Wednesday 26 February 2014

South East Women's Time Trial Series

It would not be seen as a major step in some sports, but I just wanted to applaud Rebecca Slack and her co-conspirators who are getting the South East Women's TT series off the ground. Time trialling is a great way to get into competitive cycling. The range of distances, the fact that you are essentially racing yourself and being able to see your progress all helps. Events are cheap to enter, and there are often a range of prizes to win. But the sport has not done a great job in attracting women to date. Despite the space age kit, Testing is not always the most modern branch of cycling, but having now embraced internet entry anything is possible I guess. Even so, a time trial where women made up 10% of the field (9-12riders) was a notable turn out. 
This is why SEWTTS is such an exciting move. With well over 100 women already signed up shows that there is a pretty substantial appetite out there waiting to be tapped. Working with race organizers to get a women's allocation means that new riders will get a look in at some of the faster more popular courses, and a points system based on placing (rather than time) rewards those prepared to tough it out on the sporting courses. In truth a men's SE league run on the same basis would not go amiss. 
Its a great start, with the first event on the Calendar the SCCU 21 on 23rd March where 25% of places are reserved for women it is a huge opportunity to broaden participation in this branch of cycling. 

Monday 24 February 2014

Cycling Objectives of 2014 - SCCU 100 god help me.

It is that time of year for cycling ambitions to be crystalised into a proper plan. One of my weaknesses has always been wanting to do it all, TT's, MTB, Road racing and sportives.  The result being a mish mash of a season without much to show for it. This year I am trying to be a bit more disciplined. Having the 2 up TT at the Duo Normand waiting in September this has given what goes before some shape. But to be honest in recent years I have struggled to find a single motivating objective in Time trialling . In 2009 I build my season round an ultimately successful but to go under the hour. Since then, despite some good moments (often 2 ups with Mr Hawthorn) it has been a bit hit and miss.

In January 2010 as well as busting my elbow I totalled my TT bike and my sluggishness in acquiring a proper replacement probably speaks volumes. Given the boost of getting close to the hour in a 2 up on the Bentley course last summer I finally go round to sorting that out. A sub 1.30 in the Duo was a nice bonus.

So what for 2014, what should be my target. 10 mile TT's are not my thing, they are just too short. 25's will be in the brew of course, and as long as I train properly 50 mile TT's work for me. Then there is the 100. I have never put in the 100 ride I felt I owed myself. My best was a 4.38 in 2009. But I had just come back from Dieppe-Marseille, was tired and didn't do myself justice. Given that earlier that season I had done a 2.04 50  I was certain that there was a better ride in me. Since then I have floated around the 4.45 mark. So that will be it. SCCU 100 in July with the target of going under 4.30. There I have said it out loud, god help me.

Sunday 23 February 2014

Never Let Me Go - Kazou Ishiguro

I have recently finished reading this for the Croydon Waterstones book group, and my reaction to it just a bit odd. For those who have not read it or seen the movie, at heart it is an alternative history. There is a Britain, quite like ours where clones have been created to provide spare parts. The story focuses on Kathy, the narrator and her friends Ruth and Tommy as they grow up and move towards their lives of donations and final 'completion.'

It is beautifully written and compelling. That the story is going to be sad and depressing goes without saying, but now a few days have passed since I finished it there is a part that I cannot accept. Their baleful compliance with their fate. We know that they would like to be allowed to live because they cling to a belief in 'deferral.' But there is no rebellion or rage against the system that oppresses them. They seem to have free access to the ideas of the outside world, but those ideas don't galvanise dissatisfaction and rage and against the system the face. This does not work for me. History is full of monsterous and oppressive regimes that have done things that are terrible, but when faced with this though their may ultimately be despair and defeat people however quietly rebel. People fight back, they satirise, they sabotage they mock their oppressors and try to escape. Given the chance they fight or escape. But these drab clones just go glumly to their fate and so do all the others. It is this removal of the human capacity for rebellion that I cannot accept, and ultimately leaves me dissatisfied with the book. They may be defeated, but allow them the human capacity to resist.

Why Palace will stay up and why they won't

Reasons to be cheerful

Since Pulis' arrival Palace have despite a meagre scoring record got the better of the 6 pointers, while they have not made much impression on the heavy hitters. There is a decided bottom half bias in their remaining 12 games, including Cardiff, Sunderland, and a final day clash with Fulham. In what will be a tight finish they will have the edge.

Reasons to be doubtful

Palace have stunk away from home and with only 5 of their remaining 12 at home this don't look great. This is compounded by the fact that those home games include Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool (see comment above). Given the tepid defeat to Man U on Saturday....

Football Footnotes 1# Palace 0 – 2 Man U and the Ghost of Cantona's past


 
 
They sang about Cantona, of course they did, one had a Cantona flag. In fact they sang an awful lot about Cantona. I think it was meant to upset us, but it’s a story that doesn’t really quicken this Palace fans’ pulse. It isn’t really about us. But it got me thinking, why a series of acts of stupidity that ultimately led to Man U losing the title that year are seen as a cause for celebration.
 

