Slidesnow

Pictures from Val D'Isere here.

Off Piste

Last day. Tomorrow we will be headed back to England.

Some things that have not happened:

1. Fatalities, mortal wounding, broken bones
2. Any instructor saying "Ben Ze Knees"
3. Reading even one page of the books I brought with me

Some things that happened:

1. Matt & Harry skiing black runs
2. Icicle fights
3. Snow - finally - overnight on the last day

On the last full day we went tobogganing again and set a new land-slide record of 350 metres. Then, on the way back, Matt & Harry invented a new sport called "Sled-Boarding".

In this, you take the plastic sled and stand on either end. Then, you attempt to negotiate the slope using pure balance, snowboard style. Both boys were somewhat successful at it, but Harry was especially proficient and has been declared world champion at this new event.

Wishing all blog-readers a happy new year for 2008 !

Pole Dancing

An eventful day on the slopes. In the morning, Harry took a series of tumbles - but he was negotiating the most difficult black slope on the mountain at the time. A plate of chips saw him right again.

Maxine was ski-ing with Sinead and myself on the more sensible blue-graded terrain. All seemed to be going to plan when suddenly she lost control, span, and crashed through a blue wooden piste marker and backwards over the edge of the run, losing both skis and poles before landing flat-out in the snow. Rather spectacular and alarming.

In due course, she recovered her poise. The piste marker pole, however, was smashed to pieces and scattered over a wide area.

Meanwhile, in the afternoon, Roger was involved in a tragic accident. He was perfectly OK after returning to the chalet for a good rest, but the tragedy was that he crashed before he'd actually done any ski-ing for the day !

It all sounds a bit dangerous, but for really high-danger action look no further than some simple tobogganing. As we discovered, a 40kg-boy on a 1kg bit of plastic on a 200-meter hill goes extremely fast. Add in a dozen others hurtling down with limited control in the near darkness, and it all seems rather hazardous, but no one came to any harm. According to Harry, in fact, crashing and falling out of the toboggan is the best bit.

What Poker and Skiing Have in Common

In poker, standard advice is "Tight is Right". This mantra is designed to keep the beginner on the right track and headed in basically the right direction. In ski-ing, it seems the same advice applies to boots.

Reluctantly, I changed my comfortable but over-ample foot-irons for a much tighter selection. At least these ones don't hurt immediately, unlike an even smaller pair that I was also offered.

The new equipment is undoubtedly "better" but the gain comes with considerable pain. Thinking about changing boots, then changing boots and then thinking about changing them back again is a key part of ski-ing, I have learnt.

Matt meanwhile has diagnosed some problems with my technique - I am making turns and slowing down - apparently the correct approach is straight down the hill.

Candlelit Descent

Christmas day ! It's a special day, but in a ski resort it's very much business as usual. Especially with all the presents left back in England.

After ski-ing and turkey, we were out on the slopes witnessing a genuinely amazing sight: 100+ expert skiers snaking down the Face Bellevarde bearing "candles" (magnesium flares in reality) in the dark, followed by an impressive fireworks display.

The only downside was that it blanketed the whole area in smoke totally obscuring the view of the mountain. A glimpse of what Beijing 2008 may look like perhaps !

Boot Camp

By a happy accident of logistics, we had no ski-ing first thing on Monday. So after a lie-in, it was late morning before we had to kit up and make for the slopes.

Included in our chalet was a driver service to pick us up and drop us off at the slopes - not much more than 500 metres away. Hardly worth it, really, but on the other hand it's a pleasure not to have to trudge in ski boots particularly after 20minutes getting ready - layer-upon-layer, hat, gloves, goggles, boots, sunglasses, lip-balm, suncream, neck-warmer, coat, skis, poles. Got everything ?

First time back on the slopes for a year - or first time ever in Roger's case. It all takes some considerable getting used to.

Some things do come back to you though: the fact that everyone looks the same in ski gear, the fact you're always too hot or too cold, the fact that your boots are always too tight or too loose and the fact that the slope looks severe from the top, benign from the bottom.

Lessons in the afternoon - a chance to get some ski-legs back.

Snow Business

On our way to Val D'Isere for Christmas. 5am alarms ... away on time at 6am. Traffic mostly friendly, and the fog was patchy, which is presumably the best kind of fog. The online check-in worked. No problems at security.

