Center Parcs - always a great break

We've been to Center Parcs many times over the last 25 years. The first time, our eldest (now 25) was about a year old. This time both our grown up kids came along  plus my sons's best mate. We went as we always have to the Longleat resort.

The Rapids in daylight

The Rapids at night - an absolute must!

I've blogged a couple of time about our visits, this one in 2006 and this one in 2010 so I won't go into the minutiae again - a basic summary is that it's a midweek or weekend break in the forest, with a tropical indoor pool area (free), and a gazillion activities (mostly extra cost) that can be done if that's your bag. Plus restaurants, and well furnished accommodation that range from basic (but nonetheless well equipped) to luxurious. It can be expensive (and overall accommodation prices are hiked horribly to co-incide with school holidays), but at the end of the day you can take it or leave it. We love it. A good friend of mine is also an advocate, and he's also blogged about it previously.

The Pancake House

I suppose having written before about what you can do the key things for me are the way I've seen the place change over the years. It's still fundamentally what it set out to be. Good family fun. The lodges have been uprated and improved over the years, newer, executive style lodges and even tree house accommodation is now available. We pushed the boat out this time in a 3 bedroom executive style lodge complete with sauna! Also new (for us since last time) is that you get given a green wristband(s) which acts as your key to your lodge and key for your locker in the Subtropical Swimming Paradise. It certainly makes you 1) less likely to lose a key, and 2) not have to faff around trying to find £1 coins.

Our 3 bedroom Executive Style Lodge

The restaurants have changed. There are many more activities that have appeared over the years. The Sports Bar has a TV at almost every table. The (free) wifi right across the estate is pretty decent in the Plaza's and accommodation, and if you can't get wifi at least you can (mostly) get a 3G/4G signal these days.

Our lodge interior (downstairs)

Our lodge interior (downstairs) with a well equipped kitchen 

The new tube rides (Cyclone and Typhoon - free as they're part of the sub-tropical swimming paradise) are great, although inevitably the queues build pretty quickly and waits can be long for a short thrill ride - but arguably worth it!

In the Dome - there were people about - honest!

Sports Plaza (it's much bigger than this!)

Inside the Dome

We had a fabulous time on our long weekend break. Plenty of pool/slides/rapids/tube rides time, a couple of meals out at Las Iguanas and the excellent and highly recommended Rajinda Pradesh Indian restaurant. Although some of our party were carrying various injuries between us we played badminton, table tennis, snooker, pool, min-golf (indoor and outdoor), the girls spent time in the Aqua Sauna spa, we watched sport, drank beer and wine (and cocktails), went on a nature walk on the estate, rode bikes and played 10 pin bowling. I think that's a pretty impressive effort for a weekend!

One of the many Coastal Redwoods on the estate

Unfortunately the weather can't be guaranteed we had one decent (but overcast) day and the Sunday was hit and miss with some heavy rain showers, but that didn't stop us! As I said of one of our previous visits, the beauty of this format is that even if you're only been for the weekend, you leave feeling like you've had a real break from reality. Chill with a glass of wine, or be as active as you want. The choice is yours. Will we be going again? Absolutely!

There are paths galore

All the paths are well laid out, generally well lit at night when the forest looks and feels remarkable different, Keep your eyes open for squirrels, badgers, foxes, owls and even deer.

You're not far from nature anywhere!

Center Parcs at night near our lodge

There a quietness about the place at night, even though it's 900 lodges are generally at 97% capacity (so we were told). The site is 400 acres, so there's plenty of room and places for those occupying the lodges to disappear to, and although inevitably the Sub Tropical Swimming Paradise, key rides, and Sports Plaza and popular activities can be very busy at times, there are plenty of quieter opportunities.

Heaven's Gate (just outside Center Parcs with view over Longleat - when it's not foggy!)

You're right next to Longleat Estate and the Safari Park (or very nearly - you won't get eaten by lions).

The magic of the FA Cup: City 2-2 Carlisle

FA Cup 3rd round day. One of the biggest football days of the season. David's v Goliath's. Or in this case Cardiff City v Carlisle United. Separated by around 300 miles and 50 or so league places, it should have been a walk in the spork for City, especially given Neil Harris, the City manager's resolve to bounce back after a 6-1 hammering by QPR on New Year's Day. But this is Cardiff City, and things never, ever go to plan. There were multiple changes to the squad as expected, but it was still a decent XI on paper. City appeared to be denied a penalty by the inconsistent referee within the first few minutes, only to concede a penalty themselves 11 minutes in, which was scored on the rebound after 'keeper Smithies saved the original shot.

