Season half-way point

No goals

That's very much been the case so far this season. And last nights 'top-of-the-table' clash between Leicester and Man City also ended 0-0. Goalkeepers making fantastic saves accounting for this score line, much as it did at Old Trafford on Monday evening.
But the facts are that few teams have scored more goals after 19 games compared with the same number of games last season. See below contrasting Premiership table, now with a year ago.

* Arsenal, though top, have scored one less goal than they had when placed 5th a year ago.
* Chelsea have scored a whopping 18 less goals, Man Utd 11 less.
* Obviously Leicester have scored more (20), as have Tottenham (9), Palace (3) & Everton (6).
* Remarkably though so have Sunderland (3) and Villa (4) despite being the bottom two right now.

Not being much of a fan of Christmas songs I've avoided picking any for my 'Music Spot' - every year we say Christmas comes around before we know it, which means the same old songs start playing all over again, that I find by the time Christmas Day arrives I've had enough of sleigh bells and their like.
I still enjoy one or two Carols and certain songs at Christmas, but much like the prolonged build up to the festive season, it's not what it was…!

That said, the occasion has got the better of me, and I offer you a new release. The Courteeners "Winter Wonderland" -  It looks beautiful on a postcard,  It's bloody annoying after a day

An alternative Christmas song I heard a month ago on BBC Radio London's - Gary Crowley Show and again the other day, which jogged (or jingled) my memory. 

Makes a welcome change from Slade and Wizzard !  I hope you agree.

All profits from the single will go to Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity.

From bottom last year, Leicester will be top of the table this Christmas. Incredible turn around, but are they riding their luck or making it? Certainly a year ago by contrast they were not enjoying any good fortune. Now they're making things happen…

At Chelsea on Saturday fortunes also took a turn for the better. Branislav Ivanovic scored his first goal of the season, from a corner. A ball into the box then bounces off a defender right into the path of one of our forwards and finally the ref awards us a penalty. Three goals and three things that previously had not happened this season in a league game. No luck previously and then we make some with an improved performance? The thin line of success and failure illustrated in 90 minutes, probably little comfort to Managers all over the country.

Apart from half the Premiership games resulting in an away win this weekend, there were quite a few penalties too. Bournemouth's maybe the luckiest (they're on a bit of a lucky streak at the moment) and Leicester won two penalties - though I can't help myself saying Jamie Vardy doesn't jump over on rushing goalkeepers anything like as well as Loic Remy can. Still bugs me that …!

Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to… Christmas 50 years ago.

18th December, 1965. For the third year in a row the No.1 Christmas single on the UK Hit Parade would belong to The Beatles. The double 'A' sided "Day Tripper / We Can Work It Out".

The group had also released a new album and this too was top of the LP Chart. "Rubber Soul" contained one their best songs "In My Life". So that's today's slice of Christmas Past.

Notes: 

"In My Life", was voted 5th favourite Beatles track by Rolling Stone magazine in 2011.

The 'baroque' influenced instrumental section, is a piano recorded at half-speed then played back at normal speed to sound like a harpsichord. 

Now and again a place turns up in the news and out comes the World Atlas to discover exactly where this place is: (On page 92 of my atlas) I found Baikonur, where today Tim Peake blasted off to the International Space Station on board a Soyuz rocket. 
The Baikonur Cosmodrome is located in Kazakhstan, approximately 2,100 k (1,300 miles) southeast of Moscow, Russia.

Astronaut 'Major Tim' will spend 6 months on the Space Station.

What's the difference between an astronaut and a cosmonaut ? Nothing !
The distinction is that they are titles awarded by different space agencies. They both mean essentially the same thing. Cosmonaut is used by the Russian Space Agency. Astronaut is used by NASA, ESA, CSA, and JAXA.
  
"Note to Jules Verne"
The International Space Station, travelling at roughly 17,150 mph, goes around the world in 90 minutes.

Grounds for Improvement (2)

AFC Wimbledon's plans on 'Coming Home' have seen their application for a New stadium approved by Merton Council. See: http://www.afcwimbledon.co.uk/club/new-stadium/
On the site of the current Greyhound stadium, in Plough Lane, which has been in need of serious improvement for many years, this sees AFC Wimbledon, formed from the ashes of the original Club, who moved out of Plough Lane in 1991 before relocating to Milton Keynes and being renamed MK Dons, return to their spiritual homeland. 
I know plenty of people who'll be pleased by this news. More: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/first-look-at-flats-to-be-built-alongside-new-afc-wimbledon-stadium-in-plough-lane-a3136541.html

What is it with MOTD and Offsides ?

