Shouting from the Hop

Bank Holidays in the UK are a little strange, I think. If the weather is poor, we all complain, and no doubt end up indoors cleaning or doing those jobs that we supposedly should have done at other times; if the weather is good, we often go out for the day, but complain because everyone else is doing exactly the same thing and getting in our way!

So this August Bank Holiday Monday, my girlfriend and I decided not to head for the coast on the lovely day that dawned. Nor would we head for the Notting Hill Carnival - a magnet for nutters in my opinion! We would head for an area of London that is normally very busy on a Monday, but hopefully would be a lot quieter today - the City!

We walked from London Bridge along the river to the Tate Modern, and took in the Frida Kahlo exhibition (on till 9 October if you are interested). This Mexican-German had a tough life. She was involved in a bad bus/tram accident when only 18 years old, and took up painting as a way of recuperation. Many of the 200 or so images she painted show her at various stages of her life, usually pained, rarely happy. She was obviously fiercely patriotic toward Mexico, and hated America, though she did spend some time living there. Some paintings are hard - showing births or miscarriages in graphic detail for instance. She died aged 47, and was happy to go by the sound of it, bidding farewell to doctors with the words "I hope the exit is joyful - and I hope never to come back". The gallery took about an hour to get round, as it wasn't too busy thankfully. I enjoyed looking at her work, though she will never be a favourite artist of mine (not that I have one...).

From the Tate, we crossed the Millennium Bridge (see left - which didn't wobble) and went into St Pauls Cathedral as the girlfriend had never been inside. We walked up to the Whispering Gallery (where we sat and listened to the organ for a while), then upwards again to the Stone and Golden Galleries, 530 steps and 85 metres high! You get some great views of London from up there (see top pic) and no glass to photograph through like the Eye; I took great delight in pointing out various buildings - the Wembley arch, Buck House (just visible), Kings Cross station, Shooters Hill tower, Earls Court, etc, but I couldn't spot Ashburton Grove - the new Arsenal stadium - for some reason...

Down again, we had a drink in the crypt, and then set off into the quiet area behind the cathedral, making our way across Cheapside toward London Wall. We found a really nice small park with a monument to the actors who made Shakespeares work come alive (without whom he wouldn't have been anybody if you think about it...). We found a road called Love Lane - aaahhh. We found an ex-church, bombed in 1940 and now a small park. We crossed over to Moorgate, past a new glass building that is curved on two sides (hard to explain...) and an Arab bank that is classic art nouveau style according to her who knows!

Then we walked through to the NatWest Tower, now Tower 42 (see right), once the tallest building in London, and on to 30 St Mary Axe, known as the Humbug building (see below). We sat here for a while looking at the structure. Apparently a window fell out some time back early one morning but was hushed up; you can see a couple of window places apparently covered by chipboard so it may be more than one window went walkies?

As we came by Fenchurch Street station, we had to stop as filming was taking place outside a hotel; we recognised Adrian Lester, and lots of (obviously) police-uniformed actors were there too wearing SWAT hats and the like, so it looked like a scene from one of our fave TV programmes - Hustle - was being filmed - the one with Robert Wagner where they sting other baddies.

We missed the last boat down to Greenwich so had to make do with a busy DLR ride through Docklands back to Lewisham and a bus home from there.

It was fun coming up to town in a non-work context, where we could wander around and check out all those places that you see all the time but don't have time to stop at during a normal working day. You all should do it given the chance!

It was lovely getting back into my own bed in the early hours of Sunday morning, following our trip to Naples. I slept very well!

I was up and ready though for the start of the fourth days play in the cricket - England still 37 in front with 6 Aussie wickets left to take. It was a great days play - classic in a lot of ways. I thought that the Aussies failed to take advantage early on, concentrating on survival and not scoring at many opportunities, thereby giving England the edge. The consensus is that whatever the situation, you should play (as close to) your normal game if possible. Katich did this, squirting singles all over the place, but Clarke did not. It may have taken well over an hour, but when Clarke was out England were still in front.

I actually like Adam Gilchrist (contrary to most of the current Aussie team). I traveled with his wife and first child on a flight from Adelaide to Perth a couple of years back, and dutiful father Gilly met them at the airport. He hasn't had the best Ashes tour though, with his reputation tarnished a little as a keeper (dropping a few at OT) and batter (who is becoming Freddie's round-the-wicket poodle). He is sooooo dangerous though, and as I switched my attentions to the football on the other side I couldn't be sure that this would be England's game. I checked the score whenever there was a decent break in play and seemed to just miss wickets each time (maybe I should have turned over more frequently!).

Charlton played very well in their first "proper" test of the new Premiership season, completely out-playing Boro. Full match reports are on the official site and also by other bloggers (see links right). I thought our midfield was dominant, the defence quite solid, the wingers pacy and dangerous, and Bent always a threat. Tactically, we smashed them, and when people come to weigh up Curbs and McLaren's potential for the England job maybe that should be remembered. (Last season, Boro beat Charlton 2-1 at The Valley and Stevie-boy made big play that it was two potential England managers in opposition, and that he'd won!) So when will Charlton's first real test be? Either of the next two league games - Brum away or Chelsea at home? Happy days as Tuffers would say!

The footie finished, and that coincided with the last Aussie wicket falling - 128 ahead; I was therefore able to watch all the England second innings. I currently have a very sore little finger due to the lack of a nail - bitten down deep! Although looking confident, a few shots were poor - Bell out hooking, Pieterson wafting, Freddie sleeping, Jones slogging, etc. The lights in Warne and Lee's eyes shone, and they went for the throat. Maybe if they'd gone for the stumps (a problem Lee has had in the past) they may have squeeked home. Hoggie smashed a full toss through extra cover and the relief was all too evident; Gilo did the rest.

One test to go and The Ashes urn is in sight. Can we do it? Yes. Can the Aussies save their collective bacon? Yes.

This whole series, from day one at Lords, has been intense, as I've written on this blog before. No other series that I have ever seen, read or heard about has been as close, exciting, and of as good quality as this one has. These are the top two test teams in the World, and they are knocking seven bells out of each other to win the World crown (or urn). Nip and tuck the whole way, but England are currently on top.

Injuries will still play a part - will McGrath be back? Will Gillespie get recalled? Will MacGill get a surprise chance in place of a batter? Who will come in for Jones if he does not recover from his ankle problem? Surely 12th man all series Tremlett has to be the one, or will Collingwood be included as he can bat and bowl? We will find out next week, and this country cannot wait!

After such a great days sport on TV, we went to the pub for a few beers that evening. While sitting in my local, Pedro45 was approached by a man who asked him to confirm his name. It seems this person had been at primary school with me! I've never met him since, and only vaguely recall his name...even though we may have been good friends in those dim and distant days. Strange, he knew me but I would never in a million years have recognised him.

It had been a very sweet Sunday.

SATURDAY
Our last day in Naples on this trip.
As we missed out on Pompeii the day before, we decided it had to be fitted in today. The guide book suggests you need at least two hours, but maybe not much more unless you are very interested, so we didn't mind arriving mid-afternoon (missing most of the crowds once more hopefully).
Before that, we packed, checked out (leaving the bags at the hotel) and walked once more into the heart of the Centro Storico. Our aim this time was to take in a tour of the ancient aquaducts that run under the city.
The tour was combined with a 30 minute walk to see the remains of a roman theatre: Naples has built upwards since forever, and the majority of the walls etc of the amphitheatre remain predominantly intact but beneath other buildings - not underneath, but within. We were shown columns that were now part of walls, and taken into a house that was once part of the theatre itself. It had Roman brick walls and the basement area used to be part of the downstairs backstage area unbelievably!
We then walked down 35 metres below street level into the aquaduct area that was created over 2000 years ago. The city's water supply (up until 1884) came from here and you get to walk through (very!) narrow tunnels into large chambers that have well holes in the ceiling. The whole place was also used as bomb shelters during 1942/3, and some good graffiti remains extolling the Axis virtues of World domination and how London was to blame for the bombing...
After lunch, we walked again to the station (by a more direct route this time) and caught the train to Pompeii.
Pompeii was busy, but not too bad, with most of the cruise tourists arriving in the morning. It's quite amazing really. We've been to many ruined cities, but never one that had as much left over such a large area. "Ruined" walls of over six feet in height are common, and some roofs remain too. Murals, frescoes, gardens and statues all remain in good condition mostly, as they have not been uncovered for much more than 100 years. You really can get lost in the many streets unless you have a map! The brothel was closed unfortunately for renovation, but we saw most of the other highlights. When you consider how close Vesuvius is (see above), it is no surprise that the whole city was wiped out in minutes by a pyraplactic flow (sorry if the spelling is wrong...). We had a good time wandering around Pompeii, for about three hours, but by now we were very footsore (Roman roads may have been good in their day, but they are very uneven now!), so we wandered back to the station and returned to Naples. We had time for a cab ride down to the Castel Dell' Ovo area for a quick dinner, and then caught a cab back to the hotel, picked up the bags and onwards to the airport.
I have to make comment here about the Italian drivers; it seems that whatever you are driving - bus, train, boat, car, scooter, bike, etc, etc, you have to drive it at full speed all the time! Maybe it's some macho thing, although even the women rode their scooters round the narrow streets like maniacs! Our cabbie back to the hotel and on to the airport was crazy, no, really crazy! Overtaking on the inside, outside, over the top if he could, going right round the outside of traffic lights if cars were in the way so he could get in front and if not don't worry if the lights were red! Mad... And of course he had to hoot everyone who got anywhere near him or pulled away more than a millisecond after the lights went green! He sang when not leaning on the horn. We made it though...and then he asked for a large tip!
We checked in, went through security, where the girlfriend's bag got the full search for some reason, then settled down for a beer. Before we got that though, I noticed that, along with one for me, we had been given a boarding pass in the name of Mr Reid Whatmore. I can assure you that this is not my girlfriend's name! We then had to go back through security, explain the problem to check in, wait while they argued amongst themselves, take two new passes and return airside where security this time decided that my girlfriend had too much metal on her body (even though she hadn't added to it in the previous twenty minutes)! We now had aisle and middle seat boarding passes, having previously had window and middle. We were told by check in that a window was not now available following their cock up. On take off, we had nobody in the window seat next to us... Not a clue I tell you! A good flight back (no champagne this time), we landed a little early at 25 past midnight. We got onto the airport bus at 12.44, and pulled out of the car park at 1.04. Home at 1.48 - not bad going!
It was a lovely trip for a birthday present and I love you sweetheart for taking me away to Naples, Capri, Sorrento, and Pompeii.
Grazie Mille!

