November 14th, 2008 06:27pm
billmarshall
It seems that politicians just can’t stay out of football. Once again we have them dabbling in the murky world of FIFA and the Olympics, trying to pursuade Scotland to take part in some sort of Great Britain side for the London 2012 Games. It seems they just can’t understand that certain elements of FIFA would jump on any possibility to reduce the number of places enjoyed by the home countries in international tournaments, and that it really doesn’t matter what promises and assurances are given by Sepp Blatter to todays politicians. They also don’t seem to get the other crucial aspect. The four home unions have very different traditions, the players have very different styles, and the fans have very profound identities which would never admit to any form of coalition. Neither the associations, fans, or players want anything to do with the Olympics, which many regard as hopelessly corrupt and drug riddled.
Which brings us to drug testing and the announcement that footballers will be required to tell drug testing squads where they are at any time so they can be randomly tested. Now when applied to athletes, who are training as individuals and often traveling to warm weather or high altitude venues, this may have some purpose to ensure there is no out of competition doping; although even there it is somewhat restrictive. The position with footballers is rather different; they play and train every week and are available at their club’s premises at clearly defined times. There seems no reason whatever for additionally insisting that they reveal their whereabouts in the evening and on Sundays. It can only be seen as standardisation for standardisation’s sake, with the base model being a sport which has become a joke affecting one which has no record of drug use – well apart from beer of course.
Personally I’d like to see the traditionally non-olympic sports tell the IOC where to go and to take their drug issues with them, but sadly the lure of money and supposed prestige seem to hold sway with far too many of them. The sight of tennis players half-heartedly competing for gold medals which mean nothing compared to their Grand Slam tournaments is pathetic. An under-23 football tournament that takes players away from their clubs in the middle of the season is beyond pointless.
November 6th, 2008 09:34pm
billmarshall
So it seems that a recession is upon us. It must be true if the astoundingly cautious Bank of England cuts interest rates by 1.5%. Funny how just a few weeks ago everything was fine, the economy was sailing along without any really major problems, all that was wrong was a soaring oil price that was supposedly causing a knock on to gas and electricity prices and a suggestion that the housing boom was over. The problem taxing everyone’s mind was global warming. There was a small difficulty about “sub-prime” mortgages in the USA, nothing to worry about.
Now our banking system is in ruins; HBOS, which was a combination of one of the most conservative banks and the largest building society in the UK has lost over 90% of its stock market value and is apparently so short of liquidity that it needs to be taken over by Lloyds-TSB, and all the other major banks need shedloads of public money to carry on. So the man in the street is seeing his savings and investments reduce in value and his taxes going to prop up banks that seems unable to handle money despite giving us a poor service and high charges.
Meanwhile those gas prices that went up are noticeably not coming down despite a major fall in the oil prices that they were supposed to be connected to. Ever get the feeling you’ve been had?
The fact IMHO is that the people who run the money markets are generally pretty clueless apart from the speculators and the occasional guy like George Soros who can see trends before they happen. Most of them are there because of who they know rather than what they know. How many times have we seen competitions where a bunch of schoolkids manage to outperform the advice of all the “best” financial pundits and advisors. And as was shown some time ago the financial system is an almost perfect example of Chaos Theory in action. With the modern inter-connectedness that has been built into the international trading systems chaotic behaviour is a predictable (if that isn’t a contradiction in terms) outcome. A downward trend once started is almost impossible to stop. (As I write this I’m looking at the stock markets continuing to fall despite the 1.5.% cut)
Unfortunately the banks and building societies, once the bastions of safe conservative advice, have been sucked into the constant drive for more and more growth and as a result they have tended to dive into markets that would previously have been seen as far too dangerous, simply because to be seen to be lagging behind had become unacceptable when others were forging ahead, no matter how ill-advised such sectors might be.
Sadly there is very little indication that governments are willing to impose any real constraints on the banks or the markets. Maybe they’ve become so international as to be unmanageable, yet if so how come it’s national funds that are bailing them out? Maybe neither politicians or civil servants have the experience to operate in this field. Or maybe the theory of economics and monetary matters just showed once again how incomplete a theory it really is and no-one dares tinker with something that they’ve realised they don’t understand.
(The link at the top of this post is to a post on Robert Peston’s excellent BBC blog which is becoming a must-read for market watchers.)
July 28th, 2008 08:34pm
billmarshall
We heard today of the death of one of Scottish broadcasting’s most respected figures. Bob Crampsey was a man who made you thankful you owned a radio or TV, for whatever he was talking about it was always worth hearing. While it was the football fans who were the most numerous and regular beneficiaries of his erudition, he was eminently capable of discussing a multitude of subjects with a quiet authority born of copious study; a true Scottish polymath.
