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.

1768 It was not about the cricket

It quickly became a challenging day after a brilliant start. I was awake, packed, feeling good and all well before seven. It was warm but cloudy although the atmosphere suggested sunshine was on the way. I stopped with my case on a deserted road apart from occasional vehicles to cross over and post the letter I had brought with me. I also noted the name of the coffee shop where I sat at a street table on my first morning-the Tassili.

Better still having reach the west side of Kings Cross here was a bay with three or four luggage trolleys on the street and I took one for £1 and saved a lot of puff for the rest of the way along the front of the station, crossing over the road and then down the side to the entrance to national and suburban St Pancras where I was the only approaching the left luggage at ten minutes past seven. I was asked to open the case when disclosing that it contained lap top to check that it was not on and there were not other electronics. I joked that I had taken the battery out of the clock for similar reasons.

It was time for coffee and pan au chocolat at Starbucks. I could not open the top of the coffee and a young Asian woman, part of party of other who looked younger came over to assist although for a moment I misunderstood my intentions and thought she had mistaken mine for hers. She was successful in opening but spilt hot coffee over her hand such was the force required to open for the sugar. I thanked her apologising for the spill.

Close by there were some comfy armchairs and I selected the last one with a table and settled to enjoy both. A young woman was reading from another armchair at another table, also on her own. Then a grey haired woman who I judged about sixty came and asked if she could use the table for her coffee having sat at a third armchair a little to the side. Her accent was American. At first I continued to finish the coffee which was very good- also an Americano. I could not resist saying to her are you from the United State. She apologised for her country I said it was one of the great nations of the world and like Britain it had its shortcomings. I was soon telling why this was a special day, a pilgrimage of a kind and she was enthralled with the story I told her. It was becoming a better day by the moment. The omens for the cricket were encouraging.

Then she told me part of her story. She was with a tour /family party from the USA, arriving midweek, I mentioned the weather forecast of an exceptional good day. She was visiting as a present from her son who logically would be around forty: she did not mention being with her own partner or the son with his family. They were scheduled to travel to Paris for a couple of days and then return for a few more days to England. It was a trip of a lifetime or should have been. The son had developed all the symptoms of what she was convinced was the Swine Flu. She had been in contact with the American Library who had advised to get a thermometer. The Boots chemist nearby was said to have a new supply in the morning. The opening hours were from seven but of course on a Saturday it was later eight. It was approaching eight. I was anxious about being in her presence and about her son and their holiday and the likelihood of being put in quarantine. I did not want to cause alarm but she appeared unaware of the sudden doubling of cases from 50000 to 100000 Mail on Saturday which had advertised £20 of vouchers at Tesco’s . When I returned the chemist had opened and she was at the counter explainer her predicament. I hoped she in good hands and I continued on day the edge having been removed, but only to a degree. It reminded that if the media was correct in up to 100000 households there was panic and severe anxiety.

I made my way out of the station crossing over the road to catch a bus to Baker Street station when I believed I would be able to catch a bus to Lords. I had to walk a little way to a road at right angles because of the one way system where there was choice of four or five buses although not the first as I joked with two other men who were on the same trail with over the shoulder bags of a substantial nature. One checked with the bus driver when the next arrived and he said it was about a five walk away. It was more than that although not more than ten at a good walking pace.

There are only a couple of shops in the area and the local tobacconist newsagents local store only had a couple of packets of sandwiches available although sandwiches were advertised. I bought I small carton of Pringles’ crisps and a Danish pastry.

I was once again at the home of cricket the most import cricket venue in the world agreed by every player from every country throughout the ages. The ground was ready for a full house, or almost. The gates were opened within seconds of arrival and a security steward looked into every compartment of my shoulder bag which I had to open and then a male steward did a body check by hand. The sun was out and it was a very fine morning with a live group playing by the nets which were adjacent to a large screen like Wimbledon and the food and drink area. I enjoyed a bacon and egg role with some Brown sauce and then had another coffee. One stall would be selling Veuve Cliquot champagne. Another was selling beer, Pimms and sane brand champagne for £35 a half bottle around £ 65 for bottle and over £100 for a magnum. There was a smaller stall selling rum.

Before going for second breakfast I had found a bench next to band and looked at the excellent value programme which cost £5. Given the cost of the ticket and accommodation this was going to be a £100 expenditure day.

Around ten am I made my way to allocated seat in the Grand Stand which sides on to the playing area. I missed the fact that there two lifts at either end of the stand and made by way up the stairs where at each level, there were three, a steward checked and placed a blue wrist band tight over my right hand on which was written Grand upper tier. I could put my ticket except to find my seat. The grant part is the price and that one has access to two bars and a restaurant, but not toilets on this day which were being kept for the hospitality boxes. The stewards, waiters and lift staff called everyone sir and well dressed and groomed. My seat was in the middle of a row between aisles and at the back. Next time I must ring rather than used the internet and ask about the location. It was bird’s eye view, not good. I would move if possible. Concern about the height viewing level was shared by others.

