Martin Veale - Steel and Survival

Rugby Notes

2012-01-28T22:20:00.000Z

God, how I hate going to Dave Parade. Its been a few years since the last trip, in which time the Townies have built themselves a posh (and empty) stand. Oh, and got themselves one of the most useless ticket offices in the world. Not exactly a bumper crowd, about the usual for a Gwent derby. All pay, and queues stretching for 50 yards or more. I stood in line for 20 minutes, and others didn't get into the ground until well after kick-off. Why print tickets for allocated seats when you have thousands of empty ones to choose from?

Anyway, onto the game...

Nothing more to say than that already up on the Ebbw Vale RFC website. Tony Brown, your boys took a hell of a beating. A 26-13 win at Dave Parade was more than most could have hoped for, but nothing more than was deserved.

This is our webmaster's view of the game, and since I was stood next to him we clearly saw the same game. My man of the match was Ronnie Kynes, who tackled his heart out and had the advantage of the Newport hooker picking him out at every lineout.

"A superb performance saw Ebbw Vale through to Round 3 of the SWALEC Cup at the expense of Premiership Newport. Most pundits had tipped the Black and Ambers to take the tie with ease, but, in truth, it was never even close as the fantastic Steelmen dominated every aspect of the game. An early penalty from Dorian Jones started the ball rolling and Newport simply couldn't get their game going as Ebbw put in tackle after tackle, sending their opponents backwards over the gain line time after time. Even when the Steelmen were down to 14, Dan Deardon having been harshly yellow carded for what the referee judged to be a tip-tackle, they kept up the pressure, electing to kick for the corner when 3 points seemed an easier option. It proved most fruitful, though, as a great driving maul resulted in the Newport pack descending into total disarray and Ross Jones grabbing the touchdown. Two penalties by ex-Steelman Gareth Bowen and a reply by Dorian Jones made it 11-6 to Ebbw at half time.

"The second half had barely started when Ebbw worked the ball right for Wes Cunliffe to outpace the defence, going around behind the posts to make Dorian Jones's job that little bit easier. It was 18-6, Newport looked broken, and the home supporters were expressing their fury! Another Jones penalty, and a great try by Gareth James did nothing to improve their mood. By this stage, Ebbw's forwards had total control and were pushing the home eight yards backwards. A pushover try seemed on the cards - from 22 metres out! - as Newport back-pedalled at a rate of knots and their front row shot up. Inexplicably, the referee penalised Ebbw, indicating an upwards drive! In the loose, the Ebbw back row was yards quicker to the ball, Ronnie Kynes winning a whole stream of turnovers and penalties in his best game so far in red, green and white and Nicky Coughlin, Ross Jones and Mathew WIlliams relishing the physical battle. Against the run of play, Newport finally put a decent move together and their left wing showed real pace to score. Bowen converted to make it 26-13 but that was as good as it got for the city boys as Ebbw demonstrated maturity and sound game management to run the clock down and secure a superb victory.

"As well as it being an excellent defensive performance, Ebbw posed constant problems in attack, with strength, control and aggression up front and pace and power behind.The team was:

"Charlie Simpson, Wes Cunliffe, Tristan Davies, Dan Dearden, Tom Macpherson; Dorian Jones, Gareth James; Ross Jones, Mathew Williams, Robert Sevenoaks; Damien Hudd (capt), Ashley Sweet; Nicky Coughlin, Ronnie Kynes, Ethan Matthews. Bench: Dan Goode, Ben Parry, Josh Powell, Cameron Reagan, Dai Jones, Dan Haymond, Aled James."

Rugby Notes

2012-01-24T00:14:00.001Z

Top video of Nigel Owens giving a telling off to a typically mouthy scrum half.

Some new notes

2012-01-18T19:38:00.000Z

Forestry Notes

For anyone who wonders what the heck I do for aliving, this video may help. No, it’s not about the joys of double-entrybookkeeping, but rather it’s a multimedia video produced by the European ForestInstitute (no, I didn’t know there was such a thing either).

The video, European Forests: Central to the World weLive in, gives an overall picture of Europe’smost versatile ecological infrastructure. It’s an illuminating 10 minutes.

Janesy Notes

Janesy’sblog, the kraken wakes,is taking on a life of its own. As well as there being far greater productivitythan this here blog, as well as being somewhat more provocative and edgy(sweary in other words), and a damn sight funnier, it has now moved on to newrealms.

For the grandsum of 99p, you can now download a copy of the blog for the Kindle, via Amazon.I kid you not. Go look here.

Pedantry Notes

Good articlein The Times this weekend about lazy journalism, and use of words like ‘more’and ‘less’.

“If I have100 objects, and someone else has ‘three times more than’ I, how many does thatperson have? Three times 100 = 300, therefore three times more is 100 + 300 =400. However, I suspect that in most cases the writer means 300, that is to saythree times as many as I.

“If someoneelse has ‘three time fewer than’ I, how many does that person have? Three timesfewer than 100 is then 100 - 300 which equals minus 200. Does the writer meanone third the number I have? Or possibly one third fewer.

“The sameapplies to ‘less’, e.g. three times less wine than before. Is this meant tomean one third as much or one third less? Why can’t you say what you reallymean?”

Wise wordsthere from a fellow pedant.

Stuff

2011-11-14T22:54:00.001Z

It’s been abusy couple of weeks, so not a lot of chance to blog. So let’s get to it.

RugbyNotes

Ebbw Valehave moved to the top of Division 1 East, having notched up a string of convincingwins. 27-10 in the pouring rain at Merthyr, 34-5 at home to Rumney (which Imissed), and 39-17 at Mountain Ash. All bonus-point wins to boot.

Reviews onthe EVRFC website at evrfc.co.uk.

The falloutfrom England’s dismal showing at RWC continues. Simon Barnes administers aspectacular shoeing to (ex-)England captain and tenth in line to the throne MikeTindall. As The Times now charges for access to its website I can’t put a linkon here, but in summary he says:

“Tindall is a stupid lecherous drunken mendacious untrustworthydisloyal loser. He's let down his team-mates and his in-laws and half thecountry beside. He is the Arsehole of the Year.”

Ava’s Diary

Back in nursery after the half term holidays. There are lots of things planned for this term including a trip to Green Meadow community farm, but mostly it’s the headlong race into Christmas. My Jingle Bells is coming along nicely.

Been busy. Went to Cardiff to see Chris and Pui off the telly (BBC’s Show Me, Show Me) in the theatre last weekend. Lots of kids sang and danced, but I was far more circumspect. Had a nice time though.

Then it was Pontypridd’s fireworks display. The best view in town is to be had by sitting on the windowsill in Mam and Dad’s bedroom. I stayed up past my bedtime as the show started at 7:30 but by the end I was so tired that I asked to go to bed.

Firework Notes

This terrificvideo of when fireworks go bad has been doing the rounds. This is what you getwhen Oban’s entire fireworks display goes off at once.

Travel Notes

It’s beennuts. The last couple of weeks have included two days in Edinburgh, and tripsto Aberystwyth, Llandovery and the ancient forests of the Trellech Ridge inMonmouthshire.

Edinburgh, I hear you say. Lovely this time ofyear. Well, all I saw was an airplane, a bus, a hotel and an office.

A day in theforest? Autumn colours, nice day out? Picture torrential rain. Then picture lotsmore.

Sick Notes

Got struck down with the gout the other week. I thought I’d broken my foot. Across the top of the foot isn’t where it traditionally shows itself – it’s usually the big toe.

Typically, it struck during half term when I had booked a few days off work. So instead of paying one last visit to Tresaith and the caravan I was restricted to hobbling and generally feeling sorry for myself.

Baseball Notes

Didn’t seemuch baseball on TV this season. But right at the end I happned upon two games thatseem to define the 2011 season.

First was thefinal game of the 162 game season: Boston Red Sox lostto Baltimore to complete the biggest collapse in baseball history and miss theplayoffs. Later revelations about clubhouse camaraderie, or lack of, seem tomake this end of season disaster more explainable. TheBoston Globe’s coverage of the meltdown is an excellent read.

The second memorablegame of the season was Game 6 of the World Series, already regarded as one ofthe best World Series games ever played. With the Texas Rangers 3 games to 2 upin the best of 7 series, the St Louis Cardinals had their backs against thewall. Twice the Rangers were one strike away from winning the title, and twicethe Cards dugthemselves out. The Cards won in the 11^th inning, and almostinevitably went on to win Game 7 and the Series.

