School for Scandal

There was an interesting article in The Times yesterday, based on the subjects we did and did not learn at school, and whether there was anything which one regretted not learning.

I had a think about this and am consistent in my views of twenty years or more, that I wish I had been able to learn a language. The school was run by the Christian Brothers, so Latin was on the curriculum from year 1. I struggled with it and so dropped it in year 2 for Spanish. French was also a problem so that went by the wayside pretty quickly too.

I managed to struggle on with Spanish and sat my 'O'level, but did not pass, so all I speak now is the basic stuff....it got us around Peru, but it would be jolly useful now to be able to speak all three of those languages.


With a new daughter-in-law who speaks Portugese, and the likelihood that any grand children from that direction will also be multi-lingual, that is the language of choice for me now.....I will need to check the evening class schedule.


I suspect most of the problem was the dull and repetitive way the languages were taught in the early '60s. I might fair better with the modern language lab approach, who knows.


If I am allowed more than one choice, I would have liked to leave school being able to play a musical instrument. We did have orchestra lessons, which allowed me to learn to read music, and play the violin, but that seemed to go the same way as the language classes after a while. I plug away on the piano these days but in a crowded room I suspect I am the only one who knows what I am playing!!


It was an all boys schools, so learning a bit more about girls might have been handy as well, mind.



So what was I really pleased I learned at school? My best subject was maths, and that certainly set me up for my career in IBM so that has to be up there. I did Art through to 'A' level and that has certainly stayed with me throughout the years, although I have never been much of a painter, more a creative genius!


Rugby has opened up a world of friendships, travel opportunities and competition, the like I would have struggled to emulate at a football based school, so that was the best of the extra-curricular activities.


And there you have it....in The Times article history and geography featured with a lot of people. I was forced to make the choice for the 'O' level course between physics, chemistry, and biology or geography, history and sociology and went down the science route, but in those days you got a good grounding in all the subjects up to the age of 15 so I never felt I had missed out there.


So what were you're regrets and successes,it would be good to know?

...faces all a glow ow ow ow.....

Rome is a delightful city, particularly when it is bathed in brilliant late Winter sunshine. It was this weekend, and I was fortunate to be there.

The continued 6 Nations rugby had forced me to leave the comfort of my warm cosy bed at 04:45 on Saturday morning and make the short trip to Heathrow. Now, I was not aware that the time was ever 04:45 on a Saturday morning, however, the amount of traffic on the M4 indicated that many others obviously did!

Still we got to Rome mid-morning, and found a very hospitable restaurant for a long and leisurely lunch somewhere near the Spanish Steps, we followed that with a quick change and an evening meal in a posh restaurant near our hotel. Following that we ended with Irish coffee in Harrys Bar, where we watched the world go by before retiring to bed. So much for sightseeing.

The game this year was on a Sunday, although I am sure it always is!! So down to breakfast to find the referee team are staying at the same hotel. We eavesdropped in on their pre-match briefing and learnt that the 'ref mikes' were not working for the Scotland v France game, much to everybodies embarrassment, and that the Italian number 2 was used in so many examples of potential flare-ups that he must be worth looking out for!!

So, more food before the game, then off to the stadium. England ground out a win, although I thought the papers were unkind to them. Their play without the ball was world class, it was just when they were in possession that they lacked a bit of composure. Give them time and I am sure it will come together. Guess what we did then, yep, more food at a restaurant owned by Luigi, as in 'Hey Luigi'.

We fell on our feet here though. He was a mad Lazio football fan, but his son at 9 years old had decided he wanted to play rugby. Dad not too enthusiastic until he found out Lazio have a rugby team. Now his son plays for the U15s and he is in the Vets, both of them are props!!

Nightcaps to follow in a suspected gay bar but that was never confirmed, and up the next morning for home. It took us 30 minutes from landing at Heathrow to arriving back in Chis with our luggage! I must use that as a house selling point.

Oh yes, we did not use a taxi once all weekend, just one tram ride back from the game, and tube and train too and from the airport. Excellent.

For sale, Chariot, seen better days.....

Two items took my eye this week, the Rugby Football Union 'Go Play Rugby' initiative and the fact that Wasps FC are looking to increase the capacity of the Wycombe Wanderers stadium they use for their home games. 'We need to play to bigger crowds', echoed head coach Ian McGeechan and new chief executive Tony Copsey.

The two initiatives do, however, seem to be contradictory.

I have said before to anybody who will listen that professional rugby has signalled the death knell of amateur club rugby in London, as I knew it. Even the introduction of a league system prior to that did not decimate the number of teams playing on a Saturday to the same extent.

Yes its true that mini and junior rugby participation continues to grow, but one must question whether this is breeding the players of tomorrow or the spectators?

Consider this scenario. When I played for Twickenham RFC our near neighbours and the local senior club, Harlequins, played to a few hundred spectators, more if they were playing a top Welsh club. Twickenham would field five or six teams and few people would be interested in watching the 'Quins ahead of playing for the extra 'B'.

Nowadays they play to 8-10,000 every week, and Twickenham, in common with other local clubs, are down to two, sometimes three teams. If ten percent of that crowd are potential rugby players that is the equivalent of 50 or 60 teams who have been lost to the playing side of the game. As well as 'Quins, London hosts Wasps, Saracens and London Irish, no wonder clubs across the region are finding recruitment so difficult.

Mini's day of course is Sunday, so they are free to watch their hero's and still get enjoyment out of their weekend runabout, and good luck to them.

So, Wasps, for one, wanting to match the 15,000 crowds which Leicester regularly get seems to be in direct conflict with this new RFU initiative to get more people on the park every Saturday. Surely they should be looking at different ways of tackling the problem in conjunction with the professional clubs. Why not play the games on a Sunday to allow people to turn out for their local club and still get to see a top game at the weekend? Consider doing the same for the block of England mickey mouse internationals which take place in November.

Now the professional product is so good, it appears that it may well be biting the hand that feeds it, as the gulf with junior rugby widens. This will only result in more foreign imports being attracted to the game, and the England side becoming weaker as a result. Is a half empty Twickenham the legacy of such initiatives, or worst, will more women get to go to games!!