A TOUCH OF CLASS...

Like the rest of the football family, we supporters of Southampton FC also mourn the tragic loss of Leicester City`s excellent owner, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, in the horrendous helicopter crash the other evening.   Of course, this awful event has been felt not only by the fans of Leicester City but also by the city itself which has joined together to pay tribute to a man who gave so much to the football club and to the city as a whole.   Quite properly, tonight`s scheduled cup game between Leicester and Southampton has been postponed - I can`t imagine anyone associated with either club has a football match at the forefront of their mind - it almost seems irrelevant now,

This has brought back equally sad memories for us Saints fans as we lost our own highly respected owner, Markus Liebherr, who passed away suddenly following a heart attack eight years ago, having rescued the club from near extinction and overseen its rise from League One back to the Premier League.   So we feel for Leicester supporters perhaps a little more deeply than fans of other clubs - we`ve been through that experience and we know what it`s like.

I remember going to St. Mary`s Stadium just after Markus had left us and was amazed at the floral tributes left by fans with sadness and thanks for all he had done for the club.  Here`s a photo of that occasion which is so clearly replicated now outside Leicester`s King Power Stadium ....

Both represent the warmth of feeling for the respective club owners and the true sense of loss  felt by supporters of both clubs.  Now,  I don`t wish to enter a note of irreverence here but I vividly recall seeing a red plastic duck - the kind you might have in a bath - placed firmly among the floral bouquets in honour of Markus and it occurred to me at the time that one bereft Saints fan had woken up to the news of Markus`s death and decided that he or she must dash down to the shops, buy a red plastic duck and place it among the floral tributes outside St. Mary`s. 

I`m sure it was well meant but I suspect the tributes outside the stadium in Leicester might have perhaps a little more of a touch of class about them?  Or maybe there`s not much demand for blue plastic ducks in Leicester.

From our golf correspondent.......

It has been many months since I last reported on Snopper`s golfing antics due to the fact that he has apparently been occupied with other more pressing matters.   So it was with a mixture of surprise and incredulity that he was spotted the other day taking on the notoriously easy 9-hole course at nearby Poult Wood.

He seemed to have prepared himself well for this tentative re-entry into the royal and ancient game (reports confirmed that he had loaded up his trolley with enough golf balls to ensure he shouldn`t run out) although it must be said that his deportment and course management were perhaps more a little cordon noir than befitting that of a style guru and fashion icon.

No matter, it`s the game that matters and, having lost just two of his precious golf balls on the first three holes, he began to re-awake his slumbering mojo and played reasonably over the rest of his round which included his usual repertoire of deft touches, wild swings and a healthy slice of good fortune, all of which might encourage him to continue into the coming winter months.

So it was good to see the return of this shambling figure, now well into his 80th year,  back in the swing of things and, as an impartial critic observed from the gallery, "That`s one small  step for Snopper, one giant leap for mediocrity."

Years ago I had a bit of a dabble in stocks and shares but it didn`t go well, so I bailed out although I held on to my paltry amount of shares in the now defunct Southampton Leisure Holdings Ltd, the then parent company of Southampton FC.  That all went pear shaped as well, so these days I don`t normally follow the ups and downs of the stock markets.

But it seems that the FTSE, the DAX and other leading markets have got the jitters again.  No great surprise except that the reason for these latest wobbles is all down to the way the Italian government and, of course, the EU Commission are behaving.

Not too long ago, there was a general election in Italy which saw the rise of the more populist, largely Euro-sceptic parties on the promise of spending more lire on mainly social issues such as increasing wages for the most poorly paid.  No wonder they romped home.

Now, as is the custom in the EU each member state is obliged to present its proposed budget for `approval` by the EU Commission and the Commission has `rejected` Italy`s budget and asked them to think again, reduce their proposed expenditure levels and resubmit their budget in three weeks time.

Now unless I`m misreading the situation in Italy, there was a general election which was won by the coalition of the populist Five Star and Norther League parties, who made pre-election promises to the voters which they are now seeking to implement through this budget.   I think it`s called democracy and however daft, trivial, dangerous the issues which won the day at the ballot box may have been, nevertheless that`s what the majority of Italians voted for and expect to be delivered.

Ring a bell?   The parallels are obvious, of course, and this is yet another example of the EU denying the democratic process and is yet another example of why people like me voted over two years ago to leave the dictatorial, remote, largely unaccountable EU and opt instead to reclaim our national sovereignty and have our destiny, whatever it may turn out to be, in our own hands.  

I accepted then and I still do, that the decision taken by the majority to leave the EU would have consequences, that there would in all probability be some initial financial and other effects but that as a resolute and resilient nation we would be more than capable of riding the storm and coming out the other side all the better for it. 

