A new Decade!

Time for the Captains Drive in this Sunday and I suddenly realised that this will be not only the first game of the year, but of the new decade!

Where have the noughties gone?

It's also my Birthday next week as well and quite alarmingly, this going to be my 6th Decade! The sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties, Noughties and what ever we will call this decade. I guess it starts as the tennies and then turns to the teenies!

Scary, an no, I am not therefor 60!!!

But the passing of another decade calls for a bit of a reflection of the passing of previous decades.

1969 was quite an eventful time, with Neil Armstrong having been the first man to land on the moon in July of that year, but nearer to home, whilst we were celebrating New Years Eve at friends of my parents, my paternal grandmother had died. So New Years Eve has always had a negative connotation, especially for my father.

So the passing into the 70's was not an easy one for me, even at the age of 8. (or nearly Nine as my Birthday is on the 7th January)

Contrast that with 1979 and I've been working for just over a year, spent the latter part of the 70's working and living in London and just passed my driving test!!!  We've seen the advent and then development of Punk Music and things are looking up. Especially for an 18 year old with wheels! Unfortunatley, on Christmas Eve of 1979, I was working a night shift!!! But little did we know what was ahead of us in the EIGHTIES!

Come the end of the 80's and in 1989 we see the demise of the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall and on New Years Eve we sit down in the early hours of 1990 to watch the BBC Music of the 80's which went through all of the hits and stars of the eighties, from New Wave, New Romantics, Mod/Two Tone, through to the dance scene, hip hop and garage. The Police, Dire Straits, Madonna.

And who do yhey finally decide was the star of the 80's? 

PRINCE!

So we managed to survive the 90's, moving "Up North" at the start of the decade and as we came to the end of the decade, Century and Indeed the Millenium, we had also started a family! Quite a big decade I guess.

As we came to the end of the Millenium, working in IT obviously meant we were involved in the infamous, but damp squib that was the Millenium Bug. We earned a considerable amount of on-call overtime and had a street party to see the Millenium in!

Oh what fun there was watching the Millenium Bug Watch with Jon Snow, Gaby Roslin and Desmond Lynam as they watched the millenium kick off around the differrent time zones and report on planes falling out of the skies and nuclear reactors blowing up.......Nothing!!!

So we head for the new decade, hoping for a more prosperous year next year,a new fresh decade, but as far as I can see, it's no different to the start of a new second, minute, hour, day, week, month, year etc.

Mind you, I reckon that first Drive of the Decade is going to be over 300 yards! (Not the normal 190!!!)

Christmas Gifts for Golfers!!!

I thought I'd got away with it this year.

I've told family and friends not to but me any Golf related gifts as, unless bought from a proper golf retailer, they  are basically naff.

You know the type of thing, gadgets to stamp your initials on golf balls, golf balls with Christmas/Jokey Logos where the balls are rubbish, electronic score machines, woolen head covers, joke exploding golf balls, ball and club care kits, you get the picture? You normally find them in M and S BHS or Next under the mens gift sections along with the mini remote control cars, coin sorting machines, desktop pool tabler and dart sets.

And I've had the lot!!!

If it's a Jack Daniels (or similar) related golf gift, then as long as it has at least a miniature inside, it is almost acceptable, but I still have 3 Jack Daniels Golf balls (of unknown make) that will never see a driving range, let alone a golf course!

One year, my dear old Mum even knitted me a ghastly set of woolly head covers, complete with pom poms and, get this, a golf glove. Yes knitted!!!

So remember this, REAL golfers, do not want any gifts that, whilst golf related, have no use whatsoever onthe golf course, or that make you a better golfer, or the round more enjoyable. If you played golf you'd understand!

Mind you, she did get me something useful this year, it's a leather wallet, which has contains a "Magic Wheel", which works out all of the shots when playing 3/4, or 7/8, or whatever combinations possible.

Thanks Mum and a Happy New year!!!

Christmas (TV) Nostalgia

So Christmas Day is over and we are into Boxing Day.

You know what? I did'nt really feel Christmassy this year! It was great seeing Josh and Sophie opening their presents and Shaz was knocked out with her Iphone, the Christmas Dinner was fantastic and we had a great day.

Bit it didn't feel like Christmas!

We were looking forward to the "Christmas Specials" on the telly, although I wasn't too fussed with the Soaps, but the Christmas Top of the Pops was, to say the least, disappointing. Apart from the fact that "Rage Against the Machine" beating Joe "X-Factor" Whoever, bit where was Jimmy Saville? Where was Dave Lee Travis? Where was Noel Edmunds (Probably doing, "let's make a deal and get as many people as possible to cry at Christmas)

The Christmas Dinner was timed to perfection to coincide with the Queens Speech and it was time for a quick nap. But it still didn't feel like Christmas.

We were looking forward to the Royle Family special, but it wasn't exactly Fools and Horses. Now you new where you were with Del and Rodney at Christmas. Every year it was the highlight of the Christmas Day schedule and never disappointed.

One year, 1992 BK (Before Kids), we were due to go to Gloucester for Christmas, so had nothing in the house food wise. Bit we both went down with flu, well Shaz only had Flu, I had "man flu", which resulted in us having to cancel our trip and stay at home! We slept through most of the day, but managed to rustle up a chicken breast, boiled new potato and tinned peas Christmas Dinner and a Sherry just before the Fools and Horses Christmas Special. Then we went back to sleep!

Thanks to the wonder that is Sky TV and the GOLD channel, I managed to get a retro look at a couple of F&H Christmas Specials and they were still brilliant, even though I have probably watched them dozens of times.

Funny how there was not a mention of Christmas in the episodes on show, even though they were the Christmas Specials!