Chip and Pin Notes

I seem tohave an endless series of passwords and PIN numbers to remember. So some of theways to remember them are unusual, but no clues here.

Alexei Saylewas on the radio last week telling the story of when he realised that theForeign and Commonwealth Office wasn’t for him. On job experience fromuniversity, he was being led around a government office, and the civil servantescorting him tapped in a code to access a room, and said “Don’t worry if youforget the code, it’s the year of the Treaty of Utrecht.”

TV Notes

AfterWallander (Swedish), The Killing (Danish) and Spiral (French) my subtitlereading is coming on leaps and bounds. Thank goodness for BBC4. At last thereis some intelligent TV that takes time to tell a story and build someplotlines.

Now there’s Braquo on FX. Another French copshow, but this time it’s hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys. And fromnow on I’ll look at Paris in a whole new light.

The newseries of CurbYour Enthusiasm on More 4 is as good as ever. Last night’s episode,featuring Bill Buckner and a Mr Softee ice cream van was as good as it gets.

So why is thegood TV buried in the schedules and mindless guff served up on the mainchannels?

Honourablemention has to go to BBC1 for making Frozen Planet. Naturalhistory isn’t always my bag, but this series is magnificent. Dedicated doesn’tstart to describe the filmmakers that spent months at the Poles. Neither does “abit parky”.

Stuff You See

2011-11-09T00:28:00.001Z

Spotted in Home Bargains. A classy joint if ever there was one, but this is a new low even for them.

Oh, I'm being told its short for Assorted...

Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes

2011-10-25T00:10:00.002+01:00

Two and a half hoursof pure joy. Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. Badged as “the best barband in the world”, it seems like an annual event for them to show up in Cardiffand just blow up a storm.

The Glee Club ishardly a cathedral to rock and roll, but it didn’t seem to bother anyone. Itwas a top night of juke joint rock and roll and barrelhouse blues. Johnny isshowing no sign of letting up, and the completely impromptu nature of the setshows what the tight team the band is. Requests from the audience launched intowithout a moment’s pause.

Southside Johnnylooks completely at home on stage, chatting to the crowd, joking with the band,directing operations and blowing a mean harmonica. No wonder his shirt wassoaked well before the end of the set.

Talk to Me, TheFever, I Don’t Want to Go Home, Hearts of Stone, and Walk Away Renee. Who couldask for more?

One problem though.With aging bands comes an aging audience. No problem. I am expecting to see oldtour T-shirts and faded denims topped with greying/thinning hair and even theodd ponytail. But cardigans, James May-style shirts and dad dancing should bebanned.

RWC Notes

2011-10-24T23:32:00.001+01:00

Ten RWCThings I Think

1. I think that if only one or twoof the 50/50 refereeing decisions had gone their way,

France

could have easily won thatFinal.

2. I think that Wales were inspired.They played with flair and the unconcerned air of youth. But in bald statisticsit was played 7, won 4, lost 3. The only ‘top’ level team beaten was

Ireland

.You simply can’t miss as many kicks as

Wales

did.

3. I think I was surprised at howbad England and

Fiji

were.

4. I think that despite Romania goingbackwards, the Georgian and Russian teams showed that the gap will continue tonarrow. The Georgian pack was immense.

5. I think that the draw won’t openup in future like it did in 2011. When Irelandbeat Australiaall of the southern hemisphere teams landed in one half of the draw. Withoutthat I don’t think a Six Nations team would have been in the final.

6. I think Scotland willwonder what if. Almost, almost, almost.

7. I think that, despite being 13^thin line to the throne (perhaps not for much longer), Mike Tindall’s days in an England shirtare over. Likewise Johnny Wilkinson.

8. I think that Martin Johnson’sdays in charge of Englandare limited. His “rugby players drink beer shock” press conference wascringe-worthy. Sir Clive Woodward - Shaun Edwards dream team, anyone?

9. I think the eligibility ruleshave to be sorted out. It just feels wrong that two brothers can play for twodifferent countries.

Manu and AlesanaTuilagiplayed for England and Samoa respectively.

Salesi andCampese Ma’afu both propped, for Australiaand Fiji.

Sailosi and Michael Tagicakibau played against each other for Samoa and Fiji.

10. I think I’m amazed at how poorsome drop goal attempts have been. Shane Williams’ Arthur Emyr-esque effort wasa shocker. Seriously, do players practice or just have a go when panic sets in?He, Stephen Jones and Dan Parks need to get some rehab at the convalescent homefor shell-shocked drop-kickers.

My RWCteam of the tournament (for what it’s worth)

15 Israel Dagg (NZ) – Brilliant inattack, solid in defence. Went from the margins of the squad to centre stage injust 2 games. It was a shame that Aussie fullback Kurtley Beale was injuredearly in the tournament

14 Digby Ioane (Aus) – When onsong, the Aussie backline were unstoppable. Ireland of course found a way tostop them.

13 Conrad Smith (NZ) – Awesometackler and quick thinker. Brain O’Driscoll (Ireland), as always, got seriousconsideration here.

12 Jamie Roberts (Wales) – Closeto being man of the tournament. Just immense. Felipi Contepomi (Arg) deservesmention for playing despite having (a technical term this) a shirtful of lackribs.

11 George North (

Wales

)– 19. Imagine how good he will be when he grows up.

10 Quade Cooper (Aus) – Showedglimpses of what he could do, but carried the weight of the nation on hisshoulders. The NZ faithful booed him even has he was carried off with a seriousknee injury. Rhys Preistland (Wales)rose from nowhere to be a serious contender here.

9 Mike Phillips (Wales) – Superbreturn to form and scored the try of the tournament. Nobody else got evenclose.

1 Gethin Jenkins (Wales) – Didhis job in the set piece and was everywhere in the loose.

2 Mario Ledesma (Arg) – Franklythe whole Argentinafront row were in contention for this list.

3 Adam Jones (Wales) – Thedifference was obvious after he went off in the semi-final.

4 Paul O’Connell (Ireland) – Worth his place for the effortagainst Australiaalone.

5 Victor Matfield (SA) – Toweringlineout presence and intimidating across the field.

6 ThierryDusautoir (France)– The IRB player of the year was immense in the Final against NZ, andcompletely outplayed JeromeKaino (NZ), most people’s pick at blindside.

8 Imanol Harinoriquy (

France

)– Cup final man of the match. Sergio Parisse (Italy)was exceptional again, and Toby Faletau (Wales,by way of Tonga)was a wonderful revelation.

7 David Pocock (Aus) – Sorelymissed in their key loss to Ireland.If he was fully fit Ritchie McCaw (NZ) would have run him very close.

Coach Warren Gatland (Wales) – Therewill be a tempting offer from the NZRFU arriving any day now.

Rugby Notes

2011-10-22T20:05:00.000+01:00

Lifted straight from the Ebbw Vale RFCwebsite, www.evrfc.co.uk

"When the teams in 3rd and 4th place meet, you canexpect a nervous, tight affair with the game turning on a missed tackle here, aspark of brilliance there, a penalty kick sailing over - or wide. Not so atEugene Cross Park on Saturday, when 3rd placed Ebbw Vale handed out a realdrubbing, 57-3, to a very disappointing Blackwood side, scoring 9 tries in theprocess.

"Producing some of their best rugby of the season,and with the pack dominating every aspect of the forward battle, Ebbw's backsclicked, playing with a precision and pace that the visitors could not counter.The first try came after 5 minutes. Blackwood's forwards conceded two scrummagepenalties in their 22 and scrum half Gareth James took a quick tap for WesCunliffe to cross wide out. It was soon 12 - 0 as Tom Ashmead on the other wingleft defenders for dead, running in from over half way. At this stage,Blackwood were still competing well and, with more accurate kicking, might havedrawn level. As it was, only a Gareth Price penalty found the mark and Ebbwended the half 19-3 up, the pack having won a penalty try after a succession ofoffences by the Blackwood eight earned the ire of referee Phil Harrhy.

"The floodgates showed every sign of bulging whenCharlie Simpson crossed for the bonus point and they burst wide open as NickyCoughlin, Simpson, Cunliffe, Dai Jones and Ashmead snaffled touchdowns - thefinal one after a superb tackle, steal and pass by Dan Dearden. Mention shouldbe made of Dorian Jones's excellent kicking and general play and it was greatto see the superb work - both destructive and constructive - of open sideRonnie Kynes. Charlie Simpson was named as Man of the Match, although it couldeasily have gone to any number of others in what was a superb performance byevery Steelman."

