Bobby's beat

I could eulogise about his glory years as arguably England and Ipswich Town's greatest manager (although there's someone called Ramsey whom could also lay claim to that), but my one quintessential image I have of Bobby Robson is sitting on the bench at the 1990 World Cup Semi-Final against West Germany, and the look of apoplectic regret as he witnessed his side just being edged out of the competition on penalties, and the denial of the chance for revenge against Argentina in the Final. In a very British way, that summed up the man and his no-nonsense love of football and love of life.

In one of those "remember where you were when you heard the news" moments, I sat at work today and saw the news that Sir Bobby had died after his long battle with cancer, and instinctively looked out through the window with that same expression of apoplectic acceptance of his in 1990.

We Will Remember Them

The last survivor of the First World War in Britain has died (see article). Now an entire generation of this nation's finest has truly given its life for future generations.

War is still War

It's sad but perhaps vilifying to hear that Britain has now lost more troops in the war in Afghanistan than in Iraq. If only because, in the first place, the war against terror was against the Taliban and not Saddam Hussain.

The failure of the Soviet Union to conquer the area (after nearly a decade of trying) is a telling reminder of the difficult job still in hand - it should also be noted that the Afghans received American support in that particular struggle.

Happy July 4th America

For the first time since September 11th 2001, the Statue of Liberty is fully open to the public once again.