1788 Timothy Small's Gunrush, Durham Cricket, the Ashes and Sunderland win at Norwich

This was to have been a different kind of day but early on the desk top computer went peculiar and the rest of the day has been spent setting up the laptop with the desktop display unit, the printer, extension sound speakers and the wireless mouse. Only the keyboard remains unattached. I have approached the potentially work record disaster this way rather than immediately send for help for the desk top because I hope the problem is temporary but if not it may be some time before it can be repaired or replaced and the data not transferred to disk can be saved. This will have implications for the work programme, but I had been planning to concentrate or weight reduction and fitness between now and winter.

The process of setting up the lap top as a desk top has not been without its problems. Surprisingly the mouse was the easiest to organise as has been the a better sound quality. The desktop display proved to be a problem when I discovered the possibilities of different displays on the two screen and for a top achieved a desktop screen on screen two and nothing else until I eventually found the way to get back to showing the same display on both screens. I will leave the optional approach until another day, if ever! I then made the mistake of asking the computer via windows to find software for the printer instead of locating the disk, then found the disk which interrupted the download and eventually reached a stalemate until I removed the disk and let the download take its course.

I also put the rubbish out and retrieved, washed up and washed me, completed the ironing, gave the kitchen surfaces a good clean and the over top and commenced on the bathroom with the washbasin which is still in process. I also started the washing washing and drying but forgot how to open the machine door at the end of the process unintentionally restarted so had to complete the cycle before transferring the load to the dryer. The consequence of all this is that I decided to postpone to outing by bus to Sunderland for the replacement glasses.

My original intention was to write about two subjects which are in stark contrast. It has been a joyous few days of sport with Durham’s win against Warwickshire almost making it impossible for another team to win the champions, England won the last Test against all expectations and all three northeast football clubs won their matches over the weekend with Sunderland also winning well against Norwich away from home in the League Cup competition second round. Neither British driver won the Formula 1 Grand Prix and I missed the Athletics World Championships.

Then when I was just about to watch a film, I happened to change through the channels to find Timothy Small in a drama about which I had no advance information. Timothy Small is one of finest British actors of this day and so I stayed and found a major two hour dramatic event which was painful to watch because of the reality it portrayed. The drama is about what happens to a family when one of their children in gunned down.

Timothy Small plays a driving instructor whose approach is to spread kindness, avoid confrontations and unpleasantness. Over their years of marriage his wife has become the one to react to life in a more aggressive way so when two hooded youths push in before them in the local Mini market against her husbands advice she intervenes and the most insecure and disturbed of the young men pulls out a gun and shoots the daughter intending to silence the mother. She dies and the police are unable to move towards finding the culprits with no one coming forward, no witnesses and no clues except the cartridge which can be matched to the gun if it is found.

It is also drama which attempts to explain rather than justify how two young men became involved in the killing. One is weak with ambitions and wanting respect. He sees the killing as an opportunity to become part of the local drug gang network but quickly messes up and is knife cut as a warning. He retaliates by attempting to shoot the person with the gang network who reported his misbehaviour, having retrieved the gun from the canal when his partner in crime was ordered to dispose the weapon.

His partner comes from a family where the father is trying to put the past behind him. He grew up on one of the estates mentioned in the film which have become over run by drugs and associated criminal activity and where knives and guns are available at a price, The father is now a lawyer/counsellor representing and helping his former community, or at least this is the impression I gained of the situation. The son becomes caught up in the situation by having the wrong kind of friend.

The death and the lack of an arrest separates the couple as the wife punishes herself knowing that her failure to keep quiet and move away precipitated the killing of her eldest daughter with whom she had been having problems just before the incident, while the husband knows it is constant avoidance of issues which helped create what happened. They are unable to cope when the police liaison officer intimates the lack of development and trying to be helpful leaves the father alone to take a personal call on her mobile when showing him the available exhibits. Father has removed the cartridge shell and refuses to return it when the loss is discovered saying he wants to try and find out by what happened by going onto the estates and making his own enquiries. He persuades the liaison officer to put him in touch with someone who can help, the lawyer counsellor who in turn puts him in touch with a crack head whose first act is to arrange a meeting with a local supplier of weapons, one of several we are told.

The climax of the film comes when the young partner is advised by the counsellor to give the gun to Small and persuade his friend to say that the killing was an accident and therefore reduce the time they spend in prison, However the young killer will have none of this and together they kidnap the second daughter after fighting with the wife in an attempt to get the gun back from the home of the driving instructor. The first reaction of Timothy on his way to the police to hand over the gun and cartridges is to advise them of the kidnapping when informed of his wife but she encourages to him to take the law in his own hands as he is in possession of the gun.

It is at this point the title of the film becomes more clear. The counsellor has explained the empowerment which the guns brings to weak and inadequate human beings and the film makes the point that in this respect Small as the victim’s father is no different from the perpetrator of the crime. He is tempted to use the gun on his daughter’s killer when given the opportunity but realises that would make him the same as the young killer. At the very point when he decides to use the weapon just to capture the grovelling young man, an immature child at heart, a member of the drug gang fed up with the trouble he has caused for their enterprise, kills him.
The film should have ended at this point but moves to the funeral and the ability of their second daughter to play the cello once more. She had been unable to touch the instrument because the case was stained with the blood of her sister. It is a signal that the family are able to move on however difficult and permanent wounded as beings. The film therefore highlights that the dividing line between good and bad between hero and coward is a narrow and changing one for most human being, but more so for some more than others. It reinforces the unpalatable view that there are no quick fix solutions. The role of government is to provide the policing, judicial and custodial system to punish offenders when they are caught and limit the harm, at least for a time. The problem is that the custodial system is limited in what it cab achieve in terms of reform and rehabilitation and more likely the individual will become more professional and gain a network of associates through the experience. It is important that governments, specialist voluntary organisations, local government authorities and communities in general devote resources and attention to undermining the situations in which these individuals tend to flourish. The problem is a daunting one made worse by the influx of the criminals scum of Europe into the capital city and other cities and towns in the UK because of opportunities provided by an unfettered capitalist culture and membership of the enlarge Europe. This makes policing and intelligence even more difficult than before. There are however three areas where governments and our society in generalise in danger of throwing baby out with the bath water, although there is need to work new arrangements for the new situation.

