Why Is Immorality Of The Rich Allowed.

Endre  Nemes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endre_Nemes  

Today I'm feeling a lot better than I recently had been, Richie commented on it too saying, I looked brighter and happier.

The weather has a big part to play in this, today it is a changeable day with cloud cover but mainly sunny with lots of lovely breeze.

The wind keeps me happy because otherwise it would be very muggy like it was on Wednesday, when it was so humid I could not do anything.

My left index finger, my only means of typing was not functioning; it felt as if it were electrified by the heat.

Luckily Thursday and Friday had enough movement of air to keep me reasonably cool.

I've been following the latest banking scandal involving Barclays bank and many others; they seem to have been rigging interest rates to suit themselves.

Somehow I am not surprised about this latest evidence of fraudulent, corrupt behaviour in the banking industry.

Not having believed for a moment after the Lehman Bros disaster triggered the financial crisis that they had cleaned up their business.

The only crisis there really is, is a crisis of the rich wanting to get even richer and making everybody else pay, so that they can fill their bank accounts.

I was very amused recently by David Cameron the British Prime Minister, making a scapegoat of the comedian Jimmy Carr’s because of his tax arrangements.

Apparently Jimmy’s accountant arranged for him to be paid via an offshore company to reduce his tax bill, David Cameron described this as immoral.

He failed to include Gary Barlow in his condemnation, Gary also is paid via offshore companies, I wonder if he didn't mention him because he's a conservative supporter, who probably gives them generous donations.

It is a bit rich describing others as immoral, coming from a man whose family seem to have never paid their tax bill.

It seems that the Cameron’s great wealth was made in offshore tax havens, which surely means that they have been benefiting from their tax avoidance for generations.

It makes me wonder who is really the immoral one here; my vote goes to David Cameron and his family.

                                                                                                                                       .

Super Mario.

Endre Nemes 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endre_Nemes

Last night was the second semi-final of the tournament; it was between Germany, who were tipped to win, and Italy.

Italy was totally in control from the moment the game started leaving Germany totally on the sidelines.

Cassano, one of the Italian players crossed the ball to Mario Ballotelli who headed it magnificently into the goal.

The first goal seemed to happen within minutes of the game starting which shocked the German team as well as their supporters.

There was a belief before the game that Germany would win the game without any trouble, now the Italians were showing them a different scenario.

The ball went up towards Italian goal, but not for long though, as Mario took control of it and ran down the field, to score a magnificent goal.

What made it brilliant was the fact that Mario had such good oversight of the game, and he made it happen, so now Italy had two goals well before half-time.

They tried to make it three goals before half-time but did not succeed in this aim; everyone went off at half time.

When they returned there were some changes in the German side, two substitutions were made.

Both players had immediate attempts on goal sadly they were both saved by Italy’s excellent goalkeeper Buffon.

They were Germany’s best chances of the game, the Italian team made sure they got no more, it ended with Italy 2 Germany 0.

Now Italy will play Spain in the final this Sunday, I hope Mario Ballotelli’s team will win with their exciting and unpredictable football.

Instead of Spain’s neat pinball machine style of football; which I find dull and boring, I am looking forward to a good football final this Sunday.

Semi Final Time In Euro 2012

Gregoire Michonze

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gr%C3%A9goire_Michonze 

We watched the first semi-final of the Euro football tournament 2012; it was between Spain and Portugal.

Portugal was seen by many as having a good chance of winning against Spain.

This prediction looked like as if it would happen, Portugal took immediate control of the game, they were very dominant.

Spain looked as if they were being sidelined, Portugal would not let them have possession of the ball so this prevented them from controlling the game.

They always control the game by getting the ball and passing it from one to another.

Portugal prevented them from doing this by controlling the ball themselves they also made Spain play differently.

Neither side managed to get a goal in the first half, all of Renaldo’s attempts on goal failed, they went over the goal.

In the second half of the game the Spanish team were back in the game and getting more control of the ball.

Again all of Ronald many attempts to score a goal came to nothing, it was quite frustrating watching and knowing that if they didn't score it meant extra time.

Indeed at the end of the game neither side has managed to score a goal, and now extra time began.

The first 15 minutes started and ended without a result, the second 15 minutes began and it also ended with no goals.

Both teams now had to prepare to take penalties, all of the players were extremely tired and now they would have to focus on getting their shots into the goal.

Portugal took the first penalty and missed then Spain stepped forward to take their first penalty and they also missed.

Both Spain and Portugal got their second penalties, and then Portugal stepped forward to take their third which they missed.

