A letter to the BBC Match of the Day team

Dear Match of the Day team,

The BBC's Match of the Day was a staple of any football crazy person growing up. In the days before wall to wall coverage of live games, it was the only way to see any action from a game if you were unable to be there yourself. It was also a show where the presenters and commentators gave very little away of their allegiances for a specific team.

That all changed with the arrival of Gary Lineker. For once we had a presenter who had played the beautiful game at the very highest level. He knew the game better than anyone who'd been in the gig before. Gary's arrival also saw a line of pundits who'd also played the game at a high level. For the football fan this was a great idea on the face of it, but unfortunately it presented an unforeseen problem: bias.

A succession of pundits over the years have given their views, some better than others, but most have come from long careers at one particular club. Some have more or less succeeded in being impartial, but increasingly others don't even pretend to be impartial.

Showing your support for your team is OK, but it must not colour your judgement when it comes to your analysis. You must remember that not everyone watching has the same level of attachment or club affiliation as you. If it comes across as being too sycophantic, it's not a good watch. 

What's also clear is that most pundits have associations with the "big six" clubs. Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester City players feature heavily, as do other big clubs like Newcastle. Do former players from Bournemouth and Brighton not also know their stuff?

Things have got a little better recently with the likes of former goalkeepers Shay Given and Joe Hart. They provide a interesting perspective from the golden boot club of Alan Shearer, Ian Wright, and Gary Lineker himself. Throw in Alex Scott, Dion Dublin, and the excellent Kelly Somers, and you've a DEI policy to make Donald Trump smart. That's a good thing by the way!

Going back to our Gary, there's a lot I like about his presenting style. Yes his love of Leicester can get a bit tiresome, but he can laugh at himself. That was evident when he followed up his promise to present in his underwear if Leicester won the Premier League. He's not afraid to speak his mind on matters he believes are important to draw attention to, and been treated very harshly by BBC management at times as a result.

That brings me back to the issue of bias and impartiality. The controversy over the government's immigration policy was a storm in a teacup. Should he have said what he said? That depends largely on whether you agreed with what he said. Personally I think he had every right to speak out. After all it was on a public platform that had nothing to do with his BBC job. I just wish the cringing bias we regularly see for the big clubs from the programme's presenters and pundits was toned down a few notches.

So over to you team. The arrival of Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman, and Gabby Logan next season is an excellent team to change a few things. Kelly and Mark in particular are great presenters, and Gabby, although a tough watch at times, stands her ground. Let's have the likes of some non-Premier League pundits occasionally. It's time for the old order to make way for some new ideas.

Surprise: Gaelic isn't the Irish language

What do you call the Irish language? Here's a clue. It's not Gaelic or Irish. 

Whilst folk in the UK may realise there is an Irish language, they may not realise there's also a Scotish one. In fact there are more than one. Gaelic is the collective term for languages and dialects spoken by the Gaels and Celtic highlanders in Scotland, but also by Celts in Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Scottish highlands.

The Irish form of Gaelic, or Gaeilge as it's referred to in the Irish language, is closely aligned to the Celt language spoken in the western highlands of Scotland. What is more commonly known as Scots Gaelic is the spoken elsewhere in Scotland. The languages are similar, but have diverged and diversified over the centuries into their own distinct dialect. 

To confuse matters even further, Welsh isn't considered a Celtic language despite the Welsh being Celts. Welsh is closely related to Breton. In fact most Welsh speakers wouldn't be able to understand a native Gaeilge speaker, and vice-versa.

These two forms of Gaelic are distinct and different, belonging to different sub-groups of the Gaelic tongue. Today there are six distinct Gaelic languages:

• Breton: Spoken mainly is parts of north western France (Normandy & Brittany).
• Irish: This is still the first language of islanders on some of the remotest parts of the country, and is compulsorily taught in all government funder schools.
• Manx: Spoken in the Isle of Man.
• Scots Gaelic: Not to be confused with Glasgow slang at closing time, this is still spoken in some communities.
• Cornish: Closely related to Breton, you can still find it spoken among locals.
• Welsh: Although similar in some ways to Cornish, it is quite different in others. Their closeness geographically belies their differences.

So don't make the mistake and think Gaelic is all the same. Just like how the UK can call a bread roll a roll, cob, pan, or bap, language and dialects change depending on where you are. Don't take a language for granted. Just remember it is a living thing that changes with the seasons.

Pope Francis and the future

Earlier today Pope Francis died after a struggle over many weeks with pneumonia. Just yesterday, Easter Sunday, he appeared on the balcony of St. Peter's in Rome to utter a few words to the faithful who'd come in the hope of seeing him. He wasn't his usual self, and wasn't able to deliver his traditional Easter message, but his appearance was significant at a time of a major religious festival.

Now Pope Francis is at peace. It's always sad when someone dies, but when it's the head of the Catholic church a successor must be found. As the saying goes, "The King is dead. Long live the King." With the Vatican, there will be another Pope. Among the front runners are only two Italians. We could have an African pope in Peter Turkson, something that would recognise that the power base of rank and file Catholics has shifted from Europe to other regions of the world.

In the past Vatican employees received a financial bonus when a new Pope was elected. Pope Francis abandoned this tradition, instead offering the money to charitable causes. Pope Francis always tried to do things differently from his predecessors. When first elected he chose not to live in the splendour of St. Peter's. He had a gentle touch that saw him revered by many Catholics, but also put noses out of joint in the Vatican hierarchy.

For now the institution of the Catholic church continues whilst the Cardinals arrive from around the world to elect a successor. When the white smoke comes out of the Vatican chimney signaling a successor has been found, one thing is for sure, it will be a man👨!

Is the NHS beyond repair?

The National Health Service (NHS) is a national institution It's held up around the world as an example of how healthcare can be provided free for all at the point of need. Founded in post-war Britain by the Labour government in 1948, it is a socialist's dream designed to ensure everyone is treated equally. It's been a huge success, but its not without its problems. Whether it's the inability to get a GP appointment or the infected blood scandal, everyone has a view on the NHS and isn't afraid to vocalise it.

The NHS is a big organisation. It employs 1.5 million employed in 10,000 buildings, including 1140 hospitals, and treats 1.3 million people daily. Treatment covers everything from ingrowing toenails to life threatening illnesses. It employs not only doctors and nurses. Dentists, physiotherapists, social workers, GPs, hospital porters, receptionists, pharmacists, and midwifes or just some of the professions.

In human terms if you're 78 years old, things start to go wrong with you. As you get older you need more help with your health. So just how healthy is the NHS? People today are quick to criticise it when they fail to get a dentist appointment or wait five hours in A&E. We all know the NHS isn't perfect, so just how good or bad is it?

My experiences of it are mixed. Yes I have issues getting a GP appointment when I need it. Yes my family have experienced poor service from healthcare professionals. Here's the thing though. I've also experienced some first class healthcare when I've needed it most.