Later on, much later on when the kids were in bed and the Port and Stilton were out, we tuned into a programme looking back on the phenomena that was Christmas Light entertainment and Lo and Behold there were the gods of Christmas Telly, Morecambe and Wise.

Eric Morecambe was once asked by a famous guest, why there was so little reference to Christmas in their Christmas shows, to which he answered, "repeat fees"

Sure enough the Easter Bank holiday was time for the repeat of the Morecambe and Wise Christmas show!!!

The programme continued to review the greats of British (mainly BBC) TV, with the various Specials by Val Doonican, Cilla Black, Sir Cliff and the fabulous Two Ronnies!!! I remember a Val Doonican show when for a bit of fun he tried to announce his guests name backwards, but the only one that made sense(?) was his own........Lav Nacinood!

They also showed the old America specials by Andy Williams and an attempt by Perry Como to show a traditional Engkish Christmas, circa 1830, with Petula Clark!!!

One dancer explained that the hardest thing about doing the show was that it was hard to get into the Christmas spirit, when you were supposed to be doing a Christmas themed dance routine when it was the hottest day of the year in August!!!
So, this year, where was the James Bond Movie? Where was Billy Smarts Circus and where was the trip around a Childrens Hospital in London with Leslie Crowther/Ed Stewpot/Noel Edmonds? (Delete as applicable)

The trouble is, that with all of the Sky and Digital channels and all of the repeats as well as the advent of DVD's all of the latest blockbusters have already been available and the Classics are on all of the time!

Be honest, you probably tuned into watch Zulu, the Great Escape or the Sound of Music every year!


Mind you, I wouldn't want to be in Albert Square over Christmas, the chances of not being whacked over the head, shot, pushed down the stairs, going mad or being knocked over by a Car are pretty slim
The best bit about Christmas, is the programmes telling us how good Christmas used to be and how Grumpy people spend the festive time and what the top 100 best thingies are, where complete unknowns tell us about what other minor celebrities have been up to, with the vain hope that they will appear as subject matter in 12 months time.

But remember, Lawrence of Arabia, it's not only for Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas one and all

Simple entry today!

Wishing you all a Merry Chrsitmas and prosperous New Year.

Hope you have had as good a day as me!

Just had a fantastic Christmas Dinner with the Shaz and the Kids, nice bottle of Champagne and ready for the family game before settling down for the TV specials. This is what Sky Plus was invented for, I'm sure!

Not felt very Christmassy until this morning and surprise, surprise, we did not have to get up until 8:30. Josh slept through.

Got Shaz an Iphone which was a complete surprise to her and there was a disctinct look of jealousy on our daughters (Sophie) face as she saw what mer mum had got!

I have spent an enjoyable couple of hours setting the Iphone up for her and I must admit, I'm impressed by it and the next time I'm due an upgrade I may well look into a replacement for the old Blackberry!

Anyway, must get back to helop Josh out with his Lego and get ready for the evenings entertainment.

Hope you have all had a good day!

Bring me more Beer!!!

Just a quick post today based on something I read in the papers yesterday!

It's not so long ago, that the quality of drinking water was not as it should be and until the late 19th and early 20th Century when filtration methods and the addition of Chlorine into, there were high risks if disease and illness and even death, if you drank too water that was not Potable (that means fit to drink!)

So in a lot of the "civilised" world, water was not the staple source of fluid and so fermented drinks like mead, ale (beer) and wine were the chosen alternatives. Not all of these were as alcoholic as it might seem, but the brewing process would have hopefully killed off the germs and miro organisms that would cause all of the harm.  

The crew of Nelson's flagship, HMS Victory, would have survived on other means than water and the daily grog ration was a way of trying to purify the drinking water by added very strong Navy Rum. Until recently, furnace workers in Steel Mills, would be allowed to drink pints of Lager throughout the day to enable them to quench their thirst during the shift. (Not really a matter of concern in the UK now due to the distinct lack of a Steel Industry!)

So where is all this leading? Well, according to the papers yesterday, Supermarkets are now selling beer cheaper than the water they sell! Can you believe that?

Supermarkets have been accused of encouraging binge drinking by continuing to sell alcohol more cheaply than bottled water.

Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s are among those selling beer at just over 5p per 100ml. This contrasts with a typical price of about 8p for 100ml of brand-name mineral water.

You can see the full article on line http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6962974.ece
 
But sounds to me that we could be reverting to medieval times, perhaps Marie Antoinette was right when she suggested "let them eat cake", perhaps Gordon Brown should be informing us to "drink more beer"
 
On a serious note, take it easy out there and imbibe sensibly! I'm off to look for a job at the nearest Steel Mill!!

Now that's what you call Winter Golf!

Just a quick warning from Non-Golfers, you may not understand the following blog!

It is funny though!

Yes, the weather forecast had suggested all week that it may be a little cold today, but still there was hope that the Texas Scramble would go ahead and possibly playing on the normal greens and not the temporary ones!

So arriving at the club at 8:45 it was a pleasant surprise to see a group teeing off the first and the course relatively green! I met up with my playing partners for the day, Wes Jones, Nick Bridgwood and Craig Collins and we preapared for the off. However, things were about to take a number of turns for the worse!

It started to snow a little as we got ready to play, but as I walked to the first tee, hidden under the light snow covering, was sheet Ice........whoosh......ares over tit. Pain from the knee and right hand......next stop A&E?

Luckily nothing more than a cut knee and finger, but it was now snowing heavily! No more blue sky! It was obviously not going to abate so we headed back to the relative safety of the Pro Shop, well I hobbled anyway!

By the time we got back to the pro shop, the "blizzard" had subsided somewhat and we decided to go out, even if it was for a few holes only.

