Monday, 30 June 2014
Sunday, 29 June 2014
Lazy Sunday
A quiet Sunday today, just as it should be. Church this morning was a bit of a challenge, with an impressive array of 9 hymns to get through, most of which were new to me! Then, been taking it easy here for the rest of the day, other than a brief trip to Hempstead to buy glasses (drinks, not seeing).
Friday, 27 June 2014
Home
Good to be home.
Have inspected the building site, and all seems to be coming along well.
Will post some pictures soon.
Have inspected the building site, and all seems to be coming along well.
Will post some pictures soon.
Thursday, 26 June 2014
Wednesday, 25 June 2014
Tuesday, 24 June 2014
Out
Well that's it, we've had our last game in the World Cup, and wasn't it dull - finishing off with a 0-0 draw and our only point of the tournament.
Still, lots of interest elsewhere - Greece get through the group stage for the first time ever, former champions Italy are out, Colombia look strong scoring four, and it seems like Suarez is up to his old tricks.
Still, lots of interest elsewhere - Greece get through the group stage for the first time ever, former champions Italy are out, Colombia look strong scoring four, and it seems like Suarez is up to his old tricks.
Monday, 23 June 2014
Late
It's one of those posts called "late" again. This time just back from a dinner in Reading, and off to bed now!
Sunday, 22 June 2014
Islands
On my way to and from Jersey last week I had a window seat both ways, and thanks to some clear skies, enjoyed some great views.
First of all, here are a few of the Isle of Wight.
Heading further south, the first of the Channel Islands spotted was Alderney.
Next up was Sark, and in the second of the photos you can see Herm and all of Guernsey in the background.
And finally a couple coming in past Corbiere to land in Jersey.
First of all, here are a few of the Isle of Wight.
Heading further south, the first of the Channel Islands spotted was Alderney.
Next up was Sark, and in the second of the photos you can see Herm and all of Guernsey in the background.
Penalties
As I mentioned last weekend, I bought a bundle of books last Saturday, and this week I have been getting stuck into them (opportunities for reading increase in weeks when air travel is involved).
The first book I read was 'Think Like a Freak' and the second one that I am enjoying at the moment is 'The Art of Thinking Clearly'. Entertainingly they both discuss penalty shoot outs, a subject which could have proved particularly topical for us given that the World Cup is on at the moment, but which admittedly now seems slightly less relevant now that England can book their homeward flights straight after the end of the group stage is complete. (Looking for the slimmest of silver linings, I suppose we are at least spared the pain and heartache of going out on penalties this time around. Mind you, who would have thought that with two of the three pairs of group games completed it would be Costa Rica who were sure of their place in the next round with two wins out of two already. Probably more unlikely even than England losing two out of two and being eliminated.)
The two books look at penalty-taking, but from a different perspective - one from the penalty-taker's point of view, and the other from the goalkeeper's, but they both discuss the merits or otherwise of putting the shot straight down the middle.
In 'Think Like a Freak', Levitt and Dubner consider the shooter's dilemma - where to aim the shot. The research shows that the keeper will dive to either the left or the right 98% of the time, and only stay in the centre of the goal for 2%. The question that the book therefore asks is why do only 17% of penalty kicks get sent down the middle. The answer that the book proposes is that penalty-takers actually prefer the higher risk of missing or having the penalty saved arising from aiming to one corner because they don't necessarily have the best interests of their team at heart. Part of their assessment of the situation is to avoid looking foolish at all costs (and the ultimate point that the book is seeking to make is that thinking like a Freak requires being open to the rise of appearing silly), and they can't bear the idea of kicking the ball straight at the goalkeeper, only for it to turn out to be one of the rare occasions when the keeper doesn't dive, and they end up shooting straight into his arms.
The Art of Thinking Clearly shows us things from the other perspective, and assesses things from a goalkeeper's point of view. The subtitle of this chapter is 'Action bias' and it is making a similar point, that again, the keeper doesn't want to appear foolish, and so in the vast majority of cases (hence the 2% referred to above) will dive one way or another, because he wants to be seen to be trying his very best to save the shot, anticipating where it will go, and flinging himself in that direction. However, actually a good policy might be to stay in the middle of the goal, and to wait and see what the shooter does. Maybe action for its own sake isn't necessarily the best policy.
