Harding, Hudson and Hylton.....

It certainly doesn’t seem like 34 years ago that I folded back the hood on my MG, and made the short drive into Norwich to collect Martine from the station. Her first trip to England and the start of a friendship that has survived to this day.

As Chief Executive of an Avignon Business School, with University links across Europe, Martine now makes regular visits to the UK. Her husband, Jean-Jacques, on the other hand, very rarely strays from ‘the south‘. Perhaps a trip to the Alps for a weeks skiing, but certainly not England in February. So it was just a bit of a surprise when they both turned up to visit last week……a few days in Wales, sandwiched between meetings in London, Stoke and Portsmouth.

And for the second time this season, I found myself grounded. ‘No, Jean-Jacques doesn’t want to go to Aldershot on Sunday to see the Stevenage game…..so don’t ask him’, my wife quietly affirmed.

I considered that to be a decision…..

I think we were about to serve the roast beef as our third goal went in……the French love a ‘good roast’.

And I was still singing Gary Waddock’s Red and Blue Army in my head at 2am….. a 3v1 win accompanied by Pic St Loup and Tavel.

Symmetry is the set of mathematical rules that describe the shape of an object. The two most common kinds being reflection or mirror symmetry and rotation symmetry. Interestingly the letter H has both horizontal and vertical mirror symmetry. And when one considers rotational symmetry H displays two-fold symmetry…..when one rotates the object around the symmetry axis.

As the season got under way last August I guess few Aldershot Town supporters would have predicted that the Shots would be setting the pace in the Blue Square Premier on February 21st….and how many would have marked Ben Harding down as the future player of the season? Not too many I guess…..but Ben has been the axis around which all of our power and pace has been controlled.

And to complete the symmetry….Hylton a gem to be polished and Hudson a gem currently being polished by our maturing coaching staff.

Yes, H, H and H…..long may the symmetry prevail.

And a postscript to Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling…..

‘Northern Rock has now been nationalised, the government says.
The Northern Rock Transfer Order 2008 has been passed, transferring all shares in the troubled bank into government hands.

The order was made after the bill allowing it to pass into government ownership was given Royal Assent (late on Thursday night Feb 21st)’ - bbc.co.uk

Now I wonder if Gordon and Alistair purchased JJB shares ,when they were valued at 97.75, and after reading my blog on January 15th. My concern then, was that with the Rock passing into state hands, the Bank’s sponsorship of Newcastle United may be at an end, and new shirts could appear before the season was out…….

My professional indemnity insurance would not cover me for Stock Market advice…but with the price closing yesterday at 126.75, an increase of 30% in about a month, all I can say is…… that my contribution to the future of the Northern Wreck has been covered……nice one Gordon.