A winner of Brain of Britain, and later a semi-finalist on Mastermind, he was also a headmaster, an author, and a historian of many subjects, including sport at all levels which he could recall seemingly at will to the constant admiration of his radio and TV colleagues. On STV at a time when the general quality of their sports content rather lagged behind the BBC, Crampsey’s pieces to camera (which must have been live) were a haven of intelligent and unbiased comment to me as a youngster who was already fed up with the bias that was rife at the time.
In later years on Radio Scotland’s Sportsound in the midst of the football banter and sometimes bickering between Jim Traynor, Chick Young and Gordon Smith it was always Bob who would drop in a persuasive observation or recall a historical precedent that would become the definitive answer on the topic being debated. While he loved football he was also an expert on Cricket, a game he said gave him even more pleasure, frequently attending Somerset’s games in Taunton.
Though he was a summariser rather than a commentator, when Bob retired it was like losing John Arlott from Test Match Special or Bill McLaren from the rugby commentaries; the authority wasn’t there any more. A few years later there is still no-one around with anything like the knowledge or integrity that he had. Now his death leaves an enormous hole and cuts a link to a past in which football was the game of the working class rather than the playground of super-rich businessmen. He will be sorely missed.
July 19th, 2008 07:24pm
billmarshall
I’ve been listening to the radio this afternoon and it’s done my spirit a world of good. Speaking as a 53 year-old it’s just incredible to listen to the 53 year-old Greg Norman leading the Open Championship and doing it in style.
Here is a man who has played only 5 events this year and barely plays even on the Seniors tour; who has recently married one of the pin-up girls of my youth, the lovely Chris Evert, and who spends most of his time building a business empire. Here also is a man who should have won far more majors than he did but was outrageously beaten by a series of one-off shots when poised to add to his tally. He was a great champion at a time when there were lots of great champions – Ballesteros, Lyle, Faldo, Langer, to name just the best of the Europeans, let alone the Americans. Now, 8 years older than the oldest man to win a major, he’s 2 shots clear going into the final round. Forget Nadal winning Wimbledon or Spain winning the European Championships, if he wins this it won’t just be the story of the year it’ll be one of the stories of the century.
Some may say, and have on the radio, that Tiger Woods isn’t there, but conditions such as we’ve seen at Birkdale have blown Tiger away before – remember Muirfield? Woods is a phenomenal golfer, maybe even better than Nicklaus, but there is no guarantee that his swing would have survived the winds this weekend. And the fact is that his great length has come at the cost of his knee joint. Norman has a wealth of experience, vast knowledge of a variety of links conditions, and has nothing to prove. He shows every sign of being happy and content and can give this his all. Some might even say that golf owes him another major.
One radio pundit says it’s ridiculous that Norman is leading the Open, that the younger players are failing to step up to take Woods’ place. Having been struggling with a trapped nerve in my shoulder for a few weeks I know what it feels like to be getting old despite keeping fitter and slimmer than most of my contemporaries, so the thought of hitting golf balls 350 yards and maintaining the sort of touch around the greens that Greg has demonstrated is an awesome thought, but the modern obsession with youth over experience does get a bit wearing. A few weeks ago I heard a 29 year-old footballer described as a veteran with not long to go in his career. Insane. Clearly the commentator hadn’t heard of Teddy Sheringham, hadn’t watched Dalglish at the end of his playing days, or Roger Milla play for the Cameroon side in the World Cup. Within limits what matters is whether you’ve looked after your body and have the drive and mental attitude to make it happen.
But still, 53? Can he really do it?
By god I hope so. And I bet plenty of 50-somethings all round the country hope so too.
Go on Greg!!
July 14th, 2008 06:59pm
billmarshall
I’m writing this on the last day of yet another fabulous holiday in Slovenia. Dad and I reprised our visit of last year, returning to Bohinj and Kobarid. The weather was very much in our favour as we learned that the previous week had seen constant rain and the secret waterfall above Lake Bohinj, which only appears when an underground lake is sufficiently full to overflow, had appeared for only the third time this year. We however arrived to a heatwave which was to continue the whole fortnight, with only the final two days seeing a couple of brief thunderstorms.
My admiration for this country continues to grow, and I seriously wonder if I could move here. Populated by an industrious and charming people, they also seem to have the right idea of pace of life and what is really important. And two of the most important subjects are food and drink, both of which they excel at. Indeed the only fault I can find overall is that they seem to have little concept of a light lunch! It is easy to eat so much that dinner becomes unnecessary, and that would be a crime.
