Summer Time Blues...

We're not navigating our way up Goat Fell today.  The weather's not that bad, I suppose - it's just not very nice.  Instead, we've spent an hour planning our autumn holiday.  We'll be curbing our wanderlust and spending a week or so in Nidderdale, Yorks.

In the meantime, work on the back garden's progressing nicely.  The area around the patio is just about how I like it - trouble is, the weather's too bad for me to sit out and enjoy it.  What's even more frustrating is that the 2010 hayfever season is now virtually over.

My chosen plant of the day is an Old English rose named 'Charlotte'.  It's a David Austin rose and it's rather lovely.  It smells nice, too.

Unfortunately, my flower bed is so crowded that I can't get a decent shot of the rose without the hangers-on jostling for attention!

Here's a view of this flower bed in its entirety.  It fronts the pavement, so passers-by can get a noseful of the roses as they pass.  We were walking up the road today and we could smell the flowers on the wind, which was rather nice:-

 

The viola have been an absolute revelation this year.  Planted back in April/May, they've just kept on going.  I don't know if they'll still be viable plants next spring - they'll have to cut hard back to stop them getting absurdly leggy.  I'll try it and see, anyway.

The weather is not nice.  It's damp, and not quite cold/not quite hot.  The Busy Lizzies hate it.  They have ceased to grow and are looking quite disgruntled.  And my prized Rosa Mundi has got a serious attack of mildew.  If any organic gardeners out there have any tips about combating mildew by non-chemical means, please let me know.  I'm seriously worried about my plant. 

The sad truth is:  WE NEED THE SUN!!!  (Come back, sun god!  All is forgiven!!)

And if I was to select an image which encapsulated progress in the garden this month, this would be it.  An iris, flattened by the wind:-
 

 

Ah well.  At least I'm not spending an hour every night watering everything...

Summer Time Blues...

We're not navigating our way up Goat Fell today.  The weather's not that bad, I suppose - it's just not very nice.  Instead, we've spent an hour planning our autumn holiday.  We'll be curbing our wanderlust and spending a week or so in Nidderdale, Yorks.

In the meantime, work on the back garden's progressing nicely.  The area around the patio is just about how I like it - trouble is, the weather's too bad for me to sit out and enjoy it.  What's even more frustrating is that the 2010 hayfever season is now virtually over.

My chosen plant of the day is an Old English rose named 'Charlotte'.  It's a David Austin rose and it's rather lovely.  It smells nice, too.

Unfortunately, my flower bed is so crowded that I can't get a decent shot of the rose without the hangers-on jostling for attention!

Here's a view of this flower bed in its entirety.  It fronts the pavement, so passers-by can get a noseful of the roses as they pass.  We were walking up the road today and we could smell the flowers on the wind, which was rather nice:-

 

The viola have been an absolute revelation this year.  Planted back in April/May, they've just kept on going.  I don't know if they'll still be viable plants next spring - they'll have to cut hard back to stop them getting absurdly leggy.  I'll try it and see, anyway.

The weather is not nice.  It's damp, and not quite cold/not quite hot.  The Busy Lizzies hate it.  They have ceased to grow and are looking quite disgruntled.  And my prized Rosa Mundi has got a serious attack of mildew.  If any organic gardeners out there have any tips about combating mildew by non-chemical means, please let me know.  I'm seriously worried about my plant. 

The sad truth is:  WE NEED THE SUN!!!  (Come back, sun god!  All is forgiven!!)

And if I was to select an image which encapsulated progress in the garden this month, this would be it.  An iris, flattened by the wind:-
 

 

Ah well.  At least I'm not spending an hour every night watering everything...

So Where's Wiggo?

Okay, I had to do another Tour de France post.

That worthy magazine Cycling Weekly commented a few weeks ago that just one question would be on the lips of British cycling fans during the tour:  where's Wiggo? ( Aka Bradley Wiggins.  We can't call our heroes inspiring names like 'The Badger'. 'The Eagle of Toledo' or whatever...)

Answer:  he's going nowhere.

Wiggins did an extraordinary ride in last years Tour de France.  He came in 4th, if I remember right, just off the podium.  And so began his transformation into a Star.  He had a few years to run of an existing contract, but when a new team was formed, financed by Sky (of broadcasting fame), our Bradley was lured into breaking his agreement by the promise of a hefty sum.  Yep, I'm sure it's the kind of thing you get in football all the time, but in the gentleman's sport that is cycling, it caused a few raised eyebrows and bitter words.

Money was thrown into Team Sky.  Wiggins was proclaimed as a future Tour winner, and Team Sky were hyped up by the publicity people.  This yea, he has suffered that inevitable fate of English sports stars.  His abilities, his ambitions have been elevated beyond all realistic expectations.  The team coaches and managers were confident that the same attention to detail and massive financial investment that's brought Britain success in track cycling would soon yield brilliant results in the tour. 
 
So far, it hasn't I can't help thinking that this reality check will the team a lot of good.  This is the Tour.  There are far too many variables for a clinical, methodical approach to work the way it does in the Velodrome.  Sky's results so far are speaking for themselves.  They've done virtually nothing throughout the entire race - perhaps the gods are angry, after Bradley Wiggins made the reckless suggestion - oddly reminiscent of John Lennon -  that riding the tour was nothing compared to an Olympic final.  Um, I'd be inclined to think the reverse was true, myself.  Three weeks in the saddle, one relentless physical onslaught after another?  All it takes is one crash, one bad day, and you've lost all chance of winning, as Lance Armstrong has found out this year...

