Bernard Cornwell's The Saxon Stories

I have just read the last of these stories, Death of Kings. The stories follow the life of Uhtred of Bebbanburg and how he influenced the history of England around the time of Alfred the Great. Broadly speaking I am a fan of Bernard Cornwell. The way he weaves fiction and fact is something I wish that I could also do. He is intensely readable. His tales of Richard Sharpe and the Starbuck Chronicles are very strong.

My criticism is that he just doesn't seem to know when to stop and move on. With Sharpe I always got the feeling that with the way stories were being shoehorned together we might well end up with a tale such as Sharpe's Sunday Roast where in the dramatisation Sean Bean can be seen trying to carve the side of beef with his sword and he struggles to overcome a range cooker constantly referring to it as 'You Bastard'.

I didn't much like Stonehenge, although my wife thinks it an excellent tale. Nor was I fond of the modern adventures or Crowning mercy or Gallows Thief. I have found that when Cornwell sticks to the same characters he develops a feel for them and this comes through in his writing.

However, by the time I got to the 6th volume of the Saxon Stories with potentially at least one more volume to come I was just wishing for an irate Dane  to not waste time trying to fight Uhtred with a sword but to use a bow and put him out of my misery.

The first few books of the series are well written and accessible. Cornwell at his best is a phenomenally good read. he keeps the action moving and you care for the characters. Now in terms of history Cornwell always sets his books in context, Hollywood film makers take note please. Part of my problem is that my particular area of historical interest is the Stuarts and as yet Cornwell has not yet really tackled this period.

The Dangerous Book for Boys recommends Cornwell as a good author for boys to read.  I would wholeheartedly agree. I just feel that the character of Uhtred is past his prime and should be laid to rest. I want to see a set of books set during the English Civil War of the 1640s.

Catholic but with Buddhist tendencies

In his science fiction masterpiece, Dune, Frank Herbert looked at humanity 8000 years from now. Many of the existing religious themes we know today appear in it. However, Herbert has merged many of these. There is reference to the 'Orange Catholic' bible and also the Fremen are referred to as Zensunni adherents who have mixed Buddhism and Islam. When I signed up to join Facebook some years ago and was asked for my religious opinions I described myself as being a Catholic with Buddhist tendencies, a zenroman if you will.

I was raised as a Roman Catholic and as regular readers may have picked up I have some issues with the path that the church proposes.  I have no problem with the underlying ethics of trying to live a good life and helping others etc. My problem is with some of the decisions taken by the hierarchy of the Church, some of its social attitudes etc. I am at the liberal end of the Catholic faith in terms of social doctrine but I am conflicted with the way the liturgy has developed, particularly in recent years. I love the Latin mass and the incense and the mystery of my faith. I also love what is known as the Low Mass where the prayers are spoken rather than sung.

I think the church is too obsessed with image rather than substance. In these pages previously I have said that I think that people should say the words of the Mass and mean them rather than sing them repeatedly and have no underlying belief or understanding about what they are saying. I have particularly criticised the recent adoption of the so called new liturgy.

At school my RE teacher once asked me in a lesson if I would be surprised if there was no Adam and he was just a myth. The look of horror that crossed her face when I said 'No I wouldn't be surprised,' was a picture. I try to be logical and keep an open mind about most things. I had practiced martial arts for some years and had always been interested in eastern philosophy. This doesn't mean that I intend to take the hippy trail to India. I found a particular liking for Buddhism which is a philosophy rather than a religion.

If you are Richard Dawkins you would no doubt say what is the difference? Well whilst I accept that there is only a small difference unlike the good professor I at least would acknowledge that there is one. Most of the major religions are based on the premise that you should live your life in such a way as to not harm yourself or others and that by living good lives you will receive your reward in the afterlife. I have no problem with the concept of the afterlife. The scientist and philosopher Blaise Pascal suggested that belief in God was a safer bet than not doing so. He argued that if you did and you were right the rewards would be great and that if you did and you were wrong then it didn't matter anyway.

To me this is rational. The problem with belief, as Kevin Smith in his film Dogma suggests, is that it can lead to zealotry. I don't like zealots because they are close minded and are unready to accept the humbling possibility that they might be wrong. Smith's character, Rufus, argued that it is better to have an idea because ideas are easier to change. Zealotry is the kind of thing that leads to Galileo being imprisoned and then it taking 500 years for the church to admit it was wrong and he was right.

