The week started on Sunday with a rendez-vous at La Terasse near Merode metro station. I had a language exchange with a student I had a few weeks before. A ballerina. We talked in English for thirty minutes and French for the next thirty. I was very hungover and thought at one point that I might pass out, but luckily they make these fruit smoothies there and I perked right up.
Monday is all action from the moment I wake up. Luckily the last lesson is just a conversation table. We talked about HIV/AIDS as the 1st of December was World Aids Day. Did you know that 33.4 million people worldwide have HIV? Two thirds of live in Sub-Saharan Africa. Trying to get the French speakers to correctly pronounce 'Sub-Saharan' was quite funny.
Tuesday was quite easy. Just one lesson with a group of job-seekers. Four ladies. They're all very nice and the two and a half hours fly by. Afterwards I went to the gym. It's good for the body, but also for my French, because I can watch the TV while I jog. In the evening there's a show on the Flemish channel called 'Blokken', or something like that. I've never listened to it because I don't speak Flemish and also it looks utterly pointless. Two people play Tetris against each other in a 80s disco-style studio and now and then the host interrupts them, presumably to ask trivia questions. The gym can be an intensely lonely place when you work out alone, full as it is of half-crazed, narcissistic show-offs. For some reason the studio is on plain view to all the men in the weights area, so between sets one can't help but steal glances at the flabby women gyrating on a step block.
Wednesday is the same as Monday, though this time we have football training at our home ground. There weren't many people there, and of those that were the gap in quality was quite large. Still, we worked hard. A cold, drizzly night in December separates the men from the boys.
Thursday I had a private lesson at 8am with a Belgian lawyer, then in the afternoon a private lesson at the home of a Belgian doctor. She's the lowest level I've ever taught. We spent one hour reviewing the days of the week. Francophones always confuse Tuesday and Thursday, and can't really pronounce either. I shouldn't laugh, because there are words in French that I'm hopeless with. After the lesson I had another exchange in Stockel with another student. I've been speaking French a lot more in the last month.
Friday is all about Paris. Four of us are off to the city of lights to partake in some gaelic revelry. Should be great. I just hope the Parisians can cope with my accent.
Friday, 11 December 2009
Monday, 7 December 2009
FC Irlande - Matchday 14
Laeken Tennis 0 – 5 FC Irlande
Until the first goal went in near the end of the first half this match was not as easy as the score line suggests. Despite the barrage of goals we’ve scored against Laeken these past two matches they are actually a good side, and in this match they created several good chances. Only bad finishing and some inspired goalkeeping from John preserved the clean sheet.
While the new astro turf made the playing surface infinitely better than the last time we played at their ground, it was still the same size – small. There was barely a metre between the edge of the 18-yard box and the touchline. For the first 20 minutes or so this made it very difficult to play. Francis and Danny had very little room to operate on the flanks, and chances for Sigve and I were rare indeed.
The breakthrough came when their attempted clearance fell to Enda on the right. He chipped in a nice pass as they pushed out, and David cleverly timed his run to beat them. He rounded the keeper and was mown down. Fred tucked away the resulting penalty. 1-0.
We put ourselves firmly in control when I latched onto a pass from midfield from Charles and slotted past the keeper. 2-0 at halftime.
Laeken continued to play well, particularly in midfield, and their tricky right-winger caused our defense some problems. In the second half he went on a slalom run, beating three of us in the process, and only a brave stop from John – he dislocated and then unceremoniously relocated his finger – kept the ball out.
We put the game beyond doubt when a pass from David deflected fortuitously into my path. As the keeper came out I lobbed it over him. 3-0.
By now our fitness and their lack of it were beginning to make the match more open. The chances were now coming thick and fast. I put one on a plate for Sigve and Kieran, who were denied by a wayward finish and a great save respectively. Francis spurned a couple of good openings, and I should have done better with a one-on-one situation. Fred hit the post with a penalty after Francis had been dramatically upended. With the score at 4-0 thanks to Sigve, Fred then did something totally out of character and got a second yellow for talking back to the ref (his first was for the same offence, which again we all found surprising).
Despite the set back there was still time for Sigve to finish well with his left foot for his second. 5-0 it finished.
