Super League

 Today saw the announcement that 6 of the country's biggest football clubs were breaking away to form a European Super League with teams from Spain and Italy. This got the Gorse Fox thinking. He ran through the various options and decided that we should put it to the club: "Should Arun Amblers apply to join the European Super League?"

Response from the team has been somewhat muted. He suspect the players are pondering the threat that they can no longer be called up for the national team, nor play in the World Cup.

That was an interesting change

Tuesday so it must mean football... and after last night's win by England against Tunisia in the World Cup, there was a degree of eagerness as well as frustration to burn off.

In the first hour we had insufficient players to split into four teams as we do usually. We just split into two and played three games with the same team makeup except for a swap of goalkeepers. The Gorse Fox was playing in green and we won the first game 5-0, then lost 1-0, before finishing off with a 2-1 win.

At the end of the hour all but three players drifted away. The three of us left stayed on the pitch for a bit of a kick-about. Then we noticed half a dozen youngsters on the next pitch. We invited them to join us and split up 5 against 4. The Gorse Fox played for the team with 4 players, the other two "old blokes" played on the other team. Well these lads were quick - but then we weren't even pretending to play "walking football" - it was just football. They were nice lads and a couple of them had some real talent. The game probably lasted about 40 minutes, and the Gorse Fox's team won 5-2 (with one goal from the Gorse Fox). It was really good fun and made a really interesting change. (The Gorse Fox suspects these lads were a little surprised that people 50+ years older than them could keep up and even overtake them).

And that's four

The Gorse Fox had his usual Sunday morning football. It was much better this week with a simple, uncrowded 5-a-side. The sides looked moderately well balanced to start with, but as the game progressed it was clear that the "yellows" were beginning to walk away with it. Fortunately, the Gorse Fox was playing in yellow and anchoring the defence. Despite his defensive role, he still managed to score 4 goals - 2 with each foot. Very satisfying but, in the end, one-sided with a final score of 16-3.

King Alfred's Foot Soldiers

The Gorse Fox had a football match today. It was a friendly against a team from Winchester featuring "Chopper" Harris from Starfleet. We laid on a couple of pitches and ran two parallel matches - then after it was all over we laid on some bacon and sausage baps for all. It was a very sociable event and great fun. This was enhanced by the fact that Arun Amblers won 6-4 (though the game was a lot harder than expected). Great fun, though and all played in the spirit of the game.

The Gorse Fox was a little worried afterwards - "Chopper" seemed a bit unwell and was feeling faint. We kept an eye o him while he recovered and Gorse Fox has contacted him since and he confirms that he got home without incident.

Four

Well that was interesting. We had such a good turnout at the football that we had to have three teams and play a round-robin. That's the first time that has happened on a Sunday.

The Gorse Fox was playing in yellow and in the first game, lost 2-1. He was pretty happy with his game, and the fact that he scored the only yellow goal. It would have been better to win, though. We then sat out the next twenty minutes whilst the others played. We made use of the time playing on a spare pitch to keep from stiffening up. Finally we came back on to play the last game. We won this with a convincing 6-2 scoreline and the Gorse Fox was delighted to have scored three of the goals. So overall, he scored four goals which he believes is the most he has ever managed and as a dyed-in-the-wool defender he is pretty happy with that.

We have a game scheduled with a team from Winchester in about 10 days. "Chopper" Harris, now retired from Starfleet, is their top scorer. It will be nice to see him again, though I suspect he will drive across from Winchester rather than use his chopper.

Nostalgia

Another very chilly start to the day. The Gorse Fox was pleased that today's football was scheduled for the indoor arena.

The game itself was fun - though, at 7-a-side, was a little busy in the short-form pitches. When the teams were first selected it looked like another case of defence versus attack - but the Gorse Fox's team of defenders did ok and ran out 5-2 winners. The Gorse Fox was pleased to score a fine goal with a volley from the half-way line. Very satisfactory.

