Reading Roars!

Scientists from the University of Reading’s Walker Institute say that the temperature of continents could grow 40-80% faster than oceans by 2050.

Dr Rowan Sutton, lead author of the climate science study, said:

The fact that warming over land is more rapid than over sea is clearly important for climate impacts, since people live on land. Excessively high temperatures can cause a range of problems such as disruptions to train services due to rails buckling in the heat. In very hot weather people’s health can also suffer

With climate models showing that London (and Reading) summer temperatures could reach 40+ celsius by the middle of this century, imagine the temperature extremes in cities such as Madrid and Dubai, where 40 is currently the norm!

Forget terrorism (or the perceived threat of it), climate change is real, it is happening now, and we should be concerned about its impact.

Sheffield failed to shine against the Royals at the Madejski this afternoon.

Reading’s Shane Long scored the opening goal (“stabbed in”, as the BBC put it – I like it), with Ecuadorian De La Cruz’ piercing run resulting in Reading’s second just six minutes later.

Knives were sharpened, however, in a gloomy second half. Keith Gillespie, who made me red when performing rather well one evening against Barcelona, saw red just two minutes after arriving as a substitute. He was sent off for apparently elbowing Stephen Hunt.

Still dissatisfied, Gillespie attacked Hunt again on his way to the tunnel. Son, off the pitch!

More madness was to ensue. A touchline clash broke out between both teams, players and staff, with Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock and his opposite Steve Coppell’s assistant Wally Downes sent to the stands.

When the game returned to normal, Hunt put away Reading’s third from close range in the 70th minute, before Sheffield’s Nade gave his side a consolation goal.

The Blades’ fork up has left Reading looking very comfortable indeed – 7th in the table.

Sylvester Stallone took to the Goodison Park pitch this afternoon to show his support for the local side. Holding up an Everton scarf, Sly was cheered by the 30,000 or so Toffees supporters before the game against Reading.

And it was Reading who drew first blood: an own goal from Everton’s Lescott gave the Royals the lead after 28 minutes. Their joy was shortlived, however, when Kevin Doyle suffered a hamstring injury and was taken off the field. But unlike Sly’s hard-as-nails Rambo, the injured 23 year old hitman did not make a return to the action and will unfortunately be out for two weeks.

Everton bounced back late in the second half, with Andy Johnson scoring from a header nine minutes before time.

With a point gained from this afternoon’s bout, Reading remain 9th in the Premiership table and now need just one more to stay in the top flight for another season. They entered the Premiership as rookies but have fought with admirable resilience and determination, throwing some quite considerable punches. As Rocky Balboa says in the latest Rocky instalment:

It ain’t about how hard you hit, it is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much can you take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!

Thai food has exploded in popularity in the UK. Country pubs are now offering jungle curry and even the nation’s favourite snack, crisps, now come in “Thai” flavours (Walkers’ Gently Infused Lime & Thai Spices is such an example. Gently infused indeed).

I’m a big fan of Thai food myself (though I’d say that the version offered in restaurants here is somewhat milder and more limited than the real deal). On Saturday night, I suggested Reading’s Thai Corner to friends as a place to eat. We were at Reading Station, fairly close to the restaurant, and had missed our Paddington train (we were supposed to be eating at Belgo instead).

So it was Singha (pronounced Singh, without the “a”), not Satan (beer, rather than horned beast) that launched the evening. My starter was Poh Tak Soup, a “spicy mixed seafood soup flavoured with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, fresh chilli and basil leaves”. Spicy, yes, spicier than expected, though certainly not as spicy as the molten lava I had in Bangkok. I looked forward to my main course, Nua Tra Krai, with interest. There was an extra pepper next to its name on the menu.

Nua Tra Krai was “stir-fried beef with lemongrass, fresh chill and long beans”. White sticky rice accompanied the dish. The beef was pleasant enough, but it ranked low on the spicy scale, to my disappointment. Meanwhile, my friend had repeated her order to staff. You could say the staff were Cornered.

Still hungry, I greedily ordered another starter, prawn on toast “Minced prawn mixed with garlic, pepper and coriander spread on bread triangle”. These were yum (not to be confused with Tom Yum, another Thai soup).

All in all, my meal came to £20, which would get me about a hundred breakfasts in Thailand. But this is the UK, and as far as UK Thai restaurants go, the Thai Corner wasn’t bad. My friend, whose main meal arrived later than expected, however thought otherwise.

Reading FC are far from looking rocky at the moment, but Rocky will soon be looking at Reading from afar.

Celluloid action man Sylvester Stallone has been invited by Everton investor Robert Earl to watch the Toffees take on Reading this Sunday at Goodison Park.

Sly is no stranger to the national game: he played the goalie in 1970s classic Escape to Victory. Especially excited about the visit is Bobby Convey, who said the following to the Evening Post:

It will be pretty good to have Sly there. I have seen all the Rocky films. The character is from Philadelphia where I grew up, and the films are huge in the States. People always run up the stairs at the art museum – like Rocky did when he was training. I have never done that but everyone else did because it was the thing to do. Hopefully I will meet him before the game.

As I’m sure Beckham will next season, but that’s another story.

So altogether now Reading:

Risin’ up – straight to the top,
Had the guts, got the glory…

The Purple Turtle isn’t, some say, what it used to be, but it is still the best bar in town, in my opinion. I have been a regular Turtle goer for half a decade now and have met the most interesting characters there: people of different nationalities, students, suits, goths, goons and girlfriends. It is utterly legendary. Where better, therefore, to spend New Year’s Eve?

Sure enough, on Sunday night the Turtle was hosting a fancy dress competition. Theme? Emergency services. So, there I was, surrounded by paramedics who weren’t paramedics, and women in police uniform who weren’t, well, policewomen. All good fun, of course, but I did wonder whether it was right to have revellers dressed up as emergency services personnel. Maybe I’m getting too old. Anyway, we were informed that 110 had dressed specially for the occasion.

The most bizarre moment, and no true night at the Turtle passes without one, came in the form of a man mysteriously crawling on all fours in the middle of the floor upstairs. As people looked down on him, bewildered, I thought that the guy shuffling about had lost a contact lens or an item of jewellery.

The truth was much more disturbing, and Turtle-like, than that: the poor fellow claimed that he was looking for his two front teeth.

A member of security (or maybe she wasn’t – who was to know?) turned to me and said “Eeurgh. His two front teeth! I won’t be touching those if I find them.” Another member of security (or maybe he wasn’t either) led the toothless customer away. It all reminded me of that classic “All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth”.

Happy New Year!

On a day when many of us were nursing headaches (myself included), Reading FC players looked “bright and breezy”, stunningly slotting six past West Ham at the Madejski. Like turkeys one week earlier, the Hammers were truly stuffed.

Brynjar Gunnarsson (12 minutes), Stephen Hunt (15), Leroy Lita (53) and Kevin Doyle (twice; 36, 78) all found themselves on the scoresheet, as did, amusingly, Anton Ferdinand, with an own goal in the 30th minute.

New West Ham manager Alan Curbishely gave the following explanation for the hammering:

Reading had everything that we didn’t. They were full of enthusiasm, pace, shape, aggression, and above all, hunger. They have commitment, they want to be in the Premiership, they want to drive the baby Bentleys. We don’t have anything of that right now. The players have shown me why we are down there. We are very fragile.

The win was Reading’s biggest for over 16 years, and West Ham’s heaviest for more than five. Shame that both sides will probably not meet again for at least another season.