Sussex won the toss at 10.30 and elected to bat on what said to be a good wicket. The Hampshire captain admitted he would have dome the same. Those around me were divided between the two teams. I explained to one neighbour my neutrality as a Surrey man who became a Durham member who adopted Sussex along with Nottingham, was supporting Sussex although had sympathy for Hampshire who Durham had beaten two years ago and given Hampshire Members a bad day to remember.

The game was effectively over within the first hour as both Sussex openers were effective and the aging Dominic Cork brilliant taking the first three Sussex openers including England’s Pryor for 39, 30 30 and 39. When the fourth wicket fell at 43 and the fifth at 77 you knew it was already over and that the team managed to make 219 for 9 in the 50 overs was due to Captain Mike Yardy who made 92 and everyone gave him an outstanding ovation when he was eventually out.

Hampshire in contrast did lose their first wicket until their total was 93. They won by six wickets with over 9 overs to spare. It was one sided from almost the first ball and everyone except the most partisan of the Hampshire supporters had wanted an exciting and close game. It was not.

After the opening debacle I had waited another half an hour before going down to the toilet after discovering the lift and then queuing for a diet coke for close on twenty minutes as the bar men took their time as a matter of policy. Rather than return to my seat I notice one spare a couple rooms from the front on the aisle and checking it did not belong to someone who had popped out. It was a very different view still too far away for my liking but justifying the price. I only had the seat for half an hour when the tickets holder arrived causing a return of others to their seats. I found another a little way back and found myself among a party of about five men of mixed ages with lots of food and drink, whose language was inappropriate for a mixed and young audience. The view was great but the company awful. I felt sorry for those seats were around them and retreated back to my original seat for the last overs of the innings. I should have then taken my bag with me as I found there was a choice of seats at the back of the lower Compton Stand behind the bowlers arm. However here are two draw backs. The first is that one is more in the shade than the covered ground stand and on a different day it would have cold. I had such an experience at a test match there once before. The main draw back is that one cannot see the scoreboards and these days the two replay screens. To make up for this there is small notice board where the number of the batsmen is given in red lights plus their totals together with the overall total and wickets fallen. This service is OK but with a little investment it could be a lot better. I stayed there until the first drinks break of the second innings and collected by bad advising neighbours of where I was going and the availability of other seats.

The second advantage in addition to being able to watch cricket on a similar basis to that at Durham is that I had chosen the stand with Sussex supporters and I learned to sing, I am up to win the cup for Sussex by the sea. There were few opportunities to burst into the song though. With what was only five overs before the loss I needed a comfort break and found several hundred people sitting on the grass and watching the big screen. I decided I would not stay for the bus rush and made my way out of the ground when there was a few minute wait for a bus to Baker Street and then around the corner for a bus to the British Library and across to St Pancras where I would find a trolley after getting a ticket. As I let Lords I noted two black long legged young lasses in the briefest of hot pants one of whom insisted on handing me a card despite my saying I am too old for whatever it is. She said but you will be very welcome. It was a VIP entry pass to the Spearmint Rhino Gentleman’s Club in Tottenham Court Road. I knew just the group who would be interested.

Then Disaster. There were no trains to London Bridge weekends from St Pancras and the stated bus service was not operating. I could go by Tube which involved a long passage way and stairs or catch an ordinary bus from outside of Kings Cross. I found a trolled but decided to invest in a taxi as I crossed over the road between the mainline stations. I guessed that the roads to and through the city would be quieter than across the West End to Victoria. This proved to be so and the basic fare was £13.60 plus tip. There was a choice of trains for East Croydon and I decided on a drank and made the only bad decision of the trip. I selected a diet cherry flavoured coke by mistake. It was vile. After arriving at the Travel and adjusting to my room I went out to McDonalds around the corner for a McChicken meal and a diet coke unflavoured by the cherry. My room is set aside for someone in a wheel chair. It has three windows each with control to open and open and close the curtains. There is room for a married couple and half a dozen children such is the space about three times the size of a normal room. I loved the walk in shower with flip down stool.

I have enjoyed listening to Duffy’s Rock ferry Album twice. Last night while writing I enjoyed Dire Straits, Acker Bilk and Chris Barber.

I did it Mabel rest in peace. Pity about the result.

1763 An important match for Durham Cricket

Having failed to attend the opening of Durham’s important championship game against Nottingham because it looked as if there would be no play, I set off on Thursday morning full of determination and enthusiasm, and prepared to sit watching the grass grow if it rained and there was some [prospect of play later in the day..

Little did I know what an important day of cricket this was to be, possibly settling the future of the championship although the prolonged season is now only half way.

As anticipated the journey to the ground took less than half the time previously and there here was less traffic hold up because of the morning rush hour as I travelled up the M1 to the A610 and into the city. Nor was there any difficulty in finding a car park space at the Forest, or taking a tram to the Old Market Square where I found a number 2 Green Line bus waiting opposite a pub restaurant. This stopped on the main road from Trent Bridge and I had to cross over the wide road to walk outside the William Clark stand and then continue with the new partially covered stand inside the ground on my left before reaching the small ticket office with the local Coop store and post office across the way. On the Friday the journey took even less time although the number 3 bus or was it four travelled around the housing estate between the train station and the ground. In both instances the journey was around half and hour compared to the hour previously.

