GENTLE PERSUASION...

Been away for a week back to the New Forest in Hampshire.   It`s over 60 years ago now that my parents and I had to leave our cottage in Hythe on the edge of the Forest, thanks to BOAC closing down their flying boat operation and my father needing to find alternative employment.   But that part of Hampshire has always seemed like home somehow - I know the area, I know where I am and I know where to go and what to do and also what not to do to enjoy all that the New Forest has to offer.

On the surface it hasn`t changed very much - the contrasting open heathland, the thickly wooded enclosures are still there, thanks to its designation as a National Park and the Park Authority that looks after it along with the Forestry Commission and the local councils;  the Court of Verderers still meets in Lyndhurst to maintain and oversee the rights of the Commoners - so what, if anything, has changed in the Forest that I knew so well as a boy?

I think it`s down to people - countless thousands of them who visit the Forest itself, its olde worlde villages and the gentle shoreline of the Solent looking across to the Isle of Wight.  And their cars, their caravans, their cycles clogging up the narrow Forest roads and imperiling the lives of the ponies, donkeys and other animals for whom the Forest is their true home.  And with this popularity comes the inevitable response from the `authorities,` which tends to formalise much of the area in an attempt to strike the necessary balance between protecting the environment but at the same time allowing controlled access by those, like me I guess, who love to visit and enjoy what it has to offer.

And so there are loads of `do`s and don`t`s` - signs everywhere, speed restrictions, police patrols but also enough parking places across the whole of the Forest so that it would take years to explore all of the Park.  And it was a refreshing change to see that the art of gentle persuasion is being employed to encourage people not to leave litter and other rubbish behind them which can be dangerous to the ponies and other animals and I came across this notice alongside a car park in Burley which, rather than promising dire threats of prosecution, perhaps persuades people to be respectful in the way they treat this national treasure:-

 

The last 72 hours or so have been a bit frantic, with the priority reporting and commentating being not about the threat of yet more Russian aggression or the latest dismal news concerning Covid or, indeed, that today marks Her Majesty the Queen`s 95th birthday.   No, none of that - it`s been about football....or the pursuit of power....or maybe corporate greed?   It was all a far cry from the game whereby 22 players run around a field trying to stick a pig`s bladder into an onion bag.   Whatever, I`m just glad it all seems to be calming down a bit - if only temporarily.

I`ve got mixed feelings about the fact that the moguls of `elite` football clubs have shied away from their current proposal to form a midweek European Super League.   On the one hand, I`m glad that it appears to be going nowhere for the time being, thanks to the combined outcries of other clubs, managers, officials, players and - most importantly - the fans - you remember,  those people who used to be fans before they became customers.

But on the other hand there`s just a hint of disappointment that those self appointed, self serving `elite` clubs have not succeeded in going their own way and leaving the rest of the football world in peace.  As time goes by - and especially given the events of the last few days and my disappointment at Southampton not bothering to turn up at the FA Cup semi-final - I find myself drawn yet more to those struggling, honest, hard working `smaller` clubs where the spirit of the game is revered in places like Stoke Gabriel.

It was the late, great Sir Bobby Robson who said, "What is a club in any case?  Not the buildings or the directors or the people who are paid to represent it.  It`s not the television contracts, get-out clauses, marketing departments or executive boxes.  No, it`s the noise, the passion, the feeling of belonging, the pride in your city.  It`s about a small boy clambering up stadium steps for the first time, gripping his father`s hand, gawping at the hallowed stretch of turf beneath him and, without being able to do a thing about it, falling in love."

He wasn`t wrong.   Just a pity the corporate executives don`t understand it. But, as Don McClean wrote, "They didn`t listen, they did not know how.  Perhaps they`ll listen now."

 

It sure feels like it.  The definition of `fateful` according to the Cambridge Dictionary is "having a very important and often negative effect on the future."  So why the negativity?  Well, today is FA Cup semi-final day for us Saints fans.  We now know that Chelsea are through to the final as a result of their 1-0 win over Manchester City yesterday and today at Wembley the Saints take on Leicester City is the second semi-final.