FRIDAY
A busy day planned - Sorrento by train, then back to Pompeii, before returning to Naples, and it all went horribly wrong but we didn't mind. Why? Because we really like Sorrento - it is a lovely seaside town!
We walked down to the main train station in Naples, which was quite a way from our hotel, walking mainly down the Spaccanapoli, a narrow road that runs almost the whole length of the city. You can almost guarantee that the area around the main station in any major city is going to be pretty horrible, and Naples is no different. The atmosphere was the most threatening of anywhere in the city. Street traders are mainly immigrants, dossers and beggars lay in the street and ask for money, that sort of thing. The guide book warned that we should be careful of petty crime, but we saw no evidence elsewhere in the city; here though, you held on to everything very tightly.
We got our tickets and had about fifteen minutes to wait for the Sorrento train. It was busy, as more cruise ship tourists were catching a quick visit to Pompeii or following us to Sorrento, and a large number of schoolkids were making their own way to various "seaside" resorts that the train passed through. We arrived in Sorrento without hitch, and walked down into town. The main square was very busy with lunchtime crowds. Our guidebook had a short walk so we tried to follow that route. The views across the bay (toward Naples) were amazing, as were those downwards toward the seafront from the town high above on the cliff-face (see above). We followed the road downwards to the marina, and lunched in a restaurant recommended by our book - Da Emilia. The service in this family-owned business was immaculate, friendly, charming, all those words and more. Emilia is still the boss, and a lovely lady too! We were entertained by the local cat population (who are not afraid of dogs), and by a reversing cement truck edging it's way round the very narrow marina roadway backwards (obviously!). It was so relaxing by the marina/harbour that we decided not to bother with going on to Pompeii - we just had another beer as that seemed more pertinent at the time! When we'd finished, we asked for the bill; the waitress comes across and asks what we had, writes it down, adds it up, then tells us how much it was. Superb!
We then wandered upwards back toward town, stopping in the charming Foreigner's Club for a comfort break and ice-cream (yum-yum!), and I popped my head into an english-pub that had the cricket on live to check the score. By the way, a great big thank you kiss to Laura for texting me the end-of-play scores each day while we were away - that made me very happy and relaxed!
We got back to the station and caught the train back to Naples, then got the cab home. We decided to dine somewhere recommended by the book but our first two choices we found to be closed (due to August holidays). We walked a little until we found a street restaurant run by Bruno, who told us he was about to open a second London establishment in Notting Hill Gate! We didn't get a personal invite, unfortunately! The food was OK, but the portions huge! We stopped for a few beers on the way home, people watching the locals taking their evening strolls mostly, before jumping in a cab back to the hotel ourselves.

THURSDAY
Too tired to get up early, we decided to take things easy during the morning but to go to the island of Capri just before lunchtime. We walked to the ferry terminus, got our tickets and just caught the 11.10 boat. It was full of cruise ship tourists, mainly American. Urgghhhh! Disembarking quickly at the Marina Grande 40 minutes later, we tried to get tickets for the boat trip to the Blue Grotto (one of the highlights of any Capri trip), but unfortunately it was closed due to the slightly rough seas (the row boats have to pass through a 2m by 1m hole on the cliff wall, so even a little sea swell makes it hazardous!). We tried to get the funicular up the hill to Capri town but the ticket queue, and actual queue for the train were horrendous, so we walked - it only took twenty minutes or so. We had a beer in the town square - great for people (or mainly tourist) watching, then set off to find our lunch choice. We got lost, and ended up near the Natural Arch. The restaurant near the arch was closed in August according to our book, so we had a really nice meal there (and a well deserved beer)! We then joined a circular walk back toward town, taking in caves (grottos), cliffs, and terrific views (see above).
We made it back to town, passed by all the designer shops for designer tourists, and had a very nice Gelato in the town square. We then made our choice - did we try to get back down the hill to the ferry by railway, bus or walk, or carry on to Anacapri (the smaller town on the island) and get back to the ferry from there but risk missing our (6.10) timed boat? The bus queue for Anacapri was short, so we jumped on. We arrived at the Anacapri chair-lift (our aim) which takes you to the highest point of the island and after a little gentle persuasion and pushing ("If you think I'm going up a mountainside on that...") I followed the girlfriend skywards. It was a really nice, gentle way to travel; very quiet after all the bustle, slow, but with great views. It took about fifteen minutes to get to the top. We took some photos, and down we came. We decided to go for the ferry but, tight for time, needed a cab to do so. The taxis on Capri are strange - they have canvas awnings as roofs! Very cool (in both senses), we drove down to the marina waving at all the sweaty tourists who had queued for buses or trains or walked down. Onto the boat and back to Naples...
Very tired, we had dinner in the hotel. It was nice food but for some reason the service was painfully slow, so we passed on dessert and retired gracefully.

WEDNESDAY
Up for breakfast, we decide that on our first day we will explore the city on foot. We wandered down narrow streets, into old churches then out again quickly as her shoulders were not covered and the priest said he'd like us to leave. Ooops! Through the street market, bustling normal daily life all around. We had a really good lunch in a small restaurant mentioned in our guide book (Time Out - OK, but lots of missing info), then more wanderings.
We arrived at a castle by the bay (Castel Nuovo) and went up to the battlements (See pic - our Hotel San Francesco al Monte is halfway up the hillside, just to the right of the battlements), then caught one of four (three are closed and being repaired!) funicular railways to the top of the city. The castle up there (Castel Sant Elmo) was closed Wednesdays (not mentioned in the book!) so we walked down lots of steps and back to the hotel.
The concierge recommended a restaurant by the harbour for dinner and we had a nice meal, a cheap bottle of Prosecki, and a few beers afterwards before getting a cab home late.

OK, Nobody guessed right... So, it's last Tuesday (23rd), and it's my birthday. A nice morning cuppa followed by cards and (small) pressie opening, then it's time to pack for our trip. I have no idea where we are going, but I'm told it isn't due to rain, and I should bring swim wear just in case.

It would be a day of surprises like no other!

We leave at 12.45; I've been told that this is the time we need to go by. I figure that we are allowing a couple of hours to get to Heathrow, time to park the car, with a two hour check in, which means that our flight will be around 5pm. I've also been warned that we will arrive late - probably too late for dinner. To me, that means we are going East (maybe two/three hour flight and two/three hour time difference), and I'm confident of one of my top destination guesses being right.

Oh, ten minutes down the road we are turning right into our local Michelin starred restaurant! Thus followed a champagne apperitif, a lovely lunch; fabulous food; great service; beautiful company, and I still haven't a clue what is going on and my above guess is very wrong... My first surprise over!

Back into the car, we set off again, heading for the M25. As we near the Gatwick turn (M23) my girlfriend pulls into the nearside lane; a clue to our airport? No, she drives on missing the turn. I smile and say "At least I know we are not going to Gatwick...", and she smiles back...

