Theatre Notes
Went to see The Tempest being performed at Castell Coch on Friday evening. It’s a summer tradition of touring outdoor shows around Wales, and good fun although I’m not entirely sure it’s a proper way for grown men to make a living.
This performance is touring for the rest of the summer (http://www.stageworkstheatre.co.uk/), although another group, the Wales Actors Company, got cancelled last year after the Arts Council withdrew its funding.
Restaurant Notes
Found a new restaurant nearby, in Nelson. It’s called Sergeants, and it used to be the local police station. Great food: haddock chowder, fillet steak & lemon cheesecake; but the words alone don’t really do it justice. Top scoff, and all locally sourced and prepared on the premises – no ping cuisine here. (www.sergeantsrestaurant.com)
TV Notes
The West Wing has finished. Forever. There’s now a gap in my life, which could only possibly be filled by the new series of the Sopranos being shown soon. Let’s hope.
BTW, it’s clear that the US could only get Presidents like Jeb Bartlett and Matt Santos on TV. In reality they got the President it deserves.
There’s a new series of Brainiac on Sky, the pop-science show which answers the great science questions, such as will it blow or will it glow when two chemicals are mixed. That’s the kind of chemistry I wish I’d had in school (of course Gwyn Williams tried his best to blow the school up on a couple of occasions). Things get put in microwaves and lots of caravans get blown up (slogan – we do this so you don’t have to).
Rugby Notes
New Zealand ran out winners over Australia 13-9, and in the process claimed the Bledisloe Cup. Australia fought well, and threatened to score a precious try late on, but they were let down but some average kicking by Sterling Mortlock. He and Percy Montgomery are made to look very average by Dan Carter, who looks like he’ll never miss.
The Wallabies host the Springboks in Sydney next Saturday, 10:30 on Sky. (home.skysports.com/rugbyunion)
Cricket Notes
Surprisingly England dispatched Pakistan within 3 days in the 2nd test. Steve Harmison on form was the difference. He and Monty Panesar got all the wickets except for one run out.
Elsewhere in the world, Sri Lanka ran riot with the bat and world records tumbled. They scored 756-5 declared with Mahela Jayawardene getting a massive 374 and Kumar Sangakkara chipping in with 287 for a world record 3rd wicket partnership of 624. Jayawardene’s “knock” sits only behind Brian Lara in the individual scoring records.
They duly beat South Africa by an innings.
Probably even more surprising was that Glamorgan won by 10 wickets at Gloucester on the weekend. Again it was Mike Powell with another double hundred who led the way – getting out on 299 must be a terrible feeling but getting 299 but be a great feeling. Crofty wheeled away and finished with 13 wickets, his best performance for 14 years and got the papers saying that he is now the best off-spinner in the country (England and Wales I guess that means).
Link of the Week
Richard Brunstrom, the head of North Wales Police, has a blog. Or rather, a “plodcast”. He is best known for his ludicrously strong anti-motoring views and is Jeremy Clarkson’s Enemy Number One. Nevertheless, it’s refreshing to see a boss open up his daily life like this. (http://www.north-wales.police.uk/nwp/public/en/blogs)
Monday, July 31, 2006
Friday, July 28, 2006
Foghorn
It was hot weather for the pigs and all the other animals at the Royal Welsh Show this week. Went up to Builth Wells on Tuesday, where it topped out at 91F (33C for all you metric people – back off Brussels).Visited all of the animal areas and saw the pigs being judged. How exactly can you tell how good a pig it is unless it’s converted into bacon butties?
In the bird hall where more different varieties of chicken, ducks and geese that you could wish to meet. Did you know that there is a breed of chicken called a leghorn? I say, I say boy - Foghorn Leghorn is for real.
Theatre Notes
Went to see Rodney Bewes on Wednesday in his one-man show The Dairy of a Nobody. Straight out of the same drawer as his Three Men in a Boat show last year. Wonderfully quirky and with a very gentle humour, it was perfect entertainment for a warm summer evening.
TV Notes
Tommy Lee’s Rockstar Supernova is the second series of the reality TV show to find singers for bands. Last year INXS found a new lead singer in JD Fortune and have been touring.
This year’s project is to find a frontman (-person) for Supernova, a newly formed “supergroup” – Tommy Lee on drums, Gilby Clark of Guns ‘N Roses on guitar and Jason Newstead of Metallica on bass. Pop music it ain’t. But it is one of the few occasions on TV nowadays to actually hear someone sing live, rather than mime. It’s on Sky One.
Top of the Pops has been cancelled, and after 42 years this week sees the last ever show. If you can find it, that is. It was a staple of my youth, and it was always 7pm on Thursday, BBC1. In recent years it’s been left to die in the backwater of BBC2 on Sunday evenings, but actually it’s been dying ever since the emergence of MTV. Music videos replaced mimed performances a long time ago.
Jimmy Saville presented the first show and now presents the last show. Altogether – “now then, now then…ow’s about that then?”
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Welsh travels
Spent a quiet evening down Barry Island after work late last week. Away from the chavs and hot hatches that occupy that main funfair area, the walk around the coastal path is a very pretty one. Here’s a picture of the sunset over the Bristol Channel.Swansea Notes
Spent the weekend at the future in-laws in Swansea. Went into Swansea on Saturday night for a meal and witnessed umpteen stag and hen night groups stumbling down the street. Wind Street seemed to be awash with these groups, with almost all of them in some sort of fancy dress. I’m sure they all think they’re being original, but…
Sunday was more chilled out. Went to the National Waterfront Museum on Swansea Bay for the first time. I was very impressed (although others were less so). You can learn a lot about the Welsh people and Welsh history, but just maritime history. (www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/swansea/) And as a bonus the Tardis and a dalek were on display.
Outside was a BBC Wales open air concert featuring cutting edge musicians such as Shakin’ Stevens and Dave Edmunds. Nice to see the beeb so bang up to date.
The afternoon finished up with a visit to Joe’s Ice Cream Parlour, a Swansea institution. On a hot day the place was doing a very brisk trade. Excellent ice cream, but I’m biased and I think Carini’s is better.
Home & Garden Notes
Score one for the anti-squirrel league. Got home from the weekend away to find a dead squirrel in the street outside the house. Must have got run over. He’s off to that great bird table in the sky – well actually he’s in the bin on the way to the tip!
Rugby Notes
Last Saturday’s game was New Zealand vs. South Africa. Both teams made a bunch of changes, but for different reasons. NZ rested 8 while the Boks made a bunch of changes. South African tactic was to harry and chase everything. Almost paid off but an All Black try on the stroke of half time took the wind out of their sails. 19-7 down at half time was too big a mountain & NZ ran out winners 35-17.
Ebbw Vale's fixtures for the upcoming season have just been published - first home game is the Evil Empire, Newport on 9 September. Use the link on the right to get a full list. Patrick Horgan has been added as backs coach to Alex Codling's staff - everything's falling into place and I'm full of confidence (as always) for the new season.
Cricket Notes
The Haddocks had a fine maximum points win last week when the opposition failed to show. That stunning success has propelled us to second in the table, and worryingly in the promotion places. Another win Monday cemented our spot in the promotion places.
