Una nuova stagione

Inizia presto quest'anno la stagione calcistica per l'AS Roma, 'grazie' al patetico piazzamento finale del campionato scorso.
Esordio in casa con il modesto Gent, battuto alla fine per 3-1, in virtu' di un bel secondo tempo. A dire il vero, il primo tempo non era stato orrendo ma ora piu' che mai Spalletti deve dare un'addrizzata alla difesa. Concediamo dei gol tragicomici. Una squadra che ambisce arrivare fino in fondo alla Europa League non puo' e non deve farsi bucare in quella maniera.
Tra le note positive della serata, metterei la buona forma di molti elementi della prima squadra. Esordio piu' che incoraggiante per Guberti e Cerci sulle fascie. Il primo in particolare ha mostrato molta verve e voglia di darsi da fare.
Per quanto mi riguarda, dopo aver visto il primo tempo su R4, Mr. Murdoch si deve essere ricordato nell'intervallo che R4 non e' piu' disponibile sui normali canali analogici per cui all'inizio del secondo tempo mi sono ritrovato davanti un bello schermo tutto blu, invece della partita dell'Olimpico. Rapida corsa in camera da letto, accensione del laptop ed esordio in prima assoluta della partita in streaming, che per un dinosauro come il sottoscritto non e' roba da poco.
Vedere una partita in streaming non e' neanche lontanamente paragonabile a vederla in TV, sia per la qualita' del video, sia per gli immancabili 'impallamenti' (termine molto tecnico) del computer, pero' considerando che il tutto e' gratis, ci si puo' passare sopra alla grande.

Happy Birthday

Hang in there old chap, it'll get better, I promise you

Who’s in favour of trouble-free drinking?

I disagree with those people that want to see the ‘happy hour’ in pubs being scrapped.

Unless you live in John O’Groats or the Orkneys, drinking in pubs has become a rather expensive exercise, therefore the ‘happy hour’ is a rare opportunity to enjoy a drink in a pub at reasonable prices. At the same time I have a lot of time (and sympathy) for those people who are sick and tired of drunken morons spoiling it for everyone on almost any given night.
Maybe I’m old fashioned in suggesting this.... but why don’t we just apply the existing law, whereby pubs that keep serving drinks to visibly inebriated punters are either heavily fined or (even better) or have their licence revoked?

Promises, promises...

Back in April, didn't all the meteorologists predict that this summer was going to be rather hot, with long sunny spells, hosepipe bans etc...?? (Actually forget the bit about hosepipe bans, I made it up, we had them even when it rained almost every day).
Anyway I clearly remember all the weather forecasts, saying that it would be a summer to remember weather-wise. I was so confident and enthusiastic that I even bought some shares in BBQ Limited!
Well, what have we got so far?? One hot week in May.... one hot week in June.... another hot week in early July.... and not much else. Not really worth writing home about, is it?
About a week ago I read that nice, sunny weather should finally be with us in early August. Let's wait and see, although I'm severely tempted to sell those shares....

A law unto themselves

1) Steven Gerrard cleared of attacking a DJ in a nightclub brawl. Had he been found guilty, he would have stared at a prison sentence. Even though CCTV footage showed the DJ being hit by a barrage of blows, Gerrard walked free.
2) Amy Winehouse found not guilty of common assault. She denied punching a fan that had asked for her photograph.
You don’t need to be a genius to realise that if you or I had been in the dock, rather than Stevie or Wino, we would have been found guilty as charged.
The sad reality is that we live in a celebrity-mad society and these ludicrous verdicts (which scream double standards) are one of the least palatable by-products.

Cicoria raschia il fondo del barile...

