2468 Corleone in fact and fiction as Montalbano investigates the Terracotta Dog and news that James Gandofini has died

One of the great joys of the past couple of years has been the showing of the Montalbano series of dramatizations of the books of Andrea Camilleri which I am now reading in sequence having mistakenly commenced with the first of the TV series but third in sequence, The Snack Thief, then going back to the first - The Shape in the Water and now having completed he reading of the second The Terracotta Dog, having also commenced to read the fourth The Voice of the Violin.

I enjoyed the reading story of the Terracota Dog which I remembered from the TV show because it is the work which introduces us two key characters, his rival and deputy Mimi Augello and his front of desk man, unintentional comedian because of the mixing up of Italian and Sicilian in a way which reminds of the fake policeman, British spy in ‘Alo ‘Alo getting his English into French pronunciation badly wrong. The book also reinforces Salvo’s adoration of food, especially of sea food and of pasta dishes with unexpected ingredients tot he sauces.

First the main story or at least what arises because of the main the story. A Mafia underboss who has been on the run for over two decades contacts the Detective Inspector through his childhood friend Gege who runs prostitutes and small times drugs on an isolated stretch of beach on the outside of the town of fictitious town of Vigáta. It is important to view Sicily as a separate country in terms of being a 10000 square mile island with a population of 5 million and where the Mafia still controls some areas which in turn as a depressing effect on the economy and tourism and which is covered in the separate dramatization of Corleone, based on the life of Salvatore Riina who for a period controlled the Mafia throughout Sicily which I shall also cover later in this writing.

In the Terracotta Dog the former Mafia underboss decides to spend the rest of his life in prison rather than be terminated by the present generation of gangsters who are not men of honour. However in order to achieve his objective he needs to be captured and this involves an elaborate scheme in which the Inspector excludes his deputy and anyone prone to seek the limelight via the media. This annoys his deputy who seriously considers putting in a bid for a transfer.

Salvo admits that he likes not only to control situations but often take time to think out what is happening and he does this best on his own as well as breaking rules by cutting corners and over stepping the mark, at times by wide margins. In this instance man is captured and placed in the hands of the special anti Mafia squad. However Salvo to his horror is required to speak at a press conference, something he usually avoids and in this situation made more difficult because he has to mislead over what really happened.

Unfortunately what happened is that the Mafia contemporaries do not buy the capture story and because of their inside connections with politicians and the Justice system they are able to badly wound the prisoner when in transit is arranged between prisons. The man requests Montalbano visits and with the dying breadth reveals the location of a cave used by the contemporary gangsters to keep their stock of weapons.

　

The cave was originally created to hide material from the German’s during World War 2 and has an ingenious entrance involving a large rock reminding of the Secret of the Santa Vittoria. Inside the cave there is flooring, walls and roofing to protect from the damp. There is something not right about the cave which the Inspector spots and again works out and finds an inner cave where there are two bodies, later confirmed as young people of both sexes, arms entwined and shot. There is no remains pf clothing suggesting they were killed elsewhere but a life size dog made from terracotta, a dish with coins which help dates the burial and a jug. The greater part of the books is concerned in unravelling the mystery of who the young people are, why they died and came to be entombed in this manner.

He is able to follow what today we would call a cold case because he has a near death experience when those who assassinated the former underboss attempts to kill him and successfully kill his childhood friend Gege. He visits the mother and sister of the dead man to express his sorrow at the loss of his friend and who also provided him with good intelligence over many years.

While recuperating and resisting efforts of his superiors to promote him Montalbano slowly unravels the mystery. First with the help of the wife of man consulted he learns who the girl was said at the time to have run off with a soldier to the USA but this is proved to be a fiction. The girl’s boyfriend was a Muslim who worked from a ship based in the local docks repairing other ships. Montalbano also finds that two historical stories, one Muslim and one Christian were fused to create the scene found in the second cave and where the key aspect is a reawakening.

It also begins to look as if the truth will never be established until he has one of his brainwaves and with the help of the Swedish wife mentioned in The Shape in the Water he used some promised bonus money to hire a plane to make a statement about the young lovers at an event attended by a lot of people and the media and which then gets reported throughout Italy. This he hopes will bring the individual he suspects of having carried out the murder back to Sicily, in part because money allocated to compulsory purchase his land because of a new motorway tunnel lies in a bank waiting to be claimed or until it is established there is no one entitled.

The story the man tells is not what Montalbano expects. The young girl had met the boyfriend in secret because her father was not just possessive but coveted and eventually raped her. I cannot remember if it was girl or the boyfriend who had shot and wounded the father but it was one of the henchmen who carried out the murder of the couple while they were making love. I also cannot remember who the relative had also killed and led him to become an exile for the subsequent years living under a different life with a family. Montalbano in a fashion we are to learn he uses regularly decides to let sleeping dogs lie!!!!

As is the case with most of the books there are two main stories and sometimes there are unrelated. In this instance Mimi, his deputy investigates an unusual theft at a local supermarket because a vehicle with all the stolen goods is then found. Interrogation of the Supermarket manager also raises suspicions especially when a passing witness is also murdered to look like an accident but has taken the precaution of writing down his concerns and passing these in mailed letter to the Inspector. It is subsequently shown that the owner of the company supply the supermarket, a front for the Mafia was responsible for the attack on Montalbano and the killing of his friend but all in vain because the Mafia associates had also arranged for the termination of the colleague attracting too much interest by the authorities in their activities. Why the supermarket was robbed as part of the delivery of the weapons is also explained but do we remember or care?