All this report misses out on was an enormous"99"-type bust up just before half-time and an ineptrefereeing performance. Ronnie Kynes, pictured was my MotM. Next up, a chancefor revenge when Ebbw travel to Merthyr, scene of the crime where Ebbw snatcheddefeat from the jaws of victory last year.

Charlie Simpson, Wes Cunliffe, Tristan Davies, DanDearden, Tom Ashmead; Dorian Jones, Gareth James; Ross Jones, Mathew Williams,Jonathan Williams; Damien Hudd (capt), Ashley Sweet; Nicky Coughlin, RonnieKynes, Ethan Matthews. Bench: Dan Goode, Ben Parry, Alex Williams, Dai Jones,Dan Haymond.

More Stuff

2011-10-17T20:41:00.001+01:00

Ava’s Diary

Castell Coch

It was the Nursery’s day trip to Castell Coch on Tuesday. Mam and Dadcame too. We got to listen to The Spellbinder tell us stories about animals whoused to live at the castle, and then we Prince Andy taught us sword-fighting.But a) he didn’t look much like a prince, and b) we didn’t do anysword-fighting. We did learn all about being a knight though.

After the packed lunch (as is the tradition some ate theirs on the buson the way to the castle) it was time for a treasure hunt in the forest. In therain. We found a treasure chest full of chocolate coins. I had two. Then it wastime to go home and some kids (and parents) slept on the bus home.

On Sunday I met all of Dad’s family for lunch. I played with Sarah andHelen, but was very shy because there was a new man around: Helen’s new guyMark. I played cards (clock patience rather than poker) and did some colouring.Oh, and ate every carrot in the pub.

Rugby Notes

Levitating Dan Aj

Not a great day on Saturday. Wales somehow managed to be plucky losersyet again. And the focus had to be Sam Warburton after my blog last week.

And then Ebbw Vale went down to Newbridge 9-6. The crowd was veryquiet, and it had a “after the Lord Mayor’s show” feeling. Almost inevitably itwas a rather flat and frankly very poor game.

As last year, Ebbw got turned over by a physical Newbridge team, andthus allowed a one-dimensional Newbridge team to simply shoe the ball down thepitch and then take it back off us. Not streetwise or organised enough. It’sall very well making half-breaks, but if the support doesn’t clear out theopposition then you have no chance. The lack of a neutral zone didn’t help usthough. Ronnie Kynes was my MotM, for what it’s worth.

So both my teams lost without conceding a try, without conceding 10points. But both had kicks to win the game, and shouldn’t look elsewhere forexcuses.

Next its home to Blackwood on Saturday, and a rather pointless 3^rdplace playoff against Australia.

Travel Notes

Room for one more inside? No, there bloody well isn't

Work took me to London last week. God, I’d forgotten how much I dislikeit. The Underground is permanently heaving, and of course hot and unventilated.Prices were almost laughable, such as £2 for a cup of flavourless “coffee”(their word not mine) on the train.

One oasis was accommodation. Tired of the soulless, expensive dumps thatpass as London hotels, I opted instead for a B&B. Good decision too. TheKennington B&B was everything you want. Quiet, clean, convenient, friendly.Will definitely go there again, if I have to spend time in London.

Sam Warburton Facts

2011-10-14T20:25:00.000+01:00

SamWarburton, Wales’ captain is now turning into one of the best open-sideflankers in the world. In his honour a Twitter thread (#SamWarburtonFacts) hasbeen collecting so little known stuff about him. Here is a short list of myfavourites.

1. If the LargeHadron Collider breaks again, Sam Warburton will just throw two atoms togetherand see what happens

2. Sam Warburton onceslammed a revolving door

3. Superman wearsSam Warburton pyjamas to bed.

4. The Bogey Man checks under hisbed for Sam Warburton.

5. Ghosts sit around a campfire tellingSam Warburton stories.

6. The Ghostbusters call SamWarburton when there is something strange in their neighbourhood.

7. Sam Warburton is the reason Wallyis hiding.

8. Voldemort refers to Sam Warburtonas “He who must not be named”.

9. Some pee their name into snow,Sam Warburton does his into concrete.

10. Bruce Springsteen calls SamWarburton ‘the Boss’.

11. Sam Warburton can draw a circlewith a ruler.

12. When Sam Warburton is runninglate, time slows down.

13. There are 5 natural elements:earth, fire, wind, water, Sam Warburton.

14. Sam Warburton can love AND hateMarmite simultaneously.

15. Sam Warburton makes onions cry.

16. When Sam Warburton looks in themirror his reflection avoids eye contact.

17. The AA have gone out of business.Sam Warburton beat them to every breakdown.

18. Watching TV with Sam Warburton isa nightmare. He always turns over.

Checkout Hell

2011-10-10T23:43:00.000+01:00

Ava and I do the weekly “big shop” on Saturdays and duly stand in lineat the checkout. We chat to the checkout person. On Saturday it was a womanwith an impressive knowledge of Formula One.

Anyhew. Sunday. Asda, Coryton. Just a few bits and bobs. Decided to usethe use the automated check-outs.

When will I learn? “Unauthorised item in the bagging area.” “Authorisationrequired.” “Please rescan.” “Supervisor (read surly assistant) needed.” Arghhhh.

Why is it that in this age where “customer is king” that this is onearea where a shockingly poor system seems to come as standard?

This week's stuff

2011-10-09T16:30:00.000+01:00

Ava’s Diary

I enjoyed the last of the summer last weekend at Duffryn Gardens with myfriends Abigail and Bethan. They don’t go to the same school as me, so it wasnice to catch up and reminisce about old times.

The first school trip of the year is looming as we’re off to CastellCoch this week. It’s a fairy castle and we’re going to explore the castle, listento fairy stories and practice sword-fighting. I’m looking forward to thesword-fighting most of all.

Mum’s friend Lou has been visiting this weekend, and her girls Eggbertand Tess-egg have been really nice to me. Tess played with all my toys andshowed me how to get cakes from the kitchen when Mum and Dad aren’t looking.

Rugby Notes

After a slow start, Ebbw Vale’s dominance up front paid dividends and bythe end it was a rout over Tredegar. 59-17 was the final score, and that cameafter a 0-10 start.

Two yellow cards in quick succession (and frankly the ref bottledanother within a minute of the first card being handed out) turned the game,and your correspondent’s worries disappeared at it rained tries (seven of themin the second half).

Scorers: Tries for Nicky Coughlin, Tom McPherson (2), Tom Daly (2), TomAshmead (2), Calum Brennan and a penalty try. Conversions for Dan Haymond (4),Dorian Jones (2) and Charlie Simpson (2).

Tough to argue with the choice of flanker Ronnie Kynes as MotM, butMcPherson but must have run him close.

Next Saturday it’s a rather tougher encounter when Ebbw travel toanother Gwent neighbour, Newbridge.

RWC Thoughts

I think that, rugby-wise, it was a perfect day yesterday. A day whenWales and Ebbw win and England lose doesn’t roll around very often, so it wasone to savour.

I think that Wales proved their potential for running rugby and Englandproved their ability to be clueless when it matters.

I think that Mike Phillips’ try was one Gareth Edwards would have beenproud of. Good way to make up for being thrown out of McDonalds.

I think that France were typically French, and who knows which Frenchteam shows up next Saturday – the one that lost to Tonga or the one that blewEngland away.

I think that Australia are impossible to rule out. They beat South Africawithout having any ball. The big question is whether New Zealand will allowthem any more ball than South Africa did.

I think that I hate the throat-slash haka that New Zealand use when theyare bored with their “traditional” one.

Scarlet Nonsense

A lot of the press carried the fact that the Scarlets played their 5,000^thgame last month. Now, that’s impressive going for a regional team that wasformed in 2002 to represent the region of West and North Wales.

There’s a team called Llanelli which existed back in the past and post2002 has plied its trade in the Premiership. On the other hand, the Scarlets isa region which has Llanelli, Llandovery and Carmarthen Quins, amongst others astheir feeder sides. The fact that this PR guff from the Scarlets hasn’t been challengedin the media just shows how much of a sham the “regional” set-up in Walesreally is, and does a disservice to their “feeder” club.

It's guff like this that stops me having any interest in "regional" rugby.

Website of the Week

One of the e-newsletters I get each week is from Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis. It’salways full of sound financial advice and has all the best ways of save money –for just about whatever you are spending it.

