Good old moan When living abroad one misses conversation and debate about all walks of British life, whether it be the weather, politics, culture, the price of a pint of beer or football and as other ex-pats will no doubt tell you whenever one gets an opportunity for a 'good old moan' with another Brit then it makes for a refreshing and thought-provoking occasion. Trust me, it does.

However after results like Sunday it is with a happy acceptance that I do not have to go into work the next day to be ridiculed about my football team and can chose effectively to ignore the media gleefully rubbing their hands over a 24-hour newspaper story that will wrap fish and chips come midweek.

Since Sunday's final whistle I have only read fellow blogs. I forwent the comments and (with apologies to Danny and Adam) avoided Charlton Life like the plague, which I imagine has become an online institute for the mega-depressive.

Fortunately for me this blog has always been about other things in my life, and not solely about Charlton Athletic. It is about everything that my life brings and that I am passionate about including my 35-year love affair with Charlton. Nonetheless despite giving me a different perspective the fact I see so few games live Chicago Addick would never have lasted this long if it was solely about the rise and fall of Charlton Athletic, and although our dramatic demise has stimulated plenty of material, I would have probably chopped my fingers off by now.

On the back of heaps of negativity and pessimism Wyn Grant today decided to surprisingly suspend his Addick's Diary blog, the most judicious of us all. The erudite New York Addick has also announced the closure of his, although I hope that second thoughts prevail once he gets back to the UK. Frankie Valley disappeared and the provocative Inspector Sands, the inspiration for most of us Addick bloggers, long lost real interest in All Quiet, for many of the same reasons as Wyn describes today. The Inspector doesn't hide behind anonymity anymore and at 853 continues to chronicle his life, which now includes running as a Green Party candidate at the next Greenwich elections.

There are plenty of new Addick bloggers on t'interweb because for however despairing and cynical we all are, in true Charlton fashion we like to do something about it. If you haven't taken a look I would recommend And Nothing Else Matters and Charlton Casual for a different take on matters plus Big Dave Lockwood has also announced a comeback.

I find writing gives me a vocation I never had, it allows me to express myself, I have had someone to talk to, it opens my mind to stuff, it keeps a diary, it has allowed me to meet loads of great people and blimey, has it given me a chance to have a good old moan over the years.  ¶ 13:16