15,001 it could have been 15,002 but unlike Frankie I failed

I think I'm 15,001, but my son has changed his mind at the last moment .

There you have it, I renewed my season ticket late Friday afternoon and as I am a late subscriber I will be sitting in a new seat, but at least I still managed to grab an aisle seat which will enable my long lanky legs to stretch out on moments of boredom.
Last season, on occasions my son nagged me to take him to the Valley, so to keep him happy this season I suggested a Charlton under21 season ticket . Oh! how things change, my son now has a girlfriend who understandably comes first in almost everything he wants to do, so after having suggested that I would subsidize the purchase of a season ticket he boldly asked me " thanks Dad for the season ticket offer but my girlfriend would really like me to learn to drive so instead of the season ticket, could you pay for some driving lessons . OK I thought good idea as I'm going to save some ££££ and the sooner he learns to drive the better for us because it can be a right royal pain in the bum, when he asks for a lift at 1 am .
So yesterday I passed the BSM shop in Bromley and read the big sign saying book ten lessons before August 10th and get 10% off- or something like that, so yep I went in and enquired . Not only was I persuaded to book 10 lessons but also 6 lessons on a simulator which when explained would really save you loads of dosh as your son will be ready to drive straight away on his first lesson. Total cost for that lot was £325.00, shoot there goes any chance of saving money.

Bougherra to go Zi Zi next

Pardew seems a little pissed off and who can blame him . At the bloggers get together Mr Murray said that ZiZi is desperate to play in the premiership and I am surprised that there has not been a descent offer from a top six premiership club. ZiZi has massive marketing potential and possibly the biggest in the world, he is a national hero in China and if he was to play for one of the top six premiership clubs they could double their support overnight and television rights could bring in millions.
Why do I fear that we will become a Norwich or Ipswich - well supported but unable to build a squad good enough due to financial restrictions .

Mexicans love the Premiership

The other Sunday we met some people from Mexico and of course the conversation got around to football . Apparently the English Premiership is watched by millions of Mexicans on Sky TV and the top four have massive following. My question was if that is the case why are there not more Mexicans players in the premiership and to my surprise the reply was- Mexican players are the highest paid players outside of Europe .




Come on you Reds

We need that midfield player-Lisbie signs for Ipswich

Lisbie signs for Ipswich

Hot news -Kevin Lisbie has signed for Ipswich Town-so be prepared for Ipswich to score at least once against us home and away.

Where is that allusive dynamic midfield player

Ok we look as though we are getting rid of the dead wood although I think Chris Iwelumo had a great start to last season when the team was playing well, but faded as most players did towards the end of the season. Personally I think we should have kept him as he always gives 100% and is an alternative when things are not going according to plan. At the moment the negative side of me is rearing its ugly head with the season nearly upon us the squad does not fill me with confidence.

Plenty of Mussels in Brussels

Just arrived back from Brussels after a very enjoyable short break and I really must recommend traveling by Leisure Direct Eurostar . In two hours from St Pancras you are in the centre of Brussels and with a nice meal and wine included, great seats, the journey makes you wish that all travel could always be so effortless and painless. A day in Brussels and a day in picturesque Bruges makes for the perfect short break.
Trouble is I hate mussels and every open air restaurant was serving their National dish.

Bromley are on the up/ Danson Park Outdoor Pool

Bromley are on the up


According to my tennis friend who is a season ticket holder at Bromley, the club is being financed by a so called benefactor which has enabled the club to buy several professional players of a high caliber at Conference level and keep them on a professional contract.
Definitely high hopes for next season and promotion is a must rather than a possibility so Conference South proper it will be. If Goldberg had not mysteriously resigned after about 10 games of last season the club may well already be there as they were going great guns at the time. Goldberg is back and expectations are high.
Bromley really is my local team as I pass the ground everyday returning home from work and I have actually played there four times in cup-finals. My mate who I played tennis with on Saturday is expecting a Charlton reserve side out tonight but after seeing the squad I think he may well be pleasantly surprised. Unfortunately/fortunately I am involved in a home tennis match tonight but if the wind is blowing in the right direction I may well hear the crowd.

Uxbridge Lido saved -Danson Park Open Air Pool -Dead and Buried

I was born in Hayes, Middlesex, being a suburb of North West London, which is next to Hillingdon and Uxbridge. One of my very first memories as a four year old is being taken to Uxbridge open Air Lido and having the time of my life splashing in the kiddies pool. After that I was a frequent visitor and as I got older my dad in the summer school holidays would drop me off first thing in the morning with my older sister for the day and he would pick us up on the way home from work. Oh what bliss! come rain or shine, with not a care in world we would spend almost the whole of the summer at the lido. My mum would prepare a packed lunch of sandwiches and squash and a daily allowance of 3d to buy a Wagonwheel at the Lido shop. By the end of the summer we were as brown as berries and quite proud of it as skin cancer hadn't even been thought of and sun cream was totally unnecessary (how misguided we were)

Uxbridge Lido

This Grade II listed lido was built in 1935. This is the only remaining example of a 12-sided 'star' swimming pool in the country and, at 220 feet, is the second longest open air swimming pool remaining in London. It has now been saved and over £50 millions pound is being spent on total refurbishment with an additional leisure centre and Olympic pool.














