Friday 10th February 2012

So, apart from the excitement regarding the upheavals at work, not much has been going on. There has been no repeat of the ‘mouse’ incident, which is just as well. In fact, the cats hardly go out thanks to the weather being so cold; the snow and ice are still around at home, although around Ramsgate there is a partial thaw.
We have had to leave the heating on all day, so to keep the house from turning into a deep freeze. The cats haven’t complained about the extra heat through the day.

Tuesday was Tony’s 70th birthday, and on the way home from work I dropped his card off, and having been told he would not be there, but he was, and was being presented with a cuppa and a cream and jam sponge, and so Jen and I launched into a tuneless version of ‘happy birthday’. Anyway, job done.

The big news has been that a grumpy Italian resigned from his post as England manager; you would be forgiven to think that this was the only important news item that occurred anywhere in the world. I should have some thoughts about the whole matter, but I don’t think the failings of the national team were the result of the coach; there have to be deeper problems with our national team, and not just in the recent history. Since 1950, apart from the one time when the World Cup was held in jollie olde Englande, England have under-performed or failed to qualify at all. You can’t blame those decades of failure all on one Italian; we have had experienced English managers, inexperienced English managers and two highly experienced foreign coaches, and just about all have failed to lift the national side to anything buy also-rans.
Maybe it’s because before each tournament, we all think England can win, probably won’t, but might. The nations is covered in plastic flags of St George made in China, and before the major nations get down to the real football, our ‘stars’ are already either on the plane home or sunning themselves on a beach with their latest WAG.
Clearly changing the coach has failed every time it has happened, or it has not improved the results on the pitch, of meant England get further in the competitions any further than the first knock-out match. It must either be the players, the planning or something in our psyche that causes our repeated abject failure.
And the ‘nation’s choice’ is a 64 year old chancer who just happened to have been found not guilty on tax evasion charges. Old ‘Arry might be good for a year or two, but he isn’t the long term answer, and in truth, no one, not least the FA, has an idea who will. The really sad thing is that the FA were paying Fabio £7,000,000 a year for all this failure; do you think that represents good value for money? I don’t but then, never did.

So, here comes the weekend; we have a trip to the Turner Contemporary Gallery to see their Turner exhibition; Turner is my favourite artist, and the gallery is 20 miles from our house, and it’s going to be a glorious sunny day,; it’s a win/win/win situation. And on Sunday we’re off to Canterbury to see Bellowhead in concert.