Hopefully this works, proof of the incredibly high level I perform at on the football pitch...enjoy...
(I had to find some way of passing the time - Monday night is Desperate Housewives night)
Monday, July 31, 2006
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Who the **** are Arctic Monkeys?
I could do this quite succinctly by saying "Wow". But I don't half like a good ramble, so I'll go into a bit more detail.
What an amazing gig that was. Me, Rob and Dave had a few oranjebooms at home (tradition) before making a move into town to meet up with Si, Leanne and a couple of her friends. Everyone was pretty damn excited - even Robs parents who we met up with in St James (the venue).
I quite enjoyed the Grates who were supporting. The lead singer bird was a bit of a mentallist but a good laugh, the songs were pretty good and the drummer girl was a total nutter.
Anyway, to the business end of things...we made our way right to the front where it was starting to get busy. After the heckling of the sound checkers and some wait the lights went out and the band came on.
I was a bit suprised when they started with Riot Van, but it worked well. I intended to try and remember a rough set list, but there was no chance of that. It really was like winding back the clock to December '94 and Oasis in Sheffield. I was 17 then, and 12 years on I was moshing (a word I don't like but have to use) like a kid again.
By the end I was soaked through (5% beer, 5% water, 90% sweat), but it was totally worth it. I'm pretty sure they played every song off the album, and about 3 or 4 others. The venue was pretty good too - an area at the front, then a raised standing area, then two tiers of seating.
There was no encore, but they finished with A Certain Romance which I hoped they would do.
Top notch performance and a bit of banter with the crowd made it a great night. I was a fraction of a man by the end, and today I feel terrible. I'm hungover, not through the booze (which I unusually didn't have that much of), but through sweating out every last drop of fluid in my body.
Just read this back and it's rubbish. Definitely not NME material. But I'm far too tired to do it all again.
In summary - this knocks Oasis '94 off the top of my best gigs ever list.
What an amazing gig that was. Me, Rob and Dave had a few oranjebooms at home (tradition) before making a move into town to meet up with Si, Leanne and a couple of her friends. Everyone was pretty damn excited - even Robs parents who we met up with in St James (the venue).
I quite enjoyed the Grates who were supporting. The lead singer bird was a bit of a mentallist but a good laugh, the songs were pretty good and the drummer girl was a total nutter.
Anyway, to the business end of things...we made our way right to the front where it was starting to get busy. After the heckling of the sound checkers and some wait the lights went out and the band came on.
I was a bit suprised when they started with Riot Van, but it worked well. I intended to try and remember a rough set list, but there was no chance of that. It really was like winding back the clock to December '94 and Oasis in Sheffield. I was 17 then, and 12 years on I was moshing (a word I don't like but have to use) like a kid again.
By the end I was soaked through (5% beer, 5% water, 90% sweat), but it was totally worth it. I'm pretty sure they played every song off the album, and about 3 or 4 others. The venue was pretty good too - an area at the front, then a raised standing area, then two tiers of seating.
There was no encore, but they finished with A Certain Romance which I hoped they would do.
Top notch performance and a bit of banter with the crowd made it a great night. I was a fraction of a man by the end, and today I feel terrible. I'm hungover, not through the booze (which I unusually didn't have that much of), but through sweating out every last drop of fluid in my body.
Just read this back and it's rubbish. Definitely not NME material. But I'm far too tired to do it all again.
In summary - this knocks Oasis '94 off the top of my best gigs ever list.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Boring work thoughts of the day...
So I had a bit of time at the end of my working day and thought I'd peruse Chubb's intranet. Pretty dull, especially the incredibly short list of acceptable websites to view. It was a fairly bog standard list, but I was surprised to see that Leeds University was on it. What the hell is that about??
After reading reviews of bars and clubs in Leeds and getting nostalgic I had a look at the list of famous ex students/staff. Here are my top 5....
5. An exchange student in the 80s this guy has climbed to the top of his tree...it's the President of Mongolia
4. Fit, fit, fit, husky and fit....it's Sky Sports News' Georgie Thompson
3. One of the literary greats, studying English in the 60s...it's Mystic Meg
2. Almost up there with Meg...it's JRR Tolkien
1. And studying Spanish, which helped him with the immortal line "Piff, paff, pooff"...it's the Great Soprendo - Geoffrey Durham
Bet you're glad I shared that with you eh?
After reading reviews of bars and clubs in Leeds and getting nostalgic I had a look at the list of famous ex students/staff. Here are my top 5....