City were all over the place, and chants by the decent number of travelling fans of "You're fucking shit" couldn't really be argued with. In fairness to the visiting fans, that wasn't the only song they had, and the predictable "Championship - you're having a laugh" and renditions of God Save The Queen were wheeled out, and they did their best to create some sort of atmosphere. With less than 5,300 fans in total, and the Grange, Grandstand and Canton stands closed there was never going to be any atmosphere from the City faithful.

But back to the football - if you can call it that. A Premier League side only last season, Cardiff's stock plan seems to be pass sideways, sideways, sideways, then back and hoof long. Come to think of it, that was our plan in the Premier League too. There's no visible plan, let alone a plan B. There's little quality on or with the ball, and a lack of composure and urgency right round the team. City had a fair bit of the ball, but could do nothing with it. Carlisle compounded City's woes by going 2-0 up on the stroke of half time, and the Bluebirds were roundly booed off at the break.

Manager Neil Harris said after the game there was no ranting at half time (there bloody well should have been), but City did come out of the blocks after the break for 10 minutes at least, pulling back a goal through Callum Paterson and then equalising  via a Gavin Whyte header (despite a suspicion that the ball had gone out of play before he scored), but any glimmering hopes of a City comeback win faded as they reverted to type and despite a (slightly) better second period, they failed to break down the visitors defence. Indeed, Carlisle had a couple of late chances to nick it, and whilst that might have objectively been harsh, you wouldn't have been surprised had they done so.

There were less boos at full time, but a hugely disappointing afternoon following on from the QPR game and the prospect of an unwanted long distance midweek replay beckons, but I suppose at least we're still "in the hat" for the 4th round.

More worryingly, the next home game is the fabled South Wales derby, with our friends from down west hoping to do the league double over us. On this form, who'd bet against it? Not me.

New Year 'up North' - waterfalls and castles

Travelling abroad for holidays often makes me think how small the UK is. But it's not really. A trip to Barnard Castle in County Durham for New Year with a whole bunch of family brought it home to me.  For a start there's the getting there. It's a bloody long way. 304 miles to be precise the way went which keeping (roughly) to speed limits and allowing for a stop or two, took us around about 6 hours. Unlike the rest of my family, I always enjoy the "getting there" aspect of any trip. Despite being behind the wheel, I always find it interesting to go to (or past) places I've rarely/never been or only read about or seen on TV/film/social media (delete as applicable). County Durham, and indeed a lot north of Birmingham is relatively unfamiliar territory for me so signs to York, Ripon, Harrogate, Wensleydale (and even Doncaster, Barnsley and Rotherham) make me wonder what these places are like (I've actually been to Harrogate a couple of times, but not the other places).

Anyway, we got safely to our lodgings adjacent to a livery stable in Barnard Castle and unloaded for a couple of days chilling with family.

On New Year's Eve, wanting to make the most of our trip we ventured out - eventually. Have you any idea how difficult it is to corral 17 people and 6 dogs to leave (and arrive at a designated place) at the same time!

We drove a few miles into wilder country to High Force waterfall on the Tees river. One of the most impressive waterfalls in England, it was certainly in fully flow when it appeared out of the trees on the well maintained short path to it from the car park.

Countryside near High Force, County Durham

High Force waterfall from the path

The walk to High Force

Myself and my good lady at High Force

It's an impressive site as you at first hear the waterfall as the path winds round and then comes into view, the river Tees plunging 70 feet into the pool below. I've seen some waterfalls in the Welsh valleys, but this is a step up on them (with apologies to my Welsh family and friends!). The river then continues downstream, the water dark and brooding, even if not very deep. We retraced our steps, and then took a walk slightly downstream, across a bridge and back up the other side of the valley to get close and personal with the falls from the top.

The Tees downstream of High Force

High Force from the far side of the valley.

The Tees just before it plunges over High Force

A little bit of artistic licence as the Tees starts its plunge down

We were lucky that the light was good, the river was in full flow to see this most impressive waterfall.
After our walk we had a quick refreshment stop at the High Force Inn by the car park (you actually have to pay to go down to the falls - tickets available at the hotel, but it's only a couple of quid, and worth it for the well maintained track and safety fencing).
After refreshing ourselves we drove back and had a very quick stop in Barnard Castle. The castle itself was closed, but again, a mightily impressive site sitting on the banks of the Tees in the evening sun.

The bridge over the Tees at Barnard Castle

Barnard Castle itself

I suppose the point of this blog, aside of sharing some phots of an impressive waterfall, is to reinforce that we live in a country with some wonderful areas of outstanding natural and historical beauty. There are many, many places in the UK that I've never been in my 60 years on this planet, and although it 'feels' like this was a long trip, in the grand context of someone who normally travels abroad at least once a year, it's not. We have a whole lot on our doorstep, and there's plenty to choose from. I'd certainly like to go back to this part of the country and spend longer exploring. And I've got family who live barely 45 minutes from there, so it's not as if I have an excuse!

