Didn't Johnny look uncomfortable?

 

Not in the picture on the left obviously (just thought you would like to see the man in action).

 

Have just been watching the BBC breakfast news, and there, live, was the the English Rugby News Conference.

 

And there, on the top table, where Martin Johnson, Clive Woodwood and Johnny Wilkinson amongst others.

 

I did feel a little sorry for him. Obviously , being the man of the moment, a lot of questions flew his way.

 

And you could tell he wasn't happy. Rugby he can handle, The Press were obviously a different problem.

 

Johnny was a man who wanted to savour the moment, and GO HOME to his family, it was very apparent that he really didn't want to be at that press conference. He was a very nervous man.

 

But, being the true professional, he also knew that the press conference and the like are all part of his job (and I suspect that he will now have to get used to it).

 

Is Johnny the "next" David Beckham?.

 

 God I hope not. I think they should leave him alone long enough to enable him to make some careful decisions - but I get the nasty feeling that the poor lad will be swamped with offers for this and that, and that he won't get much of a chance to consider very much.

 

 

England, England, England!!!!!!!!!!

England , England !!!!!!!!!

Have just been watching what was the most exciting, tense and frightening Rugby match that I have seen in a long time - AND ENGLAND WON.

Score England 20 - Australia 17

Talk about nail biting.

Level at the end of full time. Evens through extra time, and the man himself plants a drop goal in the last few seconds. What a way to finish an exciting match.

Martin Johnson carried a Captain's Game. He lead from the front. Excellent.

Delaio, Dawson, Catt and the rest. Played their hearts out. Made a few mistakes. But they came through.

And quick mention of Clive Woodwood. Without him as coach things could have been so different. He's just been interviewed on the TV. Thanking everyone and the dog for their support, tears in his eyes.

What a team.

And a mention of Australia. they played superbly. Came back time and time again. Shame for them, but.................

England, England England!!!!!!!!!!

The Great Escape prt 2

The Great Escape Part 2 …………….

Morning All. Yet another week has vanished into the Smith Family past. The weather in the last couple of days has just been plain awful.

Having just spent two nights and two days away on a training course for work, and being a “home bird” as they say, that is no mean feat, I come back to wind , rain and a missing hamster, the same flaming Hamster

The course, in actuality was a bit of a trial to begin with. Everyone in Chez Smudger has a “runny nose” at the minute, so it is, and was, not unusual for us to go to work with a snotty nose. Tuesday was especially hard work. I had to work all day, quick snack tea, and then a two and a half hour drive to get to the course – so I was absolutely shattered when I got there. Booked in, found the two lads that I know that were also on the course, and then had a good couple of hours nattering about this and that before retiring to bed, ready for the morning.

Sleep lasted barely a few hours. When I awoke, the site was quite, the sky very very dark, and my face afire, pain, pain and more pain. I really hate my Sinus’s. I banked up the pillows to try and take the pressure off my face. I sat up. I stood up. I wandered, backwards and forwards, in small tight circles – for FOUR HOURS!!!!!!. As you can guess, having arranged to meet for breakfast at 07.30, I was not in a good state, nor a good mood

Breakfast was a drink of tea, not that that stayed around for long We walked across the campus, and into the training room for the first time. How I managed to learn anything was beyond me, but I did. The day, however, seemed to go on forever. By the evening I felt a little better, but I was drained. “Early to bed, Early to rise” is a well known saying round here, but usually it doesn’t involve the rise first – aw well, never mind.

The second and final day came as a totally different scenario. Although my “Face” ached, the nose sore, but, other than that, I was OK. A big breakfast (just to make up for the previous day you understand ). What was even more surprising was the amount of knowledge I had actually retained form the previous day. The final part of the course was quite complicated, but by Midday it was “head for home” time. Another two and half hours of Motorway driving. Boy there are some really big dimwits on British Motorways. A couple of times I thought I was mush.

What I did notice though was lane three saw some pretty fast cars (doing well over the 70 miles an hour limit I hastened to add), but quite a lot of them where posh cars with “older” drivers – people who should know better. I know we all exceed the occasional speed limit once in a while, and I could even see the rationale, to some extent, if the motorway was relatively empty (not that I would particularly agree with it), to let your big posh car “go”, but the motorway, all the way home, was packed, solid with noise and metal, and how some of these loony’s missed ANYTHING is beyond me

Anyway, I got home alive. Bag out of the van, dirty clothes into the wash, wash bag emptied and put away.

Went to feed the pets and guess what? The Chinese hamster was gone – again. I couldn’t believe it. Another mouse hunt. We still haven’t found her, and that was two days ago.

Yesterday (Friday), was windy, blustery and wet. As I sat, looking out of the Front Room window, I thought – yuk. I knew, I would have to go out in it to pick up Tilly, and I wasn’t looking forward to that at all. Three O’clock came. I pulled on my coat. Turned up the collar. Took a deep breath, and stepped into the tumult.

isn’t it strange where you can find beauty. Not in the bare, lifeless trees, bent and distorted in the wind. Not in the wet, slimy grass, turned mud brown by several hundred hurrying feet.

