Well, at least I hope they are.   However, if reports overnight are accurate then there is much cause for dancing in the streets at the extremities of the country.   But let`s start by giving credit where it`s due to my neighbour`s Gillingham who pulled off a 2-0 win on Tuesday evening away at Cambridge United to ease their relegation worries and continue their unbeaten run which now stretches to three games.   

Truro City were expecting a hard fought home game last evening against visiting Dorchester Town.  However, not injuries, not Covid but problems with fuel for the Dorchester team coach led to the game being postponed.   Now you might imagine that in this world of warped priorities teams required to make lengthy journeys in the Southern League Southern Section of the football pyramid would be classed as essential users.   But no.

Now to two remarkable results which, providing the reports are correct, have encouraged this midweek resume.  It seems that last night Fort William journeyed to Nairn County and came away with a 3-3 draw despite being two goals down twice during the match.   This was their very first point of the season and whilst they might still be anchored at the bottom of the Highland League table, this result must surely provide much encouragement for their upcoming fixtures..

Meanwhile, also last evening, Stoke Gabriel and Torbay Police FC (SG&TPFC) travelled to Great Torrington  and apparently managed a 2-1 win against Torridgeside Athletic which, if true, will bring their points tally after ten games this season to an unprecedented four.   They seem to be moving along nicely.

571 miles separate Stoke Gabriel in Devon from Fort William in the Scottish highlands -  at this rate of progress maybe they should meet up for an end of season celebration?

 

Let`s start on the bright side with a tale of two cities, where both Brechin in the Highland League and Truro in Southern League South each had good 4-1 wins against Forres Mechanics and Chesham United respectively.  The city of Southampton, meanwhile, is in deep mourning for the failure of the Saints to overcome visiting Wolves live before a worldwide television audience yesterday.   They were undone by a combination of a well taken Wolves goal, slack defending, absence of midfield creativity and a powder puff attack, all of which conspired to produce the 1-0 defeat.   Chelsea away next weekend - dancing in the streets decidedly on hold, to be fair.

However, continuing the brighter theme, Maidstone United won again, this time a convincing 3-0 win away at Bath City.   This result leaves them well clear of third place but marginally behind near neighbours Dartford who top the National League South following an impressive start to the season.   A local derby or two should be fun.   

And Gillingham also achieved a decent result, drawing 1-1 away at Oxford but it was our perennial minnows at the extreme ends of the country that produced expected defeats.   Fort William`s 3-0 reverse at Huntly was in keeping with their run of defeats although the manner and size of those defeats is nothing compared to the ritual double figure mauling suffered in previous seasons.  Hope springs eternal and all that.   In a similar vein, Stoke Gabriel and Torbay Police FC (STATPFC) continued a losing streak of their own,this time going down 6-1 away at Torpoint Athletic.  They will take comfort in Sidmouth Town keeping them off the bottom of the South West Peninsula League Premier East Division following Sidmouth`s 10-2 home defeat against Welton Rovers.

I`m often asked why I don`t follow teams that are more successful but I enjoy the uncertainty, the romance, the desperate hope that things will get better - so much more agreeable to follow clubs with whom I feel an affinity (Southampton was the first proper game I ever saw when my Dad took me to The Dell to see my then local team play in 1946) and the earnest hope that the minnows might one day turn into rainbow trout.  Mind you, they do say that it`s the hope that kills you.

Have a good week.

 

REASONS TO EMIGRATE..

They are of course many and varied but the last few days have provided yet more proof as to why some people feel the need to leave the country.

Now with due respect to my friends in the planning profession, there was once a criterion which suggested that when the time taken to plan, design, get approval for and build anything exceeds the useful life of that building, then at that point people emigrate.

The last few days here in the good ol` U of K have thrown up an even more likely criterion.  It`s the one that suggests that when the reaction to a Government announcement that there are no problems with fuel supplies and therefore people should not panic buy results in people rushing to the pumps to panic buy a commodity which is not in short supply anyway, then at that point people emigrate.   Well, the sensible ones at least.  I`m thinking about it.

 

THEY THINK IT`S ALL OVER....