The first issue is the alleged breaking down of traditional controls and respect for the authority. It is true that the various changes has created a situation in which the respectable middle class is no longer willing to accept the authority of the politicians, churchmen, self appointed moral guides and others simply because of the position they hold, or their existing wealth and power. The behaviour of members of the Royal Family, the near collapse of capitalism through the greed of bankers and speculators, the acquiescence to this situation by politicians many of whom have been revealed to have exploited their expenses beyond anything which the majority considers reasonable, the knowledge of the criminal abusive behaviour of churchmen and others in positions of authority and the increasing availability of education and information through the interned and 24/7 media, the rapid development of large parts of the UK into a multi cultural and racial society which has swamped previous populations, the rapid increase in unemployment levels and loss of homes, has all contributed to a situation where people question and challenged than just accept. However there has always been a large criminal underclass which congregates and infights for individual supremacy. The removal of some individuals into custodial care means that either other members of the criminal community take over or they maintain activities on behalf of those incarcerated for a time. Once crime becomes embedded in an estate or large community the only way to end it is to break up the estate and control and monitor all the individuals who formed the cancerous components. You have to tackle the problem specifically and it has little to do with general changes in the approach to authority and discipline by the majority of our country.

The second myth is that because these individuals misuse the state welfare system we should severely restrict or change the system for everyone else. By all means bear down on those who persistently use the system and a supplementary income to help further their illegal activities. However one has to be aware that the doing will only result in more traditional crime affecting other people more than before. Having mentioned that the USA government is reported to have paid 100000 people in Iraq a monthly sum to prevent them from becoming enemies of the new state, the provision of similar monies to the criminal classes could be viewed in a similar light as the lesser of two evils.

The third area is the desire to monitor and thereby control by gaining access to all the means by which the criminal class can communicate with each other and pass information on a European and world wide basis. It is understandable that governments like the ability to cast the widest net and then discriminate, especially as they now have the technology to do so. However this only creates the types of society which have been the cause of much blood giving over decades and centuries. The threat of terrorism is a priority for governments but it must be placed in perspective, given the situation which occurred because of the abuse of power by the Protestant unionism in Ireland, until the last decade and that which I experienced as a child between 1939 and 1945. The measures have to be commensurate to the situation.

I therefore wish that I had not seen the film as it quickly destroyed the mood I had been in beforehand, arising from some excellent sporting experiences.

I begin with Durham’s victory over Warwickshire. Victory had appeared to be the outcome as soon as Warwickshire elected to bat after winning the toss and Durham dismissed the visitors for 135. The main cause of the collapse was the improvement in the bowling of Graham Thorp who took 5 for 49 in 20 overs. This will make team selection a difficult task when Harmison and Onions return to play for the County as Durham now have Plunket, Davies and Claydon as well as Thorp as front line pace bowlers together with spinners Blackwell and young Bothwick, Breese and part time Blenkenstein. It was Blenkenstein who came on in an attempt to break a mini stand who was the surprise of the innings and match because he took three wickets and appeared to cause the Warwickshire batsmen great trouble. Durham took their innings slowly with Di Venuto 40 followed by Blenkenstein with 73, Blackwell 63 and Mustard and Plunket also getting runs to bring the total to 273 and a lead of 138. There was a possibility of the game being over in two days similar to what happened at Nottingham. At first it looked as if I was right as three wickets fell for 34 runs but then Troughton son and grandson of two actors with the senior the original Dr Who made his intentions clear and continued with a brilliant 111 given the circumstances, taking the game into the third day. This time is was the turn of Mark Davies who has had a difficult time since returning from injury who was the star performer taking 3 wickets for 19 runs from under 15 overs. He was supported by Claydon and Blackwell who each took three wickets and the last five going cheaply for 37 runs. This left Durham to get 102 runs which were achieved by Di Venuto and Chanderpaul each with 41 and the victory was by eight wickets. The arrival of Chanderpaul for Gordon Muchall strengthens the batting further and only Stoneman is at risk of being replaced as his succession of law scores continues. As predicted the three other division one championship games ended in draws so that the table now has Durham on 186 points and 7 wins, Notts on 149 and Somerset on 146 with three wins as has Lancs on 138 but having played one more game, followed by Sussex or 120 and Warwickshire on 119, Yorks 117 and Hants 116 as the also rans and poor Worcestershire on 57.

For the last two days of the game my attention was divided as the last Test of the Ashes series had commenced. From the outset I thought that an English series victory was unlikely although I hoped they would do better than the humiliating whitewash which occurred in Australia two years ago. What happened then has to be put into perspective in that in 2005 England had been on a roll under Duncan Fletcher and Peterson, Flintoff and Harmison were at their peak. The problems was that while Australia immediately planned their revenge, England celebrated their new celebrity status and went on partying with the outcome disaster. There was a new concentrated purpose in the England camp and the emphasis and ongoing performance. For Graham Onions to break through in the side has been a notable achievement and Steve Harmison has worked hard the departure of Freddie Flintoff from Test Cricket has given him an opportunity to perform at international level for the next two years, assuming the selectors do not go for an immediate team rebuild. This is a possibility given that for the fifth test the decided to bring in Warwickshire’s Graham Trott a South African by birth who elected to play for England like Kevin Peterson.

At Cardiff Australia appeared determined to continue as they had left off and only and outstanding batting performance by Durham‘s Paul Collingwood supported by Monty Panesar and James Anderson over two days prevented defeat. Panesar’s lack of form has meant Graham Swann, who can also bat has taken over, he and Collingwood with Anderson means they are held in special regard and will continues to do so. Then came Lords and the outstanding win against Australia after several decades. Captain Strauss with 165 and opener Cook 95, set the scene with a stand of 196 and England finished with a total of 425. With Anderson 4 wickets and onions 3 Australia were reduced to 215 and then a solid all round second innings batting performance with Collingwood and Prior steadying the middle order with 54 and 41, England were able to declare setting Australia 500 hundred runs to win. They got 400 of them with Clark, Haddin and Johnson outstanding. It was Flintoff with 5, his first in a Test at Lords and Swann with 4 that did the damage and England were 1 up in the series instead of 1.1

Rain affected the chances of a result at Birmingham. Anderson and Onions with 5 and four wickets respectively did the damage as Australia were kept to 263 after winning the toss and electing to bat. England with Strauss Flintoff, Bell and Broad getting runs completed their innings over 100 runs ahead at 376. Given the weather stoppages only a collapse in their second innings gave England any chance of a result but stands involving Hussey, Clark and North, the latter making nearly 200 runs for the fifth wicket left a draw.

Headingley has always been a good hunting ground for England and I was there for Botham’s Ashes victory when he turned the game on its head. This time Australia humiliated England winning by an innings and 80 runs. England won the toss and then were skittled out for 100 runs. Australia then noticed 450 with North and Clark once more and pointing scoring highly. While Broad and Swann each got 60 in England’s second innings, the side was out for 263.

