Stage 12 : Crash mars the finish

 Today's stage 12 finish gave a nasty domino effect crash 500 metres from the line.  It didn't look nice and a lot of sprinters involved.  Tim Melier and about 15 other riders got away from the crash and Melier came in first, followed by Kooij, and Philipsen.   The GC riders keep out of the way of the sprint finishers on stages like this. 

The GC is the same tonight so, again, no need for me to type it out.  All tht will change tomorrow.   

Stage 13 is Dole to Belfort in the Haute Saone department starting in the Jura mountains and ending in the Vosges Mountains. These are two separate mountain ranges in the Eastern part of France.  Dole is about 30 miles from Dijon.  Belfort is close to the Swiss border.  We are gradually getting close to Mulhouse where France, Germany and Switzerland meet.  I have been there!  It was the gateway to Basel where I went for a holiday many years ago. 

Stage 13 is the longest stage at 205.8 kms, starting undulating and then with two climbs, the big one being 8.7 km up the Ballon d'Alsace.  This will suit the strong climbers and the descenders.  Pidcock is amongst the betting.  He had a crash yesterday but he says he is ok. 

Enjoy.   

England Out

 I went to bed when Anthony Gordon was taken off.  The madness of the decision was enough for me to hit the sack and relax.  

This morning I have just watched the final 20 minutes to see the two Argentina goals. 

England's luck ran out, the luck they had in beating Mexico and the luck they had in beating Norway, both wins that were not on merit.   

Without Pickford's saves it could have been a lot worse. 

I hope the whinging doesn't start this morning.  The best team won.  

Tuchel disappoints me for the first time.  The English disease of fear of losing overcame him and no casting of fate to the wind and putting on the attackers for Tuchel either.    Defeat snatched from the jaws of victory. 

Oh Ivan Toney and Rashford come on for the last five or so minutes.  Toney's first appearance in the World Cup he comes on with five minutes to go.   What an ask. 

My personal barometer is how the team sing the anthems.  Argentina had the passion in oodles and England had the look as if they couldn't give a toss.  Even if the stadium rang out with the anthems it was not with a lot of assistance from the England players.  Britiain is a country who hate themselves.   This is Britain. Flags not allowed. Pride not allowed. We are always going to lose because this is what we stand for and we are told this is what is to make us happy.  We are not a country anymore, we are to hate ourselves and be the losers that the government wants us to be.  We are learning to fulfil that easily by keeping quiet, pulling the flags down and doing as we are told, taking labels of far right and far left and accepting everything that once we would not accept in Britain is now to be accepted as the norm.  

 If I was the England manager I would forget about football when I first had my squad together and get them to write down what it is to be British for them, what they think of Britain, what effect seeing other teams singing their anthems has on them as individuals. I would get them to share that out loud with each other.  I would ask them what they want in playing for England and how much do they care, not just clichés but really make them think.   I would ask them to talk about things that may embarrass them about playing for England, if they have any.  I would clear the air and then get a level playing field.   All this behind closed doors.  Then I would do some dramatics with them, acting out what it is to be part of Britain and only Britain, not international politics like bended knees and political opinions. 

I would build up this side of things before I started on the football.  

Today looks to be a quiet, and a  hot day.  The sheets are in the washing machine and no plans for anything today.  The films continue to be not my kind of films so no visit to the cinema.  No shopping of interest, no money to spare for clothes except essentials like a pair of shoes which will be coming from Pavers chosen in the summer sale ready for winter.   A 50p vest was acquired at the charity shop this week.  I washed it and dried it yesterday.  It came from a skep of three items for £1.50.  I could only find one that would fit me.    

I have been out to vote for the Police Commissioner, got the newspapers, the shoes have been delivered and I am wearing them to break them in.   

I have changed the bed putting the washed bedding back on the bed straight off the linen line.  That is the joy of a good summer, the waashing dry and straight back to whatever it is meant for, wearing or bed, and skipping the airing cupboard. 

Stage 11 Tour

 It's been a hot and lazy day here for me.  The booking of a new chimney sweep was the important action of the day.  My previous man has retired he informed me this week.   

I went out for the paper in the usual procedure for days when I am here as opposed to going out somewhere on the train and can buy a paper at the station. 

I called into one village shop where I used to purchase a paper and was told they haven't sold them for two years.   That was a surprise and I suppose a sign of the times that people do not read newspapers like they used to. I carried on to the nearest small town and purchased my paper in the supermarket. I didn't buy anything else.  

Stage 11 of the Tour today was the fastest stage in the tour history.   This was measured in speed which was 50.9 kph averaged by the stage winner Soren Waerenskjold   

It was a bunch sprint finish and came in a bit messy with an elbowing and a swinging around and the result was that Jasper Philipsen was banished from 3rd to 119th adjudged to have elbowed rival Girmay.  This was a bit of the old Cavendish gripe that riders used to have with him, elbowing and swaying you will recall. 

