tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191609842024-03-07T20:03:29.285+00:00In *This* Own WriteMetro chief reporter. Tottenham Hotspur and The Beatles fan.
See also: http://aidanradnedgemetroblogs.wordpress.com/aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.comBlogger238125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-46160688894716253662023-09-22T14:34:00.005+01:002023-09-23T03:39:23.990+01:00"Die Macht der Massen" / "The power of the masses"...<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyoXmNNLLrp4qalgpwXd2ClSO-tSNUD-zliT-nTkWQuUFDwqoIC_Flz64MOlLy0GHKgTK2_eptTk1ynHfPW7LILjncVZySKKfQfMVA6zhYt7cj5o4Oz9S-oIfQ0rkvFb1ncsMbGHyuqKijJAjojJDQNS65j-86nAWD-GVyR7gTeg3n6t10K7nv/s1080/kickerseptember2023a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="1080" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyoXmNNLLrp4qalgpwXd2ClSO-tSNUD-zliT-nTkWQuUFDwqoIC_Flz64MOlLy0GHKgTK2_eptTk1ynHfPW7LILjncVZySKKfQfMVA6zhYt7cj5o4Oz9S-oIfQ0rkvFb1ncsMbGHyuqKijJAjojJDQNS65j-86nAWD-GVyR7gTeg3n6t10K7nv/s320/kickerseptember2023a.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiahitfyID-89yxRxAL3APnJp3E0tA9PeqcYqwVLG9-Ayxc1556OryMio5_XlSe89oGe720l7RnDwWgVBgsAxVs-rZPetn6JEyv93U8knOK11g3jKy0l2BrYRzUf0xDzJ9f6qLBl_atDZAEpmmNq5uqWucy_9EewWHX4cAi9L_r8JoJIYKaI5_a/s1430/kickerseptember2023b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1430" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiahitfyID-89yxRxAL3APnJp3E0tA9PeqcYqwVLG9-Ayxc1556OryMio5_XlSe89oGe720l7RnDwWgVBgsAxVs-rZPetn6JEyv93U8knOK11g3jKy0l2BrYRzUf0xDzJ9f6qLBl_atDZAEpmmNq5uqWucy_9EewWHX4cAi9L_r8JoJIYKaI5_a/s320/kickerseptember2023b.jpg" width="242" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(from Kicker magazine's Premier League supplement, September 18 2023)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Fan culture in England was once considered mythical, but
commerce has changed it too. For some clubs it's now about the atmosphere
again.</i></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Tottenham Hotspur sent their thousands of season
ticket-holders and members an important email this summer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It wasn’t asking for advice on who to appoint as manager
after going through three last season – Antonio Conte, Cristian Stellini and
Ryan Mason – as the club failed to qualify for Europe for the first time in 14
years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Nor was it about the England captain who still hit 30 goals
during the campaign, taking him past Jimmy Greaves as Tottenham’s all-time
leading scorer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Harry Kane’s “one of our own” spell at Spurs would end of
course with a £100million move to Bayern Munich, although a painted mural in
his honour remains on a brick building around the corner.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">What club chiefs wanted to hear from fans instead was how to
improve the atmosphere at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which opened in 2019
on the footprint of their old and now-demolished White Hart Lane ground.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span></span><span></span><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Suggestions included changing the songs played as the teams
take to the field, encouraging more “tifo” flags especially in the single-tier
Borussia Dortmund-style South Stand and bringing back an in-crowd drummer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The North London club’s new 62,000-capacity stadium might
regularly be hailed as one of the best in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Yet for all its pristine sheen, continental cuisine at food
market-style stalls along the concourses and Instagram-friendly photos, some
supporters will still say something special is being lost as English fan
culture faces modern-day developments.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Down the road in north London, fans of arch rivals Arsenal
say the feel of the place has seldom been better under than in recent years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">They credit manager Mikel Arteta’s improving influence, though no club has failed to win the Premier League despite
leading it for as long as Arsenal did last season.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This was a fanbase who used to be mocked for their silence
during matches, meaning their old ground Highbury was commonly referred to as
“The Library”.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">But newly-vocal enthusiasm seems to come from young players
such as Bukayo Saka and captain Martin Odegaard but also younger, committed
supporter groups.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Arteta has praised the club’s adoption of “North London
Forever”, a would-be anthem written by singer-songwriter fan Louis Dunford, son
of sitcom actress Linda Robson.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">On the other side of London, Crystal Palace have become the
closest associated with the continental “Ultras” term.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A section of season ticket-holders at their Selhurst Park
ground came together in the mid-2000s as the club which was regularly
oscillating between the first and second divisions again plunged into
administration.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">They made a conscious effort to improve the atmosphere in
their block, with self-consciously loud singing as well as artfully-designed
“tifo” flags.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Clubs should encourage such fervor, many might say –
especially since Arsenal’s top season ticket prices are the third most
expensive in the country at £1,784, though still cheaper than Spurs’ £2,025 and
west London Fulham’s £3,000.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Cheapest in the Premier League are £310 to the east of the
capital, at West Ham United, then Burnley’s £335 and just £385 to see Pep
Guardiola’s all-conquering Manchester City.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Spurs too have recently made an effort to have fans
brandishing large and differently-themed flags before matches, a collaboration
between the club and fan organisers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">New manager Ange Postecoglou was the target, in his first
home match in charge against Manchester United last month, of a “tifo” display
saying “Welcome to N17” – the Tottenham postcode – as fans behind the goal held
up carefully-arranged white and blue placards.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Far further north, Manchester United supporters have made
colourful statements against rather than in support of their club’s ownership
at least.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Green and gold scarves have been produced, bought and worn
as gestures against the unpopular Glazer family ownership – a nod to United’s
original traditional colours before they shifted to red and white.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Other supporters keenly lean into their own unpopularity,
such as south London side Millwall in the Championship who have long been
notorious for their hooligans – despite the club pointing to their eager
community initiatives and anti-racism campaigns.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Fans of the “Lions” defiantly chant: “No one likes us – no
one likes us – no one likes us, we don’t care.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Similar sentiments can be heard from fans of Cardiff City in
Wales and Stoke City in Staffordshire, whose Premier League stint in the 2010s
under pragmatic manager Tony Pulis depended heavily on long balls and hard
tackling and comparisons to rugby.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Stoke fans would pre-empt their opponents by crooning along
to a song more associated with the England rugby union team, “Swing Low Sweet
Chariot”.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Arsenal’s introduction of “North London Forever” as a
pre-match soundtrack has been compared to Liverpool’s famously anthemic use of
“You’ll Never Walk Alone”, a Rodgers and Hammerstein ballad from the 1940s but
which caught on when covered by Merseybeat band Gerry and the Pacemakers in the
1960s.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Kop stand at Liverpool’s Anfield is often mythologised
for its inspirational atmosphere, similar to how fellow northern club Newcastle
United’s supporters are renowned as among the most passionate in England.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">That might have something to do with certain city status –
that is, Newcastle are the only top team around beside the River Tyne, even if
regional neighbours Sunderland and Middlesbrough are keenly-contested rivals.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">London, in contrast, currently has six Premier League sides
plus new arrivals Luton Town not far north, with plenty more in the divisions
below.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Early table-toppers in non-league, England's fifth
tier, are North London's Barnet whose ground has hosted internationals involving Nigeria, Senegal and Serbia.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There were 1,676 people there to see them beat Altrincham
3-0 on September 9.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">But last season’s top average attendances for National
League clubs were far higher, with Hollywood-backed Wrexham recording 9,973 and
fellow promotion-winners Notts County scoring 8,024 while the figures were
6,912 for Chesterfield, 6,827 for Oldham Athletic and 6,040 for Southend
United.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Even the two divisions below saw average crowds of 3,777 at
National League North’s Scunthorpe United and 3,031 at Yeovil Town of National
League South.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Such strong numbers down the English football pyramid
provide insights into the country’s fan culture, according to supporter network organiser Kevin Rye.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He highlighted how strong the turnouts and engagement will
be whether cheering on treble-winners Manchester City and newly-Saudi-rich
Newcastle or campaigning to bring lower-league Bury back to life after
collapsing into administration in 2020.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Rye runs football supporter consultancy Think Fan Engagement,
teaches football business at UCFB Wembley and has worked with fans, clubs and governing
bodies over the past two decades.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He is also a director of the Dons Trust, a football
supporters’ group which has helped the progress of AFC Wimbledon – now in
League Two, after being set up by Wimbledon fans horrified when their former
club moved from south London to Milton Keynes and rebranded as MK Dons.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">He said: “Loyalty and passion express themselves in
different ways among different fanbases - c</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">lubs are still such a fundamental part of identity and
belonging in England.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“It’s not that they aren’t in other countries, but we have
such a depth of football in England that means even clubs at level nine can
attract thousands of fans for every match.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">But he warned owners across the country can take unwavering devotion for granted.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Rye added: “It can make clubs unappreciative and sometimes a
bit ignorant of this extraordinary commitment which is a shame because, harnessed
properly, fanbases can be a tremendously powerful resource at the fingertips of
a club.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“Fans will very often do anything to help their club if they
can.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“I don’t know if it’s something unique in the psyche of the
English but, whatever it is, it’s something I’ve seen over and over again in
over 20 years in the game.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Social media is something clubs are understandably attuned
to, even if their online admins might find themselves facing resentful
complaints from people going to matches but seeing lavish attention paid
towards supporters’ clubs abroad – such is the Premier League’s TV-fuelled
dominance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This can be double-edged – among the most influential of
online platforms is AFTV.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">This much-shared internet channel stars a regular cast of
Arsenal fans filmed watching matches and giving post-match interviews, often
histrionic and which seemed especially negative during Arsene Wenger’s last
years – prompting “Wenger Out” marches through the streets of Islington.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Fan fervour can be happily shared online too, with
elegantly-written blogs, fundraising campaigns and mickey-taking “banter”
accounts entertaining and engaging many.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Even antagonisms can sometimes somehow be
set aside when poring over fantasy football league stats and tables, amid friends or at work.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">But clubs and owners could risk losing sight of homebase appeal, in favour of </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">focusing on foreign fan communities in order to open up new markets.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the
end that doesn't help the atmosphere in the stadium.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana;">At least Spurs appear to have started
