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Premier League pays tribute
The Premier League is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
As a mark of respect, players will wear black armbands, flags at clubs will fly at half-mast and there will be two minutes of silence before kick-off at all Premier League matches played across the weekend.
West Ham will play Leicester at home on Sunday afternoon.
Prince Philip 1921-2021
The Duke of Edinburghâs peaceful passing with the Queen by his side at Windsor Castle in the morning of 9 April 2021, just two months before his 100th birthday, âreflects a remarkable life lived in quiet and self-effacing dignity,â as The Telegraphâs Camilla Tominey put it in her article paying tribute to Prince Philip (extracts below). My thoughts and prayers are with the Prince and the Royal family and I will watch the 41-gun salute held from 12 p.m. BST on Saturday.
The Duke of Edinburgh was born on 10 June 1921 in Corfu, as Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark. He married Princess Elizabeth on 20 November 1947 whom he had first met in 1934 and had been corresponding with her all the time during his military service in the Royal Navy in World War II.
Elisabeth became Queen in 1952. When Prince Philip died yesterday, 9 April 2021, at Windsor Castle he was the longest-serving consort of a reigning British monarch and the longest-lived male member of the British royal family.
Although Buckingham Palace declined to âgo into any specificsâ about the nature of the Dukeâs passing, it is thought the 94-year-old Queen was at her husbandâs bedside when the time came late yesterday morning.
Since his retirement from public life in 2017, the Duke had grown used to spending most of his days in blissful solitude at Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate, whiling away his days reading, writing and painting.
When the onset of Covid-19 required him to relocate to join the Queen at Windsor Castle, an âunexpected bonusâ was that they spent more time together in the past 12 months than they have done in years.
Described as âvery happyâ to have been able to lunch and dine with her husband most days as they both awaited the further lifting of restrictions, the Queen remained in daily contact with the royal doctors monitoring the Dukeâs progress. The Duke had been advised to rest after his discharge from the King Edward VIIâs hospital on Mar 15, where he was convalescing following a successful procedure for a heart condition at another London hospital, St Bartholomewâs.
According to one well-placed source: âHe spent most of the four weeks he was in hospital trying to get home.
âThey operated on his heart in a bid to give him a little longer, maybe with the 100th birthday in mind. But he didnât really care about that. He just wanted to be back in his own bed. There is no way he would have wanted to die in hospital.â
Upon hearing the news of the Dukeâs death, the Prince of Wales drove from Highgrove, his Gloucestershire home, to be with his mother.
At 12.01pm, Windsor Castle issued a 58-word statement confirming: âIt is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.â Within seconds the statement had made it on to the airwaves and messages popped up on smart phones all over the world.
My thoughts and prayers are with the Prince and the Royal family.
It has not yet been decided when the funeral will take place, but it has already emerged that due to Covid guidelines only 30 mourners will attend the ceremony. The funeral is expected to take place next Saturday at St Georgeâs Chapel, Windsor. There is likely to be a short procession within the castle grounds. Buckingham Palace confirmed last night that the Queen was considering the revised plans, which will be announced in the coming days.
The Duke would have turned 100 in June and the royal household were busy trying to put plans together for a modest celebration to mark his century. However, the Duke desired no such fuss. Having once declared he âcouldnât imagine anything worseâ than living to 100, he was described by aides as âa rather reluctant celebrantâ.
As such, the man who the Queen famously described as being owed a debt âgreater than he would ever claimâ may not have wanted Westminster Abbey to go to the trouble of tolling its tenor bell once every 60 seconds, 99 times from 6pm last night or the militaryâs 41-gun salute that will be held today at royal parks across the country today to mark the Dukeâs death.
The government issued guidance that all official flags, including the Union Flag, are to be half-masted on all UK government buildings until the morning following the Funeral.
Any non-official flags currently flying or due to be flown should be taken down and replaced with a Union Flag at half-mast. Half-mast means the flag is flown a third of the way down the flagpole from the top, with at least the height of the flag between the top of the flag and the top of the flagpole.
In his final wishes, the Duke who hated âfussâ and took a no-nonsense approach to life, left strict instructions that he should have a relatively low-key funeral, swapping a formal lying-in-state for commemorations and focusing instead on his military ties and charity patronages. However, Buckingham Palace confirmed yesterday that coronavirus restrictions meant the arrangements had been completely revised and public will be asked to stay away owing to coronavirus restrictions.
The Queen, perhaps as a sign of her growing uncertainty over the Dukeâs health, or to help her get through the Harry-Meghan-Crisis, took household staff by surprise in March by acquiring two new puppies â despite previously saying she did not want to take on any more dogs when her most recent pet corgi had died in 2018 and was left with only one dog after having had more than 30 dogs over the years.
The Queen was said to be delighted with the extra company at Windsor Castle, having had only one since the end of last year. The pets brought in a lot of noise and energy into the castle while Philip was in hospital.
Nostalgically naming the dorgi, a cross between a corgi and dachshund, Fergus after her maternal uncle, and the corgi, Muick, after Loch Muick in Royal Deeside, there was a sense that the Queen had decided life was too short as she took on the pets ahead of her 95th birthday on 21 April. Now they will keep her company in the Queen’s new role as a widow.
Back to normal
From Monday 12th April stage 2 of easing the lockdown in England will begin. That means that outdoor seating areas are reopening in London and life starts to return to normal.