Consternation among the Portuguese players, then Spain also came forward

to take their third penalty which they achieved.

Spain came for their fourth penalty which was taken by Ces Fabregas and he got that without a problem, this meant that Spain had beaten Portugal.

Ronaldo was devastated as he was going to take the fifth penalty for Portugal but never got the chance because his team had lost.

So now Spain will be in the final yet again, tomorrow Germany will play against Italy and the winner will play against Spain on Sunday.

What a shame for Portugal, Cristiana Ronaldo should have taken the first penalty and then they might have had a better chance of winning.

That's football always full of surprises.

Slow Progress.

Ben Haveman                                                     

This  morning, the lovely nurse Milou visited to check on the progress of my pressure wound.

Milou examined the wound closely, then she carefully applied something that should aid the progress of the healing.

She seemed happy with what she saw and she will return next Wednesday to once again check on the progress.

I really hate these appointments; it is such an intrusion for somebody to come around so regularly to look at my bottom.

Luckily Milou is thoroughly nice, just like her ex colleague Ton, who is retired now he visited us every week for two years.

After a while we almost started thinking of him as one of our friends that is how easy it was to have him visiting us.

However it is not a social call, it is obviously not as I don't invite people around to examine my naked bottom.

Once again I shall put it out of my mind and concentrate on other things, such as the semi-finals in the Euro 2012 tournament, between Spain and Portugal.

Tomorrow it is Germany versus Italy, my feeling is that Spain should easily beat Portugal and Germany should do the same with Italy, but you never know.

Who knows what will happen during the game, Spain seemed to play much better than Portugal in the preceding games, but Portugal could win.

So too could Italy win against the German team,but I really don't think that either scenario is likely.

Italy would have to play creative football for the entire game and so would Portugal in order to be better than Spain or Germany.

I'm looking forward to both of these football games, first Spain playing against Portugal tonight, I wonder if Portugal will be able to win.

That will certainly take my mind off today’s visit by Milou, as well as her proposed visit next week Wednesday.

If Only I Could Enjoy Summer Again.

Joseph Noiret
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Noiret

Today really is a day of two halves, from early this morning it has been another grey miserable overcast day, not a summer day.

This afternoon it was time to change my catheter, it was one month and two days since the last change, this time again it took ages.

I was lying on the shower chair for what seemed to be hours, Richie got the old one out with no problem which I hardly felt, but getting a new one back in proved to be a big problem.

Richie kept trying and trying various ways to insert a catheter, finally he stopped and got another catheter which went in at his first attempt, it was a thinner catheter.

Our ordeal was over and Richie could proceed with showering me and getting me dressed and back into bed.

After hours spent in the bathroom it was lovely to come back into the bedroom and find that it was looking much nicer outside then earlier in the afternoon.

At six o'clock the clouds were gone, the sky was blue and it was sunny, I hope the temperatures are not going to shoot up too quickly.

But it really is amazing because the weather has been early autumn weather since May and not at all the sort of weather you expect to get in the summer.

Today it feels like late April or early May when things are just starting to improve, instead of the 26th of June.

The trees around us have already got yellow leaves, I've been hearing from friends that flowers have not blossomed and other plants have gone yellow.

It really feels like autumn rather than summer, in some ways I'm not unhappy about this as I still have not heard when the council will finally install the air conditioning for me.

Mostly it is out of my mind and then every now and again it pops back into my mind, especially when the weather looks like its improving.

I'm dreading the temperature rocketing from 18° today to in the 30s tomorrow, it usually happens like that and I can't cope with it any more.

Sad that I can't cope with hot weather, which is dreadful for me, it really is, especially as I have always loved it being hot, being a Trinidadian I adored hot summers.

At the first sign of good weather I would be straight into my shorts and skimpy T-shirt as soon as I got home from work.

Nowadays when it is hot, it makes me feel very uncomfortable, so much so that I yearn for cool weather which surely can't be right for a Trini, how I wish I could still enjoy the heat of summer.

The Last Exciting Games Of The Euro Tournament 2012.

Gunther Gerzso
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunther_Gerzso

Yesterday we watched the last of the quarter-final games this time between England and Italy England's former, this time between England and Italy.

England started in good form, right away you could see that they were well organised.

They were defending well and using every opportunity to attack and to create chances for themselves.

At first the Italian team almost seemed disturbed by this, however they soon got on with playing their particular brand of football.

The Italian teams are well known for playing negative football which does not allow their opponents many chances of creating opportunities to score goals.