Glamorgan had a last ball win at Middlesex on Sunday in the 40/40 competition. Jamie Dalrymple did well with bat and ball for Middlesex, but Mike Powell’s 81 (following up his 202 in midweek) did just about enough to see Glammy through.
The competition is properly called the Natwest Pro40 League, but to me it’s the John Player League reincarnated – for those old enough to remember John Arlott commentating on Sunday afternoons. There used to be the occasional opt-out when BBC Wales showed Glamorgan games with two cameras, Peter Walker and Wilf Wooller commentating.
At least you get a result in the one-day games. The last two Glamorgan County Championship games have been tedious draws with the two sides unable or unwilling to made declarations to create the possibility of a win. It seems not losing is more important than winning (as England found out against Pakistan in the 1st Test).
Restaurant Notes
Went to La Tasca in Wind Street, Swansea on Saturday night (http://www.latasca.co.uk/). It’s an authentic Spanish tapas bar. OK, I know it’s a chain restaurant, but even the waitress was Spanish. The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly and the sharing nature of tapas means that you get to sample a whole collection of different tastes. Well worth a visit – there’s one in Cardiff’s Brewery Quarter too.
Travel Notes
School holidays start today, and with it the short period when the morning commute is bearable. Package holiday prices seem to go up this week as well. The two stories can’t be related, can they?
Drove to Mold, Llandeilo and Llandrindod Wells last week. Did 500 miles in the service of the Assembly, spreading the word to new staff due to join the Assembly this year. At least the hire car had air-con.
That’s where the plus-points ended. I share your pain – anyone who has to drive a Vauxhall Astra. Irritating pings to remind you to do or not do a hundred different things, yet the indicators had entirely a mind of their own – sometimes cancelling the second you put them on and sometimes not for several miles down the road.
Go on, do a survey. Next time you see someone driving down the road with the indicator flashing for no reason it’ll be either a white van (naturally) or else a Vauxhall.
Link of the Week
The famous footage of John Redwood failing to sing the Welsh national anthem has been posted on the YouTube website, one of the fastest-growing websites (youtube).
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Porch
Found a nest of blue tits in one of the walls in the garden. They seem quite happy, feeding off nuts on the bird table. (The squirrels clearly can’t be bothered with malicious damage in this sort of weather.)The porch is finally nearing completion. But the kitchen now needs a new roof. We’ve found that the existing roof doesn’t slope sufficiently to prevent the rain from going up under the roof tiles. So it’s time to bite the bullet and go for a new fibreglass roof for the kitchen at the same time as the porch is being done.
That aside, the snagging is complete and we now have a new entrance hall for the house. The whole patio area has had a makeover and the finishing touches and new plants put in by Cath have made it quite a relaxing space.
Rugby Notes
It was supposed to be the Springbok juggernaut pack versus the Wallaby backline in the Tri-Nations this week, but in the end it wasn’t even close. Australia pounded South Africa 49-0. And even that’s not a real reflection of the game. Springbok indiscipline cost them; Ricky January at #9 was a liability, giving away penalties throughout the game.
I fear for South Africa when they take on New Zealand on Saturday.
Music Notes
Just bought the new CD from the lostprophets, Liberation Transmission. It’s a top rock/metal album and perfect for blasting out on the car stereo on a hot summer’s day. The Pontypridd boys have really made it big now: it went straight in at #1 in the album chart last week. That clearly proves how trendy my musical tastes are (http://www.lostprophets.com/).
I went with DJL to see them at the Cardiff CIA last year, and they were good live too. Didn’t mosh pit though.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Sledging
Poor old Zinedine Zidane was upset because Marco Materazzi insulted his mother (allegedly). Well, at least is mother is proud that he stood up for her honour. The rest of France is less impressed.
(In related news, it’s been an astonishingly bad few weeks for the lip-reading industry: there have been hundreds of versions of what was said to Zidane. It’s not as though there was only one camera there.)
An article in the paper earlier this week listed some of the best bits of sports sledging, and the one common theme is that there’s always an Aussie involved. It must be taught in school over there, alongside backpacking and barwork. (© Al Murray)
- Merv Hughes to Robin Smith: “Does your husband play cricket as well?”
- After Hughes tells Smith that “you can’t f***ing bat”, Smith hits him for 4 the next ball and replies “Hey Merv, we make a good pair, I can’t f***ing bat and you can’t f***ing bowl”
- The most famous though is the exchange between Eddo Brandes, the Zimbabwe tailender and Glenn McGrath. “Hey Brandes, why are you so fat?” “Because every time I f*** your wife she gives me a biscuit.”
Cricket Notes
Glamorgan crashed out of the 20/20 cup. After 3 wins, there was a rainout followed by 4 defeats. The last home game on Monday was hugely disappointing. Richard Grant made another great start, with 77 off 44 balls. Glam got 190, a reasonably challenging total. In reply, Gloucestershire went well early, but some great bowling from Dean Cosker (4 overs, 2 for 20 is wonderful in 20/20) hauled the game back in Glammy’s favour.
Then with Gloucs needing 36 off the last 3 overs, James Franklin imploded. OK, the ball was wet from the drizzle, but to bowl two no-ball beamers & get taken off mid-over was poor. The over ended up costing 23 runs and Glamorgan any chance of progressing in the competition. Franklin’s 3.5 overs cost 58 runs.
High spot of the batting was when Grant smashed the window of the BBC radio Wales commentary box with a clothesline six. It was the fastest Edward Bevan had moved in years.
The Haddocks pulled off another win on Wednesday in my absence. They knocked over top-of-the-table Penylan for 74 & got them with 6 overs to spare. Mid-table safety looms. It’s fitting that the club motto translates from the Latin as “aspiring to mediocrity”.
Snooker Notes
John Spencer, 3-time world snooker champion, died this week, aged 71. It seems like only yesterday when I was watching him and Ray Reardon dominate the sport in the Pot Black days.
Theatre Notes
Cath and I went to see Evita in the West End on Wednesday night. It’s a new version of the original show which has only been back in London since last month. Very good too. I saw the original on a school trip to London, which means that was over 25 years ago. I still couldn’t help hear the part of Che being sung by David Essex in a cockney accent though.
Travel Notes
Stayed at the Strand Palace Hotel when in London this week. Thinking of staying there? My advice? Don’t. With no air-conditioning or personality, it’s a tired hotel with aspirations to be average. Chock full of tourists getting a bad impression of London.
Aggravating – In the mobile-free “quiet” carriage home from Paddington, there’s a guy on his phone. When challenged he says “the train hasn’t started moving yet”. What an self-important ass.
Food Notes
Cardiff’s international food and drink festival this weekend. At the Roald (can’t spell Ronald) Dahl Plass (can’t spell Place). Top scoff!
Pub Notes
If ever you find yourself in Pontypridd and in need of some liquid refreshment, then this pub guide might come in handy. For my money, Alfreds in the middle of town is good, and of course my local, the Bunch of Grapes. The Wetherspoons pub in town, The Tumble, does reasonable food and as always cheap beer – but I’d probably avoid it at the weekends. www.pontytown.co.uk/pubguide.html
TV Notes
Sky have just brought out a new service for Sky+ viewers. You can now programme your Sky+ box by text message. From anywhere in the world. How cool is that?
