Happy Birthday to me!

Yes, folks, I was 61 on Thursday. Hurrah for me!


I was up at a very early hour in order to transport the Best Beloved into hospital for an examination. I won't go into too much detail here but we were calculating how many birthdays of mine had been blessed with visits to the hospital of either myself or the Best Beloved. Her visits actually outnumber mine.


I had a new crown put in on Wednesday so spent most of the afternoon and evening feeling that my lower lip must resemble one of those African tribes which insert plates into the lower lip for show.


I read Paul (Himself) on "Archimedes" (see link on page to the right) re Northern Rock and do so agree about the bank being taken into public ownership. I am sorry about the rights of the shareholders but they did invest in a bank that nearly went bust! I don't think the taxpayer throwing away enough money "to run Wales for 2 years" just so the shareholders can make a profit is the right approach to economic efficiency. Public ownership with professional managers parachuted in to steady the ship until it can be sold at a propitious time to return the taxpayers' money and the shareholders' dividends seems a wiser plan. If the individual shareholders want to abandon ship in the meantime, good luck to them.


In the end decided not to go up to Anfield to support Havant and Waterlooville FC in their fourth round FA cup tie against Liverpool. I had a couple of offers to go up and get tickets. However I decided it was too long a journey to get up there and an even longer one to get back, especially if the Hawks happen to lose. I don't think I have put in my apprenticeship on the West Leigh terraces yet. Trouble is, I intended doing that before their FA Cup success but now everyone will say I am only doing so to jump on the bandwagon! If I had thought about it, I could have gone up Friday night to Bradford, stayed with my brother, crossed to Liverpool and back to Bradford on the Saturday, before coming home on the Sunday. Still, never mind, the Natty Chap has got us a couple of tickets in the North Stand at Fratton Park for the Pompey clash in the fourth round with Plymouth Argyle. I am looking forward to seeing Lassana Diarra play - Terry the Tiger in Cardiac Rehab Phase 4 has been singing his praises all this week! I have just realised this paragraph should have gone in my other blog as it is football and Pompey. Birthdays, eh?

Well done the Hawks! Leading Liverpool at Anfield 2-0 at one stage before crashing out in more predictable style in the second half!

In a marriage one partner is nearly always right. The other one is the husband.


That sprang to mind from out of nowhere.



My birthday celebrations were held on Friday as 9 of us attended a screening of Tim Burton's version of the Sondheim musical, "Sweeney Todd" followed by all 9 attending a meal on Gunwharf. Burton has cut the opening song, "Demon Barber of Fleet Street", but the other songs are in there sung by Johnny Depp (one of my very favourite actors, "Finding Neverland" for example) and Helena Bonham-Carter (Tim's partner). I will have to write a review for my other blog. I had to get in some preliminary consolation for Long Tall Sally, as she is a Plymouth Argyle supporter. However not much consolation as they gave Pompey a run for their money on Saturday. It was hard to distinguish which was the Premier League side - not one of Pompey's most accomplished games.


At my weekly weigh in I was 112.2 kg. or 0.8 kg or 2 lbs down from 17 st 11 to 17st 9. Yes I know, Little Bro, I am still a good three stone or so overweight but I am trying. I expect I might be sorely tempted this week with my birthday meal and then next week with the trip to Spain. However if I can keep my weight the same I can then try again over the next few weeks.

We have decided to go ahead with the extension which should start at the end of July and go through to the beginning of October. The upheaval will be worth it I am sure (?) but begins with a visit to day to look at kitchen plans. Oh joy!

Kitten starts a series of classes with the London Actors' Workshop today so am looking forward to a progress report when she gets back. Hopefully it will inspire her to write an update post on her own blog.

Fare thee well, sweet Hamlet!

Congratulations to the hawks on their historic victory against Swansea. Havant and Waterlooville FC now have to travel to Anfield on Saturday 26th to meet Liverpool in the fourth round. Natty Chap, the son in law, is tempting me with an offer to accompany me on a round trip to Liverpool and Anfield. Greatly tempted as the tickets are very reasonable but the journey is a bit of a slog.