We got back on the tee, yellow balls in hand, ready to start the game. The Texas Scramble format meant that we played as a team and after each of us had played a shot, we selected the best shot and played our next shots from there, so it is a good scoring format as you in effect get four goes at each shot.

Four decent drives away we walked down the first fairway only to see 3 or 4 groups walking up the 9th, having had enough! Easy win for us then! We had to choose between Nick and Wes's who had hit great drives, the distance assisted by the additional bounce from the hardened fairways. we were on temporary greens so all the holes would play 25-30 yards shorter than normal. We chose Nick's Red Ball and the best shot ended about 25 feet away from the pin. Tricky putt across the snow covered ground, but a tap in for a birdie.

A par on the 2nd and Birdie on the 3rd had given us a good start. Nick launched into his drive on the 4th and left us with about 90 yards to the temporary hole. The shots were straight into the sun and Nick;s ended about 10ft past the pin, mine, although I didn't see it, with the help of a forunate bounce ended up abot 2 ft away and Craig lipped the hole for a 2 and ended up inches away.....tap in Birdie....3 under par.

Par on 5 and 6, with a good up and down on 6. On 7 Craig hit the best Drive, but as we were walking down the path to the bridge, he hit a patch of ice and fell on his elbow! Ouch!!! Two down Two to go!

It was his shot we took from the light rough and he launched a 3wood straight at the pin. Looks like the bang on the elbow had cured his Hook! Eagle chance. If he'd sunk the putt he would have had an eagle with his three shots!!!...but he didn't!!!

On 8 Wes has spanked a Driver to within about 20 yards of the pin. Nick, was going for it with gusto, but tried so hard, lost his footing and came crashing to the floor. We never did see where his "Pink" ball went! Three Down and One to go!!!

Wes's tee shot was so close to the temporary green we could use our putters and whilst no Eagle, an easy tap in for Birdie and we were 5 under, which was our score for the front nine.

A quick walk up to the clubhouse for our Bacon Roll and Coffee and then off to the 10th, with another monster drive short of the green and a chip and a putt for a birdie!

The short par 3 11th hole was even shorter and was no more than a flick, but with no way to stop the ball a par was a good result as was the par on the 12th, 13th and 14th. The temporary greens were getting difficult to get close to and the snow had turned to slush so the ball was difficult to putt.

The 15th was a killer hole with the pin on a slope between the fairway and green side bunkers, so a chip and putt for par was beyond us and we bogied our first hole of the day. A magnificent 3wood off the tee on 16 by Nick, saw a short pitch to the pin, but the 15ft putt eluded us all and we only managed par.

The sky was getting worryingly dark and snow was imminent, the wind had already picked up and the 17th looked fairly easy. Unfortunately again the ball was tough to stop the ball, so a long chip and 2 putts meant another Bogie.

So it was a weary trudge to the 18th tee. Wind behind, hard fairway, temporary green....Eagle!!! 3 good drives and then it was Wes!!!

Whack!!!! The ball sailed high and long, Wes not happy with the flight, "too high" he moaned. the ball hit the deck and bounced and skidded up the fairway reaching the final up slope. A glorious winter conditioned 350 Yards. A little flick to the pin. Unfortunately four missed eagle putts from about 20ft and a tap in Birdie for a 5 under Par 67 gross and a nett 62.1....job done.

Into the clubhouse, checking the scores and waiting for the last group to come in. Rumours of a net 60 in, but we've heard that before! Quick recap of the scores and comparing with other teams we had had similar experiences and a lot of fun.

The final group of Chris Milner, Nick Lea, Martin Wainman and Colin House came in and had beaten us by 0.2 of a shot! They Eagled the 18th!!!

Got to say, probably the best fun I've had in a winter competition (although the chucky bogie was close), especially given the bashed up knee (which is now starting to give way when I get out of my chair to refill my wine glass.

I really enjoy winter golf, not sure why, but it could be with the shared experience of taking on the elements and having a bit of fun. Good playing partners help as well!!! It's the time when the real "Club members" show themselves!!!

Big respect to everyone who played today, especially if you finished! Thanks to my playing partners once again for such a fun day and as it was the last competition before Christmas, Merry Christmas to everyone who reads this and all the members of Wychwood Park Golf Club.

What a Travesty!!!

I don't suppose you've been watching "The Restaurant", the Apprentice type show that is based on the winners opening a restaurant with Raymond Blanc? Well I have and the Final last night was nothing but a travesty!!!

Eight couples started the journey and two went in the first programme, one being a mother and daughter team who went after trying to crack a coconut with a big kitchen knife and then using the same knife to open a can of condensed milk, so scary that Raymond chucked them out there and then. The same show saw the demise of a mother and son pair, who lost out because of their lack of concept. (Each restaurant has to have a concept!)

The ultimate winners "Mixologist" JJ Goodman and his friend and business partner James Hopkins, directors at the London Cocktail Club, beat the eight other couples to the prize. They said they were 'over the moon' about the win and will now work with Blanc and business partners Sarah Willingham and David Moore to open a restaurant based around their concept of serving sharing dishes with cocktails.

They were rubbish EVERY week! Somehow they survived and perhaps the decision was made weeks ago. JJ could not cook and did not want to cook. He always left the bulk of the work to the other professional chefs in his restaurant and if in doubt, he reverted to his mixology, i.e. mixed a cocktail.

His partner "James", was what used to be called a "hooray henry" and to be fair was reasonably good at front of house, but together, without fail they were a disaster, only surviving because another couple were worse, or one week, when the ex-army pairing gave up and left!

So to the final! The two remaining pairs had to cook a meal for the Earl; and Duchess of Arran at their stately home for eighteen discerning guests. They had to take turns in providing a course guided by the Butler!

