Winter arrived here in New Zealand on June 1st right on time with heavy snowfalls in the South of the South Island and a sudden drop in temperatures to single figures at night and highs in the mid teens here in Tauranga which was a shock to the system after the balmy weather we have had throughout the autumn.
The adjacent picture is of Tongariro National Park which has three active volcanoes. Mount Ruapehu is one of them and is the highest point in the North Island at 2,797 metres.
On the previous page I mentioned my scepticism of the medical profession and this stems from my own personal experiences, however, it is thanks to the medical profession I am alive today when as a child I was rushed into hospital with appendicitis and peritonitis and almost died. I suppose I should not criticise but then I caught dysentery in hospital after the operation through poor care and almost died a second time!
Regular readers of this web site will have read of my latest tussle with the medics when they initially diagnosed a stroke but then failed to prove it, never the less putting me on statins from which I had some bad side effects and despite my cholesterol level being very low.
Against my doctors advice I took myself off them. His and her advice was that I had high blood pressure and was therefore at risk despite taking medication to keep my blood pressure in check.
Kiwi joke: A bloke walks into a bar in New Zealand and orders a shandy. All the Kiwis sitting around the bar look up, expecting to see another Australian visitor.
The barman says, "You aren't from around here, are ya?"
The guy says, "No, I'm from Canada."
The bartender says, "What do you do in Canada?"
The guy says, "I'm a taxidermist."
The bartender says, "A tixidermist? What the hick is a tixidermist? Do you drive a tixi?'"
The guy says, "No, a taxidermist doesn't drive a taxi. I mount animals."
The bartender grins and yells, "He's ok boys. He's one of us!"
In the UK and in many parts of the world the elderly are on statins as a precaution. The doctors will tell you that many studies have shown conclusively that statins reduce the risk of a heart attack and they quote statistics. For example it is claimed that 33% of men are at risk of having a heart attack or stroke in the next ten years and this is reduced to 23% if you take statins. So 10% of men would have been prevented from having a heart attack.
These statistics are arrived at by studies over a period of 10 years of a group of people on statins against another group on a placebo. The results are genuine but they do not tell you how many of those in the study suffered from other medical problems or died of other causes. They also rely on relative percentages rather than absolute ones. Are you confused? If so then read on...
Suppose your doctor says that out of a 100 people studied who were on statins 5 suffered heart attacks but those not taking statins suffered 10. He will then say that 50% more people benefited from the medication and he would be correct. But that is a relative percentage.
The absolute percentages are 5% for those on statins and 10% for those that are not which are much smaller numbers and the larger the number of people studied the absolute percentage becomes less and less significant.
It is self evident from the statistics that those at risk of heart disease benefit from taking statins and doctors consider those of us who have high blood pressure are at risk, however, if that blood pressure if under control from other medication and your cholesterol is low then what is the point of taking further medication to lower cholesterol even further?
The answer is that doctors say that statins will help in other ways but when I ask what other ways they are unable to say and mumble something about platelets which does not inspire confidence and I can find no evidence of other benefits. The recommended LDL ("bad" cholesterol) level for those at risk is below 1.8 mmol/L and don't try to understand what these units mean because that is unimportant. Doctors just look at recommended numbers and for anyone above that level who is at risk they prescribe statins.
In my case my LDL level is a very low 1.7 mmol/L so below the 1.8 figure without taking statins so why take them? So far no doctor has explained why I should.
Just like the problems with the different immunisations there are scaremongers who put people off taking them to the detriment of their health and those of others. I am not scaremongering here though I do have suspicions that the statistics used are put out by the drug companies for whom statins are a big fat cash cow. Rather I suggest that each individual should examine the evidence and make a decision based on what they conceive to be their own risk.
Although there is always a risk in taking any drug and there is some evidence that statins can have harmful effects, I do think that the benefits can outweigh the risk but do not believe in taking any drugs that are unnecessary. You get an anti flu virus injection to prevent you getting the flu but it is of no use if you already have the flu!
Orstralian Politics
Last year on our way to New Zealand we stopped for a few days in our old happy hunting ground of Melbourne, catching up with a few old acquaintances.
One of them brought the subject around to politics and began to spout some very anti-brexit propaganda, guaranteed of course to raise my hackles!
Some of the stuff she was saying had a familiar ring about it and she subsequently revealed she was a member of an organisation called GetUp which I had never heard of. A Cobberdiggerbuddypal explained that this was a left wing pressure group active in Oz funded in part by George Soros and it all fell into place.
George Soros made a lot of his money by betting $10 billion against Sterling during the currency crisis of 1992 and made $1 billion profit in the process. He is now worth in excess of $8 billion and is a Hungarian born naturalised American citizen who actively interferes in other nations politics by funding predominantly left wing organisations including GetUP.
Soros was educated at the London School of Economics. In the UK Soros has donated £400,000 to the anti-Brexit 'Best for Britain' group and a total of £303,000 to two pro-EU organizations, the European Movement UK and Scientists for EU, and a centre-right think-tank, Bright Blue. He supports the idea of a federal Europe.
The Oz Liberals (confusingly not liberals but right wing conservative) and Country Party coalition recently won a general election against all the predictions. The Oz Labour party are still in a state of shock and many pundits think the underhand activities of GetUp had something to do with it as the ectorate saw though them.
What gets my goat is the very people who complain bitterly about outside interference in their politics when the likes of The Donald pokes his oar in or where Nige's Brexit party gets its funding, happily accept cash from the likes of George Soros. A plague on all their houses!
Recent Visitors
We were honoured to receive Auckland royalty in the persons of Terri and Byron who stayed a couple of nights. I had recorded the England v Baa-Baa's game which we all watched and discussed the likely finalists in the forthcoming Rugby World Cup.
We also watched some of the World Cup Cricket and took great delight in the Australian top order being unable to handle the Windies bowlers. Byron wants the Kiwi umpire sacked who failed to spot a huge no-ball by Mitchell Starc then gave Gayle out the next ball which should have been a free hit. Smithy was roundly booed on and off the field and all the team were searched for sandpaper!
We all went for a Dim-Sum at 88 Devonport Chinese then we took them up the hill above Te Pune where they were snapped for posterity. We also took them to the Quarry Park so they know where it is for the next time they are down.
United Kingdom GDP
Britain is the 5th largest world economy measured as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita but simply measured as the total value of GDP the UK is currently 9th.
When such figures are quoted there is often confusion between the two. The first is a measure of productivity whereas the second measures the total economy irrespective of population. For example India was 7th GDP per capita in 2015 but was the 3rd largest economy in the world in total.
Like all statistics they can reflect whatever argument you want to put across that will favour your point of view (including me). If you are pro EU you will interpret the stats and present the ones that make it look like membership of that organisation has been good for Britain whilst a Brexiteer like me will present the opposite so who should we believe?
Here is a graph I have prepared showing the UK world GDP rankings from 1920 to 2015. As you can see The UK has gone from 3rd in the world to 9th. Furthermore since joining the EEC in 1973 the UK has sunk from 6th to 9th place in the world so anyone who tries to tell you otherwise like a certain political party is talking bollocks! Make your own mind up.
Super Rugby Week 17
The penultimate week of the Super Rugby competition between teams from New Zealand, Australia, Japan, South Africa and Argentina began with the Highlanders versus the Bulls under the roof in Dunedin and the Blues versus the Reds up in snowy Queensland. Some teams will have no further interest after this week as they will have no possibility to join the final eight teams in the play-offs and you can discover the winners and losers by clicking here...
The Highlanders and the Bulls both really needed to win this game so both will be disappointed in the result. Aaron Mauger spent three years overseeing Leicester Tigers fall from grace before being fired and is not having much more success with the Landers. I can personally sympathise with teams who have ex-Crusader All-Blacks as coaches! They kilted ones could not handle the Bulls scrum who managed to equalise in the last five minutes. The result was a 24-24 draw which probably puts the Landers out of contention for the play-offs and gives the Bulls chances less chance.
Byron's Blues were also feeling blue after they were beaten by the Reds in Brisbane 29-28. They do remind me of dear old Barf being 16 points ahead and on top early in the game then letting the Queenslander's come back to take the lead in the final minutes. They are stuffed with brilliant players who can not seem to play as a team. Could this be yet another ex-Crusader All-Black who is unable to coach? And incidentally the Crusaders have decided not to change their name thank goodness.
First five Otere Black started, played well and slotted 4 conversions apart from a few sillies but went off injured and on came Harry Plummer who can't kick and we discovered can't pass either. Ma'a Nonu looked good for a winning try when Plummer threw him a pass even he couldn't catch, the Reds turned the ball over, the hooter went and they kicked it out.
The Reds were never going to make the play-offs and the Blues certainly won't after that performance.
The Crusaders lost last week against a determined Chiefs but it must have been the Fiji heat which did for them as in the sub-antarctic Christchurch temperatures they absolutely thrashed the Melbourne Rebels 66-0. Nobody can catch them now at the top of the table. It was Ryan Crotty's 150th Super Rugby game so it was a fitting end to the game when he scored and converted the 10th and final try.
The Oz derby between the Brumbies and the Waratahs in Sydney was the Tahs last chance for a play-off spot but the Brumbies were all over them like a rash and it finished 35-24. Three of the team are off to join newly promoted London Irish while others like Kurtly Beale and Bernard Foley are probably hanging on hoping for a Wobblies spot in the World Cup.
Over in Jo'burg the Lions came to a sticky end against the Hurricanes 37-17 to secure a home play-off game while the Stormers beat the Sunwolves down in Cape Town 31-18. Finally the Sharks were well beaten in Buenos Aires by the Jaguares 34-7 who remain at the top of the SA conference and are now certain to remain there.
Finalists based on latest results after week 17
Rank
Team
Played
Win
Draw
Loss
Diff
Points
1
Crusaders
16
11
3
2
240
58
2
Jaguares
15
10
0
5
67
46
3
Brumbies
15
9
0
6
51
43
4
Hurricanes
15
11
1
3
82
49
5
Bulls
15
7
2
6
20
36
6
Lions
15
8
0
7
-56
35
7
Stormers
15
7
1
7
-19
35
8
Rebels
15
7
0
8
-41
34
So the top four teams are unchanged. The Bulls move up from 7th to 5th displacing the Lions. The Stormers move back into play-off contention in 7th place, the Rebels drop to 8th and the Sharks drop out. All those except the Crusaders have one more game left so let's look at who has a chance of making the play-offs next weekend.
The Saders, Jags and Brumbies are all safe at the top of their conferences while the Canes can not be caught so the last 4 places are still up for grabs. The fixtures next week and the possible effect on the play-offs are as follows:
The Highlanders meet the Waratahs in Invercargill so a win for either could keep them in the running.
The Rebels meet the Chiefs in Melbourne and a win for either could mean they are in the finals but if either lose they are out.
The Jaguares meet the Sunwolves and the result will have no effect.
The Hurricanes meet the Blues in Wellington and the Blues would need a bonus point win to stand half a chance.
The Brumbies meet the Reds in Canberra and the result will have no effect
The Stormers meet the Sharks and a win for either could count.
The Bulls meet the Lions and both need the win to be sure.
So it looks like being a nail biting finish to the regular season to decide who will play in the finals. It is so close that the result of another game will almost certainly affect a teams chances of making the play-offs. Watch this space.
Bad News
Regular readers will know that my wife Sue was being treated by the GP for a muscle or ligament strain. After x-rays, ultrasound and various blood tests which found nothing she was referred to a sports injury specialist who are able to arrange an MRI scan here in NZ which GP's can't. After three months of pain we asked the GP to prescribe opiates and refer her to the hospital. The GP spoke to the hospital bone doctor who agreed to see her the same day if we went in to the Emergency department immediately.
