The Wildhearts, Rugby, Philharmonia and my daughter, a blood moon, the end of the World and a new day.

Such a truly amazing weekend. Highs and lows a-plenty and possibly the last weekend on this Earth if the naysayers are to be believed, a blood moon and eclipse to spell the end of days.

Friday night, the Wildhearts, as you might have read previously, took old men back to less decrepit times and for 2 hours we sang and behaved disgracefully before limping home and waking up with aches and pains that reek of "told you so". If the World were to end at that moment, come and get me, I can die happy.

 I thought I'd avoided the post gig depression but I was wrong and more depressingly, I have no idea why this band do this to me but onwards to the Rugby, what could possibly go wrong? Wales have been decimated by injuries with so many key players out and England with a full strength squad, OK, they might not have been firing on all cylinders but this was a match that would boot them into life. How wrong could I be? Watching all my hopes and dreams draining through 30 minutes, seeping into the Twickenham turf. Watching Wales devastated by even more injuries, so much so that we weren't even playing their first, second or third team, how could this be? Watching a 10 point lead fall away with such lackluster and careless playing from a team that has the ability and talent but seem to lose their way so easily. That was the big crash, that 28-25 defeat by Wales, the deserved winners. If the World were to end at this moment,,,oh wait, it felt like it did.

Sunday was another day away from Rugby, my eldest daughter was performing with a choir at the Royal Festival Hall in London, alongside the Philharmonia Orchestra in Beethoven's 9th (Ode to Joy). It was breathtaking, a full Orchestra, 4 singers and a choir about 110 strong.

I couldn't have been prouder. She is now far beyond the childhood concerts that I used to watch, she is mixing with professionals and graduates and the Orchestras are getting more and more professional and the people that she mixes with and is conducted by are becoming "names" and she absolutely adores it, she has found her vocation and I am so happy and pleased for her. The World could have ended at that moment and I'd have been devastated that she couldn't continue along her dream path but on a personal level, it is a die happy scenario, to see your children happy and really starting to live their dreams.

We got home just after midnight and the eclipse and moon were due to happen at 3-ish in the morning so I set my alarm. It did go off and I did turn it off before falling promptly asleep again, waking in a panic at 3.45. I threw on some clothes and leapt in the car and drove in a random direction, just to escape the light pollution. I ended up on a main road, in a bus stop near Waddesdon and set up my tripod, camera and zoom lens and started taking shots at different exposures and ISO settings and whilst it was very much a shoot and hope exercise, I did get these shots.

So this is what the end of the World looks like? A blood moon? It was beautiful and eerie and I am grateful that I was able to witness the end of days.

I drove home, fed the cats, made my wife a cup of tea and contemplated what to do next in the remaining time that I had left. I wasn't sure if this would be a quick exit from life or a more drawn out thing, so I decided to go for a run.

As I hit the outside air it was fresh but not chilling and the distant horizon was lightening, probably the onset of whatever doom was heading our way.
I was tired, a busy weekend and a lack of sleep will do that. I have a new florescent jacket and managed to catch the zip in itself, it would't go up or down so I had to run with it billowing around me, Michelin Man on the rampage.
As I started running down the less used roads, I could see the pink horizon starting to unfurl, a small line across the blue that was lighter, darkening to midnight hues at its zenith and a full moon behind me, still relatively high in the sky. It didn't feel like the dark forces of hell were coming to collect me, it felt like this was an incredible time to be awake and alive. It felt like this was going to be a new day and every breath was fresh life and every step was a move forwards into this day.

And to think, people wonder why I run!! Where else could I witness the birth of a new day, particularly one that is so wondrous and memorable. I love the moment between night and day and at this time of year with the colours becoming so vivid, the trees changing and the icy breath of November starting to form, the mist and clarity of the sky, the air and chill that is still far from being the fell hand of Winter, brushes against me. I live for moments like this, alone in the middle of nowhere, as far home to return as to continue on but I know why I'm here.

I am here to witness this day, to see that this is a new day, this isn't the end of things, this is a renewing of things. A day where I can witness the blush of the sun in dawn sky and behind me is a full moon in an inky dark sky.

And I couldn't be any happier to be alive.

The Wildhearts...""Phuq-ing" awesome!

Shepherds Bush Empire is an amazing venue. An old Theatre, it has all the carvings intact and painted as if for a vaudeville show. You half expect Flanagan and Allen to emerge on stage and the place is full of grey and balding heads, pot bellies and faded tour T-shirts that are now 20 years old. It looks like the last stand of the '80's children until the music starts and the years roll back but let's start at the beginning.