Anyway, he is collecting signatures for a petition to makefinancial education a compulsory part of the school curriculum. The petitionsays:

“It'sa national disgrace that in the 20 years since introducing student loans, we’veeducated our youth into debt when they go to university, but never about debt.We're a financially illiterate nation, with millions caught by mis-selling,over-borrowing and being ripped off. Is it any surprise we’ve just had a debtimbued financial crisis. This must change. Companies spend billions on marketingand teaching their staff to sell – it's time we got buyers' training. The mostcost effective way to start is to ensure every child in the country gets abasic understanding of personal finance & consumer rights before leavingschool. This isn’t a large resource requirement. Some schools already do it,but the majority don’t and that needs to end. Unless it's compulsory, headteachers can’t prioritise for it. 97% of people support this, yet no one willtake up the baton. We have one of the world’s most complex consumer economies;it's time our children were taught how to thrive and survive in it.”

I’vealways been amazed that there is no domestic finances on any school curriculum,yet it’s probably one of the best things anyone can be taught. If you want tosign the petition you can do so here: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/8903

Beernerdness

My local (it’s almost at the bottom of the garden) is The Bunch ofGrapes. It is holding a bottled beer festival on 14-16 October. 70 plus beersare listed on their websiteincluding a few American beers I have sampled when over the pond. I will tryhard to find time to visit.

Thanksas always to Uncle Wilco for theheads-up.

RWC Notes

2011-10-08T08:57:00.004+01:00

I think that I thought there would never be a time when Wales would looklike they belong in the RWC semi-finals. But today’s performance was assured,with remarkably few mistakes, and a poise you never used to associate withWales teams of old.

Terrific win guys, and roll on the semis.

Rugby Notes

2011-10-08T08:53:00.000+01:00

A rather comfortable win for Ebbw Vale last Saturday at sun-drenched Treorchy (aphrase I never thought I’d write) on Saturday. The 38-8 scoreline just aboutreflected the one-sided nature of the game, where only the scrum had the Zebrasshowing any sort of form.

5 tries in all – from Dan Deardon, Ashley Sweet (this one 40 yardslonger than last week’s pushover try), Ben Parry, Wes Cunliffe and TristanDavies, with 5 conversions and a penalty from Dorian Jones.

My MotM was centre Dan Deardon who always seemed to be in the right placeat the right time. Top signing.

Today its a throwback week as neighbours and once-frequent opponentsTredegar visit Eugene Cross Park (still hate EXP as the abbreviation. No, itsf**king ECP.)

Sports musings

2011-09-26T20:23:00.000+01:00

Rugby Notes

Number 8 Ashley Sweet gets his try

Ebbw Vale got back on winning ways on Saturday with a convincing 44-18win over previously unbeaten Gilfach Goch.

The pack dominated, completely unlike last week. The reshuffled packseemed to work with Calum Brennan adding some size to the second row, AshleySweet played at number 8 for the first time, and Ben Parry had his best gamefor the club, and was my MotM.

Derrick Tredray made sure the ball was used quicker than in previousweeks, Tristan Davies brought some experience to a backline which sometimes isa bit like a headless chicken.

It also has to be said that the referee, Phil Connett has a top game;from the start he didn’t take any nonsense and made sure that both sides wereallowed room to play rugby.

Scorers: 3 tries for Wes Cunliffe and one each for Tom Daly, Dan Deardenand Ashley Sweet, with 4 conversions and 2 penalties for Dorian Jones.

Next up, Treorchy away.

RWC Thoughts

Wales v Namibia in shadow of Mount Taranaki

I think that I take back what I said. On the form they showed againstFrance, there is only one winner in this tournament. It was a game for thefirst ten minutes and then New Zealand exploded with three tries and it was allover.

I think that Scotland blew a golden chance to beat Argentina yesterday.Not the best game of the tournament but certainly the tensest.

I think that Wales haven’t been that clinical in finishing off a teamfor many years. The 12 tries in the 81-7 demolition showed a confidence that’s beenmissing for a long, long time.

I think that the best two quotes of the completion so far came thisweekend:

· Fancois Pienaar: “the only difference between my jog and my flat-out runwas the expression on my face.”

· “Alfie” Thomas on Gethin Jenkins’ try: “at that point I think he couldsmell the burger van behind the try line.”

I think that the commentators need to shut up a bit more. We never getto hear the referee’s explanation of a decision; rather we get some idiotguessing.

I think that Wales playing at Taranaki reminded me of watching a Taranakiside featuring All Black hooker Hika Reid playing at Tredegar many years ago.It seems that club tours have become a thing of the past.

I think that Scotland coach Andy Robinson is looking more and more like CliveAnderson.

I think that barring a freak result (Scotland thrashing England or SouthAfrica losing to Samoa) the quarter finals are now set:

· Wales v Ireland

· England v France

· South Africa v Australia

· New Zealand v Argentina

Glamorgan Notes

In an enormous act of faith in a) Glamorgancricket and b) the weather, I have purchased a Glamorgan season ticket for2012. Its early bird price of just £99 makes a lot more sense than theirpricing policies of the last few years.

I will probably be investing in a ticket forthe England v South Africa game at Sophia Gardens too, but might wait to seewhat Santa brings me.

As he’s going to have to be busy over the nextfew years too, as in the last week Glamorgan has been announced as hosts of testmatches against New Zealand (2013) and Australia (2015).

Thereis a good review of the not-so-good season on the Turn and Bounce blog.

This week's stuff

2011-09-18T12:44:00.000+01:00

Rugby Notes

Bargoed mugging

Ebbw got beaten (and beaten up) by Bargoed in D1E. Lost 18-19 andBargoed deserved the win. They played like they wanted it more, and scored theonly two tries of the game. All Ebbw’s points came from the boot of Dorian Jones.

The referee struggled to keep up with all of the off-the-ball nonsensewhich started with a collection of high tackles, and deteriorated to an emormousbrawl towards the end – not quite a “99” call but not far away. Bargoed had aplayer sent off for kicking that one off but it was too late in the game toaffect the result.

My Ebbw man of the match was number 8 David Barry who seemed to be a main target of the Bargoed mugging (see pic).

RWC Notes

Wales sneaked past Samoa today. They survived through a stunningdefensive effort, including a couple of goal line stands. But they need toimprove in attack if they are going to make an impression in the competition.

Little Shane

One piece of good news for Wales is that Ireland’s win over Australiameans that Wales’ half of the draw (assuming they finish second in the group)is likely to have none of the bog 3 southern hemisphere teams. If games goaccording to form (and that is a huge “if”) then it could be a quarter finalagainst Ireland and a semi final against either England or France.

Russia gave the USA a scare. Kingsley Jones’ Russian isn’t very good,but from what they showed on TV be seemed to be getting his message across inEnglish.

It was refreshing to listening to Talk Sport’s radio coverage whendriving to Aberystwyth last week. Never-the-diplomat Brain Moore was betterthan any of the frankly poor ITV commentators.

Start the Car

Top game of cricket at Sophia Gardens (er, SWALEC Stadium) on Friday.There was nothing to play for in the last One Day International between Englandand India but, fair play, both sides played hard. Of course it being Autumn andit being Wales it rained quite a bit (see 2010 Ryder Cup) but the rain seemedto add to the tension.

Dravid and Bairstow

Pre-game there were so many ex-internationals around it was hard to keepscore. TV crews from Sky (Gower, Botham, Bumble), Channel 5 (Boycott, Nicholas)and TMS (er, Vic Marks) were present in abundance.

It was the end of one great one-day career (Rahul Dravid) and the startof another one (Jonny Bairstow the son David Bairstow, Yorkshire keeper and oneof the players I aspired to be growing up).

Bopara and Bairstow’s hitting at the end was very impressive – theumpires has to send for extra balls as at least four went into the Taff. PoorSamit Patel though, his fielding was shocking and simply not up tointernational standard. He put down two catches, the first of which, as Boycottonce said “my mam could have caught that in her pinny”.

Huge crowd with a majority of them being India fans. I reckon the WestMidlands was empty as I heard Brummie accents aplenty. A top day out, and Ishall be getting a ticket to see South Africa in Cardiff next season.

Glamorgan Notes

There will be a new name in one day cricketnext season as Glamorgan Dragons change their name to the Welsh Dragons. The Welsh Dragons will compete in the CB40 and Friends Life t20competitions from 2012.

What a pile of marketing tosh. An excuse for new replicashirts at fifty quid a throw. Why not spend a little more time trying to get abetter product on the field?

At least next year Glamorgan/Wales will have a local boy, Abergavenny-bornMark Wallace, as captain.