The gate of course was right at the far end, as always. We boarded almost on time and then they announce a 2-hour delay due to the knock-on effect of the foggy conditions. Still, we were eventually underway. For the rest of the journey, some complications: there was lost luggage, but not ours. Babies being sick, but not ours. Connections missed, but not ours. Flights cancelled, but not ours.

Still, with or without complications, it's a long way up the mountain. We arrived at 7:30pm local time - only just time enough to survey the locality for pre-existing snowmen, before ski-fitting, dinner and bed.

Commentary

I have switched back on the "comments" functionality. Previously it was disabled to prevent spam comments, which did happen on the old blog. But, in fact, it only happened once in 3 months so it doesn't seem like a big concern.

Game Boy

Teenage Kicks

Laser-shooting with friends ... slideshow on the right

Click here to see them on the web.

Happy birthday Matt !

Penalty Clause

After league action last week, today it was back on the cup trail.

We had exited the League Cup to high-flying St. Joseph's, and now faced similar opposition in order to progress in the County Cup. Bushmead Rovers "A" are well-placed in the 2nd division and have lost just twice this season. They would be tough to play at their Luton home.

The pitch at Icknield Way was slightly elevated on the crown of a small hill. However, just before kick-off, the wind dropped and the sun decided to shine on the players. The conditions seemed to bring out good play from both sides. It was quickly apparent that Bushmead were a talented team. The passing and ideas from midfield created a lot of chances, but the high standard also brought the best out of the visiting team.

In fact, Brickhill opened the scoring with a rare treat - a headed goal by Angus, from Elijah's corner. Still, the lead was brief when Bushmead equalised - from a corner of their own - and quickly added a second with a fizzing shot direct from a narrow angle on the wing.

Bushmead had two or three outstanding attacking players - each time they had the ball it looked like a scoring opportunity. As a result, they soon added a third - a classic cross followed by an emphatic shot away from the keeper's reach.

It was apparent that the home side were superior but the one hope was that they were vulnerable to continued forward pressure. Just before half-time, Ewan picked up the ball deep in his own half and ran the length of the pitch, beating several challenges. In the box, he managed to find a pass which Fred was able to tap in. 3-2 down at half time and back in with a chance.

However, the respite was short-lived. Soon after the restart, Bushmead opened up our defence with precision crosses and extended their lead to 4-2 then 5-2, and appeared to have done enough.

Nevertheless, we did not give up. With some fresh legs on the pitch, we attacked. Sustained pressure from Elijah, Dominic and Fred opened up a chance for Niall who found the net.

Still, at a 5-3 deficit, defeat seemed likely. Bushmead broke clear again and their excellent #4 shot for goal. Harry managed to stick out a leg, but the ball quickly rebounded to the same player who got a good head on it. Harry recovered, jumped and made a solid catch. The immediate danger of falling 3 behind was averted. This seemed to turn the match slightly, and the home side missed a couple more chances to leave the door slightly open.

Now, Brickhill seemed to believe they had a chance. More counter-attacking produced a powerful shot from Romao. The opposition goalkeeper stopped it, but dropped the ball on the line. Fred has continued to run towards goal and was able to trickle the free ball home through the keeper's legs. 5-4.

The referee signalled 4 minutes to play.

With nearly an hour played, the tempo was as strong as ever and it seemed there could easily be two or three more goals at either end. With 90 seconds on the clock, though, it was Josh who was able to take advantage of another combination move involving Dominic, Eiljah and others.

Five all ! The cheering on the touchline was euphoric. It might have been the FA cup final.

To lose now would be so, so cruel. Harry fumbled a long-range shot but recaptured the ball at the second attempt and launched one final assault. Fred picked up the ball on the half way line and found Josh on the wing. Brickhill players surged into the box to receive Josh's weighted cross. With just 10 seconds remaining, Dominic's outstretched foot just failed to make contact and the ball ran past the post ... into Extra Time !

To level from 5-2 down against a team this strong already felt like victory, but clearly a win was possible. However, early in the first period, Angus was judged to have shoved their impressive #11 as he defended a free kick. To the disbelief of the away supporters, and bemusement of some of the home crowd, the referee pointed to the spot.