It is therefore understandable that hopes were not high for the fifth test. Flintoff made it, but just about as he prepared for surgery on his knee immediately the match was over. Harmison replaced Onions who was nevertheless invited to stay along with Peterson and Panesar. It is not clear if the invitation was extended to Bopara. England won the toss on a dodgy wicket prepared for a result and found scoring runs difficult. There was a good all round contribution to the score of 332 with Straus once more setting the standards with 55, Bell with 77 and new man Trott with 41 run out. Then an amazing thing happened Australia had a good start with over 70 on the board before the first wicket fell and then they were skittled out for 165 with Broad having a brilliant spell taking five wickets 5 for 37 from 12 and Swann 4 for 38 from 14. Then it looked as the wicket which kept some balls low while others exploded was go to be the victor as three wickets fell for 39. Strauss was there again but the outstanding performance was that of Trott with 119 also supported by Swann once more with 60. England declared when Trott was out for nine wickets setting Australia two and more days to get over 500 runs. This is a total which no side in test history anywhere in their world has achieved, although despite the wicket, there was a general nervousness that the lads from down under might do it.

This got off to an excellent start with Watson and Katich putting on 80 runs before they both fell for 40 and 43. Was this the breakthrough? Pointing 66 and Hussey 121 said not adding another 100 runs in their partnership. Nerves commenced show and Collingwood dropped to difficult and one easy chance. Then it was a combination of Australia taking difficult and dangerous runs which was their down fall coupled with a brilliant throw from Flintoff which uprooted a stump for Pointing to be out when going strongly at 66. Again the wickets fell in pairs. Then five balls later a throw from Strauss broke the stumps and the replays showed that although the back foot was on the line it was not over it as required and the batsman was correctly given out. A few rubs later North was brilliantly out stumped by the wicket keeper and it appeared to be only a matter of time before the match went to England, But in cricket nothing is ever certain and Cardiff has become the benchmark for modern day survival. There was another mini stand of close on 100 and the crowd began to think the match would continue into the fifth day. Petersen decided to make an early start for home but got as far as the Vauxhall Bridge Haddin was caught by Strauss off Swann and the Harmison got a wicket as Collingwood held a catch with the score still 327. Then it was boys own stuff as Harmison had the next man caught by Flintoff and the very next ball had Clark caught by Cook, could the match end with a hat trick. It was nearly and five runs later it was over as Hussey was out for his 121. England and won the match by 197 runs and with it the Ashes series 2009. The crowd went wild and celebrations were long with everyone staying for the presentations of medals and awards and brief speeches from the captains.

All three North East Clubs in their respective matches over the weekend. Sunderland went a goal down to Blackburn where previous matches had ended 0.0.I know I was there. This time it was Kenwyn Jones who scored the goals in a hard fought game. The Boo also won at home 2.0 and Newcastle continued to confound expectations by a 2.0 win at Crystal Palace. On Monday evening I enjoyed watching Sunderland have an impressive match at Norwich shown on Sky. Sunderland were ruthless in their finishing which fortunately was not the case for Norwich who as many chances to score during the match. Sunderland fielded only 2 of the those who ha played in the game on the Saturday, Kenwyn Jones and Nosworthy. Scottish goal keeper, Craig Gordon was excellent as was new signing from Hull Frazer Campbell who nearly scored what would have the goal of the season. While Norwich have been leaking goals, the performance confirmed that Sunderland should avoid a struggle to stay in the Premier ship this year and a mid table placement should be the outcome.

1782 The return journey and sporting Saturday

The journey homeward on Friday August 10th, 2009 had its moments of interest as well as concerns and although I did not achieve as much as I might have done during the three days, the trip went much better than anticipated and I kept expenditure to a reasonable level for my present budget.

Arranging to take the lunch time coach home means that it is easy to waste a morning as one is caught between relaxing and then rushing and getting everything ready and then having nothing to do for a couple of jours. I did not feel like writing or reading but did a little of both before the preparing of food and packing. Deciding I needed a cold drink, I left the hotel about half an hour earlier than I needed to. I could have gone for the drink and hoped that the key card continued to work, and similarly taken the fan back to the desk, but took the decision to leave in one go, buying the drink from one of the hotel drink‘s machine and drinking the can outside in what had become a pleasant sunny morning. I advised the hotel reception that I had left the fan in the room and detected a note of surprise and approval that I had taken the trouble to mention this, I called at the nearest local tobacconist store for two Euro draw lottery tickets and headed for the 73 bus to Victoria.

Both were unsuccessful ventures with only one of the lucky dip number coming up and the bus so overcrowded that I decided to go by the Tube.

There was quite a queue for the lift from Kings Cross to the Underground train level so I crossed the road and walked through the far end of the front of St Pancras for the lift, even though it meant walking all the way back as the Victoria and Northern lines are at the other end of the station where they have always been. The new concourse either side of the entrance to the Piccadilly, Circle and District Lines was a great crush of people queuing for tickets with another crowd at the two lots of automatic ticket machines. The first machine went off line for the young woman in front and this is second time this has happened, the other occasion was the previous day with only getting the ticket for the journey to the hotel on the first evening not proving a problem. Then a machine refused to take one of the pound coins so I decided to use a card and the queue was slow to move as visitors unused to the machines took their time, I needed only a few seconds and the man behind congratulated that someone else seemed to know what they were doing. If he only knew.

I had worked out that by placing the grip on my rucksack over the retractable handle for the case I needed only one hand to pull the case and rucksack together and this was a great boon and demonstrated once again my slowness in working out solutions which could make life a lot easier, I arrived at the coach station just after twelve and found that the coach for South Shields was at the end gate instead of one at the middle. The 12.30 was for Leicestershire and 1.30 for Mansfield.

Earlier I had listened to an interesting programme about the role of MI6 since end of the cold war. The programme had the appearance of being independently made with former spy chief and politicians refusing to answer certain questions and yet I had the feeling throughout that it was in fact MI6 spin. Understandably there was considerable coyness about the use of informants and the intelligence gathering process and the use of semi independent private agency to undertake work not authorised under Parliamentary democracy. I suspect the programme was designed to put the blame squarely on the American administration and on politicians for not warning the Iraq information was limited and potentially out of date, and that if operatives were aware that the USA was torturing suspects, or complicit in having them tortured it was done without the awareness of the politicians or senior civil servants. I did believe the point that those within the UK security network UK worked together rather than being distrustful as portrayed in the Le Carre books.