Pompey were poor at Sunderland, where they were roundly thrashed. The players at the African Nations Cup were sorely missed. However the defence had a real off day so it shows how much the midfield had been protecting them. It wasn't helped by 'Arry's perverse descision to put Mendes in the holding role and push Hughes into the midfield. Hughes is good in the holding position but crap up front. Mendes is crap in holding position but could be a playmaker up front. Nugent was crap up front as sole striker and not much better when joined by Benjani in second half. Benjani was wasted on right flank in first half. The need for a striker and right sided midfield player is just screaming at everyone. The Pompey midfield never got a foot on the ball to control the game and never got any service forward to the strikers, so we were toothless as ever. Mvuemba and Songo'o are not up to it. All in all the team were brought down to earth with an almighty thump and expectations need to be revised and much more realistic. Lassana Diarra joined us from Arsenal for a £5.5 million switch and the Frenchman will be a very welcome addition to our midfield. I don't know how instrumental he was in yesterday's 3 -1 victory over lowly Derby. I am glad Benjani got a hat trick - it helps my fantasy football team! However I still don't feel the squad is strong enough. Apparently Lee Hills, the Crystal Palace full back, who I have mentioned a couple of times as a youth target, is a target for the first team. Jermain Defoe is still a major target as Fred from Lyon expected to go to Spurs. Fenerbahce's Mateja Kezman is said to be a target as well. The Serbian international is a renowned number 9, but has suffered from lacklustre performances this season because of a ligament complaint in his right leg. When I last heard he was going to undergo surgery, which would put him out for a considerable time and make him miss Serbia's Euro 2008 fixtures. Not a solution for Pompey, I feel.


On Tuesday weighed myself at 113 kg or 0.6 kg or 1lb down on last week, which is good news. I did n't attend exercise class on Tuesday because I was at the funeral of Babs Wakeman.


Her son, Mark, gave a marvellous eulogy, which made people smile , laugh and cry. It was a fitting farewell to Babs and she would have been pleased by the turnout and the response. I liked the bit in the service where the minister said it was a farewell but not goodbye. I also liked the anthem, "We are the Champions" at the end. It was good to end on an upbeat, an uplift.



I see Northern Rock owe us £26 billion plus £30 billion held in contingency to cover liabilities. We are being held over a barrel by shareholders whose investment is a mere £300 million. Am I being silly in wishing for a nationalisation with professional managers parachuted in to hold the business steady until such time as it can be sold with a higher probability of getting our money back?


Went for a cholesterol blood test on Wednesday and am hoping for a result showing a lowered cholesterol level. Back in July 2007 I was measured at 4.7, which was on the way down from what it had been but my cardiac nurse felt it still had some way to fall. I read in an article about someone whose cholesterol level had dropped to 2 from 4.

I was very edgy this week. I can only presume it is the psychology kicking in as it is the anniversary of my heart attack on Monday. I have felt tired this last week for no apparent reason and suspect my biorhythms are down anyway. A good cholesterol level (to be expected with statins daily) would reassure me I am going in the right direction diet wise. I still drink more alcohol than is good for me but I have certainly cut back on previous amounts. I enjoy a good wine with food though and a daily glass of red wine is good for the Mediterraneans and therefore for us.

I decided on Thursday just before the Bench Club Night to withdraw my submission for doing a production of "Hamlet" in July 2008. I have tried to explain why in my linked blog called "Bench Hamlet July 2008". I shall now use the Hamlet link for my feelings and thoughts on productions I have seen and on Pompey!

Happy Birthday. Natty Chap!

Yesterday, the 12th, ten of us spent the day in London celebrating Natty Chap's 30th birthday. Two of us went to see "Glengarry Glen Ross", and the remaining eight, including Natty Chap, went to see the Donmar's "Othello" starring Ewan McGregor and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Apparently this is one of the hottest tickets in town with people buying tickets online for huge sums and begging that the whole show be transferred to a much bigger theatre. We got our tickets the legal way as both David P and I are backstage members of the Donmar and so get priority booking. We managed to get eight seats in Row D and were as happy as larks. "Othello" is tremendous and warrants a review post all of its own, which I will try to get reproduced in the Benchpress.

Last week's method of updating the post a little bit during the week in time for the Sunday morning publishing seemed to work really well so I am persevering with it this week.




