It seems almost futile to mention football now that Mr. Covid is wreaking a good deal of havoc with our lives.  It`s worrying to see the number of cases of the corona virus spiralling (over 50,000 here in the UK just yesterday) along with the prospect of the NHS becoming overstretched, if not overwhelmed.

But football goes on - at least in the upper reaches of the game - even though the number of confirmed cases is growing in the game and a number of matches are called off as a result.  It`s questionable whether, along with the other more stringent restrictions expected today, football should be allowed to continue until it becomes sensible to resume.

In the circumstances it`s perhaps forgivable that some players` minds are elsewhere and performances on the field of play are perhaps a little short of what we are used to.  A good example is Southampton, not helped by a series of injuries and their manager, Ralph Husenhattl, absent and having to self isolate as a member of his household has tested positive for the virus.  The Saints have now gone four matches without winning and failing to score in three of them.  For us supporters that might be a bit disappointing but ninth place in the Premier League with 26 points indicates a solid season so far.

So last night`s 0-0 draw with West Ham is not only forgivable but, for me at least, politically correct, having a good friend who is a West Ham fan and near neighbours of a similar disposition.  Elsewhere in my football world there is not much to write home about either.  Gillingham crashed to a 3-1 defeat last night away at Northampton and Forest Green Rovers went down 2-1 at home to Crawley Town, despite which they remain second in the League Two table.

My new found heroes of Brechin City played in the first round of the Scottish Cup on Boxing Day but went down 3-2 to non-league Linlithgow Rose;  Truro City are in hibernation along with Stoke Gabriel and Maidstone United`s FA Trophy game at home against Frome Town was called off when the Somerset club declined to travel from their Tier 3 base to Maidstone in Tier 4.

So, all is all, a `festive period` to forgive, forget and move on.  To be fair.

 REAR VIEW MIRROR...

Well, it`s that time of the year - the quiet, dull interregnum between the festive conformity of Christmas and the turn of another year.  I think it was Alan Parsons who wrote a song about the turn of a friendly card and after 2020 has finally had its way with us we could do with a friendly turn and perhaps - perhaps - we might have some things to look forward to in 2021.

And it seems `traditional` to use these few grim days to reflect on the year just ending and look forward to what next year might bring.   So here goes....

.....but first a little self indulgence.  You see, some months ago I conducted a poll to determine whether I should keep on with this blog or whether my dear reader had had enough.   I was touched by the overwhelming support I received which encouraged me to carry on and I`m pleased I did because as the year progressed there seemed so much to go on about. 

But on a personal level the year, like for so many other people, has had its ups and downs. We had a holiday booked for April in the New Forest but, thanks to Mr. Covid, that got cancelled and has been rebooked for next April - well, we`ll see.  We did manage a week in west Dorset with some family comings and goings, which made for a welcome change from the months of restricted activity.

Similarly, but much more importantly, our eldest granddaughter was due to get married in November but Mr. Covid put paid to that as well.  The wedding has been rearranged for next April so we`re all hoping it can go ahead then and that, by then, the restrictions imposed by the pandemic might at least be lifted enough for a happy family day.

Speaking of pandemics, the anti-Covid vaccinations are allegedly being `rolled out` and, being of a certain age, I am expecting the call to go and get jabbed;  I`ve obviously missed out on the first batch so maybe 2021 will begin with me having the first of the two vaccinations that will be needed.  I seriously cannot understand those who are refusing to be vaccinated - maybe, like Spain, HM Gov. should keep a secret list of those refuseniks?

I`ve missed going to the cricket at Canterbury, I`ve missed going to the football at St. Mary`s and I`ve been saddened by the loss of some good friends and some well known departures including Diana Rigg and Peter Green.  I do the occasional `obituary` - there are 35 of them throughout these pages and I`ve been looking through this year`s posts and if I had to pick one out that I have been most pleased with then I think it would be this one from last January.......

https://snoppersays.blogspot.com/search?q=Tommy+Pinkham  (to view, please highlight the link, right click and there`s an option to `go to....)

Seems to me that the trials and tribulations we are currently experiencing are as nothing compared to those which were experienced in the days of Tommy Pinkham`s heroics.  