recognising the problem. Mood does matter.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p><p></p>aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-5623017933794927782023-03-15T17:53:00.016+00:002023-05-31T01:31:39.596+01:00"And in the end..."<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgODkrMZRqsuPKTPVPDwuEzJnFfY2-3J8-zQZoqpfaLrdDx_HexBYwbqTAs_9iAVlxcBZQeSVuOs2i7IgolpM7vNZyLsQ1a-hDrEuAEViHq4lFLURACDO1dZaPSmBaVcC4O4nxRyqWjLz4G-gPbXuDrHJs4tOvPsry1xTzgJ5LGqM53VeoxcA/s2048/metrofrontpages.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1909" data-original-width="2048" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgODkrMZRqsuPKTPVPDwuEzJnFfY2-3J8-zQZoqpfaLrdDx_HexBYwbqTAs_9iAVlxcBZQeSVuOs2i7IgolpM7vNZyLsQ1a-hDrEuAEViHq4lFLURACDO1dZaPSmBaVcC4O4nxRyqWjLz4G-gPbXuDrHJs4tOvPsry1xTzgJ5LGqM53VeoxcA/s320/metrofrontpages.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">“It’s been a </span><a href="https://youtu.be/yp5elOxcT34" style="font-family: verdana;">long, long, long</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"> time” (obligatory Beatles reference out of the way early), but sad to say today finally marks the end here - and for too many far finer others - at favourite newspaper <i>Metro</i>.</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sorry especially to be bidding farewell to so many cherishable colleagues - and with fond memories of dozens more from the past - while grateful to not only them but everyone who has helped on stories. And also, such readers.</span></div><div><span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">One of the earliest glimpses here into just what human good could be done -</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">and</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">galvanised in people picking up a copy each day - came when writing way back when about Odette Mupenzi, a young woman whose family had been slaughtered by Hutu militias during the Rwandan genocide.</span></div><div><span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">She managed to somehow shelter and survive - though did have most of her face blasted off by a gunman.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Nottinghamshire-based charity <a href="https://www.aegistrust.org/">Aegis Trust</a> got in touch, wondering whether we might do a story about her as they tried to raise £50,000 to bring her to Britain for potentially life-transforming reconstructive surgery.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">They had been promised matched funding up to £25,000 and hoped <i>Metro </i>readers might contribute a little to help inch towards the target.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">By the end of that very same Monday the front-page and inside story ran, <b><i>all </i></b>the money necessary had been generated - and <a href="https://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2006/03/odette-arrives.html">Odette later came over</a>, grateful for the readership’s support and gratifyingly appearing to feel more assured about her prospects and, well, facing the world.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">When travelling the world’s warzones and humanitarian disasters areas for the paper, or supporting causes from back home, it has never failed to inspire just how supportive <i>Metro </i>has been for so many relief efforts - but just how generous an ever-empathetic readership has been in response.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://www.tearfund.org/">Tearfund</a> told how taken happily aback they were by the strength of donations after travelling with them <a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/zimbabwe-in-december-2008.html">undercover in Zimbabwe</a>, at a time when <a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2017/11/fall-from-grace-tyrant-mugabe-finally.html">Robert Mugabe</a>’s rule, persecution, hyper-inflation and a pummelling cholera epidemic had the country <a href="http://metro.co.uk/2013/07/31/mugabe-more-likely-to-remain-a-lion-or-a-croc-than-a-leopard-changing-spots-3905480/">seeming on the verge of collapse</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Similar outpourings of compassion have followed coverage of suffering in <a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2014/03/">Afghanistan</a>, <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2012/04/27/sierra-leones-scars-run-deep-despite-charles-taylors-comeuppance-3822522/">Sierra Leone</a>, Ethiopia, Cambodia, a year on from <a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2016/04/one-year-on-from-nepal-quake-child.html">the earthquake in Nepal</a>, several visits witnessing the desperate plight of refugees on <a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2016/03/syria-crisis-five-years-on-nation-set.html?m=1">Lebanon’s border with Syria</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Most recently, of course, <i>Metro </i>readers - like Britons across the country - have dug deep yet again for all those, in Turkey and <a href="https://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2023/03/searches-still-amid-quake-rubble.html">yet again so many Syrians</a>, devastated by <a href="https://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2023/02/they-need-your-help-now.html">the February earthquakes</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Having once been described on the phone by a colleague as “the paper’s worthy correspondent”, it’s been heartwarming to know how much backing the paper has given - under stellar editors first Kenny Campbell and then, until his much-regretted departure now too, Ted Young.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">That goes too for everyone in such a co-operative newsroom - for all the harrowing poignancy of hearing from so many victims in such dire straits and so many aid workers going beyond the call to help.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Of course there has been plenty of pleasure as well, privileged to be able to follow through the London 2012 story - from early on being given the news reporter brief for <a href="https://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2006/04/are-you-here-for-my-pleasure-or-are.html">the capital's bid</a>, and becoming about the only one in the office who fancied London's chances over those of favourites Paris.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Then came all the more <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2012/07/27/that-golden-moment-2005-tarnished-yet-london-2012-can-still-gleam-3819141/">controversies and doubts</a>, <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2012/08/13/olympic-alchemy-caution-innovation-gave-golden-memories-expectations-3818532/">summer golden-glow glory</a> - especially uplifting at the <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2012/09/07/go-jonnie-gold-peacock-without-preening-stands-nations-paralympic-pride-3817796/">Paralympics </a>- and <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2012/11/29/olympic-stadium-can-redeemed-now-unhappy-hammers-unfortunately-3816292/">legacy questions</a> to follow.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Branching out from news pages to sports , with daily diaries from the <a href="https://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2006/07/none-shall-sleep.html">2006 </a>and <a href="https://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2010/07/this-time-for-africa.html">2010 World Cup</a>s and the (England-free) 2008 Euros, also of course appealed.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Not to forget various <a href="https://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2023/03/just-minute-and-then-some.html">60 Second Interviews</a>, diverse news features, and even the <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2014/05/20/rock-around-the-clock-bill-haley-60-years-rock-n-roll-4733068/">odd piece</a> or <a href="https://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2017/12/old-songs-lose-young-meanings-but-new.html">few about music</a>. (And not <b><i>all </i></b>of them about <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2014/01/31/50th-anniversary-of-the-beatles-topping-us-charts-the-day-that-changed-pop-music-forever-4284654/">the Fab Four</a>.)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">But most memorable will be the teams here - collaborative, intrepid, focused but also friendly and funny and supportive, whether on an everyday basis or in other struggles. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Metro </i>the newspaper might never have had the resources dealt elsewhere but every day everyone on a <i>uber-</i>tight team produced an engaging, penetrating, really really <i><b>really </b></i>good read. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">And proved you could do so without being a stereotypical newsroom out of central casting, full of people ranting and snarling and sniping and raving</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Apologies to anyone if ever doing so here.)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Like to think we cared about our readers, and vice versa.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Even the occasional (or, er, not so occasional) complainants.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ah, a favourite letter to the paper followed a story about Scotland coming to Wembley to play England, and the Tartan Army leaving 10,000 cans strewn across Trafalgar Square.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">A reader from Glasgow wrote: “I have to say I’m disgusted - there was supposed to be 20,000 fans there so what were they doing, sharing?”</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Another, unimpressed as many were by one splash, pithily suggested: “Aidan Radnedge has a promising future behind him.”</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Oh, <b><i>how</i></b> right he was.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thank you, <i>Metro </i>newspaper, and everyone involved.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">To again quote George Harrison (<a href="https://youtu.be/t0nzZ8-kIf0">“one more time”</a>): <i>"See you ‘round the clubs..."</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">*****</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>(And now for some things completely indulgent - a few [okay, many] front and middle back pages from the ages...)</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">As mentioned above, Odette Mupenzi's horrific plight appeared to touch generous <i>Metro </i>readers who very swiftly <a href="https://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2006/03/odette-arrives.html">did what they could to help</a>...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidLDq0txVzWrJGqzutd__GNVq4HmV9ElORR14qh87sWot6lcBX9rhJ7qmgbfN2VOpz1znsGt2a0Q_AOeJV8_oh-3AABMSeUuZVBC1Ijs3rphf2x1sk9Qp5x89haUnbOKCx2c1z0FA1f96VstbhNQiLN9AL8RnoXA5OKjKVR84hMOBFpDQ9vQ/s778/rwanda-191205frontpage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="728" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidLDq0txVzWrJGqzutd__GNVq4HmV9ElORR14qh87sWot6lcBX9rhJ7qmgbfN2VOpz1znsGt2a0Q_AOeJV8_oh-3AABMSeUuZVBC1Ijs3rphf2x1sk9Qp5x89haUnbOKCx2c1z0FA1f96VstbhNQiLN9AL8RnoXA5OKjKVR84hMOBFpDQ9vQ/s320/rwanda-191205frontpage.jpg" width="299" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj64zEMvKIyLwLJtrbqIDUO4sGJnDBqX2y5z-IIWVoDSUY0rOP2D4NIAeV_ul3WvUZhNntnoQvl-J8SRMdnY_sXqt-gGwUXFwtkrRcFIXYNnhkAMA6BYHgnZ1UVcNBqMHDpSTe-8maDkMjd-iW5TNx0BgO6yltcFNDul_43LQx621b_DBqMDA/s884/rwanda-191205.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="787" data-original-width="884" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj64zEMvKIyLwLJtrbqIDUO4sGJnDBqX2y5z-IIWVoDSUY0rOP2D4NIAeV_ul3WvUZhNntnoQvl-J8SRMdnY_sXqt-gGwUXFwtkrRcFIXYNnhkAMA6BYHgnZ1UVcNBqMHDpSTe-8maDkMjd-iW5TNx0BgO6yltcFNDul_43LQx621b_DBqMDA/s320/rwanda-191205.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn72RHFhMF4wtF6GD9_K53FHOyHIp8gSwhK2d7piNQMnflm__yCrPLbROt_Ch2JuHg_fJf5ITZ0P6emfZP10Ise7ljqhDC6mRz2ZgnNgPkx_V5_6inUiiwyrz1hR7o5r5KmdWFEJbKZxhMEnpVrmd1EOifaOjW6joDvlhxjOWjcaVmdgYHZg/s1237/rwanda-281206.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="794" data-original-width="1237" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn72RHFhMF4wtF6GD9_K53FHOyHIp8gSwhK2d7piNQMnflm__yCrPLbROt_Ch2JuHg_fJf5ITZ0P6emfZP10Ise7ljqhDC6mRz2ZgnNgPkx_V5_6inUiiwyrz1hR7o5r5KmdWFEJbKZxhMEnpVrmd1EOifaOjW6joDvlhxjOWjcaVmdgYHZg/s320/rwanda-281206.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href=" http://aidanrad.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/zimbabwe-in-december-2008.html">Reporting undercover</a> from <a href="http://metro.co.uk/2013/07/31/mugabe-more-likely-to-remain-a-lion-or-a-croc-than-a-leopard-changing-spots-3905480/">Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe</a> - at a time when Western journalists were banned - proved neve-racking as well as harrowing, and yet so inspiring was the defiant courage of people there putting themselves in yet more grievous danger by doing whatever they could to defy his rule which <a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2017/11/fall-from-grace-tyrant-mugabe-finally.html"><i>finally</i> ended far too late</a>.</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG0cjXHTsUcY5RHQ3-DjSn8HKkUrYavWKmz-lVllMbyt65A3FVzsnKcXuLw6Q2OwZCRZTPLT2T6Y_v1uNzX0SUa_lICHG2b7iHKyCuM2M7nNg5JKuQWZBzvhxJU5yYJkLGbd7W8Bc4QcdCcpoCANuKB2nwcu-JJzvOrh-poYFWQghDHfxG9g/s879/zimbabwe-2008a.jpg" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="879" data-original-width="686" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG0cjXHTsUcY5RHQ3-DjSn8HKkUrYavWKmz-lVllMbyt65A3FVzsnKcXuLw6Q2OwZCRZTPLT2T6Y_v1uNzX0SUa_lICHG2b7iHKyCuM2M7nNg5JKuQWZBzvhxJU5yYJkLGbd7W8Bc4QcdCcpoCANuKB2nwcu-JJzvOrh-poYFWQghDHfxG9g/s320/zimbabwe-2008a.jpg" width="250" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9R4pjuIZMb484rtKH22UtefBrf2BbIRhMpQrIxupVbl_1BEb7fzfDeEbXMqvsb7PpZcUhLmLZiues2NYCHBbpLorvIR3q7aKDB6RUS_x9S3U2WEdHeqZ_3o-SyI1mDQ3_2CA2Z5xEwsGO2NV-qVZqoXuosK4IfCAHGA6byTZm5zk3b6yNbg/s680/zimbabwe-2017a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="546" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9R4pjuIZMb484rtKH22UtefBrf2BbIRhMpQrIxupVbl_1BEb7fzfDeEbXMqvsb7PpZcUhLmLZiues2NYCHBbpLorvIR3q7aKDB6RUS_x9S3U2WEdHeqZ_3o-SyI1mDQ3_2CA2Z5xEwsGO2NV-qVZqoXuosK4IfCAHGA6byTZm5zk3b6yNbg/s320/zimbabwe-2017a.jpg" width="257" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9vGHoathD0D0CqoZYT30a7bX2s6SHt3ah4nqgqED2dpqmlaSvbv1v6pUqd7dFuR2mIi3SzqKdaMi8V7wkR-ORhwLEDbh6giYAAnLdzkDkAD81A5jRT20nlnMFcsbEMuD1UFWXYadcsugNhyeiuc5eU3oQ9f3BBfkn7L5Df4CaLd1xzCMvqg/s900/zimbabwe2017b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="900" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9vGHoathD0D0CqoZYT30a7bX2s6SHt3ah4nqgqED2dpqmlaSvbv1v6pUqd7dFuR2mIi3SzqKdaMi8V7wkR-ORhwLEDbh6giYAAnLdzkDkAD81A5jRT20nlnMFcsbEMuD1UFWXYadcsugNhyeiuc5eU3oQ9f3BBfkn7L5Df4CaLd1xzCMvqg/s320/zimbabwe2017b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A first visit to Afghanistan was <a href="https://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2008/12/afghanistan-in-november-2008.html">embedded with the military</a>, aided by <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2013/05/28/britain-abandoning-afghan-interpreters-to-the-taliban-3813711/">essential and endangered local interpreters</a> many of whom have since been left to their Britain-shaming fate..