I had bought a tub of spicy chicken wings for lunch and a carton of large red cherries from the M and S store at the M1 Trowell service area which I was to enjoy later but noted that I could have obtained an adequate lunch from the Coop at a fraction of the price. I was one of the first into the ground such was the quickness of the journey. My first thought was to get a seat in the restricted Member’s area in front of the Pavilion and which I was to explore the following afternoon. The actual Members lounge is small with no more than half a dozen large tables and for many matches you sit in artificial lights as the windows have to be covered with white or black blinds to form a sight screen and those members sitting immediately in from outside have to sit motionless. You can peak under the blind to see some of the play through non reflecting glass which contains what appears to be a black gauze filter. That some Members do this is extraordinary.

It is the only situation where Members can sit behind the wicket in front of the sight screen anywhere in any major cricket ground in the UK. There is a bar but lunch and the cream scone tea has to be brought from elsewhere and placed on a table in one corner. Upstairs there is a Member’s executive viewing lounge which is an amazing area with over the top luxury seating, and a bar from where Notts members could drown their sorrows as this extraordinary game progressed. I also noted a simple back room area which was being prepared for the player’s tea and another staircase led to the player’s dressing rooms and viewing balcony. The stewards have to wear white costs and the main door into the pavilion has to be closed on alternate overs as this too is being the bowler’s arm. There is one other door to the front which is for club officials and another leads to the outside courtyard.

Instead of subjecting myself to the restrictions of movement in this areas I went to the opposite end of the ground and got an ideal seat at the back of the first level of terracing, under cover and next to the sight screen giving a perfect view over the bowler’s arm. You cannot gain entry into the main areas of the stand from this seating but have to go back into the surrounding walkway and into the main reception area which reminds of a first class hotel. There are bedroom suites which used to be hired out but are now for visiting officials, players and their families. I enquired here about refreshments and was advised to take the lift to the first floor where there is a basic restaurant area overlooking the Radcliffe Road with a small bar about a dozen tables including two TV screens only one of which was showing the Test Match and with food served at one end with a doorway leading to the kitchens. The scones were warm at tea time having been freshly baked and one was given an enormous pot of light cream and a small individual closed pot of jam. The only disappointment was the tea served in throw away plastic, but it tasted good and cost was an inexpensive £2.60. I wager the price for a cream scone tea at Lords will be double. There are toilet facilities by the lift and the media viewing area is the other side of the facilities.

As mentioned on my visit last year Trent Bridge has been transformed into one of the world’s best cricket grounds from the viewpoint of the general spectator. The stand complex along the Radcliffe Road has three tiers of seating as well as hospitality boxes.

Along the Radcliffe Road there are a number of places to eat with the most popular the take away fish and chip restaurant which many go over to buy their lunch which they then bring back into the ground to eat at their seating. There is a pricey Greek style restaurant and an Mediterranean bar restaurant which I was use in the evening before returning to the Travel Lodge.

On either side of the ground side on to the wicket there are new stands and what has become standard for English grounds some overhead cover although at Trent Bridge more attention has been given to style than practicality. The new replay scoreboard screen is an oddity perched at the top of a new building which appears to have its own media viewing area which I assume is for Sky. And where there appears to be offices as well an area to entertaining visiting school children and young people. The floodlights have great style encased in a circular framework

Now to the match. There had been almost a full day’s cricket on the Wednesday as I ventured into D H Lawrence Country. Nottinghamshire had won the toss and decided to put Durham into bat and with Di Venuto, Stoneman and Muchall departing before lunch with the total 63, it must have seen to be a good decision at the time. Then present Captain Will Smith, returning to his former club in that capacity for the first time in a championship game commenced a stand of close on 200 runs with former captain Blenkenstein. Both went within one run when the score was 256 and 257 with Benkenstein getting 105 and Smith 87. Durham were something like 270 runs for 5 overnight with Mitch Claydon the night watchman. In the morning which was damp with always a hint of rain in the offing Durham continued to score runs slowly at less than thee an over and the task became that of reaching 350 runs within 120 overs to gain a fourth batting point. Still assuming the game would be drawn after what happened last year and with the prospect of further rain Blackwell 38 and Mustard 40 and then Plunkett did the best to score more quickly, losing their wickets as a consequence and failing to get the additional point by 1 run. The innings was over at 356 just before lunch with Mitch Claydon bowling 2 overs without a run or wicket and Davies at the other end.

Over lunch there was a great surprise as Steve Harmison called to the Test as a standby by if Andrew Flintoff had been released and taken the train from London and under new rules was allowed to replace Claydon and immediately open the after lunch bowling. It was Steve who gained the wicket of opener Wood when the total was 14. It was his only wicket and he ended the day having bowled 16 overs and taken 1 for 45. Not Test match standards. The Durham success came from returned from injury Liam Plunkett with match figures of 4 for 56 and the spin bowler Ian Blackwell with the amazing 8 overs, 3 maidens, six runs adn three wickets. The wickets fell at 17 33 47 54 135 158 166 169 and 171. The Nottingham batsmen appeared to be over awed by the fierce attack from Harmison and started with a run rate of ,20 an over, that is one run every five overs which was sustained over the first ten overs. Durham enforced the follow on but play was halted because of bad light and an impending down pour. I retreated to Amici in the Radcliffe Road sitting in a comfy chair in the window as the food tables were being cleared to make way of a Salsa class at 7.30. I enjoyed a large plate of prawns in a cocktail sauce on a bed of lettuce. I less enjoyed the vegetable pasta, mainly because of the quantity.