Harry dived decisively, and correctly, to his right but the penalty was well-buried in the corner and Bushmead resumed the lead, ominously. Nevetheless, before the debate over the decision could fully die down we forced a corner and a second ginger-head found the goal. Dominic this time. 6-6 !

As the second 10-minute period of added time started, it seemed very possible that we were headed to a penalty shootout. There was action at both ends, however, and Elijah appeared to be brought down as he ran onto goal. This appeal was denied, however, and at the other end Brickhill had to defend deep to keep the score level.

Possibly, though, we now had a slight possession advantage and were often in the opposition area. Josh found Fred on the edge of the box and the referee saw an opposition elbow where it shouldn't have been. Penalty !

Ewan threw the ball to Elijah, who hadn't been on target now for over 120minutes of football but who knows how to score under pressure. Sandra couldn't look, but she needn't have worried as Elijah made a precision strike, off the inside of the upright.

75 seconds to defend ! One more attack from Brickhill sees the clock run down to 40 seconds. A promising attack by the opposition ended in a goal kick. Carefully and slowly taken, 10 seconds left. The kick is charged down by Bushmead who press to the edge of the box again and, suddenly, their #4 appears to be brought down.

The referee looks, decides, and blows the whistle ... not for another penalty, but for full time ...

7-6 (aet) to Brickhill is the final score in what is easily the best match and best performance of the season, and an outstanding win.

Tough at the top

After last Sunday's emphatic win, the top half of the table now looks like this:



Brickhill back on top, but on goal difference only. Admittedly, Brickhill have actually played one less game than 2nd-placed Sundon. However, Westoning are just one point and one goal behind, and Ampthill will regain the lead if they win their game in hand.

Dunstable are only a single win adrift, and in fact SKF (who did beat Brickhill) are also not out of it if they win their spare games.

A magnificent seven

By the time we started in today's match, Brickhill had actually slipped to 4th in the league. In fact this was deceptive because - fortunately - Ampthill lost last weekend. However, because other clubs have played more matches they have had an opportunity to climb past both Brickhill and Ampthill.

The situation is still good if we return to form and win matches !

Today we were away at nearby Kempston which has been a good ground for us historically. We started well enough -Elijah scoring from outside the box with a bold shot into the top corner. Fred added a second, getting on the end of a clever long ball from Greg. Then the rain started, and the conditions were not ideal, but both teams continued to play quite brightly.

Brickhill seemed able to put together some good movement and the dismal performance from last week looked quite distant. Luke added a third before half time.

In the second half, the rain was incessant - Harry found that his sunhat doubled as a good defence against the rain. Dominic bundled home a goal to make it 4-0 and it was really a question of the margin of victory. Kempston did make some good runs, but most of these were neutralised by the Brickhill defence who were quick & strong. Harry also made some good saves. However, one low shot to the corner did make it through. 4-1.

Greg and Fred made it 6-1 and then we were awarded a penalty for shoving in the box, which was well converted by captain Ewan.

It appeared Fred had made his hat-trick - but his tap-in from Romeo's excellent lob was judged invalid. He then found the back of the net again, disallowed for offside !

7-1 the final score. A step back in the right direction.

Making heavy weather

Back to the league today. We started the day still in 2nd place by one point, but with a couple of other teams breathing down our necks - albeit they have played more games.

At home to Leighton town: mid-table team who have been beaten 5 times in 9 games. Furthermore they had only 11 players - it looked on paper like a simple proposition.

Right from the whistle, though, it did not look like going to plan. Leighton did have the advantage of playing with a considerable wind, whilst the sometimes-heavy rain presumably affected both sides the same. Brickhill did not look composed. Whatever the reasons, the game seems to be played pretty much at one end. Leighton created 5 scoring chances in the first 5 minutes and in that sense, Brickhill were lucky to be only one down - the goal came after just about 3 minutes. At the other end, Leighton's goalie had really nothing to do.

In the second half, Brickhill did not seem able to take any advantage from the change of ends, or the improving weather. A defensive error saw us fall 2-0 behind and there did not seem to be much in the way of a comeback. Briefly, this looked like changing when birthday-boy Elijah nailed a beautiful floated free-kick over the wall and into the top corner. However, almost immediately, Brickhill conceded a third goal and a fourth towards the close.

