One of the sports headlines in The Times said Rashford 1 PM 0 . But, the real score was Marcus Rashford 2, HM Government 0 The first a twenty yard screamer into the top corner of the net when he thought up his great idea , the second an own goal after the back three of Bojo, The Caretaker and Little Richie got into a tangle. Not the first own goal that those three have contrived to manage and certainly not the last. What also has to be noted is that during the Big V lock-down Marcus raised £20m for food parcels etc for the deprived in the North-West of England.
Speaking of Little Ritchie and thinking musically ( which always aggravates Isabella aged 94 and at her age I need to avoid aggravating her) I can’t let the week pass without mourning the passing of Ricky Valence not to be confused with Ritchie Vallens, who died in the same plane crash as Buddy Holly. Ritchie had a massive hit with “ La Bamba” whilst Ricky was a one-hit wonder with “ Tell Laura I Love Her “ a song with such a gruesome theme that it was banned by the BBC. Ricky was a lad whose main claim to fame was that he was the first Welsh singer to get to Number One in the UK Charts. Good quiz question that, as so many people would say it was Tom Jones, who not only isn’t dead, but reached 80 this week. Ricky Valence, who trod the normal failed pop star road to Butlins and depression, retained a sense of humour at least, as he said he wasn’t really a one hit wonder at all because one of his later songs reached Number 40 in the charts in Australia. Even my composition “ Geordie Boy “ for Gazza did better than that. Mind you, my little grand-daughter, Cara had cause to love another Laura ( one of my regular readers ) as they were out walking in the park ( well, Cara wasn’t exactly walking, she was being pushed ) when Cara removed a shoe and threw it out of her buggy ( as you do when you are 16 months old ) and Laura, bless her, found it. That was fortunate as I gather you have to make an appointment to buy children’s shoes now. Seriously. Probably have to do a lot of “ sole “ searching before you take the chance as well. And one last little joke, Marcus Rashford must be a shoe-in for Sports Personality of the Year, if not a Life Peerage.
I’d not heard from Gazza for about fifteen years until I got a garbled voice mail message on Sunday from a withheld number. He left me a number to call back which it transpired wasn’t his and although I tried when I got the correct number I never got through. Shame really. I just felt and feel sorry for him. With his personality he could have achieved everything Gary Lineker has done and I am sure Marcus Rashford will.
I touched a nerve yesterday talking about crowd psychology and there were hordes of them out at Bicester Shopping Village, which we pass on the way to our place in Cotswolds. Haven’t been there for years. Am always a bit suspicious of shopping centres without a book shop or a record store ( are there any record stores left? ) I love book shops. Can’t walk past one without going in and buying something. Thinking about it, that’s been one of my major misses during the lock-down. The inability to browse books before I buy. Amazon is convenient, but it’s just not the same as the smell of picking up a brand new book and reading the first page to see if it’s really for you.
I love the independent shops. There’s a super one in Chipping Norton that also sells coffee and cakes and one in Pinner that doubles up as wine bar. When we did our one day return trek to the Cotswolds last week I noticed that there was also a new one in Moreton-in-Marsh again with the cakes and coffee. Can’t wait to get in there and if Bojo does what he seems to be thinking about doing, that may happen sooner rather than later.
Back to Bicester. Well, not really because you can never get into the car parks which is a major problem. They’ve just opened more shops and presumably more car parks and I am guessing you have to walk further and further just to get into the first shop. I love the fact that at the stations from which trains run to Bicester they do the announcements in many languages including Japanese and Chinese. Can you imagine coming all that way to visit the UK and you miss out on Buckingham Palace, The Tower of London, Hampton Court and just go to Bicester to shop, shop, shop. And it’s not as if the stores there can’t be found in hundreds of other malls around the world. Or that the stuff they sell is that much cheaper. Ok, so you can buy seconds of branded china and last year’s fashion items at a discount, but then I think that applies anywhere. It’s a few hours out of your life you will never get back at the best of times, but as this is the worst of times it could easily prove to be last hours of your life. Me, I can think of better things to do with those. Like watching football or cricket?
And they are back. Premier League resumes tonight, but behind closed doors. German League has imposed crowd noises very successfully as I’ve mentioned. Wonder if we will do the same. Only as most of the crowd noises that emanate from an English match are either obscene or racist I doubt it will come even close. Thank goodness. I am concerned that even though fans won’t be allowed back into the stadiums that they will gather outside, wearing their scarves, swigging their beer, yelling inane chants. I mentioned the Peruvian peasant vigilantes with whips yesterday and perhaps we can bus them in. Mind you, after 14 days of self-isolation they may well get to the party all too late.
As I always say I turn to the obituaries in The Times from the off. However, two deaths passed its editor by today. Bob the Cat is now lapping milk from a heavenly bowl. He bowed out, aged 14 after becoming a legend. He belonged to an alcoholic drug -addict who had his life turned around by Bob and then wrote a book about his feline experiences which, in turn, became a film and I think also a musical. Not “ Cats “ This was just one puss.
A little older ( older even than Isabella and Morrie ) was Diego. He passed away aged 100. In case you have never heard of him he was a giant Galapagos tortoise. Fifty years ago there was a Giant tortoise crisis. Just two males and 12 females left. Enter Diego to the rescue of his race. He was shipped from Santa Cruz to the remote island of Espanola and then got down to work and for the next half century fathered at least 40% of the 2000 giant tortoises alive today. It’s not clear if he died from exhaustion, old age or shell-shock, but rest in peace, Diego. You deserve it. Imagine shelling out for all those birthday presents every year.
Delighted to see my friend Matt drop by this morning for a chat on the door-step. You remember Matt from my early blogs. One of my first volunteer shoppers. He told me he want into his Central London office for the first time this week for a real face to face meeting and had to remember to put on some proper clothes. The suit manufacturers must be in dire straits.
Anyway, another busy day awaits me. Got to renew my road tax and my tv licence for the Cotswolds which is a bit rich as I drive virtually nowhere and nobody can stay in the house to watch the tv. Maybe I put both payments down on my list of charitable donations.
Stay safe and if we are spared will see you all tomorrow.