Sportsthoughts (17) – Reflections on the Six Nations Rugby

Posted on March 18, 2012 by John S

So the Six Nations tournament is over and Wales are worthy winners,  Grand Slam winners.

Let’s look at the outcome compared with my forecasts.  I can take it…

1st Wales.  My forecast 4th.

OK, my excuse is that I thought they had a load of injuries. And I wasn’t 100% convinced that they were that good yet.  I was wrong. They played brilliantly in all areas. And although they only just shaded it vs Ireland and England, that itself shows a team that can hold on to a narrow margin.  Against England they managed the 10 minutes with one man down brilliantly -England hardly saw the ball. It’s a strong team, a big team, even the wingers, North and Cuthbert, are monsters.  The back row of of Lydiate, Warburton and Faletau is awesome, with Ryan Jones and Justin Tipuric stepping in when necessary.    A good team which deserved its triumph.

2nd England. My forecast 3rd. I was excited by new coach Stuart Lancaster’s pick of young stars and players who hadn’t quite made it but deserved the chance.  Including our Quins captain, Chris Robshaw, appointed to England duty. But I had to ask myself, are we being too optimistic, just because of all the changes? Turned out not to be the case.  In the first game, against Scotland, they hung on with a brilliant defence, made at Saracens.   In freezing Italy, it was more of the same, another victory. Against Wales at Twickenham, the team opened up and were unlucky not to win.  A draw was on the cards when Strettle’s try went to the video ref in the last minute. Against France, the team played brilliantly, but could still have lost at the last if Trinh-Duc hadn’t fluffed the drop goal. And then, after an even first half against Ireland, the England scrum turned on the power, the Irish buckled, and it turned out to be a rout. Better each time – a very satisfactory tournament. Will Lancaster get the job full time?  Hope so. 

3rd Ireland. My forecast 1st.

Massive underachievement.  These guys, in their provinces, are completely bossing the Heineken Cup. They come together and just don’t do it.  A couple of games have been close – the margins between success and failure are so fine – but really, I don’t know why Ireland didn’t finish off Wales and France. They had the capability, the power.  But not the belief. Losing Brian O’Driscoll won’t have helped.  And then Paul O’Connell.  But these guys are getting on. They need some new leaders.

4th France. My forecast 2nd.

Usual French unpredictability. People thought new coach Saint Andre would sort them out.  Instead he seemed to be turning them into a crabbed, cautious team, reliant on forward power and kicking. Clearly it didn’t work. Will anyone come in and release the French spirit? They are the best – if they ever want to be.

5th Italy. My forecast 6th. Well, credit to the Italians.  They beat Scotland and frightened the other teams, especially England in frozen Rome. They still lack that pool of players, which especially affects their backs.  But it is getting better.

6th Scotland. My forecast 5th. I didn’t exactly predict triumph for Scotland. They battle well, but can’t finish things off.  I don’t know why, and you know, I just don’t care!

My favourite England moments – being English:

  • Tom Croft rollicking through the French defence, at the pace you only expect from wingers,  to score the try that said, “This is the new England!”. And he nearly did it again against Ireland, dropping the the slippery ball as he thought about offloading to David Strettle. Maybe he should just have piled through himself again.
 
 
  • The way the English forwards crushed the Irish forwards yesterday. Never seen anything like it in the Six Nations. The front row is where it was happening.  I have no understanding of the dark arts that go on in there. But it was a real sign that Stuart Lancaster didn’t take any of the front three – Corbisiero – Hartley – Cole – off until right at the end.  That is unusual these days, but they were so dominant, that it was just not worth changing the dynamic.
  • Seeing Chris Robshaw, captain, always in the thick of the action. Just as he is at Quins. Leading from the front.  You don’t hear his name on the commentary all that much because he doesn’t get the ball that much. But look at who is always at the bottom of the crucial ruck, who is putting in that vital tackle. Robbo, more often than not.
 
 
  • Owen Farrell and that rather frightening wild eyed stare as he takes aim for the penalties and conversions. It has become as reassuring as Jonny Wilkinson’s clasped hands, because you know, more often than not, those kicks are going to go over.
 
 
  • And Ben Youngs, back from the doldrums, darting through for a try.
 

So credit to Wales, a good team.  And come on England, it’s looking good again!

