Month: November 2011
Showered with Speedway Prose!
Title- Concrete for Breakfast
Published 2008.
Author- Jeff Scott
Pages- 303
Price- 20 pounds.
http://www.methanolpress.com/about/concrete-for-breakfast/
I rate this book – 4/5
Rating 5- Classic, one of my fav books of all time, to be read more than once.
Rating 4- Great read, entertaining and compelling throughout.
Rating 3- Good read, not quite a ‘can’t put down’ but good none the less.
Rating 2- A little dull, hard to get through, couldn’t recommend.
Rating 1- Awful, couldn’t finish it, lost interest.
3rd in the Jeff Scott’s speedway travelogue trilogy’s following on from ‘Showered in Shale’ and ‘Shifting Shale’.
Concrete for Breakfast concentrates on the 2007 domestic speedway season in the UK. Far and away the best of the 3 he has written so far, with much more concise and snappy chapters.
From Weymouth to Workington and Edinburgh to the Isle of Wight in each chapter Jeff charts a different visit to a speedway meeting at the various tracks around the UK. Jeff generally arrives early at the track, meets the promoter, sometimes team manager, sometimes the riders, he exchanges gossip, pleasantries, then sets up his pitch, his little table with his books which in most cases seemto be largely ignored.
His listens to all the politics and inter club rivalries from the club officials, the opinionated fans, and regurgitates the dialogue in amusing fashion, whilst going onto describe the meeting in detail that he views from his pitch.
As a speedway fan myself who also ‘ticked’ the tracks he has visited, the book really encourages me to wander around them again. It highlights the great things about the sport, the real feeling that the fans have for the riders, the danger of the sport, the sheer thrill of 4 bikes racing side by side at full throttle without brakes!
It also highlights the run down stadiums, the terrible food available, the tacky gear sold in the track shops and in some cases ignorant fans and the overbearing hype that the Sky TV coverage gives, much as any sort of coverage is welcomed!
Having completed this book, It has inspired me to look forward to getting out and seeing some shale action in 2012.
I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the sport, travelling, or if you are just trying to understand a sport that still very much part of the working class culture, much as the mass media seem to want to brush it under the carpet and pretend it
doesn’t exist.
Monkey’s gone to heaven!
Where – Monkey Forest
When – 2 visits so far, August and October 2011.
Location –
- Trentham Estate – Southern entrance
- Stone Road
- Trentham
- Staffordshire
- ST4 8AY
- http://www.trentham-monkey-forest.com/information.php?id_cat=1
Admission – Adults: £7.00 each
Oaps/students £6.50 each
Children (from 3 to 14 years old): £5.00 each
Disabled/carers (no restriction on numbers) £4.50 each
Under 3 years old Free of charge
My Review >
We only vaguely became aware of Monkey Forest last year, and had it on our agenda for a while before we finally got there for the 1st time in August this year.
As far as the UK is concerned this is a unique set-up. In an enclosed forested park, 140 Barbary macaques in 2 separate troops, are able to live a pretty natural life.
Once in the park there are no fences to keep the monkeys away from the visiting humans, and they roam at will around your feet going about their daily business, pretty much ignoring the humanity!
Like ourselves, they play, eat, laze, fight all within touching distance (although touching not allowed diseases etc). importantly neither is feeding allowed by visitors, in fact it is strongly discouraged. The reason is so that the macaques can forage for the regular scatter feeds they are given, so simulating what they would do in the wild. Mostly for that reason they have no expectation of food from the visitors, so take little notice. Unlike on the rock in Gibraltar, where they have learned that humans carry food in their bags and are known to go into people’s bags and steal!
Barbary macaques, as far as primates go are one of the more laid back types of monkey, and although they have troop wars, as they did briefly during our October visit, they do not have the aggression of some other primates, and a visit to the park is an absolute joy. We particularly enjoyed watching some of the younger members of the troop swinging and playing in the trees, and also watching the young being carried on the back of older troop members.
We found 2 older macaques sitting side by side, obviously friends, in a very laid back human style with legs stretched out in front of them, watching the world go by, we still giggle about seeing this now:)
As far as I understand, the goal at Monkey Forest and her sister parks in Europe is to reintroduce the monkeys safely back into their natural environment in Morocco, whilst encouraging new born whilst in captivity.
We spent about 60-90 mins walking round the park on each visit, although you could easily stay longer. And as there is a cafe, so you could stop for lunch, and go back to the forest after, in our opinion it is 7 pounds very well spent, and the macaques are lovely!
Hope you enjoy the photos…..Shaun
Uncle Bryn comes to town!
Date- November 3rd
Venue – Reading Concert Hall/Town Hall.
Who- Rob Brydon
Tour Title – Small man in a book tour
When it comes to gigs, we admit we don’t make much of an effort these days, neither of us like to stand up for too long, and many music gigs involve the audience standing regardless of whether you are allocated a seat or not, I guess it’s an age thing! So, as a consequence we tend to stay fairly local, Reading midweek, and Berks/Hants/West London/Oxfordshire at weekends.
