Another Load of Cobblers ....

[Kaz]

Ossie I have always ordered our LFTs through the NHS website. We've done a fair few, as we're concerned about D's vulnerable status. I managed to get them even when local chemists were all out.

Another great read - Frank is right

Crommers, that's really funny about the eggs

[TheOstrich]

A week dominated by a State Visit from Master O, aka the “Managing Director”, who for many years has had the ability to out-sugar Alan Sugar by a country mile . A visit to our sleepy rural hollow is, for him, a welcome break from the map-cap, stressful A&E Department where he works in Sussex; he spent 80% of his time sleeping and the remaining 20% wallowing in the bath with plenty of Radox, leaving him virtually no time to indulge in his favourite occupation of winding up Mrs O .

The two year anniversary of his separation is next October, and there were rumblings this visit about going for a no-fault divorce under the new rules, and a possible move back into our area. I have advised him that he must still get a solicitor involved, as there will be child maintenance to sort out (we'll pay), and also that his first priority must be to get fixed up with a job locally - he is looking potentially at Yeovil Hospital - before he sorts out accommodation. He can stay short-term with us in the interim. His current hospital used to be a teaching hospital but no longer is, that function has been transferred to Brighton, so he can’t really advance his career where he is ; as I understand it, Yeovil is a teaching hospital, but he will need to sort all that out.

It is a sadness to Mrs O that we have no interaction with our nearly 3yo g/s, with little likelihood that we will have going forward either. But there is nothing we can do about that; wyrd bið ful āræd (fate is inexorable, if I may quote Bernard Cornwell). Ossie is a bit more sanguine about the situation; his over-riding concern in life remains what, where and when his next meal is coming from .

Still, a happy week with Master O, culminating in a Chinese Takeaway from Mr. Chan, in which we each chose a main course, argued over a side dish, and added a portion of boiled rice, for something under £30. I have long learnt not to ask too many questions over cost when Master O is doing the ordering and picking-up; my contribution is limited to paying, and if I see change, I’m lucky .

To the weekend's match, then, and no changes at Slaughtergate since my last visit a few weeks back, although they appear to have acquired an Dorset & Wilts Air Ambulance shoe recycling bin, situated near the redundant Programme kiosk. It may always have been there, however; Ossie’s short-term memory’s not what it was …..

North Dorset have just issued a “Club Strategic Plan" (the bulk of which was corporate gobbledegook ) but it does say that they aim to be mid to upper Level 7 club by 2024/25. Well, they’re currently in 2nd place at Level 8 so a promotion this season is certainly on the cards, and the target isn’t therefore that ambitious. I still think they’re defying gravity a bit, but they played well today in defeating mid-table Bournemouth-based Oakmeadians, who themselves put up a titanic struggle and resolutely refused to roll over to their hosts. North Dorset’s “Strategic Plan” indicates they are looking to recruit new senior players as part of their “Year 1 Target” which perhaps doesn’t exactly surprise me, but I have to say the forwards were excellent today, putting in a disciplined performance in which they regularly marched Oakmeadians backwards in the scrum, taking the ball against the head, and also stole a fair few line-outs . There’s still a fair bit of wayward / kamikaze passing in the back line, but they played their part in today’s win as well.

North Dorset’s first score on 8m was a penalty try awarded when Oakmeadians collapsed a scrum on their line, having been pushed back at least 10 yards, but the away side made it 7-5 six minutes later, the ball being rapidly passed down the back line, cutting out two players, for Luke Clarke to go over in the corner. Matt Piper very nearly increased ND’s lead shortly after, chipping the ball forward and haring after it, but the ball just eluded him before reaching the back line. Sam Jones nailed a 30 yard penalty for ND despite a blustery cross-field wind, but Oakmeadians responded with a close-range charge over the line from a quick penalty. On 43m, ND again got the push on in a scrum and walked the ball over the line for their No.8, Brandon Ward, to score the try. 17-10 at the interval.

Oakmeadians notched an unconverted try in the corner on 49m but had a player yellow-carded on 58m after a scuffle in mid-field; tempers had been getting increasingly inflamed . ND capitalised on this sin-binning when Sam Trevis managed to find a gap in the defence on the line, and on 73m the home side made it safe when Ward scored a similar try, both being immaculately converted. Just time for Oakmeadians to earn a deserved 4th try bonus with a touchdown in the far corner on the last play of the game. A thoroughly enjoyable afternoon!