Also coming so is the ability to manage your Sky+ system from a PC. So if you go to work & forget to set your system to record the cricket, then you can do it from your desk.
(In related news, it’s been an astonishingly bad few weeks for the lip-reading industry: there have been hundreds of versions of what was said to Zidane. It’s not as though there was only one camera there.)
An article in the paper earlier this week listed some of the best bits of sports sledging, and the one common theme is that there’s always an Aussie involved. It must be taught in school over there, alongside backpacking and barwork. (© Al Murray)
- Merv Hughes to Robin Smith: “Does your husband play cricket as well?”
- After Hughes tells Smith that “you can’t f***ing bat”, Smith hits him for 4 the next ball and replies “Hey Merv, we make a good pair, I can’t f***ing bat and you can’t f***ing bowl”
- The most famous though is the exchange between Eddo Brandes, the Zimbabwe tailender and Glenn McGrath. “Hey Brandes, why are you so fat?” “Because every time I f*** your wife she gives me a biscuit.”
Cricket Notes
Glamorgan crashed out of the 20/20 cup. After 3 wins, there was a rainout followed by 4 defeats. The last home game on Monday was hugely disappointing. Richard Grant made another great start, with 77 off 44 balls. Glam got 190, a reasonably challenging total. In reply, Gloucestershire went well early, but some great bowling from Dean Cosker (4 overs, 2 for 20 is wonderful in 20/20) hauled the game back in Glammy’s favour.
Then with Gloucs needing 36 off the last 3 overs, James Franklin imploded. OK, the ball was wet from the drizzle, but to bowl two no-ball beamers & get taken off mid-over was poor. The over ended up costing 23 runs and Glamorgan any chance of progressing in the competition. Franklin’s 3.5 overs cost 58 runs.
High spot of the batting was when Grant smashed the window of the BBC radio Wales commentary box with a clothesline six. It was the fastest Edward Bevan had moved in years.
The Haddocks pulled off another win on Wednesday in my absence. They knocked over top-of-the-table Penylan for 74 & got them with 6 overs to spare. Mid-table safety looms. It’s fitting that the club motto translates from the Latin as “aspiring to mediocrity”.
Snooker Notes
John Spencer, 3-time world snooker champion, died this week, aged 71. It seems like only yesterday when I was watching him and Ray Reardon dominate the sport in the Pot Black days.
Theatre Notes
Cath and I went to see Evita in the West End on Wednesday night. It’s a new version of the original show which has only been back in London since last month. Very good too. I saw the original on a school trip to London, which means that was over 25 years ago. I still couldn’t help hear the part of Che being sung by David Essex in a cockney accent though.
Travel Notes
Stayed at the Strand Palace Hotel when in London this week. Thinking of staying there? My advice? Don’t. With no air-conditioning or personality, it’s a tired hotel with aspirations to be average. Chock full of tourists getting a bad impression of London.
Aggravating – In the mobile-free “quiet” carriage home from Paddington, there’s a guy on his phone. When challenged he says “the train hasn’t started moving yet”. What an self-important ass.
Food Notes
Cardiff’s international food and drink festival this weekend. At the Roald (can’t spell Ronald) Dahl Plass (can’t spell Place). Top scoff!
Pub Notes
If ever you find yourself in Pontypridd and in need of some liquid refreshment, then this pub guide might come in handy. For my money, Alfreds in the middle of town is good, and of course my local, the Bunch of Grapes. The Wetherspoons pub in town, The Tumble, does reasonable food and as always cheap beer – but I’d probably avoid it at the weekends. www.pontytown.co.uk/pubguide.html
TV Notes
Sky have just brought out a new service for Sky+ viewers. You can now programme your Sky+ box by text message. From anywhere in the world. How cool is that?
Also coming so is the ability to manage your Sky+ system from a PC. So if you go to work & forget to set your system to record the cricket, then you can do it from your desk.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Monkeys
Latest on the car’s CD-changer. Arctic Monkeys.Some great lyrics, like: “you can see it in his eyes that he's got a driving ban”; and “oh there in’t no love, no Montagues or Capulets; just banging tunes in DJ sets and dirty dancefloors and dreams of naughtiness”
OK, I know I probably just pulled a hamstring jumping on their bandwagon, but what can I say. I like them.
(http://arcticmonkeys.com)
Work Notes
Just got appointed as a financial assessor to the Traffic Commissioners. They are responsible for issuing haulage and bus operators’ licenses. It’s a very part-time add-on to my existing slog in the Assembly.
Travel Notes
The journey to work is almost bearable now that summer holidays have started to reduce the amount of rush hour traffic. Managed to drive home in 20 minutes the other day, when through the rest of the year it’s more like 45 minutes. That’s why I usually let the train take the strain.
TV Notes
It’s clearly the end of season week on TV. There were last episodes of House and Boston Legal. House is one of only two shows on right now which is required viewing in the Veale/Janes household (the other being The West Wing). Boston Legal is great fun though. William Shatner and James Spader are wonderfully eccentric.
Summer season will of course be packed with repeats and reality TV shows (although whose reality I’m not quite sure – certainly not mine).
This week’s sign of the apocalypse
The Government has a Minister for Local Government and Community Cohesion. Community cohesion? Really? It’s so “right-on” it’s painful.
Soccer Notes
OK, I have something to confess. I actually watched some soccer (football as its known in some parts). I tuned in with 10 minutes to go in the final and then watched extra time and the penalty shootouts. I think that I saw one save being made in the 40 minutes that I watched.
Zidane has quickly gone from hero to villain in France. What a complete idiot. Did he think nobody would be watching?
Although I wouldn’t condone such language to describe our colleagues over the Channel, there are some who would describe them as “cheese-eating surrender monkeys”.
Rugby Notes
What do the names Ben Blair, Mosese Luveitasau, Taufa’ao Filse, Paul Emerick, Nic Fitisemanu, Ben Daly, Shane Stewart, Filo Tiatia and Deacon Manu have in common?
Give up? They are all new overseas signings made by the Welsh regional rugby teams. Give yourself a pat on the back if you had heard of even half those names.
Not exactly the cream of the crop, eh? Yet these players are squeezing out Welsh players from the regional set up. And to rub salt in the wounds, it is funding from the WRU that is being spent on these Johnny Foreigners. It doesn’t auger well for the future of Welsh rugby.
Game one of the Tri-Nations went according to plan on Saturday and the inexperienced Aussie pack were pushed off the park by New Zealand. It’s probably not a good idea to upset them by making an advert showing the All Blacks doing a haka whilst carrying handbags. (This apparently links to a nightclub incident where Tana Umaga broke up an “incident” between a player and a nightclub patron by using a handbag that happened to be nearby.)
The Tri-Nations this season is expanded to nine games, but I’m yet to think of a good reason why, cash aside.
Cricket Notes
Glamorgan’s home 20/20 game was rained on last week (as was I waiting hopefully, but in vain). It was Sky’s televised game, so the fancy dress was out in force. One group of lads sitting near me were: Scooby Doo, Tweety Pie, Fred Flinstone, Superman, a gorilla and a baby. Needless to say, the Sky cameras found them.
