The Olympic Torch Relay Will Pass the End of My Road
The Olympic Torch Relay has a rather good interactive map, which you can find by clicking here.
Just type in your postcode or town and set to full screen and then go round the map.
It actually passes the end of my road, by Dalston Junction station, probably just after 16:00 on Saturday, July 21st.
I have checked other places, which have significance for me, to see how near the torch goes.
It actually goes past Southgate Tube station, next to where I went to school at Minchenden. In fact it goes past the pub, where we used to drink, The Woolpack (July 25th)
It goes past Wood Green station, which I used to use regularly to get to my father’s printing works. (July 25th)
It goes all around Ipswich town centre and past where the Golden Panda used to be. (July 5th)
Blackburn Rovers are Relegated
One of the most historic clubs in the Premier League, Blackburn Rovers, was relegated last night.
It would appear that the new owners had no idea about what they had bought and BBC Radio 5 was saying last night, that they’d thought they’d bought a franchise which couldn’t be relegated and an endless cash chicken.
Someone emphasised the latter, by bringing a chicken to the match, complete with its own team shirt. Read the report in that new tabloid, the Guardian.
It is a very sad affair and is another club that has got into trouble because of inappropriate and/or stupid ownership.
I felt particularly upset last night for Dave Whelan. the Wigan owner, as his team sent them down. He had been a Blackburn player in the 1960 Cup Final, when he was carried off due to a broken leg.
Has Manchester City Bought the Premier League Title?
As today’s football draws to a close, it looks like nothing can stop Manchester City winning the Premier League Title. It just shows how unfair it is when those with the money always win.
The only hope is that the UEFA Financial Fair Play Rules bring a degree of discipline. These rules, incidentally, may hit Spain worse than anybody else, if the practices of Spanish clubs, I outlined here are stopped.
Has Steven Gerrard Come of Age?
You’d think that the headlines about Steven Gerrard this morning, would all have been about his performance in the FA Cup Final yesterday. The Times rated him at 6/10, but said he was rather a frustrated figure.
The biggest headline about himn today, is that he has signed a letter with Jamie Oliver, saying that cooking should be taught in schools, as a means of fighting obesity.
Coupled with his measured and thoughtful support for the new England manager, Roy Hodgson, it would appear that we are seeing a very different Steven Gerrard.
Cynics might argue though, that he wants the England captaincy.
Father and Son Footballers
They were talking about these on Radio 5 last night.
Perhaps I have a better memory, but the two pairs I know, weren’t mentioned.
Les Allen, who was in Spurs double-winning side of 1960-61, is the father of Clive and Bradley Allen, both of whom, had reasonably successful careers.
Roy Bailey, who was the goalkeeper in Ipswich’s First Division winning side of 1961-62, was the father of Manchester United’s goalkeeper, Gary Bailey.
The View From the North Bank of the Thames
After an excellent gluten-free sandwich and a coffee in the Starbucks by the Cutty Sark, I got onto the DLR again and travelled back to Island Gardens, where I walked along the North Bank of the Thames taking pictures.
Note you can just see the three masts of Cutty Sark in some of these pictures in front of HMS Ocean.
HMS Ocean Arrives At Greenwich
With a great deal of professionalism, the Navy’s largest ship, HMS Ocean, was positioned at Greenwich this morning.
She will act as a base for helicopters and Royal Marines during the Olympic Games.
Harry Plays the Statesman
Harry Redknapp doesn’t appear to be at all miffed he didn’t get the England job and to be fair, he’s very much played the statesman since Roy Hodgson was appointed, wishing him well and the best of luck. It’s reported here in the Metro.
To be fair though, I haven’t read much negative comment from players and other managers. Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher were both fulsome in their praise in an article in the Independent.
A Fiesty Debate In Paris
It would appear that it was a feisty debate in Paris between President Sarkozy and his challenger, Francois Hollande. But no one got in a knock out blow.
Now there’s an idea!
Perhaps the two of them, should meet in the boxing ring!
It would be a world-wide TV hit!
It’s Swimwear Buying Time Again
Judging by this picture of a London bus, it’s time to buy swimwear again.
H&M Swimwear Advert on a London Bus
Not me, as I don’t swim. And the advert wouldn’t apply to me personally, as I’m a man.
My late wife, C, was a manic and enthusiastic swimmer to say the least and every day before work, she’d swim umpteen lengths in the pool at Bedford Lodge Hotel in Newmarket. She used to wear out Speedo Endurance swimsuits regularly, and I used to watch eBay for when last year’s models were sold off for here. Do professional swimmers have suits and trunks made out of something more long-lasting, or does the sponsor just pay?
I remember in 2007, which was the year she died, that C decided she needed some summer clothes and that of course meant swimwear. Since her breast cancer a few years before, she always felt that she must look the best fifty-year-old on the beach, not out of vanity, but more to stick two fingers up to the cancer. Although, she was probably two polite to do that other than metaphorically.
So she bought tickets on easyJet and one Friday in April we took the plane to Nice and checked in at the Hotel Windsor, which is much recommended. We had a marvellous weekend in the sun.
It was the first of seven holidays that we took in that fateful year before she died in December of a cancer totally unrelated to that in her breast.
My biggest memory of that holiday, is that C decided to buy a couple of bikinis for the summer. So we headed to Gallerie Lafayette and for a couple of hours, she tried on most that were suitable in the shop, whilst I passed what I thought might be suitable or a different size over the door of the changing room. It was a difficult job, but someone had to do it. They got hard work that last summer she was alive.
The picture shows C on the beach on the island of Panarea. I think you can just see that she was wearing nail polish, something she rarely did except on holiday.
The Anonymous Widower 