Sunday 21 October 2007

Sunday notes

Weather normally changes from one day to another, but not this weekend. Same weather today as yesterday: overcast with some brightness and blustery winds. Am watching the local hooded crows picks shells out of the basin across the road, taking them high into the air and dropping them, in order to crack the shells open.

Down in Spain, the authorities have been getting into a flap over treasure trove, recovered from a sunken Spanish galleon, a 16th century warship. It is apparently worth 500 million pounds, and the Spanish claim it as theirs. The company behind the salvage says the wreck lay in international waters. When the ship, Odyssey Explorer, left Gibraltar, Spanish naval boats threatened to open fire if their personnel were refused a search. On arrival in Algeciras, the captain was briefly arrested.

Across in Holland, 11 cars were set on fire in a western suburb of the capital, Amsterdam, in the course of rioting. A man was killed by police earlier in the week, when he entered a police station and stabbed two officers. Dutch police routinely carry firearms when on duty. The dead man was of Moroccan origin, and known to have suffered psychiatric problems. The riots are blamed on a small core of troublemakers. About 1 in 16 of Holland's population are of migrant stock.

England did not win the Rugby World Cup last night. They lost 6-15 to South Africa. Although there was some controversy over a disallowed try, this would have made no difference to the final outcome. I have said before that I have come to like rugby better than football (although I'm no sports fanatic at all). It is a game for hoodlums played by gentlemen - whether it is true that the roles are reversed in the case of football (soccer), is a conclusion I'll leave to my readers to draw. Although rugby is a physical and at times violent game, it is strictly regulated. The decisions by the referee are normally accepted, as any backchat will just make the situation worse. Afterwards, both teams shake hands, leaving the events on the field where they belong: on the pitch.

3 comments:

  1. I much prefer rugby than football. I can not bare to see grown men crying because they lost the game, talk about soft. And do not get me started on how much footy players earn its a scandal.lol Sunny and bright here a tad bit cold but it is october after all.hope you have a good sunday.
    Katie

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  2. How I would have loved to been the diver to discover the Spanish galleon......along with everyone else though right.  I don't follow Rugby at all although a young man I know is now on Penn State's (College) Rugby team and travelled to England to play not so long ago.  That is as far as my knowledge of Rugby reaches.  
    Lisa

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  3. Treasure trove!  Wow!  Every childs childhood dream I would imagine.  I know.. I once dreamt of finding hidden treasure.  Lol!
    We have had a brilliant autumnal sunshiny day.  But I'm looking at it from my bedroom window.  I'm trying not  to spread my cold germs...lol!
    Clever hoodies dropping the shells from a height. Some city crows get traffic to run over their nut at traffic lights and then collect it when the lights turn red. Amazingly clever birds.  I grow to like rugby more and more even though I was brought up to play football with my brothers.  I was always the goalie.
    Well dear chap...enjoy the rest of today..I hope it brightens up for you and gives you a little gleam before it closes in again.
    Jeanie

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