Victory

Went round the HMS Victory at the weekend...very good if you are a history buff like me.

Really gave a sense of the construction of those huge ships and an idea of how much like little floating villages they were.

Can't really write much at the moment as I'm packing for our trip to Belgium so maybe I'll edit this post when I get back 'cause we went walking in the New Forest too and I have some photos of that

What is it with penalties?

You've got to feel sorry for the under-21s. Scoring 12 penalties in a shoot-out and still going out of the tournament.

Young 1-0 Babel 1-1
Milner 2-1 Drenthe (hit post) 2-1
Noble 3-1 Janssen 3-2
Hoyte (saved) 3-2 Beerens 3-3
Derbyshire 4-3 Maduro 4-4
Ferdinand 5-4 De Ridder 5-5
Carson 6-5 Zuiverloon 6-6
Rosenior 7-6 Rigters 7-7
Reo-Coker (saved) 7-7 Kruiswijk (miss) 7-7
Taylor 8-7 Waterman 8-8
Young 9-8 Beerens 9-9
Milner (10-9) Drenthe 10-10
Noble 11-10 Maduro 11-11
Hoyte 12-11 Janssen 12-12
Derbyshire (saved) 12-12 De Ridder (saved) 12-12
Ferdinand (hit bar) 12-12 Zuiverloon 12-13

Truly gripping stuff stuff last night. Me and Anne were supposed to be going to the shops, by the time it had all ended it was closed. Still the team can be very proud, if anyone knows the ups and downs it'll be Stuart Pearce, he'll focus them on the positives.

It works out not-too-terribly for us as we are hoping to stay with a Dutch friend whilst we are away on holidays. After nipping down to Portsmouth we are doing a quick tour of Belguim, Luxembourg and The Netherlands....after last year's lung bursting trip up the Andes we decided that somewhere nice and flat was the only answer!

Before we go I am depserately trying to get the garden into order...After a positive warm-up match with a laurel (now thoroughly tidied and topiaried) I came off second best with the hopelessly leggy and overgrown leylandii....my arms look live I've been wrestling with a cete of pissed off badgers, I think my shears are knackered and even my anvil loppers are looking a bit flimsy for the job. This does not bode well for my forthcoming lumber jack session with cherry tree!

Ah the joys of gardening...The people who owned the house before us seemed loathed to cut a single leaf on their little back garden forest, it's lovely but really does need a lot of TLC. Anyway, once more unto the (copper) beech (arf!). I wonder how The New Forest and The Ardennes will compare.

It reminds me of : Pat and Mick are sitting in the job centre...the guy asks them "Do you have any lumberjack experience, the local park is overgrown and the council are looking fro tree fellers". Mick replies *Irish accent* "Sure there's only two of us but we'll get the job done"

odd, odd rules

Nice to see Beckham pick up his league winners medal with Madrid last night but you really have to wonder why a league can be decided via head-to-head results before goal difference.

It's meant to be the best team over a full season....surely goal difference comes into that.

Primera Division final table





Very strange....still that's the rule, you've got to go out and win by them. Commiserations to Barca though.

Note our old mates Villareal are in the UEFA...would like to see them again in the group stage. They were a top, top side two years ago and really were an impressive team to watch, it was no surprise to us blues when they came within an ace of the Champions League final that season. Even so we pushed them all the way....the Yellow Submarines need to remember : Collina's retired now.

Trouble in the Netherlands...atop a background of racist abuse aimed at our U21 players Matt Derbyshire waltzed past a stricken Serbian defender to seal a group stage win. Not very sporting and then not very clever to celebrate like an arse in the face of the furious Serbs.



This is how it's done :



Perhaps the abuse his team-mates recieved had something to do with it (I don't know if the chants were before or after his goal) but ugly scenes followed Derbyshire's goal. It really isn't on to play on in those circumstances. Serbia were already qualified so neither team really loses out but still.

BBC Report

Oh and Lewis Hamilton continues to prove he's a bit good...if this continues we can close the book on Sports Personality of the year....unless some minority reports get their block vote moving again.

