You Don’t Have to Play Old – Part 2
He’s still in front!
My Racehorse in Training
I went to see my racehorse that is in training with Chris Wall at Newmarket this morning.
Oratorio Filly
She is a filly by Oratorio, out of a Sadlers Wells mare. That is pretty good breeding. She was actually bought in-utero by my late wife in 2006.
But as with all racehorses, it is very much a matter of chance, not breeding, that she will be any good on the racecourse.
You Don’t Have to Play Old
Although I’d prefer to see someone from these islands win the Open, it’s nice to see Tom Watson up there in front. He’s 59 and I think he’s got an artificial hip.
But in some of these sports, it is often the case that experience and a sound strategy are perhaps just as important as a sound body.
Crohn’s Disease and Coeliacs
I was watching the rugby league last night, whilst eating a very nice frozen chilli con carne, when the commentator said that one of the players for Wakefield, Richard Moore, suffered from Crohn’s Disease.
There is a connection between Crohn’s Disease and being a coeliac as this study shows. The study recommends that everybody suffering from Crohn’s Disease, go on a gluten-free diet.
The Spoiler
I was searching for the story about all Manchester City players being given £168,000 watches, when I came across the article about it in the Spoiler. The watches are by Franck Muller and from what I’ve seen they are not to my taste.
They made the point, that as footballers like to outdo each other in cars, houses, watches and tattoos, then they wouldn’t be happy to all have the same ones.
The web site looks a nice place for football gossip. I might check it out in the future.
I Was There!
There is an old Max Boyce song or tale about Llanelli beating the All Blacks, 9-3 in 1972. Upwards of 50,000 Welshmen claim that they were in Stradey Park that day, when the figure was probably around 20,000.
My only real “I was there” moment was that I was in Trafalgar Square on July 6th, 2005, when London won the right to hold the 2012 Olympics. I was on the steps of St. Martins-in-the-Fields and I have the pictures to prove it.
So how many fervent Welshmen will claim that they were in Cardiff, when England played their “Get Out of Jail Free” card yesterday. Read Tom Fordyce for an excellent piece on how the bowlers batted out a draw. I couldn’t possibly claim it was a well-deserved draw could I? But then it is always worthwhile to rub an Aussie’s nose in it.
I listened to the story unfolding in the car between Dunkirk and Rotterdam, not on the BBC’s Test Match Special on Long Wave, but the regular Five Live broadcast, with Mark Pougatch, Alex Stewart, Jason Gillespie and Pat Murphy. It was nail-biting stuff. Not that I do that anymore.
At one point, I went through a tunnel and there was cheering on the other side. Had England lost a wicket? No they’d scored a four. Everything was cheered and even after a dot ball, you’d think that England had won.
So it was all great fun! But I can’t agree more with Jason Gillespie, when he suggested that a bit of pace, rather than two spinners might have blasted one of Anderson and Panesar out. But then that is just a what if!
Panesar, like all good Sikhs, showed his honourable fighting qualities and has given the selectors a real dilemma. They probably need to drop one of the spinners, and he would have been the most likely, as although they both bowled badly in Cardiff, he is the lesser batsman.
But can they drop one of the heroes of Cardiff?
The Olympic Stadium Rises
I drove past the London 2012 Olympic Stadium on the way to Dover to get the Norfolk Line ferry to Dunkirk. That may seem an illogical way to go, but if there was a serious accident on the M25, I’ll miss the boat.
London Olympic Stadium Rises
Not much there that’s visible yet, but then most of a building is underground and in the framework. The site appeared very busy with lots of cranes and equipment. But as it was Sunday, there was only a small number of people. That in itself is probably a good sign, as they’re not late yet.
Richard Dunwoody Finishes
At 2:20 in the afternoon today on the July racecourse in Newmarket, Richard Dunwoody finished his heroic walk.
Richard Dunwoody Finishes
This is the moment when he crossed the line. Richard is in the white t-shirt behind the guy in the blue shirt. Lester Piggott is on his left in the grey suit.
Interviewed by the Press
I hope that the public have been generous in their donations.
Newmarket July Meeting – Day 3
Perhaps we might have better luck today.
- 13:30 – Crackdown, Montashem
- 14:00 – Big Audio, Emperor Claudius
- 14:35 – Al Khaleej, Captain Brilliance
- 15:10 – J J The Jet Plane, Paco Boy, Scenic Blast
- 15:45 – Bella Swan, Larehaan, Silent Secret
- 16:20 – Rock of Love, Master of Dance
I lost again.
This time two legs failed.
Hayley Turner
It is great to see Hayley Turner back riding after the injuries she received on the gallops.
She is a seriously good jockey, who last year rode 100 winners in a year. This is something that few jockeys do in long careers and it is something no lady jockey has done.
But Hayley is also almost unique in that she is a top class athlete, who is a coeliac. I’m one too. We’re all proud of you Hayley!
The Anonymous Widower 