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 Antonio’s 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 didn’t 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 “colour in each day until you fill your pint”.
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!
„Die Botschaft der Auferstehung ist, dass diese Welt wichtig ist. Aller Ungerechtigkeit und allem Leid, die wir heute erleben, müssen 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 bloß um eine neue spirituelle Dimension in meinem Leben. Vielmehr ist der christliche Glaube eine frohe Botschaft für 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 über diese Dinge Gestalt annehmen zu lassen.“
(N.T. Wright, For All God‘s Worth: True Worship and the Calling of the Church)
Good Friday
Songs
(St. Peter’s Brighton) “Christ in Me” https://www.instagram.com/tv/CNLK8mngOul/?igshid=a38wsfsu19tf
(HTB) “How deep the father’s love for us” 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 „MAN OF THE MATCH“ in three games. Jesse Lingard didn’t 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.
Royal Albert Hall turns 150
On Monday, 29 March, the Royal Albert Hall turns 150 years old. The famous concert hall in South Kensington was opened by Queen Victoria on this day in 1871 and named after her late husband Prince Albert who had died six years before.
But unfortunately, this is the second birthday the Hall, which has more than 5,000 seats, had on its own, without any audience.
I’m sure everybody does miss the concert hall as much as I do. I’ve been there on various occasions. I was at a “Blues fest” concert with Robert Plant (ex-Led Zeppelin), a Patrick Bruel concert, a Christmas concert with traditional carols singing along, and a classical “Proms” concert in the summer of 2018. We also had afternoon tea before one of these concerts, and I remember that we walked past the hall to watch hundreds of people queue for a ticket for the “Last night of the Proms” which we attended in Hyde Park. Our last visit came two years ago in May 2019 when we attended the “Leadership Conference” with Nicky Gumbel and thousands of Alpha leaders from all over the world.
Due to the impossibility of welcoming any crowds to the hall, the Royal Albert Hall released a video to mark the occasion by celebrating the people behind the scenes who’ve been working behind closed doors this whole time, keeping an eye on the Royal Albert Hall and making sure that your room will be ready for the return of the audience to the Hall.
An Other Austrian For West Ham?
Stuttgart striker Sasa Kalajdzic scored twice for Austria in their World Cup qualifier against Scotland, and is expected to hit the back of the net again when Austria play Faroer on Sunday in Vienna. This would be only his fourth cap for his country and just his second time in the ÖFB starting XI. According to various reports the 23-year-old could be signed by the Hammers in summer, but he is also said to be pursued by other clubs as AS Roma and RB Leipzig.
Rapid Vienna wanted to sign Kaladjic from his club Admira in 2019, but the U21-player preferred to join German outfit VfB Stuttgart that played in the 2nd Bundesliga at that time and helped them to promotion to Germany’s first tier in 2020. In this season so far the frontman wearing the no. 9 shirt at Stuttgart has scored 13 goals and assisted teammates on three occasions in 25 outings in the German Bundesliga.
The Hammers having been quoted to bid £15million for the 2 m tall Austrian, could look to make Kalajdzic their Sebastien Haller replacement this summer. The Irons failed to add cover for Michail Antonio in January and are keen to sign a striker in the summer.
The 23-year-old would be the third Austrian who plays for the Irons in the Premier League, following in the footsteps of Emanuel Pogatetz (2013) and, of course, Hammer of the Year (2018) Marko Arnautovic whose replacement Sébastien Haller could not be dubbed a success at West Ham and was transferred to Ajax Amsterdam in January.
In the time that has transpired since Haller’s departure, West Ham manager David Moyes has been forced to utilise Jarrod Bowen and Jesse Lingard as false nines when Antonio’s troublesome hamstring issues were flaring up.
Standing at 6’5, drawing comparisons to former England international Peter Crouch, it’s no surprise Kalajdzic is proficient aerially, but the Austrian ace also has strong technical ability and has become a clinical marksman for his club VfB Stuttgart in this season’s German Bundesliga.
With SK Rapid having missed out on the young striker two years ago, it would be great to see the Austrian (whose parents are of Serbian origin and came to Austria from Bosnia-Herzegowina) in claret and blue next season!
The Lockdown Sessions
Ronnie Scott‘s Jazz Club in London’s Westend has existed for more than 60 years, but never before there have been gigs with no applause and no audience present!
Tonight I watched one of the #lockdownsessions: streamed live at Ronnie Scott’s! Big Band Metheny played music of one of the greatest guitar players an d jazz musicians, Pat Metheny.
The session was free for all to view and was funded entirely through donations. I made a donation, so Ronnie Scott’s can keep producing these sessions for everyone who misses London and live music as much as I do!
If you want to contribute, too, here is the donation link >> https://ko-fi.com/ronniescotts
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