Penny Pinching

We all know that the economies of the world are in melt down. But this brings home the reality of how things are affecting people.

A Pound World store in Poole, in Dorset, had to shut its doors recently, following a massive slump in sales. Not unusual you might say, given the number of stores that appear to be closing their doors on a daily basis.

However, this story takes its shocking turn when you find that the reason for the slump in sales was the opening of a 99 pence store nearby. (Seemingly, across the road)

It is amazing to think that people would literally change their shopping habits, just to save a single penny!
What lessons might the bigger chain stores learn from this by cutting their prices - even by the smallest of margins!

International Footie

As far as I know, Tuesday 6th February 2007 still remains a record breaking day for London, when the city hosted no less than 4 international rugby fixtures on the same night. It has become quite a norm over recent years for the city to host football games of nations other than England, and this probably best indicates the cosmopolitan nature of the city and the huge variety of people and cultures you will find here.

Friday night was another example, when the Republic of Ireland took on the Super Eagles of Nigeria in a friendly football international at Fulham's Craven Cottage. Keen to experience the atmosphere of an international football game, I joined 11,262 other supporters (I counted them).

It really was a fantastic experience, with the Irish supporters slightly outnumbering the Nigerian supporters - but not by many.
The game was played in an excellent spirit, and the Scottish referee never had to produce a single yellow card in the 90 minutes.

The first half was all action. The Nigerians playing a far more muscular and robust brand of football, over the more European style of technical passing and precision of the Irish (perhaps instilled by manager, Giovanni Trapattoni.) However, for all their endeavour, the Irish team found it difficult to click together and it was in fact the Nigerians who played a better passing game, ultimately leading to them opening the scoring through Michael Eneramo just on the half hour.

The Republic of Ireland, spurred on by a massively noisy group of supporters, tried to respond, but still found it difficult. After 38 minutes however, they did manage to round off a sweeping move when Keith Andrews split the Nigerian defence and found Robbie Keane who rounded the Nigerian keeping, slotting home into an unguarded net.

The iconic Republic captain almost brought the house down, with the supporters chanting his name boisterously, and Keane taking the applause, acknowledging each stand in turn.

The second half was a completely different affair. Three substitutions by Ireland, including Keane, brought a different complexion to the game, and whilst they did threaten the Nigerian goal in the first 10 minutes of the half, Ireland still couldn't break down a stubborn defence, nor quite click their passing game together. With about 20 minutes of the game left, the crowd appeared to have settled for a draw, if the players hadn't, and a Mexican wave was started... An indication of the state of play at that time was that the wave went around Craven Cottage about 6 or 7 times without interruption.

The evening's entertainment drew to a close and the final result was the 1-1 draw.

It was a fantastic evening, a great experience and a very good first attendance at international football.
And with the number of international games that London regularly hosts, I am looking forward to my next game.

Spring Bank Holiday #2 : A flurry of flowers

Sometimes the best days start out planned, but end up spontaneous, and therein lies their charm.

On what news people have touted "the hottest day of the year"...
Wait - given the year straited in deepest Winter, and we are in May now, and approaching the Summer Solstice, is that not OBVIOUS that each day potentially becomes warmer than the previous? OK - rant over...
So, on the "Hottest Day of the Year so far", I thought I could never just sit indoors. This day needed to be spent outdoors in the sun.

So donning a t-shirt and SHORTS (yes, I wore shorts!) and headed toward Guildford in Surrey.
45 minutes later however, I had got myself lost in Guildford, and caught in various streams of traffic (apparently all heading to the Surrey Country show)
So eager to simply avoid traffic, I took a road and just followed it. About 30 minutes later, I found myself at the National Trust property, Winkworth Arboretum. So I stopped in.

Wow - yes, this has been a bit of a "flowery" weekend, having visited Claremont Gardens yesterday, but this was different. The landscaped gardens of Claremont were replaced today by the wild and unkempt magnificence of the Arboretum. And because it was Spring, the trees and plants were sporting new leafy clothing, and flowers were in abundance.

It seemed that every corner you took on the gravel path, your senses were confronted with a different cacophony of smells and fragrances. I even had the misfortune to startle a small bunny, who bounded off in excitement deeper into the undergrowth from where he gave me a weary, yet evil eye.

In the middle of the Arboretum is a large lake, flanked on one side by what has been named "The Meadow" and it was on this large, flat open area of grass that many families had made their way. And in the human world too it looked like Spring - there were LOTS of babies and prams in attendance, as families drew together for picnics while overlooking the lake. You can see more photo's of the walk here.

It was a very peaceful walk for about 90 minutes, and all because I had got frustrated in a traffic jam in Guildford!

Spring Bank Holiday #1 : Family Day out

It's a Bank Holiday weekend.
Two things have changed this morning, meaning the weekend is looking really good.

Firstly, my sniffling cold (Man Flu) has finally appeared to abate and breathing can take place in the manner God intended it to.
And secondly, for the briefest of moments, the sun appears ot have returned from Winter vacation and we had blue skies and warm sun. It is a day that cannot be spent at home, and os I headed out.

It is amazing to think that just 10 miles from where I live you can find Claremont Landscaped gardens. It is a fantastic 49 acre site now maintained by the National Trust and simply put, just a wonderful green lung in the midst of a concrete world.

Claremont Gardens

So I spent a while walking around the lake and enjoying the thriving bird life. And being Spring, each family of birds appeared to have a whole team of new members, and each father seemed to be sprting a slightly puffed out chest as he proudly flaunted his new brood to envious onlookers.

It really was a family day out, as even the birds seemed to be enjoying the sunshine.