And anything can happen, of course.  But the default condition of us Saints fans is one of nervousness, uncertainty and an anticipation of disappointment and so we face today with all those emotions, hoping for the best, expecting the worst.  Not helped by the fact that it was Leicester City who inflicted a 9-0 defeat on Southampton at St. Mary`s last season, although to be fair the Saints won 2-0 in the reverse league fixture at the King Power, so maybe there is a glimmer of hope in that.  At around 8.00 this evening, we will know the answer.  At least I won`t be able to watch it even from behind the sofa, as the game is televised by BT - which I don`t have and which might be a blessing in disguise.

In other news, it was good to see Forest Green Rovers manage a 3-2 home win against Scunthorpe to keep their play-off hopes alive.  Following the sacking of manager Mark Cooper last week, Rovers are now under the interim coaching of Jimmy Ball, son of World Cup winner and ex-Saints player and manager Alan Ball - maybe this connection, however tenuous, might be an encouraging omen.

Gillingham went down 3-2 away at high(ish) flying Oxford United, so the Gills have the proverbial mountain to climb if they are to reach the play-offs this season.  I fear the mountain might be a shade too high.   As for Brechin City, yet another defeat (why do I always follow teams who have a preponderance for failure?) this time a 3-0 loss away at Annan Athletic.  Brechin have now amassed just five points from 17 games this season and with their goal difference of minus 31 they are now assured of a place in the play-off with whoever wins the game between the respective champions of the Highland and Lowland Leagues to determine City`s future.

So, a fateful day for Southampton. We`ve had semi-finals before and come through them so here`s hoping.  However, if you don`t hear from me for some time, you will know why.

 

Time  I had a rant about music.  The other evening - I think it was on BBC News - we were treated to a few clips of the `artists` who have been nominated for this year`s Brit Awards, which are due to take place next month.   I didn`t quite catch the name of some of the nominees or, indeed, the titles of their `songs` but I was a bit flummoxed, if not perplexed, by the fact that it was just about impossible to understand what they might have been `singing` about.

Now this year the Brit Awards are hailed as being the most diverse ever - no problem with that as every section of our society has the right to express themselves as they wish through their music and other art forms.  But being an old school kind of guy who was brought up in the days when songs were songs and music was music, I find it a bit difficult to understand not only the lyrics (if indeed that is what they are) but also the delivery which, to be inclusive and diverse, resorts to indecipherable mumblings in a streetwise accent, lots of arm waving and an assumption that anyone who knows anything about music will automatically know what they`re on about. 

Among the nominees for best single of the year are:-   

• 220 Kid & GRACEY - Don't Need Love
• Aitch & AJ Tracey feat. Tay Keith - Rain
• Dua Lipa - Physical
• Harry Styles - Watermelon Sugar
• Headie One feat. AJ Tracey and Stormzy - Ain't It Different
• Joel Corry feat. MNEK - Head & Heart
• Nathan Dawe feat. KSI - Lighter
• Regard & RAYE - Secrets
• S1MBA feat. DTG - Rover
• Young T & Bugsey feat. Headie One - Don't Rush

Well, at least I`ve heard of Harry Styles (I think) but Young T & Bugsey feat. Headie One and their other chums in this line-up leave me baffled.   There are other equally imposing lists for other nominations - best album, best newcomer - things like that, but you get my drift.

It`s all a long way from when the Brits started all those years ago.  In 1977, for example, the Album of the Year was `Sgt. Pepper`s Lonely Hearts Club Band` and the Single of the Year was Queen`s `Bohemian Rhapsody.`  Ten years on and the Album chosen was Dire Straits` `Brothers in Arms` and the Single for 1987 was `Everybody wants to Rule the World` from Tears for Fears.  All very comprehensible, all very enjoyable, all still classics of their time and all very musical.    Here`s a reminder of how things used to be:-

 

Thank you for the music...