It is much the same here as in the UK and we waited 4 hours to be seen, however, they examined her and did a more extensive x-ray then asked us to attend the outpatients clinic the next day. We were then told that the x-rays were different to the previous ones and they wanted to do further tests. They admitted her there and then to hospital and she was given a very nice private room with en-suite for a couple of days while they did a CT scan which showed what was diagnosed as Bone Metastasis.
This is a secondary cancer of the bone, the primary tumour likely coming from the lung. There is no cure but the pain can be managed in various ways. Sue is otherwise healthy which will help her treatment but we are both shocked especially as she can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times she has ever needed a doctor. Sue seems to be bearing up well but I am finding it pretty hard to take though I am now highly skilled in all forms of housework and cooking although my appetite is much reduced.
The result from the biopsy will be known in a few days when we will know the type of cancer she has and the treatments Sue will get. I will update this web site as things develop but in the meantime if you have bone pain for a couple of weeks let alone three months, insist on your GP referring you to a specialist. It will not make any difference to the outcome if you have bone cancer but the sooner you start the treatment the better.
Here in NZ you pay to see a GP but hospital treatment is free. The result is that people will go to a hospital Emergency Department to get treated to avoid paying a GP, thus making the delay to be treated longer. Something wrong there with the system. My suggestion is that the Triage Nurse should asess if the patient could be treated by a GP and if so make the same charge.
More Super Rugby
This was week 18 which was the last week of the regular season when the top eight teams then play quarters, semi finals and a final over the next three weeks.
To find out which teams made it to the play-offs and those who will play no more this season click here....
The weekend's games began on a cold Friday night in Invercargill which did not suit the Waratahs but suited they Highlanders as they demolished the poor old Tahs 49-12. Later that same evening in Melbourne our Chiefs did an even better job on the Rebels just like the Crusaders did to them last weekend but a defeat of 59-8 on their home ground would have been humiliating. My Melbourne mate Andy was at the ground and may resign his membership of the Rebel fan club!
I know it is entirely unreasonable but I dislike Quade Cooper and Will Genia in a way I can not explain and love it when the sides in which they play get beaten almost as much as when England beat Orstralia at Cricket. Cooper made many of the mistakes which lost them the game which was equally delightful to watch. Genia has hinted he is so pissed off at being knocked out he might retire. Great, though I must admit that both are sometimes pretty to watch!
So those games put the Chiefs into the play-offs and knocked the Tahs and the Rebels out. The Highlanders progressed into the last eight but to stay there depended on later game results.
The Blues did their usual trick of storming ahead to lead 5-24 at half time in Wellington only to fail to score a single point in the second half after the "Calvary" (which was the Spoonerism the SKY commentator used to describe the Canes bench) came on and scored 24 points to win 29-24 which must have had Byron & Terri spitting blood yet again!
The Brumbies qualified as the top team in the Oz conference and the Reds were already out of it so their game made no difference which the Brumbies won in Canberra 40-27.
The Jaguares beat the Sunwolves 52-10 in Buenos Aires which also made no difference to the final eight except that the Chiefs will now play them in their home quarter final whereas had they lost it would have been the Brumbies which was less of a trip and jet lag, not that it will worry them now that Sam Cane and Brodie Retallick are back who are superhuman.
Finalists based on latest results after week 18
Rank
Team
Played
Win
Draw
Loss
Diff
Points
1
Crusaders
16
11
3
2
240
58
2
Jaguares
16
11
0
5
109
51
3
Brumbies
16
10
0
6
64
48
4
Hurricanes
16
12
1
3
87
53
5
Bulls
16
8
2
6
41
41
6
Sharks
16
7
1
8
8
37
7
Chiefs
16
7
2
7
-14
36
8
Highlanders
16
6
3
7
49
36
The final games this week were all Jarpie derby's. The Sharks beat the Stormers in Cape Town in a thrilling match scoring the winning try in extra time 9-12 which will please Nick Easter (late of Quins) who is now working as an assistant coach for that franchise. The other result will also please Aaron Mauger as it meant his Highlanders also go through and the Lions drop out as the Bulls fresh from their successful tour of the Antipodes beat the Lions in Pretoria 48-27.
So to the knockout part of the competition and any team not in the table above will play no further part. The top team plays the eighth, second the 7th and so on down the table so the quarter finals next week are as follows:
The Crusaders play the Highlanders in Christchurch on Friday June 21st.
The Jaguares play the Chiefs in Buenos Aires on Friday June 21st.
The Hurricanes play the Bulls in Wellington on Saturday June 22nd.
The Brumbies play the Sharks in Canberra on Saturday June 22nd.
Four out of the five Kiwi teams are through to the finals, one Argentinian, one Orstralian and two Jarpies.
My predictions are the Saders to beat the Landers, The Chiefs to beat the Jags, The Bulls to beat the Canes and the Sharks to beat the Brumbies but what do I know?
NZ Super v UK Pension
The saga of moving our UK state pension to NZ continues and reinforces the rank incompetance of civil servants which I ranted about on the previous page.
For those who did not read of our problems, the UK pensions service claimed they had overpaid us some amounts accrued when working in Australia due to some obscure legislation back in 2008 when the UK and Australian government decided that such amounts could only be paid if we were UK residents.
They then simply stopped paying all our pensions, not just the the Australian part which is comparitively small, but the whole amount.
We complained that they now owed us more than we owed them so would they please restore that part of our pension earned in the UK and retain the amount overpaid.
I received a text from the International Pensions Centre saying they had tried to phone me without success and to phone them. This was a downright lie as we were both sitting in our lounge from the time the Centre opened at 0800 GMT to 0927 GMT when the text arrived and no phones rang in that time.
If you are interested in the result of my expensive international phone calls to the pensions service and the way UK civil servants treat elderly pensioners you can read more here...
I called the UK number given and waited the usual 15 minutes to speak to someone who turned out to be a very officious Geordie lady who took me though a series of security questions which I answered to her satisfaction except I could not remember the date of our marriage so Sue gave it to me. That was not acceptable she said as she had heard someone prompting me. Yes I said it was my wife but she had to ask me another question as that one didn't count.
She then asked for the sort code of our NZ bank. I explained that NZ banks had not adopted this standard so all we had was our full bank branch account number and suffix as indicated on our statement. This was not acceptable she said. It seemed to have been acceptable to our currency brokers who have transferred substantial funds using that number as have both our private annuity firms I said. If they could do it I asked why could the UK pension service not do the same. "We are not a currency broker" she said "now stop arguing with me and give me the 6 digit sort code alternatively call your bank and get the code".
At this point I was getting a little hot under the collar and asked if she could just re-instate our pensions to our UK bank. She said "yes, please give me your UK bank details." I said I did not have those details to hand but surely they already had those details as they have been paying into it for the last 14 years? She said "call us back with your bank details when you have them" at which point I lost patience and rang off after half an hour.
I rang back later with the details and spoke with a much nicer Geordie lady who did the business. I then asked her to repeat the process for Sue so that was another half hour international phone call. Why could this not be done at zero cost by email like private pensions companies seem willing to do with confimation by snail mail I asked. "We only do this by telephone" she said which was not an explanation of why but just a statement of fact.
I then asked what happens now about transferring payment of our UK pension into the special NZ government bank account? She didn't know and put me on hold for anther 10 minutes while she found out and told me it would be automatic. I will believe that if and when it happens meanwhile I have complained to the UK Pensions Service about how I was treated by the first Geordie lady and suggested that the International Pensions Center of all organizations should be aware of NZ banking standards considering the thousands of pensioners living here with UK pensions. Why aye hae pet.
Is it any wonder that the UK civil service and their political masters are making such a hash of leaving the EU when they can't even transfer a few bob over to New Zealand without a pantomime.
We had a visit from Whanganui royalty in the shape of the in-laws Mike and Diane. They delivered a walking frame for Sue from her Mum which she has found useful in getting around. Then the next day Fred and Maryanne joined the party from KatiKati for a mini family reunion and we all ate Patricks Pies for lunch.
We had thought that Sue would start her course of Radio Therapy treatment today (Monday 24th June) and we both hoped it would help her with pain relief. Unfortunately she only had the CT scan which calculates the co-ordinates for the Radiotherapy machine to target the tumours with as all their machines are fully booked at the moment so she is still waiting for an appointment slot. She has also been advised by Tauranga Hospital that she has been accepted for an Oncology appointment with an urgent priority when we assume future medicinal care will be decided.
In the meantime I decided she needed a wheelchair. The Occupational Therapist at the hospital informed me that they could not lend us a wheelchair unless Sue was unable to stand even though standing causes her considerable pain. She offered to tell me where I could hire one but I had already discovered that private local mobility firms charge $45 per week. I found a firm in Auckland who charged just under $240 to buy a new one delivered to Tauranga so it has been ordered and if we don't need it later on we could always hire it out and get a return in under 6 weeks just like these local mobility rip-off merchants!
Super Rugby Play-Offs
I know many of the better educated UK readers will be dying to know the Super Rugby results while my Kiwi friends will also be glorying in the very close win over the Windies in the World Cup Cricket. I don't really follow the ODI game much as I'm more of a Test Cricket man myself but I do take pleasure in noting that NZ now leads the standings above Orstralia. But the Super Rugby tournament is coming to an end and you can read more here....
The weekend began on Friday night in Christchurch with the first quarter final between The Crusaders and the Highlanders who just scraped into the play-offs by gobbing the Tahs in Invercargill last weekend. It was more or less a foregone conclusion that the Saders would beat the Landers and they did 43-17 thanks to a superlative display by first five Richie Mo'unga who bossed the game and scored two tries in the process. If he doesn't get the job for the Blacks in the World Cup I will be very surprised.
The next game was in Buenos Aires on Friday night which was Saturday morning here. I thought the Chiefs would beat the Jaguares and they would have but for their atrocious handling and I lost count of the knock ons and lineouts that went astray. It finished a one score game to the Jags 21-16.
On Saturday night the Bulls met the Hurricanes in Wellington and I had thought the Bulls might win. In yet another one score game the Bulls were on top in extra time but the Canes managed to hold out to finish 35-28 so they will meet the Crusaders in the last semi-final next week in Christchurch at 5:35pm next Saturday 29 June where I expect them to meet their end.
That same night the Brumbies beat the Sharks in Canberra 38-13 so they will travel across the Indian Ocean to Buenos Aires to meet their fate at the hands of they Jags next Saturday morning 29 June at 11:05am NZ time in the first semi-final. My prediction therefore is that it will be a Saders v Jags final in Christchurch the next weekend and the current champions will win once again.
2019 All Conferences
Team
Country
Played
Win
Draw
Loss
For
Against
Bp1
Bp2
Points
Crusaders
NZ
16
11
3
2
497
257
8
0
58
Hurricanes
NZ
16
12
1
3
449
362
3
0
53
Jaguares
ARG
16
11
0
5
461
352
5
2
51
Brumbies
AUS
16
10
0
6
430
366
5
3
48
Bulls
SA
16
8
2
6
410
369
3
2
41
Sharks
SA
16
7
1
8
343
335
3
4
37
Chiefs
NZ
16
7
2
7
451
465
2
2
36
Highlanders
NZ
16
6
3
7
441
392
2
4
36
Lions
SA
16
8
0
8
401
478
2
1
35
Stormers
SA
16
7
1
8
344
366
1
4
35
Rebels
AUS
16
5
1
10
393
485
3
3
34
Blues
NZ
16
5
1
10
347
369
2
6
30
Waratahs
AUS
16
5
0
11
367
435
0
6
30
Reds
AUS
16
6
0
10
385
438
1
3
28
Sunwolves
JAPAN
17
2
0
15
314
619
0
4
16
Yes I know it is very unfair that the number 1 and 2 teams in terms of points scored must play each other in the semi-final so one is bound to be knocked out but the whole Super Rugby conference set up is slightly crazy as some teams never play each either home or away in the regular season. Next year it is all going to change.
WCC
This WC Cricket is well named. Not only was England stuffed by they Ozzies but they displaced New Zealand to second place in the process. Thic bloke Starkers must be sandpapering his balls surely?
