Top Draw

The top game in the Northern League today was at Dean Street where the home team, Shildon, third in the table with matches in hand, met table-topping near neighbours West Auckland; it was an excellent end to end game in front of a couple of hundred appreciative spectators, ending 2 - 2, a fair outcome to a game that did nothing to clarify who will be champions but plenty to enhance the league's reputation for good competitive football.

Not Passing the Buck

I often pass by the Buck Inn at Sadberge on my way into Darlington but tonight we pulled into the car park and dropped in to enjoy a meal in honour of my birthday yesterday; a nice dining room, a tempting menu, and big portions - in my case of crispy belly pork on a bed of bubble & squeak with a cider & apple gravy and cubes of black pudding.

Presents Postponed

When working full time I nearly always engineered a day off on my birthday but today I not only needed to fulfil my regular Thursday morning teaching commitment but also the newly agreed afternoon one as well, which meant the ceremonial opening of the cards and presents was postponed until tea time, when all was revealed: a couple of casual shirts and a couple of tee shirts to spruce up my wardrobe; new trainers and top to improve my faded presence at the gym; a book (inevitably) and an Amazon voucher to restock the Kindle; and of course a bit of chocolate.

Well Met

Meetings used to be the bane of my managerial life, often packed end to end into the day and rarely productive, but now they form an occasional pleasant diversion in my part time tutoring job, and today I even turned up five minutes early (as against my formerly customary, even legendary, ten minutes late) for a discussion on our learners’ progress and performance; a satisfactory outcome as well for me with my start time on Thursdays put back from 9:00 to a more civilized 09:30, and the reduction more than compensated by an additional two hours in the afternoon.

Winter World Cup

Having made the ridiculous and probably corrupt decision to hold the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, FIFA’s contradictory decision to move it from summer to winter makes sense, but predictably the Premier League are up in arms as it will disrupt their gravy train, or season as the rest of us know it, however here are a few ways to cope with it: continue the domestic season to the end of June (as there will be no summer world cup); play fixtures through the World Cup anyway (as in the Africa Cup of Nations) giving some young British players a chance of first team football; free up some midweek slots by scrapping, reducing or rescheduling to November / December the minor cup competitions (League Cup, Europa Cup) for which the big teams play reserve players anyway, and similarly restrict the European Champions League to just the national club champions; - and of course the positive would be something decent on TV at Christmas for a change.

Weighty Resolution

Stepped on the scales today for the first time in three months, with some trepidation as the intervening period has been well stacked with meals out and snacks in but with only irregular exercise, however the pleasant surprise was that at smack on twelve stone I was a pound lighter than in November; I reckon that is still a good half a stone too much so, as year sixty-three approaches, the resolve is to eat less and move more, which started well with an overdue visit to the gym but then tailed off with a chocolate pudding after tea.

Meat and Too Much Vegetation

At the invite of the in-laws we met for Sunday lunch at the Bridge Inn at Stapleton, clearly a popular venue with a carvery crammed into a corner and a queue winding round the crowded bar, but once a plate is obtained it is cheerfully piled high with a choice of joints to which can be added gravy, sauces, Yorkshire pudding, and vegetables a plenty; the food was fine but we found the ambience a little frantic and the decor a little gloomy with dark paintwork, swaggs of unnecessary curtains and invasive indoor vegetation.

Wide Open

With all the local teams out of the cup competitions I have decided to focus my Saturday afternoons on the race to win the Northern League, level 5 in the non-league pyramid but a good semi-pro standard, and with Darlington 1883 and Spennymoor being promoted to level 4 in the last two years, this season the competition is wide open; on the last two Saturdays I have seen four of the contenders in action (West Auckland 0 - 2 Guisborough, Shildon 2 - 1 Marske) and today saw the most impressive, Guisborough, win again, 5 - 0 at Bishop Auckland.

Turning Table

Although back home, the holiday mood remained as my wife and I headed for Stockton's answer to La Ramblas - Teesside Retail Park - where I picked out a few presents for my imminent birthday, before lunching over the river at the Riverview Cafe, seated at what appeared to be an unintentionally revolving table; as it swivelled with each push of knife or fork there was a danger of us swapping meals entirely, so it was just as well we had both chosen a sweet chilli chicken toasted baguette.

