Do South Africa deserve to win...

I don't know whether to laugh or cry...

Watching Wales versus South Africa this morning, I began to wonder whether the first two-thirds of the game was better than watching Dulux dry in the shed!

But then it took off! Chases, kicks, tackles, mauls (what are they - in my day they were 'loose scrums')!

But there again, although your compatriot Scrobs was an educated man from The Brecon Beacons, and well known for banter and beer, I was dreading a win for my adopted second-choice in the game.

If Wales had won, it would have been a barnstorm World Cup Final of England versus Wales, in a foreign country, away from home and real beer, and the triumphalist passion would have really mucked up my recognition of the whole contest. I mean, you just cannot have two of the greatest teams in the world playing against each other in a stadium as far away as Yokohama!

It's just not British!

What an awful man is Scrobs. My great business partner and I regularly toasted Wales with several tinctures, as we vowed to support them always, unless they were playing England. But this time, I just couldn't countenance a tussle with the old enemy, in a match as far away as Japan.

Sorry, but there it is.

Dialect and her ducks...

Scrobs was chatting with a chap in the village other day, and learned that he used to live in Ilkley, Yorkshire.

It only took a few seconds to get the new acquaintance to start singing the anthem from that particular location, and, more interestingly, he described the song and provided a translation!

Lyrics in Yorkshire dialect Wheear 'ast tha bin sin' ah saw thee, ah saw thee? On Ilkla Mooar baht 'at Wheear 'ast tha bin sin' ah saw thee, ah saw thee? Wheear 'ast tha bin sin' ah saw thee? On Ilkla Mooar baht 'at On Ilkla Mooar baht 'at On Ilkla Mooar baht 'at Tha's been a cooartin' Mary Jane Tha's bahn' to catch thy deeath o' cowd Then us'll ha' to bury thee Then t'worms'll come an' eyt thee oop Then t'ducks'll come an' eyt up t'worms Then us'll go an' eyt up t'ducks Then us'll all ha' etten thee That's wheear we get us ooan back I never knew that...!

Interpretation in Standard English Where have you been since I saw you, I saw you? On Ilkley Moor without a hat Where have you been since I saw you, I saw you? Where have you been since I saw you? On Ilkley Moor without a hat On Ilkley Moor without a hat On Ilkley Moor without a hat You've been courting Mary Jane You're bound to catch your death of cold Then we will have to bury you Then the worms will come and eat you up Then the ducks will come and eat up the worms Then we will go and eat up the ducks Then we will all have eaten you That's where we get our own back

Sad sight...

Thirty-two years ago today...

Scrobs on the right, feeding the family, Sevenoaks still in mourning for their iconic trees.

They didn't give storms 'names' back then, just said it like it was, 'The Great Storm 1987'!

Outcasts, the story repeats itself...

While chasing down another lead recently, I found this...

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/binmen-furious-after-seven-workmates-17027182

By coincidence, Iv'e just finished re-reading this fabulous story: -

It took him years to get it published, and looking at some of the comments in some of the chapters, you can understand why everyone dropped it like a hot brick!

As an aside, I hope the good binmen of Caerphilly don't have to experience the dire consequences of the prison scene!