The Kiwi's have a game in hand but it is against Pakistan in Birnigum, the curry city, and will be stuffed full of their supporters. Not the easiest of run-ins as they then play Oz followed finally by England.
England have only two games before the finals and play India next at the curry capital full of Indian supporters worshipping Virat Kholi and not even watching the game most of the time! England's last game is against New Zealand at Chester-le-Street. The most they can score if they win both games would be 12 points. Will it be enough?
The highest points scored by the top four teams after they have all played each other will play in the finals. England are currently on 8 points in 4th place behind India on 9, NZ on 11 and Oz on 12 with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan all threatening for a place in the last four. The only consolation is that it's not proper cricket.
For the last week the nights have been really cold down to 2°C but once the sun gets up the temperature rises to around 15°C, no wind and crystal clear. The Maori called New Zealand the land of the long white cloud and that cloud formation is often the view as I sit at my computer which you can see above.
We had another visit from Auckland Royalty, this time it was Sue's brother Phil who had visited Tauranga by ship many times when he was on active service with the NZ Navy but rarely made it past the nearest Mount Maunganui bar! We gave him a drive around town, knocked back a few beers and talked rugby of course.
Talking of rugby I see that Warren Gatland, a Hamilton man and the Whales coach, has landed the coaches job at Waikato Chiefs who he used to play for many years ago. In addition he will take a year off from the Chiefs to coach the Lions for their South African tour. He once said that a Lions coach should always be coaching a home nations side as he will then be up to date with the local talent? Difficult to do that from Hamilton.
It was the semi-finals of Super Rugby this Saturday and you can read all about it here....
As predicted the Brumbies were well and truly stuffed by the Jaguares in Buenos Aires 39-7. I don't know how the Brumbies made it to the semi-final, the luck of the draw I guess, but they just failed to turn up, much to the delight of 31,000 Argentinians. The game was played on Saturday morning NZ time and in the evening we had the second semi-final between the Crusaders and the Hurricanes in Christchurch. If the Canes were to win they would have to fly over to Buenos Aires for the final next week otherwise the Jags would fly to Christchurch.
The other semi-final was a real knockout game. The Canes were chasing the game from the start and only ever managed to get to one point behind. In the first half they did not play well but managed to stay in contention and scored just before the break to go in 13-5 down. They came out for the second half a different team and scored again within a few minutes so it was game on. Each side then took turns to score in a thrilling derby with the home side the eventual winner, Sevu Reece scoring twice for the Saders and Ngani Laumape twice for the Canes. Some controversy about the Oz Ref missing a penalty by Sam Whitelock and ruling T J Perenara knocked it on in the dying seconds but the Saders won for the 30th consecutive time on their home ground 30-26.
So the Jags will travel to Christchurch next weekend for the final and we now look forward to the much reduced tri-nations games due to the start of the Rugby World Cup later this year.
Sue's Progress
Sue has still not started any treatment and this week received a letter asking her to contact the hospital as she had not turned up for an appointment. She had not been informed about any appointment so this was an obvious cock-up. A phone call secured an appointment at the hospital the next day where she saw a lady bone doctor. The problem seems to be that they have been unable to identify the primary source of the bone cancer and she may have to have a further biopsy. Until the source of the cancer is established the medical treatment can not begin but we expect progress in the next few days.
Meanwhile we also await the radiotherapy clinic starting treatment. You have orthopedic, oncology and radiotherapy specialists involved and there doesn't seem to be too much joined up organisation.
All the doctors remark on how healthy Sue looks and we now seem to have the pain under control. We have now taken delivery of a wheelchair and went out for a trial run on Sunday. It is nice and light but has solid tyres so not so good on rough surfaces. We parked just off Waihi Rd, crossed over the River Waikareao and walked round the Estuary on the boardwalk as far as Matupae Island. The tide was out and the remains of the old causeway could clearly be seen. The Island was known as Rat Island by the Pakeha (Europeans) but a nicer one was Peach Island, so named for the abundance of wild peach trees which grew there.
The island was used by the local Judea Maori as their burial ground so the island is tapu (sacred and forbidden) and you are not allowed to visit to eat the peaches.
The weather remained glorious for our expedition but the next day the rain finally arrived but it did become much warmer. We finally received a firm date for radiation treatment of 22nd July but Sue's pain increased and moved from her left to her right side. This necessitated a change to some stronger morphine pain killers which had the side effect of nausea. This is a common side effect and usually stops with continual use once the body learns to cope with it.
It is the super rugby final tonight (6th July) between The Crusaders from Christchurch and the Jaguares from Buenos Aires which I confidentially expected the Saders to win. There is some talk locally about how good it would be for rugby if the Jags won it which is most unkiwilike! The other hot topic is wether the Black Caps (the NZ cricket team) can beat the Ozzies in the WCC semi-final. I do hope so but doubt it, any road up you can read all about the super rugby final here...
I thought the final should have been between the Saders and the Canes, however, due to the silly way super rugby is organised into three conferences, the top three teams are the top three from each conference irrespective of the actual points scored. The Jaguares won the South African conference with 51 points and the Brumbies won the Oz with 48, so they played each other in one semi-final which the Jags won while the Saders, who came top of the NZ conference with 58 points, played the Canes (who lost) who came 4th with 53 points in the other but were actually 2nd on points with more than either the Jags or Brumbies. Clear as mud aye.
I also thought the Jags were not good enough to beat the Crusaders who are stuffed to the gunwales with All-Blacks. Largely due to the addition of Ronan o'Gara to the coaching staff the Saders, their defence has been much improved and boy did they need it spending much of the game tackling. But as predicted the Jags were just not good enough. Saders took their chances and converted them to points while the Jags failed to do so and were continually beaten back by the Saders line speed. It finished 19-3 and O'Gara was given the best send-off to coach La Rochelle. Rumours are circulating his French job might be cut short by a coaching job offer from the All-Blacks. You heard it here first!
WCC
Against all predictions the Jarpies beat Oz at the WCC. This promoted Indial to the top spot and meant that the Kiwis did not have to play Oz in the semi but Engerland will. This makes Engerland's task slightly easier as Oz should be easier to beat than Indial. My prediction was an Engerland v Indial final but against all expectations they Kiwi's did the business on the Indians.
On a slow pitch at Old Trafford the Kiwi's won the toss and then struggled to reach a score of 239. This was on the second day of the "one day" match as the game was abandoned on the first day due to rain which most will know is unheard of in Manchester where most of the inhabitants have webbed feet! The Indians then took to the field and by the second over they were 7 for 3 with Captain Kholi out for 1. They never really recovered from the shock and despite some valiant efforts by Dangerous Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja late in the day they fell short of the required runs by 18.
Quotes 'wot I like: The very word 'cricket' has become a synonym for all that is true and honest. To say 'that is not cricket' implies something underhand, something not in keeping with the best ideals.
Sir Pelham Warner 1873 - 1963.
The locals here are of course delirious with joy to be in the WCC final and to have beaten Indial. Up in Auckland they have problems with local Indian teams who are so intent on winning that even their Indian umpires conspire to rule in their favour making it difficult to get them out so not really cricket. I would hasten to add that this is not the Indian professional game but the amateurs playing here in New Zealand. The fans are also OTT and I did not bother to go to the ODI's here in Tauranga as I did not want to sit amongst a load of dancing, screaming, Indian supporters having orgasms every time a run was scored! The Barmy Army are bad enough but here in the Godzone we are all members of the Pyjama Army as you have to stay up all night to watch it live!
Quotes 'wot I like: And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
William Shakespeare 1564 - 1616.
Engerland should beat Oz in the other semi-final tonight but I would not bet money on it, however, one of them will play New Zealand in the final this Sunday.
And of course you could not have failed to learn, even if you have no interest in cricket, that Engerland not only beat they Ozzies, but they stuffed them good and proper by 8 wickets and with 18 overs still in hand.
The highlight of the game for me was when Captain Finch was getting the bird from the barmy army as his bowlers were having no success getting the wickets of the Engerland openers so he threw the ball to Smithy. Jason Roy promptly hit a hat trick of sixes and Smithy's face was a picture. He only lasted the one over!
So the final is between Engerland and the Black Cats, Caps sorry, and even those poorly educated Kiwi souls who think cricket is for the birds are now cricket fans, entertaining wild thoughts of a NZ cricket and rugby world cup double. That was suggested by Hillary Barry who is a journalist who hosts a nightly TV current affairs show with Jeremy Wells who is a cricket fan and has tried to explain to Hillary that she has to tune in at 9pm Sunday night for the anthems and then watch the final until about 4-30am. She thought that was a long time and I can't wait until Jeremy tells her how long Test Matches last.
Incidentally Hillary is married to Mike Barry who is the son of All-Black Kevin Barry who was not the Irish Republican we Brits executed in 1920. She is also distantly related to suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst so, as Jeremy says, should not be upset!
My prediction is once again that Engerland have enough in-form batsmen and bowlers to overcome the Kiwi's but I wouldn't put money on it. The important game was knocking they Ozzies out, a sentiment that most Kiwi's would agree with!
Sue's Progress
On advice from the hospital we contacted Waipuna Hospice and are very glad we did. Our understanding of hospice care was that it is something you turn to when you are close to death but this is not the case, certainly not here in NZ. Their main function is to provide palliative care for those who have been diagnosed with something for which there is no known cure but even such organisations web sites give the contrary impression.
In the UK we have the Macmillan Nurses who generally work in the NHS but here in NZ their equivalent work for the local Hospice and we received a visit from one I shall call Pam who listened to all our problems and set out to resolve them.
We were having problems with getting around the house with the wheelchair we had purchased and she explained that they had lots of different wheelchairs we could borrow and arranged for me to select one there and then. She said that Sue should not be in any pain or be so immobile and she would contact the hospital and the radiation clinic oncologist to get things moving. Later that evening she phoned to say she had arranged with the hospital registrar to admit Sue for medical treatment and the oncologist had asked for an MRI scan. We were to present ourselves at Emergency ASAP, there would be no waiting and they knew we were coming which is exactly what happened.
Sue spent two days on the ward getting treated for all her problems. Pain control was improved as was her mobility, nausea, constipation and appetite. Finally instead of waiting for her first radiation treatment until 22nd July she began it on the 12th and it was all down to Pam who must have read the riot act!
The hospital let her come home for the weekend but told us if there was any further cause for concern her bed would be kept for her and so far we have had no further set backs. I have removed the door to the bathroom so we can get the new wheelchair in right up the shower so Sue can step in and on to her stool. With the door on we could not get the wheelchair close to the shower. Fortunately we have a separate toilet so you can still defecate in privacy! I have since put a curtain up to restore bathroom privacy.
We had arrived back home about 6pm and although I had managed to get the wheelchair down the front steps when we left, getting it back up by myself proved impossible and I had to call on the help of neighbours to lift her up. I had previously researched ramps on the net and had found an affordable solution at dear old Bunnings so my first job the next day was to purchase two wheelbarrow ramps. These are designed for wheelbarrows not wheelchairs so my idea was to use two and you can see the result above.
Having secured them to the wooden steps and positioned them to suit the wheelchair width we did a trial run fully loaded with Sue down and up and it worked perfectly. Aluminium wheelchair ramps this length can set you back thousands of dollars but this solution cost under $250 so I am very pleased as I have to take Sue for radiation treatment every day next week so we need a reliable transit method.
WCC Final
Well despite my love of test cricket I can't remember ever seeing such an exciting game of any sort of cricket than this final. Kiwi born Ben Stokes and Somerset boy Josh Buttler saved Engerland's bacon and should be knighted but Ben's dad is in the poo over here! Lots of Kiwi's naturally upset at the result but they shouldn't be as the real result was a draw and they are really equal world champions.
