Wolves are 12 points clear at the top of the Championship ; 3 - 0 win over Brentford ; 8 more wins to secure the title !

Wolves are having an exceptional 2017/18 season ; barring a major disaster, they will most certainly win the championship ; many people figured that the Portuguese contingent would shrink in the cold harsh winter and not play well but no, the Portuguese players showed the doubters in the best way, by scoring and producing some of the finest football seen in decades from this Wolves team.

Reuben Neves scored a scorcher of a direct free kick, as did Barry Douglas who is on a hot streak, scoring 3 goals in as many appearences (Millwall, Bristol City and now Brentford).

Diogo Jota netted the third, which is purely academic, but it shows a chasm between Wolves and the rest of the league.

Fantanstic efforts were superbly saved by Brentford keeper from Jota, Bonatini (who practically dribbled the entire Brentford defence and Cavaleiro). Brentford themselves had 2 excellent efforts saved by John Ruddy - the Wolves custodian.  


I cannot sing higher praise to the gaffer, Nuno Espirito Santo for gelling a top team easily on par with any team outside the Big 6 in the Premier League in such a short time of 3 months. He is  the next Jose Mourinho in my book !

My prediction for the end of season points, (now they have 61 from 26 games with another 20 to go, so I would say they would easily win 12 ; draw 5 and lose 3 , so another 41 points would be reasonable ; they would end up with 102 points ; that is my prediction.    

Musings after a good run on the first day of 2018

Goodbye my lovely E230 ; reliable and powerful (200 BHP)

Beautiful to look at too

I am writing this post after a good 5km run in pristine cool weather (we have been having rainy weather these past 2 - 3 days) of about 25 deg C. Starting from my house, I normally finish the circuit in about 31 - 34 minutes. So today's 31:42 (5km) was satisfying for me.

I have just recovered from a bad bought of cold, chest cold,'flu and then stomach 'flu ever since we came back from our holidays mid December. What I can reflect upon is that I am so glad to be living in the tropics for the simplest outdoor hobbies such as running, cycling, swimming and even karate training can be conducted practically every day of the year. We have only hot and dry and mildly hot and very wet 'seasons'. So this means we do not experience the very cold winters which last all the way from earl december to mid March of even early April most years. 

However, we have very high humidity for at least 50% of the time, so certain days the humidity can get to the 70s and even 90s , for example prior to and after a big thunderstorm, leading to sweat sticking to the skin and making life quite unbearable !

Many European friends whom I know love having the hot weather year round, so I was curious to find out what made then shun the winter cold. Well, first when it is winter, it can get pretty cold and dry to about 0 deg C or below (some places experience -10 deg C). With the sun out in Italy 2 weeks ago, I felt I could venture outdoors with perhaps 3 layers of clothing (2 inner thin clothes, a  vests and a polo T shirt followed by a leather jacket). I was sadly mistaken, and fortunately for me, my wife bought me a woollen trenchcoat ; add that to the additional 2 to 3 layers underneath - for me to be genuinely warm. On top of that, I had to put on a scarf to keep my neck warm, and a beanie or cap to top off the look. 

For the bottom, I had thermal underwear, and jeans or chino long casual pants to complete the look. I brought my running shoes and a pair of moccasins to alternate. Ski socks were a must as every part of the body needed to be bundled up.  A good pair of leather gloves, a beanie or smart cap was also used to complete the look. 

Watching my breath condense in the air in Burano

So all in all, my experience in Italy this trip was feeling clumsy, feeling cold and having to use the moisturiser every single day. The nose was runny and I was dehydrated mainly from all the walking, and sightseeing. 

So winter, in Europe is dreary - it gets light quite late in the day and dark quite early around 4pm, cold  (2 - 5 deg C for a number of days, and rainy) and one's mood can be affected by the festivities like Christmas and New Year if one is feeling sick, or having a tough time without a job, or struggling to make ends meet.

I am glad to live in the tropical Singapore. Mild weather all year round. I can just put on a running vest, shorts, socks and shoes and I am out the door practically any time of day or night, not worrying I would get frostbite, mugged in bad neighbourhoods or slip over some icy pavement.

Time to plan for a new overseas marathon (or 2) in 2018 ! 

   

My Wishes for 2018

Eating Healthy and Exercise 5 x weekly ;

Sushi is good ; but skimp on the soya sauce - salt is one of the 4 'white' killers.

I have departed from the usual personal goal settings for the last 10 years ; which did improve my life from 2007 till 2017; I did a fair amount of marathons, got some competency in martial arts, learnt to ski, learnt new languages (very basic but its a start) but certain things still remain elusive. 

So here are my wishes for 2018 ; starting from external and then personal.While I can't do much on the external front, I can wish for something good to happen in 2018 can't I ?  

Worldwide / Local

a)There will be a peace throughout the world, less antagonistic and jingoistic "USA first" kind of rhetoric is alarming and divisive to say the least ; all members of UN should also take steps to not only reduce the armageddon talk (N Korea and US for example) and try to forge some kind of win-win relationship. We seem every few months on the brink of a nuclear catastrophe.  

WORLD PEACE

b)There will be an inclusive attitudes amongst all peoples of the world and the threat of extremism is under control. Extremist terror groups are always there, so it is wise to be prepared for anything  catastropic in Singapore or overseas. It is going to be the year of living dangerously not knowing what and when the next wave of disruption and turmoil will happen.  

PROSPER THY NEIGHBOUR  

c)The rich poor divide is more apparent these last 10 years what with the rise of new billionaires from the emerging new superpowers China and India and the US printing much more currency to flood the market (quantitative easing they called it), and the slipping down the slippery slope from middle class to poverty of many people all within 1 generation is a scary scenario. This is something I wish we could as a society manage better. 

MANAGE OUR EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL DEBTS 

c) Singapore, may we have a better year on the economic front ; the transition from traditional business to the smart nation using Internet of Things is painful, especially for seniors (yes I am getting there in 5 years) like me and my peers. We know that PMETS are continually under threat by new technologies (block-chain, big data and Bitcoins), automation (driverless cars, cleaners and service personnel are coming) so we need to stay relevant ; that means training, and retraining ourselves lest we drop out from the treadmill in no time. The fall from grace is fast and painful ; so we must adapt or go down 

STAY RELEVANT 

Personal

a) Health in Body, Mind and Finances ; I will cut back on needless phone checks on websites like Facebook, Youtube and the like ; reading from the net requires alot of discretion and an independent mind is very crucial.  Having friends from many social strata is also important to understand that society is made up of all kinds and not just rich, elites, and scholars.  

STAYING FOCUSSED, STRONG MIND, STRONG BODY, GROUNDED 

b)  Balanced lifestyle for a better and happier me ;  I know what makes me happy and I will continue to pursue  my personal goals (private) so that 2018 will be an exemplary year for me and I can uplift and motivate those around me to be of their best potential.

BALANCED AND RESILIENT 

Seize every Day  ;  2018 Bring it On !! 

   

                                                        The Abisheganandens