Richie jokingly describes their tactics, as ‘parking their bus’ in front of their goal to prevent the opposition from scoring.

Their tactics seem to be working quite well yesterday, the only problem for the Italian team was that England also defended their goal extremely well.

The first half ended without a goal to either side, the second half ended and once again there were no goals.

This meant extra time, so another half an hour was played, at the end of the half-hour there was still no goals from either Italy or England.

Now both teams had to get themselves ready to take penalties, England got there first penalty and so did Italy.

Then Italy missed their second penalty, England did not miss theirs, which gave them hope.

Then England's Ashley Young missed the third penalty which his Italian counterpart buried in the goal.

Both England as well Italy got their fourth penalty, England's Ashley Cole missed the fifth penalty.

Italy on the other hand got their fifth penalty and there was much jubilation because there were now through to the semi-finals.

Next Wednesday is the first semi-final between Spain versus Portugal, then on Thursday in the semi-final between Germany and Italy.

Next Saturday will be the play-off to see who gets the are the third place in the tournament while on Sunday the final of the Euro 2012 will take place.

I hope that the last games will be as good as the rest have been, and the best team will win.

Still Hoping For A Surprise.

Gunther Gerzso 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunther_Gerzso 

The quarter-finals will be coming to a conclusion tonight, when England play Italy.

Last night we saw the game between France and Spain, the winners of the tournament 2008 as well as the World Cup in 2010.

The French team are good but they were not able to get hold of the ball and every time they did manage to get it, a Spanish player soon took it back.

The Spanish team did what they always did, and started passing the ball between them leaving the French team on the sidelines.

The French team just ran around trying their best to create some chances for themselves that this never really materialised.

Instead the Spanish team started to score goals, Ces Fabregas and his teammates were having a great game.

They got four goals and would have got a lot more if the French goalkeeper hadn't saved them.

So that's the French out of the tournament as well, at the conclusion of the game between Italy and England we will know who will be playing against Germany.

Next Wednesday it will be staying playing against Portugal at next Thursday Germany playing the winner tonight.

Next Sunday will be the final, I wonder who will be the winner , I'm still hoping for a surprise.  

It's Tense And Exciting.

Gunther Gerzso

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunther_Gerzso 

There was more football last night, this time the game was between Greece and Germany.

I found it rather difficult to watch as I still wanted Greece to pull off the impossible and win this game and go through to the final.

Of course not long after the game started I realised that this was maybe a bit too ambitious.

The Greek team were doing their utmost best against a German side who had more talent and skill than they did.

Even when the Germans went one up the Greeks were still battling to stay in the game, Giorgio Samaras put them back in to the game with his goal.

This made it one all, the German teams answer was to score another one, and the score line was now 2-1.

The Greek supporters will absolutely magnificent singing and cheering their team on all through the game even when they knew they were losing.

Still the brave Greek team kept trying for another goal; this ambition was diminished even further by a third goal for Germany, followed by another.

This meant that the German team had won the game with four goals and the Greek team had lost with one goal.

Mario Gomes scored three of the goals and Miroslav Klose scored 1 to give Germany a great score from which to go on to the semi-finals.

I think France will be playing Spain on Saturday and England will be playing against Italy on Sunday.

Once all the quarter-finals have been played we will know who is playing in the semi finals next week, it really is getting quite tense now and exciting.

Now It's The Quarter Finals.

 

Gunther Gerzso

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunther_Gerzso

Last night we watched the first of the quarter-final games; it is now the knockout stage of the competition.

The game was between Czech Republic and Portugal; in the first half both sides tried but failed to get a goal.

Ronaldo had many attempts on goal; they went everywhere apart from in between the goalposts.

In between firing in his goals, he also seemed to lose steam; both sides were trying all through the first half.

They went off at half time neither team managing to score that vital goal which would take them to the semi-final.

When they came back the Czech team seemed invigorated, as was Petr Cech their excellent goalkeeper, in his heyday he was the best in the world.

Petr Cech was part of the Czech Republics wonder team, who won the European football tournament in 1996.

The team had many excellent players, among them the brilliant Pavel Nedved who was also a star player for Juventus in Italy.

Although I wanted the Czech Republic to win, I was realistic enough to see that it might not happen because Portugal was just too good.

Ronaldo and the rest of the team kept up their barrage of attempts on goal; the Czech goalkeeper was doing brilliant keeping them all out.

The Czech team seemed to get a sudden boost, as they played with renewed vigour and had several attempts on goal.

The Portuguese players took control of the ball, Ronaldo sprinted to the Czech goal and scored.

