Football Rant minus expletives (somehow)

Two stories about football in the UK. 

1. The FA is trying its best to ruin the game. 

This particular criticism is about a recent FA decision which seems entirely based on the wrong reasons. A player from Uraguay, being interviewed by a podcaster in Uruguay, made a joke. Everyone knew it was a joke, not a slur, as it mentioned a friend from a team in the English Premier League. Maybe some people were offended and thought that he should have been more careful with his words during this informal interview.

When the player was advised that the joke could be offensive to his friend and his friend's cousins, he was genuinely sorry and apologised, reportedly on the brink of tears that his action may have caused offence. The FA, however, decided that (a) they want to flex their muscles to prove how powerful they are (b) make some money out of this (c) make an example of the player and (d) punish the EPL team for not foreseeing a joke that a player may make on another continent in another language for a non-English-speaking podcast.

The result was £100,000 fine and a seven week ban for the player who, incidentally, is one of the nicest people you could hope to meet.

Yet, another EPL player, from Argentina, has escaped the FA who say it's FIFA's job to punish him. WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? Neither of the footballers were involved in FA matches at the time of their alleged 'crimes'. The FA has exceeded its authority by punishing behaviour outside their perceived mandate.

No doubt FIFA will catch up with both these guys and want their share of the spoils, too. 

2. The BBC has appointed the wrong people.

Gary Lineker is leaving MotD and a successor is being appointed. The people's choice (those who fund the BBC with their licence money) is Mark Chapman who was offered a sharing role but who declined because either it's his job or it isn't. Makes you wonder whether Lineker saw this shared role on the cards and decided to quit.

So, listen up, BBC Director of Sports, your job is to provide a service to your viewers, not promote your own agenda. Give Mark Chapman the job he deserves and let the other person have MotD2 - it's not rocket science, is it!

These are my opinions gleaned from a wander round the Internet. I have not personally verified any facts.

fan.

White Collar (TV series)

Following rumours, earlier this year, of a return or reboot, I've started watching White Collar, a TV series from more than ten years ago. 

I'm currently at the point where Neal Caffrey, master forger and con artist, is at a crossroads for his future. He likes his new life as a reformed con on a four-year probation seconded to the FBI in New York; he has friendships with his old buddy Mozz, his landlady June, his love interest Sara and the FBI team, including his 'boss' Peter Burke and Peter's wife Elizabeth. 

Although he is trying to be a good guy, his past keeps catching up with him. In this part of the series, Neal is covering for Mozz, who has taken possession of a billion dollars of  artefacts that were stolen from the Russians by Nazis during WWII. Mozz is planning to retire to an island, using the treasure as his pension, and wants Neal to join him. Neal has just said no so Mozz and the artefacts have disappeared. 

Unfortunately, a clever and greedy killer, Matthew Keller, will stop at nothing to steal this 'treasure'. However, Neal, Mozz and Peter are also clever so the battle is on. They 'goodies' win, of course, which leads to something good...

There may be a follow up post when I finish watching the series.

Hip, Hip, Hooray! It's An Art Day

Following the previous, gloomy post, I though readers deserved some more upbeat news so here it is. Since moving towns a couple of years ago, I've been looking for something sociable to do. I considered joining the local Am-Dram society, as it's only a ten minute walk from home, but I have nothing to offer (I can't act, sing, dance or anything) and they have ample contributors of all ages. I also considered the 'horticultural group' because I like to potter around the garden in the warmer months (I'm still considering it). 

First, though, I volunteered to help with a local group in the village because they seemed desperate but meeting once a year for an AGM doesn't tick the social box.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, someone on the local Facebook group asked if there was any interest in starting a fortnightly art group. It's nothing formal, just people getting together, making time to paint, with breaks for coffee and some chatting. I put my name down and our first 'taster' session is next week. 

Dinosaur Days & The NHS

Without wishing to promote negativity and hopelessness in a bleak, dystopian future (good start), this post refers to life in the 21st century.

Mid-20th century people are getting old. Most worked hard to enjoy their retirement, not realising that that particular dream was akin to the promise of heaven - it probably doesn't exist. So, is today's world better than yesterday?

crocodinosaurs

The dinosaurs don't think so. Theirs was a simpler world. They learned to cope with the occasional dangers and continued to wander the beautiful green earth, ignorant of disasters of a global scale, such as the ice age, a world-wide epidemic or the rise of advanced technology. Were there dinosaurs that foresaw the changes? For example, crocodiles seemed to survive the freeze and, more recently, prophets like Isaac Asimov tried to warn us about the future.

falling... 