It is in the realm of science that I find myself leaning more towards Buddhism. Buddhism is open to the idea that science and scientific advance can be good. The basic tenets of not harming oneself or of harming others are still there. All life is precious in the eyes of the Buddhist. Knowledge and reason are seen as things to be lauded not ignored. If as a society you abandon these skills you end up with Intelligent Design and Creationism. To its credit the Catholic Church accepts that evolution is entirely compatible with faith and the existence of God. Many scientists are open to the possibility that God might exist but that does not prevent them trying to seek explanations for things traditionally left in the domain of religion.

I am not sure if I could ever give up my faith and become a Buddhist I like my mystery too much and I believe in the possibility of an afterlife. I like my hybrid status and it gives me direction and comfort. I would rather be where I am than to be somebody who rules out the possibility that they are wrong. Whichever road you are on I wish you the best and I hope that you find what it is that you are seeking.

Travels with Dinno (18/11/12): Harrogate

Well on a bright frosty autumnal morning we set off for the frozen north in search of Harrogate. I went there once or twice before to the convention centre but always by train. Everything was going well until we followed the directions provided by Google maps. We left the A1 at J45 and drove into Wetherby (I think). At this point it said to go through two roundabouts which we duly did and then ended up back at the A1 at Wetherby services.  Having retraced our steps and found a sign directing us to Harrogate we quickly made up for lost time.

We were not actually playing at the club but rather at the High School down the road. The pitch was not so much a pitch as a swamp. There were no facilities on the site. Note to the general organisers of such things. If you are shipping people half a mile down the road it would make some sense to ensure that there are adequate toilets and some food and hot drinks might be nice. Particularly since these are the facilities that you get at virtually every other ground. Rant over.

The first XV were simply unable to cope with Harrogate's style of play. They kept the ball moving and there was always support. They were well drilled in everything they did. Even with the Harrogate ref apparently doing his best to penalise his own side our lads just kept doing the same things and didn't seem to be able to work out that they had to try something different. At times they kicked away too much possession. The final score of 26 - 0 (which included a penalty try) didn't flatter Harrogate. Harrogate were able to pass the ball out in the tackle all the time.

Next up were the development team. Boy was playing at centre as the regular stand off had returned from the first XV. This was, as ever, a much closer match. Dinno took the lead through a try by Josh. After a brief period of domination Harrogate went over for a try which they converted. The score was now 7-5. There was plenty of effort and commitment, even if the Boy didn't think he had contributed. In once encounter he lost possession but got up and tackled the guy who had taken it and then pursued and caught the guy he passed it to. Harrogate scored again 12-5. After some good work the ball went out to Kieran who went in at the corner to score a try. 12-10. The referee called it as 12-12 and that would have been a fair result but Harrogate won.

Everybody watching agreed that it had been a fantastic game of rugby and the only difference was a conversion. If the development team need to learn anything it is to take their chances. They could have been out of sight at half time. They tackled hard, passed well and had better decision making. They keep the ball in hand and make it do the work. They are becoming adept at getting the ball out in contact areas. If as a very biased observer I have one issue it is that I would have liked to see Boy carry on at stand off as he has performed well there.

The development team are developing very quickly. It is noticeable that even in training the gap between the teams is closing.

Next week we have a training session I think and then a home fixture against Goole. Well see you at pitchside soon.

