A round of applause to Chelski (I suppose)....

Grudging congrats to Chelsea, who beat Manchester United 3-0 today to win English football's Premiership title for a second straight season.
However I hope Wayne Rooney, who was injured in that match, makes a full recovery in time for this summer's World Cup. To quote from Lord Kitchener, "Your country needs you!"
Chelsea 3-0 Man Utd

The next England manager is NOT.....

Portugal's Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari - who said today that he had withdrawn from the running to become England manager, citing his feelings for Portugal and the recent amount of press intrusion since his name surfaced two days ago as a likely candidate to succeed Sven-Goran Eriksson.
"There are 20 reporters outside my house now," he said. "If that is part of another culture, it is not part of my culture. I am not the coach, and will not be England's coach."
Good for him (even if some have claimed he was motivated by monetary reasons)!!
When Scolari's name was touted as a major possibility for the England manager's job, the xenophobic statements from some quarters were predictable and nauseating.
I'll especially remember ex-Arsenal footballer Ian Wright's diatribe:
"I would prefer that the FA chose an Englishman and spend years in the wilderness and not win the World Cup rather than have a foreign manager and win the World Cup."
I hope those words don't come back to haunt Wrighty....
England job not for me - Scolari

Congrats, Thierry!!

And still on the subject of football, a hearty "well done" to Arsenal's Thierry Henry, for winning the Football Writers' Association (FWA) Footballer Of The Year award tonight - the third time he's won this award in four years.
Henry picks up award from writers

And in case you're wondering why Thierry Henry is worthy of such high praise:
Thierry Henry video clip

WELL DONE BORO (continued)!

Football...bloody hell!
Nice one (again), Boro!! Talk about back from the dead!!
Middlesbrough 4-2 Steaua Bucharest (agg 4-3)

Villarreal 0-0 Arsenal (agg 0-1)

YEE-HAH!!!
PARIS, HERE WE COME!!!!!
JENS LEHMANN IS A LEGEND...!!!!
Ok, so Arsenal were rubbish, but you know what? It doesn't matter ONE BLOODY BIT how they played tonight, because they made the final!
Super Lehmann's save vs Villarreal (video-clip)

Tom-dick

...Is Cockney rhyme for sick. Which sums up my present condition (a queasy feeling, accompanied with vomiting and diarrhea).
I hope to recover by next Monday in time to go to work.

one-nil to the Arsenal...

A fairly good result and a great performance for the last European match at Highbury - shame about Henry's goal ruled off-side. But 1-0 will have to do.
Still, Villarreal worry me. They are tough and the lads will have to be damn careful next week...
Arsenal 1-0 Villarreal

PS: What about that squirrel?
The Squirrel of Highbury (video)

Oh no, it's Jordan.....

I'd hoped to keep Jordan out of my blog as long as possible (for the simple reason that I can't stand her). But to read about her slagging off 22-year-old Chantelle Houghton, who recently announced her engagement with Ordinary Boys singer 24-year-old Preston, made me want to laugh and throw up at the same time (Chantelle & Preston met on reality TV show "Celebrity Big Brother").
Apparently Jordan, alias Ms. Katie Price, is "sick to death of reading that they're getting married...It's boring now."
Which is exactly how I feel when I read about Jordan and her hubby, Peter Andre.....sick to death and bored.
Jordan bored with Chantelle & Preston

Respect for Dennis "The Iceman" Bergkamp.....

It was nice to see Dennis Bergkamp given his due last Saturday (April 15, 2006). To honour Bergkamp's time at Arsenal Football Club, the Gunners made their home match against West Bromwich Albion as "Dennis Bergkamp Day". The great man came on as a substitute, setting up Robert Pirès goal and scoring one himself (Arsenal won 3-1).
As of April 15, 2006, Bergkamp has scored 121 goals for Arsenal in 420 appearances. The Iceman also has the pleasure of being the first (and so far only) player to have come first, second and third in BBC TV's Match of the Day's 'Goal of the Month' competition (in September 1997).
In my opinion, his best goal for Arsenal was the 2002 English Premiership Goal of the Season, scored against Newcastle United on March 2, 2002 (and yes, he meant it):



On 22 July 2006, a testimonial will be played in his honour at the new Ashburton Grove stadium, with Arsenal playing his old club Ajax. This will be the first match at Arsenal's new ground, a fitting tribute to a genuine Dutch master.