5. An exchange student in the 80s this guy has climbed to the top of his tree...it's the President of Mongolia
4. Fit, fit, fit, husky and fit....it's Sky Sports News' Georgie Thompson
3. One of the literary greats, studying English in the 60s...it's Mystic Meg
2. Almost up there with Meg...it's JRR Tolkien
1. And studying Spanish, which helped him with the immortal line "Piff, paff, pooff"...it's the Great Soprendo - Geoffrey Durham
Bet you're glad I shared that with you eh?
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Quiz night
In response to last weeks answers... China has the highest railway and George was not left-handed.
Tonight me, Miller, Si and for the last couple of rounds, Kat, took part in the quiz. It was a disaster as we finished mid-table. But here are a couple of questions I'd like to share with you...
Which Coronation St characters got re-married after being divorced for 15 years?
Which event in France on July 16 did a victorious German hold aloft an Italian flag?
How many syllables are in a Japanese Haiku?
The most frustrating part was a Beatles song getting played and not being able to get the title....it was The Ballad of John and Yoko.
By the way, for those who'd forgotten I'M GOING TO SEE THE ARCTIC MONKEYS ON FRIDAY NIGHT!!
Tonight me, Miller, Si and for the last couple of rounds, Kat, took part in the quiz. It was a disaster as we finished mid-table. But here are a couple of questions I'd like to share with you...
Which Coronation St characters got re-married after being divorced for 15 years?
Which event in France on July 16 did a victorious German hold aloft an Italian flag?
How many syllables are in a Japanese Haiku?
The most frustrating part was a Beatles song getting played and not being able to get the title....it was The Ballad of John and Yoko.
By the way, for those who'd forgotten I'M GOING TO SEE THE ARCTIC MONKEYS ON FRIDAY NIGHT!!
My job
I was sat at work today and felt the need to describe what my day entails at the moment.
Fonterra have postponed my start date to August 7th. Which means I don't finish at Chubb this Friday, I finish the Friday after.
The office I work in at Chubb is a small room in the middle of the building, it has no windows and there are 6 other people in there. None of them are under 40 at a guess and there's an Indian guy who can't pronounce his w's so he calles me Oven.
What makes things worse is that no one speaks - hardly a word gets said all day. I don't get it, I can barely stand it and I know I'm leaving next week, but these lot are here every day of the year. Baffling.
I'm not a big fan of office life and I'm only doing it till Christmas to build up the savings, but there are certain circumstances where it's just about bearable. WW in the early years was quite a decent laugh for example. But I presume positions become available at Chubb on a regular basis due to suicide. I'm there from 8.30 to 5 with a mere 30 minutes for lunch and, get this, NO EMAIL OR INTERNET!!!!
Fonterra has to be better than this...one of NZ's largest companies. Please be better than this...
Fonterra have postponed my start date to August 7th. Which means I don't finish at Chubb this Friday, I finish the Friday after.
The office I work in at Chubb is a small room in the middle of the building, it has no windows and there are 6 other people in there. None of them are under 40 at a guess and there's an Indian guy who can't pronounce his w's so he calles me Oven.
What makes things worse is that no one speaks - hardly a word gets said all day. I don't get it, I can barely stand it and I know I'm leaving next week, but these lot are here every day of the year. Baffling.
I'm not a big fan of office life and I'm only doing it till Christmas to build up the savings, but there are certain circumstances where it's just about bearable. WW in the early years was quite a decent laugh for example. But I presume positions become available at Chubb on a regular basis due to suicide. I'm there from 8.30 to 5 with a mere 30 minutes for lunch and, get this, NO EMAIL OR INTERNET!!!!
Fonterra has to be better than this...one of NZ's largest companies. Please be better than this...
Monday, July 24, 2006
A funny old game...
After a crushing 6-2 home defeat to the Chinese Star Sports, who were just above us in the league, things were looking ominous as we lined up against the runaway league leaders Bohemian Celtic. Our manager gave us a rousing team talk which included such inspirational gems as...
"We'll have to watch out seeing as they started warming up 30 minutes before you lot lit your first cigarette"
"We're playing Owen, Rob and Pete up front"....which I thought was a clever attacking ploy until.... "and everyone else in defence."
The best was being told.... "and you 3 stay on the last man. Don't come back into your own half at all."
To which I commented to Rob, in true Creegan-hybrid style.... "that's like words to my ears"
The game plan almost worked until we went 1 down within 2 minutes. But we fought back and equalised with a quality goal - I flicked the ball on to Pete who centred from the left to an onrushing Rob who side-footed in to the top corned, postage-stamp style. A great goal to open his account for the team. The 3 up top worked wonders. Shame the 7 in defence couldn't match our prowess as a cocky little tosser (confusingly also called Owen) waltzed through to score about 30 seconds later.
