History

Recommending & reviewing books

Yesterday I had a conversation with a fellow Ruster who touched upon a theme which I will explore here and now. He was given a book by a friend who enthused over it. The Ruster, who readily admits to being no bibliophile, wondered whether I knew the book in question which I did not. The point [...]

May 4, 2022 // 0 Comments

Fulham crowned champions

Last night – after a 7-0 thrashing of Luton – Fulham were finally crowned Championship champions. I have to confess that I watched the game and the revelry afterwards from the comfort of my sofa. Originally the game was scheduled for 3.00pm then televised by Sky and moved to 5.15pm. [...]

May 3, 2022 // 0 Comments

Sporting issues this weekend

The narrow victory of Northampton Saints (32/31) over Harlequins was enthralling, confirming my view that the most enjoyable sport currently on offer is to be found in the Rugby Premiership. This is subject to one caveat: the uncontested scrum. I checked the rationale for this with Derek Williams. [...]

May 1, 2022 // 0 Comments

TV Review: new sit-com Ten Percent

Modern life as it is experienced by those of us beyond the first flush of youth is a many-sided jewel, involving as it does a combination of looking back upon one’s life and trying to recall incidents and anecdotes from one’s past; marvelling (or becoming baffled and frustrated by) supposed [...]

April 29, 2022 // 0 Comments

Putin – no grandmaster at chess

David Niven once gave an interview to Michael Parkinson in which he observed that in Russia the national game was chess and in England it was football, meaning to imply that Russians thought better strategically. If so, Vladimir Putin is a weak chess player. In the 3 most defining moments of a [...]

April 27, 2022 // 0 Comments

A day at Sanary sur Mer

Yesterday the group spent the day at Sanary sur Mer – a charming port town which borders on the more famous Bandol and is more or less equidistant between France’s biggest port cities of Toulon and Marseilles. It has a literary history. Aldous Huxley and Cyril Connolly lived here and during [...]

April 25, 2022 // 0 Comments

Toulon 19 Toulouse 15

Yesterday I joined the Rusters in Nice as I had a ticket for Toulon v Toulouse, two of the powerhouses of French rugby. So much so that the match is played in the Orange Velodrome Stadium of Olympique Marseilles and attracted a sell out crowd of 64,580. I was saddened that Toulouse chose to rest [...]

April 24, 2022 // 0 Comments

The Trailfinders won’t be trailblazers next season

Yesterday brought the news that Ealing Trailfinders – who came top of rugby union’s Championship 2021/2022 league table, thereby becoming entitled to be promoted to the Premiership but then were judged by the RFU to have failed to meet the set criteria required, specifically including a minimum [...]

April 23, 2022 // 0 Comments

The Tanner Report: promotion achieved

Last Tuesday, after a 3-0 victory over Preston, Fulham’s promotion was confirmed. There were scenes of jubilation by fans and players alike. Now we need a cooler, analytical assessment of Fulham’s prospects in the Premier. In the last 5 seasons we have had 3 promotions and 2 relegations. [...]

April 21, 2022 // 0 Comments

Appointing and anointing

The last few weeks have seen some interesting appointments with more to come. In cricket, Rob Key has been appointed Director of Cricket in place of Ashley Giles. Key made fifteen appearances for England but was never really Test class. He was an above average pundit at Sky: insightful, [...]

April 21, 2022 // 0 Comments

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ITV COVERAGE OF CHELTENHAM

March 14, 2026 // 0 Comments

I am in the camp of watching on tv rather than attending for the 3 Cs: cost , convenience and comfort. With the cost of travelling and attending Cheltenham and last [...]
Max Schmelling/ The Good German

March 4, 2026 // 0 Comments

In the unlikely event that I would be asked to nominate a Great Life on Matthew Parris ‘ show my choice would be the Black Uhlan Max Schmelling. In the 1930s thee [...]
The Tanner Report : Fulham 2 spurs 1

March 3, 2026 // 0 Comments

Prior to Fulham ‘s comfortable win over Spurs (2-1) I watched the big match Revisited featuring Chelsea 1 Arsenal 2 i guess in the early 70s It would be foolish to [...]
The Six Nations

February 24, 2026 // 0 Comments

The Six Nations continues to throw up surprises. England could not bounce back against Ireland , a resurgent Wales gave Scotland à close game with the Millennium Stadium [...]
Brentford 0 Brighton 2

February 23, 2026 // 0 Comments

The heat is off Fabian Hürzeler with Brighton ‘s 1st win in 13 games. Club owner Tony Bloom was not at the G Tech stadium due to a long planned family engagement but had [...]