 

....and all good wishes for a happier 2021....

 WHERE THE HEART IS ?

The picture above shows just one side of Glebe Park, the football ground of Brechin City FC, currently plying their trade in Scottish League Two.   Now you might be wondering why I would show this photo and go on a bit about Brechin City.   Well, the explanation is simple.

Aficionados of these pages will by now be bored witless by my penchant for following the fortunes of lesser known football clubs - Fort William, Stoke Gabriel, etc.  I`m not alone in that endeavour as I have a good friend in Southampton, like me a lifelong Saints fan, who follows Stenhousemuir and there was a time when he and I were planning to visit when they played East Stirling, only for the latter to get relegated from the Scottish League.

Now I have also been wandering through my 2018 version of the AA large scale road atlas of Great Britain and I came across a cluster of small(ish) Scottish towns in close proximity to each other to the south of Aberdeen.  Places like Montrose, Forfar, Arbroath and Brechin, who all have professional football teams playing in the Scottish League.  In terms of `performance` on the field of play, pride of place must go to Arbroath who are well settled in the Scottish Championship.  Montrose and Forfar play in Scottish League One (where Forfar are currently bottom) and Brechin play in League Two (and are also currently bottom.)

So naturally in order of priority I started finding out about Brechin City - yes, it`s a proper city with a lovely cathedral and a football club that goes to the very heart of what running and supporting a football club is all about.   For example, it is thought to be the only professional club in  Europe whose perimeter (Glebe Park) is surrounded by a hedge, of which the club is rightly proud.   And I discovered a short documentary which seems to encapsulate the spirit of the club and the affection it breeds in the hearts of its supporters.   Here it is:-

                       I`ll certainly be following their progress from here on in.         

 

I know the rest of the world is going bonkers but there`s really no excuse for the world of sport to follow likewise.  For example, I see that the International Olympics Committee (IOC) has decreed that `sports` such as break dancing and climbing up walls are to be included in the next Olympics, wherever and whenever that might be.   There`s also the inclusion of another `sport` which involves running around and jumping over an assortment of architectural features in various cities - the name of this bizarre pastime escapes me - but it makes me wonder how long we have to wait before other recreational activities are included.  Maybe dog walking, sheep shearing, pheasant shooting and those old standbys vole strangling or even barbed wire hurdling?

I stopped watching the BBC Sports Personality of the Year some time ago and I`m so glad I missed seeing this year`s edition which took up most of BBC 1 on Sunday evening.  There are so many problems and issues surrounding that annual fol-de-rol that make it utterly avoidable.  I am suspicious of the fact that the short list of candidates is apparently drawn up by `an expert panel`  chaired by the Director of BBC Sport, one Barbara Slater and including representatives of the sports industry, sports press and others.  It`s clear that they are determined to come up with a list of candidates that tick all the right boxes, demonstrate diversity and achieve the level of political correctness for which the BBC is infamous.

So I also begin to wonder where the `personality` bit comes in since quite often the candidates who emerge from the BBC`s tortuous process do not always have much of a `personality` anyway.  This year`s winner, Lewis Hamilton (of course) may be a whizzo racing driver but he comes across as someone of another world, another place, even another time.  I struggle to detect a personality that might win a personality contest, but maybe it`s just me.  Anyway, one of the conditions to be selected as a candidate is that the person `shall be resident in the UK` and last time I looked Hamilton was alive and well and living it up in Monaco.

And of course there is the spectre of Gary Lineker fronting it all and that in itself is more than enough to give it a miss.

I guess I`m just miffed that Danny Ings didn`t even get short listed.

 

Just about sums up yesterday`s footy.  Let `s begin with the good news and my neighbour must surely be over the moon following Gillingham`s impressive 4-1 win away at Rochdale, where Spotland is always a difficult place to go to.  The result bodes well for an upsurge in their revival following recent disappointments.

In the second round of the FA Trophy, Truro City made the 620 mile round trip to visit Canvey Island in Essex to take on Concord Rangers and come away with a 2-1 win to progress to the next round of the competition - if there is to be one of course. That`s a hell of a journey at the best of times but flogging through the Dartford Tunnel amid the pre-Christmas and pre-lockdown traffic is nothing short of admirable.  In the same competition, Maidstone United came out 2-0 winners over Poole Town.

