NFL 2010 and patriotism?

Sunday, my son and I went to the annual NFL match at Wembley. Quick round-up of the game, as that's not really what this post is about.
First half was a bit slow and tentative, to say the least. But in the third and fourth quarters, the 49-ers really came alive. Got to feel sorry for the Broncos, to get an awesome running touchdown disallowed, but hey, that's the nature of the game, and rules is rules.

The annual International game at Wembley is always a blast. I've been to some pretty big events over the years, but nowhere has ever had the atmosphere that exists on that one day every year.

From the opening of the Tailgate party to the final whistle, it's amazing.



This year's pre-match show was good too. The Niner Noise and the Gold Rush put on a good show, generating a lot of crowd enjoyment. Similarly, My Chemical Romance, despite all my misgivings prior to the day, were really rather good. Like The Feeling who played the first Wembley match, they worked with the audience.

Unlike the Stereophonics last year, who did their level best to kill the atmosphere :(

But when it comes to the National Anthems, the organisers do need to be a bit more choosy. On the whole, it would be better if they picked performers that the Audience could sing along with, and show their patriotism, rather than stars whose only interest is to perform.

This year's American offering was diabolical. Michelle Williams from Destiny's Child screeched her way appallingly through the American Anthem, and the US guys sitting near us were finding it impossible to share their patriotism with someone so very much more interested in portraying her 'skills' than singing a tribute to her Country,

On the other hand, the British Anthem was played dead straight - no frills, no twiddles, just pure guitar magic. That's right, it wasn't sung, but played by the great Jeff Beck. Problem was, all the Brits were so in awe of his musicianship, that everybody forgot to sing!



Not that there's much interest in the National Anthem these days. It's not that the Brits aren't patriotic, they are. Especially since the Iran and Afghan Wars began. It's just that our anthem is so drear. And, I might add, if you sing the whole thing, quite offensive to the Scots!

verse 6:

Lord grant that Marshal Wade
May by thy mighty aid
Victory bring
May he sedition hush
And like a torrent rush
Rebellious Scots to crush
God save the Queen

I really think it's time that we had something that more people identify with. It would, I think, have to be a totally new anthem, as I can't think of anything out there already, that's totally suitable for the United Kingdom. Above all, it needs to be uplifting, and something that the British people can identify with, and want to sing.

While we're on the subject, it's also high time we had an English anthem. After all, the Scots have 'Flower of Scotland', the Welsh, St. David's Hymn etc. etc., but we do not have an official English anthem.

Let's face it, there's two immediate contenders - Hubert Parry's 'Jerusalem' and Edward Elgar's Pomp And Circumstance (Land Of Hope And Glory)

We are also the only component Kingdom of the United Kingdom not to recognise our Saint's Day officially. So how about joining the campaign to make St. George's Day a National Day of Celebration? Though quite why we should have a Roman Syrian as a national saint, I've not yet fathomed. St. Thomas A Becket Day would be more apposite. At least he was an English Saint.

The Prayer

I guess all of us whose partners ride, feel this way sometimes..........

(artwork by Japanese artist Fuyumi Soryo)

How should I greet thee?

When we two parted
In silence and tears,
Half broken-hearted
To sever for years,
Pale grew thy cheek and cold,
Colder thy kiss;
Truly that hour foretold
Sorrow to this.

The dew of the morning
Sunk chill on my brow--
It felt like the warning
Of what I feel now.
Thy vows are all broken,
And light is thy fame;
I hear thy name spoken,
And share in its shame.

They name thee before me,
A knell to mine ear;
A shrudder comes o'er me--
Why wert thou so dear?
They know not I knew thee,
Who knew thee so well--
Long, long I shall rue thee,
Too deeply to tell.

In secret we met—
In silence I grieve,
That thy heart could forget,
Thy spirit deceive
If I should meet thee
After long years,
How should I greet thee?--
With silence and tears.


That's a poem by Lord Byron, probably my favourite poet of all times.
That particular poem has always struck a chord in my heart. There was once somebody that I cared about very deeply. As the years pass, I miss him still, but probably a little less each year.
It has been over 30 years. I still care

But...................if we ever met again?.........................

Book review - The Book Of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern

Yeah, yeah, I know - it's 'chick lit' and I don't do 'chick lit'.

Well, I didn't, until a good friend introduced me to the writings of Cecelia Ahern. She writes the most amazing books, in a totally unique style, and from the moment you open the cover, to the moment you turn the last page, they remain glued to your fingers.

As with all of her books, you learn all you need to know about the characters, the locations, and how they arrived at the point where the story starts in the first few pages. In a few words, she has an ability to paint complete pictures to set the scenes, leaving you free from then on, to enjoy the unfolding story.

The books are always set in Ireland, and the stories are told with a wry, gentle humour, and always have a quirky little twist to them.

