Looking back over the past weeks and to the weeks ahead – to rate the noteworthy, the cringeworthy, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the truly amazing.
All Blacks grind out win against plucky English
The All Blacks kicked off the international season and the tenure of new coach, Scott Robertson with a hard fought win in Dunedin over the weekend. With so much on the line it was a game that had it all and although it may not be the sort of dominance from the All Blacks that we used to be used to, there’s no denying there’s a tonne of class and potential in the squad.
To their credit the English did a great job of pressuring the All Blacks’ line with quick and decisive pressure, though I am not entirely sure they were always onside but no matter. Test matches are meant to be tests and the closer they are, with the lead changing as the game progresses, the more enthralling and exciting it is.
I enjoyed Scott Robertson’s after match talk as well. It was far from the usual points by numbers that we have come to expect from All Blacks’ coaches and there was no doubting how relieved he was to chalk up a win in an extremely contested game.
5 stars – I’m very much looking forward to this Saturday’s game at Eden Park.
David Attenborough really is a living legend
In the world of celebrity, David Attenborough is unique. It is difficult to find anyone with a negative opinion of him and now, as he nears 100 years of age after many decades of amazing and informative TV shows, I find out that he’s also responsible for yellow tennis balls!
“Attenborough, who worked for the BBC in the ’60s when the broadcaster was transitioning to colour, was one of the people who inspired the switch to yellow balls, the All England Club said. The International Tennis Federation introduced yellow balls into the rules of the sport in 1972 “as research had shown these balls to be more visible to television viewers”.
“Ironically, Wimbledon didn’t make the switch until 1986. The official Wimbledon Compendium for that year noted: ‘Yellow balls were used for the first time, largely as the white balls were getting stained green on the grass, sometimes making them almost impossible to see on TV, where tennis was increasingly popular.'” (Source: “Tennis balls are yellow because of David Attenborough,” 3rd July, www.stuff.co.nz).
5 stars – really, what can’t this man do?
Parrot escapes for wild weekend at maternity ward
An adventurous parrot escaped from her owner in Glasgow, Scotland and was found a few days later after living it up on the lam.
Jobby the parrot decided to scarper from her musician owner, who gave up hope of finding him again, even after plastering the neighbourhood with posters.
“Ms Witana and her friend Flore de Hoog got to work sticking up posters and sharing appeals on social media. ‘I had really lost hope that he wouldn’t come back,’ she said.
“However, the musician and TV assistant editor was contacted by a nurse and a patient at the Queen Elizabeth Maternity Unit, saying Jobby was in the reception area. The pet was said to be ‘eating crisps and playing around’ before Ms Witana arrived.
“On arrival to the unit within the Queen Elizabeth and University Hospital campus, Ms Witana said Jobby was relaxed and preening despite the five-mile adventure. She said: ‘I’m really happy as it proves to me that he’s a tough bird.'” (Source: “Parrot that escaped home found five miles away after ‘wild weekend,'” by Jenness Mitchell, 8th July, www.news.sky.com).
