Titanic. There I've said it, or rather written it.
Back in 1997 it was the film everybody had to see at the cinema. And I was one of the millions around the world who went to see it - at the Showcase on the East Lancs Road.
And I was completely blown away by it.
Moreover, those in the know who were dishing out the Academy Awards gave the movie 11 Oscars - including the creme de la creme of Best Picture.
Yesterday, for the first time in a good few years I watched the film all the way through having caught the odd few minutes of it when it's been on TV.
It was the first time Matthew had seen it, and, like his Dad, he loved it.
What's not to like about it? Yes, the centrepiece tale surrounding the romance between first class passenger Rose (Kate Winslet) and third class passenger Jack (Leonado DiCaprio) is fictional, but the way it is woven into the rest of the tragic story of the great ship and its hundreds of occupants is pretty much seamless.
It's an epic film on every level from the incredible way the vessel was brought to life to the poignant images of its grave at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean.
There's a section in the movie that starts the tears rolling down my face every time I see it. As the famed small band play on the deck with unimaginable chaos all around them, there's a scene that lasts barely 10 or 15 seconds. An Irish mother in third class steerage is talking ever so softly to her two small children lying next to each other in their cramped little cabin bed. She knows they are all about to perish and in their final moments she soothes them into their final sleep with the story of Tir na nOg - an Irish folk story. It's so wonderfully filmed, right from the heart, and it gets me every single time I see it.
The scene where the one returning lifeboat tries to rescue passengers left in the freezing water is also incredibly moving while the film's spiritual climax which follows Rose's death on board the search vessel is simply perfect.
The story of the RMS Titanic, above all, is one of human tragedy on an incredible scale - more than 1,500 poor souls never made it to America on that fateful journey. And, of course, the majority were those travelling in third class. Yes, class played a significant role over those last hours whether you were to live or die.
Titanic is definitely one of my all-time favourite movies - not least because I'm emotionally caught up in what happens on the screen and actually care about what's happening to the characters. Those are always the best types of films. And those who know me know this list of pictures also includes such gems as It's A Wonderful Life, Tess, Saving Private Ryan, A Bridge Too Far, JFK and, of course, Field Of Dreams.
I guess some of you won't see what all the fuss is about with Titanic. But for me, it's a fabulous film.
Oh, and La Winslet is just stunning too...
Sunday 20 January 2013
Monday 14 January 2013
Say it ain't so, Nipper
SO, farewell, then, HMV?
My God, it really will be the end of something truly iconic in our high street if HMV joins Comet, Jessops, Woolworths et al as a long-established firm that is no longer with us.
This news tonight has upset me on so many levels, not least as one of my good friends works for the firm. I hope for his sake alone something can be done and the company will be saved.
Yes, we all know the way people listen to music and watch movies has changed dramatically in recent years.
And if you want my opinion - and yes, label me an old fart if you so please (and I know many of you will) - these changes are not for the better.
This bloody downloading of stuff onto an array of electronic devices has reached unbelievable levels.
But at what cost?
I'm pretty sure that if you asked an average teenager to show you their record collection, they'd look quizzically at you and ask you what a record was.
If you said a CD they might mutter about having a couple of those things in the plastic cases but they don't go in for them anymore.
Instead, their entire music collection is stored on a hard drive of some device or other.
Oh, so you haven't actually got the sleeve notes - or indeed the sleeve - to hold, and read, then?
Again, you'd be asked to explain what a sleeve was.
I am absolutely heartbroken to see this particular "progress" when it comes to music. Is this what it all means to the purchasers of music these days that something can be downloaded and stored without actually physically owning the said piece or pieces of music? If it is - and I guess it must be - then, to quote Private Fraser from Dad's Army: "We're all doomed!"
I've just read a shocking statistic that says 73.4% or music and film is downloaded today.
What is it with people? Don't they actually like to hold CDs and DVDs in their hands any more, never mind vinyl which I still love - and always will.
It also appears that HMV has been one of the victims of tax legislation while the vast juggernaut that is Amazon has managed to avoid paying tax so is making a fortune at the expense of companies such as HMV.
I'm not going to lie - I use Amazon. But I spent more money at HMV in 2012 than I did at Amazon, including a big chunk at Christmas where the queues in the Liverpool One outlet had to be seen to be believed. I have never in my life seen queues as big as the ones I stood in in that store in the weekend before Christmas. Surely to God that branch made a decent buck?