Arriving early at the coach station I found a seat close to the door to the coaches although those for Leicester had to wait twenty minutes before being allowed on. There were two young men who were puzzled that the departure board mentioned South Shields and not Sunderland their destination. They had travelled down the previous weekend on the overnight and then worked a ten hour shift and they were going home after what had been a major new experience for them. An elderly lady in a wheel chair with a companion or family member arrived and was equally anxious and she was closely followed by a young couple where the female not only gave the orders to her partner but wanted to take control of everyone else’s situation. I got the front seat in the aisle behind the driver which provided excellent leg space and a magnificent view of the road ahead

For the first part of the journey to Milton Keynes I had an almost continuous conversation with the driver who initiated much of the conversation. There had been a bad accident on the MI around the junction to Luton which had closed to Lanes of the motorway going north. There was contact checking of the traffic information and communications with drivers ahead and behind to relayed the latest position which was that the area had been cleared and traffic was flowing again. However there was a new problem as we approach as it looked as if a large van and collided with a private car which had been driven into the hedgerows. However the delay was only that of minutes as vehicles slowly down to see what had happened.

There were four no shows at Victoria and no one to be picked up at Golders Green so that reduced travelling by a good fifteen minutes. Similarly there was no one to pick up at Thirsk another half an hour saved and this service did not call at York. The omens appeared good. At Milton Keynes a couple got on with no double seat available, as I had feared, so I volunteered to move if an aisle seat was available. Fortunately there was one close to the front. The driver expressed disappointment to find that I had moved.

There was further delay because of traffic volume in the Nottingham area which removed the gains that had been achieved. A second driver was taken on at Trowell and we were half an hour late at Sheffield but still had a thirty minute break. I enjoyed a mug of tea for £1.85 having earlier eaten rolls filled with pate and a small pain au chocolat. The driver left us for home at Middlesbrough where he hoped to be at his social club within 2O mins. He had Sunday off. The other additional driver also left here and a new driver, who I subsequently learnt was doing the overnight run to London took over. I had enjoyed a good chat with the man next to me who left at Hartlepool the stop after Stockton. I had moved back to seat behind the driver at this point and it was on reaching Peterlee that the drama commenced. Peterlee is a sprawling newish community with a central bus station in an isolated position rather than the traditional town centre. The coach only sometimes calls there.

As one or two passengers departed the coach a young woman, not more than twenty enquired if this stop was Stockton, some thirty miles and half an hour before. She had not been asleep but misunderstood the driver and clear had not been on the route before. Usually those travelling on their own are telephoned or phone contacts who will pick them up at a coach stop. It was upsetting that the girl found herself in the predicament and my instinct was to advise that she stayed on the coach to Sunderland where it was likely she would find transport to Stockton if she had no one to collect her and where there were staff. This was the subsequent view of the driver who could have got her to Stockton if necessary on the overnight trip if there was no other solution. However a woman getting off said there was a bus from Peterlee to Hartlepool and from there a but to Stockton so the girl who appeared desperate for someone who could help her went to her for assistance. My anxiety then as now was whether there were buses operating at that time of night, after eight in the evening. The three other passengers remaining on the coach shared the concern but there was nothing we could do more than worry.

It had rained in Shields shortly before arrival but fortunately had stopped and I was able to get home without getting wet. Climbing the hill with the luggage was not the ordeal it had been before.

It was then time to take advantage of the all night supermarket for fruit, salad and fresh milk. The rolls prepared for the journey but left on the day room table had not gone mouldy and were distinctly only because of the smoked salmon, otherwise they would have been edible. I had eaten the second pain au chocolat on leaving Sunderland and eat the remaining pate filled roll on return with a coffee having had a can of coke with a glass of ice immediately on arrival.

The television sound continued to work and I watched a film with Sean Connery and Meg Ryan, The Presidio 1988, but went to sleep for at least an hour missing the ending and somehow managed to drag myself up to bed leaving the unpacking, the washing up and sorting out of papers from the trip.

Saturday had three dimensions, 20 20 cricket finals day, held this year at Birmingham, the opening weekend of the Premiership football season and writing, printing and reflecting on the trip to create one or two volumes of sets as a permanent record and memory.

I had considered going straight to London to Birmingham for the Twenty Twenty but this would have been quite a venture without a car, finding and getting to accommodation and then getting home on the Monday. I decided that my budget was not good enough although Sussex had reached their second one day finals day in the year. The first semi final commenced at 11.15 and continued until 2 and then the second commenced at 3pm until around 5.30 with the final under lights 7 to 10. The afternoon interval provided opportunity to go for black print cartridges where I bought four for £8, saving £2 on the single item by single item price. I also acquired a new desk lap so I can read the typing keys when the light is poor and found one at Wilkinsons for £4 plus something like 53 pence for two forty watt bulbs.

Sussex played against Northants in the first semi final with Northants being a ground never visited and a team did hitting the headlines except for the very popular Monty Panesar. Sussex bowlers contained Northants to 136 for 6 which was never going to be much with the 150 being the average score for 20 20’s at the ground. The Sussex approach was a cautious one and did not achieve the required runs until the final over. The game was not a great spectacle except for Sussex supporters who were anyway nervous after the defeat in the Final of the Friends Provident Trophy. The second semi final between Somerset and Kent was similar with Kent never scoring enough and Somerset having the batting power to win comfortably.

The final between Sussex and Somerset lived up to the Razzamatazz which this year was based on the theme the magnificent even with seven commentators, magnificent seven music cowgirl dancers and riding a an automatic mustang. No doubt there were plenty of beef burgers and spare ribs on sale. The star of the Sussex innings was the West Indian Smith who scored 59 runs from 26 balls with seven four hits and three sixes, There were 13 other four hits which made the total of 172 runs for seven wickets a challenging one with Somerset having to score an average of over eight and half runs an over, They had the man who could do this Marcus Trescothick who I had seen get 100 in a pro 40 game the previous season. He looked as if he would win the match singled handed scoring 3 sixes and three four in an innings of only 15 balls and a total of 33 before being caught trying to hit the ball out of the ground. However after he was out Somerset famed for having a strong hard hitting batting line up failed and were all out with16 balls to spare for only 109. It was Sussex‘s day.

I only watched a few minutes of the opening match of Premiership season as title challenges Chelsea were only able to bat relegation survivors Hull.2.1 in extra time. In the afternoon I did listen to Sunderland at Bolton watching the cricket with the sound off. The new forward line up of Darren Bent and Kenwyn Joes is clearly going to work well. Bent scored within five minutes the only goal of the game and if Sunderland had gone into interval four or five up it would have been a fair reflection of the play. Sunderland have also acquired Cattermole from Wigan who appears he will play a similar role to Nosworthy in the championship year. With the reserve goal keeper playing well and making two excellent second half saves, one in extra time, Sunderland have the spine which if injury free should see them comfortable in mid table without relegation worries and possible causes some surprises in individual games. They entertain Chelsea midweek but I have decided not to go and will pick and chose games as the season progresses. They should have a good crowd being the only Premiership club in the North East this season.