To illustrate the good and bad NHS service, take one of my experiences. I fell over heavily whilst out running. I quickly realised I had an issue and unable to walk. Unfortunately I fell on a path where virtually no one went on. I had my phone and phoned 999 only to be told that I had to wait three hours for an ambulance. As I got colder and started to shiver, I rang again only to be told there was nothing they could do. I crawled in a lot of pain down to the street where I was able to hail a cab to take me to hospital. Once there I received good care, even if the x-rays and scans took a total of seven hours, and I was admitted to a ward with a pelvic fracture. Although the care I received on the ward from the nurses was largely exceptional, the service by the orthopedic surgeon was the opposite. This was partly due to it being a weekend, and that my bone fracture was in an unusual position requiring a second opinion. It took four days for anything to decide on my course of treatment.

On leaving hospital I had physiotherapy sessions, but this was done privately. I'm fortunate to have private health care through my job, and will more than likely continue to pay for this when I retire. It doesn't cover everything. It has it's limits, but it does provide a safety net for when you may have issues getting NHS treatment. I also have private dental cover as NHS dentists where I live are as rare as a Donald Trump admission of a lie. For most though, private healthcare doesn't provide full health care. It's OK for small elective procedures like cataracts and frozen shoulders, but it won't cover you for heart attacks or major cancer treatment. That is where the NHS must take the brunt.

So is the NHS is crisis? It depends on your view. If it is there to fund universal healthcare for all, the current taxation model could change to ensure it has the funds to meet demand. You could add top up fees or levels of health insurance in the same way as my private health care provider does. The problem is that drives a coach and horses through the NHS's original aim of free healthcare for all. It would also likely be political suicide for the government who made that decision.

It's not just healthcare that's the issue. Decades of under investment by successive governments in infrastructure, has left many healthcare facilities in a woeful state of disrepair. footing the bill to bring them up to scratch whilst ensuring the technology and drugs are available to treat patients will require massive investment. Who'll pay for that? We will of course, but will be want to?

The risk is that unless there is the required investment, the NHS will steadily turn into an organisation with poor service for those unable to afford private health care. The UK government is making efforts to reduce the time patients wait for treatment. According to Private Eye magazine, there are nearly 7.5 million cases waiting for treatment, with a wait of 14 weeks for elective consultant treatment and two months for cancer treatment!

The 2023 social attitudes survey reported that only 24% of people are satisfied with the NHS, and only 13% with social care. It also reported that 48% said they'd support further taxation to spend on the NHS, but just how much would they be willing to give up and would it be enough?

WDSA April 2005 - PSV show us how it's done

Before the recent Barrow game JJ was asked what he was like as a youngster watching from the terraces. Perhaps his on the terrace behaviour was slightly better than a certain WDSA correspondent. My sources won’t who apparently was caught on TV just after our goal against Salford making derogatory gestures in the direction of a certain opposition manager. Let’s just say he’s slightly embarrassed but thoroughly enjoyed the experience! Whether JJ ever did something like this is best kept in the past, but he knows what a raucous and visceral home crowd brings. He showed real emotion after the 3-0 home demolition of our nemesis earlier in the season. JJ admitted that when the crowd gets behind the team, it really helps them put in that extra effort.

There is criticism of the Plough Lane atmosphere. We talk about a “fortress”, but until recently it occasionally has been made of wet cardboard. There’s no doubt that when the place is rocking, it’s an intimidating place. Players can play their part. I wish more would. There are precious few who do. Josh Neufville is one, and I love him for it. It always gets a reaction. Opposition players say they shut out the crowd, but that’s impossible. Plough Lane crowds are a bit of a mixed bag. There are days when it really rocks, but there are plenty of others where it disappoints. Results have a lot to do with this of course. Lee Finch of the Wombles had a dream podcast regularly travels to Europe to watch football. He eulogises about the atmosphere at grounds, with the pyrotechnics, flags, and singing. It’s clear watching football to him is more about the atmosphere than the game itself, but he has a point. A good atmosphere allows spectators to become as one with the club. It adds that connection that is likely to get them coming back again and again.

At Plough Lane Lee Willett’s team of flag hangers do their bit before a game. The number and variety of flags in recent seasons is impressive. It adds colour, but that only goes part of the way. We need songs, and plenty of them. As someone who also likes a good sign song, the problem for me is getting the right chant. There are some that are turgid, boring, and downright dull. One prime suspect is the “AFC Wimbledon” chant as the teams come onto the pitch. Anyone coming out of a coma as that’s sung will probably go back under. It’s simple but it doesn’t meet the intimidation brief. Maybe we could learn from other European clubs? The recent game against Cheltenham saw 50-100 PSV Eindhoven fans take a detour to Wimbledon enroute to Highbury the following day. Clearly out for a good time, well what else is there to do when you’re trying to overturn a 7-1 first leg defeat, they brought a real European atmosphere to Plough Lane. They may not have been many of them, but they encouraged others around them to join in. Positioned in the north stand, the noise they created attracted some fans from the east stand to join them, despite the best efforts of the stewards. The result was a noisy collective teaching each other their club’s songs and generating a good atmosphere. It was like having two home ends. The proximity to the away fans also created a degree of fan baiting.

Going back to our songs, simplicity is key for one to catch on. It has to be easy to learn and enjoyable to sing. A few new ones have started to catch on at recent games. Mostly they’re short, easy to pick up, and sung in the round. The “bounce around if you love the Dons” is a good one and can even get some members of the West Stand out of their seats. Whilst I’m talking about songs, let’s stop signing the “Champagne” song. I know it’s a right of passage for teens to want to swear, but we’re not Millwall. We do care that people like us, and the song’s lyrics belong more on a bawdry night out in SE16 than SW17. It belongs in the era of lads mags and should be assigned to the same sexist dustbin as them. If we’re to continue to attract families to games, we need to suppress elements of the game that don’t fit this brief. It’s a tough challenge, as it is the passion of fans that makes for a good atmosphere. Now let me go and complete my homework.

I must not make rude gestures to opposition managers.

I must not make rude gestures to opposition managers.

etc.

Stick or bust - How to win a football game

You may not agree, but trust me, football is a wonderful if unpredictable game. It can throw a curve ball at you in the blink of an eye, with the game turning on its head. Normally the curve ball is the result of something that happens during the game, but occasionally it can be something off it.

AFC Wimbledon's game last night against Swindon Town was a case in point. Swindon's manager Ian Holloway decided to play their centre forward in the middle of their defence. That's akin to Rory McIlroy deciding to play every tee shot with his 9 iron. When asked why he did this, he responded that he wanted to see the look on his opposite number's face.

Whether this is true or not, the tactic worked a dream. Not only did it fool Johnnie Jackson, Wimbledon's manager, but their defenders had to rethink everything they'd prepared for. Having their main target at the other end of the pitch meant they had to deal with the unexpected. The fact they largely did, says a lot about their ability, but the tactics also perfectly demonstrated the difference between the two manager's.

Having gone 1-0 down early in the second half, Holloway almost immediately made three changes. 12 minutes later he made another two. All of a sudden half his side was compiled of players with fresh legs. Wimbledon by comparison made one half time substitution, but then waited until the 89th minute to make another. By this time they had conceded an equaliser. Quite what a new player was expected to do with a minute left on the clock is unclear.

