This is a strangely hypnotic sport (not to be confused with hurling which is a ridiculous sport) that is more strategy and precision than anything else and that's why I find it so engrossing. People have called it boring. I call it highly skilful. The teams discuss the situation as they play and that adds to the drama because you know what they are going to do ahead of them doing it. It's not about whether they can make a shot, that seems to be a given. It's all about what kind of shot is the best for the situation the team is in.
It's like mathematics or chess on ice. Unfortunately GB got pipped in an additional end, but there's no disgrace in winning a silver medal - after all it was our first and the ladies curling team will win our second and final medal of the games when they play tomorrow. It hasn't been a great success for us.
Watching curling has a lot in common with bowls. A number of years ago we went to Potters Holiday Camp to watch some of the indoor bowls world championships and were in awe at the skill of the players who seemed to put their bowls wherever they wanted. I have tried bowls on a number of occasions and they went all over the place. I never knew how hard to bowl them. It seems incredible to me that top players know just how much uumph to give the woods.
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So to the answer to my questions from yesterday. The quote on the park bench in Whitstable came from the Van Morrison song "Into the Mystic" which comes from the album Moondance. The lyrics, like so many of Morrison's, are about a spiritual quest with references to boats and the sea. I have never been a Morrison fan but have been getting more and more into his songs in the past year or so.
A number of people knew what Fremantle Doctor is or was. It's a cooling wind that picks up in summer to cool things down in Western Australia and in particular the Perth and Fremantle areas.
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Our village post office has been saved. The last one shut in January and since then a number of people have been working hard to bring a replacement to the village. This has now been achieved with an office opening five days a week in the village library.
It is referred to as a temporary measure but it does show a willingness and determination to keep this vital village amenity. I will be finding out a little more when the matter is discussed by the parish council on Monday evening.
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Later today we are off to Carrow Road but this time not to see Norwich City but to see England Ladies play Spain Ladies. When I was chairman of Hethersett Athletic Football Club I was a great supporter of women's football. We had one of the two best teams in Norfolk and won the Eastern Area Cup three years in a row. Sadly the village no longer has either women's or girls teams and that is a great shame. It will be good to see players who are at the pinnacle of the female game and England and Spain are two of the top teams in the world.