Belper Town 1 - 0 Carlton Town

What a great way to spend a very cold Saturday afternoon!!

Belper beat the team currently in 2nd place in the division and what's more, deserved the win in a very tight game against a good side.

The photo shows Ben Walker scoring the winning goal. (Pic courtesy of Tim Harrison as usual!)

The biggest crowd of the season at the Meadow saw the match and as ever, Snapper Harrison recorded the best of the action:-

http://www.timharrisonphotography.com/NailersAction/CrltnTwnH0809/album1.html

Great work once again Tim!

The good standard of play is shown by the fact that our particular group of supporters found it hard to pick a "man of the match". Everyone played well and all contributed to the win. In the end, Ben Walker's great finish for the winner earned him the accolade

Up to 8th now with games in hand on the leaders and the poor performance against Glapwell last week (lost 4 - 0!) almost erased from the memory! Come On You Nailers!

Hope You're Having A Good Christmas.....

.... because me and the Duchess are!

Our son and daughter-in-law came over from their home in Holland to spend Christmas with us and it is really great to see them. They head back on Sunday morning so we won't be together for New Year but you can't have everything!

Anyway - whilst wandering around Sheffield on Christmas Eve, I took some pictures - this is a nice one.... hope you agree!

It's the "Dancing Fountains" in an area called the Peace Gardens, by the Town Hall in the centre of Sheffield.

And - football tomorrow - Belper v Carlton - they are 2nd in the Division and after a disastrous 0 - 4 hammering at Glapwell, it will be a tough test for Belper. A report follows!

Overheard in W H Smith today....

I promise I wasn't eavesdropping but I heard this brief exchange between a husband and wife (well I assume they were husband and wife) today whilst looking for Christmas presents in W H Smith (Imagine the Sheffield accents - it's not vital - but it's even funnier if you think "in Sheffield.")

Wife - "There's only one on 'er books there and she's read that."

Husband - "What's that one there - Cheryl Cole?"

Wife - "Dunt know if she'd read it though, it's her autobiography."

Husband (and I swear this is true) - "What's it abaht then?"

What Has Politics to do With Football?

Two instances of "outside interference" made me angry in the last couple of weeks.....

First of all - the saga of the Chris Morgan/Ian Hume incident which seems to drag on and on. Whatever your opinions, the FA's decision (which basically confirmed Morgan had not made a deliberate attempt to seriously injure another player) was made and for what it is worth, even as a Sheffield Wednesday supporter with no love for Morgan or the Blades, I happen to agree with it.

However, because a Barnsley supporting MP decides he doesn't agree, he and a couple of others from Barnsley tabled an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons, demanding that the FA be ordered to investigate the matter again. (And therfore, by suggestion, amend the decision to one he WOULD like.)

Secondly - the ongoing tale of the FA Cup replay between Droylsden and Chesterfield FC. Our local paper reported this week that a Chesterfield Counciller has written to Droylsden, suggesting they forfeit the tie because when the second abandonment occured, almost 75 minutes had been played, Chesterfield were winning 2 - 0 and coasting and therefore Droylsden would have lost anyway!

Why can't these politicians (at "junior" and "senior" levels) concentrate on the job they are paid to do - that is in the case of MP's - trying to sort out the mess the country's finances are in. A letter in our local paper suggested these people are never heard of when there is a matter like Child Protection Department failures, Health Service failures and so on, essentially because there is no self-publicity in that sort of area.

I was told many years ago that all politicians are like bananas. They start out green and straight and end up bent and yellow!

Incidentally, it was mind blowing to hear Lee "Rico Out" Richardson, the Chesterfield Manager, bleating after the second abandonment. In his opinion, the game could have continued because not all of the floodlights failed and it was unfair (and he implied, underhand) because Chesterfield were winning.

Contrast this with his comments after the first abandonment, because of fog, when Droylsden were winning 1 - 0. He said, quote. "It's unfortunate but Droylsden will just have to accept it as we would have done if we had been winning when the game was stopped." End quote! Maybe when he writes his autobiography (probably a 10-page pamphlet) he should call it "The Two Faces of Lee Richardson." Or he could become a politician of course when he gets the push at Chessie!

Plan C Worked!!!!!

Having failed in my attempts to get to the Meadowhall Mall on Tuesday - Plan C was put into place last night.

