Category: sport

Wet run?

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Full disclosure: I’m writing this yesterday. Otherwise I’d already know the outcome of this situation, see?

The story goes that I was given a rather nice, rather smart waterproof running jacket for my birthday. My birthday was a little while ago, but what with one thing and another, it’s taken a while to source the perfect jacket. After a few false starts, it arrived this week, and it is, as you will have deduced by the previous sentence, perfect.

Sadly, so is the weather, meaning that a run in a waterproof running jacket is sheer folly, given that there is no water to be proofed from.

But now here comes the good and the bad news.

A rogue October cold front heading into Cape Town today (tomorrow as I am writing this), is bringing with it several (or more) millimetres of water, in the form of rain. And this provides an ideal opportunity to test out the jacket. I was absolutely ready to go on a literal test run until last night (well, the night before last as you’re reading this) at about 10pm, when my left knee made at least some degree of contact with the corner of a rental trailer. The only real detail you knee-d to know about this encounter was that it was a genuinely unfair contest, with the few hundred kilos of steel trailer seemingly almost completely unharmed, and my outraged kneecap almost immediately pumping out an egg-sized haematoma in response. Was it my bad knee?, I hear you ask. Yes, of course it was.

Ice and rest and painkillers probably helped, and it’s just a bit stiff and sore. But while I managed a gentle gym workout yesterday (today as I am writing this), it does feel like any sort of impact work might be a bit much for the next few days.

And that’s sad, because the rain is very much just visiting for today and a bit of tomorrow, and I really want to test this jacket.

Watch this space. And avoid banging your joints on big chunks of metal.

Sound advice.

Paint all the things

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OK. Just time to squeeze a quick post in before the United game.

What a day. An absolute scorcher, and for some reason, in addition to doing all the usual, sensible jobs inside, I decided to get to painting all the bits outside that needed painting. And after that, I painted several of the inside bits that needed painting as well. Skirting boards, living room walls, bedroom walls, outside walls, gateposts, plant pots, plant troughs. If it stayed still for any length of time, it got painted.

The biggest mystery is how the beagle – which is notoriously sedentary – got away without a fresh coat of paint.

Well, that and how I’m still on my feet after 18,000 of your South African steps. If this week continues as it has been going (and how would it continue in any other way?), there’s a real chance that this will beat my 7 day record for steps. And that’s almost 130,000.

Numbers.

If it wasn’t for the match later, I’d be in bed already, but this is the last chance to enjoy evening football at a decent hour, given that the clocks go back in the UK this coming weekend, and therefore every night time game finishes at midnight.

I will still watch those games, obviously. I will just be more broken.

Horrible news

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An early night last night meant that I woke up to the news of George Baldock’s death.

Former Sheffield United defender George Baldock has died at the age of 31.
The England-born Greece international was found dead in the swimming pool of his house in Glyfada, southern Athens.
Police attempted to resuscitate Baldock at the scene but he could not be revived and medical emergency units confirmed his death, Reuters news agency reported, citing a police official.

George spent seven years at Beautiful Downtown Bramall Lane, and was one of the team that secured three promotions in those seven seasons. One of those players that epitomised the club: determined and focused, he always gave 100% out on the pitch, but was by all accounts a really down-to-earth, genuinely nice guy.

He didn’t score many, but when he did…

Despite his move to Panathinaikos at the end of last season, he was still, and will always be, a member of the Sheffield United family. And you think of him as a bit of a veteran, because he’d been at United for several seasons.

He was just 31.

UPDATE: This video…

RBOSS: IOM and Sheffield

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RBOSS continues apace. It was never going to be something that was ever going to stop, but there were (apparently forlorn) hopes that we could at least slow it down.

It seems not. Here’s that statue of the Bee Gees on the Prom in Douglas, now famous for the white line that surrounds the figures of Barry, Robin and Keith:

The statue itself is bad enough. It didn’t need treating to a DEHAZE wash drowning.
And beagle-eyed readers will notice that this one has been used on a calendar. That means that there are at least 28 days (and probably more) when this image is going to be staring at you from your kitchen (or whichever) wall.

Absolute masochism.

And then we head to Sandygate: the oldest football ground in the world, and home to the second oldest football team in the world. But not for much longer, looking at the frankly apocalyptic clouds overhead here:

To be fair, this is less RBOSS and more r/shittyHDR. But the same rules apply.

And there’s absolutely no need for fawning comments like “an amazing capture” or “beautiful [heart emoji]”. Although they are all over this post on Facebook. This image is a record of a visit to a historical, non-league stadium in suburban Sheffield, not some Hurricane Milton lookalike contest.

Remove the ridiculously over-dramatic sky and it’s just perfect at what it’s supposed to be. But now everyone’s looking at the scary clouds and wondering of any of the (somewhat meagre) fanbase survived.

They’ve forgotten that you went to watch the footy.

Completely unjustified.

I know that there are a few people out there who think that these sort of blog posts are wrong, and that art is art. And they’re definitely right on the second bit. But art (is this really “art”?) should also be open to criticism, and when it’s blown out by too many lightroom or snapseed filters or sliders, I will call it out.

Things are often actually quite nice just as they are, and they don’t need stupid amounts of editing just to try and get you a few extra likes or karma points.

Reset

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I haven’t played football in ages, and I hadn’t realised how much I missed it.

So, when the offer of a Sunday morning friendly came up – and with it, a chance to review the revamped facilities at Hellenic – I jumped at the chance.

This was a good morning, and the social afterwards only added to the fun. A real reset with some great guys. Everyone giving their utmost in the 32oC heat, but all in really good spirit.

The cold beers were never more welcome, and I can’t wait to get back to some regular games as soon as the new season starts.

In fact, all in all, it’s been a very good footballing weekend.

Related: I am BROKEN!