Obviously I suppose things might get rather a lot more complicated if penalty-takers all read Levitt and Dubner, and goalkeepers all read Rolf Dobelli's book. In the short term, we might see a lot more penalties being hit straight down the middle, but then saved by stationary goalkeepers!
The first book I read was 'Think Like a Freak' and the second one that I am enjoying at the moment is 'The Art of Thinking Clearly'. Entertainingly they both discuss penalty shoot outs, a subject which could have proved particularly topical for us given that the World Cup is on at the moment, but which admittedly now seems slightly less relevant now that England can book their homeward flights straight after the end of the group stage is complete. (Looking for the slimmest of silver linings, I suppose we are at least spared the pain and heartache of going out on penalties this time around. Mind you, who would have thought that with two of the three pairs of group games completed it would be Costa Rica who were sure of their place in the next round with two wins out of two already. Probably more unlikely even than England losing two out of two and being eliminated.)
The two books look at penalty-taking, but from a different perspective - one from the penalty-taker's point of view, and the other from the goalkeeper's, but they both discuss the merits or otherwise of putting the shot straight down the middle.
In 'Think Like a Freak', Levitt and Dubner consider the shooter's dilemma - where to aim the shot. The research shows that the keeper will dive to either the left or the right 98% of the time, and only stay in the centre of the goal for 2%. The question that the book therefore asks is why do only 17% of penalty kicks get sent down the middle. The answer that the book proposes is that penalty-takers actually prefer the higher risk of missing or having the penalty saved arising from aiming to one corner because they don't necessarily have the best interests of their team at heart. Part of their assessment of the situation is to avoid looking foolish at all costs (and the ultimate point that the book is seeking to make is that thinking like a Freak requires being open to the rise of appearing silly), and they can't bear the idea of kicking the ball straight at the goalkeeper, only for it to turn out to be one of the rare occasions when the keeper doesn't dive, and they end up shooting straight into his arms.
The Art of Thinking Clearly shows us things from the other perspective, and assesses things from a goalkeeper's point of view. The subtitle of this chapter is 'Action bias' and it is making a similar point, that again, the keeper doesn't want to appear foolish, and so in the vast majority of cases (hence the 2% referred to above) will dive one way or another, because he wants to be seen to be trying his very best to save the shot, anticipating where it will go, and flinging himself in that direction. However, actually a good policy might be to stay in the middle of the goal, and to wait and see what the shooter does. Maybe action for its own sake isn't necessarily the best policy.
Obviously I suppose things might get rather a lot more complicated if penalty-takers all read Levitt and Dubner, and goalkeepers all read Rolf Dobelli's book. In the short term, we might see a lot more penalties being hit straight down the middle, but then saved by stationary goalkeepers!
Saturday, 21 June 2014
Thursday, 19 June 2014
Slim chance
We were laughing at Spain's misfortune the other day - losing their first two days and being on their way out of the World Cup.
We're not laughing any more.
A glimmer of hope remains, but that's all it is. All three of the remaining group games need to go the right way - Italy need to beat Costa Rica and Uruguay, and we need to beat Costa Rica. Then Italy will have 9 and the other three, including us, will all have 3 points, and it will all come down to goal difference.
Just a glimmer, no more.
We're not laughing any more.
A glimmer of hope remains, but that's all it is. All three of the remaining group games need to go the right way - Italy need to beat Costa Rica and Uruguay, and we need to beat Costa Rica. Then Italy will have 9 and the other three, including us, will all have 3 points, and it will all come down to goal difference.
Just a glimmer, no more.
Wednesday, 18 June 2014
Cypress
It's all happening.
The first team to be leaving the World Cup has been decided, and it's Australia. Mind you, they did leave us with a strong contender for goal of the tournament with a spectacular volley from Tim Cahill.
