it's some while

since i last posted primarily because the day after my last post on the 6th, my dad died in the afternoon, over the easter weekend. Lots of details to sort out. Mum is sort of up and down but i'm hopeful that she will be ok in the long run. It would be good if she could find the confidence and motivation to get out a bit and see a few people and invite some people back to her house for coffee or tea. Who knows what will happen but i'm hopeful.
Dad's cremation is on st george's day, which in his case is appropriate as he often wore a red rose on 23rd april in the past.
I've agreed to draft and read a sort passage about his life, which i will do at the weekend.
To be honest work at the moment, is a little bit of a sanctuary, although everyone has been very supportive, i would rather not linger in death's presence.
I think even mum is looking forward to the day after the cremation. It's been interesting to observe how we all cope differently with death. That's all for now.
The next post who knows!

contrasts

This easter brings a time for me of great contrasts. As my dad takes to his bed at home with hospice care, as his life comes to a close, the sun shines and new life is being created e.g. the bird box we put up in january now appears to be occupied by blue tits who apparently lay their eggs in the coming weeks.
Mum seems to have reached some acceptance of dad's death but who knows how you will react when the moment comes but it was good to talk to her yesterday evening. The hospice care he is receiving is exceptional. They came out to mum the night before last in the early hours and have been hugely supportive. It is my first contact with the hospice service and i'm very impressed with the quiet, sensitive and compassionate way they support families at a time of great sadness. On wonders how they deal with all the emotional baggage they must inevitably pick up doing their jobs.
So as we wait for new lives to be created and born so one life draws to a close.

a sport dying of excessive money

I know it's not going to happen tomorrow but football is surely at the beginning of a slow and painful death. At international level the sport now no longer holds the draw that it once did. Over paid premiership players, particularly those playing for top sides who regularly play in the champions league, no longer regard playing for their country as the height of their careers.
Champions league games and to a lesser extent, but nevertheless growing extent, premiership games are plagued with players feigning injury, diving, holding and any other cheating that gets them a win. Referees turn a blind eye to a number of fouls, as the level of tolerance of foul play has grown and grown.
Supporters are bled dry by their clubs and now we are on the brink of the creation of a 'european super league' with supporters being asked to cross europe to watch their side away from home. This will almost certainly lead to a further diminution of the status of playing for england or any other country. The euro super league will be the pinnacle of a player's achievement.
The irony is that even in the US, NFL and NBA there is not the dominance of the same sides year after year as there is in the premiership. This dominance will eventually kill the interest in the game by the supporter who attends games. Attendances are likely to fall and the top games will potentially be played in front of slowly emptying stadia and possibly emptying sofas and couchs? How long this will take, who knows, but i believe that this is the future of football in the uk.