… my musings on, er, "stuff"
Track of the week 15/10/17
Another bit of wonderful music: calming, beautiful, brilliant.
A song to soothe the soul when the day has been long or difficult, or both.
One’s troubles get washed away in the tempestuous ocean rain, leaving you calm, refreshed and restored, and able to sail your ship away in the slack that inevitably comes after even the most violent storm.
Pic of the week 15/10/17
Boyhood dreams.
As a boy (all those many, many years ago) my dream was to play for Bristol City.
Alas, I fear that dream has long been consigned to history, but today came the closest that I’m likely to get as I found myself on the same pitch as The Robins, refereeing Bristol City U16s v Millfield 1st XI.
A fast paced game played between two quality sides, on a quality pitch it was a challenging, but enjoyable, game to take charge off.
City bossed the first ten minutes and it looked like it was going to be a long afternoon for the Millfield side, but they retained their shape and discipline at the back and began to exert some authority on home turf.
Collecting the ball well into his own half, the Millfield right back exploded with pace, hugging the touch line and playing an overlapping one two to see him arrive at the byline and whip in a powerful cross which was bundled in by the Millfield centre forward, who bagged another brace before half time to see the home side lead 3-0 at the break.
City pulled one back early in the second half as space began to open up as legs (not only mine!) began to tire. However the visitors conceded a soft goal direct from a corner to leave the final score line 4-1 to Millfield, who were deserved winners, but that result probably flatters them a little.
Me: I loved it. Absolutely knackered at the end of it; 90 minutes chasing athletes 30 years my junior is hard work, but probably the highest standard of football I have ever been involved in.
(Now just awaiting to get my hands on the video of the game – my half term homework will be to watch the game and anlayse my performance)
Track of the week 8/10/17
Should have been last week, but wasn’t. A top track that always make you feel better when listening to it.
Always takes me back to Gibraltar (circa 1990) when I went out their with a Buccaneer Squadron. I remember climbing to the top of the rock and looking down on the cloud below as I listened to this on my Walkman. Magical.
Pic of the week 8/10/17
First half strikes from Bradshaw and Whatling secure a two goal victory that sees the Legends begin their campaign with a win.
A beautiful, clear, warm October morning saw the season kick off with an away fixture at Wells City. Glistening with morning dew, the pitch was a green oasis, although was the pile of feathers littering our half of the pitch somehow a metaphor for our playing skills – a once beautiful, free flying creature, now, sadly, consigned to history?
The game began with both sides probing, but neither establishing a telling dominance. Midway through the first half Bradshaw latched on to a perfect through pass. Collecting the ball well outside the area, he still had much to do but, shrugging off the attentions of a Wells defender, he opened his legs and glided into the box, deftly placing the ball beyond the reach of the oncoming keeper and into the back of the net. One – nil.
Wounded, Wells responded swiftly, seeking an equaliser. The pacy Wells no. 11 was a constant threat, but a mobile, organised and disciplined back four nullified his threat and continued to frustrate the home team’s attacks all morning. On the few occasions the opposition did threaten the Millfield goal Shane Potts was big, brave and unbeatable between the sticks.
A corner, swung in from the left, and the wily, wiry, Whatling leapt higher than those around him to glance the ball into the net. Two – nil.
As legs tired in the second half, so space began to open up, allowing new boy Andrew Cassin-Davies – the oldest man on the pitch – to show the daintiest of footwork as he began to dance and dazzle his way around the middle of the park. Fellow debutant Phil Betts confirmed his Legend status, collecting the ball wide on the right and driving hard into the opposition half, ghosting through the Wells defence he found himself one on one v the keeper. He unleashed a powerful low drive, beyond the flailing arm of the Wells number one, only to see – or more accurately hear – the ball cannon into the upright with a thud loud enough to waken any resident of Wells still abed on this Sunday morning.
Neither side troubled the scorers in the second half and the ref blew the whistle on an historic, and well deserved victory: Wells City 0 Millfield Legends 2, three points in the bag.
Track of the week 1/10/17
It was supposed to be the Cocteau Twins today. I don’t know why, but a couple of days ago I listened to a couple of their classic tracks from the Treasure album, and it was a nailed on cert that they were going to be track of the week this week, the only question being as to whether it would be Lorelei or Domino that made the final cut (or perhaps both.)
