My World Cup 2026

Sorry I haven’t written anything for a while, but I have been distracted by watching the World Cup on the TV. I think I must have watched at least fifty of the games, sometimes two or three games in one day. There are some things I don’t like about FIFA and the organisation of the tournament, but I have loved every minute of watching the ‘beautiful game’ as Pele once described it. Things I didn’t like were the outrageous ticket prices and the commercialisation. FIFA must have made billions from it all. I’d love to know where the money goes. The profits should be used to help football at the grassroots level globally and give poorer countries and players a chance to compete. I don’t like the political interference either. Maybe Balogun of the USA didn’t deserve a red card and suspension, but Trump interfering, getting on the phone to Gianni Infantino to have the suspension changed was outrageous. I hope we never see any more incidents like this. Also, football should be free from politics, yet only today a White House spokesman supported the Argentine players waving a political banner around. Another thing I don’t agree with is the introduction of the hydration breaks. This is ridiculous. In some games it was pouring with rain. A lot of other stadiums were air conditioned. Some games were played in extremely hot conditions, but there is always ample opportunity during a game to take on more water during stoppages for injuries or VAR checks etc. The real reason for the hydration breaks was for advertising on American television. These breaks can change the whole momentum of games, so I hope they don’t become a regular thing.

I was impressed with the fabulous stadiums. They make some of our UK stadiums look like sheds. I also liked the friendly atmosphere most of the time with the fans all mingling together before and after games which is a far cry from the bad old days of football hooliganism and rioting. I thought Norway should get an award for having the best fans. Their rowing to a drumbeat was spectacular and fun. I liked the cultural diversity of players in the teams. This was especially noticeable in teams like France and England where most of the players appear to be from families of immigrants. That should keep the racist elements in society quiet for a few weeks. 

My favourite team apart from England was Cape Verde, a tiny country of 530,000 people. I wasn’t even sure exactly where Cape Verde was until the World Cup when I discovered it is a group of islands off the coast of West Africa. In their opening game they drew with eventual finalists Spain and were desperately unlucky losing 3-2 to the other finalist Argentina. The team certainly put Cape Verde on the map and justified the increase in countries competing from 32 to 48. Cape Verde did well without resorting to the dark arts of dirty play and fouling as practiced by the likes of Paraguay in their game against France. I felt sorry for Senegal who were leading Belgium 2-0 with minutes to go after outplaying them most of the game. Somehow Belgium managed to win the game. Then the Trump interference getting Balogun reinstated fired Belgium up to defeat USA and they were in the last eight. Another team deserving of sympathy were Egypt who were leading Argentina 2-0 and controversially had a perfectly good goal disallowed. They were robbed of victory. 

Until the semi-finals I thought that France looked unbeatable. The team seemed to be packed with star players like Mbappe, Dembele and Olise. When they faced Spain however they were outplayed. The stars just didn’t shine on the day. Spain took command of the game and didn’t let go. I thought England’s best performance was the game against Mexico in the iconic Azteca Stadium. England defended heroically despite having a player sent off and managed to win. They were lucky to win against Norway and reach the semi-final against Argentina. Despite not being the better team England managed to take the lead against Argentina. Then, instead of pressing home the advantage and trying to get a second goal they tried to tighten up the defence and hang on to the one goal lead. They got away with that against Mexico, but against a team with the greatest player of all time Lionel Messi this tactic was doomed to failure. 

This evening England play France in the bronze medal play-off. It’s a game where the result doesn’t really matter, but I hope the English coach rests a few players and gives some other squad members a chance to play, such as former Peterborough United striker Ivan Toney who has only played for about six minutes so far. Tomorrow is the final between Spain and Argentina. I hope it isn’t a cagey defensive affair where both teams are scared to lose. I want an open attacking game with lots of goals, and may the best team win!.

Postscript: A few hours later. The play-off game between England and France for 3rd place was a really entertaining exciting game which England won 6-4. If the final is half as good it will be memorable.

Postscript 2 on Monday: I think most people would agree that the final was a bit of a disappointment, and not the sort of game to attract new fans. I have never seen such a one-sided game not produce a goal after 90 minutes. Spain completely dominated the game. I don't think Argentina had a shot on target until it was too late. I'm glad Spain won because they were the best team in the tournament, and deserved champions. The behaviour of some Argentine players after the final whistle was disgraceful. I'm not very keen on the idea of extending half-time to 30 minutes and the entertainment. We don't need this creeping Americanisation of the game. My favourite photo of the tournament is of Yamal of Spain celebrating with his young brother.

