Cherry Blossom!
Loads of it on the trees on the way in to work this morning.
Crocuses, Daffodils, Snowdrops.
Lovely.
It makes me sad also though. The Cherry Blossom is very important to Japan.
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
Friday, 11 March 2011
Japan- Tsunami.
Recent days have been quite stressful for the likes of me and my colleagues, what with reports being published after reviews of both police pay and conditions and Public Sector workers pensions. Needless to say, I and many of the folk I work with are not exactly happy.
I woke up this morning however, to see the news about the earthquake off the north east coast of Japan and the devestating effect of the subsequent tsunami. Watching some of the footage of the deluge as it literally ate up the land was horrifying.
It certainly put my minor worries into perspective.
My youngest son was in Japan until November last year and, had everything panned out the way he wanted it to, he would still be out there now. Admittedly he was in Okazaki, some way south of the area hit by the catastrophe but, who knows, he may have decided to take himself to other parts of the country to explore. I don't want to think about the worry I would be going through right now if he had still been out there.
My thoughts are with the Japanes people.
I woke up this morning however, to see the news about the earthquake off the north east coast of Japan and the devestating effect of the subsequent tsunami. Watching some of the footage of the deluge as it literally ate up the land was horrifying.
It certainly put my minor worries into perspective.
My youngest son was in Japan until November last year and, had everything panned out the way he wanted it to, he would still be out there now. Admittedly he was in Okazaki, some way south of the area hit by the catastrophe but, who knows, he may have decided to take himself to other parts of the country to explore. I don't want to think about the worry I would be going through right now if he had still been out there.
My thoughts are with the Japanes people.
Friday, 4 March 2011
The bond between Man and his Best Friend
I watched the news last night and it included an item and documentary footage about this incident.
L/Cpl Liam Tasker was working in Afghanistan with his explosive detection dog Theo when Liam was shot and killed by a sniper. Sadly the incident seems to have been so traumatic for Theo that he sufferd a siezure and died back at base.
I have worked with dogs and handlers in both the Police and Army and the bond between the members of these little teams is painfuly obvious, particularly within the military.
I am not ashamed to say a tear came to my eye as I watched the item.
L/Cpl Liam Tasker was working in Afghanistan with his explosive detection dog Theo when Liam was shot and killed by a sniper. Sadly the incident seems to have been so traumatic for Theo that he sufferd a siezure and died back at base.
I have worked with dogs and handlers in both the Police and Army and the bond between the members of these little teams is painfuly obvious, particularly within the military.
I am not ashamed to say a tear came to my eye as I watched the item.
Thursday, 3 March 2011
A right result!
A few days ago I posted about some friends who had a lot of their bikes stolen. Well, Check this out!
Friday, 25 February 2011
Frinds have had their bikes stolen!
See here
I have just learned that some good friends from ealing have had a goodly selection of their stable of bikes stolen. Have a look at the above link for me and, if you see or hear about any of the bikes, let Charlotte or Liz know.
Thanks.
I have just learned that some good friends from ealing have had a goodly selection of their stable of bikes stolen. Have a look at the above link for me and, if you see or hear about any of the bikes, let Charlotte or Liz know.
Thanks.
Doping in sport
I have kept away from the debate whilst the Alberto Contador saga was played out. Now it has come to a conclusion and, with the comments from some folk following Lance Armstrong announcing his retirement, I thought I would say my piece.
Alberto Contador has undergone examination by his national governing body and was found to be not guilty of doping. End of. Time to move on.
Fans of our sport may not agree with the findings but the verdict has been passed and we need to put the matter behind us.
My personal feelings are that I pray he was truthful. I enjoyed watching him in the 2010 Tour de France and to have that enjoyment destroyed if he had doped would be tragic for me.
Lance Armstrong continues to be subject of accusations and rumour about practices he allegedly involved himself in during his epic journey to 7 Tour de France victories.
I think he should be left alone. During his career, he has been subject to numerous in and out of competition tests, each of which he passed at the time.
The thought that Armstrong is a liar and cheat is something I do want to contemplate. Watching him race was great. The time trial ability, ‘The Look’ that Jan Ullrich received as he was passed by Lance, the recovery from the spectators bag induce crash, the cyclocross escapade after Beloki crashed out- all fantastic memories, memories I want to cherish. If it turned out he doped, these memories will be diminished. Not destroyed because they were still good things to watch, but sadly diminished all the same.