Bus from home to the City Centre then Tram down to Meadowhall, return by the same route! It worked like a dream! The Mall was busy but I didn't have to queue for anything, got the three things I went for and let public transport take the strain of getting home.

This is "Supertram!"

The transport fare structure puzzled me though! Bus from Norton to City - cost £2. Got on the tram and asked for a single to Meadowhall. "£2.10" said the lady, adding "Are you coming back on the Tram?" When I confirmed this she said - "Buy an 'All Day Saver' - it's £3.50, and will save you 70 pence!" Good Deal!

Mission accomplished, I arrived back in the city and caught a bus to Norton. I offered up £2 to the driver. "It's a quid" (that's £1 sterling for my overseas readers) sez he. "I paid £2 to get here earlier." I said. "Well", sez he "it's Thursday and it's after 7 o'clock so it's cheaper" adding, a little unnecessarily I thought "You won't get that fare tomorrow."

(I did actually tell him I wouldn't need that fare tomorrow cos I wouldn't be catching a bus! This was, I concede, perhaps a little harsh and unnecessary also but after all, he started it!)

Anyway - Job Done and I can finish off the "Bits & Pieces" shopping at my leisure over the next few days! Terrific!

This is what I Missed......

Whilst my Christmas shopping plans A & B were being thwarted on Tuesday - this is what I missed....

Belper 8 - 1 Parkhouse... Derbyshire Senior Cup 3rd Round

http://www.timharrisonphotography.com/NailersAction/PrkhseHDSC3/album1.html

Photos courtesy of Tim "Snapper" Harrison (and a damn fine set of piccies they are too!)

Won't see next Saturday's game either - my son and daughter-in law are arriving from Holland to spend Crimbo in Sheffield so I wanna be around Nortoner Towers on Saturday to greet them.

Last day at work tomorrow (Friday) - I saved some holiday days and so have two full weeks away from work to enjoy Christmas and the New Year...... Wonderful!!

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together....

The Meadowhall adventure turned into a complete farce.....

Left work at 4:30 pm - got to the Retail Park and parked up by 4:45, nipped into Hobbycraft, PC World and Toys R Us - no great rush - traffic doesn't look too bad. Took my time over a 1/4-pounder meal in MacD's and then made my way toward the Mall.

Couldn't get within a quarter of a mile of the place!

Never mind - plan B - go back to the Retail Park - give it 30 minutes - should be easier.

Plan B failed miserably - after 30 mins, traffic was even worse! Mission aborted and to cap it all - my mate Joe kept texting me the score from Belper Town's Derbyshire Senior Cup game (which I could have gone to if Xmas shopping hadn't got in the way)....... Belper won 8 - 1!

Another fine decision by Nortoner..... I hate Christmas! Bah Humbug!

Time Flies.......

...whether you're having fun or not!

Another busy week with little time to post - again. (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!)

The New Year is approaching and there are things like year end sales statistics and 2009 sales forecasts to be created. There is no doubt the "crunch" is beginning to bite and next year is going to be tough! Even so, I reckon that though it'll be tough - we'll get through it!

Right - pseudo-evangelical spouting stops...... you can all read enough depressing news in the papers and on TV without me adding my two pennorth. (Penerth? pennerth? penceworth?. -whatever - you know what I mean!)

I'm missing football!. Me and the Duchess haven't made the pilgrimage to Belper since the last Saturday in November. On 6th December the game was away, at Gresley, and we didn't travel, the next match, on Tuesday 9th December was postponed because of a frozen pitch and Saturday 13th was cancelled because of a waterlogged pitch!

There's another game tomorrow (16th) as Belper begin the defence of the Derbyshire Senior Cup they won last season but I'll be experiencing the delights of Christmas Shopping at Meadowhall. (Boy - do I know how to have fun or what!!)

I'll let you know the outcome of the shopping trip. Watch this space!

The Weekend was so relaxing, I forgot to post!!

Well, actually, Sunday and Monday I felt really ill - sore thoat, headache etc. and couldn't face staring at the screen. (And incidentally a note for my mate "Snapper" Harrison who commented on my last blog entry - when it comes to updating blogs regularly Tim ..."Kettle-Pot-Black" springs to mind??!!)

