Shadow Play

It was good to have a bit of time to chill out last night with some Rugby on TV and a couple of gins, and to have a bit of a lie-in this morning. 

Today, once up I had breakfast and went into town to collect my tablets from Boots. I'd planned to look for a Blip in town but Brian drew my attention to the shadow on Minstrel's drinking bowl (He prefers a wide non-reflective water-bowl and has this and a well-rinsed and frequently refreshed washing up bowl in the kitchen!)

Once home, I had my last wash/hair-wash challenge as tomorrow is the day for the workmen to come and redo our bathroom! Fingers crossed it will happen and be an improvement on what it was like - it will definitely be an improvement on the current situation!

Today we also risked booking a hotel for Rugby League's Magic Weekend in June. I say "risk" as I am wary of planning anything as I never know when I will have to drop everything and go deal with my Dad's latest crisis and it's a big sum of money to risk losing! It would be depressing to choose not to go just in case, but I know I'll be gutted if I'm looking forward and planning to go and then have to sack it off... But you have to plan for the best sometimes, not always the worst, and Brian has found a lovely hotel and it is now booked - we just wait now for the tickets to go on sale...

They are planning on quite a few changes to the structure of Superleague from 2023. I'm not sure I really like most of them, but we will see how it goes. Scrapping Magic Weekend is one thing the clubs have decided is a good idea. I can't see why they think that - fans love it and it is a unique way to celebrate the game itself. It is well attended and has great atmosphere, giving the clubs that don't usually get anywhere near a major event like a tournament final a taste of what it is like to play on a big stage. They are also going back to scrapping promotion and relegation and having a licensing system. They tried it once before and it was scrapped because it was not a roaring success, so why they are having another go is beyond me...

The game does need some sort of overhaul as it is struggling. The way things are going in the country and the World, all sports are struggling. Even the wealthier rugby union has seen major club like Wasps go to the wall, and football - a traditional working class sport - will surely lose money in these times of stagnant wages and ever-rising prices and bills. I know much of their cash comes from sponsorship deals, but will they be as lucrative if the target demographic cannot afford to buy the sponsors'  products? 

I have work again tonight so I'll get Blip Comment done, watch a bit more World Cup RL, drink my coffee and get ready to go!