Midweek football is an interesting conundrum - the only two options both involve Stalybridge Celtic ... either "big team" (at home to Blyth Spartans) - or "little team" (Celtic Youth away to ... Mossley Youth in the FA Youth Cup). Reckon I'll go for the "youth" option, purely because next Saturday every SixTameSide is away from home - bar one (yep - Stalybridge Celtic). .
... but I HAVE now done the pictures from Mossley's victory yesterday !!
It's been quite a long day already - this was the scene at 0630 this morning - yes there IS an 0630 on a Sunday y'know !!!
It might be a Millstone glass - but it contained "Two Hoots" (Holts Brewery)
They don't half make heavy weather of stuff England - strange when the commentator said they were ranked number 4 in the world - i.e. just like our 'glorious' football team - I feared the worst from then on !! Still, 41-10 sounds good (not as good as 84-6 like last time but ... good !).
Home - and then out to buy a new bed - job done (eventually !), followed by supermarket, some DIY "tips" (and loan tools !) to daughter and then home to do the pix from yesterday - which can be found at ... Mossley 2 Salford City 1
A fairly tight game as well - in fact it could have been about 5-4 at half-time ! Mossley really must stop playing with 10 men as well (not red cards but injuries - and no subs left - that's two Saturdays in a row now) - still another three points with Mossley now 13th ... seven days ago they were bottom .
Now off to cook some food - as in Pan-Fried Salmon with Herb Risotto - it's 1815 - and I've been up for 12 hours already - eek ! .
... are truly abunant at the moment - reckon one plant is now "on its way out" (first pic) - but hey, for a £2.99 packet of seeds - we have done well - plenty picked already but here's how we stand at the moment ...
... but we have other plants as well - here's just one of the other four ...
... and you came on here looking for football !!! Mossley have beaten Salford City 2-1 - and you'll get some pix later - promise !! Tomorrow morning - I'm going for a "Beer and Breakfast" option (0630 start) to watch some World Cup Rugby ... .
... well Mrs Smiffy still away - back later this evening (so I haven't even started cooking yet !) - so a trip up the hill to watch the young 'uns.
Some similarities to yesterday - Mossley take the lead via the penalty spot - Mossley player gets hat-trick - Mossley score between 5 and 6 goals - it stayed (fairly) dry ... a good win for the Youth team then. It's virtually a new squad from last season (probably something to do with age etc !!), but starting to gel and starting to look tasty. Thirteen goals in two days (another similarity ... I missed the fifth one yesterday and the fifth one today but ... !!) - pix from today at
Time to think about getting that tea sorted - and for you gourmets out there it's bacon-wrapped chicken with a cheese, basil and oregano stuffing, wedgie potatoes with brocolli and red pepper accompanied by beer (me) and wine (Mrs S). Smells good already (in my mind !) .
Bottom plays bottom-but-one ... finished work in good time, quick change and a walk up the hill - bumping into SJNR from the Mossley80 site - his words to me at 1445 hrs were "We might see a high-scoring game today" - and how right he was !!!Mossley took the lead as early as 4 minutes - and this seemed to send an electric "confidence" shock through the entire team - 4-1 at half-time and 6-2 at 90 minutes ... some pix at
... and apologies for missing the fifth goal - not only was I coming out of the club, I was also discussing the "did it go over the line goal" with Darren who was probably the best placed fan to see (he was "dubious" !). Never mind - a first win under the belt, but remember the first three words of this post - there's still a long way to go yet - but as a confidence booster it must have done a helluva lot of good. Hopefully it will continue on Tuesday night against Brazil - sorry Garforth Town.
Meanwhile ... Hyde win again (eight out of eight) and Stalybridge win again (seven and one draw out of eight) - and Droylsden keep playing catch-up with a win as well. Ashton United had a cracking idea for today's game - a "Snappers Day", inviting peeps with cameras to take pix of their game against 'Ensfud Town and submit one for a competition. Sadly they got beat 2-1 thanks to 2 goals from a "Stafford Rangers reject" - Wellecome to Hurst Cross !! Finally Curzon Ashton scored two goals against Salford City - unfortunately one was an "oggie" so it finished 1-1.Might go out for a couple of shandies now, with Mrs Smiffy being away (!)
Midweek looks like a possible trip to Woodley Sports on Tuesday to see them take on Lancaster City - we'll see ... oh and Mossley Youth are at home tomorrow afternoon (have to make sure all the chores are done first mind - and that includes prepping Sunday tea !).
Thirsty now ...
LATE "2330 hrs NOT THIRSTY NOW"" EDIT - it might have been 6-2 .. but I ought to give some credit to the away team today - apparently they have a glut of injuries - including "Dick" Tracey - their top goalscorer (who I DO remember from his Belper Town days) - but they NEVER stopped trying to play football. I did see them against Curzon Ashton back in August ... and they certainly gave them a run for their money as well. So respect to Ossett Albion - they are giving it their best shot - and you can ask for no more .... .