Wimbledon's substitutions have been an area of debate amongst fans all season. They're often conservative, and happen comparatively late in the game. Often they're like for like with little or no tactical switch. If the substitute is to play the same way as the player they've replaced, then they're unlikely to be as good as them otherwise they'd have started. The result is ineffective substitutions.

Swindon's substitutions changed the game in the same way Wimbledon's half time change brought their goal. Having five fresh players playing against a tiring side was key. So was having their centre half, sorry striker, changing position with 20 minutes left to play in his normal position. Suddenly our tiring defence had a lot of issues. These mind games aren't new to Holloway. He's often found taking educated risks to outflank the opposition. By contrast Jackson's natural caution played right into his hands.

As for the game itself, the Swindon win with two penalties in the last five minutes was painful to all Wimbledon fans. The management complained about the referee, but I didn't think he had a bad game. Sometimes you just have to acknowledge when you've been out smarted. Holloway did that to a tee. If Wimbledon don't at least make the playoffs, there'll be increasing calls for Jackson to go. Wimbledon had more to lose than Swindon last night, but that shouldn't result in conceding five goals from winning positions in their last three games, all coming in the last 10 minutes of each game. If Jackson is still Wimbledon manager next season, he must learn to trust his squad to do the job.

Milton Keynes: A failed vision of the future

Let me start with full disclosure. I'm an AFC Wimbledon fan, and as any football fan worth listening to will tell you, Milton Keynes' football team is a pariah that shouldn't exist. I won't bore you with too much detail, but let's just say Milton Keynes didn't have a football club until they effectively franchised my club and moved it 60 miles up the M1. As a result I've a totally irrational loathing of anything related to the place. That said, most of the population of Milton Keynes had nothing to do with football. So I try not to let what has happened cloud my opinion of the place. If only the place made it easy for me!

What's Milton Keynes famous for?

Ask a resident of a city what it's famous for, and you'll get a myriad of answers. Perhaps a gothic cathedral or a medieval town centre with Tudor beamed buildings. Maybe it's the birthplace of someone or something that changed the world. Milton Keynes has none of those. Most people when asked what Milton Keynes is famous for, say the concrete cows. Yes you heard me correctly. In the 1970s a conceptual artist sculpted six cows out of concrete and put them in a field.

It's fair to say that the public's response to this art is largely negative. Even the locals ridicule them, defacing them over the years. They've been dressed in pink, made to look like zebras, and even beheaded. Concrete cow pats have also been added. Who said Milton Keynes residents don't have a sense of humour.

Those darn roundabouts

If there is one word synonymous with Milton Keynes, it is roundabouts. They're everywhere. The city's roads are set out in a grid system with roads going north/south and east/west. The result is a matrix of roads with a roundabout every half a mile or so. 

I remember one of my first visits to the place years ago to visit a friend. It was before Sat Navs, and the directions I was given was to take junction 13 off the M1, and go across the first 11 roundabouts before turning right at the 12th. That was all well and good, but after driving across roundabout after roundabout, I started to wonder if I'd just passed the 8th or 9th! Part of the issue is that they all look pretty much the same. There are no distinguishing features to an outsider.

One other issue I have with the roundabouts, is the drivers who use them. A lot of them just don't seem to indicate which way they're going when they're on them. I suspect that is because they're just as fed up with them as I am. Imagine having to indicate every minute or two.

Where's the community?

A city is built on its community. That community develops over the years. Milton Keynes has been around just about long enough to develop a community or sorts, but it doesn't seem to come to the surface very often. Quite why that is, is open to conjecture. The fact that everything is so spread out is part of the problem. People don't live in one place. There are small pockets of housing spread out in various parts of the city, and most of these are in the city's suburbs not in the city centre. This small but significant geographical divide doesn't make for cohesiveness.

Then there's the ethnic and religious divides. They're no different than other cities, but the spread out nature of the population and apparent lack of amenities for cross group communication makes it seem more obvious. That's a shame, as it's location between Birmingham and Luton would make it a good place for some inter-faith cohabitation.

There's no doubt that Milton Keynes can be a great place to bring up a young family. There's the space, pretty good housing, and reasonable employment opportunities. But looking around the place, there aren't many older folk. There has to be a reason for this. I'm not sure what is is, but I suspect being unable to drive is one. Getting around the city on foot is pretty difficult, and the transport system is lacking. There are buses, but they don't take you where you want to go to. A car is the main means of transportation, and if you can't use one, you're stuck.

Getting around

Milton Keynes is a utopian vision of what a city could look like if the town planners had a free reign and a blank slate. Loosely modelled on US cities, the city was built where there'd been very little before. The town planners designed a place with lots of extra space. Why put everything together when you can make it more visually appealing if you add a few acres of green space between a set of houses and some shops. Maybe even put the shops on the other side of a large lake. It all looks pretty, but it means the distances between things is greater. In the outskirts where transport is less frequent or even unavailable, that means a car is a mandatory requirement. Apart from the main shopping centre, where there's a very large collection of shops you can walk between, you have to hop in a car to go half a mile down the road to move from the DIY store to the supermarket. The collective carbon footprint of the city's population must be enormous.

Conclusion

It's easy to knock the place. Milton Keynes was built as a vision of the future to help with the post World War Two housing crisis. It certainly helped with providing houses and jobs, but is it really a success? It is largely clean and tidy, and doesn't suffer from the urban decay of other cities. There's a lot of shiny glass and chrome offices and plenty of houses for the workers to live in. The people seem friendly too. It's just not got a very pleasant feel. It's all too new and shiny. Give me a city with the reality of hundreds of years of grime any day.

Hurling - the sport of kings

Most countries have a sport they've developed into a form of legalised warware. America has American Football, Canada has Ice Hockey, and Thailand has Kick Boxing. Ireland is no different, but as Irish their sport of choice takes things just that little bit further. That sport is Hurling.

Hurling is basically what happens when hockey, lacrosse, and medieval warfare have a love child. Played with a flat wooden stick (hurley) and a rock-hard ball (sliotar), it involves grown adults sprinting across a field, whacking the ball (and occasionally each other) with alarming enthusiasm. The goal? To score points and avoid being turned into a human piñata. It’s fast, chaotic, and just dangerous enough to make you question the players’ life choices.

What is most astonishing about Hurling is that the players aren't paid. Hurling like other Gaelic sports is administered by the GAA (Gaelic Athletics Association). The GAA promotes amateur Gaelic sports, music, dance, and the Irish language. With its roots in Irish nationalism, the GAA's rules forbid use of their grounds for non-GAA sports. Such socialist ideals is what's behind the non-professional stance of Hurling.

Players can claim expenses for travel, and can earn money from product endorsements, but that's it. Will the GAA ever allow professional is the sports they control? I don't think so. The idea of amateur sport is deeply embedded.

