Best of the Best

Our son recommended that we watch this yesterday. He does not make too many requests so we listened to him. He has been unwell over the last few days. So when my wife and I travelled to London, we did not take him with us when we popped into see my mother.  She was sad that he was not with us, but understood that he needed to rest.  

We had intended to travel earlier in the day, but got caught up in traffic for the Spurs game. I know a few people who went to it, so I had to look at the result before Arsenal played. I laughed, but little did I know that would jinx us in our kick off. Arsenal, in the last few seasons, had a habit of dropping points if ahead in the table and playing an early kick off. This time we were level on points with the team that rhymes with City, but dropped points. I think that all would agree that Brighton deserved to win. Our son will be there next year as he will be going to The University of Sussex and he did watch the game with me. Hopefully he will end up an Arsenal fan though.

Anyway, back to the film. I will admit, I expected it to be terrible. I did wonder how they got so much set up with props, but the film was enjoyable. We all were glad to watch it, but I do not see me watching it again. 

We were top of the table

After Saturday, I was looking forwards to work today. Arsenal won on Friday. Come Saturday, I accidentally clicked on social media and saw the football scores. For those who are unaware, I prefer not to know the scores as then I watch Match of the Day with a lot more excitement. But I did, and then spent the time laughing. 

At the end of last season, with a terrible home form but the fifth best away form, I thought that Spurs would be able to do something, especially after spending so much building up this squad. They did heir best to prove me wrong. They lost and Saturday ended with the unofficial table having Arsenal top and Spurs bottom. ManUre losing was icing on the cake. 

But then Villa lost by four goals which meant that Brighton were top of the table.  I still got to laugh at work at the Spurs fans. Saying that, this is just the first weekend. Teams have yet to gel and it is unlikely that Spurs will stay so shit. But I can dream…

Dirty cheating gits

Yes we lost. It appeared more of a surrender. What gets me is that the Argentine team were so dirty. At least until we scored. After that, they played football and we let the comeback team of the tournament do the same again. While I do not know as much about football as others, I would have kept pace on the field rather than taking it off. When we were defending, there was no threat that the Argentine team had to worry about. We have many players with pace who would have allowed us an outlet to punt the ball upfield to, not just Saka, but others as well.

But while many in the Argentine team were dirty gits, Messi was not. He was amazing. Anyway, two more years until the next tournament. And Arsenal will need to ensure that our players get time to rest. 

Champions!

We are champions!  

It has been a long time since we won and I love the way the crowds came out last night. I am of course going to be unbearable at work and I actually feel sorry for the Spurs fans I work with. Especially as they may be relegated (fingers crossed).

Arsenal finish second. Again.

Arsenal started the final really well, pressing The Team That Rhymes With City really well, but the game changed and the pressure our players applied stopped. And then we were beaten, and sadly, I would have to say deservedly so. The season can progress in one of two ways. Arsenal can use this experience to continue to focus and go on to win something this season, or our main rival can be reinvigorated, stop dropping points and catch us. Again. 

The Out-Laws

First of all, family. We drove to Bristol to collect my daughter. So the family are all back together. We met up at a restaurant where I was able to charge my car. The change in the weather has made a difference to its range, something I knew before, but this has been a big difference.

Once at home, we wound down to relax, watching The Out-Laws. For those who have yet to watch it, don’t. The Guardian rated it one out of five. I would have to agree. It did have some genuinely funny lines but this is not a film for me. 

As for today, I went to the Gaza protest in town at lunch. As before, I did not take part in all the chants, but while the world is watching Iran, the world is not taking notice of the continued ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Bethlehem was mentioned at the protest, but many forget that the way to get the world to take more notice is to focus on the plight of Christians in Palestine. Sadly, the world seems not to care about the plight of Muslims.  Also, the protest showed the effectiveness of The Epstein War, as the attacks on Iran were mentioned, but no one mentioned how Epstein files containing allegations against Donald Trump which had been made by a thirteen year old girl. For those who are interested, I have posted a timeline before. 

Anyway, it is time for the cup final. I am going to be very nervous until it is over. Fingers crossed that I am in a good mood at the end of it. 

Can You Keep a Secret?

The secret for this film is that it is probably not worth watching the film. It started poorly but did improve. It may be that the film is aimed at a much younger audience than me and it may be that my children would appreciate it more. The Guardian gave it two out of five, and I would agree that is a fair score. 

And on the topic of scores, Arsenal won today, which I am grateful for, but the holding in the penalty area confuses me. My understanding is that defenders should not hold onto attackers, but it may be that Arsenal got lucky again. 

Arsenal lost

Getting into work today, two people greeted me by laughing about the result as soon as I stepped through the door.  It did not stop there.  Even patients have been talking about it.  The only thing I can say back to them is that we are still top of the league.  Hopefully that will last...

Do They Know It's Christmas Time

Football chants have always been rude, but there have to be limits.  Arsenal won against Everton, keeping my dream of a title intact.  (I am sure that The Team That Rhymes With City will overtake us.)  The chant of the travelling supporters at the Hill Dickinson Stadium though was too much in a time of food poverty.