Sam Carter Sings Nic Jones, Live At Celtic Connections.

It is always a good start to the day when some new music arrives in the post. Today it was a signed CD by Sam Carter called Sam Carter Sings Nic Jones, Live At Celtic Connections. I have to thank two Facebook friends for bringing Sam Carter to my attention. I think it was because they knew that I was a fan of Nic Jones and have often said that Penguin Eggs from 1980 by Nic is one of my favourite albums of all time. Sadly, only two years after Penguin Eggs was released Nic’s promising career was brought to a halt when driving home from a gig he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a lorry leaving a brick yard near my hometown of Peterborough. He was hospitalised for a year. However, his music legacy continues to be celebrated. Sam Carter is bringing Nic’s music to new audiences with this live album recorded in January this year at the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow to a very respectful audience. 

Nic Jones at Village Pump Fest 2013.

There are thirteen songs on this album and six songs from Penguin Eggs are included. They are Barrack Street which is the humorous tale of a sailor who gets robbed of everything including his clothes by a lady he meets in Barrack Street, Courting Is A Pleasure, Farewell To The Gold written by a Dutch born folk singer called Paul Metsers, The Humpback Whale & The Little Pot Stove which were both written by a Scottish seaman who emigrated to Australia called Harry Robertson. In the 1950s he worked on whaling ships and wrote these autobiographical songs. I suppose songs about harpooning whales are not very PC these days, but they tell wonderful descriptive stories of the conditions the ships crews had to endure. After two listens today I think Canadee-i-o is my favourite track. Sam is absolutely faithful to Nic’s fingerpicking staccato guitar style on this track and all the others. At times I would swear it was Nic who was playing. (See video below)

Apart from Penguin Eggs I only have one other album by Nic called Game Set Match which I bought at the Village Pump Folk Festival in 2013 when Nic made a brief return to the stage with his son Joe playing the guitar. We met Nic after his performance and he signed the CD for me (See pic). I must say it was a pleasure and a privilege to meet him. Sam has included four songs from that album here which are Master Kilby, Clyde Water which is a tragic tale of two cursed lovers Willie and Maggie who drown in the river Clyde, Seven Gypsies which tells the story of a noble woman who runs away with seven gypsies. I felt sorry for the gypsies because they got hanged for stealing her, but she went off with them willingly, Billy Don’t You Weep For Me which is another tragic tale of betrayal and drowning. Other songs that Sam has included that I wasn’t familiar with are Ten Thousand Miles, Annan Water and the only song actually written by Nic which is Ruins By The Shore, a beautiful lament for the fragility of humanity and civilisation. I have enjoyed listening to this wonderful music today. Congratulations to Sam Carter for this great tribute to the genius of Nic Jones. I imagine that Sam must have spent a lot of hours practicing these songs to get Nic’s unique fingerstyle guitar technique off to a tee. For this season only Sam is touring the country bringing Nic’s music to the people, so I urge you to go along. I am looking forward to seeing Sam perform at The Pound In Corsham on September 25^th. I’ll bring you a report on that concert in due course. Cheers.

Sam Carter: Canadee-i-o, (Originally by Nic Jones)

 

In The Garden, Part 5.

                                                A few pics from my garden.

Buddha & Sunflower.

Painted Lady Butterfly on Scabious.

Evening Primrose.

Red Hot Poker.

Oriental Poppy ( Papaver Orientale). 

Alium Moly (Golden Garlic) 

More to follow hopefully.

At The Sign of The Angel.

A friend of mine kindly gave me a gift voucher for my last birthday, so yesterday I treated my niece Lee to lunch at The Sign Of The Angel in Lacock which is only a twenty-minute drive from here. We chose this week because we always have an annual meet-up to remember my brother Paul’s birthday who would have turned 70 tomorrow. Lacock is a wonderful unspoiled picturesque village to visit. It is often used as a location in film and television dramas such as Pride and Prejudice, Cranford, two Harry Potter films, Fantastic Beasts, Downton Abbey, Wolf Hall, Beauty and the Beast, and many others. Queen Camilla has a house here. When she was divorced from Andrew Parker Bowles she bought Rey Mill House just outside Lacock. She retained the house after marrying King Charles and still frequently uses it as a retreat from London. I have read that Charles later bought the neighbouring property as well to ensure her privacy. 