Haddocks were rained out too. Their last game was rained off too, but in the 9 days in between fixtures there was a permanent heat wave.
Carnac the Magnificent
I was reminded of this old sketch while reading a column from Sports Illustrated the other day. Johnny Carson, who hosted the Late Show before David Letterman, used to do a sketch where his sidekick read him an answer & he would then give the question. Here are a few:
A: Green Acres
Q: What Kermit has after Miss Piggy kicks him in the groin.
A: The Orient express.
Q: What is a drink made with soy sauce and prune juice?
A: Old wives’ tale.
Q: What do cannibals find hard to digest?
A: Head and shoulders.
Q: What do you see if you open the trunk of the Godfather's car?
A: "Follow the yellow brick road."
Q: What are good directions to a urologist's office?
A: Supervisor.
Q: What does Clark Kent wear to keep the sun out of his eyes?
A: Grape Nuts.
Q: What are Ernest and Julio Gallo?
A: Shareholder.
Q: What did Sonny Bono used to be?
Monday, July 03, 2006
I'll si thee
This past weekend marked the passing of the great Fred Trueman. FS was a giant of the game, and was the first player to take 300 test match wickets.I never saw him play, but as a youth, I came across him presenting Indoor League, a fabulously bizarre show from Yorkshire TV. It consisted of pub teams competing at bar billiards, arm wrestling, shove ha’penny, table skittles, and of course, darts. In its way it was the forerunner to Bullseye.
At the end of each show Fred would raise his pint mug and utter the immortal words “I’ll si thee”.
He went on to be part of one of the best (few?) arguments for the BBC licence fee - Test Match Special.
Interesting fact that may interest only me: The producer of Indoor League way back in the 1970s? Sid Waddell, the god of darts commentary.
People's Voice
Amazing results in the Blaenau Gwent by-elections last week.
Trish Law, Peter’s widow, beat out Councillor John Hopkins for the AM seat, despite having no political experience at all. She said all the right things though, about voting with whoever can give the people of Blaenau Gwent what they need: the oft-delayed rail link, better healthcare and job prospects.
Probably the bigger surprise was Dai Davies winning the MP job over Labour smoothie Owen Smith. Dai was a convenor in the works and Peter Law’s agent last year. His acceptance speech included the line “you underestimate the people of Blaenau Gwent at your peril.”
Indeed. At a time of so-called "disengagement" with politics, the citizens of Ebbw Vale and the rest of Blaenau Gwent decided to buck the trend.
This all started when Peter Law left Labour in protest last year over the party's use of all-women shortlists to pick its parliamentary candidate for last year’s general election. He stood as an independent and became the MP, as well as representing it in the assembly.
I used to regularly bump into him doing the shopping in Tescos in Ebbw Vale, and discussed the dearth of representation in the Assembly of people from Bleanau Gwent. He reckoned that out of over 5,000 people working in the Assembly there were just 5 from the area, including us two. No wonder Blaenau Gwent is so often forgotten in policy making discussions.
Cricket Notes
Great game of pyjama cricket on Friday evening. The 20/20 competition drew a huge crowd to see Glammy play Somerset.
After a measured start, Somerset piled into the Glamorgan bowling, with Justin Langer getting 76no and Cameron White 52 off 32 balls. Crofty was dispatched into the Taff on a couple of occasions. Mark Wallace missed a couple of chances behind the stumps before taking two stumpings late on. Some loose bowling at the death saw the total edge up to 185.
In reply, Richard Grant went off like a train. His 51 off 26 balls & Brendan McCallum’s 20 off 10 balls put Glammy at 81 off 6 overs. (Richard Johnson went for 27 in one over!) Easy, right? Not when you factor in the usual collapse. Batter after batter decided to try to crash every ball they saw and some blinding catches in the deep reduced Glammy to 136-7 off 15 overs. Mark Wallace and Crofty stepped up and almost got them home. Both got out in the last two overs, and so it comes down to the last pair in, Andrew Davies and Dean Cosker to get 1 off the last ball to win.
After a lengthy discussion, Somerset brings the entire field in except for third man and long leg. Must mean a short ball is due. Yep. A bouncer comes down and the hook is top-edged down to third man. Richard Johnson running round makes a full-length dive but spills the ball. Glamorgan win.
Interesting fact that may interest only me: The sponsors Brains award a crate of beer to anyone in the crowd who catches a six. In the first half all the chances were put down (you couldn’t call the ones off Crofty into the river chances though). However, as the crowd got more “tired and emotional” in the second half three catches were held. Clearly beer cricket is the way forward.
Next home game is against Warwickshire under lights on Wednesday (Sky are covering it), summer storms permitting. (http://www.glamorgancricket.com/)
England’s dismal run culminated in another loss to Sri Lanka, who take the series 5-0.
Soccer Notes
That’s what happens when you pin the entire hopes of a country on an immature jerk.
Travel Notes
Told today that there are 50 more units (train speak for trains) on order for the Valleys Lines. Not before time either. The carriages are no fun when they are packed to the rafters for the commute home on a hot summer’s day.
Trish Law, Peter’s widow, beat out Councillor John Hopkins for the AM seat, despite having no political experience at all. She said all the right things though, about voting with whoever can give the people of Blaenau Gwent what they need: the oft-delayed rail link, better healthcare and job prospects.
Probably the bigger surprise was Dai Davies winning the MP job over Labour smoothie Owen Smith. Dai was a convenor in the works and Peter Law’s agent last year. His acceptance speech included the line “you underestimate the people of Blaenau Gwent at your peril.”
Indeed. At a time of so-called "disengagement" with politics, the citizens of Ebbw Vale and the rest of Blaenau Gwent decided to buck the trend.
This all started when Peter Law left Labour in protest last year over the party's use of all-women shortlists to pick its parliamentary candidate for last year’s general election. He stood as an independent and became the MP, as well as representing it in the assembly.
I used to regularly bump into him doing the shopping in Tescos in Ebbw Vale, and discussed the dearth of representation in the Assembly of people from Bleanau Gwent. He reckoned that out of over 5,000 people working in the Assembly there were just 5 from the area, including us two. No wonder Blaenau Gwent is so often forgotten in policy making discussions.
Cricket Notes
Great game of pyjama cricket on Friday evening. The 20/20 competition drew a huge crowd to see Glammy play Somerset.
After a measured start, Somerset piled into the Glamorgan bowling, with Justin Langer getting 76no and Cameron White 52 off 32 balls. Crofty was dispatched into the Taff on a couple of occasions. Mark Wallace missed a couple of chances behind the stumps before taking two stumpings late on. Some loose bowling at the death saw the total edge up to 185.
In reply, Richard Grant went off like a train. His 51 off 26 balls & Brendan McCallum’s 20 off 10 balls put Glammy at 81 off 6 overs. (Richard Johnson went for 27 in one over!) Easy, right? Not when you factor in the usual collapse. Batter after batter decided to try to crash every ball they saw and some blinding catches in the deep reduced Glammy to 136-7 off 15 overs. Mark Wallace and Crofty stepped up and almost got them home. Both got out in the last two overs, and so it comes down to the last pair in, Andrew Davies and Dean Cosker to get 1 off the last ball to win.