Just a day or so ago this year`s Cricket County Championship came to a final conclusion.  At the end of it all, we were left with Warwickshire winning the trophy for the first time in nine years - no complaints about that, I`m genuinely pleased for them, their supporters and everyone at Edgbaston.   The day before, Hampshire, who were in with a shout to win the title themselves, fell just short of beating Lancashire, who won by just one wicket in a thrilling climax to a proper game of Division 1 cricket.

That left Lancashire with a chance for themselves to become champions, if Warwickshire failed to beat Somerset in their final game.   As we know now, Warwickshire emerged as champions, leaving Lancashire in second, Somerset third and Hampshire a close fourth.   It all added up to an interesting and hard fought conclusion to a long season played in difficult circumstances.

A special mention must go to Kent, however, who having won the T20 Blast Final last weekend, pulled off a spectacular victory over Middlesex to win Division 3 of the county championship and gain a well earned promotion.   Their performance in this the last of their four day games was spectacular, defying the odds to reach an unlikely 375-8 in the fourth innings to win by two wickets.  It has been a truly encouraging year for Kent who deserved the successes that came their way so late in the season.

So that`s it then?   Well it`s not quite all over on the domestic cricket front;  on Tuesday at Lord`s Warwickshire will be taking on Lancashire in the five day final of the Bob Willis Trophy - maybe Lancashire will have the chance for a little sweet revenge - but it should bring the 2021 season to a fitting closure.   After that game, if you thought it was all over, it will be then - more`s the pity.

LORD`S AND MASTERS...

I see that our lords and masters at the Marylebone Cricket Club have decreed that `batsmen` are no longer to be called `batsmen` but are instead simply to be referred to as `batters.`  This is to bring cricket up to date in a world of increasing diversity and inclusion.   Sounds good but could lead to some difficulties along the way.

For example, fielding positions could be next in line for renaming - third man may have to become third person?   Backward point and silly mid on may be challenged by those fearful of a backlash from those campaigning for equal rights for the intellectually challenged;  short square leg, fine leg and long leg might fall foul of those concerned about leg fetishism; short mid wicket might irk those who may be vertically challenged  and don`t get me started on cow corner.

I suppose I might be accused of being out of time, out of date or simply out of it, but I hope the MCC leave it at that and don`t meddle any more with the traditions of the game by pandering to the woke brigade.

 

The best laid plans and all that.  A visit to the Bluewater Shopping thingy is a bit stressful at the best of times and today that `retail experience` lived up to that reputation.   We only went there because Mrs. S. needed something in the ladies haute couture range in advance of our granddaughter`s upcoming wedding.   The signs were not good when the traffic reports included the information that there had been a mega jam in and around the Dartford Tunnel - traffic was queued up for miles on the M25 and there was a knock-on effect on the A2, which is the way we venture to Bluewater.

I wasn`t sure if the problem was once again the nutters protesting against the fact that not every house in the country has been adequately insulated or whether there had been a genuine medical emergency which required road closures.   Anyway we waited for the traffic reports to become a little more encouraging and set off only to encounter no problems except for a minor delay around the Bean Interchange where some spectacular road works are going on.

So far so good.   Mrs. S. went off on her expedition, I wandered around places like Marks and Spencer (they never have my size) and Waterstones bookshop (I didn`t have my reading glasses so that didn`t work);  I wondered about going for a coffee but decided I didn`t need one, needed to seek refuge from it all, so went back to sit in the car and await the call to tell me that ladies clothes shopping had concluded.  Turned on the radio on and was confronted by two things - Naga Munchetty being on the radio followed by Prime Minister`s Questions from the House of Commons.

What struck me about that was that it wasn`t PMQs at all but Deputy PM`s questions as Boris was in New York cocking something else up.  So we had Labour`s Deputy Leader, one Angela Rayner, who was laying in to Dominic Raab about how terrible it was that `hard working families` were facing Tory tax rises, rising energy bills, empty shelves in the supermarkets and the withdrawal of the temporary increase in  Universal Credit brought in to help struggling families during recent lockdowns.   And this diatribe all delivered as a kind of shrieking harridan-esque rant, accompanied by frequent references to Raab`s `holiday` in Greece or somewhere.