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Scritti Politti and Portico Quartet in concert

Posted on March 15, 2012 by John S

Another Word In Your Ear concert at the Lexington on the Pentonville Road, North London. About ten minutes walk from Kings Cross station.  You work your way through the crowds, commuters, Northerners and Scots looking to escape the Smoke, or arriving wide-eyed at the big lights, the drunks shouting at no-one in particular, the Islington trendies, the slightly threatening geezers and no doubt the prostitutes and pimps, though there is nothing obvious. I decide that this is not the place to put in the iPod earphone (just one, I can only hear in one ear).  Need to be fully alert, streetwise, London-style. It’s not a war zone, but you can never be complacent on the streets round major stations, anywhere in the world.

Paranoia over, I stride uphill. Pentonville Road – familiar to all of you who have played Monopoly –  is actually on quite a steep incline as you walk up to The Angel, Islington.  The Lexington is about two-thirds of the way up the hill. It’s a good pub, with a decent range of beers and lagers – and, in keeping with its American emphasis, Bourbons.  Not tried any myself yet, but they look very tempting.

The concerts are in a room upstairs. Must hold, at most, a couple of hundred people. Which is great, because wherever you stand in the room, you are close up and real. And the music can boom and infiltrate.

First band on was the Portico Quartet.  We missed a bit of their set, drinking beers downstairs, waiting for one of our number and then just chatting. But as soon as we got upstairs, I was just blown away. Four young guys extracting amazing sounds from a mini-sax, drums, double bass with occasional violin bow, synth and a set of sort-of steel drums. It was at the same time prog rock, jazz, world.  It was haunting, it grooved and the bass lines shook the floor.  You could feel the vibrations rise up your legs. It was like a sound system at Notting Hill. A thought occurred that this was the kind of sound that Radiohead are increasingly heading towards.  I imagined what it might be like with Thom Yorke singing over it (with no disrespect to the drummer who did a bit of singing).  Awesome.

I know nothing else about Portico Quartet, but I will definitely be investigating.

And then Scritti Politti.  A blast from the eighties past.  Part of that shiny pop/dance amalgam. When the white boys were really getting into dance music. The main man was Green Gartside. The key song, that I remember, was “Wood Beez”. The twelve inch single had crystalline dance rhythms, Green’s boy/girl voice and a memorable lyric:

Each time I go to bed, I pray like Aretha Franklin… 

I didn’t really know what to expect at the concert.  I could hardly remember any other songs than “Wood Beez”. But it all came flooding back as Green and his band churned out the hits and some other really good songs.  Throughout, the playing was clear and brilliant. A couple of the songs had serious reggae beats, including “The Sweetest Girl”.  The bass lines again reverberated, shaking the room. Loved it. Green played his first ever tune, a post-punk thing which sounded like PiL meets Gang of Four.  It was great and a nice contrast to the mostly shiny pop/dance. Green himself looked great, was in good humour and had a very engaging style, which mixed self deprecation with some quite philosophical musings.

It was just a very impressive show, and ended with “Wood Beez” and “Absolute”, which I immediately remembered was as good as “Wood Beez”.  And on the night was maybe even better.

Just for a bit of a laugh, here’s Scritti Politti doing “Wood Beez” on Top of the Pops in 1984. Green is a little different these days: denim jacket, short dark hair and a beard. But, you know, the eighties were the eighties…

Big up to The Word magazine for organising these occasional gigs at the Lexington. Having been to three now, I would recommend them to anyone. The music is great and the intimacy of the small room, the way the bass and other sounds can really take hold, the relaxed vibe, is all really enjoyable.

This is how we should experience live music whenever we can.

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Sportsthoughts (16) – A Rugby Day

Posted on March 11, 2012 by John S

Today was France vs England. Often Le Crunch, though not quite this year, as Wales are out ahead.  My friend Jon suggested I came down with him to Weybridge in Surrey, to watch his son play in an under 13 game and then watch the international in the clubhouse.  Sounded a good idea: rugby and then more rugby, a couple of beers and hopefully an England win.


The club was situated in a gated village called Whiteleys.  Like the cinema complex. I don’t know whether there is any connection. But it looked pretty exclusive.  Deepest Surrey – no place for the riff raff. Guardian readers immediately reported to the police for subversion.


The weather was beautiful. It must have reached 20 degrees C by midday.  Perfect for running rugby. Not so good for young lads playing on full sized pitches.


Jon’s son Louis’ team seemed to be half the size of the opposition.  So not surprisingly the main tactic of that team was to give the ball to the big lads and try to run straight through them. It worked at the beginning, but Louis’ team rallied, and while they conceded six tries, they gave a good account of themselves and got a try at the end. What I was struck by was how, even at this level, some of the tackles were pretty crunching, and if they happened near to you, you winced at the intensity. On an adjacent pitch there was a game going on between 15-16 year olds. Blimey, that was frightening!  Even the chanting in the huddles before the game started was intimidating.  One boy got injured in the second half, flying up in the air after a tackle on the wing, and landing awkwardly. The game stopped for ten minutes as he was treated for whatever injury he had. There were medics on hand and he didn’t have to be taken away in the ambulance, so hopefully it wasn’t too serious.