We approach junction 9; she says that I need to get something out of the bag - directions for the parking: It was confusing she says - something about junction 9 and 9A - could I direct her? I take the sheet of paper. Read it, see that it's talking about Gatwick North terminal. I explain slowly that we are on the wrong motorway - she should be on the M23 not M25!!! Much blushing. We turn round and drive back (luckily only) two junctions, and get to the parking place easily. Jump on the parking bus, and get inside the terminal. She checks in using the self service machine and I stand back so I don't get any unwanted clues. We go through immigration, security, with her in front, me behind, she having both boarding cards and telling everyone that I don't know where I'm going as it's a surprise. They all look at me and smile, probably thinking what an idiot!

I sit while she gets the currency (she did ask me to get out all our foreign money at home but I don't know what bits she picked up and what she left behind...). We have a quick look in the shops.

Next surprise - she says would I like to go to the BA lounge? Ooh, are we flying Business class then?!? Yep... She had bought me some extra miles which meant we could upgrade! In we walk, her in front asking the counter staff not to call our names as I don't know the destination! We sit for a long time but it's OK; free beer, a good view of the planes landing and taking off, a soft seat on a sofa, no hustle or bustle, no screaming kids or chavs to worry about - all very nice!

Time to go; we wander toward a gate, down past the fountain, turning right. I recognise the set of gates as some I've used in the past. I turn and say "I've been here before" meaning the gates. As I turn back I see the flight destination on a screen. Her face drops - what do you mean? I mean the gates, not there! She wipes the tear away... Big hugs. We'll have a lovely time I say!

We board the plane; seats 3A and 3B. Take off a few minutes late. Free champagne all the way! A good flight, we land almost on time, a couple of hours later. Through customs/immigration, no hanging around for bags - just hand luggage this trip! Into a cab, and off to the hotel.

So, where were we you ask?

None of my guesses came true. I had mentioned this place to her a while back as a possible city break but now we were actually in................NAPLES! See Mount Vesuvius in the background of the pic below?

The hotel was really nice; an ex-monastery, high on the hillside, overlooking the whole city and bay. We had a beer in the terrace bar, then went to bed, tired!

View from the hotel 

Phew! What an amazing week I've had. Taken away on a wonderful birthday surprise treat - the clue where is in the above picture - with lots of little surprises too on the way; a great but tense test match victory over Australia; and Charlton continuing their 100% record with a 3-0 away win over Boro. Add to that the lovely weather since we got back, and a really nice day out in London yesterday, and it's been a fabulous start to the next year of my life!

I'll add blogs about all the above over the next day or so, but see if you know where the trip was too and add your guess as a comment if you'd like?

PS All my 8 guesses about where it might be were wrong!

It's my birthday tomorrow, and I'm being whisked away as a surprise treat. I don't know where I am being taken, just that it is somewhere in Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East (as that's as far as the Airmiles would allow!).

The plan is to check in online, for my wonderful girlfriend to handle all the passports, boarding passes, currency exchange etc, so that I can get as far as the gate without knowing. We reckon that it would be pretty hard to get onto the plane without knowing, so that's as far as the surprise will go.

Hopefully, it will be somewhere nice - my top eight guesses are as follows:

1. St Petersburg
2. Venice
3. Moscow
4. Marakech
5. Dubrovnik
6. Talinn
7. Lisbon
8. Istanbul

I have no idea if I've hit the nail on the head or not - it could be anywhere!!! I've been very good and not cheated a look at credit card statements or emails which would give the game away, so I'm getting quite excited!

I'm being given the weather forecast tonight (I haven't seen anything on TV recently so will have no clues from this) so I can pack accordingly, then it's off to the airport tomorrow lunchtime.

I'll let you all know where I ended up, what we did etc at the weekend.

PS In case I don't get a chance to do a proper blog beforehand, Pedro45's prediction for the Boro away game is a 1-0 defeat I'm afraid.

I think my blog about Simon Jordan made it quite clear that I don't like our South London footballing neighbours from Croydon. So I thought I'd shed a little more light on the reasons, going all the way back...

My first ever Charlton game was way back in 1967, versus Aston Villa (we won 3-0). It was Eddie Firmani's first game as manager; he had succeeded Bob Stokoe who had been sacked the previous week after a 3-0 reverse at, yep, you guessed it, Crystal Palace. Then, Palace had never played at the highest level, only getting out of Division Four in the late 50's. Charlton on the other hand, were a major team in the league's from the mid-30's until getting relegated in 1957. Ten years later they were still in Division Two, and trying to get out; either upwards (every fourth season) or down (most other seasons!). So a big defeat left Stokoe with only one outcome - Bye! I hated Palace for getting a Charlton manager sacked.

I remember Charlton losing again to Palace later in the season under floodlights, 1-0, but by then Eddie was doing the business and we were pretty safe. The following year, both teams had good sides and were near the top of the league all season; drawn against each other in the third round of the FA Cup, a goalless draw at the Valley was followed by a famous two goal victory at Selhurst Park, courtesy of Ray Treacy. Henry Irving chants were created to mark that famous victory! The league matches were both drawn - 3-3 away, and One-all at home. Going into the last few matches, Charlton threw away their points lead and were left needing two victories from their last two games, but with Palace also needing to slip up. A 4-0 win was followed on the last day of the season by a home defeat to Preston. We even missed two penalties (Gregory and Curtis the culprits)! So Palace went up as runners up to Cloughie's Derby, we finished third, and they lauded it...I hated them for that.

It wasn't long before they were back down again (Palace have always been good relegation fodder...), but Charlton had also gone down too. By the mid seventies, we met again, and Charlton finally got promoted thanks to Killer, King Arthur, Paddy and Flash. In 1976, Malcolm Allison (an ex-Addick), dressed in his panama hat, strode around like a king and made good headlines for the papers. I hated him for that. His team were still in the third division though, having suffered successive relegations. They did get to the cup semi finals only to get beat by second division Southampton.

Next season, they went up. I actually went to see them in one game - one of the few cheering Walsall to a 1-0 win. Palace fans make huge noises about the fact that their last home game was seen by over 50,000 people that season, forgetting that they almost threw away a ten point divisional lead at Xmas and needed to win to be sure of promotion. I hated them for winning that game against Burnley.

There was another game in the late-70's where the ref decided that our red shirts, and second strip white shirts clashed with Palace's red and blue stripes on white. Charlton had the ignominious pleasure of therefore wearing the only "suitable" alternative - Palace's away strip. I hated the fact that my team not only couldn't wear their own kit, but had to wear a Palace's strip.

Over the next few years, we met quite regularly, but then Charlton went down, and Palace went up, with Terry Venables now in managerial charge. This was the team of the 80's time, Palace having a number of highly regarded youngsters. I hated them being called the team of the 80's. Once more, being highly regarded doesn't keep you in the top league and, down they came. Their team of "stars" were sold, and they never did become the team of the eighties!

In the mid-80's, we met a few more times in Division two. At one such home game against Palace in 1985, the unthinkable happened, and Charlton supporters were told that they would be playing home games at Selhurst Park due to the Council's concerns over safety at The Valley. We won 3-1 that day, thanks to two Mark Reid penalties (he missed a third!), but it was never going to be the same again. I hated them for that - we won, but they gloated that we would be playing at "their" ground from now on...

A large number of fans refused to go to Croydon to watch their team. I did though. I reckoned that I would watch them play anywhere - home or away, or away all the time as it was for the next five years. I didn't like it though. I hated it in fact. And we were always made to feel like second rate citizens whenever we played there. I hated that. I remember midweek Full Member cup games (one versus Chelsea, and I'm sure there was another...) where the floodlights failed - well, not failed, just went off! We were told they were on a timer and that it couldn't be changed to accommodate us! I hated that smugness. Our offices were portokabins. The police searched all home supporters going into the ground. The pitch was awful! It was a nightmare ground to get to regularly, a nightmare to play at, and a nightmare to get home from. I hated the situation and hated being a fan of a club that didn't have it's own ground.

Charlton got promoted to the top flight, and so did Palace (and Millwall) in the late 80's. Now was the time for the team of the 90's tag. To be sure, they didn't become the team of the 90's either! They did get to a Cup Final (as a second division team), but lost in a replay - they've still never won anything...

Charlton were home by now, having left Selhurst in 1990, but back in Division two. I have never been back to Selhurst to see Palace play (I did go on a freebie to see Wimbledon, who replaced Charlton as tenants in 1991, in the late 90's), nor will I ever. I don't care if Charlton need a win to be Premiership champions - I will not go there. I hate the fact that I say that; that my hatred of all things Palace makes me say that. I will not pay any entrance money that goes into Ron Noades pocket, ever.

