To Say That Some Must Have Paid Thousands To See This!
The World Cup Final has been a thuggish affair, with just a couple of clear chances, that anybody on their money should have put away with ease.
Now here’s an idea. I support Ipswich and have therefor seen most of the teams in the Coca-Cola Championship. Suppose you created a team of the league, from the best players regardless of their nationality and gave them a manager like Huddink, Hodgson or perhaps even Sven, for a one-off game against either Spain or The Netherlands, you would have had a much more enjoyable game, probably with a deserved winner. And it wouldn’t necessarily be the better-paid team, as Championship sides don’t always lose cup matches against clubs from the Premier League.
If you think, I’m biased towards the standard in the Championship, feel free to do the exercise with the Second Division of any European League.
We would certainly see more skill and commitment and probably less fouls and bookings too!
But some people must have paid thousands to see this rubbish!
I see though that Howard Webb has just sent off a Dutch defender. So that means the match will get worse as the Dutch play for penalties.
Are the Dutch PLeased With An English Referee?
The BBC’s panel of experts think that a couple of the Dutch team should have had an early bath!
But then you see much tougher football every day in England. And then the referee and his assistants are all English!
If they had been from l;ots of other countries, there would be a different situation at half-time.
The Dutch Are Hanging In
But for how long?
I think I’ll put some money on penalties!
There seems to have been litle mention in the build-up to this game, that The Netherlands was once controlled by Spain. It’s not history I know too well, but I seem to remember that the Spanish Armada was going to pick up Spanish troops under the Duke of Parma from Flanders for the invasion of Great Britain.
Perhaps, just as the first Elizabeth supported the Dutch in their fight against Spain, we should do the same today.
I Remember Jarlath Regan
I use one of Tadey Regan’s phrases, “The Struggle Continues” all over the place as a catchphrase and e-mail signature for example, as it sums up my life so well. For Tadey, it summed up his life in trying to be a success in that most difficult of professions, as a racehorse trainer. C and I had horses with him for several years and although we never had a winner, we had a great time.
But for Tadey, there was little justice in his chosen profession, as he continually struggled.
Jarlath is the youngest of Tadey and his lovely wife, Moira’s four children. I remember them telling C and myself about how after a big meeting at the Curragh, the kids would climb the fence and collect all the discarded Tote tickets. They’d then bring them home and look for any winning ones that had been unintentionally discarded. Needless to say, sometimes they struck lucky.
So perhaps Tadey and Moira have got one of their biggest rewards, as Jarlath Regan appears to be making a success of being a comedian according to this article.
Perhaps, this from a review might sum up Jarlath. It certainly fits my memories and C would approve if she were still here.
But then, you can see how the thought might never have entered his head, as Regan is a very laid-back chap, insisting that he’s never been in a fight and will avoid confrontation at every turn. He can’t even bring himself to shout at his dad when he phones up every single day with the same question about working the TV remote control.
What Do We Do With the Raoul Moats of this World?
Some who knew Raoul Moat say he was an odious violent man, but others point to a softer and much more agreeable side to his character. But unfortunately, the bad side of his character won the battle and ultimately caused his destruction.
But how do we prevent people from becoming the next Raoul Moat?
Surely, if we could stop just a couple it would be worthwhile.
Whilst, browsing The Times web site, I found this article from Alice Thomson. I agree with virtually everything she says, but how much of it would ever get implemented?
Very little, I suspect.
The Place To Be Tonight
I am not far away from Stansfield, a small village between Haverhill and Bury St. Edmunds.
What is unique about the village is that its pub, the Compasses, is owned and run by a Dutch couple.
We went on Friday and it looks like tonight will be the night for a visit, especially as they look like they can cope with my dietary requirements and serve Aspalls Cyder.
The Most Powerful Men and Women in England
C, my late wife was a barrister, who dealt mostly with family matters.
Some of the posts about Pfizer’s legal action, worried about the company acting outside of the law.
One day, C came home and told me about the High Court tipstaffs. I think she had been doing a case in the Principal Registry of the Family Division, which used to be in Somerset House. Surely, there is no better place for a court.
I can’t remember the exact details of the case, as she never told me But I suspect it was to do with a father hiding the children and refusing to tell anybody, where they were, as she had quite a few cases where this happened. In this case, because one of the highest courts in the land had been disobeyed, the case was handed over to the tipstaff. C said that their powers are unprecedented and they only answer to the highest judges, like the Lord Chief Justice. Even Prime Ministers have to obey the tipstaff. Read about them in Wikipedia.
This paragraph details their powers.
The High Court Tipstaff may appoint three assistants and can call on any constable, bailiff or member of the public to assist in carrying out their duties and their jurisdiction extends throughout England & Wales. They are authorised to force entry if necessary and will have a police officer present to prevent breach of the peace. The relevant territorial police force are informed of arrests.
Sometimes a local bailiff or police will detain a person in custody until the Tipstaff arrives to collect him and take him to court or prison. Pentonville Prison (for civil offenders) is obliged to take into custody‚ no matter the situation‚ any people taken there by the Tipstaff.
The article also details how the tipstaff can act in Family cases.
The majority of their work involves taking children into custody (ie a place of safety)‚ including cases of child abduction abroad.
In child abduction cases, there may be a ‘seek and locate’ order backed by a bench warrant ordering any person with knowledge of the child to give that information to the Tipstaff or his deputy or assistants. Related orders may require the alleged abductor to hand his passport and other travel documents to the Tipstaff, and order the Tipstaff to take the child and deliver him/her to a designated place. There may also be a ‘port alert’ executed by the Tipstaff, to help prevent the child being taken abroad.
In the case of children who have been declared a ward of court i.e. cases where the court is acting in loco parentis the Tipstaff has a role in ensuring that those children are delivered to the locations specified by the court.
You would imagine that a tipstaff would be a large, powerfully-built man with either sevice or police training. But the tipstaff that C met was a small, slight, extremely polite and persuasive lady of Asian origin. Remember though that she can order anyone to help her and that she has almost absolute power in the matter she is dealing with. C said that she only has to answer to the highest judges.
Keyboard Frustration
It is usually after using the computer for about an hour or so, that I hit control and some key to mean that the only way out of my mess is to reboot.
It is so frustrating! Especially, as I know the solution is to be able to cut out the control key, just like I’ve cut out caps lock.
Pfizer Strikes Back
Vast amounts of spam are advertising one of Pfizer’s products; Viagra. On a spam list, I’ belong to, there has been a lot of discussion, about how the company has gone for a guy in the UK, who has been faking Viagra and selling it on the web. Here is a report from the Sydney Morning Herald.
I applaud Pfizer for what they are doing here, although others think that the company is acting outside of the law. But in the UK, if you do go outside the law, you’ll receive the proverbial ton of bricks.
Russian Spam Comments
This blog doesn’t get many spam comments, except for a load of Russian ones to A Better Keyboard. Usually, it’s about ten a day, all in Cyrillic and complete rubbish to me.
They obviously have a way of putting them in automatically.
Hopefully, by marking them as spam, WordPress will treat the with the contempt they deserve.
The Anonymous Widower 