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 26 August 2013

The Oval - a sense of history

For members of Surrey County Cricket Club , home has seen some changes this season. Firstly the relocation of the Hobbs Gates and the construction of a new forecourt which gives the pavilion a more palatial appearance, although I still tend to enter from the side.




The external features that represent the Club's heritage are still there to be found but perhaps you have to look harder to find them.





Once inside however a great effort has been made to display memorabilia from great players from the Club's past. As I walk through the corridors and mount the staircases the portraits remind me of the rich history that the Club possesses.




Realising that there are now members who because of their age have no memory of Barrington and Stewart reminds me that although I often quote the career statistics of Sir Jack Hobbs, of course, I never saw him play. Yet cricket is a remarkable sport we continue to discuss who was the great batsman or bowler based on grainy film footage taken nearly a century ago.




It's now over 50 years ago that I first watched cricket at the Oval, yet memories of those days still flood into my mind. They have made an indelible imprint.
They represent some of the most memorable and happiest moments of childhood.



In this respect my early history is tied up with the history of these old buildings,stands and memory of players sadly many of whom have died in the years that have passed since I was first taken to the ground in 1961.

Wells revisited

This is the third time we've stayed in Wells next the Sea in the last two years. I think everyone needs a bolt hole. A place where you can relax,walk, think and generally escape.



North Norfolk might not appeal to everyone, but it does to me. This is the first time we've been there during the summer holiday period. From the children catching crabs on the quay to the groups of children with buckets and spades on the beach, Wells remains a traditional seaside environment.




Sunday was harbour day, the town's equivalent to the village fete. I must admit I enjoyed the band who sang folk and sea shanties.- the Blackeney Old Wild Rovers.

 

 


As ever the walk from the quay to Holkham Beach never disappoints, regardless of whether the tide is in or out.

The essence of Wells, the pace of life, the narrow high street, the narrow lanes, the sound of the gulls, the windswept feel of the beach, the boats either on the mud flats or bobbing on the tide. These images,feelings and sounds are magical and seem captured in an almost timeless way.

T20 Finals Day

Saturday 17th August

Friends Life t20 Finals Day - Tetbury Cricket Club


We're travelling to Birmingham to watch Surrey in T20 Finals Day. To be honest this is not a journey that I expected to make; Surrey's form has been erratic to say the least. For everyone good performance ( Middlesex at Lords) there's been an absysmal one (Essex at the Oval). However having breached Fortress Chelmsford to beat Essex and then dismantling a poor Somerset side in the quarter finals, Surrey find themselves travelling to Edbaston to play Hampshire in the semi final. Hampshire are the holders and indeed the pundits favourite to regain the trophy.

Dernbach reveals key to t20 Finals Day appearance | GiveMeSport

We've booked a hotel about two miles from Egbaston, a ground I've never visited before.We were supposed to spend two days there in the summer of 2012 but it rained throughout both days. Ominously it is scheduled to rain today as well.




A Review of Finals Day

This is the first time I've been to Finals Day and I probably wouldn't attend if Surrey were not involved. It's a long day and the miserable weather although there was only one rain break impacted upon the enjoyment.

Plenty to shout about: David Willey celebrates as he completes his hat-trick and Northamptonmshire's victory in the T20 finalOn the plus side Surrey made the final, the downside was they were swept aside by a Northants side that never looked back after plundering the Surrey attack during the powerplay overs. Northants were worthy winners and deserved their success.





Final Days has a good deal of atmosphere, Egbaston offers little protection from the weather, and spread out over 10 hours many spectators are adversely affected by the amount of alcohol consumed.

Saturday 24 August 2013

Looking back on Paris

When I retired two years ago I never made the now fashionable "wish-list" and in fact if I had made one I doubt at the time if a trip to Paris would have been high on the list. I'd been to the french capital twice before but both were as part of school trips, most of the sites I'd 'done'. So why in late July did we travel by Eurostar to Paris, the answer in short was 2013 marked the 100th anniversary of the Tour de France.

My interest in road cycling is very recent largely founded on the 2012 Olympics and Bradley Wiggins success on the tour twelve months earlier. At the end of the school year a chance to grap a weekend away combined with watching the climax of one of the world's premier sports events proved irresistable.

However the planning was not that straightforward; I discovered that it was impossible to book seats on Eurostar more than three months in advance, it only took a few seconds to calculate that by the time I could seats on the train our chance of getting a hotel room would be nil.

By chance I saw an advertisement in the Guardian offering weekend city breaks and there listed was Paris and the weekend we required. I was on the phone quicker than you can say peleton !

Eurostar is an excellent way to travel I frankly do not understand those who make their way to airports to travel to Paris. St Pancras is central, the security checks are swift and there is no necessity for being at the terminal hours before departure. Eurostar seemed on the outward journey an efficient operation. 

The journey to Paris was painless, bar a group of cycling enthusiasts a few seats away who serenaded the rest of the carriage which a variety of hits including Amorillo. All this became understandable when it became known that the buffet had run out of tonic so they took to drinking gin and champagne !

At Gard de Nord a coach took was to the hotel where a group of cyclists were checking in have been on a charity cycle from Helsingor (Sweden) to Paris.  Friday evening allowed us time to explore the local area and gave me the opportunity to find somwhere to buy vegetarian food - a Lebanese take away.

Saturday morning brought a coach trip around the sites,


we jumped off before the coach departed for Verseilles and instead made our way to the Musee d'Orsay, after eating lunch in the Jardin des Tuileries. The museum was one of two reasons why I wanted to visit Paris. A collection of 19/20th century art housed in a former railway station, on the banks of the Seine.




On the walk we passed a statue to Thomas Jefferson, allowing me the opportunity to focus on the years after 1787 when Jefferson served as US ambassador to France.




The Musee was excellent and surprisingly not crowded and without the queue that I fully expected. On leaving Musee d'Orsay we had the idea that we should walk back to the hotel, what transpired was close to a five mile walk  through sururban Paris in blistering heat broken for a fruitless mission to find the grave of Jean Paul Satre in a local cemetry .

Saturday night and Sunday morning offered further tours including a boat ride down the Seine




 before we made our way to the Champs-Elysees to seek out a good viewing point for the arrival of the Tour de France. Arriving mid afternoon we were in the second row od spectators but by 8.30pm when the pelaton reached Paris the crowds were ten deep. Fortunately we found a spot opposite a video screen allowing us to see the riders enter the city on  their ride from Verseilles.



The Champs -Elysees was an excellent location as we were able to see the race as the riders made their way to the Arc de Triomphe  and then again as they circled down to the Place de Concorde.


( David Millar, who led the stage until the closing laps of the Champs d'Elysees)

Seeing Chris Froome win the 100th Tour was a special moment, and yes I bought a souvenir Tour tee shirt.  We made our way back to the hotel and slept soundly after a beer at a local bar. The next morning there was time to buy some food for the journey and to take hour before the coach ride back to the station.

As our Eurostar train made its way across northern France it ground to a halt outside Lille. We were told there were power shortage in the area, yes France is heavily dependent on nuclear power, after a 90 minute delay we made our why to the tunnel and onto London. On arrival we were told that we would be given a half price ticket to travel on Eurostar again valid for 12 months for our inconvenience.

Three days where we packed so much in, saw a premier sporting event and have the chance to travel at a discounted price back to France in 2014. Can't be bad.