... fairly dry today (a bit of rain in the morning but ...) - and I did that bit of O/T as well (a 'wander' round Uppermill) - home to say "Farewell" to Mrs Smiffy (away on a weekend conference in Bath) - a bite to eat - this - and then off to TV to watch a DVD (tonight's offering will be "A Bridge Too Far" (nowt to do with Stalybridge Celtic - the "Arnhem War type thingy).
Hoping to see Mossley kick-start their season at home to fellow strugglers Ossett Albion tomorrow - assuming work gets finished in time - this week has been Diggle - next week it's Greenfield - one bonus with these "rural country walks" is that the cost of getting to work is actually cheaper !). .
... and was I right about the weather - just before kick-off it was absolutely lashing it down, so naturally I "weatherproofed" the camera in the usual way (punch hole in plastic carrier bag, secure to lens hood with RM elastic band) - whilst doing this Chester managed to score in the first thirty seconds or so ... missed it. They added a second about 10 minutes before half-time from the penalty spot ... but other than that there wasn't that much between the two teams I thought. OK the appalling weather was probably a bit of a leveller, but Ashton never gave up the chase against a well-marshalled Chester defence. Some wet pictures at
Home to dry stuff out (room littered with wet RM gear and wet DSLR gear !!) before giving up and sleeping. Out this morning - yep even more rain (!) - stopped now mind, while I'm inside - d'oh. Fingers crossed for a bit of an improvement tomorrow (poss doing some overtime as well) and Saturday (for some dry football).Oh and this morning Mrs Smiffy could find no tomatoes in the fridge for her salad lunch - she had to have four off my tomato plants instead !!! Loads on there now - just ripening in their own sweet time ... .
Yep ... a pretty grim week weather-wise "out and about" (this week the country atmosphere of Diggle !) - and some serious papier mache at times ... here's the official way of making it (I say "official" - this lady is great - and the music is OK too !!)
... the other option is to wait and see what comes through your door from postie (and our stuff is flour-free !!)
So - wet through again (OK drying out now) - and home to find out tonight's "game of choice" (Ashton United v Chester FC) has been called ON ... so it can't be all bad !
By the way - for those who remember my "grammar police" antics vis-a-vis a certain estate agent in the Mossley area during my "dolescum days" - here's a new one from the same. Can this REALLY be the price (click for big - and NO I have not tweaked/photoshopped) ??
I wonder ... never mind, tea soon and then off to Hurst Cross by frog - sorry bus (it's the Andes you cross by frog - check out/Google "Ripping Yarns")
... makes me laugh anyway - sums up the laughable state this country is in - and the way sooooo many people are being duped ...
Apparently "mid-market retailers reported a year-on-year sales drop of 2.2%" last month ... so the headlines say that it's ALL because of the riots ... hmmmm ... recession, what recession ??
Top three adverts on the TV at the moment are promoting ... price comparison websites ... now that WILL get us all out of the "recession what recession" .... and don't forget those handy companies/websites that have words like "APR 1737%" ...
Police cuts ?? The Metropolitan police have managed to find 1,000 officers to basically "child mind" kiddies to and from school - something to do with mobile phone and MP3 theft ... hmm, no recession here ...
The bonuses of top company directors have risen by 187% in the past decade ... no recession here either ...
In an attempt to encourage use of public transport, plans are afoot to get rid of 675 railway station ticket offices ...
66% of rioters have been remanded in custody for various offences ... as opposed to the "normal" 10% ...
A former (Labour) MP has been charged with expenses fraud totalling £66,000 - apparently the case has been delayed because she was suffering from "ill health" ...
... just a few stories from the last 48 hours
(Football tomorrow - don't panic - but if you can't wait ... Mossley are 2-0 down at half-time and this article is worth a read) .
... as mentioned earlier, with having a Saturday off work, it would be just plain criminal not to make the most of it ... which was why I was at Stalybridge Bus Station at 0945 on Saturday morning, returning to the same spot some 11 hours later ! In between time, a jolly day out - comfy coach, comfy company, DVDs, "lunch/tachograph stop" in Hampton-in-Arden (near Solihull), lots of "flatlands", a few alcoholic beverages - and a game of football as well.
I don't think I saw Stalybridge Celtic at their best - too much long ball stuff to be honest - but at the end of the day, three points is three points and the unbeaten start to the season continues (although Hyde FC still hold the local "bragging rights" with seven wins out of seven). Some pix from the day out in Cambridgeshire ...
... still on holiday - still remembering NOT to go into work - upstairs bathroom has had a "paint job" this week (something for the unemployed/students to do !!) - so before either of same had got up this morning I put some new floor covering down (OK not "exactly" new - leftovers from downstairs but ... hey !!).