More meetings at second division level, including the semi-finals of the play offs in 1996. We lost home and away, not having the squad or strength to do anything else. Palace meanwhile started their yo-yo years (they are still in them!). Charlton went up, then down, then up to the Premiership again where they have stayed; Palace yo-yo...up/down/up/down...

Whenever we meet, Palace think it their right to beat us. We don't have a great record against them, or haven't since I've been a supporter, and I suppose we didn't play to many times before that. Recently, we broke our Selhurst hoodoo and won with a Paul Kitson goal in 2000, our Championship season. I wasn't there though - I hated that.

In 2004/5, Palace made it back to the Premiership, where they met Charlton three times. The league games were both drawn, but a league cup game was won by Palace. I hated that. I also hate the fact that complaints by the Palace board led to the announcer at Charlton home games being sacked for alleged comments made before the League cup tie (he apparently pronounced the visiting team as Pal-Arse). When the sides met on the final day of the season at The Valley, the bouncy club needed a result plus other teams to do worse than them to stay up. As Charlton did what they needed, we all sang "we sent the Palace down" to the tune of Amarillo; this in turn led to Jordan's comments that our fans were morons or, later, imbeciles. After demanding the head of our pre-game announcer, will Jordan do the decent thing now and resign himself for offending another football club with his comments? I don't think so, and I hate him for that.

The Palace fans hate it now because we are a bigger, more established, respected, and better run club than they have ever been. But they refuse to accept this. Charlton fans don't think we are bigger, better, etc, club than Arsenal, for instance; get real! Check the league tables/transfer budgets/bank accounts/average crowds...

Since September 1967, Charlton have had 9 managers (counting the joint managership as one - Firmani, Foley, Nelson, Bailey, Mullery, Craggs, Lawrence, Gritt/Curbishley, Curbishley); without checking my facts, I'd say Palace have had that many since 1995! In fact, Steve Coppell has been manager three times!!! Dave Bassett only lasted a few days, Steve Bruce a couple of months, Steve Kember not much more...

The Palace board have wasted any potential that there might ever have been to make them a power in the land. "Uncle" Ron Noades, who was so "nice" to Charlton during the late 80's that he gave us a home, sold the club but not the ground. Not only had he had Charlton paying exorbitant rent in the late 80's, Wimbledon doing the same all through the 90's, but he now had rent coming in from Palace! Lovely man. He was able to buy Brentford for a small fee and ended up as manager, Chairman, and no doubt supersub should he have been needed too!

The mug who bought the club but not the ground (failing to check the small print) was Mark Goldberg. What an idiot. He paid over £25 million for a seat in a stand and a boardroom which he didn't own! It's no surprise to learn that he went bankrupt pretty soon. Palace were finally "saved" from extinction due to their debts by Simon Jordan; a man who claims to have been brought up within 100 yards of the ground, who's father still lives there in that house, who was on Palace's books as a schoolboy, who is a football fan, but who, even now, still does not own the ground on which the team he controls play home games. Sainbury's have more say in what happens at Selhurst than he does! I hate him for thinking he is somebody.

The yo-yo club still think that they are bigger and better than other local clubs. The supporters claim that there main rivals are Brighton, not Charlton or Millwall, a team the best part of 50 miles away! Why? The chairman gets the hump when other football fans sing and cheer when his team gets relegated. Why? He starts calling fans names. Why? He says he wants to act just like a football fan - shouting, singing, jumping up and down - but what Charlton did that afternoon was moronic behaviour. What a hypocrite! I hate him for that.

I know, or have known, quite a number of Palace fans over the years (well, about five actually). I didn't like any of them really - sorry Drinking Death colleague the ginger mopped Dave "Ding-a" Ling, sorry the cricketing Shilling brothers Kevin and John, sorry girl with the implants I met at Sun City following the cricket in South Africa, sorry Kim ex work contact, sorry any others who I may have met but can't remember cos I didn't want to know you because of the team you followed.

Charlton have other rivals: Arsenal from the "old" Woolwich days; Millwall from just down the road; West Ham, just across the river, etc, but I don't think I hate those other teams. I don't like them much - sure, but hate, nah! It's Palace that gets my goat; Palace that I can't stand; Palace that I turn off the TV for; Palace fans that I'll turn my back on (I'll be careful from now though!) and walk away from; Simon Jordan whose writings I will only read to see what crap he is saying about us Charlton supporters now.

So I hate Palace. I always have. And I don't care if that makes you hate me and/or Charlton.

I've added a few more links (on the right) to other Charlton bloggers; Frankie Valley, and two fellow Addicks based in the USA - What was the score (based in Chicago) and New York Addick, who is obviously based in New York!

All three have good things to say (mostly) about Charlton - Frankie being the funniest blogger I've read anywhere. He also has a habit of upsetting the supporters of other football clubs, as you'll see from a number of comments that have been submitted - People obviously do give a **** what Frankie says!

All of them are, like myself, not just confined to Charlton talk, but will blog about anything that they feel is topical.

I hope you enjoy reading them too!

Last season, The Observer carried a weekly article by Alan Curbishley within it's sports section each week. It gave an insight into the workings of a Premiership managers mind; how a manager views other managers, clubs, fans, players, etc; and an overall impression of what a Premiership manager thinks about on a weekly basis. "Mr Got-no-personality" showed he was someone we could all relate to.

This season, starting last week, the weekly article by Curbs has been replaced by something a little more controversial than that which we saw last year.

The Observer has, this year, commissioned a series of articles by a Coca Cola league chairman, whose club were, last season, in the Premiership. This club has been relegated a record four times from the Premiership in fact.

The first article, last week, was highly criticized as, within it, he called the supporters of another club, my club, "morons".

This week, in the second such article (which you can read in full here) the writer changes his comment. He now thinks the supporters of this other club are not "morons" but "imbeciles".

I read, during the week, many discussion threads regarding the first outburst (see Frankie Valley), and the consensus was that our two clubs are not rivals; that we have other, more local, clubs to goad and bait; that we don't care what each other says about our clubs.

Well, I'm sorry. I disagree. I hate Crystal Palace. I hate their supporters. I hate Simon Jordan. I hate his sanctimonious articles in The Observer each week. I hate him with a vengeance. I hate the fact that his complaints led to the announcer at Charlton home games being sacked. I hate the fact that Charlton were forced (not by Jordan) to play their home games at a ground used by Palace in the 1980's. I hate the fact that Charlton are constantly reminded of this, even though it was a long time ago and our great club has moved on, way past the level that our non-rivals from SE23 or wherever are at. I believe that a large number of other Charlton supporters also feel this way. That is why we sang with relish "we sent the Palace down" to the tune of Amarillo in the last game of last season, and at each match this season too!

I hope that the senior editors etc at The Observer will cut short the drivel that Jordan writes on their esteemed pages, so that the general public can once more get back to the serious issues surrounding football written by a person who is respected, rather than read the rubbish that this Chairman writes.

Charlton had a reasonably comfortable win this afternoon in their home match versus Premiership new boys Wigan. A single goal from Darren Bent - his third of the season - was enough to win the game, though it did look suspiciously like he had his hands on the defenders shoulders well before nodding the ball into the back of the net (see right).

Powell hit the bar with a header in the first half, and Bent the post with a snapshot in the second, and plenty of other chances went begging - Bent, Murphy, Rommerdahl, and Thomas all missing the target during the match.

Wigan did not trouble Anderson at all in truth, and the defence coped with the physical Jason Roberts quite well. Both full backs got forward at every opportunity without compromising the defence. The midfield were dominant throughout, with Murphy (who was kicked at every opportunity), Smertin and Kishishev all outstanding. Both wingers had reasonable games and Bent worked very hard.

Wigan manager Paul Jewell was prominent, standing with his arms outstretched every time the ball didn't go where it should in his opinion. Maybe he should have worn his own trackie bottoms rather than those with assistant Chris Hutchings initials on!

The crowd were pretty good, with Amarillo getting the throats clear before the match, but the (ex-Spurs) blokes behind me are back - their first return since an hour into the Man Utd thrashing in April - which is a shame!

So, two wins on the bounce - the first time this has ever happened in a Premiership season for Charlton, but The Addicks slip to second place in the table due to Spurs having one goal better goal-difference after their own win today.

Charlton are likely to move further down the table before their next game (Away to Boro next Sunday lunchtime) as most Premiership clubs have games either tomorrow, midweek, or next Saturday and could therefore overtake them. However, this is a good start to the season; the players are confident, playing good football when they can, and in a very professional manner. Hopefully this will keep the moaners at bay for another week or two!