Commentando la prossima trasferta europea a Gent in Belgio, Antonio Tempestilli (il team manager della AS Roma) ha avuto modo di sfoderare una serie di perle dialettiche per far sapere ai tifosi che il Gent e' un avversario da temere. E' anche comprensibile che Tempestilli non possa dire "Andiamo li' in Belgio e gliene facciamo quattro", piu' che altro per rispetto dell'avversario comunque ecco le poco convincenti motivazioni presentate dal buon Cicoria....
"Dal punto di vista prettamente sportivo, il Gent è più temibile del Naftan" - ebbe' hai capito!! Il Gent e' riuscito nell'impresa di eliminare il terribile Naftan..... mica e' da tutti, che ti credi?
"Il club fiammingo dispone di una buona tradizione europea" - e che vuol dire? Quella ce l'ha pure il Nottingham Forest, pero' sono anni che non combinano nulla di buono.
"Il Gent ha concluso al quarto posto l'ultimo campionato del Belgio" - qui mi tolgo tanto di cappello.... peccato che subito dopo hanno tolto il microfono a Tempestilli, altrimenti ci avrebbe informato che al quinto posto si e' classificato il P&F (Pizza & Fichi), vincendo il play-off contro il DLF (Dopo Lavoro Ferroviario).
"Il Gent è allenato dall'ex-portiere della nazionale Michel Preud'homme". Embe'?? Pure Zoffetto era portiere della Nazionale e ha fatto l'allenatore (con fin troppo immeritato successo) ma che adesso mi devo preoccupare pure di questi??

Per quanto mi riguarda.... la stagione comincia sotto i migliori auspici, nonostante le attuali ristrettezze economiche. Sono riuscito a trovare un biglietto di a/r sull'Eurostar fino a Bruxelles per 59 sterline. Il biglietto per l'Eurostar e' valido su tutta la rete ferroviaria del Belgio, quindi per arrivare fino a Gent non devo spendere un euro in piu'. Adesso non mi resta che trovare un alberghetto per riposare le mie stanche membra dopo la partita.
Tenetevi forte..... la campagna europea sta per ricominciare.

Double standards (of the worst kind)

The Italian Establishment reared its ugly head once again last week when an Italian policeman was sentenced to six years in prison for killing a Lazio supporter two years ago. Luigi Spaccarotella shot dead Gabriele Sandri at a motorway service station following a minor scuffle between Lazio and Juventus fans in Nov. 2007, prompting riots by football supporters in Rome and all over Italy and a general crackdown on Italian football ultras.
Let's be totally clear about this - this sentence is an absolute joke. There was no need for Spaccarotella to get his gun out, let alone to shoot (twice). Prosecutors had asked for a 14-year sentence, which is still quite lenient for a murder charge. No less than 5 witnesses saw Spaccarotella lift his arm calmly and aiming before shooting. It seems that 5 witnesses were not enough though. This dirty copper was convicted on a much lesser charge (manslaughter). In reality this means that he won´t do any jail and probably will keep working for the Police as if nothing happened.
I am thoroughly disgusted because we have more and more evidence that all you have to do in Italy to be above the law is to wear a uniform (or be the Prime Minister.... but that's another story). Fans all over the country are trying to raise attention as this sentence sets a very dangerous precedent; needless to say the vast majority of media are loyal servants of the Establishment so all we can hear from the 'official channels' is a deafening silence.

