A nice few kms through the Green Belt in the sunshine after yesterday’s misery.
And the weather wasn’t great, either.
Busy day ahead tomorrow with at least one roof being replaced Chez 6000.
I need to go to bed.
Quota Green Belt
Here we go again then…
Before we begin this post, for the record: Yes, we won the quiz.
Some really odd questions in there.
And I didn’t think we’d try to answer one of them with “Patagonian Toothbrush”. Especially in the Food & Drink round. It wasn’t right, for a number of reasons.
But 20 teams, 100 points available, we got 88, 2nd place got 81. All good, all cool.
Much money was raised for good causes.
And there were no South African politics questions.
And so now we move onto tonight’s festivities, and by festivities, I mean the start of a new football season for Sheffield United. It’s something that I always look forward to with a mixture of excited anticipation and a hint of worry and trepidation.
But it’s ok. It’s all part of the fun and games that I’ve been going through for the last n years. And once this first game is done, then I’ll only be stressed and on edge for the next eight or nine months.
So that’s something to look forward to.
There must have been something wrong with my phone, because I never got the call from the United manager Rubén Sellés to go and play centre back in the match today. Weird.
He must think he’s got enough of a defence. I’m less convinced.
Anyway, it looks like I’ll be watching from 6000 miles… away.
COME ON YOU RED AND WHITE WIZZZZZAAAAARDS!!!!!!
THIS IS OUR SEASON!!!!!!!!*
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* terms and conditions apply
Brush up
I’m going along to a charity quiz this evening, and let’s just say that it’s been a while since I have had to remember anything trivia-esque. That’s why I find myself brushing up on the stuff I really should know, like the speed of light (299,792,458 ms-1), the capital of Togo (Lomé), and how many weeks Bryan Adams’ song Everything I Do (I Do It For You) stayed at number one in the UK singles chart (it was 16) (eish).
Before I head out, I’ll also be asking AI to give me a 250 word summary of the last couple of months in South African politics (a subject I have actively avoided of late), in case there is a Current Affairs round. Of course, AI might make up fanciful stories about recent goings-on, but they surely can’t be any more ridiculous than the actual facts. And if you know you’re going to get a question wrong at a charity quiz, you should at least try to provide some amusement for the quizmaster or mistress.
I don’t know how seriously we’re planning to take things this evening. It’s nice to challenge for the top spot, but if people are just there to have a bit of a laugh, I’ll happily sit back and let the waves of mediocrity and enjoyment gently wash over me.
I have a couple of good posts planned for next week: this is quite unusual – firstly the “good” bit, and secondly the “planned” bit – that’s not my usual style. But I plan to write in the rain this weekend and so there might actually be actual content on the blog next week.
I guess I’m telling you not to forget to pop in at some stage in the next few days.
Thanks
Phew. Almost out of time today, so just time to squeeze a couple of good news stories in.
Our geyser (hot water cylinder) deposited a few hundred litres of hot water all over the front garden yesterday, after a pressure release valve… released. It didn’t come through the ceiling, which was good, but it couldn’t be (legally) repaired, because the geyser was a relatively old geyser.
Still, fair play to our insurers and to Everlight Plumbing, who sorted out the issue with the minimum of fuss and the maximum of efficiency. We now have a new geyser and also we have hot water again. Thank [deity].
And then the final appointment for Little Miss 6000 with the surgeon after her recent op. And a clean bill of health. She even managed her first singing lesson this afternoon, which went much better than we could have hoped. And that’s good, given that she has to perform in a concert a week today.
But now I’m off for dinner, taking my passport for the journey all the way beyond the Hospital Bend and into town. The food looks lovely, but it does also look like it’s being served at a restaurant… in town.
And one that isn’t Dias Tavern.
Scary times.
Oh dear, how sad
It’s not nice when someone dies. Generally, I mean. There are several (or more) people on the planet that I certainly wouldn’t shed a tear for, and Asher Watkins is one of them, but it’s obviously sad for his family that he’s no longer with us.
Asher was a millionaire who sold ranches in the USA, and Asher died in Limpopo this week after being attacked by a Cape Buffalo.
Now, we all know that – infamously – hippos are the most dangerous big game animal in Africa. But there are plenty of others, and they’re called big game for a reason: as a human, you’re not going to come out on top in any contest with a lion, leopard, hippo, crocodile, giraffe, elephant or a buffalo.
The thing here is not that Asher died, nor the sob story that all the papers and news site shared about him and his family. It was more that Asher was a famous (in hunting circles, apparently) hunter, who hunted to [checks notes] “preserve wildlife”.*
While in Argentina he boasted of killing thousands of doves in just three days with friends.
Right. That’ll help. Not with dove numbers, but… something… maybe.
No, it was a bit of this statement which pushed me over the edge.
On Sunday while on a hunting safari with us in South Africa’s Limpopo Province, Asher was fatally injured, in a sudden and unprovoked attack by an unwounded buffalo.
Specifically the word “unprovoked”.
Which guy got killed? The one wandering around the buffalo’s territory with the big gun that he was intending to kill the buffalo with?
I’d list that behaviour quite neatly under “provocation”.
And then there’s this bit:
In a moment of fearlessness as he lived his life, he met the challenge head-on, leaving this world a man of courage, faith and adventure.
Bullshit (no pun intended). That’s absolutely not what happened in Limpopo. If he even had time to be aware of what was happening, I can absolutely assure you that in that split second, there was no fearlessness happening. Zero. Almost a metric ton of horned muscle heading straight towards you out of the bush at 50 kph?
Well, ok. Maybe the head-on bit is right, but as mentioned above – only ever going to be one winner in that contest.
And there was.
FAFO, as I believe is all the rage for the young people to say these days.
I don’t know. I eat meat, and I’m pretty sure that animals have to be killed for that. I just don’t really see the need to go out into the wild and kill stuff just for the “sport”? Because I never really saw hunting as sport: arguing that in sport, both players need to know they are playing, and further agreeing with Sep Guardiola that:
Maybe, after Asher Watkins’ defeat (and demise), I need to reevaluate those criteria a bit.
It was clearly game on – and then game over – in Limpopo.
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* Yes, I know there are potential reasons behind his statement, but you can’t pick and choose; giving with one hand while taking away with the other. There’s no conservation value in what he was trying here.