The other finalists were probably opposite in composition with the Chef, Chris Hackett,  being very talented, but the front of house Nathan Gooding, being an obnoxious little shit, who in a previous week had a stand up argument with a female guest who complained about a dirty plate. As he left he "flipped the bird" in her direction.

Anyway, the first course was Smoked Salmon Blinis, which were supposed to allow the guests to enjoy a small but tasty morsel whilst making small talk and sipping champagne. JJ served up an oversized double mouthful that did not go down too well.

There opponents served up a vegetable Consomme (soup) made with fresh ingredients from the Duchess's own organic vegetable garden which was described by all!

Meanwhile JJ is panicking in the kitchen with his next course which was supposed to be a Rissotto. His partner James, was very good at communicating the bad news to the Duchess, but when he finally served up a Rissotto which looked more like tinned Rice Pudding with some chopped leaves in. When the Duchess, who was a bit of an old trout, tasted it, it looked as if someone had farted in her face!

The next course, produced by Chris was a fancy scallop dish which everyone drooled over, meanwhile JJ, was trying to rescue the Beef he had forgotten to start whilst he was fighting with his Rissotto! The Vegetables that had been prepared by Chris were superb and the Beef, luckily was ok!

Finally they both had to serve a souffle.

Chris produced a classic chocolate souffle using a recipe from Raymond's very own recipe book, whilst JJ made a complete cock-up by mixing all the ingredients together without realising that the egg white needed to be whisked separately and layered into the mix gradually!!! It was a mess!

James informed the Duchess that half of her guests would be without desert, whilst an apoplectic JJ shat himself.

After James had informed the Duchess of the bad news and her guests were sharing their chocolate souffles, he returned to the kitchen and JJ suddenly came up with a solution..................he mixed a cocktail!

Meanwhile, Chris and Nathan were in their kitchen celebrating a successful task and perhaps feeling smug, thought, perhaps quite rightly that they had won the task and therefore the series.

So to the judging. They obviously didn't take notice of the Duchess and her cronies! You could tell by the way the interviews with the finalists and their views of what had gone on and the judges discussions made it obvious that the biggest upset since Wimbledon beat Liverpool in the FA Cup final was about to happen (Although Wimbledon probably deserved it!)

Yes, the "Jedwards" of the restaurant won......by their reaction they could not believe that they had blagged their way through the competition.

As Raymond was going through his preamble, Chris and Nathan could see the writing on the wall and their faces were a picture. Chris particularly seemed to find it difficult to take. He had delivered, time after time and especially in the final! After all, this was a cooking competition wasn't it?

Well, like Strictly is a dance competition that allows John Sergeant to get close to winning, like X-factor allows Jedward to even get into the final this time, the pair who went out in the semi-final would probably have been the winners if it had been a public vote!

However, a pair of chancers, with a chef who could not cook, but could mix a mean cocktail, won the top prize, to work with Raymond Blanc and his associates, who made their choice!

It will be interesting to see how successful the partnership is!!!!

Siralan.........we will never question your judgement ever again!!!

Don't worry back to golf tomorrow!

Severiano Ballesteros

I watched the BBC Personality of the Year 2009 show last night. A annual pilgrimage, an annual tradition. I think I've probably seen everyone since the late 60's. It was a must see in our house, just as much, if not more, than the Queens Christmas Speech, the Fa Cup final, the University Boat Race, Wimbledon and the Grand National. Never ever missed it.

In fact, in the garage I have a box containing video recordings of every year from  1985, when a young chirpy Barry McGuigan won after beating Pedrosa, at QPR's football ground covered by BBC. (Surprise Surprise) until the late 90's when DVD recorder took over. The last I've got is Jonny Wilkinson in 2003 after England won the Rugby World cup. I might have Sky plus'd a few since then, but I don't think I got round to committing them to disc.

It used to be simple, Overseas Personality, Team of the year and then the top 3. I've seen them all, Henry Cooper, Princess Anne, Mary Peters the next year, who comments that the Pricess Royal had kept the trophy clean, I can just see her with her tin of Brasso!!!! Is Brasso still available. (Don't have many trophies to polish these days!)

Now, there less sport to see, as Sky have most of the decent stuff and it's cut down to 2 hours (it used to be 3 plus in the good old days), not exactly too "modern", but not as inspiring as before. We know the nominees, there are awards for best Coach, best "joe public" sports organiser, young personality and prbably a couple of others I missed whilst taking a comfort break or refilling my glass!!!

But they've recently had a new "life time achievement" awards, starting in 1996 with Frank Bruno.  Notable winners sincew have been, Pele, Ian Botham, Martina Navratilova, Bobby Robson, Bobby Charlton, Alex Ferguson, Bjorn Borg and last night it was Seve Ballesteros.

Strange that, since he also won a BBC Sports Personality life time achievement award in 1997!

So how come he got one again? I'm not saying he does'nt deserve one, but it seemed a little strange. What has happened since 1997? He has not, like Greg Norman, or Tom Watson, challenged for a major title. In fact his game has gone downhill fast, probably since before 1997.

No, he has had to cope with a major illness, a brain tumour, a cancerous brain tumour that caught him suddenly and without warning. He has battled the illness as you would expect a fighter like Seve to do so, but to put it bluntly, he did not look good last night,. He could not fly to London for the award, he was at home with Jose Maria Olazabal, his great friend, who presented the award and was quite obviously an emotional wreck and close to tears as he spoke of his friend Seve.

Let us hope that this was not the last chance to honour a true gentleman sprotsman, a character, a maverick, probably the most naturally talented golfer ever, a true legend! Tiger Woods, please take note.