I just hope something will be done to save HMV because we will all miss it so much if it disappears from our high street.
Progress? Yeah, right...
My God, it really will be the end of something truly iconic in our high street if HMV joins Comet, Jessops, Woolworths et al as a long-established firm that is no longer with us.
This news tonight has upset me on so many levels, not least as one of my good friends works for the firm. I hope for his sake alone something can be done and the company will be saved.
Yes, we all know the way people listen to music and watch movies has changed dramatically in recent years.
And if you want my opinion - and yes, label me an old fart if you so please (and I know many of you will) - these changes are not for the better.
This bloody downloading of stuff onto an array of electronic devices has reached unbelievable levels.
But at what cost?
I'm pretty sure that if you asked an average teenager to show you their record collection, they'd look quizzically at you and ask you what a record was.
If you said a CD they might mutter about having a couple of those things in the plastic cases but they don't go in for them anymore.
Instead, their entire music collection is stored on a hard drive of some device or other.
Oh, so you haven't actually got the sleeve notes - or indeed the sleeve - to hold, and read, then?
Again, you'd be asked to explain what a sleeve was.
I am absolutely heartbroken to see this particular "progress" when it comes to music. Is this what it all means to the purchasers of music these days that something can be downloaded and stored without actually physically owning the said piece or pieces of music? If it is - and I guess it must be - then, to quote Private Fraser from Dad's Army: "We're all doomed!"
I've just read a shocking statistic that says 73.4% or music and film is downloaded today.
What is it with people? Don't they actually like to hold CDs and DVDs in their hands any more, never mind vinyl which I still love - and always will.
It also appears that HMV has been one of the victims of tax legislation while the vast juggernaut that is Amazon has managed to avoid paying tax so is making a fortune at the expense of companies such as HMV.
I'm not going to lie - I use Amazon. But I spent more money at HMV in 2012 than I did at Amazon, including a big chunk at Christmas where the queues in the Liverpool One outlet had to be seen to be believed. I have never in my life seen queues as big as the ones I stood in in that store in the weekend before Christmas. Surely to God that branch made a decent buck?
I just hope something will be done to save HMV because we will all miss it so much if it disappears from our high street.
Progress? Yeah, right...
Saturday 12 January 2013
What entertains us will always be subjective
I KNOW, I know, stating the bleeding obvious.
There is no right or wrong answer to the question of entertainment - in this instance I am referring to the vast world of comedy.
Today I saw three different types of entertainment that could be stuffed into the pigeonhole marked 'Comedy'.
There was a pantomime, the latest 'winner' from ITV and the most recent material from a writer and performer who is one of the best acts from my generation.
To the pantomime first. And it was a most enjoyable visit to the Theatre Royal in St Helens with the Liverpool Deaf Children's Society to see Cinderella.
Oh yes, we all know the story etc etc but in this most miserable of the calendar's 12 months - by a country mile - I would recommend pantomime to help get rid of the January blues, at least for a few hours or so.
I've been having a rough couple of days, capped by a 24-hour flu-like bug that drained me of all energy between Thursday night and Friday night. I felt bloody awful and a coach trip to St Helens didn't fill me with much enthusiasm.
But by God, how glad I was I made the trip. The show was top notch with the bloke who used to play Andy McDonald in Coronation Street marvellous as Buttons and the illusionist Richard De Vere making a wonderfully dastardly Dandini.
And it was his character who said what I reckon is the funniest lines I've ever heard in a panto, to do with his choice of headgear. The payoff line was "Wear the fox hat" so you can work it out for yourselves what that was supposed to mean. The way it was delivered only added to the hilarity of the moment.
All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and with the LDCS getting a special mention it made the trip one to remember.
The second piece of entertainment with comedic input is ITV's latest attempt to drag "celebrities" into the limelight with something we can all have a laugh at. We've seen them dining out on the private parts of unfortunate Aussie roadkill as well as sliding on their backsides on frozen water as Tony Gubba delivers his expertise on the finesse of the triple-salko.
Now, they're attempting to copy Tom Daley by leaping off ridiculously high boards into 20 feet of water being judged by comedienne Jo Brand in a show called Splash!. No, honestly, you truly, truly could not possibly make this up.
Ironically, or coincidentally, one of the stars of Cinderella, Tina Malone, is on next week's show and De Vere took the piss out of her during the panto for going on it!
