Finals

So a third posting on football-related maters which is unusual for me. But I couldn’t let today go by without congratulating my home time team Blackpool FC having won promotion to the Championship from the Div 1 play-off final. Wey hey. They beat Lincoln City 2-1 at Wembley after conceding a first minute own goal. Kenny Dougal was the 2 goal hero and a bit of a poster boy. Do you know that Blackpool are the play-off kings having won 6 finals – a record! God knows how they’ll do in the very competitive Championship but that’s all for tomorrow. After the years of mis-management by the detested Oystons it’s a time to celebrate. Let’s have a look at one of the goals being scored…

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Super young man

I’ve got 4 grandsons who constantly make me incredibly proud of what they are achieving. You probably think I would say that but I am amazed by how socially conscious they are, with firm views about what they want to achieve and how dedicated they can be. I remember my youth and I was hard working but nothing like as dedicated to achieving something. That came far far later in my life.

MoTD

So last night was the final Match of the Day programme of this extraordinary football season. Although the Premiership title and relegation had already been decided there were enough final day issues to make this a really enjoyable show; Champions league places to resolve, players’ final matches, managers leaving, careers over and so on.

Is it any wonder?

Well our daughter Becksy is staying a few days with us, which is lovely. She’s a big music fan and she was delighted that our daughter Ems set up Spotify on her mobile phone/Bose speaker yesterday after our belated Xmas dinner. We’ve heard quite a lot of Westlife booming out from her bedroom since. But we don’t mind. It takes us back to when the girls were all young and blasting out 3 different lots of music from their rooms. Happy days eh.

Back to family values

 

So it’s a super few days for us. First up yesterday was our youngest daughter S’s birthday. We missed it last year because of the pandemic and we were unable to be with her again yesterday, sigh, but we are getting closer to visiting her and the lads in New York, and a lovely FaceTime call almost got us there. To help make up for it our middle daughter E came to visit with her school mate, buddy and BFF Cazza who we haven’t seen in ages. We had a cool lunch and lovely chat. Then today I went to collect eldest daughter R from London for a few days with us. Traffic was abysmal but given that she was stubbornly reluctant to come and visit a few days earlier (as is her want), it was great to see and get her and her 12 bags in the car and share the journey. We treated her to a slap up fish and chip dinner – she just loves it. Oh and it’s her birthday on Tuesday (whisper it quietly but her 45th!!!). We’ll do something special before taking her home later that day.  And tomorrow is another special day as E and son-in-law S arrive hopefully with our two eldest grandsons S and G for our much-delayed Xmas dinner…turkey, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes, crispy veg, stuffing, the lot. I just cannot wait to share it with our family – though will badly miss the NYC branch of course.

Family matters so much; happy belated xmas folks

pigsinblankets paulie

Slightly odd

So today is the 17 May, the day after my lovely grandson Georgie’s 14th birthday (can’t believe it). Here in England it is the next significant day out of the covid restrictions with people able to enter restaurants, pubs, cinemas, theatres, sporting venues etc (albeit with some space-guarding limits). Strangely I found it a v low key day here in Stratford – I expected far more hullabaloo given that it’s a major tourist hub. But no. I have no idea if the Shakespeare Theatre is open nor whether the various Bard visitor locations are open. But hey it’ll all become apparent. That said Caz and I were both busy at our adjacent work stations today so we may have missed the Lord Mayor’s show. We are like 70 year old Siamese keyboard twins busying away.

Big issue

So here in Stratford uA there’s a resident collection of street beggars, buskers and the like.  Every town has them I guess. They seem harmless enough though I do sigh each time I pass by some young lad who seems to be fit and relatively healthy. I always imagine they could find a job if they put their mind to it. But I admit I don’t know their back story. There’s an older guy who sleeps on his cardboard stack outside Boots. He’s quite a character, By 1-2pm he’s usually loaded and serenading the shoppers and tourists with his drunken ballads. He always attracts a curious crowd. Bless him.

My, my, my alumni

I went to Baines Grammar School in Poulton-le-Fylde. For boys only it had a very good reputation and a long history being founded in 1717. It was quite traditional; it had an annual Founders Day, taught Latin, retained some of the very old buildings, employed several teachers who still wore gowns and mortar boards, had prefects who could dole out lines as punishment, four very historically named Houses, a hideous brown and yellow school uniform and a dreary school song only sung at Founders Day to which no-one ever bothered to sing along.  And I really enjoyed my time there.