When we heard Rob Brydon was coming to town we were both keen, as big fans of ‘Gavin and Stacey’ and also the excellent ‘The Trip’.
The audience that had congregated in the concert hall was of very mixed ages from teenagers up to OAPs, and probably drawn from different areas and aspects of his TV career.
What we hadn’t realised was the actual format the show would take. Which was an introduction from a young lady from BBC Berkshire who then proceeded to interview Rob loosely around the contents of his new book/biography. Rob seemed to enjoy this format, and gave him freedom to quote passages from his book as well as engage us in amusing stories, and voices! from his life and career. His ‘small man in a box’ routine has to be seen to be believed.
He touched on his happy upbringing in South Wales, his long slog to make it as an actor/comedian, and his big breakthrough in Gavin and Stacey as Uncle Bryn, as well as his seemingly close friendship with Steve Coogan, of which ‘The Trip’ was born.
Rob is difficult to categorize, as his early career was mostly spent as a voice over in TV adverts, he is a comedian, mimic and undoubtedly a pretty decent comedy actor, all these facets come to the fore to amuse in his stage performance. His anecdote about meeting Catherine Zeta Jones for the 1st time again since childhood at a film ceremony created some pretty loud guffaws amongst the audience.
The 2nd half of the show carried on in the same manner, except he allowed the floor to be opened up for audience questions, and is usual these Q’s ranged from the blind to the ridiculous. He asked the audience for a common Reading ‘saying’ or phrase, some wag barked out;
” I can’t read and I can’t write” where do you come from then asked Rob? “Reading” being the reply! A thoroughly enjoyable and amusing evening, and his book sales were doing a brisk trade in the foyer when we left 🙂
hopticklist 
About me and this blog site
Posted on Updated on
I guess I wanted to write a brief introduction about this blog page. The reason I started it was in the main to keep some sort of record of the places I’ve been, pubs I’ve visited etc.
The older I get and the more I travel round ‘adding’ to my lists, the more likely I am to forget when, who, what , detail etc. So I’m hoping in a couple of years time it’ll be fun to look back and read some of the blogs. The blog page is as much ‘for me’ as anyone else.
Originally the plan was to just keep a blog site listing visits to new football grounds, of which I try to achieve close to 50 or so a season, new grounds that is. But then thought, hey, why not extend to general blogs of things that interest me, that keep the pulse going and give me reason to get out of bed in the morning!
I don’t intend to write about everything, mostly new ticks/experiences, so even though I still have a ST at Crystal Palace FC, and have been going there since 1970, I don’t intend to write too often on them, maybe perhaps the odd game here and there.
What I am hoping, that there will be something for everyone, although I know I’m obsessional, I also have other mainstream interests, hopefully you will see something that’ll amuse/entertain or interest you.
Cheers, Shaun, November 2011.
My Categories –
Football.
My Dad was born in Croydon in 1929, and is a lifelong Crystal Palace fan. Apparently I’m told I could kick a football before I could walk, so it’s no great suprise that I was pretty keen to attend a live match as soon as I was old enough.
I’m 99.9% certain the 1st game ‘live’ game was in the old 1st Division v Derby County, 0-0, in Dec 1970, I would have been 8 that Dec, and it’s possible my Dad would have said he wouldn’t take me until I was old enough to sit still!
Either way by 1975, now in Div Three! I was regularly attending Selhurst Park, and by 1977-78 I had my 1st season ticket.
In April 74′, Fulham, I attended my 1st ‘away’ game, 3-1 win:), followed by some other local away games, including Aug 74, at Brighton, L 0-1, a very lively atmosphere, and start of rivalry between the 2 clubs.
And round about this time, in the mid 70s my love of non league football began after a visit to my local club Epsom and Ewell for an FA Vase SF, won 2-1 against Stamford (Lincs), I also made my 1st visit to the old Wembley for the Final, 1-2 defeat v Hoddesdon Town.
After travelling extensively with Palace Circa 1978-84, I realised I’d ‘ticked’ over half of the 92 grounds, and inspired by the fantastic book ‘The Football Grounds of England and Wales’ – author Simon Inglis, and with under 24 railcard in my hand I started to tick off the remaining grounds required for games not involving Palace, and found I thoroughly enjoyed watching games and not willing one team to win!
On 24th April 1993 I completed the ’92’ for the 1st time at Glanford Park/Scunthorpe United, v Barnet.
And have subsequently re-completed the 92 as and when new grounds are added.
During the 80s I also travelled around the Senior southern non leagues, Isthmian/Southern/Conference and local leagues like Sussex County, Combined Counties and Spartan Leagues ticking off clubs witin a 75 mile or so radius.
As a ground hopper, now with close to 800 grounds visited ‘ticked’ and collected I find I re-define the leagues and clubs I need to collect every season, and my current goal is to visit every ground in the English league pyramid from Steps 1 (Premiership> to Step 8 (NL Step4- Isthmian/Southern and Northern Prem). As well as finish the Scottish (4 to do) and Welsh Prem (3).
Once I’ve completed these, and if health and finances still allow I’d like to finish all the Step 9 regional feeder leagues.
It’s a passion, and it doesn’t wane!
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