Mutterings for the Minority

Despite the rather sultry weather conditions of the last 2 weeks or so, I was somewhat amazed and alarmed (in a global warming kind of way) to hear on the radio this morning about the possibility of snow in some parts of the UK at the end of the week.

Snow in April isn’t such a surprise really – I mean it’s usually piddling down with rain – but in light of the out of the ordinary temparatures we’ve had for this time of year lately, the signs of global warming are a stark warning to us all. I dread to think what the “weather” will be like when DDWT Junior gets to my age.

The 10.8 mile ride down to Limeslade today was a rather chilly affair – despite the clear blue skies. I’m glad I was wearing double layers! Even with the windy conditions (adding to the chill) we still managed a healthy 15.7 mph.

Without really being in the hywl or frame of mind to go training on my own, I dragged myself down to the changing rooms for a lunchtime run. It was the first time I’d be out for a run since, well I don’t know when to be quite honest.

The warm sunshine wasn’t quite at its hottest thankfully – as per previous days – so the 23 minutes 5 seconds run around the usual route of Swansea Marina, jetty and the beach wasn’t as uncomfortable as it could have been! I was pleased with my effort, even if it made me 5 minutes late for a meeting and looking like a beetroot. The biggest thing I took from it though was that I actually went out and did something, and on my OWN.

It was an early start for the house of DDWT this weekend, as we headed off to the South Coast for a weekend break – and for me to watch the Cherries of Bournemouth take on the Swans of course.

Here are some pics to keep you going until I catch up on all that happened! You can also see a couple of clips of the footy on YouTube here and here.

The piccie above is of the Bournemout Eye, which can be found near the square in the middle of town and as you can imagine offers fantastic views across the Dorset coastline (well that’s what I’m told anyway!).

My lunchtime cycle today – down to Limeslade (again!) – was very pleasant and the first ride in 2007 where I actually got to wear my short legged big and short sleeve cycle jersey – thanks to the warm April sunshine. In fact the sky/horizon was so clear that you could see the rest of the South Wales coastline and as far as Ilfracombe in North Devon from Swansea Bay and Limeslade. Ah, if only I’d had my camera

The only downside to the 10.8 mile circuit was the sheer volume of people walking, cycling, roller blading, skateboarding, etc – which obviously resulted in the usual amount of swerving and bell ringing by moi (no obscenities this time though!). I know my top speed was 25 mph, but as for my average speed I couldn’t tell you – as like a muppet I haven’t quite twigged how to work my knew Cateye Mity8 speedo yet. Tcsh, and I call myself a techy.

Finally got around to buying my ticket for the Cherries of Bournemouth v Swans game on Saturday this morning. Whilst it’s a ‘pay on the day’ game, I didn’t fancy my chances of getting a ticket on the day due to the mass hoardes of Jacks heading down the game – I have a nasty feeling the 2,000 seating allocation might not be enough!

With the Easter bank holiday weekend drawing to a close, it was time once again to head off to the Liberty Stadium to watch the Swans take on the Valiants of Port Vale. It was also the time that Mrs DDWT confessed to feeling like a football widow! Gawd help her if the Swans make it to the Championship I say (it’s a big IF mind).

After Saturday’s encouraging performance at Bristol, the expectation levels were high for a repeat performance – from what was likely to be a different starting line up. I’d be hoping that Daryl Duffy would make a start instead of Pawel ‘Russ’ Abbott – and thankfully my wishes were granted. Some pace in our frontline at last hurrah!

A match report for rather easy 3 nil win can be found on the official site. In all honesty a 5 or 6 nil return would have been a fairer reflection of the game, with the 2nd half seeing numerous chances spurred by Britton, Williams, Butler, Abbott and Duffy. Still I’m not complaining, in many ways the performance reminded me of last season’s 7-1 drubbing of Bristol City at home – with the Swans carving their opponents up at will. It’s a shame the finishing hadn’t been as good.

Despite the performance, the 12,400 odd crowd took its time to get going – which I’ll put down to the sheer number of people who seemed to be nursing a hangover. Mind you the rather – understandably – quiet Port Vale fans didn’t exactly help matters either. Still it did get going during the latter stages of the game and I’ve not doubt it DOES have an impact on the players in a positive way.

My man of the match today was Britton who gave his usual 110% contribution with runs up and down the flanks. Duffy was also another key performer with his pace and eye for goal. The defence also deserve a mention – and despite there being two changes from Bristol – they once again performed well as a unit – Dennis Lawrence is fast becoming an excellent acquisition for us.

The only disappointment really was that other teams in the play-off hunt didn’t drop many points, so the challenge is now to win on the road next week in Bournemouth and hope the other teams drop points with us picking up some. Fingers crossed, I’ll be there once again and we’re making a family weekend of it – so it should all be good fun.

After the christening of Mrs DDWT’s bike yesterday, it was time to cough up and get a nice helmet for DDWT Junior so that we could start to make the most of the numerous cycle paths in the area.

Fortunately for us, Halfords were having a sale and the helmet cost us £19.95 instead of £29.95. After much deliberation (and tantrums) DDWT Junior picked a ‘Bells’ helmet with motor racing cars on it – he seemed happy enough to wear it (as opposed to any others), so that can only be a good sign! Anyway, with summer just around the corner, I’m sure we’ll have our money’s worth.