Lauren in Death Race 2

Lauren in Death Race 2

Weekend in Review–Exploring Japanese Fantasy Literature at UQ

Shouldn't a weekend review come sooner than Thursday? Somehow I managed to put off this post until now, but perhaps in the future I should make more of an effort to post about my weekend at the beginning of the week! Oh well. I hope you all are looking forward to this weekend and the beginning of April!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I attended an event at the University of Queensland held on Friday night called Fantasy and Imagination: Exploring Japanese Creative Writings. The guest speakers included Dr. Carol Hayes of ANU, Edward Lipsett, a translator who co-founded Kurodahan Press, and Roger Pulvers, a man of many talents who recently published The Dream of Lafcadio Hearn with Kurodahan Press.

The man focus of the panel was to discuss whether there is something inherently different about Japanese fantasy when compared to Western fantasy, and to pinpoint what these differences might be, if there indeed are any. I found it to be quite interesting and was especially impressed by Roger's insight on the subject. He argued that Japanese aesthetics are intended to be felt through the pores, and that while a Western perception of beauty is something that is unattainable by average individuals (he used ornate castle architecture as an example of this), Japanese beauty is felt every day and is inherently the same, from revered Shinto shrines to the humble everyday dwellings. Pretty neat, huh?

Dr. Hayes and Edward both mentioned the lack of action in Japanese fantasy as compared with Western fantasy literature. As a whole, Japanese fantasy is emotionally driven, rather than plot/action driven, which I think, along with the fundamental differences in the Japanese perception of beauty, is the root of what makes Japanese fantasy different from, say, Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings.

After the discussion, we all filed into another room for the reception, where there were complementary drinks and food (I had a glass of white wine and some kind of chicken skewer, both of which were very nice). I was able to meet many interesting people, including all of the speakers except for Edward, unfortunately. I may have even landed another translation gig, but I'm not going to talk about that, lest I jinx it!

On Saturday, I had the opportunity to attend Cardmaking for a Cause, an event my husband's co-worker (whose house we stayed at when we had to evacuate during the floods, incidentally) invited me to. It was a women-only event where all the cards made during the day would be donated to local hospitals to sell to patients and visitors, all proceeds raised going to the hospitals themselves to use for improved equipment, etc.

Luckily, all of the cards I made came in prearranged "kits," which meant all I had to do was stick all of the parts together. This actually saved a lot of time, rather than having to conceptualize and cut everything there on the spot. It was quite a nice, intimate event (though I may have been the youngest woman there...), and during the course of 4 hours my table made over 100 cards! And of course we got to help ourselves to biscuits, coffee/tea, and sandwiches, which always is a bonus.

Sorry for the lack of photos today... I meant to take a couple at the cardmaking event but I only ended up getting a couple that are pretty poor quality. As I type, I am busy cooking my Dad's awesome chicken barley soup, so maybe I'll share photos of that next time!

Vintage Find: Children's Treasury of Lit + Chinese Peanut Cookies!

Happy Friday! Or... Thursday evening, to most of my readers on the other side of the world... Don't worry, it's almost Friday!

I can't believe my last update was about something I found at a vintage shop and I'm already back, less than a week later, with some more goodies. I guess someone's on a vintage kick these days (who, me?)... Actually, what inspired my last trip to the Paddington secondhand shops was an intriguing DIY tutorial in my new favorite Aussie magazine Frankie for a "paper wall quilt." Long story short, the project consists of cutting pieces of paper and cardboard into hexagons, gluing them together, and pasting them on your wall to form a quilt-like pattern... Very easy, and a very pretty, unique result! You can use any kind of paper you want, such as origami paper, wrapping paper, or even printed fabric... I thought it'd be great to find a vintage children's book and do a combination of words/pictures, because I love old illustrations. Since my husband is big on music, we're going to go on another shopping excursion to find some vintage sheet music to use, as well. I will definitely post my results when the project is finished! But for now...

First, I apologize for the poor photos... I really need to get better at taking pictures, or start employing some photo-editing magic to make the pictures I take a little more pleasing to the eye... The lighting is just so poor in our apartment. But! Surely you can still enjoy what an adorable book this is! And the price? An even more delicious $2.00! What a steal

I spent a long while browsing through the picture book section of one of the better vintage stores for just the right book. Pretty illustrations were a must! At a grand total of 550 pages, there are certainly plenty of nice illustrations, and each story is done by a different artist, so there is an eclectic mix of styles that is really great. The picture above is one of my favorites, I just love the illustration on the left! The style almost reminds me of The Rose of Versailles. Why yes, they are looking at a rabbit in a basket!

