End of September

After a long delay the decision on where Manitoba Hydro will constructs its transmission line from the north has been decided. It will go down the west side of the province rather than the east side. The fate for where the lines would go was probably decided during the election where Gary Doer said he would not run the line down the east side.

The decision to run the line down the west side will cost $400 million and be 50% longer in terms of the line. This will also bring added costs in terms of lost power to the tune of millions.

The east side can now only be reached by air or winter roads. In the past few years, those winter roads have not been around long enough to bring in supplies.

Some of the east side First Nations didn't want the transmission lines. Other First Nations wanted the lines but they also wanted part ownership of them. Hydro refused. Understandably, while some might be celebrating Hydro's decision to go the west, others are feeling bitter.

The issue of economic development on the easy side won't go away. A few winters of bad ice roads could put the communities there in a crisis situation. The Manitoba government could be on the hook for re-supplying by air for decades to come.




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Beaconsfield SYCOB FC

Beaconsfield SYCOB 2 Langford 1 - Spartan South Midlands League, Premier Division

Spartan South Midlands League

Beaconsfield is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England lying almost 25 miles NW of London. The town sits in the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is part of the London commuter belt. The first written reference to Beaconsfield dates from 1185 where it is spelt Bekenesfeld, although this is mistakenly thought to mean the ¨field by the beacon¨ in actual fact is derived from "clearing in the beeches" (beech trees). The town's icon is an oak tree. An annual fair is traditionally held on May 10. Its charter originally allowed for a yearly market for the trading of goods and livestock, but it has now developed into a funfair, erected for one day only on the main roads of the "Old Town". In recent years some residents have opposed the fair as a hindrance to the Old Town, and have called for it to be scrapped even though the fair has been going for over 735 years.

Harry Hotspur and I made the relatively short journey from London Marylebone to Beaconsfield courtesy of Chiltern Railways. The journey time being less than half an hour on the faster services. En route it also presented an opportunity for Hotspur to see Wembley Stadium from the train.

On arrival at Beaconsfield, a 25 minute stroll enabled us to reach Holloways Park. Our journey prior to the match was interrupted by a refreshment break at the Greyhound, one of a number of pubs situated around the town’s prominent and picturesque cross-roads. I opted for a pint of Booby Trap brewed locally at the Rebellion Beer Company at Marlow Bottom. A decent refreshing choice it was too.

After the crossroads, the route takes you past Beaconsfield Rugby Club to a footbridge over the busy M40. Having negotiated this, a further few hundred yards on, you arrive at Holloways Park.

Beaconsfield SYCOB FC was founded in 1994 following a merger of Beaconsfield United FC and Slough Youth Club Old Boys FC. Beaconsfield SYCOB flirted with Southern League football recently and the standard of this fine ground reflects this. Slough Town FC, without a permanent base at present, are sharing Holloways Park in a three year deal, subject to finding a ground of their own. Clearly this arrangement will be of mutual benefit.

Along one side of the pitch is a covered seated stand, either side of which is small section of raised terracing. Behind the goal at the clubhouse end is a further section of covered terracing. The opposite end of the ground is open as is the side opposite the stand where the dugouts are located.

Visitors Langford FC took the lead after 15 minutes through the lively Mark Barnes. Langford retained the lead until midway through the 2nd period when 2 goals in a minute from Dan West and Michael Currie (just as well as he appeared likely to explode with frustration – Ed) turned the game. We enjoyed our visit to Holloways Park, it is just a shame that only 43 others did likewise!

Attendance: 45
Admission: £6.00 (Hotspur Free)
Programme: £1.00 (obtained for you Andy, Stan and Glyn, the barman in Phil Butler's local, the Prince Albert in Ely)
Tea: 50p
Fare: £4.15 from Zone 6 with Gold Card discount

Banjo Bowl, murder and policing

Today is the infamous Banjo Bowl in Winnipeg where the Winnipeg Blue Bombers play the Saskatchewan Roughriders. It will be the fifth consecutive sell-out for the team as they watch records being broken by Steagall and Roberts.

The Banjo Bowl name came from the flamboyant kicker Troy Westwood (my brother;s former roommate) who once said that it was wrong to think that everyone in Saskatchewan was a banjo picking inbred. He said that not everyone in Saskatchewan could play the banjo.

This stinging rebuke of Saskatchewan was embraced by both teams as a way of filling seats on both the Labour Day Classic and the follow-up game a week later. And thus, the Banjo Bowl was born.

Numerous Saskatchewan fans travel to Winnipeg to support their team in the game. It is a time of good cheer between blue and gold and Saskatchewan green.

The one snag: tailgating won't be allowed. The police have said they will crack down on any alcohol they see in non-unlicensed areas such as parking lots.

Can you imagine if American police tried to crack down on American fans? There would be a revolution.

I have no problem with the police trying to stop drinking and driving as well as belligerent behaviour but this crack down is an over aggressive stance that seems geared to protecting booze sales at licensed establishments.

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The Winnipeg Police Service has consistently poo-poohed the idea of a serial killer stalking prostitutes. That was the standard response by the police in Vancouver and again by the police in Edmonton until...they arrested a serial killer.

I don't know that the police in Winnipeg are simply dismissing the idea as an investigation strategy or because they really believe there is no serial killer. Certainly, one expert in geographic profiling seems to think so.

The province has allocated more resources to finding the killer or killers of prostitutes in Winnipeg. The bodies keep piling up though and the dumping ground for some seems to be concentrated in one area.

A little more openness about the problem could help but the cops keep everything close to the vest.




