Second game, first point

Iscape battled valiantly to secure the first point of their promotion push against a team relegated from the top division last season. It was a merited draw following a 0 - 0 stalemate in which we were pushed back for large periods early on but defended stoutly with Hen making some excellent saves ably supported by Dougie, Matt and Dom at the back.

Kev, having warmed up in an earlier game playing in the rear for another team in division one, ran himself into the ground whilst Matt pushed himself for the full period as he made forward runs whilst providing cover in front of the defence.

Dave and myself played up front and gradually found a bit of time and space as they tired leaving us looking far more likely to score toward the end. We came close on several occasions and it definitely helped making the ref's decisions for him as he didn't have a clue. Appeal fast and appeal loud seems to be the way forward.

All to play for now as we endure a three week break before the next game having just got ourselves to the peak of match fitness!

Sunday in the garden

It was Alison's birthday today and she got her wish for sunshine so we could spend some time in the garden which is looking pretty good now. She's put in a host of new plants where the greenhouse used to be for a woodland effect near the cherry tree and I managed to successfully install the new water feature, the fountain, against the shed wall so it can be seen as you sit on the swing seat. I even managed to drill through two walls without injuring myself so the wiring is hidden from sight.

The greenhouse has been productive already and the broad beans and runner beans are showing now.

We had Alison's family over last night and lit the chimnea after a barbecue and laughed at Keith as Leeds lost at Southampton. With Argyle at Hull, the most likely threat to Leeds staying up, in the last game of the season, I just don't know who I want to win that one!

Dirty Leeds.

Skittles

With no game to play over Easter, the Iscape team branched out into skittles for an evening with Dougie armed with a set of rules of an intricate nature but which did not include what to do in event of space hoppers being kicked around (especially the one which Matt kicked and took out Kev's pint).

The first game was won by Kev from me in second as a few strikes were rammed home although the late arriving Spaniard looked out of his depth. Given Kev's triumph with Doug in cricket last summer, this must put him near the top of the sporting legends tree.

However, the next game was played for money. I had left by this time but it transpires Dave was conning all along and took the money with a last ball skittle sending him past Kevin.

You can see him in action in the first two pictures but I'm wondering why Chris is holding on to his testicles in the second photo.

Iscape crash

The first game of the new season saw us lose 3 - 0 in a disappointing display. We weren't helped by a new ref who frankly had an appalling game. The opening goal came from an incident in which Kevin clearly had his ankle trodden on and in stopping because someone was stood on his foot, the ball went off to one of the opposition who set up an easy goal.

Hen had a great game throughout and was not at fault for any of the goals. He's going to have to work on his arm as the new rules allow overarm throwouts.

We slipped further behind after half time and faded despite playing quite well. Dave was a notable absentee and we can only hope for better things tomorrow.

It was a little unsettling being able to see the surroundings to the pitch. It's the first time we've played in the natural light for months and was quite weird. The slope seemed to have disappeared! It soon turned up again once we were running.

Rossgarth Relegated

In their final weekend of games, Rossgarth required 3 points to stay up and with the first being against the runaway league leaders of the top division, Sunday was always going to be the best bet for a result. That was borne out by a 5 - 0 beating at the hands of Poole who have won the league comfortably and deservedly so. They play proper football with lots of passing and movement, something I have yet to achieve after so many years.

A hot afternoon saw lots of people at Potterne for the final game against Chickerell who were promoted with Rossgarth this time last year. They've had a good season and are in mid table. The game was difficult due to the sun and hard ground which sent the ball off in all kinds of directions but they outplayed us throughout. A two goal lead was quickly established as goal keeping errors plagued the team again. Eric cut the deficit to one but almost immediately they scored again. Half time meant 3 goals without reply were required to stay up and for a moment the momentum swang the way of Rossgarth with another goal from Eric. Once more they responded quickly and added a fifth with 15 minutes to go. To be honest that passed without event as the game drifted anti-climactically to a conclusion which sees Rossgarth in the 2nd division again. Their improved form came too late and it remains to be seen how many of the team lose interest over the summer.

Sadly there was a distinct lack of interest on the part of some of the boys and they accepted their fate with resignation rather than battling to get something out of the season. Hopefully, the step down will allow them to regroup and challenge for the title again.

Plymouth

We had a lovely couple of days in Plymouth starting with a trip out to Tavistock where we went swimming before stopping at the 'Big Rock' at Yelverton. This is somewhere we went quite often as little kids and got a big kick out of climbing this big rock which turns out to be not quite the size I remember! I was expecting snow capped peaks and oxygen masks but it was only about 30 feet high. It was difficult to get down though because its been climbed on so much, the surface has been worn smooth over the years and you just slip down too fast if not careful. I did manage the whole climb having made base camp first and befriended the local sherpas.

We also played hurkey which involves one seeker trying to catch the the others before they make it back to the hurkey post. We played it again at Plymbridge today hiding behind trees and along the river bank. Rochelle is peeking over the bank unsuccessfully trying to hide. You can see how pleased she is to be caught.