It was very difficult to choose two players for man of the match; such was the number of good performances. Charles and Yann bossed the midfield, with the latter putting a number of good passes in for me. Kieran went from left back to left wing and then back to left back, and was unlucky not to get on the score sheet. Rory (an anglicised spelling of his Irish name) came on and did a good in defense. All in all a very good day out that puts us in a great position going into our final match of the year against Goalois.
FC Irlande: John, Enda, Fred, Kieran, Danny (Rory), Yann, David, Francis, Charles, Sigve, Ross
Goals: Sigve (2), Ross (2), Fred (pen)
Man of the match: John – made several great saves and distributed quickly and effectively, especially when it came to buying a round of beers.
Until the first goal went in near the end of the first half this match was not as easy as the score line suggests. Despite the barrage of goals we’ve scored against Laeken these past two matches they are actually a good side, and in this match they created several good chances. Only bad finishing and some inspired goalkeeping from John preserved the clean sheet.
While the new astro turf made the playing surface infinitely better than the last time we played at their ground, it was still the same size – small. There was barely a metre between the edge of the 18-yard box and the touchline. For the first 20 minutes or so this made it very difficult to play. Francis and Danny had very little room to operate on the flanks, and chances for Sigve and I were rare indeed.
The breakthrough came when their attempted clearance fell to Enda on the right. He chipped in a nice pass as they pushed out, and David cleverly timed his run to beat them. He rounded the keeper and was mown down. Fred tucked away the resulting penalty. 1-0.
We put ourselves firmly in control when I latched onto a pass from midfield from Charles and slotted past the keeper. 2-0 at halftime.
Laeken continued to play well, particularly in midfield, and their tricky right-winger caused our defense some problems. In the second half he went on a slalom run, beating three of us in the process, and only a brave stop from John – he dislocated and then unceremoniously relocated his finger – kept the ball out.
We put the game beyond doubt when a pass from David deflected fortuitously into my path. As the keeper came out I lobbed it over him. 3-0.
By now our fitness and their lack of it were beginning to make the match more open. The chances were now coming thick and fast. I put one on a plate for Sigve and Kieran, who were denied by a wayward finish and a great save respectively. Francis spurned a couple of good openings, and I should have done better with a one-on-one situation. Fred hit the post with a penalty after Francis had been dramatically upended. With the score at 4-0 thanks to Sigve, Fred then did something totally out of character and got a second yellow for talking back to the ref (his first was for the same offence, which again we all found surprising).
Despite the set back there was still time for Sigve to finish well with his left foot for his second. 5-0 it finished.
It was very difficult to choose two players for man of the match; such was the number of good performances. Charles and Yann bossed the midfield, with the latter putting a number of good passes in for me. Kieran went from left back to left wing and then back to left back, and was unlucky not to get on the score sheet. Rory (an anglicised spelling of his Irish name) came on and did a good in defense. All in all a very good day out that puts us in a great position going into our final match of the year against Goalois.
FC Irlande: John, Enda, Fred, Kieran, Danny (Rory), Yann, David, Francis, Charles, Sigve, Ross
Goals: Sigve (2), Ross (2), Fred (pen)
Man of the match: John – made several great saves and distributed quickly and effectively, especially when it came to buying a round of beers.
Friday, 4 December 2009
You're not that busy
Very small thing that I'd like to mock. Here's an example. It's an email from a friend of mine:
Doing well. I should be there on Wednesday. See you then.
A
For privacy sake, I'll change two letters of this friend's first name and call him Alan. Alan is a busy man with a demanding job, and it's understandable that he'd want to save a bit of time, but is he so busy that he can't put the remaining THREE letters of his first name? Perhaps he is, but I doubt it.
He's not alone, though. Everyone's doing it. It's another social trend that I find absolutely baffling. At least put your initials. That's just one more letter.
Doing well. I should be there on Wednesday. See you then.
A
For privacy sake, I'll change two letters of this friend's first name and call him Alan. Alan is a busy man with a demanding job, and it's understandable that he'd want to save a bit of time, but is he so busy that he can't put the remaining THREE letters of his first name? Perhaps he is, but I doubt it.