One of the stories is even illustrated by a Japanese woman!

From these two images, you can really see the range of styles depicted in this book! How interesting! I'm totally loving it, if you can't tell already. It's also really nice to see a wide variety of stories from different cultures, rather than just European folktales. There's even the Japanese tale, "The Boy Who Drew Cats," by the ever-famous Lafcadio Hearn.

Shaun and I couldn't help but get a few giggles out of the story titled "Poo-Poo Finds a Dragon," excerpted from Poo-Poo and the Dragon by C. S. Forester, if only because of the over-use of the protagonist's cute but slightly-unfortunte name. Case in point:

I might've remembered his name, but he was so unimportant they cut him out of the excerpt!

 So, in the end, I may not want to cut up this book after all. There are too many fun stories and illustrations! Though it really would make for a great paper wall quilt. Oh, what a conundrum! Shaun suggested we read one story out loud before bed, and as we go through we can decide those we want to save in their entirety and those we don't mind putting scissors to. It's an idea, but luck will probably have it that all the stories we can bear chopping up won't have particularly good illustrations, or something similarly unfortunate. We'll see what I come up with next week!

In other news, I baked Chinese New Year peanut cookies yesterday for the first time! I used this great tutorial by Chocolatesuze, a Sydney food blogger. Unfortunately I was a little late for Chinese New Year, but maybe next year!

I gave some to Shaun to try when he got back from work yesterday, and while I was busy making fajitas for dinner in the kitchen, I could swear I heard giggling, yes, giggling, coming from the living room. He liked them that much! And that's saying a lot, considering he has much experience with authentic Chinese food, and I am but a lowly American trying a recipe for the first time (I'd say kudos to the original recipe, not my execution). He liked them so much, he said, that he wanted to bring them into work and share with his colleagues to show them what a great cook his wife is (and that I should make some for his family back in Sydney sometime, too). Awwww! But wait, maybe they're actually really bad and he's trying to pawn them off on his coworkers? Haha, it's unlikely, he seemed pretty excited about them and I'll admit they were pretty darn good, too, as my first peanut cookie, anyway.

So there you have it! Today I'm looking forward to attending a panel discussion at the University of Queensland (you know, that university I plan on attending for my graduate studies sometime before I die) titled "Fantasy and Imagination: Exploring Japanese Creative Writing." Sounds exciting! My advisor, Professor Tomoko Aoyama, will also be in attendance, so it will be nice to catch up with her again. I'm slightly nervous that the event is RSVP-only, which may mean it is very small/serious? I don't know, but I hope I don't make too much of a fool of myself. That or the RSVP is to ensure they have enough food/drink for the attendees, and in that case I better get a nice cup of coffee, haha. Look forward to a synopsis on Monday!

Have a nice weekend, everyone!

Wallpapere

Wallpapere

BTS of Float Movie

BTS of Float Movie

Poza noua din Vampire Diaries, 2x08- "Rose"

Poza noua din Vampire Diaries, 2x08- "Rose"

Lauren nu va mai fi prezenta la EyeCon :(

 

 

 

Din cauza unor filmari in Vancouver, pentru noul ei serial “Heavenly”, Lauren nu va mai putea ajunge la conventia Vampire Diaries, EyeCon, deoarece filmarile ei si conventia sunt intersectate in acelasi week-end.

Traducere: Alice

Lauren nu va mai fi prezenta la EyeCon :(

 

 

 

Din cauza unor filmari in Vancouver, pentru noul ei serial “Heavenly”, Lauren nu va mai putea ajunge la conventia Vampire Diaries, EyeCon, deoarece filmarile ei si conventia sunt intersectate in acelasi week-end.

Traducere: Alice

Vintage Find: 60's Japanese Scarf

Hello hello! Since I'm a big fan of second-hand and vintage bargain shopping, I'd like to feature some of the things I find from time to time. Shaun and I recently discovered that one of the neighboring suburbs, Paddington, is quite the treasure-trove when it comes to vintage shops (we counted at least 4 just in the center of town!), so I hope that our future excursions there will yield some more great items.