Back home there was preparation needed. Tomorrow the fitters come to remove the existing work surfaces and create a template to describe the new work surfaces to be cut and installed. This meant a going through and emptying the top shelves of all the units and cupboards. Fortunately we have the Orangery so the kitchen doesn't look too cluttered - but there was a lot of stuff to shift.

The rest of the afternoon has been spent working on old diaries, again. This, while not categorised as 'fun', is at least an opportunity for a little nostalgia. The Gorse Fox may be making progress, but it is very slow and there are many more diaries still to go (some years the Gorse Fox was fairly terse but other years he was expansive in his description of the day) - it's going to take a long time.

Raring to go

The Gorse Fox was awake early and up with the cat. He was raring to go. Tuesday means football, and in preparation for the game, the Gorse Fox treats himself to a cooked breakfast. As it was lunchtime yesterday since his last meal, he was getting peckish. Nothing too fancy, you understand, no eggs benedict, no kedgeree, no kippers and roe. No this was just a couple of eggs, a couple of rashers of bacon and some sliced chorizo. Simple, but perfect.

He made his way across to Worthing - still raring to get going. The teams were picked and the games commenced. It was at that point that the Gorse Fox realised that he was, at best, mediocre today. Passes went astray, and his judgement regarding interceptions was a fraction of a second off. Oh well. The first three games were lost.

The second hour saw a change over of personnel and three more games. The Gorse Fox was finally getting into his stride. That doesn't mean that he showed any talent - only that he wasn't quite as bad as in the first games. We had three more games, drawing two and winning one.

The Gorse Fox has had contact from an ex-Starfleet colleague. His walking football are wanting a friendly match with us. The Gorse Fox has written back and offered to host an event  towards the end of the month (when hopefully, most of his players will be back from their travels).

Banned

Well that was not really a great surprise. The Gorse Fox had been intercepted as he checked in to the Sports Centre. The Centre manager grabbed him and asked him to accompany him to his office. He then went on to explain that after an incident at yesterday's tournament, they had decided to ban Krakatoa Jack for the premises for 3 months. (He explained  that it should be 12 months, but they were trying to be reasonable). He went on to say he hoped that Arun Amblers would not have a problem with this and wanted to maintain the relationship with the Centre. The Gorse Fox on hearing the details expressed his full support for the position being taken. The Gorse Fox has no sympathy for people who argue with the referees, and certainly none for those who lay hands on the ref.

The football started and the Gorse Fox enjoyed himself as usual, though seemed a little lethargic. By the second hour he had perked up and was back to his usual form. Unfortunately that got him into trouble. He moved in to cover a player moving down the right wing. The place received a huge cross-field lob which he volleyed. Unfortunately he volleyed it straight into the Gorse Fox's face at almost point blank range. The Gorse Fox's boyish good looks were again at risk of being compromised. His shatterproof glasses had been pushed against his eye socket and a some bruising was coming out. The  first aiders were called and an ice pack applied. There was only 15 minutes to go, so the Gorse Fox decided to sit it out for the rest of the game.

Had another nice long chat with Cousteau-Cub this afternoon. The Silver Vixen was at the hairdresser so the Gorse Fox was listening to some jazz and doing some reading on the internet when she called. She was obviously having trouble sleeping and decided a chat with dad was probably all that was needed to bore her to sleep.

Groundhog day

Another cold start (0c) and The Gorse Fox was dressed up well for today's excitement on the football pitch. The turnout wasn't bad (considering we had a tournament yesterday) and we were able to split into 4 teams for the first hour. The Gorse Fox was playing for the "Blues" and we had solid success with three wins in a row.

In the second hour, with a change of personnel, he again played in Blue. This was less successful with one win and two losses. This was the same, overall, as yesterday and so there was no improvement. It was fun though and The Gorse Fox was resolute in defence  (the only goals being conceded when The Gorse Fox had been urged to drive forward, and someone else had dropped into defence).

