KwAcKy's Konfessional |
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Nothing of interest; just mindless links to bikes Birmingham City Football Club and useless junk  
  
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25 July 2003
Hello Yep, I'm still alive. A few weeks ago I ordered some adjustable rearsets from Jack Lilley. They turned up on a Monday and when I got home I put on my scruffies and went outside to work on the bike. I was fitting the rearsets and chatting to my neighbour when Sam opened the front door and beckoned me in. "What's up?" I enquired "Come in" "Why? Tell me here." "No, come in" It was at this point I noticed the tears. I went into the house and registered the look on Sam's face. The "I'm sorry to tell you this but [name] has died" She put her arms around me and whispered"It's your Dad" "What about him?" "He's had a heart attack. He's at Selly Oak hospital. Here are the car keys, I'll speak to you later" As I get into the car I have what can only be descriped as an "Oprah Moment". I knew he was alright. I had no urge to rush to hospital. I felt he was okay. I got to the hospital and in true NHS style he was lying on a stretcher in a corridor waiting for a bed. The nurses were putting forward each patients case for a bed. My looked scared but comfortable. My step-mother looked panicked. Dad runs the electrical side of the Royal Show. He puts in 14 or 15 hour days on the run up and he has to fence with clients during show week to keep them all happy. He's supposed to be an office jockey and to a certain extent he's learnt to stay in his office and keep out of the way. But, some days he feels he has to "chip in" and lend a hand. The Monday after show week he was in his office enjoying the peace. He complained of some indigestion - tightness of chest and acid burn - so he decided to drive home. He already had an appointment with his doctor and the symptoms persisted into the evening when he saw his GP. The doctor told Dad that he need to get into hospital and fast. He's making a decent recovery. 3 specialists have given their opinion and prognosis resulting in a stalemate. We have 1 vote for a heart attack, 1 vote against a heart attack and 1 "don't know". I'll get back to posting on a regular basis but in the meantime I'm sure you'll forgive my lack of attention to this blog. 12 July 2003
Fat Buddha's Five (all about BCFC) 1:How did you wind up supporting this shower of shit? I'm a Brummie, born and bred, but I was never a fan of football. At school everyone would be talking about their teams and the games they went to, but I really couldn't be interested. I moved out of Brum when I was about 20 and got the usual stick about the accent and the area. I met a lad there who supported Blues. With our City in common we became friends and started going to Brum to watch football. He was a Bluenose but didn't mind going down the Villa to watch some games. I even saw the famous "clattering of Klinsmann". Despite the obvious gulf between the two sides, there was no mistaking the passion of the Blues fans. Here I was, at a midweek game against Guildford, pissing it down, ground falling apart, a few thousand at most watching dire football and they loved it! The fans sang throughout, they took the piss out of the team, the club and each other but they were proud to be Blue. On the other side of town they had a top six team with international players, cup successes, a grand ground and no passion. That's why I became a Bluenose. 2:what was your first Blues game? My best mate and his entire family were Blues mad. In my early teens I went to a couple of games with them but I can't remember who it was I watched. The first game were I can recall the team was a mid-week FA Cup tie against Palace. Terry Cooper was in charge. Blues took the lead but they equalised late on. I was at the ground a few days later when I bumped into Terry Copper "is it worth me buying a ticket and travelling down to watch the replay?" "nah, I wouldn't bother" Some manager! 3: Who is you favourite all time player? Hmmm. Ricky Otto used to piss me off. 
He obviously had the talent but he seemed to spend 95% of the game standing on the side lines watching the proceedings. Ward was good. Bruce was my first real footballing hero I suppose. He was a very well known player, froma big club, won just about everything apart from an England cap. He read the game so well. He was 5 yards slower than most players but read it 10 yards quicker than anyone else. I tend to appreciate defenders so my current player has to be Cunningham. 4: What is your most memorable game, and why? OOoOO a toughie! Both of the Wembley games stand out, as will the Cardiff one. My first villa derby was awesome. I suppose For an everyday game, I'll never forget the Hereford game at our place. Pissing down with rain, ground rammed full, everyone singing their hearts out, Mad Bazza and his 55 strong team giving it all. Hereford fans standing on the seats and the typical songs that provoked about cow sheds! From last season it would be hard to choose (apart from the AVFC conflicts) but Leeds at home stands out - we played football, real football. We passed, we took the ball off them without clattering their players. We looked slick. We had arrived. 5: Who is your favourite all time manager? Hmmm. I've not been a Bluenose for that long and our club does tend to keep managers (unlike some other local teams!). loved the Barry Fry days - a breath of fresh air. Squads larger than most NFL teams. You had to buy the Evening Mail every day to see who we had bouhgt and/or sold. 