Next season's Waterloo fixtures

National Division League 2
Waterloo Rugby Club Fixture List
2007-2008

(Updated to show when home games clashes with footy matches)

Date	Fixture	Kick Off	Home/Away	Clashes?
01.09.07	Otley v Waterloo	3.00pm	Away
15.09.07	Waterloo v Manchester	3.00pm	Home	Everton
22.09.07	Henley v Waterloo	3.00pm	Away
29.09.07	Waterloo v Nuneaton	3.00pm	Home	Everton
06.10.07	Stourbridge v Waterloo	3.00pm	Away
13.10.07	Waterloo v Redruth	2.30pm	Home	none
20.10.07	Cambridge v Waterloo	3.00pm	Away
27.10.07	Waterloo v Blackheath	2.30pm	Home	liverpool
03.11.07	Southend v Waterloo	TBA	Away
10.11.07	Wharfedale v Waterloo	TBA	Away
24.11.07	Waterloo v Blaydon	2.15pm	Home	Everton
01.12.07	Westcombe Park v Waterloo	TBA	Away
15.12.07	Waterloo v Halifax	2.15pm	Home	liverpool
22.12.07	Manchester v Waterloo	TBA	Away
05.01.08	Waterloo v Henley	2.15pm	Home	none
19.01.08	Nuneaton v Waterloo	TBA	Away
26.01.08	Waterloo v Stourbridge	2.15pm	Home	none
09.02.08	Redruth v Waterloo	TBA	Away
14.02.08	Waterloo v Cambridge	2.30pm	Home	none
23.02.08	Blackheath v Waterloo	TBA	Away
01.03.08	Waterloo v Southend	2.30pm	Home	Everton
15.03.08	Waterloo v Wharfedale	2.30pm	Home	liverpool
29.03.08	Blaydon v Waterloo	TBA	Away
12.04.08	Waterloo v Westcombe	Park	Home	liverpool
19.04.08	Halifax v Waterloo	TBA	Away
29.04.08	Waterloo v Otley	3.00pm	Home	none

Get ready!

Sheff Utd/West Ham

BBC SPORT | Sheff Utd

BBC SPORT | West Ham Utd

Interesting that their fixture list seems interchangable for the weekends when they are both playing.

While you are here check this out. Turning the Place Over :



Biennial

BBC report

Seems to be at Cross Keys House down by Moorfields station...can't wait to see it in the flesh. I love weird things like that. People seem to be moaning about it being pointless but what's the point of any art installation? It seems to be here. Aiming to get down there ASAP.

The International Olympic Commission have delivered a glowing report on London's progress so far towards 2012. Great to hear...Us Brits are a fairly cynical bunch and the media gather round failure and scandal like packs of Jackals or vultures (Take your pick but it's difficult to disagree with Tony Blair's "Feral beast" comments the other day). Apparently those cockernees are ahead of target. Hope this is a sign of things to come 'cause even the most hardened of jaded of misery guts must agree that the games could be something truly, truly fantastic.

London on time and on track.

The Volumes

Just got back from seeing my cousin Michael and his band The Volumes play The Barfly in Liverpool. It's easy to be biased about these things but I thought they really were good.

Just young lads learning their stuff but you can always tell which are the bands who are writing and practicing and trying get better and which ones where just there for the hell of being in a band (Not that there's anything wrong with just doing it for fun). There were a load of bands on last night on two floors...a couple them which were absolutely top. Can't really argue with that can you.

Anyway as pennance for our midweek rock and roll fix we had to stand next to a load of Avril Lavigne wannabes all trying to out-"whatever" each other and got asked to go the bar far some frustrated underage drinkers.

...oh and we got absolutely drenched on the way home.

Anyway check out our The Volumes MySpace....Soldier Boy in particular is my favourite (Although once again I can't be expected to be objective as I'm pretty sure it one our Michael wrote).

Man City hit back in Barton row

Man City hit back in Barton row

"Barton, 24, is contractually entitled to the pay-off if he leaves the club without requesting a transfer, but City are refusing to give him the money because they say he was not forced to leave."

How can Joey Barton expect anything off City....given that he put one his team-mates in hospital that's a fairly emphatic way of putting yourself up for sale. The mind boggles sometimes...I can really see why fans would walk away from modern football. Little snidey wretches like him acting like thugs time and time again then holding court & raking in stupid amounts of money. I really hope City hold out otherwise what's to stop any player smacking a team-mate in order to circumvent the need to request a transfer and endanger your precious, precious pay-off.