And then here comes the real shocker - their departure was closely followed by Spain's exit, and they went out with something of a whimper. We might have expected a strong response after their shock 5-1 defeat to Holland, but it just didn't come, and they really did look second best against Chile in their 2-0 defeat.
Let's hope that we can bounce back from an initial defeat rather better tomorrow ...
In other news of departures, I'm sat here watching Paxo's final Newsnight after 25 years, waiting to see whether he has some fun on his way out.
And on the property front, Medway Council have today demonstrated themselves to be complete plonkers, but I'm sure that they will be put back in their box pretty soon.
Site meeting tomorrow, and given that they aren't going to be around for much longer, here's a few Cypress pictures.
The first team to be leaving the World Cup has been decided, and it's Australia. Mind you, they did leave us with a strong contender for goal of the tournament with a spectacular volley from Tim Cahill.
And then here comes the real shocker - their departure was closely followed by Spain's exit, and they went out with something of a whimper. We might have expected a strong response after their shock 5-1 defeat to Holland, but it just didn't come, and they really did look second best against Chile in their 2-0 defeat.
Let's hope that we can bounce back from an initial defeat rather better tomorrow ...
In other news of departures, I'm sat here watching Paxo's final Newsnight after 25 years, waiting to see whether he has some fun on his way out.
And on the property front, Medway Council have today demonstrated themselves to be complete plonkers, but I'm sure that they will be put back in their box pretty soon.
Site meeting tomorrow, and given that they aren't going to be around for much longer, here's a few Cypress pictures.
Tuesday, 17 June 2014
Monday, 16 June 2014
Stats
The plan for today's post had been to marvel at some positive stats from the World Cup so far, including no goal-less games and no draws.
However, Iran and Nigeria rather ruined that this evening.
Still, that was just one game, and the 11 o'clock kick off has restored my confidence, with USA scoring after just 31 seconds.
Ignoring the game currently in progress, there have been 13 games so far, and they have produced a total of 41 goals between them, for an average of 3.15 per game.
According to "The Numbers Game" (book I'm reading at the moment) the average for the Premier League is 2.66, so encouraging stuff so far.
Also an interesting article on the BBC website today using the oft-quoted fact that it only takes a gathering of 23 people for there to be a 50% chance of two of them sharing the same birthday. This year's World Cup is made up of 32 squads of 23 players, and sure enough 16 of those squads include shared birthdays.
Finally for today, it was my annual pre-championship trip to the All England Club today. I'd been led to believe that a statue of Murray had been commissioned (after all there's one of Fred Perry), so was a little bit disappointed to discover that this was the best that they could manage.
However, Iran and Nigeria rather ruined that this evening.
Still, that was just one game, and the 11 o'clock kick off has restored my confidence, with USA scoring after just 31 seconds.
Ignoring the game currently in progress, there have been 13 games so far, and they have produced a total of 41 goals between them, for an average of 3.15 per game.
According to "The Numbers Game" (book I'm reading at the moment) the average for the Premier League is 2.66, so encouraging stuff so far.
Also an interesting article on the BBC website today using the oft-quoted fact that it only takes a gathering of 23 people for there to be a 50% chance of two of them sharing the same birthday. This year's World Cup is made up of 32 squads of 23 players, and sure enough 16 of those squads include shared birthdays.
Finally for today, it was my annual pre-championship trip to the All England Club today. I'd been led to believe that a statue of Murray had been commissioned (after all there's one of Fred Perry), so was a little bit disappointed to discover that this was the best that they could manage.
Sunday, 15 June 2014
Messi ..
Well, the world's best player may be about to take to the pitch in Rio, but I can't manage two 11pm kick offs in a row, so I'll have to catch some highlights tomorrow.
Player by player
Having watched the game last night, and listened to a little bit of the punditry afterwards, and before I listen to or read anything further, here is my player by player assessment of our first game in the World Cup.
Hart - had a pretty quiet game. Wasn't really at fault for either of the goals. Did push one long range shot straight back into the danger area, and was totally bamboozled by the Pirlo free kick towards the end that hit the crossbar.