This past weekend we spent quite a bit of time browsing around Retro Metro's discount outlet (the original shop was getting so full, they decided to open a second shop for all of their "bargain" deals). There's nothing quite like rummaging through stacks of old tablecloths! Unfortunately, Retro Metro is a little "boutique-y," so their prices don't tend to fall on the "dirt cheap" side of things. Even so, I think it's worth spending some time looking through things, because you can find a good bargain just about anywhere–and we did!

This is a vintage 1960's promotional scarf from Fukuda Printing Co. in Kanazawa, Japan! For those of you who know me, Kanazawa is particularly relevant, as I spent 5 of my teenage summers working for a English-language exchange program with students from a technical college in Kanazawa. 

This baby was $10! As you can see from the close-up, it features a calendar for January and February (though only part of Feb is pictured here). This was most likely given out as promotional material for the company at the beginning of the new year, which is a pretty common practice in Japan. The new year's themed illustration and calendar would encourage people to hang it up in their homes for the first couple of months of the year, and there may even have been a complete set featuring all 12 months total.

Shaun and I were both pretty excited to find this! Since we love all things Japanese and were looking for some unique ways to decorate our abode, this certainly fit the bill! I'll have to iron it (and possibly hem it, seeing as it's unraveling a little), and then we'll probably frame it. Any other ideas for how to display it?

...En caída libre...

* Ahora perdimos...si, otra vez, contra Morelia
* ¿La cuenta? ya ni para que llevarla
* Cocca y compañía rompen record, de partidos perdidos.
* El arbitraje, pues...mexicano ¿que mas esperar?
* Señores directivos, YA EMPIECEN A PLANEAR
* La Casa De Irraragorri

La pregunta del millón es....¿ Ya tocamos fondo? Creo que viendo el próximo juego, vs Cruz azul, y después de ver el sabado ante Morelia, los reclamos, a un Guti Estrada emputadísimo y partiéndosela EL SOLO, a un Morales que le da 3 mts de aire "marcando" al rival,  a un PONY comprometido jugando los 90 minutos, corriendo, centrando, bajando y recorriendo quien sabe cuantos metros para MARCAR en el contragolpe, muriéndose en la raya ( pero solo), a un Darwin envalentonado pero ineficiente en la cancha, a un Oribe que todo le rebota, a un Benítez que perdió contundencia, un Chato que aún extraña y le llora a Romano mientras culpa a la afición por la decisión tomada por su presidente... Ustedes díganme si ya lo tocamos o aún falta...

LEER MAS... 

Se hubieran dado con todo, total, ¿ que mas se podría perder?
igual y sacaban la presión que tenían encima.

Y es que créanme cuando les digo que esperaba, ansiaba y deseaba que en la pequeña cámara húngara que se armó tiraran chingazos, y que se armara una mega-bronca de aquellos años cuando el futbol ERA DE HOMBRES Y NO DE DIVAS CON TACONES CAROS y sueldos jugosos que ya ni hambre de triunfo ( a excepción de algunos que tienen dignidad ) tienen y que solo esperan que termine el torneo para irse de vacaciones con sus familias valiéndoles madre el desastrozo desempeño que hayan hecho, total, me contratan POR EL NOMBRE.

Se cansó de burlarse el señor Boy, será que aún le arde, cuando los
mandamos a la chingada y con una patada en el trasero,
en liguilla con marcador escandaloso, y contundente.

Quería ver a los jugadores que sacaran la frustración a chingazos, QUE REALMENTE SE PARTIERAN LA MADRE contra los Morelianos y su pinche técnico mamón, burlón y alzado. Quería que soltaran golpes a diestra y siniestra, ver si con eso se desfogaba la presión, el enojo o la frustración, vamos a ver si así DESPERTABAN y con el calor de la adrenalina que te queda luego de una bronca LOS GUERREROS VOLVIERAN a sentir su mote de guerra a flor de piel y que al menos le dijeran a la tribuna "aquí estamos", bueno, eso solo quedó en mi mente afortunadamente para los puritanos.

Oswaldo reclamandole al "silbante" su pobre y patética actuación, pero
nada cambiará con los arbitros, ya es hora que nos demos cuenta que
poco o nada les interesa la calidad en su trabajo.

