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Sunday 7 October 2007

THE Beautiful Game



God, I LOVE rugby!!
There is nothing like it (well, almost nothing). What a weekend this is! England won yesterday when they shouldn't have, surely couldn't have.....but did.
Then, in the evening, as the floodlights came on and all bets were off, France won! Not only were they not supposed to win, there were some who thought they should have been chastised for even having the nerve to turn up against the all-conquering, supposedly invincible All Blacks.
What a day! What a night! Now we're off again. Tiny Fiji is, as I write, taking on the might, brutality and raw power of South Africa while this evening Scotland, the whipping boys of the Six Nations in recent years, are resurgent and face the fast, free-flowing rugby of the Argentinians. Once again, the outcome of both games is supposedly already written in the stars. The Boks can's lose and the Scots can't win.
Sadly, I fear upsets are not are the cards this time but there's always that glimmer of hope (don't you just love underdogs?) Even if the games turn out to be predictable, there is fantastic rugby to look forward to.
I just love the fact that 30 blokes slinging an over-sized, leather egg around and scrapping and scraping, wrestling and running all the while can take you right out of the tedium and monochrome of your everyday life.
I spent yesterday afternoon in my favourite pub, drinking sublime beer, soaking up the intake with Europe's best ham cobs and basking in the spectacle of the England game with like-minded people who just revel in this great sport, regardless of which two teams are on the field.
I broke off at teatime to return home, feed the dogs, tidy round, have a wash and brush up and eat properly before returning to the pub in time for the France game. Mrs Pither was away for the night and so it was pure self indulgence. Another fantastic game, a great time spent with good people. Looked at in terms of what Einstein used to do with his days off or what Marie Curie did when she had moments to herself, it could be seen as a waste of time, time in which I could have contributed to society or the well-being of mankind in general. Looked at in purely Pitheresque terms, Pither being someone with no other-half with whom to share the finer things, it was the best way to spend a day imaginable!
Today I am watching the first half of the footballing feast at home, surrounded by my beloved dogs, glancing up all the time at the screen while also preparing a Sunday dinner to die for. When 7pm comes around I shall return to my local for a couple of beers at twilight to watch the last of the quarter-finals. Then it will be home, dinner, bath, bed. To this man with increasingly simple tastes, with no woman to share other fun activities with, that will do for me!
Yesterday and today I don't have a mortgage, my knee doesn't hurt, I'm not getting divorced, I'm not overdrawn at the bank and I don't have that question on my mind all the time - "What's it all about?" I just have rugby!!
God bless young Webb-Ellis. Grantham shall not have the results of his moment of inspiration and individuality.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Webb-Ellis? Isn't he the twat who caught a football and ran with it -giving the world the game of egg-chasing?
I'd love to have seen the c*** try that at a Walsall school...and get off the field alive!
Basically a posh school knob with no skill or ability to play real football who, if alive today, would read the Daily Mail, prefer Jim Davidson to Ricky Gervais and try to have you executed over this anti-Thatcher blog!

Love
Big Ears

Vicus Scurra said...

yes, yes, yes I agree.

Malcolm Cinnamond said...

A loud, resounding 'hear, hear' from the far North. Cheers matey.

Barry Lawrence said...

Big Ears,

Argued in true, terraces style. Well done. Time for more lager, isn't it?

Boys,

I thank you.

I, Like The View said...

*sigh*

I agree, it's more interesting than football

actually, I didn't read what you wrote at all, seeing as it was about sport, so I have no idea if we agree or not

(they - the international players - all look slightly more manly than football players anyhow)(so that makes it more interesting from my point of view)

:-)

Barry Lawrence said...

You didn't read it!!! Here I am, flogging my guts out, slaving over a hot laptop, trying to bring an honest laugh into this world, and you didn't read it!!!
Shame on you, LTW......and there's slightly more to it than big blokes in tight shorts!!!

I, Like The View said...

I know!

some of them are surprisngly small. . .

some of them have looser shorts (but seem to wear long black figure hugging knickers underneath). . .

each team has two different sets of shirts, and they can choose which to wear depending on who they've tossed off recently

no no no, that's not right -but it was definitely something to do with a toss anyhow

(I did read the bit about you feeding the dogs)

X

The Birdwatcher said...

An outstanding saturday entertainment marred only by us, Buxton Thirds, losing earlier in the day by an awful lot to not very many.