Sadly the Czech team could not match this, and in the last few minutes Portugal got another goal which meant they had won the game by 2-0.

The next game is between Greece and Germany; it would be wonderful if Greece win the tournament for the second time since 2004.

Remain Optimistic.

Gunther Gerzso

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunther_Gerzso 

Near the end of February when I first got the new bed support it allowed me to sit well without too much correction.

It worked well however now that I have been in bed again for months my muscles have become weaker.

This started to become noticeable in May when I had been back in bed since 23 February.

At first I did not need too many adjustments and every time I seemed to be able to maintain it for a reasonable time.

In the last month I've needed a lot more adjustments, and now I can no longer maintain my position for long.

Now no sooner has Richie got me into a good position and left the room, then it is necessary to call him back.

Richie has gone out with the dogs to the park, before they left, he made sure I was sitting well.

They hadn't been gone for more than 5 minutes, when my body went into an S shape and  I was also slumping to the left.

I hate this so much, it is demoralising which I don't need, if only willpower would be able to solve the situation, mine could do it, I'm sure.

It's bad enough to be losing the use my hands, and eventually my arms but for my torso muscles to be so weak after four months is worrying.

The pain in my hands and lower arms as well as my shoulders is often unbearable, last thing at night especially.

 Also when I am barely conscious in the morning my hands clench up and my fingernails dig into the palm of both hands.

This is painful that I have no option but to wake, when I try to doze off again any small movements will trigger it off again.

This morning my nose was itching so I moved it and instantly both arms were rigidly pressed to my upper body and both times my nails with digging into my hands.

Trying to relax my hands and arms is not easy; it takes ages and only gives me a partial relaxation of my limbs.

I never thought that losing the use of my hands and arms would be so painful in some ways even more so than my legs.

This constant discomfort plus the uncertainty of not knowing how long it will take for the wound to heal is wearing me down.

Today it is 21 June, Midsummer, the longest day of the year and one of the most miserable looking, overcast days with the rain to come.

The weather forecast is for bad weather this evening, apparently there will be high winds, torrential rain there could even be a hailstorm.

In England as well as here in the Netherlands and Belgium people are advised not to make journeys unless vital.

Not really how I envisaged the start of summer would be at the beginning of the year but then I had planned to be going out a lot this spring.

It is really difficult to do, but I really have to stop myself getting too downhearted and thinking I will never be able to go out again.

As I'm writing this, tears are rolling down my face, my chin and throat are very wet and my glasses have become slightly misty.

Nevertheless I'm going to try to do my best to be is optimistic as I possibly can, to give myself a chance to enjoy what I can.

Enjoyment Of Football.

Gunther Gerzso 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunther_Gerzso

Last night there was more football to distract us, which was good, especially for Richie as his shoulder was painful.

First we watched the game between England and Ukraine; once it started Ukraine took control.  

England had their defence so well organised that it wasn't possible for Ukraine to get a goal.

Again the English played very well as a team, Steven Gerard their excelent captain had total control.                                                                                     

Wayne Rooney returned after receiving a two match suspension, early in the second half he converted Gerard's right-wing cross into a goal.

This is the first time in eight years that Rooney scored at a tournament; it does him credit that he performed so well after a suspension.

There was some controversy as Ukraine had got a ball over the English goal line which was quickly deflected by John Terry.

Two linesmen were right there but neither of them noticed so it was not declared a goal.

The English team defended so well that they constantly frustrated any attempts by the other side to score.

In the last 15 minutes Ukraine brought on their national hero, and Captain Andry Shevchenko, hoping for two goals from him.

Sadly this time their hero could not provide the vital goals, so the game ended with England winning with one goal.

This meant that Ukraine, one of the hosts along with Poland, was also now out of the tournament, much to their fans disappointment.

The other game that was happening simultaneously was France versus Sweden, France did everything they could to score a goal, but whatever they did Sweden frustrated them.

I noticed how tenacious Ribery was, as was Maluda, the French team were good but they were outplayed by the Swedish team.

                      

The Swedish team’s mercurial Captain Ibrahimovic scored two goals, one of which was the best of the tournament.  

The game ended with Sweden 2 - France 0, as France had scored more goals in the qualifying round they were going through.  

England will also be going through, they finished top of their group and will play against Italy, France will play Spain.

English journalists had been speaking to Ukrainian football fans about the Panorama programme which revealed a huge problem with fascist thugs in Ukraine and Poland.

The supporters told them that they were glad the program had been shown, as it was true that they had a problem with fascists at games, it was however only a small group, perhaps 10%.

