Ted Lasso and Wrexham

I often confused one story with the other. Ted Lasso was a brilliant TV series about a fictional football team based in London, whereas the other was a documentary of a real team in Wales, Wrexham.

Both were of interest to me, with my roots in both places.

I first discovered Ted Lasso (10 years ago - before the series hit the TV screens) when Jason Sudeikis played the character as coach at Tottenham Hotspur.

(My nephew is also a coach, currently employed by his dream team, 'Spurs. He appears in several of their videos, social media, etc.)

Moving on to the Wrexham story, Rob McElhenney persuaded Ryan Reynolds to jointly invest in the club and they have made such a difference! They've thrown themselves wholeheartedly into every aspect of the club and community. I'll be interested to see how far they can go.

And, yes, I've visited the ground at the invitation of the then owner Pryce Griffiths. Following his retirement and sale of the club, Wrexham AFC suffered years of turmoil until fans raised the money to rescue the club from administration. Rob and Ryan stepped in when finances were low and the rest will eventually be history.

As for Ted Lasso, it was always going to end after the third season and it was a great finalé. 

 

Tough Guys with a Soft Centre

I really, really do not like traditional heroine stories from a bygone era. This also extends to most romance books and films, traditionally written from a woman's viewpoint, where she falls in love with the strong silent hero, for example.

That doesn't happen these days, does it? Oddly, I find myself fascinated by certain characters who are tough guys with a soft centre.

To focus on two actors who play these characters very well, Adam Baldwin and Christian Kane (both who were up for the part of Jayne Cobb in Firefly and, I believe, are friends), I'll refer to the TV series (plural) Chuck and Leverage.

By the end of Chuck, I found that the story of the main two co-stars had played out but I was left wanting to know more about John Casey, whose character developed brilliantly as the series progressed. 

In Leverage, Eliot Spencer was a straightforward yet complex person and I wanted to see more of him. But... did I want to know more about him? Debateable, given his brief descriptions of his past deeds. And it was great to see that Adam Baldwin had a guest appearance in S5. As far as Eliot goes, I'm delighted that, not only has Leverage:Redemption now aired but Christian Kane has the lead role in Almost Paradise, where he plays a similar character - tough, soft, not quite loveable.

Having read an old interview with Christian Kane about adapting to his role in The Librarians (a series that I've been trying to watch for a while, having seen a Librarians movie, but it's an additional cost over and above paying for Prime/Freevee), I'm even more intrigued to watch his portrayal. There's a rumour of bringing back a new series of The Librarians but, of course, everything from the 'States is taking forever because of the Writers' strike. Money-grabbing studio execs are trying to save money on paying writers and supporting actors/extras. Wow, big businesses are greedy - who would've guessed!

I haven't seen Angel, where both actors have roles, because I wasn't keen on Buffy the Vampire Slayer but I guess that has to be on my list? I'm just curious to see how AB & CK fit these different characters.

Conclusion: the strong, silent hero is alive and well in the 21st Century. In the UK, Chuck, Leverage and Leverage:Redemption are free with Prime (I think that Firefly and Serenity are also available - but to buy).

Your relevant comments are welcome.

Nostalgia: Working in the 1970s & 1980s

In 1977, I was learning to write programs using a teletype (a big step from punched cards); I was good at Basic, reasonable at COBOL, not so great at Fortran. I loved working in the I.T. department (tho' it wasn't called that in those days); my colleagues were far better programmers than I was but I was very good at specifying requirements for specific needs of management so I moved into Management Information Systems. This involved specifying the program interface and training staff in using it. Good as it was, a similar opportunity arose in another division of the company which offered much more money plus a company car.

It was around 1982. I got the job, sold my lovely old TR7 (bright yellow) and was supplied with a brand new Ford Sierra (a car that had only just been launched!) 

It was a great job; I had to procure (or specify) software for a number of small business applications (e.g. estate agents) so that the sales people could entice these buyers with our multi-user desktop compter system. I had to prepare marketing materials, write instruction manuals and train the clients (hence the company car).

So - what happened next? IBM took the world a step backwards by launching their single user Personal Computer. The first time the acronym 'PC' was used in this context. And the company I worked for decided to relocate. 

Although I'd only been there a year and the company provided me with a car, a daily commute further south and across the Thames was too far to contemplate. They offered assistance for me to move house but I liked where I lived and didn't want to move 60 miles south-east. As luck would have it, I didn't need to.

I was approached by an ex-colleague who had heard of a new position opening up which he thought I'd be ideal for. Having said I was interested, I was invited for interview by my potential new employers. Of course I said yes but would be going on holiday in a week so could we meet before then? 'No problem' I was told. 'We'll send you the airplane tickets and book you into a hotel for a couple of nights, if that's OK'... 

While I was to be based locally, it turns out that the co-owners wanted to meet me and to show me their working environment before I came on board. So I flew to LAX, stayed overnight at an airport hotel then caught a flight to Las Vegas to meet everyone at a trade show (COMDEX), stayed overnight in Vegas, flew back to LAX then to LHR. I just had time to get home and pack for my holiday, as we were leaving the next day!

Yes, of course I got the job. It was possibly the best job I've ever had. Responsible for product support (mainly COBOL) to existing clients/resellers and marketing to build on the client-base throughout Europe, I loved it! Oh yes, my company car was a VW Scirocco (eventually replaced by a Toyota MR2).

I pretty much had autonomy in Europe and visited the company's selected dealers in France, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Spain... plus a couple of trips each year to Head Office in Los Angeles. Wow, I know I was lucky and enjoyed every minute of it. Business increased sufficiently to expand the team so I employed a better programmer for product support (whew!) and a marketing assistant. I also recommended an experienced salesman (an ex-colleague) to sign up larger accounts.