It was a poor performance and a rare home defeat was a fair result.

Finger Lake-ing Good

Harry has been insisting he wants to go fishing for ages. We have never fished in England, although we have often had a go on holiday.

His interest in fishing is quite surprising given he has never caught anything - except in Canada where between us (myself & Jim, Matt, Harry & Fin) we did catch over 60 fish in an afternoon. But in that case it was hard not to catch them - in fact the difficulty then was catching the bait.

Still, Bedford is well served with easily accessible fishing on rivers and lakes and so today we decided to give it a try. We had rods & reels brought back from a previous holiday (Crete) and enough bits and pieces to make an attempt.

So, after a brief stop at the local shop to buy UK-compliant non-lead shot, and a half-pint of maggots, we drove down to Priory marina.

There are many fishing spots down there. Arbitrarily, we settled for the "Finger Lakes". Not wishing to spoil the surprise, but I can tell you that we did not come close to catching a fish. We were probably closer to catching a swan - they seemed to be everywhere. Or perhaps a dog - many came to visit us on the bank. Naturally we made several attempts at catching trees.

After a few hours we called it a day, but not before Harry had taken a mini-dip in the lake - inadvertently tipping his chair over the edge and just catching himself with just the one leg totally immersed.

We did catch one thing - a glimpse of a HUGE fish leaping in the middle of the lake just as we left. I expect we will be back.

An Uphill Struggle

Away at St. Joseph's (Luton) today. The home side are undefeated in Division 2 of our league, and have a strong reputation as well. It was always likely to be tough.

On a bright but chilly morning, we found the ground at the 2nd attempt. There was some consternation as to whether we would have enough players, but with Sam, Josh and - finally - Luke showing up, we had 13 out of 15. Then, there was an unusual incident when Angus realised he had forgotten his shorts ! The referee came to the rescue by allowing him to play in his tracksuit. The fallback position was for his dad to put the scissors to work !

On to the match. I had expected a high scoring affair - Brickhill have scored 48 goals in 7 games and St. Joseph's are obviously a strong team. However, the effect was that the two teams somewhat cancelled each other out.

The Luton team had a large possession advantage it seemed - distinctly aided by their playing down the slope in the first half. It was clearly hard work for Brickhill to make progress but they defended staunchly and did create two clear-cut scoring chances - Elijah shot wide when clear on goal, and Luke's cross cut open the defence. However, it was St. Joseph's who finally broke the deadlock in injury time - a ricochet from a corner found the net.

Still, it seemed like with only a one goal deficit, and the advantage of the hill in the second half, that Brickhill could come back. Indeed, they pressed and pressed and made several chances - but the opposition defence was also solid and on at least one occasion the crossbar intervened.

With 20 minutes of the 2nd half gone, Brickhill unfortunately conceded a second goal and this always looked like deciding the match. In fact, St. Joseph's added a third with the last kick of the match.

The 3-0 defeat ends the run in the league cup, but the score flattered the winning side. Their coach commented that it was their hardest match all season.

Back to the league next week.

The Commons Touch

Friday night. Normally I would be at home, but on this particular Friday I had been invited to a charity dinner (a first time for me) as a guest of PWC.

The dinner was held at the House of Commons in aid of The Children's Trust. Before dinner, a tour of the buildings. We had an excellent guide - who managed to be informative and amusing, but not frivolous. The buildings and the history are quite incredible, really. A couple of things that struck me immediately were (i) how small the Commons' chamber is and (ii) how close the Commons' and Lords' chambers are to each other.

Nominally, we were all guests on the night of Sir Paul Beresford. He gave a witty introduction, and Suzanne Dando was the headline speaker, with a short speech also from someone who had been helped by the charity. Put together with a very acceptable 3-course meal, it was pretty good fun in fact, in fantastic surroundings. The event was concluded with - of course - a charity auction. I managed not to buy anything, but helped some of the furious bidding along.

A few of the people in the room looked a little familiar - as if I should know them. But I suspect they were, in fact, people that just looked a little familiar. However, right at the end of the dinner I discovered by accident that the person sitting next to me had, in fact, read maths at St. John's College - that's a considerable coincidence although admittedly being on a table of actuaries did narrow down the odds somewhat !