Wishing for a Liverpool win

Sunderland fans may be thinking of how Leicester won the Premier League. I knew it would be a tough game and I would have grudgingly accepted a point if you asked me about this on Friday. But we drew and we still have a six point cushion at the top of the table, but that will only be so if Liverpool are able to take points from the team that rhymes with City. Fingers crossed… 

I normally do not know the score before I watch Match of the Day, but we had guests round for food, drink and a game of Linkee. Later their son joined us, a Chelski fan, who told me the result after I sang about being to of the league.

Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed

On Wednesday last week, my son and daughter were watching Scooby Doo. My wife and I joined them offering to watch the film from the beginning, the sequel or another film. They decided on Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. I have to admit that I watched it with low expectations, but my wife and I enjoyed it. I think that it was true to the cartoons, my wife did, and the children were both surprised that we liked it.  It is not a clever film, but it is true to Scooby-Doo. If you like the cartoon, you should like the film.

As for family, our daughter returned to Bristol on Friday. The kids got on well, it was nice to have her back at home, but the house appears quieter without her in it. If my son goes to university next year, I don’t know how we will adapt. 

Last of all, Arsenal, we are top of the league still. I went to work for a few hours yesterday and found this message on my desk. Someone was using the room for the flu clinic earlier in the day and must have loved the Arsenal clock and picture in the room! I have posted this on the work group chat but no one has owned up to this. Yet…

Athletic Bilbao

Another game and another victory. Watching the highlights, it appeared to be an easy game, at least until the substitutes came on.  It is too early in the season to comment accurately on how it will end, but victories like this are important for team morale. 

Arsenal and the victory on the weekend

I managed to watch the highlights of the Arsenal game. It was great to win again, even more so against the old manager of The Scum. Our second position in the league is on goal difference. I know I should be grateful that we have finished second, a position other teams would love to have finished in, but I cannot help but be envious at the trophies other teams have won. 

The Map That Leads to You

This is a film that we watched as a family yesterday.  I really liked it.

First of all, my daughter and I went for a walk earlier in the day with our dog, the dog loves it the more people walk her. After that, I rested before taking the two children to Freeport to get some shoes and trainers. The kids did spend money, but we returned without either.

Arsenal played well but our injuries will make the game next week even more daunting. Our striker scored, and a fifteen year old looked amazing! But it is early days and The Scum have almost the same record as us. 

Now for the film. It was enjoyable and I think it was worth three out of five, as opposed to the two stars given by The Guardian. Watching it as a family, we could talk to my daughter who has spent parts of this year travelling. Yes, the ending is predictable, but it is a sweet tale which I will compare fondly to my memory of a similar film which I watched many years ago.  I doubt I will watch it again, but it is worth watching, despite what those with a stone heart may say. But unlike the review on the image, it is not a good enough to be unforgettable. 

We (Arsenal) were lucky

I watched the highlights of the game, we were lucky in that I do not think that our goal should have been allowed to stand.  Saying that, we have had our share of decisions go against us, and we were playing Manure, so I will take the result!

Will Arsenal even finish second?

Arsenal who had a small chance at winning the title earlier this season are now facing the possibility that they may not even finish in second place. After an exciting season where we will have an empty trophy cabinet, that would be a kick in the teeth. 

Hopefully we will finish in second place

Am sad at our loss tonight.  I had watched the highlights for the other semi-final and while I had been confident that we could beat Inter if we faced them after we had beaten Real Madrid, I was not sure after watching the thrilling match against Barcelona.  But it was not to be, we were beaten, but we went down fighting.

I am just hoping that the team that rhymes with City does not pip us to second place as they are only three points behind us.  

We lost, but is it all over?

Yes, Arsenal lost. Any semifinal is a tricky tie, and while we have a good record against PSG, it is the result on the night that counts. And we were wanting. I only got to watch the highlights as I had work to do, but I am still hopeful that we can get through to the final. And if we do, I hope we face Inter Milan as I think that Barcelona will tear us to bits. 

We did the double against Real Madrid!

I knew we could beat them, but I also knew this tie could still turn against us. The advantage we had in this tie was the desire of our opponents to play football against us. As under Arsene when we beat them before, few teams can play football against us and if they play a tactical game, it is harder for us to win.

I watched the highlights not knowing the score and took a while to calm down afterwards. While we have beaten PSG before, they will be hard opponents, but I consider us to be the favourites for that game. 

A day in the woods

 This walk was recommended to me by a colleague at work. When I say a colleague of mine, technically, as my daughter and I work in the same place, it is a colleague of ours.  

I did ask my son and wife if they wanted to come, but both declined.  Which is a shame as it was a lovely walk. With a bit of up and down, it was actually more exhausting than my normal walks which are a lot flatter. My daughter came and we talked about matters, including how she coped with having to do much harder walks on her travels. Leia, our Cockapoo, loved it. This is almost certainly a place we will return to and I will need to thank our colleague for the recommendation.

On to Arsenal and their draw. It was disappointing after our midweek victory, but fans like me would prefer a midweek win, and if we go through to the next round, this draw will be tolerable.