For those of you who didn't watch it (Hillary did and so did Sue) both sides were tied on 241 after 50 overs so each side played one super over with a nominated bowler and batsman and each scored 15 runs so were still tied. England were then made world champions because they scored more boundaries in the tournament than the Kiwis, a totally pointless exercise.
Much more important is that next month we have the delicious prospect of beating they ball sandpapering Ozzies into submission in the Ashes series, then after that the rugby world cup. I can't wait!
Quotes 'wot I like: I haven't got a blue blazer and I don't have dandruff.
David Hookes after being asked why he didn't become a cricket administrator.
I should comment though on the way cricket uses technology. In ODI's each team can challenge the umpires decisions once in each innings. If the challenge is correct and the umpire is wrong then they keep the right to challenge but if the umpire is right they lose it. Not only that but if they are correct but the technology shows it to be a close call then the umpire's decision stands. Bloody stupid arrangement I reckon.
They should take a leaf out of the rugby law book and if the umpire is in doubt on appeal he should request a review otherwise not. The umpire's in the semi's and the final made some bad decisions but those decisions could not be changed by technology if it was a close call. The umpire should be in charge and be able to change his decision if he feels after the review his decision was wrong.
Sue's Progress
Sue completed the first week of radiation treatment. We had been given a week of appointments and had assumed that was it but on the last day she was given a further week of appointments. It is a little difficult to try and plan your life when you have no idea how long the treatment is going to last and nobody seems able to tell you but we do know that the course of treatment could take several weeks.
Similarly we are assured that the pathology lab are still carrying out tests to determine the primary source of the secondary bone cancer that she has. Until the source is discovered the type of chemotherapy can not be determined as different drugs are used for different types of cancer. It is sometimes not possible to determine the source and this condition is called Carcinoma of Unknown Primary (CUP) and is rare. Where the cancer began in the body also determines the life expectancy.
If a diagnosis of CUP is made then which drugs to use may be decided by where in the body the secondary bone cancer is located and what area the primary source is likely to be located but it seems just to be an educated guess. Research is ongoing and you may consider joining a clinical trial for new drugs as part of your continuing treatment to slow the cancer's progress.
We are both amazed how many of our old friends and acquaintances who have contacted us who have friends and loved ones who have succumbed to this debilitating disease. Apparently 38.4% of men and women will be diagnosed with cancer at some point during their lifetimes so I suppose it should not be a surprise.
We had a visit from Sue, the occupational physiotherapist at Waipuna Hospice. She brought with her a magic bit of kit I will call a shower slider, a higher toilet seat with handles each side for support and a gubbins that slides under the bed mattress that provides support to get you in and out of bed. See the slide show above for further explanation.
You sit on the shower slider seat and it swivels 90 degrees then you slide smoothly into the shower. We had full scale painless tests of everything with the patient making adjustments to suit and we really are thankful for the wonderful support we are getting from the dedicated Waipuna team.
We had a consultation with the radiation clinic oncologist who explained that the treatment to the lesions next to Sue's spinal chord was now complete. It might be several weeks before any positive effects are felt. The pain and mobility should improve but there is no guarantee. For the next few days they will zap the tumours next to her hip joint which will be causing the pain during movement. A further consultation will be in six weeks time when she will be referred to a medical oncologist to plan further treatment.
The Rugby Championship
This is what used to be known as the Tri Nations until 2012 when Argentina joined the competition. This year the competition will be shortened due to the impending World Cup in Japan and the first games were played on Sunday 21st July. South Africa played Australia at Ellis Park in Jo'burg and Argentina play New Zealand at Estadio José Amalfitani in Buenos Aires. You can read about the results here....
They Wobblies reckoned they could beat they Boks who fielded a weakened side but it was not to be, thanks largely to the little scrum half Herschel Jantjies on his debut who played a stormer and scored two tries in the process. His fly half namesake Jason Jantjies also kicked faultlessly and Barf flanker Francois Louw playing out of position at number 8 was up to his usual jackalling tricks at the breakdown while Pieter-Steph du Toit playing in Francois usual openside flankers position also played out of his skin.
The Wobblies trailed 14-10 at half time and were still in with a shout but the Boks were all over them like a rash after orange sucking and it finished a 35-17 bonus point game for the Boks. These guys are the dark horses at the forthcoming Rugby World Cup.
They Pumas also thought they might have a chance to put one over the All-Blacks after the good performance of the Jaguares in the Super Rugby and they did give them a scare.
The Blacks did not cover themselves with glory and were holding on for grim death at the end as the Pumas mounted a succession of attacks. But hold on they did and won 16-20 at the death.
Rank
Team
Played
Win
Draw
Loss
Diff
Points
1
South Africa
1
1
0
0
18
5
2
New Zealand
1
1
0
0
4
4
3
Argentina
1
0
0
1
-4
1
4
Australia
1
0
0
1
-18
0
So South Africa are leading the table thanks to the bonus point with NZ in second place. Argentina are third by virtue of a losing bonus point and Australia is last with nil point. Brilliant!
Kiwi rugby supporters may have had a worrying few moments but the Netball fans must have had few fingernails left in the World Cub Final against Orstralia which they eventually won by 1 point after being on the back foot for most of the game. I have already been taunted after the Silver Ferns beat England in the semi's. I responded that I didn't know the first thing about Netball but rejoiced with them that they beat the Ozzies which was the most importanat thing.
Our friend Gilly in Melbourne is a big Netball player and what with the Cricket, Rugby and Netball results will be spitting blood. Roll on the Ashes.
Domain Names
Anyone reading this website will by now appreciate that we are both living in New Zealand but still have a .UK domain name. We host the site with a NZ company and can have a domain name from any country we choose with one exception. That exception is a .EU domain name.
The EU decided that once the UK had left the EU, anyone using the .EU domain name must change their location to the EU or lose it. There was such an outcry from individuals and businesses who were in danger of losing their digital identity that the EU relented and said that ownership of a .EU domain must be held by a EU citizen but who need not be resident in the EU.
As far as I am aware the EU is the only organisation in the world to restrict domain ownership in this way. The internet provides the means to communicate with any person or organisation throughout the world. This action impedes communication and highlights the EU's small minded, elitist, bureaucratic and spiteful attitude towards the UK, simply because it voted to leave that organisation.
Imagine the chaos if the USA decided to stop people using the .COM domain unless they were US citizens.
Who is supporting who?
Look at the two photo's above of BoJo and Hunt campaigning for the leadership of the Tory party. In the back of each shot there is the same guy. Is he one of Nigel's hit men campaigning for both candidates? Is he a Russian spy or is he just a bloke that likes to get his face in the paper?
Boris did win the election and for the time being (nobody knows for how long) he is our new Prime Minister. Like him or loath him, and for the BBC, judging from their latest news reports, it is the latter, he will please those of us who want to see an end to this prolonged Brexit. Only clueless politicians could vote to tie a negotiators hands by telling the EU we can not leave without a deal and Boris is committed to leaving without one if the EU won't negotiate a deal acceptable to parliament.
Boris has begun by making Harold Macmillan's night of the long knives look like a snowflake's convention! Supermac sacked 7 ministers after taking office and Boris sacked 17! Not only that but he has recruited Dominic Cummings as his senior adviser in No 10. This has many Tory MP's soiling their strides as the guy has little or no respect for the profession which makes me hold him in high regard.
Let us look at some of the things he has said in the past:
David Davis is 'thick as mince, lazy as a toad and vain as Narcissus'.
David Cameron is 'an incompetent Prime Minister who bumbles from one shambles to another without the slightest sense of purpose'.
Ed Llewellyn was 'a classic third-rate suck-up-kick-down sycophant presiding over a shambolic court'.
Nick Clegg is 'a revolting character'.
Jacob Rees-Mogg and Bill Cash are 'narcissist delusionals and useful idiots whose ongoing intransigence has helped only Remain'.
Craig Oliver he described as 'just clueless' but David Cameron knighted him.
Cummings was the brain behind the Vote Leave organisation. He was portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch in Channel 4's Brexit: The Uncivil War, another completely unbiased broadcaster. He was credited as the man who thought up the 'take back control' catch phrase and the slogan on the side of the bus about giving 'the EU £340 million a week' which some remainers say was the lie which made 17.4 million of us vote to leave so we should have another vote.
Jo Swinson, the new Lib Dem leader, says we should have another vote but also says that even if we again voted to leave the EU she would never accept it. So why does she want us to vote again if she will not accept any result she disagrees with? It must be that she hopes we will vote to remain and if not we will presumably be subjected to neverendums until we vote correctly. Perhaps that is her definition of Liberal Democracy but if so it reminds me of George Orwell's novel 1984.
We were told in no uncertain terms that whatever the result of the 2016 referendum, even if the margin was only one vote, it would be honoured. We were not asked how we should leave the EU and it is the politicians who are unable to agree this. Perhaps the future of UK politics is to have a referendum each time the politicians are unable to agree? If it is then I am glad I live in New Zealand where I will excercise my UK vote for the next 15 years, as is my right, by which time I will be 93 which will certainly get the snowflakes upset!
A private members bill to extend voting rights for life for ex-pats supported by the government was defeated by Brexiteer filibustering in March this year. It was thought that the ex-pats living in the EU would vote yes to the UK remaining in the EU. That may well have been the case as just over a million live there but there are 1.6 million of us living in Australia and New Zealand, another 800,000 in the USA and 700,000 in Canada whose votes might well have cancelled the EU ones out as improved trading links with the UK would likely be in those other countries interests.
You could argue that filibustering is undemocratic but this method of defeating new legislation has been around since ancient Rome and it is always within a governments power to get laws through Parliament if they really want to providing they have a majority. Filibustering was devised to ensure a minority point of view can be heard of which Brexiteers in Parliament are one.
The Rugby Championship and Test Cricket
This weekend the All-Blacks meet the Springboks in Wellington. It was their B team that came close to losing against the Pumas last weekend and this time they are back to full strength against the Boks.
The Wobblies are hoping they will be less wobbly against the Pumas in Brisbane but I think they might be in for another beating. My comments on both games can be read here.....
The AB's struggled once again especially in the first half. Handling errors were compounded by a seeming lack of determination whereas the Boks rushed defence stopped every AB attack dead in its tracks. Towards the end of the first half the Blacks woke up and a nice pass from Sonny Bill found Barrett who out paced the opposition, passed to Goodhue in support who scored their only try.
For all their effort and dominance the Boks could not find the try line and so only managed two penalty goals. I could not understand the AB strategy when they had Barrett at full back and Mo'unga at fly half and is a much better place kicker to give all the kicking to Barrett, in fact Kieran Read once took the ball out of Mo'unga's hands and handed it to Barrett who promptly missed! He missed two kickable shots at goal but as it was they went in at the break just ahead 7-6.
Rank
Team
Played
Win
Draw
Loss
Diff
Points
1
South Africa
2
1
1
0
18
7
2
New Zealand
2
1
1
0
4
6
4
Australia
2
1
0
1
-12
4
3
Argentina
2
0
0
2
-10
2
They came out in the second half a more determined side and looked to have sealed the win in the final minute leading 16-9 when Cheslin Kolbe chipped ahead and Aaron Smith failed to catch the ball which bounced off Herschel Jantjies chest who grounded it for a try. Handre Pollard kept his nerve to kick the conversion and tie the match 16 all.
The tie meant the Blacks kept the silverware but it was the Boks who were smiling keeping the AB's tied on their own turf. The Boks had some reason the question a few dodgy decisions by the Ozzie ref Nic Berry who needs to go to Specsavers!
Quotes 'wot I like: "an act of true cowardice and I consider it appropriate that the Australian team were wearing yellow".
Robert 'Piggy' Muldoon, NZ Prime Minister, after Trevor Chappell bowled the last ball underarm to win the game.