Website of the Week

The Kraken Wakes is a new blogfrom the Janes/Veale household, and it isn’t mine. So note that the rantingscontained therein are not suitable for family viewing. But they are very funny.

Things I Think

I think that Dragon’s Den is almost unwatchable. No, it’s not Duncan Bannatyne’s“I’m oot”. It’s the endless recapping from Evan Davies, probably the mostannoying man on TV. The show is now dumbed down to such an extent that almostevery “I’m out” (or oot) is followed by a voiceover “another dragon is out”.Argh!

I think that I had almost given up on Doctor Who. After a pretty poorrun back in the early summer, I wasn’t overly excited at its return. But thelast few episodes have been excellent. Spotted the Millennium Centre andDuffryn Gardens as settings for last week’s episode too.

I think that, conversely, Torchwood set off at a cracking pace and endedat a crawl. The deeply annoying and unlikeable Rex hasn’t helped. If he grabshis chest one more time I’m going to send him to Category Zero with my ownhands.

I think that it was great to watch the Tour of Britain cycle race. TheWelsh stage was Welshpool to Caerphilly, and I reckon the tourist boardcouldn’t have done a better job of promoting Wales. The helicopter views of midWales were spectacular.

I think the best TV review I’ve read in a long time was about PageEight: “vacuous, pinko tosh.”

I think that Justin Lee Collins’ comment when sitting in for Dermot O’Learyon BBC Radio 2 speaks volumes. “He’s off hugging idiots.”

This week's musings...

2011-09-12T23:45:00.000+01:00

Mellow Fruitfulness

As you can see, we harvested our pear tree on the weekend. And a bumpercrop it was too. Picked a good 60 pears on Sunday, and that was after a goodlywindfall caused by the seasonal storms.

Now I’m in the market for some pear recipes. Pear and plum crumble hasbeen done. Now what?

Ava’s diary

Back in Rhydyfelin Nursery for my last year before infants schoolproper. Mrs Luxton and the other teachers have a fairytale theme planned forthis term, and there is already a trip to Castell Coch scheduled for nextmonth.

Getting into the habit of going swimming on Sunday mornings. Dad usuallycomes too. After some initial nerves, I’m now a big fan and my party trick isjumping into the pool. Daddy usually catches me. Pool was quiet on Sundaymorning; dad mumbled something about being thankful for Sky+.

Had a taste of coca cola on the weekend and pronounced “this tastes spiky”.Haven’t comes across the word fizzy, so spiky is the next best description.

Rugby World Cup

Rugby overload on the first weekend. Romania gave Scotland a good game,as did Japan France. Two modern miracles. How did England win? And how didWales lose?

Looks like its going to be a good tournament, as the lesser teams seemto have closed the gap.

Respite for a couple of days. Georgia to beat Scotland on Wednesday?

Rugby Notes

Ebbw Vale made it two out of two with a 19-9 win at home to Beddau. Thenew jerseys were on display, but look a bit too red for my taste.

The game featured a strong wind and occasional downpours (a summer’s dayfor Ebbw). Ebbw’s pace out wide was under-utilised, but again the ball gotturned over too readily. Full back and MotM Tom Daly (pictured) made many agood break, and it will be interesting to see how Charlie Simpson fits into theside when he returns.

Scorers: Try for Dan Deardon, four penalties for Dan Haymond and apenalty for sub Dorian Jones (whose dad is currently part of the Russia rugbyset up at the RWC.

Travel Notes

Driving down Nantgarw hill on Saturday, I saw a yellow Reliant Robin. Asstarred in Only Fools and Horses. As I pulled alongside I could see the full TrottersIndependent Trading logo, New York, Paris, Peckham. And to finish the look, thebloke driving had the Del Boy sheepskin coat. Lovely Jubbly.

Coffeenerdness

A coffee shop has opened up in Cathays, right opposite the University.Costa Coffee has moved into what used to be the registry office. Went to go inlast week, but the queue was out the door. Literally. I’ll try it out sometime,but I’m not waiting 20 minutes for my cup of joe.

The Art of Tidying Up

Splendid new book out by Austrian comedian Ursus Wehrli. Called the The Art of Tidying Up, it does pretty much what you expect. Appeals hugely to my (some would say anal) sense of order.

There’s a terrific video on YouTube of Wehrli tidying up some famous pieces of art. Excellent stuff.

Things I Think

2011-09-08T00:05:00.002+01:00

I think this is probably the finest Season Ticket I have ever seen. Thelate, great Clive Burgess in all his scary majesty. Simply the best rugbyplayer I have ever had the fortune to see. He even has his own Wikipedia entry.

I think I was robbed. Got charged £8 to get into Glamorgan Wanderersground on Saturday. The standard for this division is £5. Even that’s expensive though since, to quote DJL, “I’m only here to see one side”.

I think this is a top video. Its Bumble(David Lloyd) smashing a car window with a six during a charity cricket match. “Youpark at your own risk” is his comment.

WRU and drinks events at breweries

2011-09-08T00:01:00.001+01:00

Reorganisation of the WRU Premiership is afoot. It will go down from 14teams to 10 next season. The 4 “relegated” teams will form a new NationalChampionship division along with the top 6 from each of Division One East andWest.

Now, you’d think this would be based on results this season. But you’dbe wrong. The complex set of criteria (“meritocracy calculations”) includes theawarding of points for finishing positions in each of the last five seasons,along with other criteria.

The decisions have all been taken based on these criteria. Letters havebeen sent by the WRU. Which means that we are back of playing for fun. Justlike in the old Merit Table days. Now, all we need is the resurrection of theFloodlit Alliance and we will all be in clover.

Good news, if hardly unexpected, is that Ebbw Vale will play in thenewly coined National Championship in 12/13. Confirmation is on the Ebbw Vale RFC website.

The reformed ten team Premiershipfor the 12/13 season will be: Aberavon, Bedwas, Cardiff, Cross Keys,Llandovery, Llanelli, Neath, Newport, Pontypridd and Swansea.

And the NationalChampionship teams are: Bargoed, Blackwood, Bonymaen, Bridgend, Carmarthen,Ebbw Vale, Glamorgan Wanderers, Llanharan, Narbeth, Newbridge, Pontypool, TataSteel, Tonmawr & UWIC.

There will be promotion andrelegation in the National Championship and Divisions 1E and 1W from 12/13,although the four displaced Premiership clubs will be safeguarded fromrelegation for the first two seasons. But promotion to the Premiershipis something of a dark art, with it being based on “criteria which can be amended by the WRU year on year”. WTF?

Now that’s all very straightforwardthen. How long do you give it before another reorganisation comes along? Twoyears?

Things I think

2011-09-03T23:38:00.000+01:00

I think that whatever the concerns about ITV only covering rugby once every four years, the enormous upside is that we won’t have Jonathan Davies whining for 6 weeks. We may, however, be subject to Bob Symonds doing the same commentary that he’s done for 40 years.

I think that Quade Cooper has a good chance of being the RWC’s MVP.

I think that I can’t wait to see how many fans buy Ebbw Vale’s new white, pink and navy away shirt when it goes on sale. Not exactly traditional Ebbw or Gwent colours. Whatever happened to sky blue for the alternate shirt?

I think that I’m hoping India will continue to show some interest in the One Day International series. I’ve got a ticket for the final ODI in Cardiff next week, and am hoping that both teams will be bothered to show up.

I think that Glamorgan cricket got its marketing all wrong this season. Unlike in 2010 there was no way of buying a T20 season ticket. As a result of that, lots of travelling with work, and lousy results I’ve been to Sophia Gardens (sorry, the SWALEC stadium) just once this year.

I think that I’m pleased that Would I Lie To You is back on BBC1 this week. On its day it’s one of the funniest programmes on TV, as witnessed by this clip of Kevin Bridges explaining how he bought a horse whilst on holiday in Bulgaria (or not, as the case may be).

I think that Torchwood isn’t half being dragged out. I feel like I need to watch it on fast forward.

I think that as the guy on the toy stall at Abergavenny market was happy to point out last week, its just 16 weeks to Christmas. And that can only mean one thing. It’s The X Factor. Gary Barlow’s age “has given him the regal stillness of a wise meerkat elder” (@petepaphides). Some of the contestants are borderline mental health cases. And Sidewinder do a better job that the vast majority of what I’ve seen so far – go see them if you’re ever in Aberystwyth!