My dad who was a Civil Servant had the opportunity of a promotional transfer to Woolwich Arsenal, so the whole family including a very upset ten year old had to up sticks and
not only leave some great friends behind but was never to visit Uxbridge Lido again. Sidcup, Kent was to be where our new life began and to my surprise I settled pretty quickly, greatly helped by discovering Danson Park and its fabulous outdoor pool and great fishing lake and of course my beloved Charlton Athletic. The summers again were spent blissfully larking around sunbathing and meeting friends and having cheap fun at Danson open air pool . Memories come flooding back of a freezing cold pool which always made us look for the chalk board on entry which gave that days water temperature, if it was over 70f, we cheered and thought that was blissfully warm, in fact the water was always bloody freezing and I have since found out that the pool, which was built in the 1936, was originally heated, but the boiler broke down in 1956 and was never fixed . On particularly hot days, if you did not arrive early enough you could be turned away which sometimes caused a bit of aggro with irate parents who may have queued for hours in the hot sun with their children. The diving board was fantastic because the pool was built on the highest point of Danson Park, this meant the view from the top of the board was breathtaking, your breath was certainly taken away when you plucked up enough courage to jump into the pool . The one thing that really sticks in my mind is the Danson pool had a mangle, which, as kids we thought was great fun putting our trunks through several times after getting changed. Sadly the pool closed in 1979, demolished and landscaped over.
Those were the days we walked, ran, swam, played football and ate what we liked and never put on an ounce because we burnt it all off-fantastic.

Real Tennis is back

When I was a young man Wimbledon was something to look forward even though we struggled to get any English players past round one. Borg , Gerulailtis , Nastase. Conner's and McEnroe made tennis very watchable, exciting and Gladiatorial. After the mid-eighties tennis went through the doldrums with hardly any tennis played as the big serve ruled . Today my faith has been restored, surly the greatest men's final took place last night even surpassing the classic five setter with Borg and McEnroe . Even if your not a tennis fan watching Nadal and Federer battle it out for nearly 5 hours on a windy blustery day playing unbelievable tennis would surely of grabbed your attention.
Fantastic match with never a dull moment. The right person won and it was just great to see a very sporting Federer hug Nadal at the end. No wonder Wimbledon is still the best tournament in the World.

Murray suffers from the three O's

Murray

Ah! Murray- what a shame, last night he played a bit like our National Football team did against Croatia at Wembley , clearly he was suffering from the very painful condition the three O's.

Outplayed, outclassed and overawed.

Nadal

If Nadal does not win Wimbledon this year then he must be considered one of the biggest underachievers in the game. He played with a ruthlessness last night that I have not seen before. He must be riding high from the his countries greatest football triumph winning Euro 2008.

Freak of nature-Federer

He is the greatest tennis player of all time and where does he come from, Switzerland the hot-bed of world tennis, its got to be a freak of nature.

Safin to cause a major shock

Hes beaten Federer in the US Open final and I predict he will beat him again on Friday to set up a Nadal -Safin Final

When your number is up (Murray what a winner)

Spain 1 Germany 0
Funny how you find some matches disappointing when the analysis's point to the final being a good one. . The Germans flattered to deceive and really for most of the match outplayed, oh well the best footballing team won and my pre-tournament prediction was correct, although other predictions throughout the tournament were dire. Spain has gone football celebration crazy, just imagine what would happen here.

When your number is up

Listening to the radio yesterday there was a report about two air ambulances crashing in mid-air on their way to hospital killing 6 people on board both helicopters . Very sad but air ambulance crashes are not rare and on further investigation last year in the USA 84 people were killed involving air ambulances. Your number is up when you are saved from a potentially fatal crash only to end being killed on the way to an emergency hospital.

Murray what a winner

OK he is not every ones cup of tea but last night his match against the Frenchman Gasquet was the best I have seen for many years and for high drama its equals any football match over the last ten years. Unlike Henman, Murray does not come from a privileged background money wise and in fact his is rather tragic as luckily he missed being killed in the Dunblane massacre by being in another classroom which surely must have left some trauma . Murray attended one of Hamilton's scout camps before Hamilton
murdered 17 children a few months later.
Nadel is next and Murrays controversial drop shot might actually work against Nadel who plays mostly from the baseline.