Jan 3
🔝5️⃣ Plenty of time in 2020 to watch the box you’d think, although I have to say for very long periods I struggled so much separating work from home that I would settle for something mindless over immersing myself into a proper series.
Last one from last year. I like to explore, I like to travel, I like to eat.
I keep a list of the restaurants I visit, mostly away from Bermuda, and gee, last year was a difficult choice. It’s a little New York centric, but pride of place goes to an absolute gastronomical experience in my kinda town, Chicago. There were two or three great places that never made My Top Five Favourite Restaurants from 2018, but these ones did:
Time then for my annual self indulgence. I’ve always been a list and top of this or worst of that sort of bloke. My daughter is the same. What’s your top five she will say after a day out or when staring at the Christmas tree baubles. Anyway I will try to plough through a few of these this month, so apologies in advance.
I’m back in Chicago this week with work, although as I’m in Chicago I intend to catch up with a few people and places as well.
I will be downtown except for a work client trip out to Blue Island one afternoon, which is not an island at all, and from the pictures it doesn’t look very blue. Described here as “gritty” and “a must-see for anyone serious about railroading.” It has Addick written all over it.
I like hotels, you know that, and this week I stayed in two historical buildings that in last year have been tastefully converted.
In Chicago this week I stayed at the old Chicago Athletic Association (CAA). The CAA was established in 1890 just south of the Chicago River on Michigan Avenue. It’s original use was as a private club (for men I am sure) to meet for ‘athletic, business and social activities.’ Chicago based architect Henry Ives Cobb was inspired by Venetian architecture and the huge building was completed in 1893 with a sold out membership of 3,000 members.
The CAA used to host big national and international sporting events such as boxing and swimming. Many famous sports figures like swimmer and Tarzan Johnny Weissmuller used it to stay and train. The CAA remained a private membership social club for the city’s top brass, and I remember when I lived there it had a very hoity reputation. It closed in 2007.
It was a night of reflection for U2 as well as the audience at Chicago’s United Center on Tuesday night. A crowd of young and old were given a familiar ceremonial big show, the obvious Bono preachings, plus of course a high tech stage production to go alongside a typical crash, bang, wallop two and half hour U2 concert.
But unlike last year’s trip down memory lane tour with the Joshua Tree anniversary, Tuesday night relied more on the recent Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience albums but was happily interrupted with some true U2 classics.
Travelling to one of my favourite places on the planet this afternoon. Chicago. A place I truly miss everyday, well apart from those -17 celsius kind of days..
Here is an excellent outside prognosis of the current state of Charlton written by the excellent Twohundredpercent website.
The article is called the ‘Forgotten club’ and within the article the Addicks are described as a ‘ghost club.’
The forgotten club line rings true, long gone are the days when we can say to strangers “you know Charlton Athletic, we were in Premier League a couple of years back.” We are a forgotten club to most football fans and media that only concentrate on the Premier League and upper echelons of The Championship.
Dec 5
Makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck.
The City of Chicago, well at least one half of it, will be in meltdown this morning after the Chicago Cubs won a world series for the first time in 108 years in unbelievable drama. Cubs were 3-1 down in this first to 7 series but came back to take it 4-3, the last two victories in Cleveland.
It had been a drama packed final series and last night was no different with a rain delay and then an extra inning meaning the game finished well into the early hours. It was an incredible and exciting post season and for the first time in everyone’s lifetime the Cubs finally delivered after being the best team throughout the summer season.
Naturally nothing came easy for the Cubs. They were 6-3 up but Chicago’s collective jaw hit the floor when the Cleveland Indians pulled it back to 6-6 in the 8th. Then there was a 17-minute rain delay which stalled the Indians but reinvigorated the Cubbies. When MVP Zobrist doubled and Montero singled to drive in runs in the 10th thousands of Cubs fans in the stadium went absolutely potty.
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On Friday I passed a milestone in my life, which in all honesty, I haven’t yet got my head around. We were in Chicago, which made me happy, and a lunch at one of our favourite old haunts in the sun, was followed by an unknown sequence of surprises in the evening.
The secretive-other-half had given me some hints, which turned up a blank, but she was in a real hurry for us to get out of the hotel at 5pm and into a cab south of the city.
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Chicago Addick is back in Chicago, my first trip back in 2 years and it has been too long. Flying in over the city earlier today brought a huge smile to my face as I watched the vast skyscraper laden city nestled alongside its ocean of a lake unfold beneath me.
This evening we walked and walked Chicago’s streets and this place never fails to inspire me. It always gives me a real sense of belonging and adventure and is one of the world’s truly great cities. If you have never been, do yourself a favour and add it high up your list.
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Is it possibly the worst ever time to be a Charlton supporter?
Taking Charlton in isolation. Depressing with a forecast of further stormy times ahead.
But let’s look around us. Crystal Palace tomorrow play in a repeat of the 1990 FA Cup Final. The face-painted Palace ultra’s will stain Wembley again for the second time in a matter of weeks. That Charlton butcher Pardew played in the 1990 Final, in fact it was two games as United won in a Wembley replay. Mark Bright, John Salako and one for the older statto’s, David Madden also played in both games.
Palace at Wembley in the Cup Final. At least here I can bury my head in the sand. Depressing. As is the amount of money they are banking as they move to a different stratosphere to us financially. But we live in hope that Super Alan Pardew will f**k it up again.
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For the third time in six years Chicago wakes this morning with a Stanley Cup induced hangover after the Blackhawks beat Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 to take the series 4-2 at a boisterous United Center last night.
One of the original six franchises the Blackhawks also won the Stanley Cup in 2010 and 2013 beating Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins and not since the titles of Michael Jordan’s Bulls in the 1990’s has one of Chicago storied sports teams enjoyed so much sustained success. In addition to winning their three Stanley Cups, the Blackhawks also made it to the Western Conference finals last season.
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Breakfast in Bermuda, New York for lunch, Chicago for dinner, Kansas City tomorrow for lunch. That is the itinerary and then stay a few days in the home of the barbeque, before Dallas and Miami next Friday night.
A week of work travel mostly at a conference in Kansas City, which is arguably the hardest place to get to in the world from Bermuda. Six airports, hopefully a bucket load of barbecue ribs and I have even got an invite to the speedway.
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Chicago Addick 