</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnEv5BhYTa7K6rIfjpWhbaLgD4GCnkITV2ew8Kxaq9tCCp__X3fspO8rIKTQtneCnMqo512GQ9k7bXEIKUlWNv4WsaDAFJVNQDCknqZtVHverEqi8qOV_LHbLm_CcSHtTsqIk_0b6_w_KT_ogW0lNYlQbwyZJNPVXFDpzwkldPmU3XKa6RLw/s1278/afghanistan-2008part5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="1278" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnEv5BhYTa7K6rIfjpWhbaLgD4GCnkITV2ew8Kxaq9tCCp__X3fspO8rIKTQtneCnMqo512GQ9k7bXEIKUlWNv4WsaDAFJVNQDCknqZtVHverEqi8qOV_LHbLm_CcSHtTsqIk_0b6_w_KT_ogW0lNYlQbwyZJNPVXFDpzwkldPmU3XKa6RLw/s320/afghanistan-2008part5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://metro.co.uk/2014/04/02/afghanistan-in-limbo-may-suffer-even-more-as-time-in-limelight-fades-4685712/">Subsequent travels</a> took in <a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2014/03/we-cant-afford-our-own-coffins-afghan.html">itinerant camps in and nearby Kabul</a>, <a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2014/03/even-hearing-their-name-is-enough-to.html">the cavernous mountain homes of Bamyan</a> where widows feared what would ultimately prove to be the Taliban's return and <a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2014/03/i-sold-my-sister-to-fund-drug-addiction.html">remote clinics for sadly-sunken addicts</a> - every day of every year still brings yet more misery, <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2022/08/15/generation-of-afghan-girls-lose-freedom-after-taliban-takeover-17182115/">for women and girls especially</a>...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgokHl0qMUlfaYFi94rBiljC8m6-XSHIBi0h7eLGVemBeZgBIACGJRUhAGLAjIS-C5IC-wMGRBxStCUYIIr4M_N1cPGgIkqnJMG3eQjLFQ4Y_GzSNAR39K3LGZ0ZhoY4GY77KzALQuSO0qzGfJUJ6Fey1ecqGwJAmmWUkqH-iCOtw5U4KOBNQ/s1385/afghanistan2014focus1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="828" data-original-width="1385" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgokHl0qMUlfaYFi94rBiljC8m6-XSHIBi0h7eLGVemBeZgBIACGJRUhAGLAjIS-C5IC-wMGRBxStCUYIIr4M_N1cPGgIkqnJMG3eQjLFQ4Y_GzSNAR39K3LGZ0ZhoY4GY77KzALQuSO0qzGfJUJ6Fey1ecqGwJAmmWUkqH-iCOtw5U4KOBNQ/s320/afghanistan2014focus1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigf1Bmk5ZE3bJxSsp-WjgDHIvnjZh2--Tk5btkBQtV-7-VZ0eA8dtKfNklVmJ9ussBGgXW_x6X8yz7p1yCPjRv_huXDxfU1RUrfidBXxDvXiu1TSa5wmr4Vke5BlAXk8MxVeV14PBjm4qEhKxtqhILLCYRaHTtvKyCGgw22TxbJt0na1LIyw/s1382/afghanistan2014focus2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="680" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5RNrl39MjHplGJBHLw3PoCG03K_VyMcvirMYsnpOmPlu5AfRDoJRYD4E_xn7Y-u9fXqtgCFEDKlEMMPtqhqIk2PbycxGJOMk559CAAzOmC4h3Xi_ctBh_klhqpmvHmBDkP4abgvH_BxFoEy02BMPiSH_RuKmaPEfjLpkqK_ZRbkRcZRgusA/s320/afghanistan-2021lostgirls.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiToK1o0tTZs0mGqUxQAd52zidao65-y-4aIyqMP2tQnJzw4Z2Vazx0-7C-r5OnxyGyfAh5juS0ZK8YLe0p5sKBW6mDgNXOEgKnxKUA29L1bMMgj2nu3gvXmJi-qetuM7-RLxEKCg18mM4fpzk1BlCVOijK2XvWZJO_pH2tZhbcG4Bl5R1wxg/s680/afghanistan-interpreters1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="439" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiToK1o0tTZs0mGqUxQAd52zidao65-y-4aIyqMP2tQnJzw4Z2Vazx0-7C-r5OnxyGyfAh5juS0ZK8YLe0p5sKBW6mDgNXOEgKnxKUA29L1bMMgj2nu3gvXmJi-qetuM7-RLxEKCg18mM4fpzk1BlCVOijK2XvWZJO_pH2tZhbcG4Bl5R1wxg/s320/afghanistan-interpreters1.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2023/03/searches-still-amid-quake-rubble.html">Today marks 12 years</a> since Bashar al-Assad's crackdown an pro-democracy demonstrators and the start of <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2013/09/08/syria-so-many-questions-but-no-answers-3954934/">Syria's civil war</a> <a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2015/12/mother-of-three-nermine-learnt-from-tv.html">killing </a>hundreds of thousands of people and <a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2015/12/some-still-somehow-dream-of-returning.html">displacing many millions more</a>. And, as heartachingly seen all often across the border from Syria in <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2013/09/10/the-families-split-by-war-our-latest-dispatch-from-the-syrian-border-3956570/">overwhelmed Lebanon</a>, too too often it is of course <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2013/09/08/syria-why-has-the-west-abandoned-our-little-children-3954944/">children left most lost and vulnerable</a> - all the more so after <a href="https://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2023/02/they-need-your-help-now.html">last month's earthquake</a>, what seems an even more gratuitous cruelty...</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzlUgOthlrS8ScxYlOaZ-_WDGAKs6Mctq6_o2TU9A9TBYY1hV3F_IYTGk-sn4_A1pfk-uRydRjvMJPh1PjOPzbY5siYfBeFqVRTkCvy0KojeegIduEljhDquYSJ05rvr6gSYxd6qM46BpjWvq5S_vmNsZSyuBt0sFLymb4k_Ejrcfj51aeJw/s859/lebanon-2013p1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="857" data-original-width="466" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdAmNiQyZPuVIXuOC5kST7Oj5xY4k7h2tLGN4XSTCa9deRGSNkknCGn8yF3NCW8dpNloN5hjnsZY2UXFqVMlWeY3qNtmwKhcXgStQTkq7LYqsGXJmtd2_DX3bYT4pHzjix5p5J7IWISOK2A23I53RBS4_fyPq3E-xi9HmwvVdpsWwSnjkg-A/s320/syria-dec2015greening2.jpg" width="174" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaNiQnAmowNq1UD0WwP3JuJaA30Vmy0churX7EkN7GVkou7gJ8PxbsnIhf97sp3XW1E4UCq33YT970mFQmlUpBif_rWB8mA9QPLcZSMXfMdhqdlrYnwTCNpVjsel_L_NHSt7QSC4m0Viagd_kSYt57rP3yWDyQwr2q-6INp8rwE89WiiE4bw/s360/syria-feb2023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="360" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaNiQnAmowNq1UD0WwP3JuJaA30Vmy0churX7EkN7GVkou7gJ8PxbsnIhf97sp3XW1E4UCq33YT970mFQmlUpBif_rWB8mA9QPLcZSMXfMdhqdlrYnwTCNpVjsel_L_NHSt7QSC4m0Viagd_kSYt57rP3yWDyQwr2q-6INp8rwE89WiiE4bw/s320/syria-feb2023.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="574" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnI8EV4jOX7m_7QPsxEnoqDnfOjcaYZF50FTBwtozAvNKlJxCVcc1xykJJuvo9wRdQoFBMlZ4f3o1UdwwkfPD1iBufoZEXGAlEz2RQF1e5Bmf9t5wUw9WHJtKdrbro_9lmcFC_zICvotxZUMJzp8fjVZO3ursaTGmi7OaMi2JFWTl2tyyO7g/s320/syria-feb2023b.jpg" width="270" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Visiting <a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2016/04/one-year-on-from-nepal-quake-child.html">Nepal for the one-year anniversary of the 2015 earthquake</a> sadly showed how little had been done yet to even begin rebuilding, as a newly-appointed minister in charge of recovery admitted in a rare interview - while the ruins were one thing, the increased danger to so many young lives was more chilling...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS207yDoe1bTt4Fl5tNleVT7QqWk6JD01RT-MwdVIZOngGS3Lo-BSoSa0AUWFB5VIlXGx4Wva7t7YcnnPfqZgamwUmtZtR-Pq-Rxs5-CspDWLQBiZx4ffRXoCkV5OD9g-iROtL3iasn0KFGsLo3uQlFWR3tjVR3JZuNu2sKIdoza_NS3G6dQ/s360/nepal-paper1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="355" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS207yDoe1bTt4Fl5tNleVT7QqWk6JD01RT-MwdVIZOngGS3Lo-BSoSa0AUWFB5VIlXGx4Wva7t7YcnnPfqZgamwUmtZtR-Pq-Rxs5-CspDWLQBiZx4ffRXoCkV5OD9g-iROtL3iasn0KFGsLo3uQlFWR3tjVR3JZuNu2sKIdoza_NS3G6dQ/s320/nepal-paper1.jpg" width="316" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmzEEQZ8qMopARcNH93_n9wUoJMTQ60JJIm3LH2UlLBo2MYQiYDIt8O_kbwMDk2PCWwxaF9klDNQF-QIXEC-pWW9uoMQZvhoyygFo0Lci5mxF6I_tkPRrpHJZEnHbkjrNPz4il3Wn3dHNv38SMeTrv_LmIeBFQAVBVldnTwZnJWaAZRsnyUw/s1600/nepal-paper2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="1600" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmzEEQZ8qMopARcNH93_n9wUoJMTQ60JJIm3LH2UlLBo2MYQiYDIt8O_kbwMDk2PCWwxaF9klDNQF-QIXEC-pWW9uoMQZvhoyygFo0Lci5mxF6I_tkPRrpHJZEnHbkjrNPz4il3Wn3dHNv38SMeTrv_LmIeBFQAVBVldnTwZnJWaAZRsnyUw/s320/nepal-paper2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Long after the end of what some there call "the palaver" - that is, the civil war - <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2012/04/27/sierra-leones-scars-run-deep-despite-charles-taylors-comeuppance-3822522/">Sierra Leone's scars might still run deep</a> but it was as encouraging to hear from <a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2008/12/sierra-leone-in-september.html">former child soldiers</a> rehabilitated into community activities as it was unnerving to hear them dispassionately describing their past crimes - and how they were both trained and drugged to commit them...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwkuxU72fOa8InmDZC-XMuu8oMkRd_6EXn_h7giMuEEl0wgiV7r7ugTuS7SqP7bd-MAP0iUffhN21nnp65h2-JIiF8Z_giNgIDa0Bd8NiDcdNEoNJ69-9XPJRFKkEEV5vuFzN8EHdSpy8WquFet6OE1yBrjesVC6-WO6-BWyp1blWHULcGDg/s883/sierraleone-2008october6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="784" data-original-width="883" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwkuxU72fOa8InmDZC-XMuu8oMkRd_6EXn_h7giMuEEl0wgiV7r7ugTuS7SqP7bd-MAP0iUffhN21nnp65h2-JIiF8Z_giNgIDa0Bd8NiDcdNEoNJ69-9XPJRFKkEEV5vuFzN8EHdSpy8WquFet6OE1yBrjesVC6-WO6-BWyp1blWHULcGDg/s320/sierraleone-2008october6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFQrg9DFiZp3mZqL6txKB7tNs0-Ts4KaFt33eB2pYzKzfjKJmrnjJu0_A47mD2RdXw5tFoeoNu3tIzYOuclJBKyhaUZ8uhFcI-Q124ooxFozl-Moc-DnLCbc2Ek2jNo6ccNIUy9hAnu1CuTe9HO2A7JHCj27TNie7rd0Y1qYL520jRtGsIuQ/s890/sierraleone-2008october13.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="793" data-original-width="890" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFQrg9DFiZp3mZqL6txKB7tNs0-Ts4KaFt33eB2pYzKzfjKJmrnjJu0_A47mD2RdXw5tFoeoNu3tIzYOuclJBKyhaUZ8uhFcI-Q124ooxFozl-Moc-DnLCbc2Ek2jNo6ccNIUy9hAnu1CuTe9HO2A7JHCj27TNie7rd0Y1qYL520jRtGsIuQ/s320/sierraleone-2008october13.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2016/05/stricken-refugees-rescued-from-aegean.html">More generosity from <i>Metro</i> readers</a> helped support efforts by actors Neil Morrissey and Hugo Speer to boost refugee rescues and accommodation on <a href="https://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2016/03/mercy-mission-expats-holidaymakers-and.html">the beleaguered Greek island of Lesbos</a>...</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYiCUYWIfJlnYyqUWBNe2InB7TPt6jmWc7VG8DGSbB7nkVHytrH_isBZZEhjyBZE2MDV1p4lgI0jkS3UK8ZTbw4rH-D9o7sXHzNUzYINLQFnU1CaqIxBj-9L4CY7ozecYPEIzfDAt-N-jEcqL8Lz96wsEZilHBBUYwTGm638U8XZtoHhdmrw/s320/lesbos-2016.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="197" data-original-width="320" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYiCUYWIfJlnYyqUWBNe2InB7TPt6jmWc7VG8DGSbB7nkVHytrH_isBZZEhjyBZE2MDV1p4lgI0jkS3UK8ZTbw4rH-D9o7sXHzNUzYINLQFnU1CaqIxBj-9L4CY7ozecYPEIzfDAt-N-jEcqL8Lz96wsEZilHBBUYwTGm638U8XZtoHhdmrw/s1600/lesbos-2016.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">...and yet <a href="https://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2016/09/humanity-remains-washed-ashore-for-all.html">for all too many more, what too-little help there is comes grievously too late...</a> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1vNlw1XwXHefmtjkiWD26wBjCxCsOv94xTn9DR6DfzhPYERNjq0VR9Ug9a_cAiZd_R7lU1SCZ6Ax1Gbs1HH8pZkuFx9FhGmoDgyvIY1oy-7DG2UsINudfqmTUSgIlAStSdsIY6PcGT8HEGjn08ZhjZhca_7jXvyEKXhyUl-f62MF-K6nH5w/s320/refugees-kurdi.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="243" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1vNlw1XwXHefmtjkiWD26wBjCxCsOv94xTn9DR6DfzhPYERNjq0VR9Ug9a_cAiZd_R7lU1SCZ6Ax1Gbs1HH8pZkuFx9FhGmoDgyvIY1oy-7DG2UsINudfqmTUSgIlAStSdsIY6PcGT8HEGjn08ZhjZhca_7jXvyEKXhyUl-f62MF-K6nH5w/s1600/refugees-kurdi.JPG" width="243" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Repression rules so often worldwide, though there will also invariably and thankfully be survivors, victims' families, witnesses and campaigners doing their best to seek redress - both abroad and home...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRUhTWnR0hIiEUSq7cg5LcAPVpupXLgiYiNmd0r7fJaJpawt5SJ2fkF6Eq-WUvRMO8Gz09CtUdRLlAKvR4oh0aBQHRJ2bgA4sMrLvutNutGBhHKMm8QFOjiM29YNOhZ1sKxqqbZPQQWMrUUdTGR2yfz5ZDGzJzEY9_QTFvw6MdXJVqElE1Rw/s1289/pinochet1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="769" data-original-width="1289" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRUhTWnR0hIiEUSq7cg5LcAPVpupXLgiYiNmd0r7fJaJpawt5SJ2fkF6Eq-WUvRMO8Gz09CtUdRLlAKvR4oh0aBQHRJ2bgA4sMrLvutNutGBhHKMm8QFOjiM29YNOhZ1sKxqqbZPQQWMrUUdTGR2yfz5ZDGzJzEY9_QTFvw6MdXJVqElE1Rw/s320/pinochet1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdLlPD-WTDn8r5MKLQDDv2o_THjMtXN2NFP2JrM0xNMxVTrp3UwUYUtF1fjM8v4g8vxwOGPkbcLiER8sxDhx0waRHp2JIzMQveLtvllPUcYfxKg8j8AHhzezDIdrJJpO40FkC4zid0QFTx7_TVsa4ZJCx2zmd0CsPNhGFda-pjazzfotDr4A/s1298/pinochet2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="1298" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdLlPD-WTDn8r5MKLQDDv2o_THjMtXN2NFP2JrM0xNMxVTrp3UwUYUtF1fjM8v4g8vxwOGPkbcLiER8sxDhx0waRHp2JIzMQveLtvllPUcYfxKg8j8AHhzezDIdrJJpO40FkC4zid0QFTx7_TVsa4ZJCx2zmd0CsPNhGFda-pjazzfotDr4A/s320/pinochet2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOJ7YQXOLEBq6I3_dZUTwJWsdfSDL_pzA5AwsxG_R6kgCKUi1RpyzYIJ0xNkRnrGPjSoGfSUyiAIH7kNKklLVnGBTsPWrs06EJBS9h5lCeygnEwAyTVm6CPQKbv6GIiI1rDgnosjjVn2AWZEwn9XHzMtRQrFynS0Yu3eV51Iwi7IUry_XtEg/s1327/edinburghamnesty1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="793" data-original-width="1327" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOJ7YQXOLEBq6I3_dZUTwJWsdfSDL_pzA5AwsxG_R6kgCKUi1RpyzYIJ0xNkRnrGPjSoGfSUyiAIH7kNKklLVnGBTsPWrs06EJBS9h5lCeygnEwAyTVm6CPQKbv6GIiI1rDgnosjjVn2AWZEwn9XHzMtRQrFynS0Yu3eV51Iwi7IUry_XtEg/s320/edinburghamnesty1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii4Y7MadSOn_QEirhaqRbM_nwj97i4kNmQ4aJVjb46CYF5R_0jDP03IZak4LnzgWK-_JYDCFWeFyNvs83IgxFEYhqGJuBi0RJdQweBgkKiiigmt2lPYWNLJz3y0DiFD43MKlrqoeuWWZroCYblbvjW4je2oWR8xyVuQ0Z1PUBaJY8mnbRncA/s1291/amnestyedinburgh2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="1291" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii4Y7MadSOn_QEirhaqRbM_nwj97i4kNmQ4aJVjb46CYF5R_0jDP03IZak4LnzgWK-_JYDCFWeFyNvs83IgxFEYhqGJuBi0RJdQweBgkKiiigmt2lPYWNLJz3y0DiFD43MKlrqoeuWWZroCYblbvjW4je2oWR8xyVuQ0Z1PUBaJY8mnbRncA/s320/amnestyedinburgh2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Steve Kelly, an Everton-supporting hero among Liverpool supporters for his valiant decades of campaigning for <a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2016/11/ditching-of-human-rights-act-betrays.html?m=1">Hillsborough</a> justice, was among those appreciating this pointed front page - though all credit goes to him and the other families so let down <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2012/09/13/hillsborough-horror-tragedy-time-chilling-warning-ages-3817610/">not only going back to 1989 but 1981</a>...