Southampton took on Manchester City in front of 2,000 spectators at St, Mary`s but could not repeat the last time the two sides met when Saints emerged 1-0 winners:  this time the result was reversed but it was still encouraging to see Saints playing well and continuing to progress under the guidance of Ralph Hasenhuttl despite dropping now to fifth in the Premier League - it`s tight at the top, to be fair.

A curious set of circumstances seemed to befall Stoke Gabriel yesterday when they were due to play Brixham in a South West Peninsula League Division One East encounter. I could find no mention of a result except for some vague mention of `host club being unwilling to attend Tier 3 venue` or something.  That message has now disappeared so the mystery remains but it might now be all academic as the whole league programme seems once again to be on hold thanks to Mr. Covid and his newfound variant.  Pity really - the trials of the underdog are so much more interesting than the triumphs of the elite. 

Next to deepest Gloucestershire where Forest Green Rovers managed to overcome Carlisle United in a top of the table clash at the New Lawn to go second in League Two and drop Carlisle down to third, despite our street`s fashion guru Scott Wagstaff not being called upon, given the manager`s reluctance to change a winning team.  

And finally - but by no means least - it was good to see Fort William play their first Highland League game of the season yesterday against table topping Brora Rangers, who have now played three league games.  Trouble was, the result ended up with a 10-0 drubbing for The Fort but it was always going to be a difficult encounter against a strong Brora side - but at least they are playing again.

So, a mixed bag and we now just have to wait and see whether there will be any more footy to report on as the season of good will clashes with the new Covid restrictions.....and I`m still waiting for the call to have my jab!!

 

Hard to describe the emotions really.  The loss of David Cornwell, aka John le Carre, was sad enough but looking at this photo of him enjoying the grandeur of his Cornish home makes me long for that particular part of the magical kingdom of Kernow.

There`s no point in me trying to write any sort of obituary for the great man - that has already been done and in any case his books will forever speak for themselves.  But I wonder whether I might share a sense of loss too for his part of Cornwall that I have grown to love over the years.   It`s almost a secret - tucked away down very minor roads and down beaten tracks - a world of its own, one which consists of almost secret places such as St. Buryan, St. Levan, Treen and St. Loy, where David had this spectacular home, high on the cliff overlooking the sea.

I`ve walked most of that stretch of the south west coast path and have a longing to go back there. To enjoy Porthgwarra, to see the Logan Rock, hear the song of the sea at Nanjizal, admire Tater-du lighthouse, walk the path to Lamorna and feel the ocean on Gwennap Head.  Trouble is, at 81 it`s a long drive but as I read again the volumes that John le Carre has bequeathed us my mind will always return there, along with my heart.

I often wonder why it is that the romance of Cornwall never fades.  Maybe because it provides the ultimate escape from the mayhem of the south-east and from the trials and tribulations of life.   I remember years and years ago we had a holiday in far west Cornwall at a time when I was feeling the pressure of a demanding job.  We only went for a week and I spent the first three days unwinding and the last two days revving up again before re-entry.  And in the brief time in between , one day we went to Sennen Cove.  I sat on a rock on a quiet sandy beach with the sun beating down and the breeze wafting in from the sea and I knew in those moments that I was finally on holiday - away from it all - and I cherished every second, knowing what it was like to be free and at one with the world.

It didn`t last long, of course, and before I knew it I was back on the treadmill of life:  but I was always grateful to Cornwall for providing that glimpse as to what real life might be like which is probably the reason why we have been back so many times..  I imagine David Cornwell knew that real life only too well and who wouldn`t, living on the clifftop at St. Loy for more than 40 years and never growing tired of it?

 NICE WHILE IT LASTED..

A couple of weeks ago we were top of the Premier League for 42 hours - last night it was for 42 minutes so now we`re back to 3rd thanks to Arsenal equalising in the second half.  Time to sack the manager.

Well, it was one of those weekends, one which produced some much needed joy in equal measure to some genuine sorrow.

Let`s get the joy out of the way first. And where better than at St. Mary`s where Southampton cruised to a 3-0 win over Sheffield United to go third in the Premier League, if only for a brief visit before dropping to fourth as a result of Leicester City winning.   

