Geraint Thomas win: Post box painted gold after medal

The post box in Castle Street was painted gold

"A post box has been painted gold in Cardiff to celebrate Welsh cyclist Geraint Thomas winning first place with teammates in the men's pursuit."

Geraint Thomas win: Post box painted gold after medal

"A post box has been painted gold in Cardiff to celebrate Welsh cyclist Geraint Thomas winning first place with teammates in the men's pursuit."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-19122058

Wiimbledon in Cardiff 2008

From Wales online, June 7th 2008

"IT’LL be right in the middle of Wimbledon fortnight – but there will be no new balls in sight.

The “Wiimbledon” tournament will take place in Cardiff while the players taking part in its more famous cousin take a break on the middle Sunday.

But unlike the prestigious London competition, there will be no grass, no ball boys, no nets – and definitely no rain.

That’s because the tournament will feature participants competing only on the Nintendo Wii, who will swap tennis rackets for remote controls."

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/06/07/wiimbledon-s-on-the-way-to-cardiff-91466-21038844/

"... the winner will be given a £250 cheque to donate to the charity of their choice."

http://www.flickr.com/photos/khalding/sets/72157605885367783/

Kiml42 was the 2008 champion, donating the money to the Drala Jong appeal.

http://arobuddhism.org/drala-jong/drala-jong-appeal.html
http://drala-jong.blogspot.com/
http://drala-jong.org/

Replaying a 1982 Football Match in an Urban Environment

Refait from Pied La Biche on Vimeo.

""Refait" is a meticulous remake of the last faze of a football World Cup match between France and Germany in Seville, Spain (1982). Shot by Pied La Biche in Villeurbanne (France), every aspect of the 15 last minutes of this particular soccer match was carefully reconstructed: players, positions, camera angles, gestures,... "


http://infosthetics.com/archives/2010/06/replaying_a_1982_football_match_in_an_urban_environment.html

Chlapci a chlapi - spartakiáda

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b84RmTTkc2M

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartakiad_%28Czechoslovakia%29

The History of Wimpledon and The All England Club

In the 17th century the manor of Mortlake was home to the Worshipful Company of Girdlers. Over time their interest expanded to include all manner of clothing but eventually creating a school specialising in the the study of mediæval women's headwear, particularly the Wimple. The place became famous for its erudition in regards to this study and successful students became professors who took the title of Don. Eventually as a result of their fame they became known as 'Wimple Dons' and the school was thus called Wimpledon.

The study of mediæval women's clothing fell out of favour and Wimpledon turned its attention to cookery. They were very much enamoured of fried rolls of food based on mashed potatoes, so much so that in 1868 they founded the Croquette Club. This interest continued unabated, but the good professors of Wimpledon began the study of the forgotten parents of famous poets. They were most gratified in 1877 therefore to discover the father of Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1902), whose name was Lorne Tennys. This inspired them to create the All England Lorne Tennys and Croquette Club.

The Club began holding annual Championships which combined a love of potatoes and a love of poetry. Whilst the Championships have gone from strength to strength, some believe that a particular sublime peak was reached when William McGonagall (1825-1902) managed to combine the twin themes of poetry and potatoes in a poem dedicated to a King Edward.

"Oh! God, I thank Thee for restoring King Edward the Seventh's health again,

And let all his subjects throughout the Empire say Amen;

May God guard him by night and day,

At home and abroad, when he's far away."

In their original exploration of the potato, the professors of Wimpledon created a device known as a racquette for cutting the potatoes into pieces. The racquette took the form of a loop of wood with a handle. Thin strings were tightly stretched across the wooden loop. The potato would then be thrown into the air and the thrower would attempt to hit it with the racquette. Should the thrower be successful, the thin strings would pass through the potato, slicing it into 'chips'. (In the United States they became known as Frye's as they were a favourite food of the actor Dwight Frye (1899-1943))

This method of cutting potatoes became something of a competition in which players would attempt to cut the most potatoes. Their score would start at L'oeuf (the egg) indicating that they had an egg, but no chips to go with it. As the game progressed points would be awarded for the number of minutes it would take to fry the chips. The scoring would begin when a player reached 15 minutes' worth of chips, then 30, then 40 and so on. Sometimes the players would be quite evenly matched and have to stop for refreshments, so there were regular calls for juice.

Eventually one player would win a game, and be presented with a small bird such as a pheasant. If a player won enough games they would win the 'set' and receive a jelly or blancmange. Finally by winning the superior number of sets they would be deemed to have won the match. The match could then be used to light the stove to cook the chips.

The game was overlooked by a judge who was placed on a high chair so that they could always have a good view of proceedings. Because of this they were know as the 'Up-Higher'. Players would refer to the Up-Higher for any decisions during the game.