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihe-O2J0yNPFUuf4myIdYw06uTqJaVyAtvzR2bUji5Nq9lUhtzqcf5Yqn7kfoOH9OomjLfwL2l165eNL_4q8xjOS-W25KVfqJC7cNJ00q1lPlu31xi5dqf_9ki8crODNnm0RULYgLTnGvrJ15gwAmnbbaiMDZK9qxNI5n01oh63OFELKV0Bw/s562/hillsborough1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="561" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihe-O2J0yNPFUuf4myIdYw06uTqJaVyAtvzR2bUji5Nq9lUhtzqcf5Yqn7kfoOH9OomjLfwL2l165eNL_4q8xjOS-W25KVfqJC7cNJ00q1lPlu31xi5dqf_9ki8crODNnm0RULYgLTnGvrJ15gwAmnbbaiMDZK9qxNI5n01oh63OFELKV0Bw/s320/hillsborough1.jpg" width="319" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid-d67mxwSLaa8hYUOESr9TzM5HelimEPrIpamQOEmASwIoGj3_l2D1ixoutJB4R4kwcwsMyaq3w3H6gmVcHOIMR9G7gjAcQVipxucZr00BEliUeIp8hK4dk__rQ_eiPZL6ehRatuwJJXq7il8IwtFeZIVfahFH8JdpzUr6I_IGWrLmnE8Gg/s949/hillsborough2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="949" data-original-width="753" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid-d67mxwSLaa8hYUOESr9TzM5HelimEPrIpamQOEmASwIoGj3_l2D1ixoutJB4R4kwcwsMyaq3w3H6gmVcHOIMR9G7gjAcQVipxucZr00BEliUeIp8hK4dk__rQ_eiPZL6ehRatuwJJXq7il8IwtFeZIVfahFH8JdpzUr6I_IGWrLmnE8Gg/s320/hillsborough2.jpg" width="254" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Metro</i>'s front page the day after the July 7 attacks on London - the morning after the London 2012 bid celebrations a day before and what felt a lifetime ago - featured the bloodied and bandaged face of traumatised survivor Michael Henning, who has continued to urge a message of defiance and unity in the wake of such atrocity...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8b50bhlcI0rCPe1UOhfUzIgr-O67jUMHBHREAipSAisnHhfNPKXAkdgmh5p6e4Y8NSg0rOgpK3_9jRhljNk27BCG_3IH-G7Z0_1XIEvLaoKmL3LFLysH-2qEFYY0OS9IWfHngtJ-bZChpHuimUhMKlxTUtpQ7W9hKfueBQ0rfvokxI-Nu2A/s600/londonattacks-2015anniversary1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="308" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8b50bhlcI0rCPe1UOhfUzIgr-O67jUMHBHREAipSAisnHhfNPKXAkdgmh5p6e4Y8NSg0rOgpK3_9jRhljNk27BCG_3IH-G7Z0_1XIEvLaoKmL3LFLysH-2qEFYY0OS9IWfHngtJ-bZChpHuimUhMKlxTUtpQ7W9hKfueBQ0rfvokxI-Nu2A/s320/londonattacks-2015anniversary1.jpg" width="164" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDqxBXEmpodxkMALy_1Hue3Q-mK-7dkk44AmZIf9yK20fOVevfNpPDfj8VStFlw-yrAVtlVoZgPUTKHTg17Y-ehHgh1xTW9M3tBh4zME2KdQp_9EtdfmuoGYgOwIakTeR6tiAnP0NDqBpcuEcsApEbKmkmTGXp7dVzptuubME1JtsqSfEoGw/s772/londonattacks-2015anniversary2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="772" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDqxBXEmpodxkMALy_1Hue3Q-mK-7dkk44AmZIf9yK20fOVevfNpPDfj8VStFlw-yrAVtlVoZgPUTKHTg17Y-ehHgh1xTW9M3tBh4zME2KdQp_9EtdfmuoGYgOwIakTeR6tiAnP0NDqBpcuEcsApEbKmkmTGXp7dVzptuubME1JtsqSfEoGw/s320/londonattacks-2015anniversary2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Both <i>Metro</i>'s paper and website have long shown strong support and concern for mental healthcare - as has, indeed, the company as well as colleagues. The royal "Fab Four" might be no more these days, but they teamed up to make one year's London Marathon mental health-focused - and highlighting inspiring individualstories, though here also penned this online (after a first visit inside Buckingham Palace) on <a href="https://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2017/03/talk-more-talk-chat-more-chat-im-happy.html">how targeting stigma should only be part of the battle</a>...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcakkXxOT06L0bAqUbd49t3XOyFPrZe49k9wT0j29LBZWHXiDP3leOHqI9EEaqqaLKTeaxrjqxtwuG2w2nD53HChJTGT_LMBLMbT1O3cDpsjpdFy7Je8UD2G4q0BcTgwI1U-DJrilvzhOad1KhMR9v_NME9uILVP4-ECLuJDVNNtx46fsqWA/s680/headstogether1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="566" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcakkXxOT06L0bAqUbd49t3XOyFPrZe49k9wT0j29LBZWHXiDP3leOHqI9EEaqqaLKTeaxrjqxtwuG2w2nD53HChJTGT_LMBLMbT1O3cDpsjpdFy7Je8UD2G4q0BcTgwI1U-DJrilvzhOad1KhMR9v_NME9uILVP4-ECLuJDVNNtx46fsqWA/s320/headstogether1.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHnhdXAh91fH2I5DiWnVMI9RLS5dGEgyKXj99nMNEcBgp-V-Zod3iFoWSjCEFsRX2fFzGjUU-ect3pOgioV_z9bXO666a3SVD-eLR0eNkpUz4iJJFFtc-eSpWtnBI8NtotoN-D3RRG0Yn-k-2z02z3OoZ1g-YJKGl_5ylTXbDc9oCsBpASMQ/s680/headstogether2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="680" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHnhdXAh91fH2I5DiWnVMI9RLS5dGEgyKXj99nMNEcBgp-V-Zod3iFoWSjCEFsRX2fFzGjUU-ect3pOgioV_z9bXO666a3SVD-eLR0eNkpUz4iJJFFtc-eSpWtnBI8NtotoN-D3RRG0Yn-k-2z02z3OoZ1g-YJKGl_5ylTXbDc9oCsBpASMQ/s320/headstogether2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCjDQmqEs0h5-dyZkMxQL2QqrXYx-TrdPhTu3hIK3gKZmy85et4NUo9NtGGsWduxk2LF4S0MX6-bKHTaJgX1jQ4XvvCXf0zYwX6N4d2FBh-VHB7OrtEDwe6xSVblQQRy6yVwqJT8-TDi1QCW-M_MFF7CbTE6LVINgr-QbfFYq4AAorHjpL-w/s1466/headstogether3.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="897" data-original-width="1466" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCjDQmqEs0h5-dyZkMxQL2QqrXYx-TrdPhTu3hIK3gKZmy85et4NUo9NtGGsWduxk2LF4S0MX6-bKHTaJgX1jQ4XvvCXf0zYwX6N4d2FBh-VHB7OrtEDwe6xSVblQQRy6yVwqJT8-TDi1QCW-M_MFF7CbTE6LVINgr-QbfFYq4AAorHjpL-w/s320/headstogether3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ah, to cheerier times and tales - there was briefly a newsroom idea, as England closed in on safety in the final Oval Test in 2005 to finally win back the Ashes (and <i style="font-weight: bold;">how</i>), to send the Chief Reporter out to get a Kevin Pietersen-style peroxide 'do (before presumably deciding his moptop was daft enough already)...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVAkMBw-M5mOgq1XQn7Vm3DAOQjffZrBq4Nr3U2ygl5t5fITk79qbTqNh-gzasiHRI3mS3T9kBMMNdaPkYNimyzpGotPnHYQYMfuLsK_uztQT_r4T1wrpILxkMypOQqGkXmn8aIxnDuwCwHNBLAm1Dbp4Af1xpk6gcQYcfEhV85vVolSFJ6w/s2240/ashes.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1394" data-original-width="2240" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVAkMBw-M5mOgq1XQn7Vm3DAOQjffZrBq4Nr3U2ygl5t5fITk79qbTqNh-gzasiHRI3mS3T9kBMMNdaPkYNimyzpGotPnHYQYMfuLsK_uztQT_r4T1wrpILxkMypOQqGkXmn8aIxnDuwCwHNBLAm1Dbp4Af1xpk6gcQYcfEhV85vVolSFJ6w/s320/ashes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV6b05s2m4_7GSPfiPLOXo7Q6b_FbePuyjew_XOL7U9DfPdz-lrGLJ1Aa1c8uu5Y1XD374LFVBiQvTD4r30dih_OrxniWul103H25EkpP8s2lIqhnxljh8W30h7lXfSJEW9Ydz7IDz3RCzQUTlyechkQWRxxfxy92ZAePbZ2JrnCDNsZLq5g/s678/ashesp2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="492" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV6b05s2m4_7GSPfiPLOXo7Q6b_FbePuyjew_XOL7U9DfPdz-lrGLJ1Aa1c8uu5Y1XD374LFVBiQvTD4r30dih_OrxniWul103H25EkpP8s2lIqhnxljh8W30h7lXfSJEW9Ydz7IDz3RCzQUTlyechkQWRxxfxy92ZAePbZ2JrnCDNsZLq5g/s320/ashesp2.jpg" width="232" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bookmakers apparently paid out £1million after London beat favourites Paris to clinch the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics - that 20/1 on Andy Murray to win tennis singles gold looks an even better bet in retrospect. There was and is <a href="https://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2006/04/are-you-here-for-my-pleasure-or-are.html">plenty skewwhiff</a> with the IOC, and indeed London's <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2012/07/27/that-golden-moment-2005-tarnished-yet-london-2012-can-still-gleam-3819141/">bid</a>, execution and <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2012/11/29/olympic-stadium-can-redeemed-now-unhappy-hammers-unfortunately-3816292/">aftermath </a>- ah, but what a summer it felt, certainly once <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2012/08/05/london-2012s-triumphant-transcendent-super-saturday-night-linger-long-3818813/">"Super Saturday"</a> had happened, and then the <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2012/09/07/go-jonnie-gold-peacock-without-preening-stands-nations-paralympic-pride-3817796/">even-more-celebratory Paralympics</a>. Ah, but it's all been talked about <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2012/08/13/olympic-alchemy-caution-innovation-gave-golden-memories-expectations-3818532/">before</a> (oh, while only too glad to keep on doing so since)...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-AM75WBBg8KUd6QPIOkqH3ZpDS1fkEssZcbIH5VCZMRoaE1N3S0RaiYUSkese-Kd9EvhD1-ZZ43vVh0ndaVUefLyevK34JNbFGAJKpdigD4B23ijyREuTYtj-1lQyWv2pYkL62ZFHTMECnNnDwkdaAXTwQom_lbytLH3exiCV_FrRB1AOw/s806/olympics-2005ioc.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-AM75WBBg8KUd6QPIOkqH3ZpDS1fkEssZcbIH5VCZMRoaE1N3S0RaiYUSkese-Kd9EvhD1-ZZ43vVh0ndaVUefLyevK34JNbFGAJKpdigD4B23ijyREuTYtj-1lQyWv2pYkL62ZFHTMECnNnDwkdaAXTwQom_lbytLH3exiCV_FrRB1AOw/s320/olympics-2005ioc.jpg" width="111" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="608" data-original-width="960" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqMlFX592nQLuMEZma7cUlNsKTogDRlVzR4Jgonqm_0vqMylNkxMgzKEXaoixtmCzy0uzCmIrG7AIB7__6EP--qK3v4Kjf_dKtlC2YTcKiPkH0o3IIYvpCISbypc51T7yzbWWTGRzlMuPdiZoLY3lgilqyK-ddnYPv5e8tY_v-wd8WO49rww/s320/olympics-openingceremony2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7mL-BgkF_kYInOdeuXj-xpuiPVhm_ADHlsnrDljH0bJbqJdTpSS4usQ6HxOmgQIdcAhK2RxgSQ8-hoDcRL2QoLzdDurpN-e1EBjfPDjZI1ZkOwC8pM8SKA7saNCarUkgTZdAvI-nXPDMStpOAtml1e8S1Qgt4vj9T4L2Kf5aB3WVvKDxX2A/s400/olympics-closingceremony4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="243" data-original-width="400" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7mL-BgkF_kYInOdeuXj-xpuiPVhm_ADHlsnrDljH0bJbqJdTpSS4usQ6HxOmgQIdcAhK2RxgSQ8-hoDcRL2QoLzdDurpN-e1EBjfPDjZI1ZkOwC8pM8SKA7saNCarUkgTZdAvI-nXPDMStpOAtml1e8S1Qgt4vj9T4L2Kf5aB3WVvKDxX2A/s320/olympics-closingceremony4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwxocT_lg7zls4Ox3mpBsJ1wh6pSkvUhmN2GgiXdxNXkvufyvI_RpNkage3khxWe8M7kksKKbqhbBe8IwpGrWKvyFlbKNy3GwIA1FjDuTVg9PrX5d_Uojqh9Fa0FdPI9uxJaYQxfK1ykAXd13ujaB78PpEGke1cBME_6bkb1YB9O-jP2eHjQ/s2048/olympics-closingceremony.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwxocT_lg7zls4Ox3mpBsJ1wh6pSkvUhmN2GgiXdxNXkvufyvI_RpNkage3khxWe8M7kksKKbqhbBe8IwpGrWKvyFlbKNy3GwIA1FjDuTVg9PrX5d_Uojqh9Fa0FdPI9uxJaYQxfK1ykAXd13ujaB78PpEGke1cBME_6bkb1YB9O-jP2eHjQ/s320/olympics-closingceremony.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXXUOeo-13rZ9wFBvKxrUzrF5dcSbpd9S4BZRSDEtIHp6vom2oMeCn_0-A-ICqAPONYRK6ScZONpj6PJOKgqD30VT3QVRAJyDOEMD4VQ-Ex9rTV_D8com-s2ohtwSfOxKHWCCMJ0RhGsGXJitFRmQp9-A825ccvf5sHXaGzLJLxSdRNOGI5w/s1080/paralympics-closingceremony1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXXUOeo-13rZ9wFBvKxrUzrF5dcSbpd9S4BZRSDEtIHp6vom2oMeCn_0-A-ICqAPONYRK6ScZONpj6PJOKgqD30VT3QVRAJyDOEMD4VQ-Ex9rTV_D8com-s2ohtwSfOxKHWCCMJ0RhGsGXJitFRmQp9-A825ccvf5sHXaGzLJLxSdRNOGI5w/s320/paralympics-closingceremony1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3wlXlpzW5Jb7-BGgSMFeDDw7Cf4JokYLh57-kYFBTZo3RsT0IltpgI3A6GTPG6BuEjbdnB4pKpM_tQBL5BzxKItdb93ZNU_sk0JV5tTPgwnJOtjOPj-_lF_5wudxb4iqo5g0IItn4EwxfMYOdT481Af4KiYfDYBJSjr0MMLWvljmZXcPO5w/s680/olympics-radnedges.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="680" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3wlXlpzW5Jb7-BGgSMFeDDw7Cf4JokYLh57-kYFBTZo3RsT0IltpgI3A6GTPG6BuEjbdnB4pKpM_tQBL5BzxKItdb93ZNU_sk0JV5tTPgwnJOtjOPj-_lF_5wudxb4iqo5g0IItn4EwxfMYOdT481Af4KiYfDYBJSjr0MMLWvljmZXcPO5w/s320/olympics-radnedges.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge-pWmHZi9Jqo1CuUzStH772LWO7ZPM0Zpi529AOI_oyPDN1sIjkHVdNJ1OZXI23F92vFAAb0HTVOjDIrD1Qvy7QzM5_F0hTt5N_WUk_3oYmgOkbWfqRNUnKP98OeReFFui6bWQQbxsOwLqAb9OY36c0MS95msjLRxyTAPEpx7hTBIoISnRg/s960/paralympics-closingceremony5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge-pWmHZi9Jqo1CuUzStH772LWO7ZPM0Zpi529AOI_oyPDN1sIjkHVdNJ1OZXI23F92vFAAb0HTVOjDIrD1Qvy7QzM5_F0hTt5N_WUk_3oYmgOkbWfqRNUnKP98OeReFFui6bWQQbxsOwLqAb9OY36c0MS95msjLRxyTAPEpx7hTBIoISnRg/s320/paralympics-closingceremony5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVNV9TXxOL5xo8MHwXUFVoTfaTd-wlqaReEiy3eLXrKm6GRQdWG2EiQ9XSGDkX_mqc29Bbej8zD8tuB7fzSW2k5Uvan96nvlXuUWVnUcoOmUfXkb8HyK1HsuyKHCoxZHxr0dYkV-PkVeA2PWxsQqlp-H7sLQ0IiGDTw-FUfnto6rNW8J6__A/s960/paralympics-closingceremony8stadium.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVNV9TXxOL5xo8MHwXUFVoTfaTd-wlqaReEiy3eLXrKm6GRQdWG2EiQ9XSGDkX_mqc29Bbej8zD8tuB7fzSW2k5Uvan96nvlXuUWVnUcoOmUfXkb8HyK1HsuyKHCoxZHxr0dYkV-PkVeA2PWxsQqlp-H7sLQ0IiGDTw-FUfnto6rNW8J6__A/s320/paralympics-closingceremony8stadium.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The front page tribute to David Bowie, said to be valuable still on eBay, was also framed in now-outgoing editor Ted Young's office - and made occasional appearances behind intrepid reporter Dominic Yeatman when he skewered ministers with questions at the televised Covid-19 briefings. Herbie Flowers, coolest dude in Ditchling and fab former bassman for both Bowie and on Lou Reed's "Walk On The Wild Side", offered some <a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2016/01/oh-look-out-you-rocknrollers.html ">warm and admiring words down the phone from his East Sussex home</a> (a handy number from previous days on the Brighton <i>Argus</i>...)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilS0fJDXW1CUpFte12TpzpCZ7qBh8R_onr_SJsoO4LlC3CwpUyUs5pOnyeMqdReIGH9hdWro4IiZqK1lMaQXvTC8CG5Bi9ZbaNgm4TIV4Ywd89SXO1bXgj3WGPJkOITCF6mkEwKyCL_CSEV3DgbDKTL-LQD5ioPJIRH96FoESVcNad24su-g/s784/bowie-frontpage.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="784" data-original-width="629" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilS0fJDXW1CUpFte12TpzpCZ7qBh8R_onr_SJsoO4LlC3CwpUyUs5pOnyeMqdReIGH9hdWro4IiZqK1lMaQXvTC8CG5Bi9ZbaNgm4TIV4Ywd89SXO1bXgj3WGPJkOITCF6mkEwKyCL_CSEV3DgbDKTL-LQD5ioPJIRH96FoESVcNad24su-g/s320/bowie-frontpage.jpg" width="257" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwTYpwB-WQ2AFW9tmzIjpF0Be8Y1ePNSuQArsrIbKNF6DtaDf3XtCqiG9MWgt_SIGe9NaJRRnsh43vmNnGar9eAhkmohqfULo2mgo9U24KcwmOuReUqUthSTl2isU2849OhvoxiH1aqpubG3ZBKFlZApVtGYWh0LU8Hr7OFC8tEQphEhzEQ/s680/bowie-dom.