Short and Sometimes Sweet

“Imagine  smiling after a slap in the face. Then think of doing it twenty-four hours a day.” Today is a bad bad pain day. A number 10 on the pain scale to be precise. It must be bad because for me to admit to that is huge. I was brought up to be strong, to never let anything get to you, to fight it. To show emotion or admit to being unable to cope was frowned upon. Hard to work out when you’re also blessed with being an empath. Something I’ve only recently discovered about myself. As a child I was taught if you fall down, you get back up no matter what. I don’t use this philosophy with my own children. I know to my cost that it’s counter productive at best. I had three children without any pain relief, and just gritted my teeth and got through it. I got through two clashes with cancer. One whilst pregnant and another where I literally had to be cut in half to fix it. I had never known pain like it. I gritted my teeth and continued to be that “brave soldier”. I wouldn’t recom

Arsenal v Newcastle Emirates Stadium  3pm Sat 16 Dec After limping blindly through our last couple of premier league matches we now face Newcastle at home. This fixture usually sees a lot of drama and this one will be no exception.  Newcastle are having mixed results lately, and are in a kind of limbo regarding ownership. I can’t abide Mike Ashley, his kind of money throwing was the start of the end of football as we know it, and I can only feel a sense of karma served at his situation right now.  Matters off the pitch no doubt effect those on the pitch and the saga continues for the Magpies. I only hope the buyers are decent and hold on to the traditions that a club like Newcastle deserve. Anyway, onto matters on the pitch and the situation with Arsenal.  We are again playing the all possession and no penetration football that seems de rigueur for us at this time of the year.  Our possession of the ball and shots at goal are second to none, but