Sunday 30 December 2012

Everton 1 Chelsea 2

This was my first visit to Goodison Park this season and despite the score it was not a disappointment. The game was of the highest quality from start to finish. Everton went in front within a minute and they then missed countless chances to extend their advantage further. Chelsea are a team of multiple-million pound players and they earned some of their wages by gradually wearing Everton down. Frank Lampard scored twice for the visitors; but man of the match for me was Steven Piennar for a stunning display of skilful football. The financial gulf between the clubs probably decided the final result; when Chelsea made substitutions they could call upon international level footballers. As for Everton, they had to use players brought in from the youth teams.

The photograph shows the scene at the start of the game when the Park End stand held up cards to show EFC in memory of Evertonians that had died in 2012.



Dublin: a colonial and revolutionary city

The most interesting thing about Dublin is the way it manages to interweave its colonial and revolutionary past. Many of the more obvious symbols of British colonial rule have been removed, or blown up. Place names have been changed from say Queenstown or Kingstown to more Irish sounding ones. Even the old British post boxes have been painted green. All of this is completely understandable in a young nation seeking to assert a new and distinct identity. With all this in mind I was surprised - whilst walking in Phoenix Park yesterday - to come across an astonishing symbol of the old regime. It was a truly huge memorial to the biggest imperialist of them all, the Duke of Wellington. It is an impressive memorial to his military triumphs, but I am surprised it is still the major focal point in Phoenix Park.





Friday 28 December 2012

My cycling year (#2): time trials.

It was also a year of my return to time trialling. For me it is easily the hardest form of cycling, although I've not tried road racing (yet). Nevertheless I have loved taking part in the races each Tuesday evening and the pint with Nic afterwards where we discussed the results and usually posted them on Facebook. Mind you, the first event - the hill-climb - took place in dreadful conditions; my hands were too cold to change gear.

I managed to at least match the times I did twelve years ago when I last raced. Only in the five mile event did I fail to get a personal best. My best ride was the mid-season hill-climb where I improved my best time by two and a half minutes. So with a new time-trial bike I am looking forward to the new season in April. I would like to further improve times in my last season as a Vet A, in addition I want to do the 37 mile mountain time trial at least once.

The final time trial league table puts me in equal 7th place, not because I am a better rider than those behind, but due to my perseverance in riding the vast majority of races. Thank you to all those that took part and to the organisers for making the events possible.





Thursday 27 December 2012

My cycling year.

With over 6300km on the road this has been my best ever cycling year. It will be quite a challenge to match the enjoyment of the last 12 months on the bike. It is difficult to pick out the highlights, but here is my attempt. The challenge of riding a 100km event in each calendar month was a good motivator, especially during the shorter days. The 100 mile ride from Manchester in January was tough in gale force winds and a long final section in the dark. The traditional Easter ride to Bala on Good Friday in partial snow was memorable. Two long rides stand out in my memory: the first was a Rhyl Cycling Club ride led by Alan Thompson which included the climb up to Llyn Aled. I felt very strong on that occasion; Alan's film of the ride captures the day well. The other ride to stand out in my mind was the Wild Wales event in August. Perfect weather and unbelievable climbs made it a ride I will never forget, even if I did walk on Bwlch y Groes. Add the weekend of audaxing in Radnorshire, and countless other challenging rides, and 2012 has been rather special.





Wednesday 26 December 2012

Unusual signs.

This sign an be found at the end of a narrow lane near Waterville in South Kerry, Ireland. It is indeed a dangerous stretch of water. It does, though, look as if one could walk on the water.



Saturday 15 December 2012

More 11+ stuff.

  In my previous blog I noted the unfairness of the 11+ system. Out of interest here is the   mental arithmetic paper taken by eleven year olds in Flintshire in 1954.


Saturday 8 December 2012

Mind your grammar (school).

For those that nostalgically pine for the return of the grammar school this might make you think a little. I have a copy of the Flintshire Education Committee's annual report into the 11+ examination results for 1954 and it makes for a good read. It has the name of every child that passed the exam and were on their way to those 'broad sunlit uplands' of a grammar school education. The rest were consigned to the secondary moderns. The tests given to the pupils was included in the report, but these have been mention in a previous blog. However, what caught my eye this evening on re-reading the report was the numbers taking the examination and the numbers actually passing. As can be seen from the image above (taken directly from the report) in Flintshire as a whole 2,030 eleven years olds set their young brains to solve an eclectic range of questions. Only 543 were successful, which is a little under 27% of the total number of candidates. To the modern mind it seems remarkable that children at the age of 11 were selected and channelled into different life pathways. I would probably not passed the 11+ yet have benefited immeasurably from higher education; I went to what one Labour minister described as a 'bog-standard comp'.