No the beauty came in a normally boring School yard fence. The wind had pinned the blowing leaves, some still orange and red, but more turning the mustard and shades of brown of their last few days, held against the fence in a collage drawn by nature. Single leaves here, a “shaped” pile held at the bottom there. It didn’t form an image per-ce, but it just looked good. More so because, now that the wind has dropped, it will no longer be there.

Never mind, back to the real world

God Bless

Dave

The Great Escape????????

The Great Escape ...................

Hi Guys

just a quick entry this week, and with all the work I have to do today, it's probably just as well.

As some of you will know, over the last few months we have lost a few of our pets. Well we have replaced the hamsters, with 2 roboroski Dwarf hamsters, and a Chinese Dwarf Hamster, lovely little things.

Well, as you can imagine, the Kids were round them, talking to them, saying hello, you know the things that kids do.

Fast forward three days. It's 6 a.m. in the morning, and I am getting ready for work, and feeding the animals at the same time. Lucy, the Guinea Pig, is squeaking as usual - "Squeak, Squeak" (which translates into to "feed me NOW"), Mork and Mindy (the two roboroski's) can be seen "hiding" in thier bedding. "Uncle" - the Chinese, is not obviously about, but that is not un-usual, in the last few days it has become very good at getting out of the way when "Humans" are about.

As I stood at the sink, I could see something move, on the floor, out of the corner of my eye.

What was that?

My first thought was - " Oh Sod - have we got Mice?"

The Black strip down the back was a give away - as was the empty cage.

The little devil had escaped.

I looked at it, it looked at me, and then vanished, under the Washing Machine.

We blocked the Utilities room so, at least we knew where the little devil was - roughly.

Fast forward to tea time.

Imagine a sceen from the "Keystone Kops". Four, normally sensible people, chasing a small mamal.

God was it fast.

Calls of "try this", "do that". "will you stop doing that and do that".

It took two hours to catch, and then "Uncle" "gave its self up, mainly because it fancied a peanut.

What a day!!!!!!!!!

God Bless

Halloween?

Halloween's Gone, But .........

...... but it is only a few days to Guy Fawkes Night !!!!!!

 

As I sit here, looking out of the window at one of the most depressing mornings I have seen this year. The warmth of Summer has already vanished into memory, and the beautiful Red's and Gold's of Autumn are already vanishing off the trees.

The Cold of Winter is edging it's biting reminder of the forth coming season into the general atmosphere, forcing a poor Telephone engineer to pull his jacket collar a little tighter.

Talking of Telephones, my "old" trusty Transit Van has been replaced this week, by a Transit Connect. For those of you who need to know, most people can recognise a Ford Transit, staple vehicle of "White Van Man", but the Connect is it's new "baby brother" and I do mean "Baby". Don't get me wrong, it's a lovely van to drive, very comfortable, very nippy, but it's like changing your Car from the space of a Land Cruiser, and trying to fit the same amount of suitcases into your brand new Mini.

I suppose, in time , I will get used to it, but at the minute - it feels pretty weird.

We are now into, what has become the noisy interlude, between Halloween and Guy Fawkes (Bonfire) Night here in the UK.

To be honest, and I have said it before, I don't really like the "Trick or Treat" element of Halloween - to me, and there is no disrespect intended, an American type tradition, and it has only become prevalent , here in the UK (or round near chez Smudger at least) in the last ten years. It just worries me that, with some of the "strange" people that wander the streets, there are still some parents willing to let their Kids go, door-2-door, un-supervised. To be fair, this year was the quietest one for a number of years. The weather Friday night was, to be honest, awful.

One developing Halloween "tradition" at Chez Smudger is the watching to the Livingtv's  Most Haunted LIVE. As most of you already know, I really like this show, and the occasional LIVE shows are really something else.

This year the show was from Beaulieu Abbey, known for it's nearby historic Car Collection.

For once, we allowed the Kids to watch, Laura watching the TV, and Liam flitting from the TV to the WebCam images on the Computer. And what made the night was the fact that he, we, think we may well have seen something in the Parish Church. Who knows?

 Did we really see a Shadow (in a supposedly secure building) move from the Arched Doorway to the Glassed Case containing a very old Cross.?

Was this one of the Ghost's of the Monks that were known to live there?

Or was it something we "wanted" to see?

I some ways , I don't really care. I enjoyed the program, and the evening (even though I shattered at work the following day).

Now it's time to get on with the rest of my Sunday. Looking out the kitchen window (I have to trot off and make several drinks whilst typing this - always have, always will I suppose) - you can now look out of the early morning of those sad, depressing, turn of "Autumn to Winter" days that you get at this time of year. Even with the best will in the world, the Garden looks bedraggled and un-kempt. A Sad and dis-heartening site.

Never mind, "chin up" as they say.

And in the words of Bart Simpsons favourite Comic Book Hero - "UP AND AT-OM" (up and at them?)

God Bless

Dave