Saturday was a good day though! Decided to give football a miss and the Duchess and I went for a walk around a lovely little village called Ashford-in-the-Water. It's near Bakewell in Derbyshire and the Duchess told me that when she was young, the road through the village was a main route and was heavily congested. Some years ago, they built a by-pass and the main A6 road now runs around the village making it a fantastic, quiet "backwater" of a spot..

We spent maybe an hour or more there and here's some of the pictures I took to give you the "feel" of the place.

and there's more here......

http://s525.photobucket.com/albums/cc337/Nortoner_2008/Ashford%2020081206/?albumview=grid

The week just flew by.....

It's been one of "those" weeks with, sadly, no time to post!!

Monday - 1st full day back in the office after a trip - It's rumoured there's a desk under that pile of paper that has gathered in my absence.

Tuesday - all morning with Brazilian visitors on a "plant tour."

Wednesday - Late start and early finish because the car needed servicing - apart from that, a full day at the desk and some paper cleared!

Thursday - rush hour blizzard meant a 20 minute drive to work took an hour and 10 minutes (I was amazed at the "slagging off" the gritters got!! In Sheffield anyway - the slow traffic and queues were due to the fact that everybody used the main routes rather than the "rat runs". Can't expect every single inch of every street in a city this size to be gritted and ploughed!)

Friday - a day off and I'm also taking Monday as well - to make a well-earned and richly deserved long weekend. More follows as I relax into said weekend!

Belper 3 - 1 Kidsgrove

A real "game of two halves" this (Saturday) with Belper putting on a much better show in the second half. Goals from Lee Stevenson (16 for the season - how many clubs would pay good money for a goal-scoring midfielder!!) and 2 for Ben Walker sorted out another three points.

It was a cold, foggy day and I didn't take that many pictures because the fingers were so cold.

However - I'm quite pleased with this one.....

"Would the last one to leave please turn out the lights?"

My Niece is a Double Gold Medal Winner!!

The IV Commonwealth 10-pin Bowling Championships are taking place in Belfast.

Team England, which includes my 22-year old niece Joanne Allsebrook (known to all as JoJo - see pic) are doing extremely well.
Team England consists of JoJo, Zara Glover, Paul Moor and Darren Cundy. JoJo and Zara won the Women's Doubles and the team has won the Team event. Paul & Darren took Silver in the Men's Doubles and Zara finished top of the "All Events" table.

(JoJo and Zara)

The final event is now underway. In the "Masters", the top 12 bowlers in the male and female competition battle it out for the title. After 6 games (halfway through) Jo is leading the Women's table with Zara in 2nd place and in the Mens Masters, Paul Moor is top of the table and Darren Cundy is 3rd.

Six more games then the top three in each table play for the overall title.

Good Luck Guys!

Update Sunday - Jo finished third in the Masters and adds a Bronze Medal to her two Golds.

Sorry I haven't posted since 22nd.... it's been a long week.

I'm back home now (arrived at Manny airport Thursday around 10 a.m.) and slowly getting over the jet lag. Tried to post a couple of times this week from various hotel rooms but failed miserably so please accept apologies for the length of this note - there's some catching up to do!

Anyway - after a nice weekend in Fremont Ohio, - (pic - Ohio Sunset Saturday night)


I drove to Grand Rapids Michigan on Sunday afternoon 23rd Nov. Uneventful journey on a lovely day as the pic below illustrates. Think it's the I-96 but I'm not 100% sure.

Had a relaxing evening at the Radisson Hotel and prepared for my meeting the next morning. They had predicted snow but I did not expect what greeted me as I arrived at the customers premises on Monday morning!

And that was only the start! After a meeting and lunch, I headed for Bellfontaine Ohio. Around 4 inches of snow had settled in Grand Rapids but the weather conditions got better as I went further south. It still took me close on 6.1/2 hours to do what should be a 4.1/2 hour drive but I got there eventually.

Tuesday meeting at Belle Center Air Tools was, as always, very relaxed and friendly. These people are some the nicest I have met on my travels and the visit always feels like a "family" visit. Not surprising I guess when you consider this is a small family owned business. We discussed what we needed to, had lunch then I went back to my hotel. Julie & Jay (and their 8-month old daughter Jalie) joined me for a very nice dinner and at around 8 pm, I drove back to my hotel for a good nights rest before heading for home Wednesday.

I set off around 9:30 a.m. to drive to Pittsburgh where I'd catch a flight to Newark, NJ and then to Manchester. The drive went smoothly enough but Ohio and Pennsylvania had contrasting weather - fine and sunny in Ohio but snowy and grey in Pittsburgh.