We equalized again in the 2nd half. A long throw flicked on to me, one touch to control, one to finish and I had my 5th goal in as many games.
They must have had about 99% possession and 20 corners but it was Greenhithe, and me, who had 2 good chances to go back ahead. Aaaaaaanyway it stayed 2-2 until late on when the defence finally caved and we lost 3-2.
Not really sure why I did such a long match report as no one but me is bothered. The gaffer did tell us something else exciting though - apparently the team have a big end of season booze up/presentation AND they go away for a weekend for another booze up and a couple of friendly matches. Sweet.
"We'll have to watch out seeing as they started warming up 30 minutes before you lot lit your first cigarette"
"We're playing Owen, Rob and Pete up front"....which I thought was a clever attacking ploy until.... "and everyone else in defence."
The best was being told.... "and you 3 stay on the last man. Don't come back into your own half at all."
To which I commented to Rob, in true Creegan-hybrid style.... "that's like words to my ears"
The game plan almost worked until we went 1 down within 2 minutes. But we fought back and equalised with a quality goal - I flicked the ball on to Pete who centred from the left to an onrushing Rob who side-footed in to the top corned, postage-stamp style. A great goal to open his account for the team. The 3 up top worked wonders. Shame the 7 in defence couldn't match our prowess as a cocky little tosser (confusingly also called Owen) waltzed through to score about 30 seconds later.
We equalized again in the 2nd half. A long throw flicked on to me, one touch to control, one to finish and I had my 5th goal in as many games.
They must have had about 99% possession and 20 corners but it was Greenhithe, and me, who had 2 good chances to go back ahead. Aaaaaaanyway it stayed 2-2 until late on when the defence finally caved and we lost 3-2.
Not really sure why I did such a long match report as no one but me is bothered. The gaffer did tell us something else exciting though - apparently the team have a big end of season booze up/presentation AND they go away for a weekend for another booze up and a couple of friendly matches. Sweet.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Weird...
Got excited when my hotmail told me I had 30 new comments on this site. Sadly they were all from an anonymous spammy type thing with links to internet adverts.
All gone now though and the comment cupboard is back to being almost bare again.
All gone now though and the comment cupboard is back to being almost bare again.
Friday night blow out...
I had my first job interview in over 6 years today. And I got the job too. Woo-hoo. As of a week on Monday I will be working for Fonterra on a contract which will take me up to Christmas and my eagerly anticipated holiday to Australia.
To celebrate, Miller and his flatmates were having a party. Ok, maybe it wasn't to celebrate me getting a job, but a party's a party. Me, Rob and his brother Dave had a few pre-matchers at home before giong to the Kingslander (home of our pub quiz) to meet up with a couple of their mates. After that we made our way to the party, drank, talked and danced with a few randoms then a few of us ended up in a not-so-bad club called Ink.
And that's pretty much all I remember of the night.
Rob, Kat and me.
To celebrate, Miller and his flatmates were having a party. Ok, maybe it wasn't to celebrate me getting a job, but a party's a party. Me, Rob and his brother Dave had a few pre-matchers at home before giong to the Kingslander (home of our pub quiz) to meet up with a couple of their mates. After that we made our way to the party, drank, talked and danced with a few randoms then a few of us ended up in a not-so-bad club called Ink.
And that's pretty much all I remember of the night.
Rob, Kat and me.
GREEN SHIRT ALERT
It was time to bring out the green polo again. Sorry Lunt, I had to do it, it's been ages since I last wore it.
Long-haired Miller and me.
Long-haired Miller and me.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
End of the road...
...For Clive The Tourist.
Playing the top team in the league in the cricket proved a step too far for us as we were tonked. The opposition even had 2 "girls" in their team. Although they both apparently play for Auckland Womens cricket team. Disgrace.
We managed about 50 odd runs then restricted them to about 180. Bugger.
There was a good moment for Sonia Ave though as my offcutter was edged behind for Rob to catch behind the stumps, then run out the non-striker galloping through for the attempted run. A double play and -10. This almost made up for me and Rob being -15 after 2 balls of our batting partnership (we did recover to get 19 and the 2nd highest score for us).
2 sporting disasters in a week. Roll on Friday and Miller's party - I need to get drunk.
Playing the top team in the league in the cricket proved a step too far for us as we were tonked. The opposition even had 2 "girls" in their team. Although they both apparently play for Auckland Womens cricket team. Disgrace.
We managed about 50 odd runs then restricted them to about 180. Bugger.
