Happy birthday to me, and to all the people I mentioned in the first paragraph of this post from exactly two years ago. This year I am breaking my birthday rule, the one that states that you should have a party whenever the day falls on a Saturday. I thought about it but couldn’t be… Continue reading Breaking my birthday rule
The current Ashes series is tied at 1-1 with two games to play. England’s win in the Third Test at Headingley last month kept the series alive and has put cricket back on the front pages of all the papers here in the UK. If Australia had won, they would have retained the Ashes. Much… Continue reading More about cricketers’ surnames allowable in Scrabble
The new football season is upon us. The first round of games in the Championship, the second tier in English football, played out last weekend, beginning on Friday night and ending on Monday night. Tonight, also a Friday, sees the opening fixture in the Premier League, England’s top tier. Liverpool host newly-promoted Norwich City. Last… Continue reading The new football season: one down, 45 to go
A lazy Saturday afternoon. “Pick of the Pops” on BBC Radio 2 in the background, playing the charts from this date in 1967 and 1978. The #1s are “All you need is love” and “You’re the one that I want”. I am keeping an eye on the cricket, Day 3 of the First Ashes Test… Continue reading Ashes cricketers with surnames allowable in Scrabble
Last month I wrote about how many World Cups there are these days. On each of the last three Sundays we have been able to see different World Cup Finals broadcast on regular (non-subscription) TV here in the UK. Yesterday it was the Netball World Cup, New Zealand’s women beating the holders Australia. Two weeks… Continue reading Word of the week: Super-Over
When I was born, back in the 1960s, there was only one World Cup: the men’s football (or soccer) tournament, first held in 1930 and held every four years, without a break, since 1950. The first one I remember was in 1970, hosted by Mexico and won by Brazil. In 1975 a new World Cup… Continue reading So many World Cups, and the longest World Cup of all
Most people of my age and background will recognize the word Telecaster as a guitar model, a solid-body electric guitar made by US manufacturer Fender. People with an interest in the mechanics of electric guitars will know many of the things that I have just learnt from reading this Wikipedia page, although I already knew… Continue reading Word of the week: Telecaster
Last year I wrote a couple of pieces about trophy-winning football teams and the colours they play in. The first piece was posted towards the end of the domestic season here in England, and the second was just after the finals of the European competitions. There were two main observations. First, teams in blue were… Continue reading Blue is the colour, again, and Red trumps White
For several months during this football season I have been reflecting regularly on the progress of Leeds United FC, the team that I have supported since childhood. The most recent of these pieces is here, and it contains links to every other Leeds-related post since December 2018. Today, Bank Holiday Monday, was the final day… Continue reading Word of the week: play-offs
Here are the questions and answers from the first “All Stars” edition of ITV quiz show “Tenable”, first shown on Sunday 5 May 2019. Team name: The Medal Heads, captained by Iwan Thomas, a very personable team of sporting medal winners. Here are the team members, along with the charities they were playing for: Tessa… Continue reading “Tenable” All Stars Episode 1 questions and answers [The Medal Heads]
The Compartments 