The Millwall Chairman, the Fulham chairman, the Palace Chairman, and the Charlton Chairman are doing an FA sponsored Executive adventure course and are climbing a mountain. On the way to the top, each is arguing about how loyal they are to their team and what they would do for that team. Upon reaching the top, the Millwall Chairman, Theo Paphitis, shouts, "This is for the Lions!!!" and throw's himself off the top of the mountain. Next Mohammed El Fayed yells, "I love Craven Cottage....This is for you Fulham!!" and he, too, jumps off. And then the Charlton chairman, Richard Murray, reaches the top and screams, "This is for EVERYONE!!" and pushes Simon Jordan off the mountain.

So....top of the league. You know as well as I do that the team that is top early on in the season always, just always, gets relegated!

Remember 1999? A draw at Newcastle and a 5-0 demolition of Southampton thanks to a super-Clive hatrick took us to the summit of the Premier League; A last day defeat by Sheffield Wednesday took us back to Division 1.

Will it happen this year too? I certainly hope not, and an indication may come this weekend when Charlton take on newly-promoted Wigan Athletic. This is the very first league meeting ever between the clubs.

Wigan ran an under-par Chelsea close in an emotional game last weekend and, as predicted by Pedro45, will be hard to beat all season. They played a negative game, but broke quickly, and are very well organised. They did not create much, but were difficult for - even - Chelsea to break down.

The official game preview can be found here.

If our boys can continue to play well, and put pressure on the away team, we may get the sort of performance and result that we want. No team changes are expected, other than Jerome Thomas (a second half sub for Rommerdahl last weekend) coming in for the suspended Ambrose.

The centre backs, who were fairly commanding last weekend by all accounts, will have their hands full with the pace of Roberts and Camara (who may be out injured...), and the midfield will need to be combative, as you know it will be crowded and Wigan will harry and chase all day. Up front, let's hope Dazza can push on and worry the new centre back pairing of De Zeuuw and Henchoz, who may not be able to cope with his pace. Our Dennis, fresh from his goal and assist for Denmark against England, will be full of confidence (hopefully!), and he is my man to watch this weekend: I expect a big game from him.

Three points, at least a couple of goals , and a solid defence should see Charlton stay top of the league, albeit until midweek (when other teams play but Charlton do not). Pedro45's prediction is a home win (2-0).

Come on you reds!

I love to see how Charlton are doing compared to other clubs in Europe, and those clever guys at Eurofootsie have devised a way of doing this via a computer-generated ranking of Europe's best (and not so good) football clubs. It is based on each club's performance over its past 50 games (domestic and European - just domestic in Charlton's case!), but does get influenced by wins, draws, and losses each week.

I've been checking this website out for a couple of years now, and Charlton have floated between 34th (I think this was their highest ever position, around Xmas 2003) down to 120th or so. Currently, Charlton lie in 81st position, mainly due to their end-of-season slump. Hopefully The Addicks will start to move up a little due to having a good 2005-6 season, fingers crossed! Updates to the site seem to happen each Wednesday lunchtime.

So nearly all you other footie supporters (sadly, it only covers the top division in each country) can check out where your team is in this unofficial European league by clicking here, then clicking on "Ranking of All Teams" that's over on the left hand side of the page. Then just scroll down to see where you boys are, unless you are a Chelsea or Barcelona supporter, then you don't need to scroll as you are likely to be very near the top all season!

The website claims to be "Covering 643 teams in 54 countries on a database of 70773 games"! No mean feat... Spanish teams tend to be placed quite high I think, possibly due to the fact that they tend to beat each other more regularly than Premiership teams do versus Chelsea, Arsenal, and Man Utd.

So next time your club is trying to sign Johnny Foreigner from a club you've never heard of, and he says "no thanks" (or even "yes please"!), you can check out where they rank in Eurofootsie and understand a little better why he does or doesn't want to play for your heroes.

Plenty of Charlton news already this week, and not just because we are top of the Premiership:

Darren Bent is in line for his first full England cap tonight, with Denmark as the hosts. Young Dazza thought it was a wind up when first told to report to the full squad rather than the Under 21's...and ignored the message! Sven was in a press conference yesterday answering a question from ex-Addick Garth Crooks about Dazza's strengths, and he was very positive. Hopefully, when Rooney and (yet another ex-Addick) Defoe are replaced in the second half, our Dazza will get a run out and his first full cap alongside Michael Owen. He could also come up against Dennis Rommerdahl, who looks to be in the Danish starting eleven. The last time I remember a Charlton player lining up against England was back in the 2002 World Cup, when Claus Jensen featured as a second half sub, also for Denmark, and hit the bar with Seamen beaten.

Darren Ambrose has had a fun week! Sent off on his Charlton debut on Saturday, he didn't get the "wind-up" message about the full England squad and played for the U21's last night. He then scored the only goal of the game in the last minute! He is suspended for the next three Charlton games, so can now have a long rest!

Mark Fish has retired. "Feeesh" joined Charlton in 2000 from Bolton, and was a mainstay in our defence during most of the next few seasons. Injuries started to take their toll however, and the South African looked in poor form last season, possibly due to the bad fall he'd had at home the previous April, which left him with a broken glass table and plenty of stitches in his very nasty chest wound! Mark, who lives, with his glamourous wife, just down the road from me in Chislehurst, will probably return to South Africa at some future stage, and could be set for a career in politics. I wish him all the best, and thank him for his service to Charlton over the last five seasons.

Tiger Wood - Rasa Ria Resort, Sabah, Borneo, 2004

I love orang-utans. We've been to Borneo twice and seen them up close a few times - even been touched by them. Unlike that TV advert where a women fulfils her dream by feeding a baby orang, you are not meant to touch them. The problem is that, unbelievably, many unsuspecting "westerners" buy orangs as pets; this is illegal in Malaysia! When they are found (and when they grow out of the baby stage, that happens quite quickly usually), they are taken to one of two sanctuaries in Borneo and slowly re-introduced to the wild. The larger sanctuary (Sepilok) has mostly older orangs and/or those, thankfully, not very domesticated. The smaller sanctuary is within hotel grounds on the other (west) side of Borneo, and has the orangs that have become quite tame, and are used to being around humans. They live in the forest, and are fed and shown to the guests a couple of times a day (if they can be bothered to turn up, the orangs, not the guests!). At all times you must not touch them, and if they want to stay, leave, pee or fight, then that's what must be allowed. They can touch you, but you cannot touch them.

The first time we went to this hotel (2001) we were lucky enough to be followed on a nature walk by Mr George (they are all given western names, hence Tiger Wood...); initially, he swang through the trees and undergrowth hoping for food, keeping his distance etc. When we reached the hill top lookout post, the rain was really bucketing down, and Mr George took refuge under the hill summit shelter with us. He was very calm, sweet in fact. On the walk down ten minutes or so later, he followed us along the path, as we marched in line. When he was more confident, he pushed me and others out of the way and started to make his way past us all toward the front of the troop. Amazing, being pushed aside by an orang! At the bottom, he was given a towel to dry himself off - which he did! Orangs get colds just like humans, and suffer quite badly; another reason we shouldn't get too close to them in the wild.

A year or so after our trip, Mr George, plus Miss Romaria, and the other two orangs we saw that trip were transferred successfully to Sepilok, and a new batch given to the hotel to look after.

Tiger was quite young when he arrived just prior to our arrival in 2004, but very sweet when we met him. There's more to this thread/story - I'll relate it and post other pictures when I get reminiscent again one day...

The times have been published! Pedro45, and his team-mates Dominic and Natalie completed their Third London Triathlon last weekend, in our best time yet.

We went round in 1 hour 31 minutes 20 seconds, beating our previous best time by about seven minutes. This put us in 96th place overall, amongst the 177 starting teams, which means we beat 81 others! Last year we only beat 40 teams, so this is a very good achievement and a great improvement.

Of the 177, Dom came 43rd in his 750m swim (13.53), Pedro45 came 94th (45.48) over 20km on the bike, and Nats came 128th (27.41) for her 5km run. Our transition times were very good for the first one (2.32 - 17th overall), and not quite so good for the second (1.27 - 112th), probably due to my cramp and our position on the rack!!!

If anybody wishes to donate, you can go here to add to our magnificent sponsorship total. So far, we have raised over £1400 for CHAS - the Children's Hospice Association Scotland; it would be great to take this years total over £1500, so if you haven't yet donated and you would like to, please click here right now and give what you can!

