Water, water, everywhere .....

Aunty J is still without water and so is popping over to GC's for showers etc. Electric is back tho'. According to Dad, the water at home may go off tomorrow. Something to do with the reservoirs having run dry. Contingency plans being made (largely around sterilising the slurry tanker and utilising nearby rivers....) but hopefully it won't come to that. Apparently the cows are all shut up still (since it was wet earlier on in the month).

In other news:
Joe's had some preliminary driving lessons and has managed to steer the Land Rover in a straight line in first gear. Martha is beginning to toddle (having bypassed the crawling stage it seems) and is beginning to create havoc.
Dad's farmers' collective have bought a couple of seats near the centre line in the new stand at Kingsholm. Nice!

Grr.... Rugby... Wasps 25 - Leicester 9

Irritating. Wasps won the Heineken Cup. On a brighter note for next season though, Gloucester have signed Lesley* Vainokolo from Bradford Bulls - looks terrifying, which is just what we need on our back row. Should make next season even better. See report and pictures here.


* I wonder if there are shades of "A Boy Named Sue" about him?

Gloomy

Don't want to talk about the rugby. The better team on the day won. Hope they swat Wasps next weekend.

Press coverage

My word, a decent write up in the press including a comment indicating that I missed some wonderful understated announcements from the Kingsholm tannoy:

Gloucester were mean enough to dedicate themselves to preventing any late Saracens try, and the public address system, rather apologetically, announced with Gloucester leading by 36 points that tickets would be available for the final afterwards, in the event of them holding on to win. As nonarrogant pronouncements went, it was a classic.

Also here which indicates that a new chant has been generated by the Shed:

When the Shed starts chanting, "Can we play you every week?" the opposition know they've had a bad afternoon. And so it was with Saracens, blitzed by a Gloucester outfit who notched seven tries and could have made it 10 or more were it not for a number of finishing errors.

Gloucester 50 -9 Saracens! We're off to Twickenham

I am a very happy woman. Kept checking the internet on my phone as I was wandering around the National Gallery with Dr B and The Lawyer (who would like me to point out that she is very nice). Feeble driving round Wales with Adrian looking for (and failing to find) a pub which was showing the game.
Doesn't sounds as if there have been any injuries to Glos, which is excellent. Looks like a Leics final.
Have got five tickets for the lower tier, North Stand - not ideal, as I'd wanted the side on view, but should be OK. In the middle of the Gloucester supporters area though. Nice.

Reservoir Farmers?

Remaining photos on Flickr here

Top of the table, but Tindall's broken

Newcastle 19 - 13 Gloucester away.
We have scraped to the top of the table with Leics equal on points, but they have a game in hand. Only the Bristol game (Ashton Gate) to go at the end of the month.
Amusingly Wasps are currently in 5th place, so outside the play-offs unless they do very well between now and the end of the season. Would be lovely if they missed out. An end to their usual antics of finishing in the top 4 and then winning the ridiculous 'play-offs'.

Gloucester 24- 18 Newcastle

Hurrah! We are top of the table, having won the most and lost the least number of games. We are still only one point ahead of Leicester who have stayed high due to a good number of bonus points (which we are dismal at collecting), but never mind.

The question is.... why, if we are so good, were none of our players in the most England matches? Not that I'm particularly complaining....less chance of England breaking them, but still a little odd....

Look at the table here

New Year's Day

Flaked out at about 11pm so went to bed, waking up at 0.10am to cough violently - a lovely way to see in the New Year. Roast beef and all the trimmings for lunch (at home). Granny gave me some Granny's lemonade to take home.

Off to Kingsholm to see Gloucester beat London Irish 15-3 - a very messy game because of the weather - I've rarely seen so much mud. When the subs came out to jog along the end of the field they were all wearing hooded raincoats and looked a bit like monks wearing tights which was quite funny. The players were so muddy you couldn't really tell which side was which, let alone who was who!.

When the Glaws subs came on the contrast was startling (particularly as the main team hadn't changed their kit at half time). Spreadbury was refereeing, which elicited a large 'Boo' from the Shed when it was announced.

Drove back to London at 6pm - took the shortcut off J10 of the M4 - I reckon that it saved about 10 mins, but agree with Dad that it is probably more reliable route when it is busy around Heathrow, as it cuts all that out.

Gloucester games next season

http://www.guinnesspremiership.com/201_109.php



Bath at home is early this year – first w/e in September



Glos v. Wasps at home is 17-19 Nov



Glos v. Newcastle at home is 22 Dec (Fri)



The Glos v. Sale @ Edgeley Park is 6-7 Jan



And then Glos v. Sale @ home is 26-28 Jan



Leicester @ Kingsholm 9-11 Mar



Glos v. Bristol at home 28/29 Mar



Semi finals 5/6 May



Finals 12/13 May

Home for the weekend

Joe is so cute! This weekend, I taught him to say "Bonjour, Je m'appelle Joe. J'ai deux ans. Gloucester Rugby Yeah (complete with waving arms!)". I also tried to teach him to say 'stand on his head' (the traditional shout from fi and me when we are on the terraces) to which, the literal child that he is, he just lifts his leg (as if attempting) and says (confused) 'Can't?!'

Funny boy!

• Mood:amused

Embarrassed to be English

Sometimes it's just shocking how badly we can play... a try in 41 seconds and then downhill from there.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/international/4798748.stm

The only plus point is that Yachvili used to play for Gloucester, so can claim him as one of ours (although perhaps Tindall playing for England cancelled that out?)

called my sister up several times during the game to give updates (no TV).

On a different note, am glad to see that scholarly ambition remains..(an encouragement for me to learn more Greek)

http://users.ox.ac.uk/~clas0078/latest.htm

• Tags:rugby
• Mood:embarrassed
• Music:'The Final Countdown' - Europe - on the TV.