A feature of the book is the attention given by the author to the food of Sicily and the attention given by the Inspector to his food which he likes to enjoy in silence even when he has company. Consideration of the present day meals cooked in Sicily suggests that Montalbano while appearing to be fixed on fish and pasta combinations chooses food from the all aspect of Sicilian culinary life with along the Catania coast with its Greek influence emphasis on fish ( sea bream and bass, tuna, cuttlefish and swordfish), olives and fresh vegetables such as egg plants, peppers and tomatoes while Arabia provides the use of lemons and other citrus fruits. A more detailed re-examination of The Terracotta Dog especially the notes at the back explains that calia e simenza is a mix of roasted chic peas and pumpkin seeds sometimes with peanuts added, an Arabic influenced dish; the Pasta ‘nastciata is a casserole of elbow(?) macaroni, penne, ziti, tomato sauce and mince beef with Parmesan cheese and béchamel blended. Mensa is a calf’s spleen, sliced into thin strips land cooked in fat while fresh anchovies all agretto means cooked in a sauce made with lemon juice. Pasta al forno in a casserole which can be made with meat, eggs, tomato or cream sauces; and pasta con sarde is broad spaghetti like rings with a sauce of fresh sardines and the tops of wild fennel, pine nuts, raisins, garlic and saffron while the second dish on the menu purpi ala carrettera is octopus served in a sauce of olive oil lemon and a great deal of hot pepper. There is also reference to tabesea pizza (?) and to mostacciola( small sweet cakes of chocolate, almonds and candid fruits) where I can read my handwriting while others notes remain indecipherable written in bed the early of the night or dawn! Not sure I would like to try some of the dishes. More a salami with French bread and olives man, me.

Corleone was the name of the Mafia family in the most celebrated of films set mainly in the USA and but also one part in Sicily- The Godfather. Corleone is a real town of 12000 people in the province of Palermo and known as the birthplace of several Mafia bosses from the fictional head of the family in the Godfather to seven real life monsters, so called men of honour who grew up at the same time and with some family members subsequently carrying on the criminality which terrorised and engulfed the whole community for generations. The most notorious is still alive and in prison Salvatore Riina. He joined the local Mafia at the age of 19. Killed a man in an argument and served six years in prison.

He began to take power from the local leader with the help of other local young men but in the 1950 their power was a very local and they were referred as the peasant mafia by the major gangs based on Palermo. Riina and his associates spent several years hunting down and killing all the associates of the former local leadership with the consequence of going into hiding when warrants for their arrest were issued. In 1969 Riina and one of the others were caught but fixed the jury and witnesses and indicted once more he went into open hiding for the next two decades.

According to the Italian made TV series he acquired a large guarded property growing tomatoes and citrus fruit. Riina became the local boss while others were captured and sent to prison. Despite having a good life, married with a family his ambition for power and wealth remained so he entered the exceptionally lucrative heroin trade which became central to the Mafia economy in the 1970’s as it did in the USA, assisted I believe by the CIA following the Vietnam war for its operations in the middle east and central America and by key figures in Italian society in a similar involvement as hedge funds have been in the late 1990 and after the millennium in terms of the impact on society and the involvement of those in politics and the justice system as well as capitalist enterprise. Politicians and judges who got in the way were murdered often openly.

In 1981 Riina’s people launched a take over war on his rivals, especially those based in Palermo and in which at least a thousand deaths occurred, more than the total of British soldiers dying in Iraq and Afghanistan. He became the most powerful and wealthy Mafia head in Sicily until the intervention of Judge Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borseillini.

Born a couple of months after me in 1939 Falcone together with Paolo Borseillini, a magistrate and who grew up together in the same neighbourhood, attending the same schools as boys who became the Mafioso leaders they set out to fight, one a traditional conservative catholic and the other supporting communist values although both were never activity in party politics or joined a particular party. Both men were murdered on the orders of Riina after Falcone had brought back from South America the former boss of one of the deposed rivals who provide key testimony in the famous Maxi trials.

Until the trial in which 475 men were indicted the existence of the Mafia was denied at all levels within Italian society and in fact as in America they ran Crime Incorporated operating front legitimate businesses for laundering money, funding political parties, and buying into the agencies of justice. With Province wide management and coordinating committees as well as national.

At first 360 individuals were convicted and sentenced to a total of 2665 years in prison although a proportion was in absentia. However by 1989, that is three years later the process of appeal led to only sixty technically remaining in prison I say technically because by a combination of bribery and terror life remained comfortable for the majority.

Falcone was murdered in May 1992 and Borseillini in July of the same year, the action taken because the original charges were upheld by the appeal judge in January 1992. There remains strong suspicion that the Italian secret service, who used the Mafia for political as well as personal purposes were involved with the killings. Recently indicted for under age sex former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was said to have bargained with the Mafia, in a political electoral agreement involving an end to the car bombings of anti Mafia investigators and a “moderation“ of the crackdown on their activities..

Riina, as portrayed in the film was betrayed by an associate who he had told would never be made a boss who then fled knowing Riina’s propensity to get rid of potential rivals and provided the evidence of the man’s residence with the wife first identified leaving the property and then Riina himself on January 19^th 1993. The immediate outcome was another reign of terror with bombings of art galleries and churches and the deaths of a two month old child and a nine year old girl. He was subsequently indicted, convicted and sentenced for over one hundred counts of murder and the authorities have taken steps to try and prevent him continuing to control Sicilian crime confiscating over $100 million they have so far been able to identity of his illicit fortune.

Only in in 2006 was the man believed to have taken over from Riina captured after being 43 years on the run. Riina’s two sons followed him convicted of murders in the case of the eldest and for extortion and money laundering in the instance of the younger and both are presently in prison.

The story of this Italian made 2007 mini series originally in six episodes is told through the experience of a contemporary of Riina’s who went to the same school but choose the path of the law and who works for Falcone and Borseillini and survives several attempts on his life, the placing of his wife and son in danger and leading to the breaking up of the marriage although is son joins the police much to the horror of both parents, but which in turn leads to the parents getting back together and seeing the capture and imprisonment of Riina.

In an IMDb note the director of the series explains that this character was made up “to represent all the ordinary men who fought the mafia over the years. Through him we meet the historic crime fighting Police chiefs, judges, politicians (Giuliano, Falcone, Borseillini etc.) and as their lives were all cut short by the Cosa nostra we felt we needed a figure who stayed alive and told their stories. The sad truth is that the real heroes were all killed before they could witness the arrest of the boss Riina.” This truth is not just sad but an indictment of the failure of the post war Italian political and judicial system. It is a grim and depressing reality behind the deaths of some very brave individuals and their families.