There was a good moment for Sonia Ave though as my offcutter was edged behind for Rob to catch behind the stumps, then run out the non-striker galloping through for the attempted run. A double play and -10. This almost made up for me and Rob being -15 after 2 balls of our batting partnership (we did recover to get 19 and the 2nd highest score for us).
2 sporting disasters in a week. Roll on Friday and Miller's party - I need to get drunk.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
38 days...
...was the length of my sweet, sweet period of unemployment. Today it came to an end as I took up a role doing office stuff in an office for some money. It's only till the end of next week whilst I search for something more interesting to take me through to the end of the year (which will be office stuff in an office, but hopefully one with attractive females in).
Pub quiz tonight - a poor, poor effort by the team. We finished 10th on 83 points and there were 8 of us.
Quite enjoyed this question (mainly because I was the only one to know the answer).... Which of these beatles is NOT left handed...Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr or George Harrison?
But this is the question to sort the wheat from the chaff....In which country is the world's highest railway?
Answers in a comments box please. And for those thinking of using t'internet to find the answer - you'd be letting yourself down. Think on.
Pub quiz tonight - a poor, poor effort by the team. We finished 10th on 83 points and there were 8 of us.
Quite enjoyed this question (mainly because I was the only one to know the answer).... Which of these beatles is NOT left handed...Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr or George Harrison?
But this is the question to sort the wheat from the chaff....In which country is the world's highest railway?
Answers in a comments box please. And for those thinking of using t'internet to find the answer - you'd be letting yourself down. Think on.
Monday, July 17, 2006
Notices
Happy Birthday Mum!!
It took a while to find a picture where we're sitting down (ones where we're standing would take up too much room given the height difference).
She seems to be surprised I'm pulling a stupid face....surely you're used to that by now mum???
American Graffiti...
When searching for a good picture of me and my Mum I came across this old classic. This great piece of graffiti was found on a stairway of an ancient church in Florence.
Is nothing sacred?
I think the question mark was added, cleverly, at a later date.
Is nothing sacred?
I think the question mark was added, cleverly, at a later date.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
A mixed day...
A first today - football with no hangover whatsoever. It worked too, kind of. Now many of you won't believe this, not only did I score again (4 in 4) but I also had the energy to leg it back after the opposition broke from our corner. I pretty much sprinted back to our area to cover a break, then turned and ran back up front. Even better was that I was able to keep running for the whole 90 mins too.
Told you it was hard to believe. We lost 6-2 though. Which is probably easier to believe.
On a more positive note, the World Cup was finally laid to rest tonight. Before the tournament me and Rob picked 16 teams each out of the hat with a variety of rewards for winning games/groups etc. The final reward was that the winner of the tournament had a meal cooked for him by the loser. The dish had to be from the winning nation.
Italy won, which was Rob's team - I decided to cook Lasagne. This was the outcome, don't be deceived though, presentation isn't everything...it tasted great...
Told you it was hard to believe. We lost 6-2 though. Which is probably easier to believe.
On a more positive note, the World Cup was finally laid to rest tonight. Before the tournament me and Rob picked 16 teams each out of the hat with a variety of rewards for winning games/groups etc. The final reward was that the winner of the tournament had a meal cooked for him by the loser. The dish had to be from the winning nation.
Italy won, which was Rob's team - I decided to cook Lasagne. This was the outcome, don't be deceived though, presentation isn't everything...it tasted great...
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Sports update
Didn't play football or cricket last week due to being away. The mighty Greenhithe limped to a 3-3 draw without me. Cricket had to default as it wasn't just me missing. So that put us out of the race for the semis, or so we thought.
2 short for last nights final game, we recruited 1 from the sidelines and went out to bat. As we were one short the other team got to pick and extra batter and guess who that was....yep - me. Bugger. I'd had a bad first innings so it was no surprise. But this meant I had to bat for half the innings which was pretty knackering with all that running. Did a lot better 2nd time out and scored 21 which is one of my best knocks. We posted 176 which was pretty handy and won comfortably despite a pretty poor performance in the field.
Then, as a welcome bonus, we heard other results went our way and we're now in the semis! Get in.
League table
Our results
2 short for last nights final game, we recruited 1 from the sidelines and went out to bat. As we were one short the other team got to pick and extra batter and guess who that was....yep - me. Bugger. I'd had a bad first innings so it was no surprise. But this meant I had to bat for half the innings which was pretty knackering with all that running. Did a lot better 2nd time out and scored 21 which is one of my best knocks. We posted 176 which was pretty handy and won comfortably despite a pretty poor performance in the field.
Then, as a welcome bonus, we heard other results went our way and we're now in the semis! Get in.
League table
Our results
Egg Heads...