Of course, viewers can, ahem, interact and spend yet more money ringing in saying whose dive was the best.
Or in the case of tonight's show, whose swimming cossie was the skimpiest - Sky Sports presenter Charlotte Jackson won that hands down in a number that could only have been designed by Edward Scissorhands.
Is this how far TV entertainment has sunk - to the depths of a swimming pool? I fully expect Chris Eubank to be limbering up for his trail of youth hostels in the UK or maybe another show as Eric Bristow, fresh from his appearance in the jungle, trains celebrities to sling arrows in some darts challenge or other with Jim Bowen drafted in to ask some questions in a sort of 2013 version of Bullseye. Given time, it could happen.
The third piece of entertainment was the DVD bought for me by Louise at Christmas of Mid Morning Matters.
This is Steve Coogan's latest stint as arguably his greatest creation - although I really loved Paul Calf back in the day - dreadful DJ and failed TV host Alan Partridge. Set in the studio of a digital radio station in, where else but Norfolk, Coogan is in fine form once again with comedy set-pieces so well written with killer, individual lines that set him apart. The name 'City Break', for example, was used in one and it was so well observed, once more contributing to the comedic value of the piece.
Coogan is one of only a relatively few number of comedy performers of today's generation I could watch again and again. Larry David is another and I'll be blogging about him too in the future. I also like Sarah Millican, both as a performer and for other reasons too...
In fact, it tells you something that by far and away the funniest thing I saw on TV in the whole of 2012 was actor William Shatner's guest appearance as the host on an unforgettable edition of Have I Got News For You. His line about hookers in a small Devon town must be viewed on You Tube if you've yet to see it.
To wind up, as I've been wittering on for a bit, I know. It really is true that what entertains us will always be subjective but at least we can all agree on one thing: Jim Davidson, despite what it might say on Wikipedia, is not a comedian.
There is no right or wrong answer to the question of entertainment - in this instance I am referring to the vast world of comedy.
Today I saw three different types of entertainment that could be stuffed into the pigeonhole marked 'Comedy'.
There was a pantomime, the latest 'winner' from ITV and the most recent material from a writer and performer who is one of the best acts from my generation.
To the pantomime first. And it was a most enjoyable visit to the Theatre Royal in St Helens with the Liverpool Deaf Children's Society to see Cinderella.
Oh yes, we all know the story etc etc but in this most miserable of the calendar's 12 months - by a country mile - I would recommend pantomime to help get rid of the January blues, at least for a few hours or so.
I've been having a rough couple of days, capped by a 24-hour flu-like bug that drained me of all energy between Thursday night and Friday night. I felt bloody awful and a coach trip to St Helens didn't fill me with much enthusiasm.
But by God, how glad I was I made the trip. The show was top notch with the bloke who used to play Andy McDonald in Coronation Street marvellous as Buttons and the illusionist Richard De Vere making a wonderfully dastardly Dandini.
And it was his character who said what I reckon is the funniest lines I've ever heard in a panto, to do with his choice of headgear. The payoff line was "Wear the fox hat" so you can work it out for yourselves what that was supposed to mean. The way it was delivered only added to the hilarity of the moment.
All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and with the LDCS getting a special mention it made the trip one to remember.
The second piece of entertainment with comedic input is ITV's latest attempt to drag "celebrities" into the limelight with something we can all have a laugh at. We've seen them dining out on the private parts of unfortunate Aussie roadkill as well as sliding on their backsides on frozen water as Tony Gubba delivers his expertise on the finesse of the triple-salko.
Now, they're attempting to copy Tom Daley by leaping off ridiculously high boards into 20 feet of water being judged by comedienne Jo Brand in a show called Splash!. No, honestly, you truly, truly could not possibly make this up.
Ironically, or coincidentally, one of the stars of Cinderella, Tina Malone, is on next week's show and De Vere took the piss out of her during the panto for going on it!
Of course, viewers can, ahem, interact and spend yet more money ringing in saying whose dive was the best.
Or in the case of tonight's show, whose swimming cossie was the skimpiest - Sky Sports presenter Charlotte Jackson won that hands down in a number that could only have been designed by Edward Scissorhands.