The consequences of failure are not good for the riders in Team Sky.  I don't think a massive multinational company like Sky's going to hang around very long if they don't get what they paid for - a British Tour Winner.  And I really don't think this golden fleece is going to be a prize you can just pluck from the branch without a real epic struggle.  Unfortunately, compared to riders like Contador and young Andy Schleck (who's a champion in the making, really) Bradley Wiggins lacks guts.  He lacks passion.  You can analyse and calculate till the cow's come home - if you're up against someone who must win, who needs to win, who'd rather die than come second, you're never going to beat them. 

This doesn't bode well for Bradley Wiggins.  I think he's a perfectly capable rider, certainly well able to make the top ten, when he's not distracted by the idiotic expectation of English sports fans, who've wrecked many a sports star's chances in their time with their over-hyped adulation.  They don't want someone to be a good solid competitor.  They want someone who can wipe the floor with Johnny Foreigner so they can at least find something to brag about down the pub.

The sad thing is, they've had just such a sports star who's made a very good name for themselves over the last decade.  They've won several major Tours, including the Tours of France and Italy.  They won a gold medal in the last Olympic games in the road race.  They lost what would have been their tenth national road race championship a few weeks back, probably because they were riding against a solid team of international stars who ride for a trade company and who dedicated themselves to beating the reigning champion.  Did this cyclist shrug and admit defeat?  No.  They attacked, and attacked and attacked.  And then they attacked again.

A worthy role-model for us all, me thinks.  Trouble is, they just so happen to be Welsh.  And perhaps more importantly, SHE is a woman: Nicole Cooke, to be precise. 

And you can't possibly have a female sporting role-model, can you? 

So Where's Wiggo?

Okay, I had to do another Tour de France post.

That worthy magazine Cycling Weekly commented a few weeks ago that just one question would be on the lips of British cycling fans during the tour:  where's Wiggo? ( Aka Bradley Wiggins.  We can't call our heroes inspiring names like 'The Badger'. 'The Eagle of Toledo' or whatever...)

Answer:  he's going nowhere.

Wiggins did an extraordinary ride in last years Tour de France.  He came in 4th, if I remember right, just off the podium.  And so began his transformation into a Star.  He had a few years to run of an existing contract, but when a new team was formed, financed by Sky (of broadcasting fame), our Bradley was lured into breaking his agreement by the promise of a hefty sum.  Yep, I'm sure it's the kind of thing you get in football all the time, but in the gentleman's sport that is cycling, it caused a few raised eyebrows and bitter words.

Money was thrown into Team Sky.  Wiggins was proclaimed as a future Tour winner, and Team Sky were hyped up by the publicity people.  This yea, he has suffered that inevitable fate of English sports stars.  His abilities, his ambitions have been elevated beyond all realistic expectations.  The team coaches and managers were confident that the same attention to detail and massive financial investment that's brought Britain success in track cycling would soon yield brilliant results in the tour. 
 
So far, it hasn't I can't help thinking that this reality check will the team a lot of good.  This is the Tour.  There are far too many variables for a clinical, methodical approach to work the way it does in the Velodrome.  Sky's results so far are speaking for themselves.  They've done virtually nothing throughout the entire race - perhaps the gods are angry, after Bradley Wiggins made the reckless suggestion - oddly reminiscent of John Lennon -  that riding the tour was nothing compared to an Olympic final.  Um, I'd be inclined to think the reverse was true, myself.  Three weeks in the saddle, one relentless physical onslaught after another?  All it takes is one crash, one bad day, and you've lost all chance of winning, as Lance Armstrong has found out this year...

The consequences of failure are not good for the riders in Team Sky.  I don't think a massive multinational company like Sky's going to hang around very long if they don't get what they paid for - a British Tour Winner.  And I really don't think this golden fleece is going to be a prize you can just pluck from the branch without a real epic struggle.  Unfortunately, compared to riders like Contador and young Andy Schleck (who's a champion in the making, really) Bradley Wiggins lacks guts.  He lacks passion.  You can analyse and calculate till the cow's come home - if you're up against someone who must win, who needs to win, who'd rather die than come second, you're never going to beat them. 

This doesn't bode well for Bradley Wiggins.  I think he's a perfectly capable rider, certainly well able to make the top ten, when he's not distracted by the idiotic expectation of English sports fans, who've wrecked many a sports star's chances in their time with their over-hyped adulation.  They don't want someone to be a good solid competitor.  They want someone who can wipe the floor with Johnny Foreigner so they can at least find something to brag about down the pub.

The sad thing is, they've had just such a sports star who's made a very good name for themselves over the last decade.  They've won several major Tours, including the Tours of France and Italy.  They won a gold medal in the last Olympic games in the road race.  They lost what would have been their tenth national road race championship a few weeks back, probably because they were riding against a solid team of international stars who ride for a trade company and who dedicated themselves to beating the reigning champion.  Did this cyclist shrug and admit defeat?  No.  They attacked, and attacked and attacked.  And then they attacked again.

A worthy role-model for us all, me thinks.  Trouble is, they just so happen to be Welsh.  And perhaps more importantly, SHE is a woman: Nicole Cooke, to be precise. 

And you can't possibly have a female sporting role-model, can you?