The ongoing reality of the contemporary Mafia in the USA was brought home to everyone through the brilliant TV fictional series, The Sopranos broadcast in six seasons and a total of 86 episodes and where the outstanding actor who played Tony Soprano, James Gandolfini died on the 19^th June of this year aged only 52. I watched the series when it was first run between 1999 and 2007. I viewed the series again shown back to back on Sky a couple of years back, except for the final season concluding episodes. As Sky have released the full series through On Demand it is my intention to finish the viewing and my writing up soon.

2467 Through the eyes of Sansa Stark, the conclusion to a Storm of Swords book 2 events not covered in season three of A Game of Thrones

The third season of the TV production of a Game of Thrones ends on a positive note after the shock of the murders of King Robb Stark, his mother and closest guardsmen, wedding guests at the House of Frey but we know that Bran Stark the legitimate heir to the estate of Winterfell is alive and on his quest to find the three eyed Crow which is bringing him insight into the future in his visions.

His younger brother Rickon was last reported alive having gone his separate way with his guardians and did not feature in the series or indeed in volumes three and four of George R R Martin‘s epic. The youngest daughter Ayra had also survived from being held at the Court of King Joffrey after the murder of King Robert and her father Lord Stark, and had also survived various challenges along the road in her attempt to find her family and get home.

So to had survived the half brother John Snow who has returned to the headquarters of the Nights Watch, Castle Black and according to the rest of a Storm of Swords, Blood and Gold, Jon is elected the new Commander of the Watch as a compromise candidate, engineered by King Stannis who had rescued the Watch from the attack of the Wildlings and manipulated the main contenders with the help of Samwell Tarly who Jon had befriended and defended. Jon had been declared the legitimate heir by King Robb having believed that his younger bothers had been murdered.

There was one significant development in the fourth book

not included in the third series. Catelyn Stark, despite her throat cut and unable to speak because of the wound was nevertheless alive after a fashion and taking command of the Brotherhood Without Banners hell bent on revenge on those who had destroyed her family.

Catelyn had ordered her guardswoman the Lady Brienne, formerly, the guardswoman to King Renly Baratheon, the younger brother of Stannis Baratheon to take the captured Jaime Lannister, the twin of Queen Cersie and in fact the father of her three children registered as those of the murdered King Robert, including her eldest boy the evil adolescent Joffrey. Lady Brienne had been instructed to return Jamie to his family in exchange for her two daughters Sansa and Ayra, unaware that Ayra had broken free and was in the road in search of her. During the two books of A Storm of Swords, Lady Brienne had first to contend with the arrogant and uncooperative Jaime although he had been right to argue that had she untied his hands and given a sword they would not have been captured.

After their capture Jaime had his right hand severed and survived just about, full of self pity at his plight but growing in admiration of Brienne for her grit and fighting skill as well as determination to keep her word and fulfil her mission. He has consequently saved her from rape and then death in a bear pit and together they had return to his family where he found an unexpected situation and had to struggle to protect Brienne who was incarcerated. He returns to his role in he Kingsguard.

However I want to tell the rest of the story of the Lannisters through the position of the elder daughter of Lord and Lady Stark, Sansa. One sources summarises Sansa, who is only 11 when the series commence, as possessing as interest in “music, poetry, singing, dancing, embroidery, and other traditional feminine activities. Like many girls of her age, Sansa is enthralled by songs and stories of romance and adventure, particularly those depicting handsome princes, honourable knights, chivalry, and love. Initially those song and stories were Sansa's vision of the world beyond Winterfell, a world she desperately wished to experience, but she was later disabused of such innocent romanticized notions.”

Because of her outlook on life she jumped at the chance of being betrothed to Joffrey when King Robert visited Winterfell and she revelled in the prospect of one day becoming a Queen and she sided with Joffrey over his behaviour on the journey to Kings Landing which led to the killing of her Direwolf instead of that belonging to sister Ayra who sent hers off beforehand anticipating what was to happen with its fate has remaining unknown throughout the subsequent three books.

Sansa’s ambitions and girlish fantasies also contribute to the imprisonment and death of her father something which has not appeared to haunt her subsequently. When Lord Stark discovers after the death of King Robert that Joffrey is not his child he tells Sansa they are returning home and failing to persuade him to let her stay and marry Joffrey, she disclosed his intention to leave which led to his imprisonment and death.

She then had to witness the execution of her father as a traitor and to beatings at the hands of his men and narrowly escaped being raped at he hands of he mob. She is befriended by the keeper of the royal purse Lord Petyr Baelish, Known as Littlefinger, a nasty man despite his niceness with sneaky being another word to describe his machinations. Petyr had a relationship with Catelyn Stark who rejected his advance and drunk one night slept with her sister making her pregnant but because of his lowly birth the marriage was not sanctioned and the pregnancy terminated. She married the man who became the Hand to King Robert and who in turn was murdered after he gained proof that the three children of Queen Cersei was those of her twin brother and not her husband. It is Petyr who persuades the widow to write to her sister with the suspicions about his death. She lingers hope of establishing the relationships she wanted all those years before but Petyr only interest is his advancement and the coveting of Sansa who reminds him of her mother when she too was a girl. To provide something of the true nature of this wicked man he supported King Robert in the assassination attempt made of Daenerys Targaryen and he also betrayed Lord Stark, taking the side of the Queen which led to the capture of Sansa’s father.

In A Clash of Kings the machinations of Petyr are grasped by Tyrion Lannister who is appointed by his father as the hand of King Joffrey and he tries to use Petyr and Petyr tries to use him. It is Petyr who brokers the alliance between the Lannisters and Tyrell’s to get their forces to fight alongside by arranging a marriage between Joffrey and Margaery Tyrell setting aside that with Sansa. He lets Sansa know that he will arrange her escape from Kings Landing after the battle to save the city. However his motives are suspect.

As previously reported it was the ingenuity of Tyrion Lannister that saved the city and its Court by destroying the sea attack of Stannis Baratheon and then with the land forces of the Tyrell’s defeating the attack on land. He was badly wounded and disfigured but from the anger and envy of his sister the Queen, especially after he had arranged for the departure of her daughter as betrothed and then ward of another house and as she feared he was making moves to reduce her power further and control her son, the King.

