Forty Not Out - The Ice Hockey Annual 2015/16 Edited by Stewart Roberts

Well, I said it last year and I’ll say it again even more forcefully this year, having spent most of my own summer putting together the Ice Hockey Review NIHL Yearbook I am probably one of the few people in the world - who is not related to him – who knows exactly how much work Stewart Roberts puts into producing the absolutely excellent “Ice Hockey Annual” every year. 

And he has been doing it for 40 years now. That is longer than most of the players featured in it have been on this earth and certainly longer than I knew that such a thing as British ice hockey even existed.    So hats off to Stewart Roberts – and may he continue doing it for another 40 years!

Most people just look at the finished article and think “oh yeah - great book…” – but if you actually look at all the different things that are in there and how much work has been put into gathering all that information together from numerous different sources and then putting it into a workable format, that really is a Herculean effort in itself. 

But the trick then is to make it so that the book is attractive to the eye and easy to read for the casual fan while remaining highly useful and informative for the statistician and hockey journalist.

Now, I do not follow the NHL and I am not overly enamoured of the Elite League in its present set-up but I find myself being captivated reading the quotes of the year from the various personalities and how the season unfolded in both the Elite and English Premier Leagues. So I would definitely recommend buying this.

In his own words, Stewart describes the Annual as follows:

“It has been dubbed by the fans as ‘the bible' of the sport as it contains reports, statistics and photos for every major club and competition.   Much of this information is not available anywhere else, not even on the internet.

This year’s book - the record busting 40th edition! - is another colourful package, full of information about the UK game, laced with international events like the World Championships and the European Champions League.  This has been made possible thanks to our major sponsor, Canadian Spa Company, and our other generous backers."

Among the great features this time are –
* An in-depth look at the amazing and unique career of our own Great One, Tony Hand MBE
* Complete coverage of the leading clubs in statistics and end-of-term reports, plus team pics.
* How Britain's men and women won silver medals in the World Championships.
* Biographies of some of the game’s best players and personalities.
* Latest news of the new rinks in Bristol, Cambridge and Cardiff Bay.
* Our ever popular Quotes of the Year.
* 176 pages in colour.

The Annual is on sale, price £9.95, at all major ice rinks, or post free direct from the website at

www.icehockeyannual.co.uk.   

And, of course, it makes a great Christmas present!

Sweet Alsace, French Bistrot in Liscard, Wirral, CH45 4LA

We were very pleased to find a delightful, authentic French Bistrot called Sweet Alsace in Liscard, which is a lovely town on the Wirral Peninsular.

Sweet Alsace is run by Pierre Ballet from Mulhouse – a town near Strasbourg, where I used to live.. I always enjoyed the Alsatian cuisine and Sweet Alsace has some fantastic dishes on offer, such as Tarte a l’Oignon and Tarte Flambe.  For those with a sweet tooth there is a special cake from Alsace too – Kugelhof (if I remember the spelling correctly!).

Sweet Alsace also organise dining evenings – the next one is on 25^thNovember – booking essential.

 Definitely worth going out of your way to find Sweet Alsace.

 Sweet Alsace,

44 Sea View Road,
Liscard, Wallasey
CH45 4LA.

Follow Sweet Alsace on https://www.facebook.com/Sweet-Alsace-353144154867946/

NWCFL: Cammell Laird 1907 FC 0 - West Didsbury & Chorlton 1

Cammell Laird 1907 FC were kept goalless at home for the since early August in this NWCFL Premier Division game at home to West Didsbury and Chorlton who they had already beaten 2-3 away a month ago.

Following a week of atrocious weather and on day when many other matches across the northwest had to be postponed, the club did very well to get this game on at all but the whole of the first half was played through a damp and drizzly scotch mist.

Both sides looked very well matched and it was a closely fought contest throughout. The only goal of the game came from a West Didsbury penalty mid-way through the first half. 

 

Although Cammell Laird fought back, they could do nothing to pull themselves back into the game.  Even an improvement in the weather for the second half was unable to do the trick and a sending off late in the game was typical of the home side’s fortunes throughout.

One bright note in an otherwise gloomy afternoon in Rock Ferry was the match programme – which we have bought several times this season when going to watch Cammell Lairds and have enjoyed immensely.

It is packed full of interesting information and statistics and one interesting feature is where they look at which other football teams around the world play in all blue as Cammell Laird do.  This week the focus was on Rumelange in Luxembourg which was very interesting for us as we used to live in Luxembourg in the late 1990s – and while we never actually got to see Rumelange play, we do at least know where it is!

You can find out more about Cammell Laird 1907 FC at www.cammelllaird1907fc.co.uk

And more about the North West Counties League at www.nwcfl.com

Italian Wine Tasting Dinner 10th December 2015 Jacks Restaurant and Wine Bar, St. Annes on the Sea, Lancashire

The lovely Jacks Restaurant on Wood Street in St. Annes-on-the-Sea in Lancashire is well worth a visit.  They are the nearest restaurant to the recently-opened Travel Lodge Hotel.

On Thursday, 10th December 2015 Jacks are organising an Italian Wine and Dine experience that looks amazing.  For £49.95 per person, there are 5 courses from Canapes through to Dessert with Prosecco to start with and Lemoncello to finish with - white and red wines in between - and a really delicious selection of dishes to accompany the wines.

Jacks are open from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m on weekdays and serve wonderful food.  They have the most comprehensive Breakfast Menu we have ever seen from full English breakfast, to pancakes with maple syrup, continental style pastries and croissants and lots more innovative breakfast dishes.

They serve drinks, lunch and dinner and snacks and have lots of tables outside if the weather is fine.  Check out their website for live music and special events.

Jacks Restaurant and Wine Bar
54 Wood Street
St. Annes on the Sea
Lancashire
FY8 1QG

Tel.:  01253 780990

www.jacksrestaurantbar.co.uk

A Portuguese Deli in West Kirby, Wirral - 1386 - another reason to visit the Wirral Peninsula

We read about Deli 1386 in Grange Road, West Kirby (near the railway station) when we were having breakfast in The Tee Room in Banks Road.  Along with daily national newspapers, there is a table in the Tee Room for local brochures, etc. and we found a copy of "Local Food Matters".

1386 is a Portuguese Deli offering authentic food and wine.  They have a good selection of cheese and meats and those wonderful Portuguese Tarts.

Deli 1386
27 Grange Road
West Kirby
Wirral
CH48 4DZ
Tel.:  0151 345 6906
www.deli1386.vo.uk
Twitter: @deli1386
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/deli1386


By a strange coincidence, when we popped in to Honest to Goodness in Hoylake on our way back (Honest to Goodness is an amazing store selling a wide range of healthy option foods and organic produce) Paul is learning Portuguese.