Is this how far TV entertainment has sunk - to the depths of a swimming pool? I fully expect Chris Eubank to be limbering up for his trail of youth hostels in the UK or maybe another show as Eric Bristow, fresh from his appearance in the jungle, trains celebrities to sling arrows in some darts challenge or other with Jim Bowen drafted in to ask some questions in a sort of 2013 version of Bullseye. Given time, it could happen.
The third piece of entertainment was the DVD bought for me by Louise at Christmas of Mid Morning Matters.
This is Steve Coogan's latest stint as arguably his greatest creation - although I really loved Paul Calf back in the day - dreadful DJ and failed TV host Alan Partridge. Set in the studio of a digital radio station in, where else but Norfolk, Coogan is in fine form once again with comedy set-pieces so well written with killer, individual lines that set him apart. The name 'City Break', for example, was used in one and it was so well observed, once more contributing to the comedic value of the piece.
Coogan is one of only a relatively few number of comedy performers of today's generation I could watch again and again. Larry David is another and I'll be blogging about him too in the future. I also like Sarah Millican, both as a performer and for other reasons too...
In fact, it tells you something that by far and away the funniest thing I saw on TV in the whole of 2012 was actor William Shatner's guest appearance as the host on an unforgettable edition of Have I Got News For You. His line about hookers in a small Devon town must be viewed on You Tube if you've yet to see it.
To wind up, as I've been wittering on for a bit, I know. It really is true that what entertains us will always be subjective but at least we can all agree on one thing: Jim Davidson, despite what it might say on Wikipedia, is not a comedian.
Wednesday 9 January 2013
How to make us all feel so insignificant
THERE'S great TV to be seen each evening this week on BBC2 as Stargazing Live has returned to our screens.
I wish it had been a subject at school all those years ago with the teacher leading the class clearly enthused about the stuff he was teaching. (I'll return to this matter on another Blog).
Anyway, Professor Brian Cox - yes, it's the brainy D:Ream bloke again - is once again educating and enlightening us on things I don't claim to understand in the slightest but sound, for want of a better word, astronomical.
Maths at school was a complete waste of time for me. Bloody hated the subject and found it so tedious, especially calculus (for me, he was Tintin's eccentric professor pal), logarithms (do they still do them?) and algebra (x +y - x = whatever). Could never get into it at all.
So you'd naturally expect, when maths and massive numbers are mentioned with carefree abandon by the experts talking about the universe, that I'd switch off.
Far from it.
I'm just in complete awe of what they're talking about. Even if I don't really understand it. Which I don't.
There was a sequence in tonight's programme, for instance, where a mathematical formula had been found to calculate, roughly, the age of the universe. Apparently it's around 15 billion years or so. How that figure was reached, God (literally) only knows.
What I do know is it was all incredibly entertaining and made me want to find out more about what's above us.
There was also a really interesting piece about the red supergiant star Betelgeuse. This thing is big. And when I say big, I really do mean seriously vast. Apparently, it's diameter is about 1,000 times bigger than our own Sun. In fact, if it were placed in the position of the Sun, its surface would stretch out past Mars!
And the thing about Betelgeuse is it could explode anytime soon! It's burnt away all of its hydrogen leaving helium and could blow big style, creating a supernova. We would see the light from this explosion on Earth for a fortnight!
All this only added to the 'wow factor' the programme generated. There's an event at Martin Mere on the 19th of this month between 7pm and 9pm where you can go stargazing with experts on hand to tell you what you're looking at so I'm aiming to go to that - it promises to be great, so long as the sky is clear.
The main feeling I got from watching the programme is how completely insignificant Earth is in relation to the rest of the Universe. We're just a tiny pinprick of a microdot on the whole, ever-moving picture of the Universe.
It certainly makes you think as well as making you want to gaze upwards to the heavens and ask that question we all ask and want to know the definitive answer to: Just why are we all here?
I wish it had been a subject at school all those years ago with the teacher leading the class clearly enthused about the stuff he was teaching. (I'll return to this matter on another Blog).
Anyway, Professor Brian Cox - yes, it's the brainy D:Ream bloke again - is once again educating and enlightening us on things I don't claim to understand in the slightest but sound, for want of a better word, astronomical.
Maths at school was a complete waste of time for me. Bloody hated the subject and found it so tedious, especially calculus (for me, he was Tintin's eccentric professor pal), logarithms (do they still do them?) and algebra (x +y - x = whatever). Could never get into it at all.