The Wobblies were less wobbly in Brisbane due to their dominance at scrum time but the Pumas still held them to a one score 16-10 win. I have never understood why they Ozzies insist on calling the colour of their jersey's gold. Sue tells me that they used to call it Karitane Yellow in NZ. Karitane nurses are specialists in the care of babies and Karitane Yellow is the colour of baby poo!!
Quotes 'wot I like: I don't know lad. It's unplayable at my end, but they're bowling bloody rubbish to you.
Brian Close 1931 - 2015.
The England v Ireland test cricket match produced the shock of England being bowled out for 85 in their first innings and Ireland taking a first innings lead of 122 runs. Now Ireland are not the greatest cricketing nation and if our batting collapses like that then what chance do we have against Orstralia in the forthcoming Ashes series I hear you say?
England's batsmen did not play much better in their 2nd innings and collapsed to 77 for 7 but Somerset night watchman Jack Leach, who actually opened the batting the previous night, scored 92 before England were bowled out for 303 leaving Ireland to chase 182.
In only their 3rd test match Ireland were looking for an historic win but it was not to be as the England bowlers once again came to our rescue and bowled them out for 38 runs.
Not our batsmen's finest hour although Stokesie and Buttler were rested but they Ozzies will be sandpapering their balls like crazy!
Firefox bug
This is just for geeks like me who like to code their web sites from scratch. Firefox updated its browser from 67.0.4 to 68.0.1 and when loading from a local file my web site did not display correctly but when loading from the online server it did. It also displayed correctly from a local file in other browsers and on other machines with 67.0.4 so the problem was with the latest Firefox update.
For fellow webmasters who check the display of their sites in different browsers before uploading this is a pain. The solution is to change the Firefox config file. Load the browser and change the url to about:config. You are warned that "Here be Dragons!" (obviously a Somerset programmer). If you accept the risk you should search for privacy.file_unique_origin and change that value from true to false by double clicking. Problem solved and Firefox support have acknowledged it is a bug and will probably be fixed at the next update.
Sue's progress
Sue has now completed her second course of radiation treatment around her left hip and will have one more treatment on her right hip next week.
We have also had a two hour meeting with a Registrar and the head honcho Oncologist at Tauranga hospital who will be in charge of Sue's treatment. We were treated to a thorough explanation of all the different scans that have been taken and an update on the various tests to try and discover the primary source of the secondary bone cancer.
The source has been narrowed down to either the Breast or the Urethra. Further tests are planned in Sue's blood and urine to try and detect cancer cells and they may decide to look inside her waterworks. Us engineers call the device they use a boreascope which is an optic fibre cable to look inside the bore of an engine or turbine negating the need to disassemble it. I suppose the medical profession have a fancy medical term for whatever they use but I fancy it is less of a problem inserting it in a lady than a man!
Finally Sue will have a mammogram which is an X-ray of the breast. In the opinion of the oncologist the educated guess is that the primary source is the Urethra and if the additional tests are inconclusive they will treat Sue on that assumption. They will want to give her as much time as possible after her radiation treatment is complete so if chemotherapy is appropriate it should begin in about six weeks. They may even decide to delay chemo further if everything is under control but have no worries about giving Sue chemo as she is in such good health apart obviously from the cancer.
Patrick's Pies
One of the good things about New Zealand are its pies and here in Tauranga we have the seven times supreme champion of the country, Pat Lam.
'I knew Pat Lam was a first class pie eater' might be your reaction to this news but you would be confusing the Kiwi international rugby player and Brissle coach with his namesake who is the ex Cambodian refugee who has more awards for his pie making than anyone else in NZ.
Sue and I have been fans of his mince & cheese pies ever since we arrived here and his Bethlehem shop is always full of props and second row forwards at all times of day. He makes 500 pies every day and it was the mince & cheese which won him his 7th supreme championship in 2019. Pat makes 26 different flavours of pie but this is the 3rd time he has won with this one which is also the Kiwi favourite flavour.
The competition judges spent nine hours tasting 5326 pies entered by 553 bakers from across the country. Tauranga Baker Bob from Greerton won the silver which must make Tauranga the pie capital of NZ!
Sox the cat
I took Sox into the Vet to get them to read the chip and change the database ownership. They had to call the number of the registered owner first to get their permission and find the Vet who treated her. First surprise was Sox is a him not a her!! His teeth are not in good nick and will need attention which might be why he was dumped in the first place. He had a antibiotic injection as a precaution, had his nails clipped and a good comb to get all the loose fur off. That lot was $140 and he has a new appointment to get what innoculations he needs in 3 weeks. All part of the expensive joys of rescuing a cat.
The photo below clearly shows there is no doubt as to Sox's sex!
The Ashes Test Cricket 2019
The first test was at Edgbaston which for the uneducated is a leafy superb of Birmingham. Lots of people who have never been there think Birnigum is an industrial dump and parts of it are but it has lots of lovely parks and upmarket suburbs like Bourneville where they make the chocolate and Edgbaston where the botanical gardens are and the home of Warwickshire cricket.
Engerland got off to a fine start after Ozzies won the toss and elected to bat. They had them 122 for 8 at one point but that ugly bastard and supreme batsman Sandy Smith with a little help from Peter Siddle took the score to 284 before they were bowled out on the first day. I comment below in detail as the series progresses but the fixtures are as follows:
First Test - August 1-5 (Edgbaston).
Second Test - August 14-18 (Lord's.
Third Test - August 22-26 (Headlingley).
Fourth Test - September 4-8 (Old Trafford).
Fifth Test - September 12-16 (The Oval).
The two Ozzie openers Sandy Bancroft and Sandy Warner, received a chorus of boo's from the barmy army and you can read more here.....
First Day
Sandy Warner was the first to go bowled lbw by Broad for 2 quickly followed by Sandy Bancroft bowled Broad and caught in the slips for 8 by Captain Root. Khawaja quickly followed caught behind by Bairstow bowled by local boy Woakes to great acclaim for 13 but Sandy Smith was now at the crease intending to stay there.
Trouble was Smithy couldn't find anyone to stay with him. Head managed to hang around for over an hour until Woakes had him lbw for 35 then Captain Paine was caught by Roy off Broad for 5 and he then had Pattinson lbw for a ducky wucky and Cummins couldn't stay either when Stokes had him lbw for 5 then in came Grandad Siddle. At last a proper test cricketer!
At this point they were 122 for 8 wickets but Smithy was still there and Peter Siddle stuck with him until Buttler caught him off Moen Ali for 44. Broad eventually clean bowled Smithy for 144 with Lyon not out 12 and their first innings score 284 all out.
Sandpapergate: Australian Sports Tape : "Perfect for cheating in every form of the game this Australian sports tape will get the ball swinging in everything" and "Get in quick before Steve Smith buys it all up!".
Spoof advert on NZ 'Trade Me' web site.
Considering they were 8 wickets down with only two bowlers left it was a classic and possibly match saving innings to be admired by Smithy and Siddle. The former admitted colluding with the openers when he caught them sandpapering the ball in a Test against the Jarpies a couple of years ago for which they were all suspended from 1st class cricket. The Barmy Army will probably never forgive them but perhaps they should forgive such a great batsman as Steve 'Sandy' Smith even if he is a bad bastard.
Engerland openers Jason Roy and Rory Burns managed to survive a couple of overs before close of play and put 10 runs on the board.
Second Day
Jason Roy didn't last too long in his first Ashes Test before he was caught by Smithy in the slips for 10 off a ball by Pattinson. Not content with saving them batting, Smithy takes the first English wicket as well! In came Rooty who stuck with Burns until he was unluckily caught and bowled by Siddle for 57. Denly hung around for under an hour before Pattinson struck again lbw for 18 and Buttler was quickly dismissed by Cummins, caught Bancroft for 5. I was beginning to get a feeling of dèjá vu.
Just as Siddle came to Smithy's rescue so Stokesy came to Rory Burns playing in his first ever test and the pair formed a partnership to close of play taking Englerland to within 18 runs of the Ozzie total including Burns maiden century. The army were delirious, the Queen was seen waving the World Cricket Cup among many of her subjects sporting face masks of Steve Smith crying and much singing of the national anthem.
Third Day
Saturday is fancy dress day at Edgbaston and we were treated to the Pope with a dozen or so of his Cardinals, The 1966 English world cup winning football team, The Donald in nappies chased by a bunch of Mexicans and the Queen of course!
Merv Hughs was spotted among the Oz faithful and was not looking too happy. The Ashes winning English class of 2005 were paraded round to rub it in further.
Quotes 'wot I like: Merv Hughs.
Steve Waugh's answer to the question 'What's your favourite animal?'.
Burnsy and Stokesy resumed and neither lasted very long. Stokesy went first having reached 50 chasing a ball he should have left from Cummins caught behind by Paine quickly followed by Burns doing the same thing to a ball from Lyon for 133 and a standing ovation. Then the wheels started to fall off. Moen Ali thought a ball from Lyon would turn and left it only to go straight on and hit his off-stump for a duck, daft bugger. A first class batsman should always know where his off-stump is and he should have protected it.
In came Bairstow who can bat some but didn't on this occasion falling foul of his usual mistake of trying to play a ball he should have left alone from Cummings and edging it to Paine for 8. Engerland were now in the lead but not by much. Woakes and Broad saved the day with an eighth wicket stand of 65 before Broad slogged one from Cummins caught by Pattinson on the boundary for 29.
Anderson is injured and only bowled 4 overs in England's first innings but he hobbled on and managed to stay with Woakes for nearly half an hour before succumbing to a ball from Lyon for 3 and Woakes was not out 37. So England were 90 ahead all out.
The two Sandy's were quickly despatched as Oz began their 2nd innings. Warner went for 8, caught behind by Bairstow off Broad and Bancroft caught by Buttler off Ali but the blessed third Sandy was at the crease and looking his usual centurion like confidence. This time he found plenty of support. Khawaja scored 40 before Stokes had him caught behind and Head made 23 by close of play.
Fourth Day
Head made 51 before Stokes had him caught behind and Wade took his place. Woakes finally bowled Smithy caught behind for 142 after another superb innings but a hard day at the office for our bowlers. Wade was still there and scored 110 before Stokes had him caught by Denly but by this time the writing was on the wall and they Ozzies had our bowlers on the rack, the absence of the injured Jimmy Anderson being unable to bowl was really hurting.
Paine was clean bowled by Ali for 35 leaving Pattinson and Cummins in charge. Paine eventually declared on 487 for 7 with Pattinson not out 47 and Cummins not out 26 leaving England to face 7 overs that evening and the almost impossible task of scoring 398 to win.
Quotes 'wot I like: England have nothing to lose here, apart from this Test match.
David Lloyd 1947 - .
The England openers Roy and Burns managed to survive and were 13 without loss at the close but they must either treat the final day in survival mode or as a 50 over game on a deteriorating wicket if they still want to win it. The other option was to pray for rain but the forecast was not good from the rain gods during the hours of play. Playing for a draw is a particular test match skill that I doubt this team have.
Fifth Day
And my doubts about Engerland's Test ability came true. First to fall was Burns who played a defensive bat from a short ball from Cummins and was caught by Lyon for 8 replaced by Root. Next was Roy, a short game specialist who lost his patience and his survival brain by coming down the pitch to slog Lyon out of the ground but missed and was bowled for 28. Even if he had not been bowled he would have been stumped.
Quotes 'wot I like: "You must have put a few spectators to sleep in your time Geoffrey?"
Yeah but we were still battin' when they woke up!'.
Conversation between Simon Mann and Geoff Boycott on Test Match Special in 2011.
In came Denly and Lyon quickly despatched him for 11 caught Bancroft, replaced by Buttler. Five minutes later Lyon had Root caught by Bancroft at short leg for 28. Buttler was next to go who did even worse taking half an hour to score 1 run before being clean bowled by Cummins.
Bancroft was having a field day as he caught Bairstow off Cummins for 6 quickly followed by Stokes who was caught behind from Lyon also on 6. That was the end of our "batsmen" as Moen Ali confirmed his miserable form with ball and bat being caught by Warner off Lyon for 4. He needs some time off in county cricket for the rest of this series.
