The Downsize

The advice after falling off a bike is to get back on straight away.

So after the 10-1 thrashing last Saturday morning, the offer to go and play 5-a-side with Simon's team just seems too good. Even if I don't have the appropriate footwear.

After all I don't want to be frightened the next time I go on a pitch for a competitive game. I watched the Marseille v Liverpool slaughter on TV last night.

It was horrible. Horrible. The Marseille boys seemed stricken. Stevie G roused his international Scousers and the rest was slaughter.

Good for them. The main sports paper L'équipe described Marseille's destruction as La Lune dans le caniveau ...the moon in the gutter......I knew this phrase as it was the title of the second film of Jean-Jacques Beineix who shot to fame back in the early 80s with Diva.

During my term at the British Institute in Paris I did a project on Beineix from his time in advertising, via shorts to his feature films.

Le cinéma du look and its flashy abstractions.

Anyway that was long before Beineix was anywhere near Betty Blue and the uberpout that was Béatrice Dalle.

Wednesday's L'équipe has naturally turned it's attention to the Rangers v Lyon match at Ibrox. Lyon need to win to progress to the last 16. Rangers merely need a draw.

I'm going to go and see the second half with Neil over at the usual pub near Chatelet.

That's providing I can literally get on my bike after the 5-a-side kickabout.