Misty Walk around Cardiff Bay

We normally go on a family walk sometime between Christmas and New Year. We're not all together at Christmas or New Year, so coming together, albeit briefly sometime in the intervening days is a great chance to catch up, get some fresh air and walk off some of the yuletide excesses.
Wit ages ranging between 8 and 70, we don't go far, and several times over the last few years we've done a circular walk around Cardiff Bay. It's ideal - at 4 miles it's far enough to make it a worthwhile walk without overkill. It's flat. It's not muddy (pretty much all paved, and certainly all paths), and there are a multitude of refreshment points half way round at Mermaid Quay. We've been blessed with some decent weather in previous years, but this year 27th December dawned gloomy and damp.
We started as normal from the free car park off Marconi Way in Penarth Marina Park and headed in a clockwise direction over the Ely via the Pony y Werin bridge.

River Ely from Pont y Werin bridge

From there we walked down past the ice rink and onto the boardwalk. The misty gloom contributed to an atmospheric picture as sailing boats in the bay slowly appeared out of the mist, one boat standing out due to its luminous sail.

Sailing boats in the bay

From the relative peacefulness of the boardwalk, we moved onto the road bridge carrying the A4232 over the Taff. Always busy and noisy, this part of the walk normally provides some great photo opportunities of the bay, but the fog played havoc with that. All we could see was one water bus coming down the Taff into the bay. In one corner near Cardiff Yacht Club, various detritus had gathered, having floated down the Taff and Ely rivers into the bay. It was fascinating, and though somewhat sad to see at least a dozen footballs in that single area that probably once gave so much fun to someone. On the plus side, it gave me a chance to post the photo to the Twitter account @lostfootballs!

Lost Footballs

Escaping the roar of road noise, we took the path into the Cardiff Wetlands reserve, heading towards the St Davids hotel, with a quick detour down the boardwalk to get closer to the various swans, dusk's, coots, grebes and other associated waterfowl that call the bay their home.
From St Davids hotel we wandered into Mermaid Quay, and met up with some more family in the Wetherspoon's Mount Stuart for some much needed refreshments!

Once fed and watered (ok, alright, beered), we walked past the rest of Mermaid Quay, the magnificent Pierhead building, the Send and Norwegian Church, before making our way past the vast empty space that until recently housed the Dr Who exhibition. On the way, it was a fantastic opportunity to take some really atmospheric snaps that the misty weather enabled of the old moorings, and various boats coming out of, or disappearing into the mist.

Old moorings

Water taxi disappearing into the gloom

Boat coming into moor

The disappearance of the Dr Who exhibition allowed for a nice reflection shot in a puddle on the concrete.

Refelections

From here we wound past the old disused locks, and onto the barrage proper. The tide was way out - as low as I've ever seen it, showing the mud flats and the deep channel into the still working port. The by now dry, if not clear day, had clearly got people out and about from their cosy homes to walk off the Christmas calories and the barrage was pretty busy. The mist was so bad, that you couldn't see Penarth Head, only the first couple of floors of St Davids hotel were visible, and the tops of the flats alongside the A4232 and across towards the Cogan spur were all but invisible.

The sea locks at the Penarth end of the barrage are always a fascinating site to behold. The deep locks, the creaks and the rushing of water over the fish ladders. The little pink shack on the end of the harbour wall was just visible with the guiding lights shining out of the mist, and as is usual, I didn't pass up the opportunity to stand on the spot that gave me the perfect shot of the concentric circles where they all come together.

Harbour entrance wall and guiding lights

Circle Art

Almost at our walks end we crossed into Penarth Marina, across the bridge and back alongside the river Ely before returning to the car park.

Penarth Marina

We've done this walk many times. Usually in dryer, bright conditions. However, the walk today gave an opportunity to see (or not see) the bay in a completely different light (quite literally), but it was no less interesting for that, and some of the photos I took I was really please with, as it provided a unique atmosphere to the shots.

It's a great walk whichever way round you do it. A decent guide can be found from Derek Brockway's "Weatherman Walking" website. The PDF of the walk is available here.

Brexit. What a stinking mess.....

I’m not a political person. I don’t trust (most) politicians from any party. Some local councillors are ok to be fair, but even then not all of them. Politicians say what they want you to hear. They can’t give a straight answer a straight question. They tell lies (remember the  big red bus and the £350 million for the NHS?) And too many of them over the years have been shown to not have any grip on reality 

I don’t profess to understand Brexit. After three years I’m still struggling to understand what a backstop is (we used to have them when I played cricket as a kid) or what ‘no deal’ really means (for the eejits out there I know at least that it isn’t not leaving the EU as some seem to think).

