Friday, July 29, 2005

UEFA Champions League draw

UEFA Champions League

Everton have just participated in a Champions League draw.............It could have been worse (the media were talking about a tie against liverpool, cue conspiracy theories) but we got Villareal. They are an impressive Spanish side. It will be VERY topugh to get to the group stages now.

Still..........BRING IT ON! COME ON YOU BLUES! We shall not be moved.

Now the simple matter of getting tickets....their ground is very small and the dates aren't finalised 'til next week when I'm away.

Anyway.........It's nice to be in the CL.

Monday, July 18, 2005

Countdowns

This weekend I was described as 'Normal looking'. I am so proud.

Had a pleasant enough weekend...nice and hot and sunny. Having a house with a garden is proving a real bonus. It's so nice just sitting out under clear blue skies drinking beer and watching the birds flutter by.

Getting a fairly nice tan too.

It's now only 12 days 'til I set off to France for my holiday/noble self sacrifice voluntary work. Really looking forward to it now. This time I am getting down there on my own. Last time I had to lug my backpack plus that of some old dears who had latched onto us. I am not exactly the most muscular of chaps so I'd like to avoid repeat of doing a sherpa impression.

This is the first time I've done the journey solo. The first time I took a coach trip...this was going smoothly until the wheel feel off the bus somewhere in Kent...quite scary at the time let me tell you (we were actually going 60 mph in the middle lane at the time). Anything less eventful than this will be acceptable. It shouldn't be a problem as long as I can get my ass across Paris in 5 hours (Let's face it I could walk it in that time).

In other news Arteta is now fully signed so we just need a good left back and we can approach the season with something getting towards a decent first choice team.

My brother & Claire are now in Mexico, Sophie is in India, I think Harriet is still in NZ, Joost is in Australia and Sara Kay has just got back...The nice weather and lazy, Kronenborg soaked afternoons in the sun are tempering the jealousy.

SB

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Sport

Well The Lions were battered in each of the three tests and the Aussies are beginning to look ominously imposing in the run up to the first test.

I was clearing out newspaper wrack and found my Lions handbook...the entry on O'Driscoll started "A lot is resting on O'Driscoll's shoulders" *ahem* like your entire bodyweight and that of two All Black opponents.

On a lighter not I got my first e-bay star......Yay for me!

Everton are plodding along nicely...rumours are the Arteta is going to sign, we already have a centre half and a right winger (No not Lee Bowyer). We've beaten an Austrian pub side 9-0 with a hat-trick from little James Vaughan and we are meant to have played well against Dundee in a closed doors friendly at Bellefield...curiously the rumour is we had two internationals on trial during that match but everyone involved is sworn to secrecy.

The more I think about it the more I'm glad we didn't break the bank for the likes of Emre, Parker & Forsell....Moyes knows what sort of players will do well. Players like Cahill and Bent who are anxious to take their big chance. Much better than mercurial 'superstars' earning huge money on the backs of their reuptation. James 'The Beat' Beattie has done something truly awful to his hair but he is another player with something to prove...if he knuckles down than the talent he has will come through.

The harder we work....the luckier we seem to get.

I am beginning to look forward to the new season now...I know it's a way off but I can't wait. I have my voluntary work at the end of the month then the Champions League qualifier (I am pretty sure we have enough cash to cover an away trip....hope I can get tickets).

COYB!!!!!!!

SB

Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Our Ste

Our Ste is keeping us updated with his travels...particularly liked this bit :

"We flew to San Diego via LA which was cheaper than flying to Mexico (or flying to LA on its own oddly enough) and got on the 4th of July for the famous 'England doesn't want our land anymore because their King at the time was mental and they were also fighting the world's 2nd biggest superpower of the day in France' celebrations or 'Independence day' as they like to call it!! We watched the fireworks on a beach over looking the Pacific and there was much Whoopin' an a Holerin' from the colonials there. (they are such a noisy bunch!!) "

Friday, July 08, 2005

Yesterday

Awful, awful day...one you feel was almost overdue. For whatever reason we put ourselves in the firing line by joining in the illegal war in Iraq but inevitably it's normal, decent people who end up paying (just like is happening in Iraq).

I can't imagine how it must be to be caught up in that whirlwind. Either being involved in the actual attack or having a loved one suffer. Truly terrible. It can pull the rug from underneath you, shatter your safe little world knowing that ultimately you can't do anything to prevent every plot and plan.

Growing up in Liverpool meant we were relatively safe from IRA violence. Liverpool is basically a Catholic city and so was spared bombings (Warrington and Manchester are just 20 miles away and weren't) so, in short, I can't offer anything meaningful other than my prayers and best wishes.

God bless

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Yum

Cains IPA | Robert Cain Brewery Liverpool

Cains IPA is now available at the Tesco in Old Swan as is the ever yummy Dilmah tea.

Dilmah Tea

Yum.

Monday, July 04, 2005

Home and Away

Well interesting weekend of sport...I'll focus on that rather than Live 8 'cause the whole thing struck me as awful

Awful sets from basically everyone I seemed to see ("We are REM and this is what we do..." *sound shit*)

Awful simpering, fawning, coverage.

Awful shots of dickheads and dickhead couples in the crowd.

Awful that they took all the African artists and locked them in a greenhouse as far from London and Edinburgh as possible (then gave them 30 seconds coverage at a time until Dido turned up).

I don't know...it just didn't ever seem to do it...maybe it was the coverage but it never got past being a celeb backing slapping party.

Who was that trainee Jo Whiley doing the banal vacuous interviews backstage and sitting next to the Queen simperer herself on the celeb couch with Jonathon Ross later on?

The thing that set the tone early on was when one band came on, they were half way through the second song when the beeb cut away to a recorded interview of the aforementioned fawining bimbo asking The Killers such cutting and earth shattering questions as "So how old were you when Live Aid was on?.........What do you remember........are you having a good time..........will you be nervous". Then they cut over to the Eden Project for 30 seconds before zipping back to Jonathon Ross so he could have a jokey-jokey laugh with Ricky Gervais.

Anyway I said I wasn't going to focus on it.

The Lions got battered again but at least this time they played. There are times you just have to take your hat off to the better side. The All Blacks were superb, The Lions did themsleves justice but the best side won, it was the same at the Wimbledon final, Roddick was playing well but Federer is just better.

The cricket was ridiculously tense...after England looked like they'd thrown the game away they rallied superbly to get themselves back into the game. They needed 2 from the last ball to tie the final and duly got them. A tremendous effort. Excellent stuff.