Today marks the 10 year anniversary of the death of David Rocastle, my all time favourite Arsenal player. He played on the right wing, so when we were attacking the Clock End he was always right in front of where I would stand in the Junior Gunners section. I can clearly remember being a twelve year old there for Arsenal vs. Middlesbrough in 1988. I was right on the touchline and Rocky got the ball in front of me, before beating about seven players and scoring off the post. One of my favourite ever goals. He was my idol and I would spend hours trying to copy his tricks. My favourite was the stepover dragback that he did time and again in front of me, always fooling the defender.
The real reason he was loved so much was his relationship with the fans. The success never went to his head and he always went out of his way to give back to the supporters. When I used to wait in front of the marble halls for autographs he would sign every last one, and chat while doing so. One half term at Arsenal Soccer School we had a trip to the training ground and met the players, and he talked to every single kid. He was a lovely man, and a great player.
Oh Rocky, Rocky! Rocky, Rocky, Rocky, Rocky, Rocastle!
Depending on your settings you might not see the full screen, so here's a link to the video on youtube.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Mexico
Hello everybody,
We had a lovely holiday in Mexico. It was great to get away from the New York winter and warm up a bit. New York is very cold in the winter and our apartment isn't very insulated. The cold wind comes straight off the river and right through the windows. Going away seemed to mark the end of winter and it was noticably less cold when we returned. March is a strange month here though. Last year the weather forecast oscilated between warm, snowy and floods. This year has been much the same. Last friday it was 25 degrees, but then on Wednesday it snowed!
With the new baby coming along in May we had decided it would be a perfect time for a beach holiday. Little babies and beaches don't mix particularly well, but Sam and Max love the sand, the waves and swimming pools too. We were considering a trip to Mexico, or at least somewhere warm, and then a great deal popped into my inbox and we bought it as our Christmas present to each other.
We went to Cancun for 10 days to a hotel right on the beach. It had beautiful swimming pools, gorgeous looking sea and was right at the bottom of the cancun strip, so far enough away from the really touristy part. We spent most days swimming, lazing around and playing on the beach. It was warm, but not too hot, and there was always a wind coming in off the sea to cool us down. Sam loved the whirlpools, Max loved swimming after his football in the pool, and Lyn and I just loved spending lots of time all together, relaxing. We hadn't had a relaxing beach holiday in about seven years. All of our recent holidays have been exploring interesting places and have had either a lot of time on public transport (pre-kids) or in a car (post-kids). We've seen some amazing places, but it was really nice to just chill out for once.
Having said that we did hire a car for a few days. I had wanted to visit Mayan pyramids for a long time, and the trip to Chichen Itza was amazing. It is such a beautiful, perfect pyramid. I find it incredible that people on either sides of the world decided to make pyramids in days apparently before world travel. Both the Mayan and the Egyptian pyramids are beautiful, and very clever (mathematically, astronomically and logistically) but they are also very different. The settings are different - desert (on the edge of one of the world's biggest cities) vs. cleared jungle miles from anywhere, the purposes are different, the theology is different and the designs are different. But I could sit and stare at them for ages, not alone in finding beauty in perfect geometry.
On another day we drove to Coba, which was one of the biggest Mayan cities in its day. Most of the ruins are today lost in the jungle, but the largest parts remain, spread out over several kilometres. Coba had two large pyramids, one of which at 42 metres high is taller than Chichen Itza's. Although not as well preserved as Chichen Itza you are allowed to climb to the top. It was not an easy climb, especially for Max (although Sam raced ahead), but getting to the top was amazing. From the top you could see for miles around, looking out over the jungle. While we were there we had a drink, watched the iguanas and witnessed a marriage proposal. The climb back down was even harder, especially for a pregnant Lyn in her flip-flops and dress that kept blowing up in the wind! Fortunately we had hired a tricycle to take us back the two kilometres to the car park, stopping off along the way to look at some other smaller ruins. The Mayans played a ball game that seemed to be a cross between football and basketball (except the losers were sacrificed, or the winners, depending on which historian you believe) and we saw some courts, as well as a beautiful observatory.
After leaving the site we found a really nice roadside cafe where we had some of the nicest food of the holiday and then relaxed in their hammocks. On the way back we stopped off at Tulum and saw the Mayan ruins on the cliffs above the sea. This is where I would have lived if I had been a Mayan king. Right on the coast, with my temple looking out over the waves...
Our other great day out was a visit to a crocodile farm and spider monkey sanctuary. We held young crocodiles, stroked snakes and fed wild monkeys. Spider monkeys are the monkeys with big stong tails which are almost like a fifth arm. They have always been Lyn and my favourites at London Zoo and these were free in the wild, hanging out at the sanctuary. We had a small bag of bananas and carrots to feed them, and they would follow us around for a while. At one point I was carrying Max and a monkey took his hat off his head! This gave Max his favourite story, and you will no doubt hear him say 'the monkey took my at'!
After catching a bus back to downtown Cancun we went to a party restaurant with live music, dancers and loads of skeletons. The waiters carried everything on their heads and juggled the condiments. Every so often there was a little skit and one time Sam was invited to chase a burglar around the restaurant and bash him with a stick! Sam is really into bad guys at the moment so he threw himself into the part. We all danced the tequila song and Sam got a dance from a beautiful waitress. On the way back to the bus we crossed a square where they were renting miniature cars to local kids and the boys had a drive - Sam on a dune buggy and Max in a convertable mini. Sam drove really well and even managed to reverse park. Max thought he was driving, but I had a remote control!
