Curly's Capers

The Ride   Sand below, holding on, to the seat. A jog walk,  amidst the sound of bells and smells  of the sea. Astride the donkey, resting upon garments, into a sea of people Would you have strewn, palm leaves before the hooves and joined in the clamour of Hosannas or would you turn the other way, not wishing to be in the presence of the King? It is the turning point. Facing the way you came from. follow the hoof prints back along the beach. Returning to: safety; affection; parental love and daily  care. Into Jerusalem,  lifted to the ground,  hot, tired and certain of no return,  yet. ready to receive: acclamation, condemnation, humiliation, extirpation. The young boy returned  from the sea-side to home. The Man returned from the grave to Earthly  life. Happy Easter. Ck 25-26/03. ******************* ...

Friday 22nd March 2013 The flowers say it's Spring: the temperatures deny this fact. The U.K. has Arctic winds, snow and heavy rain causing flooding and, oh yes flat racing has commenced at Doncaster today. This time last year we were basking in temperatures of 21C and hoping for a hot summer; which as we know was also denied. We are still in the church season of Lent and in a bout of self-denial, I have given up coffee for this period. This ends, for me this Palm Sunday, when Jesus reached Jerusalem and I look forward to raising a hot cup of roasted beans and toasting Holy Week. My Late Father, had a particular fondness for a yellow floral tie. To keep this memory alive I have elected to purchase a floral tie every year and wear it for the first time on Easter Sunday.  It has to be said, that with the modern appalling fashion of  wearing jackets and suits without a tie;  they have become increasingly hard to come by and, floral, well really! Nevertheles...

Friday March 15th I am writing this blog at half past six in the evening, at the conclusion of the Cheltenham National Hunt Festival 2013. The two above pictures were taken last Sunday ( 10 / 3 ) and show some of the 65 acres of the Cheltenham race course, covered in  black frost sheets. I have never witnessed  this on the eve of the festival. The reason being, the extreme cold temperatures we have been experiencing recently. Last Monday, aided by the Arctic wind chill, parts of the course dipped down to -12C. But after a ten o'clock morning  inspection,  racing was given the go ahead and the festival got underway, with one difference; the opening race was put back half an hour to 2:05, rather than 1:35pm. These were the lowest temperatures we have had at the festival for 27 years, (1986) ; when that wonderful mare Dawn Run won the Gold Cup. Dawn Run  I was lucky enough to be at Cheltenham in January of '86. I saw Dawn Run, up close at th...

Hello, This is my new T shirt, bought at a concert featuring The Magic Band at "The Fleece, " Bristol,  which I attended last Monday , March 4th 2013. This was my fourth MB concert, that I have been to. The dates and venues of the three previous  being: Shepherd's Bush  April  2003.  This was the historic first time the band had played together for 20 years                                                   since working with the Late Captain Beefheart (aka Don Van Vliet ) Royal Festival Hall  January  2004. The Scala                 November 2011.    All the above venues, in London. Here is my blog entry for the  Scala  concert.                Scala In my humble estimation, the Magic Band have improved every ...

Hi All,         Still feeling cheesey, so shortened fare again. Sunday 3rd March Football Round-up 1 Cheltenham  ( The Robins ) Still going reasonably well in the league. Beat Wimbledon (2 - 1) yesterday (2 /3)  ending three successive drawn games. Looking at the stats, Cheltenham have drawn thirteen games this season. No more please! They lie currently in the play-offs, in sixth place with 58 points; but significantly only one point away from third place and automatic promotion. So Robins Go For It ! 2   Newcastle  ( The Toons ) Made several useful French signings during the January transfer window. They are beginning to bed down and play as a team. Importantly their spirit is good. There is, however no room for complacency as they currently reside in 15th position on 30 points, level with rivals Sunderland and a mere 6 points from the drop-zone. Expecting better things soon ( Ha'way The Lads ) 3  Everton ...

Saturday 23rd February Hi All. Well that takes care of the pretty pictures for this week.  Lately I've been running uphill: under the weather; below par; one gallop short of race-course fitness. In other words, not my usual self. Consequently I have stayed indoors and kept warm. So this posting will be on the short side and full of bits and pieces. Tech Stuff:  in which the Smart Phone gets smarter; watches become less boring and spectacles have interesting views.  ( 1 ) This year, following the government auction, 4G (ultra fast internet mobile comms) will be rolled out through the country. It will be up to 5 times faster speed ( depending upon signal strength and user numbers) than 3G.            So you should in theory, be able to achieve the same task usage as Broadband; including video conferencing, gaming, cloud computing and film/television downloads. These 4G enabled phones will have Near Field Communication; "which al...

  Saturday 16th February Hi All, I want to start with a bold statement: we are all selfish. The more we age, the more we want to cling onto life. It's the old survival instinct. That's why it's important to pause at each Valentine Day and realise how important our family and friends are. The love and support they give us and hopefully we return; slows down that selfish gene and makes us glad to be human.  To love and be loved; makes us humble, content and lucky. VvvvvvvvVvvvvv My synapses, as you have probably figured, fire strangely.  Example: lucky made me think of gambling- having a bet - favourite jockeys; which led me  to Jimmy Uttley . Jimmy As  you can tell, if you clicked on the above link, jockey Jimmy Uttley, as far as I know,  only rode over hurdles, rather than fences. He will always be associated with the great Persian War, on whom he won three champion hurdles at the Cheltenham Festival 1968 - 1970  I have tried to l...