More bloody Argy Bargy
Let’s get the positive stuff out of the way first.
We had a profitable 28+ point profit on Saturday, with several winners and the Irish Oaks forecast. The Open was far from a disaster, and I managed to green up for a 90% ROI. Of our 8 selections, SAM BURNS 50/1: 3rd; TOMMY FLEETWOOD 14/1 was T4th of 2; and RUSSELL HENLEY 45/1 and LUDVIG ÅBERG 30/1 were T9th of 5. We were at least in the same ballpark!
Our racing ratings (published every day) are finally proving useful, with the top-ranked rating of all races winning better than 1 in 5 and being placed 1 in 4. The Elite Trainer signal is achieving a 26.8% strike rate and an ROI of -5.4%; the Daily Selection has shown a 40% ROI for the last week. Don't forget these aren’t tips in themselves, merely guidance to aid your own decisions.
Newbury was heaving for Gypsy Kings, but we swerved the crowd and watched instead from a balcony in one of the racecourse’s hundreds of surrounding apartments, owned by chums. Much more civilised and great fun with charming people.
And then the next day, I made the mistake of watching England play Argentina in this rather strange RFU tournament that is going on. It was played at the Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero, a provincial city in northern Argentina. Getting there from Blighty requires a flight to BA, then a cab or bus to Aeroparque, the domestic interior hub, and a two-hour internal flight from a different airport in BA. In Fan terms, that is an 18-24-hour journey, which explains why the stadium had the atmosphere of a Puritan wake in Salt Lake City during a power cut and an outbreak of Ebola. If there were any Brits there, they must have been very dedicated or living there under assumed names in one of the world’s worst witness protection programmes.
England beat them and, unlike their footy counterparts, showed real attacking progress, but it was nearly all thrown away by dreadful discipline. Five tries, greater ambition and strong performances from Ben Earl, Tommy Freeman and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso suggested the side is developing well. Yet stupidity and lack of thought saw us with four yellow cards, at one stage reducing England by 20%, turning a comfortable lead into a desperate escape. The problem is surely systemic rather than accidental: unnecessary breakdown offences, poor decisions and emotional lapses repeatedly hand opponents numerical advantages. England has the talent to challenge the best, but unless they control their aggression and stop conceding cards, stronger sides will punish them severely.
As with all Argy performances, there has to be some theatrical postscript, and in this case, it was the Argentine coach Felipe Contepomi who accused England of showing a lack of respect in their celebrations and abruptly ended his post-match media appearance, adding another layer of ill feeling to what had already become a fractious contest.
That ill will and lack of sportsmanship continued into Sunday, and frankly, the entire performance on, off, and surrounding the match was grotesque, wrong, and appalling. Argentina’s performance in the World Cup final was ugly, cynical and needlessly aggressive. Too often, they appeared more interested in fouling, provoking and intimidating Spain than in playing football. Challenges were late, tempers were uncontrolled, and every stoppage threatened confrontation. As defeat became likely, discipline collapsed altogether: Enzo Fernández was sent off, further clashes followed, and the final whistle brought a mass brawl rather than dignity in defeat. Argentina defended stubbornly, but their behaviour crossed the line from competitive aggression into sustained intimidation. If there was any credit due, it was perhaps to Messi, who remained partially uninvolved in anything nasty, but as Captain, it is his character, discipline, and leadership that should have shaped the team’s conduct - and he had patently left it in the dressing room about four games previously.
However, what really stuck in my craw was both UK TV channels’ pundits and match commentators dismissing every foul as something to be tolerated and simply “part of the game”. Show me the rules, you overpaid, bloated “influencers”, where it says Football as played by the Argentines is acceptable? Teaching children that it is OK to square up to the ref, that it is OK to rake an opponent's Achilles heel with your studs, that it is acceptable to trap an opponent's leg between your own and then deliberately try to wrench their knee apart is permissible.
The Argentine football team’s behaviour on and off the ball was disgusting, but the lack of consistent criticism by the BBC and ITV clearly demonstrates everything wrong with this country. I’m almost certain I heard Gabby Logan say, “But how do you stop it?”
It won’t happen as a result of anything FIFA does - political banners; overturned red cards; punch-up on the pitch - that rattling sound is the can being kicked down the road.
Pathetic.
Off to Odysseus so that I too can sound as badly educated as the vast majority of those issuing their verdicts on Nolan’s blockbuster. If you go and see it, don't fall into the trap of feminist tosh - “why aren’t there more women in the Odyssey” (duuuh! apart from the eight main characters, who shape the entire narrative?) Don’t fall into the colour-blind casting debate - the Aethiopes were trading, in the army, acting as mercenaries, and beside - why the hell not.
As Samuel Taylor Coleridge perhaps was suggesting as the titles roll and the lights dim, that all Christopher Nolan is trying to achieve is: “...to transfer from our inward nature a human interest and a semblance of truth sufficient to procure for these shadows of imagination, that willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith.”
I’ll let you know if I find my poetic faith.
Last week I promised you Crevettes dijonnaises au pastis.
This is a great dish for experimentation. If you can’t eat prawns, use Monkfish tail. There is, however, one tricky point before we go any further: the fish stock. I cheat like billy-o, but it is worth making your own, so work that one out for yourself. There are great ones online, and they are priced between who cares and zillions per litre. You pays your money and takes your chance. I use Waitrose ready-made - but I wonder if they have stopped making it. As you can also have this as a soup or broth, think about the volumes you need.
Online you can buy 700 g of fish stock powder, HERE, and 16 g will make a litre. Wright Bros sells 500gm for 6:50 plus HERE and The Cornish Fishmonger will see you a kilo of bones for £7.50. Otherwise, look it up.
CREVETTES DIJONNAISES AU PASTIS
INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp (25g) butter
2 tsp sesame oil (or neutral cooking oil)
2 sticks celery, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 lb (500g) raw prawns, peeled and deveined
3 tbsp fish stock
3 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp Pastis
1 ½ tbsp cornflour mixed with 1 tbsp cold water (slurry)
5 fl oz (142ml) double cream (heavy cream)
Freshly ground black pepper
1–2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat the butter and oil in a large pan. (I sometimes leave the sesame oil out - à votre goût)
Add the celery and garlic and stir fry for 1 minute.
Add the fish stock, mustard and pastis.
Blend the cornflour with a little water and stir in.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and add the prawns for two minutes; don’t overcook this is literally warming them through
Add the cream and black pepper.
TASTE - SEASON
Sprinkle over the chopped coriander.
Serve immediately with long grain and wild rice and a mixed salad - or French bread or Ciabatta
Variations:
Add more stock, reduce, and add more to make it more like a soup.
Swap Sherry for Pastis
Use different types and sizes of prawns, add full-shell uncooked prawns with the celery
Substitute Fennel for celery or use both, and use the fronds with the coriander as a garnish. Leave the celery with some crunch