What I do know is this. David Cameron in his infinite wisdom (perhaps ‘wisdom’ is the wrong word here), decided to go to the country to ask whether we should leave the EU or not. Clearly no one thought for a moment that the country would vote Leave. But vote Leave they did - by a fine margin. Whoops. Didn’t see that coming. Clearly no one (we’ll Dave anyway) had really considered what leaving would mean apart from the chance to have a nice blue passport, and as a result we’ve spent the last three years trying to work it out. 

Dave, having realised his faux pas promptly legged it, and no one has seen or heard from him since. 

So the incumbent government under the leadership of Remainer Mrs May, has ploughed on regardless. “It’s what people voted for”. “It’s what they want” is what we hear. Erm, no it isn’t. It’s what just over half voted for with no understanding of what leaving would actually mean. Anyone who did  know wasn’t admitting it. Maybe people though it was about getting bendy cucumbers or gnarly tomatoes back and not being told what to do by those nasty people in Brussels. Personally I suspect many of the people who voted Leave just did so to stick one up the Tories backside, a sort of general election by proxy if you will. Anyhow, here we are. 

Brexit is less than a month away as I write this and we’re still none the clearer on what this actually means or the impact it will have. The doom mongers would have us believe there will be shortages of food, medicines, and no people to do the jobs that no British people want to do. Foreign nationals, some who have been in the UK a long tine are genuinely fearing for their future. The Brexiteers are jumping for joy that we’ll be rid of that nasty EU who tie us into legislation and stuff like that whilst hastily shifting their business and money overseas

Businesses meanwhile generally seem pretty worried by the prospect. A friend of mine in an important job in a massive organisation has said he’s had to buy shedloads of stuff (millions of pounds worth) just in case because he’s got no clue what the impact of Brexit will actually be but fears it will raise prices dramatically. And he’s a very clever chap (much cleverer than any politician I’d argue). 

What really annoys me is that we’ve spent three years buggering about. As a country we must have spent millions if not billions on this. The time, effort and energy could have been spent on things of much greater importance. The NHS for one, but many other things besides. Roads, schools, etc. You get the idea. 

It’s hard to see a resolution with any positive outcome at this point. Our leaders (and I say that with tongue firmly in cheek) keep saying it’s the will of the people (well it was about the will of half of them three years ago when we knew nothing of the mayhem to come) and that no deal is better than a bad deal -(remember eejits, that no deal doesn’t mean no Brexit).

Well for what it’s worth I think the politicians (on all sides) have well and truly put the country in a worse place now than we were three years ago, and who knows where we’ll be in another three years time.

I’m off for a pint before the country runs out of beer.  At least I’ll have a new blue passport when the time comes to renew mine. 

Photography bug

So my re-birth of interest in photography is going well. I'm getting to know my way around my new camera, but I though the only way to really start to understand it was to do a course.

I booked a Level 1 Photography course through Jessops the high street photography store. I hadn't been in a Jessops for years, and to be honest thought they were long gone.

Anyway, course booked I turned up at the Cardiff store with 5 other people at 10am on a Saturday with my camera. Our experience ranged from enthusiastic but not experienced to the more experience, but the general take, was people wanted to get the best out of their gear.

The level 1 course is pretty basic - our tutor, an engaging young lad called John, who clearly knows his stuff took us through everything from how to hold the camera properly, to aperture, shutter speed, composition, exposure and more. I knew some stuff, but learnt a lot. It was a good, fun day, and my photos have definitely improved since the day.

I've now booked onto the Level 2 course, which delves deeper into camera controls and principles, and I'm certainly enjoying my new found enthusiasm for photography.

Here are just a few samples of what I'm achieving. They're not brilliant, but they aren't bad.

Cardiff Queen Street Station

Wife and daughter on Penarth Pier

Flowers 

Canon EOS 100D: Quality gear

I must admit I like a camera. I'd class myself as an enthusiastic amateur when it comes to photography, nothing more, but whether you're like me or someone a bit more competent, there's no doubt that the right gear can make the difference.

I've owned cameras since I was knee high, including a Brownie, an old Praktica SLR, moving through old 35mm compacts. My first digital camera was a Canon Digital Ixus 55 - in fact I still have it, along with at least 3 other digital cameras ranging in age and functionality, as well as my iPhone which can take a pretty decent pic. My most recent acquisition was a Panasonic Lumix TZ60 about 6 months ago. Whilst it's a very decent camera, there are times when I feel it just doesn't cut the mustard. Sometimes it's picture quality, sometimes it's responsiveness or battery life.  Don't get me wrong - it's a very decent bit of kit and highly pocketable, and maybe I just haven't learnt to use it to the best of its abilities.

Over the last 6 months I've been lusting after a "proper" camera, and the Canon EOS 100D had caught my eye. My brother in law has one and when I gave it the once over I was impressed. It's small for a DSLR - claimed to be one of the smallest and lightest DSLR's out there, although it's still a chunky DSLR! Let's face it, you're not going to be slipping one of these into a pocket for a night out, and with additional lenses, you can find yourself lugging a fair bit of kit about.