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Deeping Rangers FC

Deeping Rangers 2 Cogenhoe United 3 - United Counties League, Premier Division

United Counties League

The Deepings is the collective name given to the towns of Market Deeping and Deeping St James and the two outlying villages of West Deeping and Deeping Gate all bordering the banks of the River Welland as it meanders between Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire. The area known as The Deepings has a long history of habitation going back to prehistoric times. The land is low lying and in the distant past it was frequently covered by the sea as waters rose and receded with each ice age. Through this land flows the River Welland which in ancient times was a tributary of the Rhine when Britain was physically joined to the continent of Europe. It is a land upon which roamed such animals as the mammoth elephant and woolly rhinoceros. From time to time modern day gravel diggings reveal the remains of these wondrous creatures and farmers, with their deep ploughs still to this day, uncover huge logs of bog oak, birch, pine and yew. These finds of buried logs have been so numerous in the past that some farmers in the late 19th century reputedly used the ancient timbers to erect fences. It is sad to say that all the surrounding forests have long ago been cleared and the lakes drained to be replaced by a flat monotonous prairie land, dissected by straight drain channels and punctuated by the occasional tree. Only where the gravel diggings have been worked out and nature allowed to run riot have lakes returned and woods grown to give an insight of lost habitat.

This trip was combined with a visit to Peterborough. A family room at the Express by Holiday Inn was secured for £39 for the Friday night and this included a decent complimentary breakfast. With the bulk of the travelling already out of the way we were able to have a look around Peterborough and a good choice this proved to be.

We were able to enjoy a tour of the Peterborough Museum, which lasted an hour and a half. I enjoy visiting local museums and can honestly say that this place is up there with the best of them. Our tour guide, Stuart Orme, was extremely knowledgeable and was able to add valuable commentary to what would always be a decent place to visit. The collections on display are in extremely good condition. We did not encounter any of the resident ghosts on our visit.

We also took the opportunity to have a look around the centrally located cathedral before heading north on the A15 into Lincolnshire (only just, as Market Deeping is on the southern tip of the county – Ed). I would think that by public transport the easiest option would be by bus from Peterborough but on this occasion Mrs Pieman was at the wheel and what may be an awkward journey was made very simple.

The Outgang Road home of Deeping Rangers is on the northern edge of town but very easy to find, particularly if using the map and directions contained on the club website. The ground is part of the Deeping Sports & Social Club, which caters for Cricket and Tennis in addition to the ‘beautiful game’. The football ground is fully enclosed with conifers surrounding three sides of the playing area. On the other side is the impressive stand with adjacent covered standing area for refuge from inclement weather.

Deeping Rangers are the current champions of the United Counties League and are rightly proud of last seasons achievement. Visitors Cogenhoe United (pronounced cook-no), by contrast were bottom of the table going into this match, without a single point from their opening four matches.

Therefore it was no surprise when after 15 minutes; David Cobb put Deeping ahead with a fine strike. However this was countered 12 minutes later by a superb goal from Rob Foster. It was Foster again who poked home 3 minutes before the break to put the visitors ahead. There was still time for one more twist before the Pieman retreated for his cuppa, when with the last kick of the half, Michael Stevenson hit home a penalty to level for the home side.

Harry Hotspur had an enjoyable afternoon retrieving the ball behind the goal. Good exercise too! The second half continued with Deeping having chances to regain the lead but the collective workrate of the visitors was always likely to cause problems. On the evidence of this match they are a far better team than the league table suggested. The icing on the cake for them was a stunning free kick from the impressive Foster, which gave him his hat trick and Cogenhoe the 3 points.

All in all Outgang Road is a nice place to watch football. I popped into the clubhouse briefly after the match and real ale buffs will be interested to note that I spied a couple of handpumps - always a welcome sight.

Deeping: Danny Bircham, John Paul Duncliffe, Scott Woods (Andy Ellis), Michael Stevenson, Matt Porter, Michael Goode, Mark Kingston, Lee Ellison, Sam Bettinson (Nick Jones), Danny Matson (Ben Daly), David Cobb.
Cogenhoe: Darren Watts, Dan Thomason, Jack Ashton, Tom McGowan, Ian Pearce, Lee Gotch, Rob Goldring, Neil Champelovier, Malcolm Ndekwe, Rob Foster, Aaron James (James Allcock).



Attendance: 83
Admission: £4 (Hotspur £2)
Programme: £1 (obtained for you Andy, Stan and Glyn, the barman in Phil Butler's local, the Prince Albert in Ely)
Tea: 60p

What happened to summer?

School is back after the Labour Day long weekend. I can well imagine that the streets are going to be choked with parents, students and teachers. This problem is likely to be compounded by delayed road construction this year. The wet months early in the summer saw quite a few days of cancelled infrastructure repair.

City councillor Scott Fielding has been championing longer hours for the workers involved in construction but has run into resistance at City Hall. It seems Calgary can do it but Winnipeg can't for whatever reason.

It seems there is a lack of imagination at city hall.

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Winnipeg is to have the first 24 Wal-Mart in Canada. The big retailer has been experimenting with the concept over the last two years in Canada over Christmas holidays. I'm not surprised they picked Winnipeg as the first city to try it and it has always been something of a test market for new concepts.

There are only a few 24 places in the city. There are a couple of restaurants, a Shoppers Drug Mart or two but to date, no major retailer has taken the plunge. By contrast, travellers to North Dakota will find a number of 24 hour Wal-Marts.

Some will say this is a bad thing for people. I don't. Stores like Superstore and Wal-Mart already stock shelves all night. Now, they can simply open the doors and let people shop at the same time.

There are thousands of shift workers in Winnipeg. They are ones who will benefit most from this.




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