Here is the plan for the rest of the day, Finish project work from overnight and if there is time commence work on the photos getting ready to create disks, About 10am get ready and go into town centre for fruit, free newspaper and then enjoy bacon roll and coffee at the Ship and Royal. Return home and continuing working on photo disks but watch start of first Test in West Indies from early afternoon with sound turned down and then listen to Sunderland at Blackburn in fourth round of FA cup replay this evening. Begin the Joan Baez and Bob Dylan fest.
The morning went very well. It was colder out than usual because of a sharper wind. The temperature registered at Newcastle was minus 1. The pavements were dry and although overcast the umbrella was not needed. After collecting the free morning paper from the bus station, I purchased 3 pounds weight of cherries and seven large bananas for £4.50 and then made my way to the Ship and Royal where there were only two others enjoying a late breakfast or mid morning snack. I requested coffee with cold milk this time and it came immediately, hot and enjoyable and within what seemed only a few seconds more a large bap with the bacon. I read the paper from cover to cover forgetting to leave it for other customers. There was no one in the premises when I left. It was going as planned and my spirits remained good as I tackled the hill homeward.
On return, disaster, I discovered that I had not made a copy of all the work on photos undertaken during the course of last year. Fortunately I had had made two disks as presents, one comprehensive and one partial although not of the whole revised file. I now have to wait for copies of these to made and sent back to me before I can assess the extent of the loss and how much I will need to do again. This changed my mood completely, unsettling, lowering spirits and leaving the rest if the day without focus.
I also experienced one moment of terror and pain, not I hasten to add because of my own experience, but the news before bedtime that a teenage school girl had been killed when the large makeshift toboggan had gained such speed that it had crashed through a fencing catapulting one of the girls, although this was the one killed was not said. I experienced the reported excitement as the girls enjoyed the snow and adventure similar to that on the fair and theme park rides and then the horror and terrors as the vehicle gained speed because of the sharpness and length of the slope and force because of the size and numbers on board. Just as someone always drowns swimming in inland waters during the heights of summer there is inevitability about such news, except the shock for the individual and their families and that the lives of the other girls will also be changed. There is also a brilliant advertisement showing a child in a womb asking about the life it will lead in the world, will there be enough food, will it avoid sickness, will it celebrate its birth day at five years. Thousands will not. I give thanks for my own life and feel ashamed at my own concerns about death, and physical and mental disability, It does not help.
I watched the start of the cricket after an episode of Pie in the Sky which I had seen before. Sabina Park, Kingston Jamaica had the reputation of being blisteringly fast with pace men sending balls flying towards the head as much the wicket. There also used to be huge noisy crowds. Change one the ground has been developed with a new stand cutting out some of the view The ground appears about only a third full or two thirds empty. This reflects the failure of the national team over the past decade which in turn reflects the switch of interest of the better paying sports of football and basket ball.
It was the third change which shocked. Apparently the wicket area has been re-laid with new earth and the combination of this and new management has led to a transformation, Instead of the fast surface with its glassy sheen it now resembles thee wickets of the Indian sub continent, flat and designed for spin, and which are difficult of the English team as we do no create world class spinners, relying on pace and medium face. Now we know why two spinners were picked for the squad and why the West Indies played two in the first team with both bowling for long sessions on the first day of the first test because they were able to get the ball to turn, all unheard of before. England , who won the toss and chose to bat struggled losing early wickets.
I have not commented before that Kevin Petersen has lost his position as Team Captain following his demand that there be a change in Team Coach/manager when it was refused to have Michael Vaughn the previous Captain as part of the squad for the tour.. It has now emerged that the Test and County cricket Board through its Coach manager had shifted the emphasis away from individual players having responsibility for their game into the creation of a team approach with lots of back up staff advising on all aspects of the training, match preparation and play. This has changed during the period that the national team as been without manager coach. One commentator and former player mentioned that the players had carried their own cricket bags off the coach into the ground this morning.
