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Great cricket XIs

A friend of mine composed the best England Test team of his lifetime (he was born in 1959) which I will now share with you. Gooch, Cook, Root, Pietersen, Stokes , Botham, Knott, Swann, Broad, Andersen, Underwood. Having been born five years earlier, I might have included Ted Dexter, Fred Trueman [...]

May 6, 2024 // 0 Comments

Operation Petticoat/Guns of Navarone

No Bank Holiday is complete without a classic war film and on Friday I watched two. I was new to Operation Petticoat (1959) directed by Blake Edwards. Edwards is best known for the Pink Panther movies but, aside from comedy, he also directed the hard-headed film on alcoholism Days of Wine and Roses [...]

May 5, 2024 // 0 Comments

Fiorentina file: Fiorentina 3 Club Brugge 2

Art business took me to West Sussex. An art collector in Petworth may be interested in selling a Giorgio di Chirico. Collectors always say they are not interested in selling but, if the price is right … The tactic is not to disclose the net price. An auction house deducts a premium, VAT and [...]

May 4, 2024 // 0 Comments

A Day at the Races

Yesterday I was invited to Ascot Races for their first flat meeting of the year (Royal Ascot Trials Day) . It was mainly Group 3 – two year olds – the big stuff being the Royal Meeting and the Diamond Stakes which come later in the summer. I was mightily impressed by the new stand and [...]

May 3, 2024 // 0 Comments

State of Emergency/Dominic Sandbrook

This is an account of the years of Edward Heath as Prime Minister (1970-74). It was a tawdry time of rock bottom industrial relations, high inflation, the ill-advised Barber “boom”, soccer hooliganism and extreme violence within the Province (“The Troubles”) and IRA outrages on the [...]

April 30, 2024 // 0 Comments

The Tanner Report: Fulham 1 Crystal Palace 1

I did an unusual thing last Saturday. After speaking to Pargie I backed the draw he had predicted as “nailed on”. Actually Crystal Palace had enough chances and possession to win. I did recall – after a promotion under Scott Parker – Fulham ‘s ‘welcome to the Premiership ‘ [...]

April 29, 2024 // 0 Comments

Harlequins 42 Northampton Saints 31

Although the press dubbed this match a “thriller” and “entertaining“, I remain disappointed by the fare the two most attacking teams in the Premiership served up. Northampton Saints did not maximise the three Quins players sin-binned. Marcus Smith won his match-up with Fin Smith and [...]

April 29, 2024 // 0 Comments

A la Colthard: José Pizarro and the Brass Rail

I was in London last weekend and checked out two restaurants with an ethnically gastro theme. The first was José Pizarro at the rear of the Royal Academy. His schtick is Spanish cuisine. I like Spanish cuisine and tapas has created the idea of the shared platter. I invited Alicia who generously [...]

April 28, 2024 // 0 Comments

A Saturday afternoon watching rugby

Over several years now this organ has covered the Northern Hemisphere version of the sport of rugby union in some depth, covering everything from specific matches and trends in the financial fortunes and playing tactics of elite professional clubs to its ongoing inherent dangers and medical issues. [...]

April 28, 2024 // 0 Comments

Brighton 0 Manchester City 4

I was at the Amex for Brighton’s first ever game in the Premiership against Manchester City. When I looked at the comparative benches (I believe the City one contained Raheem Sterling) I feared for Brighton. We hung in there for an hour till Dale Stephens made an error in losing possession from [...]

April 26, 2024 // 0 Comments

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