The darkest day in Cricket history

The news has just broken that the autopsy on Pakistan Cricket coach, Bob Woolmer confirms his death was due to "asphyxia as a result of manual strangulation". Jamaican police have launched a murder investigation...I feel sick.
Earlier rumours of a broken neck bone (consistent with strangulation) were being dismissed as idle gossip...it appears to be sadly true. Tributes to "one of the nicest men in international sport" have been flowing freely since his death and I really don't know if this tournament ought to continue.
It is true that Cricket is fanatically followed in the Indian sub-continent but a crazed fan? insensed at the loss to Ireland? Killing the team coach? I honestly can´t beleive it.
The other ogre is of course the enourmous amounts of illegal betting going on in the sub-continent's organised crime fraternity. It is more likely that this is an attempt to subvert the tournament in order to claim "all bets off", in which case the tournament ought to be allowed to reach its conclusion.
Whatever it is, a fine man who loved his sport, winning admiration in South Africa where he transformed the post apartheid national Side, and Pakistan (only the second foreign coach to work there) has paid with his life ... no amount of "minute´s silences" and black armbands are going to suffice.
At the very least, the International Cricket Council should immediately rename the World Cup "The Bob Woolmer Memorial Trophy"
Sad as it is to admit...if it is sufficiently provable that the "darker elements" of the South Asian underworld have exerted such an evil influence over the sport, international bans for the nations involved could and should be considered. Did we not ban apartheid South Africa until they put their house in order?

Señor Embajador, you´re spoiling us!

There were no Ferrero Rocher chocolates on offer at this particular event, but they wouldn´t have been out of place! It was last night at the beautifully restored Teatro Nacional in Panama City´s rapidly gentrifying Casco Viejo (old town). The Spanish Flamenco/Jazz fusion band, "Jerez Texas" played a selection of tracks from their new album "Patchwork". The concert was a free, all ticket affair, courtesy of the Spanish Ambassador to Panama. I didn´t think the "fusion" was particularly fruitful but the musicianship was superb and it was good to hear some Flamenco Guitar and high-pitched lamenting again! It was a very pleasant evening and the full house contained most of Panama City´s great and good. The venue itself is a beautiful building built in the early 1900s. I have uploaded some pictures of the building and the surrounding area on the my Flickr site. I am particularly fond of this shot of the nearby church tower at night with a crescent moon and star in the sky. I had to cancel my original plan to go to the regular, Wednesday night "Cine Club" at the Alianza Francesa (again, a free event) they show French films with Spanish subtitles every week. I am becoming quite the culture vulture (although I did miss out on backstage, access all areas passes to the Ricky Martin gig on Tuesday night (my friends went)...I am not exactly a fan of Señor Martin, but I´m still miffed to have missed out. Amazing what being the friend of a friend of Ricky Martin´s sound engineer an do for you in a small town!

The Sunday Tune "Cricket Music"

I thought I would stick with the Cricketing theme for what I will now refer to as "The Sunday Tune"

In the good old days of British Television Sport (before Rupert Murdoch bought everything in sight, modernized everything and removed any hint of soul from the preceedings) the BBC's crowning glory was it's coverage of International Cricket. Generations of British schoolboys will recall with great glee, returning home on late summer evenings, having played cricket all day...just in time to listen/watch Test Match Special, The BBC´s long running Cricket Programme.

This golden age of BBC Sport was enhanced no end by the genius use of a then little known instrumental track as the programme's theme music. It is called "Soul Limbo" and is by Booker T and the MGs (of Green Onions fame). A most unlikely choice for the dusty old codgers of the Cricketing fraternity, this ever so friendly, happy, infectious piece of music has passed in to legend and is known the world over as "The Cricket Music"

Warm beer, the Sunday papers, deck chairs around the village Cricket ground, the smell of freshly cut grass, and the Cricket Music....aah...happy days!
here is a link for you to enjoy this "sound of the summer"

Cricket World Cup

Cricket lovers everywhere will be delighted that the 2007 World Cup is under way. In a world ruled by Soccer, Baseball and Gridiron it is heartwarming indeed to see the most civilised international sport in the world - still played by gentleman in long trousers, over the course of a whole day, with a break for lunch - being supported with such verve and excitement by those of us who love the game, to the eternal puzzlement of those who fail to see the point, or understand the simplest of this game's many rules and nuances. For those of you who know little of this amazing game please refer to the folowing link to get you started.