The fat crook Allardyce isn't helping matters either :

"Allardyce is angry with City for the hold-up and said: "They're out of order. I'm flabbergasted and want the situation resolved.

I cannot understand it because City didn't pay anything for this player as he came through the youth system and they are selling him for over £5m."

The whole thing makes you sick...so glad Everton didn't try and sign him.

Anyway it's official now...There's nobody better than Mikel Arteta, he's the best little spaniard we know.


(This comes just weeks after getting the unsung hero award)

"A huge 55,000 votes were cast in our poll and a surprise winner emerged, with Everton star Mikel Arteta pipping PFA Player of the Year and Footballer of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo to our award.

The Blue half of Merseyside clearly mobilised their troops to get voting as Arteta claimed 31 per cent of the vote, a full seven per cent clear of the Manchester United star.

Steven Gerrard (18), Paul Scholes (10) and Cesc Fabregas (9) all polled well, but both Ryan Giggs and Steve Sidwell only managed to claim one per cent of the vote."

UPDATE (14/6/07) :

much wants more

In the end Newcastle upped their offer by the required 300k so Joey get's his money...Staggering.

England v West Indies

England beat West Indies to clinch the series

Kudos to the Windies for making England srap all the way for that win...what an odd, odd run of form Steve Harmison is having.

BBC NEWS | UK | Fantasy meets reality in Church row

BBC NEWS | UK | Fantasy meets reality in Church row

Sony us church for shoot 'em up

Have to say that seems a bit offensive.

BBC SPORT | Football | Internationals | Bentley responds to U21 criticism

BBC SPORT | Football | Internationals | Bentley responds to U21 criticism:

"'I think it is for the betterment of my career,'"

and did those feet in ancient times...

Good luck Mr Bentley. I'm sure if things go according to you & your agent's plan we'll see you again...


...however when your country came calling..............

upbeat melancholy

Yep folks we live in a world where everyone is knows about Paris Hilton going to jail

*Schadenfreudetastic*

And yet Darcey Bussell's swan(lake)-song is hardly deemed news worthy. A good reminder of why we have a BBC there tonight I think.



Not that I'm a big ballet fan...I just think someone who's actually good at something should be more famous than someone who just pouts and goes to parties her entire life and is a bit thick.

Another good reason to have a BBC is so people on the Newsnight Review can use phrases like "upbeat melancholy" and "up-to-date retro" when describing something. Outstanding work by Kirsty Wark for keeping order (and a straight face) during the lively debate on Sir Paul McCartney's surprisingly well recieved new album.

Rugby World Cup betting

90 days to go.

Here are Paddy Powers latest odds :

New Zealand 2 - 5
South Africa 6 - 1
France 10 - 1
Ireland 16 - 1
Australia 18 - 1
England 33 - 1
Wales 40 - 1
Argentina 66 - 1
Scotland 500 - 1
Samoa 500 - 1
Italy 750 - 1
Fiji 1000 - 1
Tonga 1500 - 1
Japan 2000 - 1
Romania 2000 - 1
Canada 2000 - 1
Georgia 2500 - 1
Namibia 5000 - 1
Portugal 5000 - 1
USA 5000 - 1

I'm not really a betting man but if I was I'd be going for France. The All Blacks are too short and have a habit of choking. I reckon it'd be worth having a couple of quid e/w on Australia too, never rule them out.

Congrats to Martin 'Cakes' O'Keefe on being named Waterloo's new captain.

Official Site



Now all we need is the forms to sign up as members!

Come on Waterloo!

England dominate as Windies slump

BBC SPORT | Cricket | England | England dominate as Windies slump

More sterling work by some of the England team but really speaking a better team than the Windies would take us to the cleaners. Anne's friend Claire has tickets for the sunday and it's looking slightly dodgy whether she'll see any play.

The upshot of the whole day is that Everton should sign Matt Prior as goalkeeping cover...his performance in stopping Harmison and Plunkett's super-erratic bowling was herculean.



Those two need to have a long look at themselves. 42 extras in 52 overs is pretty poor. Harmison especially 'cause he lurches from the ridiculous to the sublime and back again at random.

Monty and Sidebottom both look the business and forces a collapse which pretty much puts England in control.

England on the way back?

BBC Report

Beckham and Owen returning for England seems to be making a real difference. Solid, professional performance last night. Some fantastic delivery from Beckham. All of a sudden they just look brighter.