After a lengthy discussion, Somerset brings the entire field in except for third man and long leg. Must mean a short ball is due. Yep. A bouncer comes down and the hook is top-edged down to third man. Richard Johnson running round makes a full-length dive but spills the ball. Glamorgan win.
Interesting fact that may interest only me: The sponsors Brains award a crate of beer to anyone in the crowd who catches a six. In the first half all the chances were put down (you couldn’t call the ones off Crofty into the river chances though). However, as the crowd got more “tired and emotional” in the second half three catches were held. Clearly beer cricket is the way forward.
Next home game is against Warwickshire under lights on Wednesday (Sky are covering it), summer storms permitting. (http://www.glamorgancricket.com/)
England’s dismal run culminated in another loss to Sri Lanka, who take the series 5-0.
Soccer Notes
That’s what happens when you pin the entire hopes of a country on an immature jerk.
Travel Notes
Told today that there are 50 more units (train speak for trains) on order for the Valleys Lines. Not before time either. The carriages are no fun when they are packed to the rafters for the commute home on a hot summer’s day.
Friday, June 30, 2006
Timmy
C’mon Timmy – we know you can do it. Ah, too late. Oh well, there’s always next year. And so the hopes of middle England are passed on – the fans now congregate to cheer on Murray Field rather than Timmy’s Tip.
Pet hate of the week: the dumbing down of the news. ITV’s lead “news” story one day this week was an interview with Michael Owen. Apparently he’s an injured soccer player. Middle-east meltdown made it to the “in other news” section.
Rugby Notes
A lull this week before the Tri-Nations kicks off on 8 July.
The new season looms closer with the announcement of Ebbw Vale’s pre-season “friendlies”. They’re in Cornwall on 12 August and play Bristol at Clifton on 21 August. I can almost smell the liniment already.
Good news in yesterday's SW Andrex is that the Premier Division will remain at 14 for the next 3 seasons. There was talk of a further reduction in the number of team down to 12, but thankfully that has passed and we will have a full fixture list.
Cricket Notes
Quite unbelievably, on the hottest week of the year, our cricket was rained off. Yes, the fish got washed out. The game was Monday this week, and it rained all day.
Glammy have got a taste for cricket at last. 2 for 2 in 20/20 thus far (Worcester home & Warwicks away), but this evening they take on Somerset. Could be trickey as in their first game Justin Langer got 90 off 46 balls and Cameron White (another Aussie) 116 for 53 balls. They knocked up 250-3 in 20 overs.
In my time I’ve been known to hit one off the square in the first 20 overs myself.
England’s woes continue. The are dropping like flies. The ones that aren’t injured are just playing very badly. 4-0 down now. And it looks like Michael Vaughan will be out for the winter Ashes tour too.
Pet hate of the week: the dumbing down of the news. ITV’s lead “news” story one day this week was an interview with Michael Owen. Apparently he’s an injured soccer player. Middle-east meltdown made it to the “in other news” section.
Rugby Notes
A lull this week before the Tri-Nations kicks off on 8 July.
The new season looms closer with the announcement of Ebbw Vale’s pre-season “friendlies”. They’re in Cornwall on 12 August and play Bristol at Clifton on 21 August. I can almost smell the liniment already.
Good news in yesterday's SW Andrex is that the Premier Division will remain at 14 for the next 3 seasons. There was talk of a further reduction in the number of team down to 12, but thankfully that has passed and we will have a full fixture list.
Cricket Notes
Quite unbelievably, on the hottest week of the year, our cricket was rained off. Yes, the fish got washed out. The game was Monday this week, and it rained all day.
Glammy have got a taste for cricket at last. 2 for 2 in 20/20 thus far (Worcester home & Warwicks away), but this evening they take on Somerset. Could be trickey as in their first game Justin Langer got 90 off 46 balls and Cameron White (another Aussie) 116 for 53 balls. They knocked up 250-3 in 20 overs.
In my time I’ve been known to hit one off the square in the first 20 overs myself.
England’s woes continue. The are dropping like flies. The ones that aren’t injured are just playing very badly. 4-0 down now. And it looks like Michael Vaughan will be out for the winter Ashes tour too.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Eagles
Yep, went to see the Eagles last night at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. They were outstanding. They were all there: Don Henley, Glen Frey, Joe Walsh and Timothy B Schmit. And they played all the songs. Hotel California is their iconic song, and it so lived up to the hype.
They formed in 1971 and all the band are now in their late 50s. But they can still play. They played for over 2½ hours, and the crowd (mostly of that age too) went home very happy. (www.eaglesband.com)
Saturday night was a lads’ night out in Cardiff. And very civilised it was too. Happy hour at the Hard Rock Café got things off to a good start, Flares 70’s nightclub (or should that be nite spot?) was lively but not packed to the rafters, and the chicken curry and chips on Caroline Street at 1:30 was very welcome. We’ll have to do that again, but not for a few weeks until my liver has had chance to recover.
Travel Notes
Enjoyable – seeing a guy drop his tray of chips as he tried to answer his mobile phone while walking to the concert. He needs to get his priorities in order!
Aggravating – there’s no other traffic on the roads of Cardiff except the 30,000 or so coming out of the Eagles show. Nevertheless, we all have to queue at red lights to allow non-existent traffic to join from every junction. So much for traffic management.
Cricket Notes
England still poor (3-0 down, can bowl straight to save their lives), Glamorgan more so (lost 7 of 8 in the C&G Trophy, beating only Ireland). Moving on…
Rugby Notes
OK, I was wrong. But Ireland battled hard before going down 37-15 to Australia on Saturday. A couple of kicks missed touch & a few lineout steals was the difference. It looks like the teams to beat in the World Cup will be NZ, Australia and France (who beat South Africa on Saturday).
TV Notes
The West Wing is building to a big election finish. Don’t know what will replace this hour of intelligent TV when the season finishes in a couple of weeks. I’ll have to wait for the last series of The Sopranos I suppose.
Gordon Ramsey’s F Word lives up to its name. As you can probably guess, the F doesn’t just stand for “food”.
They formed in 1971 and all the band are now in their late 50s. But they can still play. They played for over 2½ hours, and the crowd (mostly of that age too) went home very happy. (www.eaglesband.com)
Saturday night was a lads’ night out in Cardiff. And very civilised it was too. Happy hour at the Hard Rock Café got things off to a good start, Flares 70’s nightclub (or should that be nite spot?) was lively but not packed to the rafters, and the chicken curry and chips on Caroline Street at 1:30 was very welcome. We’ll have to do that again, but not for a few weeks until my liver has had chance to recover.
Travel Notes
Enjoyable – seeing a guy drop his tray of chips as he tried to answer his mobile phone while walking to the concert. He needs to get his priorities in order!
Aggravating – there’s no other traffic on the roads of Cardiff except the 30,000 or so coming out of the Eagles show. Nevertheless, we all have to queue at red lights to allow non-existent traffic to join from every junction. So much for traffic management.