Andrew Strauss, the new captain, immediately suffered the Captain’s curse, nervous, surviving a dropped catch and then out scoring les than ten. Graham Bell who regularly plays himself in getting thirty or forty runs and then is out without ever making the kind of score which justified his continued inclusion, and thus it was so again. Graham Cook was out for four and England went into lunch 3 down for seventy odd runs. Everything now rested on former Captain Kevin Petersen who was partnered with former one day captain Durham’s Paul Collingwood. The one irritating thing about my large screen TV is that I am unable to read the cricket scores at the bottom edge so I resorted to the a live broadcast of the scoreboard on the BBC internet. I would listen to the commentary except it is out of synchronization with the TV picture. The live screen also failed later.
When I am upset because of some failure or set back, or when I am tired when I want to work, I over eat, usually the wrong things. Breakfast was a cup of soup and a defrosted brown finger roll. Lunch the bacon roll with coffee, and with a portion of the cherries on return. Mid afternoon I should have settled just for dry crackers covered with pickle and a cup of tea, but I could not resist a quarter of the toffee cheese. Azda has a selection of these medium size proving four good portions at only £1 include summer fruits, strawberry, mandarins and lemon. I have resisted until my visit and then kept in the freezer for several days without touching. The problem with this size is that one then has to eat the other three portions once defrosted. However I do have the freezer saw so in future will divide into four portions before defrosting. It is time for some fish with vegetables which I did not enjoy as much as I should. I opened a tin of corn and baby carrots which will provide two portions to go with a chicken Kiev tomorrow. This was followed by the remaining portion of grapes. I also felt like a beer. I have kept to the no alcohol regime since celebrating the new Year, except for one whisky for medicinal purpose after returning from a match in cold weather Last night I had a Peroni, reducing by stock to eight. I did not enjoy as I should because I knew I should not.
The omens were not good for Sunderland this evening as before the game it was announced that Cisse who did not travel and Kenwyn Jones, who was on the bench would be rested. To give time for them to recover from knocks received during the Derby. Talking of Derby, Nigel Clough celebrated their fist win at the weekend and went to Notts Forest last night in the fourth round replay of the FA Cup where he had played for his father and scored the scored which won the League Cup. His team were two goals down within a matter of minutes but somehow managed to fight back, playing good football to win by three goals to two,
Clearly management policy at Sunderland is to concentrate on staying in the Premiership. However it looked as if a miracle was going to happen as Sunderland scored early on against the run of play and then survive attack after attack until an equaliser just before half time. There was no further scoring in the second half and the game went into extra time and looked as if would go to penalties despite Sunderland having the better of this part of the match. Until with a couple of minutes of the final whistle, Blackburn scored and dreams crashed for another year.
I did consider watching again The Children and interesting film. Seen in theatre and now on DVD but I was not just in the mood A DVD of a rare Antonioni film arrived this morning but too late to view over lunch, perhaps after the football and the cricket. Collingwood was out clearly leg before and the heavens have opened and a tropical cloudburst driven the players into their respective dressing rooms. Durham promised to send the membership books out late January but has not arrived. I have been successful in getting one of the reduced price annual edition of Wisden’s celebrating Durham‘s winning the county championship. It should arrive in March.
I will also mention having achieved a continuing 100 record at Hearts with over 404 successive wins. At Spider I am playing on after reaching 101 and now making another major effort to achieve a run of 101 games as level one chess. The rain has stopped as quick as it arrived in Caribbean. . Play was to start in thirteen minutes but the covers were then relayed as more rain was forecast. Peterson was out three short of 100 but Flint off commenced to make a solid innings when bad light stopped play He was then 43 not out and the team 236 for 5.
I did listen to some Joan Baez but not as much as originally intended. Her voice never ceases to amaze.
From the essential Joan Baez, The night they drove; Amazing Grace; Boulder to Birmingham; Swing Low Sweet Chariot; Oh Happy Day; Love is just a four letter word; Forever Young; Diamonds and Rust; Lily Rosemary ; Please come to Boston; Suzanne, I shall be Released; Blowing in the Wind; The Ballad of Sacco; Love song to a stranger.
