As a follow up to the last writing on Bruce Springsteen for British viewers of the BBC Glastonbury 2009 site there are now two videos of his concert which includes half the 26 number two and half hour set, some 90 minutes worth. This includes the finale with Glory Days and Dancing in the Dark and., from mid set The River but not Surrender. I am not sure for how long the BBC will keep the video’s on this site although under the BBC i player they usually last a week.
With reports of a heat wave elsewhere I accepted the sea fret which hung over the hill for the most of Monday morning with a heavy heart.
Around midday the sun did break and it was warm but not hot as I decided to take the car with the large box of unused ink cartridges to the post office, parking at the supermarket. By the early evening it was overcast again and there was a chill in the late evening
Yesterday there was another dull start but it brightened as I made my way to the cricket. It was warm even with cloud covered and there were moments of full sunshine but nothing like as intense as reported elsewhere. It changed with the evening once more.
Then there has been day, what an experience. Hot very hot, that intense heat which makes movement unwise. I retreated under the cover of the of the new double Decker stand. It was glorious warm, in the shade and a very bright. At lunch I walked along the river bank and into the park I intended to cit cross to the second under road pass into the far car parks and back into the stadium that way but cut short back the way I had come stopping for an ice cream, noting that the price of a single cone was 20 pence cheaper than at the ground.
Around 2.15, back at my seat noticed the shifting sun was catching me with full glare so I moved further back and watch in amazement as within minuets the whole sky was covered with cloud and some exceptionally black in the distance moving from the south towards Durham and then sweeping around across form Chester Le Street and then swinging around over Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland including Haughton le Spring and Fence House, about 240 degrees leaving an area where for a time the sun broke through a grey to white cloud. The blacks stuff moved sometimes fast, sometimes it feel to earth and as it did one could see the long shafts of lightening and the rumble of thunder in the distance, five to ten miles away the collective view guessed. As the storm progresses several in the back area of the two stands which had become fuller than previously witnessed moved to the top deck to obtain a better view of the storms.
Durham were all out around three and shortly after when the Worcester second innings commenced play was called temporarily suspended for bad light followed by tea taken at 3.10. At this point suspecting their would be no more play I went into the town centre to buy some fruit and returning to a car park near the main entrance there was a little stream of people deciding to go home. I debated going into the ground for a cup of tea and to find out the view of members, but learning from the radio that the Murray quarter final game was underway I decided to return home and Wow did I hit rain, tropical rain sheeting down reducing visibility to zero, with several inches of water accumulation before it could drain away, the effect was the vehicles ahead were spraying either above the hedgerows or across and over oncoming traffic depending on where the water was laying. This was no just two to three feet but five feet and higher. When I entered the garage and close the door it was oppressively hot although the air outside had cooled with the rain which and drenched the plants and soaked the floor. I checked the temperature gauge and it was showing 90 degrees. It had reached 102 in that Summer of three years ago.. One wonders what the morrow will bring?
On Monday disappointment about the weather was lessened by watching the English Women’s Team thrash the Auzzi’s at cricket, bowling them out for 133 in the first of the one day games. At one time they had lost more than half their side for 42 runs and were 97 for 9 before the last pair made the score more respectable. However with England having to score less than three runs an over to win openers Taylor and Atkins took the total past 100 before the first wicket fell with Taylor a magnificent 68. The namesake helped Atkins to reach the required total in under 30 overs with Atkins two short of her half century. I broke off from the cricket in the afternoon to take the box of ink cartridges to the post office
There was a horrendous queue on arrival and only a couple of dozen counters ports staffed. About half a dozen appeared after attending what one suspects was a union meeting or could just have been a badly organised later lunch. The cost of return the cartridges which included insurance was £10 with a return of £100 means that I shall get back 90% of the original expenditure. I was fortunate that the collapse of the machine occurred within 3 months of submitting the order otherwise I would have had to advertise on the Internet.