Anyway back to the game of Hurling. It's fast, energetic, and very entertaining. Sometimes referred to as the fastest team sport in the world, it likely to have you hooked from the first time you see a game. Try it out. Trust me. You won't regret it.

There once was a hurler named Shay,
Who swung his old stick every day.
With a sliotar in flight,
He gave it a might,
And it still hasn’t landed, they say.

Mary Kielty's Late Late Show eulogy

Every Irish man and women around the world knows that the Late Late Show is a broadcasting institution. Not only is it the world's longest running live talk show, it consistently has TV audiences of 650,000. That's 28% of the Irish TV audience. It's never been afraid to court controversy as it's Wikipedia page outlines. The show is Ireland, and the controversy's perfectly frame the religious versus the increasingly secular Ireland of the last 50 years.

It's presenters are household names among the Irish diaspora. Gay Byrne, Pat Kenny, Ryan Tubridy, and since 2023 Patrick Kielty. Patrick is the first presenter to come from north of the border, something that cements the notion of Irishness and the 32 counties. The fact that Kielty's home of Co. Down is technically not part of Ireland is lost on the show's audience. To them he is as Irish as Guinness, Shamrock, and the Blarney stone. I was going to say Saint Patrick, but his lineage is a discussion for another day!

Patrick is better known as a comedian who found fame making fun out of what became known as "the troubles" in Northern Ireland. That's a difficult gig, but made especially difficult when you realise his Father was killed by the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) in 1988. His father's assassination deeply affected Patrick, yet didn't stop him poking fun at the status quo. Ireland has a healthy disrespect for the establishment, which helps deliver lots of satirical material if you've brave enough to do so.

Last week it was announced that Patrick's mother Mary had died. Yet Patrick went ahead and hosted the show after his Mother's funeral. Anyone who's lost a parent knows, getting back to normal life after a bereavement is difficult yet Patrick carried off with aplomb. Clearly emotional, he opened the Late Late Show with the following eulogy to his Mother.+

"I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who took care of her and our family this week. My mum watched this show religiously, and she loved it so much she still kept watching even after I got the gig. In over 50 years, Mary never missed a show, and there was no way she'd want me to miss this one. So, I couldn't be prouder to stand here and say, 'This one's for you, Mary'. Welcome to The Late Late Show."

Mary, wherever you're watching from, congratulations on producing such a fine, upstanding son. He's a credit to you, your husband John, and the Irish nation.

My favourite pancake toppings

It's Shrove Tuesday today, the day when Christians use up all their remaining flour, eggs, and milk before the month long Lent fast. This year it is also (more or less) aligned with the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims. So as we prepare the batter for our pancakes, let me ask the important question. What id the perfect pancake topping?

Before we answer that, we need to agree on the best batter recipe. As a child, it was a simple combination of flour, eggs, and milk. Over the years vegetable oil, sparkling water, baking powder, and even vanilla extract are added. All of these are just wrong. Stop messing with perfection. While I'm having a moan, make it plain flour not self raising. That's just cheating.

OK now we've settled that argument, let's talk about toppings. You can't beat the classic castor sugar and lemon, but I'm willing to accept that the more sophisticated palette requires something more.

This is where what you add depends on where you live. In the US you'll probably add maple syrup, but then you're pancakes are way too thick. Besides you have them to breakfast. Wrong! Thin is the way to go. The healthy toppings include some form of fruit. That adds some balance to the carb heavy meal, but if you're worried about a healthy diet, don't eat pancakes! Go the full hog and add Greek yogurt and honey. Maybe bananas, my personal choice.

Pancakes are such a versatile savoury dish, that you can top them with just about anything. Nuts, even ham has been known, but that is just showing off. What ever you use to top your pancakes, enjoy. Just don't use Nutella!

Trump: The thin line between politics and business

Yesterday's extraordinary White House press conference between Presidents Trump and Zelensky was a watershed moment in US politics. We know Trump treats everything and everyone like a business transaction. What's more he likes to win, and at all costs. He's a really sore loser. That means he willing to see someone get hurt to get his way.

This approach goes against all negotiation training I've ever been on. The aim of any negotiation is should be for both sides to come away believing they've got something out of it. Both parties should be willing to give and take to get an agreement. What we witnessed yesterday was a indication that the Trump administration is willing to do whatever it takes to humiliate whoever doesn't do what they want.

What was yesterday's objective?

Let's look at what Trump wanted. He wanted a large slice of Ukraine's mineral reserves. It isn't immediately obvious what he was willing to give Ukraine in return. It seems to be financial not military support, and you can bet it wasn't as much as Ukraine thinks it's worth. Trump likes to use his muscle to get a deal, and to be seen as getting a slightly better deal than the other guy. Zelensky wanted US military support, but was willing to give up some of his mineral reserves in return. Trump didn't want to budge on his offer. It was his way or the by-way!

What was odd about yesterday's meeting was that both sides seemed to have different expectations about what the meeting was about. Was it about peace, or was it about trade? The objective seemed confused. Trump wanted peace, but only if someone else sorted out the mess. It seems clear that he just wanted to get his hands on the mineral reserves. Zelensky and Europe in return needed US military support to secure peace.

It is quite normal for two negotiating sides to want slightly different things of course, but the norm is to try and find some middle ground where you can both meet. That's what is called negotiation. It's about understanding the red lines each side can't or won't cross, and talking about what they can do. Yesterday's spectacle was anything but. It showed Trump's approach as being, "Do it my way or there's no deal". It was a perfect example of how he like to belittle folk with less than him.

Trade or peace?

What I found strange about the whole event was why trade was part of the deal. It was the first time I've ever heard of anyone saying, I'll get your adversary to stop killing you if you give me something in return. Normally a peace deal is agreed to end human suffering. It should be about doing the right thing for humanity. The conflict is inflicting massive suffering to the Ukrainians. Even the Russians are suffering, albeit to a lesser degree.

The spectacle of seeing President Zelensky humiliated in that way perfectly showed how tough Trump can be. It showed that to him there was no difference between politics and business. There is no room for diplomacy when it comes to business. It's win or lose, and he doesn't like to lose. There's no middle ground. 

What now for Ukraine?

It remains to be seen if yesterday's shenanigans were all part of a US negotiating tactic. Maybe they'll come around to supporting Ukraine militarily, but that looks unlikely. It looks like the US has left Europe to do the dirty work.

Yesterday's news was unedifying and cruel. Who knows whether similar discussions have taken place between world leaders behind closed doors before, but it should never have happened in front of the world's media. The sinister part of me thinks this was all part of Trump's master plan to get his way and humiliate someone who really needed his help. Trump doesn't suffer fools gladly, and relations with Ukraine had soured in recent weeks.

What is clear for almost everyone apart from Trump, is that you can't negotiate a peace deal without both sides at the table. This whole deal started with a meeting with only one adversary, and now looks like continuing in the same vein. If something is agreed out of it, it's not a deal, it's an ultimatum.

Europe must circle the wagons and decide their next steps. Perhaps they've been complacent in thinking the US would always step up with military support when it's needed. In the world of Trump, that will only happen if the US and Trump gets something in return.