Lyon then claimed his sixth wicket having Broad caught by Sandy Smith for a duck and Cummins completed the demolition having Woakes caught again by Smithy for 37, the highest score of the innings leaving Sir James Anderson not out 4. England were all out in 52 overs scoring 146 and Orstralia won by 251 runs. A complete disaster and I fear the worst for Lords.
2019 Rugby World Cup
In case you haven't noticed 2019 is a year the Rugby World cup is played and it is in Japan for the first time. Unfortunately for English supporters in NZ the broadcaster will be the NZ equivalent of BT Sport who is called Spark Sport as some bright spark in Sky failed to bid enough dollars to get the broadcasting rights. That is still OK for Kiwi supporters if they only want to watch the AB games as TVNZ, the free to air channel here, will be broadcasting all the games but none others apart from the finals. The pool group England are in (pool C) and the pool the AB's are in (pool B) will not meet in the quarter finals. That is good for both sides but means I will not be able to watch any England games until and if they make the semi finals unless I fork out $80 to Spark for a tournament pass.
If you are interested in learning how to resolve this issue plus the results of the Rugby Championship and the Home RWC Summer Warm-ups then please click here...
A further problem is that Spark only broadcast the games by streaming over the internet which means you need a fast broadband connection, preferably fibre. We have that but if you want to watch the games on your big screen TV then it has to be a Smart TV. If not then you will need to buy a device that allows you to mirror what is on your smartphone/tablet/laptop/desktop screen on your TV. This process is called "casting" and one such device is "Chromecast" which can be purchased at the Warehouse for $70.
If you use your smartphone or tablet then the process of setting everything up is simple as you just download the App "Google Home" and follow instructions. From a proper computer with a sensible size of screen you need to download the latest Google Chrome browser. Once setup is complete clicking "cast" from the browser menu will mirror what is on your computer screen.
I have this setup on my TV and it works perfectly, however, now and again it begins to buffer. That is when you see the video stop and a whirly thingy on the middle of the screen. This means that the program which runs the video has been starved of data due to a slow internet connection or a slow server feeding the video stream. Each time this has happened I have checked the internet speed and found it adequate which means it must be the server which in my case was the TVNZ on demand service. The problem could also be the WiFi between the router and your computer so using another device such as your smartphone or moving it closer to the router might resolve the issue. I tried a wireless LAN but it actually slowed the speed.
With Sky you can record programmes or download programmes that have been pre-recorded (Catchup) but with streaming you would need to download the content to your hard disk except that TVNZ will not let you do and it is unnecessary as the video will be online for you to watch unless you want to keep it forever. Not having tried Spark Sport yet I asked them if they allowed downloading. The answer came that you will not be able to record the streaming to watch later but there will be replays available on the site for customers. A software company called 'allavsoft' has a downloader they claim will download TVNZ video's and you can download 5 videos free but must then purchase a licence. I have a downloader on my Firefox browser which shows TVNZ video's are split up into chunks of data, the bastards, which fools the downloader!
The final hurdle to resolve in order to watch England win the RWC here is converting your TV into a smart one if you don't already have one. If you have a spare HDMI slot on your TV then fine but otherwise, in addition to buying Chromecast or similar, you will need to invest in a switchable one in two out HDMI box. This will require another power supply but once connected you can just press a button to switch the HDMI feeds.
The Rugby Championship
There was Momentous result over in Perth when the Wobblies stopped wobbling and gobbed the All-Blacks good and proper by a record 47-26. The Wallabies were dominant from the off and their scrum half Nic White who plays for Exeter had an exceptional game, scoring a try in the process. In fact all the Ozzie ex-pats who play or have played last season for English clubs played out of their skins. Kurtly Beale (ex Wasps), James O'Connor (Sale Sharks) and Matt Toomua (ex Leicester Tigers) all shone but so did most of the rest.
Even Michael Cheika was suitably humble after giving the worlds best such a thumping and claimed it was just a ticket to Eden Park next week. Of course I would not give you odds on a Wallaby victory in Auckland as they have not won a Bledisloe Cup game there since 1986.
They have been competing for this trophy since 1932 when Viscount Bledisloe, the 4th Governor General of New Zealand, donated it to the two Rugby Unions.
Lord Bledisloe was also president of Lydney RFC in Gloucestershire, England for 70 years. We visited his family home, Lydney Park, when we lived in Cheltenham and you can see a report of that visit here.
Our Ozzie friends are of course insufferable what with this win over the Blacks and their victory in the first Ashes Test. I note however Rod Liddle, that esteemed sports journalist, pointed out that Sandy Smith actually has dual UK/Oz citizenship so all his runs should be shared which means that England actually won the first Test!!!
Rank
Team
Played
Win
Draw
Loss
Diff
Points
1
South Africa
3
2
1
0
51
12
4
Australia
3
2
0
1
9
8
2
New Zealand
3
1
1
1
-17
6
3
Argentina
3
0
0
3
-43
2
The following day the Boks hammered they Puma's 46-13 and once again UK based players featured. The Puma's started well with Santiago Cordero ( ex Exeter) opening the scoring but Handre Pollard crossed the try line twice and the Boks were 13-24 ahead at the break. Other English based players were Willie le Roux (ex Wasps), Barf's Francois Louw and Faf de Klerk (Sale Sharks) who distinguished himself with a yellow card for repeated infringements.
So in this shortened competition due to the RWC and as you can see from the above table, the Boks won the Championship with Oz second and the AB's a poor third. Not a position they are used to and the Boks are still my dark horses to win the RWC.
The Rugby Summer Internationals
The first of these warm-up games was at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin between Ireland and Italy. I was unable to watch all the game due to torrential rain blocking the satellite signal from SKY but it looked to be a predictable affair with Ireland winning 29-10. The trouble with these warm-up games is that each side fields experimental teams so it is difficult to get an idea of team form. That was not the case with the Blacks game as there is no way that they want to lose the Bledisloe Cup.
In addition to seeing what combinations of players work best the games are also a gauge of how individual players perform so the second game at Twickers between Wales and England was for me of particular interest.
England won the game without too much trouble and all of our Barf players impressed. Watson especially who has been injured for over a year was back to his best form as was Joseph and you saw the old midfield trio of these two linking with George Ford working their magic. Joe Cokanasiga made himself a continual nuisance and scored a try while Charlie Ewels was a force in the engine room.
Gloucester scrum half 57 (Willie Heinz) didn't disgrace his first cap and Billy Vunipola was back to his very best as man of the match, scoring a try which 57 had a hand in. Tom Curry was taken off early with a shoulder injury but it is hopefully not serious as he was everywhere. Manu Tuilagi made a brief appearance late on and looked dangerous.
Wales came back strongly in the second half, capitalising from England giving away penalties and scored three tries but England won the game convincingly 33-19 after Elliot Daly pinched a drop goal in the closing minutes. Wales may have lost Gareth Anscombe long term though who limped off with a reoccurrence of his knee injury. Next week might be a different story when these teams meet again in Cardiff but I anticipate it will be two different teams.
Mitre 10 Cup Rugby
They have a lot of different rugby competitions here in NZ and after Super Rugby finishes we have the Mitre 10 Cup which is a professional competition between all the rugby unions in NZ and is the second tier to Super Rugby. Each union has several clubs who provide players to the union sides who represent different regions of the country. There are 14 union sides who play in two divisions; the Premiership and the Championship which are effectively 1st and 2nd respectively. Each side plays all the others in their division plus four from the other, the idea being to try and keep traditional rivalries between certain regions. The bottom side in the premiership is relegated and the top side in the championship is promoted.
Sir Brian James Lochore, the ex-All Black captain and coach died on 3rd August after battling bowel cancer aged 78. He was well loved here in New Zealand and his funeral was attended by the who's who of NZ rugby. His son David spoke of his father's friendship with Sir Graham Henry, the previous All Black coach and a telephone call from his father prior to meeting Sir Graham.
"David, BJ here. I've had a ring from Graham Henry and he wants to come and see me. What do you think? He's a school teacher from Auckland. He'll be a wanker."
Our local team here are Bay of Plenty known as the Steamers who are currently at the top of the championship. I will be reporting on the fortunes of the Steamers as the season progresses to the finals where the four top teams in each division play semis and a final. For a list of all the clubs and their current standings click here....
The Steamers got off to a fine start playing at the Tauranga Domain against Otago demolishing them 50-7. They led 26-0 at half time and extended their lead in the second half to 33-0 before Otago scored a consolation try in the fourth quarter. The Steamers were dominant on the scrum, accurate in their passing and simply outplayed Otago for most of the game.
A win scores 4 points and a draw the points are shared. A bonus point (BP1) is awarded for 4 tries or more and a bonus point (BP2) for losing by 7 points or less.
Mitre 10 Premiership
Team
Played
BP1
BP2
Points
Tasman
1
1
0
5
Waikato
1
1
0
5
Auckland
1
1
0
3
North Harbour
1
1
0
3
Canterbury
1
1
1
2
Counties-Manukau
1
1
1
2
Wellington
1
0
0
0
Mitre 10 Championship
Team
Played
BP1
BP2
Points
Bay of Plenty
1
1
0
5
Hawkes Bay
1
1
0
5
Taranaki
1
1
0
5
Northland
1
0
0
4
Southland
1
0
0
0
Manawatu
1
0
0
0
Otago
1
0
0
0
The standings after the first round are above. In addition to the Steamers win against Otago, Tasman beat Wellington 45-8, Waikato beat Canterbury 31-28, Auckland drew with North Harbour 28 all, Manakau lost to Taranaki 29-34, Manawatu lost to Hawkes Bay 13-31 much to the disgust of brother-in-law Phil and Southland lost to Northland 17-27.
Second Ashes Test
Lords is the venue of the 2nd Test with England one down in the series so this is an important one to win as two down with three to play would make life difficult to win the Ashes. To make it even more difficult rain prevented any play taking place on the first day. Now I am aware that Test Cricket is akin to watching paint dry to those of lesser intellect so if you have no interest then do not click here.....
Today, the second day of the Test was in support of Andrew Strauss's charity, the Ruth Strauss Foundation. Andrew's wife Ruth died from a rare form of lung cancer last December and the foundation was set up in her name to raise funds for research and to help those diagnosed with any type of terminal cancer.
The players all wore red caps (the foundation's colour) and spectators were all encouraged to wear something red. Most of the spectators complied and Strauss himself wore a red suit and came out onto the pitch with his two sons prior to the game.
Australia won the toss and chose to bowl, quickly dismissing Roy for a duck who has had a disappointing start to his Test career. Joe Root did a little better scoring 14 before he was lbw to a ball from Hazlewood. In came Denly who managed a useful partnership with Burns taking the score to 92 before edging a ball to Paine from Hazlewood for 30.
Quotes 'wot I like: "Would anyone alighting here going to Lords who knows how to get Steve Smith out please report to the England dressing room.".
St Johns Wood tube station announcer.
Opener Burns was next to go but made a respectable 53 before he was caught by Bancroft off Cummins. Buttler failed yet again when Siddle had him caught behind for 12 and probably needs to join Moen Ali back with his county side to regain some form. Lyon had Stokes out lbw a few overs later for 13 but finally Bairstow found some form and stuck.
Woakes stayed with Bairstow until Cummins had him caught behind for 32 with England now 210 for 7. The tail failed to wag with Archer caught by Khawaja off Cummins for 12 and Broad clean bowled by Lyon for 11. Bairstow made his 50 but then was caught on 52 by Khawaja on the boundary slogging a ball from Lyon leaving poor old Jack Leach not out on 6 and England all out for 258.