I then banked the £25 won on the Premium bonds. It is interesting that every time I have cancelled bonds and said yes to their being entered in one more draw there has been a win paid albeit a small one. The next visit was for display albums at Wilkinson but alas they only had one 40 page left in red. I still have to now go on an explore. I will check for Chester Le Street in a moment. It was then back to Asda for a shop, with some cut salami, some rolls and pastries, fruit melons whole and melon sliced for match, coleslaw and two packs of prawns for £4 and two packs of smoked mackerel for a similar sum. I was tempted to be out longed but hoped the good weather would continue for the cricket from Tuesday, I enjoyed a pan au raisins with tea on return while waiting for the start of Andrew Murray‘s. It had all been too easy until today and the young Swiss who had recently fallen from his top ten position, seeded 19 here would pose a greater threat and was I right, and was I right?
It was evident he had come to take on the crowd as well as Murray as he took the first set. Murray won the next two by a single break of service but then struggled in the fourth which he lost 7-5. In part because of changeable weather but more because the tournament organisers did not want this last match of the day to have to spill over until the following day the new roof had been taken across the stadium to create in effect a temperature controlled indoor arena. There is natural light to begin which changes to artificial light. The only concern was that the grass would become slippy with condensation. The effect is stunning visually and the atmospherics amazing. However the momentum was with the opponent and it took all Murray’s physical and mental strength, and crowd nerves to see him the eventual winner 6-3 in the fifth. Warwrinka has gained many British friends with his performance over this four hour match as well as making a considerable improvement to his World Ranking. As for Murray he finally conquered the centre court and the British tennis public as both enjoyed a nerve ring match of high drama. The crowd watching the large screen was the largest ever as all those who had been watching the other courts stayed behind to witness one of the memorable sporting events of the year to-date. The match when on until after 10.30 which suggests the majority present had come from the home counties or had arranged overnight stay.
So far it is Murray and Jenson Button together with the English cricket team who will honoured at the end of the year.
There as one other sporting event of potential significance on Monday as the England under 21 team took on Germany in the final of the European Cup in Sweden. England had lost the two main forwards and the goal keeper through sending’s off and were lucky to be in the final at the expense of the home nation team. They tried hard but were not good enough and were thrashed 4.0 by the Germans. It is time for other sports to be given attention and rewards nationally and football to be relegated. In terms of public support and money.
I was not in the mood for a stir fry on Monday so I made up a curry using madras powder, how long have I had that? I mixed some chicken with half a carton of prawns, the rest of corn from the previous day and the rest of the black-eyed peas and other beans. For the cricket on Tuesday I used the rest of the prawns in a salad with coleslaw, chopped tomatoes, gherkin, olives, cucumber and lettuce. In addition i took two rolls containing one of the chunky slices of salami and coleslaw, a pastry and a carton of sliced sweet melon. The melon was unexpected delicious. In the evening a made up a stir fry with most of the chicken using the last of the Thai packet sauce. Today the stir fry was something of a disaster, I had decided on roasting a chop and then slice into the vegetables. Unfortunately I over the did the ginger and end up eating the remaining two salami and coleslaw rolls planed to be held over until Thursday. The cherries as expected were fat juicy delicious each one savoured slowly. It was something of a wicked food day because after an early morning coffee having risen before six I decided to hold breakfast and go to KFC with the penultimate voucher which was for a breakfast in a roll with e.g., sausage, bacon and tomato with two for £2.29. I mistook the route and arrived after they had cleared up for breakfast and were about to change the display boards but with five mins to go they cooked the meal fresh. It was very hot which I very much enjoyed sitting in the car wondering what the teenagers were up to who had driven up in car, two girls followed by two others in another car. Guess what I think?
It was Murray again yesterday afternoon but with the sun pounding heat into the open court and after his emotional and strength draining marathon he took immediate commands and won in three straight sets with three breaks of service, and which helped to strengthen the case of his previous opponent for a higher world rating.
And then there was my cricket and weird couple of days it has been. First Durham bowled brilliant and Worcester defended scoring at less than 2 and over and having escape after escape as well as some unlucky fielding situations. However they struggled on and reach a respectable 183 and then took the first two Durham wickets with no runs on the board and then it was 3 wickets for 1 run. I came home having over the lunch time visited the Wilkinsons store which I discovered more by luck and prior planning. There is also a cafe at he black of the small indoor stall market offering an all day breakfast for under £2 which includes a cup of coffee. I must try it sometime. Yesterday Durham managed to get to 194 before the innings closed with Phil Mustard supported by Liam Plunkett 29 and other tail enders saving the team’s blushes.
