Great Glastonbury rehash experience in cimla last night, met some lovely people.
Although no mudslides there was a lot of food, drink and laughter..
..and a lttle congo!
Knocked up this daft video as a bit of fun..Glasto would be gutted
Game done in the first of three tests in the New Zealand v British & Ireland Lions. What did you think?
I thought there were some great moments after weeks of pointed conversations against the Lions attacking ability.
Touch down in NZ for the lions
Not finishing opportunities blighted chances, with too many penalties ending any chances of a possible win. This will weigh in on many post game conversations.
For all that, I felt proud of the boys, great try from O’Brien starting from Williams’ fantastic break.
Gutted Daly wasn’t able to smack down at the start, so close but certainly fired up the fans with early hopes of something special to happen.
With NZ then stepping up many gears with machine gun offloads my fear of a bad loss came in the second quarter, so it was reassuring to see the Lions gain confidence and start to break lines in the third quarter.
NZ had loads of sublime moments, Barrett’s sweet pick up was matched by Reed’s sublime offload that setup a try brilliantly finished by Ioane. Enthralling stuff.
Overall, I’m an optimistic type, I feel more positive for a win next week than I did before todays game.
Well done boys, and to those travelling fans hats off to you for amazing support.
As for home support, in Briton Ferry it was fuelled by a free breakfast…Welsh style..!
Back in 1996 I left the RAF..To get some extra cash between my transition to civvie life I took on the worst job of my life!
Everyone has their own personal worst job, that job that gave them hell, pain, frustration but that job hopefully eventually become favourite anecdotes to tell.
Whether it was the first job story..
The terrible boss story..
The annoying colleague story..
Everyone has had a crap job..
Yet my worst job had none of the above..
It had this..
Now just a second..let me explain!
I applied to a job advert that..at the time..suggested I could earn a nice amount for easy work.
Ok I thought, and so on a harvest season kind of day I stood waiting for the pick up van at six am (ex military I was ok).
The van came with less than happy souls on board..the mild mannered easy work wanting colleagues and I were bound for that easy money.
On arrival at the warehouse I got presented with my bench..A sturdy plank with a deadly blade.
After brief training that pretty much said..dont chop your finger tips off..and mind your toilet breaks I was ready to chop carrots. Yeh!
So my challenge was the world’s biggest pile of carrots to top and tail…these recently unearthed orange beauties were gagging to be dressed and ready for consumption at a waiting Sunday dinner.
So it was my duty to supply those needy diners and make some cash for me.
I started slow..that blade really wanted my finger tips..I got the knack of topping and tailing in two swift swipes of a Bruce Lee style move..sharp carrots ready for that dinner plate,
By midday my hands were shaky but the diner table bound carrots were mounting up..
A brief lunch break brought me to a couple who’d done this for years and made their way in mortgage and life..ok I thought not just gold but carrot gold..Maybe there’s something in this..
I continued my Bruce Lee carrot swiping during the afternoon and by the end of the day earned myself bags of newly chamfered carrot.
With pride I went to collect my money..”are you coming back tomorrow” they asked?
I paused as I waited for that carrot gold of cash to be passed to me..
It was £12.50 for 9 hours of hard work.
My hands were topped out and feeble..I didn’t go back.
Makes me think of the hard work for pennies some have to do..and for that I salute you.
I could not look or smell a carrot for months..
My ideal job could be..hmm maybe..as long as plenty of wee breaks!
That was the comment from Mohammed Mahmoud the imam from the Finsbury Park mosque where further hatred led to unnecessary murder of human life.
A father of four decided to drive to London to kill because of hatred of Muslims..in other words to kill fellow human beings.
My sadness for the loss of more people to hatred as that’s what this is..pure misguided hatred..is lifted by Mohammed in how he reacted to the situation and his comments made once this evil man was passed to officials
“We managed to surround him and to protect him from any harm. We stopped all forms of attack and abuse towards him that were coming from every angle.j
“We pushed people away from him until he was safely taken by police into custody.”
“It wasn’t me alone; there were a group of brothers … who were calm and collected and managed to calm people down and to extinguish any flames of anger or mob rule that would have taken charge had this group of mature brothers not stepped in.”
Excerpt from The Independent
Mohammed for me, made a key point
“It was touching our non-Muslim neighbours woke us up this morning to give us their support,” he said. “It is proof that the fabric of this society is not torn, but that we have to continue to keep the fabric of society, and this community of London, intact.”
If we choose a well trodden path of hate then our future will be muddied by the footprints of the past
There is a lot of justification for hate and revenge in history, so many crimes and wrongs not put right
Eye for an eye? At what point will our future have no eyes to see
When do we change, and move forward. We need to join together to isolate those who would kill
My thoughts are with the man murdered, and those those hurt by a hateful crime.
