She painted pictures that never dried (Teenage Fanclub)

Stensland - Norway's captain

I've really been enjoying the football on display in the UEFA women's Euro competition.

Germany are through to the final (they've dominated the Euro competition having won the last six. Yes - SIX).

They'll be up against either Denmark or Norway (can't believe France didn't make it to the semi-final but that's sport for you) - it's 1-1 at full time and they are playing extra time right now.

Norway's star player is Ingvild Stensland. She is amazing. Great players appear to have extra time on the ball to work their magic and she does. She always looks really composed, all class, and has great skills; no wonder that she's been nominated for the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year award on four occasions. She's also the captain.

Okay - still 1-1 after extra time so it's the drama of penalty kicks.

And Norway win the penalties as Denmark fail to recover from muffing their first two attempts.

Should be a cracking game in the final - Set my sky for Monday morning 1.50 on Sky sport 1.

Weird scenes inside the goldmine (The Doors)

Random notes

What's happened to the world lately?

More specifically - what's happened to our friends - the aussie battlers - lately?

They are suffering a crisis in big time sporting events; even in traditional stronghold aussie codes like rugby league (NZ are the world champions) and cricket (thrashed by England).

That's what's happened.

They were beaten by the British Lions, their tennis players and golfers are invisible, they were no shows in the Tour de France, and to top it off a non-elected reheated souffle is their new Prime Minister.

I know what you're thinking - sounds like Egypt...but it's not (sorry Hisham).

Weird scenes man.

The British teams have been winning everything - Wimbledon, The Ashes, The Lions, Kate and William's new baby (our hearts and minds people).

The only thing keeping the whole planet slipping into a completely bizarro world is the English football season hasn't started yet and the women's team were hopelessly outclassed in the UEFA Women's Euros last week by France. Lacking speed and creative flair they reminded me so much of the English sides we see at World Cups and Euros (when they qualify).

More bizarro world evidence from other news - the Tottenham Hotspur manager tells the press today that Spurs will NOT be targeting the premiership title this season. Yes we're a month or so away from a ball being kicked in anger. Excellent - means they'll definitely finish outside the top four.

You want more? Okay - back to aussies to finish:

Australian caught driving without steering wheel

The 38-year-old was pulled over in the Adelaide suburb of Gilles Plains on Monday morning for dangerous driving with two blown tyres.

On closer inspection police discovered that the white Holden sedan was being controlled with a set of pliers, which had been attached to the steering column.

Oh yeah - aussie battlers! Okay so they are alive and well - two blown tyres and no steering wheel? No problem mate!

Love and peace - Wozza

Cold wind ripping down the alley at dawn and the morning paper flies (Neil Young)

One week of my school holidays have flown by already. Here are a few random thoughts that popped into my scone:

It's lambing season again and so far it's not been mixed.

We had our second dead ewe to bury at the start of the week which is distressing, depressing and knackering work. When SWMBO and I had finished carting the poor young ewe up the hill (picture rain and a howling gale as well), digging a big hole and filling it in we looked at each other with a doh expression and wondered why the hell we hadn't buried her in the paddock where she was found!!

Off setting that is the fact we have seven healthy lambs so far who have survived rain hail and gales since they emerged a week ago. The last few days have been pearlers so no need for blankets, hotties and dry hay in the stable.

Turned on the TV this morning and watched women's football. Who knew that the UEFA European Women's Championship was on right now?? Have seen zero advertising for it or news anywhere.

http://www.uefa.com/womenseuro/index.html

I watched England lose 3 nil to a brilliant French team (centre back, Reynard, was amazing). Quarter finals from Monday!! I'll be there.

Fanfa sent me a link to a new Star Wars movie - actually it's the first Star Wars, Episode 4: A New Hope but made by fans in 15 second bits.

It's amazing. Favourite 15 seconds so far (I've watched up to 1 hour 12 mins) are the Darth Vader entrance (by some girls who recreate the Charlie's Angels pose to great effect) and the Yellow Submarine homage (somewhere within that 1 hour 12 mins).

What a genius idea - allow fans to nominate 15 seconds of the film to do what they will and then join them all up together.

So indistinct! It seems to exist (Lao Tzu)

Mood Indigo

I read a review in Mojo magazine,
this morning,
concerning The Frank Griffith Big Band
(“the whole exuding
old-school craft and charm”)
and for a second I thought
of buying it for you.

You have a birthday coming up;
26th July 1928, you
would have been approaching,
let me see, 85 old-school years.

But then, again, like a mirage,
you slipped from my real world grasp
of possibilities, and

my mood changed.
To indigo.

(WNP 2013)

I woke up on the roadside daydreaming about the way things sometimes are (Bob Dylan)

The winter sun is streaming through the window blinds onto my desk in the teacher work room at school. I have my headphones on* to concentrate on my marking (just finished marking my Y12 responses to a poem on Schoology and it can get noisy in the workroom) and thinking about my plonkerisms of the week.

[*Feeder are singing Morning Life just for me - perfect].

One of my teacher colleagues (she's sitting two seats away from me - let's call her Toni) had a moment of sheer panic during the week when things didn't go quite to plan and I consoled her with the message that we all stuff up from time to time. Especially when we're rushed. Take moi frinstance.

Take Thursday frinstance.

I had a dental appointment straight after school and I was teaching all afternoon so no clear opportunities to brush my teeth (I'd checked at home in the morning that I had toothpaste and a brush in my bag). During a break between period 4 and 5 I dashed up to the staffroom and grabbed my bag containing said brush etc. As I was doing so some girls appeared at the staffroom door and asked me to deposit work on various teachers' desks. I huffed and puffed, conscious that my period 5 class were all waiting for me, and did these jobs for them.

Now I was really pushed for time. I went into the men's, grabbed my stuff from my bag and brushed my teeth.

Funny I thought - doesn't taste like my usual toothpaste. I spat out and looked at the tube - it looked like it was a Colgate toothpaste tube, but 'Extra strength Hydrocortisone' is what it said on the label. WHAT THE HEY?????

Oh. my. giddy. aunt.

I stared at the label, grabbed handfuls of water like a crazy person and read the back of the tube - something about 'if swallowed contact the poison centre NOW!!!'

Did I inhale? No I didn't. Did I?

I shrugged, tried hard to scrape the hydrocortisone off my teeth and gums and went downstairs to my classroom, and wondered what my dentist was going to say (he laughed - said, "At least you didn't superglue your lips together" and got on with repairing my steroid coated broken filing).

Plonker! Right there.

Love and peace - Wozza