While there is the residential area of West Bridgeford to the other side of the ground, the Football and cricket grounds are rather cut off surrounded by the river and overlooked by two large municipal offices, one the County Council is within the ground while the other covers district services. It is difficult to see how the restaurants survive in the evenings and at weekends unless those coming to the football on an evening eat a meal beforehand or stay after the cricket or weekend afternoon football game. You have to get round the ground from the student lodgings and multi occupational houses in West Bridgeford so the sa class is one solution. Sky Sports was another. The food and the prices alas were not.

There had been about 1000 people in the ground at best for the second day and I was surprised how many less there were when I arrived for the third day although there had been heavy rain overnight and more was promised. I joked with a member of staff about rain intervention but he explained that if the match was over in three days they would have a paid free day on Saturday. There were no more than 100 people in ground during the morning.

What happened that third morning has become an instant legend in the history of Durham. The wickets fell as follows 9 19 38 51 55 60 66 and 68 and then a few minutes before the normal luncheon interval the rain commenced. Had it not then the play would have continued as the match was over for all intents and purposes.

The rain had fallen with intense pressure in large drops and the ground staff had been slow adn then decided to cover the whole area of wickets before the bowling run ups. The covers then became saturated with water that the ground staff could not lift them. I charge the staff with incompetence and would have complained to the authorities had no play been possible in the match as a consequence. However after inspections at 1.30 and 2.30 the decision was taken at 3.30 to commence play at 3.55. Why the delay remained a puzzle as a fine rain was falling then and continued to fall until about five past four when further rain ended play for the day. In the ten minutes one further wicket was taken but it became necessary to play six balls the following morning before the final wicket was taken.

I had enjoyed the morning talking to a Nottingham supporter who lived in Northampton and attended a number of cricket grounds in the Midlands when he had the opportunity and he was young enough to be engaged in a full time work although I had the impression that he was in a position to take time off as and when he was inclined. He and the other Notts supporters who and brave the conditions and state of played appeared to suffer shock as the second collapse occurred within the space of 26 hours. One had joked about the game being over by lunch time and it nearly was.

Few supporters remained after the downpour There had been seven people visible when I arrived at the ground. I had again brought with some spicy chicken wings and fruit but called over to the Coop for use of their cash machine. Next to this was a copier and a young mother with an eight year was copying a summer holiday project which he was required to complete and return by August 1st. She was put out but the requirement and needed assistance with the use of the machine. Later I returned and purchased a half bottle of scotch to keep the weather out!

With the prolonged delay I had moved over to the pavilion and it was at this time that I explored the arrangements. There were only media people about and a handful of Durham supporters who appeared to be relative or friends of the players. Such was the enthusiasm for ending the game that day that the equipment was already down stairs for removal to the team coach. In fact it was a further two hours before the game was called off for the day. I was long gone by then

It was a devastating performance by Durham. Steve Harmison took 6 wickets for twenty runs with 4 maidens from 13 and his best figures for Durham Davies took two wickets for 13 and Ian Blackwell 1.16 with Thorp the other. Durham had won by an innings and 115. The regional TV programme described the defeat as humiliating,

The defeat has to be placed in perspective. Durham with 9 games played have a total of 138 points and 5 wins. Notts are now fourth but have played onl7 7 games and should they win the two in had with maximum bonus points they will have 125 points cutting Durham’s lead to three points. Somerset who have one game in hand have 102 points thus with a win and maximum bonus points they would have 122 points and they would need to continue their run with Durham losing or drawing games in succession to take top position. Lancashire present fourth have 97 from 9 and Sussex 82 from 8 Yorks are yet to win a game back in 7th and still in a relegation struggle with Warwickshire who have played two less and Worcestershire who are hopeless having lost three times as many games as anyone else.

The Durham players did not over do the celebrations which was to their credit and I imagine the Nottinghamshire Inquest was painful and the psychological damager will take time to recover. I am not overstating in saying the win could prove the most important in the twenty odd year history of the club.

1758 Of interest only to those attending Yorkshire cricket ground and the development of British motorway networkhe

I awoke this morning feeling physically shattered and overwhelmed by 36 hours of intense experiences and inclined to stay at home rather than take the ferry to North Shields and the free bus service to Tynemouth for the start of the Mouth of the Tyne festival. I have played some chess against the computer without making irreversible mistakes and will shortly enjoy a pre-packaged breakfast of egg, bacon, sausage beans and hash brown. Part of the inclination to stay was the wish to write separately about the Louis Armstrong’s early music recreation show at the Sage Newcastle on Thursday evening, my day at the cricket at Headingley Leeds yesterday or the impact of the last two episodes of Torchwood, coupled with overhearing a conversation between two men at the cricket one of whose parents were both General Practitioners and who had expressed concerns about the impact of the spread of Swine Flu on the ability of the Health and public services to cope.