But I have to say, the intensity of that 16 year old game looked far greater than what I remember from school.  Maybe when you are playing it doesn’t seem as shuddering when a tackle is put in as when you are just watching. But I don’t think we did as many head-on tackles back in the seventies.  And we probably didn’t have the muscles either. No-one lifted weights that I remember. Now it seems de rigeur amongst sporty teenagers.


My son fractured his arm (not badly) playing school rugby in his second year at senior school and lost interest after that.  Watching today, part of me felt relieved; but another part felt he’d missed out on something.  And that is the camaraderie of rugby.  The team ethos.  The respect for the opposition. I loved it at the end when the boys did their hoorays for their opponents, all shook hands in a line.  Just doesn’t happen like that in football. Rugby is a hard sport, but one with real values, intact values.


And so to the big game.  In the end we drove back to Ealing to watch the game at Jon’s house. And what a great match.  The young England team, managed by the caretaker manager, Stuart Lancaster, gets better with every game. A 24-22 victory in Paris was a real triumph. As with the previous Six Nations games, England defended brilliantly, but what they also did this time was take their chances clinically.  Three tries to France’s one, despite France having two thirds of the possession in the second half. Twice the number of tackles put in than France. The intensity of that is pretty hard to imagine. You compare it to those boys in the early afternoon, when even what they were doing made you wince. And then imagine what it was like out there in the Stade Francais.  And then you see Ben Foden being interviewed at the end of the game, having put in any number of heroic tackles and runs, looking pretty cool, unflustered, not even sweating that much, and you think, amazing. The combination of skill, bravery, athleticism. Has to be admired.


So England move on to their last game, home to Ireland.  Another really tough prospect, but the way they are playing now, a win has to be a real possibility.


My forecasts are all over the place – as expected. England and Wales better (so far), Ireland and France not so good.  Right about Italy and Scotland battling it out at the bottom, but that is the established order nowadays. There’s always a new dawn promised in Scotland, but it never quite takes shape. Italy are getting better all the time, but still don’t have the pool of players necessary in that football-mad country.


A noble game, rugby.  And the word that jumps out at me, which made today so enjoyable, and always does when I watch rugby, was one I used earlier.


Camaraderie.

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Have you Heard? – (11) “Psychocandy” by The Jesus and Mary Chain

Posted on March 9, 2012 by John S

I’m writing about eighties indie for my book at the moment, and last night it was the turn of The Jesus and Mary Chain.

It reminded me about the incendiary impact that their classic album, “Psychocandy”,  had when it came out in 1985.  My favourite music paper, the NME, got very excited about it.  It was the Beach Boys meets the Velvet Underground, but with a whole load of guitar feedback screeching over half the tracks.  I’d certainly never heard anything like it before.  I wasn’t even sure I really liked it at first. The feedback thing almost made the tracks unlistenable – at least in 1985, when pop was at its height. It was like an artist painting a picture and then wiping a squeegie across it…. unthinkable. Er, that’s exactly what Gerhard Richter did at one point. (See my blog on GR!).  This was music as abstract art. Or just anti-music. The band were associated with violent gigs, “art-terrorism”, and the usual drink and drugs stuff. It wasn’t easy listening.

The band’s had a huge impact in indie world, but their moment didn’t last that long.  They didn’t stick with the radical approach, and became instead a pretty good rock’n’roll band in the style of the Velvets, The Stooges and all the usual suspects. You could probably throw in the Sex Pistols and Joy Division too. Good, but not great.

But that one album, “Psychocandy” is iconic. And hugely influential.  I doubt we would have had My Bloody Valentine without it.  And a band like the Horrors now must surely have been influenced by it.

The drummer on some of the “Psychocandy”sessions was Billy Gillespie. The front man for Primal Scream. And look what happened to them!

My favourite slurred surf vs feedback track is “Never Understand”. Here’s a video of it. With 80’s haircuts in full evidence!

Over time though, the song that has emerged as the band’s best is “Just Like Honey”.  And  I have to admit that a big part of that is down to the song featuring at the end of one of my very favourite films, “Lost In Translation”. Set in Tokyo, the story of the jaded actor played by Bill Murray and the student, deserted by her photographer husband, played by Scarlett Johansson. It’s a wonderful film where nothing much really happens, but the imagery is entrancing. The relationship between the two develops slowly, but never gets to where you want it to get. Oh, it’s so poignant, frustrating, beautiful, funny, sad. And “Just Like Honey”, right at the end, is perfect for the mood. Here’s a clip. The first 1.50 is the film’s denouemont (which is tremendously moving if you’ve loved the rest of the film) then the song finishes it all off beautifully.

