World Archery 2014

Dear Reader

This weekend has been a very busy one indeed. I took part in my very first indoor world archery event at Telford International centre. It is the biggest event I have taken part in to date. Over 860 archers of all ages and many nationalities came together to enjoy the 3rd leg of this international event. The top archers competing side by side with many UK club ones. 

For me, this was a chance to compete on a world stage, not many times you get to do that. The event was held over three days starting Friday at 2pm.  There were 4 qualification groups, over 200 archers each time. I was shooting in the first group along side well known archers Brady Ellison and Jake Kaminski from the US and top archers in the UK, Larry Godfrey, Alan Wills, Naomi Folkard, Dannielle Brown, Becky Martin and Pip Taylor to name just a very small amount. It really had a true international field, yet for me it was not scary as I thought it could have been. Maybe that is my age or the fact I had nothing to prove to anyone. Either way it attracted good competitors. Something else to mention was the number of juniors pushing themselves in such a competition. It really is not easy to put yourself under such pressure without good support which from what I saw all juniors had. It will take time to understand the mental skills required to just shoot and ignore everything else. Many GB juniors took part and did well. For me they all did well.

I knew it was a tough competition but that was not the point for me. It was the expereince, just being at the event was different then normal shoots. Yet in many ways it was just like any other. That for me is the core of archery. Archers don't seem to compete against anyone except themselves and the target. They will help each other, offer support and even find the odd spare part if needed. 

I met up with a few familar people as you do. Everyone was in the same boat, a 3-spot target 18 meters distance. Sounds easy? For the top archer who practice every day over 1000 arrows a week its still tough. Top score 592 out of 600. I finished in the top 30 in my group but knew with 3 more I hoped to finish mid table which I did. 

At one point I did hit three 10's something many strive for. That was very uplifting.  

After the shoot I spent some time looking around the stands and stalls. Now that was dangerous, so many new bits. I kept my nerve just about. I also did one more thing which will make one person very happy and me very rich - maybe.  

I did get the chance to shoot again on Sunday morning. A early start 5.30am, drive to Telford ready to shoot at 7.30am on one of the smallest targets I have seen. Again another good shoot, a personal best as well. 

Archer folk are a friendly lot and once more I enjoyed another good time. If I ever get the chance to do this again I would. Take the opportuties when you can. 

One last thing, the event well organised, the staff friendly and many were archers themselves. It was well attended, well run and a credit to UK archery. 

Tagline: 'Brilliant'

2014 and all that

Hello Dear Reader

It's been a while since I last posted anything, well just before Christmas 2013 to be correct. Since then what has happened. We have lost a Doctor and gained another pleased don't ask Who, we have seen Christmas gales and rain just surviving for some. We also saw, some of us did, Sherlock up and running about, again.

Doctor Who drew a number of differing responses from it's Christmas episode, maybe coming to quickly on the heels of one the best I have seen to-date. Many people will always want to see something their way and to be honest I am no different. I would like to see a return to the original way of story telling, 6 to 8 episodes 45 minutes each giving the characters, writers and viewers a chance to indulge in the story. I very much doubt my one view will make much difference but at least I can say it.

That is in complete contrast to Sherlock, which has been very well written, acted and staged to a degree that you almost forget its 90 minutes long. The last three episodes held over 8 million viewers each time enthralled by the stories. The thought of reducing this to 45 minutes and waiting might seem cruel, in fact it possibly would be cruel. Even finding the odd plot error (in my humble view) still did not distract from the overall entertainment, which for me is what this was about. The plot errors? Well Magnussen having a real letter, maybe that was a con, mentioning that he had items brought in and Mary having a memory stick. All this when it is reviled that Magnussen kept nothing. Having read the books, you can clearly see everything that Doyle placed in the stories transferred to the small screen. Will there be more? One can hope so.