Johnson - always thought of him as more interested in attack than defence, and wasn't particularly effective yesterday at that - don't remember too many good crosses from the right. Seemed to have been pulled out of position for the second Italy goal as he was in front of Cahill when the cross came in.
Jagielka - don't remember much of him at all - solid at the back.
Cahill - backbone of the team, stepping in to Terry's shoes. Made some important challenges.
Baines - great left back and got forward well. Worrying that having Rooney in front of him just wasn't working, and a large proportion of the opposition attacking came down the Italian right flank.
Gerrard - did exactly what Gerrard does these days, playing just in front of the back four, was influential and sprayed some good long range passes around. Seemed to fade a bit towards the end. Clearly injured himself stretching to receive a pass, didn't move at all for a long time afterwards. Failed to get a promising free kick on target near the end. If he wanted a masterclass in how an ageing midfielder should boss a game, just needed to watch Pirlo.
Henderson - another one who seems to have had a bit of a quiet game. Had a fantastic shot on goal near the beginning that was well saved, but otherwise not memorable.
Rooney - England's worst player in the game, things just didn't seem to go right for him. One great moment with his cross in for the goal, but otherwise think he must be struggling to keep his place given the quality on our subs bench.
Welbeck - hard-working and positive. Kept the pressure up towards the front, and hassled the Italians into turning over the ball several times. Went down towards the end an looked like he was hobbling off when substituted.
Sturridge - great striker's goal - smashing in a cross on the half volley reminiscent of Lineker in Mexico.
Sterling - our best player by a mile. Always looking to get forward, to run at defenders, and to cause them problems. Slid a great pass through to Rooney to set up our goal.
Subs (Lallana, Berkley, Wilshire) all made positive contributions. Some good runs and a good shot by Berkley, and Lallana won us one of the promising free kicks near the end.
Overall, by England standards, actually not a bad performance at all, just a disappointing result. The group has been thrown rather into confusion by Costa Rica beating Uruguay, and if we can beat Uruguay on Thursday, then we're still in with a real chance of qualifying for the next stage.
Hart - had a pretty quiet game. Wasn't really at fault for either of the goals. Did push one long range shot straight back into the danger area, and was totally bamboozled by the Pirlo free kick towards the end that hit the crossbar.
Johnson - always thought of him as more interested in attack than defence, and wasn't particularly effective yesterday at that - don't remember too many good crosses from the right. Seemed to have been pulled out of position for the second Italy goal as he was in front of Cahill when the cross came in.
Jagielka - don't remember much of him at all - solid at the back.
Cahill - backbone of the team, stepping in to Terry's shoes. Made some important challenges.
Baines - great left back and got forward well. Worrying that having Rooney in front of him just wasn't working, and a large proportion of the opposition attacking came down the Italian right flank.
Gerrard - did exactly what Gerrard does these days, playing just in front of the back four, was influential and sprayed some good long range passes around. Seemed to fade a bit towards the end. Clearly injured himself stretching to receive a pass, didn't move at all for a long time afterwards. Failed to get a promising free kick on target near the end. If he wanted a masterclass in how an ageing midfielder should boss a game, just needed to watch Pirlo.
Henderson - another one who seems to have had a bit of a quiet game. Had a fantastic shot on goal near the beginning that was well saved, but otherwise not memorable.
Rooney - England's worst player in the game, things just didn't seem to go right for him. One great moment with his cross in for the goal, but otherwise think he must be struggling to keep his place given the quality on our subs bench.
Welbeck - hard-working and positive. Kept the pressure up towards the front, and hassled the Italians into turning over the ball several times. Went down towards the end an looked like he was hobbling off when substituted.
Sturridge - great striker's goal - smashing in a cross on the half volley reminiscent of Lineker in Mexico.
Sterling - our best player by a mile. Always looking to get forward, to run at defenders, and to cause them problems. Slid a great pass through to Rooney to set up our goal.