If if you haven’t heard “Psychocandy”, it’s worth giving it a try.  You might hate it. Or you might just fall in love with it.

Jimi Hendrix proclaimed, in one of his greatest tunes, “Third Stone From The Sun”, You’ll never hear surf music again…

Once you’ve heard The Jesus and Mary Chain, surf music will never sound the same again.

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Boy on a Rocking Horse, Trafalgar Square

Posted on March 4, 2012 by John S

I was walking back to the office on Friday lunch time and passed through Trafalgar Square. Wandered past the new sculpture on the “Fourth Plinth”. It’s a thing called “Powerless Structures, Fig 101”.  Well, of course it is.

The sculpture was unveiled on 23 February this year.  It’s cast in bronze and is the work of Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset. The chair of the commissioning committee, Ekow Ershun  – who is a writer I really respect – described it as questioning and challenging the tradition of equestrian sculpture in Trafalgar Square. Well, it’s certainly the first time they’ve had a boy on a rocking horse as far as I know.

Anyway, as I walked past, there was a seagull perched on the top of the boy’s head. That amused me for some reason.  Maybe it punctured some of the hype that can surround these things. Doesn’t matter how much that statue challenges the history of equestrian sculpture, you can’t stop a seagull crapping on its head!

So out with the iPhone.  It was a grey, almost misty day. The boy and his horse – and the bird – stood out against the pewter sky…

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Sportsthoughts (15) – So farewell AVB…

Posted on March 4, 2012 by John S

It’s been coming for some time, as Chelsea stumble around, dropping points against teams they usually dismiss with ease, threatening to fall out of the Champions League in the last 16 (Napoli – good but not great),  not even able to beat Birmingham at home in the FA Cup. When would Roman Abramovich apply the metaphorical guillotine to Andre Villas Boas’s neck? Today it came, after Chelsea lost 1-0 to West Brom yesterday. West Brom! Marooned in fifth place, three points behind a resurgent Arsenal. No Champions League next year? Unthinkable for Abramovich – and the Chelsea fans, who’ve grown used to bossing it with the Russian’s millions.

Off with the manager’s head! Who’s next? Well, for the interim, Roberto di Matteo. AVB’s deputy, so associated with the current failure. But a man with a Chelsea past.  Strange one nonetheless, but presumably approved by Terry and Lampard, Drogba and Cech. The powers that be.

That was AVB’s problem. Chelsea weren’t ready for radical change but that was his mission. He was brought in after great success at Porto, essentially to get Chelsea playing like Barcelona. Ever since the successful Mourinho team was dubbed boring because it knew  how to close down a game at 1-0, Abramovich has seemed to crave attractive, attacking football, as well as Champions League success.  Carlo Ancelotti was getting there, but was sacked in his second season, for faltering a little after winning the Double in his first. Faltering after Abramovich sacked his assistant, Ray Wilkins, in mid-season. Good ol’ Ray clearly played a more important role than people realised. The politics of Chelsea are positively Byzantine.

I like AVB. He is clearly committed to playing good football, and gives good interviews. In fact you can’t stop him talking! But maybe he just wasn’t experienced enough to take on the Chelsea “dressing room”. He wanted to play a fast pressing 4-3-3, which the stalwarts just weren’t capable of adapting to in their twilight years. Early on the gaps between defence and midfield,  or behind the centre backs, were embarrassing as the team struggled to carry out the new instructions. Eventually some of the old structure was restored, but all the messages coming out of the club were that the established players were still unhappy. And no-one briefs the press like the Chelsea boys.

AVB was caught between two stools. He had to change things, but wasn’t able to do it quickly. When he started dropping Lampard to get more mobility in midfield it became the story. The battle for supremacy had begun. AVB was never going to win without full and clear backing from Abramovich. He never got that.

Other things didn’t help: Torres’ inability to score, Terry’s racism court case, David Luiz’s crazy moments in defence. But the  heart of the problem was that the established pros at Chelsea didn’t buy into AVB’s way of playing, but he couldn’t get rid of them. Maybe he just isn’t a good man-manager. Did he try to understand those top players, get them onside, buying into the mission? The way Mourinho clearly does, everywhere he goes?