 

Well, here`s one.   As of today we are closer to the longest day of the year than the day on which I had my last haircut.   Can`t believe how cold the weather still is and although the evenings are much lighter now, the winter chills just won`t go away, which is why, for a change, I am looking forward to June and the longest day when the corn is as high as an elephant`s eye and I can sit in the garden and listen to the Test Match under the shade of the old oak tree.

As for haircuts, I notice that some people hereabouts seem either to have chopped some off themselves or they have had access to a lockdown defying barber.  As for me, the last time I enjoyed the delicate fingers of my stylist, Chris of Larkfield, ruffling beguilingly through my folically challenged head was towards the end of last November, so I`m looking forward to my appointment this time next week - it will be almost five months and counting.  I`ve warned her of the challenge that lies ahead.

Chris and I go back a long way, to the time when I had a `full head of hair,` and there was enough for her to use her improvisation and artistry to create a lasting impression but these days, due to the effects of Mr. Covid and his lockdowns, I have more hair than I have had for some time, which in a way is comforting.   However, the day when I join the family tendency towards complete baldness may still not be too far off, but I may still I turn up at Chris`s `Hair Studio` and ask if I can just have a nice stroke.

 

I`m sure you have noticed that I have given this blog a revamp.  The move was prompted by the fact that the whole of the rest of the world is still going on about the admittedly sad passing of the Duke of Edinburgh - my attempts at redesigning the blog was something of an escape from all that so I hope it meets with your approval.  There may be some more odd tweaks coming soon as well.

That said, there`s not much else to mention but I am sorry to report yet another defeat for Forest Green Rovers this time away at Walsall`s Banks`s Stadium - always difficult to go there of course - but I expected a little more from Rovers than their 2-1 defeat, especially as our street`s sporting hero Scott `Waggy` Wagstaff was captaining the team, no doubt the manager hoping he would bring his years of experience and know-how to bear on his team`s performance but sadly it was not to be.  I hope that was not the reason why manager Mark Cooper has been sacked today after five years in charge.  Seems a bit harsh given that Rovers are still in the play-off zone and still much to play for.  Oh well, that`s football.

Gillingham managed to eek out a 0-0 draw at home to Shrewsbury despite manager Steve Evans being named Manager of the Month for March - the kiss of death to be sure as their  play-off hopes suffered another setback. 

Brechin City got stuffed at home again - this time a 4-2 defeat against Albion Rovers - and they now seem destined for a nerve wracking finale to the season.  The arrangements for relegation from Scottish League Two are naturally complicated but basically Brechin look like entering a two-legged play-off against the winner of the Pyramid play-off between the champions of the Highland league and the champions of the Lowland league.  If they lose that, Brechin will be relegated "to the appropriate regional league depending on whether they are north or south of 56.4513N latitude" (the middle of the Tay Road Bridge.)   If they win the play-off, then they will retain their place in League Two.  If not, they will find themselves in the Highland League. (I`ve looked it up and checked the latitude.)

To end on an uplifting Saints note in advance of this evening`s game away at West Brom, for the last couple of years we have been the butt of derision from the rest of the football world following two 9-0 defeats.  Well, the balance is being a bit redressed, as witnessed by this question posed on The Chase:-

The answer, of course, was Sunderland - one of my better days at St. Mary`s - when on 8 October 2014 -   there were goals from Graziano Pelle (2), Jack Cork, Dusan Tadic, Victor Wanyama and three own goals courtesy of Blunderland.   We don`t hear much about that and I don`t expect a repeat scoreline at The Hawthorns this evening. But you never know.

Have a nice day.

 

JUST ONE OF THOSE DAYS..

We all get them, of course.  I guess I`m just having one.   Didn`t start off too well;  turned on BBC Breakfast and was confronted by Naga Munchetty giving some poor Government Minister a grumpy bit of stick.  Then there was an item from BBC Chief Environment Correspondent in which he interviewed Greta Thunberg - a pretty deadly duo for that time in the morning.  It transpired that Greta has decided not to attend the Glasgow Environment Conference thingy later in the year - a merciful relief I imagine - preferring instead to insist that everybody in the world gets vaccinated beforehand.   For once she may have a point but it doesn`t really take the massed resources of the BBC for her to make it. Still, better than Greta being interviewed by Naga I suppose.