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="387" data-original-width="680" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwTYpwB-WQ2AFW9tmzIjpF0Be8Y1ePNSuQArsrIbKNF6DtaDf3XtCqiG9MWgt_SIGe9NaJRRnsh43vmNnGar9eAhkmohqfULo2mgo9U24KcwmOuReUqUthSTl2isU2849OhvoxiH1aqpubG3ZBKFlZApVtGYWh0LU8Hr7OFC8tEQphEhzEQ/s320/bowie-dom.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">...and talking of musical legends from Ditchling...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTkXi3C4m95TCpwK1G3TeliP3UyZqrWXHLVtDFxebXjhPeH6zDhjVcVtYwdOuz9e4UNKrLW_wGs850IFQbQ4Jrtm9T_KswZBEKXZKJcNxZIEjF8itKAo9ewurTNjLYePoXdXBbGNN_pdkmGrAP0GuB4xTyiKxWo1S0ay1V0J3WpJcdt0Rf0Q/s682/veralynnp1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="546" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTkXi3C4m95TCpwK1G3TeliP3UyZqrWXHLVtDFxebXjhPeH6zDhjVcVtYwdOuz9e4UNKrLW_wGs850IFQbQ4Jrtm9T_KswZBEKXZKJcNxZIEjF8itKAo9ewurTNjLYePoXdXBbGNN_pdkmGrAP0GuB4xTyiKxWo1S0ay1V0J3WpJcdt0Rf0Q/s320/veralynnp1.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC8N-D_yPAQY0rAYfXoo_9owATlRipZLDk9Ah5kzs2XbV9fF9VN7MrBqkUxm4L1mkWXcS-C514B0cPJ4_MZbuGzq5oZmpSWvwFQIZrCyo5O5LfE3WTnZji_Qov1esnwIxnLC_-iljM1HigndMkDAhCGAoLrudZtKacbdOdsKN6yy54NVBIiA/s1080/veralynnpp2-3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="659" data-original-width="1080" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC8N-D_yPAQY0rAYfXoo_9owATlRipZLDk9Ah5kzs2XbV9fF9VN7MrBqkUxm4L1mkWXcS-C514B0cPJ4_MZbuGzq5oZmpSWvwFQIZrCyo5O5LfE3WTnZji_Qov1esnwIxnLC_-iljM1HigndMkDAhCGAoLrudZtKacbdOdsKN6yy54NVBIiA/s320/veralynnpp2-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYTNIUpMNOfF0lrjpySiDDiodW611LY4-KBL9x5go7cLYUCOcdEhHeeAeckNS8sJpLG0GdrDrhv0yCOlVZH4XkeHlPSYWwWiQ2VRhuruQYYb4e7CUGhaMCidg0IJeUkqsPW2Lo927w0Q1TwBWszoJEVVHDqfoW6wGNbjhMZX4lJ2lS57YMg/s806/veralynnp5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="643" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYTNIUpMNOfF0lrjpySiDDiodW611LY4-KBL9x5go7cLYUCOcdEhHeeAeckNS8sJpLG0GdrDrhv0yCOlVZH4XkeHlPSYWwWiQ2VRhuruQYYb4e7CUGhaMCidg0IJeUkqsPW2Lo927w0Q1TwBWszoJEVVHDqfoW6wGNbjhMZX4lJ2lS57YMg/s320/veralynnp5.jpg" width="255" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Other pieces on music for <i>Metro</i> included an interview with Bill Haley's son on <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2014/05/20/rock-around-the-clock-bill-haley-60-years-rock-n-roll-4733068/">the 60th anniversary of "Rock Around The Clock"</a>, another with <a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2017/12/old-songs-lose-young-meanings-but-new.html">Ralph McTell as he rerecorded "Streets Of London"</a> (<a href="https://youtu.be/p1YNEtaHbzA">"Streets Of London!"</a>) for homelessness charity <a href="https://www.crisis.org.uk/">Crisis</a> and, oh, of course <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2014/01/31/50th-anniversary-of-the-beatles-topping-us-charts-the-day-that-changed-pop-music-forever-4284654/">some band named The Beatles</a>. As seen here beneath the 3 Savile Row rooftop - no, wait, that's just the newsdesk passing by after a Christmas lunch out the other year...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyPDKY2TcZKVVLkNPnOaw_kXxLvCGWESHg9feT3MLk8TReAOo4bTCQhhkpnMXcfr7I2w_3zyyliSKeuxzLE7aqAC0J-Sf70c8jY2hqHQAMeyC9n4Gtd_GZswpOaIBOi2VVbNb7EYCTdO7GZKZ0cnzcsAsnGp7aatT0qygh_et_RK527TYSUw/s680/newsdesk-savilerow.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="510" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyPDKY2TcZKVVLkNPnOaw_kXxLvCGWESHg9feT3MLk8TReAOo4bTCQhhkpnMXcfr7I2w_3zyyliSKeuxzLE7aqAC0J-Sf70c8jY2hqHQAMeyC9n4Gtd_GZswpOaIBOi2VVbNb7EYCTdO7GZKZ0cnzcsAsnGp7aatT0qygh_et_RK527TYSUw/s320/newsdesk-savilerow.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For all the justified praise <i>Metro</i> has received in recent years for front pages and front page headlines, the system behind them is reasonably straightforward - everyone collaboratively pitches in ideas...and then the editor takes the credit. (He jokes so too, honest.)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL9dOH6A3oQnvFNvDgYKcqNXv_B8nkFO5JArGMiTOr3UXvwVQbDw44fDgh6L9Qxuc7BzDfWBBwFHKcI31Mm79kladPbRVQbOTNN1V52W2cf0oDFIQbFgV2UjBnL8i0kl7sutqnos7SQqSDLcxHBV7iGHPUNrYF1sPsazt3qTmb08Rvy2cTwg/s757/stayelite.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="757" data-original-width="594" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL9dOH6A3oQnvFNvDgYKcqNXv_B8nkFO5JArGMiTOr3UXvwVQbDw44fDgh6L9Qxuc7BzDfWBBwFHKcI31Mm79kladPbRVQbOTNN1V52W2cf0oDFIQbFgV2UjBnL8i0kl7sutqnos7SQqSDLcxHBV7iGHPUNrYF1sPsazt3qTmb08Rvy2cTwg/s320/stayelite.jpg" width="251" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNyd-QdVLpRv3g1Z9pfg8roL8zN8u7EBrjZu9dGPX-clhGmgOGkBuH71OScH7ifHc_BTDwD8XU-lTyEHtXiwu00g--1C8YiChw0GuZgfpa9pdq0Ln-2ev5rtmcP67S4vnDfN7nV0antfIU6oO75quxP5aLUHN5y2W1kcB5kWF2w3P8cA9slA/s828/frontpage-getexitdoneboris.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="828" data-original-width="651" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNyd-QdVLpRv3g1Z9pfg8roL8zN8u7EBrjZu9dGPX-clhGmgOGkBuH71OScH7ifHc_BTDwD8XU-lTyEHtXiwu00g--1C8YiChw0GuZgfpa9pdq0Ln-2ev5rtmcP67S4vnDfN7nV0antfIU6oO75quxP5aLUHN5y2W1kcB5kWF2w3P8cA9slA/s320/frontpage-getexitdoneboris.jpg" width="252" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">That's enough about Boris - now here's a <i>true </i>national leader and legend (#COYS #OneOfOurOwn), plus some more football but from the back of the book to follow...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqaVnwWSEmOwo5wikfef9WUU4H6eF24lywUUr0xKGfui7nlkcBivP_tYEK2fuObD2QPtgO0AJ3XR4a8AYd-yt3vGRV7LBbK3MDn6CdzL9rTN_vib8phopQgoZmv3bvnBhOhkzI598iG4O5OfAgYFDQQLJ-yHa7Mo6oXhkp3IQpuut2ho5j2w/s760/frontpage-thejinxitsallover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="603" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqaVnwWSEmOwo5wikfef9WUU4H6eF24lywUUr0xKGfui7nlkcBivP_tYEK2fuObD2QPtgO0AJ3XR4a8AYd-yt3vGRV7LBbK3MDn6CdzL9rTN_vib8phopQgoZmv3bvnBhOhkzI598iG4O5OfAgYFDQQLJ-yHa7Mo6oXhkp3IQpuut2ho5j2w/s320/frontpage-thejinxitsallover.jpg" width="254" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieq5e7ZtAvcFZOCZHnf5toDPNddZvWqgWdMpUJvJ8RhTUAk48epAn5y8k45BhBO7whlkoquYNXdzJ-8fwK1oULC_Y9xmpLwl5ksCNawWUpOE6C7Cg0EJbvRDYT9AWB6Tx54Zz6396s33NBMdajdi8RvEx_Tmoh2ob5nrVkniUFo1-I_-SisQ/s1341/worldcup-140610.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="1341" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieq5e7ZtAvcFZOCZHnf5toDPNddZvWqgWdMpUJvJ8RhTUAk48epAn5y8k45BhBO7whlkoquYNXdzJ-8fwK1oULC_Y9xmpLwl5ksCNawWUpOE6C7Cg0EJbvRDYT9AWB6Tx54Zz6396s33NBMdajdi8RvEx_Tmoh2ob5nrVkniUFo1-I_-SisQ/s320/worldcup-140610.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfMMBuliPubiAHyk2VUmkjCZFUuH8n9FrjTQU33tGSoCWQndwoModJcuGUsp8Za4cqGzTNT1mLIorFMYGA2H1BknIR2aZ6vEs5saqTn6xa4-UlCBBoP5-pxgm7MMu1EHWX6klZ1V2UW633j03RFC-Xaom0b4vsZqHKtrRt7HKUzdXoxxclA/s1334/worldcup-090710.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="1334" height="107" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfMMBuliPubiAHyk2VUmkjCZFUuH8n9FrjTQU33tGSoCWQndwoModJcuGUsp8Za4cqGzTNT1mLIorFMYGA2H1BknIR2aZ6vEs5saqTn6xa4-UlCBBoP5-pxgm7MMu1EHWX6klZ1V2UW633j03RFC-Xaom0b4vsZqHKtrRt7HKUzdXoxxclA/s320/worldcup-090710.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Well, there's always been plenty to write about, these past few frentically news-jammed years especially - sorry not to later write one of these for 2023...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2C_gbPA3c8FeX5FvWRe3UH-GZ40ZVUf2zNXIh-94E2oybYEHuQBtyfCOTHZIO0AEUmHqJijHYJxngXqH_S9Td9PGNvw54rUCnb6p56NV2AATuwpcM5Dd4O4h_7iNFh9-qNRyuUZkAzODLuKhcoPBpVR05MeKgfqEHB-H9YeiZpsnVJ_kvbA/s680/anotheryearover2020.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="418" data-original-width="680" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2C_gbPA3c8FeX5FvWRe3UH-GZ40ZVUf2zNXIh-94E2oybYEHuQBtyfCOTHZIO0AEUmHqJijHYJxngXqH_S9Td9PGNvw54rUCnb6p56NV2AATuwpcM5Dd4O4h_7iNFh9-qNRyuUZkAzODLuKhcoPBpVR05MeKgfqEHB-H9YeiZpsnVJ_kvbA/s320/anotheryearover2020.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE8kRQM2pdmJNEglEOKYcEuMVORO_HbfKOWxr0IcwbWFgIjCRqOggAGsEOOV9jUVlBahhNC2nSURIobJY6d4oktXEcLdaXsTfxcRrzATtbfb21KcYI_qTfe68CRfIdk6nmVF-X0K3opTQU_iG3AsPRYDtcmrg4I3hI88wIqHQrFuLyjk0-rQ/s1195/anotheryearover2021.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's been a lengthy and much-appreciated spell here at <i>Metro</i>, full of fulfilment and enjoyment and not-at-all...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEislFCh3MuXoz7DFqpU5pBX0uqYwi4DVuZlOuFArCwSGCnTLJrRfp6WKEEsQQeoZddsn4rQDTsjLgvPveoCRLZGOyormN17Z5Z3LAum-xxsnZE83ibUTqdILEksZEbW4G1iZDiUlLTvPod0PZQYlx-59Bm7DJAHXgAHWkB_8ZWlu3KTmW4Lgg/s680/newsroompizza.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="680" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEislFCh3MuXoz7DFqpU5pBX0uqYwi4DVuZlOuFArCwSGCnTLJrRfp6WKEEsQQeoZddsn4rQDTsjLgvPveoCRLZGOyormN17Z5Z3LAum-xxsnZE83ibUTqdILEksZEbW4G1iZDiUlLTvPod0PZQYlx-59Bm7DJAHXgAHWkB_8ZWlu3KTmW4Lgg/s320/newsroompizza.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZwyZWq2h1vNPZTKFTetPDYw8g4ZQ6d8-DznHTR1_FynzCPnb_rGEaBndO_gOxX4bhRSJOrAXf_gTLGgBrB2RIAfVV7KS4a5srzuIkIfiE592vY8WyBhLZuMvq1mwkicR0uxkbr6UivfRGbmAFL0ZiP-l_Q62y_3SMnqSV60Eoj-kRF3GTg/s680/newsdesk-fleetstreet.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="459" data-original-width="680" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidZwyZWq2h1vNPZTKFTetPDYw8g4ZQ6d8-DznHTR1_FynzCPnb_rGEaBndO_gOxX4bhRSJOrAXf_gTLGgBrB2RIAfVV7KS4a5srzuIkIfiE592vY8WyBhLZuMvq1mwkicR0uxkbr6UivfRGbmAFL0ZiP-l_Q62y_3SMnqSV60Eoj-kRF3GTg/s320/newsdesk-fleetstreet.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">Cheers.</span></i></b></div></div>aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-73101627269272005932023-03-15T17:33:00.000+00:002023-03-15T17:33:05.473+00:00Just a minute (and then some...)<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Moby Dick of celebrity scoops here, that man Macca, has unfortunately remained out of reach - but many years at <i>Metro </i>have involved pitching in with a few 60 Second Interviews.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A favourite was with <a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2015/09/baby-youve-got-what-it-takes.html">Jerry Lee Lewis</a>, before seeing him play live at the Palladium - although he was dubious about his chances of understanding anyone with a British accent.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">An eyebrow or two might have arisen on the Tube that morning at "The Killer" somehow insisting: "Some people have said they are afraid of me, but I don’t know why. I’m a really nice guy."</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguSwEZ7cqf05e-VMeh494pbbgl7mLiouTneYRD-8VpfKxJEKpRFYIunUmD1-EZixb-WpQlv4qThtHqoQOYLbVwRUR_w_gBTFFrzgkbrlOSrRig6c8_ppuuXU80VjMt_oyX1l8Iy5DK3r3iIIsKjZJiG15W8o23yV4JBPAEonjkt4lgAZFICw/s680/60secs-jerryleelewis.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="523" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguSwEZ7cqf05e-VMeh494pbbgl7mLiouTneYRD-8VpfKxJEKpRFYIunUmD1-EZixb-WpQlv4qThtHqoQOYLbVwRUR_w_gBTFFrzgkbrlOSrRig6c8_ppuuXU80VjMt_oyX1l8Iy5DK3r3iIIsKjZJiG15W8o23yV4JBPAEonjkt4lgAZFICw/s320/60secs-jerryleelewis.jpg" width="246" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHV-yuBOOD6BVsAUKbJflgSUBnYBSjPEyIppd7f7n1mb3WwiIY_NNKsDcsdNorB9jExrpxf0u3gPu2xA_YWLI9_pZOe7vrBZnhIuTFyVxGNGfG8X13UmAEz1UArXAIsWybH0nbs-0Vffq3YYXvhpWL56TrNOFJhRtNgh-04x_NnHB5cI3_TA/s320/jll.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="320" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHV-yuBOOD6BVsAUKbJflgSUBnYBSjPEyIppd7f7n1mb3WwiIY_NNKsDcsdNorB9jExrpxf0u3gPu2xA_YWLI9_pZOe7vrBZnhIuTFyVxGNGfG8X13UmAEz1UArXAIsWybH0nbs-0Vffq3YYXvhpWL56TrNOFJhRtNgh-04x_NnHB5cI3_TA/s1600/jll.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Also enjoyable was what actually proved to be almost a 60 Minute Interview with David Lloyd, plenty of whose one-liners survived albeit at the expense of his also-intriguing cricket analysis.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">An extract from the published chat then went "viral" on Twitter at least, largely ta to being shared by the “Accidental Partridge” @AccidentalP account.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sorry, Bumble.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiLPeUtXk15vIFSepSo1e7qIzgMUeoVFBeZeaMyNOVO_NkfRfBCq4FII03-I3BrHZLBKO623tY2ggdAcm2ocH_ySsiVO9GeNdk2D2fA-8K98pOW8xHg8D3gMkbDAm-Ob--2dB4rAPekVB89uI8FPycvCEabq8z-fAaee-F-tkUye1jIIED0Q/s944/60secs-davidlloyd.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="944" data-original-width="753" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiLPeUtXk15vIFSepSo1e7qIzgMUeoVFBeZeaMyNOVO_NkfRfBCq4FII03-I3BrHZLBKO623tY2ggdAcm2ocH_ySsiVO9GeNdk2D2fA-8K98pOW8xHg8D3gMkbDAm-Ob--2dB4rAPekVB89uI8FPycvCEabq8z-fAaee-F-tkUye1jIIED0Q/s320/60secs-davidlloyd.jpg" width="255" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjceLdZrCjmKpL5cydruRxDPDNlR25o4dUIeHzDmAVbxmJupPNXCZ58yNZwdu24UniJkjt0d9Jja1kfK_2moZS21alcy8OP7D1QYL8EgK5Hj7xCLEqTagdVLBWdXnR2-wT4qzstbhqpUSXimJJqYlcM5Mksl8gb2AR0zfSjY6pfKEKCWzD6dg/s659/60secs-bumble.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="659" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjceLdZrCjmKpL5cydruRxDPDNlR25o4dUIeHzDmAVbxmJupPNXCZ58yNZwdu24UniJkjt0d9Jja1kfK_2moZS21alcy8OP7D1QYL8EgK5Hj7xCLEqTagdVLBWdXnR2-wT4qzstbhqpUSXimJJqYlcM5Mksl8gb2AR0zfSjY6pfKEKCWzD6dg/s320/60secs-bumble.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sophia Loren was a surprise A-lister to be given time with, albeit on the phone to her home in Switzerland - and her personal assistant later sent a kind message saying how much she had appreciated the conversation. Mamma mia.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_UFKfBGD72_mCRXMpnOTsR2FrDtf1d_abPLXWsrT7QDhD5RjjAdMXSegItbIPpIeQYYmcmrBj41F2BUB7MsqxJz80m0eO3Ws2NlJFzKFjJ6KSVN-6KbjfqhPpHUx41IV5-_YwMT8reijKuxkJhxLoO6c6mHtTbNT598eBBUPtkvnqPvtVQ/s900/60secs-sophialoren.