Boro had a good 3.0 win away from home while Newcastle at home before a depleted home crowd won by three goals all scored by Shola Ameobi. However they do not look a team and with Ashley still haunting the club, along with Barton and Smith I will await their departure before attending a live match. After two games Newcastle and the Boro are likely to remain serious contenders for returning to the Premiership at their first attempt.

While sport and watching was the priority I printed out the information considered appropriate in support of my notes on the trip but left further writing until late evening. I enjoyed cereal in the morning a soup and a role midday and then two pieces of fish in crispy batter with a vegetable mixture and a small carton of cherries. I did was going up but little else activity. Sunday was likely to be a similar day and I will leave the sorting out of the glasses insurance and other similar household and personal matters until Monday.

1777 Summer returns

I am tired after a good day when it continued warm and sunny, dare I say it for three days in a row with more promised for the rest of the weekend. A walk to supermarket had to be taken slowly but no less enjoyable as the town had a summer mood about it and after buying the milk and deciding to go elsewhere for cards I went for a cup of tea and could not resist sultana scone, filled with jam and cream and a slice of strawberry with both costing a total of only £1.50. Although tea time, the place was deserted with only two of the other thirty odd tables occupied and staff had to be whistled up, chatting away in the kitchen as they were.

Today was the start of the new football season, although in fact only one game of the championship was played, a boring nil nil draw between the relegated Boro at their Riverside (Tees) ground and visitors Sheff Weds who had missed out on promotion losing at the play off final at Wembley in May. Boro could only manage one significant shot at goal on target thus continuing their goal famine which doomed them from the Premiership last year. The BBC are showing the Newcastle game at West Brom, both relegated last season. Have they taken over the games which Satanta was to have shown and does this include the Premiership I wonder?

The farce regarding the sale of Newcastle continues although in fairness to Mike Ashley there was the suggestion in the media that bidders are finding it difficult to raise the cash for the knock down asking price, this is because despite its intrinsic value of stadium and players it has been run at an operating loss because of the player’s wages bill with one report suggesting the loss could be as a high as £30million this year, and the loss of season ticket and merchandise revenue is only one factor, given the club also receives a parachute payment from the F.A to cover this problem. Again the figure of £30million has been mentioned.
To accompany my tea time treat at the supermarket I bought the Journal’s newspaper which included reports on Durham’s smash of Worcestershire in the televised Pro 40 game and English prospects for the fourth Ashes Test at Headingley.

I realise have not mentioned the Third Test held at Edgbaston a week ago which I viewed without the sound, listening to the radio commentary. Because of the weather I always felt a draw was the most likely outcome but England bowled exceptionally well and the Australian batting was poor in their first innings so England had a lead of 100 although at one time it looked as if the following on might be required. There was a combined public relations attempt top get the crowd in for the fifth day which petered out to a boring draw. The English commentators were talking up the chances of an Ashes win despite Australia continuing to top the world rankings and England being at best in mid-table.

This led to an unrealistic build up to the fourth Test as the indications were that Freddie Flintoff would not play because of injury. He has announced the decision not to continue playing in Tests for health reasons after this season because his body appears unable to cope with what is required for the five day Test series. As one commentator wisely stated, it was also unlikely that Captain Strauss would not be able to continue his fine run of high scoring performances indefinitely. I have also indicated that Steve Harmison’s value is the ability to fire above average missiles at the batsman as well as the wicket, but doing so he is liable to hit hard and often. He is brilliant at keeping the Australians down to 200 to 300 runs rather than runaway totals of 500 and 600 which then make it a competitive game if the English batsman do their job and get similar totals.

The shock before the match was not Harmison replacing Flintoff but that Matt Pryor the wicket keeper batsman injured himself in the warm up football kick about, much to the annoyance of Sir Ian Botham who has argued for long that this practice, one used by Durham, will end in tears. It was touch and go if Pryor would be able to play and the toss was delayed for ten minutes while a standby keeper was arranged. Pryor played but one wonders if this governed the decision of England to bat first after winning the toss. Australia had taken the unusual step of not including a spin bowler in their team which made Shane Warne express horror. The combination of one of the greatest spin bowlers the cricket world has seen with one of the top match pace bowlers brought Australia to their number one spot throughout the past decade.

Warne has had a major impact on young players all over the world being encouraged by their clubs to become spin bowlers. When the 20 20 format commenced the emphasis was on fun cricket with players going for the spinners as well as the fast bowlers, taking account of the shorter boundaries and the fielding restrictions which prevent players being dispersed to stand at the boundary around the ground preventing the scoring of four runs and therefore restricting the average run rate to one a ball, six an over from the seven to ten which quickly became the standard. Then it was discovered that accurate spin bowling could significantly restrict the run rate and this became Durham’s weakness in the 20 20 semi final against Middlesex last year when even world class Chanderpaul and Collingwood could not score at the required rate.

On Thursday evening, although it had been a fine and warm day, the prospect of a chill North East evening had no appeal and when the TV repair men said they would order and then fit a new sound board for the set when I returned from the next London Trip I decided to watch the game on the TV and listen to the BBC radio Wear commentary. The surprise was that Durham decided to include three spinners in the team. Gareth Breeze has been the club stalwart for several years but this year Ian Blackwell, more a high order batsman has proved himself a match winner, by taking wickets as well as restricting the run rate. To these two Durham added young Scott Borthwick who last year was given his opportunity to play in a 20.20 with some success. This year it was the Pro 40 and given his success of 2 wickets for 11 runs at the close I suspect he may be included in the final game at Worcester if the title has been won again before then. Team mates Blackwell got three wickets and Breeze one as Worcester were annihilated for only 129 after Durham had smashed their way to 274 for 4 and at one point had looked like getting more than their highest score in this competition. Phil Mustard 92 opened the batting for Durham with Ian Blackwell 36 and produced an electrifying start as fours and a couple of sixes reigned around the ground. Later former Captain Beckenstein made 52 and one wonders what would have happened if in form Di Venuto had played as well. The win by over 140 was one of the biggest ever and took Durham to the top of the Table with 4 points from 3 although Sussex have four from two and Hampshire 2 from 2. The competition is still early doors with two teams having played only one game with 1 point so that if they win their next two games they will 5 from three and overtake everyone else. However the Durham win established them as having become a superior class to everyone else in the eyes of the Sky team who covered their opening game against Somerset at the start of the season.