Subs (Lallana, Berkley, Wilshire) all made positive contributions. Some good runs and a good shot by Berkley, and Lallana won us one of the promising free kicks near the end.
Overall, by England standards, actually not a bad performance at all, just a disappointing result. The group has been thrown rather into confusion by Costa Rica beating Uruguay, and if we can beat Uruguay on Thursday, then we're still in with a real chance of qualifying for the next stage.
Saturday, 14 June 2014
Saturday Times
No post yesterday, but I think this is going to turn out to be a weekend worthy of three, so we should be back on track before long.
Jake had two of his friends over last night, so that they were all here for the early D of E drop off this morning, and we all dipped in and out of the 8 o'clock kick off yesterday, which, whilst it was a repeat of the World Cup final from last time, was something of a different match. Spain took the lead, but once Van Persie had scored with a pretty amazing header just before half time, the Dutch took control in the second half, and pretty much took the holders apart, ending up 5-1 winners, who could have scored seven or eight. It will be interesting to see how Spain react. They still have every chance of qualifying (the other teams in their group being Chile and Australia - and I see that Chile beat Australia 3-1 in the late match last night), but they need to bounce back from what was one hell of a beating, and bounce back quickly.
We are very much in countdown mode now, as it's not long until England face up to Italy in the middle of the jungle, on what looks like a pretty scrappy pitch.
Looking at today's Times Magazine, there are some great pictures from a match we played against Italy in Rome in 1997, when we all celebrated with gusto thanks to a 0-0 draw which completed our qualification for France 98. Let's hope we will be celebrating a result against the Italians again later today (or actually early tomorrow morning) but that this time we manage to score some goals as well!
The other interesting thing about that game was that it marked both a beginning and an end. Paul Gascoigne played in that match, and as we all remember, had high hopes of making his second World Cup squad, after the tears of Italia 90 (remember that "There will always be an England" t-shirt? Probably just as well that I don't have a scanned in photo of that to post here to my own embarrassment!), and then our failure to qualify for USA 94. Sadly, and if I remember rightly, much to everyone's disappointment, he was left out of the squad for France, and never played for his country again. However, the significance of that match from a beginning perspective was that it marked a first cap for a young David Beckham, and we all remember what he went on to do in the game against Argentina in France.
Good trivia question that - in how many matches did David Beckham and Paul Gascoigne play together for their country? I would have initially guessed that the answer would be zero.
Anyway, back to today, and Nicky and I have been in to Maidstone this morning to do a spot of shopping, and Nicky made the fatal mistake of leaving me unattended in bookshops for a little while, and so I have come home with six, plus one more on order!
Mr Mercedes - Stephen King
Think Like a Freak - Steven D Levitt & Stephen J Dubner
Work! Consume! Die! - Frankie Boyle
Britty Britty Bang Bang - Hugh Dennis
The Art of Thinking Clearly - Rolf Dobelli
Watching War Films with my Dad - Al Murray
As always with these things, I am proud of my savvy book-shopping skills, and take pleasure in comparing cover prices with prices actually paid. Today, thanks to a combination of a buy one get one half price deal (Thinking clearly + Watching War Films), a Watertsones clearance sale (Boyle + Dennis), and discounts plus a £5 off voucher in Smiths (Mercedes + Freak) the analysis is as follows for the six books:
Total of cover prices = £82.96
Total price paid = £31.95
Returning to today's Times Magazine, Caitlin Moran does a great job of explaining what great books can do for their readers, and I think that she has summed things up pretty well:
"Your mind is the projection screen every writer steals; it is the firing of your neurones that makes every book come alive. You are the electricity that turns it on. A book cannot live until the touch of your hand on the first page brings it alive. A writer is essentially typing blank pages - shouting out spells in the dark - until the words are read by you and, and the magic explodes into your head, and no one else's."
