I love words of wisdom, sometimes they come from the most unusual of sources. I like Marilyn Monroe. She lived at a time when stars were stars and not the vacuous, pretentious and talentless examples we have today.

She was a clever self publicist, with faults, but with an engaging intelligence betrayed by her hair colour and physique. So I was impressed on discovering the Marilyn quote below which in my humble opinion, is not a bad philosophy to live by.

“This life is what you make it. No matter what, you’re going to mess up sometimes, it’s a universal truth. But the good part is you get to decide how you’re going to mess it up. Girls will be your friends – they’ll act like it anyway. But just remember, some come, some go. The ones that stay with you through everything – they’re your true best friends.

You’ll never find that half who makes you whole and that goes for everything. Just because you fail once, doesn’t mean you’re gonna fail at everything. Keep trying, hold on, and always, always, always believe in yourself, because if you don’t, then who will, sweetie? So keep your head high, keep your chin up, and most importantly, keep smiling, because life’s a beautiful thing and there’s so much to smile about.”

― Marilyn Monroe

Strength isn’t just about how hard you can hit, or how much you can lift. It’s not only about being right when you know others are wrong, or about pushing back when being pulled, or standing your ground when its your given right to do so.

Strength is a measure of an individual’s ability to strive on, over and beyond adversity, with virtue, honour and humility intact. It’s knowing that when you are on the verge of an emotional breakdown or surrender, that there is a reason why you put yourself under such duress and stress.

That’s the measure of true strength.
That’s the measure of true love.
That’s the measure of one’s own humanity.

And, for those that seek to undermine and destroy everything that YOU hold dear, through their own warped machinations and cowardice, be assured that without intent, their foolishness, their lies, their dark, twisted, malcontent provides YOU with the resolve YOU need to remain who YOU are and protect those YOU love.

Acquirit qui tuetur
(He who preserves something, will have something)

Lance Armstrong admitted using performance-enhancing drugs in a TV interview to be shown on Thursday, sources have told US media. Full BBC article can be read here

This is a short extract from the Winter 2012 edition of ‘RELAY’ the Child Protection in Sport Unit Newsletter.

“Over the past 18 months we have been chairing a working group to examine the issue of parental behaviour in sport. We know that sport could not take place in the UK on the scale that it does without the support and effort of many parents, who often volunteer to keep sports clubs running.

However, despite the positives, evidence suggests that parents’ attendance also has it’s downsides. A survey conducted by Children 1st in Scotland has revealed that 43 per cent of children surveyed had directly experienced negative behaviour from spectators, many of whom are parents, with swearing and name calling being the most common form. All of the children who had experienced it said the behaviour made them feel threatened. 20 per cent said it made them want to stop taking part altogether.

The survey, Spectator behaviour in sport, consulted 154 children and 340 parents. It explored the impact of spectator behaviour on children and young people. For many children and young people, their parents encourage and facilitate their involvement and add to their positive experience. But, as this survey highlights, sometimes parents can behave in ways that negatively impact on their own child and other children’s experiences of sport. We know this can take many forms, ranging from inappropriate comments through to bullying and abuse, such as:

• pushy parents who put inappropriate amounts of pressure on their child in sport
• parents who contradict and are overly challenging towards the coach
• parents who stand on the sideline and shout negative and abusive comments at their own and/or other children.

Young officials are at particular risk of abuse in sport. They often stop being perceived as children as soon as they step onto the field of play and take up their officiating role.”

How very, very sad.

Well it doesn’t matter how many ‘books’ ‘agreements’, ‘initiatives’, and ‘goodwill gestures’ are introduced by governing bodies, many parents are just incapable of behaving reasonably when it come to children’s sport – I remember abusive parents yelling trash from the sidelines 40 odd years ago when I was playing.

Since then, we’ve had hundreds of initiatives to try and stamp out this outrageous behaviour and I guess we’ll have hundreds more ‘cos try as I might, I can never forsee a time when the problem will ever be resolved.

However that doesn’t mean I’m not going to support any attempts to stamp it out; words of wisdom, sportmanship, encouragement and consolation, laced with a smile or two are the necessary requirement for watching children’s sport. And if, perchance, the person standing next to you isn’t quite on your wavelength in terms of reasonable and sane behaviour, who am I to judge when a flailing elbow catches them accidentally in the mouth – oops clumsy you!

So that’s it for the year.

And what a year!

Some great achievements, fun and games and a change of venue in Luton. Boy has that not gone down too well!

Comes to something when you have to chase a ‘venue’ in order to pay your bill and the lack of managerial leadership beggars belief!

Fortunately we have a club secretary who, likened to a dog with a bone doesn’t give up easily and who, unlike sensei, isn’t prone to tantrums so, for 2012 at least , the issue is resolved.

We had our awards evening, bigger and better than last years – don’t want to think about 2013. We’ve also had a little frustration with our change of venues in Harpenden – but patience, I’m told, is a virtue, problem is I’ve never considered myself that virtuous.

On the plus side – BIG plus side. We launched our first Boxercise club to great success and there’ll be others in 2013 plus another Boxercise instructor!

So here’s to:

Our existing students and parents – we love you all
Those who fell by the wayside – we love some of you
To those who laid out the mats in preparation for our training sessions – we thank you
To those who laid out the mats in the wrong room – we despair
To those who wanted to remove the mats before we’d finished – we despair a little more
To the barriers that refuse to open no matter in which direction you wave your key card – we want to cry
The curious hanging around the doorway asking questions – we live in hope
The curious who took the time to email and phone us – we thank mobile technology and the t’internet
The Shocknife puchase by our club secretary – we wonder how long before my attempts to buy one are turned into a 6 week BBC drama

The time-wasters – we ask why bother
The mildly curious but timid – we ask you to man up and grow a pair

… but to those who took their first steps to train with us during this past year we are extremely grateful that you’ve decided to join us.

Our plans for next year?

Loads

Of course none of it will be possible without your help and support and of course the Mayan’s inability to accurately predict an apocalypse. So here’s to 2013 – 13 unlucky for some perhaps, but not for us …

So in the words of Charles Dickens’ immortal Tiny Tim: “God bless us, everyone!”

I do so hope this is fact but I think we’ve heard it all before. Judges long past their sell buy date not actually applying anything resembling justice, lawyers bent on using the Human Rights Act to protect their scummy clients. Real and factual … we shall see.
click here to view story

This is the video used to start proceedings at out 2nd student presentation awards and charity night:

clcik here to view

Many, varied, annoying, peurile and just down right moronic things people say ….

“I am comfortable in my own skin”

No, you are comfortable in a coat, sweater, shirt, blanket – not your own skin. If you mean that you are confident then say so … although truly confident people will seldom tell you that they are confident, they have no need – nuff said!

I know that the Sun is actually incapable of writing a news story based on fact or truth so I’m not too sure about this one. If it is true then this moron should never, ever work again and be extradited to planet stupid (known by some as USA I believe)

check out this one weird wacko judge

Well according to Oscar it does. Or is it just sour grapes. I suppose considering the number of tests the South African athlete has had to go through over the years he’s better qualified than most of us … but you just can’t help wondering