Observations From Home.

Wales training squad:
Backs: Morgan Stoddart, Lee Byrne, Jamie Roberts, Shane Williams, Tom James, Sonny Parker, Tom Shanklin, Stephen Jones, James Hook, Andy Williams, Warren Fury.


Forwards: Duncan Jones, Gethin Jenkins, Rhys Thomas, Adam Jones, Matthew Rees, Huw Bennett, Ian Gough, Alun Wyn Jones, Ian Evans, Jonathan Thomas, Martyn Williams, Alix Popham, Ryan Jones.

Who is Warren Fury? (Fantastic name though).

Sonny Parker. Hurrah!

Two tests against South Africa. I wonder if they'll be on New Zealand telly?

New Zealand Observations (2)

1) Rugby rugby rugby Carter Carter Carter Carter Carter

2) Netball, far from being a sport solely played by schoolgirls is MASSIVE here. It's on TV and everything. I think this is a bit... odd, but haven't said anything yet in case I get yelled at.

3) Watching TV news is a bit like watching an extended Wales Today, in terms of the sheer 'localness' of it all.

4) All the trees look like something out of prehistoric times.

5) It's bloody beautiful.

6) I might have a ticket to see New Zealand play England in June, thanks to a nice girl who has a rather unhealthy obsession with Nick Evans ("He's the back up first five, you know?". "Er, you mean fly-half?")

New Zealand Observations

1) Buying a phone is tricky. I went into the shop, naively assuming that phones came with SIM cards. Not so. You have to buy a separate SIM card. I have been to five shops so far, and they are all out of SIM cards. Is there a great telecommunications crisis in this country that I am unaware of?

2) Shortland Street (crappy daytime program that used to be on at the same time as Neighbours) is MASSIVE here.

3) It is really, really hot and really, really humid. This makes me really, really uncomfortable.

4) Petrol prices hitting $2 a litre is front page news here. This made me giggle, compared to prices back home.

5) Los Angeles is a fucking shitpit that I am never setting foot in again.

VISA!

Finally got my visa for New Zealand after a long and protracted battle that made the Wars of the Roses seem like a genteel game of cricket on the village green. Unfortunately, I've off on what promises to be a rather rambunctious stag weekend thingy in Poland this weekend, so if I lose my passport, I'm buggered. I'm thinking about sewing it under my skin, like that sadistic bloke in The Invisibles who kept razor blades under his skin...

Anyway, it should be a good weekend, and no doubt gallons of beer shall be drunk by all.

Also, the new Wisden is out, and everyone should go and buy it. I haven't had the chance to do more than scan through it, but there's a fair amount on Bradman, which is always interesting to read about. 99.94. Incredible. Surely the most dominant sportsman of any sport, anywhere, anytime.

Fuck the Welsh...

...Assembly.

Because those cunts are directly responsible for this exchange I had today.

"WHY SHOULD I PAY FOR MY INHALER WHEN IT'S FREE?"

Let's think about that for a moment.

Serevent inhalers cost about £30 a pop. The packaging costs money. The raw materials cost money. The plastic the inhaler is made out of costs money. The factory it was made in has heating and lighting bills to pay. The poor sod of a doctor who had to speak to you and prescribe for you does not work out of the goodness of his heart. Neither do I.

Funny how it doesn't become an emergency when I tell you the trade price, isn't it?

Nine hours left.

Nine hours left in the retail grindhouse (5.30 finish today, 9-5.30 tomorrow). Unless me and the New Zealand visa people have another falling-out, that will be it.

I can't wait.

Off to Hay-on-Wye for the weekend, to look at books.

Also, best luck to Portsmouth (Hi, Stu!) and Cardiff in the cup this weekend.

Also, FUCK OFF MK DONS!