Pieces of a Man Think it. Do it. Be it. Embellish.

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Today saw a 100% increase in the number of important historical events that I know Wythenshawe to be famous for.

In addition to seeing Roy Harper play there in 1989, it seems that 350 years earlier there was also a military action, which we've just seen re-enacted by the English Civil War Society.

Wythenshawe Hall, seat of the Royalist Tatton family, was attacked and taken by Cromwell's men in the Winter of 1643. The re-enactment (in the original setting since the Hall is still there) was carried out by about 100 enthusiasts in period dress.

The skirmish started with the 'parlay' - officers deciding whether or not it was a good day (for their men) to die - followed by a series of engagements between the different sections; pikemen, mustketeers, cavalry.

It was interesting that the fight took place in the shadow of the park's Oliver Cromwell statue, which was apparently re-located there from Piccadilly Gardens to avoid upsetting Queen Victoria on a visit to Manchester.

The kids were terrified by the noise of the cannons at first, but were enthralled by the end. The rebels eventually won, leaving the field littered with bodies, and then there were a series of executions of the captured, kneeling and begging. Great stuff!

Oscar was particularly fascinated by the cameo role of Mary Webb, who rushed screaming onto the battlefield to shoot the man who'd just killed her fiancé in a swordfight. (Yani's lasting memory, I'm guessing, will be the candy floss.)

Labels: 2006

Pictures from last weekend, when we somehow managed to summon up some strength on a Friday evening, chucked all the camping stuff in the car, and headed out into the Peaks for some camping in Buxton.

Labels: 2006

In the days after England's exit from the World Cup, during that traditional period of post-mortem, the press busied themselves with two ways to fill the vacuum; one was blaming Sven and the other was encouraging the nation to give itself a consolation pat on the back for the conduct of England fans during the tournament.

This 'best fans in the world' thing is something I really struggle to understand, especially on the back of the recent experience in Germany.

At the Munich FanFest we must have met about 20 different nationalities, and all of them wanted to do the same things; dance, smile, celebrate and have their pictures taken with other fans. My memory of the England fans, on the other hand ... an island of pink flesh in the middle of the huge crowd watching Brazil v Australia, getting drunker and drunker and sharing songbook gems like 'Pelé is a wanker' or 'Brazilian football's rubbish'.

However, it seems the press prefer to overlook this sort of thing in their rush to revise our reputation. Just one commentator managed to articulate exactly what I expected from England fans and then experienced;

"Of course it was good there was not much serious trouble," says one football source who was in Germany for the tournament but does not want to be named because criticising England fans is not this season's fashion. "But it wasn't pretty. The England fans mostly stood apart from the carnival. They find a place to drink, and the chants, if they're not about the war like Ten German Bombers, are too often about belittling the other countries, not befriending them. Support for England is still aggressive, lumpen and boorish, but nobody wants to talk about that." Read more...

Labels: 2006

An old friend of mine finally got hitched this summer, and a splendid time was had by all. See the pictures...

Labels: 2006

Listen to the wickedly infectious German World Cup Song, courtesy of Soccergirlz.de;



The chorus goes...

1 und 2 und 3 und 54, 74, 90, 2006
Ja so stimmen wir alle ein.
Mit dem Herz in der Hand und der Leidenschaft im Bein
Werden wir Weltmeister sein

Labels: 2006