Ostrich on the Hoof

[cromwell]

So, off to Lytchett Minster

I love these names. Very Midsomer murders!

which is a small but attractive village a couple of miles from the outskirts of Poole, and known for the Harbour View Crematorium and Woodland Burial Ground

In the dead centre of the village?
I bet it was a cold day for watching. Vibes to your S Os, hope she heals quickly.
Great report as ever.

[TheOstrich]

Cheers, both!

Forgot to say that I discovered Minety has a Very Famous Resident! It's Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull. I thought he lived in Scotland where he has interests in commercial salmon fishing, but apparently he's moved south. I remember seeing Jethro Tull in concert at the Birmingham Odeon in the 1970's - spellbinding!

This from 1982:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSUdlUmtg3Q

[Kaz]

Gosh, Jethro Tull! There's a blast from the past!

I hope your S will mend soon xxx

[Kaz]

So, off to Lytchett Minster

I love these names. Very Midsomer murders

So many brilliant names in this neck of the woods - Little Puddle anyone, or Lower Slaughter?

[TheOstrich]

Little Puddle anyone, or Lower Slaughter?

Not to be confused, of course, with Upper Slaughter …

Another slow week for the Ostrich, spent writing out Christmas cards and gently commencing the Christmas food shopping. Mrs O has demanded that one of Ossie’s Brexit Survival Food Boxes be emptied so she can stash away her shortbreads and iced fruit cakes, leaving the bird with the dilemma of what to do with 16 cans of Heinz Baked Beans.
“I guess I’ll just have to eat them, then,” mused Ossie.
“Not all at once!” commented Mrs O
So the Ostrich’s loss was the local food bank’s gain, and a Merry Christmas to One and All.

Saturday dawned sunny and bright, and it seemed a pleasant enough day on which to get arrested for espionage! I had fancied a Yeovil and District League game featuring a team called AFC Huish, but research showed they played at Vixen Close, Ilchester, Somerset which turned out to be firmly inside the Fleet Air Arm’s RNAS Yeovilton air base. Google Street View shows a main security entrance with signs saying “Park Here” and “Report to the Guard Room There”, which rather left me wondering if I turned up on spec at the barrier demanding entrance to see a Step 12 junior soccer match, they might just consign me to the Tower of London, or at the very least dangle me upside down from a Wessex helicopter.

The Yeovil and District League does not have its own website, neither does AFC Huish. Social media twitterings are years out of date. The FA FullTime website, which is a very useful tool for non-league fixtures and results, does run a page on the League, and that indicated there was a 2019/20 League Handbook, which was supposedly on-line. But there was no link, and could I find it? No. It’s probably lurking somewhere on the dark web or over the rainbow. The bottom line is I suspect casual spectators at RNAS Yeovilton are discouraged pitch-side, so I duly knocked that one off my list.

Anyway, RNAS Yeovilton have been very naughty boys this last week. You may or may not be aware of “Operation London Bridge”, which has nothing to do with terrorism, but is a codename that refers to the plan for what will happen in the days immediately following the death of Queen Elizabeth as far as the civil and military authorities are concerned. The code phrase “London Bridge is down” will be communicated by the Palace to the Prime Minister and other key figures, once the death has been confirmed. to set the plan in motion.

Well, from time to time, they carry out rehearsals to make sure everyone knows what they supposed to be doing. And a London Bridge practice “recall notice” for military personnel at Yeovilton was sent out last weekend. All fine and dandy, except someone there with the social media handle “Gibbo” thought it was for real and tweeted about it on his WhatsApp Group. From where, of course, someone else took a screenshot of his remarks and the whole thing went viral! Apparently, within, 24 hours it had been shared by thousands worldwide and was trending on Twitter. Buckingham Palace were forced to issue a denial of the Monarch’s demise, and the Royal Navy to regret “any misunderstanding which may have been caused”.

I suspect if they still have keel-hauling in the Senior Service, “Gibbo” may be in for it. Or dangling from the same helicopter as the Ostrich! Report from the local Portsmouth newspaper here:
https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/defen ... -1-9165820

So anyway, for today’s match, I decided not to brave Yeovilton but to journey just up the road from there to Castle Cary for a rugby fixture. I know Cary well; Mrs O’s parents spent many happy retirement years there, and we’d often visit the town back in the 1980’s and 1990’s. It hasn’t changed much in recent years, although fast trains to Paddington from the nearby station have ensured it’s become commuter-belt London and therefore a bit up-market. One interesting feature near the market place is the town’s 18th century roundhouse prison:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Ca ... 472113.jpg

The rugby ground is out beyond the station just off the Shepton Mallet road, and the clubhouse itself is quite an impressive structure, with a large entrance lobby in which is displayed the Honours Board, dating back to the club’s founding in 1888, and old photographs of Past Presidents, including the very first, a Mr. J. S. Dorre, sporting a very vintage bowler hat. On a table nearby were copies of the “Mendip Times” magazine, and idly flicking through the sports section, I found a long report of the Witham Friary Conker Committee’s annual tournament in which one George Hyde had been crowned King Conker after seeing off all rivals, apparently including his teenage son!