Time and again when you read about successful managers you hear comments from the players about how the managers interacts with them, positive comments. Insight, concern, support. Basic human qualities, basic leadership. It must be incredibly difficult to establish your authority at a top club these day, with all those multi-millionaire egos. Difficult to get them to share your vision, your strategy, your tactics. I’m sure you’ve got to work with the grain, show respect for the established culture, the leaders in the dressing room. Introduce change gradually, imperceptibly. Get the players to own the changes. We did it ourselves…

Of course, a couple of good wins, especially if they get past Napoli, and all will be well. At least for a while. Football is so fickle. Look at Arsene Wenger. Increasing numbers of Arsenal fans were calling for his head. Then they beat Spurs 5-2 and Liverpool 2-1. Arsene is manager of the month for February. The  talk is of catching Spurs in third. And even overturning that 4-0 deficit against Milan. Very unlikely! But some are imagining the outcome. Optimism is back.

I think the problems go deep at Chelsea though. There is a real malaise. Too many factions, too many unseen influences. Declining players with too much power. A remote and unpredictable owner. Problems looming when the financial far play rules come in. Not enough of that most precious commodity – leadership.

So is the scene set for the return of Jose? Maybe, but I think it would be a mistake for him. Too many malign influences, some probably still there from his first stint. Better to wait for one of the big prizes – one of the Manchesters. Maybe warm up with Spurs, if Harry takes on England. Or stay at Real Madrid.  They’re not bad.

Leave Chelsea to their own devices.

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Two gigs and three discoveries

Posted on March 3, 2012 by John S

This week I’ve been to two gigs and enjoyed some fantastic music. Also, through a retweet on Twitter, I’ve discovered a band whose music I really like. This is the great thing about music generally, but also about going to concerts. You discover new things all the time. New music which you love.  It’s so inspiring.

I’ll start with the Twitter discovery.  Courtesy of Bob Harris, Radio 2 DJ and the man who used to front up “The Old Grey Whistle Test”.  There was a time when he was reviled – by the punks and others – but he stuck with the music he loved, and now he is back with an influential show.  And he tweets with such positivity. That’s how I made my discovery.

Which was The Staves – “Mexico”.

I really like the simple plucked guitar rhythm and those beautiful harmonies.  The band haven’t  released an album yet, but they have a few songs on iTunes . The one I like the most is “Silver Dagger”. It’s an old folk song – I remember Bob Dylan and Joan Baez singing it – but the harmonies sung by the Staves are just so beautiful, in fact as beautiful as a song can get, I’d say. I just love this song.

On the Monday just gone, I went with a few friends to a gig at the Lexington pub on Pentonville Road, Islington. Organised by the Word magazine.  The headline act was Eliza Carthy.  First on the bill was a band called Left With Pictures. They played some lively folk music and  I thought I’d like to see them again. Then we had Emily Barker and the Red Clay Halo. They were wonderful. Four women, playing violin, cello, guitar and flute and other sounds.  You’d call it folk, but there was an atmosphere, a lovely sound that really stirred the emotions. I don’t watch a lot of TV apart from news and sport, but it turned out that Emily’s tunes had been used for a couple of crime series, “Wallander” and “Shadow Line”. For the latter the song was “Pause”, off the album “Almanac”.  It’s one of those songs which is so simple, but so atmospheric.  Live, it was just Emily strumming an electric guitar and singing, with the three other band members singing harmonies. At the Lexington, it was truly captivating. I could feel the tears in my eyes. Really, really, lovely.

This video sort of captures it, but nothing compares with just being there.

Beautiful, simple music.  For me that is always the best.

So, I’d already discovered two really wonderful  bands – The Staves and Emily Barker – this week. Then I went tonight, Friday, to Ronnie Scott’s jazz club in Soho.

I love jazz, but for reasons I couldn’t possible explain, I never went to Ronnie’s until last year. Inertia, only.

Four of us went tonight.We had a great meal beforehand – the place is all tables – and were still scoffing our steaks as as the support act came on. But what an act. My third discovery of the week. Sumudu. A beautiful woman with a beautiful voice. She had the house band backing her up – they were superb: double bass, keyboards, drums. Subtle, inventive, pure quality. And with that backing Sumudu floated and soared. She sang mostly covers on the night, but with such ease and emotion. A wonderfully smooth version of ‘The Shadow Of Your Smile”, one of those sixties classics, sung by Frank Sinatra and others. A heart rending version of Stevie Wonder’s “You And I” and a rousing version at the end of “You Make me Feel (Like a Beautiful Woman)”, a song I associate with Aretha Franklin.

What can I say? What I loved about Sumudu’s performance was the simple beauty of the songs and her voice. She seemed to sing effortlessly and yet with real passion. Technique and feeling.