Charlton are still being linked with numerous players following Curbs comments that Charlton have two bids for Premiership players out with other clubs. Both possible transfers seem to be dependant on those clubs obtaining replacements first, so who could the deadly duo be? Names being bandied about include:

Lee Bowyer - Newcastle
Robbie Keane - Spurs
Robert Earnshaw - WBA
Marcus Bent - Everton
Fernando Morientes - Liverpool
Chris Sutton - Celtic
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink - Boro
Lumana Lua Lua - Pompey
A Chelsea "star"
A Real Madrid "star"

I claim to have no inside information, unlike other bloggers, on who may be in talks etc, but I doubt if many of the above are realistic, in terms of transfer fees, actual or loan availability, or wage demands. Earnshaw is a maybe, as the Baggies have just bought Ellington, and Bent (probably dependant on Everton staying in the Champions League - unlikely) and Lua Lua too could be afforded I believe. Morientes, Keane, and Hasselbaink are way out of our (wage) league in my opinion unfortunately. Sutton is an outside bet, but Bowyer seems set to stay on Tyneside now that Butt has left (and Jenas is suspended for three games). As for the Chelsea or Madrid players, I can't see that happening, can you? Talk about Madrilenos Graveson (recently) and Portillo (over the last couple of years) has failed to reveal anything concrete, so why would it happen now...? As for a Chelsea player, we are not allowed by Premiership rules to take anyone else on loan, so it would need a full transfer, and I doubt if there are many left in the Chelsea squad (who are any good) who would be on offer for the three million or so Charlton have left in the transfer kitty.

We will see what happens, and it would be good to get another couple into the squad to replace those set to leave, now or later in the season (Euell, JJ, Fish, Jeffers, etc), but don't be surprised if the money stays in Richard Murray's pocket till January!

If you've any concrete gossip, or think you know who may be our next signing, let me know please!

Yet more huge excitement at Old Trafford, where the Aussies batted all day to secure a draw in the Third test match with just one wicket intact.

Hero of the day was Ricky Ponting - nicknamed Punter after his obsessive gambling in his youth - who scored over 150 before being out with only four overs remaining.

England bowled well, and kept the pressure on all day, but just couldn't squeeze hard enough at the end.

Talking of punters, I always find it vaguely amusing when spectators who are shown on the big screen turn and point at the screen, no doubt saying "we're on tele!". Why not just wave at the camera? The editor always cuts away if people start to point or do silly thngs, so just wave or smile nicely, then you'll be on TV longer! I know, I've done it!

Another intense, amazing, closely fought test match, with the series still level at 1-1, with just two to play. England need to win the series to regain the Ashes, with their best chance probably coming at The Oval in mid-September; Trent Bridge (venue of the fourth test) usually produces a good batting track, and high scoring draws.

This has been a fabulous series so far, and if the last two tests come close to matching the previous three, this could be classed as one of the best Ashes series of all time. I just won't have many fingernails left by then though!

One more day to go of the third test match, and it could be a cracker! England have set the Aussies a world record fourth innings target of 423 to win, and the Aussies batted out ten overs in fading light this evening to finish on 24-0. They need another 399 to win, with England requiring ten wickets from the 98 overs available.

England batted fairly well once they'd removed the last three stubborn first innings batsmen (with Jones the Taff taking a test best 6 wickets); Trescothick, Strauss (first Ashes hundred), Bell and Jones the glove all hit the ball hard, and scored fairly quickly. McGrath cashed in with 5 wickets as the slog went on, but The Fat Record-Breaking One went wicketless on the sharply turning track.

The weather forecast for tomorrow is good, so can England take the advantage with just two tests left, or will the Aussies rekindle memories of Bradman and Headingley in 1948?

I think it will be a tough day, and Pedro45 will not be surprised to see a draw. The obvious scenario for Australia is to bat till tea, re-assess and, if they have a chance to go for it, take it from there. England will just be trying to apply pressure, and hope to pick up wickets consistently, while not conceding too many runs that may bring pressure later upon themselves.

Harmison and Hoggard (who both had to be removed from the attack today due to poor light) will be key in getting rid of the openers, and Flintoff, Jones, Giles, and as we saw briefly tonight, Vaughan will all be required to get stuck in and bowl good spells. The second new ball will be due around 5pm tomorrow, and that, possibly and hopefully, may prove to be the winner for our boys. The crowd could also prove crucial (it's been great to watch them taking the mickey of all the Aussie boundary fielders in the last two tests) and we need them to cheer England on at every stage.

The series has been the most intense I have ever witnessed, with very tough cricket from both sides. If England can win tomorrow, Vaughan's men may prove difficult to hold back in the series, and the Ashes will return once more to their rightful place. The Aussies have been troubled by internal strife (Ponting/Warne), injuries to key players (McGrath, Clarke, Lee), and poor form by previously consistent key players (Hayden, Gillespie, Gilchrist). All this wil be forgotten should the unlikely happen and they get the 399 more they need, and this is something that England cannot allow.

Pedro45 wishes he had a crystal ball, and could claim to know exactly what will happen; what I do know is that it will, should either side win, be a great day in Manchester or Melbourne depending.

I'm an avid reader of other Charlton blogs, and below are the links to my favourites - some are serious, some are funny, and some are, well, just Charlton...

All Quiet in the East Stand
Frankie Valley
Forever Charlton

Others to follow.

The official Charlton site is at
Charlton Official site

Enjoy the read and, oh, tell them who sent you!

It's great to see Darren Bent called up for the full England squad for Wednesday's match versus Denmark. I doubt if he will play, but just to be in the squad is wonderful news for Dazza and Charlton. His record in the U21's (8 goals in 12 starts) is excellent, and Sven has obviously got him earmarked as a future star. It's goes to show that Charlton have signed a quality striker, and if Darren keeps knocking in the goals his inclusion will be automatic next time and not due to a Fizzy Pop league forwards injury.

First game over of the new Premiership season, and Charlton sit proudly on top of the league!

As usual, Charlton won it the hard way; taking the lead through Darren Bent, they squandered a host of chances to put the game out of Sunderland's sight before half time. A scrambled equaliser following a good save by Anderson left the teams level at the interval, and then Darren Ambrose got himself sent off for a rash challenge. Ten-man Charlton then played at their best and a great free kick from Danny Murphy, and a last minute breakaway by Darren Bent proved decisive in the 3-1 win.

Smertin had a good game, and the central defence also looked reasonably solid, with big Herman winning most of the aerial challenges.

With three goals, and a goal difference of two, Charlton are top of the league tonight, albeit by alpha order, as West Ham also won 3-1.

With the midweek match versus Liverpool postponed, the next game at home against Wigan could see Charlton maintain their 100% start to the season. Other sides do have midweek games though, so (thankfully really) Charlton won't be top of the Premiership for long (maybe not even after tomorrow if Chelsea get the expected bucketful against Wigan...) and I'm glad about that as it can only add to unwanted pressure.

This was Charlton's first league win since beating Spurs way back in March.

The expectation will now be on Darren Bent to continue to score goals, and there is no reason why he should not as long as he stays fit.

I expect that some of the moaners who frequent other blogs/message boards will wonder why Bartlett was preferred to Jeffers on the bench, and others will question why Curbs brought Hughes on for Smertin in the last few minutes when Fortune may have been a more obvious defensive choice, but I don't care really. We won, won well, and we cannot start the season much better than that.

Roll on next Saturday, when the crowds will flock to see the real Athletics (Charlton and Wigan), rather than the second rate stuff currently on TV from Helsinki!

It's quite interesting, this blogging lark. You get to see who looks at your mutterings; well, not exactly see, but see where they have come from URL wise prior to their view of this blog.

As it says in the profile, most of this blog is about football and cricket, the loves of my life (don't tell the girlfriend!!!). I don't know if searches for Charlton or cricket point people at Shouting from the Hop, or if Pedro45 is the trigger?

I am very aware that my nom-de-plume - Pedro45 - is something a little more than significant over Stateside. For the benefit of UK readers, it seems that one Pedro Martinez, a baseball player of some repute, wears the number 45 jersey, and therefore Pedro45 is a common Google search. There is also a Pedro45 website, nothing to do with me, and lots of ramblings about the great man and his team.

I quite like baseball, being an watcher of most competitive sports. I went to see the Baltimore Orioles last year play against Tampa Bay. It was (rather surprisingly) the coldest game ever apparently, with a temperature of only 48 degrees, not great for a summer sport. We of course can beat that in the UK, with cricket games delayed by snow showers every fifty years or so (I think the mid-seventies was the last time...).

So who looks at this site? Mostly other bloggers, but I've yet to find out why they look? Is it due to an advert of some site saying go here now, it's new, and cool? Why would twenty odd bloggers look at my words in one hour, as they did the other day, otherwise?

Anyway,, you are all welcome. Let me know if I say anything you agree or disagree with, or if you think baseball is better than cricket...

Oh, and why for me Pedro45? Guesses please to the comments box...

Another fabulous days cricket from Old Trafford. England failed to push home their day one advantage and only added 103 runs to the overnight total, but then struck back taking seven Aussie wickets before stumps.

With Warne and Gillespie batting, and only Lee and McGrath to come, the big question is what to do if they cannot add another 35 runs to their total to save the follow on? Should England put them back in, or bat once more themselves in the hope of getting so far ahead that they cannot lose?