He's not alone, though. Everyone's doing it. It's another social trend that I find absolutely baffling. At least put your initials. That's just one more letter.
Minaret ban in Switzerland
A weird thing happened in Switzerland this week. 57% of them voted in favour of banning the construction of minarets. Minarets are the spires of mosques where, in Islamic countries and certain parts of London, a special man calls the faithful to prayer (if I may go off on a tangent here... it seems part of that needs to change. Either stop calling them the "faithful" or stop calling them to prayer, because if they were faithful surely they would go to prayer without needing to be called to it).
The reason this is strange is that it's the image of Islam and, in the views of Swiss voters, Islamisation that has been banned. Mosques and other places are still allowed for the 400, 000 Muslims living in Switzerland. Their view seems to be that if Islamisation is going to happen we don't want to be reminded of it. Why not do what you obviously want to do and ban Mosques all together?
The reason this is strange is that it's the image of Islam and, in the views of Swiss voters, Islamisation that has been banned. Mosques and other places are still allowed for the 400, 000 Muslims living in Switzerland. Their view seems to be that if Islamisation is going to happen we don't want to be reminded of it. Why not do what you obviously want to do and ban Mosques all together?
FC Irlande - Matchday 13
FC Irlande 7 - 1 Laeken Tennis
This was an emphatic and enjoyable win that moved us up to fourth place. Laeken actually had some good players in midfield, but their defense was weak and easily pillaged by Charles and I.
Unlike last week the weather was very autumnal, the kind I love: damp, grey and a little bit chilly. Charles got the ball rolling early on by driving to the byeline and cutting back for me to slot home. Shortly after that I was pushed in the box as a I went to receive a throw. Fred cooly converted the resulting penalty. 2-0
Laeken briefly threatened with a goal from a set piece that we didn't defend very well. John had little chance, and really little else to do all afternoon apart from pick that shot out of the net. 2-1.
Our midfield trio of Mark, Yann and David were combining well and giving Charles and I plenty of service. Charles was the provider again as he played me in for my second goal. 3-1 at halftime.
In the second half our fitness and their lack of fighting spirit made the game a real walk in the park, and it quickly became a case of how many we could get. Charles yet again was the provider for my hat-trick goal, drilling the ball across the box and leaving me with a simple tap-in. 4-1.
Then came a moment of FC Irlande history. Alec scored a goal... for us. David whipped in a great corner that went right across the six-yard box, and there was our erstwhile captain to gleefully bundle the ball home from three yards. They all count. 5-1.
I got my fourth and best of the afternoon soon after, latching onto yet another pass from Charles, beating one man and firing past their substitute keeper. 6-1.
Laeken were utterly demoralised, and the gaps between midfield and defense - and within the defense itself - were immense. Cryans fancied his luck and was unlucky a couple of times not to get on the scoresheet. Iwan also missed a sitter, and even Enda had a pop... from 40 yards. Luckily there is a 35-metre fence behind the goal.
For the final goal the roles were reversed, and I laid one on a plate for Charles to smash home. 7-1 it finished. It was a fantastic performance from front to back. Our defense was solid and alert all afternoon, and our midfield helped create one chance after another.
FC Irlande: John, Enda, Fred, Alec, Mark, Yann, Kieran (James), Iwan, David, Charles, Ross
Goals: Ross (4), Alec, Charles, Fred (pen)
Man of the match: Charles and Ross - The French and English haven't combined this well since the eurotunnel.
This was an emphatic and enjoyable win that moved us up to fourth place. Laeken actually had some good players in midfield, but their defense was weak and easily pillaged by Charles and I.
Unlike last week the weather was very autumnal, the kind I love: damp, grey and a little bit chilly. Charles got the ball rolling early on by driving to the byeline and cutting back for me to slot home. Shortly after that I was pushed in the box as a I went to receive a throw. Fred cooly converted the resulting penalty. 2-0
Laeken briefly threatened with a goal from a set piece that we didn't defend very well. John had little chance, and really little else to do all afternoon apart from pick that shot out of the net. 2-1.
Our midfield trio of Mark, Yann and David were combining well and giving Charles and I plenty of service. Charles was the provider again as he played me in for my second goal. 3-1 at halftime.
