1000 Reports, Rants and Rubbish

Well I surprised myself, being a chap of a very idle tendency, that I have reached the milestone of one thousand posts, since launching this blog just over three years ago. It was started just after the end of the 2006 World Cup, and was created to report on the shenanigans perpetrated by the Bender Squad. The problem is, that over the last few years, a number of the Squad have done something, that at the time I dreamt up this site, I would never have thought possible. They all started to grow up. Well not all, but some of the great stalwarts of the days of swaggering around the continent, swilling beer and having fun and acting dumb, have unfortunately fallen by the wayside. There are various reasons.

Jamon has found himself incarcerated in a maximum security holding cell, at Riddelsdenamo Bay. There have been rare sightings, but he is no longer one of the cornerstones of our organization, just a distant memory. Health reasons have seen another of the originals curtail his activity, but by no means to the same degree as Jamon. The Boy Dazzler, once the first name on the team sheet, has had two demons to fight. He has chosen a career that makes ludicrous demands on his time, but more worrying, and not totally surprising when you consider lifestyle, is his health. As mentioned prior, he is till spotted out and about, but it has been a couple of years since he was seen on a full blown Bender. There are hopes that he can be rehabilitated.

Other reasons abound for the complete disappearance of old school members such as MC and Barney Rubble, but on the whole, the biggest impediment for most members, has been the spectacular crash of the economy. What mean spirited wives, girlfriends and mothers have been unable to put a halt to, our esteemed leaders in government and banking have managed to drag too an all most standstill. Redundancies, shorter working weeks, reduced overtime and tighter credit have put the brakes on reckless spending of money on having a good time. But we shall soldier on. Over the next couple of years there are a raft of milestone birthdays to celebrate, and the downturn can't last forever.

On an upbeat note, plans are all ready under way to make another visit to the Munich Oktoberfest in 2011, as Crespo turns 30, and Funky racks up the big Four O. The Boy Dazzler has hinted that for his 40th, he wants to organize a sojourn to the Big Apple. Throw in the annual TSV 1860 trip, and the fact that somebody is bound to take the plunge and get married, and there is plenty of reasons to think that I will still be awarding the annual "Maillot Jaune pour la Buffoonery" and reporting on a plethora of Benders in three years time, as I pass the 2000 postings mark. As John the Don would say, probably to a bunch of passing nuns, "Viva La Bender squad!"