So you'd naturally expect, when maths and massive numbers are mentioned with carefree abandon by the experts talking about the universe, that I'd switch off.
Far from it.
I'm just in complete awe of what they're talking about. Even if I don't really understand it. Which I don't.
There was a sequence in tonight's programme, for instance, where a mathematical formula had been found to calculate, roughly, the age of the universe. Apparently it's around 15 billion years or so. How that figure was reached, God (literally) only knows.
What I do know is it was all incredibly entertaining and made me want to find out more about what's above us.
There was also a really interesting piece about the red supergiant star Betelgeuse. This thing is big. And when I say big, I really do mean seriously vast. Apparently, it's diameter is about 1,000 times bigger than our own Sun. In fact, if it were placed in the position of the Sun, its surface would stretch out past Mars!
And the thing about Betelgeuse is it could explode anytime soon! It's burnt away all of its hydrogen leaving helium and could blow big style, creating a supernova. We would see the light from this explosion on Earth for a fortnight!
All this only added to the 'wow factor' the programme generated. There's an event at Martin Mere on the 19th of this month between 7pm and 9pm where you can go stargazing with experts on hand to tell you what you're looking at so I'm aiming to go to that - it promises to be great, so long as the sky is clear.
The main feeling I got from watching the programme is how completely insignificant Earth is in relation to the rest of the Universe. We're just a tiny pinprick of a microdot on the whole, ever-moving picture of the Universe.
It certainly makes you think as well as making you want to gaze upwards to the heavens and ask that question we all ask and want to know the definitive answer to: Just why are we all here?
Monday 7 January 2013
Why I've yet to see a movie better than this one
THE best movie experiences stay with you a long time after the credits have started to roll, your seat has flipped back and you've brushed away those stray bits of popcorn that fell into your lap in the darkness of the cinema over the preceding two or three hours.
A long time...
It will soon be approaching a quarter of a century since I first saw a film that in this writer's opinion has not been bettered either before or since.
It's a quirky, offbeat story of a farmer from Iowa called Ray Kinsella who begins to hear a voice while he's working in his cornfield. The voice tells him: "If you build it, he will come".
Ray realises he has to do away with his corn that's providing a living for his wife and young daughter and construct a baseball diamond complete with floodlights.
But that's not the end of the story. That's just the beginning.
The movie I am referring to is, of course, Field Of Dreams.
To some - who have not seen it - it's often pigeon-holed as just another baseball picture starring Kevin Costner.
Well, yes - it does star Kevin Costner as the farmer, but no, it certainly isn't just another baseball picture.
True, America's National Pastime is featured in the movie, but it's more, much more than that. It's a richly entertaining and life-affirming tale which tugs, nay pulls hard at the heartstrings and has a magical, mystical, spiritual theme coursing throughout that people who love It's A Wonderful Life each and every Christmas would appreciate straightaway.
There are some outstanding performances too in the picture, notably James Earl Jones as a reclusive writer called Terrence Mann who Ray realises he has to meet in Boston and, poignantly, the great Burt Lancaster in his final big screen role. Lancaster portrays the character Archibald 'Moonlight' Graham who was a real player in the major leagues who only appeared in one half of an inning his entire career before becoming a doctor.
There are lots of twists and turns along the way with the final 10 minutes or so providing truly emotional moments before Ray, and us, finally realise why he has been on this quite incredible journey.
I first saw Field Of Dreams with my Dad at the now-gone London Road Odeon in the autumn of 1989. As soon as it came out on VHS I bought it and have since purchased the special edition on DVD.
It is, quite simply, my Desert Island Film that could watch forever and a day.
I cannot praise this picture highly enough and if you've never yet seen it, try and spare a couple of hours in 2013 to rectify that. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.
A long time...
It will soon be approaching a quarter of a century since I first saw a film that in this writer's opinion has not been bettered either before or since.
It's a quirky, offbeat story of a farmer from Iowa called Ray Kinsella who begins to hear a voice while he's working in his cornfield. The voice tells him: "If you build it, he will come".
Ray realises he has to do away with his corn that's providing a living for his wife and young daughter and construct a baseball diamond complete with floodlights.
But that's not the end of the story. That's just the beginning.
The movie I am referring to is, of course, Field Of Dreams.
To some - who have not seen it - it's often pigeon-holed as just another baseball picture starring Kevin Costner.