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="708" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_UFKfBGD72_mCRXMpnOTsR2FrDtf1d_abPLXWsrT7QDhD5RjjAdMXSegItbIPpIeQYYmcmrBj41F2BUB7MsqxJz80m0eO3Ws2NlJFzKFjJ6KSVN-6KbjfqhPpHUx41IV5-_YwMT8reijKuxkJhxLoO6c6mHtTbNT598eBBUPtkvnqPvtVQ/s320/60secs-sophialoren.jpg" width="252" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">An interview that happened yet unfortunately got away - in terms of making it to print, that is - was with Liza Minnelli, dropped by our Features team after she abruptly pulled out of the London event she was meant to be plugging.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This answer/non-answer went down well, mind:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Is Kermit the Frog <i>really</i> as decent as he always seems?"</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">- "I never kiss and tell."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thanks to all those, as well as a motley crew of Peter Crouch and Paterson Joseph, Hulk Hogan and Derren Brown, Hannah Cockroft and Faisal Islam, and any others not included here or who also alas went the way of Liza with a Z...</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikqS_fXIHQtqW33Gt9Mophx2GsJ_9XQFpj5zKees5Iku-wHRjHFLN8bz3oSd_S8ke3_46kqND3OhL-kITxROUqVv9F4aenaiM1KR1j7h8vtOECdEB-JHEixBFby9qx26nDc0H10UgA8ofujs7CNnBcrY1Ev-7OMwYQul9WRLykZ_DAGiR-Tw/s680/60secs-petercrouch.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="541" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikqS_fXIHQtqW33Gt9Mophx2GsJ_9XQFpj5zKees5Iku-wHRjHFLN8bz3oSd_S8ke3_46kqND3OhL-kITxROUqVv9F4aenaiM1KR1j7h8vtOECdEB-JHEixBFby9qx26nDc0H10UgA8ofujs7CNnBcrY1Ev-7OMwYQul9WRLykZ_DAGiR-Tw/s320/60secs-petercrouch.jpg" width="255" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsDMwc5Q0G0hPfjygdi3-KPHwXNBZ5kRIx5n68_j1igzdxZKZFzfb4c2o4_zp2eEoq5lCE8MZ7lTtHZHfkqVjCb9k9KqJRsm-nU4wezeDd6Ufi53TGCS8euyK5ASMhmqRNnmdqpKjYRKOE0FC8R-TqZQPSUsxkImaGgSlfGCfRZYVQ73SFQ/s680/60secs-patersonjoseph.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="532" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsDMwc5Q0G0hPfjygdi3-KPHwXNBZ5kRIx5n68_j1igzdxZKZFzfb4c2o4_zp2eEoq5lCE8MZ7lTtHZHfkqVjCb9k9KqJRsm-nU4wezeDd6Ufi53TGCS8euyK5ASMhmqRNnmdqpKjYRKOE0FC8R-TqZQPSUsxkImaGgSlfGCfRZYVQ73SFQ/s320/60secs-patersonjoseph.jpg" width="250" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7hYlBsZwZCOTyXXb80BL2rs1DNIldmL273C6c4U3V4lAXVQ2a4uX_EsqYsRHvq2bakO2XY48TisFvFYnsKWBi6XwNoWkxn6gmJPw7fI3F9uRV0yiSCAFbSeHvhDfN3zw9DbyWp3QJqmKr2pyYDXn9cU4HkrbT5YN4GyN1C04dHdMBKWk7QQ/s892/60secs-hulkhogan.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="892" data-original-width="701" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7hYlBsZwZCOTyXXb80BL2rs1DNIldmL273C6c4U3V4lAXVQ2a4uX_EsqYsRHvq2bakO2XY48TisFvFYnsKWBi6XwNoWkxn6gmJPw7fI3F9uRV0yiSCAFbSeHvhDfN3zw9DbyWp3QJqmKr2pyYDXn9cU4HkrbT5YN4GyN1C04dHdMBKWk7QQ/s320/60secs-hulkhogan.jpg" width="251" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv9wiqpvgMF9eQ8kdnWCjFkGuZGGXRV9da17QTfz3PdRQsSL5yoFZ77vEQOXpcfJz7fgh-vzdHxfG_1dEQ0NwPsgEOfCyHJ7s21W5lejXLLSXue1_-dTI06N74vPHnsAVgcJGbTJlwI2b_T0hIiCDRWLYPD6zCh-kAlAhLzls1N9QjmOKBBQ/s680/60secs-derrenbrown.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="539" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv9wiqpvgMF9eQ8kdnWCjFkGuZGGXRV9da17QTfz3PdRQsSL5yoFZ77vEQOXpcfJz7fgh-vzdHxfG_1dEQ0NwPsgEOfCyHJ7s21W5lejXLLSXue1_-dTI06N74vPHnsAVgcJGbTJlwI2b_T0hIiCDRWLYPD6zCh-kAlAhLzls1N9QjmOKBBQ/s320/60secs-derrenbrown.jpg" width="254" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXbsvRcnn_pEI-JYAxW0SmJiDHrSzhmIVX8I0PZbklOokfrrJsJFYVoVxmuvpxxc5c7B8kThLY9utjpjkO0__wdQ9KEAuClALjPKGiMhz-Z2n6QO55WTczLWqGu_p5ru6YOI4nfgN1gyLCNRWuJ9lR7TYzOsTYXf0wDYfBcOrMDoXDz7blGA/s680/60secs-hannahcockcroft.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="680" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXbsvRcnn_pEI-JYAxW0SmJiDHrSzhmIVX8I0PZbklOokfrrJsJFYVoVxmuvpxxc5c7B8kThLY9utjpjkO0__wdQ9KEAuClALjPKGiMhz-Z2n6QO55WTczLWqGu_p5ru6YOI4nfgN1gyLCNRWuJ9lR7TYzOsTYXf0wDYfBcOrMDoXDz7blGA/s320/60secs-hannahcockcroft.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTcpt4i9zksk7rwsqS79FxD4twZVL43IOA79lk8TOoN2oYZSg-8DN9fJDqtAY8RxohSaCDR01wPWYM6TRMMAZBqhVn8jU4ttJ-zt4CWcj2DfLXMwIV7NPU6ItRqflLo9efl7SoqAmbrtBKWWfFAj1NCHwjYF106L383n0YmAAeGaYco9u1Fw/s955/60secs-faisalislam.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="763" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTcpt4i9zksk7rwsqS79FxD4twZVL43IOA79lk8TOoN2oYZSg-8DN9fJDqtAY8RxohSaCDR01wPWYM6TRMMAZBqhVn8jU4ttJ-zt4CWcj2DfLXMwIV7NPU6ItRqflLo9efl7SoqAmbrtBKWWfFAj1NCHwjYF106L383n0YmAAeGaYco9u1Fw/s320/60secs-faisalislam.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Other favourite moments remembered from colleagues' 60 Second Interviews include...</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Metro</i>: "You're something of a wine buff - will you be imbibing on your show tour?"</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Henry "Blowers" Blofeld: "My dear old thing, you must come back and say hello when you come and see my show. We'll have a glass of an excellent vintage."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Metro</i>: "Who was your favourite Spice Girl?"</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Elvis Costello: "Baby. Wasn't she everyone's favourite?"</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Metro</i>: "Any final message for the <i>Metro</i> readers?"</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Michael Palin: "Just to say what a wonderful paper it is. They're very good. When my North Korea programme came out, Channel 5 did a wraparound on all <i>Metros</i> in the country with a marvellous piece of artwork based on North Korean communist artwork. It was terrific, one of the best campaigns I think I've ever seen. So rock on, guys!"</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And of course...</span></p><p><i style="font-family: verdana;">Metro</i><span style="font-family: verdana;">: "Why do you call Noel 'potato?'"</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Liam Gallagher: "'Cos he looks like one."</span></p>aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-45049482296597747502023-03-14T21:19:00.004+00:002023-03-14T22:13:37.525+00:00Searches still amid quake rubble, "survivor's guilt" - and scarce hope as Syria's civil war enters 13th year...<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Syrian families are still desperately digging in earthquake rubble - not for survivors anymore, but any last possessions finally lost after 12 years of war.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Wednesday this week marks another grim milestone in the civil war-torn country, as it enters the 13th year since President Bashar al-Assad launched a crackdown against pro-democracy protesters now thought to have seen upwards of 500,000 people killed and as many as 16.5million forced from their homes.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Millions of children have grown up not knowing any different, while few families have escaped losing not only shelter but also loved ones in a bombardment of shelling, village invasions and panicked escapes into neighbouring countries and beyond.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwYLEJKTR0owK7xo9VjpM-TzLLtXe9tcoYfp9Ver-KqVcueN7f3YF0VCU4jqyIviCFYNHwGV3zvPR7-yMpE77kdd8g6Wxo9Fb5OLp0jkqUZ_5SancpuvrZUbvb1yvipXL-2GQ-czqBTE-qVWTDdJjJ0xlINAOLGhZSAHmn2d7qtY2Ex1IGig/s680/homs.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="680" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwYLEJKTR0owK7xo9VjpM-TzLLtXe9tcoYfp9Ver-KqVcueN7f3YF0VCU4jqyIviCFYNHwGV3zvPR7-yMpE77kdd8g6Wxo9Fb5OLp0jkqUZ_5SancpuvrZUbvb1yvipXL-2GQ-czqBTE-qVWTDdJjJ0xlINAOLGhZSAHmn2d7qtY2Ex1IGig/s320/homs.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Al-Assad’s regime faces worldwide condemnation - other than from key allies including Russia, China and Iran - but sanctions have hindered much-needed aid deliveries, amid widespread fuel shortages.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The country was also suffering the impact of a nationwide cholera epidemic even before the 7.8-magnitude earthquake which hit Turkey and Syria on February 6, so far killing more than 50,000 people - including at least 6,000 in already-war-ravaged Syria.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Aid workers on the ground have now told <i>Metro </i>how today’s latest anniversary throws into even starker relief the suffering upon suffering endured by those who have not managed to make it out of the country, such as to struggling-neighbours such as Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Chiran Livera, head of the Syria earthquake response for the <a href="https://www.ifrc.org/">International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)</a> described the harrowing sight of families dutifully trudging among the remains of what homes they did still have until last month.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">He told <i>Metro</i>: ‘People still require emergency items - food, medicine, water, shelter.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Just try to put yourselves in the shoes of someone who’s lost their home, possibly family members too - who’s had to flee to another part of the country - and then this happens, and you’ve lost any chance of a livelihood yet again.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"People are showing such resilience but this population is extremely vulnerable.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"You still see families clearing the rubble from the streets, hoping to find any pieces of their lost belongings - and also sentimental items like photos, toys, what few things they’ve kept hold amid everything which can’t be replaced.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"One of the biggest things is, people are tired. This has been 12 years now - they’re thankful for any help, but what about next month? And all those after that?"</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">People left homeless in urban areas tend to have been sleeping in schools and mosques, he said, while those in rural regions have had to depend on other families putting them up - but even aid workers given rare access to humanitarian corridors are struggling.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">He said: "There’s a fuel shortage - there’s simply not enough to purchase, so we have to buy from Jordan and other countries and make tough decisions which deliveries to prioritise.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"There need to be political solutions as well as humanitarian assistance - resources and advocacy, so people have any hope of rebuilding their lives."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Fear and suspicion can now seem hardwired within even some of Syria’s youngest, beaten down by all-surrounding destruction, threats and attacks, and ever-present military watches.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">During <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2013/09/08/syria-so-many-questions-but-no-answers-3954934/">a previous visit over the border in Lebanon, as rocket fire crackled across the sky over the besieged Syrian city of Homs, <i>Metro </i>was told: ‘If you dare give those [photos] to Bashar al-Assad, I swear I’ll find you and beat you up.’</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The threat came not from an AK47-toting militant nor patrolling soldier but a knee-high four-year-old boy.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The enduring effects on women and children appear especially bleak, according to the charity <a href="https://www.actionaid.org.uk/">ActionAid</a> - warning about heightened danger of severe trauma, renewed threats of sexual and gender-based violence, and child marriage.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The number of female-headed households has leapt by 80 per cent since March 15 2011, while food prices have soared by 40 per cent in the last month.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And reported suicide cases more than tripled last year - with girls under 18 making up the largest group, 40 per cent, recorded as killing themselves between early 2021 and the start of last year.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mother-of-three Noor, forced from one home by the civil war and then from another by last month’s quake, said: "I lost my husband about three years ago when I was pregnant with my young son.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"It is a difficult challenge for a woman to be alone, without a breadwinner, without a family, without anyone beside her - it’s really hard.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Life is hard especially in these conditions - war and earthquakes and people taking advantage of this. Everything became difficult."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Racha Nasreddine, Lebanon-based regional director of ActionAid’s Arab region, said: "The current disaster is only exacerbating the risks and vulnerabilities women and girls are facing.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"We know that this crisis will fall the hardest on women like Noor who are running out of coping mechanisms to deal with the trauma of repeat and renewed crises."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Vital infrastructure already shattered by the civil war and territorial disputes between the Assad region and rebel militia-held areas have also hampered attempts to help, over the past months as well as since March 2011.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Just on Monday this week, a United Nations-backed commission ruled the international community and the Syrian government did not act quickly enough last month to help people in need in the rebel-held north-west of the country.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria said there should be an investigation into why it took a week to open border crossings for aid to flow - and demanded a ‘comprehensive ceasefire that is fully respected’ to allow civilians, plus aid workers, to be kept safe.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A week lapsed before the UN and Mr Assad’s government agree on opening two more border crossings into the rebel-held region bordering Turkey, even as people remained trapped beneath rubble.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Syrian president eventually signalled two new crossing points from Turkey could open for three months.