A call you cannot refuse to answer

The day I left these sunny shores to go on holiday in Tuscany was a rather eventful one. I had planned everything with Swiss precision so that that I would arrive at Gatwick airport with some time to spare and relax.
To say that something that I had eaten earlier that day disagreed with me is a bit of an understatement. To paint a more accurate picture, that something not only disagreed with me but also dragged me in a toe-to-toe, beat the sh1t out of me and sued me for millions.
All was going well as I was about to leave my house, station-bound. However something in the tummy department just wasn't right so I nipped to my private study for a quick session. It didn't turn out to be that quick as 10 minutes later I was still there, which meant that I had to leg it to the station, carrying a rather heavy bag as well as my laptop bag.
Unsurprisingly all the slowest people in Kingston must have decided to unite and boycott my valiant effort as I had to dodge zillions of snail-pacers trying to get to the station. Now I have some good & bad news for you.... the good news is that I made it to the station. The bad news is that I missed my train by a matter of seconds as I saw it leave the station when I got to the platform. The very bad news is that the next train had just been cancelled. The truly horrific news is that I suddenly felt that 'the enemy within' was still alive and kicking (quite literally, I suspect) in my tummy. The train cancellation meant that I had no time for a pit stop at Wimbledon on my way to Clapham Junction. Not a happy bunny.
However I started feeling considerably better after a few minutes and (when I finally got on my train) I was 100% convinced that I wouldn't need to answer any calls of nature before Gatwick. In terms of wrong predictions, this probably ranks up there with Alan Hansen's famous "You don't win anything with kids".
At Clapham Junction I patiently waited for my Gatwick train. All was fine. My tummy wasn't troubling me at all. I was cool as a cucumber in my A&F t-shirt and shorts. The world was smiling at me. Virtually invincible!
Once I got on the Brighton train I was indeed invincible.... for about 2 minutes. After 3 minutes I started sweating profusely, despite the air conditioning. After 5, I was on my knees (almost literally). My carriage was quite packed with Gatwick-bound tourists as well as a rather loud hen party.
As we stopped at East Croydon I knew only too well that I would never make it to Gatwick in that state. I'm sure you know the feeling.... you start shivering even in the sweltering heat, you look around in a state of panic not knowing how long you can keep it in. I'm positive that I would have felt cold even if I had worn a bl00dy parka rather than my favourite A&F t-shirt. I had only 2 options left, plain and simple. Either I had to get off the train pronto or 'the enemy within' had to leave my body..... pronto, but not until I had found a suitable venue. When you can't locate a toilet in either direction, and you feel like you're turning every colour of the rainbow, you actually start believing that a couple of semi-hidden empty seats at the end of your carriage (and a shopping bag as sacrificial lamb) are a perfectly suitable venue. When you turn a darker shade of indigo.... you don't even care about the toilet roll - you would just happily pay one grand to find those two empty seats, trust me.
Just when I was contemplating how humiliating on a scale from 1 to 10 it would be to lose control of my giblets in front of a hen party (8.5 is the general consensus, upgradable to 10 if you're wearing shorts), divine intervention came in the form of a sliding door that I saw at the far end of the carriage. Was I hallucinating? Is it a mirage? No it was a perfectly working toilet door. God moves in mysterious ways indeed.
I made my way down there, merrily bashing everyone in sight with my two bags, but now I had to overcome one last problem, and it seemed as big a problem as the internal explosion that was going to take place inside me within nanoseconds. 3 or 4 hens had formed an orderly queue on the train aisle as clearly they could not contemplate getting to Brighton without their make-up impeccably applied. Desperate times require desperate measures so, totally disregarding the good habits learnt over so many years in the UK, as soon as the door opened I bolted forward, skipped the queue and secured my place in heaven, muttering a self-explanatory "I need to go" before any of those tarts could open their gob.
After dispersing approx. 10% of my bodily weight over 5 miles of Surrey railtrack as well as Purley station, God took his revenge on me for skipping the queue by depriving me of any toilet roll. No doubt egged on by a baying mob of hens, the Almighty left me without anything remotely soft that I could use in that cubicle. I would never consider using my fingers in those situations but when you have no options left, you start wondering if the left hand would be better than the right one, which fingers are most suited for the job etc.... Just as my nightmare was about to become reality, I realised that I must have had some wet wipes in one of my bags. EUREKA!!! Punching the air with joy, I found a packet of old, now dry wipes, which must have been wet when Blair was still popular.
Deed done, I came out of the cubicle grinning like a Cheshire cat, ready to face the hen party music.... however hardly any passengers were there, the hen party must have got off and certainly no-one gave me any grief for skipping the queue - result!! As I left the train at Gatwick, I knew only too well that the recent bodily exertions had taken a rather heavy toll as I walked rather funny. Without a care in the world, I had (and still have) only one doubt left in my head: who on earth goes on a hen night in Purley??? Bonkers.

Phuket

The island of Phuket in southern Thailand is one of the most exotic holiday destinations in the world. You get tourists from all over the world and with good reason too, considering the beauty of this island. What amazed me first, and still does after many years, is the friendliness and the relaxed approach of the locals, which really rubs off on most visitors.
Being close to the Equator, be prepared for a (fair) bit of rain, particularly if you go in the low season, which is from May/June until November. However it is warm all year round, hence its luscious vegetation.
Phuket managed to survive the tsunami in December 2004, which caused lots of casualties and untold damage to property and local businesses. The island is shaking off its dodgy nightlife reputation, appealing more and more to couples and families.

Things to see, people to do

Beach hopping:
There are so many beautiful, pristine beaches on Phuket that it’d be a shame not to visit at least a few of them. Nai Harn, Rawai, Nai Yang, Kata, Karon, Laem Singh… the list is endless. The sand is almost white, the water is so clear that you can see small fish swimming everywhere. Most of these beaches have a few little basic restaurants, where you can get freshly cooked seafood. Hire a deckchair and lie down sipping a nice cold drink…. trust me, life doesn’t get much better than that.