Another dismal England batting performance but Orstralia had to face another 13 overs before the umpire whipped off the bails and in that time Sandy Warner who everyone loves to hate was clean bowled and booed off by a beauty from Broad for 3. Oz survived to score 30 for 1 with Sandy Bancroft on 5 and looking very shaky but Khawaja more confident on 18. Both Archer and Broad looked menacing and the weather may favour them on the third day.
Third Day
The Ruth Strauss Foundation raised £382,462 from yesterday's activities which was a great result. Andrew said on the third day the figure was now over £400,000 and you can donate by going to their web site by clicking the link above.
The day dawned overcast so it was a good bowling day on a slow wicket and the Ozzies found it hard going. Bancroft survived for 66 balls before Archer had him lbw for 13 and his maiden Test wicket. Khawaja played well but succumbed shortly afterwards caught behind from a ball by Woakes for 36. We now had Smithy and Head at the wicket who Broad eventually had lbw for 7 after facing 21 balls. He was replaced by Wade with Oz on 71 for 4 wickets.
Rain stopped play for the day just before lunch with the score on 80. Smith was on 13 after facing 40 balls and Wade was still not off the mark after facing 23. Proper Test Cricket. The weather forecast is not brilliant for the remaining two days so the odds are on a draw but should they get in two full days and England manage to get Smithy out then there is still an outside chance of a result.
Fourth Day
Wade was the first wicket of the day, caught behind off Broad for 7 after facing 45 balls. Paine then entered the fray and formed a partnership with Smith as Archer began to wreak havoc bowling in excess of 90mph. Paine was eventually caught by Buttler at short leg off Archer for 23 and replaced by Cummins with Oz on 162 for 6. Archer bowled for an hour after lunch before he hit Smith on the forearm which was treated by the doctor but he looked in a lot of pain. A few overs later a vicious 96mph bouncer caught Smith on the side of the neck and felled him. He eventually recovered and resisted being taken off but the doctor insisted and he was replaced by Siddle.
Cummins was caught behind off Broad for 20 and Siddle went the same way off Woakes before Smith returned but did not seem the full shilling and was uncharacteristically lbw to Woakes calling for a review which failed while walking off at the same time for 92. The crowd applauded his obvious bravery (and perhaps stupidity) but some prize prat of an MCC member, subsequently identified and sanctioned, booed him and called him names as did a small section of the crowd. Not cricket or representing the British sense of fair play.
Quotes 'wot I like: "His sledging was always more subtle and intelligent than my basic stuff. It would often take me three overs to understand what he meant."
Merv Hughs on Mike Atherton.
Over here in the Godzone and Oz there has been some criticism of Archer as he smiled after the incident during discussions with team mates. What was he expected to do? Break into tears?
He was simply doing what fast bowlers do and trying his best to intimidate the batsman. It is the batsman's job to get out of the way of bouncers which Smith failed to do. There is no doubting Smith's eccentricities at the crease, changing his gloves regularly and continually fidgeting. Another one is refusing to wear a helmet with a neck guard as he says it makes him claustrophobic though how something behind your field of vision can do that I can not understand. The ACC are now considering making neck guards compulsory.
Lyon was eventually lbw to Leach and Hazlewood not out 3 as Oz were bowled out for 250, 8 runs behind.
In came England and Roy continued his woeful Test record as he was caught and bowled by Cummins in the 5th over for 2. In came Root who Cummins had caught behind for a duck which meant he was on a hat trick which Denly stubbornly resisted. He formed a bit of a partnership with Burns until Siddle had him caught and bowled for 26 and also had Burns caught behind shortly after for 29 with England 71 for 4 and looking in trouble.
Buttler and Stokes then stuck. Buttler played a patient and determined proper defensive Test innings for a side with a prospect of winning but if not to draw and not lose the game. Stokes looked very dodgy at the start of his innings but eventually settled down and both were still there at the end of the fourth day with Buttler on 10 and Stokes on 16 with England leading by 104 runs.
Fifth Day
Stokes settled down to make a steady 50. His partner Buttler was eventually caught by Hazlewwod off Cummins for a resolute 31 which should encourage him after his poor test form but Stokesy powered on the make 115 not out hitting eleven 4's and three 6's before England declared on 258 for 5, the same total as the first innings with Bairstow also recovering his batting form on 30 not out.
The England bowlers started well as Australia were set a target of 267 to win but the only realistic prospect of seeing out the remaining 48 overs out but England had a realistic prospect of bowling Oz out, especially as their only decent batsman was out injured and the substitute Oz Jarpie Labuschagne was hit on his helmet by Archer in the second ball he faced.
Quotes 'wot I like: "He was all bristle and bullshit and I couldn't make out what he was saying, except that every sledge ended with 'arsewipe'."
Mike Atherton on Merv Hughs.
Acher dismissed Sandy Warner with the first ball he bowled to him caught Burns for 5 and was again booed to the rafters. He has averaged 4.5 runs a game this Test and it couldn't happen to a nicer cheat!
Jofra Archer is to England what Steve Smith is to Oz and in his next over he had Khawaja caught behind for 2. Opener Sandy Bancroft was still there, just, but a few overs later Leach had him lbw for 16. In came Head and he and Labuschagne went a long way towards saving the match with the latter scoring his 2nd Test 50 but the partnership came to an end with him caught by Root off Leach for 58. I reckon Root is IMHO a lying little Toady claiming the catch as the ball bounced into his hand off the deck but the third umpire reckoned it bounced off his fingers under the ball. Another umpire who should have gone to Specsavers. Labuschagne was not 'appy and neither was I, with the umpires decision or the captain. Labuschagne deserves a medal.
Wade replaced him and didn't last long, bowled Leach caught Buttler bat and pad in the gully for 1 with Leach on a hat trick. Five more wickets needed for an England win and Archer back into the attack. Instead of defending against Archer he tries a pull shot and Denly makes a superb catch at square so he is out for 4 and England need 4 wickets in seven overs! Poor batting from Captain Paine.
Gripping stuff aye. Cummins and Head hung around for the draw though and it sets the scene for the next game at Leeds. I would put money on England now with Smith unlikely to play for the rest of the series. But for him and rain England would be two up by now.
The Rugby Summer Internationals
Wales beat England 13-6 at Cardiff so bragging rights were restored but no conclusions can be drawn from the result. The French ref came in for some stick after he had given a yellow card to Watson for a deliberate knock on and he was still on the field with England in a huddle deciding how to play with 14. Willi Heinz had gone off for an HIA and his replacement had not taken the field so England were down to 13 men. The ref then allowed Josh Adams to take a quick penalty kick, passed to Biggar while England were asleep who kicked over to George North who went over for the only try of the match otherwise it would have been a draw. The law will be changed as a result.
No excuses as Wales were the better side and should have been as it was arguably their 1st XV whereas it was still an experimental England line-up. The win means that Wales move to the number one position in the world rankings ahead of the All Blacks. Scotland were pretty dire down in Nice where France whupped 'em 32-3.
Here in NZ the Wobblies reverted to type after their untypical win in Perth and were thumped at Eden park by the Blacks 36-0. So the result of the two match series is a draw and the holders being New Zealand they retain the Bledisloe Cup. The latest Mitre 10 Cup Rugby results can be found here...
Mitre 10 Cup Rugby Week 2
Our local team Bay of Plenty Steamers visited Rotorua to play Waikato in a local derby and continued their winning form beating their hosts 40-14. Auckland went up North and beat Northland 10-43 while Manakau visited Albany and beat North Harbour 25-39.
Wellington went up to Napier and could only draw with Hawkes Bay 27 all. Another local derby was Manawatu hosting Taranaki at Balmy Parmie where they narrowly lost the game 10-13 much to the continued disgust of brother-in-law Phil.
The Ranfurly Shield dates from 1904 and is currently held by Otago. Each year the holding team must accept at least 7 challenges which are played at their home ground and Mitre 10 Cup games are automatic challenges. Otago successfully defended the Shield beating Southland 41-22.
Canterbury were at home to Tasman and lost 8-23 and the current week 2 standings are shown below.
Mitre 10 Premiership
Team
Played
BP1
BP2
Points
Tasman
2
1
0
9
Auckland
2
2
0
8
Counties-Manukau
2
2
1
7
Waikato
2
1
0
5
North Harbour
2
2
0
4
Wellington
2
1
0
3
Canterbury
2
1
1
2
Mitre 10 Championship
Team
Played
BP1
BP2
Points
Bay of Plenty
2
2
0
10
Taranaki
2
1
0
9
Hawkes Bay
2
2
0
8
Otago
2
1
0
5
Northland
2
0
0
4
Manawatu
2
0
1
1
Southland
2
0
0
0
Third Ashes Test
There are three more matches in the series and England are one down. The Ozzies are the current holders and are one nil up in the series so England must win two of those three matches to regain the Ashes. Winning this third match is important to England as an Orstralian win would mean the best England could do would be to draw the series. This would mean that Oz would keep them for another 2 years and all our Oz friends would become insufferable! Our intellectual readers can follow progress here....
This match was at Headingly which is in Leeds which is in Yorkshire where cricket is like a religion. It also rains a lot up there so on the first day of the Test the teams were off and on like a whores drawers between showers and bad light but when they could play, conditions were perfect for bowling.
Quotes 'wot I like: "I would have died for Yorkshire. I suppose once or twice I nearly did."
Brian Close 1931 - 2015.
Sandy Warner finally found a bit of form this time and hung around for 31 overs in a shortened 52 over day. Jofra Archer was the star attraction and quickly dismissed Harris caught behind for 8. He was not bowling particularly fast and very few short balls but the ball was moving around and he was continually tempting the batsmen to play balls they should have left. Broad was also bowling well and took the second wicket of Khawaja a few overs later also caught behind for 8.
Labuschagne then joined Warner at the crease for a long parnership. They proved to be the only resistance to the England bowling attack until Archer finally had Warner caught behind and booed off for 61 with Orstralia on 126 for 3. Head then went for a duck bowled Broad and Wade was bowled by Archer for another the next over. Captain Paine hung around for 8 overs before Woakes had him lbw for 11 and we were down to the tail which failed to wag.
Quotes 'wot I like: "In an England cricket eleven, the flesh may be in the south, but the bone is of the North, and the backbone is Yorkshire."
Len Hutton 1916 - 1990.
Archer had Pattinson caught by Root in the slips for 2, Cummins was caught behind for a duck. Stokesy had Labuschagne lbw for 74 who reviewed it and the ultra edge clearly showed a spike as the ball passed the bat but he went off shaking his head unable to believe modern technology. Archer claimed his sixth wicket of the day dismissing Lyon lbw for 1 in the last over of the day and Orstralia were all out for 179 with Hazlewood not out 1.
Now we will see if England's batsmen can match their bowlers skill as the weather forcast is good for the rest of the match.
Second Day
You will now know that England's batsmen could not match their bowlers but Orstralia's bowlers could. It is not worth describing the England innings in detail as nobody played remotely well, most of them were out playing at balls they should have left alone and the rest were out to magnificent bowling, especially by Hazlewood who was outstanding and took five wickets. I should also mention Sandy Warner who took four catches in the slips but failed yet again with the bat when he was out lbw to Broad for a duck in the second over of the second innings after England were all out for a humiliating 67. The lowest Ashes score since 1948.
Quotes 'wot I like: "One is always a little nervous when watching England bat."
Peter May 1929 - 1994.
We are already getting some stick from our Oz friends. Orstralians hate to lose anything and sometimes cry when they do (witness cry baby Smithy after their balls were sandpapered) which is why we so love to beat them! They have failed to respond to Sue's gentle reminders of their performance on the rugby field against the Blacks at Eden Park.
This innings probably lost us the Ashes despite a good start against Oz in their 2nd innings getting Harris for 19, Khawaja for 23 and Head for 25, Labuschagne was 53 not out at the end of the day who has cemented his place in this side being the concussion replacement for Smithy. England did manage to get a couple of useful wickets at the end of the day with Wade caught behind off Stokes for 33 and Paine going for a duck, caught by Denly off Broad.
