Yesterday I went to see Norwich City for their first home league game of the season and it was a thoroughly uncomfortable and, at times, unpleasant afternoon.
For a start television dictated that the kick off should be at 12.30 rather than 3 pm. That meant the game was played in the heat of the day. We sit on the front row of the City Stand and were in the full glare of the sun throughout the first half. Thankfully after half-time it cooled down a bit but it was still unpleasant. A 3 pm kick off would have seen the sun dip over the stand and the conditions much cooler.
But that's not the main grump. That surrounds the club's inability to cope with the numbers and get everyone in the ground on time. Last year it was face masks and COVID and bag checks that held everyone up. This time it was new season tickets, many of which didn't work (I'm not sure why I should be surprised by this).
I also needed to pick up a new season ticket for my grandson but, after being sent to three different places, I was asked to join a queue that was so long it would have taken us until half-time to get in. So we threw ourselves on the mercy of a very helpful gate man who let us in - missing only the first three minutes.
At half-time we crammed into the area at the back of the stand just to get out of the sun and the noise was horrendous.
As for the match. Well Norwich had 22 shots at goal, had 70% of the play and yet scraped a draw against an awful Wigan side who brought a new artform to time wasting. As the song says "things can only get better."
Whinge over.
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In a previous blog I mentioned I was looking forward to watching the documentary "The Day The Music Died" about the Don McLean song "American Pie."
It was an enjoyable watch and interesting to hear from McLean that there was even more religious symbolism in the song than at first thought. It was also more autobiographical as well. For those who don't know the song (is anyone out there not aware of the song?) here are the lyrics:
A long, long time ago
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And maybe they'd be happy for a while
But February made me shiver
With every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn't take one more step
I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died
So bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin' "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"
Did you write the book of love?
And do you have faith in God above?
If the Bible tells you so
Now, do you believe in rock and roll?
Can music save your mortal soul?
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?
Well, I know that you're in love with him
'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died
I started singin' bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin' "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"
Now for ten years we've been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rollin' stone
But that's not how it used to be
When the jester sang for the king and queen
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
And a voice that came from you and me
Oh, and while the king was looking down
The jester stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned
And while Lenin read a book on Marx
A quartet practiced in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died
We were singin' bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin' "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"
Helter skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast
It landed foul on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast
Now the halftime air was sweet perfume
While the sergeants played a marching tune
We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance
'Cause the players tried to take the field
The marching band refused to yield
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?
We started singin' bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
And singin' "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"
Oh, and there we were all in one place
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again
So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
'Cause fire is the devil's only friend
Oh, and as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
No angel born in Hell
Could break that Satan's spell
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day the music died
He was singin' bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
And singin' "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"
I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away
I went down to the sacred store
Where I'd heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn't play
And in the streets, the children screamed
The lovers cried and the poets dreamed
But not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken
And the three men I admire most
The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died
And they were singin' bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin' "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"
They were singin' bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
And singin' "This'll be the day that I die"
The lines that surprised me were:
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck and
Now for ten years we've been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rollin' stone
These reference McLean's childhood illnesses when he suffered from bronchial problems and would sit at home and watch the other children playing outside. The ten years on our own refers to this isolation and his concerns about growing fat. The programme was a good insight into the song but also a history of the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens. This was the reference McLean made to as "the day the music died."
There were a horrible number of what ifs about that plane crash. Country star Waylon Jennings was supposed to be on it but gave up his seat to the Big Bopper who was suffering from flu. Valens was just 17 when he died, the crash destroying what could have been a glittering pioneering rock n roll career. Valens was on the flight because he won a coin toss for a seat with one of Holly's backing musicians - such is fate.
If you have an interest in music and can get Paramount + it's well worth a watch.
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Today's pictures are from our recent holiday and feature Fowey (pronounced Foy).