Another Saturday and Match of the Day once again found no stomach to review the offside in the Crystal Palace v Southampton game. Yannick Bolasie was definitely 'off' when passed to, prior to supplying the cross for the winning goal.

The Lucky Strike award must go to Manchester City, as Yaya Toure's injury-time shot hit Iheanacho and looped over the goalkeeper's head. Bad luck Swansea, again !

Champions League Draw

Was not kind to the two London clubs, with a sense of deja vu thrown in as Arsenal get Barcelona and Chelsea draw PSG. 1st leg in Paris on February 16th, return leg at the Bridge, March 9th.

Graphic of the Day

8pm, kick-off this evening

I had a request for something uplifting this week and my thoughts went back to a video I'd seen earlier this year just after my son went off on his travels. The message is "Live a life you will remember", from Sweden's Electronic Dance Artist: Avicii with 'The Night's'.
So this one's for fathers everywhere and thinking of Scott. See you very soon.

Around the World in 80 Days

I have just finished reading Michael Palin's book "Around the World in 80 Days". Before you stop me and protest, I know Jules Verne wrote this book back in 1873, roughly 115 years before Michael Palin's recreation of the journey in 1988, but it's his trip that I've just been on.
Due primarily to the fact that I left the book at the van to read only on weekends, it has taken me rather longer than 80 days to complete. But his circumnavigation of the globe ended on December 12th, so I did at least manage to catch him up.

Some of you will remember the BBC tv series aired during October/November of the following year, and note as reflected upon in the book's preface that 'this was just the beginning' for Michael Palin's Travels. In the introduction he says "The compulsive urge to travel is a recognised physical condition. It has its own word, dromomania, and I'm glad to say I suffer from it."
I realised of course I have the same problem, known to me as 'wanderlust'. And I'm glad too. Though it's odd to think the desire to escape the world by actually travelling around it, is an interesting contradiction.
The book of the series of the journey is full of typical Michael Palin observations and humour. Here's s few extracts: 
Day 1   "In a shoulder bag I carry my diary, a small dictaphone recorder for on-the-spot notes, a camera, the BBC's Get By In Arabic, a Kingsley Amis novel, some extra-strong mints, a packet of 'Family Wipes', an address book and an inflatable globe to enable me to check on our progress. Phileas Fogg would doubtless have regarded all this as clutter, but it's still less than I would take on a two-week holiday."
Nearing the end   "I lie in bed this morning and seriously consider what it will be like to be back home. Up till now I've not allowed my thoughts to take such morale-threatening direction for very long, and the thought of a return to city life is not, this morning, as tempting as I expected it to be. In fact I could easily go round again."
Day 78   "Forty-eight hours to go before the deadline. Fogg at this same stage was literally burning his boat in an attempt to get the Henrietta to Liverpool….

A last few deep breaths of sea air and back to my cabin to pack my bag and deflate my world for the last time."

The whole book is on-line at http://palinstravels.co.uk/book-4  if you want to read it. 

I'll leave you with one final thought from the book's Afterword, which feels as relevant now as it seemed back then. "Travel of this kind, travel when the hands get dirty, when contact is made, brought home to me how much we all see of the world on television and in the newspapers, and how little we know of it."

Match of the Day

Still suffering from the weekends results that once again provided as many surprises as it did inconsistencies in the refereeing decisions. Yes, that old chestnut I'm afraid.
Offside, use to be either given or not. Now we have variations of marginal, way off by a mile and flagged but level, so not offside. This provided goals for Bournemouth and Leicester but not for Liverpool. In the case of Leicester's second goal scored by Mahrez (clearly very offside) Match of the Day didn't even bother to review it after showing the match highlights. Bad luck Swansea!
Was this so surprising ? 
MOTD was on for 90 minutes and featured 8 Premiership games. With all the in-between chatter and after match analysis of say roughly 5 minutes per game, this left only just over 6 minutes of highlights shown of the actual football played. Barely enough time to see any of the action, let alone all the replays of the important incidents. Time for MOTD to be on longer or simply not show highlights of every match played? Or, dare I say, cut out a lot of the unnecessary chatter and interviews?