Job done - so I went for a walk - last October I did a bit of a walk from Oldham to Grotton along the "old" railway line: OldhamGrottonRailwayOctober2010
- and I promised myself I'd one day check out the Oldham to Ashton "old" railway line. Today was the day ...
Not as straightforward/obvious this one - certainly a bit trickier to follow up at the Oldham end - but we got there in the end - I think !
Tomorrow - no work - so am going for BIG football trip (with apologies to "5 mins up the road Mossley" - the road to Wembley may start tomorrow (v Runcorn Linnets) - however Saturdays off are so few and far between - you've just got to go for something ... big !
Histon here I come ... . Saturday Morning Edit - you won't know this but - when you're getting closer to Ashton, the old railway line actually goes past the back of Joe's house ?? Fascinating ... .
Arsenal are interested in Belgian defender Mark de Man. Apparently, they are also interested in his compatriots, striker Skor de Gaulle and goalkeeper Bloek de Schott. .
... and so Monday brought the "local derby" 'twixt Mossley and Curzon Ashton ... and true to form, the home team got stuffed by a team of players who:
a) didn't want to play for Mossley so went elsewhere; b) apparently weren't good enough to play for Mossley so were sent elsewhere; c) saw an ex-Mossley manager - and joined him elsewhere; d) the other two players in the squad ...
... naturally (for the time of year) - the weather was pretty "sh*te" - you work a week in the rain - have a day off - and stand out in the rain - such fun !!! (also an excuse for the slightly "blurry" feel to some of the pix - because I was "out there ").
So ... I turn in for work this morning to be told "Isn't this your holiday week ??" Apparently it is (cue "What a Plonker" comments) - hey-ho ... however ... "while you're here do you mind doing 5 hours overtime ??" ... so I did ... One interesting pointer of course is ... if it's a weeks holiday, I've got Saturday off ... so I can (football-wise) go for something different/long journey etc etc ... we'll see what might be tempting ...
.
After a wet (and some !!!) morning at work, I managed to get to Hurst Cross about 10 minutes after kick-off - to find Ashton United already 1-0 up - here's the rest ..
and lost out on Quiz Night at the Britannia on a bloomin tie-breaker ... tomorrow (well today) - a truck-load of stuff to do in the morning - and a local derby in the afternoon ... .
Also .. it would be good to instil the same frame of mind into some of the "older but obviously not wiser" who have crawled out of the woodwork following recent events ...
Really am .. what has this country come to ... the rich and powerful are laughing at us all whilst we the "lower classes" squabble and argue amongst each other and decide whether 4 years for stealing a bottle of water is actually long enough when compared to 6 months for tax evasion/expenses fraud totalling thousands, maybe millions of pounds - something that causes far more permanent damage - or let's sit back and watch the financial gamblers on the Stock Markets screw up our pensions, our futures and and any hopes that our youngsters may have whilst listening to the corrupt at the top saying "We're ALL in this together" - while jobs are lost and wages are frozen and rail fares rise by 8% ...
No ... 4 years years for stealing a bottle of water is FAR too lenient ...
I despair - I truly despair ... going to the pub (which no doubt is also full of self-righteous b*st*rds that have NEVER done anyhting wrong in their entire lives ...)
Starting with the birth of the "High Peak Beer Company" - Stockport Market Hall Tuesday/Thursday/Friday/Saturday 0900-1600 - over 100 bottled beers and ciders - also draught cider and perry. This comes to you courtesy of Corin - partner of Laura (who used to work in the Computer Department at "THAT place" - you know 'Simon bloody skint bloody bust bloody Carves') - good luck with this new venture !!! Here's the article from the August 2011 edition of "Opening Times" - the local CAMRA magazine ...
Next a cheap house beer in a local pub in Mossley - viz ..
(apologies for pic - it's off my phone !!) - a touch smoother than the normal "Unicorn Bitter" (and 40p per pint cheaper too !!!!)
Plugs over - unless you count this as a plug for the "Manchester Evening News" - or a plug for the UK/North West economy ... back last year (just before I finally "leapt off the dole") I posted summat on here about the MEN "Jobs Supplement" - in those days it was advertised as "12 Pages of Jobs" - and I "broke it down" somewhat (check out the original post if you can be *rsed). So - 14 months on - and I spot this billboard outside ye locale shoppe ...
hmmmmmmmmm .... especially when you consider the "12 pages" of 14 months ago actually equated to about 6 ... God only knows how the 5 pages break down ...
... and finally - I mentioned some "slightly less than green" tomatoes yesterday - here they are ...
I've now got the bug - look out next year - I'm going for a big of fruit & veg growing "BIG TIME" (our potato sacks arrived just too late this year !!).
... or maybe Toms (why not go for a title that "jumps out" ???)
