Today's activities

 Today I have my first massage in two months.  Yesterday I re-commenced my daily exercises, in full.  Things are looking better.  I last exercised using the exercises for seniors routine before I went on holiday on 8th May.  Perhaps I should say I ceased the routine on the day of my holiday. I will now engage on a daily basis.  I felt the sluggishness of some muscles that needed to be stirred into life. 

I heard from Mark in Sheffield yesterday, the man I met on the tour of Azerbaijan.  I think we will be staying in touch with each other.  It is nice to have made a friend on the tour and to have things in common.  I will see how it goes; friendships made on holidays ofter peter out after a year or so although one lady I met in Macedonia continued to email me for 15 years until she passed away earlier this year.  Her daughter found my contact details on her mother's computer and emailed me the news. 

I am thinking of a train tour next year if I am well enough.  This will be starting on Eurostar from St Pancras and heading across to Brussels and Cologne and onwards to Denmark and Sweden.  The other alternative, there are two train tours that I am interested in, is a tour of Germany going to Dresden and then heading northwards.  This one also starts from St. Pancras.   But next summer is a long way off at the moment and I am aware that my health needs to be good to undertake another holilday. 

I am looking forward to going out today and will get an early train and will go to the café to write for a while before my appointment.    So far my 'live train times'  information tells me that the trains are running on time. 

I will not be back until tonight and will do a catch up on Stage 6 of the Tour when I get home.  

Result Stage 5 of The Tour

 The Lannemezan to Pau stage was the flat, sprinter 158,3 km stage 5.    

The stage winner was O. Kooji.  Dutch on his Tour debut.   Great ride and he went out on his own slipping out of the chaotic run in,  followed by Kanter, Melier,  Artz, Philipsen, Girmay, Pedersen, Fretin, Turgis, Waernenskojld.  All sprinters and names that I don't know apart from Pedersen and Philipsen.   I used to know the sprinters but times move on and riders retire who we used to know here.   Pedersen Green Jersey. 

The GC are hanging back which is safer now and it is good if they all agree.  Leave the sprinters to it.   And chaotic it was indeed and narrow streets and speed humps  so best out of their way.  Vingegaard and Pogacar home safely.  

The GC tonight is the same as last night:  

1. Traeen 16h 32' 07"   Yellow Jersey

2. Quinn  16h 32' 35"   +28

3. Vacek  16h 32' 57"  + 3' 50"

4. Pogacar  16h 40' +   7'.53"

5. Vingegaard 16h 40' + 7.53"

6, Debryne 16h 40/ 13'   + 8' 6"

7. Evenepoel 16h 40' 23"  +8.16"

8. Del Toro 16h 40' 24"  +8.17"

9. Ayuso  16h 40' 27"  + 8.20"

10.  Seixas 16h 40' 48" + 8.41" 

Stage 6 tomorrow is Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre, Mountain  185.6 km  

A challenging mountain stage in the Pyrenees. Will Pogacar and Vingegaard  go all out on the Tourmalet?  The highest road pass in the Pyrenees and often featured in the Tour.  Pogarcar is favourite tonight. 

Tomorrow awaits the mountain climbers. 

Hypocrites the lot of them

Starmer the hypocrite.  This makes me laugh and the public will see Starmer for just what HE is.   Farage has got them all rattled.  Just let him get on with his by-election, he's paying for it and let it all go away.  The Standards Committee can do their bit, investigate, which they should have speeded up on it anyway, and see what they come up with.  Leave it to Farage and Clacton and the Standards Committee.  So much hot air when Starmer and the Labour Party just fixed up by-election to elect the next British PM in a place called Makerfield irrespective of the voters of Britain and what they might want, and no General Election.  

No More World Cup For Me

To anybody who is reading here now, and I know there are not many people, numbers are low, but I am finished with the World Cup coverage and for me, I am finished with the World Cup.

Firstly the England Mexico was NOT the greatest game ever and it was luck that was on England's side that gave them the victory.  It would be a lot more honest for the pundits to admit this, it would do more for the game to be honest.   Yes, Bellingham came up trumps with the compassion and zest that I am always going on about, Gordon had a spectacular game and did his job like a solid, dependable worker, Kane was a great captain and he was composed on the penalty, but luck was on England's side and if this is what is supposed to be the greatest game ever seen and this is supposed to be great football then you can keep your 21st century football.  I watched the highlights.  I thought this looks good.  I'll watch the whole match.   I engaged IPlayer and I sat through the entire 90 minutes on Monday.  All put together the highlights paled and I was left unimpressed and I actually felt sorry for Mexico who were clearly the better side. 

Secondly, seeing the double standards of refereeing rob Egypt last night, well that is it for me.  Play is brought back for a foul on an Argentinian in mid field  before the Egypt (first) second goal so the goal is disallowed.  This is on appeal from Argentinian players to look at a possible foul in midfield before the goal so VAR was engaged.  Goal disallowed.  Fast forward to the Argentinian winning goal in injury time and it is clear that Salah was fouled in the Argentinian penalty area.  The ball is rushed to the other end and Argentina score.  Egypt players point out the foul on Salah and appeal.   VAR was not even checked.  

Talk about double standards.   Did the French referee only want Messi and Argentina to win?   

Egypt were robbed.    

