I finished No 153 with mention of impending bricklaying and how good life is in Geriatrica. Unfortunately, hefting a ton of bricks has rendered my neck immobile, which means turning to see around corners involves rotating from the waist rather than the neck. This has its drawbacks when seated at the wheel. The passing of the years is a trial indeed. Sadly the days when a man with a red flag would walk in front of your vehicle have long since passed.
Going slightly off my normal piste I wonder if you saw the match between Everton and Liverpool at the weekend when the Everton goalkeeper, Jordan Pickford, made an extremely clumsy (at best) feet first tackle on Liverpool’s highly valued Dutch striker Virgil Van Dijk, that has put him out of action for the rest of the season with a knee injury? Had that same foul been committed by an outfield player anywhere else on the pitch I’m sure the offender would have got at least a yellow card and probably a red one: an immediate sending off. For some reason, referees have historically tended to protect goalkeepers, but this incident caused immediate outrage amongst the players and commentators and had there been a crowd present, it would probably have got quite nasty. Amazingly, the referee saw no foul and neither did the VAR referee sitting back in Stockley Park who had the benefit of a multitude of angles to analyse it in slow motion. Someone like Van Dijk is worth many millions of pounds and his loss is huge. Surely Liverpool and/or the player should have every right to sue Pickford for recklessly causing damage that will have a huge impact on the player and his Club? The referees failure to punish him at the time would probably make it harder, but all the evidence is there for anyone to see.
Whilst out shopping in Eastbourne’s Beacon Centre today I saw a sight that was truly stunning. A youngish man (I’m guessing early thirties) was walking with his wife (I presume) and child. He needed to sit down and gasp for air and it was no surprise. I have seen many extremely large people in my travels, particularly in America’s Deep South, but nothing quite this extreme. It wasn’t that he was huge all over, like so many truly obese folk with massive arms and legs and face, he just had a monumental gut. The protrusion started at his chest and it just kept getting bigger and bigger…….and bigger, as if he’d somehow managed to insert a giant pumpkin into his stomach whole; in fact make that three. His girth must have equated to a fairly mature Giant Redwood. It would take at least two people to join up their arms around his waist, and they’d need long ones at that! It’s impossible to imagine how someone could get into that state, but with the threat of Covid one has to fear for him and the NHS staff that will inevitably end up having to care for him, if he’s unlucky enough to catch it.
I am starting to feel nervous. My local Rotary Club is holding a Quiz Night on Zoom in an hour’s time and I recklessly agreed to take part. I am quite a good quiz team member with a reasonable general knowledge and good on sport, politics and history. However, there are yawning gaps in my knowledge, notably popular music and films, that I fear will be horribly exposed as an individual competitor. My growing inability to remember names could also be a serious handicap! Being the competitive type that I am, I am fearing serious humiliation. Wish me luck.
ADayInTheStrifeOf 