In the second half our fitness and their lack of fighting spirit made the game a real walk in the park, and it quickly became a case of how many we could get. Charles yet again was the provider for my hat-trick goal, drilling the ball across the box and leaving me with a simple tap-in. 4-1.
Then came a moment of FC Irlande history. Alec scored a goal... for us. David whipped in a great corner that went right across the six-yard box, and there was our erstwhile captain to gleefully bundle the ball home from three yards. They all count. 5-1.
I got my fourth and best of the afternoon soon after, latching onto yet another pass from Charles, beating one man and firing past their substitute keeper. 6-1.
Laeken were utterly demoralised, and the gaps between midfield and defense - and within the defense itself - were immense. Cryans fancied his luck and was unlucky a couple of times not to get on the scoresheet. Iwan also missed a sitter, and even Enda had a pop... from 40 yards. Luckily there is a 35-metre fence behind the goal.
For the final goal the roles were reversed, and I laid one on a plate for Charles to smash home. 7-1 it finished. It was a fantastic performance from front to back. Our defense was solid and alert all afternoon, and our midfield helped create one chance after another.
FC Irlande: John, Enda, Fred, Alec, Mark, Yann, Kieran (James), Iwan, David, Charles, Ross
Goals: Ross (4), Alec, Charles, Fred (pen)
Man of the match: Charles and Ross - The French and English haven't combined this well since the eurotunnel.
Monday, 23 November 2009
FC Irlande - Matchday 12
Royal St. George 2 - 1 FC Irlande
A hugely frustrating loss, somewhat reminiscent of our early season streak. We were the better team for large parts of the game, but missed too many chances against a strong side.
In the first half St. George passed the ball in midfield better than we did, but apart from one glaring miss they didn't create too much. We had good spells, but were a bit lethargic. Maybe it was the unseasonably mild November sun.
In the second half they hit us on the break with a well-worked and well-taken goal from their lanky number 9. It was really the only thing he did in the match. Shortly before that goal I missed a glorious chance after a through ball from Mark. I'll be having nightmares about it for a while.
Danny Verdon and Kieran came on in the second half, and we really upped the tempo. They seemed content to sit back on their one-goal lead, but it backfired when Danny, making his debut, hit a great first-time shot past their rotund keeper after a neat pull-back on the right from Kieran.
Their winner was as sickening as it was fortunate. Fred had a great game at the back, and it was sad that in trying to block a shot from 25 yards, he should end up helping it loop agonisingly over John and into the net. It was reminiscent of West Germany against England in Italia '90.
The last thing I'll say is the ref was quite good. We give them a lot of abuse, but it's not an easy job, especially without linesmen. In a week where they've been getting a lot of criticism it seems appropriate to say a rare good word about them.
FC Irlande: John, Enda, Fred, Alec, James (Kieran), Mark (Danny), Yann, Iwan, David, Ross, Sigve
Goal: Danny
Man of the match: Danny, Yann and Fred - They all had solid games, though Danny controversially legged it home after the match, thus avoiding having to buy a round. Tut, tut.
A hugely frustrating loss, somewhat reminiscent of our early season streak. We were the better team for large parts of the game, but missed too many chances against a strong side.
In the first half St. George passed the ball in midfield better than we did, but apart from one glaring miss they didn't create too much. We had good spells, but were a bit lethargic. Maybe it was the unseasonably mild November sun.
In the second half they hit us on the break with a well-worked and well-taken goal from their lanky number 9. It was really the only thing he did in the match. Shortly before that goal I missed a glorious chance after a through ball from Mark. I'll be having nightmares about it for a while.
Danny Verdon and Kieran came on in the second half, and we really upped the tempo. They seemed content to sit back on their one-goal lead, but it backfired when Danny, making his debut, hit a great first-time shot past their rotund keeper after a neat pull-back on the right from Kieran.
Their winner was as sickening as it was fortunate. Fred had a great game at the back, and it was sad that in trying to block a shot from 25 yards, he should end up helping it loop agonisingly over John and into the net. It was reminiscent of West Germany against England in Italia '90.