The magical tomato "adventure" has hit a problem - as in one of the stalks just "snapped off" due to the weight of toms/way it was planted/whatever ...
... which left me with ...
First word I heard was wash 'em, dry 'em, wrap 'em in newspaper and stick 'em somewhere dark ..." - which is what I did - I later found out that I could have tried to rescue the stalk by putting it in water and changing it every day and after a while re-planting - whatever ... there's still three plants 'hanging' in there - and a couple of the toms are heading towards the "red" colour as well.
Football - can't be bothered at the moment ...
Politics - can't be bothered at the moment - although this side of things has really opened my eyes on the views of certain people who I would have put down as friends/drinking/footy buddies ... there's SO much I could say on the whole thing - but I have to be careful as if I said something like "The Government is POO" - or "Let's Wreck Mossley on Friday Night" - I could well end up being A) hung drawn and quartered B) Jailed for Life C) transported to the colonies - 'exceptional circumstances call for exceptional sentencing' (unless you're a corrupt politican/ corrupt TV mogul/ corrupt newspaper hack/corrupt football star - so many role models to respect - HA ! ) an eye for an eye etc ... I've even seen/read well-known(and some not so well-known) racists advocating Sharia Law (as if they've any clue what this actually is !!). It's so sad to see the so-called "lower end" of this country basically kicking sh*t out of each other while the REAL criminals are just sitting in their (very rich) Ivory Towers laughing at us all ... just the way the 'Rich and Powerful' like it.
Amazing to think that back in the early 19th Century, Manchester saw the "Peterloo Massacre" - and these 'rioters' were subsequently lauded ... and did anyone watch "Quadrophenia" on the telly last night ?? .
... in between vistitors last night (with associated barbie), a walk round Curbar and Froggatt Edge today (more pix to come), and cooking more food tonight (mostly barbie left-overs !!!) ... I'm trying (!) to get my head around the intricacies of back-focussing, front-focussing and lens micro-adjustments on the 50D - having "played" with a couple of different lenses today - I'm starting to think that the 70-200 is having "issues" with the 50D (in fact I DID mention it a week or so ago after the Curzon/Barton game, thinking it might have been a "SmiffyTwitch") - many ways to test/solve - including banging it on the 20D for Tuesday night's footy ... as wll as printing off some fancy autofocus test chart ... damn - I've got to go to work in the morning as well !
Ashton United v Matlock Town Curzon Ashton v Radcliffe Borough Eastwood Town v Droylsden Hyde FC v Worcester City Nuneaton Town v Stalybridge Celtic Ossett Town v Mossley
Take your pick ... and kick the over-hyped, over-priced stuff into touch ... .
... and it was nowt to do with "safety reasons" ... tonight's game of choice was to be Oldham Boro v Daisy Hill in the North West Counties League Division One. However the weather put paid to that ... and I got wet during the day as well !! .
... are the state of things to come ... remember (if you're old enough ... otherwise Google) ...
Brixton - - - - Toxteth - - - - Moss Side
30 years ago ...
I DO NOT CONDONE LOOTING ... but I support wholeheartedly any protest against the sh*t we are all suffering now - and the sh*t that we will ALL be suffering as it all gets worse - which it will - witness the financial markets of today - these are the short-term financial "decisions" that are killing people's savings, people's pensions, people's futures. Yes - unemployment will rise, and IS rising (despite the ridiculous figures/lies that the "government" are spewing out) - but the global financial crisis is gonna hit more than the 18-25 year olds in this country - it's gonna screw the 50-60 year olds as well - we're already being told we've failed on our pension contributions (NOT OUR FAULT) - we're being made redundant after giving faithful/loyal service to companies (NOT OUR FAULT) - goalposts are being moved all the bloody time (NOT OUR FAULT) - we've done what everyone told us to do from age 18/21 - now - at age 55+ we're being sh*t on - meanwhile the government is telling peeps to work until they're 90 or something like that - and so the 18-25 years unemployment continues to rise ... the powder keg is there ...
Meanwhile - on message boards/Orange/BBC/comment options we still get the "hang the b*st*rds" vitriol from the "I'm All Right" sector - who are mostly clueless about what's really going on in this country (and 95% of 'em can't even bloody spell - just goes to show who are actually running the asylum) - wait until some of these self-righteous b*st*rds get sh*t on as well - it WILL happen ...
London today ... the rest of the country to come (a shame that a REAL protest WILL be hi-jacked by the low-life who have spent their life screwing benefits out of the country - this is where it all goes wrong). Don't forget though - we do have a government that condones this sort of rioting when it happens in Libya/Syria etc ...
... with the 'big guns' of FC Halifax Town at Ashton United - and FC United of Manchester at Stalybridge Celtic ...... I had to go for the "unusual" of course; I mean how often will you see a team from Bedfordshire "oop north" for a pre-season friendly ?? OK it transpires that they were apparently on a stag do in Manchester on the Saturday night - and looking at the game, it DID seem that a few minds were not quite on the football side of the weekend !!
