Hola!

Late last year my youngest step-daughter came home with a request - "Dad, can we host a Spanish exchange student?" Fist question from my husband was "Why can't your mum?" As it turned out a majority decision in their house had prevented said Spanish child going to their house so we decided that it was be an interesting experience and so agreed. Once the forms had been completed and all was good to go, reality sunk in.


First was the bedroom she would be staying in needed to be decorated. As she would be staying in my eldest step-daughter's bedroom, the choice was hers. Raspberry Blush - somewhere between pink and red. Then the lounge needed to be done which involved new carpet as well. This visit was turning out to be expensive! We weren't the only parents to be doing this. A quick poll among the girls resulted in every set of parents at least decorating. One set of parents wanted new windows!


The school had given us a plan of what was to happen. First evening was family time. Thursday and Friday daytime was school as normal, but the evenings were free to do as they wanted. Saturday was to be a tour of Liverpool on foot (you can imagine the groans) and Sunday was back home in the afternoon.


The excitement level amongst the pupils rose every week until  finally the day arrived. They were asked to meet up at Liverpool John Lennon Airport with at least one parent to greet their student. They had exchanged details and we knew that ours was called Alicia and that she was from Madrid. Naturally the plan was late, but finally on a cold March evening Alicia arrived. Family time was for us to get to know Alicia a little and her us. And she turned out to be a delight. A shy girl, but very polite and friendly but oh so quiet moving around the house!


Those few days seemed to go past so quickly. Like most normal teenagers they spent most of the time out of the house but Alicia seemed to enjoy visiting Liverpool and seeing what our teenagers do. All too soon it seemed she had to return to Madrid and so again the parents and children massed again at the airport to wave them off. This time instead of nerves and excitement, a few tears were shed.


One thing that came of this is that my step-daughter and Alicia have made a lasting friendship and are planning to meet up again during the summer. We have already said that we would happily have her visit again, and I wish we had had the opportunity to do an exchange visit with one of the other children.

Giants In Liverpool

Today I went to see the Giant Girl roam around the streets of Liverpool. This is a flavour of what it was like.

On the Road to Recovery

Back at the beginning of November I had an annoying cold which consisted of sneezes and a runny nose. No cough or sore throat just a lot of sneezing and nose blowing. I'm one of those people who doesn't like sneezing in public and so tend to hold them in when on the train to or from work. On the Friday I had a bit of back ache which was annoying, but nothing unusual for me. Then I woke up on the Saturday and realised I had sciatica again.

For anyone who doesn't know what sciatica is when a disk in the spine bulges and presses on the sciatic nerve which runs down each leg. As well as being incredibly painful it can make life very difficult. For me it meant I couldn't walk far or stand for long without being in agony. It was also very difficult to lie down so sleep became harder and harder to come by. I could sit but only if I leant forward and sleeping meant sitting on a chair and leaning on a pile of cushions/pillows to get 2-3 hours before my legs went numb and I had to wake up and change position.


This meant that instead of travelling to Sheffield in January to see my beloved Charlton play Sheffield Wednesday I went to the Liverpool Royal Hospital for an MRI scan. I wouldn't want to go through that experience again. I'm not claustrophobic at all, but that is a place that can make anyone claustrophobic. The top of the tube is only a couple of inches from your nose, the sides are close and it is incredibly noisy. I had headphones on listening to the radio but could still hear the very loud clunking noise it makes. Luckily for me it was only 15 minutes, but at the end of it I was pleased to get out as I was now finding it hard to lie down and lie still.


About 10 days later I was off to my GP to get the results of the scan. It was then confirmed that I have a slipped disk and that it is something that will never clear up. I have to strengthen my core muscles, keep my weight under control and keep fit. 


So approximately 12 weeks after the start of this attack I am almost pain free and can start my rehabilitation. Sadly it's going to take some time to get a reasonable level of fitness but I will get there.

Gary Speed

Sunday 29th December started out like every other Sunday - catch up on whatever tv I missed on Sunday, swearing at the wi-fi as I couldn't connect to the internet, few jobs to be done before cooking a roast dinner. Consequently I missed out on the news that Gary Speed had died.