From Diamonds : Prison Trilogy; Rainbow Road, Love is a stranger; Myths; In the Quiet morning; To Bobby; Song of Bangladesh; Tumbleweed; Imagine; Diamond and Rust; Fountain of Sorrow; Never Dreamed you’d Leave; Children and all that Jazz;
The morning went very well. It was colder out than usual because of a sharper wind. The temperature registered at Newcastle was minus 1. The pavements were dry and although overcast the umbrella was not needed. After collecting the free morning paper from the bus station, I purchased 3 pounds weight of cherries and seven large bananas for £4.50 and then made my way to the Ship and Royal where there were only two others enjoying a late breakfast or mid morning snack. I requested coffee with cold milk this time and it came immediately, hot and enjoyable and within what seemed only a few seconds more a large bap with the bacon. I read the paper from cover to cover forgetting to leave it for other customers. There was no one in the premises when I left. It was going as planned and my spirits remained good as I tackled the hill homeward.
On return, disaster, I discovered that I had not made a copy of all the work on photos undertaken during the course of last year. Fortunately I had had made two disks as presents, one comprehensive and one partial although not of the whole revised file. I now have to wait for copies of these to made and sent back to me before I can assess the extent of the loss and how much I will need to do again. This changed my mood completely, unsettling, lowering spirits and leaving the rest if the day without focus.
I also experienced one moment of terror and pain, not I hasten to add because of my own experience, but the news before bedtime that a teenage school girl had been killed when the large makeshift toboggan had gained such speed that it had crashed through a fencing catapulting one of the girls, although this was the one killed was not said. I experienced the reported excitement as the girls enjoyed the snow and adventure similar to that on the fair and theme park rides and then the horror and terrors as the vehicle gained speed because of the sharpness and length of the slope and force because of the size and numbers on board. Just as someone always drowns swimming in inland waters during the heights of summer there is inevitability about such news, except the shock for the individual and their families and that the lives of the other girls will also be changed. There is also a brilliant advertisement showing a child in a womb asking about the life it will lead in the world, will there be enough food, will it avoid sickness, will it celebrate its birth day at five years. Thousands will not. I give thanks for my own life and feel ashamed at my own concerns about death, and physical and mental disability, It does not help.
I watched the start of the cricket after an episode of Pie in the Sky which I had seen before. Sabina Park, Kingston Jamaica had the reputation of being blisteringly fast with pace men sending balls flying towards the head as much the wicket. There also used to be huge noisy crowds. Change one the ground has been developed with a new stand cutting out some of the view The ground appears about only a third full or two thirds empty. This reflects the failure of the national team over the past decade which in turn reflects the switch of interest of the better paying sports of football and basket ball.
It was the third change which shocked. Apparently the wicket area has been re-laid with new earth and the combination of this and new management has led to a transformation, Instead of the fast surface with its glassy sheen it now resembles thee wickets of the Indian sub continent, flat and designed for spin, and which are difficult of the English team as we do no create world class spinners, relying on pace and medium face. Now we know why two spinners were picked for the squad and why the West Indies played two in the first team with both bowling for long sessions on the first day of the first test because they were able to get the ball to turn, all unheard of before. England , who won the toss and chose to bat struggled losing early wickets.
I have not commented before that Kevin Petersen has lost his position as Team Captain following his demand that there be a change in Team Coach/manager when it was refused to have Michael Vaughn the previous Captain as part of the squad for the tour.. It has now emerged that the Test and County cricket Board through its Coach manager had shifted the emphasis away from individual players having responsibility for their game into the creation of a team approach with lots of back up staff advising on all aspects of the training, match preparation and play. This has changed during the period that the national team as been without manager coach. One commentator and former player mentioned that the players had carried their own cricket bags off the coach into the ground this morning.
Andrew Strauss, the new captain, immediately suffered the Captain’s curse, nervous, surviving a dropped catch and then out scoring les than ten. Graham Bell who regularly plays himself in getting thirty or forty runs and then is out without ever making the kind of score which justified his continued inclusion, and thus it was so again. Graham Cook was out for four and England went into lunch 3 down for seventy odd runs. Everything now rested on former Captain Kevin Petersen who was partnered with former one day captain Durham’s Paul Collingwood. The one irritating thing about my large screen TV is that I am unable to read the cricket scores at the bottom edge so I resorted to the a live broadcast of the scoreboard on the BBC internet. I would listen to the commentary except it is out of synchronization with the TV picture. The live screen also failed later.