Not much joy elsewhere in the parallel universe of football but there was a pivotal moment for the Railwaymen of Stoke Gabriel, who travelled to Ivybridge and managed a creditable 8-0 defeat - thus bringing their goal difference now to an impressive minus 196.  The pivotal moment coming when the seventh goal went in against them on Saturday so that they passed 200 in the goals against column in their 17 games this season.   On the flip side, they have so far managed to score five goals this season.   There truly is something to admire here.

In other news, Fort William were in Cup action away at Keith but perhaps predictably lost 5-1, although their one goal sparked wild celebrations in the highlands.   I will refrain from commenting on Gillingham`s defeat to Doncaster for fear of upsetting my neighbour in this season of goodwill and there is nothing to report concerning Maidstone United or Truro City but it is encouraging to see that Forest Green Rovers continue to do well in League Two under the tutelage of Mark Cooper.   Our street`s local hero Scott ("Waggy") Wagstaff came on for the final half hour once again to ensure the three points in a 2-0 home win against Cambridge United.

So much for events on the field of play but the sorrow in this report comes from the news that Gerard Houllier has sadly passed away at the age of just 73 following a long period of ill health.   He was a true gentleman of the game and will be mourned not only by Liverpool fans but throughout the football world.   There was much to admire about him too and perhaps my fondest memory of him was his steadfast insistence in referring to Sir Alex Ferguson as `Mr. Ferguson` rather than acknowledging the dubious knighthood.  (Perhaps I`m being a little unfair as I see that Fergie has issued a fulsome tribute in praise of M. Houllier.  Or maybe I`m mellowing in my dotage.) 

 

In a way I felt for Kay Burley and her Sky chums for being caught out in breach of the corona virus restrictions, but they`re supposed to be grown ups in responsible positions and should have known the risks involved in `celebrating` her birthday.   (Is she really 60 in a few days` time?)  Rumour has it that `junior production staff` might have been responsible for tipping off the press about the `celebrations` as revenge for Burley`s alleged imperious attitude towards more junior staff.

But then her six months suspension away from our screens inflicted by Sky, along with the three months suspensions  awarded to Sky Political Editor Beth Rigby and reporter Inzamam Rashid have at least provided time and space for some much needed reflection.   One benefit could well be that Ms. Rigby goes on an elocution course so as to get rid of her annoying habit of being unable or unwilling to pronounce `ng` properly.   Pedants like me will have noticed, for example, how habitually she doesn`t pronounce words like considering as `considering` but instead prefers `considerin.`   It just grates.

So now that this one `celebration` has resulted in suspensions away from our screens for some months, I`m tempted to organise another one and invite Naga Munchetty, Mrs. Brown, Michael McIntyre, Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher along.

NOTES FROM ANOTHER TIME ?

We are hearing a lot these days about mental health issues which have been brought to the fore by the Covid pandemic.  Now in every life a little rain must fall but it is interesting to see how people are dealing with varying degrees of precipitation - how they cope with the occasional shower, the onset of heavy and persistent rainfall, the less than frequent deluge or the full blown tempest.

Now of course I have every sympathy for those who are finding life particularly difficult right now but I am aware of the tendency for anxiety, depression or the catch-all phrase of mental health issues to be seen almost as `fashionable`, especially for those in the public eye who seem keen to expose their anxieties to a receptive audience; and that for someone not to be suffering from those issues is perhaps missing out on something.

Sadly there have been a few cases of people simply not being able to cope - for example there have been a couple of instances where university students have passed from us - and the Government is committing £3million to fund increased services which are designed to help universities deal more effectively with the stresses experienced by students who have been confined to university halls.  

So here goes with the notes from another time and I begin by wondering how, or even if, some people today would have dealt with some situations experienced by older generations. For example, I recall my own experience of being pitchforked in my late teens/early twenties from a rural innocence into the mayhem of army conscription.  In the course of one day, my life changed from relative quietude to abject confusion.  Of being hustled and bustled, shouted at, taught things I didn`t want to do, subjected to continual inspection and kept constantly on the move, but with the consolation of knowing that each day that passed was one less of the 731 I had to do.   But we just got on with it and did it without ever thinking that we might be suffering from any form of mental health issue as a result of it all.  Maybe there just wasn`t time.