The first I heard was looking at Twitter on my phone and seeing a series of tweets all saying RIP Gary Speed. That can't be right I thought to myself and checked the BBC website. There it was. The stunning news that Gary Speed had died at the age of 42. My brain couldn't quite take this in. Gary Speed dead? He was on live tv the day before on Football Focus which I had missed, despite Chris Powell being interviewed for it. Gary Speed couldn't be dead!

To me Gary Speed was a brilliant footballer who I did have the pleasure of seeing play. A player that everyone seemed to love and admire and I don't think was ever booed by the fans of teams he left, although I could be wrong. A player who I learnt today was third on the list of players who had made the most Premier League appearances. A manager who was turning Wales into a decent football team and had a bright future ahead of him.

I discovered that he had committed suicide and my initial reaction was that can't be right. I had seen and heard Gary recently when watching Wales play and he didn't look depressed. But that's the thing - depression is a hidden illness and one that not much is known about.

I have previously written a blog about my struggles with depression. I am grateful that at my lowest I have not yet contemplated suicide, but I know that one day it could happen to me. I also know of people who suffer and have contemplated taking their own lives because they cannot see that their life will get better - ever.

All I would ask if that any of my readers are depressed or know someone who is depressed, they seek help either for themselves or their family or friends. Please visit your GP and they can and will help.

RIP Gary Speed

http://www.mind.org.uk/
http://www.depressionalliance.org/
http://www.samaritans.org

So Far So Good.......

If you had asked any Charlton fan at the end of last season what their hopes for the new season were, most would have said better performances from the team and a push for promotion. Come the end of July, and the best part of a new team signed, the fans were getting were positive. Thoughts of a push for promotion had changed to thoughts of promotion, through the play-off final if need be.

The season started and we won. And then we won again.....and again. In fact apart from loses in both the Carling Cup and Johnstone's Paint Trophy it was twelve on the trot. Even the cup matches were against beatable opposition, but Charlton played their second eleven. In my opinion these seemed to prove two things. One was that not all the players left from last season were up to the standards that Chris Powell was obviously demanding. Two was that the lack of a reserve league wasn't doing the club - or players - any favours.

So we got to match thirteen which was Stevenage away. The signs were that teams that didn't play open football were going to cause problems and so it proved. The inevitable loss happened and from all accounts fans were more annoyed at the teams poor performance than the loss.

Would this mean the team would now go on a poor run? The only way we would know would be to see how the team responded against Carlisle. And respond they most certainly did! With easily the best performance of the season, Carlisle were demolished 4-0 with the 4th goal being one of those that ends up on a goalkeepers blooper tape!

Did this mean the start of a new run? Wycombe Wanderers away was the next test and a 2-1 away win was ground out there. Which brings us to today. With just minutes remaining Charlton have a commanding 4-0 away lead over Hartlepool. From the radio commentary it is no more than Charlton deserve and that is three wins on the trot and currently a five point lead at the top of the table.

It is "So Far So Good" and we now march on for the rest of the season. Come on You Reds!

Down Dale and Up Valley

For the first time in a long time I got to see Charlton play two weeks in a row. Saturday 17th September meant a sort trip across Manchester to Rochdale. Around 500 fans made the trip to see the Reds win 3-2. First half Charlton was brilliant and took a deserved 2 goal lead. Second half it seemed that the team didn't have as much enthusiasm to play. Rochdale came back into it with one well taken goal and one goal which I felt the defence could and should have dealt with better. Finally a great cross was met by Danny Hollands for his second of the game.


Which brings us to "Football For A Fiver" weekend at The Valley. The Chesterfield game was one that I had planned to go to so the tickets being only £5 meant a cheaper trip from Liverpool. It was also a reason to meet up again with fellow Charlton Twitterites and meet some new ones. 


Just like the Rochdale game, Charlton came out brilliantly in the first half and should have been 3 or 4 up at half time. Paul Hayes scored a cheeky back-heel for his first at The Valley and Johnnie Jackson converted Dale Stephen's cross.


