Down Where the Drunkards Roll
I went to the dogs last night. Y'know greyhounds legging it after a pretend hare in the name of good, clean fun. By the time we got to race eight, I had come to the sensible conclusion that I would no longer indulge in picking two random numbers and putting my hard-earned on the dogs attached to said numbers. I guess I saved myself £30.I took myself off for a tour of the grandstand and track. It really does attract a strange amalgam of folk from all walks of life. Rich, poor, educated, uneducated, couth, uncouth, young, old... everything. Most of 'em had one thing in common though: alcohol. They were full of the stuff. Plastic glasses housing mainly lager but some bitter and various alcopops for the women and children. Some high spirits from the rare racegoers and nervous swigging from the hardened gamblers eyeing the screens (not the track - never the track). All told there must've been a few thousand punters throwing money at the bookies like it had gone out of fashion.
The first race was at 7:20pm - we arrived at about 7:15pm and the place was packed. The drinking had obviously started much earlier as most were already glassy-eyed. Shaved heads wherever you looked. Tattoos. Baseball caps not allowed so I guess their best Burberry was left at home. A sense of menace.
I went for a pee. There were two blokes having a 'quiet discussion'. In their late thirties early forties they were, Ben Sherman shirts not tucked in. Levis and highly polished shoes. Earrings and facial jewellry. They differed from most of the crowd as they had hair. Gelled and spikey - too young a style that highlighted the onset of age betrayed by their faces and necks.
"I'll tell yer who causes all the fuckin' trouble....."
"Who?"
"Fuckin' Doreen....that cow's an evil bitch. Fuckin' bitch."
"Fuck off yer twat my Doreen's all right, it's your fuckin' missus who's the fuckin' evil bitch. She's a fuckin' witch."
I stood, dick in hand, willing every nerve in my body to finish urinating before it kicked off big time. But they seemed content with just badmouthing each other's women. Either that or they were just too pissed to fight. It was with relief though that I finished shaking, zipped up, washed and fled.
Bored with giving boomakers our money and less than impressed with the waitress 'service', we buggered off around ten and went back the the local for a few. Match of the day was a pleasure to watch this week as City did the unthinkable by winning at home and United lost to Blackburn. All we need now is a Bolton win against Leeds today and its Premiership football next year for the boys in blue.***
There's a lot of people queuing up to cast doubt on the veracity of these images of British squaddies abusing their Iraqi captive. Too many in my opinion. All falling over themselves to cast doubt. Nobody has actually stated that they believe the images are fake, they just report that some ex-servicemen seem to think that the lorry they were photographed in isn't standard issue and from that we have an unspoken assumption that they aren't authentic. I've not seen the names of these faceless ex-soldiers printed anywhere, just references to them. Others have expressed the opinion that the images look staged. I must admit that yes they do but I still wouldn't like to bet that they were set up.
It sounds to me like a classic bit of spin is going on here. Apart from the Mirror group who first published the pictures, all other news reports are now centered on the authenticity of them. Suddenly that's the story. Not the mistreatment of the poor bastard or the fact that photographs were taken.
***UPDATE*** Bolton hammer Leeds and City are now safe. Bye bye Leeds. The party starts now. Yee Haa!
Now we're safe I just hope Keegan gives some of our young reserves a run out. There's something about Academy kids coming through the ranks and playing in the first team. Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joey Barton have both added plenty of skill and determination to the team this season and last so here's hoping the likes of Stephen Jordan, Stephen Elliot, Willo Flood, Lee Croft and Mikkel Bischoff all get a chance.
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