What Could Go Wrong ? Bury at Home

6th August, 2015

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Interesting things can happen when your wife empties a bucket of cooking apples into the back of your car.

Explanation? Make yourself comfortable and read on. Please.

Some generous soul had put some cooking apples on their main road front doorstep. I picked three and took them back to Saddlers Widow. Only to be surprised when she came back with:

“We need more than that …” Not least because when I left neither of us had even known I would be returning with such booty (believe me, getting away without a library fine would have been just dandy).

So returning later in the car I noticed the self-same bucket, self-same handwritten note and invited said wife to “help yourself”. Again to be surprised when she scooped up the whole bucket (what a cheek I thought) and headed to the rear of my car. She simply lifted the boot lid and emptied the contents onto my old “allotment shirt”. About twenty near-perfect Bramleys and a couple of inches of water – I did mention the rain didn’t I?

No problems she thought, just wash the shirt after carrying the swaggage into the house.

Hold that thought; for in the pocket was my mobile ‘phone. And it refused to charge, light up, or sing it’s little-robot song when I called it from our landline ‘phone.

Decided to take it to the ‘phone shop as we couldn’t get the back off it. Of course at the shop the guy – very friendly service – popped the thing open and found a soupcon of water.

Result: kaput: new ‘phone required.

Well, I had been talking about getting a new one for my birthday in four weeks or so …

Got a reasonable deal, but to keep my same number I need to wait a couple of days. Not a problem. This new one is the kind of ‘phone that’s regularly advertised on TV; bright, all singing, dancing; all manner of new bells and whistles that I never knew I needed. But, even so … couldn’t transfer the contact numbers and that included the friends whose season tickets I used to get the Chelsea tickets.

Used the internet to search engine the company and rang the number … getting through to his “number one son” who was very polite and gave me the number I needed.

To arrange to get to the Bury match today.

Disappointed by the crowd. This is an international break weekend, so no games in the Premier League or the Championship, so maybe we could pick up some match-hungry extras. But no, quite the opposite in fact. The “singing hoards” were, in truth absent and the travelling Bury fans have my respect. Promoted from League Two last year they are bottom of the table at start of play.

We wonder why as they rip into us from the whistle. We seem unprepared for it – note to team: if we’re gonna do anything this year we have to be up and ready from the get-go.

Worse still, after only five minutes with players caught out of position and off the pace we go a goal down. It is a good goal too, well worked and puts us on the back foot for a long, long spell. We’re like a boxer having taken a big it, wondering what the … and trying to stay on feet that won’t work.

All of the confidence disappears, passes go wrong, we are bullied off the ball and clattered a couple of times. Echoes of last season?

At half time we are still looking groggy, though Rico Henry is busy and everywhere, some amazing ball skills and tackling back. Flanagan too is putting in the effort, but we are short of two internationals: Neil Etheridge (Philippines) and Demetriou (Cyprus – who lost their Euro qualifying game to wales by a goal to nil) and Bradshaw is isolated up front.

 

Second half we play better, digging in and Sawyers improves, evens wins a couple tackling back balls. We are attacking, Bradshaw still lone man up front, we throw players forwards but there are no spaces, no gaps in the midfield any more. Sam Mantom is trying to exploit his tremendous energy and levels of fitness. Bury are flooding the middle of the field, their two central defenders playing hard and covering each other – they are one nil up and enjoying the day. Unusually our substitutions are the ones I predicted, but my – somewhat flippant – score line of an eight one win is, not surprisingly, wrong.

We lose one nil. Bury worth the win as the y set out early on, kept counter attacking after that early goal and kept some discipline.

Smith is on the radio afterwards – pretty much saying that we have only one right back (I am thinking that young Liam Kinsella did a superb job in just that position last season when called upon – and today he was sat upon the sub’s bench) … and er, if you know we need a full back as a priority why haven’t we got one and also er why so much talk about only needing a central defender and striker just before the transfer deadline. News we had this week was that we have signed Isaiah Osborn and that Dean Smith has been named league One manager of the Month.

Back at home I watch England demolish lowly San Marino six nil. Wayne Rooney getting the goal which puts him as England’s all-time leading scorer with Bobby Charlton on forty nine goals.

After the prestigious cycling races in France (Tour de), Italy, (Guiro) and, currently on TV Spain (la Vuelta) tomorrow the Tour of Britain sets out from Anglesey to Wrexham). Could be that over the years this too will become a classic. That would be fantastic!

Ee Bah Gum, Lad: Tour’s On.

Sitting here, watching the gruelling hill-climb stages of the Tour de France (second day, Harrogate to Sheffield stage) I am trying to take the beans out of two recycled buckets full of broad beans. Outside the sun is still shining as it is on the massive crowds lining the route of the race. Yorkshire, indeed England, has taken this opportunity to heart. There are French flags, Slovakian supporters (of Peter Sagan), Cornish flags, the Union flag, writing on the roads (“Eat Yorkshire Pudding!”) in traditional Tour de France style; even a Black Country flag. It is marvellous to see such an enthusiastic response – and the camera work is excellent too. I love the way the landmarks and features are in French and the distances in kilometres and that the commentary includes good background historical, geographical and cultural references.

      

 

Our daughter featured in some “Tour de Facts” videos about the English stages and general rules of the Tour de France for English cycle sales, parts and repair stores, Halfords. I am, of course indubitably proud of her … but they are also quite informative and well made: I managed to learn things I was previously unaware of, and watching them has improved my enjoyment of the race I am now watching as broad beans bounce off the footstool around my ankles. (The “yellow jersey” is yellow because this was the colour of the pages of the newspaper that introduced it – before that the race leader wore a green armband only).

These videos are available on YouTube: if you are interested take a look at this first in the series http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvTDV2iirnk

I would have been quite happy  to have watched the Grand Depart (from Leeds, yesterday) but in the cyclical way of things in my life the very daughter that rode in and presented the Tour de Facts videos was moving house, so … a busy day not watching TV. However I am happy to report that the move, nicely timed to include a switch over overlap between rented accommodation and completion date, sees the new house well decorated and new carpets installed.

After the Grand Depart the race proceeded in blazing hot sunshine (nothing at all like the wet weather forecast!) and within sight of the finish line Mark Cavendish and another rider both came off their bikes. “Cav” most recently bandied about as an Isle of Man native is suddenly lauded as a native of Yorkshire – but, is now out of the whole Tour, having broken a collar bone – and done the decent thing by admitting the coming together was all his fault. Such sportsmanship.

In a TV interview with Ian Brailsford (manager of the ultra-successful Sky team) talked about his decision to leave out Sir Bradley Wiggins, saying that, in recent years the Sky team had been turned from “plucky losers to two-times winners” and that part of that turn around in mind-set was due to someone somewhere along the line making such calls.

In another strand of my life I have been excited by news that Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend are together for another Who tour – and that I have managed to get tickets for the show in Birmingham. December. Something else to look forward to.