This is the proverb which suggests family relationships and loyalty are stronger than that of friends, but I question this after reading what happened in Serbia last weekend.
Welsh fans donated blood to a local Serbian who was shot in the stomach during clashes between rival fans from Partizan and Red Star ahead of the Serbia play Wales game.
Neither family nor friend, and with no loyalty to this stranger they still donated blood, hundreds of fans apparently. Why?
One football match with two different behaviours and outcomes. One action led to someone being hurt, and one led to someone being saved.
I recalled the positive displays of the Welsh fans at the European cup last year, winning plaudits for their behaviour.
Wales’ army of fans in France have been honoured by European football chiefs after the ‘Red Wall’ was hailed as making an outstanding contribution to Euro 2016.
The official review of the summer tournament has seen Uefa top brass opt to commend Wales’ fans with an award for their passion and behaviour that spread through France and won admirers across the world.
Makes me feel proud to be welsh knowing how we (mostly!) conduct ourselves in the world.
The donation for me was more than just giving much needed blood. It symbolised what having the right behaviour can do.
Do you raise your arm with a gun, or raise your arm to give blood.
It’s not about family or friends, it’s about doing the right thing at the right time that will bring us all together.
From reading social media Welsh football fans have gained a lot of new Serbian friends.
My hat off to all those who donated.
(I still prefer rugby mind..)
What is up with this weather!
It’s like me choosing from a menu, just can’t make my mind up..Do I go with the sun, the rain, the wind, the cold, the hot, how about muggy..I’ll have the sunshine burger with muggy mash..or maybe..hmm..
Yes, I know, the weather is a time honoured discussion of British tradition.
So I can’t help blog about it..
Although it has it’s uses. It’s a classic back pocket topic to pull out when conversation becomes strained, and the doom of awkward silence approaches!
“isn’t the weather {ENTER WEATHER CONDITION HERE}”
“Yeah, it’s really {ENTER EMOTION HERE}”
“Hopefully it’ll last {ENTER DESIRED DURATION HERE}”
“Yes”
“Yes, ok see you again”
“bye”
I guess global warming is to blame..it’s all gone covfefe..Although let’s not go there.
I’m learning not to take the sunshine for granted and aiming to reduce my carbon footprint.
Thankfully today is sunny and hot so I’ll be doing tip no5 in the garden..and remembering to tread carefully!
As a kid one of my favourite shows was batman..Fond memories of a beautifully created chaos of sound and colour
Before blu ray and 4k this show was a sensation to my senses..always waiting for the next punch to see if it’s a whamm or a kapow (personal favourite)
These days the world of batman is serious
And he’s angry and dark
Yet back in the day Adam West’s batman was the man..batman.
No seriousness or darkness..
..just proper 60’s kitsch..low budget with ‘interesting’ fight sequences..then who cares..it was fun..the moralistic and clean living batman that Adam portrayed was the juxtaposition of an insanely bonkers world of low cost anarchy the producers created
For all those memories I was saddened to read of Adam West’s passing, he played a tongue in cheek character that brought enjoyment to the masses
Rest in peace Adam West you brought humour to the world
I really liked this article and share the writers view.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/celebrate-nerd-within-james-calder
So true about how in school you were put down if you raised your hand..bullied in the playground..nerd need nerd alert.
Just like the movies the nerds were mocked by the cool kids who went on to live a very boring life..wonder if that’s still in schools now.
I love my life but wish i could call back to my past to say “speak up mate”..although that would have scared the crap out of 8 year old Glynn!
So yeah unleash the nerd..never too late..challenge the norm and don’t be afraid to speak your mind.
Long live the nerd!
Great article
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/celebrate-nerd-within-james-calder
I read the news release from the Muslim Council of Britain today.
130 imams and religious leaders condemning what’s happened and refusing to perform the funeral prayer for the London attackers.
“Consequently, and in light of other such ethical principles which are quintessential to Islam, we will not perform the traditional Islamic funeral prayer over the perpetrators and we also urge fellow imams and religious authorities to withdraw such a privilege. This is because such indefensible actions are completely at odds with the lofty teachings of Islam.”
I worked with a guy called Anwar, he had a sharp mind and a beautiful peaceful outlook. His wife, when I used to car share with Anwar for work, was welcoming always offering food.
His kids always had bright smiles.
We all need to stand together, all of us whatever faith, to isolate and shine the light on those who hide in the shadows of their faith. Who would scheme to murder the innocent for their own evil ends.
I’ve read on social media different views of this release..skeptical, optimism, support, anger and mocking.
History can bring positive change, or it can provide justification of a cause.
It’s my nature to be optimist, I hope this news release brings positive change.