The weather will also play a big part in any decision, with the forecast for rain until mid-afternoon tomorrow.

In my opinion, if it rains as expected or longer, if we can get the last three wickets quickly, we should enforce the follow on. If the weather is good though, and we get them out early in the morning I would bat again.

This Aussie team are no mugs, even if they have been playing poorly (or below par) over the last couple of weeks. If they bat properly on this pitch, a second innings total in excess of 400 is well within them, and to see England bat against Warne on the last day chasing 200-odd could be painful. I would much rather we batted again, made 300 and then asked them to hit a record last innings score to win. If England didn't make the runs expected, the feeling would be that we could get them out too, as they had us.

Of course, Warne, Lee, Gillespie and McGrath are quite capable of getting a lot more than the 35 needed tomorrow to save the follow on - they did get over 100 for the last two wickets at Edgbaston! - and make the above all academic. I reckon this is what will happen. We then need our boys to bat sensibly and build the biggest lead they can, and try to ensure that Australia have to bat for the last four sessions minimum on the turning pitch in order to save the game. We'd also get use of two new balls if this was the scenario.

Finally, how many times have we seen England in good positions to win games ruined by the weather or something else. I really hope the forecast for cool dry weather all day on Sunday and Monday comes true...

Lots of words of wisdom spoken, written, and thought; it seems everyone has a similar prediction of how the Premiership season will go this year. It's interesting that nearly everyone - media, fans, public - feels much the same. All tip Chelsea to repeat thier title triumph it seems, with Man Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool chasing in vain. Then we will see Everton, Boro, Newcastle and Spurs hoping for a UEFA cup spot, followed by the mid table gang of nobodies and never will be's (Charlton, Bolton, Brummies, Villa, etc), with the promoted three plus Fulham, Albion and Pompey trying not to get relegated.

I would love to come up with a different view, but Pedro45 is a realist, and the Premiership is fairly predictable these days.

On a limb, I'll highlight a few possibilities -

1. Chelsea will go through the league season unbeaten.
2. Chelsea will concede less goals in a season than anyone has done before (I think the record is 16 or 18 - someone let me know please?)
3. Graeme Sounness will become the first Premiership managerial casualty of the season - he might not get sacked, but with a dodgy ticker, he might need bed rest come October!
4. El Hadj Diouf will spit at a fan...again!
5. Charlton will win a game featuring Mark Halsey or Graham Poll as ref!!!
6. Arsene Wenger will claim to have seen the reason one of his players got sent off.
7. Rio will be boo-ed.
8. Rooney will swear at a ref and be sent off.
9. Several England regulars will get long term injuries just after Xmas and will be forced to miss the World Cup.
10. Rangers and Celtic will once more attempt to join the English league through the back door (Why don't they enter a team in the lower pyramid and work there way through a la AFC Wimbledon, Aldershot etc?).

There, that's ten points to ponder; will Pedro45 call any right? Who knows? If you do, let me have a comment!

Saturday is the start of the Premiership football season in England, The preview of the Sunderland versus Charlton game is here.

I'll be listening on the radio hoping for a good performance and three points - Pedro45 predicts an away win to start the season off on the right foot.

But what do I know? Let me know if you agree...

Third test, first day, usual fireworks!

McGrath played, as did Lee, both passing fitness tests; England not surprisingly unchanged.

Strauss got a fast one on the helmet, then missed a Lee slower ball. Tres played well, carrying on from Egbaston, unluckily caught off the back of the bat.

Vaughan was back in the runs, and played some superb shots. Once past a hundred, he really opened up, but it was all a little too loose for my liking. For the previous ten minutes or so, he'd been trying to hit every ball for four, and eventually whacked a full toss down McGrath's throat in the deep. McGrath also ended Vaughan's first ton against Australia at Adelaide in 2002-3, a game I was at. The catch then, right in front of me, was much more spectacular, with McGrath diving full length by the boundary rope and clinging on to the ball. 166 today, 177 then. Every time the skipper gets past fifty versus the Aussies he's gone on to make big tons! Keep it going!!!

Bell was OK in defence, and it was nice to see him play Warne with some confidence.

Pieterson is funny; he really winds everyone up, being warned (sic) by Warne for backing up too far, trying to slog everyone, then deciding to play for stumps. That was, until the new ball and Lee's bouncer did him hooking. What a waste of a wicket. He must rememnber that this is a test match and play accordingly - both in time and responsibility. He does most things right, I just wish he'd dampen down the rushes of blood...

341-5 is OK on the first day; the pitch looks full of runs, and unless England get 500 plus, they could be trying to bat on the last day to save the game.

Oh, and the fat thatched one got his 600th wicket. I'm not a fan of Shane but it is a remarkable achievement for any cricketer to get that many. I suppose someone will get close in time, (remembering that until the 1970's anything over 250 wickets was regarded as a huge haul) but he's the first, and he's still going. Will he have any hair left when he gets to 700? None of his own anyway!

Only a few days now till the start of the 2005-6 Premiership season, and Pedro45 has decided to give a run down on the teams to watch or not, as the case may be...

Charlton
Lots of squad signings, and it will be fun finding out how they fit together. Bent will need to score goals and also get used to the 4-5-1 formation Curbs is quite obviously going to start away games with. The defence will be more solid if all fit and available; Sorondo needs to stay on the pitch (I think he got sent off three times last year playing for some Croydon team); the wide men, whether it be Rommerdahl, Thomas, Ambrose, or Sam neeed to score and make more goals than previously; the midfield needs to tackle, and Smertin is key here. A good season would be 6th-8th, a bad season anywhere below 12th.

Chelsea
They will be champions again, simply because nobody else is good enough to beat them consistently. Many don't like Drogba, but I saw him play for Marseille, and he'll get well over 20 goals this year if he stays fit. Lamps will score another bundle, as will Duff, Robben, and Wright-Philips if he gets on the pitch enough. I think they will be Champions of Europe too...

Man Utd
Not good enough all round. Breakthrough year for Darren Fletcher who seems to get better and better; goals a plenty for Ruud and Rooney, but others are getting on, and there may not be much (or enough) left in the tank for Keane, Scholes, Giggs, etc. Will be better in defence, if Rio stays and gets used to earplugs, and Van Der Sar will provide continuity in goal, if not fluffing his kicks.

Arsenal
Also not good enough to get close to Chelsea. Viera-less, younger midfielders will come through to be stars - Fabregas and (the once Charlton-bound) Flamini - and Pires and Ljundberg will score loads more goals, but...they just aren't in the same league as those Blues...apart from Henry. Thank god he hasn't taken the rouble yet; it's about time he got injured though...

Spurs
A better season, but internal strife may rear it's head when they have the odd defeat. Solid in midfield, I'm not a fan of Davids, it's still upfront where they excite. If they keep hold of Defoe, Keane, and Kanoute, with Mido in reserve, they are capable of scoring lots, in any match! Defensively suspect; is Ledley King really any good? They do have a good goalie though...

Everton
In trouble. Why do clubs/teams that have money problems go out and spend it all once the get the sniff of success? Everton have outlayed over £15m recently, yet will almost certainly not get any of the Champions league TV money unless they overturn Villareal (third in La Liga last year) in the away leg, which is unlikely. Will be behind Liverpool this season!

Liverpool
Champions of Europe, but not good enough week in week out. They do have (in my opinion) the best manager in the country, and he is getting there. Still a couple of years away from challenging Chelsea, will probably finish fourth. Look out for Sissoroko (I think that's how you spell it?), but don't expect to see much of the lanky Crouch, who I predict will be injured most of the season.

Down the bottom
Sunderland, Wigan and West Ham all have it all to do to stay up. All are capable of winning the odd game against some premier league teams (Fulham, Blackburn, Pompey, Charlton, WBA, etc) but not enough to allow breathing space. Wigan will be toughest to beat but they probably won't win enough - they have a good manager, and he kept Bradford up for a year! I think one will survive, and it could be any of them, as other teams are due a rubbish season. Fulham look dodgy, as do Pompey, and both have lost their best players. Albion should be OK if they carry on from last year.

In the middle
Villa, Brummies, Boro, Bolton, Newcastle, Massives, and will join Charlton in the middle of the bunch; good days and bad days throughout the season predicted. Not quite good enough to step up, or bad enough to get worried.

Cups
With Chelsea nearly unbeatable, only a tough Champions league campaign will mean there reserves getting a game, in which case (and hope) a bit of silverwear for Man Utd (League cup) and Arsenal (FA), with Boro and Liverpool the losing finalists.

Well that's it, publish and be damned. My predictions on this site so far have been miles off, so don't rush down the bookies after reading this.

Comments welcome!