Words fail me....

I read this story in yesterday's Indie newspaper about an Afghan girl sold as a bride........aged four!

"The suffering of Gulsoma's first 12 years is not immediately apparent in the little girl with an open face, who is doted on at Kabul's Women's Affairs Ministry. But in repose her features cloud and she clasps her arms around herself, while the overlapping scars on her body offer a crude account of abuse.
She was married at the age of four into a family where she was treated as a slave, beaten with electric cables, stoned, her limbs broken with an axe handle, starved, burned and doused with boiling water. Once she was used as a human table top. She says her father-in-law tortured her further by literally rubbing salt into her wounds, an experience so painful she says she asked God to let her die.
Gulsoma, now 13, is one of the first young girls to be rescued by Afghanistan's Women's Affairs Ministry, which was established after the fall of the Taliban government as a first step to improving the lot of women in one of the world's most unequal societies."

The rest of this horrific story can be found here:
Brutal torture of Afghan girl sold as bride aged 4

Sometimes you wonder about the evil man is capable of....

He's baaack....

Yay!! Doctor Who is back on BBC TV!!
Or, to be more precise, the new series of Doctor Who (starring David Tennant as the latest incarnation of the Doctor and Billie Piper as his companion Rose Tyler) will begin in the UK tonight at 7.15pm, on BBC1.
Now all I have to do now is set up my "do not disturb" sign while the show is on......
BBC - Doctor Who - Classic Series Homepage

Health warning on booze...

The government is currently negotiating with the drinks industry over health warnings on alcohol and in places where it is sold.
I admit being sceptical when I heard about this on the TV news. Putting a health warning on ciggies hasn't killed off the smoking industry, and a health warning won't stop me from having the odd tipple now and then (before people complain, I do not drink to excess).
But our leaders have to do something, I guess. Up to a quarter of adults in Britain are binge drinkers, according to a survey of 2,000 people last year.
Still it's ironic that this government is pushing for health warnings, when it was also them who relaxed the Licensing laws, introducing 24-hour drinking last year.
Health warnings for drinks cans

D12 rapper Proof is dead (continued)....

According to Detroit police, it now appears that Proof's own actions led to his death.
The slain rapper first pistol-whipped and shot 35-year-old Detroit resident Keith Bender Jr. in the head following a fight at the CCC nightclub. The club was legal, but open illegally after hours onTuesday morning (April 11). Police then believe 28-year-old Mario Etheridge, an alleged Detroit bouncer and confirmed cousin of Bender Jr., shot Proof in return. Keith Bender Jr. remains in critical condition at St. John Hospital and Medical Center.
Etheridge, turned himself into police custody on Wednesday evening (April 12) and gave his account to authorities.
Detroit Police Sgt. Eren Stephens told the Detroit Free Press in the case that Proof was shot by someone trying to protect himself or another, the shooter won't be charged.
Suspect In Proof's Shooting Turns Himself In, May Not Be Charged

One is always sorry at the senseless loss of life, but it appears that Proof sowed the wind - and reaped the ultimate whirlwind. Course, that hasn't stopped the "what is wrong with Rap music?" comments on some websites....

Work, work, work.....

Well I've got a job. Next week I'll be back, doing what I do best - looking after other people's money.

YESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!

I'll still be venting my spleen in this blog - albeit not as often.

But best of all - no more Daytime TV!!!

D12 rapper Proof is dead....