But those recollections of mine are as nothing compared to the experiences of my late father who, having been captured at Dunkirk, spent five years confined to the relentlessness of Stalag V111B in Lamsdorf in deepest Silesia until in January and February 1945 he, along with countless other PoWs, was thrust on to the Long March by which Allied Prisoners of War were forced across some 900 miles in appalling winter weather with little protection, sparse food, much sickness and exhaustion and spending nights in any barn they could find.  Many were lost along the way but my father somehow survived until finally being liberated by the American army, only to be dismissed after 18 years of army service for being `unfit for duty.` 

More than enough to bring on anxiety, depression and any other form of mental health issue, never mind the physical ones, but he rarely, if ever, mentioned any of it despite living the rest of his life on his nerve ends until passing away, all too suddenly, at just 62.

And so these reminisces have made me wonder how some people of today might cope with such situations; I fear many would not and hope they may not have to face them; but today`s recognition and acknowledgement of mental health issues might make it possible for them to cope better with adversity rather than simply ignoring it, bottling it up and carrying on regardless.   

Now on the other side of the world, they seem to have it sorted, where Australian stress counselling goes something like this:-

 

For more about the Long March, please see https://www.lamsdorf.com/the-long-march.html

 

Well, the weekend`s football has certainly banished the parrot sickness from last time I felt compelled to muse about it.  Last time it was all gloom, this time it`s as though at least some of the stresses of life have been lifted.  Not sure why I care so much about 22 players running around a field trying to kick a pig`s bladder into an onion bag, but I do - it`s just another tiny insight into my immaturity, I guess, but at my age I`m entitled to a second childhood.

Anyway, I had to wait until last evening for the weekend programme to finally come to an end but it was worth the wait as Southampton picked up another three points away at Brighton, despite not playing terribly well, but ending the weekend in fifth place in the Premier League. So I`m over the moon, as they say.

Elsewhere in my endless quest for the fortunes of other teams I follow, Gillingham managed a 2-0 home win over Swindon Town, so my neighbour is also over the moon, as they say. Truro City made the perilous journey to Portsmouth to come away with a 5-1 hammering of Moneyfields (yes, really) in the FA Trophy.  Forest Green Rovers picked up a very creditable 1-0 win away at Harrogate to go third in League Two, thanks in part to our street`s local hero Scott ("Count the calories") Wagstaff ensuring the three points with a 91st minute cameo which brought all his experience to bear in helping his chums see out the victory.

At last the Railwaymen on Stoke Gabriel are back in business following the Covid lay-off but their return to league action saw a 6-0 defeat away at Plymouth Marjon, which was something of a moral victory but which left them rooted to the foot of the South West Peninsula Division One East with a goal difference now standing at minus 188.   Maidstone United picked up a useful 2-2 draw away at Dorking Wanderers despite being two goals down in the second half but, sadly, Fort William`s encounter away at Fraserburgh was again called off `due to waterlogged pitch.`

But all in all an over the moon weekend.  No wonder I slept well last night.

 

PARADISE LOST ?

I took this picture some months ago when the weather was kind and the living was easy.  Fish were jumping and the cotton was high.  It shows a stretch of the Pilgrims Way in this part of Kent en route between Winchester and Canterbury.   Most weekends we take our retriever, Dudley, for a decent walkies in what Kent County Council have declared `The Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.`  

And it sure is - it takes a while to find the Pilgrims Way itself but it is really well worth the effort.   As the seasons come and go, we notice the changes that take place as nature treads its steady path and we notice too the changes in the way the Way is treated by its visitors.  And it is as curious as it is predictable.  All through the months of good weather we often have the place to ourselves, maybe because there are other places to explore, but when winter arrives this area seems to attract more and more people and more `activity.`

And what is predictable is the way in which the footpath is used;  we just walk it but today we came across a handful of other walkers, some with doggy companions, some not.  But we also came across cyclists - gangs of them all togged up in their cycling gear - a selection of runners, two of them with dogs on leads dutifully running along with them; but perhaps most dispiriting were motor cyclists, trail bikes I imagine, not only making too much noise for the `area of outstanding natural beauty` but also making sure the path, which was muddy to begin with, became something of a quagmire. It all felt a bit like rush hour on the Pilgrims Way but without the pilgrims.

