I wish Brendan Rodgers all the best for the future, within reason.

When Swansea City appeared in the Premier League for the first time during the 2011/12 season, I was very impressed with the possession based football played by Brendan Rodgers's side, on the occasions in which I tuned in to watch BBC's Match of the Day.

I was not personally convinced that Anfield legend Kenny Dalglish was the right man for the long run, as Liverpool finished the 2011/12 campaign in 8th place.  I did even wonder if Rodgers could be a long term good fit for Liverpool. 

That said, having got to two cup finals that year, I felt it would be sensible for stability to give Kenny another year.  I also would have preferred to see how Rodgers and Paul Lambert (another Manager new to the Premier League) would have fared in a second Premier League season.

Since winning our last league title in 1990, the Reds have finished runners-up in the league on four occasions.  The second placed finish under Rodgers in 2013/14 was the closest we have come to winning the title.  The exploits of Suarez, Sturridge, and Sterling were a delight which I am sure will live long in the memory.

Except for a mid-season unbeaten run which ran between the two defeats to Manchester United, last season did not deliver.  The absences of Suarez and Sturridge for differing reasons was crucial.  The style of play was getting hard to work out at times.

With that close attempt at the title, I felt Fenway Sports Group (FSG) were correct to stick by Rodgers at the start of the campaign.  However, had they decided close season to make the change, I would have understood the decision to sack him a bit more.

As we stand today, we are only eight games into the season, having brought in another group of new players during the close season.  We have also lost twice in the league, just as the current top three have. 

Whoever succeeds Rodgers will probably have to work with some kind of strange FSG structure, just as Dalglish had to work with Damien Comolli, and Rodgers had to work with a Transfer Committee.  I wish the new man all the best, and think he will need it.

As for Brendan Rodgers, I will stick with what I have said in various debate with fellow reds.  I am sure he will go on to do ok, wherever he goes next.  Providing he is not successful at Liverpool's expense, or managing one of our main rivals, then I do genuinely hope he does well.

I was probably 80 to 90% of the way up Helvellyn....... and then I bottled it!

I have had a fairly eventful weekend in the lakes.  The weekend included an attempt at conquering Helvellyn.

Having got well into the final straights, I found myself struggling to navigate some tricky rocks.  I lost my confidence a bit, and decided that my own personal safety would be best served by navigating down towards the Red Tarn.

That said, much of the getting down towards Red Tarn was done via more rocks, and I have to confess that much of the movement downwards was done on my backside!

All in all it has been an eventful weekend, which has also included a nice walk in the terrain between Patterdale and Howtown, as the following photographs will testify.

Discovering more of the hidden beauty of County Durham

On route to visiting family yesterday in the Land Of The Prince Bishops, I did a little bit of walking in the countryside between High Force Waterfall and Bowlees Visitor Centre, along the River Tees.

Here are some of the most majestic sights I encountered from that bit of walking.

Walking around the fells near Glenridding, in the English Lakes...

Today, I spent a few hours walking on the fells near Glenridding, in England's Lake District.  Here are some of the views I enjoyed.

Thinking back to turning 40...

How time flies.  It is already three months since I turned the big four 0!  In the week which followed this milestone, I spent a couple of days in what is for me a most special corner of England, the Lake District.

During this trip I stayed in Ambleside with my wife.  On one day I did a bit of walking in the countryside around Ambleside, towards Rydal Water, and towards Kirkstone.  Here are a few of the pictures I took on what was a very dry March day.

 

 

 

A lovely weekend in Snowdonia

I have just got back today from a top weekend, which was spent camping in the Snowdonia National Park.  Ultimately, it was a brilliant weekend because me and the wife did the camping with some of our closest friends, as one mate celebrated her 40th birthday.

One other coincidence of the weekend was that my wife and I celebrated 15 years as a couple.  We managed to celebrate that day with a trip on the Ffestiniog Railway.  From a personal point of view, it was good to relive a vague childhood memory, having been on the Ffestiniog when I was about 6 years old.

Here is a selection from some of Snowdonia's most beautiful scenery which I experienced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bye bye to my Dry February!

Well, what can I say?  Inevitably there have been moments when I have reflected on times I may normally use to have a drink.  But otherwise, I would say I have kind of enjoyed the experience.  More generally, it has been good to reflect more than anything else.

So have I lost any weight?  I don't really notice much difference.  Plus, I must confess I have probably indulged myself over the past few weeks with chocolates and sweets a little more than usual.  What my Dry February does confirm to me is that I am not a particularly heavy drinker anyway.

I wanted to do this because since my early twenties I have not before had any prolonged period without alcohol.  As I say, I don't consider myself a heavy drinker.  But on the rare occasions in which I have overindulged, the horrible aftermath has been what I consider to be a total waste of time.

With my 40th Birthday just around the corner, I wanted to test myself.  I have said in a previous post that I felt February as the shortest month, would be the most convenient month for me.  I can confirm that I am delighted to have tested myself, and I am now seriously considering Dry January 2016.

Let's wait and see!

Almost time to kick off the Watto Booze Challenge!

My Christmas stocking included 27 bottles of Real Ale and 3 bottles of Whisky.

Well, I can confirm that the 3 bottles of Whisky are still there, along with 15 Real Ale bottles!  Although I must also confirm that I did also reeceive a few Whisky miniatures over Christmas, which have now been consumed.

All the remaining alcohol will just have to wait.  As I stated in my post dated 8 December 2014, I will be pledging to be alcohol free during the month of February 2015.

SO LET ZE CHALLENGE COMMENCE!