However they had both been out manoeuvred by their father Lord Tywin who effectively sidelined Tyrion and worse demanded he had no contact with the love of his life the whore Shea, threatening her execution. After his recovery he had made Tyrion the Keeper of the Kings Coin with Petyr Baelish having been rewarded with the Lordship of Herrenhal, although the castle and estate was still in the hands of Roose Bolton.

Tyrion as previously reported has remained something of anti hero of series with the actor winning a number of awards and nominations and the character and the position of the character and the reputation fo the actor has been throughout the third season.

He confronts his rejecting father who declares that the man should be grateful that he did not follow his inclination and end his life at birth, putting the family interest first something which he argues Tyrion should now do so. He appoints Tyrion as Keeper of the Coin something which he applies himself quickly discovering the true nature of the finances and the way the crown is beholden and in debt to a wide range of interests.

However it is his father’s second order which throws Tyrion and causes Sansa the greatest of disappointments. When the season opened the grandmother of Joffrey’s new betrothed, Oleanna Tyrell nee Redwyne played by Honor Blackman, arrives at Kings Landing as part of the wedding party and invites Sansa to a meal at which she questions the girl about the personality and behaviour of the King in the presence of the future Queen, Margaery, the recently widowed wife of King Renly Baratheon, the brother of the murdered King Robert Baratheon and the legal father of Joffrey, the product of the incestuous union between Queen Cersei and her twin brother Jamie Lannister.

Lady Oleanna is known as the Queen of Thorns because of her barbed tongue, persuades Sansa to tell the truth and rewards the girl by suggesting that she marries one of the brothers of Margaery and lives with grandmother at the family home of Highgarden. This pleases Sansa who become a close friend of Margaery as they takes walks in the garden and share confidences and she abandon her desire to take up the offer of Littlefinger to escape from the court and make her way to her mother.

It is at this point that Tywin Lannisters intervened and orders his son Tyrion to marry Sansa as he also orders Cersei to make a new marriage of convenience.

Tyrion is opposed to this development but eventually goes along with the order and the two marry although the marriage is not consummated, as he is unwilling to force Sansa and hoping that she will develop feelings for him in time. The two make ready for the great wedding of Joffrey to Margaery at which there is to be over 100 courses at the banquet and where Tyrion’s wench, Shea had pleaded with him to get her into the main feast so she could admire the finery as well as witness and participate the great meal and accompanying events. However there is an event which is to shake the already crumbling foundations of the state even further as Joffrey dies, appearing to choke although through the administration of some poison. Given the enormity of this development I was not surprised it was left from season three of the TV series to create a major event in season four.

The TV season has also omitted an important scene in which Tywin Lannister exerts his authority over his grandson, King Joffrey ordering him to bed and to be given dreamwine to calm him down. The row is mainly between Joffrey and Tyrion who Joffrey goes out of his way to humiliate at the wedding. Because of this and the previous attempt by Queen Cersei to murder Tyrion it is not surprising that that she argues that Tyrion must have been responsible for the death of her eldest boy, and Tyrion is arrested and put on trial with many witnesses brought against him, including his wench. Things look very black.

It is at this point Littlefinger steps in and rescues Sansa on one of his ships taking her to the home of mother’s sister who is thrilled to provide sanctuary on the basis that this paves the way for her and Littlefinger to be together at long last.

Meanwhile as mentioned earlier the crippled Jamie Lannister has been returned home and in the TV series we see him meeting with Cersei. What is therefore not appreciated is that in fact this event occurs after the death of Joffrey when Cersei is in rage and mourning. She is in no mood to have the kind of open relationship with her twin brother he now wants. He returns to the Kingsguard having also fallen out of favour with his father and it is Jamie who arranges for Tyrion to escape the sentence of death by the court.

Lord Tywin refuses to let the death of the horrible spoilt and sadistic brat Joffrey upset his plans and decides that the younger brother Tommen, also as said the product of the union between Cersie and her brother should not only be crowned king but marry the already twice widowed Queen Margaery.

I must confess to be confused whether it was Littlefinger or Tyrion who murdered Joffrey with the unwitting help of Sansa or if indeed Tyrion arranged for Littlefinger to organise the murder. However Littlefinger’s plans to have Sansa for himself go awry and Catelyn sisters turns on the girl recognising the intentions and also perishes. For the wedding Sansa had been asked to wear a special jewel encrusted hair net which during the feast was rearranged by Lady Oleanna and Littlefinger tells Sansa that he had planted the concerns about Joffrey with Oleanna when he had arranged the marriage as requested by Tyrion and that Oleanna had a removed a particular jewel which dissolved in wine to form the deadly poison and therefore the Oleanna had been the one to kill Joffrey. She wanted to protect her daughter from the King’s sadism and feared that her son appointed to the Kingsguard would become vulnerable wanting to intervene when witnessing the King’s behaviour towards his sister.

Given that Margaery had drunk from the wine goblet placed before her and the king, the implication is that she knew of the plan to kill her husband and stopped drinking the moment she saw her grandmother rearrange the hair of Sansa

It can then be argued that she and Oleanna were in favour of the marriage between her granddaughter and the new boy king who appeared a very different young personality and indeed Jaime as head of the Kingsguard was keen to protect the new King in a way he did not feel as strongly regarding his older son

So how did I come to believe that Tyrion Lannister had admitted responsibility for the death of his nephew? Well he did but this was only to hurt his brother Jamie. Tyrion had loved and married Tysha a young woman he had met when he with his brother Jamie and found her on the road accosted by some men. She was aged thirteen years at the time.

When Lord Tywin heard about the marriage he persuaded Jamie to tell his brother that the girl was a known young prostitute and to reinforce the allegation the point Lord Tywin had insisted that the girl be used by men fo the Kingsguard who each paid her with a silver coin he had provided and then he had forced Tyrion to be the last man and to pay the girl with a gold coin of the same worth Jamie claimed that their father had given the girl to make a man of Tyrion after the staged event on the road.

Jaime reveals this to Tyrion as the reason why with the help of a reluctant Lord Varys he had arranged for his brother to escape : guilt and which in turn led Tyrion to say that he had killed Joffrey and that he would kill Jamie when they next meet. Tyrion then makes his way to his father’s bedchamber where he find that Shae in his father’s bed. He strangles her for the evidence she game against him at his trial and then murders his father after the man said he could not remember what happened to Tysha except that she went where whores go. Queen mother Cersie offers to make anyone a Lord who kills Tyrion.