The history of Palace and Man U is one of occasional path crossing in otherwise separate existences. One a mighty Titan of the Premiership and Europe, the other a gang of upstart wannabes led by an assortment of largely bonkers (now broke/criminal/dead) Chairman. Of course Palace have Man U stories but largely ones I suspect never registered on the Old Trafford Richter scale. I don’t think much sleep was lost in Manchester about Les Sealey being allowed to step in for Jim Leighton…. But the night 20 years ago when  Eric Cantona leapt into the Selhurst crowd to kick a Palace fan is one of those moments that has earned its place in a wider folklore.
 

I was in the Old Stand that night, a couple of blocks down from incident. What is often forgotten was that Eric was having a spell of discipline problems at the time. He had been recently sent off in another game and had a long track record of rather unusual behaviour. Whether deliberate or not Richard Shaw, the Palace defender was irritating the hell out of the mega star with his close marking. Cantona was getting no change out of him and finally lost what cool he had. In front of where we were sitting he kicked out at Shaw with a needless petulance.  It was clear enough and an obvious red card.
 

For the Palace crowd this was heady stuff. Probably the biggest name in English football at the time, and certainly a massive threat to us was being sent off for kicking one of ours. His short fuse was well known but seeing it played out in front of us was incredible. Not quite being there for Kennedy’s assassination but…. However it was nothing compared to what was about to follow as he stalked towards the tunnel. It has always remained amazing to me that Cantona could pick out what one fan was shouting amongst the wall of baying euphoric wrath that followed him. But he claimed he did. What happened next is history. Cantona was handed a long ban by the FA, though lightly punished in the criminal courts. Man U didn't win with the title that year and Palace ended up being relegated rather unluckily.  It was to prove a pretty disappointing year for both clubs.
 

They met in the FA cup semis. Palace took it to a replay, but ultimately lost 2-0. Some non Cantona related acrimony lead to Palace fans refusing to travel to Villa Park for that replay. Man U lost out to Everton in the final (at a time when an FA cup win still mattered).
 

This Saturday's rather routine victory was Man U's 3rd post ‘Kung Fu Cantona’ league visit to Selhurst Park. Occasionally the likes of Brighton will sing about Cantona as a token of their anti Palace sentiment. Though on the previous Man U visits there was the odd squawk about Cantona, but it all seemed much more vociferous yesterday. Why? My guess is two reasons. The passing of time has allowed an act to stupidity that potentially cost them the title to become part of loveable Eric's myth. A post ban Cantona came back the following year and the record speaks for itself. Like Beckham kicking out at Simeone subsequent success has washed away the shame.  But I think there is another reason for today’s Man U fan to look back with nostalgia. 94/95 is a much happier time to live in than today. The Premiership was young, and Fergie's legend was just being made. Foreign signings were something exotic, and we were entering a brave new world. Man U were still recognisable as a football club in the traditional sense. Though they were the biggest and richest it wasn't yet all bankrolled by shadowy distant owners. English clubs, recently allowed back into Europe were beginning to make their presence felt. Now they are adrift from the automatic European places, they are being financially and sportingly outgunned by the likes of Chelsea and Man City and maybe for the first time the future looks genuinely uncertain. Empires fall. Man u spent 20 years watching Liverpool sweep all before them. So a rousing chorus of Cantona to the tune of the 12 days of Christmas is a reminder of better times.

 

 

Saturday 15 February 2014

Punk Footnotes 10# - Hagar the Womb

In this era of iTunes, Amazon and Spotify it is kind of easy to feel that everything ever is available to download. To be honest having recently downloaded an album of Triffids outtakes and early demos it is a fairly reasonable assertion. However browsing Youtube I stumbled across the joyous yelpings of Hagar the Womb, dishing out what is probably their best know work 'Idolization.'

This set a gutterful of nostalgia flowing. Hagar the Womb were part of the Anarcho Punk scene in the early 80's playing alongside the likes of Conflict and Omega Tribe. What made them  different was that despite the notional feminist and anti- sexist stance of many of the Anarcho bands, most were pretty male and pretty macho. Hagar the Womb was led and fronted by women, and like Rubella Ballet did a decent job of subverting the culture, adding humour, colour and a certain playfulness to the brew.

I came across them (of course) listening to John Peel who championed their 'Word of Womb' EP and getting them to record a (if I recall slightly disappointing) session. In my box of cassettes I am sure I still have these moments captured. Watching the video of them from the Leeds Bierkellar I felt a little pang, as I recalled the look of time, the big hair and printed dresses with DM's, girls who were just that bit older and so much cooler, the girls I yearned for, but stayed painfully out of reach. But what also struck me was that for anarchists, they don't look like the advance guard of an anarchist Armageddon. They and their audience look a rather nice colourful and jolly bunch.

Swept away by this warm nostalgic glow I decided to purchase Word of  Womb. However unlike the works of innumerable non entities iTunes could only manage one song on a compilation, and Amazon couldn't manage a download or a CD. But curiously in the Amazon store somebody was offering a copy of the EP for £30. I had a look on ebay, and there was again a copy of the EP for about £25. Further investigation showed that the band reformed a couple of yours ago for a tour, given that their recorded works amounted to two EP's and a JP session, for a band that no material currently available this seemed pretty impressive.

So the Hagar's were very much a footnote, but one that seems to have left a mark deep enough for a small following still to give  a damn 30 years after their brief shrieking life.