Justice is seen to be done

I haven't used this blog to talk about poker, and I will probably stick to that. However, in poker-related news, I took a day off work today to go to the Royal Courts of Justice to listen in on the appeal hearing for the famous "Gutshot case".

In fact, first I went to the Old Bailey. I had been given some wrong information about the address of the court. After some time, I figured out that I was in the wrong place and set off to find the correct court building by a system of generally wandering in what I felt was the right direction. By the time I arrived at court, I was 20mins late for the start.

Conveniently, the case had been re-timed for an hour later - I realised something was up pretty much as soon as I went into the designated court - it was readily apparent the case in hand had nothing to do with poker !

Well, when we got underway, it was a pretty interesting experience. The QC for the appeal took us right from Henry VIII through the 1800s and up to 1943 - all to explain what his point wasn't. Eventually we got up to the modern material - 1960 - and onto the main elements of the appeal. Pretty technical, it's fair to say, but only on points of law. Very little poker material per se. More about scrabble than poker, in fact.

In any case, the appeal was argued, and it'll be a few weeks before their Lordships return with an answer.

Stot-fold

Back in real-time now !

Away to Stotfold juniors in the 2nd round (1st round we had a bye) of the County Cup. They play in a different league so we had no direct point of comparison. In their own division, they had played & won 4 games, and not conceded a goal at home.

However, they are playing in the 4th (and bottom) division of their league.

All in all, we fancied our chances.

We took the lead after 70seconds, through Luke. It wasn't all one-way traffic, but Luke added a second, and Dominic also scored. It was 3-0 at half-time and could have been much more if we'd been able to stay onside.

In the second half, Stotfold really fell away and Fred scored a hat-trick, with two for Elijah also.

8-0 to Brickhill. As often in these matches, it wasn't as though the other team were hopeless. We were just better organised, and made less mistakes. Their goalkeeper was actually very good, despite the scoreline.

A first clean sheet for Harry !

Next week we play St. Joseph's (Luton) in the league cup. They are in a division directly above us and doing OK, so we can expect a genuinely tough fixture there.

Stadium Way

At the time this post was supposed to be written, England's prospects of qualifying for Euro 2008 looked bleak. By contrast, England U21 has played 4, Won 4 and conceded no goals in their quest for a Euro 2009 place.

Friday 16th November, and we set off (about 25 people from Harry's team + siblings and parents) to see England U21 vs. Bulgaria U21 at Stadium MK.

A good time was had by all - first there was the amusement of trying to locate the stadium on the satnav - it's too new to be on the map it turns out. We knew it was close to IKEA but TomTom thought the nearest IKEA was in Lille, France.....

Then there was the traditional abandoning the car on the dual carriageway when the traffic at KO minus 20mins slowed to less than walking pace.

Next there was the ritual trying to buy a burger during half-time. Harry and his friends actually attempted this several times before, during and after half-time. Apparently the catering at MK Dons is not really suited for 20,000+ attendance.

Harry's memory is probably of touching the match-ball when some wayward shot came to us 20-rows up.

It was a good match. England eventually came away 2-0 winners including a 2nd-half penalty won by lightning Theo Walcott, scored by James Milner and very poorly captured on mobile phone video by Harry.

We managed to find the car again, and a burger on the way. Success all round.

Four-Square

Remembrance Sunday. There is a minute's silence before kick-off, which is well respected.

This is a tough game. Away to league-leaders Ampthill who have a one-point advantage. The home supporters are even tougher than the opposition team. There is considerable touchline dissent as to the decisions of the line judges and the referee.

The match itself is close. Brickhill manage to take a 2-goal lead, but there is action at both ends and with a late goal chipped over Harry, Ampthill are only 4-3 down at half-time.

The second half is very edgy. Ampthill claim an equaliser with 10 minutes to go and then it becomes very tense. Clearly, if we can find a winner then we will reclaim the league top spot. However to lose, would open up a 4-point deficit.

Most of our supporters will settle for a draw, and will the referee to blow for time. Suddenly, Ampthill seem certain to score, but somehow we clear off the line. There is time for one more attack from the good guys, and it almost looks like a fairy-tale finish as Josh curls one from the edge of the box. However, it is a foot too high and a few moments later, the game does finish 4-4.