This week's stuff

2011-09-03T22:49:00.001+01:00

Ava’s Diary

Spent most of last week down at mam and dad’s caravan in Tresaith. Spent some time on the beach where I saw a baby seal, and a crab who ran away as fast as I did. I paddled in the sea and built sandcastles. We also went to St Dogmael’s fair where I had my face painted pink and white. Dad has posted some photos on Flickr.

Today was my friend Seren’s 4^th birthday party. There was a bouncy castle and lots of cake. Who could ask for anything more. On the way home mam said she needed a stiff drink and I said I needed a “stiff pink milk”.

School starts again next week, or rather my pre-school nursery. It’s great fun, and I’m learning new things every day.

Ebbw Rugby Notes

Today marked the start of the Welsh rugby season, and Ebbw Vale got off to a great 30-14, bonus point win at Glamorgan Wanderers. Without the ringers they brought in for the playoffs they didn’t offer a lot of original thought (a bit like watching England) but Ebbw were turned over at the ruck and tackle for the Wands to have the majority of the ball. Ebbw looked very quick behind with the returning Wes Cunliffe and newbie Tom Ashmead on the wing and Tom Daly (no, not the diver) at fullback.

As was the case last season, things took a while to settle down, and Ebbw’s play wasn’t as calm and assured as it was late last year. A worrying trend was the way Ebbw lost the ball in the tackle and ruck areas. The Wands were good at turning Ebbw over and Ebbw clearing at the fringes combined with an apparent lack of urgency to get the ball away led to too may turnovers. Something for the coaches to work on in the friendly against Blaenavon next Tuesday.

Tries for Nicky Coughlin (catch and drive from a 5 metre line out), Tom Daly (after great work from Wes), Dan Deardon, Ross Jones (another short range effort) and a final length of the field effort from Tom Ashmead. One conversion and a penalty from sub outside half Dan Haymond.

I hope to be borrowing pictures from Ebbw’s two (!) official photographers Graham and Robbo, but in the meantime here’s one I took. Official reports are on the Ebbw Vale RFC website.

Other Rugby Notes

Watched quite a bit of the World Cup warm-up games and, for what its worth, here’s my two-penneth. The Australia-New Zeland game last weekend was a different sport to that being played in the Northern Hemisphere. Australia could well be the team to upset New Zealand this time around. As a commentator said at the weekend “New Zealand seem to be the best team in the world for 3 years and 10 months, but implode when the World Cup comes around. We’ll see if that happens again this time.

Wales seem to be the only one of the Home countries who want to play with enough pace to keep up with the Southern style of play. But anything beyond the quarter-finals would be enough to see Gatland canonised.

Er, RaboDirect Pro 12? OK. Hands up all those who thought this that it was something that Thora Hird would advertise? Is it a chairlift or a walk-in shower? No, it’s the Magners League.

Fantasy Football Notes

If it wasn’t enough to have the start of the rugby season, next week is the start of the NFL football season. As usual I’ve got a fantasy football team, and it looks good for the beginning of the season. Ava’s Steelmen looks like it could do well. The team is:

QB Peyton Manning (Colts)

RB Chris Johnson (Titans)

RB Tim Hightower (Redskins)

WR Anquan Boldin (Ravens)

WR Roddy White (Falcons)

WR Chad Ochocinco (Patriots)

TE Owen Daniels (Texans)

It’s going to be hard to root for all my guys though as I’m not exactly a fan of Manning’s style of football.

Useless List of the Week

Twitter has its benefits. Danny Baker (@prodnose) and others have been contributing songs which could fit under the title of Rock and Roll StaNav. Here are a few:

Right back where we started from – Maine Nightingale

(After 250 yards turn right into) the danger zone – Kenny Loggins

We're on the road to nowhere – Talking Heads

Stop! (In the name of love) – Supremes

Satellite of Nav – Lou Reed

Where do you go to my lovely? – Peter Starstedt

Paradise by the dashboard light – Meatloaf

Where the streets have no name – U2

Down on the corner - CCR

Highway 61 revisited – Bob Dylan

And the obvious winner:

Turn Turn Turn – The Byrds.

And we are back...

2011-08-25T12:46:00.010+01:00

... after a lull in proceedings, the blog is back. Some general musings to get back into the swing of things.

Website of the week

www.beercupboard.com – does what is says on the tin. Now this is what t’internet was invented for: single issue, borderline-nuts places. I’ve yet to post my Beer Cupboard, but will do soon.

Beernerdness

A couple of weeks ago I spent a couple a rain-drenched hours visiting the Big Welsh Bite in Ynysngharad Park just over the road. It’s a sort of food festival with other bits bolted on too. Anyway, around to the beer...

Picked a couple of different beers from theUntapped Brewing Co. in Cardiff and another couple from the Jacobi Brewery based in Caio, which I regularly drive past en route to Aberystwyth. Handy.

Things I Think

1. I think broadband speeds are one of the biggest fibs out there, right up there with “your call is important to us”. I currently “enjoy” around 2.4Mbps. There are times when iPlayer simply won’t work. Technology? Meh (to use a new OED-approved word).

2. I think a recent list of raffle prizes put the cost of living in perspective: First prize: a tank of petrol, Second prize: a DVD player.

3. I think that it’s hard to disagree with the people who voted on best one-liner from the Edinburgh Festival:

1 - Nick Helm: "I needed a password eight characters long so I picked Snow White and the Seven Dwarves."
2 - Tim Vine: "Crime in multi-storey car parks. That is wrong on so many different levels."
3 - Hannibal Buress: "People say 'I'm taking it one day at a time'. You know what? So is everybody. That's how time works."

4. I think it’s starting to feel like rugby season. What with the overcast days, regular downpours rain. Oh no, that’s just a traditional Welsh summer. As Rhod Gilbert put it: “In the Bible, God made it rain for 40 days and 40 nights. That's a pretty good summer for us in Wales. That's a hosepipe ban waiting to happen. I was eight before I realised you could take a cagoule off.”

5. I think that I will post here as often as I can. It’s a bit more structured than one-off rants on Facebook or Twitter. But if you want to find/follow me then I’m on Facebook and Twitter. But frankly I won’t worry if you didn’t.

Weather Notes

2010-10-25T20:23:00.002+01:00

Top pic from my mate and fellow ex-Haddock Matt.

Couldn't every day be as glorious as this?

Rugby Notes

2010-10-09T23:06:00.004+01:00

A pretty convincing win this afternoon for Ebbw Vale, 35-3 over Bedlinog. Thats 5 wins out of 6 so far this season and a first bonus point.

The tries and bonus points are going to be important this season, and some teams have already accumulated a head start over Ebbw in that area already.

My pic shows Ashley Sweet dominating the lineout, as he did all day.

Rugby Notes

2010-10-07T09:44:00.002+01:00

Wow. This clip from New Zealand is probably the worst head-high tackle I've ever seen. How the victim, Luke Hamilton, got up from this is a mystery.

Wales Notes

2010-10-07T09:40:00.003+01:00

Fair play, a top promo from Visit Wales extolling the virtues of Wales. Nice change not to have a male voice choir singing too!

Golf Notes

2010-10-01T12:21:00.005+01:00

Its Wales' turn to host the Ryder Cup, at the Celtic Manor resort in Newport.

But its October, its outdoors, its Wales. As they say, you do the math.

Rain stopped play this morning. A terrible shame, but frankly something even Nick Faldo had the foresight to spot a couple of years ago when he counselled visitors to bring their waterproofs.

I'm sure the rain looks good in HD and even 3D on Sky.

I'm not the biggest golf fan, but went to the last day of a Ryder Cup at the Belfry a few years ago (actually it was 1989 when the Cup was halved and retained by Europe) and the atmosphere was terrific.

University Notes

2010-09-30T13:51:00.002+01:00

On Monday I was at the University of Glamorgan for the official opening of the new, shiny Students Union building. Well, actually Olympian Darren Campbell did the opening, I just stood around and watched.

Darren manfully launched the champagne bottle at the new building, but the bottle failed to break and instead left a dent in the wall. I see a gap in the market for structurally unsound champagne bottles for such occassions. Dragons' Den?

There are more photos at http://www.glamsu.com/news/index.php?page=article&news_id=175193

Rugby Notes

2010-09-30T13:40:00.004+01:00

Ebbw Vale saw off league leaders Blackwood 20-16 on Saturday, despite the best endevours of Ebbw coaches (bad decisions) and the ref (13 mnutes of injury time - his watch stopped! - in which time we got a red and a yellow card).