Slovenian food and drink
Their ingredients are sublime: beef and venison that seems to require the lightest of cooking but exudes flavour and succulence, fish that melts on the tongue, mushrooms that can only have been created by forest elves, and soft fruits and berries that explode on the tongue with juices of scarcely describable taste. Parents, if British children won’t eat fruit and veg (and I have to raise my hand as a long time carnivore) then they aren’t being pernickety, they are merely showing good taste – the fruit you get in the UK, often imported out of season from forced cloches in Spain and similar countries, is tasteless and tough compared to the fresh, vibrant selection available in Slovenia. I have never much liked cherries – they are hard poor things in Scotland, here I have them for breakfast and then go out to a fruit stall for more. Sensational is an inadequate word. I seldom liked strawberries which often display a rough texture except in the very best time of year for native Scottish ones; here they melt in the mouth and leave juice stains in the dish.
All this of course still requires a good chef and a good waiter to interpret his creations and blend suggestions of wine and courses. Many Slovene restaurants adept at this, even the smallest simplest establishments produce excellent food, but I feel confident in saying I have been lucky enough to find the best in the Topli Val restaurant in the Hvala Hotel in Kobarid. It has won a number of awards and in my opinion if anywhere ever deserved a Michelin Star then this is it. I can only assume they haven’t visited it. In the space of two weeks – one last year and one this – I have learned more about the blending of tastes, both courses and wines and different ingredients and their effects on each other, than in a lifetime of visiting other restaurants, many of them which I thought very good. All the staff in the hotel are as friendly and attentive as could be wished for with a real personal touch that makes you feel at home; we were remembered despite it being only our second visit and greeted as old friends, but I simply cannot rate the chef and head waiter highly enough – they have delighted and educated us in equal measure. To give only one example for now, Scotland produces excellent scallops and I’ve tasted quite a few fine instances; the scallops I had here were in a different class, cooked in highest quality olive oil and presented with baby tomatoes and black olives in a delicate combination that even included the (usually purely decorative) sprig of rosemary which absorbed just enough heat to exude a perfectly combined additional scent. Heavenly.
Slovenian Wine and Beer
Slovene beer is second only to Czech in my opinion, clear and clean tasting and wonderfully refreshing on a hot day. However it is Slovenian wine which is the real secret and one which I cannot understand is not more widely known and appreciated. Having this year visited one of the best wine growing regions it is easy to see they have ideal conditions, and they certainly make the best of them. Forget the cheap Laski Reisling which was the only one ever really exported in any quantity to the UK; whether the grape is Chardonnay, Pinot, Sauvignon or one of their local varieties, Slovenian wines display a depth of character and smooth variety of flavours that had us both purring in satisfaction. Their cheaper wines are very good, their select wines are simply outstanding. Sadly the only way to get them in Britain was to import them directly, with the consequent postage costs; however there are moves afoot to establish a distributor and if this occurs then perhaps they might at last achieve the recognition they deserve. Either way I’ll be drinking them whenever I have the chance.
May 23rd, 2008 09:56pm
billmarshall
Could Gordon Brown’s demise trigger Scottish independence?
Last night’s by-election result which saw a Labour majority of 8000 reversed to the Tories could presage more than just a Cameron government. It might convince voters who have previously supported the SNP but backed off from full independence to finally embrace their primary policy.
Despite the Tories having the most lightweight and unknown bunch of shadow cabinet members in history (how many of them can you name?) it appears that the English are so fed up of New Labour and Gordon Brown that they’d prefer anything else – except the Liberals who seem to have dropped off the political map after getting rid of two leaders in recent years. Certainly Brown has been unlucky with the US-created credit crunch and having inherited a series of unpopular policies from a Tony Blair who was increasingly seen as having made us a pawn of George W. I suspect that there is also a backlash against a government that is persistently trying to interfere with privacy and freedoms in the name of fighting terrorism in a way that is completely at odds with any idea of a free country.
Here in Scotland it’s impossible to imagine voters turning to the Tories in the way that appears to be happening in the south, and Labour support has historically tended to be more solid, but any move away from them is more likely to see further support for an SNP which is already riding high and is generally seen as doing a good job despite being a minority administration. The prospect of their wishes being overturned by an English Tory landslide might persuade enough of the Scottish electorate to consider going it alone as a viable option. If that idea starts to gather pace then Wendy Alexander’s attempt to force the SNP to hold a referendum before they are ready might rebound even more on Labour than it already has.
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