I'm not going to tell you anything about this story, because to do so, would be to destroy a little of the magic. Suffice it to say, that Miss Ahern has once again excelled in creating a unique tale that holds you entranced all the way through.

In her own words..........

Somehow, the books sit there, almost magically willing people to pick them up. The right person for the right book. It's as though they already know whose life they need to be a part of, how they can make a difference, how they can teach a lesson, put a smile on a face at just the right time. I think about books a lot differently now.

Rating: a very definite 5/5

New addition to the garage.....

Meet the all-new Honda VFR1200DCT



one freaky, awesome hunk of motorcycle technology. The styling takes some getting used to, but after 3 days, I think it's rather beautiful. Gear changing in both automatic and manual modes is seamless, although it does seem to change a bit too early in auto mode. But that, apparently, is to aid fuel consumption.

Is dual-clutch technology the future of motorcycling? Well, I'm not sure. The DN-01 has not grabbed everybody's interest, but I guess a lot of that is down to its more radical styling and impracticality.

The VFR is a far more practical proposition, although the luggage is not quite as spacious as it could be, and the fuel range of, at most, 150 miles, could be better on a sports-tourer.

Next to get the automatic treatment will be the venerable Gold Wing, and that, I think, could be a vast improvement over the current model.

Well, we'll see. I can't see this technology being rolled out to sports bikes yet. For one thing, the DCT adds quite a lot of weight, and for another, I think sports bike riders would prefer to remain in total manual control of their machines

I'm angry....................

yeah, you better believe it. I'm angry as hell.....................

I've just come back from one of the best solo trips away I've ever had. Me 'n the LittleInsect went doing the tourist bit in Shropshire and North/Mid Wales.

Well, one of the best trips.....except for the idiot JobsWorth on the last day, who did his best to make me feel like some inferior creature from an alien civilisation.

On the last day, I'm cruising around the coast of Wales in the late summer sunshine, and, fancying a nice cooling ice cream, I dropped down into a little place called New Quay.

New Quay is a little seaside resort, very similar to those you find in Cornwall and North Devon, where you drop down a steep hill to a tiny secluded village, with a nice sandy beach looking out over a wide bay.

I headed for the harbour looking for somewhere to park. Now, as you go along the sea front, there's a large Corporation car park off to the left. Unfortunately, it's on a very steep slope. The LittleInsect doesn't have a centre stand, so I could immediately forsee issues with getting him to stand level without toppling over, and further issues with my poorly wrists in turning him around to leave.

Immediately opposite was a small area for motorcycles. It only held about 4 bikes, and it was already full. Next to that was a long thin car park with signs saying 'cars only'. Normally when you see such signs, it's because they don't want spaces being taken by caravanettes or light commerical vehicles. In other words, they're for private vehicles only.

There was one space, so I parked the bike and headed off to the machine to get a ticket.

It's HOW MUCH????

hmmm...£2.80. Well, OK, so it's not cheap, but I did want the loo, and I did want a coffee or icecream, so.............

The ticket machine was one where you input the numbers from your registration.............647.......(wonder what they do now that UK registrations all have the same numbers according to year?)

I put the number in, followed by my hard-earned £2.80 and got my ticket.

I walked back to the Insect, and as I was putting the ticket in the holder I carry for such purposes, a red estate car pulled up behind me.............

"You can't park there. Can't you read? It says cars only"
"sorry, but I took that to mean no comms or vans etc........."

The car was unmarked, and the guy was not wearing any uniform or anything to distinguish him as having any responsibility for the car park

"Clear off. I know your type. You bikers take up all the car spaces, and never pay"
"excuse me?" I held up my parking ticket for him to see.

"how do I know you haven't taken that off a car with the same number"

hmmmm......let me see.......is there another car with the digits 647.........nope. What did I do, find one, break into it, and remove the ticket from it's windscreen?

"not likely, is it? As you can see" (showing him my holder still stuffed with tickets from previous car parks) "I always pay if there's no dedicated bike park"

"I know what you bikers are like. One of you turns up, buys a ticket, then a load more turn up and fill up all the spaces"

"I can't see any other bikes waiting to park, can you?"

"well this car park is for CARS not bikes. Go away"

"so you're saying that motorcyclists don't have the right to behave like car drivers, or the right to visit anywhere in the UK we choose, like other people?"

"that's right. Go away"

"now as far as I can see, you have 3 choices. 1) you can leave me alone. I have a legally purchased ticket, and I'm not contravening any parking regulations or bye-laws. 2) you can refund my £2.80, at which point I will be pleased to leave and never darken New Quay with my presence again. or 3) (getting my mobile phone out of my pocket) I can call the police and tell them I am a woman travelling alone, and I feel threatened................."

