Wednesday 26 May 2010

Gone and done a blog....

I've changed my mind. On a whim I updated my blog template but, after noticing a few bugs and niggles with the way it worked, I decided the glamorous new look just wasn't worth the annoyance of things not working properly.

It's a bit like what I imagine people feel when they get tired in a relationship. A new, sexy and apparently more glamorous suitor comes along but, having dumped your old reliable partner for a new love interest, you realise that, in the cold light of day, they're not as ideal as they appeared. Ahh...you don't know what you've got til it's gone....

Friday 21 May 2010

Decorating in the Corner

So I've customised a template thingy to give a bit more pzazz to the old bloggeroo. Still only trialling this new look at the moment. It's taking a bit of getting used to.

If any regular readers take a dislike to it then let me know. I'm so image conscious, I make myself sick!

Tuesday 18 May 2010

A 'Cup Final' hurrah



History! As expected it was far from simple, hitting the woodwork 5 times in a half certainly makes you question if it's going to be your day, but, thankfully, Boateng's miscue paved the way for our talismanic strop meister to finally charm the goal frame into performing his bidding - a trademark Drogba free kick flicking off the inside of a post and rippling the net obediently.

Watching live as the following day's victory parade rolled along the King's Road, it was hard to remember such a wonderful feeling. Ancelotti's singing was a surprise and watching Kerry Dixon interviewed by Sky Sports News whilst trying to dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge the celery being thrown at him (an odd Chelsea tradition) was a true joy to behold. Truly, I'd wish this kind of carnival event on all my football fanatic friends. Incredible!

As chance would have it, the culmination of the football season has coincided with my reading of 'Kings of the Kings Road: The great Chelsea team of the '60s and '70s', a book which has complemented the last week or so brilliantly, contextualising the significance of current events within the often fraught history of the blues.

What strikes me most is the number of missed opportunities in the past. Numerous occasions where Chelsea appeared to be on the verge of major success only for circumstance to undermine the club in one way or another.

Tommy Docherty, took the club to 3 FA Cup semi-finals and the brink of a First Division title in the 60's only to destroy ambitions by sending home 5 first team players, including one Terry Venables, on the eve of a crucial away game title decider. Their crime? Breaking the hotel curfew. Mind you they were staying in glamorous Blackpool! Chelsea lost the game and any hope of the title in what came to be known as the 'Blackpool Incident'.

Even the flair team of the 70's, which brought an FA Cup and Cup Winners Cup trophy to Stamford Bridge, was destined to underachieve, spending more time on the booze and chasing film stars through the West End than on the training pitch. They were loved for it, of course, and still are! Osgood, Cooke and Hudson, names that carry a great weight, but, perhaps, with a little more application and better man management, things could have been even better!

Reading of their escapades, it's far easier to see how today's players, particularly the likes of Lampard and Terry, might be viewed in the same vein, especially as they have fulfilled that same potential shown by previous sides. They have been the heart and soul of this Chelsea team and, like their predecessors in the '70s, have been hauled across the coals for revelations about their private lives (revelations at which Ossie and co would surely scoff, having been caught drink driving, frequenting brothels and being imprisoned for assaulting police officers in their time. Imagine how today's press would react!).

Through the prism of elapsed time, they too will be spoken of in such celebratory tones. For my part, I've been buying up the newspapers, all to be kept safely preserved for the future. I'll be seeking out the season review DVD as well, when released - George might like to ask his old man about the Double winning team of 2010 when he's older. I want to make sure I'm fully armed....

Wednesday 12 May 2010

A final hurrah

"A final hurrah" - I have a habit of using this phrase, when the opportunity arises, despite it making me sound like an ancient, doddery, old toff straight out of a novel by potential racist Enid Blyton.

I found myself using it again at the weekend, albeit as part of my inner monologue, contemplating the exciting possibility of my beloved Chelsea claiming an historic League and Cup double!

"We'll have no better chance than this", I said to myself. "With our star players all perilously teetering on the brow of the hill, Drogba (32), Lampard (31) and Terry (29 - but pretty much ready for the knackers yard), it's now or never. Yep, this is our last opportunity for some real history, a final hurr....yada, blah, rhubarb."

Terry's comments after the match about this being "the beginning" were laughable - he certainly knows how to give ample ammunition to his numerous critics. Clearly, over the years, Chelsea have relied on the consistent performance of a handful of players who make up the spine of their team, and although there have been superb contributions from Malouda, Kalou and others at times, their younger shoulders couldn't hope to withstand the burden of expectation currently heaped onto our present thirtysomethings.

That's why I'm so delighted at another Championship title. I realise it's unlikely we'll be able to sustain the kind of constant success that Manchester United, an exception in recent decades, have been able to enjoy. Take Arsenal as a prime example, or perhaps more historically, Liverpool, both of whom wouldn't have expected to wait so long in their respective quests for league titles.

