I spent 10 hours freezing in a field yesterday taking up my role as honorary joint-chief scorer for the prestigious “Shepshed 7s” association football tournament. My co-scorer and I have enjoyed this rare privilege for about 10 years now. Approximately 600 small boys from the Leicestershire area descend upon a large field overlooking the M1, are organised into…
Author: unwrapping
Icicles in my Veins
It has been a long time since I have been as cold as I was today. I spent 10 hours standing in an exposed muddy field with the relentless scouring of a cruel April chill. Cold sadistically bites your lips, eats your fingers, imbibes your toes and slowly sucks the heat and life out of…
The Joys of Cycling . . .
10 things specifically designed to annoy cyclists . . .
The Recipe
Firstly we were: tenderised by trauma pulverised with pain reduced by rejection marinated in melancholy
Confessions of a Cheer Dad
Cheerleading is probably not what you think it is. You may have visions of teenage dancers in two-bit skirts and coloured pom-poms whipping up the crowd at some sporting event. But it has become a tremendously demanding and technical competitive sport for real athletes. It is a mix of acrobatics, tumbling, stunts and dance glued…
Tribalism on the Terraces
They say that football has sold its soul to the media and to the middle classes. They say that it has become over-commercialised and lost its connection to the working class fan. I disagree.
Nepalesian Narrative 4 – Kathmandu Cludeo
I have removed this blog following some feedback. It was a creative/imaginative piece, characturing and exaggerating in an ironic way various types of people I have encountered over the years, and loosely based on an experience with some people who were very hospitable and kind to us in Kathmandu.
India – Courtesy, Commerce and Colour
India seemed calmer than normal. This was my fifth visit so maybe the anaesthetic is beginning to kick-in. Or maybe in the cooler days of February it is less frenetic. Or maybe it was because people were celebrating Holi rather than working.
Nepalesian Narrative 3 – The Edge of Everest
The height of our ambition today was Mount Everest. We got up early to be collected from our hotel in downtown Kathmandu. The city which had been teeming with colour and life just a few hours earlier was now shut in and sleeping tight behind grey roller blinds.
India – Family, Food and Bare Feet
As I speak with Indians and spend more time in their country, I start to get under the skin of their way of life and increasingly appreciate the positives.
Unwrapping The World 