I've just got home after watching Lashings Cricket Club bat against the local Bromley team. Richie Richardson hit 120 not out; Jimmy Adams got 77 and Mark Richardson hit 20-odd not out. In total, Lashings got 225 in their 30 overs.

It was meant to be a 40-over game but didn't start on time for some reason. Adams was dropped on 1 (at point - difficult) and 2 (hooking to fine leg - easy), and then just stroked the ball around without looking very impressive, until giving himself out caught behind sweeping. Richie had less strike but once in, started to hit the ball very hard. He hit at least six sixes; three over the trees at the bottom of the ground, one almost into the tennis courts, one into the marquee, and one (amazingly) into the (Lashings) players area on the pavillion steps - it was dropped I think and Tufnell (who was providing a running commentary on the match) complained of a spilt pint!

I'm not sure exactly who was in the Lashings team - organisation was not very high on the Bromley CC agenda unfortunately - but adverts claimed Joel Garner, Courtney Walsh, and Mark Waugh, none of whom I saw. I also think Darren Ganga was playing...

A nice start to the day, it then clouded over and I got a little bored, so came home. On the way out through the car park, it was fun to spot the players cars; an Aston Martin Vantage; Merc SL500, Porsche - all with personalised number plates...

Oh to be an ex-test cricketer!

What a weekend of sport!

The test was superb over the first couple of days, which I watched on TV. I had to miss Saturday's play as I was taking part in the London Triathlon. It's not just the competing that takes up time; you have to (in my case) pick up the hire bike, register at the venue, then arrive back in time for the competition, have a few celebratory beers, then make your way home. I left to pick the bike up at 9.15am and we back home after the triathlon at 9.15pm - a long day!

Our race went according to plan - Dom swam well, starting wide to avoid being bumped; I had a fairly fast smooth ride without problem apart from oncoming cramp toward the end; and Nats ran as best she could on a hangover and two hours kip! Official times are out tomorrow, but hopefully our time of about 92 minutes made it into the top 100.

I'd been able to see some cricket at lunchtime round Dom's house; I turned on the TV and couldn't believe it that Simon Jones was batting! Oh dear! Luckily, I then watched Freddie biff the Aussies around some and we left just before the final wicket went down. Rachel told me later that she'd heard an Aussie score of 48 - 0, but that was the last I heard till we got in that night....170-8! Wow, the boys really got stuck in, and the crowd (as I saw from highlights) were awesome!

Sunday was the day we simply rolled them over, but it didn't happen - on and on they batted. Freddie bowled lots of no-balls; Harmy was too leg side; Giles added control but could always be whipped or slogged away for four. Warney rolled his leg back onto the stumps in a weird way, but still we couldn't get Kasper or Lee out - Jones spilling a tough third man chance. 40, 30, 20, 10, then just one hit away from defeat! The Aussies then tried to get them in singles, but luckily Harmy got a lifter to glove Kasper and Jones tumbled forward to take the catch - uproar! And many sighs of relief I can tell you...

The second closest test match win ever!

Roll on Thursday's third test at Old Trafford...

The bad thing about doing the triathlon today is that I'll miss watching the test on TV - let's hope the boys can bat sensibly and set the Aussies a decent enough target and draw level in the series. I reckon we need to be 400 in front to be sure of a win - can we get another 275? Pedro45 says yes!

Today's the big day. All the training is done, and I'm fit and well. Last minute scares for our swimmer who is unwell but will do his best.

I'm looking to improve greatly on the last two years' times (aiming at 45 minutes for my cycling leg - down from 54m), but doubt if my fellow "athletes" will make too much impression on their own PB's. Overall the team time should drop greatly. If we do this, we should be somewhere about 100th or just inside (providing there are 191 teams in total).

We have made over £1100 for our charity - CHAS - and I know that more sponsorship is to come. Further donations greatly appreciated at
http//:www.justforgiving.com/limpits

Now I just have to remember not to fall off...

Another Thursday, another cricket match against the Aussies.

First off, let's hope the all is well in London (and everywhere) today - twice recently my Thursday morning cricket TV viewing has been compromised by the mindless maniacs making bomb attacks on London. I really don't want to be watching News24, Skynews, and/or ITV news today to find out what attrocities have been commited once more.

Brummie update - toss crucial today; give it the double flick Vaughny! Ponts always calls heads, so put it on the thumb with the tail upside OK?!? Once you win it, put them in! Only way to win on that pitch it seems. Don't worry about Warney bowling on it last - if the game only goes three or four days then it won't spin at all anyway. Oh, and keep Gilo in and Tremlett warming the bench. We shouldn't need five seamers unless one of them isn't good enough, and we know they are!

If we lose the toss, plan something else for Sunday as I reckon we'll have been stuffed by then.

Charlton posted their first victory on home soil since March last night - five long months of waiting! Several of the summer signings played, and a healthy crowd enjoyed the summer evening. The couple of hundred Dutch fans seemed to have been drinking most of the day, but the only trouble they caused was by their numbers and the fact that the away end was not open. Stewards were seen frantically handing out new block tickets to the Cloggers in an effort to keep them together in one corner of the West stand, and this arrangement was quite successful. Once they had prised themselves away from the bar - just after half time!- their noise created a decent atmosphere and made the North stand upper burst into life briefly.

The other thing that made the North stand (and the whole ground) noisy were the two goals charlton scored. The first an own goal by Feyonoord 's goalie - hit on the back after Darren Bent's curled shot came back off the woodwork following a sublime pass from Rommerdahl - and the second a fine glancing header at the near post by Bent.

Overall, Pedro45's prediction that the Dutch team would be better prepared was wrong (no surprise there then!); Charlton were quick out of the blocks and created quite a few chances in the early stages. Bent put three headers over the bar; Dennis and Smertin put shots way up into the empty south stand; Murphy and Hughes curled shots just too high and wide. The half ended with The Addicks running out of ideas it seemed, and Feyonoord had a couple of half-chances which they wasted.

The goals came quite early in the second half and, after that, charlton never looked in too much trouble until near the very end when it didn't matter anymore.

Anderson made one good diving save from a cross but wasn't troubled at any other time; Young was as per usual; Powell was under pressure a little but experience proved it's worth; Herman and Perry linked well and took no prisoners (!); Smertin ran the whole show allowing Murphy, Hughes and Ambrose to find holes in the midfield and move forward; Dennis was Dennis; and Bent did little in build up but ran the corridors and attacked the ball in the penalty area.

Subs Thomas and Sam showboated (too much in Thomas's case, and he'll have bruises to show for it); Fuller got stuck in, and Jeffers ran around a little.

A good performance which, if repeated on Saturday, could be the lead up to a good season.

Spotted in the crowd were Martin Jol - the Spurs manager - with an unrecognised player, and Tony Adams who I believe is scouting for a premiership team these days (tell Pedro45 who if you know!).

Tonight is going to be my first football match of a new season - Charlton's home friendly with Feyenoord of Holland. Lots of excitement in the Pedro45 household as the scarf gets an airing for the first time in three months - since "we sent the Palace down" in fact, ha ha!

Which team will Curbs put out - he's been favouring playing most of the team for most of the ninety minutes this pre-season I've seen, so it's fair to assume that whoever plays tonight (and on Saturday versus AEK Athens) could be amongst those lining up in the Premiership season opener against Sunderland.

It'll be good to see the new signings - or at least some of them - Darren's Bent and Ambrose, Alexie Smertin, and Johnny (or is that Ronnie?) Spector. I doubt if Youga, or Sorondo will feature. And a big welcome back for Chris Powell, who may play, but even if he doesn't is bound to light up at least the touchline with his smile.

Two players definitely not going to be playing are Jason Euell and Dean Kiely, who are both injured. Deano was in a battle for the goalies jersey this season, and many thought that Stephan Anderson would pip the great one for the Sunderland match. Now we know who will be in green (or yellow and blue) strip on the 13th. Broken fingers take about six weeks to heal I'm reliably informed; by then, we will either welcome Deano straight back into the team, or spend all season watching him run up and down the touchline trying to keep warm. Our Jason was on the verge of a transfer - Brummies, Boro, and Pompey all interested according to sources not his agent Tony Finnegan - but that now seems unlikely due to his dislocated shoulder sustained on Tuesday night. Remembering back to Bryan Robson's most famous wound, this one should take around four weeks to heal; can we get him fit by the close of the transfer window - we shall see! This injury has probably cost the club a few hundred grand already, as I doubt we'll get the going price of £2.5million now for him (if we ever could...).

Anyway, prediction time - Pedro45 thinks it will be tough tonight, as the Dutch men have lots of caps between them. They've also been playing well in pre-season tournaments (and not conceding goals), and may be better prepared for the match. I predict a 1-2 defeat for our boys I'm afraid, but I'm usually wrong so there!

Roll on 8pm!