After a storming 14-0 start Ebbw failed to capitalise and turned down a string of kickable penalties for territory which was then lost through handling errors. What should have been a very comfortable win turned into yet another nail-biter at the death.

Shouldn't complain though. That's three wins from four, against what on paper are the four strongest teams in the division.

(Ed: But as SirAlan [LordAlan?] says 'you lok good on paper, but then again so does fish and chips')

Lots more stuff on twitter (twitter.com/evrfc), photos on Graham's excellent website (ebbwplayers.com) and EyeJay's blog (steeldaffodil.blogspot.com).

St Fagan's Notes

2010-09-30T13:34:00.003+01:00

Spent a top Sunday at St Fagans natural history museum.

We had a nice surprise when the cafe had a display of classic cafe photos which included a set by our friend Mo Wilson who died recently. It was a lovely reminder. This is one of hers.

The afternoon was taken up with watching the ducks, chickens and turkeys on the farm (the turkeys are starting to look nervous!), a ride around the site on a train (OK, tractor actually but Ava didn't seem to mind) and a wander around the old houses and shops. Ava then enjoyed playing at the playground before having a well deserved snooze on the way home.

Cricket Notes

2010-09-05T23:26:00.003+01:00

Didn't have a ticket for today's Twenty20 game between England and Pakistan in Cardiff. A bit expensive, and anyway, its rugby season now.

But Matt Greenough, a mate of mine has written a top article on the match fixing and the subsequent fallout here:

waleshome.org

Rugby Notes

2010-09-05T23:14:00.002+01:00

As good a start as possible to the new season for Ebbw Vale with a win over Llanharen, 23-13. Given that they were runners-up in this division last year, it’s a really encouraging start to the year.

Good crowd, good pitch, undoubtedly the best facilities in the division, all was set for a good day. And Ebbw didn’t disappoint. The pack didn’t look big, but ‘fronted up’ well and made up in attitude what they lacked in size. Damien Hudd led from the front, and was in the thick of everything that Ebbw did. The halfbacks looked lively, and Gary Wilkes and Wes Cunliffe looked sharp. Even the ref had a good game.

Lots of pics (including the one I’ve borrowed here) on Graham’s website www.ebbwplayers.com and another report and more pics on The Steel Daffodil.

Joke Notes

2010-08-26T23:07:00.002+01:00

Tim Vine won the best joke at the Edinburgh Fringe this year with this inspired one-liner:

“I've just been on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday. I'll tell you what, never again.”

I saw Time Vine at the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff a couple of years ago, and missed half the jokes because I was still laughing at the last one.

Inspired. And fabulously silly.

The rest of the Top 10:

2. David Gibson (as Ray Green): ''I'm currently dating a couple of anorexics. Two birds, one stone.''

3. Emo Philips: ''I picked up a hitchhiker. You gotta when you hit them.''

4. Jack Whitehall: ''I bought one of those anti-bullying wristbands when they first came out. I say 'bought' - I actually stole it off a short, fat ginger kid.''

5. Gary Delaney: ''As a kid I was made to walk the plank. We couldn't afford a dog.''

6. John Bishop: ''Being an England supporter is like being the over-optimistic parents of the fat kid on sports day.''

7. Bo Burnham: ''What do you call a kid with no arms and an eyepatch? Names.''

8. Gary Delaney: ''Dave drowned. So at the funeral we got him a wreath in the shape of a lifebelt. Well, it's what he would have wanted.''

9. Robert White: ''For Vanessa Feltz, life is like a box of chocolates - empty.''

10. Gareth Richards: ''Wooden spoons are great. You can either use them to prepare food, or if you can't be bothered with that, just write a number on one and walk into a pub.''

Nature Notes

2010-08-25T23:40:00.001+01:00

A big story this past few days is that of Rhondda Cynon Taff Council (and/or the Assembly) spending £190,000 to construct a dormouse bridge over the new bypass being built between Church Village and Llantrisant, just down the road from me.

Whilst most of the debate is about whether this is a waste (Daily Mail style) or a good thing (Wildlife News), the big issue from my point of view is simply whether a cheaper solution existed. Oh, sad accountant that I am.

A widely quoted, but anonymous (not anonymous) local expressed it well: "They may have good intentions but this bill is unjustifiably large and in these straitened times they should have explored less expensive ways of protecting these creatures."

MP Paul Flynn points out that a similar solution for developments around the Ryder Cup cost £20,000 – ten times less.

Rugby Notes

2010-08-25T08:16:00.003+01:00

The nights are a bit cooler. Its not light so early. Autumn is in the air. Rugby season.

Ebbw Vale are in Division 1 East this year, following a dismal second half of last season. It looks as though the team recruited this year could well have kept Ebbw Vale from relegation last season - which shows a rather strange management thought process.

Never mind, as I'll be there supporting my home team club whatever the league or division - after all in my schooldays when I first watched Ebbw it was strictly friendly only and the unofficial Western Mail Merit Table.

First game is 4 September when we (I invest so much emotional capital that I think I'm entitled to say we) host Llanharen. I'll be there.

Fantasy Football Notes

2010-08-24T23:11:00.004+01:00

NFL of course, not soccer.

The season is almost upon us, and so it’s time for Ava’s Army to take on the might of a collection of complete strangers, all of whom will probably know more about Yahoo! Fantasy Football than me.

Whilst acutely aware that there general rule is that there is nothing more interesting than your own fantasy team and nothing more dull than somebody else’s, for anyone interested the team has been drafted and looks like this:

QB Philip Rivers (Chargers)
RB Ray Rice (Ravens)
RB Ryan Matthews (Chargers)
WR Larry Fitzgerald (Cardinals)
WR Terrell Owens (Bengals)
WR Dez Bryant (Cowboys)
TE Tony Gonzalez (Falcons)

First setback was to lose Sidney Rice for half the season, so waivers and trades will be looked at to bolster my wide receiver depth.

The season starts Thursday 9 September and coverage is spread across Sky Sports (Sundays) and ESPN (Mondays).

Maths Notes

2010-08-17T13:25:00.001+01:00

A slightly scarey piece of maths from a newsletter I came across recently - no names, no pack drill (but you know who you are)...

"I would like to thank everyone who has completed the online training. We had a fantastic uptake with 91% of you successfully passing the course. However, that still means that 1 in 9 of us haven’t completed the training."

As most schoolkids know, 1 in 9 is around 11%, not 9%. Arghhhhhh!

Blogging Notes

2010-08-12T23:38:00.002+01:00

Test post from my BlackBerry.

YouTube Notes

2010-08-12T12:03:00.001+01:00

Ain't Seen Ruthin Yet - a video repsonse by David Garland Jones to the GLC's Newport State of Mind. What's next? Last Boat to Caerau?

Cricket Notes

2010-08-12T10:39:00.002+01:00

This series between England and Pakistan is the first in England to feature the Umpire Decision Review System, so it’s the first time I’ve really seen it in action, albeit through the Channel Five TV highlights.

As a bit of a traditionalist (read old f**t) I was in principle against the system as it challenges the authority of the umpire. But having seen it in action it really adds another dimension to the game – the issue of whether to seek a referral is an important one for fielding captain and batsmen. The good thing is that the decision on whether to review needs to be made on the field, and without any signal from the balcony based on TV replays.

Both sides get two referrals opportunities per innings, but lose one of them if they incorrectly challenge an umpiring decision. It very much matches the challenge system in place in the NFL.

Currently the technology available to the third umpire is instant replay, Hawk-Eye and Hot Spot, but ‘snicko’ isn’t used because, strangely, it isn’t deemed to be instant.

But so far so good. A few incorrect decisions have gone unchallenged, and a few obviously correct ones have been challenged. But as time goes on the teams will get more skilled in knowing when to seek a referral. But for it to become accepted it needs to in place for all international matches – firstly test matches but rolling out to one-day games too.

Caravan Notes

2010-08-12T10:11:00.001+01:00

Sunset at Tresaith, Ceredigion.
Originally uploaded by SARK S-W

Here's a picture of sunset at Tresaith, not one of mine though. There's plenty more on www.flickr.com/photos/sarkphoto

Flickr Notes

2010-08-11T17:24:00.001+01:00

big grin
Originally uploaded by Martin Veale

Finally got around to bringing my Flickr page up to date. A whole bunch of new pics have gone up, including our trip to Brittany back in May.

www.flickr.com/photos/mjv

YouTube Notes

2010-08-11T12:13:00.002+01:00

Goldie Looking Chain's "Newport State of Mind (You're not from Newport)". Genius video

Motoring Notes

2010-08-07T09:15:00.000+01:00

Saw a DVLA van cruising Treforest train station car park the other morning. A bit of investigation revealed that the vans patrol the streets and are equipped with automatic number plate reader technology. The roof-mounted cameras read the number plates of vehicles parked at the roadside or even in a private car park. The number plates are checked against a list of untaxed vehicles and the untaxed vehicle is then clamped.