The video here is another Stevie Wonder song. “All I Do”, which I’ve just picked off YouTube. Gives a sense of that effortless voice.

The main act on the night was Mark King and Friends. Mark was bassist with jazz funk band Level 42 in the 80s. He wasn’t playing old hits tonight, just vibrant jazz rock. Unbelievably good technique throughout the band. And a sense of fun, right down to the garish shirts. I enjoyed it. Wouldn’t race to to hear it again on iTunes, but it was good live music. Some music just works best in the live environment.

As we left, Sumudu was there by the exit, selling her CDs. My mate Dave bought two, one for me. Even though I download everything these days.  And I had to hand over the money! I didn’t mind – I’ll look forward to listening the album, hoping it will be as good as the live performance.

What’s so great about this music I’ve discovered this week – Sumudu, Emily Barker, The Staves – is that combination of simplicity and just truly beautiful singing.  The very essence of the song.

What is so wonderful is that we can keep on discovering…

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Sportsthoughts (14) – Lessons from the Weekend

Posted on February 28, 2012 by John S

There were some terrific games of rugby and football over the past weekend. I managed to watch England v Wales and Gloucester v Quins at rugby on Saturday and the Arsenal v Tottenham football match on Sunday.  I skipped the Liverpool v Cardiff League Cup final on Sunday in favour of a cycle ride, but got back just in time to see some of extra time and the penalties.

What did we learn?

1. England’s rugby team is blossoming. Superb performance on Saturday against a really good Welsh team which has been two or three years in the development. Wales won 19-12, but a draw would have been fair.  Only one try, but an excellent, hard-fought game.  And that disallowed England try at the end. Looked (through English eyes) like a try, but Toby Flood might have struggled to convert it anyway.

2. Wales look like they could win the Six nations.  So much for my predictions (see Sportsthoughts 10).  I thought half the team was injured. Turned out not to be the case. They look strong in all areas. Warburton is magnificent of course, but one of the players who always impresses me is Jonathan Davies in the centre.  Always in where it matters.  Fast, strong, decisive.

3. Owen Farrell is the new Jonny Wilkinson. With added pace.

4. Put Quins and Gloucester together and you always get an amazing game.  Quins lost 29-23 on Saturday, but it was such an enjoyable match.  Both teams running from just about anywhere.  Gloucester’s back three – Simpson-Daniels, Sharples and May – must be the fastest in the Premiership. Quins not far off, but May in particular is unbelievably fast, as he showed with his solo try. England call imminent.

5. Quins must stop giving away so many penalties in the scrum. Big James Johnston needs to work out what he is doing that annoys referees.  It may have been the reason Quins lost on Saturday.

6. Arsenal still have the force – if only they believe it. What a win against Tottenham, 5-2 after being two down.  Arsenal fans (including my son) need to start backing their team. First half, Rosicky and Walcott reviled; second half they were the heroes – along with Van Persie of course.

7. Rosicky is incredibly talented and might just be starting to benefit from having a decent run of games. Stick with him, Arsene.

8. Spurs need to get back to what they are really good at.  Bale on left, Lennon on right, terrorising defences. Modric pulling strings in the middle and Parker shielding and taking the short passes. All these things weren’t happening on Sunday. Are they losing nerve as we get to the business end of the season?  Is Harry distracted by the England talk? Who knows, it may have been a one-off.  But Man Utd are next. Back to basics, boys!

9. Cardiff did the Championship proud against Liverpool in the League Cup final, but they had better start practising their penalties for the play-offs.  Two out of five was pretty atrocious.

10. West Ham had a dire 0-0 draw v Palace on Saturday. Seem to be playing better when they have 10, after a red. Hopefully, just an off day.  Time to get the creatives – Lansbury, even Morrison – more involved? Suspect Big Sam may go the other way. The solid experienced types. Need to have faith in him – he is doing a decent job. Must, must…

Just my own viewing and preoccupations.  But as Spring approaches, the going gets heavy.  The time when teams and individuals need to step up to the challenge. Time for belief, focus, determination. Which is why Man Utd (football) and Leicester (rugby) so often deliver, domestically at least.  They have it all.

I’m still hopeful about Quins, West Ham… and Arsenal.  But I feel wobbly. It could all go horribly wrong. I need some of that belief, focus and determination.

As for England rugby- that solid third place in the Six Nations will probably be a result. I’d like to see Stuart Lancaster, the temporary coach, get the job full time, but my guess is that the selection panel will be very tempted by a big name, like Nick Mallett. We shall see…

But, hey, so much to look forward to!

