What A Race – Go Maclaren

Formula 1 just keeps on delivering this season. Not only have the new tyre options made for exciting races but the weather at a number of circuits has turned everything on its head. From the very start of Sundays race at the Hungaroring we could see the signs that this was going to be no ordinary race. The cars were very twitchy with all drivers finding it hard to maintain the racing line. Despite that we were presented with Hamilton and Button racing each other, side by side. By Lap 5 Hamilton has passed Vettel and is leading the race which with 65 more laps continued to provide excitement for the fans with spins, overshoots, overtaking, exploding cars andand cocked up strategy making for a nail-biting finish.

Vettel has taken over from Schumacher, for me, as the target for any ill luck that I can wish on him. He has had such a charmed run from the beginning of the season that anyone who manages to pass him is my hero. Every mistake he makes ellicits a cheer from my me and I don’t really care who beats him so long as it isn’t Alonso although at a pinch I would even cheer him if he managed to keep Vettel out of the higher points.

There is an element of national pride driving me but to be really honest so long as there is a union jack on the podium I don’t care, even if it’s the one on the Australian flag for Mark Webber. And look at DiResta go. Given luck, a reliable competitive ride and there will be another driver from the British Isles to harass Vettel.

Now they are off for an enforced break we will just have to bide our time but all the indicators are that the second half of the season is going to be a cracker.

Hamilton and Button are seriously focussed on stopping Vettel from taking the championship and Maclaren have shown that they have the cars to stop the Red Bull machine in its tracks if they can just maintain the momentum shown on Sunday.

Lets not forget that congratulations are due also to Jenson Button for winning his 200th Grand Prix on the circuit on which he won his very first Grand Prix. What a moment to savour.

Kedgeree All Gone

Sorry folks, it’s all gone. I am so stuffed.

Kedgeree For Tea

One of the most flavour full dishes and way up their in my food hit parade is Kedgeree

And I am preparing it right now for serving in about 20 mins.

If you can get to my kitchen in the next 20 mins I’ll share it with you.

C-Ya

They Think Its All Over ….

…… It Is Now !!!

Those immortal words, uttered by Ken Wolstonholme in the closing minutes of the 1966 final, forty-five years ago.

The one and only time England have won the world cup.

For some reason every time since then we have had the arrogance to believe that we are entitled to win. Yet of the nineteen competitions we have only twice finished in the top four and that includes the 1966 win. Compare that to the record of Brazil – 10 times or Germany – 12 times. Even France, Uraguay, Italy and Argentina have performed better than us.

How, for a nation that considers football to be the national game, can that be acceptable. I do have some views on why it has occurred and the main one is that we have too many players from other countries in our national leagues. Look at any of the top teams and many of the player names are near unpronounceable. Like Tomasz Kuszczak, Mame Biram Diouf, Dirk Kuyt, Nabil El Zhar … etc. etc. And so the list goes on.

Surely this means that the pool, from which we must draw our international team members, is diluted since presumably these foreign players are not available to us. These foreign players, while playing for our national teams, are denying English players a place and the associated skills and experience to be gained from playing at the national level.

I think that our football authorities need to shake up the national leagues and perhaps make some drastic changes to allow some home-grown talent to get the experience they need to play at the international level.

Or else it will be 48 years since the last win !!!

The next tournament will be held in Brazil, 2014 and the preliminary draw is tonight so the World Cup machine is already in motion.

RIP Dan Peek

Dan Peek was a founder member of folk rock band “America”.

He co-wrote one of my all time favourite songs “A Horse With No Name” amongst many others. Only yesterday I was listening to another of their hits, “Ventura Highway“, and I have always wondered what an “alligator lizard” was. Peek, with America, has left us with an enduring legacy from their collaboration during the 70’s. Their songs still regularly get airplay on the UK radio stations.

Sadly his demise won’t get as much coverage as that of Amy Winehouse, yet his contribution to music is probably as great.

Spangles

Does anyone want to start a campaign for the return of “Old English” Spangles ?

They were available from the 50’s when I was a kid up, right up to the 80’s

New Sainsburys To Be Built At Waterlooville

Apparently the new store will bring in up to 350 new jobs. That’s the good news.

The not so good news is that the site, the former Salvador Cetano site, off Hambledon Road is already a bit of a log jam for traffic.

With the plans that have been submitted they claim to have resolved the road access but I can’t see it. Access to the existing shops is already constrained. Add into the mix the folks doing their weekly shop and you will just gridlock the area. Especially with a fair percentage of the residents of the new houses adding to the chaos.

How much additional parking is going to be available ?

Another titbit of good news is that the “recycling centre” is being moved. The chaos that waiting traffic cause today will not be missed. It’s not their fault. They were there first but then the planners saw fit to allow the building of all the new shops.

The new plans include the replacement of the recycling centre with a petrol station. This could just duplicate the misery unless the road access is dramatically improved. At the end of the day this shopping area is a dead-end with two entrances and only one exit.

Message to the planners:

Please make sure you really fix the road access before you allow this new store to be built.

View From The Conservatory

The following pix were taken in my garden over the last few days.

Thieving Squirrel

We have a Hazel tree which explodes with nuts every year. We have not had a single nut because every year the squirrels come and destroy all the nuts. I say destroy because they, the squirrels, crack them all open before they are ready, before the kernels are not fully formed. The ground under the tree is already covered with shells that have been opened and discarded. This cheeky devil has snaffled a clump of four or five nuts all of which were subsequently discarded.

Carrion Crows

Not sure why these characters started frequenting our garden a few months ago. I think they may not be the prettiest but they certainly are the best dressed birds that visit us. And now they are bringing their young to visit too. The young can look quite comical especially as their feathers haven’t yet taken on quite the neat and glossy appearance of their parents.

Camellia

Not really in our garden but hanging over the fence from our neighbours but I’m not proud, we are quite happy to enjoy these blooms without the effort of having to look after the plants. Personally I am a little jealous though because our own Camellia has once again failed to bloom so we are going to have to look seriously at its position in the garden.