After many weeks of humming and ahhhing, I took the plunge yesterday. My immediate reaction why did I wait so long!

Frankly, this is a stunning camera for the price. I paid £319 and with £30 cash back due from Canon, that means it's effectively £289. It comes with an 18-55m lens although you can buy it body only at around £279. I did add a 70-300mm Sigma lens for £89, which again is very decent value, and a lens that has pretty good reviews.

I'm not going to bore you with all the marketing stuff - you can find that from Canon themselves here.

What I will say is as soon as you fire this up, you know you've got a very good bit of kit. After years of compacts, and compact travel zooms, hearing (and feeling) the "thunk" of the shutter is a joy - no debate about whether you've taken the shot here! The autofocus is quick, the battery life seems great (full afternoon of shooting and hasn't dropped from full), enough settings to keep me happy, but a sensible auto option that works well. It has a large touchscreen on the rear, but I prefer taking picture with a viewfinder (which is one of the reasons I bought and like the Lumix TZ60 - it's one of the few compact travel zooms with a viewfinder option), and fundamentally it takes really good pictures.

I'm really impressed with everything about the camera. So far I've pretty much just fired off a load of shots on the auto setting, but I'll be getting to grips with the more intricate settings and possibilities in time. If you love photography, and want to make the best of it, there's no doubt that having a decent camera makes a huge difference. That's not to say that you can't take great photos with a compact, travel zoom, or even today's raft of very decent smartphones - I've taken some belters with my iPhone 6 when light and conditions are right.

So would I recommend this EOS 100D. You bet. I've fallen in love with this lovely bit of kit already.

The alternative revealing first interview of Paul Trollope - Cardiff City's new boss

New and old
New City boss Paul Trollope with former manager  Russel Slade
Courtesy of talksport

This afternoon, Wales Online published what it called "The full revealing transcript of Paul Trollope's first interview as Cardiff City boss". Having read this, I think it's neither full, nor revealing. In fact, it seems to me that this is a bunch of tired old football cliches, and answers that you would absolutely expect from a new manager - after all, we've all heard most of these answers every time a new manager is unveiled anywhere in the world.

And for the record. This isn't a dig at Paul Trollope. It's a dig at the way this story is reported. I mean, is there really any revealing substance here? Really? 

• I'm pleased to have the opportunity (well I'm glad he's not pleased about it)
• It's a challenge (No, really?)
• I will look to add (name me a new manager who hasn't said that)
• I'm a football man (thank God for that)
• I'm passionate about the game (thank God again)
• I've got a good work ethic (that'll help)
• I'm not going to compare myself to Russell (no, he's *cough* larger and got no hair)
• The fans have their views (yes we do)
• I look forward to building a positive relationship with him (the owner.....until it all goes pear shaped as it inevitably will unless you're Arsene Wenger or Alex Ferguson)
• Progress = play-offs or hopefully promotion. (no-one's going to say anything different are they?  Let's face it, he's not going to say "Mid-table mediocrity would be just fine by VT")
• We have to create positivity and belief (good, but hardly revealing) 
• We have to strengthen but I'm not telling you where. We need to add quality. (yes we do)
• I want to play progressive football (but I'm not telling you what that looks like because you'll hang me out to dry when we can't do it)
• We need to find a way to win, that is important (ah, that's the revealing bit...no I'm joking. Bloody obvious statement of the interview)

I therefore offer there, and alternative version of my imagined responses by Paul Trollope to those same questions that came to my mind whilst I was reading this. It's obviously tongue in cheek, and I hope no-one, not least Paul Trollope should he ever sink low enough to read this blog would take offence. 

Congratulations Paul. You're now the man in charge

PT: Thanks. Never saw it coming to be honest. I mean, who'd want to be the boss of this outfit? You're on a loser from the start, but the missus said she wanted an increase in her housekeeping.

It can be seen as the start of a new era, but with Russell Slade head of football and now you being confirmed it's the same faces.

Absolutely. We've just moved the labels. Russell is still the man, I'm just the front. I'm looking to bring some new staff in, add my own stamp to the club. The last cleaner we had was terrible.

Can you talk us through got process? Have discussions been going on very long?

We've been talking for months. No idea have come out of it, we just rabbit aimlessly. The Chairman said we need to give them something, do you fancy a go, it can't be as bad as it's been. Look, I'm not a football man, I'm just trying to earn a crumb. People said opportunities like this don't come round very often, but they do here. Malky, Ole, Russell and now me in the space of a couple of years. You can't say the club isn't full of opportunities.

But you would have seen the struggles that Russell faced in getting the fans support from the start. Perhaps there were some looking for a big name appointment - where can you improve on where Russell perhaps failed in that regard?