Thank God.

The cricketers are attempting to wrap up the series today but are being dogged by a storm in a tea-cup started by Michael Vaughan. Can't really see the big deal in mentioning the effect the Fredallo incident had on team moral but it's making for a messy row going into an important game.

Vaughan V Flintoff?

Everyone V Vaughan

Vaughan V The Guardian

Ultimately however this series will say more about the West Indies than it will about England.

Webby time

Webby Nominees

*sigh* maybe next year!

"The Best footy and rugby blog by an Everton & Waterloo fan" category really needs including!

Olympics 2012 | London unveils logo of 2012 Games

Olympics 2012 | London unveils logo of 2012 Games



Not sure about that....it doesn't have any sense of place and no sporty motion to it either. Not bland though, definitely not bland

Indian Bazaar

There was a concert at the Philharmonic Hall this weekend and as a precursor to it there was a small Bazaar & music festival in some of the suites there.

We were treated to some lovely curry as well as picking up some prints by The Singh Twins, two artists who've done an Indian style coat of arms for the city's 800th anniversary (Currently hanging in St George's Hall).



After that we saw the national south Asian youth orchestra play a few Indian numbers. A nice day all round really.

Freeman to Sedgley

Freeman to Sedgley Tigers

"SEDGLEY Park returned to Merseyside this week to secure summer signing number three in the shape of centre Freeman Payne.

The former Waterloo skipper is seen as a straight replacement for the departing Ian Voortman who has rejoined his former club Kendal. As well as adding to the Tigers’ backline options the signing of the 6ft 3ins, 16 stone centre also maintains the side’s quota of South Africans! He joins wing Jan Van DeVenter and fly-half Stephen Nutt in making the short hop east along the M62 to Park Lane.

“With ‘Voorts’ going it left us looking for another 12 option,” said Tigers’ President, Geoff Roberts. “We looked at all the possible candidates but Freeman is a guy we have been tracking for a while. He’s been at Waterloo for about seven years now and wanted to continue playing at National One level, which he wouldn’t be able to do with after they were relegated, plus he will be joining Van DeVenter and Nutt, which helped him make up his mind. He’s got good hands, good feet and can step a bit; he is a different player to ‘Voorts’ and both Tim Fourie and Andy Northey were keen to sign him.

A bit worrying to be losing our club captain. The thought of doing an Orrell are getting more and more worrying. I can see why the likes of McKay, Erskine, Munroe & now Sean Ruwers are leaving but having our skipper poached is pretty deflating.

Hard to think that this was just 12 months ago :

Twickenham

Looks like we are back to square one for the time being.

Taking the bliss

I've been talking to people recently about how un-anecdotal my life is at the moment. Not in a mid-life crisis sort of way. Good Lord no. Just an observation that when you catch up with friends more often than not there is very little of true interest to tell people. Yes, this is a bit boring but bearing in mind the old Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times" it's not too awful.

Today me and Anne set about further work on our jungle like garden...this time the mess of a shrubbery at the front. Still lot of work to be done there but it was such a gorgeous day that we were fairly pleased with our efforts.

Having finished our deforestation mission we settled in the back for a sunny afternoon beer and dozed until the sunset....nothing of note happened but there are few more pleasant scenarios that sitting dozily reading a newspaper with a beer whilst your wife snoozes next to you as the early summer sun beats downs and birds sing there little hearts out.



One similar super-pleasant notes the baby and wedding season seems to be upon us. Una and Dave got married last weekend and Mark and Catherine's wedding fast approaches. my cousin and Anne's cousins are having their's soon too. Lots of suit wearing to be done. Babies are bursting onto the scene left, right and centre too...first there was little Jack who as I've mentioned I'm priveliged enough to be Godfather to, then there was an old friend of mine, Lauren who's recently brought little Jesamine into the world (after spending about 90 hours in labour!!!) and now there's little Ellen up in the north east. Congrats to the O'Boyles, the Berry-Potts and the Symcocks. Great news across the board!

Other Business : Hats off to Endemol (I never thought I'd be saying that) for provocatively stirring up debate in Holland about organ donarship. Skillfully done.

The big donor hoax

It has to be said, though, that Anne clocked it straight away as a wind-up whilst I was suitably aghast.