Travels with Dinno (11/11/12) Yorkshire Cup Round 2: Morley

On a cool, crisp, bright November morning we arrived at Lodge Lane for this vital match. A win would see us continue to storm on towards the finals. A loss would leave us with a few Sunday's spare in the months to come.  The Remembrance Day part of the morning was observed impeccably by everybody. The bugler playing the last post was haunting as you could hear and feel the wind blowing across the ground through the silence.
How was the team feeling in the build up to this important fixture on the back of two relatively poor performances in recent weeks? Were there doubts that we could see off Morley? Well actually to be truthful there weren't. Morley had announced midweek that they couldn't put out a team and so by default we won.
Morley did bring a combined twelves and thirteens team down. During our spell with Huddersfield we had played them three times and the record was won 1 lost 1 drawn 1. It was planned that this would be a chance for the development team to get some match time together.
The boy was starting at fly half again. By the way, in case you haven't worked it out yet my blogs are entirely biased. I support the team I am playing for wholeheartedly and am like any other parent I want my kid to do well.  The first half was a tight run affair. The boy was involved in at least two of the tries. The air was turning blue on a regular basis as he kept taking the ball into contact areas. This was a problem that the first XV seemed to have a couple of weeks ago. The boy was getting the ball out of contact and creating space. Morley were first to score. However, the reply was quick. Brad scored a try followed by another from Olly. Morley then brought the scores level again. Then after an impressive backs move where all of the backs were involved the ball came out to Brendan on the wing who went in to score. You could hear the groans from his dad's wallet. Half time Dinno 15 - Morley 10. The feeling was that over the second half the development team could win this comfortably purely because of the way they played the game. Driving forward play supported by backs at the breakdown and then strong team work from the back division who were playing flowing creative rugby.
At half time the coaches decided to change everything and put on the first XV. Naturally the parents of the development side wanted to see them play out a whole game. That is because there are the makings of a strong team and they are starting to gel as a unit. We wanted them to win but were more interested in the performance. To quote Monty Python's Spanish Inquisition sketch there was trouble at t'mill.
After half time it became something of a rout. At times the scene reminded me of the final battle scene from The Last Samurai where a group of noble warriors are being cut to shreds by a mechanical army. The first XV weren't in a merciful mood and the sight of Morley players on the ground wasn't great. They gave a great effort but ultimately the introduction of the first XV and then the return of Ben on kicking duties told. The second half saw 5 tries (2 from Rupert, 1 each from Harry, Will and Todd) along with 3 conversions lead to a final score of 46-10. The boy was named man of the match.
Other results from the 2nd Round saw Cleckheaton, Rishworthians, Otley, Middlesbrough, York, Harrogate progress. There are still two results I haven't been able to track down. The more mathematically gifted among you will have noticed that with those two results to come there will be 9 teams in the next round. Enquiring minds are keen to know what the hell is going to happen to get down to an even number.
This weekend we are either away at Harrogate or playing Otley or Wath.
By the way the bacon rolls and hot chocolate at Dinno are excellent.

Travels with Dinno (4/11/12): Sheffield Part 2: The Revenge

Hello again rugby fans. It is that time of the week when I regale you with my travels around the country in support of Dinnington u13s. This week's fun and frolics were at Sheffield RUFC at Abbeydale Park. This was our second visit of the year and as ever the ties were much anticipated. Local bragging rights were on offer.

The weather was dull and icy cold. The boy had goosepimples on his goosepimples. Like a typical teenager he just stood there shivering. He refused the offer of hot chocolate (which was very nice by the way especially with the bacon sandwich). It didn't occur to him to keep his tracksuit bottoms on. He stood there like a typical teenager grunting when asked questions and trying to convince the world that he is tough and that the icy cold didn't bother him.

So on to the match. First up with the two first XVs. Sheffield quickly set about their business of getting revenge for the absolute thumping they got last time. They went 12 - 0 up. Shortly after a try was not awarded to Dinno but we couldn't see why but then Adam shot down the wing and got one back. The difficult conversion was missed and the score was 12-5. After that we didn't trouble the scorers and Sheffield ran out 29-5 winners. The first XV did not seem to be up for the match and there was possibly a hangover from last week's match. Their usual fluency was just not there and Sheffield made the most of it.

While all this was going on the second XV were spending their time periodically running laps around the pitch to keep them warm and limbered up.

The match started and as with the match a few weeks ago this was a tight affair. The forwards were pumped and were driving and mauling and stealing possession. The thing they did differently this time was that they moved the ball out to the backs. The boy was playing at Fly Half (his fourth position of the season) and seemed to thrive. He is not a natural there as he has no kicking game at all. What he did do was keep things moving. He worked with Sam at scrum half dictating moves and with Kieran and James in the backs. They were communicating with each other. When they got the ball they ran it. The icing on the cake was that they passed the ball early after drawing in the man and created space.

After an aggressive forwards move the ball came out to the boy who popped up a pass to Brad who ran it in  for a try in the corner 5-0 at half time.

The performance continued after half time as before. The boy got into a position near the try line and could probably have run in the try himself but he gave the ball to Kieran who scored near the posts and then Brendan put the conversion over. After that Sheffield started to feed in their first team players partly due to injuries (all three hookers were injured in the matches). They scored two tries due to speed and pace on the break.

Personally I think the draw flattered them a bit. Dinno were worthy of the win. The most pleasing aspect was the all round display. There were forwards running down the wing, making driving runs through the middle of the pitch. When it came to picking the awards after the match the award could have gone to any number of players.

It was rugby at its best. Next week Dinno face Morley in the Yorkshire Cup 2nd round.

PS any suggestions of bias in my reporting of matches is entirely justified because like everybody else involved I am biased. Happy rugby.