Another game tomorrow.

Good but not good enough

It was a very chilly start. The temperature was reasonable at 8C, but there was a strong and bitter wind blowing from north. This meant that a morning dressed in football kit was, to say the least, bracing. Arun put out a good team, if not quite our best, for the monthly tournament. We even had the luxury of a substitute!

The games went well. We played Bognor Rocks, Southdowns Sharks, Worthing Strikers Red, Worthing Strikers White, Brighton Dolphins, and Brighton Penguins in a round robin. Arun managed to win 4 games and lose 2... ending up second overall. A good performance, but it could have been better. We should have beaten (or at least drawn) with two teams that beat us. Oh well... we'll have to do better next time.

Supporting the Team

Today sees England play Malta in the World Cup Qualifiers. The Silver Vixen and the Gorse Fox had tickets and decided to make a day of it. Loading up the car with a picnic and suitable clothing we headed for Wembley.

It was all going very well until we approached T5 on the M25 where the traffic ground to a halt and the traffic reports indicated we were going to be in trouble for a while. We stuck with it until the M4 and then zipped in Chiswick and up the North Circular - slow but moving. We arrived and parked up. We were early enough to have the pick of the spaces... and chose the VIP / Royal Box section. The attendant didn't seem to care - probably thinking the Silver Vixen was the Queen travelling incognito.

We strolled along to the London Designer Outlet Mall, which is right next to the stadium. There was a huge selection of restaurants (as well as the designer stores). The the Silver Vixen hadn't been to a TGI Fridays for years so suggested we try there. The bouncers informed us that there was likely to be a 45 minute wait, but to register at the desk and they would give us a pager. We went to the desk and explained we wanted a table for two. She smiled, "Yes, I think I can do that immediately" she said, and so we were escorted to our table as all of the larger parties looked on in hunger.

After we had finished a very leisurely lunch we wandered back to the Stadium and took our seats. They were well situated - 3 rows bak from the pitch, about ten metres from the half way line. We settled down to enjoy the pre-match interviews and warm ups. At five o'clock the game kicked off. Malta huffed and puffed but never looked threatening. What was clear was how much faster the England team were and just seemed to fly past the Maltese whenever they wanted. It wasn't a game that you would consider a great classic, but it was a good game and it was lovely to be there and soak up the atmosphere as the England team won 2-0.

After the game we did our usual trick. We returned to the car and settled down to our picnic. We had no intention of even starting the engine for an hour - whilst watching everyone else fighting to get out of the car park and getting nowhere. Experience has told us that after about 45 minutes they open a second exit and after the initial rush, we can join that exit queue without too much hassle. So it was that we left it until eight, then slotted into to the exit line. This was going well. It wouldn't last.

The Gorse Fox found himself stuck in the wrong lane with no opportunity to move over. He was filtered out of the Stadium in the wrong direction. This is not a problem in itself as the Gorse Fox knows the roads around there and could select another route fairly easily. The problem was that the whole area was gridlocked. It took us an hour to do the first 1.5 miles and get out of Wembley in the direction of Ealing. Fortunately, the roads opened up then and the rest of the route home only took about 90 minutes or so,

Urban Cub was back home after her week away - so we had a bit of a catch-up before bed.

Transfer

It's the last day of the Premiership Transfer Window so the Gorse Fox is keeping his phone to hand. You never know when you might be called for a medical and big-money transfer.

On the subject of football, the Gorse Fox had his usual Wednesday session. It was a good game, though his team (the yellows) lost. We also confirmed that we were not going to field a team for the Autumn League/Tournament. We could only just scrape a team together, with no substitutes - and, frankly, several of us are (the Gorse Fox included) are getting a bit bored with the Tournaments. Some teams bak it just a bit too seriously and when you get home you have to count the bruises. With better referees it might be different, but for now we will sit it out.

Oi Ref.