So 2014 has started. My writing is continuing, I am close to finishing my first novel (draft maybe) and I plan to sort out my poems. Archery is another of my passions which just before Christmas produced my very first Robin Hood. For those who don't know thats when you hit one of your own arrows and end up costing you a trip to the shop. I do plan to improve my overall fitness and possibly go back to the gym. That's what you call a throw-away statement.

Tagline 'Did you miss me?'

Day of the Doctor - A review

Dear Reader

Day of the Doctor - A review

On November 23rd 1963 a television program began. 50 years later that same programme celebrated its anniversary. Doctor Who a British institution that started with an old man in a police box. Running away from authority, looking for peace and quiet when he is discovered and adventures begin.

The episode on November 23rd 2013, The Day of the Doctor, brought together a number of threads of past story lines. As with other anniversary shows, other incarnations of the Doctor appeared. The story itself was very cleverly woven with another. The Earth is in trouble, again, aliens are threatening and the Doctor gets called in by UNIT. It is baffling at first and very straight forward. The story moves from one incarnation of the Doctor to another through a painting, introducing us to a lot more of his hidden past. Moving back and forth in time and places creating its own paradox and presenting the Doctor with a chance to change his own time.

The aliens are just right, not under played and not over the top. The focus is on the Doctor and his actions. There is so much here that gives more than a nod to the past 50 years. Rumours went slightly wild around the various Whovian sites, groups, clubs you name it they wanted it.  It was mentioned that this person was back and this person wasn’t and so on. As the story opened, it was clear who was back. Surprises were in store but you had to wait.

The actors clearly worked well together here, you can tell as they interact. There are some delightful moments both comic and dramatic as the story progresses. The three main actors Matt Smith, David Tenant and John Hurt clearly enjoyed their roles. It has to be a difficult role to undertake, becoming a British icon keeping a little of the actor before and then creating the role as your own.

Along the way, there were good supporting roles ensuring the episode had a very good cast. They did not take anything away from the main four characters, you have to include Billie Piper as well as the Doctors in the four, the story just flowed timelessly around everyone. There is no point explaining the story here as I don’t wish to give spoilers. Enough trailers and of course the episode has been shown a few times. There will be many fans who will argue various points about Doctor Who but in truth there are only two points to consider. So here is my taken on how to settle all arguments.

In my view, to deal with many important points and arguments raised by this show, you have to realise two important things. Firstly, the person who created the whole show made the ground rules, Sydney Newman. He said who the Doctor was, a man travelling in time and space in an old box. Secondly a word that takes care of it all the rest. That word is, fiction. Fiction makes Doctor Who travel in time and space. Fiction makes the Tardis. Fiction will allow the BBC to have as many incarnations of the Doctor as it wishes. Fiction. That word cuts across all, since Doctor Who is science fiction. Each further producer, writer, director and actor takes their steer from what Newman started and the word fiction. So, for me, no matter what anyone else says there are answers and solutions.  If in doubt refer to rule one.

As for the Curator? Again simple. My view here is that each incarnation of the Doctor has a timeline, when they regenerate they start another incarnation and another timeline. The old incarnation continues in a sense, allowed to grow old properly and age maybe pass away, unlike the ‘living’ incarnation until they regenerate. Hence a well-known incarnation becoming a Curator. There were even a few roundels in the background. Was that the Tardis living out its life? Who knows.That in itself gives nothing much away of the story.

So, what did the Day of the Doctor mean to me. A brilliant story, a link to all I enjoyed. To see it with friends was very good it made it more of an experience. It was a 5 out of 5 or 10 out of 10 or whatever. Was there the possibility of adding more? Maybe they could have but would that have worked? Maybe not. I am sure some will not like it because of X. As it was the episode beat everything else except one other BBC show. 10 million viewers in the UK alone watched it. Over 70 countries showed it at the same time. According to figures, over 100 million world wide. Not many television shows can warrant that audience, not many need to reach some many in one go. That is the appeal of a 50 year old show. One Saturday, November 23rd 2013 at 7.50pm the world watched.

Tagline; ‘Doctor Who?’