As is often the case there were bookings and missed fouls that video evidence may yet see punished. Schweinsteiger of Man United is in the frame for his elbow in the face of West Ham's Reid, however Fellaini isn't for his stamp, which also went unpunished at the time. While WBA's McClean should have seen a red card and not just a yellow for his challenge on Dembele of Spurs.
Next week, penalties, perhaps ?

For those of you who missed the bus from Inverurie to Annan at the weekend (see last weeks Scottish Cup action reply) you would have been more distraught, as the replay was a late postponement due to high winds. As Annan is not actually in the highlands but close to the English border the obvious headline "High Winds in the Highlands" didn't apply. 
You Loco fans keen to know how they fair, the game is due to take place this evening.

Having enjoyed my birthday the other day I'm going to exercise further self indulgence today with this week's track featuring a drum cover of Biffy Clyro's 2004 track 'Glitter and Trauma'.
Some of you will spot the 'cool' drummer, those of you who don't, will just have to guess*.

To view larger, hit Full Screen [   ] or this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN3qumPrBQQ

If you're not familiar with Biffy Clyro, liked what you heard and want to hear more, then just click here: https://www.youtube.com/user/biffyclyro 

* Answers on a postcard to 'Friday Music Spot'  ℅ gmail.com    Or comment below.

Happy Birthday to me

The label's small print bottom right says PALE ALE for post-match commentary.
Unmistakably appropriate gift. 

Cheers to everyone for all the best wishes 

Bill x

Sports Desk

Grounds for improvement

For those of you who missed this, Chelsea FC submitted a planning application to the Council yesterday for a new stadium at Stamford Bridge.
See:  www.lbhf.gov.uk/stamfordbridgegrounds
It's very comprehensive with 210 plans and documents to view (if you have the time). My photo taken of the model is below.

Inverurie Loco Works v Annan Athletic - Scottish Cup 3rd Round

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/scotland/34974756 Video (only available to UK users) of last Saturdays cup tie that ended 4-4, showing Neil McLean's last minute solo goal equaliser. Remarkable effort that fools the Scottish keeper. No comment !!!
- Replay is this weekend, 5th Dec. Bus leaves at 7.30am. It's a long way from Inverurie to Annan.

Early Kick-off View

Another week goes by as the Premiership compacts once more and the top of the table changes yet again. Five draws from the 10 matches played means no one is setting any pace as every team continues to take points off each other. 
Compare the tables from this season with last, after 14 games it's all very tight. The statisticians are working out the points required for Chelsea to make fourth place and telling us how many games we have to win to achieve this. As it stands I can't see previous seasons statistics being of much comparison. It's really all to play for…

Performance of the weekend

Britain's tennis players Davis Cup win against Belgium. Brilliant !

Here's another recently discovered track from years ago.

Every Sunday on BBC Radio 6 Cerys Matthews (formerly lead singer with Catatonia) presents her show 'Cerys on 6'. It is never short of a real mixture of interesting music from around the world. I'm forever jotting down the names of someone or other whose music she is playing. 

The track today was heard on her show a few weeks back. From 1982 it's Rory Gallagher. Great riff !

Stocking up for Christmas

As we approach the season of goodwill, time to get some extra supplies of medication to see you through the celebrations. 
This will not be the first or the last time you'll hear me say this, but a visit to your nearest Lidl supermarket could save you pounds, especially on pints.
Their craft beer section has been revamped and the choice is bordering on the bewildering as much as the intoxicating. See full list at: http://protzonbeer.co.uk/news/2015/07/08/beer-range-grows-lidl-by-lidl 
Traditionally bottled beers at Lidl have been cheaper than most other supermarkets and these latest additions are priced at £1.49 or less, significantly cheaper than Oddbins and similar outlets.
I recommend checking out their Hatherwood beer selection. My personal favourite is the IPA 'The Green Gecko' at £1.25, and with a lager, a stout and even a ginger beer to tempt you, along with the cheaper Ruby Rooster and Golden Goose, there's quite a choice. They're all brewed by Wychwood - who make Hobgoblin and since 2002 Brakspear beers - so this is the real McCoy. 

Well stocked for Christmas - my medicine cabinet.

