Austria versus England at Under-19
I’m watching the England Under-19 footballers against Austria on Eurosport. Much better than Capello’s crap in South Africa! They’re winning 2-0 at half time, with two goals from West Ham’s Frank Nouble.
It’s now 3-1 with ten minutes of the second half gone. England seem skilful, keen and disciplined.
In the end they hung on for a 3-2 win.
A Heartwarming Story From The Open
With just a few holes to go in the Open Golf, it looks increasingly like Louis Oosthuizen will win it. But behind the South African’s performance, there seems to be a story, that may feaure in tomorrow’s papers.
Oosthuizen’s caddy, Zack Rasego is black and according to this report in the New York Times, it would appear that he came up the hard way, by working as a caddy at Sun City. Here’s a taste of what is said.
Rasego, who once caddied for the South African icon Gary Player, has been with Oosthuizen since 2003, when Oosthuizen’s management company helped put them in contact. They have developed a close working relationship and communicate frequently on the course in Afrikaans.
The faltering image of South Africa as a “rainbow nation” has regained some of its luster with the successful staging of soccer’s World Cup and a renewed sense of common purpose between the country’s black majority and white minority.
Rasego, who is one of the few black caddies on tour, and Oosthuizen, who is white, are aware that they reinforce that image but do not wish to focus on it.
“As South Africans, we are a rainbow team,” Rasego said. “But really it’s politics aside. It’s a sport. We cannot put politics into sport.”
Let’s hope nothing serious happens to them in the last few holes.
What a Disappointment!
The Russian football is not being shown! Sad, but in the grand scheme of things, not really! But suppose there was an elderly Muscovite, living in the UK, who was not very well and had been really looking forward to watching Spartak Moscow! ESPN have just made his day!
Something to Look Forward To!
The tour de France it is not, but the Tour of Britain is a spectacle in its own right and it will be coming almost past my door, as it goes from Bury St. Edmunds, through Haverhill, Clare and Cavendish on its way to Colchester on the 17th of September. Read more here.
I note two that it has teamed up with The Prostate Cancer Charity, something that has touched a few of my friends.
I Suppose I Could Watch the Golf
Weekends are bad for me, as I can’t drive, there is no pub within walking distance, so except for the stud staff, the paper lady and the postman, I won’t see anyone else for two days.
Not that I’m that bothered, as I will walk a bit in the fields with Lizzie. The weather doesn’t look that good, so I’ll probably just watch the television. Sport is mainly golf, although I do see that there is an exciting clash in the Russian Premier League, between Spartak Moscow and Rubin Kazan on ESPN, who report English football as bad as ITV. So I know that their Russian offering will be totally rubbish, with the commentators probably in a cosy studio.
I do have other creative things to do though and I will report as the day progresses.
Nepotism – Tajik Style
This report says it all.
You may not be able to read it unless you have a subscription to The Times, but if you can’t just type “Zarrina Rakhmonova” into Google. There are several reports of her becoming a TV newsreader, in Tajikistan, where her father is president. Apparently, her brother, Rustam, is a professional footballer and a Member of Parliament. It would be interesting to see if he ever gets a red card. Incidentally, the national football team has a FIFA ranking of 135.
Free As A Lark – Lingfield July 14th
C’s last big purchase for the stud, was a mare by Saddler’s Wells called Regal Magic. She was carrying, a foal by Oratorio. That foal is now called Free As A Lark and she runs today at Lingfield in the 15:30.
The comment in the Racing Post by her name is “Shown ability but more needed to make it third time lucky”. That’s probably true! It might just have been her race at Yarmouth.
There are various things to take into account.
- She will need some rain and hopefully, it rained at Lingfield last night.
- She will be coming downhill, round a bend and hasn’t done that before.
- There are a couple of very well-bred horses in the race, who are trained by the top rank.
- There are some dodgy horses in the race, who could win or do nothing at all.
So here’s hoping. If you have SKY, you can watch it on At The Races. That’s the free channel. Why do we have two racing channels, one of which has to be paid for?
Do We Somehow Absorb The Events Happening As We Are Born?
I don’t mean in an astrological way, as that is a load of old rubbish. But surely the state, feelings and emotions of the mother, must be passed to the child!
When our first son was born in 1969, everybody was on edge for the first moon landing. But it all turned out well! Gayle Hunnicutt whose own son was born at the same time, said her son was placid. Was ours? Perhaps as a young child, but not like how Gayle described her son.
I was born on the 16th August 1947, just a day after India gained independence. I am a few hours late to be one of Midnight’s Children. Has it affected me? I love India and most things Indian. I’ve been twice and hopefully I’ll go again. I’ve just watched John Sergeant’s excellent documentary on Indian railways, which talked eloquently about the tragedy and violence of partition, when around a 1,000,000 people died. It must have been in the papers and on the radio around the time I was born. I’ve also heard of this violence from a man, who at the time was a young officer in the British Army trying to move civilians to safety in soft-skinned vehicles. He wouldn’t talk about it.
In Sergeant’s documentary, we saw how the tragedy still continues, with India and Pakistan refusing to forget the violence and emnity and try to build a better future.
Today London showed how bad that relationship has become, with Pakistan playing Australia at the neutral venue of Lords. Judging by the fact that Pakistan are on top, they will claim victory, when in truth they have been defeated by the terrorists, who have forced them to play in England.
We must learn to renounce violence and surely the Indian sub-continent has seen enough in the last seventy years.
Germans Mess Up A Penalty
Apparently, not all Germans get their penalties right, as this story about the German women’s hockey team in their defeat to England shows.
It also shows that yet another sport is using technology to help its referees. So stop saying “No!”, Mr. Blatter!
The Anonymous Widower 