Barry Lawrence said...

BW,

I envy you still having the knees and the back for it. I used to play for Willenhall IVs - now you know where you've heard my name before!

Malcolm Cinnamond said...

Should point out that I was agreeing with Reg, not Big Ears and Vicus. It is possible to like rugby and hate the Mail at the same time, incidentally. And while we're starting the 'I played for a crapper team than you' competition, Bishop's Castle and Onny Valley RUFC Sunday 3rd XV.

WEDNESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 2007

SHORTS DON'T MATTER! 1. From the greatest programme ever made about association football, Barnstoneworth United FC manager Mr Dainty delivers one of the finest English soliloqiues of all time.......and afterwards, spare a thought for the club steward's wife Vera (YOU ONLY HAVE TO WATCH HALF OF THE CLIP!!).

Monday, 12 November 2007

Not everyone who agonises over their life is a painter. Some of us agonise because we're NOT painters.

....And On the Subject of Great Public Services

I know most of you have heard this marvellous song by those doctors who are the Amateur Transplants......but I think the video is a nice addition. P.S. If there are kids in the room I'd shuffle them out before hitting play.

...There's More

On the subject of those great doctors, here is their version of More Than Words which presents their challenging views on women outside Watford. The very-soon-to-be ex-Mrs Pither, coming from Cumbria, is a huge fan. Again, get those kids out of the room!

Leave Britney Alone, Ok!!!

Oh...........my............God!!!!! My heartfelt thanks go to BGT for this. I won't say much more, I don't need to. Mr Loony of Loonytown, USA (I think it's a bloke, anyway), says it all. I fear he may be wound too tight for.....well.....well for everywhere, really!

Tuesday, 18 September 2007.

I wish I'd sung this! For non-Americans, and with apologies to all the smart arses out there who already knew, the FCC is the Federal Communications Commission and it monitors TV and radio output in the States - a sort of broadcast police - while the EPA is the Yanks' so-called Environmental Protection Agency, a body which does exactly the opposite of what it says on the can. (P.S. We went to the same school, you know? Eric and me, that is, not George, Martha, Dick and Condoleeza and me. I don't think they went to school.) P.P.S. Please see below if you are I Like The View, Malc or Doris.

To Make You Laugh and Cry

I was listening to this on a Sunday, the very-soon-to-be ex-Mrs Pither is a Catholic, Tom Lehrer is one of my all-time heroes and this is one of his best.............no other reasons. On a more sombre note (and with thanks to Fish for coming up with this Woman's-Own-passes-the-time-in-the-dentist's-waiting-room nonsense), why not get a computer to tell you that you are a waste of space and your life is a sham of a mockery of a farce? Ok, it's from one of those poxy dating sites but...go on, take the test. You ain't got much to beat!!
This Is My Life, Rated
Life: 4.2
Mind: 4.1
Body: 2.7
Spirit: 8
Friends/Family: 1.6
Love: 0
Finance: 5.9
Take the Rate My Life Quiz
Apparently, in my case, "computer say 'no!'"

I First Saw This When I Was Little - And Loved It! I Hope That Explains a Few Things

Fuck, Fuckety, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck

It has been pointed out to me that, particularly for one whose profession is supposedly literary, my language is getting worse. My use of the "F" word is, I am told, far too prevalent and hence loses impact. To those who share this view I suggest you watch the following:

Tony Blair Isn't a Burglar - But If He Was.........

In the spirit of Gustav Holst's Jupiter and Manfred Mann's Earth Band, I feel like raising a smile today. The Big Green Thing alerted me to this and, for no other reason than to raise a smile on an otherwise crap Wednesday, I think it has to be shared. Grantham shall not have him - when he gets out of prison.

Life On The Edge - No Net.

I was wrong when I feared it might be a dull weekend, what with my pals being away, my soon-to-be ex-wife in rehab and only the dogs to play with. How wrong can a man be? This much fun must surely be illegal? Just click to see the japes and hoots I am having! Click again to see how things got REALLy exciting! Tomorrow we're going to chase pigeons.

The Good Old U.S. of A. - Guardians of Freedom and Democracy. Nothing to Be Scared of, Then?

Be honest........

IT'S THE QUIZ OF THE WEEK! JUST SCROLL DOWN AND HIT "FULL QUIZ".