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">For so long beforehand, the UN was only been permitted to deliver aid to the north-west Idlib area through a single crossing at Bab Al-Hawa - said to be on the demands of Assad ally Vladimir Putin’s Russia.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said their legal position came under the mandate of the UN Security Council, adding: "The UN did everything in its power as quickly as possible to help all of the people in Syria."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Meanwhile, even those who have managed to escape to safety say they feel “survivor’s guilt” as the torment back home not only endures for others but comes with so many gruelling fresh setbacks.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Hanan Al-Wandi, who now works for the <a href="https://www.redcross.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/international/syria">British Red Cross</a>, said: “The recent earthquake reignited the trauma for those who have suffered in the conflict in Syria for the past 12 years.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">“Before the earthquake, people were rebuilding their lives. We had so much hope for Aleppo in particular - there was so much work being done to rebuild it to what it used to be.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">“I think this is the first time in a long time people feel shaken up again - it adds an additional layer of trauma to what we are already going through.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">“My survivor’s guilt has increased tenfold - I think this is something that a lot of people are experiencing right now.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">“I feel guilty that I’m here and that they are there. Why do I get to be in a great building and do this great job and have a home and not have to worry about food.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">“I know this is something a lot of Syrians who now live so far away from home are feeling.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Back on <a href="https://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2016/03/syria-crisis-five-years-on-nation-set.html">March 15, 2011, six teenagers were arrested and tortured for spraying ‘the people want the downfall of the regime’ on a school wall in the city of Dera’a</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It marked <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2021/03/15/syria-counts-cost-of-ten-year-war-with-more-than-500000-people-dead-14247581/">the start of a brutal crackdown by al-Assad’s forces that in turn prompted the bitter years of fighting and a mass exodus</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Pro-Assad forces have not only arrested, tortured, executed or ‘disappeared’ supposed rebels in their thousands but also launched incessant rocket and chemical attacks on villages, cities and towns across the country.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Meanwhile sieges have denied food, medicines and other aid to towns and cities including Darayya, Moadamiya and Homs, the western and third largest city now reduced to little more than rubble-strewn ruins.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2015/12/some-still-somehow-dream-of-returning.html">Then-international development secretary Justine Greening told <i>Metro </i>on the conflict’s five-year mark in 2016 that Britain was leading the way in Syria relief</a>, as an international summit was hosted in London.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But under Boris Johnson the Department for International Development was folded into the Foreign Office and the UK’s commitment to spending 0.7 per cent of GDP on foreign aid was cut to 0.5 per cent.</span></p><div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">With every fresh disaster, piled high on 12 years of blood-soaked persecution already, Syria looks like remaining for years ahead a nation set back decades.</span></div></div>aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-78481121531765904532023-02-09T21:30:00.002+00:002023-02-09T21:32:50.456+00:00"They need your help now"...<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ufEmbsSutGcx8lnVjMReIKv02ZBUx8Hxqv5vjPC1eZnxveAGR0a2SSjK7CRWarFDFqhOr7Ihv53Zq2D-dO4c9hp4AymkCSWk2RuuyPc0eupYgZCX8391yPJjXU-o5U2b4IEULGh4ddEjfm1tRFUGCDMdi9HOuwgkHF1VZ7iVE9FAby0Vdw/s820/metro100223p1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="820" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ufEmbsSutGcx8lnVjMReIKv02ZBUx8Hxqv5vjPC1eZnxveAGR0a2SSjK7CRWarFDFqhOr7Ihv53Zq2D-dO4c9hp4AymkCSWk2RuuyPc0eupYgZCX8391yPJjXU-o5U2b4IEULGh4ddEjfm1tRFUGCDMdi9HOuwgkHF1VZ7iVE9FAby0Vdw/s320/metro100223p1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBzamgq5uYgGZUwO1VyRvg1_Ph9Bg7waT2KlOQOyHxsWfDm1Qqesaeab9rYfUhfUe4tM9vwr4sfCSVNEnGIir0rrXH-0A4n69sXiW1i9IQNLnyJNOXlfMM_mhFtRa8Obi8RAnjDt72L8BzbPQFOasZHQeLwSBnEYZoxbSCRm8IQdjGh457Jw/s988/metro100223pp4-5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><img border="0" data-original-height="793" data-original-width="988" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBzamgq5uYgGZUwO1VyRvg1_Ph9Bg7waT2KlOQOyHxsWfDm1Qqesaeab9rYfUhfUe4tM9vwr4sfCSVNEnGIir0rrXH-0A4n69sXiW1i9IQNLnyJNOXlfMM_mhFtRa8Obi8RAnjDt72L8BzbPQFOasZHQeLwSBnEYZoxbSCRm8IQdjGh457Jw/s320/metro100223pp4-5.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><p>Desperate pleas have been made to help hundreds of thousands of people left homeless after the devastating earthquake battering Turkey and Syria, as the official death toll passed 19,000.</p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Daniel Craig and Tamsin Greig have fronted <a href="https://donation.dec.org.uk/turkey-syria-earthquake-appeal">new televised fundraising appeals by the Disasters Emergency Committee</a>, with Sir Michael Palin presenting radio adverts.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And aid workers on the ground told of terrified families sleeping on the streets in below-freezing conditions, with infections spreading while many people remained trapped beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The British government has agreed to match donations of up to £5million to the appeal launched by the DEC, an alliance of 15 charities.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Rescues were continuing with two-year-old boy was picked out of the rubble by a Romanian and Polish rescue team in Hatay 79 hours after the Monday’s 7.8-magnitude quake.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The boy, wearing a striped sweater, cried as he was gently lifted from the hole where he had been trapped.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But recovery efforts have been hampered by freezing weather and dozens of aftershocks, as well as already-damaged infrastructure and blocked aid corridors in civil war-torn Syria.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">British Red Cross regional manager Jeremy Smith described the aftermath of the disaster as ‘a crisis within a crisis’, while <a href="https://www.islamic-relief.org.uk/">Islamic Relief</a>’s Salah Aboulgasem - speaking from the Turkish city of Kahramanmaras, the earthquake’s epicentre - said the scale of suffering felt ‘unprecedented’.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2016/03/syria-crisis-five-years-on-nation-set.html">Syria’s suffering comes amid</a> a 12-year civil war following President Bashar al-Assad’s crackdown in pro-democracy demonstrators, as well as surging prices, the cold winter and a recent cholera epidemic.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://www.dec.org.uk/">DEC</a> chief executive Saleh Saeed said: ‘Sadly hundreds of thousands have lost their homes and need shelter.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘The scale of the damage is hard to imagine, with thousands of buildings reduced to rubble, in a region where millions of people have already been forced to flee the war in Syria.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘Donations from the British public will make a huge difference in enabling DEC charities to reach more people.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘We know it’s a difficult time for all of us but we’re urging everyone to give as much as they can.’</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mr Aboulgasem told of how people were in Gaziantep were spooked three days on by more aftershock tremors.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Survivors were also reluctant to stay in makeshift bases such as sports centres, mosques or schools, he added - preferring instead to sleep in their cars or even in the streets, despite the cold weather.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">He said: ‘I’ve been to many disaster zones and many war zones and I have to say the size and scale of this is unprecedented.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘In one town 70 per cent of buildings have been completely destroyed and search and rescue operations are going on everywhere you look.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘We’re using sports centres, schools and mosques as shelters but people are refusing, because of the psychological impact of what’s happened - they’re choosing to remain in the streets, burning fires, or sleeping in their cars.’</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In Syria, <a href="https://www.unicef.org.uk/">Unicef</a>’s Eva Hinds told how people were taking overnight refuge in schools - many of which have been closed to pupils for years during the ongoing civil war.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">She told <i>Metro</i>: ‘This is the most powerful earthquake there’s been in the region for years and it’s come at the worst possible time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘It’s been nearly 12 years of conflict, with many children displaced from one home to another numerous times - prices are rocketing, there are fuel shortages and electricity shortages, and on top of that is the impact of Covid and, just before the earthquake, a cholera epidemic.’</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">She highlighted how 15.3million people across Syria already needed humanitarian aid, including 7million children.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">She added: ‘What makes it more challenging is how it’s very cold - it’s rainy, there’s been snow- really adding to the suffering of people who’ve had to leave their homes and need shelter.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘If ever there was a moment in time when the children of Syria needed help, that moment is now - it’s critical they are supported in many ways by different parts of the world.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘They were struggling terribly before but the struggle has just got worse.’</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Meanwhile, Mr Smith said more than 2,000 tents and 500,000 meals had been provided by Red Crescent teams, adding: ‘It’s a crisis within a crisis. Syria had a winter storm the week before this happened.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘This is not going to be a matter of weeks or months - it will be a multiple-year long-term recovery.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">‘And this is why we need people to give generously because people are going to have lifelong injuries and psychological issues, losing their livelihoods, and so we need to make sure that we’re set up to support people in the long term.’</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">To donate to the DEC appeal, go to <a href="http://www.dec.org.uk">www.dec.org.uk</a> or <a href="http://www.donation.dec.org.uk/turkey-syria-earthquake-appeal">www.donation.dec.org.uk/turkey-syria-earthquake-appeal</a>.</span></p>aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-85658545790228991242023-02-05T22:39:00.007+00:002023-02-06T00:22:57.497+00:00"Harry Pain"? - "He's one of our own..."<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1qLJ5YajdS1LIoywwZETpA26UxaSICrWF6j8v-sB9vEJkn1dunr8R2_ytv3TA-VpWsxwqbVWPy4zZuuqWtzTGtIp9HdS5WpxkR-jKDKup__7fSAM5BTu1i8GwAeQkVCXlq82vnuQx-vyMX2tWLxavvXJ8QQn0Z1GFibpG7yWlYgAP5TfcTw/s826/kicker-kane2023a.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="619" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1qLJ5YajdS1LIoywwZETpA26UxaSICrWF6j8v-sB9vEJkn1dunr8R2_ytv3TA-VpWsxwqbVWPy4zZuuqWtzTGtIp9HdS5WpxkR-jKDKup__7fSAM5BTu1i8GwAeQkVCXlq82vnuQx-vyMX2tWLxavvXJ8QQn0Z1GFibpG7yWlYgAP5TfcTw/s320/kicker-kane2023a.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBTqmgMn2OFxAnUhPCHjEd9Ep27KAJgihuOL0dcTNPpDBs6nIxN33b2rZXYvmZ5PJ0oJwCu6qv95xSOVsqO4OvfxZrHoRkD_Ac_1tgtumV1E454b-yeentVbYI78iFlSZ-O3d2CEm0K2pMbepkozrEIc3bedtfui7Fj81gA30wISxo4DaNUQ/s825/kicker-kane2023b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="825" data-original-width="624" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBTqmgMn2OFxAnUhPCHjEd9Ep27KAJgihuOL0dcTNPpDBs6nIxN33b2rZXYvmZ5PJ0oJwCu6qv95xSOVsqO4OvfxZrHoRkD_Ac_1tgtumV1E454b-yeentVbYI78iFlSZ-O3d2CEm0K2pMbepkozrEIc3bedtfui7Fj81gA30wISxo4DaNUQ/s320/kicker-kane2023b.jpg" width="242" /></a></div><br />Harry Kane holds many records, including setting some in the Champions League - yet his long wait to hoist a trophy aloft goes on.<p></p><p>He was the first player to score nine goals in his first nine appearances in the modern-day version of the European Cup.</p><p>He was also the fastest to 20 strikes in the Champions League, his 24-match tally two fewer than previous pace-setter Alessandro Del Piero.</p><p>He just hasn’t lifted up the Champions League trophy yet - nor indeed won any other team title in his professional career, other than a pre-season friendly Audi Cup after Tottenham Hotspur beat Bayern Munich on penalties in summer 2019.</p><p>A recent Museum Of London exhibition was dedicated to the Spurs striker and England captain, showcasing his life and achievements.</p><p>This display included a cabinet full of golden boots, hat-trick balls and player-of-the-year prizes.</p><p>Yet for all his feats, record-breaking as he goes for both club and country, rival fans will nevertheless taunt about his apparent “failure” so far to go all the way to a team trophy.