The last thing I'll say is the ref was quite good. We give them a lot of abuse, but it's not an easy job, especially without linesmen. In a week where they've been getting a lot of criticism it seems appropriate to say a rare good word about them.
FC Irlande: John, Enda, Fred, Alec, James (Kieran), Mark (Danny), Yann, Iwan, David, Ross, Sigve
Goal: Danny
Man of the match: Danny, Yann and Fred - They all had solid games, though Danny controversially legged it home after the match, thus avoiding having to buy a round. Tut, tut.
FC Irlande - Matchday 11
FC Irlande 2 - 0 FC Portugal
Sorry about the delay. I'll keep it brief. We played a hard, disciplined and high-tempo game against tricky, but physically inferior opposition. The front three of myself, Sigve and Charles combined really well, with Kieran getting back into the swing of things on the left. Charles opened the scoring, with Sigve adding a bullish second in a dominant opening half. John, making his debut in goal, had very little to do other than collect the odd cross and corner.
2-0 up in the second half they began getting very dirty and nasty, and deservedly had a man sent off. Charles, as so often, was the source of their antagonism, such is the difficulty weak players have in trying to get the ball off him. Christian and Sigve are no pushovers either, and it was all too much for Portugal. We kept our discipline and deserved the win.
All in all, a very good performance.
FC Irlande: John, Adrian, Christian (Fred), Alec, James (Francis), David (Mark), Yann, Charles, Sigve, Ross
Goals: Sigve, Charles
Sorry about the delay. I'll keep it brief. We played a hard, disciplined and high-tempo game against tricky, but physically inferior opposition. The front three of myself, Sigve and Charles combined really well, with Kieran getting back into the swing of things on the left. Charles opened the scoring, with Sigve adding a bullish second in a dominant opening half. John, making his debut in goal, had very little to do other than collect the odd cross and corner.
2-0 up in the second half they began getting very dirty and nasty, and deservedly had a man sent off. Charles, as so often, was the source of their antagonism, such is the difficulty weak players have in trying to get the ball off him. Christian and Sigve are no pushovers either, and it was all too much for Portugal. We kept our discipline and deserved the win.
All in all, a very good performance.
FC Irlande: John, Adrian, Christian (Fred), Alec, James (Francis), David (Mark), Yann, Charles, Sigve, Ross
Goals: Sigve, Charles
Friday, 20 November 2009
Thursday
Thursday
Well the fallout from the Hand of Frog incident in Wednesday’s match reached fever pitch Thursday. My inbox was inundated with lads on the FC Irlande circuit voicing their disgust. Poor Charles (one of two Frenchmen in our team) tried to give a diplomatic apology, saying how well Ireland played and how embarrassed he was for Henry. It did little to stem the tide of abuse. From the moment the match finished to midnight on Thursday there must have been around 30-40 emails sent in anger. A few jumped on the bandwagon hitched up by the Irish justice minister, who demanded a replay, but according to my Irish friends he’s a bit of a clown. As well as being overtly homophobic, he was the one who spearheaded the amendment to the Irish constitution that made blasphemy illegal. There isn’t going to be a replay and nor should there be.
The email banter got pretty heated. What’s amazing is how quickly the spoof material appeared. Within 24 hours people had knocked up all kinds of photos showing Henry playing rugby and basketball, etc. Somebody had edited his Wikipedia page with some less than flattering remarks. Well, I say that. All they did was insert the word ‘cunt’ wherever possible.
The other big news yesterday came late in the evening when it was announced that Belgium’s Prime Minister, Herman Van Rompuy, is to be the new EU President. I caught it while at the gym. The BBC managed to spend more time talking about the fact that some British female politician got the foreign affairs job, which is a huge career jump for her. The channel is called the BBC World Service, but don’t let the name make you think that they give a balanced worldview. It’s British-oriented news beamed around the world. I’m just thankful Blair didn’t get it.
For Belgium it means a new Prime Minister. I think it will be the fourth in five years. It’s somewhat erratic, but still nothing compared to Argentina, who went through four Presidents in two weeks during their 2001 financial crisis. That always makes me laugh.