Hopefully the authorities in Poland and Ukraine will take decisive action to ban the fascist thugs from football games.

 I'm still rooting for Greece to win, but I'm happy with whichever team wins, for me it's nothing to do with nationalism, it is purely the enjoyment of watching football.

Still Hoping For A Surprise

 
Conroy Maddox
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conroy_Maddox

Last night we were switching occasionally between two games, one channel was showing Italy versus Republic of Ireland.

While the other side had the game between Croatia versus Spain, I so wanted Croatia to beat Spain.

Croatia had many chances, as well as many shots on goal sadly they did not manage to get one.

Spain on the other hand got two goals; one was scored by Fernando Torres while the other one was scored by Ces Fabregas, both good goals.

It was very frustrating watching Croatia's wonderful Luka Moderic trying everything to get a goal, and then we took a brief look at the other game.

Italy had got one goal while Ireland had not managed one, then we went back to watch the Spain versus Croatia game.

It was in the second half that it was announced that Italy had got another goal; it was scored by Mario Ballotelli.

It was in the second half that Spain also got their second goal; Croatia had quite a few chances again and sadly missed them all.

Right at the end they had two good last chances that they should have nailed, both times the ball sailed past the goal.

Then they ran out of time and at the end of both games the scores were,

Italy 2-Republic of Ireland 0.     

In the other game it was Spain 2- Croatia 0, which meant that both Croatia as well as the Republic of Ireland were leaving the tournament and going home.

What a shame that teams like Poland and Croatia have left the competition, we are now left with all the usual suspects.

I'm still hoping for a surprise, it would be absolutely wonderful if Greece were to go all the way to the final and maybe even win again.

Well they have nothing to lose and everything to win, nobody thought that Chelsea would win the Champions League but they did.

Come on Greece surprise everybody and win the Euro Football Tournament 2012.

A Huge Relief.

 

Roland Penrose 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Penrose

During the night there was a sudden loud thunder storm, followed by a downpour of rain.

I tried to go back to sleep this was difficult, somehow I managed only to be woken up sometime later feeling really dreadful.

As I was half asleep it took me a while to realise what the problem was, which was that I was trying to pee and couldn't, not something I should be noticing.

Not with a catheter, at the same moment I started to feel really hot as if I was going to burst into flames.

Richie came over as soon as I called him; he immediately went to get one of the saline sachets used to flush the catheter.

The contents went in and came back out with no problem, Richie reconnected the catheter bag however there was still no flow of urine.

I was still feeling distressed, Richie got another catheter bag, he took off the old bag and connected the new one.

Instantly the urine flowed and my problem was solved which was literally a huge relief for me.

Amazingly we both went back to sleep, this morning I asked Richie what time it was when I called him, he told me it was just before five o'clock.

Thinking back it must have been the need to urinate that had my legs spasming just as I was dozing off.

It was so late when it started and I was so tired, that I remember my last thought had been I don't care what the legs of doing I'm sleeping.

Marleen who had been sleeping on my feet decided she'd had enough and jumped off my bed to go and join Richie in his bed with the other two dogs.

What a night, thanks to Richie's quick thinking the problem was solved within minutes.

Richie just came back from the doctors; with news that his painful shoulder is luckily only a trapped nerve for which he's got anti-inflammatory drugs.

When he went to the chemist to pick up the prescription he bought me a present, which got me very excited, Richie got me Nina Ricci shower gel, I feel very happy to be so spoilt, he really is my absolute darling.

Great Fighting Spirit.

Roland Penrose

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Penrose 

Today's been a bit of a slow day, everything was a bit delayed, due to Richie's painful shoulder.

So we took it easy which meant that I wasn't showered until late afternoon instead of just before midday.

We watched the football tournament, there were two games Denmark versus Germany and the Netherlands versus Portugal.

Both games were played at the same time, apparently to stop any game fixing.

It seems that in a previous tournament Germany was through to the next stage and Austria were not, so Germany let them win the game so they could go through.

The Netherlands took control of the game in the first minutes and Raphael Van de Vaart scored the first goal.

It looked encouraging but then the Dutch team seemed to lose their control and Portugal started to get more involved.

The news came that Germany had scored and so had Denmark so things did not look good for either the Netherlands or Portugal.

Then Portugal’s star striker Ronaldo scored a goal which made it one all, the Dutch did try to keep coming back into the game but they did not seem motivated.

Klaas Jan Huntelaar seemed to have a very bad game; one of the few to keep pushing was Raphael Van de Vaart, a Totteham player.