Fourth Again After Easter Weekend
Despite missing Declan Rice who got injured on international duty and losing Michail Antonio because of muscular problems after half an hour, the Hammers lead 3:0 after 38 minutes. Jesse Lingard scored a brilliant solo goal, Fornals doubled their lead and Antonioâs substitute Bowen scored a third before Wolves pulled one goal back before halftime.
Lingard had been instrumental in West Ham’s second and third goal as he produced a brilliant flick on the byline to find Arthur Masuaku, whose low cross was turned in first time by Pablo Fornals, before Lingard led a quick counter to tee up substitute Jarrod Bowen to drive in the third.
In the second half West Ham held off the Wolves fightback and conceded only one more goal to secure a victory that moves them into the top four of the Premier League.
This time David Moyes’ side didnât let slip a 3-0 lead as they had done in their previous game against Arsenal to draw 3-3, though they looked in danger of a repeat when they dropped deep as they tried to hold onto their slender advantage.
With Chelsea having surprisingly lost 5-2 to West Brom at the weekend, this win moves West Ham up to fourth with 52 points. Next Sunday afternoon the Irons will host third placed Leicester (56 points) at the London Stadium.
Bar-o-meter Until April 12th
The government has set out a roadmap for lifting lockdown in England thanks to the coronavirus vaccine programme going to plan. Coronavirus infections in Britain are lower than in all the main EU nations as the number of second vaccine doses administered reaches a record high.
Last week outdoor sports facilities were allowed to reopen in England, but pubs and restaurants remained closed for two more weeks.
From 12 April stage 2 of easing the lockdown restrictions will see all shops and also hairdressers and beauty salons reopen, and from this date food and alcohol can be served outdoors by restaurants and pubs! The Sun had a Bar-o-meter to âcolour in each day until you fill your pintâ.
Starting from Friday everyone in England will be offered two rapid COVID-19 tests per week, in order to curb outbreaks as the lockdown is eased.
Stage 3 shall start from 17 May when indoor entertainment will be allowed and pubs and restaurants can serve customers indoors. Hotels can open and international leisure travel may resume. Also sports fans may be allowed back to stadiums, not too late for attending the games of the last round of the Premier League which will be played by 23 May.
There will be some pilot sports events with fans prior to this date that were announced on Sunday, including the FA Cup semi-final between Southampton and Leicester City on April 18, the World Snooker Championship from April 17, the Carabao Cup Final (Manchester City v Tottenham) on April 25, and then a planned 21,000 crowd for the FA Cup final on May 15.
Finally Stage 4 (no earlier than 21 June) could see all restrictions on social contact removed if vaccine programme continues to go to plan.
Der Herr ist auferstanden!
âDie Botschaft der Auferstehung ist, dass diese Welt wichtig ist. Aller Ungerechtigkeit und allem Leid, die wir heute erleben, mĂźssen wir mit der Botschaft entgegentreten, dass Heil, Gerechtigkeit und Liebe gesiegt haben ⌠Wenn Jesus wahrhaftig – und nicht nur im Geiste – von den Toten auferstanden ist, dann geht es bei Ostern nicht bloĂ um eine neue spirituelle Dimension in meinem Leben. Vielmehr ist der christliche Glaube eine frohe Botschaft fĂźr die ganze Welt: Ostern bedeutet, dass in einer Welt, in der Ungerechtigkeit, Gewalt, Erniedrigung usw. an der Tagesordnung sind, Gott nicht bereit ist, diese Dinge zu dulden – und dass wir mit all Seiner Energie darauf hinarbeiten, den Sieg Jesu Ăźber diese Dinge Gestalt annehmen zu lassen.â
(N.T. Wright, For All Godâs Worth: True Worship and the Calling of the Church)
Good Friday
Songs
(St. Peterâs Brighton) âChrist in Meâ https://www.instagram.com/tv/CNLK8mngOul/?igshid=a38wsfsu19tf
(HTB) âHow deep the fatherâs love for usâ https://www.instagram.com/tv/CNKdz1QFz5M/?igshid=5s77n6geq03
How deep the Father's love for us How vast beyond all measure That He should give His only Son To make a wretch His treasure How great the pain of searing loss The Father turns His face away As wounds which mar the Chosen One Bring many sons to glory Behold the man upon a cross My sin upon His shoulders Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice Call out among the scoffers It was my sin that held Him there Until it was accomplished His dying breath has brought me life I know that it is finished I will not boast in anything No gifts, no power, no wisdom But I will boast in Jesus Christ His death and resurrection Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer But this I know with all my heart His wounds have paid my ransom Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer But this I know with all my heart His wounds have paid my ransom (Selah, 2009) https://www.lyrics.com/track/17059007/Selah/How+Deep+the+Father%27s+Love+for+Us
Rice Rises To The Occasion
England 2-1 Poland: Harry Maguire scored a late winner in this World Cup qualifier after Kane had put England in front with an early penalty and Poland had levelled in the second half. Declan Rice again was very influential in midfield and won his second âMAN OF THE MATCHâ in three games. Jesse Lingard didnât come on before the 90th minute when he replaced Sterling.
Match report: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/56505758
Iron Men
Jesse Lingard (right) and Declan Rice (left) made the Hammers proud with their “Man of the Match” performances in England’s recent two games of World Cup Qualifying Group I against San Marino (5:0) and Albania (2:0). Tomorrow an other qualifier awaits the Three Lions against Poland.
Unfortunately there isn’t a third Iron in this team to win West Ham a hattrick of “Player of the Match” trophies in tonight’s game.
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