With reports of a heat wave elsewhere I accepted the sea fret which hung over the hill for the most of Monday morning with a heavy heart.
Around midday the sun did break and it was warm but not hot as I decided to take the car with the large box of unused ink cartridges to the post office, parking at the supermarket. By the early evening it was overcast again and there was a chill in the late evening
Yesterday there was another dull start but it brightened as I made my way to the cricket. It was warm even with cloud covered and there were moments of full sunshine but nothing like as intense as reported elsewhere. It changed with the evening once more.
Then there has been day, what an experience. Hot very hot, that intense heat which makes movement unwise. I retreated under the cover of the of the new double Decker stand. It was glorious warm, in the shade and a very bright. At lunch I walked along the river bank and into the park I intended to cit cross to the second under road pass into the far car parks and back into the stadium that way but cut short back the way I had come stopping for an ice cream, noting that the price of a single cone was 20 pence cheaper than at the ground.
Around 2.15, back at my seat noticed the shifting sun was catching me with full glare so I moved further back and watch in amazement as within minuets the whole sky was covered with cloud and some exceptionally black in the distance moving from the south towards Durham and then sweeping around across form Chester Le Street and then swinging around over Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland including Haughton le Spring and Fence House, about 240 degrees leaving an area where for a time the sun broke through a grey to white cloud. The blacks stuff moved sometimes fast, sometimes it feel to earth and as it did one could see the long shafts of lightening and the rumble of thunder in the distance, five to ten miles away the collective view guessed. As the storm progresses several in the back area of the two stands which had become fuller than previously witnessed moved to the top deck to obtain a better view of the storms.
Durham were all out around three and shortly after when the Worcester second innings commenced play was called temporarily suspended for bad light followed by tea taken at 3.10. At this point suspecting their would be no more play I went into the town centre to buy some fruit and returning to a car park near the main entrance there was a little stream of people deciding to go home. I debated going into the ground for a cup of tea and to find out the view of members, but learning from the radio that the Murray quarter final game was underway I decided to return home and Wow did I hit rain, tropical rain sheeting down reducing visibility to zero, with several inches of water accumulation before it could drain away, the effect was the vehicles ahead were spraying either above the hedgerows or across and over oncoming traffic depending on where the water was laying. This was no just two to three feet but five feet and higher. When I entered the garage and close the door it was oppressively hot although the air outside had cooled with the rain which and drenched the plants and soaked the floor. I checked the temperature gauge and it was showing 90 degrees. It had reached 102 in that Summer of three years ago.. One wonders what the morrow will bring?
On Monday disappointment about the weather was lessened by watching the English Women’s Team thrash the Auzzi’s at cricket, bowling them out for 133 in the first of the one day games. At one time they had lost more than half their side for 42 runs and were 97 for 9 before the last pair made the score more respectable. However with England having to score less than three runs an over to win openers Taylor and Atkins took the total past 100 before the first wicket fell with Taylor a magnificent 68. The namesake helped Atkins to reach the required total in under 30 overs with Atkins two short of her half century. I broke off from the cricket in the afternoon to take the box of ink cartridges to the post office
There was a horrendous queue on arrival and only a couple of dozen counters ports staffed. About half a dozen appeared after attending what one suspects was a union meeting or could just have been a badly organised later lunch. The cost of return the cartridges which included insurance was £10 with a return of £100 means that I shall get back 90% of the original expenditure. I was fortunate that the collapse of the machine occurred within 3 months of submitting the order otherwise I would have had to advertise on the Internet.
I then banked the £25 won on the Premium bonds. It is interesting that every time I have cancelled bonds and said yes to their being entered in one more draw there has been a win paid albeit a small one. The next visit was for display albums at Wilkinson but alas they only had one 40 page left in red. I still have to now go on an explore. I will check for Chester Le Street in a moment. It was then back to Asda for a shop, with some cut salami, some rolls and pastries, fruit melons whole and melon sliced for match, coleslaw and two packs of prawns for £4 and two packs of smoked mackerel for a similar sum. I was tempted to be out longed but hoped the good weather would continue for the cricket from Tuesday, I enjoyed a pan au raisins with tea on return while waiting for the start of Andrew Murray‘s. It had all been too easy until today and the young Swiss who had recently fallen from his top ten position, seeded 19 here would pose a greater threat and was I right, and was I right?