But then, as I was settling down to write my blog posts, with, as ever, YouTube playing in the background, the above came on.
I don’t exactly recall it from the first time round, but it wasn’t totally unfamiliar when I first heard it on YouTube a month or so ago. It only pops up periodically, but it did tonight – perfect timing to make it this weeks TOTW.
The Twins are undoubtedly better, but whilst they may drift in and out of my consciousness, they will always be there. They’ll be TOTW another time, but who knows when I would have heard I melt with you again? And that’s one of the points of track of the week, to note down tracks as and when I hear them/like them so I don’t forget them.
Anyway, enjoy. From reading the comments, it seems it may have appeared in “Stranger Things” – that excellent Netflix show I watched in the summer, so it has a pedigree.
Pic(s) of the week 1/10/17
I like to think that I am a man of many talents. I can turn my hand to most things and I balk at little. But, I must admit, dealing for animals is not one of my strong points. I still recall the time I went out to shoo a squirrel off our bird feeder. I strode purposefully out into the garden, all big, brave and bad, ready to scare the squirrel and watch it flee into the canopy.
But the damned rodent had different ideas. As I got close, he merely ceased his feast, tilted his head and looked up at met. Stared at me. Menacingly. I fled back into the safety of the house. Two days later I took the bird feeder down.
And so it was with some surprise that, on entering the staff changing room at Kingweston, I spotted Dave (pictured above) dangling from the ceiling.
Yes – finding a bat in there was a surprise, but the bigger surprise was that I didn’t flee in fear of my life.
In fact, I took rather a shine to the little fella, with his cute little feet firmly attached to a beam in the ceiling. I watched him with interest for a while, and took a couple photos (that’s another of my non-talents: photography – I can’t take a good picture) I wasn’t even bothered when he began flying around.
No-one knew what to do. So I grabbed a bib, wrapped him up in it, took him outside and released him.
But why Dave?
David Batty, of course. An appropriate name for a bat found at the football fields of KW.
Track of the week 24/9/17
A band that went out to produce both the Beautiful South and Norman Cook. Still can’t quite believe that the ultra-cool Cook was part of this nerdy combo, but he was – interestingly, in this video he’s the only one with a half decent hair cut.
Anyway a good stand up (no pun intended) and sing, song. One to enjoy.
Pic of the week 24/9/17
Marathon runners talk of hitting the wall. As a teacher, I think I “hit the wall” this week – week 3.
Its always a tough time. The holidays suddenly seem a long time ago and the adrenaline fueled excitement of the first couple of weeks has past, leaving only tiredness, dampness and darkening evenings.
Wednesday I woke up whacked, it was a tough day – my wall. But you plough on through, and that evening I had my epiphany on a yoga mat and since then everything’s been good. In fact, I’d say better than good.
We now begin to enjoy the rhythm of routine as life settles down for the long march until half-term. There is certainly something comforting from order and repetition as the days shorten, a sense of starting to hunker down for the dark, cold months to come. I came home from spinning on friday to find the sliding door firmly slid shut, surely an important landmark in the changing of the seasons.
Track of the week 17/9/17
The only surprise is how this hasn’t made it as TotW before. A top, top, tune.
And not only that, lyrically superb, too.
And he packs his lunch in a sunblest bag
Kids of today would have no idea what that means. One of the best lines ever written, so evocative, painting a masterpiece of a picture in 9 simple words.
I defy you to listen to this track and not break out into song.
And I’m thinking about home
And I’m thinking about faith
And I’m thinking about work
And I’m thinking how good it would be
To be here some dayOn a ship called dignity
A ship called dignity
Pic of the week 17/9/17
The battle is lost. It was inevitable, the only question was how long I would hold out before capitulation. And capitulation came today. I turned the heating on.
Weather wise, its not been a good summer, and any hint of an Indian summer was swiftly washed away by one of the many, many rain showers we’ve endured since the start of September. The evenings have begun to become a little chilly, so this afternoon the heating was clicked to “on.” Next summer’s warmth seems a long way away.
(Still wearing my shorts, though!)