Meanwhile back at the home of the Tully’s, Catelyn’s sister had seen Littlefinger steal a kiss from Sansa noting that she had come to look so much like the love of his life. This prompted the surviving sister to try and kill Sansa, but instead Petyr kills the woman leaving the Sansa in his power and with her mother believed dead along with now her two aunts and her brothers. In fact as we know half brother Jon is now commander of the Nights Watch. Brother Brandon is on his quest for the crow with three eyes. Younger brother Rickon is elsewhere while sister Ayra is taking passage. Her mother, perhaps one of the undead, is leading a band of rebels and in fact only her father and eldest brother are dead. It is also presumed that Lord Baelish, Cersei, Tyrion, King Stannis, Oleanna, the Mother of the Dragons Daenerys Targaryen and indeed Ayra, Bran, Rickon, Catelyn, and Jon only know of their position as the others who have been covered in a Storm of Swords. The Epic continues.

2466 Lord Andy Murray of Wimbledon and Dunblane no less!

I was pleasantly tired after an emotionally exhausting day watching through television Andy Murray become the first male champion of the All England Wimbledon tennis club for the first time in 77 years on the 7^th day of the 7^th month, Then yesterday evening after a day basking in warmth and then the heat in what may have become for the UK High summer I watched an equally emotional documentary about the young man who in the space of twelve months has self fulfilled and justified all the effort required to become Olympic and US Champion to add to the ultimate achievement of the Home of Tennis championship.

According to the documentary his maternal grandfather played professional football and his mother also a former professional tennis player, is now leading member of the Scottish coaching and tennis development team but from an early age it was his determination to win and hatred of losing which became the driving force with led him at fifteen to press his parents to be allowed to join an established and recognised international training and development centre in Spain where he could practice against the best of age group, and which has similarly led him to spend time in Miami each year where is again able to practice against players of quality as well as train and improve his fitness in a warm clime.

However it also can be argued that the event which has had the greatest impact on his life and that of his family, particularly his mother is that both her boys attended the Dunblane Primary school when a local man entered the school gym and shot sixteen children and one teacher. She had the experience of going to the school to find out if both her boys were safe and then sharing in the grief of those parents whose children had not. She had given lifts to the murderer, a man who had run a youth club attended by Andy. Understandably both find it difficult to impossible to talk to about what happened although it was evident that both are contributing to their community and to ensure that the town is known for something more than the shootings.

Reading through the statistics of his progress as a tennis player fails to communicate the work that has been involved and which could be termed self torture from 10 minute ice baths to using a device which is a kind of restraint which he has to push against in order to strike at a ball away from him and which is designed to increase his mobility.

He has also been one of those leading the approach of employing a full team of specialists from a training partner who he met in Spain and remains associated for the past 11 years, to a masseur, a fitness coach, a dietician and a tennis coach which he has changed over the past five years several times and it with the recruitment of Ivan Lendl a major championship winner but also someone with the experience of losing several times in major finals. He convinced Murray that he is good enough to be at the top and win championships and to move on from points badly played, lost, unfair decision to concentrating on the next point to be played.

Murray commenced to play completive tennis from an early age wining a significant competition at the age of 12 and then winning prestigious competitions in Scotland and in July 2004 age 17 he played and lost to the French rising young man Jo Wilfried Tsonga in the second round. He went on to win the US Junior open in the same year and became the BBC Young Sports personality of the year reaching number two in the world as a junior.

In 2005 he was ranked 407 in professional list of male rankings. And eight years later he is number 2 with every possibility of moving to number 1, should be become successful in defending his US tile in a month and then win the Australian in the New Year. Ranked only 312 he became the first Scots born individual to reach the third round at Wimbledon and by the end of 2005 was ranked in the top hundred at 64. It was not until five years ago that he reached the quarter finals at Wimbledon

He lost to Djokovic in the final of the Australian grand slam on three straight steps. After beating his rival in the final of an event in Brisbane in 2012 he lost to him in a semi final in the Australian Open. He had reached number four in the world behind Federer, Nadal and Djokovic but it is over the past year that he approached greatness first with defeat in the men’s single’s final against Federer at Wimbledon where he won the first set but then could not counter the skill and determination of his opponent and was emotionally shattered after his defeat before the tennis world and the British public generally. In that final the crowd were reluctant to roar him to success because of their respect and admiration for Federer.

It was a different story at the Olympic Games where he won the final defeating Djokovic in the semi final and Federer in the final and then getting a silver medal in the mixed doubles with Laura Robson. He then went to New York and won the open Championship the first British man to win any of the four major championships in the world for over 70 years.

An injury prevented participation in the French open a month before Wimbledon and proved a blessing in disguise enabling him to combine rehabilitation of the injury with preparation for what was to prove the great event of his life and likely to remain so in terms of his tennis life. He won the domestic warm up competition in grass at Queen’s club. His opening games in the Wimbledon 2013 men’s single events appeared comparatively trouble free and the early departures of Nadal and Federer removed potential major obstacles although the committee had seeded him second to Djokovic representing their world tennis rankings. He then had a major wobble in the quarter final losing the first two sets but fighting back in an exhausting contest to win 3.2 and seasoned watchers had the feeling that time he was not to be denied. It was his opponent to be who then had an extraordinary five hour contest in the semi final with other seasoned followers commented that Djokovic would recover and be in the form which had made his reach and remain in the number one position for the past two years.