When you start to get older yourself, the superstars in whatever field, sport, film and television, music that you grew up with, or made a mark on you, start to get old and eventually shuffle off! It is sad to see the once greats, get old. Is it that long ago that Seve was winning the Open Championship with bravado and a huge smile, or stuffing the Yanks in the Ryder Cup.

Whilst not brought to tears last night, it was close.......I recall sat alone in the early hours to watch the the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games at Atlanta in1996, seeing the torch handed over to the Legend that is Muhammad Ali, seeing him stood shaking with the Parkinsons Disease that had taken over, tears streaming down my face to see him struck down in that way! He was so determined to be part of the Olypmics again! I've just watched it on You Tube and it still moves me now.

Let's hope that last night was not the last time we get to honour Seve, that he is well enough to get to, if not compete in the Open in 2010.

As he said, he is currently playing in the "6th Major" and it's the toughest course he has ever had to play!

Winter Golf................Turkey Trot!!!

Well, the first frost of the year at Wychwood and the real Winter Golf.

Crisp chill in the air and TEMPORARY GREENS!!!!

The greens obviously make it a bit of a lottery and it certainly took away the advantage of my strength which is Putting. Obvious after 4 putting the first and second. 1 point from two holes, not a good start.

Got it moving and pars on 5, 6, 7 and 8 pulled the scores back before cutting the second on 9 into the water and no points. (17 points with 2 blobs is still 17 points!)

Bacon Roll and Coffee (with the addition of a drop of Jack Daniels) at the new "half way house" was a positive start to the back nine, before teeing up on the bogie hole that is 14.

This is the Capatain's charity hole and we have selected any of the water hazards on the 14th as a penalty of 50p to the charity! Mainly because I'm always in one of the many hazards. Cost me 50p and 2 shots last week, so I decided to lay up. Hit the shot perfect. Long shot in to the temporary green, but I'd been hitting this distance no problem so far today. Cut is badly and it looked like going into the water short of the green, but cut it so badly that it sliced across the face of the water and was on the slope down to the water. Got away with it. Just chip up over the wooden slats that separate the green from the water and chance of a par!

Thin it into the wooden wall and luckily hit the ice on top of the water and landed back my side, but only a 6 for 1 point!

So fought my way around the rest of the nine and came in with a reasonable 34 points of my 16 handicap. Happy with that as 8 weeks ago off 20 I was struggliung to get 28 points!

Big scores in today, plethora of 38's with a couple of 40 points, but then in came Chris Brayne with 42.

Chris is usually dressed, well shall we say, very brightly to go with his blonde spike hair, think Blone Sid Vicious, but to day, all grey! (not the hair!!!)  So the Glenmoranige heading Chris's way!!! (Thought he might have offered it round!)

Good turn out, although a couple knobbed off to Market Drayton! I'd rather play off temporary greens at Wychwood than play Market Drayton. Anyway up to them I guess, but they did potentially take someone elses spot!

Anyway, Texas Scramble next week and there is a buzz about the place! That's the great thing about Winter Golf, there's something special about getting making it around in wintery conditions and sharing tales in the clubhouse. Smaller fields means most people hang around and theres a lot of chat.

I love winter golf (and not because we play off forward tees and i can hit the 8th Fairway!!!

Sky Blue Army.......CITY stands for Conference In Three Years!!!

My beloved Coventry City lost again last night! That after losing to lowly Scunthorpe on Saturday. 4 points from a possible 30 in the last 10 games does not look good. 20th position and only 1 point off relegation spot.

Where has it all gone wrong? We were never a real top flight team, although a first division 6th place in 1969/70 saw us play in the European fairs Cup in 1970 with our entry into the European Arena against the giants of Bulgaria, Trakia Plovdiv. 50 Coventry fans made the trip to see a comfortable 4-1 win for City. The home leg was a comfortable 2-0 victory.

The next round saw us drawn against Bayern Munich. Bayern were to become one of the top European sides of the decade, and this team included a chap called Beckenbauer. We lost 6-1, but managed to salvage our pride with a 2-1 victory.

End of our European record until we won the FA Cup in 1987.....but thanks to our friends from Liverpool, we were unable to take our place!

As an aside, I was present at a number of games that season, including two trips to Hillsborough in the quarter final agains Sheffield Wednesday and the Semi-Final against Leeds Utd, then a 2nd division club! Surely I'd get a ticket for the final! No chance!!!

I was in a car driving down to Poole on the last day of the season in 1997. We needed Middlesborough and Sunderland to lose (they were'nt playing each other by the way) and we needed to beat Spurs away! Unbelievabley all results went our way.......I was stuck in a traffic Jam on the A34 on the way into Newbury as the final whistle went......yet another Houdini escape.......if the Titanic had been painted Sky Blue it would not have gone down!

So now we stand 1 point off the botttom 3, with a "relegation 6 pointer" against Peterborough United and ironically there is talk of Darren Ferguson being lined up to replace Chris Coleman!

How the "not so mighty" have fallen......read Leeds Utd, Southampton, Charlton, Norwich etc. etc.

Play up SkyBlues


(We'll get back to the golf.............trust me!)

SMUGHEAD JOBSWORTHS! - Don't they know who I am!!!

Now don't get me wrong, I  am all for road safety and think myself as a safe driver, not speeding or driving carelessly.

True I did get points on my licence following being zapped at 10pm on a stretch of the M6 in the lake district going through roadworks with the roads empty and then got caught on film leaving Knutsford doing 42mph by a camera poking out of a white van. Apparently it was parked in a purpose built parking bay that the council had built with our money!

Not that I'm bitter, you understand!

As I travelled, and still do, the highways and by ways of the UK, with 6 points I couldn't afford any more, so I purchased a Road Angel detector! Saved me loads I reckon over the years!