It all went on a bit - as they do - and it all simply reaffirmed the notion that these parliamentary fol-de-rols are as annoying as they are meaningless.   Fortunately it was interrupted by Mrs. S`s shopping quest ending albeit in a 0-0 draw with the purveyors of ladies fashion, so that was that.

On the way home it occurred to me that I had at least been spared the smugness of Naga Munchetty only to hear the risibility of our elected representatives.  It also occurred to me that, whilst being of an age to have enjoyed a free tv licence for some years only for it to be withdrawn following another government/BBC broken promise, our MPs have their tv licences paid on expenses by taxpayers such as us pensioners struggling to survive on a fixed income in difficult financial times. (Something else you couldn`t make up?)

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this rant, then you can always contact the BBC helpline - calls charged at your standard network rate - and they will tell you how wonderful they are and not to worry.  After all, they`re over the rainbow at the end of the yellow brick road - just like Naga, our MPs and the Bluewater ladies fashion outlets.

 

Just about sums up another weekend`s football, but maybe every weekend is the same?   Let`s start with the good and what could be better than Southampton securing an unlikely 0-0 draw away at Manchester City.  To say that the Etihad is a difficult place to go to is a real understatement, especially as City`s last three home games had seen them score 16 goals.

So a sterling effort and excellent performance by the Saints who were arguably unlucky not to come away with all three points but for some controversial VAR intervention which denied them a nailed on penalty.

More good news with Maidstone United progressing to the next round of the FA Cup following a good 3-1 win away at Chichester City and Brechin City progressing in the Scottish Cup with a resounding 5-0 home win against Vale of Leithen.  That`s probably it for the good news.

On to the bad;  beginning with a 3-0 defeat for Fort William away at East Stirlingshire - the club where Ferguson learnt his trade as a pugnacious bruiser.  Maybe the Fort`s defeat was nowhere near as bad as might have been predicted - signs of an improved season ahead?  I will gloss over Gillingham`s 4-1 home defeat by MK Dons and also Truro City`s narrow defeat away at Hungerford in the FA Cup as they can now concentrate on improving their league position.

I`m afraid the ugly came at the expense of our old friends Stoke Gabriel and Torbay Police FC (SGATBFC) who suffered a 7-1 drubbing at home against Elmore in the South West Peninsula Premier League East Division.   Our heroes are still not bottom of the table, however, thanks to the three points they gained in an early victory over Sidmouth Town.  That honour goes to Sidmouth themselves who have yet to record any points at all and currently have a goal difference of -27.   SGATBFC are no doubt basking in the fact that their current goal difference is a mere -25.

So, that`s the good, the bad and the ugly for this week. For some a fistful of points, others might need a few points more.......(I`ll get me coat.)

 

Well, it`s mid September.  It`s a long time from May to December and the Autumn weather turns the leaves to flame.   And the days of Summer and cricket dwindle down to a precious few.  Sometimes the cricket season goes out with a whimper, shoulders are shrugged, a resigned acceptance kicks in and attention turns, however unwillingly, to the anxieties of being a football follower.  It`s just the way it is, some things will never change.

Yesterday was one of those dreamy, balmy, September days when the sun was high, the air was warm and comforting - just the sort of day to be outside, breathing it in and enjoying just being.   Trouble was, there was the T20 Finals Day on the television, beginning late morning and going on until late evening and it is one of those days when cricket reminds you that it has so much to offer that it becomes compulsive viewing.   My day was further complicated by the fact that the two cricket clubs I follow were both in action.   At the start, I considered whether I would prefer Hampshire or Kent to win the trophy but I concluded that as they might both fail to even reach the final, it really wouldn`t matter too much if either of them did.  Or indeed both of them.  Either way, it would be win-win or lose-lose.

The first semi-final in the morning saw Somerset snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, leaving Hampshire to rue the fact that they had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.  One down, let`s hope for a better outcome for Kent.  In the second semi-final, they overcame neighbouring Sussex with a controlled display with the lowlight perhaps being Jordan Cox`s golden duck.

