godfather gave me the interest in the USA that I've carried throughout life, perhaps some of those who accompanied me may also want to learn more about the history, culture and lifestyle of America.

Wednesday 16 February 2011

I'm still walking - True Grit



A trip to the doctor on Monday after I felt sharp pain in the side of my heel for several days revealed tendon damage. The doctor's advice rest, elevation, ice, bandaging and anti inflamatories. Well I said that's tricky I'm off to lead a group of students on a walking tour of Washington DC and New York City at the end of the week. Perhaps not surprising he didn't recommend this, and said I could do further damage. Frankly no alternative, the trip 18 months in the planning, and with most of the bookings in my name. In the immortal words of Van the Man : "It's too late to stop now".We leave on Friday morning, bag nearly packed, a further last week crisis when my co-planner has had to pull out for family reasons has been averted through the recruitment of an Australian teacher, it will be interesting to witness USA through his eyes, he's never been there before.

If the foot gets too bad, I'll taxi around and meet the group at various locations, in the meantime, its strapped up and I've dusted off some old basketball boots for protection.

Monday saw the arrival of the new DBT album, more once I've listened more. However before an excellent Valentines Day meal at Nirvana, Ingatestone we squeezed in a trip to the cinema to see True Grit. Coen Brothers at their best a remarkably mature performance from 14 year old Halle as the maain female lead and story narrator, Jeff Bridges gives an excellent performance as well, its just a fine film that never sags, and is filmed in fine detail and with a good feel for the period.

Saturday 12 February 2011

Getting back to my roots

The annual fundraising dinner at AFC Wimbledon with special guest Bobby Gould, was the reason for us spending part of the weekend in London. Now I should say staying in London, let's face it I'm a regular visitor , on Thursday night I sample the Barbican Centre in order to see the London premiere of the DBT documentary " The Secret to a Happy Ending". Now I'm a huge Truckers fan, so the film wasn't going to disappoint. However the chance to hear Cooley & Patterson answer questions and then perform a live acoustic mini-set made a great night.

Anyway I've strayed, on Friday night we travelled back from Kingsmeadow around midnight on the 131 bus and walked from the Broadway to Tooting Bec. Now I like curry but there must have been 20 curryhouses in the kilometre walk. Has anyone ever done a curry crawl ? The area where I grew up has changed beyond recognition. It's not better or worse, just different. As I lay awake I realised that you could always hear traffic and the hum was punctuated ever so often by the sound of an emergency vehicle. If nothing else I realised how I take the relative quiet and silence at night for granted at home. Do we just get used to the conditions in which we live ? I'm not sure, could I readjust to urbanlife ? I really doubt it, perhaps the exodus from London, is usually a one way ticket. Staying there now is a bit like going on holiday, how very strange.

Thursday 10 February 2011

The week just gone

Too busy to write, is part of the truth. The other half is I had a weekend celebrating my birthday. Work has been dominated by marking exam papers that will hopefully pay for a summer of cricket. Well the job's done . I've reached the age where birthday's simply mark the fact you're getting older. A fact proved last Friday when a session with a personal trainer left me walking like a cowboy ,long in the saddle, who'd lost his horse. The real pleasure of my birthday was time spent at a family meal last Friday at my favourite pub-restaurant, and a meal with my oldest friend and his wife last Sunday night. The whole weekend was backed up with cake and rock buns ( a personal vice).

Saturday, my daughter's birthday was largely spent on the road travelling to football, and the frustration of hearing that Arsenal had thrown away a four goal lead. My mood lifted on arriving home and finding that Man Utd had lost. The fact that would not be invincible like the excellent Arsenal team of 2003-04 meant more than the net gain of a point.

The new week began with putting the final touch to the plans for Student Tour to Washington DC /NYC that I'm leading shortly. Very much the final tour. Meanwhile I discovered that my teaching position is being advertised next week, whether anyone suitable applies is yet to be seen, but it brings home the fact that the curtain is gradually being drawn on my working life. I'm left with a few months to ponder the next step.

Thursday 3 February 2011

A tense night at the Arsenal



Admit it, I was knackered. The day plus a horrible sinus headache the day before had drained me. I left the car close to home at Shenfield and made my way to the Emirates for the visit of Everton. Once again a great seat in Block 95. Arsenal started slowly and the visitors had the better of the opening minutes yet Arsenal were creating chances.

The game pivotted on one decision the ball was played through the Arsenal defence, it was deflected onto Saha by Konshelny. saha was in an offside position, and as soon as he went to the ball, the crowd expected the assistant to raise his flag. He didn't and Saha scored. The mood inside the stadium was like a cauldron. The displeasure and anger directed at the referee was apparent to all to hear. It would be interesting to know how a referee reacts to 50,000 people chanting that the referee is a master of the art of self abuse.

As half time approached Alex Song was injured, little seemed to be going right. Arsenal bombarded Everton at the start of the second half, but no breakthrough came. Substitution the relatively ineffectual Rosicky with the somewhat out of form not still dangerous Arshavin, minutes later Jack Wiltshre sacrificed for Nickolas Bendtner. The game changes, Fabregas chips a pass helped on by an Everton defender, to Arshavin, and he fires past Howard to equalise. Minutes later after a fierce Van Persie free kick is turned over for a corner, the corner finds Konshelny unmarked and he heads home from 6 yards.

Two-One to the Arsenal and the points were ours. Strangely I felt so much less tired on the journey home !

A civilised society

I want a land where the people own the woods and forests, where all people especially children have access to a public library, where it's easy to recycle items, where young children can cross roads safely going to and from school. I thought I'd grown up in a country where these were accepted norms. I suppose I took them for granted. Now the very fabric of what makes a civilised society is under threat.

The tragedy is that most people will not notice till they're gone.