Stage 4 all change

The Carcassonne stage was won by Mads Pederson and it was a race for the breakaway group.  It was expected to be thus.  Very hot and the group of 34 were in the breakaway 145 kms from home.    So the race was a long one of the breakaway and the rest followed 3 minutes behind who let the gap get bigger and bigger.   Foix breakaway victories are a habit.   

 The stage changed the GC and we have a new race leader, the yellow jersey is out on loan for a few days!    The placings tonight are :

1. Traeen  13h 02' 46"

2. Quinn  13 03 14   +28

3. Vacek  13 03 36  + 3.50

4. Pogacar 13 10 39 + 7.53

5. Vingegaard 13 10 39 +7.53

6. Debruyne 13 10 52  + 8.06

7. Evenepoel  13.11.02  +8.16

8.  Del Toro 13.11.03 + 8.17

9. Ayuso  13.11.06  + 8.20 

10. Seixas  13.11.27  +8.41

Stage 5 is flat and is Lannemezan to Pau 158.3 km .    A sprinters day. 

I didn't watch it today and can only give information from the highlights tonight. 

Logic

 Justice has been done, USA and Portugal out of the World Cup some will say.  Both teams subject to FIFA interventions on red cards;  first last November when Ronaldo had his red card suspended by FIFA to enable him to be available to play in the first two Portugal games of the Tournament and then the USA player Balogun's suspension overturned by FIFA to enable him to play last night.  What of the silence about Ronaldo and the uproar about Balogun.  I think we all know why.    How many know that the Balogun red card was harsh and should have only been a yellow?   How many who speak now know about the Ronaldo lifting of his two match red card suspension?

UEFA should know better than to make a fuss about Balogun decision but not about Ronaldo where they kept quiet and said nothing. 

Will England be next out with FIFA mulling over a plan to bring forward the Mexico game by 6 hours to avoid the storms was intervened by Keir Starmer who said it would be disadvantageous to England to have 6 hours less time to train so FIFA backed down.   In fact the storms were very real and the 6 hour earliler start made sense.  

Today is a nice day in England with perfect harvest weather here in the east.

Stage 4 of the Tour is going to be frighteningly hot with temperatures reaching 37 to 40 degrees on the run between Carcassonne and Foix.  

Sport and other bits and pieces

 It's been a hot day and with the septic tank maintenance and service check this morning it started early.   While I was waiting for the septic tank guy a car landed and blocked my drive way.  I went out and found a young boy in an old Jetta that had conked out. I chatted to him nicely and I said I thought his car had over-heated and if he let it cool it might re-start and I would fetch some water.  I told him to wait before taking the water cap off because it was clearly so hot it would probably explode boiling water in his face.  I went and got water.  He hold me had driven to London and back yesterday in the heat and the car was fine.  That is 200 miles at the very minimum.  I asked "did you check the water this morning".  He said no.  Anyway, the heat was rising out of the engine like a furnace as we stood beside it.   I was doing this all at 7.30 am.  Anyway, he was calm and fairly quiet so we waited a while for the car to cool and then he put the water in and he said it was empty.  I feltched more water from my outside tap.  Then he started his car and he said he would go. We waited a few minutes more.  The car didn't have any hose leaks or radiator leak because I checked it for him on the ground so I guess it was alright.  He thanked me  and went.  I think the car was about 40 years old from the license plate. 

The septic tank man said the boy landed at the right house with me.  If you drive an old car like that you need to check the water in hot weather after long journeys.

The septic tank man is lovely and he sorted out my years of problems last year you may recall.  And today he did the routine check and he said he hoped all his visits today would be so good.   I really like him. 

When he left I went out for my newspapers and some treats to keep me going.  I came home.  I rested because I am still not properly normal. 

I watched the England Mexico game over my lunch time.   It wasn't as I imagined.  I don't think it was worthy of some of the descriptions I heard of it being fantastic England and all sorts.  I think I should be able to expect this from them and it shouldn't be so special it is different.  It wasn't that fantastic.  England had quite a lot of luck to win like they did and of course they hung on in defence for the final 20 minutes and Tuchel made some very good substitutions.   There were good displays from all of the team but they didn't whip Mexico, they just got a bit lucky and won.    And there were too many yellow cards for England. 

I then watched Stage 3 of the Tour but not all of it, just the last 2 hours but I was also doing things at the same time like reading the papers.    The going was good through the Pyrennees and lots of good views across mountains and lakes.  The spectators were there in the woods where the organisers had warned them to keep away because of fire risk.  I don't think that message got through. 

UAE organised themselves well and Pogacar came in first.  Timed it well.  Pogacar, Vingegaard and Carapas came in one, two three.  Young Seixas came in 4th. 

The GC is as follows with the switch that Pogacar now has the Yellow Jersey:   (He also has the Green Jersey on points).

1. Pogacar         8hr 46" 55'                      16 points

2.  Vingegaard    "                                      6 points

3.   Evenepoel   8 47 15    + 23                 4 points

4.  Del Toro       8 47 19   + 24               10 points

5.  Ayuso        8 47 22      +27

6.  Seixas       8 47 43   +48

7.  Lipowitz  8 47 48    +53

8. Martinez  8 48 04    + 1'09

9. Johannessen 8 48 06 +1'11

10. Van Wilder 8 48 12  +1' 17

So that's it.  It was hot racing.  

Stage 4 is Carcassonne to Foix 181.9 km and undulating and 4 categorised climbs and 1 intermediate sprint.