We've arranged to work on Morag's garden next half term so there will be plenty of pictures of more gardening to come. I bet you can hardly wait.

Easter Saturday

We had Alison's family over during the Easter weekend and ended up taking the dogs for a long walk in the woods where the bluebells are just emerging. They're not at their best yet but will soon carpet the whole area.

As you can see, Sandra's dog, Lewis, is a greyhound and towers over Rosie and Maisie but they get on really well. Maisie always shows her teeth like that when she's excited to see you. She and Rosie are wrestling over a stick in the final picture.

Shifting the greenhouse

We spent Easter Monday moving the greenhouse and escaped with no broken glass, no cuts and no cursing as the operation went smoothly for a change. I must be getting more patient.

The pond was enlarged last year and is looking good except for the annual bloom of algae which feeds the tadpoles and snails during this period. It disappears in a few weeks and despite it, there is a lot of activity in the pond with hundreds of tadpoles, snails, water boatmen and pond skaters.

Home again

We lazed around on Saturday ahead of the journey home which the coach drivers were keen to get started as soon as possible. The kids were exhausted by this stage with many of them having had no proper sleep for several days. The worst part with trying to sleep on the coach besides the general discomfort was the fear of being drawn on, woken up, photographed etc and that meant they couldn't relax.

We set off at 3 and were kept up to date with Saints and their remarkable 6 - 0 victory over Wolves but the biggest cheer came when Argyle were found to have lost 3 - 0 at Ipswich. Not sure why so many of them were pleased about that.

The view over the Pyrenees was stunning and we travelled across some bridge which I ought to know the name of at over 1000 feet above the bottom of the valley. After a brief stop for some food we settled down as darkness fell and Tom Hanks did the trick as the Terminal film quietened the kids down. Boredom can be a great thing.

I spent a few minutes getting them settled and they managed to sleep from 11 - 7 despite several stops on the way. We were back at school for 1.30 and I'd imagine straight to bed for many of the students when they got home.

Port Aventura

Friday meant a visit to a local theme park which turned out to be another marathon coach journey. At least I'd missed out on the 24 hour journey from Southampton to Dover to Calais and down through France to Barcelona but there was the return journey to look forward to.

The sun was out but it wasn't warm. However, Steve did tell me all about the book he'd written and his plans for the second novel. Very interesting it was too. It was like something from Newsnight Review.

We had a few beers that night in hotel and there was no repeat of the litre of vodka from the night before when I'd had to intervene to get it handed over. I did not drink it though!

Dali Museum in Figueres

On Thursday we went to the Dali Museum having had breakfast early despite the late return from the football. The coach journey was an hour and a half with a stop in Girona on the way back. The museum was fascinating and it is easy to see why Dali was considered mad by many people. He used Mae West's lips as the model for the first picture but quite why he liked tacks falling from the sky in so many pictures I couldn't say.

The third picture is of what is alleged to have been Al Capone's cadillac and signifies something but I'm not sure what. There is a fishing boat above it connected by a totem pole made of tyres.

We stopped at a cafe for some shopping and found the campest man in Spain. The final photo is of a group of Year 10 students crossing the bridge back to the coach and posing.

Teaching staff for Barcelona trip

A few photos of the staff looking after the students in Barcelona. The bottom photo shows from left to right, Sam, Mark, Jude and Steve.

Quite a bunch!!

England Andorra

I made it to the game with literally seconds to spare. The flight from Bournemouth to Girona left and arrived on time on Wednesday and I was met as arranged at the airport for the 90km journey to the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona. The rain was falling steadily and my driver indicated there was little hope of getting to the ground by the 9pm kick off (local time). Being pretty much the remnants of rush hour didn't help either nor did the message I received telling me there would be no admittance after the game started.

There wasn't much else to do than chat which was easy as the driver was usually a tour guide and she was able to give me the lowdown on the local attractions and Spanish history. Fortunately the traffic in the city was quite light and I was dropped off with 10 minutes to kick off. More fortunately still I was almost right next to the right entrance and on pushing through with the rest of the latecomers I found myself with the school party immediately having just missed the national anthems (which was good as I didn't fancy doing the God Save the Queen.

I was able to join in with some of the songs though. The first half was dire and it was great to sing along to what a load of rubbish although I didn't say anything about second choice Steve as he seems to helping England achieve exactly what I'd like them to. He got a huge amount of abuse and the 40 schoolchildren with us were given an education in just about every swear word imaginable set to song!

I got the impression some of them would have rather have had a detention than watch the game but it did improve in the second half. Gerrard took his goals well but Ferdinand was awful throughout as was Ashley Cole. I can't really say I've seen Rooney play as he was anonymous.

We manged to get locked in after the game as we waited for the stadium to empty. It's funny how inaccurate crowd figures are when guessed at. I was told there were 40000 fans there! Turns out there were 12000.

Nice to have seen an international (it does qualify as such I believe) and the atmosphere was pretty good. I'm pleased to say I didn't celebrate any goals and didn't have to listen to too many songs linked to the second world war or anti Irish. The funniest was 'we want 2' against mighty Andorra.