As I left the golf club a couple of weeks ago, I was driving through Weston, just about to enter the village near the White Lion, when I saw 3 gentleman in HiVis jackets, one of them with a clipboard and one with what looked like a hairdryer point in my direction. I realised what it probably was, but as it was not the police and that I was not going fast, I wasn't worried!

So imagine my shock and surprise, when my lovely wife (Shaz), interrupted me as I was working from home and handed me an envelope with a very smug expression on her face, calling me a naughty boy!

From the "Road Policing Unit - Eastern Division", I suddenly recalled who I had seen only 4 or 5 days ago. Not more points!!!!  I've only just got the old ones off my licence!

The letter informed me that I was caught by the "Community Speedwatch Volunteers" working in partnership with Cheshire Police doing 33mph whilst entering a 30 mph limit!

Yes, I know they are concerned about their community, but apart from running into "Speed Watch Volunteers", or a tractor pulling out from the farm entrance, or some drunk staggering out of the the White Lion, I don't think that the extra 3 mph was going to make much differnce! I also wonder whether the old git holding the the "hairdryer" had a steady enough hand to make the speed reading that accurate. Surely, any slight movement would exagerate the reading.

Bit it was a warning! "No further action will be taken on this occasion"

So what's the point? And more to the point, how come they can get a letter posted out 4 days later, when I couldn't get to see a policeman , or get a crime number when Shaz's car was nicked!!!! Get your priorities right. Catch me and fine me, bit don't allow those HiViz smugheads loose with a hairdryer and give me a warning!

And another thing, if this hairdryer was a radar gun, how come my Road Angel didn't go off? Either that was a Hairdryer, or my Road Angel is not working. Or perhaps the fact that I was on my mobile, eating a sausage roll and drinking a can of coke meant I was distracted enough not to hear the beep or see the flashing red warning light!

(only joking about the sausage roll, it was a pastie and I wasn't talking on the mobile, I was texting!........oh and it was a red bull and not coke!!!)

Anyway, I know who the HiVis smugheads were and I will be waiting for you outside you local village pub with a "joe public test yourself breathalyser kit" and perform a citizens arrest after they start driving their car away!

(This is a rant and I do not suggest that anyone should flagrantly break any of the laws laid down by this great country of ours!!!)

Help for Heroes

The Captains Charity for 2010, is Help for Heroes.

Help for Heroes was founded by Bryn and Emma Parry after a profoundly moving visit to Selly Oak Hospital in the summer of 2007. Bryn and Emma met some extraordinarily brave young people who had been badly wounded and they just wanted to do something to help.

The charity was launched in October 2007 and, with the backing and support of Celebrities, including Jeremy and Francie Clarkson, The Royal Family, The Media and countless ordinary decent people, it has raised over £1m a month since then.

Help for Heroes is strictly non-political with no affiliation with any political party and they do not endorse the use of their name for the promotion of any political viewpoint. The money that is raised at Help for Heroes is used to support wounded Servicemen and women of every colour and creed and they strongly oppose any individual or political party who believes otherwise, and those who seek to use the charity’s name for their own political gain.

The message is simple: H4H does not seek to criticise or be political, they simply want to help and to do so by asking everyone to do their bit to raise money. Once that money is raised, they go to the experts in the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force for guidance as to how best to spend it. It is their intention to spend all they raise on the practical, direct support of those wounded in the service of our country since 9/11.

Elaine Stubbs, the Lady Captain for 2010, suggested that we jointly support Help for Heroes and as I had seen a recent documentary about the work done at Selly Oak and had been involved in an NHS trust setting up a counselling service for returning soldiers, I was more than happy.

Elaine's son has served in the armed services in Afghanistan and she and her husband Paul feel themselves lucky that he returned unscathed. Other families have been less fortunate.

It is far to easy to forget that whilst there is coverage of the unfortunate service men and women who have given their lives, there are far more, who the public don't see, who have been seriously wounded, losing limbs and their mobility.

We have a number of ideas for how we can support the charity and have also engaged with the National Golf Challenge, which has been set up purely to support H4H with hundreds of golf clubs playing a competition in the same weekend in support. This just happens to coincide with our Club Championships. It would be great to get one of our heroes to come and present the trophies!

On a smaller scale we have chosen, as is the norm, a Captains Hazard. Not a bunker, or a pond, but all of the ditches and water on the 14th hole at Wychwood! And guess what! I was the first one in it!!! £1 Kerching!!!

I am also planning, along with a few other members, to enter at least one, Charity Cycling race this year. Not sure which one, but it will be a minimum  of 40 miles!

Elaine and I are not looking to pester and cajole members to give all the time, but to give them the opportunity to contribute as and when they see fit. We've seen the Charity focus going overboard in the past and we don't want to bore the pants off everyone, but it is a worthy cause and one we hope we can help. 

So remember when you tee up on 14, go for it, and if you find a ditch or water, there is some good coming out of it!

Help for Heroes!

First Round as Captain...............Help for Heroes

Well, first day proper as Captain and first competition as Captain! Not only that, but first time playing off 16 handicap for quite a few years! 4 shots off in about 6 weeks, not bad. Didn't want to be off 20 when I became Captain.

So 35 points was pleasing to say the least. Played with Craig Collins, Nick Bridgwood and Lee Cole.

Craig started off like a train, but let it slip a bit, but Lee and Nick scored 38 points with Nick scoring an impressive 22 off the back nine, but Lee was equally as spectacular with 21 on the front, 1 under par Gross! Enjoyable round, weather was mixed, but on the whole was ok.