And so to the evening final between Kent and Somerset, neither of whom had won the trophy for more years than either cared to remember.   And what a final it was, with Cox turning from zero to hero with a wonderful half century to set Somerset a challenging run chase.  More to the point, Cox excelled in the field - one spectacular catch was followed by an extraordinary piece of athletic awareness to palm the ball back from the boundary not only to prevent a six but also so that Matt Milnes could take a vital catch to dismiss Somerset captain Lewis Gregory.   Somerset had no answer as Kent almost seamlessly moved to win the game and the T20 title by 25 runs.  Cue dancing in the streets of the Garden of England.

So, whilst there might still be the odd game to play before the curtain finally comes down on yet another season, yesterday ensured that cricket went out not with its customary whimper but with a resounding bang.  Here`s a reminder of why.....

Maybe next year it might be Hampshire?

 

(Please click on photo for full effect)

......of this happening, I wonder. I was floating in  a most peculiar way when I saw it. I`d taken my protein pills and put my helmet on, checked ignition and God`s love was with me; the stars looked very different today but I`m feeling very still;.maybe my circuit`s dead? 

I also wonder what music is going through your head right now......

 

  Just about sums up a quite extraordinary sporting weekend.  A case of all action, some action and no action at all.   I`ll follow the rest of the world first by saying what a fantastic achievement it was by Emma Raducanu to win the US Open tennis grand slam title.  I see she was born in Canada but moved to the UK when she was two years old but despite claims from our Canadian friends that the final was between two Canadians, here in the UK we are claiming Emma as one of our own.  

And here in Kent we are claiming that she is a Kentish maid, albeit denying the fact that the bit of Kent she comes from is now within the London Borough of Bromley.   Great stuff though, Emma - very well done.  (I wonder if a bandwagon is revving up in Downing Street as bookmakers are opening books on how long before our Emma, a-la Blair knighting Ferguson, becomes Dame Emma?)

From that high we had the unedifying spectacle of no action at all in the fifth Test Match between England and India at Old Trafford which was called off, ostensibly due to panic in the Indian camp following a Covid outbreak among their non-playing group.   I just wondered whether that might have been a cunning plan to avoid playing the game which would have seen an England win levelling the series and sharing the points in the World Test Championship. 

 But perhaps that is unfair when the reality seems to be an acknowledgement that the power in the game now clearly resides with those players who seem more concerned to fulfil their lucrative IPL contracts than pay respectful homage to the traditions of the game.  Not a good look though - and as for playing the `deciding game` next summer, forget it, just award the game to England, call the series squared and move on.

In other news, a mixture of highs, lows and indifferences in the world of football. In a sense, Southampton`s neighbourly diplomatic friendly 0-0 draw at home to West Ham mirrored Emma being the first British woman tennis player to win a Grand Slam in 44 years.   Before Saturday`s encounter the Saints had gone 24 games without managing to keep a clean sheet - it just felt like 44 years.  

Another high was Brechin City`s 3-1 win away at Nairn County which keeps them on track for a swift return to the Scottish League Two and Maidstone United`s 2-2 draw with Concord Rangers (me neither) extended their  unbeaten run and kept them second in the table, whilst my other neighbour`s Gillingham secured a creditable 1-1 draw away at Burton Albion.  

But that was it really - a succession of dismal failures by the plucky minnows I also follow saw Truro City lose 1-0 at home to Beaconsfield Town;  Fort William lose 10-3 against high flying Inverurie Loco Works; and Stoke Gabriel and Torbay Police FC (SG&TBPFC) lose 6-2 away at AFC Torridgeside - a nice day out at Great Torrington though.

So in summary it looks like two wins (Emma and Brechin City;) three draws (Saints, Gillingham and Maidstone;)  three defeats and one non-event.   Well, sport is supposed to be about highs and lows, to be fair.  Try again next week.

 

AMONG MY SOUVENIRS...