Sadly, good times don't last forever. When the major co-owner died, the company was sold and incorporated by another one, which hadn't a clue how to run the business. Luckily, I was head-hunted by a rival company - but that's another story.

Star Trek & Picard

I've been simultaneously re-watching Star Trek: The Next Generation and watching Picard for the first time. Still many series to go with Next Gen but, before I begin watching Picard S2, I decided to review S1. 

The first episode was a bit of a struggle as the story was being established but, as the series progressed and the characters were introduced, it became very good. 

Bruce Maddox was featured in Picard and, by coincidence, he popped up in the episode of Next Gen that I was watching. Without giving too much away, there were some 'old friends' from the USS Enterprise popping up in the series, too. 

Picard 'died' in s1 but, obviously, there was no panic over this storyline if watching it now because s2 is already available and s3 has just been wrapped. That, incidentally, will be the final series. 

The new characters bonded throughout series one and now I'm looking forward to the next adventures of Jean-Luc with Chris Rios on his ship, La Sirena, with Elnor, Soji, Raffi, Seven of Nine, and Agnes. 

Meanwhile, lots of re-watching to do for the Next Generation. Then maybe Deep Space 9 and maybe Enterprise. I've never seen Discovery or Voyager - would anyone like to recommend them to me?

UPDATE

I've now watched S2 and it was darker, with Chris Rios bringing a little light relief. It ended OK-ish though. Now waiting for S3...

Review - Ready Player One - The Book

First of all, it's hard to believe that this is the author's first novel. Secondly - how will Ernest Cline follow that! Almost ten years later, we're still waiting to find out.

For anyone who is not a 'gamer', I'd recommend reading the book before trying the film. I was given this excellent advice because the book explains references to games in the story-line in a way that the film doesn't, because it's focusing on the action. Special effects are a substitute for imagination, I guess. I was totally absorbed in the book - and I'm one of those weird freaks who has never, ever played a video game and I have no intention of doing so.

The story is futuristic, set a couple of decades hence, but the over-riding theme is inspired by the 1980s. There are many references to that era to keep the interest of people born before then. Not just gamers and not just Americans - the story includes British and Japanese culture from around that decade. Rock and pop music, fantasy-world book authors, such as Terry Pratchett, plus many, many film references, including Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which made me smile - yes I remember the '80s.

The film, directed by Steven Spielberg, was released in 2018. I've not seen it yet but I have discussed it with a couple of people who have watched the film but not read the book... READ THE BOOK! If there is a downside, it's that the font size used in the book is minuscule. It's all small print that required me to use a combination of reading glasses and bright sunlight or, in the evenings, I tried a daylight torch and a magnifying glass - neither of which were ideal. And I don't have enough hands to use both and hold the book open and turn the pages.

It's a well-written book but the genre isn't for everyone. I loved it and I'm looking forward to watching the film in the near future.

---

p.s. I read Good Omens quite some time ago and recently watched the series on TV. And now I'm going to re-read the book...

Porridge: healthy, filling, tasty

Ingredients:

• 1 spoonful raisins
• 2 scoops porridge oats
• 2 walnut halves, chopped
• 2 pecan halves, chopped
• 2 brazil nuts, chopped
• 4 almonds, chopped
• cup of water
• sprinkling of cinnamon

Method:

• place raisins, oats, nuts, and water in bowl, quick stir
• microwave on full power for 2 minutes
• sprinkle cinnamon on top, stir in

Notes:

• if too wet, microwave for another 15-30 seconds
• if too dry, quickly stir in 2 or two spoonfuls of water
  (or milk if you must)

Disappointment - a short story

As business owners, we both work long hours in stressful jobs so a long weekend away with friends - also business owners in stressful jobs - was a lovely break. My overwhelming reaction on our return home was... Disappointment.

It was (almost) entirely my own fault - relaxing over the weekend must have softened my brain. We had left our teenage son, who was home from uni on a gap year, to fend for himself and we looked forward to seeing him. We had texted ahead and arrived home after a 7-hour drive via shopping at the supermarket, ready to make dinner.

We carried in our suitcases and shopping bags with no assistance from our loving son, who remained seated on the sofa, ignoring us. I wasn't disappointed just yet - this is normal behaviour that we are somehow resigned to. A dinner plate was by his side and we assumed that he had already eaten as we put away the shopping and prepared to cook just for ourselves rather than the family dinner that we had planned.

Meanwhile, my eyes had taken in the crumbs next to the sofa, the two dozen DVD/PS4 cases spread on the floor and a spilled pile of clean washing that I asked him to take up to his room before the weekend. Before I could hug my darling son, I expressed my disappointment and walked into the kitchen where I was met with a floor covered with all manner of foodstuffs - raisins, flour, toast crumbs, onion and garlic skin, dry spaghetti, carrot peelings (yes, I should have been pleased that he had eaten vegetables...)

I swept the floor whilst grumbling sarcastically in a low voice because I didn't want to walk in and immediately start an argument. I cleared the sink and filled the dishwasher. My husband cleaned the worktops and we cooked a quick meal. Setting the table, I was greeted by food spillage from a previous meal (or meals) glued to the place mat and table surface.

As we sat down to eat, our son informed us that he hadn't eaten - the plate was from his previous meal. Feeling guilty at the misunderstanding, I signaled to him to remove his headphones so that I could ask him if he'd like pizza (his favourite) which we'd brought home as a treat. Before I could ask, he announced that he would not be talking to me because I was mean to him.

No pizza, then.

Great homecoming/reunion, not! It wasn't until this morning that I looked in the shower room to find five wet bath towels (yes, yes, I should be pleased that he showered!!!)...