Well, yes - it does star Kevin Costner as the farmer, but no, it certainly isn't just another baseball picture.
True, America's National Pastime is featured in the movie, but it's more, much more than that. It's a richly entertaining and life-affirming tale which tugs, nay pulls hard at the heartstrings and has a magical, mystical, spiritual theme coursing throughout that people who love It's A Wonderful Life each and every Christmas would appreciate straightaway.
There are some outstanding performances too in the picture, notably James Earl Jones as a reclusive writer called Terrence Mann who Ray realises he has to meet in Boston and, poignantly, the great Burt Lancaster in his final big screen role. Lancaster portrays the character Archibald 'Moonlight' Graham who was a real player in the major leagues who only appeared in one half of an inning his entire career before becoming a doctor.
There are lots of twists and turns along the way with the final 10 minutes or so providing truly emotional moments before Ray, and us, finally realise why he has been on this quite incredible journey.
I first saw Field Of Dreams with my Dad at the now-gone London Road Odeon in the autumn of 1989. As soon as it came out on VHS I bought it and have since purchased the special edition on DVD.
It is, quite simply, my Desert Island Film that could watch forever and a day.
I cannot praise this picture highly enough and if you've never yet seen it, try and spare a couple of hours in 2013 to rectify that. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.
Sunday 6 January 2013
Ups and downs on Twelfth Night
I HATE Twelfth Night. Always have and always will. No, not Bill Shakespeare's drama which I don't know at all; no the 12th and final Day of Christmas.
The reason being I just love the month of December, despite all the chaos, and especially the time from about the 18th onwards. That's when I really begin to get excited about the Christmas season with exactly a week to go before the Big Day. Indeed, I love Christmas Eve more than my own birthday!
Yes, my work colleagues know fine well how much I love the whole of the calendar's final month as the festive ties and socks get an airing - lucky they don't have to see my festive boxies too (but that's for another occasion, perhaps!). Oh, and of course, they all have to put up with my mobile phone's ringtone which from December 1 until January 6 is 'Fairytale Of New York'.
But all that's done with now until it begins once more from Sunday, December 1, 2013.
So all the deccies have come down today. Fortunately I was in work in Liverpool today so I missed the tree and all the other festive bits 'n' bobs coming down in our house. You sure notice the difference when you're walking home and those warm and welcoming lights have all disappeared from neighbours' windows. January is a truly soulless month with not a lot going for it and the disappearance of those comforting glows only adds to its misery.
This particular Twelfth Night was full of ups and downs, much of them sporting connected.
For me, though, it actually began with a non-sporting bit of news with a great picture of a very good friend of mine who has found someone special in their life. A great image to warm the cockles of the heart on a chilly January morning.
And it certainly was chilly at Buckley Hill where Matthew's Netherton Boys football team drew their game 2-2 with Town Green Pumas. Matthew played well but was forced out of the match in the second-half with a recurrence of a nasty strain to his left calf. He's a really gutsy kid, my eldest, never afraid to tackle and give his all for the good of the team. I just hope this injury doesn't keep him sidelined for as long as the last time it happened back in November.
And from there it was onto work for a nine-hour stint helping to put the sports pages together for Monday's Liverpool Echo. Of course, Liverpool's FA Cup clash was on in the office and like right-thinking sports fans - not just football fans - I was very disappointed with the manner of Luis Suarez's goal. I guess he'll be hammered by the national Press (again) but in many ways it's up to the lawmakers to make changes. For instance, in big televised games such as this, give each manager one chance in each half to question a key decision by the officials. This was a perfect example as the instant TV replay would have chalked off the goal for handball against the Reds' Uruguayan striker. And the game has stopped at that point anyway as a goal has been awarded. But I guess the lawmakers will find an excuse not to introduce something as simple as that. It took until 1966 to allow substitutes FFS and the game had been going since 1872 when the first FA Cup final took place!
There was also the awful sports story that some of you might not have seen - British tennis player Ross Hutchins is battling cancer at the age of just 27. Just a dreadful situation. I hope and pray he wins his fight. It was nice of Andy Murray to dedicate his triumph at the Brisbane International tournament to his pal.