So Oz are very much in the driving seat, particularly if the tail wags as they are already 283 runs ahead with four wickets remaining and I can not see England getting anywhere near that total barring a minor miracle. With the Ashes lost, interest in the series will also be lost if the series result is now decided apart from England avoiding the further humiliation of a whitewash.
Third Day
Pattinson was the first wicket to fall on the third day who was caught by Broad off Archer for 20. Cummins was caught by Burns off Stokes for 6 and we finally had Labuschagne run out for 80 who was running out of partners. Another fine innings from the substitute. Lyon was then bowled by Archer for 9 and Hazlewood not out for 4 with Oz 246 all out and England facing the daunting task of doing something no England team had ever done before and chasing 358 runs to win the game.
England began their innings in their usual way losing Burns caught by Sandy Warner in the slips off Hazlewood for 7 then Roy was clean bowled by Cummins for 8. We now had Root and Denly at the crease and they forged a good partnership of 126 before Hazlewood had him caught behind for 50 with Root on 64 and England 141 for 3. In came Root who faced 50 unsandpapered balls by the close of play and scored only 2 runs while Root moved on to 75 and England 153 for 3.
This was an encouraging day for Root, Denly and Stokes who battled against some fine seamers. England had narrowed the target down to 203 runs to win and save the Ashes with 7 wickets in hand while Oz had two days to capture those seven wickets.
Fourth Day
The day began badly with Root playing a silly shot from a high ball from Lyon and was caught behind by Paine for 77. Bairstow comes in and begins to move the score on nicely but playing sensibly with the new ball. He seems to inspire Stokes to throw the bat a bit who pulls a loose ball from Cummins for six and England are 228 for 4 needing only 130 to win and you sense that they might actually do it if these two stay in. At lunch they are both still there with Stokes on 32 and Bairstow on 34 needing 121 to win.
Hazlewood made the breakthrough getting Bairstow caught chasing a wide ball he should have left by Labuschagne in the slips for 36. Buttler replaces him but is run out for 1 by an underhand throw hitting the stumps from Harris after Stokes first calls him for a single and then sends him back. What a waste of two good batsman and the story of England's batting. Woakes came in and the score progressed to 261 for 6 with Stokesy getting his 50 to a standing ovation from the Headingly crowd.
Woakes then continues the English tradition of playing a silly shot straight to the safe hands of Wade at Cover and England were 261 for 7 and in deep poo. Archer came in who can bat a bit and slogged a few balls until he was caught on the boundary by Head off Lyon for 15 with England staring defeat in the face on 286 for 8. In came Broad who can also bat a bit and was promptly bowled lbw the next over from Pattinson for a duck. It would seem "bit" was the operative word.
So England were down to their last man, Somerset Night Watchman Jack Leach who scored 92 in the Test match against Ireland which is a bit different to they Oz seamers plus one of the best, if not the best, spinner in the world in Lyon. Nothing daunted he polished his glasses like a good ciderman does in stressful circumstances and faced up to a 90mph ball from Pattinson. He bowls him a Yorker, it being Headingly, which Leach digs out to survive.
Quotes 'wot I like: "It has to be right up there with the greatest English Test innings. It was a combination of all kinds of things: craft, skill, versatility, and most of all an over-my-dead-body attitude."
Mike Atherton 1968 - .
Stokesy who had batted all day defensively and was on 61, which was required to try and tire the bowlers on a very hot day, then decided he had to play white ball cricket if England were to have any chance of success. England needed a record last wicket stand of 73 to win the day and Stokes needed to keep Leach out of harms way by keeping the times he faced balls to a minimum. He did this by hitting boundaries early in each over and trying for singles on the penultimate or last ball. He would also call for just two, never three if he thought the ball was not going to reach the boundary.
He smacks Lyon for six the next over and takes the single on the last ball of the over to keep strike. The strategy fails next against Pattinson as Stokes takes two but then a single on the fifth ball so Leach must face the bowler. Jack polished his glasses and ducks to avoid a bouncer. Silly bowling that if you want to get a tail ender out and you only have one ball in which to do it. Lyon then gets treated with the disrespect he doesn't deserve in the next over as Stokes hits two sixes and a single again off the last ball to take strike. The crowd are now in a state of delirium as Stokes moves to 84.
Quotes 'wot I like: "I'm not sure I've ever seen anything better than that on a Test ground"
Ricky Ponting 1974 - .
The strategy fails again on the next over and poor old Jack has to face four balls from Pattinson which he survives heroically. Captain Paine then does a stupid thing. He takes off Lyon who despite being expensive for runs looked the best option to take a wicket. Cummins comes on much to the delight of Stokes who belts him for a four and six moving on to 93 with 40 to win. In the next over Stokes leaves Leach to face another ball and he survives to huge cheers from the crowd who have realised they are witnessing cricketing history being made.
The next over Paine starts to panic and replaces Pattinson with Hazlewood who Stokes pulls for four and reaches his 100 which he hardly acknowledges as England still need 33 to win. The next ball he slogs for six over square leg then another six over mid wicket and England are 21 runs away from glory. He takes a single off the penultimate ball and is unable to watch as Jack polishes his glasses and survives yet again.
Paine finally brings back Nathan Lyon who restricts Stokes to a single to keep strike then Cummins replaces Hazlewood and Stokes hits him for four as Warner misses a catch on the boundary to huge cheers then another four the next ball with nine needed to win but Jack has to face two balls. He cleans his glasses and takes guard. Oz appeals for lbw. Silly appeal as obviously going down leg side. Appeal fails and Oz have no more reviews.
Quotes 'wot I like: "I've seen Stokesy do it too many times, he played out of his skin and he had a bit of luck. The lbw shout is irrelevant, we can't control it, it was given not out."
Tim Paine 1984 - .
Next over Lyon is hit for six by Stokes. Two to win, one to tie. Fielder throws to Lyon who drops the ball when Leach is out of his wicket. Would have been out for certain then Stokes is bowled lbw but umpire says not out. Oz are out of reviews having wasted that one on Leach and replay shows it was hitting middle and leg. More poor umpiring thank goodness.
Next over Jack must face Cummins from ball one. He polishes his glasses. The third ball of the over he pats the ball down to fine leg for has first run after facing 17 balls and saving a 72 run partnership. The match is drawn and Leach is a hero but Stokes is now on strike and needs one run to win the match. Stokes drives the next ball though the covers for four and England win the game and the series is even with two matches to play.
Australia can't believe it and some of their fans are seen to cry.
And English gentlemen abed in New Zealand will rue the day they were not there upon St Benjamin's Day.
It was certainly a match full of the drama and uncertainties that only Test Cricket can provide and will do wonders for the game the world over. It certainly matches Beefy Botham's epic knock at the same ground in 1981. I said after the recent world cup final that I couldn't remember ever seeing such an exciting game of any sort of cricket but this one surpassed that. As for Ben Stokes I have no adjectives that adequately describes his performance but he did need some help from a good old Somerset yokel to do it!
Sues Progress
Sue completed her radiation treatment two weeks ago. According to the doctors it was likely to be a few weeks before any improvements were likely and there was no guarantee of success. Sue had a meeting with the oncologist today who said they were very pleased that all the known tumours had now been successfully treated. The urine tests she undertook show no cancer cells in the urine. She will have a cystoscopy in a weeks time to see if there is anything that can be seen but if that is negative then it might not be cancer of the Urethra that is the primary cancer.
She has a lot of breast pain and had a mammogram today so breast cancer might be the primary if the Urethra is ruled our after the cystoscopy. She will have a CT scan the last week in September which will be six weeks after radiation finished. Apparently having one sooner is pointless as due to swelling of tissue close to the tumours due to radiation so the CT scan will be quickly followed by a further consultation with the oncologist to decide on further treatment once all the various evidence is in place.
The good news is that following today's meeting Sue decided to try walking again with the aid of her walker. She walked from the lounge to the bedroom and used the toilet unaided and is now confident she will be able to do some light housework to take the load of that overworked saint of a husband!!!
This is the best bit of news since the original bad news. It is also possible the radiation will reduce the pain although that is under control with the continual use of morphine. A side effect of the morphine is constipation and some anti nausea pills she was prescribed made it twice as bad but the doc today prescribed some alternative ones which he said would not cause constipation.
So we are both heartened by some real progress and are planning a trip down to Balmy Palmie to see Mum and all they yokels down there in the cold and windy south in Mid September. Spring officially begins on 1st September and we plan to take two days to travel each way.
Summer Rugby Internationals
England met Ireland at Twickers and Scotland met France again but at Murrayfield. The third round of 7 games of the NZ Mitre 10 games were just too much to watch what with the Ashes Cricket taking all day but the results are here...
England fielded one of their strongest sides so far in these World Cup warm up games and so did Ireland and for the first quarter they looked evenly matched with Ireland marginally better. England then began to boss the game and ran in eight try's with Barf boy Joe Cokanasiga scoring two of them.
Barnsie gave his Man of the Match award to Manu Tuilagi who also scored a try and was good but for me the outstanding player was Maro Itoje who was everywhere and burst through a hole in the Irish defence to also score a try he could hardly believe himself!
England shafted Ireland 57-15 but Mako Vunipola back from injury only lasted 15 minutes before he was again injured as was Cian Healy and both might be in danger of missing the World Cup.
Murrayfield was baking in 30 degree heat for the return fixture against France following their ignominious defeat in Nice last week. Completely different Frog side this time who did turn up but failed to counter a determined Scottish XV who held out for a 17-14 victory. Neither side looked a match for England but then I am biased.
Mitre 10 Cup 3rd Round
Our Steamers were away to Auckland this week and fought valiantly to lose 17-13 which earned them a losing bonus point but pushed them off the top of the table. Wellington managed to just beat Canterbury 24-23 who have had a dismal start to their season losing every game so far. Taranaki hammered Northland 52-19 to move equal top with Tasman having gobbed Manawatu 64-3 much to Bro Phil's disgust. They have only "un point" this season.
Counties Manukau lost to Waikato 23-31, Southland lost to North Harbour 12-33 and Hawke's Bay beat Otago 29-21 so the standings are now as follows:
Mitre 10 Premiership
Team
Played
BP1
BP2
Points
Tasman
3
2
0
14
Auckland
3
2
0
12
Waikato
3
2
0
10
North Harbour
3
3
0
9
Counties-Manukau
3
3
2
9
Wellington
3
1
0
7
Canterbury
3
1
2
3
Mitre 10 Championship
Team
Played
BP1
BP2
Points
Taranaki
3
2
0
14
Hawkes Bay
3
3
0
13
Bay of Plenty
3
2
1
11
Otago
3
1
0
5
Northland
3
0
0
4
Manawatu
3
0
1
1
Southland
3
0
0
0
Firefox Browser Bug
I have recently noticed that slideshows do not work properly in the Firefox browser on this website. When I test the site in different browsers the slideshow works perfectly in Chrome and Edge. It also all works perfectly locally on my computer but from a remote server using firefox all the slides stack up in one column.
Once again this is modern technology at its worst. The slideshow program on my website relies on another program on a remote server. This is an advantage in that very little code is required on my site as the bulk of the code to make it work is referenced from one URL. The disadvantage is that any bugs in either the remote program or the browser can not be fixed by me. In this case, as my little program works fine on two other browsers, it seems likely that the problem lies with the Firefox browser so if you want to see the slideshows working properly at the moment you should use Chrome or Edge.
Google Analytics tells me that over 40% of my visitors are using Chrome and 7% Firefox so most of you are not having problems. However 36% of you are using Safari so that probably means you are using an Apple machine as Safari for Windoze was discontinued some time ago. Unfortunately I can not test that as I do not own an Apple of any kind so if anyone out there who is an Apple user and the slide show does not work on your computer/laptop/tablet or phone then please send me a message here.
If the problem persists I will probably revert to the old fashioned but fixable on-site program.