A member of rap group D12 was killed in a nightclub shooting in Detroit this morning (April 11) . 32-year-old Proof (real name Deshaun Holton), was shot in the head at a club on Eight Mile Road, made famous in Eminem's autobiographical film 8 Mile. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Conner Creek Medical Center in Detroit, according to a spokeswoman for St. John Health System.
The slain rapper was a close friend of Eminem and had acted as his best man at his wedding in January. Proof's solo debut, "Searching for Jerry Garcia," was released in August 2005 on his own Iron Fist label.
A publicist for D12's record label Interscope said arrangements were being made for a memorial service.
Another friend of Eminem, rapper Obie Trice, was shot at while driving in Detroit on New Year's Eve. He was wounded in the attack (but has since recovered from his wounds), while his girlfriend was unhurt.
In addition, D12 original member Bugz was shot and killed in May 1999 during a picnic at Detroit's Belle Isle Park.
Eminem's D12 bandmate shot dead

A reminder for Ken Livingstone

The London mayor Ken Livingstone is currently visiting Beijing, host city for the 2008 Olympic Games, to build trade and tourism links between the two Olympic cities (London being the host city for the 2012 Olympics).
When asked by a British reporter if the 1989 Tiananmen massacre was forgiveable, Livingstone responded "I didn't come here to talk about an event that happened 20 years ago in their politics, certainly not in a week following the publication of terrible pictures of communists who had been tortured and beaten and starved by the British state machinery in the aftermath of the second world war."
But his suggestion that it was time for visiting politicians to move beyond discussions of the killings in 1989 has angered the families of the victims, who have relied on foreign governments to support an issue that is still taboo for the Chinese media.
I'm not surprised these families are angry. So here's a pictorial reminder to my mayor why Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989 should NEVER be forgotten.
Livingstone gaffe angers human rights groups on visit to China

Bird Flu in the UK (continued)...

The dead swan found in Fife which tested positive for the lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu has been identified by scientists as a whooper swan (and not a mute swan as initially reported).
The breed originates from outside the UK but it's uncertain whether the bird picked up the disease abroad, despite being subjected to DNA tests.
No other birds have tested positive for H5N1 since the discovery on 29 March.
The whooper swan is known to migrate from Iceland, Scandinavia and northern Russia and about 7,500 are thought to come to the UK during the winter.
Bird flu swan was from outside UK

How the other half lives (continued)...

And finally:

The Golden Bon Vivant pie, created by chefs at the Fence Gate Inn in Burnley, Lancashire, costs over £1,000 ($1,745) a slice and is currently the world's most expensive pie. It contains a 2.5 Kilo Wagyu Fillet of Beef valued at £500 ($873) and Matsutake mushrooms from China, selling for £250 ($435) a lb. These mushrooms are so rare they are harvested under guard. The recipe also includes two bottles of 1982 Chateau Mouton Rothschild red wine costing more than £4,000 (almost $7,000) and the pie is topped with edible gold leaf. The total cost of the pie - 8 slices - is £8,195 ($14,280) and is served with Louis Roederer Cristal Rose champagne, costing £345 ($600) a bottle.
World's most expensive pie created

Musical interlude

And now, Bobby Brown with "Every Little Step:"

How the other half lives (continued)...

Next - the Burger Royale, served at DB Bistro Moderne, a fashionable restaurant in Manhattan run by celebrity chef Daniel Boulud.
The Burger Royale is a sirloin burger stuffed with truffles, three ounces of shredded short rib meat, foie gras, root vegetables and layers of freshly shaved black Provençal truffles, which will set you back by $59 (or $99 for the double truffle version) and is officially the most expensive commercially available burger in the world. The restaurant has the Guinness Book of World Records certificate hanging in its window to prove it.
The Burger Royale is served exclusively during truffle season, which apparently lasts from mid-December until late March.
The world's first $99 hamburger

How the other half lives (continued)...