With the inclusion of several "emerging Cricketing nations" this tournament was billed as one that would break a few records and provide some early thrills; it hasn´t disappointed. Powerhouse South African batsmen Herschelle Gibbs made history by smashing Six Sixes in an over against Holland, a first in International Cricket, (sport trivia fans, please remember the name of Daan Van Bunge, the unfortunate Dutch bowler who Gibbs flayed to all parts of the stadium).

Then, Ireland took on Zimbabwe and in a nailbiting finish, grabbed a draw by taking the final Zimbabwe wicket with the final ball of the game!

That brings us to today....in a real turnup for the form guide, a much fancied India have been beaten in Trinidad by a young, talented Bangladesh side (3 of their teenage batsmen scoring half-centuries). India's further progress in the tournament is by no means assured, their next match against Sri Lanka is now a must-win game.

Indian fans worldwide will have been disappointed by their team's capitulation, but Bangladesh are the pick of the emerging bunch and were never going to be anybody's whipping boys. The only consolation for Indian fans came in the form of a Cricketing earthquake from the Sabina Park stadium in Jamaica. The same plucky Irish side (a team of average county standard players) have beaten Pakistan! ranked 4th in the world and regarded (like India) as a shoe-in for the later stages of the tournament. As if it wasn´t enough that they should have performed at their giant-killing best on the world stage, in front of a multi-million TV audience, the Irish accomplished this shocker of a result (which puts Pakistan out of the tournament) on St Patrick's Day! Hearty congratulations to the Irish on an historic victory, I only wish I could drop in on a few Irish pubs around the world (Dublin especially) on a day like today!

Pakistan will no doubt still be wondering how they managed to get dumped out of the World Cup...and India will need two blistering performances and a bit of luck if they are not to follow suit.

Oy Vey!

Nice to know that the BBC still has its ear to the ground. I can only suppose that when you are the Israeli ambassador to a small Central American country, the temptation to prance around the embassy compound, drunk out of your mind, trussed up in a gimp suit is simply overwhelming! the BBC report is reproduced here. Bugger the roadmap, if we could just get the Palestinians to "Tranny Up" with feather boas, fishnet stockings and slingbacks, we could be one awsome party away from a lasting Middle East Peace !

A song for you .......

My second Salsa class went alright on Thursday, the ever-dedicated teachers gave us strict instructions to listen only to Salsa music, "in the car, in your homes" I think the idea is to let it seep in through the pores.

So while I "restrict" myself to Willie Colon, Marc Anthony, Willie Gonzalez, El Gran Combo, N'Klabe, Tito Rojas (to name but a few) .... and as Sunday now appears the day I post a musical piece on the blog, here is Herbie Hancock and Christina Aguilera from last year´s Grammy Awards. She sounds incredible, and looks like she just walked off the set of "LA Confidential". The early comparisons/rivalry of Aguilera and Britney Spears seem so crass now.

Salsa tunes will of course appear in the following weeks, as I collect some favourites and oddities - have you heard the Salsa track that uses the melody from "Don´t dream its over" by Crowded House? its not bad...and I don´t know (yet) who nicked whose tune!

My first brush with the law

Monday night, after a house party, I am in a car with my cousin and 2 others, one of whom was driving and we had all been drinking. In a suburb on the other side of town, we´re stopped by cops for not having headlights on (I know, very amateur) and for some reason we also have a crate of 24 empty beer bottles in the back seat. Cop sees 4 "Paisanos" (the generic term for Indians from India), the beer bottles (which should be in the boot) and automatically thinks he´s in line for a backhander.