Jake had two of his friends over last night, so that they were all here for the early D of E drop off this morning, and we all dipped in and out of the 8 o'clock kick off yesterday, which, whilst it was a repeat of the World Cup final from last time, was something of a different match. Spain took the lead, but once Van Persie had scored with a pretty amazing header just before half time, the Dutch took control in the second half, and pretty much took the holders apart, ending up 5-1 winners, who could have scored seven or eight. It will be interesting to see how Spain react. They still have every chance of qualifying (the other teams in their group being Chile and Australia - and I see that Chile beat Australia 3-1 in the late match last night), but they need to bounce back from what was one hell of a beating, and bounce back quickly.
We are very much in countdown mode now, as it's not long until England face up to Italy in the middle of the jungle, on what looks like a pretty scrappy pitch.
Looking at today's Times Magazine, there are some great pictures from a match we played against Italy in Rome in 1997, when we all celebrated with gusto thanks to a 0-0 draw which completed our qualification for France 98. Let's hope we will be celebrating a result against the Italians again later today (or actually early tomorrow morning) but that this time we manage to score some goals as well!
The other interesting thing about that game was that it marked both a beginning and an end. Paul Gascoigne played in that match, and as we all remember, had high hopes of making his second World Cup squad, after the tears of Italia 90 (remember that "There will always be an England" t-shirt? Probably just as well that I don't have a scanned in photo of that to post here to my own embarrassment!), and then our failure to qualify for USA 94. Sadly, and if I remember rightly, much to everyone's disappointment, he was left out of the squad for France, and never played for his country again. However, the significance of that match from a beginning perspective was that it marked a first cap for a young David Beckham, and we all remember what he went on to do in the game against Argentina in France.
Good trivia question that - in how many matches did David Beckham and Paul Gascoigne play together for their country? I would have initially guessed that the answer would be zero.
Anyway, back to today, and Nicky and I have been in to Maidstone this morning to do a spot of shopping, and Nicky made the fatal mistake of leaving me unattended in bookshops for a little while, and so I have come home with six, plus one more on order!
Mr Mercedes - Stephen King
Think Like a Freak - Steven D Levitt & Stephen J Dubner
Work! Consume! Die! - Frankie Boyle
Britty Britty Bang Bang - Hugh Dennis
The Art of Thinking Clearly - Rolf Dobelli
Watching War Films with my Dad - Al Murray
As always with these things, I am proud of my savvy book-shopping skills, and take pleasure in comparing cover prices with prices actually paid. Today, thanks to a combination of a buy one get one half price deal (Thinking clearly + Watching War Films), a Watertsones clearance sale (Boyle + Dennis), and discounts plus a £5 off voucher in Smiths (Mercedes + Freak) the analysis is as follows for the six books:
Total of cover prices = £82.96
Total price paid = £31.95
Returning to today's Times Magazine, Caitlin Moran does a great job of explaining what great books can do for their readers, and I think that she has summed things up pretty well:
"Your mind is the projection screen every writer steals; it is the firing of your neurones that makes every book come alive. You are the electricity that turns it on. A book cannot live until the touch of your hand on the first page brings it alive. A writer is essentially typing blank pages - shouting out spells in the dark - until the words are read by you and, and the magic explodes into your head, and no one else's."
Thursday, 12 June 2014
Brazil
OK, we are up and running, and four goals in the first game - all scored by Brazil, just not all scored for Brazil. It was probably just as well that Oscar got the final goal with a couple of minutes to go, otherwise the story of the match would have been how Croatia had been denied a 2-2 draw by a foul on a striker that probably wasn't, which led to a penalty, converted by Neymar, and a foul on a keeper that also probably wasn't, which resulted in a disallowed goal for Croatia.
For the record, Jake predicted a 3-1 victory, so he currently has a 100% success rate!
For the record, Jake predicted a 3-1 victory, so he currently has a 100% success rate!
Wednesday, 11 June 2014
Long Man
Driving back to the office from a meeting in Eastbourne today, I pulled over to the side of the road, got out, and took a couple of photos.
Tuesday, 10 June 2014
Monday, 9 June 2014
Sunday, 8 June 2014
Backlog
Started in on the backlog of flickr uploading this evening, but it is going to take a very, very long time.
