Legend would be no overstatement

It's a sad, but celebratory week for football. Sad, because possibly the greatest English player of the last two decades has retired. But celebratory in that we've been been graced with Paul Scholes' consistent brilliance for the best part of twenty years.
As a football crazy kid, I remember when I first came across Paul Scholes. His picture was in a Manchester United magazine with the caption: "Nicky Butt, Youth Team."

Before long he was impossible to confuse. He was in the first team and couldn't stop scoring. Soon after he was being picked for England and unlike many great English players, fulfilled his potential on the international stage for the time he decided to stay there. When asked if Scholes' place was in danger in the lead up to Euro 2004, Sven just laughed and said: "Haha I don't think so. Paul has nothing to worry about." (that is not verbatum).

But Scholes was also a credit to himself, the spirit of Manchester United and to English football; never one to be splashed across the Sun's gossip pages, steering clear of high profile contract negotiations and only rarely giving interviews. A football player with traditional values who never grew so big as to crave media attention. Unlike virtually every other football player of his generation, I've watched him play for hours, but heard him speak for barely minutes.

Rather that wax lyrical for too long (many football pundits have done this far better than I could), I thought I would just share my favourtie Scholes moments (there were four more but I can't find the clips...)

England vs. Tunisia
I remember watching this in the library at school, because the match was during the school day. Scholes was a certainty from the start, whilst Beckham was started on the bench because of questions over his temprament.



England vs. Scotland 1999
On a couple of occasions, Scholes single handedly pulled England over the line. His hatrick against Poland also comes to mind, but his brace in the European Championship has to be one of his strongest England matches

Manchester United vs. Arsenal FA Cup semi-final 2004
I watched Scholes live a few times, but in this semi-final at Villa Park he was absolutely everywhere . I've never seen a player with such an engine. He was box to box and not suprising when he popped up in the penalty box to score the only goal of the game.

Manchester United vs. Barcelona 2008
Later in his career Scholes played deeper and scored far more rarely. However the ones he did score were both spectacular and vital. This winner in the semi-final against Barcelona sticks in the mind along with his winner last season in the Manchester derby in the depths of injury time. For the latter, I was in a pub in Manchester - the roof came off.

Manchester United vs. Manchester City 2010

Give me back the ticket man

Going to the cinema has changed. I don't want to become one of those 'it was better in my day' sort of people as I grow older, but I feel I can no longer suffer in silence in my less than frequent trips to the flicks.

At the heart of my complaint is the welcome you get as you enter.

Everytime I go, the ticket office isn't even open these days Instead, people are left to fend against the 'self service' machine by themselves. Not only is this an annoyance as ques build behind people who struggle to make out which side the screen is on the picture when choosing seats, it also means that you don't meet a cinema employee until 20 metres into the building. What sort of commercial operation runs itself like that?

I mean is it too much to ask for, to walk into a cinema, speak to a real person (including hormonal 16-year-olds), buy my tickets and discuss the best seating strategy. One ticket, with today's prices, would pay that hormonal teenager two hours wages.

Also, when did film viewing become a class based sport? Why have cinemas felt the need to bring in the VIP option for the more wealthy? Right in the middle of the auditoriam yesterday was a section reserved for VIP seating. It essentially equates to a leather seat and slightly more leg room as far as I could make out.

This isn't a flight. Leg room isn't going to be a problem. And if you need to recline during the movie to sleep, you've clearly not made the best film choice. Ed Miliband take note - I no longer want to be the victim of segregation when watching the latest blockbuster.

Acton Vue - please interpret this as an open letter of complaint.

chesil beach 360

I tried to live blog some pictures of the view from a walk round the chesil cove the other day but was defeated by my reception.

As someone in the holiday party said: "if it was a choice between Miami beach and chesil beach, I would pick chesil every time." lovely.

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inspiration in maidenhead

I've just been in a random pub in maidenhead watching my uncle's cover band churn out classics. by the likes of ac/dc. and i saw this poignent message above the door. it's probably the best sign I've ever seen and will be integral to my week.

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A vision of a better future

I’ve found it. The perfect vision of what the world should aspire to be. And it’s come in the form of a TV advert for Match.com.

I don’t say within the arena of love, or as a desperate singleton. No, not me. I’m just pretty sure that we wouldn’t need to bother with any wars or general injustice if people all over the world walked into shops and sprang into an improvised song in which they found no end of common ground.

Unfortunately, as someone who has found himself on a few blind/internet dates over the years I can assure you that the world is not like this. Trust me when I say, none of these have ever started, let alone finished, as happy as composing a piece of music.

It therefore looks like we’re back to international treaties and UN summits as our best mechanism of ensuring world peace. Still, match.com have allowed me to dream.

Putting an end to the "fuck it" mantra

There is a lifestyle that I sometimes fall in to, which this year, I want to avoid. It’s the legacy of student living – an environment I thrived in – rearing its ugly head. I call it the “fuck it” mantra.

The “fuck it” mantra is easy to identify, as with each (non) action I say the words, “fuck it”.

- Alarm goes off at 7am. “Fuck it.” Press snooze.

- Get to the bathroom, no shaving foam. “Fuck it.” Designer stubble.

- Go to the wardrobe, no ironed shirt. “Fuck it.” Wear a jumper.

- Get to the station, season ticket has run out. “Fuck it.” Buy pay as you go.

- Get home, nothing in the fridge. “Fuck it.” Buy a pizza.

- Check post and see letter with big red writing. “Fuck it.” Leave it on the side unopened.

- Take gym kit to work, finish at 6pm. “Fuck it.” Too late.

- Rubbish collection day, bin full. “Fuck it.” Do it next week.