Unmolested

We were jetted back from Barcelona without stress by Jet2 (our preferred budget airline with helpful staff, bookable seats and on both flights free check in of our bulky hand luggage into the hold) and for once my flight experience did not include a frisking at the security check, as I took off not only my watch and glasses but also my belt and shoes, which along with my jacket and scarf meant I had more items of clothing in trays (two needed) going through the x-ray machine than were left on my body; still it did the job and I passed through the body scanner unmolested - so my resolve to go through naked one day remains untested.

Montjuic

Under cloudless skies we took the western bus route up Montjuic, disembarking at the Olympic Stadium (1992 but interestingly initially slated for a 1936 alternative protest venue to Hitler's Berlin), then taking in the Poble Espanyol (a showcase of historic architectural styles with buildings housing craft based studios or shops), and the National Museum of Catalonian Art (covering a thousand years of painting from fine Romanesque frescos, through Renaissance work by the likes of Rubens, Goya and Zubaran, to modern art including a Picasso); from Montjuic, via the unimpressive Camp Nou (home of Barcelona FC), it was back to Passeig de Gracia for a reprise of Gaudi interiors - this time the Casa Batllo to see his final, and finest, private commission, which is simply stunning in concept and execution.

Interiors

Cloudier and cooler in Barcelona today, particularly on the upper deck of an open-topped tourist bus that we boarded to take in the sights to the east of the city, stopping off at the Sagrada Familia to access (having downloaded timed tickets last night) the interior which proved to be as astounding as the exterior with elegant columns, curves and hyperbolic arches lit through stunning stained glass and studded with symbolism, leaving me with a sense of wonder and a stiff neck; and on the way back to the hotel we popped into the Paleu Guell for a close up of Gaudi's smaller scale interior design work, aided by an audio guide that helpfully took us from the basement stables, through reception and private rooms, up to the roof terrace among the eccentric but delightful chimney stacks.

Gaudi

A lengthy stroll (or short hike) in the Barcelona sunshine enabled us to trace a brief timeline of the career of Antoni Gaudi, the genius architect whose work has become a symbol of the city: the Paleu Guell in the old town - one of his first commissions; the Casa Batllo and La Pedrera - fantastic apartment block facades in the Eixample quarter; and the Sagrada Familia - his (still) unfinished cathedral to which he devoted his final years and in which he lies buried.

Barcelona

Travel arrangements went smoothly until we hit the arrivals hall at Terminal A, where our name was conspicuously absent among the placards held by the various taxi drivers, and remained so as our fellow travellers departed to leave us alone in the cavernous amphitheatre considering our options until at last our man appeared, apologetic, having been looking for us at the much more utilised Terminal B - but he made up for lost time by driving us into the city at breakneck speed; after booking in to our hotel we took a short walk down to the marina and had pizzas for tea, then strolled up La Ramblas and into the Gothic old town - very atmospheric in the gathering dusk - before returning via a Starbucks to the hotel.

Packed Off and Packed Up

An early start for Barcelona needed tomorrow, so today it was a case of packing off the cats to their holiday home and packing up sufficient clothes and accessories to see us through to Thursday; accessories includes the Hudl so, hotel wifi allowing, posts will continue from the Basque country.

Pre-Valentine's

Enjoyed a pre-Valentine's day meal this evening with my other half at The Tuns at Sadberge, while the boy (young man really) was similarly occupied, but at a Pizza Hut in Darlington; such is the generation gap.

Confused.Thom

A no-show for my tutor session gave me an earlier than expected opportunity to nip into town and boost the euro balance on my cash passport ahead of the Barcelona trip, and I entered the travel agents with my head full of exchange rates and likely daily spends as I approached the foreign currency desk and presented the card with my request to fill it up; the bemused cashier politely pointed out that I was in Thompsons and the card was issued by Thomas Cook, just next door, saying “don’t worry it happens a lot”, and leaving unsaid “particularly to old duffers like you”.