If one simply reads the broad stats of the final Murray could appear to have won easily in his three set to love victory. However he was down 4.1 in the second set before breaking back and similarly lost a break in service in the third only to regain the initiative and serve for the title 5. 4 ahead in the third. He then won his first three service points and the nation gathered itself to let out a roar of relief but the Djokovic demonstrated why he is number with, not only getting the next three points but gaining the advantage to come with a point of squaring the match not one or twice but three and may indeed have been four times with Murray looking dazed and Djokovic having a wicked smile on his face knowing that Murray looked spent and that if he prevented defeat in the game he might well accomplish what seemed impossible to take the set and the next two with Murray deflated and going to tennis pieces at having coming so close but proving yet again unable to take that next step,

However it was not to be, Murray saved the break back point and went on to take the match with national joy unparalleled, I think since the World Cup was won with only regaining the Ashes and magic Saturday evening at the Olympic games coming close. Murray looked dazed almost shocked by the outcome and I suspect he still is yet to come to terms with becoming an immortal in his lifetime, with a title and a national role for the asking. However he is unlikely to stop the treadmill he has created for himself with winning Slams, defending his title in New York and winning sometime the Australian and the French, defending Wimbledon for the next three to five seasons and becoming the World’s rated number one player all realistic targets, he wants and with all the indications that he does. On Monday afternoon he was welcomed by the Prime Minister at number 10 taken into the garden for champagne with the Deputy PM, Leader of the Opposition and Leader for the Scottish Nationalists at Westminster.

As when an Englishman won the Toru De France and the successes at the Olympics there is immediate tennis talk of Legacy and what his victory could mean for the future of the sport. For my own part it was a privilege to be alive to witness the event and I hope he takers time to enjoy the experiences with his friends and his family. I suspect he will not let up on the drive to continue winning but he will enjoy the playing that much more, knowing what he is now capable of doing and fearing no one, Nadal perhaps on clay and the next young man or so setting their sight on getting to where he is, although I would be surprised if that is a Britishman. Laura Robson for the women’s title, maybe.

2465 Durham at Scarborough, Wimbledon and weekend sport with Glastonbury

July 2^nd 2013 and half the year is completed and today I procrastinate playing games against he computer another 750000 on Mah-jong Egyptian, ten games of chess where I am repeatedly failing to achieves more than 30 games in succession at level three but where in Free Cell Patience I am well on the way towards 300 having also achieved 500 previously on this computer and 1000 in the now distant path. However later I reached professional at tennis level on Wii sport after 50 games, where last time it was over 80 and then three more bronze medals so there is onoy golf professional and I have matched the previous character apart from the Fit where I reached an amazing not to be repeated 22 because of the tests the computer selected and brilliant performance on my part though I say myself. With the next character I propose two games a time at tennis and six holes of golf with a month to achieve professional performance the initial target

On Sunday I went on my first trip for some 15 years with the Durham supporters club to Scarborough to watch the team play Yorkshire in a 20 over per side game. Previously I went by coach to watch Durham at Grace Road Leicestershire and at Uxbridge to watch Middlesex in competitive latter round trophy games with 50 overs per side long before the game was reduced to 40 overs and the 20 20 was thought over. Next season the 20 20 games are being played once a week during the season and the 40 over game reverts to 50 overs which is the standard for International matches.

I was equipped with my new pocket digital radio £70 and a new Thermos flask because on Friday evening for the first 20 20 game of the new season after a day of solid rain and I had placed my rucksack too firmly on the concrete of the Member’s balcony and cracked the base spilling hot soup over the radio and which after showing some signs of station life quickly faded and I was desperate to be able to keep contact with other sporting events taking place during the day. I purchased an expensive pocket digit radio from Argos £69 which has a recharge battery and 24 hours of play at a time. I have quickly learned how to operate the pre set 20 stations which includes Five Live extra where I was able to listen to the swimming trials late afternoon. I must learn more of the options although I doubt if I will be able to pick up the BBC cricket commentaries ( A quick check on the Internet failed to reveal the frequencies and whether the cricket commentaries have an Digital radio frequency as well as Internet which logically there should be and a quick Google search suggests it is. More before the next trip and to listen to Durham when I visit on Sunday. I also purchased another flask on Saturday from Asda for a modest six pounds although as has occurred before using the milk contained at the top only work if you keep the flask vertical otherwise the milk spills out so I was left with strong black coffee which I left behind in the car although have used brewing on the gas stove.

Friday’s first game against Lancs also got off to bad start as on the slip road down from the AIM to the roundabout with roads to Sunderland and Chester le street the front hub cap or wheel trim as they are now called came off and fortunately missed the car to my left who signalled what had happened. However I was in no mood to dot eh round trip to the previous junction and then back to try and locate the cap or on the homewards trip. Irritatingly although logical they are only sold in sets of four from around £15 basic to £30 with fitting for £5 extra. I may delay a purchase to see if it on the roadside when I repeat the journey this weekend.

According to the BBC weather it would rain until four which it did and sometimes hard so that I was able to fill several pails of water from the bucket placed below the gutter down pipe from the side roof in the garage area. On Wednesday I had returned to B and Q noting that they now had a full supply of the larger and the slim line water barrels and I purchased a slim line green. I placed this in the corner of the dividing wall and house almost out of view from where I sit having sawn through the plastic pipe after forcing the wall ties off their screws, but leaving a sufficient length to be inserted in the barrel to provide support, However the up turned plastic bowl was a failure and from he pressure of water from the two down pipes used the bowl had squished making it impossible to fill the large watering can so I had to go back to square, slowly emptying the water into containers until the barrel could be out and the squashed plastic bowl removed. I replaced with a wood structured cassette tape holder with six drawers. These were removed and the inside filled with earth to provide ballast and then the water replaced. I have placed the mini shelf mini greenhouse from the space created for the water barrel against the third down pipe from the garage roof which I cannot use without a metal cutter and given the volume of water collected from the two down pipes on Friday a third will not be needed.

Other changes have included clearing and cleaning the breakfast table which may be used for meals over the coming weeks of summer, as I am leaving clear until I can find a washable plastic table cloth coloured green ideally. I forgot to mention that I have plants now on the top shelf of both mini greenhouses within the garage area so that I a great view of green, the flowering plants and hanging baskets along the wall of the house as well as the window boxes and those on the old table and the two mini green houses along the dividing wall. The only thing I need to do is to put something on the top shelf of the fifth green house in corner between the day room and this which I overlooked. The earth from the similar use plastic grow bag is now in the two large plastic containers which were previously used for paper waste collections before the inserts were provided to the blue recycle bins. I had tried to use one of these for water collection until finding that there are small holes in the base along one side

I have now taken photos of the changes as well as placing a plant on the top shelf in the corner. I have then uploaded all the photos from the camera to the computer and viewed the three groups of subjects, crossing the ferry to North Shields the trip along the river from Newcastle to the mouth of the river and back and at the Scarborough Cricket ground which remains the intended focus of this catch up of weekend of sport but first lunch needs to be organised. I switched on the TV to check on the cricket and find that England has ended the Essex innings and are batting again 45 for 0 wicket 180 runs ahead. They will now bat all day and then try and bowl Essex out otherwise they will not have the kind of an Ashes warm up competitive match as planned.

