WHAT IS THE HATVENT CALENDAR?
This is the third year of PompeyChicken's Hatvent Calendar! It's a bit like an online Advent Calendar.
It's been inspired by the Innocent Drinks company who have been putting little woolen hats on their bottles of smoothies as part of The Big Knit, in aid of the charity Age UK.
You may have seen them on sale in Sainsbury's. PompeyChicken's family has been drinking a lot of smoothies again this year and each hat continues to be a perfect fit!
Two year's ago the Hatvent Calendar made connections between each hat and Pompey.
Last year underneath each hat PompeyChicken unveiled a favourite Pompey video clip.
This year he's been looking through the bookshelves to identify some of his favourite football books. Quite a few have a link to Pompey but not all.
You can read more about the Big Knit, which has been running since 2003, by clicking on the link at the end of this blog.
I hope you enjoy this year's Hatvent Calendar.
POMPEYCHICKEN'S HAT OF THE DAY
TODAY'S BOOK
This book is The Football Men by Simon Kuper published in 2011. It's is a collection of profile articles dating back to the late 1990s covering: players (e.g. Johan Cruyff, Zinedine Zidane and Andres Iniesta), managers (e.g. Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola) and 'other football men'.
To quote from inside the cover: "...[the book] describes their upbringings, the football cultures they grew up in, the way they play, and the baggage that they bring to their relationships at work...".
It's an insightful read about some of the most famous names inside football. But intriguingly for Pompey fans the section titled 'Other Football Men' includes an excellent chapter on the late Anthony Minghella from 1998 who of course was a fan of Portsmouth FC.
The chapter starts like this: "...When Anthony Minghella was filming The English Patient in the North African desert, the Portsmouth Football Mail was delivered to him every week...". How very sad that neither are no longer with us.
Simon Kuper's interview with Anthony Minghella is quoted in this excellent article in The Observer from 2010 here ==> Football Is Not About Corporations. It's About Clubs And Communities
In light of the current situation at Fratton Park, with the Pompey Trust on the verge of taking over Portsmouth FC, the article is well worth another read.
You can find out more about this book on Amazon by clicking here ==> The Football Men
LAST YEAR'S HAT
Click on the following link to see the hat and video from one year ago ==> Hatvent Calendar 2nd December 2011
WHAT IS THE BIG KNIT?
To find out more about Innocent Smoothies and the Big Knit you can click on the following link ==> The Big Knit
BlueThruAndThru