What is my take on the fight against the scourge of doping?
I think the time has come to take the responsibility away from national and international sporting governing bodies and national anti doping agencies.
All aspects of doping control should be the responsibility of one international agency with law enforcement status in each signatory country, perhaps overseen by an already existing international organisation - the United Nations. I know we have WADA but, they seem to be more an oversight committee than a control agency. I will call this agency the ADA for the rest of this post.
Doping and associated offences should be subject to criminal conviction in the countries where either the sporting event took place or the home country of the athlete involved, with custodial sentences the automatic outcome of positive tests, which strikes me as a stronger deterrent than a 2 year ban. This is a good reason to have the UN oversee the ADA.
This one agency should be responsible for sample collection, delivery to labs that they control and testing. Knowledge of what labs are being used during a particular competition should be possessed only by staff of the ADA.
International and national governing bodies should be required to sign up to the ADA constitution under penalty of exclusion from international competition. The International Olympic Committee would obviously need to be a very early signatory.
In competition testing should include all athletes finishing in the top 3 of an individual event and random testing should account for at least 10% of athletes not falling within that category by the end of an event (so 10% of riders in the TdF for example, who did not top 3 on any stage would still have been tested by the conclusion of the last stage on at least one occasion). Team events such as Football, Cricket, Rugby etc should be subject to 10% of the players at each event being tested.
Out of competition testing should be unannounced. Athletes should be required to keep the ADA appraised of their whereabouts at all times if away from home overnight. They should also be contactable at all times. The ADA should be able to contact an athlete to establish there whereabouts at all times. This would then facilitate testers attending the athletes’ location and obtaining samples. Procedures should be established to take into account such situations as an athlete being at a cinema/ theatre/ other venue/ situation where having a mobile phone go off would get them lynched.
Athletes not wishing to be subjected to these stringent lifestyle intrusions have a choice- don’t compete. If you want to compete, you sign up.
Retrospective testing of samples e.g. testing Lance Armstrong’s samples from the 1999 TdF in 2011 doesn’t happen. If it passes the scrutiny of the day, it passes.
Breaches of confidentiality and integrity of the processes and systems should be treated as criminal offences in the country the breaches occurred.
Testing labs should ideally be owned by the ADA but, in the event this is not possible, ADA officers should be posted to each accredited lab on a permanent basis with the responsibility of ensuring the labs comply with the rules, practices and conditions required for robust and resilient results.
This is going to be an expensive undertaking but it is a necessary expense I think.
Alberto Contador has undergone examination by his national governing body and was found to be not guilty of doping. End of. Time to move on.
Fans of our sport may not agree with the findings but the verdict has been passed and we need to put the matter behind us.
My personal feelings are that I pray he was truthful. I enjoyed watching him in the 2010 Tour de France and to have that enjoyment destroyed if he had doped would be tragic for me.
Lance Armstrong continues to be subject of accusations and rumour about practices he allegedly involved himself in during his epic journey to 7 Tour de France victories.
I think he should be left alone. During his career, he has been subject to numerous in and out of competition tests, each of which he passed at the time.
The thought that Armstrong is a liar and cheat is something I do want to contemplate. Watching him race was great. The time trial ability, ‘The Look’ that Jan Ullrich received as he was passed by Lance, the recovery from the spectators bag induce crash, the cyclocross escapade after Beloki crashed out- all fantastic memories, memories I want to cherish. If it turned out he doped, these memories will be diminished. Not destroyed because they were still good things to watch, but sadly diminished all the same.
What is my take on the fight against the scourge of doping?
I think the time has come to take the responsibility away from national and international sporting governing bodies and national anti doping agencies.
All aspects of doping control should be the responsibility of one international agency with law enforcement status in each signatory country, perhaps overseen by an already existing international organisation - the United Nations. I know we have WADA but, they seem to be more an oversight committee than a control agency. I will call this agency the ADA for the rest of this post.
Doping and associated offences should be subject to criminal conviction in the countries where either the sporting event took place or the home country of the athlete involved, with custodial sentences the automatic outcome of positive tests, which strikes me as a stronger deterrent than a 2 year ban. This is a good reason to have the UN oversee the ADA.
This one agency should be responsible for sample collection, delivery to labs that they control and testing. Knowledge of what labs are being used during a particular competition should be possessed only by staff of the ADA.
International and national governing bodies should be required to sign up to the ADA constitution under penalty of exclusion from international competition. The International Olympic Committee would obviously need to be a very early signatory.