Cricket Notes
England still poor (3-0 down, can bowl straight to save their lives), Glamorgan more so (lost 7 of 8 in the C&G Trophy, beating only Ireland). Moving on…
Rugby Notes
OK, I was wrong. But Ireland battled hard before going down 37-15 to Australia on Saturday. A couple of kicks missed touch & a few lineout steals was the difference. It looks like the teams to beat in the World Cup will be NZ, Australia and France (who beat South Africa on Saturday).
TV Notes
The West Wing is building to a big election finish. Don’t know what will replace this hour of intelligent TV when the season finishes in a couple of weeks. I’ll have to wait for the last series of The Sopranos I suppose.
Gordon Ramsey’s F Word lives up to its name. As you can probably guess, the F doesn’t just stand for “food”.
Dark desert highway
On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim; I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway; I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself, 'This could be Heaven or this could be Hell'
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor, I thought I heard them say...
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year, you can find it here
Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bends
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget
So I called up the Captain, 'Please bring me my wine'
He said, 'We haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine'
And still those voices are calling from far away
Wake you up in the middle of the night, just to hear them say...
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
They livin' it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise, bring your alibis
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim; I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway; I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself, 'This could be Heaven or this could be Hell'
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor, I thought I heard them say...
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year, you can find it here
Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bends
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget
So I called up the Captain, 'Please bring me my wine'
He said, 'We haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine'
And still those voices are calling from far away
Wake you up in the middle of the night, just to hear them say...
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
They livin' it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise, bring your alibis
Friday, June 23, 2006
666
Stayed at the Celtic Manor Resort the other night. Not the Celtic Manor Hotel mind you, but “resort” which translates as “hotel with golf courses”. Janesey’s doing a newspaper review so we had to go and sample its delights.
Fairs fair, it’s a tidy place. To call it vast wouldn’t be too extreme. It’s got 2 golf courses, a pool, a huge Jacuzzi, umpteen saunas and steam rooms, an enormous gym and a beauty salon thingie.
One quirk: while following the room numbers trying to find ours I noticed that there appeared to be a gap in the numbering. And sure enough, they decided that there shouldn’t be a room number 666. So the nearest you can get is 668, the neighbour of the beast.
Back on the home front, a new garden fence is in the process of being built. It’s a good 10 yards long & 6 feet high, but the snag is the perilous drop on the far side of the fence down to the street below. I almost came a-cropper on several occasions, clinging on the bramble-covered hillside whilst Janesey hoots with laughter.
Been back in Ebbw a few times lately. My old house, #22, is between lettings & means time to check it cover & generally give it a tidy-up. Should be let again tomorrow, so fingers crossed.
Rugby Notes
All the home nations lost last weekend. England were drubbed by the Aussies 43-18 (Mike Catt conceded: “We were hammered”) and Wales by the Pumas 45-27. Take off the 2 tries by Wales in the last 2 minutes and you get a better picture of the game. I couldn’t get excited enough to watch the Scots go down to the Boks 29-15.
The best performance of the weekend was Ireland’s battle against New Zealand. The Kiwis were given a real fright before eventually winning out 27-17. O’Driscoll was outstanding and led from the front as always, and the pack followed up Munster’s heroics last month with a massive performance. They should turn over Australia this coming weekend.
Cricket Notes
Oh dear. Glamorgan 56 all out v Northants. Not 20/20 knockabout, but proper County Championship stuff. Crofty top scored with 10. Hope that Brendan McCullum, the New Zealand keeper signed as cover for Mark Cosgrove, has packed his bat – it’ll be needed.
England are struggling against Sri Lanka in the 1-day series. They are 2-0 down in the series. I was lucky enough to be in front of a TV when Kevin Pietersen started crashing the ball about on Tuesday afternoon. 73 off 76 balls. Don’t know where England would be without him right now.
Their bowling has been pretty abysmal – Mahmood and Plunkett played well below average, whilst for Sri Lanka Vaas, Malinga and of course Murali bowled well.
Srinath Jayasuriya knows hoe to play this game. 122 and 3 wickets on Tuesday.
One bright spot – Jamie Dalrymple looks a useful all-rounder for the future.
The Haddocks won big yesterday. Helped by some of the worst fielding known to man we rattled up 147-4 of 18 overs. Coxy looked good for a 50 but holed out on the boundary for 44 to the one guy who could actually catch. The 404s never really challenged and despite some generous bowling they were never in it. We ran out 30 run winners. Yours truly didn’t play – are you starting to see a pattern developing?
Fairs fair, it’s a tidy place. To call it vast wouldn’t be too extreme. It’s got 2 golf courses, a pool, a huge Jacuzzi, umpteen saunas and steam rooms, an enormous gym and a beauty salon thingie.
One quirk: while following the room numbers trying to find ours I noticed that there appeared to be a gap in the numbering. And sure enough, they decided that there shouldn’t be a room number 666. So the nearest you can get is 668, the neighbour of the beast.
Back on the home front, a new garden fence is in the process of being built. It’s a good 10 yards long & 6 feet high, but the snag is the perilous drop on the far side of the fence down to the street below. I almost came a-cropper on several occasions, clinging on the bramble-covered hillside whilst Janesey hoots with laughter.
Been back in Ebbw a few times lately. My old house, #22, is between lettings & means time to check it cover & generally give it a tidy-up. Should be let again tomorrow, so fingers crossed.
Rugby Notes
All the home nations lost last weekend. England were drubbed by the Aussies 43-18 (Mike Catt conceded: “We were hammered”) and Wales by the Pumas 45-27. Take off the 2 tries by Wales in the last 2 minutes and you get a better picture of the game. I couldn’t get excited enough to watch the Scots go down to the Boks 29-15.
The best performance of the weekend was Ireland’s battle against New Zealand. The Kiwis were given a real fright before eventually winning out 27-17. O’Driscoll was outstanding and led from the front as always, and the pack followed up Munster’s heroics last month with a massive performance. They should turn over Australia this coming weekend.
Cricket Notes
Oh dear. Glamorgan 56 all out v Northants. Not 20/20 knockabout, but proper County Championship stuff. Crofty top scored with 10. Hope that Brendan McCullum, the New Zealand keeper signed as cover for Mark Cosgrove, has packed his bat – it’ll be needed.
England are struggling against Sri Lanka in the 1-day series. They are 2-0 down in the series. I was lucky enough to be in front of a TV when Kevin Pietersen started crashing the ball about on Tuesday afternoon. 73 off 76 balls. Don’t know where England would be without him right now.
Their bowling has been pretty abysmal – Mahmood and Plunkett played well below average, whilst for Sri Lanka Vaas, Malinga and of course Murali bowled well.
Srinath Jayasuriya knows hoe to play this game. 122 and 3 wickets on Tuesday.
One bright spot – Jamie Dalrymple looks a useful all-rounder for the future.
The Haddocks won big yesterday. Helped by some of the worst fielding known to man we rattled up 147-4 of 18 overs. Coxy looked good for a 50 but holed out on the boundary for 44 to the one guy who could actually catch. The 404s never really challenged and despite some generous bowling they were never in it. We ran out 30 run winners. Yours truly didn’t play – are you starting to see a pattern developing?