View from the BRIDGE

I lost my voice after the game on Saturday. All that screaming at Diego Costa to get in the centre and into the box and score a flaming goal. I'm glad he eventually heard me, so maybe it was worth it.
Chances not being taken have been another of our problems so far this season, but a good performance finally yielded 3 points and a clean sheet. Onwards and ever so slightly upwards, due to this seasons trend of teams beating each other and no one stretching a lead at the top. This time last season Leicester City were bottom of the Premiership, now they are top! Well done to the Foxes.

One-name team

"New York, New York, so good they named it twice" - goes the song. But in Football it's the opposite. Edison Arantes do Nascimento, was known throughout the world as simply Pelé.
This weekend Chelsea started the game against Norwich with Kenedy, Willian and Pedro playing. Before the end replacements Ramires and Oscar were on the pitch with the final addition of Cesar Azpilicueta, who is known as 'Dave'. 

Who can argue with this one-named team as four of the last five Chelsea 'goals of the season' have been scored by Brazilians. "Ramires, he's just called Ramires". 

Dodgy Penalty Award of the week goes to Andre Ayew of Swansea in the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth. Contrast his attempt to stay on his feet with that of Loic Remy leapfrogging to avoid Jack Butland at Stoke, two weeks back. One was a penalty, one wasn't, just not the deserving one. Just saying!

The bit of luck award is shared in my opinion. Well done to Jamie Vardy for scoring in 10 consecutive matches, but Saturday at Newcastle he was lucky to not to be flagged offside when he scored. Most of his body was offside, even if his feet weren't, but when the lucks with you. If it had been called offside, it would have only been written off as marginal, just a bit of bad luck.
West Bromwich Albion share this award with scoring twice against Arsenal with only one shot on target all game. Also, I think, WBA's Olsson blocks Mertesacker off, as the free-kick comes in and is volleyed home by Morrison. 

That's my view.

Out today is the latest in the incredibly successful series of compilation albums 'Now That's What I Call Music!' This one is number 92! Not that I possess any of the previous 91 in my CD collection and I'd be fibbing if I told you I knew more than a handful of the 46 tracks contained on this latest offering.
One track I do know, and like, is 'Wings' by Birdy.


One week on from the Paris terror attacks this seems a suitable song for this weeks music spot.

Newsdesk

In a week full of bad news here's some welcome better news.

To heard the song, to see the people smile and to listen to the story click here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-34849465

Date(s) for the diary

Congratulations to the final qualifying teams for the European Championships 2016: Hungary, Sweden, Ukraine and especially the Republic of Ireland.

Margaret's mother is Irish <Edenderry, County Offaly> and as a result I am related in-law to various aunts, uncles and numerous 'once or twice removed' cousins in the Emerald Isle. Therefore Monday night I found myself supporting them against Bosnia-Herzagovina as they won their play-off match.

See 34 seconds of mad celebrations at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34841990

With 4 'Home' Countries involved in the tournament my continued support will be a different matter next year. The Draw for which - 24 teams in 4 pots into 6 groups (A to F) - takes place on 12th December.

The tournament runs from 10th June to 10th July 2016.

PS: Congratulations also to Iceland - as a country of only 329,000 people, that's quite an achievement. See more at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30012357

Every now and then you discover a track from way back and can't imagine how you'd missed it until now. A month ago this track came to my notice and 'blew my mind' just as it no doubt would have done in 1971 when it was first released.
'Maggot Brain' is not typical Funkadelic (which might be why I'd missed it). For this one you'll need your Hippy Hat on and maybe long hair as opposed to your dancing shoes!
In the words of John Peel "This one fades in slowly". The video image below will ask you to go direct, so Click here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh3bleXWaCk

If you like this there's more on YouTube. Guitarist Eddie Hazel played the original but was replaced in Funkadelic by Mike Hampton. Check out the live versions featuring him.

I'm hoping to make 'The Friday Music Spot' a regular feature. It's finally Friday and the weekend starts here, so turn up the volume.

Test Entry

This is only a test…
And sharing the mandb blog profile, it's not quite as separate as I'd intended.

This Blog in the future may shift its location but for now it starts here.

Your host: contemplating what to do next.

"Looking at my introduction to Bill Blogs I see I've covered most of the six 'Trivial Pursuit' categories. That sounds about right, presenting a slice of life, in colourful wedges."