Back to the Test England won the toss and elected to bat and what appeared to be a good batting wicket. The Australian strategy of an all out pace attack worked as England was humbled on a pitch which proved to be fast, fiery, and swinging from the first ball. England were all out for a pathetic 102 and Australia was in no mood to follow suit. At the close they were 196 for 4 with Clark and North together again, reminding that these two put on a couple of hundred runs in the fourth innings to thwart England. England look set for a crushing innings defeat with four days, possible three. All the talk talk is great but what counts is what happens on the field of play.

I started to re-lay the kitchen flooring and the outcome will not be as bad as feared and I may be able to get away without having replace what I have except for the surround, although the mats will be required to cover up the patch ups.

I gave both rooms a close sweep and will wash after the kitchen floor is completed later today.

I also did some work although not as much as should have been achieved. I passed fifty win games as level 4 chess and was set to go much further when returning in the evening with my mind on several things at the same time I allowed he basic simplest of check mates to ruin the effort that had been put in. I can sustain concentration for 101 games I know I will make progress with the weight, but the cream scones and the glass of red wine taken for the first time in months will have to go, but not until the bottle has been drunk. I had 11 male cousins and six female and with my mother being the fourth youngest of her six sisters and four brothers, the majority of the cousins are older, but at the last count I know now of only four who do not have major health problems if they have not already departed. Until Thursday there were five and then news came that another was in hospital. If you add to this the partners of cousins who have died or have major health problems it reminds of one’s mortality although my health check was encouraging. I need to lose weight though if I am to continue for another decade.

1774 Keeping Cool in victory and defeat

I should be in a happy and contented state after Durham won its sixth championship game of the season, equalling the wins last year which saw the county take the championship title for Division One, but this time are six further matches to play. The win means a gap of 32 points over Somerset who have also played 10 matches and of 42 over third place Notts who have the one game in hand. Lancashire who Durham play next are 49 points behind also after 10. Durham’s home game against Notts before away games in Hampshire and Worcestershire could see the championship settled, even earlier if results go well over the next two games.

Durham won because of an extraordinary batting performance on the first day by Michael Di Venuto who scored 254 runs not out, the best performance of his career to which another 39 run was added in the second innings also not out. A total of 293 for the match. This means he has now scored over 1000 runs this season in the championship improving his averages by some 20 runs from 50 to 70 and generally making him one of the outstanding batsmen of the season to-date. He was supported by Captain Will Smith whose first innings century was timely and which helped to raise his batting average from the mid twenties where along with Stoneman he has performed the least best of the established Durham batting order. Ian Blackwell, former Captain, Beckenstein, and Phil Mustard have all managed several good scores to place them ahead of most batsmen in the championship. Smith however has shown his ability as captain on and off the field. Sussex who as mentioned before have a good balance all round side, bowled very well on the first day restricting Durham to under 300 on a good batting surface. The following morning Di Venuto and Smith successfully pushed the scoring rate faster to achieve 4 batting points getting to 350 within the allotted first 120 overs. After Smith reached his century and was out and then Di Venuto reached 250 the question of a declaration arose in order to give the bowlers sufficient time to try and bowl out Sussex within 300 to make them follow on and get them out again, given that two sides had managed to hold out at the Riverside at the beginning of the season.

The wisdom if of the decision and the nature of the task was reinforced as Sussex achieved a hundred runs on that first evening session for the loss of one wicket with Joyce also injured, although he was able to return the following morning as Thorp who had been impressive the day before commenced to take wickets, finishing with 5 for 85. Sussex struggled to 245 with held from three tail enders, contributing 45 of the total. Then in the evening session Sussex batsmen performed well again although this time Yardy who was run out for 97 in the first innings went for 20 and it was Nash first with 55 and then Luke Wright, not out 118 with the help of Hodd 33 in particular who ensured that the game went on well into the fourth and final day. The fifth wicket having gone for 115 it was anticipated that the game would be over that third evening but two mention improve the position to 200 overnight and the resistance continued to the frustrations of a few in the ground who have quickly come to expect victory with ease, quickly forgetting, or perhaps because of the years watching the team draw at best and frequently lose at home and away.

There was criticism for Steve Harmison at one point because he appeared slow in the field allowing a run before they realised that he was doing so deliberately in order to bowl at the new batsman. The majority in crowd had failed to appreciate that he had been forced to leave the field because of foot blisters the previous evening and which continued to cause him distress so that he was not brought on to bowl until the situation required a break through. For the second time in the game Captain Smith showed his metal as he persisted with Harmison who then had Arafat LBW at 257 before bowing both Rayner and Lewry to end the resistance at 304 leaving Durham two sessions to get 77. Sussex still giving no quarter continued to bowl and field with conviction with Rayner 8 overs for 16 runs and the wicket of Stoneman the best. It was fitting that Captain Smith not out 21 along with Di Venuto, the man of the match seeing the home side complete the victory by nine wickets with plenty of time to do some shopping on the homeward journey before tea.

And there was an incident which left me feeling upset and uncertain what to do, spoiling the rest of the day. The uncertainty means that for the moment I will leave the details of what happened.

There was an excellent BBC special on the life of Sir Bobby Robson shown in the North East in the evening. This followed closely the points which I made yesterday including revealing footage that Bobby could show in his anger and his disappointment like the best of them, but his basic personality was such that he quickly moved on. Freddie Shepherd went further than previously it claiming that he had not wanted Bobby dismissed while Bobby blamed the media for creating the sense of panic. What also emerged is the difficult he had faced controlled Bellamy and Dyer, young men with ability, who became millionaires but without the temperament to respond someone with the experience and approach of Bobby. My concerns about the club making the most of the situation continues, although the response of the public in the north east continues to be no more than one has come to expect. It would be good for the memorial service to be held at Durham Cathedral where the service could be relayed to general crowds who could assemble on the vast Green outside. I hope there is no suggestion that the service be held at the football stadium.

The latest in the Street drama appeared more contrived than the previous but was nevertheless effective in dealing with the real emotions British working class people have about the use European and other nationals to undertake the lower manual jobs, especially in the service industries. In addition to the story line contrivance there was a basic flaw in the main character who mouthed with authentic hatred his feelings about anyone black or white who came from overseas to work. The programme also furthered the fallacy that the overseas workers are paid less when the reality is that they often earn more because they work hard and are prepared the hours required to get the job in question done. There were some good points worth making which redeemed this episode.

Having slept on what happened as I was returning home after the match and some shopping I have decided to let the matter rest, for the moment which caused me so much upset at time and led to an unhappy and disturbed night. I am reminded that one of the strengths of Bobby Robson was his ability to bounce back quickly after situations which upset him, angered or disappointed and sometimes all three.