And now, possibly the world's most expensive sandwich - the McDonald sandwich, named after its creator Scott McDonald, the chef at London department store Selfridges - goes on sale from tomorrow at the department store, in Oxford Street, London at a cost of £85 ($148).
Slices of 24-hour fermented sour dough bread are spread with a mayonnaise flavoured with foie gras (£30 a lb) and black truffle (£340 a lb). This is followed with a generous helping of brie de meaux, considered Europe's finest cheese.
A third of the sandwich's weight consists of Wagyu beef (considered the world’s most expensive meat). This beef costs £28 a pound and is imported from Japan. The meat is seared in a pan on both sides for two minutes and then basted with yet more foie gras before being chilled for 15 minutes and sliced.
English cherry tomatoes and rocket, plus peppers roasted on a naked flame and then skinned and sliced finely, complete the presentation.
So far there have been at least five advance orders placed for the 21oz (595g) meal.
'Most expensive sandwich' on sale

How the other half lives (continued)...

More expensive fare:

New York’s historic Algonquin Hotel, once the domain of the Algonquin Roundtable where 1930s notables such as Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley and Heywood Broun drank, offers a $10,000 "Martini on the Rock." The drink comes with a pre-selected diamond at the bottom of the glass (the $10,000 value of the beverage is based on the market value of the diamond).
To order this special Martini, one needs a 72-hour advance notice and a personal visit to the hotel's own jeweler (Bader & Garrin). The "Martini on the Rock" was first ordered and used in a marriage proposal in December 2004 (by Joe Imperato of Westchester County to his girlfriend, Melissa Beck).
The $10,000 Martini on the Rock

How the other half lives...

It really makes one think:

The Serendipity Golden Opulence Sundae (pictured) costing £573 (about $1,000) , is the world's most expensive ice cream sundae and is available at the Serendipity 3 restaurant in New York. The sundae comprises five scoops of Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream infused with Madagascar vanilla, covered in 23 carat edible gold leaf and topped with a bowl of Grand Passion caviar.
Extravagant gourmet treats (details)

The world's lowest life expectancy...

Life in Zimbabwe is now shorter than anywhere else on planet Earth, with people not expected to live to 40, according to a report from the World Health Organisation.
Zimbabwe's women currently have an average life expectancy of 34 years and men on average do not live past 37. While deaths from Aids has been a factor, the key reason behind the drop in Zimbabwe's average life expectancy is the fall in the standard of living, triggered by an economic meltdown.
Let us not forget President Robert Mugabe's controversial policy of evicting the poorest from their homes. Not that Zimbabwe's leader has to worry about his lifespan - Mugabe is expected to rule the country until the age of 84.
Zimbabweans have 'shortest lives'

WELL DONE BORO!

Three cheers to Middlesbrough for their incredible comeback against Swiss side Basle.
Middlesbrough were 2-0 down from their first leg and had conceded another goal after 23 minutes last night, which left them needing four goals to win. To actually score those four goals - and get the winner in the 90th minute, is nothing short of magnificent!!
Middlesbrough 4-1 Basle (agg 4-3)

Pan's People

I was just watching a BBC retrospective about the year 1973, and someone commented about Pan's People. I'd forgotten about these remarkable dancers from my youthful years...an oversight I'd like to rectify.
Before MTV, VH-1 & BET, before the Chart Show, before the music video, there was BBC's Top Of The Pops show (aka TOTP) - and that was your lot for pop music back then in the seventies.
If you wanted to promote your latest single in the UK, you appeared on TOTP. Heck, you had to appear on TOTP - there was no other show like it. If you were elsewhere (say, on tour) - well TOTP used a group of female dancers called Pan's People to provide the entertainment when an artist couldn't make it to the studios. So while the single was playing, Pan's People would perform their interpretation in sexy chiffon outfits. Seeing Pan's People, one was glad the artist couldn't make it to the BBC studios.
Pan's People lasted till April 1976. And TOTP now appears on Sundays.
But a toast to Babs Lord, Dee Dee Wilde, Ruth Pearson, Andrea Rutherford (later replaced by Cherry Gillespie), Louise Clarke (replaced when she left to get married by Sue Menhenick), and choreographer Flick Colby - Pan's People.
Pans People
Pan's People