Anyway - on arrival at the airport where I was to leave the rental car, I had a moan about the sat-nav unit they had rented me. It was worse than useless because it wouldn't charge whilst in the car and turned itself off at random intervals! Not a great help when it's supposed to be helping you find places.

I checked in at Continental Airlines and was offered earlier flights! Only $50 to change it and it meant I'd get to Manchester at 7:30 Thursday morning instead of 10 a.m.! I should have known - after the events of the trip so far......

We got on the plane to take us to Newark NJ and pushed back from the gate. After about 20 minutes of not moving the pilot announced a technical problem meant we had to go back to the gate and everyone had to get off!!

Of course - that blew my connection to the earlier Newark NJ flight so I ended up coming home on the flights I'd originally booked, having paid an extra $50 for the privilege!

Popped into the office for a couple of hours this morning (it was stocktaking time so I didn't hang around!) and now you're pretty much up-to-date!

Told you it was cold...

Picture shows icicle which formed underneath the rental car.....

....and that was around noon today (Saturday) and after I'd been driving it! Now that's cold!!

Greetings from Fremont Ohio, USA

Made it to the weekend.... Yesterday, I woke in Montreal and met with my client. After lunch, flew from Montreal to Cleveland Ohio where I'd pick up a rental car and drive an hour or so to here.

It was a difficult drive up here from Cleveland where they have 6 inches of snow! As we were approaching the airport, the pilot announced that we were in a holding pattern because they needed to clear the ice and snow off the runway before us and several others could land!!!!
By the time we'd landed, I'd got my bag and caught the bus to the outskirts of the airport to the rental car place, it was gone 9 pm.

Eventually, after a lot of faffing with the sat nav (the guy at the rental desk couldn't get it to recognise this address.) I got on my way. (I had directions from Google so it wasn't hypercritical.)

Anyway, I made my way outside to the car and after clearing several inches of snow off it (seriously, it was at least 5 inches deep on top of the car and still coming!) I found he'd fixed me up with a Toyota RAV4 with 4 wheel drive. That will help you he said - 4 wheel drive will stop you slipping and sliding off the road. "Great" I thought.

So - me and a lot of others crawled at walking pace across compacted snow from the car park to the highway, then 20 miles an hour max through the slush and ice on the I-480 (like the M1 - 3 lanes each direction). Fortunately, the road was pretty well lit - although I couldn't see the lane markings properly - so it was OK if I took it steady. Max 35 to 40 mph was the deal!

I was driving straight into the wind and the snow was still pretty heavy for the next 20 miles or so. Then about 30 miles from here, the snow stopped and the roads were mostly clear and dry. There was a light dusting on the car park here but not much at all.

There's no restaurant here but there are eating places across the street. I couldn't be bothered to see if any of them were still open so I got a packet of chocolate chip cookies from a vending machine and a bottle of coke. I had a very full breakfast and lunch was a big smoked meat sandwich and chips so I wasn't particularly hungry.

It's now Saturday morning - I've just had a light "continental" Breakfast (Juice, Danish, bit of fruit, coffee) and the sun is beaming down. It's still cold but I'm going to explore the area in a bit to see what Fremont has to offer. More reports and (hopefully) pics follow!

Told you it was snowing....

View from my hotel room window - Toronto - 20th November - 7:30 a.m.

It's Snowing....

Toronto - Wednesday evening (Thursday morning UK time.) - just got back from dinner with a customer and it's snowing. Locals tell me it isn't going to be much - forecasts range from 2cm to 5cm (1" to 2" approx in old money) so that's alright then!

I have to go to Montreal tomorrow afternoon - just love taking off from a snow bound airport... everybody needs a little excitement in their life I guess.

If the snow is on the ground in the morning, I'll post a picture for you all - I am not going outside now cos it's dark and minus 5 C - I'll take some pictures from my room window in the morning.

A Travellers Woes....

Monday, got out of bed at 5 a.m. I'd stayed overnight at Bewleys Hotel Manchester airport - nice room .. see pic.... this meant the Duchess did not have to drive me to Manchester airport at some ungodly hour on Monday morning. (Cos I'm a considerate sort of bloke me you know!)