A few weeks ago I suggested doing a weekly pub quiz on Tuesday nights to get the house out and about instead of midweek tv watching. Me and Rob were the only ones who made it out previously finishing 2nd bottom in the Cock & Bull quiz or rather the quiz AT the Cock & Bull. Rubbish quiz with stupid questions.
The week later we tried the one at the Kingslander - much better, all the questions are on the big tv screens, with music and video clips and everything. Plus you didn't have to pay to enter. We finished 11th out of 30 which wasn't so bad considering we were a team of 2. And we were the only ones to get the Ponderous Puzzle right on the first go. The PP is where at the end of each round they give you a clue. The clues get progressively easier and if you get it at the end of the first round you get 10 points, end of the 2nd round= 9 points and so on.
This one was "I am a landmark that has been visited by the Queen, Fidel Castro, JFK and Lassie the dog". Answer here (lucky guess by me)
This week we got a bigger team together...me, Si, Leanne, Hamish and 2 of us mates - Marcos another Hamish.
We held the lead for the first few rounds, then dropped back slightly only to fight back magnificently to 3rd place and a $25 bar tab. This, between 6 of us, equates to about a small lemonade each. We only missed out on 2nd place by 1 point and can put this down to talking ourselves out of Fiat Punto (had to get make and model of a picture of a car) and also crossing out London for where Hendrix died and putting New York instead. Dummies.
Although we did unexpectedly well on some other questions, such as Hamish knowing Prince Harry's actual first christian name and Si knowing that Rihanna has a song out with the same name as the Abba song played (S.O.S)
And we got the PP first time again through good teamwork between me and Hamish...This one was "I am an event, wasn't held in 1917, 1918, 1942-1945, the prize money is over NZ$15 million and was held for the 90th time this year." Click here for answer
We'll be back for more bar tabs...
The week later we tried the one at the Kingslander - much better, all the questions are on the big tv screens, with music and video clips and everything. Plus you didn't have to pay to enter. We finished 11th out of 30 which wasn't so bad considering we were a team of 2. And we were the only ones to get the Ponderous Puzzle right on the first go. The PP is where at the end of each round they give you a clue. The clues get progressively easier and if you get it at the end of the first round you get 10 points, end of the 2nd round= 9 points and so on.
This one was "I am a landmark that has been visited by the Queen, Fidel Castro, JFK and Lassie the dog". Answer here (lucky guess by me)
This week we got a bigger team together...me, Si, Leanne, Hamish and 2 of us mates - Marcos another Hamish.
We held the lead for the first few rounds, then dropped back slightly only to fight back magnificently to 3rd place and a $25 bar tab. This, between 6 of us, equates to about a small lemonade each. We only missed out on 2nd place by 1 point and can put this down to talking ourselves out of Fiat Punto (had to get make and model of a picture of a car) and also crossing out London for where Hendrix died and putting New York instead. Dummies.
Although we did unexpectedly well on some other questions, such as Hamish knowing Prince Harry's actual first christian name and Si knowing that Rihanna has a song out with the same name as the Abba song played (S.O.S)
And we got the PP first time again through good teamwork between me and Hamish...This one was "I am an event, wasn't held in 1917, 1918, 1942-1945, the prize money is over NZ$15 million and was held for the 90th time this year." Click here for answer
We'll be back for more bar tabs...
Monday, July 10, 2006
Wellington
Despite the setback of the indie night being a week later, we had some recommendations on where to go out from Hamish who is from there. What a great night out. There were loads of places we went to with plenty of variety. After a few snakky b's at the hostel we went to a bar round the corner called The Establishment. It was a very swanky place so we almost didn't go in, but once inside it was clear what the difference between Wellington and Auckland is - people actually enjoy themselves in Wellington. No one was stood around just out to be seen, it was only 9pm yet people were up dancing and having a laugh.
From there we must have been to about 10 other places with the highlights being Good Luck Bar where the review on the link can describe it better than me. But it felt like a real northern england venue. Other highlight was a bar which looked like a strip club or brothel or something. It was barely bigger than someones front room but the walls were totally covered in mirrors and there was a big pole in the centre of the room. The barmaids assured us it was nothing dodgy, probably slightly offended by the question, and it was surprisingly good.
Waking up in the hostel tv room at half time during the Germany Portugal game was amusing, especially for the couple of people in there for the football.
Summary - 2 of the best nights out I've had in New Zealand have been in Wellington (albeit separated by 2 years). Just walking around the town the next day put it straight to the top of my destination list should I leave Auckland. It's clean, people are friendly, loads of great restaurants and bars and there's plenty to do. Only negatives are the weather being a bit Auckland like and the prospect of the earth swallowing the entire city in a huge quake at any time.