So - a comfortable win for Curzon in the end, with some pictures at
... still not "quite there" with the new camera - when using "centre-point" focus, some pix seem to be drifting to the right a wee bit - I "think" it might be me twitching slightly as I press the shutter, because it's not a consistent fault with all the piccies - hey-ho ... "the more pictures I take the luckier I'll get" (mantra according to Snapper from Belper Town !!)
and yes it was a fairly "easy to recognize" Curzon Ashton team as well, with about 95% having played at Mossley over the last couple of seasons; and the afternoon stayed dry as well - which was more than can be said for Saturday morning when I copped for it big style - thunder, lightning, typhoons (well not quite - let's just say A LOT of rain !!). Back out "in the countries" for the first three days next week - and I also notice that most of the "local" pre-season friendlies have finished, what with the league games starting next Saturday - I'm sure we'll find something though ... .
I know of this train - 'tis the 'Scarborough Flyer' that runs every Friday during the summer - I was waiting for my bus to work at 0915 this morning - but all I had was my phone ...
.... and don't talk to me about work today - won't go into detail (i.e. about all the stuff that should have been done before I arrived ... but wasn't !) , but the first letter I pushed through a door was at 1150 hrs - as in ten minutes to midday. OK so I got some O/T today ... but from a customer point of view and even from a Smiffy point of view ... it's just wrong ... plus it was once again a "new walk" for me - which also makes it longer. Hey ho ...
Hoping to start on my agreed time and finish at a sensible time tomorrow in or order to get somewhere near 90 minutes of football - wait on ... .
... or "About time you slacker" (picture-wise) - I got there in the end (only 48 hours behind !) - not totally brill but I have been having some problems with lenses ... I think they're OK but ...
In short, Stalybridge Celtic are starting to look useful; much improved from the team that played Man City before my hols !!
Day off today - but I went into work anyway (just had a holiday - need the money - plus subsidising two scroungers at home as well) - and got suitably WET. And yes - Mrs Smiffy and I DID go to see the final part of the "Harry Potter saga" last night - in glorious 2D of course (what's with this £2-10 "uplift" for 3D films - plus 80p for the spex - obviously just another large company - I'm talking Cineworld here - taking the p*ss - and the profits ...) - very good it was too - just a few "deviations" from the book, but all tidied up (well Voldemort was suitably "tidied up" at the end !!!).
Struggling to play catch-up on the main "Six Tame Sides website" - amazing what a week - well nearly 10 days - can do. We'll get there ... Saturday looks like a trip to the Tameside Stadium to watch Curzon Ashton play Barton Rovers of the Zammo League (bit of a bugger really - Mossley have a friendly "down the Butthole" at Shepshed Dynamo - it would have been nice to take a wander down there and see some "old friends" ... but hey that's recession, redundancy and a new working pattern for you - well for me anyway !!).
... in more ways than one - work OK - another "new one" to tick off - strange weather though ... VERY humid - only gripe this week so far is Housing Association Flats - in some of the blocks there's just no-one there, so "NO ACCESS" is this weeks 'endorsement of choice' !!.Other "chunks of "normality" ...- listening to someone on the radio this morning telling me (and all other over-50s) I've NOT been putting enough into my pension scheme/schemes (it wasn't a comedy programme either - just another one of these moneygrabbing short-termist bar stewards from the "financial sector" - you know the sort - thieving scum)- tomatoes - have been doing really well in my absence (although I had sorted out a watering schedule with "homeboys" whilst we were away ) - here's one pic ...
I tried to count the whole thing (4 plants) in total - and I got bored after 70 ... so an 8 seed packet for £2-99 is certainly going to pay for itself ... OK - I went to the Orkneys ... and - like it or not - everyone should (?) go to this small village (more like a hamlet really) just to say "I've been there ...". There are signs pointing you there, but no signs to say "you are there" ... however, here's a small piccie taken in the churchyard of said place ... apologies if it upsets/offends anyone - but you just HAVE to do it (they even sell mugs in Kirkwall, so ...).
Up for some football tonight (Stalybridge Celtic v Chester FC) - just been thinking ... this new camera has yet to do a Saturday afternoon game - plenty of time yet - it's only JUST August !!! .
... stopped over in Aviemore last night - and drove the final 350 miles back this morning/afternoon. 564 pictures (that's all !) to go through - but not tonight. Three to be going on with - not the best but I'm "just messing" for now ....
Inside the Italian Chapel on Lamb Holm ...
Yep - we saw seals as well as puffins !!
One end of Stromness "Main Street" - during rush hour ...
Football - I DID see about 30 seconds of football on Saturday whilst crossing the Cromarty Bridge (you can see into Inverness Caley Thistle's ground - it was about 1510 hrs and they were playing Hibs !!). Probably wait until Tuesday now ... we have the delights of work in less than 12 hours as well ... .