Then flew Manchester to Amsterdam to Toronto and, 20 hours later, arrived in Sudbury Ontario where it was minus 2 Celsius and there were snow flurries.

Met by my old Sheffield mate (he's also my customer in Sudbury) and had a burger and chips - manna from heaven after eating airline food all day! Then it was back to the hotel to unpack and try to get some kip. When I opened the bag I found it had been ransacked at some security check or other. My gear was all over the place and 4 diaries and pens I was carrying had gone.

Anyway - can't prove who did it - three flights and two airlines involved - but it made me swear just a little.

Did the business in Sudbury and headed back for Toronto - from where I am creating this post. Whilst waiting for the plane, I watched a terrific sunset at Sudbury airport - see the pic which was taken through a scruffy window and does not do it justice!

Then found on arrival at Toronto airport that I'd lost my cell phone so it's been another great day! Managed to call the Duchess from a pay phone - 20 to midnight UK time - but fortunately, she was still up after going to watch Belper v Stocksbridge - and she contacted Orange who have "cancelled" the phone. I have to call them when I get back to sort out what to do next. I sincerely hope that the bloke who said "Things can only get better" knew what he was talking about! I have another week and a bit of travel so there is time for things to improve I suppose!

Off on my travels....

Tomorrow (Sunday) I set off on a tour of customers in Canada and the USA. I'm back in the UK on Nov 27th and back from jet lag etc probably a couple of days later!

I'm taking my Canon Powershot camera and the laptop as usual and I'll post from "the road" at every opportunity.

See Yer Later!

Belper Reserves 2 - 0 Mickleover, Derbyshire Divisional Cup

Had a look at the Belper reserves the other night (Tuesday). they were at home to Mickleover RBL in a Derbyshire Divisional Cup Tie.

It was freezing cold but we quite enjoyed the game and Belper won it to progress to the next round.

I'm not good at "Under floodlight" photography so the pics I have are, essentially, rubbish but I had a play with the video camera and managed to "get" Belper's 2nd goal..... click here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5OsHmpQkpE

The goal is way better than the camera work by the way!

Belper 1-1 Goole Town... Then the lights went out - Saturday 8th November 2008

Well, to be truthful, the problem was that some of them never came on!. After 70 minutes, the ref decided that the game could not continue. I think he realised that Belper looked likely to score and it was better to abandon it at 1 - 1 rather than with one team leading and 10 mins left!

Mind you - it WAS pretty dark by the time he said "Enough!" as the above shot (taken after 75 mins) shows. (1600 ISO with 1/125th shutter).

Anyway the debate in the bar afterwards centred on whether Ben Walker's suspension had been served and if the three yellow cards picked up by Belper players still stand? (Ant Wilson's spectaular "overhead kick" goal will certainly be wiped from the record!) Who knows? We shall have to wait and see!

Things that make you go ... GRRRRR!!!!

After a hard week - a rant on a Friday gets it all off your chest..... 2 stories that made me growl this week.........

"Abandon the Red Poppy and wear a White one!"
Christians should think about wearing white poppies to mark Remembrance Day, rather than red ones, a religious think tank has advocated.
The group, called Ekklesia, believes the traditional red variety of poppy is "politically correct" - and less Christian than white ones.

It says the red poppy implies redemption can come through war, whereas a white poppy would suggest redemption through Christian belief.
The red poppy has been worn on lapels since after the end of World War One to honour those who died in battle.
The flower was chosen because it flourished in the fields of Flanders where millions of soldiers perished in trench warfare.

What a load of old Poppy!

and whilst we're at it.....

Poppy appeal loses money due to 'bureaucracy gone mad'
POPPY Appeal organisers say they are losing £700 a day because their stall has been forced to move from its normal spot due to 'red tape'.
The stand, manned by the Newark and Royal British Legion, has been on the corner of the Market Place beside the bank and the Town Hall in Newark for 50 years. This year the highways department at Notts County Council realised the pitch is on an area designated as highways.
Officials insisted those who run the stall must have a licence. Now the poppy stand has been moved to the centre of the Market Place where organisers claim a lot of people have been unable to find it.

Poppy Appeal organiser Geoffrey Meakin said: "No one for the county council has told us why we have been moved. They say we are an obstruction, which is not true.''
Legion member Chris Green said: "The effect is a loss of £700 a day because our supporters cannot find the stand.