I doubt Van Rompuy is happy about all the publicity. From what I’ve read about him he’s a quiet guy who likes doing his job away from the cameras. Good for him. I wish British and American leaders would take a leaf out of his book. He never, for example, wasted time visiting factories and shaking hands with employees. Nor did he go on late-night talk shows. He also likes to write haikus, which I find very quaint.
Late Thursday night I stepped out onto my small balcony and caught the sound of a police whistle. Off to the left sped a flurry of police motorcycles with flashing lights and a caravan of large, black vehicles. The new leaders of the EU, I suppose.
Well the fallout from the Hand of Frog incident in Wednesday’s match reached fever pitch Thursday. My inbox was inundated with lads on the FC Irlande circuit voicing their disgust. Poor Charles (one of two Frenchmen in our team) tried to give a diplomatic apology, saying how well Ireland played and how embarrassed he was for Henry. It did little to stem the tide of abuse. From the moment the match finished to midnight on Thursday there must have been around 30-40 emails sent in anger. A few jumped on the bandwagon hitched up by the Irish justice minister, who demanded a replay, but according to my Irish friends he’s a bit of a clown. As well as being overtly homophobic, he was the one who spearheaded the amendment to the Irish constitution that made blasphemy illegal. There isn’t going to be a replay and nor should there be.
The email banter got pretty heated. What’s amazing is how quickly the spoof material appeared. Within 24 hours people had knocked up all kinds of photos showing Henry playing rugby and basketball, etc. Somebody had edited his Wikipedia page with some less than flattering remarks. Well, I say that. All they did was insert the word ‘cunt’ wherever possible.
The other big news yesterday came late in the evening when it was announced that Belgium’s Prime Minister, Herman Van Rompuy, is to be the new EU President. I caught it while at the gym. The BBC managed to spend more time talking about the fact that some British female politician got the foreign affairs job, which is a huge career jump for her. The channel is called the BBC World Service, but don’t let the name make you think that they give a balanced worldview. It’s British-oriented news beamed around the world. I’m just thankful Blair didn’t get it.
For Belgium it means a new Prime Minister. I think it will be the fourth in five years. It’s somewhat erratic, but still nothing compared to Argentina, who went through four Presidents in two weeks during their 2001 financial crisis. That always makes me laugh.
I doubt Van Rompuy is happy about all the publicity. From what I’ve read about him he’s a quiet guy who likes doing his job away from the cameras. Good for him. I wish British and American leaders would take a leaf out of his book. He never, for example, wasted time visiting factories and shaking hands with employees. Nor did he go on late-night talk shows. He also likes to write haikus, which I find very quaint.
Late Thursday night I stepped out onto my small balcony and caught the sound of a police whistle. Off to the left sped a flurry of police motorcycles with flashing lights and a caravan of large, black vehicles. The new leaders of the EU, I suppose.
Thursday, 19 November 2009
Wednesday
Yesterday was one of those mad, unrelenting days that I love. I have lessons from 8-9.30, 9.30-11.30, then 1-3 and 3-5. In the first lesson I taught the students the phrase "apart from that". It would prove quite ominous, of which more later. The last group is with teenagers. Some teachers refuse outright to go anywhere near them, but I think they might be my preferred age group. My group this semester are fun, except for one boy who is already about 20 kilos overweight at age 14 and who has the social skills of a bad cough. Poor kid.
After the last lesson it was straight home, sandwich, plan out the drills for football training, and then to Schuman roundabout to get a lift with Sigve. It's only fifteen minutes to the pitch at Nossegem. We started early to able to catch the France v Ireland match at 9. The low numbers and high winds were somewhat cancelled out by the fact that they had finally turned on the new floodlights. It now looks somewhat professional. We did a few drills and then played a match at the end, finishing at 8.45pm.
We thought they'd have the match on in our buvette, but they couldn't get TF1, so Yann (Frenchman) and I drove back to Schuman and tried first the Hairy, then the James Joyce, which was much emptier. It's a good bar, though I'm not sure how Joyce himself would feel about having it named after him. I was cheering like mad for the Irish when they scored, with Yann one of only a smattering of frogs who cheered Franc'es equaliser.