But the EU plot continues to thicken - Ireland, Greece, Maastricht, now Italy - and they continue to frustrate our own 2016 referendum as well.  And the more they do so,, the more the remainers march and rant about another `people`s vote`, the more determined I and I suspect still the majority in this country will be to get out while the going`s good.

A GAP IN THE HEDGE..

Such glorious weather for late October - dry, warm and sunny - just the sort of days to tempt you out and explore local surroundings.   Dudley, our retriever puppy, is now six months old and although he has done very well in his training classes (he has the certificate to prove it) he really needs to explore the world around him and so he has been introduced to the North Downs, the Pilgrims Way and the North Downs Way, all very accessible just a short drive from home.

The Pilgrims Way is especially interesting, steeped in history as the route taken by pilgrims heading to Canterbury and we are lucky in this area to have a stretch of this long distance footpath which follows the line of the north downs and affords spectacular views of the Kent countryside.   The photo above which I took yesterday through a gap in the hedge shows the  hillsides  bright with autumnal green as the winter crops emerge and seemingly thrive in this good weather.

Here`s another photo I took, this time of the church at Trottiscliffe which nestles beneath the north downs and provides a quintessential image of rural England at its finest.......

And just to prove that not all the footpaths around here are dark or even a little forbidding, here`s a photo of the path from the village leading up the hill to the escarpment above.......

It`s more than an eye opener to discover what lies just beyond your doorstep.......

I guess it`s just the way life is.  You take one step forward and two steps back.  And today`s news has  confirmed that my own place in the great scheme of things has taken an unexpected step back  - which came as a bit of a surprise.

Now I`m sure that, like me, you were overwhelmed with joy at the news that Princess Meghan, the former Catholic, mixed race, foreign, divorcee, now laughably known as the Duchess of Sussex is going to have a baby in the Spring of next year.   It is, of course, a matter of limitless excitement and anticipation for me, to the extent that I can hardly wait until next Spring to  celebrate the arrival of yet another edition to the burgeoning royal family.

Don`t get me wrong - I hope all goes well for Prince Harry, the aforementioned Princess Meghan and their new arrival - I`m sure they will have a happy and glorious life as a family blessed with the knowledge that they will spend their lives in privileged splendour.

But I wonder if they will ever spare a thought for the fact that their newborn royal family member will be ninth in line for the throne with the result that I will thus be relegated to 59,573,976th in the line of succession.

It`s the same with my golf - for one reason or another I have been absent from the royal and ancient game for a few months and in the worldwide rankings I have now slipped out of the top 259,000,000 on the Richter Scale.  

So all in all, my life seems to be taking backward steps and as Paul Simon predicted it seems the nearer my destination the more I`m slip sliding away.   I need an upturn so I`ll get back to the driving range and stay well away from Kensington Palace.

A SPECIAL LOYALTY..

I`m not sure I`ve got too many heroes but here`s one of them  Matthew Le Tissier spent the whole of his footballing career at Southampton, in the process scoring 161 goals in 443 games for the club.  And what goals they were - mostly stemming from his natural talent and more often than not keeping Southampton in the top echelon of domestic football season after season.

His talent was never in doubt but some, perhaps more hard nosed taskmasters, questioned his commitment - his `work rate` - which limited his international appearances for England to just eight games.  Perhaps too he was guilty of playing for the `wrong club,` as Southampton have almost always been viewed as provincial, unfashionable and a little out of the way.

Now, he had a number of offers to leave the old ground at The Dell and move to the big cities and be paid more handsomely than the Saints could ever afford.   But he resisted such moves, preferring instead to be as close to his Guernsey roots as he could be and feeling a deep and special sense of loyalty to the club which had given him the chance to pursue his professional career in an environment in which he felt valued and comfortable.

I was privileged to watch him play on a number of occasions and to attend his testimonial game at the spanking new St. Mary`s Stadium after his retirement.   Oh, and I still have my own Sanderson shirt in the wardrobe. 

Today is MLT`s 50th birthday (one of that rare breed who is known simply by his initials) and I wish him well and thank him for the years of entertainment, loyalty and breathtaking brilliance that he brought to my club.   

OH TO BE.....

What a beautiful day yesterday.   Dry, warm, sunny with temperatures in the mid-20s Celsius.  (Will we get Fahrenheit back after 19th March next year, I wonder?)   And during a lull in my frantic day, I looked up the webcam for the King Harry Ferry, which plies its trade across the River Fal in the heart of Cornwall.

No doubt risking a fine for breach of copyright, I took this photo of the image that appeared on my PC desktop, downloaded it from my camera onto the PC, fiddled with it in Picasa3, saved it in a pictures folder then uploaded it on to here.   And it looked like a beautiful day down in Cornwall too and I sat and watched as the live webcam showed the ferry drifting slowly across the river from the Feock side to the Roseland and back again.