It was evident he had come to take on the crowd as well as Murray as he took the first set. Murray won the next two by a single break of service but then struggled in the fourth which he lost 7-5. In part because of changeable weather but more because the tournament organisers did not want this last match of the day to have to spill over until the following day the new roof had been taken across the stadium to create in effect a temperature controlled indoor arena. There is natural light to begin which changes to artificial light. The only concern was that the grass would become slippy with condensation. The effect is stunning visually and the atmospherics amazing. However the momentum was with the opponent and it took all Murray’s physical and mental strength, and crowd nerves to see him the eventual winner 6-3 in the fifth. Warwrinka has gained many British friends with his performance over this four hour match as well as making a considerable improvement to his World Ranking. As for Murray he finally conquered the centre court and the British tennis public as both enjoyed a nerve ring match of high drama. The crowd watching the large screen was the largest ever as all those who had been watching the other courts stayed behind to witness one of the memorable sporting events of the year to-date. The match when on until after 10.30 which suggests the majority present had come from the home counties or had arranged overnight stay.
So far it is Murray and Jenson Button together with the English cricket team who will honoured at the end of the year.
There as one other sporting event of potential significance on Monday as the England under 21 team took on Germany in the final of the European Cup in Sweden. England had lost the two main forwards and the goal keeper through sending’s off and were lucky to be in the final at the expense of the home nation team. They tried hard but were not good enough and were thrashed 4.0 by the Germans. It is time for other sports to be given attention and rewards nationally and football to be relegated. In terms of public support and money.
I was not in the mood for a stir fry on Monday so I made up a curry using madras powder, how long have I had that? I mixed some chicken with half a carton of prawns, the rest of corn from the previous day and the rest of the black-eyed peas and other beans. For the cricket on Tuesday I used the rest of the prawns in a salad with coleslaw, chopped tomatoes, gherkin, olives, cucumber and lettuce. In addition i took two rolls containing one of the chunky slices of salami and coleslaw, a pastry and a carton of sliced sweet melon. The melon was unexpected delicious. In the evening a made up a stir fry with most of the chicken using the last of the Thai packet sauce. Today the stir fry was something of a disaster, I had decided on roasting a chop and then slice into the vegetables. Unfortunately I over the did the ginger and end up eating the remaining two salami and coleslaw rolls planed to be held over until Thursday. The cherries as expected were fat juicy delicious each one savoured slowly. It was something of a wicked food day because after an early morning coffee having risen before six I decided to hold breakfast and go to KFC with the penultimate voucher which was for a breakfast in a roll with e.g., sausage, bacon and tomato with two for £2.29. I mistook the route and arrived after they had cleared up for breakfast and were about to change the display boards but with five mins to go they cooked the meal fresh. It was very hot which I very much enjoyed sitting in the car wondering what the teenagers were up to who had driven up in car, two girls followed by two others in another car. Guess what I think?
It was Murray again yesterday afternoon but with the sun pounding heat into the open court and after his emotional and strength draining marathon he took immediate commands and won in three straight sets with three breaks of service, and which helped to strengthen the case of his previous opponent for a higher world rating.
And then there was my cricket and weird couple of days it has been. First Durham bowled brilliant and Worcester defended scoring at less than 2 and over and having escape after escape as well as some unlucky fielding situations. However they struggled on and reach a respectable 183 and then took the first two Durham wickets with no runs on the board and then it was 3 wickets for 1 run. I came home having over the lunch time visited the Wilkinsons store which I discovered more by luck and prior planning. There is also a cafe at he black of the small indoor stall market offering an all day breakfast for under £2 which includes a cup of coffee. I must try it sometime. Yesterday Durham managed to get to 194 before the innings closed with Phil Mustard supported by Liam Plunkett 29 and other tail enders saving the team’s blushes.
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