For lunch I shall have a corn on the cob starter followed by a medallion of beef plus the rest of tinned tomatoes, baked beans and processed peas used yesterday with a pork chop. I had run out of main course items and went to Asda yesterday buying two packs of the medallions (£3.50 three packs of lamb steaks £10 and two packs of pork chops £32) all per pack, plus frozen sausage and mash and breakfasts, some cheese slices and grated, fresh parsnips, tomatoes and carrots, two loaves of bread in a special total 31 and now frozen along with the meats and some A A long life batteries as four are needed for the Wii fit board £8 a two pack discount of £2. There was a saving of £7 on the total of £50.75 which also included two pints of milk. No goodies or dried figs with the latter out of stocks.

Previously I have restocked on tins of vegetables and rice puddings, Frozen Pizza’s, Baguettes, individual quiches, some hot chicken wings, two packs of prawns in shell special offer two for £7 instead of £8. Some baguettes and Petit pan for baking and six display books at £1.20 special offer and great value and with this bill coming to £41.5 net. I have also collected the second pair of size 7 ½ Hush Puppy wide fitted shiny reddy brown leather shoes from Clark’s in South Shields, having gone all the way into Newcastle for the first pair before realising there was a branch in the High Street. They are very comfortable and with the shoe horn £3 purchased I should rope vent early damage to the heel support The Wouldhave House collection of offices and shops and now been demolished but the new Riverside parkland amphitheatre so there was no large screen relay from Glastonbury. More on Glastonbury later but now for the cricket, the tennis, more athletic, swimming and the Formula 1 race at Silverstone, noting on the radio that Warrington won at Rugby League and on TV that the Lion Rugby Union team lost in the last moments against Australia, this time the kick was not missed

On Friday I was apprehensive about play given the quantity of water that had fallen but there was no delay and with the sun shinning as the game progressed. Durham won the toss and decided on a run chase but Lancs played well on what appeared to be a good paced and comfortable wicket with the ball holding up along the ground from the water so Lancs went for high shots over the required infield avoiding the fielders allowed at the boundary.

The main damage was done by opener Moore who made 75 before being run out by Stokes with opener Prince 32 and adding 777 for the first wicket and then with Katich who once played for Durham, adding 68 for the third wicket with the innings ending at 165 , kept lower than first expected by some tight bowling at the end. Durham commenced in a great way scoring 10 an over but then Stoneman ran himself out for 33 and Mustard was out with adding to the total 53 so when Borthwick went at 60 the run rate dipped and then dropped below that achieved by Lancs and they never recovered with no batsman able to take command and they ended nine runs short with two wickets in hand. I left with two overs to go and had I not been on a coach trip I may well have taken a similar decision at Scarborough.

On Sunday I arrived at the Emirates in good time for the 10.30 coach and had opportunity to examine the complete new Mechano style stand judging that where the pathway had been relaid marked the part that would kept, I assume with the additional seating packed under the remainder for use in other special matches. The seats are an attractive deep blue but there appeared to have been no progress of the previous week. This is because a new two tier prefabricated has been created between the media centre and the main stand extension. This might well prove a permanent structure..

The coach had about ten passengers located at the rear and then made three stops in and around Durham before collecting two more at Darlington and this part of the journey took three quarters of an hour as we did not depart from the Riverside until 10.45 arriving in the main road outside the ground just after one.

I have previously enjoyed the route across the North Yorkshire Moors to Whitby, Robin Hood bay and Scarborough, especially remembered is the journey taken early one morning when I had attended a dinner with over night accommodation as guests of the Social Services Inspectorate and decided to get back to my office desk at the usual time missing the provided cooked breakfast, leaving the staff to recover from their night out clubbing. The coach took the road which runs at the outskirts of Whitby giving a dramatic view of the town straddling both sides of the river Esk with the Abbey Church of St Mary on the southern bank.

I was impressed with the Scarborough ground in two respects, he quality of the wicket and out field was as good as seen anywhere tribute to the weather earlier in the year and that it was possible to get a seat higher than the sight screen just to its right and therefore directly over the wicket which leads me to exclaim shame on Durham in this respect. There is a good range of seating provided, including a large area of benches without backs below the entrance area giving a side on view and with the tea room and ice creams, burgers etc and adopted by the local barmy army as well as families. I was impressed by the number of paying customers and this leads to another tale as having purchased my ticket on line it was left at home and+ I had to purchased entry at the gate and then lost the little ticket given when means that I am unlikely to get reimbursement although I will be asking when this writing is done to see i I can get a credit for my ticket for the Championship game at the end fo August.

I assumed that the Pavilion is restricted to Members of the Scarborough club and on the walk around note the tradition under stand bar which did a great trade throughout the match which what looked like a good fifteen plus with queue which meant those in the line missed key moments of the short match.

Durham won the toss and asked Yorkshire to bat with Gayle and Lythe scoring well in the restricted field overs 34 and 21 respectively but then Durham tightened up and the local crowd became quiet with some around me frustrated as like Durham,, Yorkshire had lost their first game and were anxious for a win. Only spirited innings but former Durham player Liam Plunkett (30) run out in a daft way enabled Yorks to reach 146 and therefore leaving Durham with a gettable 147.

However pessimism spread among the large contingent of Durham supporters who had made their way to the ground especially as Durham were restricted to 10 batsmen as Collingwood had damaged his hand and was away being treated, I have yet to find out how he is and if he will be able play in the two 20 20 games this weekend. Durham had a bad start with Stonman going for 4 Borthwick at 25 and Smith and Stokes and 64 and 65. The start was worryingly slow with only 23 runs on the board from the first five overs. Only the Colonel making steady progress brought hope until he went from a catch off the bowling of Plunkett for 49. The hero was Gordon Muchall and 44 who with Richardson hitting a four off his first ball in the last over with only 9 runs originally required got the 1 run need for victory with the penultimate ball and Durham won an unexpected but important victory, having already booked my ticket, accommodation and car parking for finals day on August 17^th.