That keeps us clearly in contention - with the home fixture later in the season likely to be equally as crucial.

Blue perfection

OK. Back in the UK and it's Sunday, so football. Home to Houghton Regis. Pebble, our de facto mascot is also back. Another dog-owner (with a huge beast in tow) stops to admire Pebble and by listening in, we learn that our favourite small dog is known to the Kennel Club as "Blue Perfection".

Houghton are playing in blue, but although they get off to a 2-goal lead, it is eventually Brickhill who are closer to perfection. 6-3 the familiar scoreline. Although our six goals do include one own-goal and two penalties (apparently we have never managed to score a penalty before !)

Happy 40th Burnt-day

I realise that I have been wayward in keeping the blog up to date. I am going to do some catch-up posts, starting now. After this, I will try to be more diligent!

I have discovered how to re-date the posts so they appear to have been posted when I intended to write them.

This post is supposed to have been created just after my birthday, when we were in Dubai.

Karen put on a genuine surprise by flying my mum & Richard out to meet us. Then on the day itself, she arranged an "Arabian Experience": the six of us had dinner on the beach in a private tent. Enormous quantities of Arabian food - many courses - most of which was indeed delicious. It was rather surreal. The boys had chicken nuggets ! We played football in the dark on the beach and had a quick swim in the beachside pool (which was technically shut). It was all-round an excellent 40th birthday.

ps - Last night (the real last night - 17th November) we went to Jim's 40th birthday near Luton and he had kitted out the whole house in Arabian style and laid on a belly-dancer (demo and teach-in modes !) and ethnic drums (one drummer, lots of drums for people to join in with). It was a really clever idea and was a big success. The kids (there were hundreds of them) had a great time.

News has reached us in Dubai that Brickhill lost in the league to SKF Youth. The 4-3 defeat means Ampthill are now the only undefeated team in the league, and can overtake us if they win their game in hand.

This result is not as disappointing as Lewis Hamilton's failure to secure the F1 world championship. Kimi Raikkonen coming through to win after being 17 points behind with 2 races to go proves that, in sport, anything that is not impossible is - indeed - possible.

cup cake

We were not able to be at the cup match today but Brickhill won 3-2 (after extra time). We had been trailing 2-1, but equalised to force extra time. Apparently it was headed for penalties before we found a winner later in the second period of added time.

Trains & Training

I decided to come home early to catch football training on Wednesday night. After my journey took 2h20 by car on Monday morning, it was clear the time had come to revert to the train (total journey time 1h20-1h50). I duly allowed plenty of time to travel over to St. Pancras for the 16:30.

Arriving early, I found my train (and several before and after it) had been cancelled !

In the end, I caught an all-stations from Thameslink and arrived back in Bedford with a total journey time of 2h40. It could have been worse.

I was in time to cycle down to join Harry & Karen at training (no lights, so an all-pavement route. Bedford is well suited to this). I'm always impressed by the professional set-up of the training regime. But it's still done very much in a fun & friendly way. The extra drills and fitness are being introduced gradually.

Walking back with Harry, we passed the unusual sight (well I have never seen it before) of kayakers and oarsmen on the river with lights on their lifejackets and hulls respectively. From a distance, the bobbing forms looked like they should be river-birds, so the lights were very confusing ! Only close-up could we see what was really happening.

There's a cup match at the weekend which Harry can't make. There is some talk of skullduggery on the part of the opposition - something about A-team switching with B-team. I ignore all of this. Hopefully we will beat whatever team turns out.

In the league, Brickhill are of course the clear leaders, although Ampthill are also unbeaten and so our matches against them will be critical. We're not playing them until at least November, however.

Yellow perils

At home to Westoning today. Checking my facts pre-match, I found that the opposition were not, in fact, unbeaten this season. However - with 3 wins from 4 - they were clearly a strong side.

Their strip of yellow shorts and blue shorts was a violent visual clash with Harry's usual kit, so it was a quick change into the spare orange jersey before the start. We were missing a couple of players through absence, and injury, and also missing our mascot "Pebble" (Luke's dog). Some superstitious players were a little concerned about the omens.

