Through these balmy days, a great British summer of sport is in progress but it was taken to a new level today. With the backdrop of the annual Wimbledon championships, the Ashes commenced today. Two sports which take a backseat during the winter, tennis and cricket respectively are to the fore this summer. There are high stakes and big rivalries on the court and the pitch, played out in front of bumper crowds, showing their support in the traditional partisan manner.
Andy Murray is the toast of Wimbledon, serenely progressing to the semi-finals whilst increasingly reinforcing his status as one of the great players of the generation. However, two of the all-time greats in Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic lay in wait in the latter stages. An interesting aside is the dryness of the courts this year, the lush grass cannot remain in these hot conditions. Maybe there is a water shortage? It makes you appreciate the need to save water for times of drought. With this in mind, our ‘CondenSyn’ can help promote this in the labs.
Across the border in Cardiff, a keenly anticipated, and one of the great test cricket rivalries re-commences as England battle Australia to win back the Ashes. Only played once every 4 years in this country, England are out for vengeance after a sound 5-0 whitewash down under, back in 2013. Aiming to re-inspire the public after some lacklustre displays, England have started to reinvent themselves in recent times, and this is hopefully the dawn of a brave new era. The term ‘the Ashes’ The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, The Sporting Times, immediately after Australia’s 1882 victory at The Oval, their first Test win on English soil. The obituary stated that English cricket had died, and the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia. The mythical ashes immediately became associated with the 1882–83 series played in Australia, before which the English captain Ivo Bligh had vowed to “regain those ashes”. The English media therefore dubbed the tour the quest to regain the Ashes. The contents of the famous urn are reputed to be the ashes of a wooden bail, and were humorously described as “the ashes of Australian cricket” (Ref: Wikipedia).
Of course, as a chemist I don’t much like the idea of that fire. Therefore, instead of risking reducing other items in your lab to ashes, minimise the risks of oil bath fires using our DrySyn range of heating blocks.
Enjoy the summer of sport, I know I sure will!
Arran