I will start with the visit to Headingley but may transfer to something else as the day progresses. I decided to stick with what I had started and leave the more rewarding Jazz and Fireworks and the Armageddon pieces till Sunday.

I have been trying to remember the first occasion that I visited the Yorkshire County Cricket which is located at Headingley, a small area of the greater Leeds city conurbation. I do not think I visited when I lived and worked in Yorkshire based at Wakefield and living at Lofthouse midway between Wakefield and the City of Leeds for a year 1969-1970. More likely it was after moving to the North East in 1974 and deciding to go for a day to a Test match although I believe I also went to watch Yorkshire in a domestic championship game or two before Durham became a first class county. I believe the last Test visit was in the early 1990’s but there have been almost annual trips since for at least a day, sometimes a couple for matches between Durham and the Yorkshire County.

My interest in the Yorkshire Cricket club arose in the in late 1940 and throughout the 1950’s when my local club Surrey won the championship 1952 1958 and Yorkshire their main rivals outside of Middlesex in London regained the championship in 1959. There is a special display in the new Member’s lounge and viewing area at Headingley commemorating the event of 50 years ago. Then Yorkshire comprised the likes of fiery Fred Trueman, a young batsman called Brian Close who went on to captain the side in its most successful post second world war years in the 1960’s, the spin bowler Ray Illingworth and Dickie Bird who became the famous international Test umpire, and took the title from the seven successful Surrey years, whose team included Locke and Laker, the Bedser twins all bowlers and the England great batsman P B H May. The equally great Sir Len Hutton had retired by 1969 but I have a signed copy of his book just my story, and where I saw a similar one in the collection of cricket books, scorecards and other memorabilia which is also on show and for sale in the Member’s lounge.

On Friday I had set off late, closer to 9am than 8 which has been my traditional preference although I did stop for a breakfast twister sold by the K.F,C as a tortilla but is more like a pancake filled with egg bacon and tomato. I should have also drank some of the prepared coffee but decided to get on the way. It was bright morning for most of the trip and I alighted from the car in warmish sunshine two hours later. However that jump in the tale covers getting lost in North Leeds on the way to ground and for which there is no excuse because I had a large map and a detailed street map book with me.

On the journey I noticed the progress which is being made in converting the existing two lane A 1 dual carriage way between the junction with the A19 back towards the famous Scotch Corner and where shortly afterwards the road becomes the A1M again all the way close to Durham City, the Riverside Ground at Chester Le Street before forking to the edge of South Tyneside and into and around Newcastle before joining up with the A19 to continuing as the East Coast route to Edinburgh, the capital City of Scotland. This next bit is likely of interests only to me or those with an interest in the history of the British motorway network!

At the age of four I made the journey from Wallington in South London by ambulance along the original A 1 to Catterick army camp in North Yorkshire, now the largest military complex in Western Europe. In the mid 1950’s someone at the office where I worked said that it took him and his family to travel the 500 miles to where they were staying in Scotland and mentioned Scotch corner. This is located in Yorkshire some 100 miles from the Scottish border. The reason for name is that at this point one can take a road which leads to the west of the UK into Scotland and Glasgow.

It was in the 1960’s that the first stretch of the parallel motorway to the A1, the M1, although to say parallel is a loose expression, was created between London and Leeds and I can remember taking journeys from Oxford in a near deserted motorway. It is only recently that the M1 has been extended around Leeds to the East side and joins in with A1M, close to where the M62 traverses the country from the east at Hull, through Manchester and on towards Lancashire and Liverpool where it is in turn bisected by the M6 going north towards the English Lakes, Carlisle and Glasgow and South through Manchester towards Birmingham, where the M5 goes to the South West and M40 towards to Oxford and London.

For sometime I had noticed that the fencing of farmer’s fields between Scotch Corner and the A19 junction had been moved away from the roadside and then that properties began to be boarded up. For several decades one marker was where there were Little Chef restaurant services stops on both sides of the carriage way. Then one was closed and demolished. The on a recent use of the roadway I noticed the creation of machinery compounds and the clearance if stretches of field revealing various coloured earths. When I lived at Seaburn it was easier to go into the Sunderland City Centre and taking the east ring road around the city until it joined the A19 from Northumberland, through the Tyne Tunnel to Jarrow and then Bolden in South Tyneside, and then motor past Middlesborough and the turn off to York and Hull before reaching where the A1M commences as a three lane motorway. Since moving to South Shields the A1M from the outskirts of Hebburn was a faster and therefore a quicker route.

From the junction it was a fast track all the way to the new vast service area called the Wetherby/York services to mark the road between Wetherby and York. KI came off for Leeds at this point and made he mistake of taking the road which led into the north side of the pleasant Yorkshire town by a horse race track and with its nearby racecourse and which has a centre of old pubs and residential housing much loved by those with brass who used to play football for Leeds united or cricket for Yorkshire. I could have done without the delay from slowing down for the 30 miles per hour limit and traffic lights. Eventually the road came out on to the south east of the city and the roundabout with a hotel on the corner which had been my original intention. It is about 12 miles from here into the city centre although my purpose was the northern ring road.