Are you saying I'm not a big name appointment? Are you? Do you know how much that hurts? I'm, as good as Neil Warnock, Roberto Di Matteo, Jose Mourinho. You'll see. The only problem I can see is when the fans shout "Do the Ayatollah Paul". I could do with an extra syllable in my name couldn't I?

Have you spoken to Vincent Tan?

I'm not allowed to say his name. We must all call him "The Owner".  I have had a number of constructive conversations with him, and he's told me get promoted or you're out. Oh, and can we shoot even more, because shooting a lot isn't working.

Did you ask him if there's money to spend?

Look, he gives me an allowance every week. What I spend it on is up to me within reason, although the prices they charge for chips and a beer in CCS are outrageous. Have you seen the cost of half a cup of hot water with a teabag in it?

Have you been set any targets?

Be in the Premier league by Christmas. I told him it's a marathon not a sprint. I don't think he gets that.

Do you know where you'd like to strengthen the squad?

All over. People say we need a striker, but frankly I think we need a few more defenders and about 6 reserve 'keepers. Strikers are over-rated.  It's getting people to come to South Wales is the problem. I mean, I know they're planning to cut bridge tolls, but these footballers are on the breadline.

What can Cardiff fans expect from you? What does a Paul Trollope team look like?

Well, it'll probably be 11 men on the pitch. Oh and they'll wear football kit and luminous boots. I like those.  I like to play progressive football as I said, so a bit of passing and if we have to shoot then so be it. 

For all that, I wish Paul Trollope well. He wasn't my choice for a new boss, but he's in now, so let's back him.

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat....

Except we don't eat goose at Christmas. Turkey of course, at least in our gaff. Sign of the times I suppose.

Which brings me on to a minor rant about the festive season. Now I'm not hugely a man of faith, although I do have my moments (not that many people would know), and it therefore may seem perverse that I'm writing this. But Christmas IS a religious festival, celebrating the birth of Jesus. I hate that it's now largely just the "Christmas holidays". An opportunity to overindulge on food, drink, presents and so on without a thought about why we are doing this.

It's bad enough that you have to dig hard to find a "holy" Christmas card amongst all the teddies and rabbits and puppies on show. Robins and holly and snow encrusted trees are at least in the general spirit of the season.

And the tat. Now don't get me wrong, I don't mind a bit of Christmas tat - a Santa hat or Christmas jumper, and various iffy decorations here and there, so long as it's not overdone. And I do like a set (or several) of Christmas lights, though I prefer traditional fairy lights to the dazzling blue and bright white type of late.

But I draw the line somewhere. And in a local "bargain" shop the other day I saw (and I kid you not) a "Musical bum" - a mooning arse that presumably when pressed somewhere plays a dodgy version of Jingle bells.




Sigh. Sad times. And it costs £2.49. Suffice it to say I won't be getting one.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Cardiff City 2-0 Reading: Some stuff we knew, and some we didn't.

Cardiff City finally ended their goal drought today as they eased past Reading 2-0 at the CCS. For the first time in a long time, fans gave the team a rousing cheer and a well deserved round of applause at the final whilst celebrating a good win against a decent side with an improved all round display. 

I'm not a micro analyst of City,  and this isn't intended tone a match report. But during the game a number of things occurred to me that would exceed  140 character tweet that is my more usual form of social media communication.

1. David Marshall is by far and away the best keeper in the Championship - and probably as good if not better than many in the Premier League. We all knew that anyway, so we didn't find that out today, but half a dozen outstanding saves - three in quick succession, reinforced that.

2. We didn't miss Peter Whittingham. I was going to write that we don't "need" Peter Whittingham, but that may be a step to far. Certainly Slade was forced to juggle his plans after Whitts missed the match though a fifth yellow picked up last time out. But I thought Ralls did a superb job in the centre, and he provided two great deliveries from set pieces for our goals. Whitts shouldn't be a shoe in. Ralls should.

3. Matt Connolly is class. Contentious maybe, as I know he has his detractors, but I've always liked him. He plays football, can play in several positions, although CB is his best spot, has a cool head and can come up with important goals.

4. Mason is good, but only when he gets service. But obvious really, but today he just looked like a short version of Alex Revell. 

5. Noone should start every match. End of.

6. In the brief time he was on, Idris Saadi looks good. Eager and hungry. But it looked like he'd tweaked his hammy just before the end.

7. Slade is still not the man for the job. 

8. Reading's kit. Meh.

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Is there anybody there?

It's not too hard to understand why attendances at Cardiff City have fallen this year.

Firstly the dire football served up last year will have inevitably put people off. Why pay several hundred pounds to watch such poor entertainment?

