Curly's Capers

On Saturday 21st November, the coldest day of the winter so far, I boarded my local bus  at 2:00pm and travelled across Cheltenham to Cheltenham Town Football Club.  A big crowd was expected for  this game against local rivals Forest Green Rovers, whose ground near Nailsworth was a mere twenty four miles away and still in the county of Gloucestershire. The reason for the big crowd was that Cheltenham Town is currently top of the Vanarama National League ( the league below Sky League 2) with Forest Green Rovers only one point behind them in second place. So with the above ticket in hand I made my way to my stand seat, which offered me an excellent view of the pitch. There was a buzz in the air, that I had not encountered for a long time. The terrace was already packed and the seats were filling-up fast. The pitch looked as it always does, in good condition. The wind was blowing and it was clear that accurate passes were a prerequisite in today's condit...

Coming -----  Comes desire; comes  union. Comes groans; comes outpouring. Comes breath; comes life. Comes moments ;  comes words. Comes notes; comes tunes. Comes speech; comes stories. Comes pictures; comes reflection. Comes opinions; comes friendship. Comes joy; comes tears. Come bells; come ceremonies. Comes tolerance; comes love. Comes dismissal; comes healing. Comes pain; comes knowledge. Comes grief; comes understanding. Comes passing; comes eulogies. Ck 19/ 11 / '15. @@@@@@@@@@@@@@ 1984 Superbowl Macintosh video The above is the 1984 Television advert, first screened during the Superbowl, America's most watched sports game and consequently the most expensive to buy air-time on. It looks curiously dated now, but at the time it marked a new era in advertising. It was chosen and promoted by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who faced much opposition in getting it shown. It was a great commercial succes...

At this time of year, you will read many recommendations for books to read. Upon one such online list, I found the above book title. Intrigued, I ordered it from the library. But when it arrived, I must confess I was rather taken back by its unprepossessing cover and its small print. I thought this not a book I am going to enjoy, so I put it further down the books to read pile. But, how wrong, could I be, for right from the start, I felt engaged by the narrative and soon emotionally drawn into the story. The fact that it was written by Death, immediately got my attention. Set just before and during the Second World War in a small German town, where work was scarce and extreme poverty was the norm, it concerns a  12 year old girl Liesel Meminger, who lives with her adopted parents Hans and Rosa. Liesel cannot read and has only one book " The Grave Digger's Handbook,"  which she found on the ground at the burial of her brother Werner.  Hans starts mainly...

It is said in Los Angeles, every person, however menial their job desires a sprinkle of stardust. In other words to be a movie star. In the UK, we seek 'fame'it seems to me by writing  comments, on people, places,  artifacts and in  blogs ( oh dear ! that's me ). I was quietly shocked the other day to learn that a billion people had used  FaceBook in a single day, as founder Mark Z. informs  "w e just passed an important milestone. For the first time ever, one billion people used Facebook in a single day. On Monday, 1 in 7 people on Earth used Facebook to connect with their friends and family.  When we talk about our financials, we use average numbers, but this is different. This was the first time we reached this milestone, and it's just the beginning of connecting the whole world. I'm so proud of our community for the progress we've made. Our community stands for giving every person a voice, for promoting understanding and for including everyo...