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The playing conditions now are BLINDINGLY ABJECT YOGHURT.

Sunday, Apr. 23, 2017 - 21:54

So yes, yesterday ended a bit oddly - I went and lay on my bed after watching the football, read twenty or so pages of my book, and must've fallen asleep. I had some particularly vivid dreams, some of which were a little pornographic in nature, and woke at about half three having slept through since eight. So yes, discombobulated and pushed from schedule I was. I got up for an hour or so, then went back to bed for what I assumed would be another couple of hours, then sleeping through till ten. I guess I needed the sleep.

I didn't really have plans for today - having done my food shopping yesterday. There was a sense, however, a weight on me. A whisper in my ear all morning telling me I should go and do something, but unhelpfully not telling me what I should do. I decided that doing similar to what I did last Sunday, heading out for a walk after lunch and seeing what happened, would be the thing to do.

It's seventy-five years since the start of The Baedeker Blitz – this was a series of attacks by the Luftwaffe on English cities during the Second World War - in response to RAF raids on Lübeck. German bombers hit Exeter on 23/24rd April, Bath on 25-27th April and Norwich and York a few days later. Over the course of the remainder of the campaign, due to improvements in British night-fighter capability and radar detection, losses to the Luftwaffe's bomber force were unsustainable, and for a variety of reasons the damage to the targeted cities was minimal. Nevertheless, the raids resulted in over 1,600 civilian deaths and tens of thousands of damaged homes.

There will be talk about the controversies of yesterday, Konta upset and not on top nick today, but in truth that all distracts from the fact that both Romania and GB have a top ten player - and little strength behind that - hence when Halep beat Konta this morning to give the hosts a 2-1 lead in the tie, it left Heather Watson needing to beat Irina Camelia Begu (ranked a hundred or so places above her). Oh and then for GB to win the doubles too. Watson gave a really good account of herself, esp. in a mammoth second set, but the Romanian triumphed 6-4 7-5 in the end to keep GB in the lower tier.

'The Stone Poneys' is the debut studio album by the Stone Poneys. Other than an early single of "So Fine" that was produced by Mike Curb in 1965, this album marks the first official recordings by Linda Ronstadt. Whether intended or not, the front cover photo appears to show the band as a more modern version of Peter, Paul and Mary with several of the songs sung in the same three-part harmony.

This afternoon I went and drew the local modern theatre - it's a complicated an unusual building, looks a bit like a boat stuck inside a stack of brick rectangles (I quite like it, most of the locals don't seem to) and I remember making a decent effort of it in pencil about eighteen months ago. This afternoon's effort was OK - quite good, but perchance comparable in result to last time, hence I am slightly dissatisfied in a 'have you improved?' sense. My back started to hurt after a couple of hours so I might've rushed the last part of it.

After being sentenced to 25 years in a Siberian gulag, Polish officer Slavomir Rawicz (along with six others) claimed in a ghost-written book 'The Long Walk' that he escaped the camp in Yakutsk then marched 4000+ miles on foot across the frozen Siberian tundra, the Gobi desert, through Tibet and over the Himalayas to British India (only three of them surviving the trek). However, in 2006 the BBC released a report (based on former Soviet records, including statements written by Rawicz himself) that showed Rawicz had been released as part of the 1942 general amnesty of Poles in the USSR, transported across the Caspian Sea to a refugee camp in Iran, and that his escape to India never occurred. The Pole settled in Nottingham in the 1940s, became a technician at the University in the architectural ceramics course in the 1970s, and died in 2004.

Twenty years ago today, I went for a walk with my then girlfriend around Wollaton Park, round the lake and the deer-park, a bit around the outside of the hall and the brick enclosed bit. The numerous benches with their little dedications, the winding paths in the ornamental gardens. The classical statues near the glasshouse. They used it in a Batman film as Bruce Wayne's manor innit, you know? I've never been inside though, part of me would be interested in doing so, but on the other hand I kinda don't wish to return to Nottingham as it's nicer to recall it only as I remember it.

Still trying to progress with that crime novel, still struggling a little due to the stodginess. The exposition is proving a little contrived, a little bit like the murders and the clues and everything is happening in the perfect order and perfect pace to keep the plot ticking over. Saoirse Ronan is damned pretty, apropos of nowt.