Digging around in a box of old photos I came across this one which was taken in February 1960 - 61 years ago.  It was the depths of winter in the bleakness of Catterick in North Yorkshire and it shows the `intake` of regular and National Servicemen who were lumped together in Bourlon Barracks smiling for the camera with gritted teeth.  Not to have done so would have amounted to the breach of Queen`s Regulations concerning `good order and military discipline.`

We had been thrown together a few weeks before the photo was taken and were getting to grips with the rigours of `basic training` which, as you can see, involved the application of a large quantity of Brasso.  We were a pretty random bunch - four of those shown in the photo had signed on as regular soldiers;  the rest, myself included, had been conscripted to do our 730 days of national service.

Looking back now it has brought back memories of those times, those companions and made me wonder what might have become of them.  

The two standing at the back are myself on the left and Alan Muntz.  He came from Hounslow in what used to be Middlesex.  He didn`t take too well to army life but he did have a Hillman Husky.  On the very few occasions we were granted leave long enough to make the journey back down south, Alan used to pick me up at Victoria Station around 10.00pm and we would drive through the night back up to Catterick, sharing the driving and arriving just in time for reveille the next morning.

The four in the middle - left to right John Newton from Normanton; Louis Yankey from Manchester; Dave Fry from Battersea and Brian Mincher from West Hartlepool.  John was one of army life`s unfortunates in that he found almost every aspect of army life difficult;  the rest of us helped him through it as best we could.  Louis was very `keen` - a good man to have around and I heard just the other day on a Facebook site devoted to `old comrades` that he is still around and doing OK - good to know.  Dave Fry was a bit of a rebel - most mornings he was reluctant to get out of bed, resulting in him and his bedding being thrown across the barrack room by the visiting drill corporal.  But it was Brian Mincher who introduced me to the world of heroic blasphemy;  every other word was less than  polite and some left me with no clue at all as to their meaning. It reached the point whereby the constant stream of expletives ceased to have any meaning at all.

The three at the front - Billy Kirkham, another from Manchester, had signed on and was destined to be a regular soldier - one who could do anything the army demanded and it was right that he won the `best recruit` accolade at the end of our basic training.   Dave Proctor in the middle was from Sheffield and we became good mates - we seemed to get on and enjoyed each other`s company.  Last but not least Jimmy McGoldrick, on the right, came from Paisley - another who had signed on for an army career and another who was cut out for the life. 

(There is one person missing - Mick Watkins from Tewkesbury, who took the photo  -he was the only one with a camera.)

After our basic training, we then went our separate ways into `trade training` and eventually to our individual regiments.  I was despatched to the 10th Royal Hussars stationed at Paderborn in what was then West Germany but the rest of our `intake` were scattered to the  military winds across the globe and so we lost touch with each other, have never seen or heard from each other ever since.  But the slings and arrows of those first outrageous weeks spent together live long in the memory, some for good reason, some not so good.  Whatever might have befallen those companions over all those years, I hope the world has been as kind to them as it has been to me.

 THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT ?

The worried look on this troubled face is bordering on despair. Shame really, as this is Dame Hillary Mantel - best selling author and twice Booker Prize winner and you might imagine that after all the fame and fortune she has garnered over the years she might be inclined to live peacefully and enjoy the fruits of her labours.

But no.   In a recent interview with (I think) an Italian newspaper she declared that she was pretty fed up with the UK and had a pop at Boris Johnson, the monarchy as an institution and said she felt `ashamed` at many aspects of life in post-Brexit UK.

"I might breathe easier in a republic and may be able to arrange it.  I hope to loop back to my family story and become an Irish citizen,"  She added, "Our projected move has been held back by Covid but as much as I love where I live now in the West Country, by the sea, I feel the need to be packing my bags and to become a European again."  She said that she had always been conscious of belonging to an Irish family even though both her parents were English.

All of which seems a great pity.   Given that through her work she has given so much to the cultural and intellectual wellbeing of the UK, her mere presence in what was once this green and pleasant land will surely be missed.   If she has seen the light, I hope she will not look back in the mirror with any regret.

