Saturday 15 March 2014

A real Ramble - my first for ages

So much time has been spent in bed lately that I didn't think I'd have any news for you.  But once I started typing I found there were a few things.  Non-sporting folk might want to ignore the first two paragraphs.

Look what they done to my song...

There are new rules for Formula One racing this year.  I won't bore you with them but I will mention that they now have a power unit rather than an engine.  One result of that is that the roar of the motors that we have been used to for decades and decades (and so love) has disappeared.  The cars sound like Playstation games which is appropriate because Hamilton (on pole ) described driving them as like playing a Playstation Game while negotiating the corners.   When you look at one of their steering wheels you can understand what he means!


The cars are like those of the '80s where there is so much more power than needed. If you put your foot to the floor anywhere other than on the straightest straight the car just disappears up its own exhaust. Balancing how much you put your foot down has proved difficult for most drivers and during qualifying Maldonado couldn't keep his Williams on the black stuff, Vettel gave the wall a gentle kiss and ended up 13th on the grid while Raikkonen put his car in the wall, knocking off the nose. 


Which brings me to another issue.  The horrible shape of the new noses.  Knocking them off is the best thing you can do to them. 

It is possible that all these changes may make for better racing but we are paying a heavy price.

The best livery is the gorgeous silver McLaren.  I just hope Button (starting 11th) can do it justice.
 

My favourite quote of the Qualifying was when one of the drivers (totally unable to control his car, even in a straight line) was told over the radio by his engineer - who assumed he was just making space for himself on the track - "OK, speed up please."  This was followed by a strangled cry from the driver. "I can't!"

The football season is reaching it’s peak

Liverpool FC are second to Chelsea in the Premier League and have a game in hand.  But even if we win that game we will still be four points behind with about none games to play.  But the objective of being in the top four at the end of the season is well in sight.  If we are in the top four we will be in the European Champions’ League next year.  We have been out of Europe for five years and it has seemed like a lifetime.

Liverpool have won the Champions League five times – 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, and 2005.  We also won the Europa League three times – 1973, 1976, and 2001.


The most spectacular European match in which Liverpool were involved proved to be one of the best matches ever.  Liverpool faced six-time European champions Milan in the final at the Atatürk Stadium in Istanbul on 25 May 2005. Trailing 3–0 at half-time, Liverpool scored three goals in a six-minute spell in the second half to level the score at 3–3. There were no goals during extra time, so the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out. With the shoot-out score at 3–2, Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek saved Andriy Shevchenko's penalty to give Liverpool victory. The nature of Liverpool's comeback victory has led to the match being referred to as the "miracle of Istanbul." As this was the club's fifth European Cup victory, Liverpool were allowed to keep the European Champion Clubs' Cup permanently, and a new trophy was commissioned for the following year's competition. The victory also entitled Liverpool to compete in the 2005 UEFA Super Cup at Stade Louis II, Monaco in August. They defeated UEFA Cup winners CSKA Moscow of Russia 3–1 to win their third Super Cup.

Postcards et al

 Even lying in bed I can appreciate all the wonderful postcards that I have received.  Indeed, they have helped to cheer me up, to ignore my pains and to get me back on my feet. 

And letters from friends often have cheerful envelopes too.   Most noticeably from China.


And stamps can be both beautiful and fun.

Dai Li, a Chinese student friend has been very generous and amongst the other things she sent me was this lovely Chinese tassel.


Spring

Winter this year was wet and windy and generally horrible but not cold.  Indeed, it has been so warm that Geraniums that were left outdoors, and which would normally be killed off by the cold quite early in the winter, have survived quite happily and are even blooming.  The last couple of weeks have been sunny and warm and there was a promise of Spring in the air.  Daffodils are out and the Primulas and Primroses are making big splashes of colour around the garden. But then, the last day or so has turned very cold and there is a real nip in the air.  Perhaps we are going to have a cold Spring to make up for the warm Winter.

E-mails...



This morning when I went on-line the first e-mail in my in-box began ‘If you have a £250,000 portfolio….’.  Aha, I thought.  I must have logged in as the wrong person.  This was confirmed when the second e-mail said ‘Now is the time to sell your stocks and shares’…. 

Some short quotes

"Don’t expect the mirror to smile first."  ~ A’Court Bason

"Destroying species is like tearing pages out of an unread book, written in a language humans hardly know how to read, about the place where they live." ~ Holmes Rolston III, professor of philosophy (b. 1932)

"To be on a balanced diet is to hold two similar pieces of cake in both hands." - Anon.