Brickhill seemed tired in the first half and Westoning, by contrast, were very lively. There were chances at both ends before the yellows broke the deadlock to take a 1-0 lead after 12 minutes. They added to this a few minutes before half time. There could have been more goals either way, but 2-0 down was the situation at the break.

Brickhill looked downhearted and it appeared we could be heading for a first defeat.

However, the situation changed with the first home goal. Niall created a scoring situation for Elijah who found the very corner with a confident left foot. Niall scored himself just 90 seconds later, with a brilliant solo effort to level things up. Now the mood was reversed completely.

Elijah soon ran onto a long ball and took Brickhill into the lead, although his bravery was rewarded with a painful collision as well as a goal.

Brickhill now plainly had the better of the game - perhaps the stamina training is paying dividends. Ewan with a fourth goal made the lead much more secure with less than 10 minutes to go, and finally Greg added a 5th to secure the win.

5-2 the final score. 5 wins from 5 - how long can it continue ?

Mock turtle

Karen is in Northern Ireland visiting a friend. Football tomorrow (both sides unbeaten so far - a big game. Harry has a bad cold but he should be OK I think).

Pending news of the game, I thought I would show you a picture of Mr. Turtle. He came to live with us a few months ago. No one knows where we came from, or how he got here. He lives in the front garden and - being a turtle (or tortoise perhaps) - he moves around quite slowly. Most recently he was sitting under a palm tree, when this photo was taken.

Unlucky for some

Top vs Bottom clash today.

Bedford Park Rangers had scored only one goal in their previous three matches, and had nul points to show for their efforts. However, warming up for the match, they looked up for it. The attitude of the coaching staff and the boys was top-rate, also.

In the match, though, it was one-way traffic. It was hard for the non-expert to tell exactly what was wrong: certainly the energy and commitment seemed to be there, and they didn't seem to get downhearted. Also their goalkeeper seemed very sound (it didn't appear as though he could have conceded 13 in one game, and 22 in three games).

However, Brickhill created more chances, and converted more of those. It wasn't pretty, but they led 1-0, then 2-0, then 3-0. One for Elijah and two for Fred at this early stage. BPR got one back, but were 5-1 down by half-time.

In the second half it was hard to keep count, and in the end it was a crushing 13-1 victory for top-of-the-table Brickhill. Hat-tricks for Elijah and Niall. Two each for Fred and Luke. Ewan and Greg also on the scoresheet. BPR were gracious in defeat.

As you might imagine, there wasn't much for Harry to do although BPR might have had one or two more goals if their luck had been better.

100% record from the first 4 games certainly ensures Brickhill carry a clear lead into the next game - their first home match. Westoning, who will be much tougher, are the opposition.

Top That !

To our surprise, Leighton did not win at the weekend. As a result, Brickhill are top of the division. Really, they should stay top on Sunday when surely they can beat BPR who have conceded 22 goals to 1 scored.

A close won thing

A third consecutive trip to Luton today - this time to face Sundon Park Rangers. When Harry & I arrived 45minutes before kick-off, Sundon already had a full squad of 16 (the maximum allowed) in highly organized pre-match training. Obviously they meant business, and wanted the opposition to know it.

When our 2 Sams arrived with just minutes to go to kick-off (having been talked in by mobile phone), Brickhill had its full 15 available. The match, in fact, was underway a minute or so before the official 10:30 time-slot.

The first half was not a thing of beauty. Brickhill quickly made a defensive error and fell 1-0 behind, only to find an equalizer within 60seconds - either Angus or Fred may claim the goal. Greg added a second after 12 minutes, to see Brickhill edge in front.

Unfortunately, Brickhill conceded either side of half-time to be 2-2 at the break then very quickly 3-2 behind.

Now, it seemed, Brickhill woke up and Ewan made it 3-3 with a powerful strike which Sundon's excellent keeper couldn't stop. And almost immediately, Elijah sprung onto Sam's long ball to make it 4-3.

Brickhill's trademark 6-3 victory looked possible when Greg scored his second header of the game (5-3) and then with a few minutes to go, Elijah made a break from the half-way line and was one-on-one with the keeper. It seemed he must score, but the goalie kept his cool.

