Durlston Country Park in April

It was a bright, warm day at Durlston for the start of the bank holiday weekend with lots of opportunities for photos. The one above is of a magpie but of more interest was the fact it was pecking at a slow worm and feeding on small bits it removed.

The picture above is of whitethroat, one of many sining in the blackthorn or gorse.

I was pleased with pictures from the Tilly Whim path showing a fulmar soaring over the sea and a kestrel passing overhead with fairly clear markings on its tail.

The other photo shows a view from the lighthouse looking down to the Tilly Whim ledges where I think stone was loaded onto ships for transport all over the country. The early morning sunshine was gathering strength and breaking through the cloud creating shafts of light in the picture. In the steep valley there were lots of rabbits feeding alongside jackdaws and stonechats.

Thirty Plus lose and back to school

The game on Monday was very tight and could have gone either way. The difference was the little bit of luck ran with them for the opening goal in the second half leaving us chasing the game. The defence played well throughout but Matt was missed in the middle with the new formation yet there were plenty of chances for us to score.

The result is the first reverse for the team in some time and it will be interesting to see if we can bounce straight back.

It's been a week since I returned to school after a very lengthy absence. Little has changed as might be expected but I am wondering just how worthwhile it is to keep returning to the same students over and over again who, despite so much intervention, are not only not making progress, they are getting worse! It doesn't make sense to keep going back at the expense of so many useful things we could be doing such as supporting students in their exam preparation, mentoring, rewarding excellence, boosting a culture of achievement and ambition.

Easter visitors

We've had a range of visitors over the Easter break with the Pettys down from Yorkshire and my family up from Plymouth. The Plymouth contingent had the 'pleasure' of watching Glen play for Rossgarth in a cup fixture which saw a shock as they lost to Weymouth Victoria in an exciting match.

The opponents had done well in a division below Rossgarth and in all honesty deserved their win despite having trailed one nil and two one. They came back to lead 3 - 2 until a goal midway through the second half put Rossgarth level and going through the group stage after a better vistory over the previous week's rivals. A dramatic late winner from a distant free kick which sailed high into the net meant they snatched victory in the last minute, much to the delight of their supporters who sang and shouted like I've never heard at a game at this level in my life. The boys were delighted and celebrated their unexpected but merited win.

For Glen the season has ended but their promotion to the top division is a fantastic outcome for a team which had only just enjoyed similar success last year.

I've been told confidentially that Glen is going to receive an award at the presentation evening which should make the season all the sweeter for him.

Kingston Lacey

This morning Alison and I went to visit the gardens at Kingston Lacey whihc is just outside Wimborne. It was a beautiful morning and the hyacinths seen in the last picture smelt like honey along with a bed of bluebells just coming into flower. The house itself is supposed to be interesting to view but we didn't have enough time to walk round. The fern garden is waiting for the ferns to come into display but the tea garden looks fantastic with lots of bamboo and acers.

I'm beginning to sound as if I know something about plants. I might even guess that the flowers are camellias but I'm happy to be corrected.

Knoll Gardens

We had a Good Friday visit to Knoll Gardens near Ferndown where Glen climbed the eucalyptus trees and was on his best behaviour so that he would be allowed out later with his friends. That meant no moaning about having to walk about the gardens looking at flowers. That was left to me!

New season, same result - we win again!

We played one of the relegated sides and won comfortably in the end to start the season as we left off last. The new formation is giving us more possession and greater security at the back as we aren't so deep. Tonight there were chances aplenty especially for me and, despite all three goals, I had something of a 'mare. I'll explain so that Matt can at least let the others know I'm being honest.

There is little doubt thinking back that I could have had 9 goals and certainly should have had 5. There was a missed near post header from a well taken corner, a misjudged chip when a lifted shot at the near post would have done the job, a blocked shot and rebound that cannoned off the bar, a well saved shot and that was all in the first half.

The teams turned round level and things got even worse especially given they were a player down. There was a penalty awarded for a foul against Dave which was well saved by the keeper but as kev rightly said there shouldn't be any chance of saving a penalty on that pitch. When Dave shot and saw the ball come off the post and roll along the line virtually before going out for a goal kick narrowly missed by me running in at the far post, it looked like we could struggle all evening. That raised the real possibility we might lose as they had a couple of decent efforts well saved by Kevin with the scores still level.

However, a short pass from Matt meant I could shoot without thinking too much and that did the trick beating the keeper to his right. Shortly after a well placed long ball from Dom barely touched the ground as I hit it first time and took the keeper by surprise, again beaten low to his right. That should have seen a relaxed end to the game which it was in respect of possession and threats to our goal but there was still time for another penalty miss, this time given for handball and sidefooted to the keeper's left but with the same comfortable save outcome. Dave's stint as penalty taker came quickly to the end with Dougie earmarked for the next one.

Total humiliation came with minutes to go as Matt and Dom combined to set up a great chance which was brilliantly cleared by me from under the bar. How I managed to miss with the ball inches from the goal is a feat of skill which is beyond the ability of many players. Limply hanging out my left foot, I made contact with the ball at the top of the foot and saw it sail handsomely high over the goal. A shame following a fantastic move.

The end came with a cross from Dom which arrived to me in front of goal on my right foot and managed to make firm contact with the ball for an easy tap in which looked difficult compared to the other chance. Luckily hardly anyone mentioned the penalties or that miss in the pub afterwards and they were all sympathetic and understanding as you might imagine they would be.