Y lo que sí pasó, fué que los jugadores salieron del juego, arrastrando la cobija, y ensuciando el apellido nuevamente, luego de que el Monarcas les diera en un contragolpe el gol que les pusiera en la frente la derrota número 7 de forma consecutiva ( bueno 6, para los más puristas, o bien 5 para los "analistas" que dicen que son solamente tomando en cuenta la liga , bah! mamadas 
¡¡SON 7 SEGUIDAS, NO MAMAR!! )

¿Culpables? muchos diría yo, desde el presidente por haber realizado un movimiento precipitado y a todas luces populista, para luego rematar trayendo a un técnico extranjero que quien sabe qué promotor le habrá vendido ( o mochado ) como si de espejitos se tratase; hasta algunos jugadores que, aburguesados y sin hambre, tienen hasta el atrevimiento de echarle la culpa a la afición por una decisión de la directiva, hasta otros que siguen llorando la partida del anterior entrenador.
El técnico actual, creo que es el que menos culpa tiene de los arriba mencionados, él solo estiro la mano y le dejaron en sus manos un equipo ( o una olla de grillos, ya no se sabe) y ha hecho mil y un movimientos con la única finalidad de sacar al grupo del hoyo en que está metido.
La afición peleabamos la línea de 5, (ya no está), peleabamos la incursión de Peralta (ya está), peleaban la incursión de Pony desde inicio (ya está), peleábamos ver totalmente el ataque en el campo ( ya está ) peléabamos no ver a Lacerda ( ya está ) y todos esos movimeintos han sido, desde la llegada de Cocca... ¿entonces, que falta?

¿Compromiso o estirón de orejas?

Uno de los pocos que sienten los colores y que tienen dignidad.
A su edad, corrió más que varios, desgraciadamente, Pony sigue buscando
con sus centros a Jared...y gracias a Irraragorri, no lo encontrará.

El compromiso para decirle a esos que vemos trotar en el campo de juego, que se pongan a correr, PORQUE ESTÁ EN JUEGO EL NOMBRE, PRESTIGIO Y ESPÍRITU, DEL SANTOS LAGUNA, algo que se logró en base a sufrimiento, dolor, apoyo, gritos, lágrimas y alegrías de todos los que de una forma u otra, hemos seguido Y CRECIDO junto con el equipo de nuestra región.
Compromiso para que vuelvan a creer en los colores que portan encima en una casaca que antes de ser "de marca" era HUMILDE pero CON CORAZÓN, y que nosotros la portábamos, portamos y portaremos siempre con orgullo, porque nosotros como afición, NO SOMOS COMO MUCHOS DE USTEDES que llegan besándola, y si se van a otro equipo y alla besan al otro jersey para ganarse a la nueva afición a donde van.

¿ Que hacemos una tormenta en un vaso de agua por una mala rachita?

Tal vez, como dice un buen amigo, "te lo acepto, sin conceder" ( jajajajajaja saludos carnal ) pero...¿saben por qué lo hacemos? PORQUE NOSOTROS o al menos muchos de la vieja guardia, NO SOMOS como otras aficiones que llenan sus estadios y les cantan, y les brincan y les besan las patas andando en los ultimos lugares y llorándoles en la ventanas de sus carros, cuando abandonan el barco como ratas cuando éste se hunde.

Nosotros ( los aficionados que EXIGIMOS) no queremos volver a sentir esos "temores" del descenso ( y lo pongo entre comillas, porque en la vida, existen otros temores mas importantes que un pinche juego de futbol).
Porque ya sufrimos desde los inicios cuando nuestro equipo era humilde, sin mucho presupuesto y lleno de gente hambrienta por conseguir un nombre; DE HOMBRES MAS QUE NOMBRES, cuando el Corona era IMBATIBLE y gracias a él, el equipo se mantenía a flote aunque no calificáramos; Luego, cuando el equipo estuvo en la zozobra y en las manos de un mafioso que daba dinero a los políticos con ligas y sin ellas, para luego pasar a ser propiedad de Hacienda, y ver y sentir como poco a poco se hundía hasta casi descender. POR ESO ES QUE AHORITA PRESIONAMOS, EXIGIMOS Y ABUCHEAMOS, porque no queremos volver a sentir eso menos ahora, que los respalda una Empresa de Clase Mundial, que les paga a tiempo, que los tiene super mimados, con instalaciones  y estadio de primer mundo ( nada que ver con el humilde, incómodo e insalubre Coronita ).

