Subliminal shutdown

Once more we are faced with a COVID dilemma as a new strain first noticed in South Africa, sweeps across the world. The new virus spreads very quickly but according to the Saffers it has mild symptoms and few people are dying from it. Yes South Africa has a younger population but they are less efficient with their vaccines than we are, so what are we and the Government to  make of it?

Generally I do not think the British people have gone one step beyond to have two vaccines and a booster just to sit at home starring at the wall. The booster programme in particular was designed to allow a normal lifestyle to be embraced. If you feel poorly, then stay at home you might have COVID, you might have the flu or you might just have a cold. If you feel well then get on with things. Even if you are asymptomatic you are not going to influence the speed at which  this thing is already spreading and as long as deaths and hospitalisations are maintaining a flat rate , or even slowly increasing, then the speed of the booster programme should come to our aid.

There will be people who see the opportunity to call in sick over the festive period as a bonus, almost an extra few days on the national holiday,and businesses or public services will have to close as a result.There  will be health workers hugely frustrated that the majority of people in hospital are not fully inoculated but a virus has a life too. It does not plan to wipe out every host it infects. That would be destroying the very environment it need to breed, multiply and eventually mutate. This Omicron variant sounds a lot like a cryptocurrency and COVID seems to be behaving much like one too. Huge peeks of infection followed by  big falls. 

It is good to see the Government calling it's bluff at the moment even if the scientists and health professionals say we are about to be hit by another tidal wave of infection. The vast majority who make it to our TV screens seem to be from the Dad's Army school of doomery, each one grasping for that key nugget that they can use in a 'told you so' moment in the future.

Let's  enjoy the festive break and everything that goes with it and tackle any new challenges which 2022 may hold for us, full on.......or should that be mask on!!!

Merry Christmas and happy New Year to all of you. 

 

Keeping up with the Joneses

Well the Rugby World Cup is over for another 4 years. A disappointing end for England but everybody seems to think its great for the country of South Africa that they have won it. We will see if there are any political alterations in that Country or not.

Similarly the RFU are convinced they re better prepared to benefit from the expected upturn in interest in the game here in England. I have always maintained that mini and junior rugby do not produce the players of tomorrow, they produce the spectators of tomorrow. As they play their rugby on a Sunday, Saturday is free for them to watch their hero's be it at the Stoop, The Allienz, The JJ Bell stadium or somewhere in the Midlands. when they are older and senior rugby beckons, will they sacrifice their Saturday jolly for the opportunity to be beefed by older bigger people? Time will tell.

The final itself was not the sort of spectacle to be attracting spectators through he turnstiles. A psychological blow for   England when Sinkler was forced off so early was compounded by a 'park the bus'  approach from South Africa which was hugely effective but a bit dull. So it is now up to the other rugby nations to work out how to bypass the bus and create some chances to break through. Did they plan to lose to New Zealand in their first game so giving themselves an easier route tot the final? I suspect that we will never know.

So we now move into the 6 Nations championship build-up with trains and hotels booked, we just need news of tickets!!

Also in the news today was a massive fine handed out to Saracens for allegedly breaking the salary cap in the English Premiership. If upheld, they could struggle to avoid relegation to the Championship which would make for some very interesting fixtures next season.
Away at Cornish Pirates and Ealing Trailfinders would be a really eye opener.

Eddie Jones is doing a talk and book signing here on the Wirral in the middle of November, so i am going along to that and will be interested to see what he has to say about all things rugby. I on the  other hand am  just off to read the latest on VAR and how football has made so difficult what rugby, cricket and tennis seem to find routine. It must be a culture thing!

Sunshine on a cloudy day

Today is the last day of our two week adventure to the Indian ocean as part of SWMBO birthday celebrations. In tune with previous 2018 holidays, today has given us rain and high winds, but we have compensated for the lack of sunshine by having a full English at the golf club and extending our room until this evening to allow us somewhere to chill away from the busy common areas which are full of families playing Scrabble and backgammon.

The back nine on the golf course is closed and there are no buggies today so I clearly picked the best days for a thrash. Yesterday I played with a chap from Durban who was born in Liverpool but moved to SA at an early age. He has his millions filched away here in Mauritius and in the Isle of Man, and is now looking to move as the infrastructure in Africa continues to be more corrupt and fragile than Europe. The only problem he has is that the cost of living differential is not in his favour as the Rand is so weak.

We have certainly been treated like royalty here since our little challenge with the initial room allocation, and daily massages, dinner and breakfast on the beach as well as the premium all inclusive have all added to the pleasure of the stay.

Even with my surname I can't do much about the climate but I suspect it will start raining as soon as we get home.

Hail and farewell

Thursday was a momentous day. At roughly the same time of night GC4, was born into the world as senior statesman,  Nelson Mandela,  passed away. As a poignant gesture, GC4 has been named Nell, although her sister, GC1 seems to think Isabella is a much better name and calls her that at every opportunity.

Mother Emma will now face a life challenge as she must bring these two girls up without the help of their father, the pub singer. After a season in Spain he has decided he would rather have the life of a tour rep than the responsibilities fatherhood brings. He has now consigned himself to the ranks of 'day care dad'. A book is open as to how long before he can't cope with that and disappears altogether.

Hardship and commitment are two things he could learn a lot about,  from the life of Mandela. His transformation from terrorist to diplomat has been well documented in a way which will never be reflected in any obituary of  Martin McGuiness or Gerry Adams. It will be interesting to see what South Africa, and the wider African continent will become going forward without him.

Life is cruel though when Mandela is taken from us but a person like Mugabe can continue to rule with an iron fist. His time will come and then there will be some wiggle room in the large expanses of Southern Africa.

Welcome Nell, sleep well Mandela.

Greenwood and Gazza revisited?

This weekend we witnessed the final games for the England football and rugby teams. Both groups of players have been away from home testing themselves against some of the best players in the World. As far as the rugby team is concerned they lost a three test series 2-0, gaining some comfort for a 14-14 draw in the final game against South Africa.

For the football team it was defeat in the quarter-finals of the European Cup, to Italy.

The similarities of the two national sides are worth considering. Both have relatively new coaches trying to impress their own styles on their side. Both, sadly lack creative and dominant players, the like of which is vital to be able to compete on a world stage.

Lets look at the football team first. Two banks of four players protecting the goal, with two isolated strikers is not the best recipe for attractive football. What alternatives are there, however?  If you were to name the three most creative players in the top English premiership teams you would struggle to find too many English qualified players. Tottenham have Modric, Bale and Adebayor, or even Van der Vaart. Chelsea have Drogba, Torres and a host of others, Manchester City have Alonso, Balotelli and Nasri. Its only when you include Wayne Rooney in the Manchester United trio that you can select a player who starts regularly for his club, as a key international.

Mirror that process with the rugby team and you consistently see the core players in the top teams, fly half, centre, fullback, scrum half, number 8, flanker and hooker more often than not being sourced from other countries, and,   at a point in their career when they are looking for a source of money and a gentle passage into retirement.

While the rugby team are trying to redress the balance by introducing a salary cap and we are seeing English fullbacks coming through, it will be a few seasons yet before they can have the right young talent to choose from. They need to be clever as well as muscle bound and the professional game is not doing much to aid that process.

So we have to be realistic at the moment and not expect our sides to be world beaters, although with the Rugby World Cup in England in 2015 it would be good to see a semi-final place as a realistic target. At that stage anything can happen.