This is the Wildhearts celebrating 20 years since the release of the album "Phuq". Support is from Hey Hello and Baby Chaos and both were stunning, Baby Chaos blew my socks off and I will be investing in some of their CD's.

The Wildhearts took to the stage with "I wanna go where the people go" and what a start to a show. It was great to hear the album played back to back but as with all Wildheart shows, it is the not knowing what is coming next that is part of the experience and despite the fact that "Phuq" is a fine album, I prefer to see them when they just play whatever they and we want. The criticism is based purely upon the fact that they have such an amazing repertoire (you can't please everyone!), however, they are still one of the finest live bands I have ever seen. I smiled, teared up, laughed, sang my heart out and had an amazing time. The encores were a run through of
Here is "In Lilly's Garden" and "Getting It", not from London unfortunately:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fOnhHire4g

The crowd were old, a year older than last year but too old to be moshing but they did anyway and in the most good natured way, security guards were picking people off the floor and people helped the security guard up when he fell over. The alcohol was flowing freely and the "old enough to know betters" will be paying the price today, creaking and vowing never again but hopefully we can do this again next year.
Go and see Ginger and the Wildhearts, this is a man and a band that have one of the finest back catalogs of any artist, they can rock, they have a punk attitude and they have the most incredible hooks, saccharine sweet and wrapped in an iron bar, leaving you bruised with a smile on your face.

I will add some pictures at somepoint but I just wanted to get the blog out before England Vs Wales, last night was a great night and I am relieved to have the rugby tonight because last time I saw the Wildhearts I crashed badly afterwards, the colour faded for a little while as pathetic as it sounds, but this time around I have the Rugby (apologies to Georgia and Argentina for missing their match) to keep my on the high.

...the Rugby World Cup 2015.....my life is nearly complete.

And so it started, the Rugby World Cup 2015 kicked off on Friday night at Twickenham with a big victory for England. It wasn't entirely convincing as Fiji appeared to have ignored the script and played a great game and the score didn't reflect the toughness of the match. Mike Brown, England fallback had an amazing game, 2 tries and a huge influence on the game. I saw the match earlier in the year when he was carried off with concussion and was out for 3 months, England really missed him and it is good to see him back and hitting form. This match had more concerns, it showed flaws in the England game, hopefully this means that we will have the chance to put this right because I have no doubt that we have all the elements that make up a World beating team, it just needs to come together. The talent on the bench is a testament to the talent on the pitch. The only negative is that I would love to have seen Matt Banahan playing, Bath's 6ft 7" winger is a talent, he tackles hard, has a great turn of pace and is a huge presence on the pitch, shrugs off tackles and he is coming off the back of an exceptional season:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu2-fhNjALE

There appears to be a lot of controversy about the TV ref and the amount of time it is taking to reach a decision on a try or a foul. I think it is a good thing, it means that Rugby is leading the way in Europe in cleaning up the sport of cheating. Unlike Football, Rugby has never allowed the players to contest a referees decision, his decision is final and now there can not even be any controversial matches, a try is either correct or not, any infringements in the lead up to the try are spotted, all of this can only be a good thing for sport as a whole. The concern seems to be on the amount of time this takes, a Rugby match is 40 minutes a side but the England match ended up at 50 minutes a side, an extra 20 minutes and the concerns appear to be that it is a hindrance to flow of the game and that viewers will get bored and turn off. It might affect the flow of the game but it is a process that will get faster as time goes on. as a viewer, I prefer to see a fair match with cheats penalised and the a try being correctly awarded. I have seen 2 tries disallowed, both looked good and both refs gave the try until the replay showed that the ball was dropped over the line, the player wasn't in control of the ball, and the decision was rescinded, a correct decision. What will happen, as this tournament progresses, is that the balance will come together and processes will speed up, I just hope that it is given a chance and that the press doesn't tear it apart before it is given the chance to be the future of sport.

Anyway, Saturday, a day that was looking like a walk over for 2 of the matches and the Tonga Vs Georgia and France Vs Italy looking like the only matches worth watching. Tonga and Georgia was a bruising match that never really allowed the teams to find their stride. The tackling was immense, huge clashes, and huge packs that charged, making small gains in a war of attrition, there was no room for fear, this was raw and courageous, tactics and gameplan out the window and they simply slogged it out, it wasn't pretty but it was exciting with Georgia coming out as the victors.
Next up was Canada Vs Ireland. Ireland hadn't looked great in the final warm up match, losing convincingly to England but this was a rejuvenated side, Johnny Sexton was exceptional and Canada, a team that still has a number of part time amateur players, never stood a chance. I did cheer when they got a consolation try but Ireland were impressive and this firmly places them on the radar.