Por eso la gente se siente y se va decepcionada de su equipo (o bueno, tal parece que ya solo es el equipo de Irraragorri ) y CRITICA CON JUSTA RAZON, y a quien no le guste la crítica ( llámense mismos "aficionados" que quieren que uno todo el tiempo apoye y grite el "awante Santos" ) que se chinguen, porque todos tienen derecho a expresar su molestia de una forma u otra, OBVIAMENTE SIN VIOLENCIA.
Por cierto, y haciendo mención  de externar la molestia, me platicaron (tómenlo verdadero o falso) que durante el baile que nos metió Cruz azul, sacaron a unos señores, sólo porque estaban gritando chingaderas luego de ver cómo Cruz Azul nos traía de un lado para otro mientras nos dejaba fuera en Concachampions. Ya que uno de seguridad, ( los de amarillo, con cara de "aquí mando yo, pero nomás en bolita, porque solo ME TIEMBLA) les dijo, "se callan o los mando sacar", obviamente estos señores reaccionaron de la forma mas natural, mandándolo a CHINGAR A SU MADRE y el señorito le habló a seguridad para sacarlos del estadio, y solo, porque "les gritaban cosas a los jugadores locales. ¡Bonita chingadera!.

¿La Casa del Dolor Ajeno?

 Y es que la otrora "Casa del Dolor Ajeno" se ha convertido ya en "La Casa de Irraragorri & Friends" donde antes de cada partido por el sonido local te dicen "que no debes decir, palabras altisonantes a los jugadores" así como mil y un "recomendaciones" de buen comportamiento; es por eso que veo hasta cierto punto VERDADERA, la historia que me contaron, bonito adoctrinamiento ¿no?. "Ven, consume, grita mis goles, pero no me critiques, solo apoyame", al rato ¿que sigue? ¿que lleguemos como Homero Simpson, entremos al estadio, digamos "Que elegancia la de Francia" se nos acerque un tipo en smoking y nos diga "Buenas noches señor, Quiere retirarse de inmediato y sin escándalo" ? JAJAJAJAJAJA

"El futbol no es un juego de estratos, lo juegan los pobres , los ricos. El futbol es una pasion y para jugarlo el unico requisito q debes tener es jugar con ganas "

Del partido, mucho podremos decir, y es que Santos genera, llega, pero desgraciadamente y como ha sucedido en varios de los encuentros, simplemente no la mete, la malaria que traemos encima ya se ha vuelto crónica, a diferencia de aquellos tiempos con Sergio Bueno, el ligar tantas derrotas le costaron la chamba al técnico, ahora le apuestan o mas bien "protejen" a Diego Cocca y es que no se puede decir que le apuestan a la "continuidad" siendo que en este caso no aplica.

Lo único bonito de los últimos juegos de Local.
Las hermosas y siempre bellas guerreritas.

El juego vs Morelia, no fue diferente, salvo por la expulsión de Salinas a manos de un arbitro pendejo y novato, el juego era de un solo lado aún y con los corajes del mamón de Boy. Sin embargo, volvemos a caer y ser escalón de los demás equipos convirtiéndonos en la burla del torneo.

Para colmo de males, nadie entiende como es que de un momento a otro, ayer, Santos jugaba con Morelia, Querétaro, Necaxa, América o Monterrey, hoy, ellos juegan con nosotros. ¿que pasó? Sólo espero que ya en estos momentos, donde Santos se encuentra casi-eliminado ( y si no lo está, jugando con esta suerte de perro, ¿ realmente quisiéramos calificar?) de toda posibilidad de calificar, los directivos estén ya planeando los cambios necesarios para volver a poner a este equipo donde SE MERECE y donde nos acostumbró. Los primeros planos en todo momento.
La ideología del Guerrero, se debe retomar, volver a poner sobre la mesa y hacérselas recordar  A TODOS Y CADA UNO DE LOS QUE SALTAN A LA CANCHA, y los que vengan, porque en esta región, la gente no se chupa el dedo con el futbol, la gente sabe exigir, gritar y reclamarte cuando es necesario.
Yo todavía soy de la idea que si uno critica, es porque no me gusta ver al equipo con el que crecí de esa manera, no porque soy menos aficionado como muchos otros nuevos lo quieren hacer ver.
Alentar a un equipo, no nada mas es ir a saltar y gritarle "Puto" al portero rival. Es también exigirles y hacerles ver la molestia, pues no vamos gratis, ni nos regalan boletos, nos cuestan y cuestan bien.