This kind of tournament requires considerable preparation. Over time the tournament has become increasingly symbolic. A small rubber ball has replaced the potato and the competitors now hit the ball to each other. This activity has come to overshadow the main business of potatoes and poetry but behind the scenes, in the All England Club, the old tradition continues. As the champions disappear into the hallowed Wimpledon Clubhouse, think of them as they enjoy their meal of potatoes and recite their favourite poetry.

"May God prosper King Edward the Seventh wherever he goes,

May he always reign victorious over his foes;

Long may he be spared to wear the British Crown,

And may God be as a hedge around him at night when he lies down"

Anyone for Tennys?

3 Smart Things About Referees

"Tae kwon do officials scoring fighters on film gave more points to those wearing red than blue. When asked to review the same footage after the uniform colors were digitally switched, they again ruled in favor of red"

http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/magazine/17-08/st_3smart

Are running shoes a waste of money?

"'But I believe that when my runners train barefoot they run faster and suffer fewer injuries.' "

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1170253/The-painful-truth-trainers-Are-expensive-running-shoes-waste-money.html

Forgotten Olympic hero is celebrated at last

"With the Beijing Games just two weeks away, Wales’ latest batch of Olympians – including swimming hopeful David Davies – are hoping write their own names in Olympic legend.



But none of the them are likely to match the achievements of Paulo Radmilovic – a four-time gold medallist who has been dubbed Wales’ greatest sportsman.



The Cardiff-born swimmer and water polo player Paulo Radmilovic appeared in five Olympics between 1908 and 1928."



http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/07/24/forgotten-olympic-hero-is-celebrated-at-last-91466-21393985/

Medieval football writers studied

"Ms Roberts said references to early forms of the game were made between 942 and 950AD in the Book of Taliesin, where soldiers kicked the heads of defeated soldiers."



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/7486118.stm

Chess boxers slug it out

"A Russian man has been crowned world champion in the novelty sport of chess boxing, a game that requires equal skill at moving pawns and throwing punches."



http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23979955-23109,00.html

We CAN be serious: Cardiff University disputes Hawk-eye's Wimbledon line call

"New research from Cardiff School of Social Sciences draws on the claims made by Hawk-Eye Innovations’ on its website about the disputed line call. The machine reported that the ball nicked the baseline by 1mm. However, Hawk-Eye Innovations also report that the average error of the machine is 3.6mm. If the Cardiff analysis is correct, the errors can be even larger than 3.6mm on some occasions. The International Tennis Federation, which tests the machines for use, would accept that Hawk-Eye had passed its test if it called the ball in by 1mm while the true position was out by 5mm."



http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/socsi/newsandevents/news/hawkeye.html

Wiimbledon...The UK's hottest tennis tournament!

"Sunday 29th June 2008 - Cardiff

Forget the washout of Wimbledon fortnight. Wiimbledon is the Nintendo lovers' equivalent, and it'll take a massive hole in the roof before we shout "Play is suspended!"

Just imagine. No rain delays... no paying too much for a strawberry... no moistened ballads from one Cliff Richard. Not even a Henman Hill!

Wiimbledon is just pure tennis - Nintendo Wii style, of course! "

http://www.wiimbledon.org.uk/

Fund Raising at Wiimbeldon

"Adding to the list of unusual ways of raising funds for the appeal, Richard O'Donovan of Whitchurch, Cardiff is playing at Wiimbledon this year. No ... not Wimbledon ... Wiimbledon. This is a tournament of tennis played on the Wii games console which is taking place at the end of June in Cardiff. The requirement for entry is a 'pro' status of 1000. Richard's status is currently 2096 playing right handed and 2008 playing left handed, so he stands a good chance of doing well. The prize for winning is a cheque for £250 for his chosen charity, and his chosen charity is - yes you guessed it - Sang-ngak-chö-dzong, specifically the Drala Jong appeal."

http://drala-jong.blogspot.com/2008/06/fund-raising-at-wiimbeldon.html

Wiimbledon’s on the way to Cardiff

"IT’LL be right in the middle of Wimbledon fortnight – but there will be no new balls in sight.

The “Wiimbledon” tournament will take place in Cardiff while the players taking part in its more famous cousin take a break on the middle Sunday.

But unlike the prestigious London competition, there will be no grass, no ball boys, no nets – and definitely no rain.

That’s because the tournament will feature participants competing only on the Nintendo Wii, who will swap tennis rackets for remote controls."

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/06/07/wiimbledon-s-on-the-way-to-cardiff-91466-21038844/

Dry eyes at final Wembley whistle

"Cardiff just don't play at Wembley or reach FA Cup finals. Actually, they do, every 81 years or so. Which was good news for my son and me today, and will be again for my great-grandchildren, circa 2089."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7405493.stm

FA Cup final: Lego genius recreates road to Wembley

http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/05/16/fa-cup-final-lego-genius-recreates-road-to-wembley-91466-20915264/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7404816.stm