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Sportsthoughts (13) – A visit to the Olympic Aquatic Centre

Posted on February 25, 2012 by John S

Yesterday, Friday, a few of us went along to one of the “London Prepares” events at the emerging London Olympics site.  The occasion was the diving World Cup, in the new Aquatic Centre.

It was my first trip to the Olympics site. I was excited, looking forward more than anything to seeing the architecture, forming my own view instead of just reading about it in the papers, where everyone has their own agenda. It would be dark by the time we got there, but nonetheless, I couldn’t wait to see how things were shaping up.

Of course, before I got near to the Olympics site, I had the joy of Stratford tube station and Westfield Stratford City shopping centre. As a West Londoner, I’ve become accustomed to the wonder of Westfield, Shepherds Bush.  You can rail against consumerism, sameness, soullessness, but actually, these shopping centres are really quite magnificent in their scope and design.  And people like them – they are packed out. You can shop, but you can do other things too.  Go to the cinema, have a bite to eat… or just meet.  My children use Westfield as a place to meet their friends, hang out. And you don’t get rained on.  In the Mediterranean, people promenade. The weather is lovely, it’s still warm in the evenings. Everyone can partake. In Northern Europe it’s not so easy to do these things. Westfield provides an alternative.

I was struck last night by just how busy the shopping centre was at 9pm.  There were loads of restaurants and they were all full to the brim. Maybe in this part of London, the East, which has been neglected, there hasn’t very much locally until Westfield opened. There will always be great local restaurants – Indian, Chinese, etc, but maybe not the volume. It was so busy that we gave up on finding somewhere to eat and went home.

Anyway, we assembled beforehand at the interface of Stratford tube and Westfield and made our way to the Olympic Park. The signposting isn’t very good yet, so they had stewards with foam fingers pointing the way. I assume and hope this is just something that the authorities haven’t got around to yet.  It could be farcical if they don’t put in better signposting before the Olympics.  People could get lost in Westfield and never see the sports!

Then there was the security.  Even for this low key event you had to take your jacket off, deposit all the contents of your pockets, and so on. Bit like an airport, although you didn’t have to shed your belt and shoes (not yet). I wondered what it would be like when the real Olympics starts.  One guy said there were going to be 160 of the X-ray machines. Well, I hope they all work: otherwise people are going to be pretty frustrated. The Olympics IS going to be fun, isn’t it?

And so to the diving. The Aquatic centre is one of the first things you see. It’s impressive.  Designed by the architect Zaha Hadid, the main feature is the wave-like roof.  Except, for the Olympics, it’s surrounded by two temporary structures, which, while impressive in their own way, do rather ruin the beauty of the essential structure. There wasn’t the opportunity to have a really good look, and it was dark, so it’s hard to say how things will appear at the Olympics in the summer.  But here are a few photos to give a bit of an impression.  Shot with a simple digital camera with the flash off (getting my excuses in!).  These were taken after the event.

That first one looks like a giant nose!

The competition that we saw was the womens’ three metre springboard dive. Now that doesn’t sound like much, but I can tell you it is when you see what they do.

The gymnastics in the air, the sheer daring of what they were doing, and the amazing technique was that bit more impressive than when you just watch it on the TV. Each competitor had five dives. There were seven judges and scoring was done by taking the middle three scores given, hence eliminating any biased outliers. It’s funny how you can quickly assume some pseudo-expertise in these matters.  Given that all of the divers were pretty good in the air, the main thing seemed to be how they entered the water. Legs straight and minimal splash got the highest marks.

There were twelve competitors.  This was the final, so these were the best. I looked at the list, saw that there were two Chinese women and predicted that they would be the top two.  Aren’t they in most individual events these days? An early lead was taken by the Italian, Tania Cagnotto, and an American, called Cassidy Krug (great name) , shone briefly.  But yes, the two Chinese women did come first and second, and quite right too.  Their diving was astounding.

I think this picture is of the winner Wu Minxia.

This one definitely is…

And this is how she did it…

There was a British woman in the final, Rebecca Gallantree.  She got a great reception, of course, and was excellent, like all of the divers. She came 9th on the night. Here’s a photo of her looking like she’s wondering what dive to execute next.

The arena itself was really impressive. It will be brilliant for the Olympics and the facilities thereafter will be fantastic.  For the audience, the seating was comfortable and the ambience was warm but not too humid.  Everywhere was so brightly lit, shiny and new. We sat near the main swimming pool. I thought how great it would be to watch some of the swimming races at the main event, so close to the competitors. Didn’t get tickets, so no matter.

I loved the shape of the high diving boards, too. There’s something classical about them, like dolphins rising from the sea.