Is anyone happy right now? Maybe half of us but, according to mind.org.uk, 25% of the UK population is currently experiencing mental health issues. It's not just young people, although they are less likely to have the appropriate experience to fool themselves that things will return to 'normal'. They won't - because 'normal' changes. Today's dinosaurs have the luxury of knowing that their short future is most likely a descent into dementia, care home and death. Wow, that's heavy.

But, a hundred years ago, our however-many-great-grandparents were weary from a harsh war that ended only five years earlier and the industrial evolution continued. War takes a financial toll and, far from being a Utopia, there were hardships, unlike any experienced by Brits today. Power for warmth and light relied heavily on fossil fuels as (mainly Welsh or northern) men toiled in mines, suffering all kinds of illness - and there was no national health system at that time.

Ironically, this post was intended to include a rant about trying to see a GP, so, here goes.

Why is it so hard to book a GP appointment?

Not having had to see a GP for many years, I was shocked at how difficult it is! According to the surgery's website, the 'best' way to get an appointment is to use the e-consult form. I tried this four times with the same result - closed for the day, try again tomorrow. Returning to the website for guidance... it suggests that, alternatively, I could pop in to reception to book an appointment. I did this and was told that I should try e-consult again, at 8am sharp. Thanks, but not very helpful. 

So I did this, too. I went online at 8am and worked through the form. The first few pages were geared to encouraging me to call 111 or some alternative NHS service (which I chose to ignore) and continued with the form (which took 35 minutes) to be told, at the end, that I should find another way to contact the surgery. No! I went back a few pages and changed some of my responses until the form was completed and I received confirmation that I should receive a response within the next couple of days. This had taken an hour.

I had a missed call three hours later, asking me to call the surgery. I did this. the first message said that they were busy and I should fill out an e-consult form. Aaaaaaaarghhhh! At the end of the message, I was given the option of being put through to a receptionist. I duly pressed the required button and the next message said that they were busy and I could try again later (no way) or request a call-back, which I did. To be fair, they called an hour later and an appointment was made for three weeks' time. It was the first available appointment, not with the GP that I wanted to see, but with his apprentice, which I accepted anyway. Better than nothing, I guess.

The post should also cover the way our lives have been significantly altered by the covid epidemic but, quite honestly, I've worn myself out with this one. Maybe another time. 

David Mitchell: Comedian, Author, Actor.

I've watched two TV series starring David Mitchell as the lead actor. The first was Upstart Crow, a comedy set around the time of Shakespeare, in which there were funny moments but, overall, I wasn't bothered about it. I much prefer his story-telling, rants and banter with Lee Mack on 'WILTY'.

The other series, which was the recently aired Ludwig, is described as a 'Comedy drama, Detective, Mystery' - which I did enjoy. Here is a link to the official trailer from the BBC for Ludwig.

I have a couple of books written by David Mitchell. They're a bit exhausting, in my opinion. The short rants that make me smile on TV don't transfer well into long, rambling book form. But, if you appreciate well crafted rants on general topics of life, you really need to visit David Mitchell's Soapbox. Here's an example:

In conclusion, his quick thinking interaction on WILTY (would I lie to you) are top class, his characters on TV can be good but his books are a bit too much for me.

What, Free?

The voice of Danny Bhoy performing live in Toronto - national symbols (flowers). Paramount Global (INTL) has blocked the full video in the UK on copyright grounds so someone has kindly created a video to accompany the audio of this part of his performance.

(ends at 3 minutes)

There is a selection of  Danny Bhoy videos on YouTube.

Not an Athlete!

The Paris 2024 Olympics are nearing an end and, once again, the events that have me most glued to the TV coverage are the Park Skateboarding - both women's and men's.

Sky Brown won a bronze medal - again - for Team GB but our only hope in the men's event, Andrew MacDonald (Andy Mac) didn't qualify for the finals because, despite two (almost three) perfect performances, the judges' scores were not high enough to place him in the top eight. To be fair, the standards were very high.

Andy MacDonald and Tony Hawk go way back - see this clip of their 'doubles' routine. 

I'm older than Tony Hawk and I'm not an athlete so skateboarding was never a sport for me to try - although I did regularly go roller-skating when I was a teen. Loved it but was never particularly good at it.

Not an Assassin, either!

Skateboarding aside, the event I'd really like to see included is Parkour. Knowing the way the Olympics is years behind the mood of the people, this won't happen for a while but the perfect debut would have been the Paris games. Indeed, their open ceremony paid tribute to it.

Parkour to be included in the Olympic Games?

Finally, back to skateboarding, kids who enjoy it should have more encouragement. Domed indoor facilities would facilitate year-round practice. There are quite a few outdoor parks (many neglected, mostly unsupervised) but these are only useful for the three months of fair weather we have in the UK. It's no wonder that Australia picked up this year's gold medals and that our Olympic-standard Brits are from America! Check out this UK skate park website.