Like everyone else, I guess, I was sorry to hear of the passing of Prince Philip, a sad occurrence and one around which I will tread lightly and carefully.  All I will say is that my genuine sorrow at his passing (like every other death that happens every day) is touched by the thought that the whole media in the UK is in overdrive and I do wonder whether it is too much too soon.  After all those years of `service to the nation` Prince Philip deserves the respect and admiration he is receiving.  But it does go on a bit.

And then I spend too much time on the phone trying to get some sense out of a couple of organisations, for whom they claim that my call is really important to them, so much so that they play me music that is quite unrecognisable and tell me that all their operators are very busy at the moment so could you either go online or call back later.  I am disinclined to do either so I`ll try again another day.

You will have gathered that my ramblings so far probably indicate that a mild form of writer`s block has descended upon me - hence the Snoopy cartoon above. It happens sometimes and when it does it always reminds me of Gilbert O` Sullivan, for whom also all those years ago nothing rhymed.....

They just don`t write songs like that any more

 

Well, for my brief notes following this weekend`s football I borrowed this image because parts of it were excellent.  And Southampton were certainly that, coming from two goals down after 25 minutes at home against Burnley to fight back to an eventual 3-2 win.  Those first 25 minutes were pretty dreadful but after that things just got better and better.  It was 2-2 at half time and a sublime Nathan Redmond strike in the second half claimed all three points in a game that was important for both clubs given their respective positions in lower mid table.  As it turned out, the three points saw Saints climb up to 13th place in the Premier League on 36 points, which might almost be enough for this season.  Eight games to go - another win should do it.

Not such good news elsewhere.  Forest Green Rovers slipped up again with a 2-0 home defeat by Salford City, despite which they remain in the play-off zone.  Even so, a swift turnaround is surely needed after three successive defeats if their season is not to implode.  Bad news too for Gillingham who, having clawed their way into the play off zone in League One, went to Bloomfield Road but were well beaten 4-1 by Blackpool to drop back once again.

Elsewhere, nothing to report really - deep hibernation persists for Truro City, Fort William and Stoke Gabriel and Brechin City didn`t have a game although they are at home this evening against Stenhousemuir in a game they really must win although, to be fair, they already look doomed to relegation. 

STOP PRESS :  Brechin managed a 1-1 draw last night - far too little, far too late, I fear.

There is some news, however, in south Devon where the Railwaymen of Stoke Gabriel have a new manager in Luke Joiner, who took over as caretaker manager from Mark Richardson until the end of the season.  As the season has already been ended for the Peninsula League East Division One, perhaps Luke`s appointment might be viewed as pyrrhic.    Here`s a reminder of how the league table looked when the season was brought to a premature end due to the pandemic.......maybe the curate`s egg didn`t have any good parts after all for the long suffering heroes of Stoke Gabriel:-

POS		P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PPG	PTS
1	Torpoint Athletic	15	11	1	3	40	21	19	2.27	34
2	Ivybridge Town	15	11	0	4	50	14	36	2.20	33
3	Millbrook AFC	11	10	1	0	43	8	35	2.82	31
4	Brixham AFC	14	9	3	2	43	16	27	2.14	30
5	IlfracombeTown	12	9	1	2	48	9	39	2.33	28
6	Torridgeside AFC	12	8	2	2	50	23	27	2.17	26
7	Newton Abbot Spurs	13	8	2	3	35	19	16	2.00	26
8	Dartmouth AFC	15	8	2	5	32	36	-4	1.73	26
9	Elmore AFC	14	7	1	6	39	29	10	1.57	22
10	Sidmouth Town	12	6	1	5	31	27	4	1.58	19
11	Torrington AFC	14	5	3	6	43	38	5	1.29	18
12	Cullompton Rangers	14	5	3	6	34	30	4	1.29	18
13	Honiton Town	15	5	2	8	38	31	7	1.13	17
14	Crediton United	14	5	1	8	30	27	3	1.14	16
15	Bovey Tracey	14	4	1	9	39	44	-5	0.93	13
16	Plymouth Marjon	15	3	3	9	35	42	-7	0.80	12
17	Elburton Villa	13	3	2	8	32	33	-1	0.85	11
18	Axminster Town	12	3	1	8	29	29	0	0.83	10
19	Holsworthy AFC	14	2	2	10	16	31	-15	0.57	8
20	Stoke Gabriel	18	0	0	18	7	207	-200	0.00	0