Ronaldo scored again for Portugal making 2-1, if the Dutch were to avoid leaving the competition in the qualifying stages, they would now have to score two more goals, which they did not seem capable of.

Right at the end of the game Raphael had another attempt on goal which was saved by the keeper, as was a shot on goal by Robin van Persie, the Arsenal striker.

Then the news came through that Germany had won the game with two goals while Denmark had only one goal and were leaving the competition.

The Dutch team would also be going home, they too only got one goal, it was quite sad to see the performance of the Netherlands this tournament.

One good bit of news was that Greece and fought back magnificently to beat Russia who were also now out of the tournament.

Despite that the Greek team were not tipped to do well; they have proved the pundits wrong by getting to the final stages of the qualifying round.

Now it's getting pretty exciting wandering which teams will get through to the semi-finals and final, I would love Greece to win again, they deserve it just for their fighting spirit.

A Wonderful Distraction.

 Cyril and Tina.     

                                  

Yesterday we did watch the football; I just wanted the night off from writing about it.

Ukraine played France, this time Ukraine did not play as well as the first time, it was France 2-Ukraine 0.

England and Sweden was very exciting, England took the lead, Andy Carroll scored a magnificent header.

 When the game resumed Sweden got two quick goals, then Theo Walcott was brought on and immediately he thumped in an amazing goal from 25 m away.

Danny Welbeck scored their third goal by which time it became clear that England were going to win their second important game.

They have never beaten Sweden before nor done so well in any international football tournament.

The new manager, Roy Hodgson should be praised for bringing about such a positive development in the English national team.

It was good to see that they were playing as a team, they were well organised and they really wanted to win, an excellent attitude.                               

      

The UEFA football championship has been a wonderful distraction from the stress of trying to obtain aids to make life easier.

I have noticed how distorted my back is since I've had to remain in bed from the 23rd of February, when the old pressure wound opened up.

This means I can't sit up properly because that would put too much pressure on it.

Sitting slumped is not good for my back muscles, I heard the other day that muscles that are not used turn to fat.

Lying has done a lot of damage to my muscles, and this latest stay in bed is damaging them even more.

Richie has to reposition me constantly, usually every 3 to 5 minutes, otherwise it gets too painful for me.

Every time I notice that my legs are out of position, Richie corrected it, which prevented me hanging over the sides of the shower chair.

Right now I can only hold on with my left hand, so that means I cannot maintain my balance by holding onto the chair.

I can’t stop my decline; all I can do is retain my ability to laugh and to enjoy all that I can.

Concentrate On Enjoying Life Now.

Marleen, Cyril, Tina

        

 Here it is another grey day, the weather in England is dreadful, they are experiencing high winds and torrential rain.

We are getting some high winds and rain, plus it is cool enough to have the heating on in the mornings and evenings.

Last night I got woken up several times each time finding my arms clenched tight over my chest and my fingernails digging into the palms of my hands.

No wonder that I woke up, and each time it took ages to get my arms back down by my side.

My spine is getting more deformed, it is more difficult to get me sitting straight; I did not notice it is as much in the wheelchair.

That’s due to the excellent support I get in the wheelchair, which I don't have in bed so I need regular adjustments.

I've been enjoying the football; it has taken my mind off my situation and given me something else to focus on.

Which is good as the stress of having to fight for everything has been getting to me.

I'm constantly either pushing for something to happen or I'm waiting for it to finally happen.

For example I've been waiting for Kees van Roekel, from Welzorg to come back since the beginning of March.

Plus I'm waiting to hear how the new application for the eye operated software is faring at the health insurers Agis.

It was made after an appointment with Dr. Janneke Stolwijk and my occupational therapist, Maurits, to discuss why the first application did so badly.

The advice they had previously included with the first application for Seetech was not up to date so they promised another.

They wrote a new advice, that I needed to be able to operate the IPaq with Seetech, as I could no longer use either the touch screen or the button.

My health insurers do not see the necessity of my having three dictionaries included, I will have to buy the German one myself.

I was amazed to be informed by the salesman from RTD Het Dorp that the German language dictionary only cost €158.

I thought it was going to be more, strange that my health insurers objected so strongly to this, major expenditure.

What is especially strange about the objections is the fact that they say they will assist people to maintain their quality-of-life.

In my case this means being able to communicate in three languages, as I was brought up speaking German and English, and I taught myself Dutch when I moved here in 1981.

In my case this did not count, all they were interested in was spending as little as possible.

