Tag: sport

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Lessons

A few last lessons from West of Greenwich

Wednesday

There used to be a football team called Blackburn Olympic, who have won an FA Cup

Thursday

Today I learnt that the place where some of my dad’s weirder Singapore photos were taken still exists under the name Haw Par Villa rather than Tiger Balm Gardens.

Friday

I learnt how to make chilli jam without pectin.

Saturday

Cats can let out a claw at a time, although I probably would have thought this I witnessed it.

Sunday

GIMP can be used to create GIF animations after downloading an addin.

Monday

I found an even more general proof of the inability of hexagons to create a ball like polyhedron without the help of 12 pentagons.

Tuesday

Trombone is french for paper clip.

Wednesday

Syphilis was known as the f4ench disease in Germany and Poland, the Italian disease in French. basically named after the nation whose travelloers spread it to a country.

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Good Luck Somerset!

Hopefully Somerset can win the twenty2o cup tomorrow. Alfonso Thomas’ namesake (Alfonso the kitten) will be cheering on somerset by running up to the tv and patting it with his paw.

Alfonso the kitten
Alfonso

and here is Alfonso Thomas…

Categories
Lessons

First Week of 6 Weeks of Lazy Summer Lessons (12th – 18th)

So I am having that 6 weeks off that those lucky teachers get. Have found I learn less when I am having a lazy time, but still something new every day…

Monday

The sound of the star wars doors opening was actually some paper being slid from an envelope.

Tuesday

it costs £10.40 for an off peak day return from Taunton to Bristol.

Wednesday

S4C sometimes show Glamorgan twenty20 cricket matches.

Thursday

Michael Jackson’s favourite song was “smile” by Charlie Chaplin

Friday

There is no butter in peanut butter. There are peanuts though.

Saturday

Pandas have a digestive tract more suitable for meat eating, and will actually eat meat if offered.

Sunday

Eric Cartman’s middle name is Theodore. Something I had not noticed until today, probably ignored it.

July is still a good time to ask why? (and where? how? and what?)

Thursday

Harald Bohr was the first mathematician to win an Olympic medal (and possibly the only one so far).

Friday

I learnt that Ada Lovelace was a drinker, a gambler and a flirt.

Saturday

I learnt that hair straighteners can be used to get rid of creases in silk.

Sunday

The capacity of the county ground at the moment is 6500

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Lessons

June Lessons for the Longest Day and Beyond (21st – 27th)

Monday

Mexico City has the worlds largest University UNAM, (measured by the number of students enrolled).

Tuesday

The Japanese for death by overwork is Karōshi. It is s0mething I am always conscious of avoiding.

Wednesday

Slovenia is the richest Slavic nation, and I learnt exactly where it is which is a bit embarrassing as I really ought to have known

Thursday

The USA came third in the first World Cup (there was no third place play off then but they were recognised by FIFA as having a better record than the other beaten semi-finalists Yugoslavia).

Friday

Apparantly no team has lost a World Cup match after being 2-0 up at half time.

Saturday

Richard Coles of the Communards is now a Church of England priest. Also Ridley Scott directed the famous Hovis advert shot on a cobbled street in Dorset (not Yorkshire).

Sunday

The biggest defeat England have ever suffered in World Cup Finals is 4-1 against Germany in 2010 (June 27th)

More June Facts (7th – 13th)

Monday

Zhuji City in China is responsible for 30% of the worlds sock production

Tuesday

In South Korea it is commonly believed that sleeping with an electric fan on is a risky business and the news often reports on “fan death” incidents. According to the rest of the world this is merely an urban myth.

Wednesday

Electric Eels are techincally not eels, they have more in common with catfish.

Thursday

Elephantitus technically would be inflammation of the elephant. The actual disease that gives you legs of some magnitude is elephantiasis.

Friday

Mexico let in the first goal of this years World Cup, but also let in the first goal ever in a World Cup. Morocco incidently were the first African side to get a point in a World Cup. Until today No team had defended 104 or lower in a Twenty20 game anywhere in the world. Today Somerset did!

Saturday

Today I learnt that at the time of the Rorke’s Drift it was impressive if you could fire three shots in a minute.

Sunday

The Ghana national football team are known as the Black Stars, presumably a reference to the national flag.

Do We Learn Anything in June? Of Course We Do (1st-6th June)

Tuesday

Today I clarified what the batsman scores in cricket if the fielder catches the ball and touches the boundary (or crosses). As I thoought logically it is a six.

Wednesday

I found out that not only is Keifer Sutherland not at all american (canadian more like) he was born in London.

