END OF SEASON

THURSDAY 17th FEBRUARY

  It was an extra early start as the Foxtel (local version of Sky) man was coming between 7.00 and 12.00 to install a new dish.  Just in time for the start of the cricket World Cup - what excellent timing.  To this end I was up at 6.30am!  After everybody had left I thought I'd watch the second half of the A.C. Roma v the Ukrainian team whose name eludes me at present - Shakta Denesk or something of that ilk.  However turning on the TV completely eluded me, so I watched it on the small telly in the summerhouse.  The Foxtel fellow arrived at 9.00am, making a mockery of my 6.30am rising!  Anyway it took him under an hour to do the deed and I asked him not to switch the TV off and kept it on all day with the volume turned down, except when I decided to watch it.  (I had mastered the volume controls).  By luck they showed highlights of the A.C. Milan v Spurs game, so I was able to catch up on that and also saw the highlights of Arsenal v Barcelona.

  After the Foxtel man was gone I took Reilly for his usual walk and then spent the rest of the day working on the 1961 UK hits, until Robert returned home from work.  We then shot off to Carlingford to see Nick who was still off school.  Jane had a parents evening at school so she wasn't there.  Narni was filling the breach looking after Nick.  He had just made Nick a pizza which Robert encouraged him to eat as we were leaving.  Just at that moment Jingles managed to miss his litter tray and deposited a poo next to it.  Narni uttered German threats, but said he would clean it up!

  We arrived just on time at Macquarie Park for the 6.00pm kick off.  Robert got off to an impressive start slide tackling an opponent, winning the ball and heading for the open goal, when he slipped and went arse over tit losing the ball in the proccess.  His team created chance after chance but kept blazing over the goal or wide of it.  A mishit cross from the opposition landed up in the goal having completely deceived Epping/Eastwood's keeper.  This was only one of two shots from the opposition in the first half compared to about a dozen from Robert's lot.  However the half time score was 0-1.  In the second half Pav got himself booked for a clumsy challenge and thought he had been sent off by the ref who in fact gave him only a yellow card.  Protesting his innocence, Pav was heading off the pitch when Robert apprised him of his misconception.  However he was soon substituted anyway.  The rolling subs keep changing as super fitness is not one of the team's attributes.  Robert came closest to scoring in the second half when running diagonally across the front of the goal, he trapped the ball just about a yard too late, swivelled and hit a fierce shot back into the post.  He has lost that yard of pace that made him such a danger before fags and drink took their toll.  I have to admit that he hasn't lost his skills and he played pretty well, beating players, putting through perceptive passes, but non of his colleagues were able to take advantage of his canny passes, and quite unbelievably lost 0-1 to a much inferior team.  Must have been end of season blues.

  Robert had put himself about a bit during the game, and suffered a bit of a strain in one of his legs.  As a consequence he asked me to drive home.  I reckon if I do it a few more times I might just about remember the route from Eastwood to Oakhurst.  We stopped off at the Plumpton Shopping Centre to replenish beer stocks before returning home for one of Jeannette's truly excellent meal which was a sort of cocoanut noodle curry with meat and loads of different veg.  All washed down with red wine. I had no hesitation in having a second portion when offered one!  I think it was a South American version of Indo Chinese cuisine.  My compliments to the chef!