Neutrals tuning into the FA Cup this weekend will no doubt be blasé with expectation that Chelsea will sweep aside Portsmouth as they have done Wigan, perhaps they will, but the importance of the game for me is no less than if we were pitted against, Man Utd, Arsenal et al.

For the first time in our history we may do the double - only Tottenham, Arsenal, Liverpool and Man Utd having previously achieved such a feat in the modern age - and that makes this game incredibly significant to Chelsea fans.

The European Cup may continue to elude but this Saturday could well see our defining and final opportunity to be branded with the mark of a 'great' team.  All of those mentioned above, perhaps with the exception of Man Utd, look back on illustrious histories they are trying to recapture. As clichéd as it might sound, Chelsea could be writing their history now!

"Crikey and cor lummy", a head splittingly over entusiastic member of the 'Famous Five' might declare, "how exciting!"

Thursday 6 May 2010

It's unofficial - I'm decided


It's unofficial in that I haven't voted yet. I'm off to scrawl my 'X' on the ballot paper sometime this evening when I arrive back in Merstham which, barring a cataclysmic event, will see the Conservatives 'Crispin Blunt' (an incomprehensibly stereotyped name) first past the post.

I have however, decided upon my vote and that vote will be for the Liberal Democrat representative Jane Kulka. This is primarily a tactical vote in that, in the unlikely event that the Tories are beaten, their downfall is most likely to be at the hands of the Lib Dems who coveted more votes than Labour back in 2005.

It's therefore more with regret than an affirming flourish that I cast my vote today. I am in principle a Labour supporter - their policies I respect more than either of the other two major parties - yet due to the restrictions of our voting system and, if I'm honest, a sense of needing to protest against Labour's obvious failings, I feel my hand is forced. I hate that.

Were I voting in a marginal constituency I would, no doubt, be voting Labour. I suppose this is some solace in light of my wounded principles. Regardless, one principle remains steadfast and that's my persistent despair at the thought of a Conservative government.

I am preaching now I know, but frankly I'm tired of sitting on the fence. I seriously believe that a Conservative government would be detrimental to the welfare of the vast majority of people in the UK.

I hope therefore, for what is the only realistic alternative to a Conservative majority i.e. a hung parliament. At the very least this will shake things up and ensure there is a presence from Labour and Lib Dem MP's in some of the top jobs in government.

I also have a certain faith in the power of the online community who, through social networking and blogging, have proven themselves influential, albeit in the admittedly less significant arenas of the pop charts and holding right-wing columnists to account. Who knows what they might achieve now. Naive? Perhaps, but fingers crossed.

I wonder what we'll wake up to in the morning?

Tuesday 4 May 2010

'Radio' silence

I threatened to do this on twitter last month, now I've decided to go through with it - I'm going to give up listening to podcasts for a whole month!

This may not sound like a massive sacrifice but, believe me, it's self flagellation of the most severe kind. No Barry G and ACJimbo on 'Football Weekly', no Mayo and Kermode's film reviews and, worst of all, no weekly double dose of Frank Skinner!!!

Being in the knowledge I shall miss out on all the banter is akin to a 'cat 'o' nine tails' unleashed on my crown jewels.

So 'why', you ask, would I do it to myself? As wonderful as owning an iPod undoubtedly is, and as grateful as I am for the companionship of a podcast during my daily commute, it does tend to leave you a slave to its serialized nature.

I perhaps only listen to 5 or 6 podcasts but at roughly an hour each, my week is soon consumed by them, leaving little time for the more traditional pleasure of sitting down to a good book. Not being blessed with many opportunities to do so at home, I therefore rely on my 3hrs 'train time' a day for the lion's share of my cultural engorgement.

I'm ashamed to admit this, especially as a librarian, but I have yet to read, in full, a single book since Christmas. My 'New Year's Resolution' was to read more! Pah!

The time invested in reading a book may be considerable but that in itself brings rewards that no amount of web browsing, blog reading or twittering can come close to.

Now, having just received 4 new and wonderful books for my birthday, I have a backlog of unread gems that's rapidly becoming a library collection in itself!!

I'll let you know how well I get on once the month is up!

Books to be read in the month of May:

It's Only A Movie - Mark Kermode
Mozipedia: The Encyclopedia of Morrissey and The Smiths - Simon Goddard
The Hell of it All - Charlie Brooker
Kings of the King's Road: The Great Chelsea Team of the 60s and 70s - Clive Batty
Touching From a Distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division - Deborah Curtis
Disgusting Bliss: The Brass Eye of Chris Morris - Lucian Randall
The Clash - Stummer, Jones, Simonon, Headon
Watchmen - Dave Gibbons and Alan Moore

Books of Albion - Pete Doherty