... and then it's holiday time !!! After work tomorrow, it's drive north - staying over in Glasgow - before going even further north - Scrabster to be exact to catch a ferry to Stromness on Saturday evening. Yes we're off to the Orkney Islands for a week. The "shopping list" is as follows:
Skara Brae Standing Stones of Stenness Ring of Brodgar Maeshowe Broch of Gurness Rousay Mine Howe
(I'll probably take a camera or two !!!)
A couple of "bonus balls" - we've tickets to see Laura Marling (see Wiki) at St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall next Monday ... and there's a cinema up there too - so we'll be watching the final part of the Harry Potter saga as well (it's showing until next Thursday !!).
Football ? Not even thought about it ... consider this site shut for a week (OK I'm taking my laptop - just in case !) ... .
... 4-1 to City after 20 mins or so - thought they were going to run riot at that stage - a fair few first teamers playing as well (including Bellamy, Bridge, Onohua). Thankfully Celtic settled down a bit - they even won the second half 1-0 !! Some pictures at
A bit of an improvement on last night - weather still foul mind (which ain't helping !), and I seem to have a tendency to over-expose (ooo-err missus !). Still that's what friendlies are for, both on and off the pitch !! However - last football for a while that - all to be revealed later ... . .
... for the Willow Wood Hospice Cup - a well-deserved 4-0 win for Ashton United tonight against a strangely pedestrian Mossley (I reckon last Friday's game spoilt us all). Might only be a PSF but there WAS silverware available tonight - as in silverware that Mossley held from last season ...
Pictures - not many - not brilliant - awful weather again (that "fine" rain that soaks you right through - and hinders focussing summat rotten !!) - mind not totally on job either I'm afraid (see earlier post) - hey-ho we're still in "friendly mode" so - what the hell ...
... only a matter of time now (although Mrs Smiffy wants to turn to crime !) ...
Not content with making me redundant after 25 years - and paying out the Government Statutory Minimum Redundancy Payment ... I've now received a letter from the Simon Carves Pension Fund administrators (remember that the Pension Scheme was wound up/frozen a couple of years before I got the chop) telling me that the company has gone into administration - with the likelihood that the Pension Scheme will be going into the Pension Protection Fund - which (I believe) means I've immediately lost 10% of everything.
What the bastards have done is start up a new subsidiary of the evil Indian parent company - the press release quotes "All employees currently working for Cheadle-based Simon Carves Limited have been given the positive news they’d been hoping for today, that their jobs are safe. ". That's nice isn't it ?!? The press release goes on to say "PricewaterhouseCoopers will now seek to realise the remaining assets and carry out their statutory duties and review creditor claims. ". One sentence that hides a multitude of sins ...
Meanwhile the (-------- ----)** that caused this grief in the first place - name some names why not - Brian Waltmaier and Mark Leggett to name but two - walked away from the damage with nice hefty golden handshakes - and certainly in the case of one of them - off to nice new jobs and salaries.
Here's a quote from the LinkedIn website (check out here for more info - note the dearth of words after the time at Simon Carves) ... "A successful, charismatic and inspiring leader with a track record of implementing substantial and complex organisational and business improvement. Proven analytical, strategic, operational and people skills with the ability to regenerate and motivate resources into winning teams and businesses". Give me time - and I could re-write that from the point-of-view of most of the poor bastards at the bottom of the heap ...
Suffice to say - I'm over the bloody moon at the moment ... and I'm going to take it out on some football tonight (Mossley v Ashton United in the Willow Wood Hospice Cup) - should take my mind off things for a few hours at least ...
**(EDITED - 1715 - 20th July 2011) - I've removed a couple of words - because you know what the supposed "rich and powerful" are like - always on the look-out to still further screw the masses. Suffice to say that if you're an crossword addict try:
Mrs Smiffy - and siblings - have been attending a family wedding "daarnn saarff" (Henley-on-Thames) this weekend. I was of course "at work" ... holidays and Royal Mail make up an interesting (and emotive) subject - ask any postie !! Suffice to say, I didn't make it.
Sounds like it was a good "do" - good service, good food, boats up the Thames etc etc ... and look what came back to Mossley late this afternoon while I was preparing a Roast Beef Dinner ....
Unfortunately (fortunately ??) - it wasn't full - but people HAD been told that it needed drinking by Monday night at the latest. Never one to duck out of a challenge me ... so I'm doing my best as we type (!!) ... and to save having to zoom in on the above pic - here's the important information ...
Enough for now ... there's "work" to be done tonight !!! .
A very very very very very WET day on the streets today - it's 2100 hrs now and my workie shoes are still sodden - I managed to (just about) dry out late this afternoon - no way was I going to any football today - made a welcome change to totally relax on a Saturday afternoon though.