 

Well, it would have been but thanks to Mr. Covid it`s not.  Our eldest granddaughter was due to get married last October but that got postponed until today.   It`s now rearranged yet again, this time for this coming October.   Trouble is that today is a beautiful day here in deepest Kent and it would have made a perfect day for the wedding;  but of course only a handful of people would have been permitted to attend -  bride and groom, registrar, two witnesses and someone else to make up the allotted maximum of six, so not really a proper family occasion.  Oh well, all we can do now is to look forward to October in the hope that that can go ahead as planned, although these days one never knows for sure.

And it`s Easter.   Now Easter has always been a bit of a puzzle to me for various reasons - the date changes every year apparently, when you might assume that the crucifixion and the resurrection might have been well documented on particular days.  I`m not being disrespectful of other people`s religious beliefs but the whole thing about Easter seems mired in confusion, speculation and a large dose of myth and legend.   But it is nevertheless a time for `celebration` in the Christian world and so it`s a bit of a shame that Easter has, like Christmas and other `festivals,` been diminished by being taken over by rampant commercialism.

There`s Easter eggs, Easter bunnies, Fred Astaire and Judy Garland in their Easter Parade, Easter bonnets and, perhaps worst of all, the habit of sending Easter Cards to people, wishing them a happy Easter.   Now it occurs to me that the time of the year when someone has been nailed to a cross is not really a happy time.  Neither is a beautiful day when we could all have been celebrating our granddaughter`s wedding.  Maybe there`s a message in there for me somewhere but, as I have said before, if I get up there and find it`s all true after all, then I will be the first to apologise.  Fair enough?

 

KEEP TAKING THE TABLETS...

I see that from yesterday the charges for NHS prescriptions are going up again, this time to £9.35 per item.  It might `only` be an increase of 20p but it means that the charge is approaching the £10 mark, at which point I suspect there will be something approaching a revolution.   Not only at the charge itself but also the fact that it is only in England that the prescription charges apply anyway.

If you live in Northern Ireland, Wales or Scotland they`re free.  And in Scotland, of course, other things are free too - tuition fees, dentistry charges, free care for the elderly, free hospital parking as well as prescription charges.  And all because of the Barnett Formula, by which, for example - for every extra £100 spent on, say, health services per person in England, the same amount goes to Scotland as well as some parts of the other devolved administrations within the UK.   But that money which finds its way across the border does not have to be spent on the same services as in England, so in Scotland they can spend it on what they like.   And they do.

So perhaps unsurprising that there is growing discontent in England with all of this and the latest rise in the prescription charge has again raised the whole issue, arguably compounded by the antics of Nicola Sturgeon who, in advance of the upcoming elections north of the border, has pledged to increase free travel to all under the age of 22 and is raising nurses pay in Scotland by 4%.

Now I don`t have to pay the prescription charge, being `of a certain age` but I think I might be a bit miffed if I had to.  Mind you, it wasn`t long ago I thought I didn`t have to pay for the TV license either but now I do have to, thanks to the deadly duo of the BBC and HM Gov. cocking things up between them. So I just wonder how long it will be before I have to pay the English prescription charge as well.

In the meantime, I`ll keep taking the tablets. (Or move to Scotland?)