Is AI a force for good?

"You know the biggest problem with AI? Wrong direction. I want AI to do my laundry and dishes so I can do art and writing, not for AI to do my art and writing so that I can do my laundry and dishes."  -  SciFi author Janna Maciejewska

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere these days. You may not have thought where it is being used, but I bet it has helped you already today in many different ways. Whether it is your smart watch, car sat nav, door alarm, or mobile phone app, it is there. AI is the buzzword of the software industry at the moment. If you're a business who's not using it, or at the very least looking to use it, you're behind to curve.

So we should be afraid of it right? Not really. Like any newish venture, it can have unpleasant side effects if not implemented properly. In the case of a smart watch, it could tell you you're in a fine fit of health when you should be taking yourself to A&E. Your sat nav could lead down a road and over a cliff. We're not at a stage where we should trust AI, so we're safe from a James Bond villain for now.

That's not to say we shouldn't be weary of how it is developed. Take the following examples of AI mentioned in a recent issue of Private Eye magazine:

• Perplexity have launched a "shopping assistant" in the US. It lets you ask for product recommendations, and lets you buy them without visiting the merchant's website. Asked how the product selects product recommendations Perplexity's CEO said, "To be honest with you, in terms of how the ranking works, I don't think we understand it fully ourselves."
• Sauron has a home security system and is looking at how it can use AI to take countermeasures if a problem was suspected. Could it take out a burglar with a bullet?

It is because of this that I don't fear AI. We need safeguards and thorough testing of applications for sure, but we also need human oversight. Like any algorithm, it is data based and that doesn't include intuition or nuance. Yes some jobs will largely disappear. Others will change significantly, but this has been happening since man and woman walked this earth.

AI can be a cause for good. It will change the way we live and work. It already does. You can't really avoid. It's here to stay. So let's embrace it.

Finally if your thinking of raging against the machine, take heart from Korean users of X (formally Twitter). Appalled by the platforms unilateral decision to use their content to train it's AI model, users have taken to describing how to "destroy Elon Musk's testicles with a spinning kick." What seems like a healthy traditional activity has the result of contaminating the model.

Limerick: I'm sorry I haven't a clue

I’m sorry I haven’t a clue.
A radio quiz show. Who knew?
Sound charades and Mornington Crescent,
Are examples of rounds ever present,
For comics to do silly things to.

The craic of an Irish parkrun

I've enjoyed exercising all my life. Not even getting up early on a cold Saturday morning can put me off. OK sometimes it does, but the endorphin rush you get when you finish is worth it. That is one reason why I parkrun.

Parkrun is a five kilometer run organised by a local volunteers in many  countries around the world. Started in London in 2024, it has become a regular sight in parks, trails, and promenades on a Saturday morning. There are no prizes for speed. It's for all abilities. You can even walk if you want. It's just a community of likeminded folk getting out of bed for some exercise.

I don't participate every week, as life has a habit of getting in the way. I run when I can, but it has become such an enjoyable pastime that I've even participated in parkruns whilst travelling. If I'm away to watch a football game, I'll see if there's a local parkrun before the game. Away with the family, and maybe there's an event I can go to.

On one of my visits home I attended Shanganagh parkrun in the foothills of the Wicklow mountains. The beautiful scenery was sufficient to distract me from the bitterly cold wind. So was the warm welcome and flat course. There was even a banana on offer to runners from some local political activists at the finish after my vote. There was a general election in Ireland a week after you see.

Parkrun in Ireland has really taken off. In fact it is the most popular place to parkrun according to the state broadcaster with:

• 9% of the population registered to take part.
• 143 parkrun events in total including 42 for younger runners.
• 500,000+ finishes in 2024.

That's quite something. 

WDSA February 2025: Craig Cope and the ghosts of AFC Wimbledon

The transfer window an unsettling time for a football fan from a club in the lower leagues. As fans we all have our opinion about which players should go or stay at all costs, but it isn’t always that easy. If you’re a bigger or richer club looking to push on in the second half of the season, getting your recruitment right is of paramount importance. Get it right, and you avoid relegation or gain promotion. The fans are happy, and you did your job. Get it right wrong, and the fans are on your back and the board are asking questions. Who’d want to be a Director of Football?

The ghost of seasons past

In recent years, the transfer window has had a negative effect on our season. A bright start in August has disappeared in January when our best player is sold. Think of Ollie Palmer going to Wrexham, Ayoub Assal going to Al-Wakrah, and Ali Al-Hamadi going to Ipswich. It may have made our bottom line look healthier, but them leaving had a detrimental effect on the pitch. Those three leaving saw our goals per game ratio dramatically reduce. That’s OK as we’ve always been a selling club. Ever since I’ve been a Wimbledon fan, the importance of having young, talented, and hungry players in the squad could not be underestimated. We need to have players that excite football agents enough to want to give us bags of money. It is how clubs like ours manage to survive right?

The ghost of seasons present

Well maybe there’s a different strategy. Could we not continue to develop our talent, but decide that we should keep them? Why should we do all the hard work only for some other club reap the benefit of it? In other words, let’s stop acting like a small club. We are Wimbledon, not some feeder team for a Championship or Premier League club.

That’s the shift in attitude I’m seeing from our Director of Football, Craig Cope. That doesn’t mean we don’t sell our players. It means we only do so when it is right for us. It’s a fine line, but we’ve seen a backbone since he’s arrived with the likes of Jack Curry and others. Craig is generally regarded as one of our biggest signings in the AFC Wimbledon era. Many fans probably would walk past him without knowing who he was, yet his influence and impact is massive for us on the pitch.

A Director of Football’s job is not all about keeping players. It’s about getting them through the door too. Craig responsibilities now include the youth setup, but what if those players aren’t ready for first team football. Craig’s connections, particularly with the likes of Chief Scout Andy Thorn, has seen us start to reap the benefits of their collective talents. In his two years with us, we’ve seen a sea shift in strategy and professionalism in the way our recruitment is handled, with the results laid bare on the pitch.

For the first time in years, we’ve a real prospect of at least a playoff place going into the transfer window. As I write this there’s a week left of this season’s window and there’s no sign of any major event that would derail that prospect. There must be clubs sniffing around the likes of Lewis, Ogundere, Bugiel, and Stevens, yet there’s not a sniff of anything likely to see them disappear. Our backbone seems to be radiating an aroma of “We’ll start talking when we’re a Division One team.” Not only does that please us fans, but it also means potentially more transfer money in the future.

The recruitment of players like Joe Lewis and Ronan Curtis were master strokes last season. This season he’s matched that with the likes of Sam Hutchinson, Romaine Sawyers, and Marcus Browne. From what I saw of them, each had something new to offer. Sawyers and Hutchinson were never both likely to stay, and I wasn’t surprised to see Sawyers leave and Hutchinson stay. Sawyers had the more flair and options, and Hutchinson made more business sense. I’ve only seen Browne play 15 minutes so far, but his signing signals an intention and direction for the remainder of the season.