Photo 1835

Lacock was also the home of Henry Fox Talbot who was the most famous British pioneer of photography in the Victorian era. He lived at Lacock Abbey. In 1835 Fox Talbot took a photograph of a window in the Abbey which is the oldest existing photograph taken with a camera (See picture). The Fox Talbots owned almost the entire village. In 1916 Henry Fox Talbot's son Charles bequeathed the Lacock estate to his niece Matilda. The estate comprising of 284 acres, the Abbey and the village – was given to the National Trust in 1944 by Matilda Talbot which is why it remains in such a remarkably preserved condition. Lacock has three public houses and a number of shops in its High Street including a grocery store, a bakery, gift shops and a National Trust shop. The Sign Of The Angel where me and Lee dined is a 15^th century listed building, very olde worlde, like stepping back in time to the Tudor period.

When we arrived, the temperature was already 30C and I was concerned that it would be too hot. However, it turned out to be very pleasant indeed because they have a very nice shady garden which leads down to a stream. Lee spotted a most amazing blue-winged dragonfly flitting about by the stream. The waitress who had a very pleasant manner seated us at a table for two in the shade of a tree. The food was delicious. I opted for the spring vegetable orzo pasta, and Lee went for the Wye Valley asparagus and old Winchester cheese tart.  I enjoyed a glass of very dry, delicate light white wine called Whitehall Bacchus which is produced right here in Lacock. Poor Lee had to settle for iced Spring water because she was driving. We passed quite an idyllic hour or so sitting out there and chatting and remembering Paul. We did intend to have a stroll around the village, but when we left the shade of the garden and felt the heat outside I couldn’t face walking about, so we decided to get in Lee’s air-conditioned car and head home. Thank you Lee for driving, and thanks again to my friend for making it all possible.

In The Garden: Part 4.

Phew, wot a scorcher! It has been unseasonably hot here for the past few days and today has been the hottest day of all. It is 30 degrees centigrade at the moment which is 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Celtic types like me don’t like it that hot. I have just come indoors to the cool of my living room. I have enjoyed sitting outside in the mornings, and especially in the cool of the evening. I love the ritual of watering the garden in the evenings, giving the plants a good soaking. Last night I was out there until it was nearly dark. It is very mindful looking upwards at the half-moon and the blue sky with just wisps of cloud and listening to a blackbird singing from the top of a neighbour’s tree. From about 9.00pm I was observing pairs of swifts darting about high up performing high speed aerial manoeuvres. For the last few weeks I have been following an ongoing dispute between a pair of blackbirds and a pair of wood pigeons who are nesting in the same tree. The blackbirds seem to be the aggressors. I think they see the wood pigeon’s large size and slow movements as a threat.

Despite the heat I have managed to get a few jobs done. I gave my pond it’s annual clean. That involved scooping out all the silt that accumulates at the bottom of the pond. I’m sure my two shubunkins appreciate their little pooliverse being a lot tidier. I think the bucketful of organic pond matter I gathered will make good fertiliser for my plants. Before the heat kicked in I also managed to paint the outside of my kitchen, and the tall wall with brilliant white masonry paint. That wall had very flaky paint ,and dirty with pollution. There is still a lot to do. I need to paint the window frames and my back door when it cools down a bit. My little garden is looking better by the day. The sunflowers are growing rapidly against the wall. They should look great when they flower. I’m pleased to see some marigolds from last year have returned and are in flower now. 

The clematis that I had to cut right back when I mended the fence is already shooting new stems skywards, so that is good. Down around the pond buttercups seem to have taken over. I used to dig out buttercups, but It’s a lot of hassle, so I think I’ll just leave them to get on with it. I’ll simply call the area down by the pond ‘The wild area’. My hanging baskets are starting to look good, but they won’t reach their best for a while yet. I know my little garden isn’t quite the Chelsea Flower Show, but I like pottering around in it. I’ll do another garden report before too long. Cheers.

An Evening With Emmylou Harris In Bristol.

It was in the mid 1970s that I first became aware of the music of Emmylou Harris. My friend Fred was a big fan of Gram Parsons which led me to hearing Emmylou on Gram’s Grievous Angel album. I was working at Hotpoint in Peterborough at the time. On payday after work I used to get off the bus at Bridge St and treat myself to an album in Andy’s Records. One fateful afternoon I purchased Pieces Of The Sky by Emmylou and have been a fan ever since. When I heard that Emmylou was playing in Bristol I knew I had to go, especially as it was promoted as part of her 'Farewell European Tour’. I had seen Emmylou previously at this venue in 2015 when she played with Rodney Crowell, but I had a feeling that tonight would be a lot better, especially as I was in Row C only a few feet from the stage. Also, the previous time I was at Bristol Beacon to see Cat Stevens last September I had to leave before the show ended to catch my train. I didn’t want that to happen again, so I reserved a room at the Clayton Hotel only 250 yards from The Beacon. After I checked in at 2.00pm my intention was to go for a walk around the harbour, but I started watching the horse racing on the TV in my room and fell asleep until 6.00. I had a bite to eat and a glass of wine in the hotel bar and then made my way to The Beacon.