As suspected, the Gorse Fox was not quite up to it today. He went along to support the team, but couldn't have played. This, however, meant that he was pressed into service as referee for one of the pitches. (Fortunately, as they are indoor 5-a-side cages, this didn't involve any running).

The refereeing was trouble-free. No really contentious decisions to make - and the few fouls that the Gorse Fox had call were so obvious that there was no argument. It looked a bit one-sided at first. Arun's B-team were thrashed 10-0, but on the parallel pitch the A-team won 2 or 3-1. In the second game the pendulum swung further in our favour. The B-team won 7-6 (having been 4-1 down), and the A-team won 6-3. All in all a satisfactory run out - though it is a shame about that first game.

The Gorse Fox's back is easing somewhat and he is hoping he'll be fit to play on Sunday.

A pint

A little grey today - but still lovely and warm. Unfortunately the Gorse Fox has been awake since the first streaks of dawn broke the blackness of night. It wasn't Jasper's fault. The Gorse Fox's brain had alerted him to a coding error perpetrated yesterday afternoon. That was it. The rest of the time was spent mentally recoding a chunk of the RPI Configurator.

Todays football was a hard. The other team had an extra player. By half time, the Gorse Fox was on  the side losing 8-2. We swapped ends. We started to claw back the deficit. As the final whistle approached we had evened things up to 9-9... but then conceded a goal with the last kick of the game. Pah! At least the Gorse Fox scored several of the goals that got us back into it.

After football the Gorse Fox was minding his own business in the shower when the phone chirruped. It was Old Bill suggesting that the Sonning Crew should convene for a pint. It would have been rude to ignore such an offer and so it was that the Gorse Fox retrieved the Silver Vixen from next door (where she was having tea with tinker bell and Two Hats) - and ensured that said neighbours were also set to join. We all strolled down to the Pink Pub, drink was taken and fine conversation was exchanged.

Now the Gorse Fox and the Silver Vixen are waiting for Peri Peri Spatchcocked Chicken to finish cooking - along with some new potatoes and salad, that should prove a perfect dinner after an excellent day.

Ringing?

Well, today we get a new Prime Minister. The Gorse Fox always finds change to be stimulating and hopes that the PM has a good term in office and is seen by history to have been a good leader for the country. The Gorse Fox has kept his phone to hand, just in case she phones to offer any of the great positions of Office or want him in the Cabinet. All has been quiet so far.

The usual Wednesday morning was fun this morning. Though the teams seemed fairly equal, the end score was a win for the side that featured the Gorse Fox. A resounding 5-0 with a very nice goal from the Gorse Fox to round things off.

Talking of things of great import, it seems that the FA are talking to Sam Allardyce regarding the vacancy for England Manager. The Gorse Fox likes "Big Sam" but isn't sure that he's the right man for that job. The Gorse Fox's favourite would be Juergen Klinsman, the current manager of the USA, and ex-manager of the German World Cup winning team (and, importantly, ex-Spurs player).

Dodging showers

It was alright start but showers were forecast for later. As the Gorse Fox drove across to Worthing for the football, he was in bright sunshine, but off to the left the clouds looked black and threatening. Would it stay dry for the football?

The teams were chosen and the first hour of three games kicked-off. It was hard work, and the Gorse Fox was on the team that kept coming second. Not very satisfactory, but given the players that we had - it was the best we could hope for. The rain stayed clear of us and it was warm and sunny.

The second hour was a different make up - two 7-a-side teams. This was much more even and the Gorse Fox was on the winning side for 2 of the 3 games. It was only during the last of these that the showers started to drift over - but didn't really come to much.

The Gorse Fox headed home where the Silver Vixen was having tea with her friend Mandy. As he walked in, the heavens opened and set the theme for much of the rest of the day. The Gorse Fox had his shower and some lunch and settled down to add some more photos to the private blog. Then, as Chris was offering to pick up some wine from his discount provider, the Gorse Fox popped over to give him some money and our selection.