And it's got an English bar. By the way, for those who know that I only ever drink lager, it's all changed. I've developed a bit of a taste for Boddies and Tetleys bizarrely enough. I presume it's an old man thing.
From there we must have been to about 10 other places with the highlights being Good Luck Bar where the review on the link can describe it better than me. But it felt like a real northern england venue. Other highlight was a bar which looked like a strip club or brothel or something. It was barely bigger than someones front room but the walls were totally covered in mirrors and there was a big pole in the centre of the room. The barmaids assured us it was nothing dodgy, probably slightly offended by the question, and it was surprisingly good.
Waking up in the hostel tv room at half time during the Germany Portugal game was amusing, especially for the couple of people in there for the football.
Summary - 2 of the best nights out I've had in New Zealand have been in Wellington (albeit separated by 2 years). Just walking around the town the next day put it straight to the top of my destination list should I leave Auckland. It's clean, people are friendly, loads of great restaurants and bars and there's plenty to do. Only negatives are the weather being a bit Auckland like and the prospect of the earth swallowing the entire city in a huge quake at any time.
And it's got an English bar. By the way, for those who know that I only ever drink lager, it's all changed. I've developed a bit of a taste for Boddies and Tetleys bizarrely enough. I presume it's an old man thing.
Hobbittssess
There was a Lord of the Rings exhibition at Te Papa museum. A mere $12 to get in (£4) and I spent a good hour wandering around the paintings, costumes and models from the film. Some really interesting videos playing too which made you realise just how massive these films were.
No photography allowed so this is the best I can do...
No photography allowed so this is the best I can do...
Mad ferrit
Having searched high and low for an indie night in Auckland, we were delighted to see this flyer in Wellington.
Incredibly frustrating that it was for next weekend. Bugger.
Incredibly frustrating that it was for next weekend. Bugger.
On the road again...
Ohakune was an interesting place. Very 'local' is probably the best way of describing it. There are only about 3 bars worth going to and they're mostly empty. It was early in the season, and school holidays, so this would explain the incredibly young crowd who were out on the Tuesday night (resort staff night out).
Then the big funky 70s disco night on Thursday in the Powderkeg seemed to be mainly staff too. It was all a bit inbred as they all stood around in their own groups without any real interaction. All in all, it's good for short bursts so hopefully I'll get back there a couple more times this winter. But I couldn't have stuck it for any extended period. So when I was considering doing the season and didn't bother....correct decision.
Off to Wellington then. We arrived late on Friday and due to the big Thursday night we kept it quiet. The YHA in Wellington is a great budget place to stay. A little boring (the nature of the YHA's versus the other backpacker places), but we couldn't get in anywhere else. The Saturday night was going to be a biggun so we did a bit of sight seeing during the day. First up - the zoo, and more importantly....the chimps....
Some real quality action here as they clapped and gestured for food to be thrown to them by the keeper then caught with the sort of skill that would put the English slip corden to shame.
Then the big funky 70s disco night on Thursday in the Powderkeg seemed to be mainly staff too. It was all a bit inbred as they all stood around in their own groups without any real interaction. All in all, it's good for short bursts so hopefully I'll get back there a couple more times this winter. But I couldn't have stuck it for any extended period. So when I was considering doing the season and didn't bother....correct decision.
Off to Wellington then. We arrived late on Friday and due to the big Thursday night we kept it quiet. The YHA in Wellington is a great budget place to stay. A little boring (the nature of the YHA's versus the other backpacker places), but we couldn't get in anywhere else. The Saturday night was going to be a biggun so we did a bit of sight seeing during the day. First up - the zoo, and more importantly....the chimps....
Some real quality action here as they clapped and gestured for food to be thrown to them by the keeper then caught with the sort of skill that would put the English slip corden to shame.
Some lucky sods are going to enjoy this powder when it's sunny...
Thursday, our 3rd and final day on the mountain was again incident packed...getting up wasn't a problem this time. But the weather was - it snowed relentlessly which meant great powder but total whiteout so you couldn't get up any speed for fear of flying off a blind cliff face.
More mountain road accidents meant most people were stuck up the mountain until it could be cleared. Our bus was at 3.30 but we finally got back to the hostel at about 7pm. Conditions had slightly improved when I took this photo...
More mountain road accidents meant most people were stuck up the mountain until it could be cleared. Our bus was at 3.30 but we finally got back to the hostel at about 7pm. Conditions had slightly improved when I took this photo...