Saturday, 7 June 2014
14 - O2
This morning, the intrepid adventurers set off for the scaling of the O2 (trivia - it has 12 support towers, is 52m high and is 365m in circumference - or was it diameter?), and despite the fact that it started to bucket it down just after we arrived, it had pretty much stopped by the time that we were kitted out in our climbing gear.
(Entertaining to see that the England football team are having their own weather problems this evening. Who would have thought that there could possibly by thunderstorms in Florida in June!)
We had lots of fun with our climb, and took lots of photos from the top.
Afterwards, we had definitely earned our trip to the diner followed by a couple of games of ten-pin bowling - obviously modesty forbids me from sharing the scores on here (as well as sparing the birthday boy's blushes!).
(Entertaining to see that the England football team are having their own weather problems this evening. Who would have thought that there could possibly by thunderstorms in Florida in June!)
We had lots of fun with our climb, and took lots of photos from the top.
Afterwards, we had definitely earned our trip to the diner followed by a couple of games of ten-pin bowling - obviously modesty forbids me from sharing the scores on here (as well as sparing the birthday boy's blushes!).
Friday, 6 June 2014
History
When I was at school, I dropped history as a subject at the end of year 9, and didn't go on to study it for GCSE. Jake has recently made a similar decision, and history didn't make the cut for his exam choices either.
I can fully understand Jake's decision. Partly due to the way in which it was taught when I was at school and it really not inspiring me or feeling particularly relevant to my life at that stage, and probably partly due to a degree of immaturity on my part (which maybe I could be forgiven for at the time - I was only thirteen or fourteen after all), it was a pretty easy decision for me, and I was happy with my choice of subjects.
I still am happy with my choice of subjects, and I enjoyed learning about them, but the older I get, the more I think that my lack of understanding of major historical events is a real shame, and I really should do something about it.
And maybe I should make a start on trying to understand a little bit more about World War II, on this 70th anniversary of D-Day.
I can fully understand Jake's decision. Partly due to the way in which it was taught when I was at school and it really not inspiring me or feeling particularly relevant to my life at that stage, and probably partly due to a degree of immaturity on my part (which maybe I could be forgiven for at the time - I was only thirteen or fourteen after all), it was a pretty easy decision for me, and I was happy with my choice of subjects.
I still am happy with my choice of subjects, and I enjoyed learning about them, but the older I get, the more I think that my lack of understanding of major historical events is a real shame, and I really should do something about it.
And maybe I should make a start on trying to understand a little bit more about World War II, on this 70th anniversary of D-Day.
Thursday, 5 June 2014
Numbers Game
Already enjoying The Numbers Game, and can see myself turning into a football stats bore just in time for the World Cup.
Example:
When Liverpool came back from three goals down in the final to win the Champions League in 2005 it was the first time in the club's 112 year history that they had successfully overturned a three goal deficit in a match.
Example:
When Liverpool came back from three goals down in the final to win the Champions League in 2005 it was the first time in the club's 112 year history that they had successfully overturned a three goal deficit in a match.
Coalshed
Lack of post last night due to late return home after a pleasant evening at the Coalshed in Brighton.
Normal service to be resumed later today.
Normal service to be resumed later today.
Tuesday, 3 June 2014
Cain
On my trip to the Far East, I didn't do as much reading as I had expected (mostly due to deciding to catch up on some movies on the plane journeys rather than non stop reading) and as a result, a few books taken came back unread.
One such was The Daughters of Cain, the latest Morse novel in my reading of the series. I have a signed (paperback) copy, which I think I must have picked up from one of Oxford's bookshops, although I didn't manage to go along to a signing.
The book is fantastic, as always, and I am getting close to that 'can't put it down until it is finished' stage, although the enjoyment is tinged with regret in the knowledge that once this one is finished there are only two to go.
Still, I could always re-read them all, this time with a dictionary next to me to look up all the rare words that Dexter sprinkles about for our education.
A few nuggets from the book to share.