FIrst of all, you have to say what a match, and what a horrible ending. Nothing good can come from it for either team, but especially Ireland. They were robbed. For those who somehow don't know yet, France scored in extra time thanks to two successive blatant handballs from Henry. People cried foul when FIFA decided to seed teams for the playoffs to keep the big teams (i.e. France and Portugal) apart. Now there is even more talk of conspiracy.
It was a bad decision from the ref, but it's wrong to claim conspiracy. Ireland had chances in the first leg, and even better ones in the second leg that would have won them the tie. The ref had a good game, apart from that one decision. Oh, and he should have booked Anelka for diving.
Speaking of Anelka, the shoe is somewhat on the other foot for him, for he experienced the same thing in last season's CL semi final against Barcelona. The situation was very similar - Chelsea, like Ireland, did not do enough in the first leg, though did have chances to win it. In the second leg, having taken the lead, they too had chances to win it, but were denied by the ref.
Yann was sheepish after the match. I would be too. On the way home we passed the Hairy and Kitty O'Shea's, with disgruntled Irish fans voicing their disgust at every turn.
After the last lesson it was straight home, sandwich, plan out the drills for football training, and then to Schuman roundabout to get a lift with Sigve. It's only fifteen minutes to the pitch at Nossegem. We started early to able to catch the France v Ireland match at 9. The low numbers and high winds were somewhat cancelled out by the fact that they had finally turned on the new floodlights. It now looks somewhat professional. We did a few drills and then played a match at the end, finishing at 8.45pm.
We thought they'd have the match on in our buvette, but they couldn't get TF1, so Yann (Frenchman) and I drove back to Schuman and tried first the Hairy, then the James Joyce, which was much emptier. It's a good bar, though I'm not sure how Joyce himself would feel about having it named after him. I was cheering like mad for the Irish when they scored, with Yann one of only a smattering of frogs who cheered Franc'es equaliser.
FIrst of all, you have to say what a match, and what a horrible ending. Nothing good can come from it for either team, but especially Ireland. They were robbed. For those who somehow don't know yet, France scored in extra time thanks to two successive blatant handballs from Henry. People cried foul when FIFA decided to seed teams for the playoffs to keep the big teams (i.e. France and Portugal) apart. Now there is even more talk of conspiracy.
It was a bad decision from the ref, but it's wrong to claim conspiracy. Ireland had chances in the first leg, and even better ones in the second leg that would have won them the tie. The ref had a good game, apart from that one decision. Oh, and he should have booked Anelka for diving.
Speaking of Anelka, the shoe is somewhat on the other foot for him, for he experienced the same thing in last season's CL semi final against Barcelona. The situation was very similar - Chelsea, like Ireland, did not do enough in the first leg, though did have chances to win it. In the second leg, having taken the lead, they too had chances to win it, but were denied by the ref.
Yann was sheepish after the match. I would be too. On the way home we passed the Hairy and Kitty O'Shea's, with disgruntled Irish fans voicing their disgust at every turn.
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Vote Green Party
I've been an official member of the UK Green Party since 2006. When I tell people to vote Green I'm often greeted with a cop-out that goes something like this: "I would vote for them if I thought they would win."
This is an incredible, illogical and utterly contradictory statement that drives me up the wall. The first thing that baffles me is the person's perception of the power of his or her one vote. By making this statement you're saying that one vote for the Greens is meaningless and will not change the fact that they won't win, but that one vote for, say, Labour, is meaningful because they might win. One vote is one vote. Your predicted outcome will happen whether you vote or not, so vote for your conscience.
Therein lies another vexing point. People don't say, I'm not going to vote for them because I disagree with their policies. I just want to be on the winning team. What on earth is the point of that? Why are you voting at all if not to stand up for your political beliefs? I vote for the Greens because I believe climate change is the biggest threat we face and the most important issue, and that only the Greens will have the courage and the will to take on corporations that are preventing us from really tackling it. Many people believe this, but then they mention the economy.
Of course, Green party politicians don't know what the economy is. They'll spend all our money on planting trees and saving butterflies. They'll let criminals out of jail. They're a bunch of wimps who will try and have a bonding session with al-qaeda. This is the kind of nonsense that gets spread: the Greens are hippy amateurs who, if brought into power, will have no idea what to do. This was rubbish back in the 60s and 70s, and is not remotely true now. Green party politicians are just as qualified, knowledgeable and intelligent as those in other parties, more so in many cases.
