Occupy St Pauls

Occupy

As the canon chancellor of St Pauls, Dr Giles Fraser resigns; it struck me that this protest has really had the reverse effect to the one the protestors intended. They are here, well in the day anyway, to stick it to the man. To show corporate greed that they are not going to take this lying down, especially not in a tent on a chilly night, that the little man can make a difference.

So to front right up to this – do they camp out in Canary Wharf where all the banks are based? No as they might get shifted out by the bailiffs. Do they march on Whitehall and insist something is done - no because the security guards will move them on. Well how about Paternoster square right by the Stock Exchange – well no because the police will soon kick them out.  Instead they pick on St Pauls Cathedral. It’s like having a go at your mates little sister. I’ll have your lunch money as there’s no chance of you taking it back off me!

Who has actually been affected by this? Do you really think Bob Diamond is sitting in his office going – Oh my god – I am not having another crack inducing bonus this year because a bunch of aussie barmen are spending the day drinking in tents around a church?? Hello NO! The only people being put out are some poor deluded spinsters in grey cardigans whose last vestige of fun was attending mass at the cathedral. Well them and all the small shop and café owners who have seen their trade fall off a cliff as the thousands of daily visitors to the cathedral no longer attend. The protestors are only there in the day and probably bring their food from home. So the poor local shop owners who have never speculated on the stock market and merely hope to pay the next rent bill are having their livelihoods threatened!

So a big round of applause for the protestors who have upset some grannies and ruined the little man’s livelihood – that really told them!

Ryanair Time Share

I am probably several months behind everyone else on this but I havejust realised the point of Ryanair. No not cheap flights - so stop screaming that - they are effectively a time share type ruse. Remember those grainy flyers posted through your hotel doors when you went on your package holiday. Win a free holiday! Come to a small talk on our timeshare complex and we will give you a free holiday - no obligation to buy!
Well that is Ryanair - you pay for a ticket and they then bomabrd you for the whole of your flight with a sales pitch.

On my flight back from Germany I received the full process in an hour and a half.

Seat Belt light off.

1. Papers - £2 for the Times or Independent
2. Snacks and drinks at the sort of prices that Harrods would blush charging for a dried up old sarnie! But wait call it a Panini and they'll think the breads not stale it's been toasted!
3. Tickets for attractions - the London dungeons - but they failed to mention the £10 surcharge for buying them on the plane.
4. Scratch cards!! Seriously the Ryanair fucking scratch card - you could win 1m Euro - but you also most probably won't as the airline can't stand that sort of BA loss.
5. Jewellery and trinkets - like a bad market stall where Diamonique is the name of the game
6. Hertz rental car discount their prefered partner - really do they expect us to believe they have done a watchdog on all others and come up with Hertz or more likely Hertz offers the biggest kick back.
7. Train tickets to london - Hold on I'm on the fucking plane to London according to you - oh no I forgot London Stansted is just a name like Bournmouth Manchester Airport.
8. The latest magazine Hello or OK at just a little more than the cover value - bargin!

Cabin crew cross check for landing!!

England's Rugby World Cup Exit

After a loss like this, that brings national disappointment, there is always the danger of throwing out the baby with the bath water. However when we look at the evidence it is clear the baby left of her own accord years ago and now has a Saturday job at Top Shop. The England side however really hasn’t come anywhere in the last 4 years.

Where does the blame lie? In the shambolic set up of the RFU with the Steele debacle still ringing in our ears? In the failure of one of the greatest on field captains to turn his strangle hold from pitch to the side-line? In the players themselves? In the off field dramas distracting everyone? In the team advising Johnson?

Well let’s look at the facts, for many years the RFU has been something of an old boys club. It is run by fairly old school principles with ex rugby players and hangers on trying to mainly manage their own agenda. I doubt this has really changed in the last few years other than being more obvious to the outside world. The players really have never cared for the RFU and in some way they have been separated. So I doubt this crossed a players mind.

Johnson’s failings are much harder to swallow or openly accept. In some sense it is like the old Labrador who starts to wheeze and limp. We all know where it’s going to end up but we just can’t bring ourselves to face it. Johnsons coaching experience prior to this was based around running sessions at Leicester. He has had no real coaching role of any substance. Unlike his ex-team mates such as the successful Richard Cockerill or the reasonably successful Neal Back – he has never faced the daily on going grind of keeping a team together over a season or making those hard calls of who to drop long term. In fact, Backs summing up of his ability on leaving Leeds ‘I’ve taken them as far as I can’ (to the bottom of the league)  could also be applied to Johnson.

Perhaps this could be covered if he had a team around him with that missing experience but unfortunately I have little faith in his team except perhaps Graham Rowntree who runs the front row.  John Wells his forwards coach has shown little tactical input as the team stutters forward. In fact Wells seems to me to epitomise the failings of the coaching team. Can he not see we lack a balanced back row? He was a blindside for god’s sake. Wales are in their pomp because they have an amazing 7 in Warburton. We have no out and out 7 - Moody is too old and carrying too many injuries to be effective, where is Wood or Fourie or any other decent 7?

They say ‘forwards win matches – backs decide by how much’ – This is England’s main failing – the front row is not scrummaging well especially with Stevens, the second row are failing to take regular command of the line out and we have a totally unbalanced back row. Easter is the only true number 8 in the squad but in the last 15 years he wouldn’t have even made the squad, far too slow and ponderous. Compare his performance to Haranordiquy of France, a human wrecking ball, smashing tacklers down, taking the ball forcefully into contact. Easter always looking to offload or backing into contact – it really highlighted the gap between the 2 sides.

I thought the backs played well in patches during the test but with the pack peddling backwards it was always going to be difficult.

As for the off field dramas, I am somewhat surprised at all the vitriol. Rugby is a brutal sport at times. It requires team mates to often do things they know are likely to end in injury or pain; this requires huge amounts of camaraderie. My experience is training sessions alone cannot build this; true friendship socially is often a massive fillip to gaining the level of closeness required.  

So what do we need to do? Well we need to start being realistic, the Labrador has to be taken to the vet along with his whole team, save Graham Rowntree. We need to realise Rugby is now a fast paced game and we need a back row that represents that. Build the backs around Flood, Tuilagi, Foden and Ashton – they are young enough and good enough.

In the forwards – find more front row players – Stevens is not a world class prop anymore – if he ever was, Thompson still can’t hit a cows ass with a banjo.  Pair Lawes with Palmer in the second row – Deacon is not in the same class. Find an open side and a no.8 to work with Croft.  Employ the best tactical coach we have not just someone who pleases the crowd.

In 4 years’ time we might then have a chance.