Asks me for ID. I give him a copy of my Passport (not a good idea to carry around your real passport). Problem is the photocopy happens not to include the page with my current visa on it. Policeman thinks he has struck gold (illegal immigrant? false papers? terrorist?...serious backhander material!) gets on the radio and calls in reinforcements, 4 more policeman in 2 more squad cars turn up.

Meanwhile (despite being told by my compatriots to say nothing) I have explained in pretty clear Spanish that my papers are in order, the photocopy of my passport is only for my identification, if he wants to see my real passport and visa stamp, it´s in my cousin´s house. Policeman´s face drops as he detects that my Spanish, while not being fluent, is extremely clear and free of the slang and half-spoken words that litter "Panamanian Spanish" . My cousin immediately sees this and tells me in Gujarati to repeat what I just said in English, I do so and the cop now looks like he´s trying to solve a quadratic equation in his head, while battling a migraine!

One of the other cops then tells 3 of us to get back in the car, the driver is then spoken to privately, a $5 "fine" is paid and we are on our merry way. Law and Order...Panama style !

Miserere - Part.1 Gregorio Alegri

Upon hearing (from me) about a relatively pertinent and interesting piece of international, geopolitical news, a Panamanian friend of mine, said "we don´t get to know these things because we are a 3rd world country". I suggested to him that for those people with the knowledge, access, and money, the World is no longer restricted to such arcane developmental notions. I then recalled that my friend (a US educated Panamanian, English teacher) had previously confessed to:
a)Never using the internet
b)Not switching his computer on in three years!
It goes without saying that I will be dragging his sorry, arse to an internet cafe soon. Since getting broadband here, I have been listening to BBC radio news, and other programmes. One of these programmes used this frankly magical piece of music, composed by Gregorio Alegri. Of course there were several versions of it on Youtube and I have embedded one here. It was Wittengstein who said that even if science were to provide us with the explanation to everything, there there would still remain the eternal mystery of the human heart. I think this music embodies some of that mystery. The music is for all of you who stop by, I hope you play it on an otherwise peaceful Sunday morning as I just have, and feel enlightened .......and for my friend? Eso es por tuyo, amigo:

A man will be imprisoned in a room with a door that's unlocked and opens inwards;

as long as it does not occur to him to pull rather than push

Salsa Class Number 1.

Finally, the waiting is over. I have attended my first Salsa class and it was goooood !

The venue was Bohio Florencia, a semi-enclosed, thatched roof Bar the size of a decent tennis court. Hidden behind the Florencia Tile warehouse! On Thursday nights, the tables and chairs are shoved aside and 4 clearly dedicated Salsa teachers attend a packed crowd of Panamanians all wanting to become "Salseros". 3 groups, 4 lessons, lasting 45 minutes each with 15 minute breaks in between, for 3 Bucks. All good fun.

At first, us beginners were taken aside for a very firm talking to, I didn´t get all of it but it was along the lines of "Salsa is a way of life......ask questions but don´t contradict us cos we know everything........we will break you and build you back up from the ground). I felt a bit like one those young recruits at the beginning of "An Officer and A Gentleman" (.....where you from boy?....).

I went from being a willing exponent of "Basico" (the basic forward-backward 1-2-3/5-6-7) to the "lateral", the "L" , spinning to the left and the right, and in the final session, finally paired off in to couples, I took a young girl in my arms and successfully mangaed to "twirl" her in perfect timing (my own twirling is some way off perfect). The "buzz" in the room from 70+ people is so loud that the beginners teacher (the biggest group) uses a microphone to shout instructions. Its a relief to here the word "Basico" signalling the return to the first steps following an initially bewildering new move.

The 15 minute "rest" breaks are in fact opportunities for students to have a drink at the bar and (for the really dedicated) a chance to practice what you have just been taught. No greater spur to get back to your lesson than to see so many men and women getting on down with such huge smiles on their faces.

Several people arrived (or changed in to) sports gear before the class started. A very wise move. I left after the class at 10.30pm, and like everyone else, shirt soaked through with sweat, various mucles aching, but very pleased with my efforts.

Can´t wait for next Thursday.