Entering the main function room, I found it was splendidly decorated with a fair few Christmas trees, and tables were laid out for the Club Christmas Lunch. Guests were arriving and as outside caterers had taken over the kitchen meaning no hot food on offer to casual visitors, I took myself back into Castle Cary itself to visit the Bailey Hill Bookshop (£30 easily spent) and to garner a couple of cold Ginster’s slices on offer at £1 each, which reminds me, one is still in the fridge, so there will now be a short intermission as Ossie is a tad feeling peckish!

Before the match started, I noticed most of the club patrons, having concluded their meal, were congregated in a circle at the top end of the ground, so being inveterately nosey, the Ostrich wandered over to find a tree-planting ceremony in progress. This was in memory of “Neville”, presumably a club stalwart, and the chosen sapling was a genuine Somerset cider apple tree. After a short address from, I assume, the current Club President, the already 10 foot tall sapling was manoeuvred into its hole, and the first spadeful of soil spread by the (widow?) (daughter?). Other guests then added their spadefuls and to applause, the ceremony was completed by the pouring of a jugful of cider over the tree for good health and fertility. An event both joyful and moving.

The match pitted Castle Cary, who had been relegated last year but are having a reasonable season this year, against Minehead Barbarians second team. And it was quite an absorbing game – plenty of skilful running rugby with just a little niggle between the teams that never boiled over, but saw one Cary player sin-binned for handbags at dawn and their coach lectured at some length by the referee for some dissention or other. Minehead opened the scoring, but Cary hit back with a peach of a try, their no.10 fielding a long kick downfield before running it back wide round the Minehead flanks and then chipping it forward over their defence. The ball sat up beautifully for the Cary player as he followed it through, and he was able to gather it and run in under the posts.

14-5 at the interval, I suspected Cary, going downhill in the second half, would probably overwhelm Minehead, but the visitors actually kept them pegged back in their own half for long periods. Cary eventually managed to collect 4 tries and a bonus point, but the final scoreline was a bit harsh on the Barbarians; it certainly wasn’t a one-sided match.

07/12/19 –Tribute Somerset 2 South (Level 10): Castle Cary RFC 26 Minehead Barbarians II RFC 5
Admission: free, no programme
Refreshments: A rather large lemon and poppy seed muffin from the bar for £1.20.
Attendance: 74

[Ally]

That tree planting ceremony sounded moving Ossie.

Great read as always and thank you.

How is your S?

[cromwell]

Blimey, come on here to read a match report and you find out about what happens when Her Maj falls off the perch!
The tree planting did sound moving Os. Also a bit pagan. I suppose in times gone by they'd have burned the ref inside a huge wicker man...
Minehead Barbarians. I have been to Minehead and can quite believe there are a few Barbarians lurking about there!

They did sound unlucky. Good result with the food though!

Great read as ever.

[TheOstrich]

I think she's reasonably OK, Ally, thanks for asking.
She had the temporary plaster off last Monday and a new lighter cast fitted, which she says has helped, but the rim of the plaster is sharp and she has to watch she doesn't cut herself. She seems to be coping with day-to-day living fine, with help from nice neighbours and her "social circle", and she has had an invite for a Christmas Day meal, so I think she'll survive!

[Kaz]

I'd read an article online about "London Bridge", but oh my word, can you imagine how "Gibbo" felt when he realised In days of yore it was treason even to speak of the monarch's impending demise, so off to the Tower with him!

Glad your sister is managing

[TheOstrich]

This last week, of course, has been dominated by just one thing, the General Election , and as is his wont, the bird was up half the night watching the Results Programme on the Beeb whilst stuffing himself with a 4-pack of Austrian sausage and a large tub of reduced-fat hummus. He eventually gave up on the histrionics around 3:00 a.m. and retired bloated to his nest, eventually resurfacing sometime the following morning to stagger up to the local OneStop shop to purchase a pair of sticky iced Belgian Buns to go with the cafeteria of coffee which Mrs O usually has on the boil. With regard to the maintenance of the Ostrich’s usually restricted diet, you may, as the saying goes, think that, but the bird couldn’t possibly comment.

And whilst not in any way trying to make a political point, Ossie decided that for Saturday’s game, the best way of celebrating Dominic Grieve QC’s demise as MP for Beaconsfield was to go see his constituency rugby club walloped by local heavyweights Sherborne RFC.