Bird Flu in the UK

Bad news - Bird Flu has now reached Britain.
A swan was found dead in Cellardyke, Fife (in Scotland) eight days ago and has tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu.
Swan tests confirm deadly virus (details)
Q&A: Bird flu in the UK

YESSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WELL DONE ARSENAL!!!
The match wasn't a classic, but so what? Arsenal are in the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time, the bianconeri being unable to overturn the 2-0 deficit inflicted on them after the first leg at Highbury. Bet Vieira wished he stayed now!
Oh, and the Gunners have now gone an unprecedented eight games in the Champions League without conceding a goal. Now for the Semi-final and Villarreal. Good luck, lads...
Juventus 0-0 Arsenal (agg 0-2)

Walking back to healthiness...

Congrats to ex-US marine Steve Vaught who last April decided to walk coast-to-coast, from San Diego in southern California to Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.
Steve started his trek across the States to lose weight - he originally weighed almost 30 stone (190kg)! So far (and about 2,300 miles (3,700km) later) he has lost eight stone (52kg) and has less than 600 miles to go. He's now has a book deal, and has been interviewed by Oprah.
Walker loses weight and finds soul (details)
Fat Man Walking (Steve Vaught's diary)

Unhappy New Year....

Officials in Lee County, Florida have reportedly banned 140 pupils at Fort Myers High School from visiting London for the city's next New Year's Day Parade, over fears of "trains blowing up" (an obvious reference to the tragic events of July 7th 2005).
The annual parade attracts thousands of performers from across the world, including lots of American pupils.
US pupils barred from London trip (details)

Jeez - have these officials considered how their attitude will appear to us in the UK, America's principal ally in Iraq? Come to think of it, have they considered how their attitude will appear to America's enemies?

Punk

The 30th anniversary of Punk is currently being celebrated in a month-long exhibition at Selfridges department store in London.
The event will consist of music performances, exhibitions and talks, and for the fashion conscious amongst you, there will be exclusive luxury goods. Also punk luminaries from the past such as Malcolm McLaren will be in attendance.

Talk about the ultimate irony....

I recall back in 1977 when the establishment were so scared of Punk that the Sex Pistols' "God Save The Queen" was robbed of it's UK number 1 spot on the week of Her Maj's Silver Jubilee. The record was officially listed at number two in some UK charts (while "The First Cut Is The Deepest" by Rod Stewart was listed at #1, despite the claim that "God Save the Queen" sold more copies that week). In other charts, the number one spot was simply left blank.
How times change....
Go ahead punk, make our day

Another interlude

And now for something completely different....
Just finished watching a curious Japanese anime called "Midori no Hibi."
It's about the (mis)adventures of Seiji, a tough juvenile delinquent with a heart of gold, who has a girl grafted onto his right arm. Said girl being Seiji's next door neighbour who has a secret crush on him.
Midori no Hibi (episode 2)

Rocky - 5 years on...

On a more somber note...

Arsenal Football Club announced yesterday that the home game against Aston Villa would be dedicated to their Charity of the Season, the David Rocastle Trust, in honour of the ex-Arsenal midfielder, who died tragically five years ago from non-Hodgkins lymphona, aged 33 (he passed away on 31st March 2001).
David "Rocky" Rocastle also played for Leeds United, Manchester City, Chelsea and a Malaysian team, Sabah. He also had loan spells at Norwich City & Hull City. But he is best known for his time at Arsenal, playing 218 league games for the Gunners, helping them to the League title in 1989 and 1991 after picking up a Milk (League) Cup winners' medal in 1987. He was also capped 14 times for England.

RIP, "Rocky." You're still missed...

Profile on David Carlyle Rocastle