But I get to "retire" another golf ball. Since I started playing at Wychwood Park, if a play the same ball  around the course in competition, I retire it! More than that I take a photo and post it on Facebook. Sad I know, but today, it was a Srixon AD333 and despite me playing it out of a couple of ditches, I didn't lose it!!! SInce 2002, this is only the 13th ball to be retired!!!

Talking of ditches, I went into the ditch on the 14th, which is the nominated "Captain's Charity" hazard for the year. So I had to, as everyone should, put "at least" fifty pence into the charity boxed in the Clubhouse!

This years Charity is "Help for Heroes" and I will do a bit more about this in a future Blog. But suffice to say, it is a very worthy cause which Elaine Stubbs, the Lady captain and I are really pleased to be supporting!

Still not got used to being called Captain, but I need to move the Captain's Parking space. A drain is situated directly behind the tailgate on my car and it stinks. Nearly threw up this morning and that was without a major hangover!!!

Anyway.......good start, took a few quid of Messrs Keena, Pughe and Brennand.........

CAPTAIN!!!

AGM done and dusted!

Sincere thanks to all who supported the AGM, especially Will Clayton the Hon Sec.

Admit it will, you enjoyed the sprt with JF!

Anyway, I thought it went off ok, we got the accounts report and the speeches were light and well accepted.

Thanks to Trevor and Jeanie. Elaine, it's up to us now.............

Can't quite get used to being called Captain though!

Pity some of the winners did'nt turn up to collect their prizes.....never mind eh!

Transcript of the speech..............looking forward to the first round as Captain!!!

Mr President, Past Captains, Ladies and Gentleman, I would like to thank Trevor , Devere and you the members for giving me the opportunity to be YOUR Captain.



You finally got me!


It was good to be able to see this years winners picking up their trophies.


In fact the main reason I decided to accept the Captaincy was that it was the only way I would be able to get my name on a board in the clubhouse..................although recent results may say the contrary.


ANOTHER Fiver tomorrow Trevor?


Please take a few minutes though to remember that there is a lot of effort that goes into the organisation of these events, so a big thank you to the continued efforts of Paul Siviter!

If you will indulge me for a few minutes, I would like to, if I may take you back to October 2001.

• David Beckham scored the last minute free kick against Greece to secure Englands Place in the World Cup
• Aston Villa were top of the Premier League with Manchester United in sixth.......
• Apple Launch the Ipod
• The first Harry Potter film was released
• The USA invaded Afghanistan
• And Tiger Woods Published – Play the Tiger Way – with a chapter called “How to Drive”!

....and I saw an advert in the Sunday Papers for membership at a new course called Wychwood Park.


I sent off a cheque and rang the contact number everyday for 2 weeks to make sure I was in!


I got confirmation and sat back waiting for the course to open!


Wind the clock forward to March 2002 and I get my details through, Member no. 2. Who on earth could have beaten me to number 1?


I had an appointment to meet up with a Mr Frank Kiddie, who was in a show home in Delves Keep, with a chance to whizz round the course on a buggy.


I talked to Frank on the phone, but couldn’t meet up with him as I had my Daughters 6th Birthday Party to go to!


Wind the Clock forward to 8th July 2009 and I’m in Leighton Hospital witnessing the birth of my Son....Joshua 12lbs, mother and baby doing fine.....a very emotional day........... especially as Wychwood Park Golf Club was opening in two days time!


I missed the Inaugrual event, but managed to sneak up the next day to play the Front Nine. Never even walked the course before......Unbelievable!

Saturday Played the Back Nine............Unbelievable!


I was in golfing Heaven..........and from that day forward, it has been an honour to be a member of this golf club and to be able to Play this course.......and now I’m your Captain! With the emphasis on YOUR.............


I joined the Committee in 2004 as Handicap Secretary, a role that I reluctantly leave, and have served on the committee under all but one Captain......so I go into this years Captaincy with my Eyes Wide Open.........I know I have learned from all of the previous Captains and various colleagues on those committees and it will stand me in good stead for the year ahead.


We all know the structure of the Club and the fact that our facilities are provided by Devere and I hope you agree that the course has left very little to complain about.


We all need to understand that the Management here are part of a large organisation and it is not always easy to administer to our every need, but I will endeavour to continue the work that previous Captains and committees have done in supporting the members interests with Devere.


There are a number of things I wish to focus on over the next 12 months, firstly to work with the Committee and with Devere on behalf of all members of the club to enable you enjoy your golf and get value from your membership. GOLF FOR ALL

We have a number of formal sections within the Club, the Ladies , The seniors and the Juniors obviously all of whom I intend to support. We also have the teams, who have been successful and have raised the profile of the Club and long may it continue.


But we also have the social golfers......those who don’t want to play in the arranged events and we need to make sure we cater for them.


We as a committee can only do this by ensuring that we are aware of what you want and what needs to be sorted for you, so the second thing I want to focus on is improving communication between ourselves and providing everyone with the opportunity to have a say in the running of OUR Club. We already have a number of ways of communicating, we need to use them.


We have the members website and the members forum, both of which enable you to interact with the committee and other members, please use them.


I also want to invite a volunteer member to each committee meeting so that the operation of the committee is open to everyone.

I will also run, if the need is there, open clinics where myself and other committee members are available in the clubhouse to answer any questions members may have!


If we do something wrong and you don’t tell us we have both failed.


Finally, we have a joint Captains Charity again this year, the banner may be a giveaway, but the New Lady Captain will formally announce the details, but we have a number of events in mind to solicit your support and I, with the support of a few members, will be cycling in at least one charity event this summer in aid of the Charity. ...................I know it’s hard to believe.


I just ask that you give myself, the Lady Captain and the Committee your full support and I wish you all an enjoyable and successful years golf, a Merry Christmas and a Propsperous New Year!