This road is again slow but even the short spells of freeway at 70 miles an hour and become 50 and included stretches at forty and third through small villages and residential areas. I passed a couple of pub restaurants where I have taken lunch or an evening meal on journeys to or from London in the past before the M1 extension was built around Leeds directly leading to the A1M/A19. The first part of the northern ring road is also speed restricted and there are traffic lights for turn offs into the Leeds, to Roundhay Park which holds a major music festival each year at the same time as at Reading. I made the mistake of taking a turn before the junction to Harrogate and went too far south towards the city centre or so I thought before cutting diagonally into Headingley adn then seeing a sign Headingley I followed the road and coming to a T junction with no sign post turned right and north when I should have gone south and left. I found myself in pleasant countryside and back onto the ring road so I travelled a little way further in my original direction of travel and took the first turning left and bingo within a short distance I was at the first traffic lights just before the Arndale shopping centre building on Headingley High Street. The next but is of interest only to those who wish to visit the Yorkshire Cricket ground and have never visited before, or those who have not been since the various changes commenced which are transforming the ground from a revered but dilapidated place into an twenty first century arena for the best of International cricket viewing.

Had I found the correct road I could have parked in a side road at this junction among a tree lined avenue of large stone mansion houses which was the closest I dared to park for Test matches at the Yorkshire ground. For domestic cricket it was sometimes possible to find a space within 100 or 250 yards of what is known as the Kirkstall Lane entrance close to what was known as the Winter Shed stand. To get to the ground it is necessary to turn right at a second set of traffic lights at the other end of the Arndale shopping street, passed a pub which has become popular with students and a building converted into a trendy night club and bar and to the Kirkstall Lane. The ground is on the left but on the right there are terraces of tall multi occupational houses and here if you arrive early enough to can find a car parking space or two. Although I had made the detour into Wetherby and around North Leeds and had set off just before nine I had made the 100 mile journey within two hours arriving just as 11 was striking. I would have witnessed the opening over had it not been for the fact that the entire West and North stand, now a continuous huge bank of bright blue seats was closed together with the food concessions stalls in the walkway around 95% of the ground around the inside of the stadium. Fortunately the Gentleman‘s toilet was not blocked off so I made myself comfortable for the rest of the morning.

The first point of entry into the playing arena was at the end of the blue seat stand which now occupies a good third of the arena to where one of the most curious viewing stands in the United Kingdom was built in the early twentieth century. This is the Main Rugby Club stand, Leeds being a northern city Rugby League which has more in common with American Football than American Football has with British Soccer, or with British Rugby Union, except the players do not wear any padding but sometimes looked padded from muscle weight. Yes this is a stand with two sides. The cricket side comprises a lower tier of seats at either end separated by the area of sight screens as this side of the stand looks directly over wickets from the bowlers running up to the wickets. There are one way screen from which the players can watch the game from their respective dressing rooms. There is also a continuous top tier of seats but you can not now enter these from the cricket side of the stand. You have to go to Rugby pitch side of stand and climb to the high level and then go through doors into the cricket side. It is a fair climb. The stand is the same as when it was built which means it is ready to be pulled down along with most of the rest of the cricket stadium had this not been done or was in the process of being done. The North and West Mound of a stand was a collection of rotten seats when I first attended in 1974 adn even when improvements were made there was a plan to build a stadium for the 21st century on a Greenfield site at Wakefield close tot he junction between the M62 and M1. However the Yorkshire members were solidly against, and the future of the club was question as it failed to meet the minimum requirements of the English Cricket Board for International matches which bring in their one millions pounds a day plus, revenue for the five days the Sky televised event. It is many years since the BBC provided both the televising of Test matches and the ball by ball radio commentary for which it continues to have world wide fame and which was the basis of my childhood knowledge of Test cricket in the days before Television broadcasting of any sport or any programming. The Members of the Club had a facility for food within the bowels of the stadium when I first visited as a Durham Member and the players dressings rooms were in a pavilion on the other side oft he ground and which is now a separate building called the Pavilion stand and which is also unused for Championship matches.

As with Lords incorporated into one end of the main stand is a public house overlooking the play. This has become the Yorkshire Taverner’s club, for Member’s only and their guests, I sat in the lower tiers overlooking the left oft he wicket and a little way above were two Taverner boxes which could be used by those members who preferred to over look the wicket than rather have a corner angle view. Here was evident a continuous stream of hot coffee or tea and people were drink more wine than beer throughout the day with ladies as much in evidence as men, in contrast to Lords where the Long room and outside side seating is still restricted to men wearing jackets and ties. Those members who prefer to sit outside rather than from behind all weather glass have two types of comfortable leather seats with one set with high backs rather like those in Gentleman’s clubs but which looked incongruous overlooking a cricket field. It is possible for ordinary mortals to sit in the lower tier of seats below those of the Taverner’s. There is also a sports bar next to this which was also closed, There two reasons for the closures. The main one is the comparatively new Members East Stand and 36 room hotel. This is at the St Michael‘s Lane entrance to both the cricket and Rugby ground. Across the road from the entrance is the Indoor cricket centre, restaurant and club building sponsored by the Bradford and Bingley Building Society which became a bank and then was divided between the mortgages which has been nationalised and the savings and which although keeping the name was taken over by Abbey National which in turn is owned by the Spanish Santander group.