Instead, Sundon now found a 4th and it was a nail-biting conclusion to the match as they pressed and pressed for a way to level the match. 3 corners in the last minute of the match were somehow all defended and the whistle finally signalled a 5-4 away win for the Hawks who will have a great chance to make it 4 wins from 4 next weekend against struggling Bedford Park Rangers.

Seconds Out

The Bedfordshire FA have now published the results and league online. Admittedly the format leaves something to be desired, but it's all there.

Here is the salient part:



Leighton beat Bedford Park Rangers 13-0 last week! Brickhill play Sundon Park Rangers tomorrow (the 4th placed team). A third win awaits, hopefully.

Open All Ours

Some of the people who wanted to read this blog (albeit that's a small number to begin with) have had trouble with the Google sign-up process. So for the moment, I have unrestricted the blog.

A matter of perspective

This morning I came into work from my hotel near City Airport. Now that the Jubilee Line and DLR extensions are both in place, the transport links out there are really quite impressive and the difference in the skyline since we lived in Beckton never ceases to amaze.

DLR to Canning Town, then Jubilee. I arrived at Canary Wharf travelling West on the Jubilee, which I have never done before. As a result, I exited to ground level on a different elevator bank, and I surfaced on Upper Bank Street.

I knew this was extremely close to my target, but such is the pace of building at the Wharf and the sameness of all the new buildings, that I couldn't tell exactly where I was. I looked up and recognised some of the logos, but couldn't see the famous "Canary Wharf" tower.

I strode off in what I thought would be the right direction and eventually, after traversing at least 3 sides of a square arrived pretty much where I started but facing a different way and now I could see it - I was so close to it that the telltale pyramid top was invisible.

10 minutes = 50 metres - not a new land-speed record ... will try to improve on that tomorrow morning !

Same Again

Match 2 of the Chiltern League campaign today, and the 2nd of many Sunday morning trips down the A6. A majority of the teams are based in and around Luton. Bushmead were the opposition today, playing at the Sixth Form College.

The official website is not yet carrying results, so we are somewhat in the dark about Brickhill's exact standing in the league. There were rumours of some big scores last week, so in all likelihood someone is further ahead than our +3 goal difference.

All 15 squad players were available today (both physically and administratively), although both Romeo and Sam were wearing #5 on their shirts due to late delivery of the new kit. The referee was consulted, and agreed to allow both to be on the pitch simultaneously if need be.

It turned out to be an excellent match, played in good spirit by all. Brickhill were generally better placed throughout, but the result was never a foregone conclusion.

New signing Josh opened up the scoring with his first competitive goal for the club. In truth, it was a cross not a shot, and the keeper should have held onto it. However, they all count. It looked like 1-0 might be the half-time score, but a flurry of action started with a Bushmead counterattack, and Harry was beaten by a very composed finish.

Now, Brickhill countered with a well-worked goal from Greg and then a beautiful volleyed effort from the edge of the area which gave Bushmead's goalie no chance at all. A second goal for Josh, and 3-1 at the break.

In the second half, play was a little scrappy. Brickhill failed to take their chances and Bushmead pulled a goal back from a corner which wasn't defended at the back-post. One for the coaches to work on.

The opposition were now creating a number of chances and 3-3 looked likely, but goals from another debutant (Dominic), and from captain Ewan made the score 5-2. It still was not over, though, and sustained pressure from the home side resulted in a 3rd goal for them.

Finally, Brickhill closed out the game with a side-footed finish by Greg from Elijah's corner. 6-3 the final score - for the 2nd match in a row. Certainly if they win every match 6-3, the title is secure !

Starting Out

Welcome to the new blog.

It took less than 3 months for from vegas to Vegas and back again to receive 1,000 hits from all over the world. Tales from number 54 is going to be more of an internet backwater - I am not sure it will ever reach 1,000 hits.

If you are reading the blog, it means you have received an invitation - this blog is exclusive !

What to expect from the blog ? "Less of the same" is probably the answer.

However, since you are all VIP members of a small club, you can influence the content. In fact, if you'd like to contribute to the blog, let me know and I will add you as an author. It is extremely easy to post and I expect it is even easier when someone else (me) has set up the blog itself for you.

I hope you enjoy the blog !