As he writes, the rain is pouring down outside and a chicken rendang is bubbling away on the range - slowly reducing to its final state. The smell is wonderful. This is becoming one of our favourite meals.

Warm up

The weather seems to be warming up again today. The gusty winds of yesterday have blown themselves out and we have a lovely blue sky punctuated with puffs of white cloud.

The morning's football was fun. A good 6-a-side game in the indoor arena. These games are always helped by the fact that the game is non-stop - there are no throw-ins or goal kicks; the ball can be played off the boards and it keeps the game flowing. The other team had a couple of youngsters (early 50s and his son-in-law) so it was going to be hard. They were both quick and skilful. Despite that, we managed to hold things at bay, and with the help of 3 goals from the Gorse Fox we ended up with a creditable 9-9 draw. This was a good warm-up for tomorrow's tournament.

Back home the Silver Vixen was arranging for us to meet up with the Gorse Fox's sister and Trev. This looks like another trip to Chiddingfold to try the delicacies that are on offer at one of the village's fine eating establishments.

Oh dear

Well what a disastrous night for English football. Entirely predictable, but disastrous all the same. Fancy getting beaten by Iceland. As a long term follower, however, it was not a surprise. The Gorse Fox has had a day to hear armchair analysis by all and sundry. He isn't clever enough to know what the answer is (unlike so many).

The Gorse Fox had his usual Walking Football session this morning. Six more games played: lost 1, drew 4, and finally won a game. Some good football played today (certainly England International level).

We have noticed that a neighbour several doors down behind the house is having a garden room of some sort built. It became clear this afternoon that this is being done by Outside Interests, the firm that built our Orangery. It will be interesting to see what they do. It is a much small house than ours and is in the middle of a terrace - so they have less scope than we did.

Popped in next door for tea this afternoon. The Gorse Fox should have been coding but somehow couldn't collect his thoughts, so it was a good distraction. The weather closed in around tea time and we have heavy rain now (at least we brought the washing in before it got started).

Codepages

Very pleasant day today. Bright start but even when it clouded up a bit, it stayed warm. Today's football was indoors (as it usually is on Sundays). There was a big event going on at the Arena, but they were using the outside pitches and didn't trouble us at all.

Our game went well. Just the usual training game with mix and match teams. It ended up at about 12-9, and the Gorse Fox was on the losing side, but it was great fun and there was a lot of lovely football being played by both sides.

Once home, the Gorse Fox returned to his code. A few more tweaks and then he ran a complete import of this blog into the test version of the private blog. It ran for about an hour and completed without incident. It did show up that there were some codepage differences between Blogger and the Wordpress database. This means that the Gorse Fox has some rather odd symbols in the data, here and there. Having spotted this, he can write some additional code to sort this out before he does his final import. Looking good, though.

Next steps are to write the importer for the data from the old version of the private blog into the new version. This needs to ignore duplicate entries and properly categorise the posts that are found. Now that the Gorse Fox has the techniques sorted, it shouldn't take too long to write. The Gorse Fox is frustrated, however, that he still cannot work out how to get the labels/tags out of blogger. More research needed.

Bruised

The Gorse Fox had football. It was damp and there was light rain making things miserable. Despite this, we had a good turnout. The sides were well balanced and the Gorse Fox was doing well. He had swerved round a couple of tackles and had a couple of shots on target (though stopped). The next time he got the ball he side-stepped and did a slick turn along the touch line. This is when it all went a bit wrong. One of the opponents was clearly going to stop the Gorse Fox at any cost and barrelled across the pitch and smashed into him. The Gorse Fox took off and crashed into the fence. An expletive was heard as the Gorse Fox tried to get up. He had a dead leg. So it was that he spent the rest of the game in goal - unable to push off from his left leg (which even now, several hours later, it very sore). He was not a happy bunny.

We ordered some new planters several days ago. They were due to arrive between Friday and next Tuesday. They actually turned up today. That's service.