'Pleading the belly' was a process available at English common law, which permitted a woman in the later stages of pregnancy to receive a reprieve of her death sentence until after she bore her child. The plea was available at least as early as 1387 and was eventually rendered obsolete by the Sentence of Death (Expectant Mothers) Act 1931, which stated that an expecting mother would automatically have her death sentence commuted to life imprisonment with hard labour. The plea did not constitute a defense, and could only be made after a verdict of guilty was delivered. Upon making the plea, the convict was entitled to be examined by a jury of matrons, generally selected from the observers present at the trial. If she was found to be pregnant with a quick child (that is, a foetus sufficiently developed to render its movement detectable) the convict was granted a reprieve of sentence until the next hanging time after her delivery.

Today will be a busy day at work, stuff to do, hope my eyes aren't as sticky as they've been this past couple of days. Cut Bish. Cut Bish, Muddy Fuhh.. Mwa ha ha ha.


Arsenal 2-1 Manchester City [AET].
For the right to meet Chelsea (and deny them a double?), two sides under a bit of pressure who've this season fallen slightly short of things in terms of challenging seriously for the league title. Winning something this season will help either manager's stock, but then again you've got one starting to build an impact at a club, one coming to the end of his time. The first half fairly even (though not much on target), City had more of the ball and more of the shots, and Arsenal were also lucky maybe to have a decision go for them - Sane's cross was met by Aguero, Cech saved on the line and Sterling turned the rebound home.. but the assistant ref signalled that the ball had curled out of play (Spain v South Korea 2002 and Joaquin, anyone?). Midway through the second, with Arsenal perchance pushing a bit too much and after the ball broke clear from an Arsenal corner, a long Yaya Toure pass found Aguero who lifted the ball over the advancing Cech. Wenger needed to do something, and he was thinking about this, but his side found an equaliser ten after they went behind when a fine fine whipped Oxlade Chamberlain cross found Monreal volleying like a striker past Bravo. Yaya Toure hit the post, Fernandinho headed flush against the bar, regulation ended 1-1. A scrappy goal put Arsenal ahead, minutes after Aguero was taken off - Welbeck shinned the ball but Alexis Sanchez was awake enough to create space and fire home. City almost levelled in the second half of extra time, Delph denied by Bellarin's block. Wenger's three at the back worked well in the end, esp from HT onwards.


Burnley 0-2 Manchester United.
Despite having a proud home record, despite having got their first ever Premier League win in the corresponding fixture a few years ago (that season when United had that black kit with the blue chevron, IIRC), this ended up not a great result for Burnley. The hosts had a decent go, and they've quite some quality in midfield at times, but a United side even missing a few players (Zlatan and Rojo both ruled out till the end of the season due to cruciate injuries, atop of the long list of players alreayd out) had too much for their Lancashire neighbours. Martial capped a wonderfully quick and incisive break after twenty-one, slipping the ball beneath Heaton. Five before the break, Rooney got a scrappy second after a bit of a scrum in the box, Heaton repelling a shot but Rooney just getting it over the line from an angle. The second half saw similar, but Burnley defended well and answered all the questions - though never really posed enough of a threat to suggest they were going to get 'owt from the game. United put pressure on City n'that in fourth.

Liverpool 1-2 Crystal Palace.
An oddly quiet atmosphere early on at Sally Ann Field, fans perchance awaiting their side doing something to pep them up. In the end, Coutinho did this, curling a free kick over the wall and past Hennessey midway through the first. Liverpool looked in control and the crowd had woken up, but they were once more silenced by ex-Red Benteke equalising, getting on the end of a lovely Cabaye cross. For all the dominance, Liverpool looked somewhat snatchy, somewhat like the expectations of all those men in tracksuits and women in fake tan and animal prints was weighing down on them. Seventeen remained when Palace took the lead, a corner played in and defenders not doing their job, and big Benteke didn't have to jump in knocking it into the net with his head. Sam Allardyce has really pulled one out of the ting in the last few weeks, lifting a Palace side who were in a massive relegation slump up until relatively recently. Late on, Marko Grujic went in studs up on James Tomkins which was frustrating and nasty. Benteke has scored more goals as a visiting player to Anfield than he did as a Red. For all Liverpool's possession, they only had one shot on target - they stay third, but United and City just behind them have games in hand.

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