The ghost of seasons yet to come

Perhaps the biggest problem we have with Craig is keeping him. There must be clubs in the Championship or above keeping a close eye on him. If an approach was made, what then? He’s been with us two years, and made a massive difference. It’s clear that he wants the club to progress. A promotion on his list of achievements wouldn’t do him any harm. However, a word of caution. What if we don’t get promoted this season and our top players leave? There’s a fine line between success and failure in football. Ah sod that! I’m an optimist. Provided there isn’t a curve ball out there heading towards me, I really can’t see why we can’t reach the playoffs as a minimum, and we’ve got Craig Cope to thank for that.

Ireland's 2025 Eurovision entry

Ireland has a long and successful Eurovision history going all the way back to Dana's 1970 song "All kinds of everything". Eurovision was very different back then of course. This positive, sweet song about (presumably heterosexual) love fitted the Eurovision bill perfectly and stormed to success, even being covered by Sinéad O'Connor.

How Eurovison has changed though. One contestant for Ireland's Eurovision entry on the Late Late Show described Eurovision as the "Gay Olympics". Indeed at least three of the six contestants were from the LGBT+ community. Plus Ireland's 2024 winner Bambi Thug is as far away from Dana's clean cut image as it is possible to be. She's non-binary, is covered in tattoos, and has a history of drug taking. She's divided opinion, yet remains a very popular act to this day.

Norwegian singer EMMY

Talking of dividing opinions, the choice of EMMY to represent Ireland did that to a degree. Her song Laika Party was definitely catchy. It's a good dance anthem with a strong up tempo rhythm and good vocal. The lyrics reimagine the life of a dog sent up to space by the Russians in 1957 who to this day is alive and partying as it revolves around our galaxy. A positive spin to a sad story about a dog. It should be met well by the Eurovision community. 

The song and group has a fun edge to them as well. I'm not sure what spelling their name in capitals is trying to say, but EMMY's choice of song title has a definite young and funky edge. For "Laika", read "Like a". Geddit? But what really set them aside from the other contestants was the song's performance. Flanked by two dancers flanked is silver shell suits, you could be forgiven for missing the singer's brother standing at the back playing a keyboard. His deadpan look and robotic choreography was a nod to Germany's Kraftwerk, and went down a storm.

As for any controversy, there wasn't much on the night. EMMY were one of two stand out songs and were always likely to be a strong contender. The expert panels may have thought Samantha Mamba's "My Way" was a stronger entry, and the public vote won out. As for Emmy themselves, they're entry makes we wonder about the entry criteria for acts. As Norwegians, should they really be allowed to sing for Ireland? Well rules are rules, and they're not the first non-native to represent a country. Besides Dana was from Derry which technically at least isn't Ireland.

Has EMMY a chance of winning? That's hard to say without hearing the other entries. Being Norwegian may count against them, but the song is a banger and it's on-stage performance was right up there with the great Eurovision performances of the past. Perhaps it doesn't have the shock value of Finland's Lordi, but I'd be disappointed if it didn't do well. Whilst I'm not a massive Eurovision fan, I be routing for EMMY in May.

Girl Guides and Mixology

Thanks to today's BBC's Pointless quiz show I discovered that Girl Guides can earn a Mixology badge. For those that don't know what mixology is, it is the mixing of ingredients to make a drink. This raised an eyebrow or two. Mixology is normally associated with alcoholic drinks. What is the Girl Guides movement thinking? Surely they aren't getting young girls to mix ingredients from their parent's cocktail cabinet.

Rest assured this is not the case. One look at their website and your mind is put at rest. Mixology does not have to involve alcohol. A tasty drink can be non-alcoholic. Indeed the Girl Guides website suggests experimenting with different juices, fruits, herbs, and spices. A simple recipe cold just involve adding cinnamon to a vanilla milkshake. It's all above board then.

Shame. I could just imagine a guide's mother asking her daughter to make a "slow comfortable screw up against the wall" on a Friday evening. On well. Maybe a more subtle "kiss from a rose" will have to suffice.

How to ensure good content

Last week the Society of Technical Communications (STC) declared bankruptcy and went out of business. It's demise won't have sent shockwaves through the world's stock markets. The news won't even have figured on intelligence reports for CEOs around the world, but perhaps it should have.

The STC is (sorry was) an organisation dedicated to the advancement of technical communication. It's vision, "To be the international authority in content design and delivery, advancing the professional development of our members and articulating the value of technical communication within industry and academia.", was laudable.

That's all well meaning, but unlike other professions you don't need to be an STC member to work in the content field. Accountants, lawyers, and doctors must be members of their professional organisations to work in their field. What's more they must regularly prove they've continued their professional development. So why does this not apply to the field of technical communication? 

The STC was founded as a reaction by content professionals in in effort to maintain standards in a fast growing profession. It did this to a degree, but as a relatively niche profession it didn't have the muscle or exposure to change the world. Roll on a few decades and the content world has changed beyond all recognition.

The problems faced by the STC, and other organisations like the Institute of Technical and Scientific Communicators (ISTC), are many. First and foremost, the technical communication field changes constantly. It's gone from just producing technical documents, to producing UI copy, electrical wiring diagrams, flat pack furniture instructions, localisation, and much more. Neither is technical communications the domain of IT. Content is produced everywhere with marketing, finance, and everyone in between involved, seeing a rise in content strategist roles. After all, why have the same content produced two separate departments. Content reuse reduces cost and increases productivity.

Perhaps the biggest problem the STC faced is that as a largely volunteer run organisation, it never had the manpower or clout to become mainstream. In an agile industry that by necessity made up the rules as it went along, it was never going to become a category defining organisation without significant resources.

When it comes to working in the technical communication field, I've never been asked by a prospective employer if I was a member. Even if I've volunteered my membership of the ISTC, it rarely raises more than an inquisitive eyebrow. To my knowledge it has never been the defining factor is me getting a job. The reality is that organisations like the STC just haven't got the eyes and ears of those they are trying to educate about the need for good content.

Perhaps that's why STC membership has dropped off a cliff in recent years. Why should young workers struggling to pay off their student debt and get on the housing ladder, have to pay a couple of hundred pounds a year for something they don't need.

In the days of social media and online content, perhaps the STC had a brand problem. Was it seen as something too academic? Should it have renamed itself to something more appealing to a younger and diverse communications audience? Not all content is technical. As a social media specialist at a marketing agency, I wouldn't join the STC even if I knew it existed. 

That's the real issue here. In a world where the amount of available online content has increased exponentially, and in areas not envisioned by the original STC membership, it was always doomed to sit on the fringes of an ever expanding content world. It simply was never going to have the resources or contacts to fulfil its aims. That's a shame. We can all point to examples where poor content has cost companies millions, led to people being injured or killed, or just left frustrated users. 

Good content is important. The STC made a valiant attempt to implement a world where good content was the norm. It just came up short. Perhaps we should ask, is content in a better place now that it was when the STC came into being? That's near impossible to quantify, but it did its best whilst it existed.

What's in a name?

