Sunday, August 9, 2009

Sunday's spotlight - Not going to cut off an ear this year

By guest blogger Pete.

During the months from Autumn to Spring I am an active member of an art group that meets together every Monday afternoon. I am one of a minority in that group who take the summer months off - optimistically so that we can enjoy to the full the good weather that one naturally associates with the summer. A telephone call a couple of weeks ago informed me that the group will be starting the autumn term on September 7th.


I decided after that telephone call that I would like to try my hand at computer painting. This is not something that I can do very easily at the group meetings so I thought I'd have a go at home. I was pleasantly pleased and not a little surprised by some of the pictures I managed to produce on the computer and have included them as the photos for this blog. I don't think I can count this as "art" in the conventional meaning of the word but it was very enjoyable. I don't think, for a second, that I'd get the same results by manual painting that I have achieved on the computer.

But moving on from art to another of my favourite things....... If I had to choose just one sport out of the innumerable on offer then I know that my choice would be cricket. I'm far too much of a coward even to begin to try and explain the game of cricket to you. I don't think it is a game that can be explained. You've either got to watch it quite regularly or have played it for some time.


At the present moment the "Ashes" series is being placed out in this country. The "Ashes" is the top International cricket series between Australia and England. At the turn of the 20th century English cricket was supreme and the England team defeated all comers. When they lost their first match to the Australians some wit took one of the stumps (wickets), cremated it and put it in an urn. He then put an advert in a well know national newspaper regretting the death of English cricket. That same urn with the ashes of the stump in it is played for every time England and Australia play a series of games with each other - thus the name "Ashes Series".


I know that some of you will be terribly disappointed that I am writing this so early in the week that I can't tell you the result of that 3rd Test Match. The reason for my early blog writing is that my elder daughter and her family are coming to Lincoln for a few days this week and spare time to write the blog might be minimal. The chances are that I'll keep you in touch with that visit next week.

Why not watch a cricket Test Match. They last for only five days!!!!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pete:

Cricket's very simple and even foreigners can understand it:

You have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each man that's in the side that's in goes out, and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out.

When they are all out, the side that's out comes in and the side that's been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out.When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in.

There are two men called umpires who stay out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out. When both sides have been in and all the men have been out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game.

Simple, non?

C-G

Unknown said...

Hi Anon,

I gather you're a cricket lover but definitely not Australian or you'd having a little gloat over the thrashing you gave the English team in the latest test. I like your explanation. Don't want too many foeigners understanding what we are getting up to!!!!!!!!

Ruth said...

Yes! Just what I always wanted on my blog! The "ins and outs" of cricket!!! Thanks C-G - and dad for starting it!