the stage is set

 

We arrive at Villa Park two and a half hours early and the place is already rammed and buzzing. It's the last game of the season and what a way to end.

 

After a terrible start under Stephen Gerrard the Villa owners take decisive action. Unai Emery is appointed as Head Coach at the end of October and the turn-around begins. From languishing just above the relegation zone we now have the chance to qualify for European football. Our destiny is in our hands. If we beat Brighton today we secure that last European spot.

 

The mood is expectant.  

 

 

 

stylus records

 

This is my second visit to 'Stylus Records' in Lichfield, which opened its doors to the public in December last year.

 

It's always great see a new record shop open and this one is a real gem! The owner, Tim, has a fantastic and very varied selection of albums. It's like going back to your mate's house after a good night out and searching through his record collection. 

 

Currency parted hands and I left the shop bearing two substantial box-sets, one containing film soundtracks by Ennio Morricone and the other the collected works of Jane Birkin. I'm very much enjoying exploring both at my leisure.

 

If you're in the area I really do recommend a visit. Tim is both knowledgeable and friendly. His passion for music is clear and it's a joy to behold!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

faces in the crowd

 

 

I'm an inveterate people-watcher and I love to see the expressions and gestures supporters make at football matches. The glorious game provides an excuse to let go and celebrate joyously ... or not, depending on the result.

 

It's a privilege to be part of the crowd and many of the supporters I photograph I've stood beside for many years. That doesn't stop me enjoying each new game though, there's always another picture to be taken.

 

 

 

 

cat amongst the pigeons ...

 

 

With time on my hands as I continue to recuperate from surgery I've turned my attention to catching up with the many photos that lie unseen on my Mac. 

 

Here's another trip into Birmingham capturing a Hitchcockesque moment as the pigeons descended...

 

 

 

 

it's not just a game ...

 

  

'Always different, always the same', as the late, great John Peel used to say of his heroes, 'The Fall'.  Football's like that in so many ways. 

 

It's a ritual. The trip to the ground, buying a programme, sampling the rich greasy food and slurping down over-priced watery lager.  It's always the same, yet always different.

 

Watching the game on TV has none of the magic, none of the hopes and dreams as kick-off time approaches, none of the shared experience wedged in a constantly moving throng of people.

 

The whistle blows and we're off on yet another adventure together ...

 

 

 

the eagle has flown ...

 

  

 

 

It's just over four weeks since my hip-replacement and I'm delighted to report progress is being made. I've driven my car twice this week and am now walking predominantly without the use of crutches.

 

My gait remains resolutely bizarre - picture a geriatric Bambi on ice - but progress it is!

 

I'm so glad I had the operation. I have no pain in my hip at all now. It's just the residual pain as the tissues in my leg continue to knit together and the last of the bruising works its way out.