Going down…. Diving & Snorkelling:
You definitely need to dive when you're in Phuket. Its coral reef is just amazing and there are many dive sites. Decide where you want to go first, because the dive operators, I think, are booking on the same pool of boats, meaning it works like an alliance, even though they are actually competing. There are many options available so you have to decide where you want to go first and for how long. Then it's best to talk to the people at the dive centers for a best schedule for yourself. Most of the time, the packages on the site are what they tell you about but you can negotiate and discuss with them when you get to Phuket itself.

Phuket Fantasea:
it is a 140 acre theme park, with loads of activities and entertainment, a festival village with carnivals, games, handicrafts and shopping, plenty of things to blow your money on. As a spectacle it is certainly amazing with 30 or so elephants, mock battles, pyrotechnics and aerial ballet in an auditorium that seats 2,000 just part of the entertainment. It is certainly not for serious students of Thai culture, but is a beautifully choreographed and delightful piece of theatre. The one and a half hour show is fantastic, great sound and light effects, (even if the story is hard to follow at times) and suitable for all ages.


Filling your gullet

Trying to cater for everyone’s taste, Phuket offers every sort of eaterie, Thai and international. Although I try hard, I still fail to understand why anyone would travel halfway across the globe to have some spag bol or a cheeseburger, particularly when the local cuisine is so good. Therefore I will only recommend a couple of Thai food places below.

Savoey Seafood:
Located on Beach Road in Patong (the most touristy resort in Phuket), Savoey offers a wide selection of seafood... fish, shrimps, crabs, lobsters, clams etc.. you name it (and they all have it). The place is usually full during dinner time in high season. Price differs on the size and weight, and service is (almost) impeccable however it’s fair to say that this is not the cheapest place in town. Suffice to say that members of the Thai royal family are rumoured to eat here when in town.

Chiang Rai Seafood:
pretty much like Savoey…. only 3 or 4 times cheaper. Located at the back of the Tiger complex, just off the (in)famous Bangla Road, CR gives you the opportunity to pick your choice from a wide display of fresh seafood at the entrance of this restaurant. You then pick your preferred sauce / cooking method from the menu and 15 minutes later it’s ready in front of you. Yum yum :-) Your (short) wait will be much more amenable if you get a fresh coconut to sip before food arrives on your table.

Holiday in Tuscany... coming to an end

Our holiday in Tuscany (Corte dei Butteri Hotel, 4 stars my hairy a*se) is coming to an end and and I’d be incredibly surprised if we ever come back here again.
As mentioned in my previous post, the rooms are nice and clean, however Mum & Dad are distinctly unimpressed with the quality of food here. In all fairness, I have had better food at work canteens. You can easily tell that the hotel management have launched the biggest pennypinching exercise ever seen on these shores as far as the restaurant budget is concerned. And have you ever been to a 4-star hotel / restaurant where you get paper napkins on the table?? I wouldn’t give a damn if the food was good but sadly this is not the case!!
As it happens, both my parents and I are pretty relieved that we are going home on Sunday. It’s quite unusual that you are happy to get to the end of your holiday… but that’s the way we feel! It’s a very different story for my daughters as they have made quite a few friends and virtually I only see them at poisoning time (calling it meal time would be slightly misleading) and bedtime. Obviously I am not allowed to cramp their style at any time therefore any attempt at conversation with them on my part is met with a lethal combination of icy stares and silent treatment. You have to love teenagers….

Holiday in Tuscany

Finally went on holiday yesterday!
Flew to Rome last night and drove to our hotel (Corte dei Butteri, near Talamone in southern Tuscany, 90 mins north of Rome) today.
The hotel is not too bad, rooms are ok and clean, the beach is pretty nice. I will post a couple of pictures tomorrow… or when I can be bothered.
The restaurant offers quite a good variety of nosh, both at lunch and dinner. I think the chefs working there are quite talented as they managed to remove any taste from most foods.
We came to this place last summer as well as my daughters really enjoyed it. I certainly didn’t mind it as it’s a pretty relaxing holiday. My main gripe is that (as I remembered from last year) there is very little to do after dinner. As it happens, my memories were not entirely correct as there is NOTHING to do after dinner. My favourite activity between dinner and bedtime is following my daughters and trying to embarrass them, which I’m sure they’ll hate me forever for.