1773 Sir Bobby Robson

I was on my way to watching Durham play Sussex at the Riverside yesterday morning when I switched from listening to the third of Classic FM box set on the CD player to the radio and found Talk Sport announcing the death of Sir Bobby Robson. Sir Bobby immediately became a Football and national saint with a plethora of managerial and former players coming forward to sing his praises as manager and as a man. It has been a great example of the hypocrisy of the British media and public. Quiet right his widow, three sons and family have not commented in public, insisted that the funeral remain private and their privacy be respected, while accepting that there would be a memorial service at which the great and the good could have their say.

Sir Bobby was a miner’s son from Sacriston in County Durham, a pit village long since without a pit but still has a Colliery band. His father is reputed to have only missed one shift in his fifty years as a miner. Bobby and his family moved to Langley Park when he was still a child and this was where he was raised, another pit village and both north of Durham and not far from Chester Le Street Durham’s cricket ground which he visited, supporting the club and its development. He supported and was interested in the widest range of sports and sports men and women especially those from the North East of England.

As I have commented before the love of watching and playing football sued to be in the blood of boys from the northeast pit village communities and the towns which developed on the back of coal and the heavy industries of the industrial revolution, steel making and shipbuilding. Many got extremely rich and the middle class expanded as men and boys, women and girls led nightmare lives in appalling conditions below and above ground, developing their own way of life within closely knit communities. Bobby remembered all his life the joy of being taken to watch Newcastle United with his father just as I remember being taken to watch Stanley Matthews play against Arsenal at Highbury and Crystal Palace became my boyhood club after being taken as part of family visits at Christmas and Easter.

Bobby was one of the few who translated his love of the game into playing with ability and also similar to many others it was a local club at Langley Park rather than his school which promoted his enthusiasm. The available information suggests that that his father was a levelled headed man who insisted that Bobby had a dependable career other than football and arranged an apprenticeship as an electrician with the National Coal Board at the Langley Park pit. When Fulham knocked one the family home and offered him a better contract that nearby Middlesborough, his father agreed but insisted that he continue to work as an electrician part time and Booby had the experience of working on the Festival of Britain site on the south bank of the River Thames between the Waterloo and Charing Cross Stations.

One of several outstanding qualities was his lifelong enthusiasm for football, as a player, manager, commentating expert and supporter which never waned despite his years of serious illness and consequential disability. He was also an ambitious man who wanted success for himself and his club and when this did not appear to be happening at Fulham, he joined just before the era of Johnny Haynes and Jimmy Hill with Fulham then the fashionable London club of the day, he moved to West Bromwich then a top flight club.

Bobby joined the then top flight club West Bromwich and became its top goal scorer and captain as well as playing for England. This was the era in which Jimmy Hill emerged as the player’s representative in the fight to break the existing feudal wages and employment system, Players were contracted on slave conditions in which they could be bought and sold for large amounts of money but where the maximum official earnings were so comparatively low that the majority had to rely on other earnings to provide for their families, unless they fitted into the wishes of club chairman and their managers in which underhand bonus payments would be made. Football was still a masculine working class game, standing crushed together on open terraces regardless of the weather. Only those who have done this can understand the change that has taken place over the past thirty years, although in case I used to support a club with under 1000 supporters as it require reselection to thee old third division south for year upon year.

Bobby fell out with the Albion hierarchy over wages and returned to Fulham alongside Jimmy Hill as the player‘s official wages ceiling was dismantled. Altogether he played 627 games for the two club during his seventeen season career and scored 141 goals. He also had a short international career playing for England some 20 times, selected for two World Cup Squads but was injured in a pre tournament friendly in the second instance. It was his regret, along with that of Alan Shearer who admits Bobby rescued his career when he came to Newcastle as Manager regretted their lack of success in winning things internationally and for their club although Shearer did win a championship medal at Blackburn.

An aspect of Robson’s approach to football is that he was open to new ideas and approaches so that when his playing career was coming to an end he accepted the position as Player Manager for the Vancouver team which had joined the new North American League intended to promote and develop the game in the continent.

Forty years ago in 1968 he was appointed manager at Fulham, recruiting future Newcastle and England Star and present North East radio football pundit Malcolm MacDonald. A year later he was sacked learning of the development through a headline in the Evening Standard.

There was therefore nothing during this part of his career to indicate the honours which were to come his way. He met a Director of Ipswich club while on a scouting mission after his departure from Fulham he was invited to become manager of Ipswich where he was allowed to develop his approach to management despite a lack of success during his first four years. The key to his subsequent success was the development of young players at the club, bringing in only 14 players from other clubs over a thirteen year period. He won the F A Cup and the League cup and the European Cup, finishing twice second in the Premiership. Ipswich before or subsequently has never known such times in the same era that Brian Clough was also being successful at then unfashionable Derby and Nottingham Forest. In 2002 a life size statue was unveiled outside the club and he was also made a honorary President of the club. I suspect that after the present adoration does down there will be more of an objective analysis of his managerial style and abilities.

Whereas managers such as Brian Clough and Alex Fergusson are reported to have had and in the case of Sir Alex still has a forceful and at times aggressive personality which some respected and others hated, Bobby’s approach was always that of a father and grandfather in which he was able to bring out the best of the players whatever their natural abilities. He made them feel good about what they did even when they lost. He was always there for his players and his team, even if he was not good at putting names to faces. I know this problem so well.

His success and amenable personality meant that he became the front runner to manage England as Walter Greenwood’s term came to an end. The chairman of the Football Association in England could not stand the man the public and media wanted, Brian Clough. The media and public turned on Robson quickly as England failed to qualify for the European Cup in 1984. Robson is reported to have offered his resignation in favour of Brian Clough but the FA Chairman was having none of this and persuaded him to stay on. His faith in Robson appeared to have been justified as England not only qualified for the world cup but progressed through to the quarter finals where they were defeated by Argentina on a cheat and are referee who failed to see what everyone else in the world could see that Maradona had put the ball in the net with his hand. If football was not also a political and commercially corrupt game the game would have been declared void and Maradona expelled from professional football, Robson became philosophical about an incident which remains a stain on the integrity of the game and cup competition.

