Three cheers for Neil Warnock. Not only did his Sheffield United side play their hearts out for 210 minutes against Arsenal in their FA Cup tie (only to lose on penalties) but he had the heart to say after the match "All credit to Arsenal, they rolled their sleeves up and knew they were in a fight. I shouted to Ashley Cole with about 10 minutes to go 'I bet you're glad you don't come here every week' and he replied 'too right'. Nights like these make me love the Cup and I hope Arsenal win it now."
Such a change after the recent complaining tones of Messrs Mourinho, Wenger, Ferguson and, even, Andy Robinson for England’s Rugby XV. I agree that some of Jonathan Kaplan’s decisions last Saturday had me reaching for the brandy bottle, but you have to draw a line under it and look ahead to the next match rather than endlessly moan and complain. I really hope that Sheffield United prosper under Mr Warnock (they now have a closet (ranting) fan in deepest West Sussex).
On the subject of human endeavour today is the day when I solved my first Sodoku puzzle (see passim). It was published in the Telegraph and entitled “moderate”. Do they mean that the puzzle is “moderate, or the solver? Either way there is a glowing-with-satisfaction Nappa writing this blog (until he checks tomorrow’s solution and finds that he got it all wrong).
Talking of human endeavour I think that I’ve found a handy way to reduce my customer base. This week I took up the cudgels of credit controller for my small business. I tried two tacks – the forceful rant on the phone to one customer, and to another the fearsome “ranting” collection letter. I think that the score is two-less-customers and no cheques received. Oh my! Things were so much easier when the fearsome Mrs T from South Woodham Ferrers harassed the customers into paying up. Somehow they reacted positively to a seventy-year-old Essex woman with a voice like chalk on a blackboard. It’s what you expect from a credit controller and you reach obligingly for your cheque book. A ranting Nappa on the phone just doesn’t have the same effect. Anyway Nil Desperandum as the Prep School motto goes, you can always resort to gin, or as my old Dad once tried, the personal visit!
Old fogey, less-than-totally-successful bookseller, husband, parent and grandparent holds forth on his own issues of the day.
About Me
- Rumbling Nappa
- Sometimes referred to as the Rumbling Nappa I occasionally return to blogging. This time it is to comment on the Languedoc marriage of my neice, Louise Ticehurst to Rich Astley.