On Monday I attended the second meeting of the Havant Literary Festival. This is an attempt to devise and organise a Literary Festival dedicated to the written word, and especially poetry, here in Havant. My friend, David Penrose, is now chairman of the inaugural committee and I am Treasurer. My next task is to set up accounts and things with the bank. The Best Beloved and I saw a bank finance adviser last Monday to work out ways of financing some extension work we want on the house. The idea is to knock the kitchen through into the dining room so whoever (but mainly the lady of the house) is working in the kitchen is not too detached from the dinner party guests. The dining room will then be extended some way into the garden as well. This will enable us to put in an en suite bathroom to the main bedroom above. We now have to complete the application forms and sort out the builders' quotes. Also on Monday Best Beloved held her main auditions for "Bronte", the main Bench production in April. She needs four women and two men.



In the meantime I am working on a submission for a production of "Hamlet" in readiness for a meeting of the Bench Artistic Panel on Thursday. When finished, the submission should be available on Bench Hamlet 2008, a link to which should be found on this page to the right. This body should give me the nod to pitch my proposal to the whole company on Thursday 17th January. If the company select the play, I hope to be doing it in July 2008. As part of my submission, I proposed my son-in-law, the Natty Chap, as Hamlet. I am enjoying watching him work as director himself on the current Bench production of "Attempts on her Life" by Martin Crimp. His energy, enthusiasm and creativity are quite remarkable. The text is inanimate on the page but the variety of situations and characters Nathan and the company are creating is very impressive. As Stage Manager I am having to learn how to use a video camera to record rehearsals and how to use the software, "Windows Movie Maker". Talk about teaching an old dog new tricks!




I am intrigued by a Masters of Arts Degree offered by the University of Portsmouth as well. One is Directing and Writing for Performance and the other is Film and television Studies. Each would be a year full time or 24 months part time. I am not sure whether my B.Ed (Hons) second class will qualify for the entry requirements but it might be worth finding out, eh?




I would like to thank Babs Spiegelhalter for her seasonal card sent via the Arts Centre. Yes, I did vote for Nick Clegg. I would like Menzies Campbell to have remained as leader or even Vince Cable who proved himself a useful parliamentarian. However I had to choose between Huhne and Clegg. Why what has he done wrong now, Babs? The Executive Committee meeting on Thursday was interesting especially as there was some discussion of the borough elections coming up in May 2008. I enjoyed the smell of the hustings and am quite excited by my foray into politics.





I read Archimedes blog quite avidly (I hope there is a link on this page) and am enjoying his tussles for supremacy with the Empress Theodora. I also reading of the adventures and thoughts of Herself and Himself. I like the family nickname of "Bob" for Herself, who is definitely one of the most feminine friends of my acquaintance. Reminds me, of course, of the Blackadder when females would play male parts and be given the name "Bob", pronounced only as Rowan Atkinson can. We are meeting up with Himself and Herself in February to discuss some theatrical projects, although how this young couple find the time is beyond me! I am, however, very excited by the idea of working together on "theatrical projects".




The transfer market is alive with rumours thanks to the appetite of the press and the fans. The following are taken from a table in the Portsmouth News on Tuesday, January 8th. Pompey strikers could be (in my order of preference): Eidur Gudjohnsen (unsettled at Barcelona), Nicolai Zigic (out of favour at Valencia), Dani Guiza (Real Mallorca, said to be a £3.5 m bid already), Cho Jae-Jin (South Korea, rumours say move to Pompey is close and he is on trial here at moment). There is talk of Jermain Defoe but he seems reluctant and would cost a lot but if we can, let's get him! My reservations of the other named strikers except Gudjohnsen is their need to adapt to Premiership. Possible right sided midfielders could be: Jonas Gutierrez (big fee?), Razak Boukari (French U21 international, linked with Spurs, Liverpool and Chelsea), Andres D'Alessandro (out of favour at Real Zaragoza but did a good job for us once as a playmaker), Aruna Dindane (Ivory Coast livewire but wants away from Lens. Isn't he going to African Cup of Nations?). I see Pompey Youth have signed an 18 year old striker from PC Basel, Switzerland, Danijel Subotic and a 19 year old Danish striker,Adda Djeziri. Lee Hills from Crystal Palace is still being monitored . I don't think these are first team contenders yet but rather once again part of the youth structure being carefully built up by Paul Hart. Apparently we have made a £8.5 million bid for Fred, the Lyon striker, but have been gazumphed by a £11 million bid by Spurs. Lyon have left Fred to make the choice as they have accepted both offers. Fred apparently has "aerial power,technique and vision" but I can't say I've heard of him before. Definitely puts Defoe in the market but will he come to Pompey? Will he come if 'Arry goes to the Toons? If I was 'Arry, being about the same age as him, I would be mightily tempted by the £20 million offer as one last big pay day and one last big chance. It would hurt Pompey in the short term, and would especially if Distin, Muntari and Kranjcar were to follow in short order. Pompey would also have difficulty in recruiting more players in the transfer window without 'Arry's reputation. However Tony adams could steady the ship until the end of the season and could probably hang on to what we have got. After that we would need to find a top quality coach and a virtually overhauled squad - over to you, Mr. Gaydamark!
Natty Chap woke up on his birthday morning to the news that 'Arry had turned down the Toon offer and was staying at Pompey! I think I am pleased as well but would just ask that Pompey stop mucking around now and get on with investing properly and wisely in the transfer market.