Snow joke
Tuesday was ski day no. 1. Except we didn't go up the mountain - bad weather meant most of it was closed so we spent our day moving to a better hostel. Apparently this is common in nz ski fields (the weather, not the moving. Although given the standard of the Matai Lodge that's probably pretty common too)
Wednesday was much better, so we got a full day in. Almost. We didn't get up there until about 12pm as there was an accident on the mountain road so no one could get up there.
Wednesday was much better, so we got a full day in. Almost. We didn't get up there until about 12pm as there was an accident on the mountain road so no one could get up there.
I'm back baby...
I suppose your lives have been pretty empty in the absence of my updates. Although it probably would have taken a week to read my World Cup rant.
So, what have I been up to? Me and Si went on a road trip is what. We got the coach down to Ohakune for a few days skiing on Mt Ruapehu (NZ's largest ski area), then on to Wellington for a night out in a different place. We checked in to our YHA hostel, the Matai Lodge (NEVER stay here) on Monday then checked out the next day and found much better accommodation (do stay here). This is the outside communal area...
...seats ripped out of the back of an old ute no doubt. In addition, the room wasn't cleaned when we turned up at 4pm, we had beers stolen out of the fridge, the people running it were real dummies and the other guests were weirder than us.
So, what have I been up to? Me and Si went on a road trip is what. We got the coach down to Ohakune for a few days skiing on Mt Ruapehu (NZ's largest ski area), then on to Wellington for a night out in a different place. We checked in to our YHA hostel, the Matai Lodge (NEVER stay here) on Monday then checked out the next day and found much better accommodation (do stay here). This is the outside communal area...
...seats ripped out of the back of an old ute no doubt. In addition, the room wasn't cleaned when we turned up at 4pm, we had beers stolen out of the fridge, the people running it were real dummies and the other guests were weirder than us.
Sunday, July 02, 2006
World Cup...my verdict
Where to start? I'm still fuming from last night so this may not be the most impartial of views. But now England are out I'm going to give my verdict on the finals.
It's been talked about as one of the best tournaments ever. I have to disagree and say in my opinion it's been quite the opposite. There have been some amazing goals, but the large majority of these have been from long distance. And when you look at them as a percentage of long shot attempts it's no surprise a few have gone in the top corner.
The standard of football has been pretty poor. Not one team has stood out for more than one or two games at a time. Matches between two 'big' teams have typically been dull, defensive affairs with neither team wanting to push forward for fear of losing. Most teams play 4-5-1 and there is little wing play - the focus is on funnelling everything through the middle which would explain why players such as Ronaldinho have failed to make an impact.
Argentina were lauded after the group stages but in reality the game against Holland was a bad one, against Mexico they were the poorer team and against Germany they rarely threatened. Brazil have been poor too. They qualified at a stroll from a dreadful group and would have possibly gone out against Ghana had the Africans had a decent striker.
The only teams that have impressed me in any way at all have been Italy and Germany. Both have actually played some good attacking football which is surprising. But, Germany also had an easy group and 2nd round game (helped by the ref) and didn't create a great deal against Argentina.
The Italians did well to win their group, helped by the ref though, as was the case in the 2nd round.
Which brings me on to the refs. The standard in this tournament has been an absolute embarrassment. The question is, who's to blame? As per usual, FIFA and Blatter decide, in their infinite wisdom, to bring in a whole host of new 'directives' to improve things. This leads to confusion amongst the players and refs alike and we've seen some utterly bizarre decisions.
The new directives appear to be outlawing any form of contact and at the same time encouraging diving, time-wasting, bad sportmanship...in summary, cheating. Barely a game goes by without a screeching player hitting the ground clutching his knee/shin/ankle (whatever he grabs first) whilst his teammates surround the ref demanding a fellow professional have his World Cup ended by a sending off. All this despite the 'offending' players challenge being impeccibly timed and utterly fair.
The three most honest teams in the Cup (USA, Australia and England) can all point to shocking decisions which contributed to their downfall. Will they be rewarded for their honesty though? Unlikely. Will Michael Owen be congratulated for crawling off the pitch despite suffering a horrific knee injury just so play could go on? Unlikely. Will Figo be punished for headbutting an opponent, then later throwing himself to the floor to exaggerate contact and get someone sent off. Unlikely.
What can be done? Maybe have FIFA appointed independent physios to attend to stricken players on the pitch? They could then make a call on whether he is injured or not. Maybe an instant yellow for anyone who simiulates a waving yellow? Or a diving committee to review games and give post match red cards to anyone feigning injury or not punished for diving during a game?