What does your last name say about you? In western cultures it describes where you've come from, who your family is, and who you identify with. For a man or unmarried lady, this is simple. It shows your lineage, perhaps going back centuries. It shows the world where your family got up to. The same is not necessarily true for married ladies. 

Tradition dictates that when a woman marries, she takes her husband's name. In effect she surrenders her identity in favour of her husband's. My problem with that is that who she is, or what she's become? What about her family's history and identity? Does that not matter?

More recently some women have taken to changing their surname to a double barreled variety when they get married. Using both their and their husbands surnames, this acknowledges the union of two people whilst maintaining a own identity. That's alright, even if it normally only affects the lady. The husband's name normally remains unchanged, leaving the legal necessities of a name change down to one half of the partnership.

What if there was another way that was less discriminatory? A young couple I met recently both changed their surnames when they married to a combination of their family names. One's surname was "Fan" and the other's was "Shaw". When they married they both changed their surnames to "Fanshaw". The romantic is me thinks this is a lovely way of two people agreeing to unite their pasts. It may be a genealogist's nightmare, but it signals a new beginning together.

When I married I didn't expect my wife to take my name. Why? I've always felt uneasy about the concept of engagement and wedding rings. Society expects the lady to wear a ring, but what about the man? To me this points towards a notion that the female "belongs" to the man. She's taken and off limits. My wife most definitely does not belong to me. She's her own woman with her independent thoughts. So why should she have to wear a ring to show she's taken, but I don't have to? It shrieks of misogyny.  

I was secretly pleased when my wife said she'd prefer to keep her family name once married. After all I'm proud of my family's heritage, so why shouldn't she? I like the idea of combining surnames, although it works better with shorter names. I'm less certain it would work with our names. It would be a bit of a mouthful and make filling in forms more tricky. Our status quo works for us, and that is what matters. Besides it helped eradicate a lot of post marriage administration!

What nationality am I?

I've been thinking a lot about my nationality, and how I identify myself to others. I'm in a strange situation where I was born in Ireland to Irish parents, have an Irish passport, but have lived in England for the vast majority of my life. I speak with an English accent, although I can slide into a slight Celtic brogue when visiting the homeland. I'm educated in the English system, yet have taught myself about my country's recent history and formation.

The importance of identity

We all like to belong to something. It makes us feel protected. What we belong to depends on your view. I spoke to someone once who was half English and half Indian. He was born in Malaysia, went to school in Manila, Hong Kong, and Singapore, worked in Australia and London, and was married to his French Algerian wife. When I asked him what he identified with, he looked at me a bit confused. After a few moments thought he said, "Well, I live in south London and support Chelsea FC."

That's a pretty extreme case, but it perfectly highlights why some people don't identify with one thing. We all like to place people into neat categories, but sometimes that just isn't possible.

Why it important to be...?

In short, it isn't, but that's a shame. In England most people would struggle to say when St.George's Day was, but would have no trouble telling you about St.Andrew's, St.David's, or St.Patrick's Day was. They may identify as English, but could equally identify as a Yorkshireman or Londoner.

What's more, if you asked them what it means to be English, they'd think for a bit and say something like roast beef and yorkshire pudding lunches. Food references could even include such non-English delicacies as pizza, curry, and hamburgers.

How you identify as English depends on your background and experiences. As a former super power whose empire in the late 19th century held sway over 23% of the world's population, it's only natural that many British cities have a large ethic minorities. In London you can find one of the most eclectic and diverse food scenes in the world.

So who am I?

It is easy to say I'm more English than Irish. Speak to me for the first time, and you'd not think of me as anything else but a typical English man. I enjoy a life mixed with both English and Irish traditions, and feel all the better for it. 

Life is all about experiences, and if that includes learning from other cultures the world will be a better place for it. Ask me where I come from though, and you'll only get one answer. I remember where I've come from, my country's history, and what it had to do to identify as Irish. We forget that at our peril.

The role of traditional music in Irish life

Traditional Irish music is known and loved around the world. Tourists flock to Ireland to experience the magic of music sung and played in bars around the country. Traditional Irish music is a major export too, with musicians playing at music festivals around the globe. The Irish diaspora obviously plays a big part in that, but the popularity of traditional Irish music goes way beyond that. You'd expect it to be popular in the USA and Australia, but Germany and India?

Irish culture

Traditional music in Ireland is about our identity, experiences, and culture. It is who we are. It's been around since the dawn of man, with small groups of musicians signing to their family and friends at home. It underwent a resurgence in the late 19th century, with the rise in popularity of the Irish language and independence movement from Britain.

Today it's easy to find an Irish bar in just about any town or city around the world, many of which play Irish music of some type or other. Traditional music is intrinsically married to a pint and a group of friends enjoying the craic. Places like Dingle in Co. Clare are meccas for traditional music fans, and there are music festivals frequented by Irish musicians around the world.

Is our culture under threat?

Pubs and bars around the country play a big part in the life of a musician. It's easy to stumble across a bar in the evening just about anywhere in Ireland with music playing. If you're lucky it will be a small group in the corner just singing and playing songs in the same way they have been for hundreds of years. Locals and tourists alike sit and salivate in its foot tapping loveliness.

If the music is tied to pubs and bars, what happens if the number of bars available to play in are diminishing. Like other countries around the world, the hospitality sector has taken a massive hit since the Covid pandemic. Many are closing because they just can't make the numbers add up. Others are adapting the experience they offer by appealing to the lowest common denominator. You can't blame them for doing what is necessary for their business, but if it continues the opportunities to display who we are diminishes too. With that will we become less Irish?

Tradfest

This is why events like Tradfest is important. Now in its 20th year, Tradfest brings together the best Irish musicians from around the globe together for a week of magic. What is wonderful about it is that you're unlikely to hear names like Enya and Christie Moore. Great musicians they most certainly are, but Tradfest is about the less commercial folk. Yes the artists sell records and make a professional living from their craft, but they genuinely do it because they love it. It just so happens they're good enough to make money from it. Enya and Christie can do their own thing, and thank the almighty they do, but just like a small pub corner in Tuosist, Co. Kerry there's room for everyone.

An unnecessary shopping surprise

I'm not someone who particularly enjoys shopping, but it is a necessity. When I go, I generally know what I need. So when I enter a shop I go to the department housing the item I want, buy the item and leave. I very rarely just aimlessly browse.

When it comes to food shopping, I'm no different. I'm a creature of habit, going to the same supermarket where I know where things are. I don't go down aisles where I know I don't need anything.

Today I had to go down one of the supermarket isles I rarely go down. The winter weather we've experienced lately had seen my stock of car deicer diminish. So imagine my surprise when I saw this panel at the end of the aisle trying to get me to buy fragranced deicer.

Why the heck would you need to smell gingerbread or winter berries as you spray deicer on your car windscreen? What's wrong with a good whiff of ethylene glycol?

Is branch banking dying?