At the beginning of a new year

I have been compiling this week's post in bits and pieces through the week in order to have something to publish in what i hope will be my regular Sunday morning slot. I am not sure whether this approach is better than my old splurge method of writing whatever came into my head as I sat the keyboard.


Pompey are driving me nuts at the moment. 'Arry said he was getting into the transfer market as soon as the month opened. I hope he has been true to his word. The team needs a striker and a right sided midfielder. A right winger would be perfect especially at home. He does need to bolster the midfield with one or two more creative players, who can also attack as well as defend. I think the squad is probably strong enough with the African Nations Cup contingent gone if the above additions are brought in. He also ought to rotate Nugent and Benjani. (Nugent score a striker's goal in the 51st minute as substitute at Ipswich yesterday) Kanu is the tactical substitute. Kranjcar should be put in the hole behind the main striker (at least at home) with Mendes expected to rotate with him as legs and tiredness kick in. Hughes should retain his place as the main stopper in front of the defence but we need Sean Davis back as soon as possible to bolster the midfield (perhaps rotating him with Diop). I thought Lauren did a good job at right back recently and perhaps Glen Johnson could be played in front of him in right midfield as a poor alternative to buying in that right winger. I notice that Dean Ashton is reputed to be a target as a striker, but also has Manchester City, Spurs, Newcastle and Chelsea in pursuit of him. Regular readers of this blog will note that I recommended him a season ago. He hasn't fully recovered the form before his injury but is certainly a target man like few others.


I am hoping to watch some home games of the Hawks (Havant and Waterlooville FC) as I am feeling starved of live football. ( Wee done the Hawks for holding Swansea to a draw at Vetch Field. Still in the draw for the fourth round. History in the making!) It is a real faff to get to Fratton Park and sit in overpriced not very good seats. I was hoping to make a fresh start as a new season ticket holder in the new stadium. I am not surprised to learn that some nimby has prompted English Heritage to question the new training grounds at Titchfield. I don't know how long the space has been in the hands of English Heritage or they have known of its existence. But now suddenly on the eve of the football club creating a training ground, English Heritage start to worry about what might be buried below the surface. They had their chance and blew it. It is not as if Pompey are going to concrete it over. They are creating training pitches so if English Heritage ever take it into their heads to start an archaeological dig, it will not be impossible. Though I would demand firm evidence rather than a faint hope. One of the things delayed is the Academy. I see that Pompey have made a rejected £1 million bid for a 17 year old player, Lee Hills, from Crystal Palace. I am delighted that Paul Hart is working away at the Youth Team as I believe it is the way forward not just for Pompey but for England football.


Went to see "Tales from the Brothers Grimm" by Creation Theatre at the Spiegeltent in Oxford. I was very impressed by the Spiegeltent which this year is erected in one of the many car parks of the BMW plant in Cowley. The tent allows the theatre company to move to different venues with different shows. The tent, also called the Mirror Tent, is an old German classic and is reputedly where Marlene Dietrich sang "Falling In Love Again" for the first time. It is a cabaret tent with heavy drapes down the sides and a coloured glass dome in the centre. The sides are supported by twisted metal poles in the style of old fashioned lamp posts, which are also adorned with small mirrors. The back of the tent has bench seating with mirrors above like a fancy boudoir or lounge. There is a circle of chairs and tables around the sides called C. Another concentric circle of tables and chairs between sides and the central raised stage in the round is B. Circle of tables and chairs, A, abut straight on to the circumference of the stage. I was really impressed with the tent and the surroundings ( although the chairs, which were upright dining chairs, proved decidedly uncomfortable after a hour).