Probably none of the above. But something needs to be done as this is destroying the game. It's no coincidence that the 3 biggest cheaters in the cup are in the last 4. How did France slip through the net? Despite not exactly being saints themselves, it was nice to see them beat Brazil. Although I daresay that ref has ruined his chances of being awarded the final by allowing the golden boys to get knocked out.
I'm sure FIFA are happy though - the hosts in the semis, no silly teams like Turkey making it through and those nasty English thugs have gone home. Ratings must be through the roof.
Finally, I missed this during the game but a quote from the beeb website is:
"Television pictures appeared to show Ronaldo winking towards the Portugal bench as Rooney made his way off."
Not sure how true this is but it wouldn't surprise me. Rooney is his club teammate for flips sake. Not sure how Ronaldo can show his face in Manchester after this. So wonderfully typical that he should score the winning penalty.
I'm glad I'm not in England as I can now go skiing and try and forget about it all. I presume the nation is in mourning, Rooney is being slagged off by the Daily Mail and the Sun is offering a free white van to the first person to bring them Ronaldo's gay head on a spike.
It's been talked about as one of the best tournaments ever. I have to disagree and say in my opinion it's been quite the opposite. There have been some amazing goals, but the large majority of these have been from long distance. And when you look at them as a percentage of long shot attempts it's no surprise a few have gone in the top corner.
The standard of football has been pretty poor. Not one team has stood out for more than one or two games at a time. Matches between two 'big' teams have typically been dull, defensive affairs with neither team wanting to push forward for fear of losing. Most teams play 4-5-1 and there is little wing play - the focus is on funnelling everything through the middle which would explain why players such as Ronaldinho have failed to make an impact.
Argentina were lauded after the group stages but in reality the game against Holland was a bad one, against Mexico they were the poorer team and against Germany they rarely threatened. Brazil have been poor too. They qualified at a stroll from a dreadful group and would have possibly gone out against Ghana had the Africans had a decent striker.
The only teams that have impressed me in any way at all have been Italy and Germany. Both have actually played some good attacking football which is surprising. But, Germany also had an easy group and 2nd round game (helped by the ref) and didn't create a great deal against Argentina.
The Italians did well to win their group, helped by the ref though, as was the case in the 2nd round.
Which brings me on to the refs. The standard in this tournament has been an absolute embarrassment. The question is, who's to blame? As per usual, FIFA and Blatter decide, in their infinite wisdom, to bring in a whole host of new 'directives' to improve things. This leads to confusion amongst the players and refs alike and we've seen some utterly bizarre decisions.
The new directives appear to be outlawing any form of contact and at the same time encouraging diving, time-wasting, bad sportmanship...in summary, cheating. Barely a game goes by without a screeching player hitting the ground clutching his knee/shin/ankle (whatever he grabs first) whilst his teammates surround the ref demanding a fellow professional have his World Cup ended by a sending off. All this despite the 'offending' players challenge being impeccibly timed and utterly fair.
The three most honest teams in the Cup (USA, Australia and England) can all point to shocking decisions which contributed to their downfall. Will they be rewarded for their honesty though? Unlikely. Will Michael Owen be congratulated for crawling off the pitch despite suffering a horrific knee injury just so play could go on? Unlikely. Will Figo be punished for headbutting an opponent, then later throwing himself to the floor to exaggerate contact and get someone sent off. Unlikely.
What can be done? Maybe have FIFA appointed independent physios to attend to stricken players on the pitch? They could then make a call on whether he is injured or not. Maybe an instant yellow for anyone who simiulates a waving yellow? Or a diving committee to review games and give post match red cards to anyone feigning injury or not punished for diving during a game?
Probably none of the above. But something needs to be done as this is destroying the game. It's no coincidence that the 3 biggest cheaters in the cup are in the last 4. How did France slip through the net? Despite not exactly being saints themselves, it was nice to see them beat Brazil. Although I daresay that ref has ruined his chances of being awarded the final by allowing the golden boys to get knocked out.
I'm sure FIFA are happy though - the hosts in the semis, no silly teams like Turkey making it through and those nasty English thugs have gone home. Ratings must be through the roof.
Finally, I missed this during the game but a quote from the beeb website is:
"Television pictures appeared to show Ronaldo winking towards the Portugal bench as Rooney made his way off."
Not sure how true this is but it wouldn't surprise me. Rooney is his club teammate for flips sake. Not sure how Ronaldo can show his face in Manchester after this. So wonderfully typical that he should score the winning penalty.
I'm glad I'm not in England as I can now go skiing and try and forget about it all. I presume the nation is in mourning, Rooney is being slagged off by the Daily Mail and the Sun is offering a free white van to the first person to bring them Ronaldo's gay head on a spike.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