Actually, I had to go look up on a road-map exactly where Beaconsfield is, as it is not a town which has ever received a State Visit from the Ostrich! Beaconsfield lies sort of between High Wycombe and Gerrards Cross, and given it’s only 24 miles from Central London, the Rugby Football Union have, with their usual brand of logic, allocated it to the South Western Pyramid, thus potentially saddling it with fixtures against the likes of Barnstaple and Launceston. And this when grassroots rugby is trying to raise concerns with the mandarins in Twickenham Towers about financing long journeys and their increasing difficulties in raising teams to fulfil such fixtures …...

Sherborne were promoted last year into the Level 6 league known somewhat confusingly as South West 1 East, and their aim this season has been basic consolidation. So far, they’re doing ok, currently 7th in a 14 team division and two places ahead of their opponents. It’s only a short 15-mile trip down the A30 to Sherborne from here, although not an easy one today as I found myself driving into a low, watery sun with dazzling reflections off a wet road. I also had to negotiate Hunger Hill, where last week much farmer’s mud had been reported on the road, leaving it a bit of a skating rink and a number of cars had failed to negotiate the bends at the bottom of it and finished up parked in the adjacent field. Such are the hazards of country life! Still, I arrived at Sherborne’s council-owned mega sports complex in one piece, and motored across the aircraft-carrier flight-deck sized car park to get close to the main rugby pitches. Despite the huge expanse of tarmac, parking isn’t the easiest there, for the simple reason that all the rows of parking bays are for some reason slightly offset from each other. So, if you’re reversing into a spot, you can’t just line up directly with the car in your rear view mirror, you have to have him about three foot to your left. I eventually got nicely parked - but only after about 15 attempts!

The main rugby pitches were strangely deserted, but I wasn’t too concerned as the Beaconsfield team coach was in the car park. I wandered up to the rugby clubhouse, and then got a slightly bit more concerned as that too was strangely deserted, although the food hatch and bar were both open. Outside again, I spotted various squads of players limbering up on the junior pitches, and suddenly realised today’s games (the Seconds were at home as well) were going to be staged on these. It transpires that the club’s main two pitches are a complete mess thanks to all the autumn rain we’ve had – they don’t drain at all well, and they’ve had to close them before they suffer permanent damage. I’m told it’s been estimated that it will cost around £24,000 to rectify , something the club is struggling to raise the money for, coming on top of appeals in recent years to fund an extension to the clubhouse. This latter project may possibly have been shelved as the plans are no longer on display in the foyer.

So, up the rise to the two principal junior pitches, which were even more exposed to the chilly wind but in a far better state. Being side by side, I was able to prowl up and down the grass strip separating them and keep an eye on both games which were played simultaneously. Neither were actually all that enthralling. Sherborne firsts were quickly out of the block, rattled in two tries in the first 7 minutes, and then sat back. Beaconsfield regrouped, put the home side under a lot of sustained pressure, but never really looked like scoring. Two further Sherborne tries just before half time put them out of sight.

Over on the other pitch, it took Sherborne seconds a fair bit of time to get on the scoreboard as Wimborne seconds defended dourly, mainly getting out of trouble by booting the ball back upfield at every opportunity. Sherborne struggled to 10-0 but just before the interval, in a rare foray forward, Wimborne scored a fairly scrappy try to bring themselves right back into the game.

Sherborne firsts started off the second half with a rampage straight down the middle and their fifth try before playing out the match, Beaconsfield still looking pretty ineffectual although they did manage a push-over try towards the end. The seconds’ game, however, became somewhat more interesting, with Wimborne spending most of the half attempting to bludgeon their way over the line from close range. One attack failed when a forward on a head-down charge ran straight into a goal post , another when the ball squirted loose over the try line and nobody had the gumption to fall on it . Tempers got frayed , Sherborne’s Rory O’Loughlin was sin-binned for persistent fouling in defence, and the odd haymaker was thrown although none connected. With the score still 10-7 in the 75th minute, Sherborne opted to convert an easy penalty and Wimborne finally ran out of steam, conceding two tries in the final few minutes to give the home side a rather flattering victory.

Neither game was exactly a classic, but the seconds’ in hindsight provided slightly more entertainment.

14/12/19 –Wadworth 6X South West 1 East (Level 6): Sherborne RFC 33 Beaconsfield RFC 5, and
Wadworth 6X Dorset & Wilts 1 South (Level 8): Sherborne II RFC 22 Wimborne II RFC 7
Admission: £5 including a decent glossy programme
Refreshments: A pre match bacon sandwich £3 and a half-time coffee £1. The former slightly overpriced and the latter slightly stewed.
Attendance: 128, split roughly 80/20 between the two fixtures.