There was always seating here popular with some members but behind was the shell of a building which became hospitality boxes for International matches. This has all been replaced by an excellent facility for Members with good terraced seating and on the first floor level, but second floor by the standards of most housing there is a full length and members indoor viewing area, with a bar and meals and other food served at one end. In terms of length and width it is larger space than at Durham. It also has the attraction of two rows of viewing seat through larger picture windows, something which Durham lacks. Above this level are two floors of motel type bedrooms, 36 in total which are available to general public for £50 weekends and £40 weekends with extra, presumably match entrance charges for playing days. There is on side car parking next to a small area of gardens with four maybe five park type benchers. There is a similar area at Lords. Next to the Member’ the news stand and motel building there the new North East Stand which has two tiers and area designated as the family stand where alcohol cannot be taken into the seating area. Between the North East Stand and the Members stand there is the new electronic scoreboard which is the best I have seen on any cricket ground to-date.

What is left is a building site where once was the Winter Shed stand and which is to one side of the Kirkstall Lane entrance. Now there are four huge concrete core structures to the new building which I assume are lift and service shafts and towering above these two of the biggest cranes I have ever seen and with warning lights at the top as these are below one of the main flight paths in and of Leeds and Bradford Airport, an airport I once used on a holiday trip to Spain.

The Shed became infamous for corporately all day drinking and rowdiness. Although in fairness as did the north and west mound stands and other public areas at Headingley. This, together with the escalating prices was why I stopped going to the opening days of Test matches. I liked the shed stand because it also provided a view over the wicket. One was fairly high up as below there was a tier of hospitality boxes and open seating restricted to Members of the club. Headingley is no longer Headingley but Headingley Carnegie, the name of its main sponsors, the Leeds Metropolitan University which has become one of the largest universities in the UK with 30000 students and covers the West Yorkshire area rather than Leeds City. The new building rising on the street end of Kirkstall Lane is a new teaching block for the University. Facing the playing area will be corporate boxes and a new media centre and learning facility similar to that Durham which I understand they visited and were impressed by. I assume there will be some seating on the lower tier for Members which will variable according to where the wicket is placed and therefore the sight screens.

The less said about the actual cricket on this occasion from the viewpoint of Durham that is, the better. Durham after all won the toss and elected to bat at first the openers looked like true representatives of the current Championship holders, playing at the home of the side that has won the championship more than twice that of any other county, albeit with two thirds of the winds before the second world war and only one win after the post war heyday in the 1960’s with Geoff Boycott as lead batsman and for England and Brian Close the Yorkshire Captain. The problem after that is the insistence of the club that players other than official overseas players had to be born with the geographical county of Yorkshire. This prevented the club from recruiting promising young players who were not born in the county although it was stretched to those whose parents were born in the county.

The decision to bat looked good until a splendid piece of fielding had Stoneman run out when the total was 47. Then there was disaster with Coetzer and Muchall were out to Shahzad at 53 and 55, both without scoring. Worse followed with Di Venuto who had promised much going for 29, Blackwell for only 12, both cleaned bowled by the impressive spin bowler Rashid.

Now it is worth telling the tale of Rashid as it is his inclusion in the Yorkshire 20 20 side which led to their expulsion from the competition and non match at Durham which I still believe was the fault of Darren Gough, that is the non match and not the expulsion. Adil Rashid is a brilliant spin bowler who captained the English youth team. He was born in Bradford but did not hold a British Passport and therefore should have been registered as an overseas players but Yorkshire already had their quota for the year. This has now been rectified and he could play for England if selected. I was impressed by Adil when he came to the Riverside but on Friday he was outstanding taking 3 for 32 from 18 overs that is less than two runs an over. Only Beckenstein seemed able to cope although he was supported by Mitch Claydon for a time, 62 and 26 runs respectively and somehow Durham struggled to only 176. It was never going to be enough to win this match as events today proved with Gale getting 84 runs and Shahzad not out at the close on 41 contributing to a total of 313 and Durham with 135 runs to make up were 26 for 1 by the close of play on Saturday. Hopefully the weather will be poor tomorrow and therefore a draw is possible otherwise I can see Durham losing their first match of season within three days and which wrecks my plans for Monday.

On Friday evening Harmison was fiery and impressed the Yorkshire supporters with his pace and bounce and there were several comments as why he was not playing for England, especially as the Australian were playing havoc with the English attack. However on Friday Harmison did not take an early wicket but he took three of the opening batsmen this morning and at one point Yorks were 93 for 5 and it looked as if the match had evened itself out, However 100 hundred runs was added for the loss of only two further wickers and an eight wicket partnership added a further 84 runs. Harmison took five wickets for 60 from 25 which will again draw his attention to the English selectors. We also missed Graham Onions. Plunkett back from injury failed to impress again with no wickets for 68 from 19 nor did Claydon 1 for 76 from 21 but Davies I for 33 from 13 puzzles why he did not bowl more unless further injury has occurred. I enjoyed the day but not the Durham performance.