As we walked back to Westfields and the tube, I took a couple of shots in the dark of the Olympic stadium and Anish Kapoor’s “Orbit” tower.  In the darkness, the latter looks like some kind of coffee pot.  I’m sure it will be magnificent on the day.

Just like the whole Olympics.  I can’t wait.  It is going to be brilliant. Of course it is costing a lot, but it will be a fantastic celebration of sport, and when you have things like the Aquatic Centre and the velodrome open to the public afterwards, it is going to be money well spent. Never mind West Ham’s will-they-won’t-they move into the Olympic stadium. I’m neutral on the matter, but if they do, I’ll probably get a season ticket. It could be the start of something…

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Have you Heard? – (10) “The Rip” by Portishead…. and Radiohead

Posted on February 19, 2012 by John S

“The Rip” is on Portishead’s third album, imaginatively called “Third”.  It came out in 2008, 11 years after the second album, imaginatively called “Portishead”. Portishead made their name with their brilliant first album, released in 2004, called “Dummy”.  It was the epitome of what the press called “Trip Hop”.  Music with a hip hop beat, slowed down a bit, and musically mellow, dreamy, maybe a bit jazzy or soulful.  Music presumably to chill out or “trip” to.

“Dummy” wasn’t all easy listening. Some of the big songs – “Sour Times”, “Glorybox”, “Numb”, had a bit of an edge to them.  It was nervy music – a bit ironic when the band were being portrayed as the ultimate in easy listening trip hop. My favourite tune was “It Could be Sweet”.  It was on the jazzier end of their sound. A chilled dance anthem. Hints of Sade, but just like when you poked under the surface with Sade, not a happy song.  But it was the groove, more than the lyrics, that appealed to me. It was just about as cool as music could get. Here’s a cut off You Tube. Gets you in the mood for “The Rip”.

When “Third” came out it got some good reviews and I bought it.  I liked it, but not as much as I had “Dummy”.  I found it a bit harsh in places – not what I wanted from Portishead.  “The Rip” sounded good, but I didn’t go mad for it there and then.  In fact, and here’s a confession, it wasn’t Portishead that made me love “The Rip”.  It was Radiohead. Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood got their acoustic guitars out and performed a version of the song, which they posted on their website. This I did love, and partly because it felt like it could have been on their brilliant album, “In Rainbows”.  It reminded me a bit of my favourite song on that album, maybe my favourite Radiohead song ever, “Weird Fishes/ Arpeggi”. What I loved on that song – and “The Rip” – was that lovely, lilting, insistent, plucked guitar in the background, which conjured up for me scenes of a babbling stream, winding its way through a forest.  Dappled in sunlight.  Just like a scene that has always stuck in my mind, from a walk down the Samaria Gorge in Crete, where the landscape changes constantly as you descend, from bleak mountain, to stark gorges, to that sunlit forest, and gradually an opening out to the parched rocks and the beach.

And on top of that lovely rhythm were the aching vocals of Thom Yorke. Both “Weird Fishes” and “The Rip” had that beautiful, haunting sadness that Thom’s voice conveys on the mellow songs.  The lyrics don’t always make a lot of sense, but there’s just that feel.

So “Weird Fishes” opened my ears to “The Rip”, and the Radiohead version of that song took me back to Portishead’s original.  And I realised that it too was good, very good, Beth Gibbons’ vocals as striking as Thom Yorke’s: stronger, less fragile, but equally entrancing.  And that rhythm – it was there again.  The brook was babbling, electronically.

So let’s work our way through the musical story here.  First up, the song that paved the way, “Weird Fishes/ Arpeggi”.

And then that acoustic version of “The Rip”, which alerted me to the raw beauty of the song.

And so to Portishead themselves.  I like this version from the Jules Holland show: it brings out the intensity – and the serenity – of this lovely tune.

So there it is, “The Rip”.  But there’s something else lurking.  Another memory.  Another song that conjured up that same tender, fragile, image of the mountain, or forest stream.  The respite from a life of conflict and hurt.  Or in this case war and strife. It’s a song by Wishbone Ash, from their album “Argus”, a bit of a seventies prog/metal classic. Easy to sniff at now, but it was one of the great early seventies rock albums.  And on it was this gentle tune, “Leaf and Stream”, an escape from the general bombast of the album, the warriors and the wizards. From the very start I loved it – so simple, so beautiful. To this day it’s a favourite, and I think it might have been there in the background when I took to “Weird Fishes” and “The Rip”. I wonder if Thom Yorke or Johnny Greenwood had it in mind when they wrote “Weird Fishes” or whether Portishead had ever come across it.  I doubt it, but you never know…

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