Match result 22 October 2006

Score : 5 - 5

Yellow bibs

Ged, Jamie, Ritchie, John H, Iain

Blue bibs

Andy H, John D, Damian, Robbie, Mark

A rare encounter with honours ending even; not to say this was your average 5:5 draw, far from it, a game played with gentlemanly conduct reminiscent of the earliest days of soccer, such as could be found in Old Carthusians v Old Etonians [1881 F. A. Cup Final – 3:0 a special match you can not catch on you-tube].

“To where do we attribute these standards ?” I hear you ask - was it the return of the old war-horse himself – the legendary Richard Askew – was it the presence of Mattthew & Adam [such young precocious talents eager to learn from the masters] – or was it the mutual respect accorded the two line ups.

As Barry would have said [whichever of the sides he was picked for] ‘We’re up against it here lads’ !!

A game that only had a margin of more than 1 goal for a brief spell - it was a tight affair and gave the chance for the masters to excel and display their talents.

Mark, a modern right footed version of the magnificent Magyar ‘Ferenc Puskas’ drilled home two fine efforts delivered with the aplomb of the artiste he undoubtedly is – noted for his impishness and cocksureness, the only thing that he lacks to be truly compared to Puskas is the entertainment of his team-mates by juggling with bars of soap in the showers – although perhaps not politically correct to be espying what Mark does in the showers, Andy is on the case.

Richie, the deceptively slow big man, might look like Ian Drury on speed but this belies the steely resolve – unforgiving in the tackle – uncompromising in his demands on his team mates – unsurprising tenacity in his will to win. This multi talented sportsman, gifted in football, volleyball and swingball – despite the disappointment of his weekend in Carlisle – delivered the goods and held the team together in the last moments when doubt had started to creep in.

Iain, a hybrid confusion of Alan Whicker and Bob Hope – a combination that can only be figured out using Boolean equations and Big Blue. Nonetheless, a well travelled gentleman with a passport to prove it; Iain, at the request of Judith Chalmers, has recently visited Morocco and will shortly be preparing his rough guide to Marrakech: to be seen next year on the little known cable tv channel ‘Pernickety TV’ – the program entitled ‘Ramadanadingdong’ in a sketch format that will cover fasting, dancing and bartering ~ not to be missed ~ set your videos. Will Iain become as fabled as that other exotic storyteller ‘Scheherazade’? Anyway, Iain having returned full of exotic influences and the only Rambler to perform in a kaftan, provided the superior intellect that kept the yellows together as a cohesive unit – marshalling the lads like the logistics master he is.

John H feeling the tension of the final seconds of a tight encounter, snapped; although normally likened to Sean Thornton in ‘The Quiet Man’, little did we know that fiction was set to become reality: in what seemed an eerily choreographed moment, John H abused the bystanders with a verbal volley that cannot be re-produced here – the obscenity laws, whilst maybe somewhat outdated, still nevertheless apply. We all hope John will manage to attend his anger management classes this week – good luck John.

Just before John could translate the tension he was feeling into direct action, the final whistle was blown: honours even, pride intact, smiles and handshakes all round – yes indeed, the return of the Corinthians – for one week at least.

Pirouette watch

Several feints but no completions

Alas, pirouette watch will be taking a sojourn – one feels the spotlight on AP is detrimental to his natural game, so the lad will be given a well earned break. Thank you AP for some magical and humorous moments over the last few months.