Thursday

World cup squads must have 3 keepers who are not allowed to play anywhere else but in goal. North Korea have only named 2 keepers and have a striker who is only allowed to play goalkeeper instead of a third keeper. The chuckle brothers have won both opportunity knocks (in 1967) and new faces (in 1974).

Friday

Yesterday was  Fronleichnam, a holiday in some parts of Germany, mainly catholic parts. It is the feast of corpus christi or the “Solemity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ”

Saturday

Cricket is becoming more popular in France, and in France you can be out jdg (jambe devant guichet). Incidently French cricket is probably not played in France.

Sunday

In the final episode of the final series of 24 the clock counts from 3 to 0 indicating the end of some sort of era probably.

More lessons to learn around the Maypole (10/5 – 16/5)

Monday

The axolotl never grows up and will not undergo metamosphosis in its natural state. However a cheeky iodine injection can make its balls drop and bring it into an adult form.

Tuesday

The Oxford English Dictionary since 1911 has incorrectly dephined a siphon as something that moves liquid using atmospheric pressure. (Gravity has been doing all the work and getting none of the credit).

Wednesday

Today was the first day that I could picture Nick Clegg in my mind, without needing to see a picture of him. More useful is probably the knowledge that Van Helsing’s first name was Abraham.

Thursday

The RSPB was set up to protect the great crested grebe. Also parakeets have set up home and living in the UK wild and free from BNP politicians.

Friday

Nick Clegg once burnt a professor’s cacti when an exchange student in Germany at the age of 16 and had to do community service.

Saturday

In cricket if the ball hits a helmet on the way to a boundary you score 5 runs only, you do not score 9 (5+4). I knew about the 5 runs but was not sure about whether like wides and no balls you would get a further 4. Also Boobby McFerrin’s voice is the only sound you here on a certain track of his, no instruments. So “Don’t worry, be happy”.

Sunday

Until today England had never won an ICC world cup of any type. Now they have won one. I found out the name of the Schengen agreement, which is suprisingly the Schengen agreement. I also found out what Montgomery Glands are.

Lessons for Election Week

Monday

I was told two jokes one with the punchline Wong and one with the punchline Dragon Lips. Neither are particularly PC but the last one is particularly not PC. Also discovered an efficient method of raffle ticket folding. Also in the ICC twenty20 five overs is enugh for a game.

Tuesday

Spam was named as it contains pork and ham (and is jokingly referred to as “something that poses as pork and ham”). Yet another “cat poo” coffee fact, it is pronounced coo-pee loovuck (not Loowak).

Wednesday

This is becoming coffee obsessed, but today i found out how freeze dried coffee is made. Bet its not as nice as Kopi Luwak. I did leanr too that Tottenham will be part of this years top 4 who have champions league fun to look forward to. (Avoiding election news).

Thursday (General Election Day)

I was going to avoid any political lessons for this week (I had already read manifestos etc so got all that out of my system). However today i learnt that you are not allowed to wear a rosette to the polling station when casting your vote. You can get totally drunk and wasted before you vote though.

Friday

Today I learnt that there is a consitutional procedure when a general election ends up in a hung parliament.

Saturday

I found out that a nurdle is a plastic pellet as well as something a batsman can do in cricket. Also Joseph is Michael Jackson’s middle name, although I should have noticed this earlier.

Sunday

Louise Redknapp’s maiden name is Nurding.

More April Lessons 19th – 25th

Monday – I learnt that there is a new organisation the YPLA (lets hear it for the YPLA! Young Persons Learning Agency) that replaces the LSC. Possibly the dullest lesson of the year so far, A toxophilite being an archery lover is a far more interesting fact.

Tuesday – It takes about 9 months to get to Mars and rockets need to leave the earth at a minimum speed of 17000mph

Wednesday – Franck Ribery has been accused of inappropiate activity with an inappropiately aged call girl – so it looks like he is Chelsea bound. Also if the voting in the general election makes the lib dems have the most votes, the conservatives 2nd and labour 3rd it will probably result in the reverse when it comes to seats (I think I suspected this anyway). Also nice guys outperform nasty guys in tasks (apart from women attracting possibly as they are often less exciting!)

Thursday – I learnt zebras arent good subjects for limericks due to the various pronouncitaions

Friday – Shakespeare may not have been born on St George’s day

Saturday – Robbie Savage was a trainee at Manchester United before moving to Crewe  Alexandra

Sunday – Reneee Walker will not be in any future series of 24. I am surprised that my addiction to finding out what happens before it does in a lot of tv series didn’t make me learn about her death earlier (i.e. I will read a spoiler if I come across one)