Looking back on last night - a good performance by a more "youthful" Mossley squad up against a fairly "youthful" Macclesfield Town squad - if you saw any of the Mossley youth team games last season, you'll understand. What's needed is to get that mix of youthful exuberance and Evo-Stik experience - certainly the friendlies are the time and the place for this.
... and the camera - well ... a far more responsive shutter - more and better ISO choices (together with double the megapixels) - bigger screen to review stuff ... certainly a quantum leap ! I reckon it was the shutter that really caught my eye (finger ?) though - maybe the old camera was that responsive once upon a time (at least I'm now in a position to put it in for a good service ...). The pics I put up last night were pretty much straight from the camera - a little bit of cropping but that was about it.
Anyway - apologies to Hyde FC for missing the game at Woodley today (see above) - next game will see me getting another one of the Six Tame Sides nder my belt ...
Will write some more over the weekend (might try to get a game - or part thereof - in on Saturday as well - work permitting !), but first impressions are distinctly favourable ... .
We finally made it !!(Note suitably unimpressed cat ...)
... a second-hand Canon EOS 50D to be exact (with battery grip containing two genuine Canon batteries no less !) - arrived yesterday, and second-hand is certainly the word (!) - plenty of bumps and scratches on the outside (but best part of £200 cheaper than anything else going around at the moment), but having had a (very) brief "play", it seems to be the "canine parts" on the inside !!! So, with Mossley playing Macclesfield Town tonight, it gets its first outing.We shall see how it does (or more importantly how I do !!). .
More stuff from the game tomorrow (final score was 1-0 to Oldham Athletic) - have started on the pictures; a slight improvement from Saturday (!), but I'm afraid the shutter is really starting to get "iffy" - dammit the blooming camera is nearly 10 years old - and I've had it for nearly four years without getting it serviced - so what have I done ?? Clicked a couple of buttons on EBay - one of which said "Buy it Now" ........ I'd better tell Mrs Smiffy in the morning ........ . .
What on earth 11 grown men/youths were doing this for ...
... in 3/4 time as well ...
... God only knows ...
(But then again it's still pre-season !!!)
Didn't make it to Curzon Ashton tonight for their friendly against Man United Reserves - still "feeling it" a bit in the mouth/jaw area - got through work though - and have a full day off tomorrow - so hopefully by 1900hrs I'll be a bit closer to 100% right for the Mossley game against Oldham Athletic. And don't worry - I WILL be aiming to get to see all Six Tame Sides ASAP !!! .
Glad that's all over - got in for a 1045 appointment this morning - dental chappie says "It's got to go ..." Half-an-hour later a big lower molar was lying on the tray (I won't go into the infection/pus side of things - let's just say it was messy !!).
Picture posed by "Google model" - sums it up pretty well mind !!
Another poor nights sleep (ended up going downstairs and trying to sleep "sitting up" on the sofa !). Staggered into work and got it over with before getting home and ringing up NHS Emergency Dental Services. Questions/Answers/Questions/Answers. Was told I'd be rung back by a Dental Nurse "waiting time about 1 hour". They rang back - more Questions, more Answers. Was told off for having taken four Ibuprofen in 24 hours (recommend three) - I said it made no difference anyway !! Still ... nothing available today "You could go down to A&E ... but they don't have a dentist, they won't drain the abcess and you'll probably have to wait a while". Next option is to ring back - at 0700 tomorrow morning (!!!!!), go through the whole rigmarole again and they "should" be able to find me an emergency dentist tomorrow morning - fingers/teeth crossed. Another tip was "Try sleeping sitting up - it should help" - beat ya there !!
It was getting on by now, so I grabbed the camera, dusted off the footy lens and arrived at Seel Park about 25 minutes into the first have (it was 1-1 at the time). Finished 5-1 to FC Halifax Town in the end - no complaints - some lethal finishing and punishment of mistakes in short. Didn't take many pix (47 to be exact) - a bit "ring rusty" and my gob was killing me. Anyway - we're off the mark ...
Home to this - am now going to try and get some form of food down my throat (well one side of it) before trying out some "horse pills" I was given by "a customer" this morning and having a quiet night in - sitting up (the alarm is already set for 0700 ) !!!
I've another "Grumpy Old Man" post waiting to be put together - concerning Car Insurance ... maybe tomorrow !! .
A cracking album by the way - "Take it Off" is my fave track
A horrible day weather-wise - and having not had much sleep after returning from the John Butler gig last night - I'm right knackered (sleep deprivation due to toothache/abcess whatever it's called these days flaring up BIG style - have made appointment with dentist - earliest they can fit me in is NEXT BLOODY WEDNESDAY - I'll either be dead or it will have burst by then ... can normally handle this sort of thing - but this one - it's bloody painful even with Ibuprofen double strength and alcohol)
Going out for tea tonight (obviously will be eating left-handed/mouthed !!) and then home later - looking for an early kick-off tomorrow morning (work !) so as to give me half a chance of getting to Seel Park for the other early (1400hrs) kick-off - all assuming I'm in any fit state to work/take photos/exist. I have had the odd abcess before .. but this one has just literally appeared/blown up in 24 hours or so ... and it effing hurts !