It all seemed to sum up the pace of life down there - people were waiting patiently for the ferry to complete its crossing, some got out of their cars and watched the world go by and I was reminded of the Cornish `dreckly` - things will happen when they do rather than in any sort of hurry.

I`ve made that crossing a number of times, the last time returning to our holiday cottage at Rosevine, a stone`s throw from Portscatho on the Roseland peninsula.   That is the side of the river you can see in this photo - the leaves on the oaks are turning into their Autumnal rust and the air of peace and calm made me think how good it would have been to  be there yesterday.   (As ever, please click on the photo for a better image.)

A BLAST FROM THE PAST....

I know my limits.   There`s only so far I can go to keep up with modern day technology but at least I have a go.  Most of the time.  But there are times when I have to concede defeat and just give up.

Probably against my better judgement I have a Facebook account.  I find it handy to keep in touch with friends and things that interest me and last night one of my `friends` from way back when started a thread on his Facebook page by posting a photo of himself in his army days and inviting others, like me, to upload a photo from our own military days and share it on our respective timelines.   It was then that I just gave up.

So the best thing I could think of doing was to post a photo on my blog here and let the world and his wife know about it.   Now I couldn`t find a photo of just me but I found the one above which shows the No. 1 Guard of the 10th Royal Hussars with yours truly tucked away in the third row, sixth in from the left.  (Please click on the photo for a better image.)

As you can see, we all looked resplendent in our blues with white webbing and our swords mercifully at ease at our sides. We had been hand picked for our smartness, our ability to obey orders and to march in time with the music, turn right and left and stop when shouted at.  We were the regiment`s creme de la creme, the tour de force, the enviable face of the British Army of the Rhine and in this photo we were either just going onto the parade ground or having just come off it, having played a pivotal role in the formal presentation of the Guidon (new colours) to the regiment by the Duke of Gloucester.

It had been a very hot day in the middle of the long hot German summer of 1961 but we performed our choreographed sword drilling intricacies without too much of a hitch.  After all, we had been fine tuned and trained with whips and stools for about six weeks prior to the big day so no wonder we were up for it.

Looking back these 57 years to that day left me wondering what today`s snowflake generation would make of being conscripted in two years of National Service.  Maybe it`s just as well for them that they`re unlikely to find out.

NURSE !!(PART TWO)..

In what has become an extraordinary week, once more I find myself in a state of disbelief.   Following on from the Saints cup win against Everton the other night, last night saw our Golden Retriever puppy, Dudley, awarded the accolade of Puppy of the Week.

For some weeks now he has been attending puppy training classes and he, along with his fellow pooches, has been learning the trade - things like sitting down when asked nicely, coming back when called, walking on the lead and going down on the ground when told - all pretty basic canine stuff but vital if they are to enjoy a safe and happy life.

And each week one of the puppies has been chosen as the Puppy of the Week, based on the progress made and the `performance` on the night.   Either that or it`s dished out in turn so as not to hurt their feelings (or more likely those of the owners.)  Be that as it may, Dudley was awarded the trophy last night and will wear the crown until next week, when the tests become a little more exacting, involving things like differential calculus and the basics of quantum physics.

I think you can put the smelling salts away again, thank you Nurse. 

NURSE!!!

Pass the smelling salts.  I`m having an attack of the vapours.   Can it be true?

Well, it seems it is.  The Saints have actually won a game.  OK, it was only some rinky-dink League Cup game away at Everton and it was only achieved thanks to a nail-biting penalty shoot-out.  But a win`s a win.

It was all a bit odd really.  Manager Mark Hughes made a lot of changes from the team that lost against Wolves on Saturday and brought in `fringe` players who were hoping to catch the manager`s eye for a regular starting place.  And it seemed to work.   Just before half time, Danny Ings converted Nathan Redmond`s shrewd pass to put the Saints one goal up and they held on right up to the 85th minute when former Saint Theo Walcott equalised for the Toffees.  

The Everton team included two other former Saints players - midfield stalwart Morgan Schneiderlin and goalkeeper Marten Stekelenburg - and it was perhaps fitting that in the penalty shoot-out that followed the full time 1-1 scoreline, it was Walcott whose penalty was saved by Saints keeper Angus Gunn which led to Cedric Soares rifling home the winning penalty past the despairing Stekelenburg.

So, Saints won 4-3 on penalties and secured an away trip to former Saints manager Claude Puel`s Leicester City.  (Difficult place to go to. the King Power Stadium.)  But let`s hope this morale boosting win (first win at Everton in 21 years) will be the springboard for more success in the Premier League in weeks to come.  Oh, I`ve just realised it`s Chelsea on Sunday.  Oh well, put the smelling salts back in the box.