It isn't often you score three and play that badly at least in terms of putting chances away. Oh the shame!

At least we've got a start and that means 5 wins in a row I think, maybe 6. There are 12 teams in the division now and following the win talk soon turned to the predicament of what to do if we are well placed near the end and face promotion! I don't think we have to worry about that too much.

Team

KEV, DOM, DOM, MATT, SIMON, DAVE, IAIN (3)

Must mentio another clean sheet for Kev although I think Matt got it right when he said he wasn't as bad as out on the pitch rather than being good in goal.

Rossgarth finish runners up

With Chickerell winning their final game of the season, Rossgarth had to be content with second place in the league which was slightly disappointing after their two opportunities to clinch the title. However, following promotion the previous year the achievement is a laudable one and sees them climb into the top division next season.

There was a cup game yesterday which wasn't much of a spectacle after the tension of the past couple of games with Rossgarth running out 11 - 0 winners against Broadstone. Eric scored 7!Rossgarth Youth U12 3 3 Poole Town U12 Colts 11 September 2005

The season's results are below: -

Parkstone Heights U12 Hawks 4 4 Rossgarth Youth U12 18 September 2005

Rossgarth Youth U12 2 1 Portland United YC U12 25 September 2005

Rossgarth Youth U12 10 0 Swanage T&H U12 16 October 2005

Weymouth Cougars U12 3 3 Rossgarth Youth U12 20 November 2005

Poole Town U12 Colts 2 1 Rossgarth Youth U12 27 November 2005

Portland United YC U12 3 4 Rossgarth Youth U12 11 December 2005

Rossgarth Youth U12 7 0 Wareham Rangers U12 08 January 2006

Swanage T&H U12 0 2 Rossgarth Youth U12 15 January 2006

Rossgarth Youth U12 6 0 Poole Borough U12 Hornets 22 January 2006

Rossgarth Youth U12 3 2 Lytchett RT U12 29 January 2006

Chickerell United U12 1 2 Rossgarth Youth U12 05 February 2006

Rossgarth Youth U12 1 1 Weymouth Cougars U12 12 February 2006

Poole Borough U12 Hornets 1 8 Rossgarth Youth U12 26 February 2006

Lytchett RT U12 1 2 Rossgarth Youth U12 05 March 2006

Rossgarth Youth U12 4 1 Parkstone Heights U12 Hawks 12 March 2006

Rossgarth Youth U12 1 1 Chickerell United U12 19 March 2006

Wareham Rangers U12 3 0 Rossgarth Youth U12 02 April 2006

Draws early in the season seem to have cost Rossgarth the title as they lost fewer games than the eventual champions.

The final table: -
P W D L F A GD Pts
Chickerell United U12 18 12 3 3 67 25 +42 39
Rossgarth Youth U12 18 11 5 2 63 27 +36 38
Wareham Rangers U12 18 9 4 5 43 27 +16 31
Poole Town U12 Colts 18 8 4 6 46 43 +3 28
Lytchett RT U12 18 8 2 8 50 44 +6 26
Weymouth Cougars U12 18 6 6 6 49 51 -2 24
Parkstone Heights U12 18 7 3 8 43 50 -7 24
Portland United YC U12 18 5 4 9 37 38 -1 19
Swanage T&H U12 18 3 5 10 37 81 -44 14
Poole Bo U12 Hornets 18 2 2 14 21 70 -49 8

Garden Visitors

Being Easter holiday time I have had to start marking coursework folders and haven't been up to much else apart from decorating and getting the garden together. I have been feeding the birds for some time now and we get regular visitors. The photos show a goldfinch, one of many jackdaws who enjoy the suet covered peanuts (we usually have a pair nesting in our chimney), a male blackbird which is one of a pair nesting in the hedge near the pond, a starling which has white markings making it stand out from the others and a blue tit exploring a shrub.

Springtime is here

Just a few photos to prove that the sun has started shining at last. These were taken at Moors Valley where the geese and ducks have largely deserted the lake in favour of their breeding grounds further north leaving us with the mute swans, mallards, coots and moorhens.

Disaster!?

After the last few weeks of waiting for the league to be wrapped up Rossgarth may have fallen at the final hurdle to use a well worn sports reporting phrase. Needing a win to clinch the league they lost 3 - 0 to a determined Wareham side. The pitch sloped and there was a swirling wind and they adapted to the conditions far better after the opening 10 minutes when Rossgarth dominated procedings. Unable to open the scoring in that period of dominance, the teams turned round level and Wareham made full use of the slope to power their way to goal three times in an uneven second half. It hasn't been often this season that Rossgarth have been second best, they were in the second half.

That still leaves Chickerell with a game to play next weekend and they will win the league if they win that game. A draw would leave Rossgarth as league winners.

On the plus side, it has been good to see Plymouth continue their improvement under Tony Pulis and even better to see Paul Ince score a fine own goal on Saturday.

No game for Thirty Plus tonight as we sit in fifth place out of 11, the league over for another season.

Arne

Having dropped Joe back at Dorchester, I took a stroll round the reserve at Arne and got soaked through in one of the heavy showers. The photos show Shelduck enjoying the mud, an impressive stag Sika deer and a view from a place cunningly called the viewpoint.

Today most of the family are heading off to Wareham for Glen's final match of the league season with the title up for grabs with a win to Rossgarth. They prepared yesterday with a friendly match with Fordingbridge which resulted in a two all draw. Glen was voted man of the match!