Jim Lauderdale.

This is the third time I have been to The Beacon since its major renovation, and I must say the seats are very comfortable these days with lots of leg room. The opening act Jim Lauderdale came on stage promptly at 7.30. He looked very Country, dressed in a purple spangly suit, unaccompanied apart from his well-worn acoustic guitar. I must admit that I knew nothing about him previously although he has released 39 albums in his career and has written songs with the likes of Elvis Costello and Robert Hunter of the Grateful Dead. I enjoyed his set of songs. He is quite a humorous character. One of his songs he informed us was the first country song about artificial intelligence. He also recently released an album called Country Super Hits Vol 2 although there aren’t actually any hits on it. I particularly liked I’ve Lost You written with Elvis Costello and Trash Can Tomcat & Patchwork River both co-written with Robert Hunter. He got the audience singing along with Heading For The Hills. The final song was great, called The King Of Broken Hearts inspired by George Jones.

There was a short interval during which I went outside to get some fresh air. Then it was time for Emmylou. She arrived on stage looking wonderful, dressed in dark clothes and sporting a pair of brilliant white sparkling cowgirl boots. Her five-piece band were excellent and some of them were multi-instrumentalists. They are Brian Owings on drums, Paul Madiera on keyboards, accordion and guitar, Chris Donohue on bass, Will Kimbrough on guitars, and Eamon McLoughlin on fiddle and mandolin. (I hope I spelled their names correctly). I hope I have got the names of the songs right as well which I think were as follows. 

Jim Lauderdale joined Emmylou for the opening song Love Hurts which is one of the earliest Emmylou cover songs I ever heard. (See video below) Here I Am was co-written with Julie Miller and included on the 2003 album Stumble Into Grace. Orphan Girl is a Gillian Welch composition. Paul Madiera was splendid on the accordion on this song. Love and Happiness was co-written with Mark Knopfler, and One of These Days is a George Jones cover song. Emmylou said that when she first saw Townes Van Zandt she thought he was channelling the ghost of Hank Williams. Pancho & Lefty is one of Townes greatest songs. 

Gram & Emmy.

Red Dirt Girl is one of the best of her own songs and won Emmylou a grammy in 2000. Kern River was written by Merle Haggard. Emmylou stopped during this song and said, “I’m sorry Merle, I forgot the words”. The audience started laughing and Emmylou said, “Give me a break, I am 79!”. Then she carried on perfectly. If I Needed You is another Townes song performed beautifully with excellent violin by Eamon.  I loved Goin' Back to Harlan because it is one of my favourite Kate & Anna McGarrigle songs. Get Up John and Green Pastures are songs by Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley that I’m not at all familiar with, but I must say the band rocked on the bluegrass numbers. Help Him Jesus was written by an English person Paul Kennedy and originally sung by Johnny Cash. Emmylou went to great lengths explaining how she came to record it. The band left the stage for the next song leaving just Emmylou and her guitar to perform The Road which was a highlight for me. A very sad song about her relationship with Gram Parsons. 

That led to one of Gram's greatest songs Hickory Wind which first appeared on The Byrds Sweetheart Of The Rodeo classic album. Tulsa Queen written with Rodney Crowell is from a 1976 album Luxury Liner, the title song also written by Gram who also wrote Wheels from her Elite Hotel album. Boulder to Birmingham is possibly my all-time favourite Emmylou song which took me right back to that album which made me a fan in the mid-70s. Long May You Run is a Neil Young song that I’ve always liked because it mentions the Beach Boys. The whole band took a bow and left the stage, but we knew they would be back. The final song was Together Again. As the audience dispersed Eamon came back on stage to collect his stuff. I asked him for a setlist so I could make sure I got the songs right, but he didn’t have a spare one. We exchanged a few words. He is actually from South London but told me that he lives in Nashville these days. Anyway, I made my way back to the hotel via stopping at The White Lion pub for a deserved pint of cider. I sat outside the pub, watched the world walk by and reflected that it had been a splendid evening. I was pleased that I had seen the undisputed Queen of Country Rock Emmylou Harris for one last time.