On the way back I went out the way I had come and this is definitely faster than my previous efforts although longer in terms of distance. Instead of returning from the ring road as before I continued on the ring road following the directions to A!M/A19 north. This is a much faster route with few speed restrictions and traffic lights. However it does involve in effect travelling three side of a rectangle. The best way to the ground is in fact to take the monocot and turn off towards Harrogate and from their join the Leeds ring road. The journey should still be done in two hours but with setting off at 8.30 this should provide time to find a car parking space and find a seat comfortably before the opening overs. Time for a coffee and an early roll.

Talking of food I was quite peckish as I set off and was tempted to stop for fish and chips but not for a proper meal because of wanting return before darkness. I also remembered I had not bought lottery tickets. I decided to try and hang on until reaching home for food, but stopped at the Wetherby service to see if they sold lottery tickets and also fro a comfort break. It was here I noticed that a jacket potato with filling costs 4.99, a Burger King or McDonalds type meal £6 and fish and chips just under seven pounds. For these sums you get fast food cardboard cooking. A muffin , although a large one costs £1.99 and a doughnut £1. There were some takers although many took one look and motored on after investing in a hot drink. I arrived home just after nine. Bought lottery tickets through the internet and then watched Thursday episode of Torchwood on the I player and then after waiting half an hour, the final episode for this five hour series shown every night of this week. It is worth a separate Blog although first must come more traditional jazz and swing time.

1755 The Ice Age, Federer 15 and Lords in view

I begin the day with a feeling of mild irritation at having overwritten the outline of my writing for yesterday, but it became such a good day overall that the usual sense of frustration and failure did not occur. The day was marked by two bouts of good sunshine followed by lightening thunder and torrential rain. You cannot kid me that this is cyclical and not a fundamental change in the British pattern of weather for the summer.

The consequence of this and other competing attractions is that I did not get to see the free Toyah Wilcox in the Park concert, supported by Carol Decker of T -Pau who has appeared here before, and Sinead Quinn.

The first competing attraction was the semi final of the Friends Provident Trophy between Sussex and Gloucestershire at Hove. The heat wave on the south coast continued for another day after a successive week of such days and which has left the outfield brown and lightening fast. The visitors won the toss and decided to put Sussex in to bat on what was regarded and as a fast scoring and rue wicket which had been used before and glued with resin to stop it from breaking up during the day.

Sussex started well with a good flow of runs preferring to hit fours than take individual runs. At 62 Nash missed the line of a slower ball by Dawson and was bowled off stump. Luke was true to character and also played for the big hits making 36 before being caught on the boundary. It was then left for Joyce to continue his solid start with Murray Goodwin and they doubled they more than doubled the score to 263 when Goodwin was out for 60, Joyce having reached his century. However at this point the momentum of runs ended Smith and Hamilton Brown going for 6 each and Yardy 11 and then Joyce run out for a magnificent 146. The innings ended at 326 for 7 about 25 runs short for safety, given the wicket and the conditions.

At this point I went out for a quick shop at Asda fir milk, coffee, some Milano cut salami still £1.08 100 grams compared with £1.37 vacuum packed, some strawberries and sliced melon. I resisted more rolls and pastries but remembered some small tomatoes for salad.

As the sky had darkened with rain in the air I abandoned the idea of going to the Park concert and returned to watch the cricket and the men’s single’s final at Wimbledon. The cricket became a concern as Gloucestershire took a different approach going for every individual run possible but keeping to the run rate of 6 and over which brought them very much into contention as they also did not lose wickets after an early loss at 8 Gidman with Marshall added over 150 before the second wicket. It began to look as if the visitors had made the right decision to make Sussex bat first. However Sussex held their nerve and bowled well and the last six weeks fell for forty runs so that Sussed won by 34 runs in the 48th over with the last two wickets in two balls.

Meanwhile over on the centre court before some of the greats of the past thirty years, especially Pete Sampras an epic struggle unfolded as Federer could not break the Roddick service and all four sets going to a tie break and ending 2 sets each. Te the final set followed the same pattern although there were opportunities for both to reach match point. 66-6 became 10 10 and 14.14 and the players were effectively in their seventh set. It was here that Federer won his serve and then got to match point and the became the winner 16-14. It was his 15th major title beating Pete Sampras who had held 14.

The tickets for the Friends Provident Final will be available from Sussex from Tuesday or direct from the ECB depending upon the take up by the competing clubs. I hope to be there.

In the evening i watched Ice Age 2 brought to the TV screen with Ice Age 3 now in the cinemas. The film is subtitled the great flood and follows the flood causes by the melting of the ice age. As before it follows the adventures of a motley collection of creatures including a Mammoth who believes he may be the last, but finds a mate as well as a herd. Harmless family entertainment preaching individualism, loyalty to others and collective action for survival. It is also a tribute to the creative odd balls in our midst.

I did some washing and ironing and eat reasonably with gammon and roast potatoes for lunch with cherries and melon slices plus the remaining rolls with salami. There was not as much walking activity as I should or work.

There was much game playing where I am unable to progress more than 16 consecutive wins against the computer at chess but achieved 1234 wins at hearts and had been progressing with spider but with a run of over 50 until accidentally closed a game at the wrong time. Drats.