"Tales from the Brothers Grimm" was an adaptation by Gari Jones, the director, and not the Carol Ann Duffy/Tim Supple version I know pretty well by now. The first half was a wonderfully paced and funny version of overlapping stories built mainly around the device of Hansel and Gretel who told each other stories to keep up their spirits. The company of three men and three women played a range and variety of parts. Some parts they sustained or reprised and some were quick cameos. The girls were attractive and costumes were an eclectic mixture of styles that added to the quirkiness of the tales rather than detracted. Eilidh McCormick was a jaunty Little red Riding Hood in the first half and an evil stepmother in Snow White in the second half. The men were versatile. Alex Beckett was interesting (and seemed to take a particular shine to my Kitten) and looked and sounded pure Brothers Grimm. Richard Kidd was the dancer and comic, who made everyone laugh at his drollness. In the second half, after delicious crepes from the creperie in the foyer, the stories concentrated on the story of Snow White, and, although this wasn't the Disney version, the seven dwarves made amusing contributions to the story. The circular staging with access underneath and two circular trapdoors was used to excellent effect. Like all theatre in the round it relied on very little furniture and dressing but mainly on the actors. There were some magical effects used and in the main these were effective. However, if I was to complain, it would be that there were not enough magic effects used. The theatre can make the audience of young and old alike gasp at magic. These "Tales of the Brothers Grimm" were a sterling piece of work and certainly made me want to see the company again, but fell a little short of the magic expected for the festive season.


Over the last few months I have thought very little about school and indeed my memory of the place where I spent 21 years of my professional life has begun to fade. I have kept in touch with Liz, Babs and Jools. Liz provides me with amusing emails and Babs visits the shows I am in. Both though were very tight lipped about the outcome of an Ofsted inspection the school received this last term. Finally I got to read the inspection report as published on the Ofsted website. The reason for the tight lips. and indeed pursed lips, became abundantly clear. The school requires special measures. This is particularly hard because during my time there we went into special measures and fought our way out again. It is disheartening to hear that the school has regressed again. It is particularly hard to know that I am one of the reasons behind that situation. I know people will say it has nothing to do with me because I have retired. To which I would counter that my retirement means I can have nothing to do with the needed recovery but the timing of the inspection and my retirement are so close that some of the fault lies with me as a senior manager. It means I can't look back on a distinguished career in education thinking I did well. (I certainly tried my best and hardest. I will have to return to this subject in other posts.) However my sympathy goes out to Liz and Babs and other ex-colleagues at the school, who now have to go through the gruelling procedure of getting out of special measures. The ridiculous aspect of which is that staff will probably be reduced because the numbers of pupils will fall and redundancies will be in the air. It is daft in my opinion as I think the Governement response should be to double the staff there so that the children work in smaller tuition groups and concentrate on literacy and numeracy. This would improve the chances of the children immediately, which must be the major aim of all concerned. I would also like to point out that the County inspectorate has already been heavily involved with the school before and after my retirement, so couldn't this situation have been foreseen and remedied before the Ofsted verdict. Final comment for this post, I remember the last time we went into special measures, the Ofsted inspectors gave the school management, including myself, forty days in which to prepare an action plan to get ourselves out of special measures. I exploded and wasted several days of those forty being scraped down from the ceiling. If I could have come up with a plan to get us out of special measures in forty days, we wouldn't have been in special measures in the first place! This is the equivalent of digging a deep hole, dropping the senior teachers in it armed with shovels, and the inspectors from the safety of the surface yelling "Keep digging!" Bastards!

Attending my first rehearsal of "Attempts On Her Life" today as Stage Manager.

Have accepted post of Treasurer for the embryonic Havant Literary Festival though as DP says we know "bugger all about the venture". He is thinking of standing, somewhat reluctantly, as Chairman on this project offering a very steep learning curve.

I will have to prepare a written submission to the Bench Artistic Panel for Thursday night if I am going to offer "Hamlet" (I have the LibDem Executive Committee meeting that night as well). 2008 seems to be the year of "Hamlet"; David Tennant is performing the role for the RSC, Jude Law is doing it in a production directed by Kenneth Branagh and the Southsea Shakespeare Actors are planning it for November. The Bench could get in first by doing it in July and of course under my magisterial directing could produce the best "Hamlet" of 2008!