They also objected to voice recognition, I guess this is also too expensive for them, strange as voice recognition only costs just €150.

They were quibbling about €308 which is why they turned down the application ‘from HES, last November.

I still haven't heard from the council when they will install air conditioning that I need so desperately.

The best thing I can do is to try and put it all out of my mind and concentrate on enjoying the here and now.

A Good Attitude

Bienvenido Bones  Banez Jr. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bienvenido_%E2%80%9CBones%E2%80%9D_Banez,_Jr.

Yet another exciting football battle between Italy and Croatia, in Poznan, Poland, both sides were not prepared to give an inch.

The Italian team had many more attempts on goal than the Croatian team; the Italians were doing everything to prevent the Croatians being able to play.

It seemed as if would go to half time without a goal being scored, but it was such a tussle for control of the ball between both sides.

Finally after 38 minutes of the game Italy scored a tremendous goal, then Croatia put on quite a fight but failed to get an equaliser before the whistle blew.

When they returned for the second half they resumed the play great vigour and determination.

Despite the Croatians best effort, they still had not managed to get a goal and it was 65 minutes into the game, in the 71^st minute that Croatia scored.

It was now 1-1 which well-deserved, they resumed their battle but neither side got another goal so it was a draw.

The next game was between Spain against the Republic of Ireland, it became obvious quickly that Spain were miles better than Ireland.

Spain had the most possession of the ball and they spent the majority of the first half passing the ball to each other much to the frustration of the Irish team.

Every time an Irish player managed to get the ball it was taken off him again sometimes within seconds.

Spain seemed to be in total control of the game sidelining the Ireland for a large part of the game.

Even Robbie Keane who has a great reputation as a footballer could not manage to play well because he was being marked so well by his Spanish counterpart.

Fernando Torres scored the first goal in the first half, then they went off at half-time and when they returned David Silva scored another goal.

The Irish team was still doing everything they could to get a goal but again every time they got the ball immediately lost it to Spanish player.

Suddenly 60 minutes into the game the Irish players were trying to build up momentum in order to achieve a goal.

For awhile it seemed that maybe they could possibly get a couple of goals, especially as suddenly they didn't seem to have a wall of red around them.

It didn't last for long as the Spanish players were soon all around them again and worse was to follow, Torres scored another goal his second.

Then he was replaced by Ces Fabregas, who used to play for Arsenal and has now moved to Barcelona, he came on and scored a goal.

There was now no way that the Irish team come back from that and score four goals in the short time left before the game ended.

The game ended with Spain 4- the Republic of Ireland 0; Spain will almost certainly be going through to the next round.

The Irish Republic on the other hand we have to win against Portugal when they play them in order that the chance of remaining in the competition.

Despite everything the Irish fans showed their support all the way through the game singing for their team, I'm sure they will enjoy themselves after the game, they will probably join in singing with the Spanish supporters. 

For the Irish supporters the glass is always half full, a good attitude. 

                            

                                              

A Great Occasion.

 

Bienvenido Bones Banez Jr

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bienvenido_%E2%80%9CBones%E2%80%9D_Banez,_Jr. 

Last night we watched the Czech Republic play against Greece, the Greek team were playing without their two central defenders.

One was sent off in the first game against Poland, in my opinion the referee made a mistake, and the player got two yellow cards for playing the ball.

Which meant red when he got the second yellow card and that always means an instant dismissal from the game.

The other defender was badly injured and won't be taken any further part in the tournament, which is a shame as they really made the difference for the Greek team.

Without them the Greek team were noticeably less good, which the Czech team exploited by getting two quick goals in quick succession.

Then Petr Cech, the Czech teams goalkeeper made a crucial error, he ran out of his goal to catch a ball which he didn't catch.

However a nearby Greek player instantly buried it in the goal, to the delight of his teammates and the dismay of the Czech team.

Both sides tried to get additional goals but failed to achieve this aim, so the game ended 

Czech 2-Greece  1.

The next game was Russia versus Poland, there were fights before and after the game which needed police intervention.

The Russian fans were celebrating Russia's Day which caused a lot of upset amongst the Polish fans.

It was a very good game, in fact it was more of a battle than a game with neither side giving an inch.

The contest between Russia's Arshavin and Poland's brilliant attacking right back Piszczek promised to be fascinating.

The Polish side held their own against the Russians, who did not look so good in the first 15 minutes of the game, whereas the Polish team looked better than in the first game against Greece.

Sadly at 18 minutes into the game Polanski’s excellent goal was not allowed because it was offside, in the 41st minute Russia scored a goal.