Next up was potentially the match of the tournament, and yes, this goes for all matches to come, Japan, seeded at 14, winning a single World Cup match against Zimbabwe 24 years ago, against South Africa, a troubled side but 2 time World Cup winners and ranked at number 3 in the World. Japan were a revelation, by the end of the first half, despite a slender lead, you could see the defeat in the South African players eyes. The Japanese pack is light in comparison to the Springboks and the Springboks are expected to push that advantage in every scrum, lineout and ruck but it didn't happen. I've never seen a scrum over so quickly, when the Japanese had the put in, the ball was literally rolling out as it was going in, the forwards simply didn't have any tie to assert themselves. Japan was so fast, the ball speed, movement off the ball and fitness of the team frustrated the Springboks and made them look jaded. When the first Japanese try came off the back of a rolling maul that contained 13 players, you just knew they had trained specifically for this match, they knew how to win and after the first try, they had the belief. It was a truly emotional and moving game, watching the no hopers never giving up, always being slightly behind but knowing they had the skills to win. It came down to the final play, South Africa at 32, Japan at 29, Japan could kick a penalty and finish with a draw or go all or nothing and go for the win. They opted for the win and what a nail biter it was before they finally dove the ball over the line in the corner for the biggest upset in Rugby history. All team have a name, the All Blacks for New Zealand, Springboks for South Africa, apparently England is the Red and Whites (after the kit) and Japan is the Brave Blossoms and they put in one of finest performances I have ever seen, they tackled hard, showed not an ounce of fear, played the game cleanly and put in one of the finest performances of running Rugby that I have ever seen, South Africa was outclassed and I think this will send a shockwave through the tier one teams, South Africa didn't take them seriously but this is a team that has the potential to become tier one, maybe not in this World Cup but over the next few years. The shame is that their coach is leaving and he is a genius.
This is what Rugby is about, this is a match that I wish I could have been at and I now have my second favourite team for this tournament. The really unfair thing is that the tier one teams have plenty of rest time, 5-6 days, Japan play Scotland on Wednesday, Scotland's first match so they are fresh, Japan have only 4 rest days, it seems mighty unfair.

The final match of the day was France Vs Italy. This was a tough one, both teams losing key players to injury and Italy are without their talisman Captain, Sergio Parisse, an amazing player that lifts the Italian team, even when they lose, he leaves his heart and soul on the pitch, without him Italy struggle for direction, movement and ideas and they never imposed themselves against France. It was a good match but given the previous match, this was the wind down.

So, this reaches its climax on October 31st, 6 weeks of Rugby, my life is nearly complete and given the matches yesterday, and yes I watched them all, I have an exciting month and a half to come. An England victory over Japan in the final would be the perfect result for me!

Any Americans that ever read this blog, look up Rugby, you need to get behind your national side, it is a far more exciting sport than American Football, take off all the padding and protective clothing, have just the one team to play defense and offence and you have Rugby. Your people play every team sport with belief and courage and it is a shame that your teams are playing this alone. Every other nation has large pockets of support that turn out for them but the US National teams in Rugby and Football (Soccer to you), seem to be in a lonely place, I'll support them today on your behalf, even though my nature urges me to support the tiny Island nation of Samoa, it's just a shame that you're probably not even aware of this tournament.

**Update** Samoa 25 USA 16
It was a good match but Samoa are a Rugby nation and they are in form. The USA played well but Samoa were just too much for them.

...I love this time of year.

My running has been sporadic. I didn't run last week and the week before, I ran in the evenings as my eldest daughter has a new bike and wanted some road experience, so I ran behind her so I would be the first to be hit and killed by a maniac motorist...well it made sense at the time.
Anyway, we plumped for 5 miles and she got faster day on day and so did I although I was a complete mess at the end of the runs It was really nice to get out with her, she was chatty and funny and I was sweaty and panting.
I ran yesterday morning, the first morning run in a little while and I noticed the change in the cold, slightly more biting than the last morning run, normally signifying a change in the season and it does seem to happen that suddenly, one day it is Summer, the next there is a bite in the air and we are in Autumn.
It made me realise how much I love this time of year. It was an amazing run, not fast but simply beautiful and I know that it will become much more so over the next few months. The frost will bite and the darkness will envelope me and the sun will warm my skin while the cold chills my bones, there will be the crunch of frosted leaves underfoot and the wildlife will be foraging for Winter supplies. The greenness that has sprung up will die back and the paths will be easier to run down. The leaves will colour and fall and I will lament the fact that my camera is at home but will keep the image in my heart and rejoice in being alive to witness all of this, humbled by the sheer creativity, scope and power of nature. Who needs a greater god than that?