And sport concluded my long day as I got home in time to see my favourite NFL team, the Washington Redskins, take on the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Wild Card clash at FedEx Field in DC. Sadly for me and the countless number of 'Skins followers - many in the UK - their hopes of adding to the Super Bowls won in 1982, 1988 and 1992 will have to wait for another 12 months as they fell to a 24-14 defeat. Robert Griffin III is the Redskins' rookie quarterback whose debut season has been nothing short of sensational. But he was playing hurt for much of the game and it told in the end. But he, like the 'Skins, will be back.
As I will too with another meandering line or two that I hope you'll enjoy reading.
The reason being I just love the month of December, despite all the chaos, and especially the time from about the 18th onwards. That's when I really begin to get excited about the Christmas season with exactly a week to go before the Big Day. Indeed, I love Christmas Eve more than my own birthday!
Yes, my work colleagues know fine well how much I love the whole of the calendar's final month as the festive ties and socks get an airing - lucky they don't have to see my festive boxies too (but that's for another occasion, perhaps!). Oh, and of course, they all have to put up with my mobile phone's ringtone which from December 1 until January 6 is 'Fairytale Of New York'.
But all that's done with now until it begins once more from Sunday, December 1, 2013.
So all the deccies have come down today. Fortunately I was in work in Liverpool today so I missed the tree and all the other festive bits 'n' bobs coming down in our house. You sure notice the difference when you're walking home and those warm and welcoming lights have all disappeared from neighbours' windows. January is a truly soulless month with not a lot going for it and the disappearance of those comforting glows only adds to its misery.
This particular Twelfth Night was full of ups and downs, much of them sporting connected.
For me, though, it actually began with a non-sporting bit of news with a great picture of a very good friend of mine who has found someone special in their life. A great image to warm the cockles of the heart on a chilly January morning.
And it certainly was chilly at Buckley Hill where Matthew's Netherton Boys football team drew their game 2-2 with Town Green Pumas. Matthew played well but was forced out of the match in the second-half with a recurrence of a nasty strain to his left calf. He's a really gutsy kid, my eldest, never afraid to tackle and give his all for the good of the team. I just hope this injury doesn't keep him sidelined for as long as the last time it happened back in November.
And from there it was onto work for a nine-hour stint helping to put the sports pages together for Monday's Liverpool Echo. Of course, Liverpool's FA Cup clash was on in the office and like right-thinking sports fans - not just football fans - I was very disappointed with the manner of Luis Suarez's goal. I guess he'll be hammered by the national Press (again) but in many ways it's up to the lawmakers to make changes. For instance, in big televised games such as this, give each manager one chance in each half to question a key decision by the officials. This was a perfect example as the instant TV replay would have chalked off the goal for handball against the Reds' Uruguayan striker. And the game has stopped at that point anyway as a goal has been awarded. But I guess the lawmakers will find an excuse not to introduce something as simple as that. It took until 1966 to allow substitutes FFS and the game had been going since 1872 when the first FA Cup final took place!
There was also the awful sports story that some of you might not have seen - British tennis player Ross Hutchins is battling cancer at the age of just 27. Just a dreadful situation. I hope and pray he wins his fight. It was nice of Andy Murray to dedicate his triumph at the Brisbane International tournament to his pal.
And sport concluded my long day as I got home in time to see my favourite NFL team, the Washington Redskins, take on the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Wild Card clash at FedEx Field in DC. Sadly for me and the countless number of 'Skins followers - many in the UK - their hopes of adding to the Super Bowls won in 1982, 1988 and 1992 will have to wait for another 12 months as they fell to a 24-14 defeat. Robert Griffin III is the Redskins' rookie quarterback whose debut season has been nothing short of sensational. But he was playing hurt for much of the game and it told in the end. But he, like the 'Skins, will be back.
As I will too with another meandering line or two that I hope you'll enjoy reading.
Saturday 5 January 2013
On the 11th Day of Christmas it was time to start a Blog
The 11th Day of Christmas and I've decided - after much thought and seeing a good pal start one himself - to begin a Blog.
Goodness knows where this will lead and whether my ramblings about a whole raft of subjects close to my heart will gain any readers only time will tell.
But I'll give it a whirl and we'll see how it goes.
I hope you'll all enjoy at least some of what I'll be writing on here over the course of who knows how long.
Goodness knows where this will lead and whether my ramblings about a whole raft of subjects close to my heart will gain any readers only time will tell.
But I'll give it a whirl and we'll see how it goes.
I hope you'll all enjoy at least some of what I'll be writing on here over the course of who knows how long.
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