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Burgess
Clive Burgess in action. What a player. I wouldn't want to be in Gareth Edwards' boots at that moment. Yikes. 1978. I was there.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Hols
Fresh back from my hols in Lanzarote. OK, I know its not the Maldives, but it was just the ticket for a week of rest and relaxation. I was a little sceptical of the travel agent’s claims for the Coronas Playa in Costa Teguisa but it comfortably surpassed all expectations. The hotel was well worthy of its 4 stars; 2 swimming pools, excellent food, attentive and happy staff, and best of all the place was entirely kid-free. Wonderful.The week was taken up with a mix of lazing in the sun, lazing in the shade, squash, running, and eating too much.
Travel Notes
Enjoyable – I know it shouldn’t be hard to organise a package holiday, but its still a nice surprise when everything goes off without a hitch. Thomsons did a good job.
Aggravating – First day back in the real world was a meeting in London. The train journey up to Paddington was 25 minutes late. Left home at 6:45 and got to my 10:30 meeting in London with 2 minutes to spare. The return journey was even worse. The scheduled 2 hour journey turned into 3¼ hours. Wrong sort of sunshine, I expect. I’ll keep you posted on my attempts to extract some sort of compensation from First Great Western (their words, not mine).
Cricket Notes
While I was away, England succumbed to Murali, the king of spin. England’s batting looked very frail on that 4th day, with the top lacking application and the tail very long (Geraint Jones and 4 rabbits). If KP and Flintoff don’t get runs, they struggle. Hope Vaughan gets back to match fitness soon; Collngwood is keeping his place in the side warm for him.
Glammy actually won a county championship game, but are still mired at the bottom of division 2. Only Ireland are below them in the C&G one-day league table too.
Better news for the Haddocks though. In spite of m absence (or more likely because of it) they won last week. Dan (the Godfather) crashed it about late in the game to save the day and see the Haddocks through to victory with one over to spare.
Normal service was resumed last night though. Well beaten by a useful Pakistani team who took full advantage of some cafeteria bowling (help yourself), including a new record for Andy McMahon with 1-0-32-0 (12 wides). Set 166, we started slowly (just 1 for your correspondent), but Tim Musgrave with 30 and Gnasher Raja with 31no pushed us to 97. We were never really in with a shout. And Andy went home with a shiner after he top edged a ball into his face.
Rugby Notes
Wales went down to Argentina, and went down in the first test to Argentina. The young team didn’t seem to trouble the Pumas too much. The pack struggled, and too often when they had possession they died with the ball (Mark Jones was the biggest culprit). Good debut from Ian Evans though. Great indictment on regional rugby when a cap is given to James Hook from premier side Neath but who can’t get a game in the regional structure.
England got trounced by the Aussies, so not all bad news.
Soccer Notes
If you want to read about the World Cup, look almost anywhere except here. En-ger-land fans doing well though, with swastikas and german helmets much in evidence. They even fought amongst themselves in London on the weekend. Good job they won, eh?
Thursday, June 01, 2006
GI Veale
Latest project at chez Janes/Veale is the construction of a porch. Work is well underway, and of course scheduling it for the summer has meant that there have been no rain interruptions. Ha! Work goes on apace now though, with all of the walls complete and the roof on. The window and door went in on the weekend – no glass yet though. Should be finished in a couple of weeks (fingers and everything else crossed).
I’ve been on the GI diet for the past couple of weeks. I wish they wouldn’t use the “diet” word, ‘cos really it’s about just eating sensibly, with lots of fresh fruit and veg. They reckon that on the GI plan you eat more fruit and veg in 10 days than the average Briton does in 10 weeks. Its not all lentils and quinoa though; the recipes are really varied and interesting. Get the book. Its just £5.99 on Amazon right now. (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/customer-reviews/0600610020/026-3267679-7357211)
Anyway, the results are pretty good so far. Down over half a stone in three weeks. Plenty more to go though. (Don’t know the number in kilograms and don’t really care – when I start going metric then the terrorists will have won).
The toughest test of willpower so far was the trip to the fortnightly Cwm quiz. There were chips and scrumps for all, and the temptation for huge. But resist we did. Just.
Random Thoughts
1. Had a meeting down on the SA1 development in Swansea last Monday. Wow, that area has really changed. I remember the docks area being rundown, but now there is building work aplenty and two superb Technium buildings providing start-up facilities for hi-tech companies.
2. Pete Doherty – how come he isn’t in jail? Yet again he’s been in court again and yet again he’s been given unconditional bail to be a complete arse rock star until arrested again.
3. How is it that people are being stabbed just for being on a train or for going to school nowadays? It’s not knife amnesties we need, but the locking up of loonies who are carrying around weapons on the inter-city or taking them to school. Geez.
4. Big Brother. Who cares?
Rugby Notes
After the dust has settled from the Battle of TAG (Talbot Athletic Ground) its just 2 down from the Premiership – Carmarthen Quins & Pontypool. Maesteg saw off the challenge of Bonymaen on Saturday in a game which saw 3 red and 3 yellow cards. A bit like the Wild West, said a friend who was there. Bonymaen needed leadership from their captain, who proceeded to head butt one of the Boobyers in front of the ref and be sent off in the 3rd minute.
As predicted here, Munster saw off the challenge of Biarritz to claim the European Cup in their 3rd final, running out 23-19 winners. The pack and particularly the line-out was awesome, Paul O’Connell and Donnacha O’Callaghan were immense.
Fogbowl has come and gone too. Or to give it its proper title, the Super 14 final between the Hurricanes of Wellington and the Crusaders of Canterbury. As far as I could make out, the foggy blurs of Canterbury won. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a game with two commentators, one for each side of the field. How they played at all was beyond me. Needless to say, it wasn’t exactly a spectacle.
Now it’s on to the summer tours by Wales and the rest of the home nations to various quarters down under. Wales have two games against Argentina on 10 and 17 June. You will recognise the red shirts but not the faces, Wales taking a very inexperienced squad to Patagonia.
That takes us to the end of June, and then it’s the turn of the Tri-Nations, which goes through to next season. There’s no let up. Thankfully.
Cricket Notes
Comfortable win for England in the second test against Sri Lanka. Kevin Pietersen’s century was something to behold. Three centuries in his last three tests in England. The comparisons with Denis Compton and Viv Richards have started already. If England get Michael Vaughan and Steve Harminson or Simon Jones back and Monty Panesar learns to field then it looks like England have a good team on their hands.
Glamorgan got washed out last Friday in a potentially lucrative floodlit game against Middlesex. They snatched a draw from the mouth of victory at Worcester too. Looks like its going to be that kind of season for Glammy.
Two more defeats over the bank holiday. The faint glimmer of hope in yesterday’s poor performance was that Mark Cosgrove and James Franklin, the two imports scored half of Glamorgan’s runs. But losing Cosgrove for a big chunk of the summer is going to be a difficult hole to fill.
My cricket season has just started. After two games rained off last week (the wettest drought I can remember), the Haddocks took to the field this evening. The problem was that this was the first round of the cup, and we (division 3, remember?) were playing Khyber from division 1 (league champions for the past two seasons). We were duly dispatched. They scored 170-1 off their 18 overs. In amongst this a new club record for the worst bowling analysis 1-0-25-0. I managed to put down a catch on the long on boundary – a “frozen rope” line drive out of the setting sun. I have a lovely bruise on my hand to show where it hit.