Secondly, albeit reasonable value by some clubs prices, it still ain't cheap. Combine that with the end of the 5 year price freeze for those like me that bought "the golden ticket", and it effectively means your paying more to watch some pretty uninspiring football.

The club has made some big noises about doing things to being back the fans. The drum at last nights game v Bristol City, or the half time "entertainment" - in this instance consisting of making small children dizzy and then trying to kick a ball into a goal - aren't really going to do it for me.

There's really only one solution. Start playing decent football and winning games. Sorted


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Back to blue, but the football's pooh

Roger Johnson - always gave it 110%

I last blogged about Cardiff City on 10th January and the return to blue.

In that post I pondered on what I thought the benefits of that rather unexpected u-turn might bring.

1. The horrendous 'beer mat' badge will be redesigned to make the bluebird far more prominent, but also an interestingly incorporate elements "representative" of VT's culture and beliefs.
   
   Outcome: Well, we'll see on Monday went the new badge is unveiled. VT says we'll love it as the bluebird features prominently and there's a lovely oriental dragon on it. I'll hang fire on this until I see it.
   
2. Season ticket prices would be levelled off bringing parity between the price freeze people like me and others.
   
   Outcome: As expected, it's a bit more for price freeze people, and a bit less for others. Still decent value, or at least it would be if the football was any good - more on that later.
   
3. I suggested a lot of people are going to start buying merchandise if was blue and has a better badge.
   
   Outcome:It's probably too early to tell, and there's not a load of blue stuff available yet, but I think this will pick up. It may be dependent on that mysterious new badge though.
   
4. The crowds will also pick up. The happiness factor about going back to blue will bring people back who said they'd never return whilst we were in red, as well as help the general demeanour and atmosphere at games, where the crowd can direct support at the team rather than venting frustration and anger at the directors box. Just the feel good factor should help crowd numbers.
   
   Outcome: Er......Well this is awkward. According to Ali when he announces the attendance, we seem to be getting a good 20,000 people plus through the gate. In reality I think it's much less than this. It's clear that the attendances announced are on tickets sold (including ST's) and no bodies through the turnstiles on match days. In fact at one match the crowd even laughed when the attendance was announced it was so far off the mark. We're not idiots (well most of us). Just say the right figure. Or tell us the tickets sold but tell us its tickets sold.
5. Either way, the return to blue hasn't brought the crowds flocking back, and that's because the quality of football being served up is dire. More on that later.
   
6. We might even see a return of my favourite podcast from the boys at 'View From The Ninian'.
   
   Outcome: No luck yet. I don't think they can find their way out of "Pessimism Corner".
   
7. Finally of course VT will be ensuring that there's a free blue scarf giveaway at the next midweek match.....
   
   Outcome: I did make that up. But he hasn't, although it might be a nice gesture. Perhaps he's waiting for the new badge.

So what about the football? I'm not going to dwell on this. It's crap. Dire. Awful. Abysmal. Shocking. And it's clearly not just me. I don't know anyone apart from Russell Slade who thinks we're playing good football, and even he's admitted at times it's awful.

I have renewed my season ticket(s). God knows why. Having said earlier it's still good value, I guess it's good value if you like being built up with hope and expectation every week, only to have all that hope torn out of you by 5pm every Saturday (or 9.45pm on a Tuesday).

Cardiff City are playing unbelievably bad football. The only saving grace is that there are some teams in the division who are even worse than us.

The manager doesn't appear to have a clue. I don't know anyone who wants him to remain in charge. Today's capitulation against Charlton was awful. They didn't play well, but had shown some glimpses of the old City, but as soon as we went a goal up I knew we'd concede and once Charlton equalised I knew they'd win. There's no fire and no passion. Perhaps that's why VT is changing the badge?

Some players try. Some don't. Some run around like headless chickens. Some still look very unfit. Many look way below the quality we've come to expect at Cardiff City. There are a few bright sparks. I like the look of Kennedy. Manga's generally solid. Marshall of course is imperious in the main. Erm....how many is that?

It was good to see Roger Johnson back with Charlton today. One of my all time favourite City players. Now there's a player who could be a bit of an idiot at time, but when he pulled on a City shirt you just knew he was giving it 110% every time.

I await the remainder of the season with no excitement, no great buzz, no.....nothing. I just go because I've paid my money and I'll support them whatever - isn't that what we die hard fans say?

Put your bloody lights on!

It's not a difficult concept is it? It's dark (or getting dark) so when you are driving you put your lights on.

I've been wanting to rant about this for ages.

I am staggered at the number of drivers I see that assume because they can still see without lights, it's ok to drive without lights and that other people can see them.

I don't know if it's made worse by the current season, with lengthening lighter evenings making it harder for people to think about when they put their lights on (if in doubt put them on), but it's either ignorance or a "look at how I can drive in the dark" attitude.