On Monday night Nottingham beat Lancashire in their second match which pleased me however I wanted Lancs to win on Tuesday at Derby because the home side had achieved two out of two win and a lost would mean both sides having four points from three games enabling Durham to get in touch with another win at 3.75 points to their four and then press head when they next play them with Derby at the Emirates before I visit them at Chesterfield later in the month and going to Lancs in two week’s time. Unfortunately Shiv Chanderpaul who seems to stay only at a club a season, last season Warwickshire and Durham in their Championship winning rout was his impressive form hitting sixes and fours watching every ball as her does with great concentration. Now with two loses Lancs will be on fire when we go while Derby floundering in the championship and destined to return to the second division as things stand have three from three and begin to look a good bet for the quarter finals.

I listened to Mo Farah winning the 5000 meters at the Birmingham Athletics stadium and later watched the I player recording which included another great win for Jessica Judd in the 800 meters and whose time qualifies for the world championships in Moscow. I listened to the Formula I race from Silverstone until Lewis Hamilton had to drop out with tyre failure and managed to get his way back from last to fourth. We were robbed.

It was the British Swimming championships at Sheffield this weekend and I listened to some of the racing on the homeward journey. This is the era without Rebecca Adlington but she has a new role with commentating, coaching and personal appearances to keep her busy and involved in the sport suggesting her had a long term future in media and the sport ahead of her, as well as marriage having recently become engaged to another swimming athlete. There were some excellent times which suggests recovery from the poor showing at he Olympics London which has led to changes in team management and coaching.

I have been writing to this keeping one eye on the TV screen where England are 154 1, Cook 73 and Trott 47 with the only wicket that of Root 26 on top of his 41 first innings which makes is move to opener replacing Compton not as great as success as was hoped for by selectors. England struggles in their first innings rescued after they were only 212 for 8 by Bresnan 105 and Swann 94 making a more respectable 413 for 9 declared. Essex also made a respectable 278 with Mickleborough 90 and where the best bowler was none other than Joe Root with 4 for 72 off 23. Graham Onions was unable seize his return to an England first squad with 1 for 54 off 18 main squad and will have to do better to replace the present top five pacemen. I will report what happens in the rest of the game next weekend.

The story of Wimbledon 2013 will not be completed until next Sunday and if all goes well tomorrow and Friday I will be face with the choice of a Durham’s next 20 20 game and Andy Murray at Wimbledon. I have checked at Durham’s game against Notts in on Saturday and on TV so all is well if Andy Murray makes it again he has been impressive so far with only near to losing a set yesterday to make the quarterfinal tomorrow. With Roger Federer going out and been more of a surprise Nadal in the first round a Murray seeded 2 and Djorkovic (1) final remains a great possibility. There is no indications whether the BBC will broadcast in 3D as last year and with TV Cinema transmissions which suggests it is not doing so.

There could well have been a conflict with Durham games had young teenage Laura Robson who had got off to a flying get everyone talking start by beating the number ten seed in two sets and on paper a good chance of reaching the quarter finals. Because of rain she had a harder game second round game on Thursday where she hesitated in the first set but winning 64 and then taking the second 61 to get herself on the front as well as back pages especially as. Everyone else in the singles doubles for both sexes and mixed doubles from team GB were going down apart from Andy. This meant she had to play a young woman from New Zealand on the Saturday losing the first set 6 games to 1 and then with a lost break of serve appearing to go down in the second so I switched off only to get a text message saying how about that then and to find that she had come back to take the second and then win the third and given the manner of her victory she immediately became the latest national heroine. Sadly yesterday she and two chances to take first set but failed to close out and then lost on the tie break and failed to recover. With a number of leading contenders going out the door was open all the way to the final. Oh dear me.

While writing this I am also listening the Glastonbury recordings on the special BBC Glastonbury site, I did stay up on Saturday evening to watch the second hour of the Rolling Stones now in their late sixties and seventies but with dark hair and a 28 inch waist am I envious I am. Having seen the Stones perform live at Wembley Stadium with a large group of young women, on stage I mean. Contractual arrangements meant that only the second hour was live on TV. They left their most familiar hits to the end and the session was an item on the main news because of the size of crowd well over 100000, some put at 130000 and after over 50 years of performing.

They were significant better than the top billing Artic Monkeys who appeared on the main stage, the Pyramid on the Friday night but I enjoyed more Mumford and Sons with their folksy and rock mixture. On Sunday their closing of the festival number joined by Haim and others was also a great success with everyone going off happy and content with their investment and the camping conditions although you can have a luxury prepared double bed, shows and cooking facilities accommodation at a price.

During the writing and TV watching I listened and occasionally watched the artists on the introducing stage courtesy of BBC Glastonbury site in the Internet. I started to do a rating of 1 to 10 butt then created three groups b because a number of established artists and friends of Glastonbury came along to perform additional sets to those they had been contracted for on other stages

The Socialist revolutionary Billy Bragg was on great form in his 22 minute set available commencing with Sexuality and honest statement starting his third gig of the day before supper time and was his usual direct and honest self with songs subject which have contemporary relevance. (Nobody knows nothing anymore, Handyman Blues, Times they are a changing, Scousers Never buy the sun, and one other).

Tom Odell is already signed and with an album making it to number one piano playing singer song writer was excellent with a number I think is called Another love commencing an 18 minute set immediately after appearing on the John Peel Stage He was closely followed in terms of performance with another already established singing duo XX who also appeared on other stages and who performed two numbers.

Apart from Billy Bragg my favourites were Tom Erza with Did you hear the rain and Daughter with Home (Take me), I enjoyed very much .

The twin female singers of Katanas with Chained was better than average so too Bite the Buffalo with I get down and around

And then rest Mikhill with Summer in the City was OK and also Siblings with Twin Falls and Skuff with Darkside just about OK before I called it a night but will continue with others today alongside the cricket and tennis while I finish writing up The Game of Thrones season three and the two related volumes, three and four in the epic series.