That's because for the last ten years the Green party has been growing in countries all over the world. Greens are part of coalition governments in Ireland, Germany and New Zealand. In 2007 here in Belgium they gained their first seat in the Belgian Senate. In neighbouring Holland they have four of the 75 seats. The 2009 EU parliamentary elections really put us on the map. From 43 seats in 2004 we now have 50 of the 736 seats. In France they came joint second. In the UK, despite a backward voting system and a poisoned political scene (which saw the BNP win two seats and UKIP come second overall) the Greens managed to retain their two seats.
This is not just because the environment is becoming more and more important. It's because people realise that the Green party's message makes sense: we can create jobs and stimulate our economy while saving our natural world.
I've been arguing politics with a number of people recently, especially Tories. They're starting to regain some of that charming Tory arrogance of the 80s now that Labour have sunk so low in the polls in the UK. David Cameron talks a good game on climate change, and the tree logo is very inspirational. However, whether he truly believes in the need to fight global warming or not, he is surrounded by political dinosaurs who neither believe in it nor care. Here are some of them:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/nov/16/tory-bloggers-climate-change
By voting Tory you are voting for a party that, in its miserable, corrupt core, is a group of politicians who do not want to fight global warming and who dismiss the science that has proven it. This alone should stop you from voting for them.
Vote Green:
http://www.greenparty.org.uk/policies.html
This is an incredible, illogical and utterly contradictory statement that drives me up the wall. The first thing that baffles me is the person's perception of the power of his or her one vote. By making this statement you're saying that one vote for the Greens is meaningless and will not change the fact that they won't win, but that one vote for, say, Labour, is meaningful because they might win. One vote is one vote. Your predicted outcome will happen whether you vote or not, so vote for your conscience.
Therein lies another vexing point. People don't say, I'm not going to vote for them because I disagree with their policies. I just want to be on the winning team. What on earth is the point of that? Why are you voting at all if not to stand up for your political beliefs? I vote for the Greens because I believe climate change is the biggest threat we face and the most important issue, and that only the Greens will have the courage and the will to take on corporations that are preventing us from really tackling it. Many people believe this, but then they mention the economy.
Of course, Green party politicians don't know what the economy is. They'll spend all our money on planting trees and saving butterflies. They'll let criminals out of jail. They're a bunch of wimps who will try and have a bonding session with al-qaeda. This is the kind of nonsense that gets spread: the Greens are hippy amateurs who, if brought into power, will have no idea what to do. This was rubbish back in the 60s and 70s, and is not remotely true now. Green party politicians are just as qualified, knowledgeable and intelligent as those in other parties, more so in many cases.
That's because for the last ten years the Green party has been growing in countries all over the world. Greens are part of coalition governments in Ireland, Germany and New Zealand. In 2007 here in Belgium they gained their first seat in the Belgian Senate. In neighbouring Holland they have four of the 75 seats. The 2009 EU parliamentary elections really put us on the map. From 43 seats in 2004 we now have 50 of the 736 seats. In France they came joint second. In the UK, despite a backward voting system and a poisoned political scene (which saw the BNP win two seats and UKIP come second overall) the Greens managed to retain their two seats.
This is not just because the environment is becoming more and more important. It's because people realise that the Green party's message makes sense: we can create jobs and stimulate our economy while saving our natural world.
I've been arguing politics with a number of people recently, especially Tories. They're starting to regain some of that charming Tory arrogance of the 80s now that Labour have sunk so low in the polls in the UK. David Cameron talks a good game on climate change, and the tree logo is very inspirational. However, whether he truly believes in the need to fight global warming or not, he is surrounded by political dinosaurs who neither believe in it nor care. Here are some of them:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/nov/16/tory-bloggers-climate-change
By voting Tory you are voting for a party that, in its miserable, corrupt core, is a group of politicians who do not want to fight global warming and who dismiss the science that has proven it. This alone should stop you from voting for them.
Vote Green:
http://www.greenparty.org.uk/policies.html
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