When I am upset because of some failure or set back, or when I am tired when I want to work, I over eat, usually the wrong things. Breakfast was a cup of soup and a defrosted brown finger roll. Lunch the bacon roll with coffee, and with a portion of the cherries on return. Mid afternoon I should have settled just for dry crackers covered with pickle and a cup of tea, but I could not resist a quarter of the toffee cheese. Azda has a selection of these medium size proving four good portions at only £1 include summer fruits, strawberry, mandarins and lemon. I have resisted until my visit and then kept in the freezer for several days without touching. The problem with this size is that one then has to eat the other three portions once defrosted. However I do have the freezer saw so in future will divide into four portions before defrosting. It is time for some fish with vegetables which I did not enjoy as much as I should. I opened a tin of corn and baby carrots which will provide two portions to go with a chicken Kiev tomorrow. This was followed by the remaining portion of grapes. I also felt like a beer. I have kept to the no alcohol regime since celebrating the new Year, except for one whisky for medicinal purpose after returning from a match in cold weather Last night I had a Peroni, reducing by stock to eight. I did not enjoy as I should because I knew I should not.
The omens were not good for Sunderland this evening as before the game it was announced that Cisse who did not travel and Kenwyn Jones, who was on the bench would be rested. To give time for them to recover from knocks received during the Derby. Talking of Derby, Nigel Clough celebrated their fist win at the weekend and went to Notts Forest last night in the fourth round replay of the FA Cup where he had played for his father and scored the scored which won the League Cup. His team were two goals down within a matter of minutes but somehow managed to fight back, playing good football to win by three goals to two,
Clearly management policy at Sunderland is to concentrate on staying in the Premiership. However it looked as if a miracle was going to happen as Sunderland scored early on against the run of play and then survive attack after attack until an equaliser just before half time. There was no further scoring in the second half and the game went into extra time and looked as if would go to penalties despite Sunderland having the better of this part of the match. Until with a couple of minutes of the final whistle, Blackburn scored and dreams crashed for another year.
I did consider watching again The Children and interesting film. Seen in theatre and now on DVD but I was not just in the mood A DVD of a rare Antonioni film arrived this morning but too late to view over lunch, perhaps after the football and the cricket. Collingwood was out clearly leg before and the heavens have opened and a tropical cloudburst driven the players into their respective dressing rooms. Durham promised to send the membership books out late January but has not arrived. I have been successful in getting one of the reduced price annual edition of Wisden’s celebrating Durham‘s winning the county championship. It should arrive in March.
I will also mention having achieved a continuing 100 record at Hearts with over 404 successive wins. At Spider I am playing on after reaching 101 and now making another major effort to achieve a run of 101 games as level one chess. The rain has stopped as quick as it arrived in Caribbean. . Play was to start in thirteen minutes but the covers were then relayed as more rain was forecast. Peterson was out three short of 100 but Flint off commenced to make a solid innings when bad light stopped play He was then 43 not out and the team 236 for 5.
I did listen to some Joan Baez but not as much as originally intended. Her voice never ceases to amaze.
From the essential Joan Baez, The night they drove; Amazing Grace; Boulder to Birmingham; Swing Low Sweet Chariot; Oh Happy Day; Love is just a four letter word; Forever Young; Diamonds and Rust; Lily Rosemary ; Please come to Boston; Suzanne, I shall be Released; Blowing in the Wind; The Ballad of Sacco; Love song to a stranger.
From Diamonds : Prison Trilogy; Rainbow Road, Love is a stranger; Myths; In the Quiet morning; To Bobby; Song of Bangladesh; Tumbleweed; Imagine; Diamond and Rust; Fountain of Sorrow; Never Dreamed you’d Leave; Children and all that Jazz;
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