Nice to see that some other motoring ‘crimes’ are being pursued as well as the easy-money speed (sorry, safety) cameras.

Outdoor Theatre Notes

2010-08-07T09:07:00.003+01:00

On Thursday evening Cath and I went to Duffryn Gardens to watch an outdoor production of Romeo and Juliet put on by the Illyria theatre company. Very entertaining, and they somehow managed to get both Tommy Cooper and the Beatles into the show.

The weather played ball, a nice picnic was had, and Ava had a nice evening too with babysitter Charlene.

Concert Notes

2010-08-02T22:22:00.002+01:00

Just booked my ticket to see multiple Grammy award winner Mary Chapin Carpenter. Her UK tour covers all the big cities: London, Glasgow, Belfast, Birmingham, Aberdare... Yes, the Coliseum in Aberdare. The South Wales valleys seem to be a folk/country hotspot, and I for one am more than happy with that.

TV Notes

2010-08-02T22:14:00.002+01:00

Top new series on the Beeb. A modern-day version of Sherlock Holmes doesn't, on the face of it, sound convincing.

But in the hands of the guys who oversee Dr Who, its 90 minutes of quality TV. Oh, and many of the scenes are filmed in and around Cardiff (incluidng at least one scene in the WAG building in Cathays Park and several at the Temple of Peace).

Travel Notes

2010-07-29T22:22:00.004+01:00

Spent the last couple of days in Edinburgh. Flybe's shuttle service does the job very nicely.

Cardiff airport is still a relatively small scale affair, but Edinburgh airport is morphing into an enormous international airport. The walk from the plane to the airport exit is so far it seems like the plane is parked in Glasgow.

Still, overall it was a very good trip, topped by a top social evening in one of Edinburgh's watering holes.

Cricket Notes

2010-07-19T20:56:00.003+01:00

I watched quite a bit of the Twenty20 competetion this year after Janesy bought me a Twenty20 season ticket as a birthday pressie.

After a good start Glamorgan fell away badly, and had to rely on Mark Cosgrove and Tom Maynard to get runs. Crofty was as good as ever and in James Harris Glammy have a potential England player.

Shaun Tait. Oh dear. Didn't seem overly bothered, and he showed he was a force to be reckoned with when he turned out for Australia. The only time he looked quick was when Trescothick and Keiswetter started hitting everything. Tait wound himself up and was so fast that Cosgrove at slip was outside the 30 yard circle.

Shot of the tournament thus far was Trescothick hitting Tait out of the ground with a top edge over third man. Cosgrove hitting the window above the scoreboard comes a close second.

Watching it person has spurred me to watch a bit of neutral Twenty20 on Sky, and I will try to make time to watch the quarter finals at the end of the month.

Baseball Notes

2010-07-19T20:51:00.002+01:00

George Steinbrenner died last week. Famous as the interfering owner of the evil Empire (NY Yankees).

Reports include some great quotes from former employees, including "The phone would ring in the middle of the night, and you knew it was either Mr Steinbrenner or a death in the family. After a while, you started to root for a death in the family."

Film Notes

2010-07-19T20:47:00.002+01:00

The Damned United was on BBC2 last night. Top movie about the brilliant Brian Clough's 44 day reign at Leeds United.

I know its part fact and part fiction but it sometimes felt just like a documentary. Michael Sheen does an uncanny job at portraying Old Big'Ead.

Terrific stuff from an era when I actually paid attention to soccer.

Travel Notes

2010-07-19T20:41:00.002+01:00

After being in north Wales last Thursday and Friday, today I'm in Edinburgh. roseburn, not even anywhere near the city centre. There's a Spar and a couple of pubs. Hey ho.

And yes, its raining.

Home tomorrow evening, then its Cardiff and Builth Wells for the rest of the week. Next week its back to Edinburgh for a couple of days and then one day in Aberystwyth to round out the month. Then everyone goes on holidays and it all calms down (hopefully).

For August the furthest I want to travel is to the caravan in Tresaith.

Cricket Notes

2010-07-09T19:55:00.000+01:00

Sitting in the late evening sunshine watching Glamorgan play Surrey in one of the endless round of Twenty20 “McDonalds” competition. Its not the real thing but at least I can get out and spend a Couple of hours at the SWALEC stadium.

Mark Cosgrove bullied the ball everywhere for an excellent 76, but the innings faltered at the death. We'll have to see if 165 is enough.

Long time, no see

2010-06-21T20:19:00.000+01:00

I know, its been a while but reports of my demise are very unfounded. Its just that life has a way of taking over so completely that you don't have time to think.

Anyway, a spare 10 minutes sitting in Whetherspoons in Aberystwyth finally prompted me to put finger to tiny keyboard. Well, its either this or watch the endless World Cup on TV.

First up, some easy stuff. Sports. Boston ran the LA Lakers close (7 games) before going down to Kobe Bryant and a bunch of other guys who don't deserve NBA championship rings.

Rugby. Wales flattered to deceive in the first 20 minutes before being dutifully dispatched by the All Blacks. 22 losses in a row stretching back to 1953. Australia's lack of a front tow cost them dearly as they looked impressive behind. In Cooper they have a number 10 to rival Dan Carter.

Cricket. My birthday pressie from Cath was a season ticket to the Twenty20 at Glamorgan. They set off well, winning the first three games. But they have now lost the last three to settle into mid table obscurity. Their game was characterised by some truly shocking running between the wickets, and all the blame can't be laid at Cosgrove's door. But as S4C commentators said his speed is deceptive - he's slower than he looks.

Anyway, more to come, when I have time.

Birthday Notes

2010-02-23T16:55:00.001Z

Happy birthday to my sister-in-law, Heather. Won’t give away her age, but its not a million miles away from my age. So start your guesses at 21.

You can follow her rants/musing on her blog.

Pictured here with her two little cherubs, Robert and Emma.

Rugby Notes

2010-02-23T13:31:00.002Z

Ebbw Vale’s game on Sunday at home to Neath was snowed off. This was the scene last Sunday.
So Ebbw’s home record in 2010 through two whole months is played 1, won 1 – a great 23-6 win over Bedwas. Report here.

Even the though there hasn’t been much rugby lately, there’s lots of activity off the field. Its all reported here.

The season started on 29 August and in the 25 weeks to date Ebbw have played 13 league games. The season ends on 20 April, and in the 9 weeks left in the season they have to fit in the remaining 11. Whilst a big chunk of this is due to frost and snow, some really stupid scheduling on the part of the WRU hasn’t helped.

Anyway, the remaining games are:

27 Feb - Llandovery (Away)
2 March - Aberavon (Home)
6 March - Carmarthen Quins (Home)
9 March - Cardiff (Away)
20 March - Cross Keys (Away)
24 March - Newport (Home)
31 March - Pontypridd (Away)
3 April - Swansea (Away)
10 April - Pontypool (Home)
20 April - Glam Wands (Home)
tba - Neath (Home)

Everything Notes

2010-02-10T20:08:00.002Z

It’s been a while since this blog got updated; there’s been a lot going on.

Ava turned two on 10 January. She had a nice party (in Hoffi Coffi, natch). She says “ta” for all the cards and pressies. Pics on Flickr as usual.

I’ve got a new job. From 1 March (or thereabouts) I start on secondment from WAG as director of finance with the Forestry Commission Wales. Looking forward to the new challenge, even if my base will stay in the Cathays Park office in Cardiff.

The four probation areas/trusts have had their application to merge approved by the Ministry of Justice. The Wales Probation Trust will be established from 1 April, and I hope to be considered as a member of the Trust.

The one thing that hasn’t changed lately is Ebbw Vale rugby. The quality has remained at the same low level. Crashed out of the cup to Llanelli on a frozen Tredegar pitch, terrible in a friendly against Carmarthen Quins, and apparently equally terrible in a league game at Llanelli. Next up is Bedwas on Sunday. I’ll be there, but I’m not expecting much.

Great Superbowl result. Heavily favoured Peyton Manning & the Dolts lost to the New Orleans Saints. Aints no more.