Second half, again just like Rochdale, the team didn't seem to have the same enthusiasm for the game. Chesterfield came out and although I felt they didn't not threaten as much as Rochdale, it was still awkward watching for us Charlton fans. Chesterfield had a penalty appeal turned down which meant that John Sheridan was sent to the stand. What followed later incensed Charlton fans. Scott Wagstaff appeared to be fouled which the referee ignored. Chesterfield attacked and Michael Morrison took the legs away from Leon Clarke resulting in a penalty. After major discussions by Chesterfield and a touch of fussiness by the referee, Schofield sent Ben Hamer the wrong way.


That seemed to put some spark into Charlton and they started to attack more. Paul Hayes was replaced by Yann  Kermorgant for the final 10 minutes. He seemed to make an instant impression. It was his pass to Scott Wagstaff which resulted in a pin-point cross to Bradley Wright-Phillips who met it with a diving header. Cue 20,000 plus delighted Charlton fans!


In my opinion Rhoys Wiggins was Man of the Match closely followed by Chris Solly. I can't actually think of a bad performance by anyone in a red shirt yesterday so well played Charlton!


In the evening of the 24th I went to the O2 Indigo to see the Van Susans  They are an up and coming 5 piece band who have released an EP called We Could Be Scenery. I would say they are definitely worth a listen so either check out their website or look the up on You Tube. 


The final part of the weekend meant the drive home to Liverpool. As always we have to make a stop to change drivers and decided to make the stop at a pub called The Dun Cow in Hornton, Oxfordshire. There we had a delicious lunch and Glenn certainly appreciated the bitters on sale. Adrian & Lisa who own the pub are both Charlton fans, so if anyone is near junctions 11 and 12 of the M40, or is passing that way, drop in and say hello. You won't regret it!

Whisky and Song

Saturday September 10th meant Charlton had a home game against Exeter City. Usually I'm sat at home, computer on, headphones in and listening to the BBC Radio London commentary. Not this time. This time I was in the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool attending a Whisky Festival. I'm not a whisky fan, but Glenn is and sometimes you have to do something for a loved one.

Having arrived and signed in (and made sure we were on the masterclass list!) we made our way in to be confronted by Glenn's idea of heaven. Both sides of the room were lined with various companies offering samples and the far end appeared to be a shop of some sort.


The first stall Glenn made a bee-line for was Amrut which is an Indian distillery based in Bangalore. Amrut make 5 single malts, both peated and un-peated. Glenn was pleasantly surprised with his taster and pronounced it very good. The second new one was Kilchoman which is an Islay based distillery who are producing surprisingly good 3-4 year old whiskies. 

The last new distillery we saw was Cooley from Dublin in Ireland. They produce 4 single malts including 3 different wood finishes. Again Glenn was impressed and spent some time talking to the guys on the stand about their whisky. 


The most fun was had on the Talisker stand where they decided that once about 6 people were clustered around they would hold a mini masterclass which got louder and louder as the day when on. To my mind if you show enthusiasm for any subject then even someone with no previous interest will be hooked.

The final part of the afternoon was the masterclass. This was taken by Willie Tait, the master distiller at Fettercain Distillery. During this Willie explained how whisky was made and the differences between them. We also got to taste 3 whiskies from Jura, 2 from Dalmore and the Shackleton. My personal favourite was the King Alexander III from Jura. This whisky is aged in 6 different types of barrel and retails at approximately £150 a bottle! Suffice to say I think it may be a long time before I taste that one again.


The Shackleton had an interesting story behind the whisky. In 1907 Ernest Shackleton set out with a team to reach the South Pole. They failed and in making sure they could return home, left some of their supplies behind including a case of MacKinlays Highland Whisky. Fast forward to 2006 and a group of New Zealanders discover the case and allow Whyte & MacKay (the current MacKinlays owners) a few bottles. What they discovered was that the whisky was not a blend as they had thought, but a single malt. And Whyte & MacKay have reproduced this as far as they can. As no "recipe" for this remains, it's amazing that this can be done.



After the festival and dinner, we went to see We Will Rock You at the Empire Theatre. It's the first time I've seen this show and I have to say I enjoyed it. I was in my late teens when they were in their heyday and I have to admit I really wasn't a fan back then. Since then I've come to regret not seeing them live. And I've always wanted to do the clap along to We Will Rock You. And last night I did along with singing along to all the songs. For pure entertainment it's great fun and probably a must see if you're a Queen fan.