They say that football is a metaphor for life, and those who bore witness to yesterday’s FA Cup semi-final between newly-relegated and cash-strapped Portsmouth and Harry Redknapp’s high-flying Spurs at Wembley, should have been inspired.
Now in administration, Portsmouth FC is said to be operating more like a co-operative than a football club these days. Players are reportedly paying other club staff, international stars like David James are waiving clauses in their contracts that would have triggered lucrative bonus payments, players are taking to the field without being up to full fitness, and Avram Grant is sticking by the club, when other managers would have followed the cash and walked. Firmly the underdogs going into yesterday’s match, the team, largely made up of loan signings and players rejected from other clubs, they worked together to stand up to everything that Tottenham’s big-money signings threw at them, before scoring twice in extra time to seal their second FA Cup final in as many years.
Pompey displayed a sentiment that for too long has been lost in a game where money and status talk. But their performance, unlike that of a host of other footballers, should inspire beyond the sporting stadiums of this country. After all, it’s a better role model for society than any politician could propose.
And as for the final itself, it’s all to play for. Portsmouth may be down, but they’re never out. And there’s a reason why one of the icons of the city is HMS Victory...
Tap... tap... tap...goes the foot, followed by a deep sigh. A queue in the Post Office that features all the malice and unsavoury air you’d expect of a illegal dog fight, a rain-soaked wait for a bus that never comes, and getting stuck behind someone at a supermarket checkout who’s more interested in what the checkout girl is doing later than actually buying food. It’s the kind of experience that’s enough to induce an aneurysm, especially if you have kids in tow – little ones who have clearly inherited your lack of patience.
As a species, it sometimes seems we’re just not cut out for the act of waiting. It’s times like these when we begin to think we just haven’t evolved the ability to tolerate delays. Yet we spend years happily waiting for some things. Good things come to those who wait, after all. That’s why we wait for years for the dream home and the man who will eclipse all others. And why we’re happy to kill a couple of months until the new Sex and the City film, because we know it’ll be even better for the anticipation.
It just goes to show we can display a modicum of patience when we want to. So next time you’re about to blow a gasket because you’re stuck behind a learner driver on the school run, take a deep breath and remember embracing the delay could just lead to the life-changing moment you’ve been waiting for.
Last night the greatest dog show on Earth reached its conclusion for 2010. But the stain on its reputation, left by a damning 2008 BBC documentary threatens to overshadow this celebration of man’s best friend forever.
The documentary maintained that the breed standards, used by dog shows, including Crufts, to judge show dogs, encourage the selective breeding which contributes to disease and deformity in specific breeds. And there is very little veterinary evidence to the contrary. Dog breeders have known for years about hip problems in Labradors, heart disease and brain disorders in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, and digestive problems and tumours in Boxers, amongst others. Even the healthily proportioned Hungarian Vizsla breed, that was named Best in Show this year, is prone to a neuromuscular disorder.
But the domestic dog is the most diverse species on Earth, encompassing everything from the Great Dane to the Yorkshire Terrier; the Chinese Crested to the Hungarian Puli. And this simple fact means there is no quick fix. Their diversity is a result of centuries of selective breeding and it will take generations to right the wrongs.
The Kennel Club is investing in research, screening programmes and initiatives to combat inherited diseases, and much more must be done in the coming years. But in the meantime, it’s worth remembering that the notion all dog breeds are sick is ludicrous, as is the argument that cross-breeds are healthier.
Coping with the cold over the past few months has required all manner of ingenuity. Layers have taken on a whole new meaning and hats with animal ears have suddenly become the height of fashion for girls over the age of 36 months.
But one man has taken coping with the extreme temperatures to a whole new level. TV and radio presenter Tim Shaw (above, in more sociable times) has locked himself inside a box, measuring just 3 feet high, 4.5 feet wide and 8 feet long, for 30 days and 30 nights.
