Thursday 13 January 2011

1996 A good day in January 2011

Wednesday 12th January commenced as a good day and then continued. To bed and sleep at 9.30pm the night before unable to stay up for the end of the League Cup first leg semi final between Premier leagues strugglers West Ham and Birmingham I had several good spells of sleep before waking and getting up at 4. It is 20.20 cricket in Australia with the Women’s team first, depleted from injuries they had lost the three match one day series by two games to one. I fast forward the Australian Innings and the watch the main part of the England innings live, getting myself ready of the swim, doing the washing up between the overs. The women paced themselves very well and had something like 20 runs to get at less than one run a ball, when 2 a ball is more the norm for this kind of cricket.

I arrive at the leisure club as the early morning swimmers were vacating the pool and was able to swim 52 lengths on my own. This is a rare occurrence. I briefly read the Telegraph before heading to Morrison’s Seaburn where in addition to the special salad mix was able to purchase a further supply of the half price Aynsley packet soups on a buy two get two free offer and then stopped at the South Shields store for another supply. By Thursday morning I had added a further dozen packets to purchased supply with a total of 50 4 packet boxes which should last the great part of this year as I am less inclined to soup during the summer months. I was able to acquire a dozen packets of each of my favourites, the broccoli with stilton cheese and French Onion soup. I took the opportunity to try out some new flavours. All three have a zing about them with aromatic Thai chicken with Lemongrass, Szechuan hot and sour and Mild and smooth Indian curry and lentil. There is also a New England style vegetable chowder which I am yet to try.


I arrived home on Wednesday just as the Australian innings was getting underway in the first of 20 20 men’s series. Shane Watson, he of the run outs but nevertheless one of the more consistent Australian batsman but fortunately unable to break from under 50 runs an innings started slowly with his partner only managing 40 runs in the first five over batting play whereas England although losing a wicket, possibly two put on over 60m in the same period. In part this was an attempt to make up the 26 run scored off the first Graham Swann over with three consecutive sixes. He made up for this only giving away 14 runs in his other 3 overs.


While there were several small stands and the Australians only lost 4 wickets some tight English bowling notably from Shahzad giving only 25 runs but Yardy and Bresnan also only gave 28 each so the total of 157 was between 10 and 20 lights according most commentators. Bell and Pietersen made their runs quickly but at 104 for 5 the match was finely balanced. It was the innings of Morgan which first tipped the match on balance in England’s favour who desperately wanted a win, to continue the supremacy gained in the Tests but also because no other International Team had managed to win 8 consecutive 20 20 games. When Morgan and Yardy went for consecutive balls the alarm bells rang and Flowers advised Captain Collingwood to send in the latest addition to the squad 21 year old Woakes for his first senior International innings at any level ahead of the seasoned Swann. He justified the action by promptly dispatching Watson who overall took 4 wickets for 24 and was rightly man of the match, for 6. When Swann and then Bresnan went leaving the youngster with Shahzad to get the required runs no one could forecast the result and the predominantly Australian supporting crowd held their breath. Swann was clean bowled trying to score the required four runs in one go. It was Woakes who scored a two with the penultimate ball so there was one run required the last ball which got with a fine stroke which would have got two three runs if these had been required. It was a dramatic win which achieved the record. Bell was dropped of his first ball and then again later and there were other drops and misfields which against suggests this is not Australia’s year. Both sides donated a proportion of their match fee for the victims of the Queensland Brisbane disaster where in the capital some 40000 are said could be affected by the rising waters. The next games are Friday,


Continuing the sports Ipswich beat the night Arsenal 1,o at Portland Road the their first leg other League cup semi final and the Blackpool Fairy take continues with their second win against Liverpool this season. I was very sorry to hear that the excellent Roy Hodgson who experienced success after success managing international as well as club sides came to an end as Liverpool’s dependence on Gerrard and Torres has been finally exposed. It would be good for the Premiership if the team was relegated although this will remain unthinkable to the city, something which Newcastle experienced last season. If only Bankers were in the same position.


At the beginning of December I purchased two items by mail order via the Daily Telegraph offers. When the packaged arrived mid December only one was enclosed and enquiries revealed the item was out of stock until January. I checked on Wednesday and was told it was in the post arriving Thursday morning a month late. I also ordered over shoe devices which grip the snow or ice although I knew at the time of making the order they were already out of stocked but the hope was arrival with the firm before Christmas and delivery by Christmas Eve, They are now restocked and should be on their way shortly although hopefully they will not be needed for another year or two. My little moan is that I was kept on the phone for ten minutes before learning I needed a different number and then another ten minutes before getting through someone able to check the position.

On Monday morning I received demand for another £41 for the motor vehicle insurance taken out through a broker of several decades standing last October. The letter had no policy reference and can be regarded as an extortion demanding money with menaces of cancelling the policy. I contact the broker who admit that a problem had arisen between the firm and the insurance company so that in effect I was free standing and had to sort out the matter myself although there had been no alteration to the agreed policy.


I then contacted customer services who first had no trace of the policy numbering on the certificate but then advised of the new one allocated saying there has been some change via the Underwriters. When I said I had not received any notification or requested any changes I was told that the correspondence could have gone astray. I was told the matter had to be taken up with the Underwriting department but after holding on twice I was told that customer services could not get through to one of their own departments, albeit at a different building but against all the usual practice of large organisation which there is always an internal system of communication. My number was taken and I was told I would telephoned back and stayed in having wanted to go and see the film about the how the Queen’s father coped and then conquered his stutter.


I received no phone back so the following day I wrote seeking an explanation to the individual who had signed the letter and to the Chief Executive whose name appeared on the Insurance Certificate. Yesterday I received a call of apology and the admission that the letter had been sent in error and I did not owe money. Good but I cannot help wondering if this was a one off or a similar letter sent to others who simply paid up without questioning.


I also watched a two episode True Movies channel production of the life of St Augustine, following on the recent film about Augustine the Emperor, separate by over 400 years in which Christianity had become the official religion of the Empire. This is the second time within a decade I have been interested in a man who has had such an influence on Catholicism and Christianity in general. I have a small volume on his life written by Rebecca West in the Men of Destiny series. I will read this before writing about the fictionalised biographical film.

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