So we lost ..... nothing's changed

We're a strange race of people... one loss and depression has set in the land of song. The euphoria of the last eight Six Nations games have sent us fans from one end of the spectrum to the other in eighty munites. I am old enough to remember the "glory days" of the 70's and recall us winning games when we didn't deserve it, and thrashing teams by 30 points when they were poor and we weren't that good. With analysis and coaching theses days it is true to say that on any given Saturday (or Friday night) any team in the World Top 10 can beat each other. My friends the Garlic eaters are the best at this. They consistently upset the odds against the Southern Hemisphere sides in important games such as World Cups and the following game are useless. They could go on next week and stuff the English and them play badly against the Italians. Ce la vie. So.... let's remind us of Gatland's assessment that "Wales were about two years away from being a good team" This Kiwi doesn't play mind games and has developed a squad of players who have potential into winners. Many teams have gone to Paris and come second. They came out in the second half and did not give us the ball and their defence "did one" on us. So we must be realistic and not think that the world is at an end. We must bounce back and beat the Italians by a thumping margine and then go on to win the Triple Crown and possibly win the title on points difference. We can also hope that the English can help us out by stifling the Irish this afternoon.

France v Wales 27th February 2009

Well, there was never going to be any surprises in the Wales team to play France. Shane Williams had to come back, we missed him darting from the base of a ruck and running at heavy lumbering forwards against England. And can we forget his try against Ireland last year at Croke Park which effectively won us the Grand Slam.
The Henson debate will run on, but I think that at present he'd be more of an option coming off the bench with 20 minutes to go and use his big boot to keep the exciting French back three pinned in their own 22 and as far away from our line as possible. Mark Jones has unfortunately lost that instant pace that he once had after all those horrific knee injuries, Sackey beat him over 20 metres with a few start. I am a bit disappointed that they haven't included Jonathan Thomas on the bench as his dynamic running and line out work could be vital in the last quarter and with Charteris the only option to replace Gough or Alun Wyn it may be a bit of a worry if the game goes down to the wire. I have never really been a Dafydd Jones fan. Against a big back row he isn't that effective. The French will have Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse), Imanol Harinordoquy (Biarritz), Fulgence Ouedraogo (Montpellier) in the back row and Martin Williams, Ryan Jones and Andy Powell should match them. I changes are to be made I'd think that with Ryan swapping to 8 if Andy Powell is ineffective I'd rather have Jonathan Thomas coming off the bench than Dafydd Jones. Elsewhere I don't see the French being able to match us. they have drafted in Mathieu Bastareaud (Stade Francais) at centre and the veteran Sylvain Marconnet (Stade Francais) in at prop and the remainder of the team will be made up from players from what I'd call the French Top 14's middle ranked teams. I still am confident that we have a more coherent game plan that can stifle any French flair that may emerge from them if you turn up to play. It'll be odd settling down on a Friday night to watch a Six nations game. How will Mrs CJ take it? Who knows?
My prediction - Gatland and Edwards will have worked out a plan to stop the French playing. Wales to win by ten points

Find me on facebook

I've been on facebook for a few months now and am closing in on my 500th friend. I think that these social networking sites are a laugh and not to be treated so seriously as some who shy away from them. Obviously, you have to take care about your identity and not be too silly as to reveal anything online that would put oneself at risk professionally. But it's like anything else in life .... it's a game and you have to play it that way. i've managed to get contact dtails with many friends from way back when and will continue to use it for these reasons. Also, it's great to see my former pupils achieving degrees and knwoing how to party.

A spud ricer is a must to make great mash

When we were in Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth, I was waiting for Mrs CJ to come out of Hobbs, when I stumbled into the Professional Cookware Company Shop and saw a Potatoe Ricer on sale for £19.50. I'd seen some cookery progs on UKTVFood where when they made mash they used this utensil and it came out fab. I've been using a masher to make my mashed potatoes, and occasionally blitzed the spuds up in the Food Processor, and guess what - they never look ar taste the same. So, I decided to put my hand in my pocket and give it a go. When we were having dinner in Arundel House, I chose as a main course the Seared Loin of Local Venison on Sweet Potato Mash with Wilted Spinach and a Red Wine Reduction. I looked very closely at the consistency of the mash and thought that it was most unlike mine. So, the following day, when I saw this machine, I thought that this may be the answer. And hey presto when I made it tonight, there it was, just like I had on Wednesday evening, with the small exception of a bit of olive oil and some seasoning. So if you come over to the house in the near future for dinner, there is a strong posibility that the ricer will be out and that a mash of some kind will be on the menu.

A great half term, but now back to the day job

This evening I must put away all foolish things and hope that when the alarm goes off at 6.00 a.m. tomorow morning I'll wake up as a head teacher again. I don't know why, but the last few weeks have been awful, no routine. First it was the snow, a great time to take some lovely pictures of our house and garden covered in the white stuff, but a drain on my patience when people bang on about health and safety and are scared or the likes of Lawyers 4 U if they fall and brake a finger nail and claim the armfulls of compo that seems to be keeping the world afloat these days. Anyway, I've had a great couple of days.... seeing all those great sights and managing to take lots of pictures and learning how to use the Nikon. So onwards to March - what can we look forward to? the two remaining 6 nations fixtures ... and the one against the Italians lol. A trip to Worcester perhaps, Day in B flat and Give unto the Lord is on the menu on Saturday. A look at the Bristol menu for upcoming Saturdays. (They sing on Saturdays at 3.00 p.m. - sensible) A visit to Brasserie Blanc and getting my latest batch of Cd's from Presto Classical that will arrive soon after Dydd Gwyl Dewi. Also catching up with my mate JDL after so long. And more blogging .........

Chichester

Chichester was the first stop on our South Coast road trip. Before our first trip over to Normandy in 1993 we came down early before setting off on the overnight ferry to Ouistreham. Since then the city has developed with some leading high street shops taking residence in the four main shopping streets that lead off Chichester Cross

The Cathedral is one of my favourite, compact, beautifully restored and kept. I spent an hour taking photographs, wandering around looking at the Marc Chagall window, discovering the Walter Hussey memorial, the compact quire where the 14 trebles and 6 lay clerks sing daily. I have always been fond of the Chichester sound and have a number of recordings of broadcasts of Choral Evensong from the 1980's and 90's where the unique sound was produced under the direction of Alan Thurlow, the Organist and Master of Choristers from 1980 to 2008.

I look forward to seeing how Sarah Baldock can continue this tradition.

My assessment - This is a very beautiful, quiet city with plenty of charm. I look foward to spending a weekend here soon and attend one or two services.

Arundel - Castle, Catholic Cathedral and class

Arundel is a quaint town which nestles in the South Downs in the racing area around Fontwell and Goodwood. The massive Norman castle dominates the skyline along with the Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady and St Philip Howard. It was situated six miles east of our hotel and acted as an ideal location for our first stop off.

On our previous visit we had visited the Cathedral and stopped off for a drink in the adjacent pub - the aptly named St. Mary's Gate. I was able to take some good photographs (which you can view on my Picas site) of the interior as the sun was shining brightly through the stained glass windows. The outside proved a littlee more difficult due to it's proximity to the adjacent cottages and the long line of cars which brought the countless tourists to the village. We had a very pleasant meal in the Arundel House Restaurant , you can view my earlier blog post here.

My assessment - If you are in the area this is a must, not to be missed. take time out to visit the Cathedral and have a wander around the town. If you're partial to a walk around medieval castles you will find this one impressive.

Verdict - Lovely old town, full of tradition with an excellent restaurant in Arundel House.