Hermosa postal futbolera de Figueroa.

Tienen 15 días para mentalizarse de QUITARSE DE UNA PUTA VEZ, la malaria contra Cruz azul, de compromenterse nuevamente con la institución que les está pagando y que vuelvan a sentir ( si alguna vez los sintieron ) los colores que llevan en el pecho, levantarse, sacudirse y mostrarle a los demas equipos QUIENES SON LOS GUERREROS DEL SANTOS LAGUNA.

Si aún así, no reaccionan, que caiga en sus conciencias y en sus contratos.

Sale!!

Ahora sí me quedé...

Y lo cumplì, por eso no hubo resumen.

My Matchday - 276 Victoria Road

Dagenham & Redbridge 2v1 Charlton Athletic
League One
Saturday 19th March 2011
My latest trip to the capital was intended as another Gateshead away fixture at Hayes & Yeading, but due to the Heed’s progress in the FA Trophy the match was postponed.
Luckily my train tickets didn’t go to waste, heading over to the opposite end of the smoke to the east end of London to tick off Dagenham & Redbridge’s Victoria Road ground.

Dagenham is a large suburb which forms part of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, located 12 miles east of Charing Cross.
It was historically a farming village, which remained undeveloped until 1921 when the London County Council began constructing the large Becontree estate. The population greatly increased during the 20th century, becoming primarily a residential area forming part of Greater London since 1965.
The location is also home to the Ford Dagenham assembly plant, which opened in 1931

and has produced almost 11 million cars and 37 million engines in its history.
However, my previous knowledge of Dagenham is through my good taste in music, with two songs titled ‘Dagenham Dave’ one from The Stranglers which appeared on the 1977 album No More Heroes, which is a tribute to one of the groups original fans who committed suicide by jumping off Tower Bridge into the Thames.
The other from Morrissey from the album Southpaw Grammar, which was also released as a single in 1995(which I also bought) and has a flattering picture of a young Terry Vegetables on the picture cover.

Your more likely to find out about the formation of Dagenham & Redbridge FC on ancestry.com, a long family tree which dates back to four amateur clubs - Ilford (formed in 1881), Leytonstone (1886), Walthamstow Avenue (1900) and Dagenham (1949). Leytonstone were the most successful of those clubs, winning the FA Amateur Cup on three occasions and the Isthmian League nine times.
Illford and Leytonstone merged in 1979, becoming Leytonstone Ilford, and took over struggling Walthamstow Avenue in 1988, renamed as Redbridge Forest in the summer of 1989.
Redbridge Forest won promotion to the Conference in 1991 before merging with Dagenham the following year to become Dagenham & Redbridge, winning promotion to the Football League in 2006-07.

The Victoria Road site has been a football ground since 1917, when originally used by the neighbouring factory side Sterling Works, however it was Brigg Sports formed in 1934, who played at the ground until moving to Rush Green Road in 1955. The ground became fully enclosed when Dagenham FC took over, moving from the Dagenham Arena situated within Old Dagenham Park.
Ground improvements were made through the remainder of the decade, with a newly laid pitch, turnstile block, toilets, extension to the terrace banking and the main stand opened in January 1956. Floodlights were switched on for an FA Youth Cup tie with Woodford in September 1957 and the following year more cover was added at the far side terrace at a cost of £1,400.