No matter what happens now, Bruce will always be highly regarded for his efforts. So Bruce it is. 11 July 2003
Cisse has been given a clip round the ear from manager Steve Bruce. The player has been fined 2 weeks wages and been placed on the transfer list. Bruce has told the press that he won't tolerate players taking the piss, which, to me, seems fair enough. Cisse suffered a terrible tragedy which is near impossible to comprehend. He played a full game with the knowledge that he had lost most of his family. The fans supported him and on his return we showed our respect to both the player and those he had lost. Shortly thereafter he suffered an injury. We were told that the treatment wasn't working so he went to France and hadn't been seen since. Some of the players, including Cisse, were expected at training a few days before the main squad. He failed to show. His excuse? He had lost not one but 2 mobile phones. Not to worry, he would be back with the rest of the team. When he failed to turn up on time, Bruce, not one to be crossed it appears, took matters into his own hands. Bruce said "Aliou has been placed on the transfer list and fined two weeks' wages for behaviour, in my view, that is unacceptable," Bruce said. "I am bitterly disappointed with Aliou's attitude. Until he proves he wants to play for us, that he wants to be part of the squad again, I don't want him around the place. "I gave him the benefit of the doubt when he didn't come back last week and said he had lost his mobile phones and all the rest of it. "But to then to report one hour and 20 minutes late and turn round and say he is injured just isn't on. "When he spoke to my assistant Mark Bowen on Monday to explain why he didn't turn up on July 1, he didn't mention any injury." At the start of last season, Cisse and Savage bossed our midfield. Cisse snuffed out many a threatening movement and with hard work and hard tackles he won many a Blue heart. However, at that time, we were new to the league and teams didn't know what to expect. In addition, we didn't have a settled back four and so we needed a couple of midfielders who would track back and support the defensive line. With Cunningham and Upson forming the base of the team we looked much more secure. This seemed to give the midfield more confidence and let them get on with their job. In turn, we got to see more of Savage's skills with the ball. Something he's rarely credited with. One of the things that irks me about the majority of Bluenoses is that they only seem to appreciate graft. Any player who doesn't give it 110% and charge about the pitch like a bull on speed is dismissed as "lazy". The only exception appears to be Dugarry (who I once slated for appearing to be disinterested during a game!) Even Savage is admired for his energy, not his guile and skill. It must be frustrating for a player who can play football to be dismissed as a clogger. Cisse has two options; to leave or to knuckle down and fight for a place. Personally, I don't think he'll pull on the Royal Blue shirt again. Which is a shame, but no club is bigger than any player. Dunn, take note. 09 July 2003
SUMMER IS HERE (again) 
You can tell when it's summer, you have hundreds of flying ants in your garden. They have an uncanny knack of fare dodging on buses. In they fly, take their postion on the window, watch the world go buy then disembark without so much of a "thank you driver". This must be the way the ant spreads. Or maybe not. Thinking about it, I didn't see the number 47 bus near the Orinocco, but I did see a few ants. Hmmm, I'll have to re-think my theory regarding the proliferation of ants. On the other hand, I saw colourful birds, fish with teeth, fresh water dolphins and crocs with big teeth, and I've never seen any of those on the 47 bus, so, just maybe, the 47 bus used to go to South America, but West Midalnds Travel stopped the route because of the number of fare-dodging animals they pick up that way. I've found a new hobby. It's in its infancy, but I can see this taking off in a really big way. It's free of danger, doesn't cost anything and makes a great topic of conversation in any pub chit chat or job interview. Bertie's tips give you an insight into the wonderful world of book sniffing 1. Delve deep into the spine with the aid of a straw! 2. Strive to seek the oldest, crustiest books you can lay your hands on. 3. Do not lurk shiftily around libraries, waiting for that window of opportunity - THEY KNOW! 4. Take long deep sniffs, and let the aroma flow gently through your nasal hair. 5. Never air your books unnecessarily by reading them. 6. Befriend old people - their houses wreak of old crusty books! 7. Never play leapfrog with a unicorn! 8. Never eat yellow snow! 9. Never go water-skiing when you have got diarrhoea! 10. And Never EVER take a laxative and a sleeping pill at the same time!!! Anyone fancy a day out to Hay-on-Wye? |