A county council spokesman said: "For safety reasons it was important that the previous practice of placing charity stalls in front of the bank should cease as it is important that emergency and other access is maintained."

(Poppys have been sold on the site for 50 years but now some jumped up jobsworth says "Stop it.! It's dangerous!!")

What a load of old Poppy!.

An illustration in two stories of how political correctness and health and safety constraints have got totally out of proportion!

Belper Town 4 - 1 Leek Town

Another good home win for the Nailers on a damp and misty night at Christchurch Meadow.

As usual, pictures were provided by "Snapper" Harrison and you can see them here:-

http://www.timharrisonphotography.com/NailersAction/LkH0809/album1.html

A strange game in many ways, not helped by a poor display from the referee who gave some very puzzling decisions (for both sides.)

Still, it's 3 more points and we progress up the league. "Onwards & Upwards" as my mate Joe says!

It's Almost Over.... Thank Goodness!

The race is almost run but I heard on Breakfast TV this morning that between them, the two candidates have spent around US$ 700 million in 20 months on the campaign trail.

I find that slightly obscene. There are needy and deserving organisations in the USA, (as there are in the UK) who have to beg and grovel to get any sort of funding and who could achieve some real good with just one tenth of that sort of cash.

Modern Politics I guess but it's still wrong!

Autumn in my Garden...

I've been playing with my camera!

I like the pictures - what do YOU think?

Brand Quits, Ross Suspended

Good News I say, although I think I would have fired Ross as well.

At least that would have saved the licence fee payers £6 million a year!

Belper v Droylsden Part Deux

....more pics from the match from an equally talented photographer, Tim Harrison. (Usual fee Tim, used notes in a plain brown envelope - next home game!)

http://www.timharrisonphotography.com/NailersAction/DrylsdnHFAC0809/album1.html

Enjoy!

Belper 1 - 2 Droylsden FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round Replay

This (above) somehow didn't result in a goal for Belper Town!

So - the dream is over for another year. On a bitterly cold night, a crowd of 568 saw the team from 2 leagues higher prove to be just a bit too strong for Belper Town.

The picture above was taken by another very good amateur "Snapper" called Mossley Smiffy. (there are a lot of them about at this level of football but Smiffy is one of the best)

The rest of the album is here:-

http://mossleysmiffy.jalbum.net/BelperDroylsdenReplay/index.html

Smiffy also writes an excellent blog on all things non-league football, real ale and music etc:-

http://sixtamesides.blogspot.com/

Well worth a look!

Goth murderer's sentence reduced

I honestly don't believe this!!

One of the young thugs who kicked a 20-year old woman to death because they took exception to her dress as a Goth has had his sentence cut by 9 months. His co-accused did not get a reduction so that's alright then!

These sub-human cretins attacked the lady's boyfriend, kicking him unconcious and when she stepped in to try and protect him, they turned on her and actually stamped on her head as she lay on the ground.

The defence barristers appealed on the basis that the original sentencing was too harsh because the "boys" were only young when they committed the offence. They are/were 15 or 16 when they did it.

Although the sentences were technically indefinite, the crazy law in this country insists that a minimum sentence has to be declared at the time of conviction,. They were given minimums of 16 years and so these imbeciles can apply for release in their mid-thirties.

Sadly, the victim's family and boyfriend will not be released from their pain in 16 years.

Brand & Ross - what a pair of prats!

I see there is a massive demand for the sacking of Jonathon Ross and Russell Brand after their inane and offensive "prank". Amen to that!
(For my friends overseas who may not know - during a radio show they left obscene messages on 78-year old actor Andrew Sachs' answering machine including claims that Brand had slept with Sachs' grandaughter)

It matters not that Sachs grandaughter performs in a risque burlesque show - the messages were left on Sachs machine and which ever way you look at it, their actions were totally out of order.

Brand has reportedly apologised but added that he still thinks the "prank" was funny!

The BBC (so, indirectly, we the licence fee payers) pay these numptys vast amounts of money when neither has any sort of talent. They are both so far up their own backsides they can see their own tonsils.

Sack them both BBC - and in the case of Ross - don't even consider paying up his £18 million 3-year contract!

Didn't We Have A Luverly Time The Day We Went To Droylsden?

Droylsden 0 - 0 Belper Town. FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round.