Hey ho ... onward ever onward ... (at least I've a ready-made excuse for cr*p pix tomorrow !!) .
... nay excellent - nearly two hours of quality - and varied - music from John Butler ... and the support was pretty good too (Passenger). Seemed a bit harder/edgier than last year (set very similar according to our Michelle) - it's "interesting" to see someone play the didgeridoo and double bass at the same time as well !! One poorly pic from tonight - it just ain't worth it really (no way am I clambering to the front with all them young 'uns - stand by the mixing desk and listen - far more refined !!).
Off to Manchester Academy with our Michelle to see the John Butler Trio ... saw 'em last year - brilliant - a true virtuoso guitarist - so when a spare ticket came up this year ("Mr H" is working) - I took it with both legs ! As with last year I can only divert you all to this particular Youtube vid - don't just listen, watch the screen - and marvel at the "guitarmanship" ... ici John Butler ...
... for those still awake (fooled a few with that footy post earlier !) here's some red stuff from the garden ..
The raspberry cane is giving out half-a-dozen a day !
Strawberry plant is less generous though !
... and well done to the England Women's Team today - missed it live but will watch highlights later on BBC2 (see - slipped some football in there !) ... .
... came out today - for a full listing of our Blue Square North teams check out the main website ... but for the lazy amongst, here's the "Tameside Derby Dates" ...
Tue 20 Sep Droylsden v Hyde FC Sat 05 Nov Droylsden v Stalybridge Celtic Mon 26 Dec Stalybridge Celtic v Hyde FC Sun 01 Jan Hyde FC v Stalybridge Celtic Sat 07 Jan Stalybridge Celtic v Droylsden Sat 25 Feb Hyde FC v Droylsden
(all subject to change due to this, that and the weather no doubt !!!) .
Finished work and headed home (via the butchers - Pattisons - runner-up in "Pride of Tameside" Retail Business of the Year no less !) to prepare some of my "special" kebabs for the evening barbie in Rochdale (well Whitworth actually !). No pix of said kebabs (I'm sure I've snapped 'em before and put a pic on here but ...) - but they were prefect - as usual. I call them "Geek Kebabs" - as they were all properly symmetrical (onion, lamb, tomato, lamb, pepper, mushroom, lamb, onion, pepper, lamb etc etc). Also appearing at the barbie were sausages, steaks, courgettes, spare ribs ... and salad for t'others ! Well-fed, a few beers (!), long sleep, big brekkie and then out for a walk today. Walkie pics (really must start taking a decent lens with me on walks - it's the weight though !!) at
Started with a "wood" theme - and then we went out into the great wide open ... good walk ... and home to this (once again someone else is cooking - luxury !!!).
Notice Mossley Reserves have played - and won - today (report here). I'm going to put off football for just one more week - and then it's Mossley v FC Halifax Town next Saturday - a 1400hrs kick-off which means I may miss the start depending on work of course - next week I'm back in Greenfield (not Greendale !!). Not checked weather yet but am assuming shorts again - at least for tomorrow.
... the cat woke me up at 0430 this morning (the senile old bar steward !) so it was somewhat tricky to return to "snoozeland" - here's a couple of pix taken this morning before heading off to work. We have a "rose bush" - it was in the garden when we moved in over 25 years ago and it very rarely flourishes (just grows big and prickly). However this year - we have a flower - bad year for the greenfly maybe but ... picture with babycam after me sprinking a bit of water on it for effect - and having a fiddle with the "Program" mode on camera to try and get a half-decent speed !!!
... and here are the tomato plants - no fruit yet, but the flowers are there - fingers firmly crossed for some red stuff - eventually ...
... and it's nowt to do with football. Got the tip-off this afternoon after work - so went home grabbed camera and ... I give you the pictures only - and remember ... you saw it here first !!!
Had to be taken sharpish - just in case some miserable "jobsworth" eventually puts the kybosh on the whole thing ... if you've been up Mottram Road Stalybridge - you'll understand where this particular "idea" is coming from ... I will say no more - for now !!! .
Dagenham and Redbridge 1-0 Torquay United
-
It's Tuesday evening and the golden rays of sunshine dip beneath a
formation of fluffy white clouds, as daylight begins to fade. Spring has
finally show...
Havant & Waterlooville 1 Concord Rangers 0
-
12apr14 Conference South Westleigh Park, Havant att. 604 Recently I’ve been
watching a lot of film about the First World War, being that it’s the
hundredth...