29/01/22 – Dorset & Wilts 1 South (Level 8)
North Dorset RFC 31 - Oakmeadians RFC 20
Admission: free
Programme: none
Refreshments: there was supposed to be a £5 soup and cheese offer on today; four tables had been nicely laid out in the clubhouse, but all were fully occupied by Blazers as it happened, and there was no sign of any soup or cheese being served to plebs , so I opted for the veggie burger and rabbit food £3.50 before the game, and a half-time coffee £1. The former excellent, the latter passible .....
Attendance: 135, according to Ossie’s abacus.

Finally, I had my first encounter with the new Highway Code regulations on the way home ! Signalling to turn right at a junction, there was a pedestrian waiting on the pavement. I indicated, using appropriate hand signage (no sniggering at the back, please, Crommers! ) that it was his right of way to cross in front of me; he positively fled across to the other side. That was Module 101; next week’s lesson: 2-Abreast Cyclists …..

[Kaz]

I wish Master O luck in his quest for a new job, and am really sorry that you don't get to see your grandchild. Families can be a source of great joy, but also plenty of heartbreak xxx

[cromwell]

Great report Os.
Rugby Union appears to be thriving at grassroots level down there.
You did well to get some passable coffee at a match; I've never managed it.
yes, Master O needs to proceed in an orderly fashion. Switching jobs and location can be a stressful thing to do.
Kaz, how right you are.

[JoM]

I wish him lots of luck Ossie, hopefully it won’t be too long until he’s found a suitable job near to you. Such a shame how things have turned out, Kaz is spot on there x

Joe’s now a Bovril devotee, both at matches and at home. He hadn’t tried it up until December

[Workingman]

Good luck to Mr.O with both the divorce and his job search. Hopefully something can be sorted so that you can get to see your g/son.

Seems like, as Cromwell says, rugby u looks to be doing OK down your way, and it sounds like a decent match with that score - a 'traditional' sort of score.

Still nothing up here, though that might have something to do with the local park and lake and the ongoing bird flu epidemic.

[TheOstrich]

Thanks, all - nothing will happen until next Autumn, and nothing is written in stone; he is only tossing the idea around at the moment. But it is interesting that he is, so we need to begin to think about how we prepare for it. Six months passes very quickly. This is only a small house; the Ostrich is horrified that he might be evicted and made to take up residence in the garden shed.

I've been a bit surprised that RU has been so resilient, Crommers - the 2020/21 "season" never took place and I thought a lot of players would have drifted away / lost fitness. Some of the lower level "social sides" - seconds, thirds, Stiffs, Vultures sort of thing - didn't make it into the 2021/22 season, admittedly, but Twickenham Towers has been adopting a fairly relaxed attitude to it all, junior, colts and women's rugby is thriving locally, so there will hopefully be players making the transition to both the competitive and adult social side of the sport in the years ahead. North Dorset's Strategic Plan, I noticed, does mention resurrecting the currently defunct Thirds team.

What's the situation with amateur rugby league your way?

In contrast, Dorset non-league soccer has lost 12 teams by my reckoning since the start of the season; grassroots soccer is perhaps not doing quite so well. But there's still plenty of games to keep the Ostrich amused, and I might try to widen my scope a bit once we get into the better weather.

Never really got to grips with Bovril, Jo. A Cuppa Soup is about as low as I'd go .... TBH, I can't recall seeing it offered round here, must be a Midlands / Northern thing.

You did well to get some passable coffee at a match

I was being kind .....

[miasmum]

Sorry to hear about your Grandson Ossie, especially where Mrs O is concerned.

Re the Highway Code, I am not sure it applies to turning right, it only mentions turning left and giving way to pedestrians.

Anyone else know?

[cromwell]

Os, it's a mixed picture re amateur RL.
In the old days a lot of the teams were pub teams.
A lot of pubs have gone and others have moved up market, selling food etc.
Hemsworth miners welfare, Walnut Warriors, Pointer Panthers, the King Billy, all gone. The Jubilee and Travellers teams from Featherstone merged to form Featherstone Lions.
Set against that the facilities these days are much better, in general. Better pitches, better changing rooms etc.
So fewer clubs, but better facilities.

[Kaz]

How about a bird house in the garden, Ossie?

I think RU is hardwired into the genes in the West Country It would take more than a deadly pandemic to change that