MURAL

Newcastle had a home game this afternoon against Bournemouth - kick off 3pm. Before heading to the ground I made a detour so I could take a shot of this mural.

This 30 foot mural was recently unveiled as part of the Premier League's 'More Than a Game' campaign, which celebrates people integral to their local community. Ismael Bamba was chosen as Community Captain for NUFC as a result of his commitment for the last 6 years to the Premier League Kicks youth coaching programme and the Newcastle United Foundation. Each club in the Premier League and the Football League has chosen a Community Captain, with Ish being chosen as one of a select few to have a mural painted in his honour. The Newcastle United Foundation has supported more than 26,000 children and their families, bringing them together through their passion for football. The Foundation has been integral in using the power and influence that the Newcastle United name has within the city to help as many people as possible.

The match was a strange one. Lots of positives ... and lots of negatives. Bournemouth players committed 22 fouls but only 3 players received yellow cards. The ref came in for a lot of " stick " from Newcastle players and fans alike.

Bournemouth scored the first goal on the 51st minute due to a bungled back pass from a Newcastle player to our goalkeeper. Newcastle were awarded a penalty on the 58th minute ( after a very long VAR check ) and Anthony Gordon scored. However we weren't in the lead for long as Bournemouth got a second goal after 69 mins. At full time the score was Newcastle 1 Bournemouth 2.... but extra time was added on. A couple of substitutions were made by Newcastle and after being on the pitch for 53 seconds one of the subs... Matt Ritchie... scored. It was his first goal since 2020 ( he rarely plays now and is usually on the subs bench for every game ). I was so pleased for him. So the game ended in a 2 - 2 draw. Newcastle still have a lot of players injured and at the moment they are playing without a recognised striker. And our defence used to be rock solid but recently the team have been conceding far too many goals. And my favourite player Fabian Schar seems to have picked up a wrist injury. Hopefully its not serious as the team can't afford to lose another player.

It had been a dry day until around 4.30pm when the heavens opened so a brolly was needed on my walk from St James Park to the bus stop ( via Tesco ). Bus came on time and it wasn't too busy.  
                    

Becky, Mike and Astrid had a fun time today - they went to Peppa Pig World. Its in Romsey, Hampshire. The tickets were a Christmas present from me to Astrid. Ive seen lots of photos from their visit and it seems like a great place - especially if you are a fan of Peppa Pig,

Steps today - 8,191