OCCUPIED COUNTRY

Who knows where the time goes......

Ooooh..I wonder where that month went?  Another one down the pan, zipped by like a nanosecond and now gone forever.  When I look back in a few weeks, that month will be a vague mish-mash of memories only a few of which will be readily retrievable:  a lovely sunny afternoon in our recently reclaimed garden with family and friends enjoying the returning Spring.  A trip to Majorca with Youngest, Mrs Youngest and Littlest to laze around be run ragged chasing a toddler hither and thither.  A sun-dappled afternoon sat in the local watching Manchester City reach their first FA Cup Final since 1981 and doing it by beating our cross city rivals rather convincingly in the end.

So, quite memorable all told.

A month in which the Libyan situation was upgraded from 'a piece of piss' to 'uh oh this is a mess isn't it?'  A month in which the probable true amount of radiation leaking from Japan has - more than likely - been seriously under reported.  A month in which I have attended far too many leaving does for colleagues whose re-employment prospects are bleak to say the least.

A month in which Andrew Lansley has signalled a 'listening period' before he carries on with his non-mandated privatisation of the NHS.  A month in which the twine binding the coalition continued to chafe and fray  A month in which taxes went up, food prices went up, petrol prices went up and the value of our wages dropped.  A month in which Baronet Gideon Osbourne steamrollered on - disregarding many prominent experts advice - with his 'roll back the State' agenda.  We're all in it together y'know.

It's gone now though.  A fading memory.  I wonder what'll happen next month?  Well I know I'll be flying to Barcelona for a week the day after the Cup Final and I also know that I will be pithily unarsed about the upcoming betrothal.  Other than that though, who knows?

 

"And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game"

One thing that could happen next month is that Stoke City could find it beneficial to them to throw a match. 

Here's how:-

 

Manchester City win the FA Cup Final leaving Stoke Runners Up.  Winning the FA Cup guarantees an Europa League place but, if City achieve a league position of fourth or higher then their Europa League place will go to the FA Cup Runners Up - Stoke.  City should have played Stoke in a league game on the same day as the final.  The rearranged fixture will be played the week after the Cup and if Stoke lose, City could bag 4th spot thus allowing Tony Pulis's boys a crack at Europe next season.

 

Harry Redknapp isn't happy.  Oh no, he isn't happy at all.