Then it was half time after which both teams resumed the battle, in the 57th minute Poland scored, a wonderful goal from their captain Jakub Blaszczykowski.

At full time it was Poland 1-Russia 1 it was a highly enjoyable game with a draw being a fair result, now Russia need to get a draw with Greece on Saturday evening, while Poland must beat the Czech Republic.

That would be quite the occasion, judging by Poland's performance tonight they will be the favourites to win, imagine Poland playing Germany in the semi final, it could happen and it would be a great occasion.                                                                                                                                                                              

                                                     

Happiness for England and Ecstasy for the Ukraine.

Andriy Shevchenko, Scoring Against Sweden
In the Olympic Stadium Kiev, Ukraine European Championship June 2012.     

More football games last night, first off were England versus France, at Donetsk, Ukraine, a mining community near the Russian border.

It was a very hot, humid night which made it difficult for the players on both sides, plus they were being attacked by midges.

There was an expectation that England might not do well against France, but this did not prove correct.

Joleon Lescott scored the first goal for England however France’s Sami Nasri got an equaliser after just 9 minutes.

Danny Welbeck gave a mature performance alongside Ashley Young upfront while Steven Gerard and Scott Parker defended the midfield.

Welbeck and Young’s pace and movement exposed Frances central defenders Philippe Mexes and Adhil Rami, but sadly England failed to make the most of their vulnerability.

Then it was half-time when they returned, both sides trying to get another goal neither succeeded, so the game ended in a draw.

England 1-France1, now I will have to wait and see what happens at the next game, England will be playing Sweden this Friday and Sweden will be playing Ukraine are.

Then there was a short pause before the next game started in Kiev, Ukraine between Ukraine and Sweden.

The star striker of Ukraine is Andriy Shevchenko, who used to play for Chelsea as well as AC Milan before returning home to become captain of Dynamo Kiev.

Ukraine dominated the first half; Shevchenko had one chance on goal but dragged it 10 yards wide of the far post.

7 minutes into the second half Sweden's own talismanic forward Zaltan Ibrahimovic scored a header from a neat low cross from Kim Kallstorm.

Just moments later, Shevchenko got ahead of marker Olof Mellberg to head home Andriy Yarmolenko's cross and sends the Olympic Stadium wild. 

These celebrations were nothing, though, compared to what was to come when the Dynamo Kiev striker's superb movement again bought him space, this time at the near post, to glance in a header from a corner. 

Shevchenko went off to a standing ovation by his adoring fans which lasted many minutes and quite rightly as he is a tremendous hero for the Ukraine.

With defeat staring them in the face, Sweden pushed forward for a leveller; Ibrahimovic came close to getting another goal but missed.

Soon after that the final whistle blew, the Olympic Stadium in Kiev went wild with delight they had beaten the Swedish team to win the first important game.

A Positive Attitude.

 

Bienvenido Bones  Banez Jr. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bienvenido_%E2%80%9CBones%E2%80%9D_Banez,_Jr. 

We watched more football last night, there were two games, and the first was between Italy and Spain.

It promised to be a great game, as Spain had won the last European championship in 2008 and the World Cup in 2010 and Italy were rated highly.

The promise was delivered on and it was an exciting game, Italy scored first and Fabregas, the ex-Arsenal striker equalised for Spain.

Fernando Torres, a Chelsea striker came on to applause from the Spanish supporters, at the end of the game the final score was Italy 1-Spain 1

After that there was a brief pause and then the next game started, which was between the Irish Republic and Croatia in Poznan, Poland.

The game started dry but as it progressed the rain started and it was a downpour, players as well as supporters were soaking wet, despite this everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Croatia seemed to have the upper hand when they scored first, Shay Given, the goalkeeper, was wrong footed and tumbled to the ground and the Croatian goal sailed straight into the net.

Ireland equalised, but then a second goal was allowed for Croatia even though it was obviously offside, unnoticed by referee.

Then an Irish player was fouled but this was not seen by the referee, who did not give them the penalty they deserved.

Croatia went on to score their third goal which left very little time for the Irish Republic to score two goals.

There was 5 min extra time added on at the end of the game for injury time, try as they might the Irish team could not manage to get two goals.

The game ended with Croatia 3-Ireland 1, very disappointing for the 25,000 Irish supporters who had travelled to support their team.

Despite the Irish team not winning, I'm sure that their supporters would have had a very enjoyable night and will now be looking forward to the next game.

A great attitude to have, it is always good to move on and get on with the next project, and not remain in the past.