In reply, we managed 52-9. That included 21 off one over! I opened and managed 5 (third top score). When I got out we were 12-5 off 10 overs. Saw off the opening attack though. We knew we weren’t going to win & it was good just to actually pick up a bat for the first time this season. Nets? What nets?
TV Notes
I know it’s a week late but the Eurovision Song Contest must get a mention. There’s many a drinking game played whilst watching it, one of which Terry Wogan clearly indulges in. It was won by Rock and Roll Hallelujah, performed by Finns dressed like extras from the Lord of the Rings. Wonderful stuff.
The voting is a perfect example of political correctness. All the former USSR countries voted for each other, as did the Balkan countries. Very few people voted for the UK and unsurprisingly only one voted for France. The songs that were sung were completely irrelevant. For my money the Swedish entry sounded best.
The West Wing (on More4) and House (five) continue to be the best programmes on TV right now, although just once I want to see House fail to save the patient.
Used part of the bank holiday to catch up with the new series of Lost (thank goodness for Sky+). There’s more holes in the plot (plot, what plot I here you say) than a Swiss cheese, and I don’t pretend to understand any of it, but it’s certainly different.
Squirrel Notes
Another bird feeder bites the dust. Reduced to pieces by a roving team of squirrel demolition experts. I reckon there are working in cahoots with the bird feeder manufacturers to boost repeat sales. Perhaps there’s a tips section on a website somewhere. We need to know.
I’ve been on the GI diet for the past couple of weeks. I wish they wouldn’t use the “diet” word, ‘cos really it’s about just eating sensibly, with lots of fresh fruit and veg. They reckon that on the GI plan you eat more fruit and veg in 10 days than the average Briton does in 10 weeks. Its not all lentils and quinoa though; the recipes are really varied and interesting. Get the book. Its just £5.99 on Amazon right now. (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/customer-reviews/0600610020/026-3267679-7357211)
Anyway, the results are pretty good so far. Down over half a stone in three weeks. Plenty more to go though. (Don’t know the number in kilograms and don’t really care – when I start going metric then the terrorists will have won).
The toughest test of willpower so far was the trip to the fortnightly Cwm quiz. There were chips and scrumps for all, and the temptation for huge. But resist we did. Just.
Random Thoughts
1. Had a meeting down on the SA1 development in Swansea last Monday. Wow, that area has really changed. I remember the docks area being rundown, but now there is building work aplenty and two superb Technium buildings providing start-up facilities for hi-tech companies.
2. Pete Doherty – how come he isn’t in jail? Yet again he’s been in court again and yet again he’s been given unconditional bail to be a complete arse rock star until arrested again.
3. How is it that people are being stabbed just for being on a train or for going to school nowadays? It’s not knife amnesties we need, but the locking up of loonies who are carrying around weapons on the inter-city or taking them to school. Geez.
4. Big Brother. Who cares?
Rugby Notes
After the dust has settled from the Battle of TAG (Talbot Athletic Ground) its just 2 down from the Premiership – Carmarthen Quins & Pontypool. Maesteg saw off the challenge of Bonymaen on Saturday in a game which saw 3 red and 3 yellow cards. A bit like the Wild West, said a friend who was there. Bonymaen needed leadership from their captain, who proceeded to head butt one of the Boobyers in front of the ref and be sent off in the 3rd minute.
As predicted here, Munster saw off the challenge of Biarritz to claim the European Cup in their 3rd final, running out 23-19 winners. The pack and particularly the line-out was awesome, Paul O’Connell and Donnacha O’Callaghan were immense.
Fogbowl has come and gone too. Or to give it its proper title, the Super 14 final between the Hurricanes of Wellington and the Crusaders of Canterbury. As far as I could make out, the foggy blurs of Canterbury won. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a game with two commentators, one for each side of the field. How they played at all was beyond me. Needless to say, it wasn’t exactly a spectacle.
Now it’s on to the summer tours by Wales and the rest of the home nations to various quarters down under. Wales have two games against Argentina on 10 and 17 June. You will recognise the red shirts but not the faces, Wales taking a very inexperienced squad to Patagonia.
That takes us to the end of June, and then it’s the turn of the Tri-Nations, which goes through to next season. There’s no let up. Thankfully.
Cricket Notes
Comfortable win for England in the second test against Sri Lanka. Kevin Pietersen’s century was something to behold. Three centuries in his last three tests in England. The comparisons with Denis Compton and Viv Richards have started already. If England get Michael Vaughan and Steve Harminson or Simon Jones back and Monty Panesar learns to field then it looks like England have a good team on their hands.
Glamorgan got washed out last Friday in a potentially lucrative floodlit game against Middlesex. They snatched a draw from the mouth of victory at Worcester too. Looks like its going to be that kind of season for Glammy.
Two more defeats over the bank holiday. The faint glimmer of hope in yesterday’s poor performance was that Mark Cosgrove and James Franklin, the two imports scored half of Glamorgan’s runs. But losing Cosgrove for a big chunk of the summer is going to be a difficult hole to fill.
My cricket season has just started. After two games rained off last week (the wettest drought I can remember), the Haddocks took to the field this evening. The problem was that this was the first round of the cup, and we (division 3, remember?) were playing Khyber from division 1 (league champions for the past two seasons). We were duly dispatched. They scored 170-1 off their 18 overs. In amongst this a new club record for the worst bowling analysis 1-0-25-0. I managed to put down a catch on the long on boundary – a “frozen rope” line drive out of the setting sun. I have a lovely bruise on my hand to show where it hit.
In reply, we managed 52-9. That included 21 off one over! I opened and managed 5 (third top score). When I got out we were 12-5 off 10 overs. Saw off the opening attack though. We knew we weren’t going to win & it was good just to actually pick up a bat for the first time this season. Nets? What nets?
TV Notes
I know it’s a week late but the Eurovision Song Contest must get a mention. There’s many a drinking game played whilst watching it, one of which Terry Wogan clearly indulges in. It was won by Rock and Roll Hallelujah, performed by Finns dressed like extras from the Lord of the Rings. Wonderful stuff.
The voting is a perfect example of political correctness. All the former USSR countries voted for each other, as did the Balkan countries. Very few people voted for the UK and unsurprisingly only one voted for France. The songs that were sung were completely irrelevant. For my money the Swedish entry sounded best.
The West Wing (on More4) and House (five) continue to be the best programmes on TV right now, although just once I want to see House fail to save the patient.
Used part of the bank holiday to catch up with the new series of Lost (thank goodness for Sky+). There’s more holes in the plot (plot, what plot I here you say) than a Swiss cheese, and I don’t pretend to understand any of it, but it’s certainly different.
Squirrel Notes
Another bird feeder bites the dust. Reduced to pieces by a roving team of squirrel demolition experts. I reckon there are working in cahoots with the bird feeder manufacturers to boost repeat sales. Perhaps there’s a tips section on a website somewhere. We need to know.
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