Holiday Paid

At the end of January I received an e-mail from an employer for whom I worked, briefly but intensively, for a few weeks last spring, with a password protected attachment that I assumed was a notice of termination; today I got round to applying the password and was pleasantly surprised to find instead of a P45 a payslip with a three figure sum for accrued holiday pay – just in time to provide some of next week’s holiday spends.

Dead-nerve Scissor-hands

Late last night, and first thing this morning, a numb, tingling sensation in my right thumb and forefinger gave me momentary cause for concern as I tried to remember the warning signs of a stroke, but then I realised it was the after-effects of an evening cutting out about thirty cardboard dragon heads for the use of the children in my wife’s primary school class.

Euros

In preparation for Barcelona I procured some euros at the current low, low cost of about 76 pence; good to get a lot of euros for my pounds but it did mean the 345 I had left over from visiting Menorca 18 months ago had dropped in value by about £40, requiring an exchange rate loss to be calculated and entered in my toy-town ledger.

Chilli

Chilli is a dish I have never been able to master, with the various components somehow failing to combine satisfactorily, however last night I finally cracked it  (I think the addition of an Oxo cube made all the difference) and it was even better warmed up for lunch today with some crusty bread and butter.

When Saturday Comes

Normal Saturday service was resumed today, taking in a football match in the afternoon, the first for four weeks (a good top of the Northern League match between West Auckland and Guisborough) and the cricket club quiz, the first for a couple of months, which our truncated team of three enjoyed despite finishing in a three way tie for last place, buoyed possibly because we did pick up two prizes in the raffle.

Peter Pan Goes Wrong

Having enjoyed ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ last June we had to see Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society’s follow up production – ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’ – and we were not disappointed by the choreographed chaos as the hapless cast battled against dodgy props, spurious sound effects, and a revolving stage with a mind of its own; once again great credit to the real actors for hiding their talent so well and giving us a laugh-packed evening.

Poppy

Although our Paul Cummins poppy arrived from the Tower of London’s “Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red” a couple of weeks ago, only today did I resolve how best to display its rusted stalk and weathered ceramic petals – by drilling a 5.5mm hole into a presentable section of a silver birch log (rescued from the wood store) and neatly slotting the re-assembled flower home.

Gambling

Finished reading ‘Gambling’ by Mike Atherton (yes, the former England cricket captain) which surveys the history, development and current trends in betting, in a well-written, insightful and interesting fashion, though for me the interest is purely academic, being almost pathologically risk-averse with my only flutter being the occasional purchase of a raffle ticket when cornered by a good cause, and then the worst that can happen is to actually win and be forced to take home somebody else’s unwanted Christmas present.

Dental & Mental

Quite a busy day that began with a dental examination and ended with a mental examination; the dental was my routine check-up which ended well with an eight month reprieve, however the mental, the Vane Arms pub quiz, was more testing, but despite me over-ruling at least one correct answer from a team-mate and being persuaded out of a couple of correct answers of my own, we managed to finish a creditable third out of five, winning a bottle of wine.

Super Bowl XLIX

A close fought encounter through the early hours with Tom Brady and the Patriots starting well but being pegged back to 14 – 14 at half time, then (after Katy Perry’s spirited intervention, memorable for the dancing sharks) Russell Wilson and the Seahawks forged 10 points ahead before Brady responded with two more touchdown passes to put the Patriots 4 points up; it didn’t look enough when a freak pass completion placed the Seahawks a couple of yards from the end zone with seconds left on the clock, only for the potential winning touchdown pass to be intercepted right on the line to secure a Patriot win.

Midnight Feast

Superbowl Sunday starts late in the UK with kick-off just half an hour before midnight, so the day is all about preparation, and preparation is all about the food and drink, partly in tribute to the American capacity for over-indulgence and partly as a good way to keep me awake into the early hours of Monday morning: so there is beer in the fridge and nuts and nibbles laid out for the first quarter; cheese and biscuits with more beer will see out the second quarter; by the third quarter a more substantial sausage sandwich (aka hot dog) will be required; and for the final quarter I will be dependent on coffee and chocolate bars; and if it goes into overtime I will just get out the corn flakes and have an early breakfast.