The ride was flat, and fast, and there is no change in the GC tonight so I won't type it out again. 

Tomorrow's stage is stage 12 and another flat stage, possibly more undulating than today's.  It is Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours to Chalon-Sur-Saone, 179 kms, which is a bit of a mouthful.  It is still in the Loire area and chateaux abound. 

This is last stage for the sprinters so more fast run in and hopefully less chaos.

 

This post is dedicated to Ann Widdecombe, straight talking, honest woman, and it is  dedicated to God who will always listen and when you are alone and you wish to share troubles and seek help he will always listen.  The power of prayer is the most powerful thing there is. 

Stage 10

 Another great day for Pogacar in the Massif Central where 2 years ago the duel between Pogacar and Vingegaard at the stage had been neck and neck to the finish line and Vingegaard taking the win.  This time it was totally different with Pogacar going out on the break alone at 15 km before the end, destroying Carapaz's lead of 1 minute in seconds to go all out for the stage.   Vingegaard couldn't match it and lost time. 

The stage win was Pogacar at 3hr 58' 08" followed by Evenpoel at 3hr 58' 40", Seixas at 3hr 58' 42" and Vinegaard coming in 7th at 3hr 58' 52".   It is good to see Paul Seixas doing so well.  As I said at the beginning of the Tour, he is a boy to watch. 

The GC tonight is 

1. Pogacar        36h 15' 02"

2..  Vingegaard           + 3' 36"

3. Evenpoel                + 4' 06"

4, Ayuso                     +4' 22"

5.  Seixas                  +4 35"

6, Lipowitz               +4.44"

7. Del Toro               +5 08"

8. Skjelmose            +5.45"

9. Martinez               +6.34"

10.  Pidcock           + 11.49"

Tomorrow is stage 11 and Vichy to Nevers.   It is a flat stage and 161 km.  This is a stage where again we will see the bunch sprint finish and I will get to know those names of the sprinters.   Tim Melier is the tip for the stage.    Nevers is a beautiful city and the Loire river passes through.  It is in central France and known to many who have been in search of the chateaux of the Loire region as I have. 

I had a quiet day at home.  Temperatures were in the mid to high 20s here and it was 26C late afternoon. 

I will watch France v Spain to see the skills of the teams that are top in Europe and to see if Wenger is right in saying that Spain can beat France because they are technically better. 

The country makes me despair and I know that Britain is finished but today I prefer not to think too much about it.  On Monday we will have a new Prime Minister that nobody has been asked if they want him and the destruction of Britain continues and nobody in the Labour Party stands against him so he walks into a job that he has not described nor what he stands for nor what he will do for Britain.  The country deserves a General Election. We have a Police Commissioner local election here on Thursday.  I know who I will be voting for.  We have a man that drives from Rotherham in Yorkshire from a county that writers claim has no crime to Dartmoor and murders a defenceless woman and drives back in time for tea.  The lady had many gay friends who respected her as well as Catholics and Church of England friends, all of whom lived happily with mutual respect.  Just because a person does not  profess and openly to love gay marriage or trans or abortions or female priests it does not mean that they cannot and do not love people and they cannot be loved back.  Even David Hockney preferred gay liaisons without marriage, enjoyed smoking without state intervention and valued the Bohemian life style above anything that the state wanted to throw at him.  Ann Widdecombe was a strong woman with values of free speech, personal views and principles just like the rest of us have.  They may collide sometimes but it doesnt't mean we cannot be friends.   One of Widdecombe's best friends wrote a tribute to her at the weekend. He is gay, spoke to her most days including the day before her murder, and they had enormous fun together even if she never went to his wedding, he didn't invite her, she didn't mind and  he didn't mind.  That's friendship on a level that we knew when we were growing up in Britain.   

Spain are 1-0 ahead.  So far Wenger is right.

21.21 hrs

2-0 Wenger's words continue to ring in my ears. 

Spain through to the World Cup Final 2-0, and French hearts broken. 

Spain were brilliant.  

 

Disclosure Day

 Today as I had nothing to do and had spent all day yesterday at home alone I decided to go out to the cinema.   The temperature outside was around about 22C and there was a breeze.  The trains were running. 

 This is the latest Steven Spielberg film and stars Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor and Colin Firth.

I didn't like it at all, I found it boring, stupid, difficult to follow, and I left before the end.   After 30 minutes I felt like I was still waiting for the film to begin.  I stayed for another 45 minutes and nothing improved for me and I left.  I was disappointed in the movie.  I wanted to like it. 

Stage 9 and forthcoming Stage 10 Bastille Day and World Cup

 Stage 9 was reduced from 185.5 to 155.5 km today after Correze was placed under a red heatwave alert.  Removing the opening 30km placed the intermediate sprint at around 15km.  The temperatures were around 37 C.