When England again failed to qualify for the European Cup the public and the media again tuned on Robson. This period should not be forgotten. As the media makes much of the present adoration of Newcastle fans it is important to remember that he was spat on by Newcastle fans who hated him then as they do now towards the present owner Mike Ashley for when Robson dropped Kevin Keegan from the England Team. The media devoted enormous resources to discovering his private life and one a headline said In the Name of Allah go. Robson stayed for the next world cup on the understanding that he would leave at the end regardless of the outcome. Again the team performed significantly better than expected and reached the semi finals where they nearly beat Germany during the first ninety minutes and extra time but then lost notoriously on penalties. However Italia 90 continues to live in everyone’s memory because of Pavarotti’s Nessum Dorma and the Three tenor’s concert but most of because Paul Gascoigne burst into tears when he received a yellow card which meant he could not play in the final had England won the semi. There is the picture of Gary Linekar calling for Bobby to console Paul which he did and the nature of football changed in that the reality of the lives of the players became universal. How far this incident or the response of the football authorities to organised hooliganism, the disgrace at Hysel stadium in 1985 when 39 people attending were effectively killed by the Mob and led to British Clubs being expelled from European competition for five years, led to the changes in the way stadiums were designed, and authorities took steps to prevent racist chants, swearing and the behaviour of right wing terror gangs. One should also not forget the loss of life with the fire at Bradford stadium in 1985 and at Sheffield Hillsborough the year before the World Cup

I had direct experience of this organised fascist behaviour on and off the field and had campaigned behind the scenes for change writing to the football authorities and political interests and the approach of the football authorities in the 1980’s was to argue that they could not be held responsible for the actions of thugs within and especially outside the stadium. When I complained to Newcastle about the drunken behaviour of fans after cup semi final at Manchester United when the majority of supporters refused to sit down and children and older people were forced to stand, the children on seats in order to see anything of the game, I was told that Bobby Robson liked an enthusiastic crowd at away games.

For Robson the end of the 1990 World cup marked his return to club managements, but abroad at PSV Eindhoven and the move infuriated some sections of the British press. Under his leadership the club won the domestic championship in both years but he was still sacked, officially because they had not progressed in European competitions. However the underlying problem was his relationship with players, something which continued to affect the next decade and a half of his management remaining decade. At Eindhoven he is reported to have been “surprised” by the extent to which players expected to debate with the manager his decision including the substitutes wanting to know why they were not called on to play if this did not happen.

He then moved to Portugal where he commenced his association with Jose Murinho, in the first instance as interpreter. Again the situation is one where despite the team heading the league for the first time in 15 years he was told his contracted was not being continued into the second year. The official reason was the early exist from the UEFA cup. He was immediately appointed Manager of F C Porto with Jose his Assistant Manager. He then beat his former cub to win the Portuguese Cup and to head the league in 1994 95 and 1995 1996. It was at this time he was first diagnosed with Cancer.

He was then approached and accepted the appointment as manager of Barcelona, insisting that Jose moved with him as Assistant Coach. He was also responsible for singing the Brazilian Ronaldo for $19.5 million. In his first year his won the Spanish Cup, the Spanish Super Cup and the European Cup Winner’s Cup. Robson was voted European Manager of the Year. For some reason Barcelona then required Robson to become the Director of Football when he was always a hand’s on manager, in track suit attempting to have a personal relationship with all the players despite the difficulties of language. After a year he returned to PSV. Robson then returned to England to take up a position within the technical department of the F.A.

It was at this point that Ruud Guillet was sacked from Newcastle following allegations about his private life and the decision to leave Alan Shearer on the bench. together with Newcastle failing to perform in the manner spectators had become accustomed under Kevin Keegan. With the team bottom of the league Freddie Shepherd, the Club Chairman, approached Bobby Robson who jumped at the opportunity to manager the club to which he had been taken by his father as a boy. Over the next two seasons Robson took Newcastle to third and fourth in the Premiership and the club returned to playing in the Champions League. However behind the scenes there were difficulties. The club had become fashionable with almost a full house of 52000 for every game. It had built up a national and international following large because of the Kevin Keegan era and the support of Sky. However the fur coat and no knickers approach was beginning to reveal the cracks!

The team relied upon already proven stars and its reserves and academy were neglected, There were concerns about the condition of the training ground something which subsequent manager Graham Souness also criticised claiming the ground was responsible for the excessive level of injuries at the club. Robson was also unhappy about the lack of involvement in the construction of player contracts and the negotiations for new and departing players. He was opposed to the sale of Jonathan Woodgate and was disappointed when after the sudden departure of Kevin Keegan as the England’s manager he was asked to take over as part time caretaking manager and Newcastle \re reported to have said no..

He was not as popular with the high paying fans as the media presently suggest. I had invested in one of the more expensive season tickets at the club which enabled one to attend a special lounge before and after the game as well as half time and there was considerable criticism among these supporters about Bobby claiming he was too old, failing to appreciate his charisma with players and the continuing struggle he was experiencing to beat cancer. I listened to an interview with Freddie Shepherd when the death was announced and was confused. He admitted the board had been divided about asking Robson to leave and that with hindsight it had been a mistake, but when pressed to comment further that he had been opposed to the departure he refused to comment further suggesting that he was part of some confidentiality agreement. The public may never know the truth but where the evidence is available that Robson did not break with the club for good as many managers have in the past throughout the country in general. He remained an enthusiast although what he thought when the club was bought by Ashley and his southern management structure no ties and little apparent understanding of the region, remains unknown.

Robson’s popularity continued to grow, particularly because of his fight with cancer and the way he appeared to refuse to let it get in the way of supporting Newcastle. He was made a knight of the realm but the honour which pleased him most was that of Freeman of the City of Newcastle. He was given a similar honour at Ipswich. He was also given a lifetime achievement award in the annual sports personality of the year round up. Last year he was invited to financially support a cancer research trials unit at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle and which has been named after him. He formed a charity foundation to raise the half a million pounds required and before the special events just a week before his death he had raised over £1 million in this way.

A week ago, when I was in London otherwise I would have attended the event, thirty three thousand people sported a special game arranged between the players of the semi final between England and Germany in 1990. Bobby was only well enough to attend in a wheel chair but pictures of the event revealed that it was important for him to be present, andn I believe it will have made a lasting impression on all those present, especially the youngsters.

I am concerned that the Newcastle Football club appear to be cashing in on the death by opening up the ground to allow people leave shirts and scarves to show their appreciation for his life. These will have to be replaced by buying new ones from the club or from the sports wear companies with which Mr Ashley is associated, Meanwhile the club remain in dire straits. It is up for sale although one enquiry states they received no response to a bid which was then withdrawn. The club is without a manager with only a caretaker appointed. Player are sold. The club was beaten 6.0 in friendly with a second rate team and managed a goalless draw at home. I am sure I am not alone in hoping the family continue to protect his memory and their interests and avoid being caught up with the machination of Mr Ashley and his cronies.