(actually, I couldn't get a signal on my cell phone due to the geography of the place, but he didn't think about that)

"Well I supose you'd better stay there for now, as you're being so aggressive about it, but when you leave, don't bother coming back"

Believe me, I shall NEVER go back to New Quay. Pity, because it's a smashing little place, and I shall do my best to ensure none of my friends go there either.

Bl**dy NCP. I'm in the process of contacting their head office to lodge a formal complaint about the attitude of their staff towards perfectly ordinary law-abiding citizens, who just happen to prefer 2 wheels to 4................

So, if you're reading this, DON'T GO TO NEW QUAY. ABERDOVEY IS MUCH NICER

They're not THAT bad..............

I knew there was some reason why I always choose Honda.........................

Book review - We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

Undoubtedly, one of the best novels I have ever read, and I don't say that lightly. Despite the name, Lionel Shriver is a woman, and this book could only have been written by a woman. That doesn't mean, however, that it is 'chick lit'. Far from it, this story is hard hitting and often cruel, both in its' concept, and telling.

It is also unusual, in the fact that you start by knowing the crime that Kevin has committed, albeit in no great detail, and the story unfolds through a series of letters from his mother to his father.

Reading it, there are details of Kevin's upbringing that will strike a chord with many parents. Points where you think 'oh yes - my child was like that'. There are other details which are quite disturbing.

This is one book that I sincerely hope they never try to make into a film. There's no way a film could convey the mother's feelings towards her son, or her husband, or the guilt that she feels over Kevin's crime. Or how she tries to rebuild her life afterwards.

As the story unfolds, you feel more and more disturbed, and the final revelations are quite appalling. You're left at the end wondering if Kevin is mentally ill, or if what happened was the result of his mother's feelings towards him, or if he really was born just pure and plain evil.

Rating 5/5

Book review - The Prester Quest by Nicholas Jubber

The legend of Prester John has inspired many books over the years, both fictional and relatively factual. I say relatively, because the whole business of Prester John and the letters he supposedly wrote, is probably one huge medieval hoax.

In 1177, Pope Alexander III wrote a letter to the Priest-King of the Indies, Prester John. As his emissary he chose his physician, Master Philip. No-one knew where the legendary monarch's kingdom lay (or indeed whether he even existed) but Master Philip was undeterred. He supposedly set out from Venice.......and was never heard of again.

Centuries later, Nick Jubber found a copy of the Pope's original letter, and decided to complete Master Philip's mission and deliver the letter, albeit 824 years late. The Post Office would have been proud of him.

The resulting book is well-written, funny, and full of historical facts and detail. Probably the best bits deal with his and his companion, Mike's, travels through the Holy Land. The situation in the middle east and the eastern side of Africa today, is complex. With so many religions and variants fighting each other, and claiming vast tracts of land as their right, it's often very difficult to sort out who's who.

Nick Jubber has a way of explaining things through the eyes of the people he meets. He also compares today's situations with the happenings during the times of the Crusades, and Saladin, and finds that really, very little has changed over the passing centuries.

Probably the best section of this book, is the section devoted to the Holy Land. It does tend to flag a little, when he passes into Africa and heads ever south.

Does he find Prester John? I'll leave that for you to discover............

On the whole, this is a fast-moving narrative, with much to recommend it.

Rating 4/5

American Football

Yeah! the season's nearly upon us, and yet again, I've got tickets for the Big Game at Wembley.

Don't usually like sport (other than motorcycle racing, of course), but they started showing American Football on UK TV when my son was small, and I used to watch it with him, and got hooked.

He's a Dolphins fan. No accounting for taste, I suppose. When we started watching it, we each picked a team and had a sort of season-long competition between ourselves. I picked the Steelers, simply because I liked their colours. But I soon got really into it.

I think it's because I can understand the game. It's logical, decisive and, being a game of set plays, as easy to follow as a game of chess.

Then they started the London matches. So far, I've been lucky and managed to get tickets for us both every year. It will break my heart if the Steelers ever come over, and we don't get tickets.

So, this year, there will be him in his Dolphins shirt, sitting next to me in my Steelers Polamalu one, and we'll both be cheering on the 49ers. The atmosphere at Wembley is always amazing. Because we only get to see one live game a year, everybody there is out for a good day. Doesn't matter if it's not your team playing, it's a chance to marvel at some of the best athletes in the world, to indulge in some friendly banter with complete strangers, and enjoy the whole experience.

The guys are currently at training camp, and I would like to wish the Steel Men all the best for the coming season. Be assured, if there's a Steelers game showing on TV, I'll be there, glued to the set, oblivious to everything and everyone around me.

And Troy - what about another one of these?

And as an added extra, couldn't resist this photo (that's Troy on the right, if you didn't know), seeing as it combines two of my favourite things in life..........