 

That`s all there is to report this weekend, I`m afraid.   As mentioned in my last post, no game for Southampton and no game either for a number of my other teams.   Sadly, my neighbour`s Gillingham had their game against Charlton called off due to international call-ups and Brechin City`s game against Brora Rangers was also postponed due to a Covid outbreak among the Brora ranks.  Fort William`s game against Buckie Thistle didn`t go ahead as Thistle were playing Inverness in a Scottish Cup match.

Where play was possible, Truro City had a comfortable home win 3-1 against near(ish) neighbours Exmouth Town in an FA Cup qualifying game and Maidstone United continued their successful start to the season with a 3-1 win away at Oxford City to keep them in second place in the table.

And finally to the combined force of Stoke Gabriel and Torbay Police FC who went down 1-0 at home to Okehampton Argyle, who are in the top half of the South West Peninsula Premier Division East league table, so it was a very narrow reverse for our Devon heroes who seem to be on the fringe of a revival, sitting three places above the bottom of the table. 

That`s it really - not much to report but what little there has turned out to be encouraging.  Next week might well be a different story.

 

A SHOT IN THE ARM ?

Well, it`s the `international break` which means that there is no Southampton game for me to worry about today, although a few Saints players are away on international duty with teams like Mali, Poland, Norway and  Scotland.   So my attention is drawn elsewhere this morning and being of a certain age I have been following the news about the so called `booster` jab, aka the third injection.

There seems to be - not for the first time - a good deal of confusion in government circles, this time about to whom the booster jab might be applied.  The criteria seem to change almost daily, to the extent that as of this morning I`m not sure whether I will qualify for it or not.  I`m sure it`s right that those with serious health issues should be high on the list along with NHS and care home staff but there`s a debate about younger people and the elderly - who seem recently to have been defined as those over 50. (I remember it well.)

I`m pretty fit apart from a wonky knee and as far as I know I have no underlying health issues that might push me higher up the list and so I`m interested in what the final qualifications for the booster jab might be.  Despite all of that, surely being a Saints fan and an aficionado of teams such as Brechin City, Fort William and Stoke Gabriel, to name but a few, must make me eligible as a suitable case for treatment given the severe anguish and underlying mental health issues associated with such a predilection?

Just asking.

OP 

HERE WE GO AGAIN...

Back in the Summer we had the unlikely venue of Carbis Bay in Cornwall for the meeting of the G7.   I suspect the good folk of Cornwall might still be counting the cost in all sorts of ways.   And now it`s the turn of Glasgow, of all places, to host the latest round of Climate Change `Conferences` stretching for ten days - yes, ten days - from 31 October to 12 November.  It`s known as COP 26 and the aim of this `summit` is to `bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.`   The UK is apparently `committed to working with all countries and joining forces with civil society, companies and people on the frontline of climate change to inspire action......`    You get the drift here.

The scale of the whole thing is mind blowing - 30,000 delegates from 200 countries, thousands of protesters, phalanxes of police and security and press and media representatives -  a cast of thousands making the production for an event that would outstrip any Cecil B de Mille production.   The logistics about travel, accommodation, Covid things and stuff like that are challenging - as is the effect it will have on the good folk of Glasgow, the environment and the emissions contributing to global warming that the event is supposedly concerned with.

And then we have Greta.  Or maybe not. She has been a bit quiet of late, having had a year off before resuming her schooling and the silence has bordered on being golden.   Sadly, she is back in business, this time having a right go at the UK for not doing enough to meet her demands and also dismissing Scotland`s claim to be a `world leader` in approaching climate change.   She has graciously stated that she may not attend Cop 26 `unless it is safe to do so with delegates from all countries being vaccinated` but if she does she will be travelling by train - presumably not a diesel locomotive.  I wonder if she has actually been invited to attend or whether she feels she can just turn up anyway.

Not for the first time I have found it not only astonishing but also seriously disappointing that the world, his wife, the Pope and heads of governments across the globe actually take seriously the shrill `demands` of this unedifying adolescent who seems to have achieved a kind of misplaced acceptance in a world which seems terrified of denying her clamorous persona.   She`s not the Messiah, she`s just a very annoying young lady.