In competition testing should include all athletes finishing in the top 3 of an individual event and random testing should account for at least 10% of athletes not falling within that category by the end of an event (so 10% of riders in the TdF for example, who did not top 3 on any stage would still have been tested by the conclusion of the last stage on at least one occasion). Team events such as Football, Cricket, Rugby etc should be subject to 10% of the players at each event being tested.
Out of competition testing should be unannounced. Athletes should be required to keep the ADA appraised of their whereabouts at all times if away from home overnight. They should also be contactable at all times. The ADA should be able to contact an athlete to establish there whereabouts at all times. This would then facilitate testers attending the athletes’ location and obtaining samples. Procedures should be established to take into account such situations as an athlete being at a cinema/ theatre/ other venue/ situation where having a mobile phone go off would get them lynched.
Athletes not wishing to be subjected to these stringent lifestyle intrusions have a choice- don’t compete. If you want to compete, you sign up.
Retrospective testing of samples e.g. testing Lance Armstrong’s samples from the 1999 TdF in 2011 doesn’t happen. If it passes the scrutiny of the day, it passes.
Breaches of confidentiality and integrity of the processes and systems should be treated as criminal offences in the country the breaches occurred.
Testing labs should ideally be owned by the ADA but, in the event this is not possible, ADA officers should be posted to each accredited lab on a permanent basis with the responsibility of ensuring the labs comply with the rules, practices and conditions required for robust and resilient results.
This is going to be an expensive undertaking but it is a necessary expense I think.
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
Rising to the challenge
I got jumped on the way to work this morning.
I was riding the tourer along Quarry Wood Road, minding my own business when a 20" wheeled bike passed me at about 4- 5 MPH faster than I was progressing. The pilot was dressed in all the wrong gear for a folding type bike, but all the RIGHT gear for a commuter race - tights, waterproof jacket, ski cap etc. As he passed my ears heard a cheery "Good Morning" but, my Babel Fish translated this to a cynical "Race is on you sluggish, tourer mounted toad"
This narked me slightly so I started formulating my attack. We were fast (he faster than me) approaching the climb out of Marlow towards Cookham Dean and, knowing I was good on that climb, I relaxed. I let my prey eke out a lead of about 100 meters and, as he negotiated the right hand bend at the bottom of the hill, I looked on with glee. Just as I expected, my prey was exhibiting all the characteristics of a flat road sprinter. He could not put any more distance between us on the start of the climb.
I too negotiated the bend and dropped down a chainring and a sprocket or two. As I did this I stood out of the saddle and started to spin. I gained on my prey quite quickly and, as I passed him I said, breathing easily "There you go sucker, eat my dust", which I think his Babel Fish translated as "I can't think of a better way to start the day". he responded "Yes, it certainly gets the blood pumping" which was Babel Fished to "Ye Gods Sir, your awesome climbing power is too much for me!" I was through the hairpin and gone before he got half way up the first straight.
Commuter Racing- I love it!
I was riding the tourer along Quarry Wood Road, minding my own business when a 20" wheeled bike passed me at about 4- 5 MPH faster than I was progressing. The pilot was dressed in all the wrong gear for a folding type bike, but all the RIGHT gear for a commuter race - tights, waterproof jacket, ski cap etc. As he passed my ears heard a cheery "Good Morning" but, my Babel Fish translated this to a cynical "Race is on you sluggish, tourer mounted toad"
This narked me slightly so I started formulating my attack. We were fast (he faster than me) approaching the climb out of Marlow towards Cookham Dean and, knowing I was good on that climb, I relaxed. I let my prey eke out a lead of about 100 meters and, as he negotiated the right hand bend at the bottom of the hill, I looked on with glee. Just as I expected, my prey was exhibiting all the characteristics of a flat road sprinter. He could not put any more distance between us on the start of the climb.
I too negotiated the bend and dropped down a chainring and a sprocket or two. As I did this I stood out of the saddle and started to spin. I gained on my prey quite quickly and, as I passed him I said, breathing easily "There you go sucker, eat my dust", which I think his Babel Fish translated as "I can't think of a better way to start the day". he responded "Yes, it certainly gets the blood pumping" which was Babel Fished to "Ye Gods Sir, your awesome climbing power is too much for me!" I was through the hairpin and gone before he got half way up the first straight.
Commuter Racing- I love it!
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