As much as he likes hedgehogs, this is not just an extreme form of hibernation. It’s a competition where you have 30 days and 30 nights to find him. Even he has no idea where he is; the only clue is that the location has some personal significance to him and he has visited it at some point in his 35 years. All you have to do is listen as in solitary confinement he recalls the events of his life, and plot the co-ordinates of his location. If your co-ordinates are correct, you receive £30,000 cash, the door lights turn green and his ordeal is over.
All profits are donated to Help for Heroes and there are eight days left to locate him. Visit http://www.maninbox.co.uk/ to find out more.
With the BBC's stunning new wildlife series, Life, hitting our screens last week we thought that now would be a good time to highlight the plight of one of the animals most at risk by human activity, the Orang-utan. Because of the world demand for Palm Oil, the forests of Borneo are disappearing before our eyes. Palm Oil is used in hundreds of food products that we buy in our supermarkets every day - from margarine and chocolate to cream cheese and oven chips.
This is bad news for Orang-utans and the other wildlife, including Pygmy Elephant, Malayan Sun-bears and Proboscis Monkey that depend on these forests for their survival. It is thought that Orang-utan populations have halved over the last 20 years and they are now seriously threatened with extinction. Two members of Media Bounty have seen this first hand. As you drive from the capital of Borneo, Kota Kinabalu on the north coast of the island to the Orang-utan sanctuary Sepilok, palm oil plantations stretch out as far as the eye can see. Orang-utans and other wildlife are now confined to small pockets of the island. If the forests are allowed to dwindle further these magnificent cousins of ours will soon be confined to the history books.
To find out more about the Orang-utan Appeal and receive project updates go to the World Land Trust website: http://www.worldlandtrust.org/projects/malaysia.htm where you can also learn more about The World Land Trust's upcoming event, The Red Ape Debate, 27 November.
The World Land Trust is an international conservation organisation working to preserve the world's most biologically important and threatened lands. Supported by Sir David Attenborough and working with local organisations in Central and South America, the Philippines and India, the Trust has helped protect over 400,000 acres of threatened wildlife habitats since its foundation in 1989.
Media Bounty is proud to support the World Land Trust. In 2009 we have bought and protected 43 acres of threatened wildlife habitat.
Nothing to say other than a stupidly fun day! Er ok, that may be a bit of a lie - not about the fun, more about the self imposed silence. Florence and the Machine had a few techinal issues but still soared through the afternoon with an energy that few bands can match right now. Glasvegas pulled a huge crowd with James Allan trying to convince the Norwegians that the tartan army would be back! Despite Scotland's World Cup loss, the band were fantastic, giving the crowd a more than an equal riposte. Ungdomskulen brought grooves and humour to Øya, making the audience dance and laugh in equal measure. There is so much music from all over the world to see here, from tripping over Seun Kuti's band warming up in the hotel corridor to Grizzly Bear's sun soaked Americana and Fever Ray's ephemeral soundscape. The Arctic Monkeys headlined the main stage, their newly cultivated rock hair acting like a Samsonesque catapult, seducing a crowd more than happy to assume the role of bouncing Delilahs. Bring on day 3!
If you looked up eclectic in the dictionary, meaning number 16. reads Øya festival, Oslo. This festival feels like it is being curated by the legendary John Peel from beyond the grave. Ok, the Fall are not playing but any festival that manages to combine the etheral beauty of Bon Iver, the afrobeat guitar pop of Vampire Weekend and Norway's biggest black metal exponents, Satyricon must be following in the great man's footsteps. The mix of Norway's finest, including Kåre and the Cavemen and Jaga Jazzist, and the great and the good from further afield marks it out as anything but doing what it says in the tin. If V was the festival equivalent of Ronseal then Øya has ripped open the can, drunk it and spat it all over your flower bed. Which is odd really as it is also remarkably civilised. As it is a city centre festival there is no camping so you stay in the luxury of one of the local hotels. The food is organic, everything is recycled and as you can see from the picture kids are well looked after too! Members of the audience even get paid if they collect the plastic beer cups and take them back to the bar! Brilliant! Bring on Day 2!