We spent the rest of the time at and around the hotel. At the beginning of our stay Lyn was recognised by the lady who did her make-up at our wedding. This was very impressive as they'd only met twice, over two years ago. It was a really nice surprise to meet people from London. Ronit had a daughter who was Sam's age and they played a lot together. Most nights we all went to dinner together and the kids entertained themselves. They both went to the hotel kids club as well, so Sam was very happy. His first holiday romance!
We had a lovely holiday and Mexico is definitely somewhere we'd go back to. The people were really friendly, the food was good, the setting was beautiful and the weather was great.
Here are some photos for you to enjoy.
Lots of love,
Tom, Lyn, Sam and Max x
We had a lovely holiday in Mexico. It was great to get away from the New York winter and warm up a bit. New York is very cold in the winter and our apartment isn't very insulated. The cold wind comes straight off the river and right through the windows. Going away seemed to mark the end of winter and it was noticably less cold when we returned. March is a strange month here though. Last year the weather forecast oscilated between warm, snowy and floods. This year has been much the same. Last friday it was 25 degrees, but then on Wednesday it snowed!
With the new baby coming along in May we had decided it would be a perfect time for a beach holiday. Little babies and beaches don't mix particularly well, but Sam and Max love the sand, the waves and swimming pools too. We were considering a trip to Mexico, or at least somewhere warm, and then a great deal popped into my inbox and we bought it as our Christmas present to each other.
We went to Cancun for 10 days to a hotel right on the beach. It had beautiful swimming pools, gorgeous looking sea and was right at the bottom of the cancun strip, so far enough away from the really touristy part. We spent most days swimming, lazing around and playing on the beach. It was warm, but not too hot, and there was always a wind coming in off the sea to cool us down. Sam loved the whirlpools, Max loved swimming after his football in the pool, and Lyn and I just loved spending lots of time all together, relaxing. We hadn't had a relaxing beach holiday in about seven years. All of our recent holidays have been exploring interesting places and have had either a lot of time on public transport (pre-kids) or in a car (post-kids). We've seen some amazing places, but it was really nice to just chill out for once.
Having said that we did hire a car for a few days. I had wanted to visit Mayan pyramids for a long time, and the trip to Chichen Itza was amazing. It is such a beautiful, perfect pyramid. I find it incredible that people on either sides of the world decided to make pyramids in days apparently before world travel. Both the Mayan and the Egyptian pyramids are beautiful, and very clever (mathematically, astronomically and logistically) but they are also very different. The settings are different - desert (on the edge of one of the world's biggest cities) vs. cleared jungle miles from anywhere, the purposes are different, the theology is different and the designs are different. But I could sit and stare at them for ages, not alone in finding beauty in perfect geometry.
On another day we drove to Coba, which was one of the biggest Mayan cities in its day. Most of the ruins are today lost in the jungle, but the largest parts remain, spread out over several kilometres. Coba had two large pyramids, one of which at 42 metres high is taller than Chichen Itza's. Although not as well preserved as Chichen Itza you are allowed to climb to the top. It was not an easy climb, especially for Max (although Sam raced ahead), but getting to the top was amazing. From the top you could see for miles around, looking out over the jungle. While we were there we had a drink, watched the iguanas and witnessed a marriage proposal. The climb back down was even harder, especially for a pregnant Lyn in her flip-flops and dress that kept blowing up in the wind! Fortunately we had hired a tricycle to take us back the two kilometres to the car park, stopping off along the way to look at some other smaller ruins. The Mayans played a ball game that seemed to be a cross between football and basketball (except the losers were sacrificed, or the winners, depending on which historian you believe) and we saw some courts, as well as a beautiful observatory.
After leaving the site we found a really nice roadside cafe where we had some of the nicest food of the holiday and then relaxed in their hammocks. On the way back we stopped off at Tulum and saw the Mayan ruins on the cliffs above the sea. This is where I would have lived if I had been a Mayan king. Right on the coast, with my temple looking out over the waves...
Our other great day out was a visit to a crocodile farm and spider monkey sanctuary. We held young crocodiles, stroked snakes and fed wild monkeys. Spider monkeys are the monkeys with big stong tails which are almost like a fifth arm. They have always been Lyn and my favourites at London Zoo and these were free in the wild, hanging out at the sanctuary. We had a small bag of bananas and carrots to feed them, and they would follow us around for a while. At one point I was carrying Max and a monkey took his hat off his head! This gave Max his favourite story, and you will no doubt hear him say 'the monkey took my at'!
After catching a bus back to downtown Cancun we went to a party restaurant with live music, dancers and loads of skeletons. The waiters carried everything on their heads and juggled the condiments. Every so often there was a little skit and one time Sam was invited to chase a burglar around the restaurant and bash him with a stick! Sam is really into bad guys at the moment so he threw himself into the part. We all danced the tequila song and Sam got a dance from a beautiful waitress. On the way back to the bus we crossed a square where they were renting miniature cars to local kids and the boys had a drive - Sam on a dune buggy and Max in a convertable mini. Sam drove really well and even managed to reverse park. Max thought he was driving, but I had a remote control!
We spent the rest of the time at and around the hotel. At the beginning of our stay Lyn was recognised by the lady who did her make-up at our wedding. This was very impressive as they'd only met twice, over two years ago. It was a really nice surprise to meet people from London. Ronit had a daughter who was Sam's age and they played a lot together. Most nights we all went to dinner together and the kids entertained themselves. They both went to the hotel kids club as well, so Sam was very happy. His first holiday romance!
We had a lovely holiday and Mexico is definitely somewhere we'd go back to. The people were really friendly, the food was good, the setting was beautiful and the weather was great.
Here are some photos for you to enjoy.
Lots of love,
Tom, Lyn, Sam and Max x
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