Yesterday I visited my bank. Whilst waiting my turn to be seen I was behind a lady drawing out a large amount of cash. The transaction took about ten minutes, because the cashier had to ask her a lot of questions. Why did she need it? Could she not send an electronic payment? Was someone asking her to make the payment? Gone are the days when the only question she'd have been asked would be, "How would you like it?"  

It get the questions. Fraud and scams are everywhere these days, and the banks have a duty of care. They need to ensure they're not responsible for a customer losing their money. Helping to educate customers of the risks of a transaction is no bad thing. It just gives the impression that cash is no longer seen as a major force in banking.

It seems strange for me to say that, but cash is something that is becoming increasingly irrelevant to most people. I rarely carry it around. Pretty much everything I pay for is done via a card tap. In fact the number of venues around that only accept electronic payment is increasing. I rarely need to go to a bank these days, maybe only once or twice a year. Even getting foreign money isn't needed as most countries are the same.

Is this a good thing? On the personal security and convenience fronts, maybe. You could argue that having a bank card stolen is worse than dropping £20 from your pocket as you take your car keys out. Online banking definitely makes paying bills easier and quicker for both parties. For a start you can do so at any time of day. I'm sure the tax authorities like it too, as there's a trail they can follow.

On the personal front, I understand some find the lack of human contact difficult. Local bank branches can be like a local pub. I'm reminded of a lyric from the Cheers TV show theme song:

"You wanna be where you can see our troubles are all the same.
You wanna be where everybody knows your name."

The lack of a friendly face is something people miss, particularly those who don't have a lot of social contact. It's a chance for some interaction, to talk about the weather or the latest football match, whilst doing business.

Will bank branches be here when my nieces and nephews are my age? I'll stick my neck out and say probably not. At least not in their current form. Just like when I first went to a bank, the role of banking has changed and continues to change. At the end of the day bank branches have to pay for themselves. They're expensive to run. The number of UK bank branches has been declining for some years, and will continue to do so. The way we live our lives financially has changed, and the banks must react to this.

WDSA December 2024 - Dons Trust Restricted Actions

Who’d want to be on the Dons Trust Board? Thankfully there are plenty of candidates in the forthcoming elections, but whoever gets your vote will inherit a to do list most of us would baulk at. Throw in a dysfunctional club governance structure, and the challenges faced are huge. Recently the focus has been on the Board’s attempt to get a mandate to implement restricted actions and reduce its equity holding. Hardly trivial matters, yet they’ve come in for a fair degree of flack in the run up to the votes.

A major criticism was not providing a vision of what the future looks like, and what it would mean for the club before the vote opened. There was a slick strategy document, but it left as many answers and questions. Talking to individual board members it becomes clear, to me at least, that the debt is the issue. We’ve indebted ourselves up to the eyeballs to call Plough Lane our home. Now we’ve got to repay it, and it becomes much harder to do so as a non-league team. Maintaining our league position must be a priority, but doing so with the debt on our backs makes that more difficult.

The club’s financial position is interesting. The recent 2024 PLC accounts show a loss of £0.7m, although that was caused by the auditors asking for a massive depreciation cost on the stadium facilities. We raised £3.3m from player sales, and there are other profitable areas. If only we could get rid of the £8.5m debt. Imagine what we could do with that money.

The first SGM in late September failed to adequately communicate the seriousness of the club’s predicament. Part of this was due to a previous motion that called on the Board not to make a recommendation on how members should vote on motions. That’s a bizarre policy. If you can’t have those in closer to the issue advising you, why the hell are they there. You may not agree with their stance, but you’ve the opportunity to hold them to account.

There was also confusion about the two motions and how they are connected. The restricted actions vote was to put protection in place to protect the club’s assets, namely the ground, name, and FA status. This seems like a no-brainer, until you realise that if we ever had to reduce our equity to less than 50%, they’d be meaningless. They’re really only a short term solution. It is widely expected, including by members of the Dons Trust Board, that the day will come where we can no longer fund the fan ownership model.

As for the equity reduction, if the motion passed it would give the Board a mandate to look for a benefactor willing to give us a sizeable amount without with little say on how the club is run. However, to my knowledge there was no benefactor lined up. Plus if we do end up having to go below 50% equity in the future, it doesn’t make us less of a viable option.

I didn’t vote on either issue, something I regret doing. If I had, I’d have voted in favour of the restricted actions and abstained on the equity reduction. I’m not against a reduction in equity, so why did I not vote in favour? Put simply, I was unclear what the club’s strategy was. It is only in recent conversations with board members that I’ve started to understand the challenges faced.

I feel for the Dons Trust Board. We must acknowledge they’re volunteers spending their spare time wrestling with big issues that affect the club’s future. Could they have communicated things better? Yes. I’m surprised so many Dons Trust members voted on the motions. Much has been made of the vote’s democratic success. 58.56% of members voted on the restricted actions motion and 58.45% on the equity reduction motion. Reasonable numbers, although hardly a ringing endorsement on such a pivotal vote. If a clear position had been communicated, I suspect more members would have voted in favour of both motions.

So what now? I fully expect the restricted action vote to pass at the next SGM. I’ll certainly be voting in favour. As for reduced equity, we’ve kicked the can down the road, only to go through this all again at some point in the future. The only saving grace is that when that happens, the membership will be better informed. It’s a shame we weren’t this time.

A glimpse into retirement

This morning I woke up a little depressed. I return to work tomorrow after the Christmas and New Year break. I don’t really want to go back, and the inertia is compounded by wife not returning until next Monday. I’ve only got two days to get through until the weekend, but I should have taken them off too. It should be quiet at work as some won’t be back, but I still can’t avoid a feeling of desolation. It will soon change as things pick up and I get busy, but I can’t deny that I feel like throwing in the professional towel.

I’ve enjoyed being off for the last 10 days even if, or maybe because, we’ve been busy. We moved house last year into a home that needed a lot of renovation, so there’s no shortage of decisions to make. We met friends and family and had time to ourselves to chill. It’s been a glimpse into what retirement will be like, and I like it.

Retirement has been on my radar for a few years. I haven’t taken the plunge, mainly because I didn’t feel ready for it. I still mostly enjoyed my job and hadn’t found a suitable replacement for it. I don’t want to just sit on a sofa and vegetate. I want the option to vegetate of course, but it would be the exception rather than the rule. That is what my vision of retirement is. It’s about flexibility to do what I want when I want to do it. It’s about the focus being on what’s good for us, not my employer.

The last 18 months at work have been more difficult. Not because I can’t do the job, because there’s a lot more office politics at play. There’s been redundancies and more than a few reorganisations. This uncertainty plays into my feelings of disloyalty. No matter how many times I’m reminded of the firm’s values and principles, I can’t help feeling like being told to such eggs.
The last ten days off work have seen me do pretty much what I wanted to do. I’ve read, written the odd blog post, tidied the garden, tidy up my office, do some housework, and a myriad of other things. Most of those tasks, like in my professional life, needed doing, but they didn’t feel like a chore. It felt great having the freedom to do what I wanted. If that is what retirement is like, I can’t wait for the day when I can wave goodbye to the corporate world.