- Text from close friend seeing if I want to meet up. “Fuck it.” Reply later.

- Washing has been in the washing machine for three days. “Fuck it.” Give it a spin.

- Shower head is broken. “Fuck it.” Fix it later.

- Running late. “Fuck it.” Be late.

Goodbye sorry student habits.

P.S – any future employers please read on to aspirations for 2011 – a far better reflection of who I want to be.

Review of 2011

Well, another sorry year on the resolutions front. If I was being very flexible, which I am, then I could say that I have achieved about two out of ten. Atleast I didn’t open the year with a stinking hangover and a hazy memory this year. No my mind was clear as was the sense of failure.

Anyway, as is now custom at this time of the year, here are my resolutions for 2011 and a review of 2010 – a year that will be remembered as consistent rather than spectacular.

Resolutions

1) Return to football and get amazingly fit
2) Get promoted in my job
3) Pass my driving test
4) Learn to cook
5) Perfect the acoustic guitar
6) Break 80
7) Write a book
8) Bring my blog back to life
9) Be there for my family
10) Be on time


1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?
- I started driving (lessons)
- I was made redundant
- I had my first (semi) serious football injury

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I set new year’s resolutions every year and every year I fail to achieve them. I suspect I will do the same again this year. However I am going to employ a new strategy. Instead of a blanket attack on them all, I am going to break them up quarterly so I have more of a focus. Q1 is resolution 1, 3, 4.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
- No

4. Did anyone close to you die?
- No.

5. What countries did you visit?
- France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Pakistan. I’m never going back to Amsterdam. Bad things happen there. I’m never going back.

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
- Better control over my health and fitness
- More contentment with my performance at work

7. What date from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
- Can’t remember the date, but the day Kraft took over Cadbury was the most significant date as it cut short my career at Cadbury and paved the way for a great move to Blue Rubicon. At first it seemed like the end of the world, but as actually turned out to be a great opportunity.
- Another memorable day, was the day I returned to Pakistan – it was great to revisit a part of my life that I absolutely loved and for it to feel so familiar

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
- Securing my job at Blue Rubicon in combination with three other job offers

9. What was your biggest failure?
- Failure to really make my mark in my new job immediately. Personal - failure to take control of aspects of my life such as money and health and fitness.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
- Seriously damaged my knee playing football. It has disrupted the last 4 months both in terms of sport and at work; a real pain in the arse

11. What was the best thing you bought?
- Probably my laptop. It’s not that I’m in love with my laptop because it’s a bit shit (emad’s fault, I wanted a Mac) but I do use it everyday.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
- Kurt and Nimra for following their convictions and getting married
- Colleagues at Cadbury who fought tooth and nail for a company they truly believed in.

13.Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
- The Lib Dems. It didn’t depress me as such, but I do think that they have put themselves in a hopeless position by going so gung-ho into the coalition at the price of a lot of their manifesto commitments. . I guess it’s easy to forget what you stand for under the lure of power.

14.Where did most of your money go?
- Socialising, clothes, rent. I also invested in driving lessons, however I still haven’t passed my test.

15.What did you get really, really, really excited about?
- Revisiting Pakistan. It was the highlight of the year with many great memories including an epic voyage looking for a camel.

16.What song will always remind you of 2010?
- Frank Turner – Live Fast, Die Young

17.Compared to this time last year,

I. are you happier or sadder?
Happier

II. thinner or fatter?
Fatter – no exercise because of my knee has taken its toll.

III. richer or poorer?
Richer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
- Cooked. I wish I had cooked more and eaten out less.
- Writing. I’ve really led my standards slip and want to write much more this year.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
- Checking Facebook and my email for the third year running.

20. Did you fall in love in 2010?
- No.

21. How many one-night stands?
- Never any comment on this.

22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
- No

23. What was the best book you read?
Burnt Shadows - Kamila Shamsie. I’ve literally just finished it this second and it was one of the best books I’ve ever read.

24. What was your greatest musical discovery?
- The Courteeners

25. What did you want and get?
- My job

26. What did you want and not get?
- A pool table. We were monitoring the price on ebay for days, but when it came to putting in our bid we didn’t do it in time. That pool table could have changed our life.

27. What was your favorite film of this year?
- I liked Shutter Island at the time. Wall Street was quite good too. I also went to the premier of ‘The Other Guys’ which was brilliant in hindsight.

28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
- I turned 27, which I can’t believe every time I say it. Amazingly my friends held a surprise party for me at Chicago Rib Shack. I was expecting a dinner with 2-3 friends as most people said they were busy, at which I was secretly very pissed off. However when I walked in, all the main players were there. It was a great night.

29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
- The lottery
- The one
- More holidays
- Achieving my resolutions

30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
- Sales centric – every 9 out of 10 items I buy is in a sale which is probably evident.
- You could also describe it as ‘Invests a lot for very little return.’

31. What kept you sane?
- My good mate and housemate Emad Nadim. We are comrades in the struggle.

32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
- I don’t really fancy public figures so always struggle with this question. That one that won Strictly seemed like a nice lady.

33. What political issue stirred you the most?
- Lots of political issues stirred me this year with the election. The most outrageous though is the rise in tuition fees and I have been impressed by the student response (apart from the violence). I wish I could have been a student and got involved myself.

34. Who did you miss?
- The Pakistani family
- Family

35. Who was the best new person you met?
- I’ve met a lot of great people at my new company – it’s great to work in a place that you.
- I also met some great new people in Pakistan (briefly) – Meg Lyons, Fatima, Shazia, Thystere, Nimra

36. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010:
- You’ve got to get the basics right to be brilliant.