Thank You

Engerland, Engerland, Engerland...............

Well, we're bound to win the World Cup now!


Can't fail...............nothing can go wrong!

I remember 1986! Easy Group! Lost to Portugal (when Portugal were rubbish) Brian Robson broke his collar bone, Drew with Egypt (Butch Wilkins sent off), beat Poland 3 nil with Lineker Hat trick to squeeze through.Italia not much better if I remember rightly.

But no, this time we onlyhave to beat Algeria, USA and Slovenia.....Easy!!!

We'll see!

Bet Beckhan's is loving the fact that we've got USA. That'll fill the coffers no end......bet he's wondering if he can get US citizenship and play for them if Cappello goes of him....Not that would be a story book ending!!!

Anyway.............talking of Captains............

Not long now. tomorrowat about 5pm I'll be Captain. Still no Jacket, doubt I'll get it now! No Vice Captain and now no Treasurer as Nigel can't make it! (Hope the accounts make it!!!)

Speech (version 9.1) written. Probably tweak it tomorrow morning.

How enought turn up and the day goes ok!

Watch this space!

Danny Baker read my email out on air..................

May not mean much to you, you may not even know who Danny Baker is.If you do, I can gauruntee you will, like Marmite, either love him of hate him!Personally I think he is one of the best broadcasters and raconteurs EVER!

Anyway..................I was driving into work today, listening to my Ipod which contained my weekly Danny Baker fix via the Podcast of his saturday morning 5 live show. this show is loosely based on sport, but is aimed at getting a hard core listener base to call in and contribute on an seemingly endless set of topics, ranging from stories of particular prowess, anecdotes of personal achievements, or giving a reason why your teams ground should not be demolished by the totalitarian government that will one day be headed by Danny Baker.

He also allows listerners to "own" things, like a specific minute of the 90 minutes of a football match, or a particular team, drawn from hist waste paper bin.

This is a format that Danny has used for the whole of his carreer on local and national radio.

Anyway............I was driving along, just having reached the outskirts of telford, when he recalled a story from the previous week about a young man called Paul, who had some how become, at the age of 26,  the youngest International Football Manager in the World. the team was, however, Pohnpei, a small island in Micronesia in the Pacific. (Yes it does exist) It transpires that the Island has one pitch which is generally covered in Toads.

As Danny was replaying the story, I thought to my self, "why is he repeating this story", when he suddenly started to talk about receiving an e-mail from another Paul.

I still didn't think anytthing of it until he continued, "Another Paul who wants to twin his beloved Coventry City with Pohnpei"

It was the email I had hurridley sent in after listening to the previous weeks show!

Pohnpei were trying to gain FIFA recognition so they could enter the World Cup. I suggested that they should be twinned as Coventry had as much chance of returning to the Premiership as Pohnpei had of playing in the World Cup qualifiers, let alone the finals.

I was ecstatic, sad I know, but for the non-believers of the world created by the legend that is Danny Baker, I was, again, part of his gang.

I had twinned my team, as well as previous achievements, such as "owning" the old Texan Bar, I owned it, no one can ever own that piece of confectionery ever again.

On previous shows I had regailed a number of stories that he broadcast in his inimitable style. It was like having a book published. Trust me it really was.   

There are many otther missives that have been ognored, or maybe read and cast aside, but they can be resurrected when the time or the topic crops up again and they will!

In fact I have decided to help Danny by documenting ALL of my tales, famous people, interesting anecdotes about characters and events I have witnessed, ready for him to choose at his leisure when he is short of tales, although I don't think he will!

So another Blog is being worked on.........."Danny Baker Read My Email On the Radio.Blog is coming to an internet site near you.

Check him out. It will be as easy as choosing whether you like Marmite or not.

December Already!!!!!!

I know Christmas decorations and lights have been up for weeks, Christmas Do's were organised months ago and the shops have been advertising for Christmas seemingly since Easter, but I can't believe it's December already.

I think I must have missed something though, as I don't remember seeing what televisual delights are planned for Christmas! Apart from the obvious Great Escape/Sound of Music/Zulu and the ever present James Bond film, what "specials" are we having.

It's not been the same since Del Boy and Co packed in, but I've not seen any thing announced in any of the papers, so please enlighten me.

When I was a kid and yes colour telly had been invented then, although my dad was too tight to get one, the only time we got the Radio Times and the TV times was for the Christmas period and we would mark the programmes we wanted to watch.....no Sky plus then, oh no, not even a video recorder not until Dad bought one from a bloke up the pub. He asked me to get it working, so I connected it up. It had a tape in it with "Learn the Clarinet, lesson 4" recorded on it. The plug had a label on it that was a bit of a giveaway. In Black Dymo tape it stated quite clearly "MUSIC ROOM"

I've never seen him move so fast!

Anyway...........we used to mark magazines with the programmes we wanted to watch, but you would only get one chance to get it right. The Generation Game Christmas Special, The Morecambe and Wise show and the "Blockbuster Christmas Film were dead certs! (And the Queens Speech, of course)but if you got it wrong, it was a stinker!

But what about this year? Haven't got a clue!

I usually think that Christmas is only approaching after watching the Sports Personality of the year show, in fact I've got them on video from 1984 to about 1999 and a few more recorded on DVD if you ever want to watch them again!

This year the first December date is obviously Saturday the 5th December when I take over the reigns as Captain!

Met up with Elaine Stubbs, the Lady Captain for 2010 and her husband to discuss a few things. Not long now! Starting to get the jitters, but also to feel excited. Got some ideas for next year, but you'll have to wait!

Bit like me trying to find out when Zulu is on this Christmas!