Lamb among the Bees

One of the brightest talents in the Gloucester squad is young Ryan Lamb who, in the ‘A’ team matches I have attended, has emitted gasps from the crowd at his attacking verve and skill. I would regard him as the most exciting young player to emerge since Simpson-Daniel burst onto the scene. I had hoped he might feature in recent games, at least from the bench, when McRae, Amor and Davies have all been suffering from injury. In fact I would put him above Brad Davies in the pecking order at Kingsholm. As it is, Lamb has joined Pertemps Bees on loan and it is no surprise to read of a startling debut for the youngster splitting the London Welsh defence to create the try of the match.

I have been busy working on the computer all day and have enjoyed the company of the idiosyncratic Beck, having been playing the maudlin and tender Sea Change album again and again. It has the delicate, almost ethereal charm of a lost Nick Drake recording, defiantly downbeat and autumnal. Elements of it - especially the understated guitar - reminded me slightly of another lost classic Tracey Thorn’s A Distant Shore, one of the records of my youth.