Firstly, a couple of scenes take place in the Old Parsonage Hotel at the bottom of the Banbury Road. We were talking about a possible weekend away in Oxford, and this could be a good place to go - the website certainly makes it look good.
Secondly, in a discussion about musical tastes, a quote that I wanted to share with Dad:
"I'll tell you what I can't stand, sir - the bagpipes."
Morse smiled. "Somebody once said that was his favourite music - the sound of bagpipes slowly fading away into the distance."
And finally, Morse's health continues to deteriorate in this book, including another stay in hospital. He is considering retiring from the force, and Lewis asks him if he will miss things, to which Morse's immediate reply is that of course he bloody won't. But a few moments later, Morse interrupts Lewis:
"You just asked me if I'll miss things and I shan't, no. Only one thing, I suppose. I shall miss you, old friend, that's all."
He had spoken simply, almost awkwardly, and for a little while Lewis hardly trusted himself to look up. Somewhere behind his eyes he felt a slight prickling; and somewhere - in his heart, perhaps - he felt a sadness he could barely comprehend.
One such was The Daughters of Cain, the latest Morse novel in my reading of the series. I have a signed (paperback) copy, which I think I must have picked up from one of Oxford's bookshops, although I didn't manage to go along to a signing.
The book is fantastic, as always, and I am getting close to that 'can't put it down until it is finished' stage, although the enjoyment is tinged with regret in the knowledge that once this one is finished there are only two to go.
Still, I could always re-read them all, this time with a dictionary next to me to look up all the rare words that Dexter sprinkles about for our education.
A few nuggets from the book to share.
Firstly, a couple of scenes take place in the Old Parsonage Hotel at the bottom of the Banbury Road. We were talking about a possible weekend away in Oxford, and this could be a good place to go - the website certainly makes it look good.
Secondly, in a discussion about musical tastes, a quote that I wanted to share with Dad:
"I'll tell you what I can't stand, sir - the bagpipes."
Morse smiled. "Somebody once said that was his favourite music - the sound of bagpipes slowly fading away into the distance."
And finally, Morse's health continues to deteriorate in this book, including another stay in hospital. He is considering retiring from the force, and Lewis asks him if he will miss things, to which Morse's immediate reply is that of course he bloody won't. But a few moments later, Morse interrupts Lewis:
"You just asked me if I'll miss things and I shan't, no. Only one thing, I suppose. I shall miss you, old friend, that's all."
He had spoken simply, almost awkwardly, and for a little while Lewis hardly trusted himself to look up. Somewhere behind his eyes he felt a slight prickling; and somewhere - in his heart, perhaps - he felt a sadness he could barely comprehend.
Monday, 2 June 2014
50
An important milestone has been reached. Today marks 50 days until our trip to Florida, and the day count seems to be decreasing at a reasonable rate. Jake started his final half term of Year 9 today, and kicked off his GCSE courses, and once this term is up, away we will fly.
If I knew how to log in to our Disney Experience website, then I could tell you about the fast passes we have lined up for the first part of our stay, but I'm not in charge of that kind of thing. All I know is that we are going on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train on our first morning there!
If I knew how to log in to our Disney Experience website, then I could tell you about the fast passes we have lined up for the first part of our stay, but I'm not in charge of that kind of thing. All I know is that we are going on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train on our first morning there!
Sunday, 1 June 2014
Bond
Well, my most exciting news of the day was that I got my iPad fixed. I took it over to the nice people at the Stormfront shop at Fremlin, and they did a great (and free!) job for me, meaning that I can listen to music on my earphones once again.
And this evening it seems like ITV are having a bit of a Bond season - it was only a couple of days ago that they were showing, and now it's already Quantum of Solace. Anyone would think they were in on a promotional deal leading up to a new film release, but a quick Google seems to suggest that the next one isn't out until the end of next year.
And this evening it seems like ITV are having a bit of a Bond season - it was only a couple of days ago that they were showing, and now it's already Quantum of Solace. Anyone would think they were in on a promotional deal leading up to a new film release, but a quick Google seems to suggest that the next one isn't out until the end of next year.
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