The Duchess and I decided to turn our visit to this game to support Belper Town into a bit of a "day out" so we got a train from Sheffield, bus from Piccadilly, Manchester and returned "vice versa." The station in Sheffield looks a lot better since they threw some money at it:-

Turned out to be a good idea on the whole, although the weather wasn't great and if I'd known we'd have to pay 30 pence each for a "pee" at Piccadilly Station, we would have had a leak for free on the train! Wouldn't mind but at that price I expected gold plated taps and efficient hand driers - got neither of those of course!

The game was a good one and a draw probably a fair result. More description can be found on Belper Town's forum:-
http://joeywinson.proboards22.com/index.cgi?board=general

This post is more about the journey which, I suppose was reasonably good. It's not that long since I was on a train to Manchester (actually, in April 2008) but the trains in both directions were absolutely packed! We were lucky enough to get seats in both directions and even though it was not a long journey, I felt sorry for those who had to stand. The other noticeable thing was that we were never asked for our tickets. We could have got there and back for "nowt" I reckon! An extra carriage each way might have helped perhaps?

Anyway, we got back home about 7:30 pm which, I guess, isn't that bad! And the rain didn't put that much of a dampener on the day! Looking forward to the replay on Tuesday night now! I'll tell you all about it ASAP!

Now I Reckon I had a Reasonable Education......

... I went to Firth Park Grammar School and majored in English and English Literature. (A long time ago but I reckon I did OK at the subjects concerned.)

But can someone please explain to me what 'class war, anarcho-syndicalists, eco-anarchists, marxist-autonomists, stirnerites, Tolystoyans, mutual-aiders and punks' are?

An article in our local newspaper (The Sheffield Star) reports a group of nine people calling themselves "Underclass Rising", describing themselves as detailed above and headed by an individual rejoicing in the name of "Mark Moses Wallis" have broken into an unoccupied Grade II listed building in Sheffield and are threatening to barricade themselves in. They claim they have taken the action to draw attention to "poorly secured listed premises."

The building's owner claims the building was secure before the "anarchists and urban explorers" (again, what the ????? are they) broke in and he is even more angry about the fact that the local police force said "Officers did attend this incident, however due to a high volume of emergency calls at the time, there was a delay in our response."

As I said what the heck are "stirnerites" etc? And what gives them the right to break the law and occupy other people's property?

Belper Town 4 - 1 Shepshed Dynamo

Another 4 - 1 win for Belper Town last night (Tuesday 21st Oct). What's even more pleasing is the fact that Belper played some great football against a side who hadn't lost a league game this season before this game!

Super night for a game of football too. It was cool but not freezing and there was barely a breath of wind. There's something special about watching a game under floodlights!

Go here for more pictures from the game:-

http://www.timharrisonphotography.com/NailersAction/ShpshdH0809/album1.html

The photos are by an excellent semi-pro photographer called Tim Harrison who is the "official" Snapper for Belper Town. See his website for more examples of his work:-

http://www.timharrisonphotography.com/

Belper Town 1 - 1 Retford Utd

A bit late - this game took place on Saturday 18th October but anyway..... Here's a picture of "Stevo's" goal for Belper. Didn't get the equaliser unfortunately.

Also didn't get "Stevo!" He's off to the right of the image somewhere having hit this tremendous volley from the corner of the penalty area.

It was a cracking game and a fair result I guess. I find this level of football (Unibond One) more exciting than watching any of the professional clubs. It's a whole lot cheaper too!

And there's another game tonight - Belper v Shepshed Dynamo - it should be another good 'un but I won't have my camera with me - can't/don't do "after dark" pictures! I guess I'll have to learn!

Try this one.....

A great blog from a design company in Holland. Click on this link....

http://everybodycandesign.wordpress.com/

Well worth a look!!

An odd thought occured....

..if the Government can find vast amounts of dosh to bail out the fat cat bankers, why could they not have used that money to sort out the problems of the Health "Service" or our failing Education system or the lack of patrolling police officers.

I still find it odd (and it makes me angry) to see job adverts in the press for a "Business Manager" for a SCHOOL! Why should a school need a Business Manager or a Medical Practice need a "Practice Manager".

These operations should not be "Businesses", required to make profit or self fund - we pay enough in National Insurance Contributions and other taxes to fund them for Gawd's sake!

Hello!!

Thought I'd have a go at this blogging lark.

Maybe get one or two things off my chest.

Let's see how we go.....