The stage was one for sprinters and the first in was Van der Poel, followed by Johannessen and third in was British rider Tom Pidcock.  

The GC has one change in that Vacek who suffered today in the heat on the climbs and dropped out of 10th position to 24th and Bernal takes over 10th spot.  The other places are unchanged. 

Tomorrow is the rest day and racing re-commences on Tuesday, Bastille Day, when we have a mountain day again.  I suspect young Paul Seixas will be wanting to make a good show for France on that day.  It should be a good Pogacar and Vingegaard duel.   The stage is stage 10 and  is 166 km, Aurillac to Le Lioran.  Le Lioran is a ski resort in the Auvergne region of central France.  

I watched the England Norway quarter final today as I had nothing better to do and  just to see the tournament through. I've started so I may as well finish. Once again England had a fair degree of luck on their side to come away with a win and a place in the semi finals against Argentina. It was a slow game in the heat of Miami and England did not make a good showing in the second half where they allowed Norway to get on top of them.  Norway scored first in the first half and then Bellingham equalised in stoppage time before half time.  Norway went ahead in the second half but the goal was disallowed because of a shove by Haaland on Anderson before the corner kick was taken.  Personally I saw it as England being wimps and Anderson should have jumped up but in international rules this shove was a foul.  Kane had already been wimpish laying on the ground at the time of the first Norway goal calling for foul and his leg hurt like a baby.  The referee ignored him.   However, with that spell of good luck on their side they managed to get through after extra time with a 2-1 win.  It was a bit of a scrappy game but Bellingham was in the right place at the right time to get the ball in the back of the net twice.   They play Argentina in the semi final on Wednesday at 8pm.  Given this run of luck for England which includes a spidercam wire goal assist last night, I am making no predictions as to the result.  

Sunday

 News came in late last night that a 28 year old white male has been arrested in South Yorkshire on suspicion of the murder of Ann Widdecombe.  Devon and Cornwall police have declined to give out any more information than this which must be a good thing whilst investigations are still on-going. 

At least 4 British people trapped in their car  have died in the forest fires in Southern Spain.  Others are missing and unaccounted for including several British people. 

The EU used to send out directives to not clear scrub and allow it to grow.  Five year cycles were recommended.  This was and is bad husbandry and management of land   My brothers  said this would lead to uncontrolled under-growth and be a fire hazard and leaving scrub in this way would result in fields being taken over by brambles and dense and dangerous undergrowth.   This is now happening.  When certain individuals try to second guess why I voted to leave the EU I have said over and over again that I voted to leave the EU because of the stack of directives, bureaucratic, idiotic and many of them downright insulting,  that we as farmers received every year.  Often treated as criminals and talked down to constantly.  Money being taken by Juncker for Luxembourg and the bureaucrats was also high on my list of disagreement with EU membership. 

On personal news, I met my friend C for a lunchtime coffee/tea and chat yesterday.  She requested to see some of my photographs of Azerbaijan so I showed her on my phone.  How different it is now that we don't have a Boots pack of photos to hand over and go through.  However, the phone photos had their advantages in that she was enlarging bits and faces she wanted to see in more detail. C and her husband have both worked in Baku in their oil business where C was a business language teacher and her husband in some kind of supply business that he owned.  

We moved table in Waitrose café at C's request when two toddlers were playing running around the tables next to us.  Later a man came over and spoke to  us about our moving and said he sympathised.  By then the family concerned had left.  We all had a chuckle.

I enjoyed our chat immensely because C and I are on the same wavelength and oh, what a joy that is, no explanations needed when we chat.  We have only known each three or four years and only closely for two years and been meeting up for Saturday coffees now and again during the time that her husband was extremely ill and she needed some respite.  Sadly he has now passed away and she still needs the respite with me she says!

We chatted for two hours, two coffees and a cake each.  I got home at 3pm and felt the happiest I have felt all week.  Apart from the massage on Thursday and the septic tank maintenance man  on Monday I had not seen anybody.  

Hopefully this week I will feel well enough to go to the W.I. meeting and get back into that once more.  I missed the June meeting because on the day I was not well enough to go out.  I also missed the June Creative East session for the same reason.  I also missed the late May session when I first got back from my holiday when my illness was at its peak.  I am missing my Creative East friends.   I am feeling very reclusive this summer in regularly  not seeing anybody for days on end.  I must not slip into this.  It sometimes feels like it felt during Covid lockdown and that is not good.  The blog takes on a greater significance  because it is an opportunity to chat to friends, even it is a one-sided chat, it is still me talking if only to myself!   

Harvest is well underway in Norfolk.  It is a beautiful time of the year seeing the combines in the fields and the corn being cut and to smell the barley as you drive by with the window open.   The growing year comes to its climax and fruition.