I have a relatively short commute of about 16 miles, but a significant proportion of that is on a busy motorway, and I am astounded by the number of people I see driving as the light fades with no lights or side lights at high motorway speeds. But it's not just motorways. It's everywhere.

There are two factions I'd like to point the finger of blame at here.

1) The driver
It's not rocket science. Lights are as much about you being seen as you being able to see. I recently drove to Exeter for work and was going down the M5, a particularly busy motorway at the best of time in driving rain - so bad, visibility was tens of yards at times and STILL I found people driving without ANY lights.
And don't just use sidelights - put the headlights on. Sidelights are frankly useless. Put your bloody headlights on!

2) The manufacturers

• Don't put sidelights on cars - just put headlights in. That would stop idiots driving on sidelights.
• Those bloody LED driving lights. Lots of people think because they've got them, they don't need "ordinary lights". Have you noticed that in most cases, when the cars on LED driving lights only, there are no tail lights on. Great if you're heading towards a car, rubbish if you're coming up on it from behind. I wonder how many people realise that?
• Make "automatic" headlights compulsory. I'll never buy another car without auto lights. The dial is stuck on auto and it stays there. The only time I have to go to manual is the occasions when fog can fool the sensor into thinking it's still light.

And, whilst I'm on the subject of lights, how many cars do you see with a blown bulb? Loads. Get it fixed. It's a few quid for the bulb and even if you can't fit it yourself (and frankly the way cars are made these days it's getting harder - I have to take the whole headlight unit out to replace a bulb in my Mondeo). Halfords will do it for about £3 on the spot. Worth every penny I'd say unless your confident in doing it yourself. 

There's just no excuse not to be safe and seen on the road.

Turn them on. Please.

On the diet trail

I've been meaning to lose weight for a while. By a while, I mean maybe several years. But there's always a reason why it's never been easy, and it's not that I'm really overweight (cough).

Anyway, the time has come. I decided before Christmas that this time it was for real. And then to top it off I decided to do "Dryanuary" - not alcohol during January. Well actually from 4th January on as we had friends over for a meal on 3rd, and it would have been rude not to assist in the indulgence.

So, it's been almost 2 weeks grog free. Whilst it would be incorrect to say I haven't missed alcohol (it was tricky on an overnight trip to London this week with colleagues in a pub downing Doombar and me on the diet coke), it hasn't been too hard. I'm not a heavy drinker. One bottle a night maybe two at weekends is my norm, or sometimes a glass or two of wine instead. Even when I have a night out I rarely get past 4 pints.

And as for the food. Well I like my food. I like any food, but I do have a penchant for the stuff that isn't good for you. Bread, chips, chocolate. I'm not averse to healthy food, and we absolutely don't eat unhealthily - lots of veg and fruit, but I'm a sucker for seconds, or sometimes even thirds.

So it was decided I'd try the 5:2 diet. East what you like (within reason) 5 days a week, and limit to 600 calories on the other two "fasting" days.

I'm a week in to this, and I have to say it's been ok. And between the diet and lack of alcohol I believe I have lost a bit already. Stupidly, I didn't weight myself at the start, and our old tatty scales were almost unreadable on it's analogue scale. On Thursday I bought a set of cheap(ish) but recommended digital scales so my benchmark is from here rather than the start of it all.

I'm pretty proud that I've resisted all forms of chocolate and bread  even on my non fasting days this week. I drink black coffee normally, so I haven't missed milk in coffee or tea, and otherwise it's been water or occasionally diet coke.

I'll let you know how I get on.

At last

Looks good doesn't it? It certainly felt good.

The Bluebirds back in blue. Lots of references to the "Bluebirds", including the electronic scoreboard showing "Bluebirds" rather than "Cardiff". Hardly a red shirt or scarf to be seen anywhere. Mascots in blue. Oh, and we won! Three points in the bag, thank you very much a great day all round.

It's perhaps a bit naughty to post anything negative, given the events of the last two days but well, the football was still dire. No creativity from either side. Shots on target? Hardly any. Great saves? I can't remember any. Rigid formation. Yes. No plan B. Nope. The atmosphere wasn't as great as I'd hoped for our first match back in blue either. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. And the crowd - just over 22k, which means that there were still lots and lots of empty seats. Maybe it'll come. On the plus side the new signing at the back Malone looked pretty solid and level headed and impressed me.

As an aside, I'm constantly astonished by how little attention some people pay to the game. There's a bunch of fans who are next to us. They nearly always turn up late - sometimes 10 minutes after the match has started, and nearly always leave early before half time and then early at the end. They also spend large portions of the match talking to each other with hardly an eye on the football.

Today they turned up as the teams came out. Literally 29 minutes into the game (I checked the clock) they were disappearing for a pint and didn't come back until the 2nd half was underway - then left early before the match was finished (again). I know the football wasn't great but.....