The ground was regularly maintained with major improvements coming over the last 20 years to coincide with the tenants ambitions to progress, rising from the Isthmian to the Football League.
Currently known as The London Borough of Barking & Dagenham Stadium,(Bit of a gob full!)the Main Stand was built in 2001 and has a seating capacity of 800. Now known as the Carling Stand, the small tier of red and blue seats are set above pitch level with staircase entry via the front gangway with the team dugouts in front.
Next to the this is the small covered Barking College Family Stand which was build to increase the overall capacity which allowed Redbridge Forest promotion to the Conference. The stand has a block of 200 seats with access gained at the front.
Opposite is the North Terrace which is fondly known as “The Sieve” and even on a glorious day like today there was still water leaking from its ceiling. The terrace is fully covered with a TV gantry perched on the red roof, which has the club name embossed in large white capital letters.
Turnstile entrance to the North Terrace is via the open Bury Road End terrace, which gives the option of either viewing the match from behind the goal or in the paddock. The Bury Road End also has an electric scoreboard and police control box.
The most recent development is the Marcus James Stand which replaced the Pondefield Road open terrace. The all seated stand has a capacity of 1,200 and was opened during the 2009-10 season. The away end has a block of red seats with DAGGERS boldly standing out in white and the players emerge from under the stand.
The ground has four corner floodlights which replaced the original eight floodlights during the summer of 2001 and has a current capacity of 6,078, with a record attendance of 7,200, for an FA Cup tie with Reading in 1967.
Dagenham & Redbridge’s recent run of good form continued with a convincing win over a lacklustre Charlton side.
Jon Nurse put the home side ahead on 33 minutes with a well placed effort from just outside the box and could have gone further ahead, but were twice denied by good saves by Ross Worner, which lead to a chorus of boos from the away end at half time.
Dagenham continued to improve in the second half, doubling the score on 55 minutes when a Damian Scannell cross found Danny Green who fired into the top corner.
The visitors scored a late consolation with a close range effort from Frank Nouble, but The Daggers held out for a deserved win, which improved their hopes of staying up, while Charlton must be one of the poorest sides I’ve seen this season.
Glorious sunshine greeted my arrival in London, then my good mood soon diminished with the news that the District Line was closed which meant I had to plan an alternative route to reach my final destination. This surely can’t be a coincidence. Every time I come down here they mess up my strategy. London transport must look at my ‘Possibles and Probables’on this website then decide THAT is where the line closure shall take place this week.
On my way south I plugged in my laptop on the train to use my 15 minutes of free wi-fi time. (Aye, that’s right. Bliddy a quarter of an hour! Should be free, never mind charging £4.95 an hour, the amount of money I spend on train tickets etc..rant..etc) to quickly (you have to be quick you’ve only got 15 minutes) check the news, my emails, friendface, twatter etc.
I received a message via friendface from Squad #67 James Durnford who was also in London, heading to a game at Metropolitan Police, so we arranged to meet up for a drink in The Tyburn on Edgeware Road, as I always welcome the chance to meet up with one of the 100FgC squad for a bevvy.
I had other plans while I was in the capital, which I had to abandon knowing I had the dreaded prospect of the bus replacement service( should it not be train replacement service?) so I caught the tube from Marble Arch to Bank and had a quick pint in the quite impressive JDW pub The Crosse Keys, before catching the train from Fenchurch Street to Barking.
I arrived at Barking at around 1.30pm. I asked the nice bus conductor lady how frequent the buses are and the duration of the four stop journey, which then gave sufficient time to spend in The Barking Dog, a Wetherspoons pub next to the bus stop which was already serving ales from the latest beer festival which starts later this week.
In typical comedy farce fashion of my recent travelling experiences, I had to end up with a bus driver who didn’t know where he was going, following the bus route with a map on his knee. The driver got lost and started to go the wrong way until a young lass marked his card, telling him that he’s supposed to go to Upney, which he then corrected with a swift U-turn on the main road. (London transport!! You don’t get this sort of carry on with Go Ahead Northern…Eddy)

I arrived at Victoria Road at 2.30pm and on the whole was really impressed with the set up at Dagenham. I noticed a lot of West Ham shirts in the crowd so Dagenham based Hammers fans are still turning out to support their local team, which is good to see.
The club still maintain their non-league ethos, being a community club who haven’t got too big for their boots since becoming a League club, plus more importantly, where else in League One or if fact, in the south-east of England, could you be adequately fed and watered for under a fiver!
A good day was spoiled by football news elsewhere. I’ll not mention the result from the match played in my least favourite city(see report prior to this) but I was saddened to hear that Gateshead couldn’t overturn Darlington’s one goal advantage in the semi-final of the FA Trophy, so yet again, Wembley dreams crash and burn for at least another year.
That result means that this is my last Saturday game in London this season, so that’s good news for tube travellers, as your truly won’t be in the big city, being the root cause of chaos and delay on the underground.

(apologies for the over use of bracketed comments in the report)


Matchday stats

D&R 2(Nurse 33 Green 55)CAFC 1(Nouble 90+2)

att.3,505

Admission £18

Programme £3

Ground no.276 Victoria Road - Matchday Web album (20 pictures)

Lauren Cohan's Evolution

Lauren Cohan's Evolution