Monday 16 March 2009

A night to forget or ignore for FIFA...

Sepp Blatter and Mr Platini must be cursing the results from this weeks Champions League...
Once again four English teams made the next step to Rome and once again the so called "giants" of Europe have fallen by the wayside...
Inter gone,the old lady Juventus departed and Real Madrid put to the scouse sword.
But the biggest worry for the FIFA bigwigs should not be their obvious hatred for Premier League dominance...or there obsession with the 6 + 5 rule,that they feel will somehow throw a immigrant shaped spanner in the EPL spokes..(Inter only had one Italian in the squad against Man Utd by the way Mr Blatter)...
The biggest worry about the latest round of Europe's most glossy cup comp..is the violence that once again marred the game between Arsenal v AS Roma...despite the lack of real bother in the ground itself,supporters from the north London club were pelted with stones and one unlucky fan was stabbed....This was not the first incident to occur at the Stadio Olimpico..and yet FIFA keep turning a blind eye..and its going to be the host ground for the final..
Once again someone in great power is being swayed by either blindness or the size of the brown envelope? or both....
If this combination of corruption,violence and right wing hooliganism were to happen at Old Trafford on a Wednesday night during a tie involving the "powers that be's" beloved Madrid or Barca there would be life bans for all involved and we would be staring down the barrel of another post Heysel predicament...and rightly so.
And yet Roma will host the prestigious final..even tho they have a appalling record of stadium trouble..Why Sepp? tell me why?
Tell me why you have no guts or conviction in making this violence a thing of the past...
Maybe English clubs should boycott the Champs League?
Until we see change and the appropriate punishments....
Or maybe the ultimate show of strength would be to have another all English final and take Rome by storm...
Maybe?
But to all Aston Villa fans who currently crave this European glory...just think......
If you claim that prized fourth spot.....
What if you draw AS Roma?
Will you be taking your kids to the Stadico Olimpico?
Non Probabilmentei.....

Wednesday 4 March 2009

Scratching the itch..

It's been an age since I sat in the chair and underwent several hours of body contorting pain.
The buzzing sound of the needles,the smell of the hopefully spotless equipment,and the swollen throbbing of a freshly inked limb are all things of the long distant past....
That is until you get that itch...
That itch that says..
"you've got a gap"
"you haven't had any work done for yonks"
"That fresh piece of flesh needs marking for life"
My god I'm itching now!!!
I'm in desperate need...an old friend of mine recently talked about getting his first tat and BANG....I was there getting my first,then the craving started...and it is a craving...

Ive known I wanted full sleeves since I was a kid,tattoos have always had an air of romance for me...my grandad had a war I.D tat on his forearm and the smudged green mark that stood for his commitment to his country and love for his wife filled me with a swell of pride even then...also the meaning of tats has always been important plus they are a way of standing out and getting noticed and quite frankly with a name like Vane I've hardly ever been a wallflower!
They divide people,my mum hates mine,and people have moved away from me due to the art covering my skin.But I love what the are to me,and I love the fact that I'm along way from finishing..my arms are part done,and the ideas for all the gaps have been pondered and cogitated on for many years..I have no real longing for the pain that comes with the process..it isn't awful but once your adrenalin and endorphins fade (for me that's after around 2 hours) the pain becomes more a severe annoyance rather than agony... the swelling and aftercare can be worse,but in the end, after a couple of weeks of pile cream and clingfilm you look at your new piece and another bit of the jigsaw has dropped into place..another step towards completion..
To a shrink this is probably very insightful but then I already know I'm a vain show off who longs for attention and recognition..and being a painted man gets me plenty of both....
It's not cheap to cover your body in doodles,but that's a good thing...it makes it all the more special...and right now I'm counting the pennies and staring at a blank piece of epidermis that needs something...but what?
A rose and spiders web?
Another skull?
A memorial to someone special?
Or all three!!!
Better get saving...'cos that itch needs scratching!