“Stop trying to shrink the world into the size of a self-help book. It doesn’t fit...  Reading about how to be a pilot doesn’t make you a pilot.   Plane gonna crash.” ~ Laurie Ann Fuhr

"It reminded me of one of my old girlfriends - good from far but far from good."  - Anon.

“The Rose is without an explanation. She blooms, because she blooms.”  - Angelus Silesius

"My life has a superb cast but I can't figure out the plot." ~ Ashleigh Brilliant

"There are three things that cannot be forgiven to a woman.  But nobody knows why or what these things are.  ~ Janina Ipohorska

"I hope you're having a good weekend" - Me!


23 comments:

  1. You wealthy folk with SKY know but I didn't....Many thanks John.
    Who gets to watch MotoGP this year? The wealthy again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Only people with BT Sport. Sorry. It lets me out as well unless I can filter it from the son's room and persuade him to watch it. (You get BT sport free if you have BT broadband - but only on one TV - if you want it on a second one you have to pay!!)

      Delete
  2. Beautiful stamps! And I love the quote, "Don't expect the mirror to smile first." Hope you're feeling better, SS!

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Ukrainian stamps are beautiful!
    While I am sorry to hear that you had to spend more time in pain and in bed than you'd like to, I am glad to see you back in blogland.
    As for the emails you have received, well, I can easily top that. Someone offered me several MILLIONS simply because they have found this money floating about on the account of some rich guy who died without an heir, and since I am their "dear friend", of course the thought of me first. Now, isn't that awfully nice of them?

    ReplyDelete
  4. And i hope you are having a great weekend, that you are feeling better quickly, and also that your favourite team wins.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That silver car is really snazzy -- can hardly call it a car. I have one of those Chinese tassels. It is in rainbow colors. They are so beautiful. So sorry you are not doing so well. Maybe when Spring is really here you will feel better. I have to go for some nerve conduction tests in a couple of weeks. I'm losing the feeling in my left arm and hand and have deep muscle aching. They're calling it polyneuropathy for now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry to hear about your nerve problems, Chris. Despite the advances in medical science they don't seem to know much about nerves - polyneuropathy covers a multitude of sins.

      Delete
  6. Much, much concern for you, Scriptor Senex, Amicus. I am glad to see you rambling around once again.
    Wishing you well, McGregor.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great post, Scriptor! So good to see you back blogging again. We all really miss you when you're feeling poorly and don't post. Take care and God bless, xoxoxo Carol

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sorry you've been bedridden, John. Now you're up I hope the weather allows you to get out and about. Thanks for the funnies, I really like the one about having lost the plot, that happens to me often.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Glad to hear that you're up and about and that Spring is on its way in the North. We've had some lovely weather this last week. The ladybirds and bees have emerged and I've seen 6 species of butterfly so far. We even had a mayfly in the house.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ladybirds, bees, butterflies???? In what country are you living, daughter dear. It seems a foreign one to me.

      Delete
  10. Good to learn about the GP cars. It's a shame that I will miss the start of the season. I'm sure it's available on some channel or another in NZ but if it is I don't have it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You actually missed a race, GB. Some cars overtook other cars and on one occasion we could actually hear the squeal of tyres as a car slid sideways. Admittedly the only reason you could hear that is because the engines are so quiet but I expect they'll start putting background noises in soon like they do on countryside programmes..

      Delete
  11. Skipping the sports details (I was born with a sports-filter) but glad to see you well enough to take a little Ramble again. Wish you better days ahead! ♥

    ReplyDelete
  12. hope you will be feeling better soon. I see you are still postcrossing. I have stopped for a bit. just now getting back into blogging. have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for all the good wishes. I shall ensure the next blog will be less of a moan...

    ReplyDelete
  14. I did read your F1 bit because I had to become interested as a son designs the cars (he was with Ferrari in its heyday, which was fun, and Braun in the year it won). But I can't root for Liverpool as another son is an ardent Everton fan. Isn't life complicated.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sorry your son is an Everton supporter. Or should that read 'I'm sorry for your son being an Everton supporter'?

      Delete
  15. Wonderful collection of quotes there! I particularly love the mammoth stamp - now I am wondering why it was on the stamp.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I am having no luck with Post Crossing. It seems that ones I send either never arrive or don't get registered. And I have received none. So...I guess I'll give up. I skipped about the cars, I have lost my energy for such races. Since my neck pain limits my time on the computer, I thought I'd just missed you. I hope the rest of the year brings you better health and less pain.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Those stamps are works of art, too pretty to use, and I like the quotes you rounded up. That is an unbelievable car steering wheel.

    ReplyDelete

Hello - thanks for dropping by to leave a comment. Your comments are much appreciated even if I don't always reply. They will appear as soon as they have been moderated.

Blog Archive