We trudged our way round for a couple of hours but it was not the happiest walkies we have had.  Now I shouldn`t complain about people getting out in the countryside, exercising, enjoying the scenery - well, it`s what we do ourselves -  but we might just have to find somewhere else where the paradise of summer is not lost in the mud bath of winter.

 

SAX WARS..

OK, following my last rant about the BBC I have to be fair (well, a bit) and say that the redeeming factor for BBC TV might be BBC Four.  It seems to cater for those of us who prefer the obscure, the unusual, the thought provoking and I was pleased some time ago to learn that BBC Four`s survival had been secured at the expense of BBC Radio Three which has apparently now gone online.   

Anyway, the other evening BBC Four showed again a documentary covering the life and work of Gerry Rafferty, he of Baker Street fame of course - but so much more as well.  And it provoked the thought in my obscure, unusual mind as to whether the saxophone solo, courtesy of the late Raphael Ravenscroft, was the best there has been in popular music.  Have a listen and see what you think:-

But maybe there`s a rival?  Years ago I got a bit hooked on the music produced and performed by the Alan Parsons Project and I always thought that the saxophone solo from Mel Collins on "Don`t Answer Me" was as good as anything I had ever heard.  So here`s that one - it`s about two and a half minutes in but the whole track is worth listening to:-

So there we have it.  In some respects this post is something of a memorial to those artists who have now left us - Gerry Rafferty died aged just 63 in 2011; Raphael Ravenscroft left us in 2014 aged just 60 and Eric Woolfson, who sang the lyrics in "Don`t Answer Me" passed away at just 64 in 2009.

But of course old rockers never die - they just roll away?

 

VALUE FOR MONEY ?

Six years ago, having passed the threshold of 75, I began to enjoy not having to pay for a TV Licence any more.  But the Dumb and Dumber axis that is the BBC and HM. Gov. has seen fit to require those of us struggling to survive on a fixed income to cough up £157.50; that is, of course, unless you are in receipt of  income support, for which I do not qualify although I suspect that there are many thousands if not more who are in the `not quite poor enough` category.

Anyway, some weeks ago I had a large envelope from TV Licensing HQ demanding payment but, given my disenchantment with the BBC, I put it to one side hoping it would go away.  It didn`t and yesterday I had a reminder.  Now, Mrs. Snopper worries about things like that and her concerns were heightened by a report that said that, of those fined for not having a licence, the vast majority were women.  And I guess I might have been concerned about adding to my charge sheet following my conviction a few years ago, thanks to Avon and Somerset Constabulary, for doing 80 miles an hour on the A303 near Wincanton. 

So I wrote a cheque and posted it off to somewhere in Darlington, on the notion that I wanted to make the method of payment as inconvenient as possible.   One bright day, if the cheque doesn`t bounce or if I`ve written it out wrong, I might get the licence.

But I do seriously wonder whether it represents value for money.  The BBC is a huge organisation; grossly over staffed and, like Manchester United, has an inbuilt air of presumed entitlement and arrogance - it is the Manchester United of the media world.  And what do I get in return for my £157.50?  Hardly any live sport - Marine v Havant and Waterlooville anyone? - no cricket or rugby union;  a news and current affairs outfit that is mired in left leaning, biased, London centric, right-on wokery and negativity. 

As for entertainment, it is frankly dire, with a succession of mind numbing game shows, antique shows, cooking shows, dancing shows and a presumption that if comedy is crude, shouty and full of foul and abusive language then automatically it is funny.   Well, Mrs. Brown, Mr. MacIntyre et al, it ain`t.  

But there is at least one note of comfort for me.  You see, not having paid for the licence for six years has meant I have been reluctant to complain to the BBC - seemed bad form to complain  about something that came for free - but now I feel free to do so without troubling my conscience.   Trouble is, there`s so much to complain about I`m not sure where to begin, although a good moan about the broken promise and the compulsion of it all might be a good place to start.