It's a little known fact that once upon a time Jakartass was known for his great wrist action.
I have a long reach and great flexibility so when I came to Indonesia nigh on 18 years ago, I looked forward to continuing to play badminton. After all, Indonesia has produced some of the world's greatest champions in both singles and doubles.
However, apart from potholed streets or makeshift courts in kampungs, I found nowhere convenient. Unlike my friend Indcoup who likes to strut his stuff in private gyms, I've had to stick with solitaire whilst pondering why schools, for example, aren't made available to the wider community for evening use.
And this preamble serves to give another plug to the pioneering efforts of the almighty Addicks who have converted part of their ground into the Charlton Athletic Study Support Centre.
The centre allows youngsters to learn in an unusual and stimulating environment and forms part of a national initiative to harness interest in football for educational purposes.
Study support is learning activity outside normal lessons, which young people take part in voluntarily. Its purpose is to improve their motivation, build their self-esteem and help them to become more effective learners.
This is done through games and discussion, as well as offering help with basic skills in literacy, numeracy and IT. Emphasis is on the ability to transfer the skills learnt at the centre to school and home. Above all, the aim is to raise achievement.
Literacy and football? Why not?
Charlton have even gone further, with links to a language school in Spain through the Charlton Athletic European Soccer School.
(On the footballing front, Jakartass hopes that the chiropractors' favourite players, Crouch and Bent, will play up front for England tonight.)
Ronnie Barker R.I.P.
The master wordplay artist with great comic timing died on Tuesday.
"Good evening. I am the president of the Loyal Society for the Relief of Suffers from Pismronunciation, for the relief of people who can't say their worms correctly, or who use the wrong worms entirely, so that other people cannot underhand a bird they are spraying. It's just that you open your mouse, and the worms come turbling out in wuck a say that you dick not what you're thugging to be, and it's very distressing."I get the feeling that he would have enjoyed the Ig Nobel Awards, held as a kind of pisstake of the Nobel Prizes.
This years Íg Nobel Prize for Literature has gone to the internet entrepreneurs of Nigeria, for using email to distribute a bold series of short stories, thus introducing millions of readers to a cast of rich characters, each of whom requires just a small amount of money so as to obtain access to the great wealth they will share with you.
