Tag: Surrey

Cricket Classic

An account of the finish of the Nottinghamshire vs Surrey game in the county championship, some quality photos and some important links.

INTRODUCTION

As well as an account of a classic finish in the county championship match between Surrey and Notts I have some photos and a few links to share.

SURREY’S UNAVAILING FIGHT BACK

Thanks to Kumar Sangakkara and Arun Harinath in their second innings Surrey came into the final day with half a chance of completing a Lazarus like come back. Surrey’s second innings ended on the stroke of lunch with them having built a lead of 168 – just enough that things might get interesting…

Opener Greg Smith played a solid innings for Notts, but when he was out the score was 152-7 and an upset was definitely possible. However, nos 8 and 9, with a pair of genuine tail-enders to follow saw through the danger to get Notts home by three wickets. There was no play anywhere else in the country.

PHOTOS

Owing to the nature of the day (cricket in the middle thereof), I took two walks, one in the morning and one in the evening and I have pictures from both to share…

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Shot through the window of a bus yesterday.
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All Saints Church
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The side of All Saints Church – note the checkerboard panel.

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These butterflies were enjoying the sun and the dandelions near Old Boal Quay

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This pic and the next have gone down well with my twitter followers.

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These three shots of the Brunel £2 set demarcate morning and evening pics.

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LINKS

My first link is to a piece in the Mirror which shocked me. This is a story of a school using leg gaitors to restrain a six year old autistic child.

My second link is a thunderclap “#Kidsneednature”

My next three links all relate to:

ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES

The folks at disabledgo have put out a top 10 of fully accessible attractions in London which has led me to create:

  1. A new page on my London transport themed website, called “Attractions” and
  2. The introductory post to what will be a series based on the disabledgo piece.

My remaining links also belong together, constituting

THREE MORE REASONS FOR LONDONERS TO
VOTE FOR SIAN BERRY IN THE MAYORAL ELECTIONS

Sian Berry has been running the best campaign of all the contenders for London Mayor by the proverbial country mile, and today she has responded as a potential decision maker to not one or even two but three change.org petitions that I have signed. I have links below to the pages that show her very detailed and very positive responses to all three.

  1. The first is a call for a statue of a suffragette to be placed in Parliament square.
  2. The second calls for mayoral candidates to invest in youth work.
  3. Thirdly and finally is a call addressed by the creator of the petition to Zac Goldsmith and Sadiq Khan, but today answered by Sian, to protect independent shop owners in the capital.

 

 

 

Sport and Spring Weather

Cricket, golf and a walk – features lots of pictures.

INTRODUCTION

The county cricket season is underway, and just after midnight our time the first golf major of the year was decided. Additionally the weather today is so pleasant that for the first time in 2016 I am using my ‘outside study area’…

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AN EXTRAORDINARY FINALE

Reaching the point at which Jack Nicklaus among others has said majors really begin – namely the back nine on Sunday, this years US Masters was looking like Jordan Spieth was going to comfortably retain his title, but then he hit trouble, first in small way with bogeys at 10 and 11 (both very difficult holes) and then in a huge way at the 12th. At this tiny but fearsome par 3 Spieth put two balls in the water, clocking up a quadruple bogey 7 and losing the lead for about the first time of the tournament. England’s Danny Willett recorded a 67 to get to the club house at five under for the tournament, and Spieth reached the 17th needing a birdie, birdie finish to tie (barring miracles neither hole offers any chance of an eagle). A bogey at 17 and it was all over, and Willett, the previously unknown Englishman was the champion. The 18th at Augusta is a long par-four, not remotely drivable, and in any case the longest distance from which anyone has holed out to win a tournament is 176 yards by Robert Gamez (the victim of this freak, not for the first or last time in his career was Greg Norman).

A MORNING WALK

Before the cricket started today (day 2 of 4, Nottinghamshire having peen put in by Surrey had run up 445, Surrey had survived two overs without incident) I headed off for a walk.  I was barely started when the first photo presented itself…

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The riverside stretch to Hardings Pits yielded some cracking pics, a good few featuring cormorants…

Cormorant in full flight above the Great Ouse
The mouth of the Nar as it flows into the Great Ouse
West Lynn Church

The parkland stretch of the walk yielded two different types of train and several birds…

Magpie, just before heading back towards town.
This bronze Norwich Union plaque is the only one of its kind I have seen – it is to be spotted near the Catholic Church

The walk back into town, following Bawsey Drain, yielded a wide variety of shots…

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Ducklings with their mother.
These adorn the Tuesday Market Place

SURREY IN TROUBLE

Having conceded almost 450 by poor bowling, Surrey are now struggling with the bat, at 149-5. Elsewhere, Durham and Somerset are enjoying a low-scoring tussle, while Ben Duckett of Northamptonshire has relieved the Sussex bowlers of 254 (and counting – he’s still there). I shall be doing some prep for my photographic display at the Positive Autism Awareness Conference this Friday once I have published this, which ends with this picture…

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