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>A much-shared image shows Kane, runners-up medal around his neck, glumly trudging past the Champions League trophy in Atletico Madrid’s Metropolitano Stadium in June 2019.</p><p>Moments later it was held high by his England vice-captain, Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson.</p><p>Tottenham were taken to that final by Mauricio Pochettino but are now managed by Antonio Conte - with Jose Mourinho, caretaker boss Ryan Mason and Nuno Esperito Santos having spent spells in the Spurs dug-out in between.</p><p>They are now preparing for a Champions League last-sixteen tie against AC Milan.</p><p>The tie evokes memories of a pre-Kane 1-0 aggregate win for Spurs over the same Italian opposition in the 2010-2011 season before a side featuring Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and Rafael van der Vaart went out 5-0 to Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.</p><p>This will be the North London club’s first time in the Champions League knock-out rounds since a tame 4-0 aggregate defeat by Leipzig at the same stage in 2020, when managed by Mourinho but with Kane missing through injury.</p><p>His record in Uefa club competitions currently stands at 45 goals in 74 appearances.</p><p>These strikes include a brace against Borussia Dortmund in a 3-1 group-stage win at Wembley in September 2017 then the only goal in the same opposition’s Westfalenstadion in March 2019 to help reach that season’s quarter-finals.</p><p>That 1-0 win made Kane Tottenham’s all-time leading scorer in Europe while this season he has been closing on Jimmy Greaves’s all-time record of 266 goals for the club.</p><p>His 2022 World Cup will be most remembered for his late penalty miss in England’s 2-1 quarter-final defeat to France, but earlier that game he did equal Wayne Rooney’s national record of 53 goals for the country.</p><p>He also has his sights set on Alan Shearer’s Premier League high of 260, which has encouraged suggestions he would rebuff any potential interest from foreign clubs for a move.</p><p>He made it clear in summer 2021 he was interested in moving on from boyhood club Spurs.</p><p>Kane indicated he favoured champions Manchester City, but Pep Guardiola’s club did not offer enough to persuade Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy - and the winter 2021 appointment of Conte to replace Nuno appeared to rejuvenate the forward.</p><p>Kane may have won the 2018 World Cup Golden Boot but Spurs have not won a significant trophy since the 2008 League Cup.</p><p>They have already been knocked out of that competition this season, while the main aim for the boardroom at least remains staying in the top four to qualify again for the lucrative Champions League.</p><p>Kane was not only in the Spurs side losing the 2019 Champions League final, but also League Cup showdowns with Chelsea in 2015 and Manchester City in 2021 - followed by England’s defeat on penalties by Italy in the Euro 2020 final that summer.</p><p>Another run to the Champions League final feels even more unlikely than the one in 2019, when Spurs edged out Manchester City in the quarters and Ajax in the semis while Kane was on the sidelines injured - before he returned just in time for the ill-fated final.</p><p>The six-year Spurs contract he signed in 2018 means both he and the club could be tempted to cash in a year early this summer, with Bayern and Real likely to be among those interested.</p><p>Julian Nagelsmann indicated when questioned last summer he would be interested in Kane, while Lothar Matthaeus also wants his old club to go for him.</p><p>The former Germany and Bayern captain insisted: "If you want to play with a number nine again, definitely.</p><p>"But Kane is not only up front, but lets himself fall back and distributes the ball. Yet he also knows how to assert himself in the penalty area.”</p><p>And leading Madrid newspaper Marca highlighted Kane back in 2017 as "Harry el Fuerte" - "Harry the strong" - while suggesting he follow in the footsteps of Modric and Bale in leaving Spurs for Real.</p><p>Other clubs’ fans in England may mock his lack of winners’ medals. but Kane’s figures and relentless performances - both as a finisher and as a playmaker - mark him out as a great for both club and country.</p><p>The next few months, however, should provide clues as to whether Tottenham can keep him satisfied or whether he decides he must finally move elsewhere to lift the silverware such a talent and career might so seem to merit.</p>aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-49457617056551115252022-09-19T23:46:00.004+01:002022-09-20T01:12:16.081+01:00RIP Elizabeth II...<div style="background-color: white;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn4GGbXoKa09r8D-loZt7apJs7BnERxOqhf8hjTAzmUYB-cFVl7aXdn77FSBxnBWV-6BTZX0f-VRQKj3gIX_G3_DT9-dlS1nUE7yPWKnOuBK5SD_b6lUl__KZq9IOugdtcdhbNL-3QCam-8lXxf1eFLpBjbMAA8ZzG4ypLSw5Lf0z1Vz3GVA/s1216/metro200922p1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="739" data-original-width="1216" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn4GGbXoKa09r8D-loZt7apJs7BnERxOqhf8hjTAzmUYB-cFVl7aXdn77FSBxnBWV-6BTZX0f-VRQKj3gIX_G3_DT9-dlS1nUE7yPWKnOuBK5SD_b6lUl__KZq9IOugdtcdhbNL-3QCam-8lXxf1eFLpBjbMAA8ZzG4ypLSw5Lf0z1Vz3GVA/s320/metro200922p1.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiit12kDww1TbAfNlWjsnEFEhidh-k_ZVSyxZlEGGr9-nG1qTEQo0zeoTidMNt8vPzcOAI9ntHtJN3kPWx8i_jWCUrGGez6zHagO1-rEeDJz9zkqhoOpkE7n7KkIQKrSzq121EaJvPHdQsKe7fZsN-i71BNMJGHqB-SpMTlEz0UItBp9gIlDg/s1312/metro200922pp2-3.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="805" data-original-width="1312" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiit12kDww1TbAfNlWjsnEFEhidh-k_ZVSyxZlEGGr9-nG1qTEQo0zeoTidMNt8vPzcOAI9ntHtJN3kPWx8i_jWCUrGGez6zHagO1-rEeDJz9zkqhoOpkE7n7KkIQKrSzq121EaJvPHdQsKe7fZsN-i71BNMJGHqB-SpMTlEz0UItBp9gIlDg/s320/metro200922pp2-3.png" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Queen Elizabeth II has been laid to rest and reunited with her beloved husband Prince Philip after a day of tears, cheers and pageantry saying farewell to Britain’s longest serving monarch.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The new King Charles and the royal family accompanied her coffin for a stately while emotional funeral at Westminster Abbey and then her final journey out of London, followed by a poignant committal service on the grounds of her Windsor Castle home before a private burial there.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">She now rests in King George VI memorial chapel inside Windsor’s St George’s Chapel - not only beside her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, whose death she mourned sitting alone at his funeral in April last year, but also her parents King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her sister Princess Margaret.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The committal included the Queen’s Bargemaster and a Serjeant of Arms removing from the coffin her sceptre and orb and finally the Imperial Street Crown she first wore at her coronation in 1953, before the Dean of Windsor placed them on the chapel’s high altar at 4.40pm.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Shortly afterwards her coffin was seen in public for the final time, when slowly lowered into the Royal Vault - ahead of the later non-televised burial.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Last night’s final act of dedication came after a day when hundreds of thousands of people came out on to the streets to celebrate her 70 years on the throne - not only in London but in towns and cities across Britain, following the Queen’s death aged 96 on September 8 at her Balmoral estate in Scotland.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Q9gPl8XJa6D3G9pblMQ_M1C2MmTVfs_zw0TwTRArY6S_aRA3qHGoAmkAgDjkPNn-7ugEGFXXVBwcrEpEp8XPVoM86qkTFLDmjulnZOhCs4t1ELNnZUf-H3nbu3ab9eBTb7h6TbBtnktWRwn5i3W_O-6CfNBFNpQv-Ew2ZqVNM3aOnaFX8A/s1312/metro200922pp4-5.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="1312" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Q9gPl8XJa6D3G9pblMQ_M1C2MmTVfs_zw0TwTRArY6S_aRA3qHGoAmkAgDjkPNn-7ugEGFXXVBwcrEpEp8XPVoM86qkTFLDmjulnZOhCs4t1ELNnZUf-H3nbu3ab9eBTb7h6TbBtnktWRwn5i3W_O-6CfNBFNpQv-Ew2ZqVNM3aOnaFX8A/s320/metro200922pp4-5.png" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Her great-grandchildren Prince George, nine, and seven-year-old Princess Charlotte were among those attending the hour-long Westminster Abbey service - Britain’s first state funeral for 57 years - amid 2,000 guests including 500 world leaders, dignitaries and foreign royals.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The King marched solemnly behind the 123-year-old State Gun Carriage carrying her coffin through London alongside his sister the Princess Royal and brothers the Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The new Prince of Wales followed behind along with his brother, the King’s other son, the Duke of Sussex and Princess Anne’s son Prince Phillip.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Crowds lining the streets of the capital strew flowers across the path as the Queen’s coffin passed, while there were bursts of applause and chants of ‘Hip, hip, hooray’.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi146OTJxW2ykD9zOqSBpfwIvjC1j7LF2Ui4PumZvt0lZjDPQ-yNLqpJ6kTyPkoh-Y4S-RMG1TutVbOshmIbKJ3o0Pj5OhkXsUzbFoa-cfrnUUGHQOQdTda9sRE66W7Y2i53t9xXBF5Cyiz6qUtW_GxIzazHwH-Wlycgo5vWYAogTSMkBQcPg/s1312/metro200922pp6-7.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="1312" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi146OTJxW2ykD9zOqSBpfwIvjC1j7LF2Ui4PumZvt0lZjDPQ-yNLqpJ6kTyPkoh-Y4S-RMG1TutVbOshmIbKJ3o0Pj5OhkXsUzbFoa-cfrnUUGHQOQdTda9sRE66W7Y2i53t9xXBF5Cyiz6qUtW_GxIzazHwH-Wlycgo5vWYAogTSMkBQcPg/s320/metro200922pp6-7.png" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, hailed the Queen in his sermon as a ‘joyful’ figure who had touched ‘a multitude of lives’ - and echoed her address to the nation during Covid by ending: ‘We will meet again.’</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">But among those seen wiping away tears were the new Queen Consort, the King’s wife, as well as the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Duchess of Sussex, George and Charlotte.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Westminster Abbey guests included US president Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, French president Emmanuel Macron, Brazil’s president Jair Bolsanaro, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, and Britain’s six living ex-prime ministers - Sir John Major, Sir Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson and their spouses.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-E4e4ghe6inrWwSk4MlBxePRx0jj0g5QB-HJk6DPg71044Ne3noC0mkvrIuPbvBIyd4fQprS84dEog1L2rzUXxlNcsUOWnxgqhZ9vT_NQ1Py5G2dVkA5qy0DH7zkUvnAmnNk0JK4ZOfNiWpdjXHC5B63DCX9mPMhVDPx347UrZVjF-_9Zdw/s1312/metro200922pp8-9.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="1312" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-E4e4ghe6inrWwSk4MlBxePRx0jj0g5QB-HJk6DPg71044Ne3noC0mkvrIuPbvBIyd4fQprS84dEog1L2rzUXxlNcsUOWnxgqhZ9vT_NQ1Py5G2dVkA5qy0DH7zkUvnAmnNk0JK4ZOfNiWpdjXHC5B63DCX9mPMhVDPx347UrZVjF-_9Zdw/s320/metro200922pp8-9.png" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The grandly-planned day of honour had begun when public access to the Queen’s lying-in-state ended at 6.30am, after four days which had seen at least half a million people queue for hours to pay their respects at Westminster Hall.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Several thousand troops took part in dignified ceremonial processions, first from Westminster Hall to the abbey - and then, after the service, to Wellington Arch near Buckingham Palace and then on to Windsor - each journey watched by packed crowds.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">On arrival at Windsor Castle, the committal service at St George’s Chapel opened shortly after 4pm when the coffin was carried up stairs by the same group of Grenadier Guards who had been her pallbearers all day.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">After the orb, sceptre and crown were taken from the coffin, the King draped the Queen’s Company Camp Colour of the Grenadier Guards upon it - accompanied by the Lord Chamberlain’s Wand of Office which he first symbolically broke.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhozFgRuI4f9nK0TZ4wm6hGHLKaFtKEhFjQsE9So5bH3HpHGl80dLWNJphu8OkNSOVoPzWaBOjodqWNQbQ0d4UUd3RWTI3G9qfnE77Xeyjr4W2oKINqn-d8y7ROOAAsLVB5isNmSWvduS2KHR20L1Ba3a_l6tHMFYMtNadIBy-ov7NkDxwZtQ/s1315/metro200922pp10-11.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="805" data-original-width="1315" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhozFgRuI4f9nK0TZ4wm6hGHLKaFtKEhFjQsE9So5bH3HpHGl80dLWNJphu8OkNSOVoPzWaBOjodqWNQbQ0d4UUd3RWTI3G9qfnE77Xeyjr4W2oKINqn-d8y7ROOAAsLVB5isNmSWvduS2KHR20L1Ba3a_l6tHMFYMtNadIBy-ov7NkDxwZtQ/s320/metro200922pp10-11.png" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Charles spent the service in the same place occupied by the Queen, sitting alone due to social distancing rules, during her husband’s funeral in April last year - while the new Prince of Wales occupied the seat his father had that day.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">At the end, the coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault as the Dean of Windsor, the Rev David Conner, read a final psalm and commendation - Psalm 103 which includes the traditional line: ‘Go forth upon thy journey from this world, O Christian soul.’</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Finally her family attended her private, non-televised burial at 7.30pm.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Queen was placed in the King George VI Memorial Chapel where her coffin was joined by that of her late husband whose had previously remained in the Royal Vault.</span></div><div style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A momentous day, and reign, came to its eventual conclusion - with her tomb now to be adorned simply by marble engraved 'ELIZABETH II 1926-2022'.</span></div>aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-91272820063149984842020-12-20T21:35:00.032+00:002023-02-06T00:25:15.302+00:00"Let me know when we can throw a party every night..."<p><i><a href="https://youtu.be/csh97_r1jwQ">“Chasing tomorrow - get ready to run...”</a></i></p><p>/</p><p><i><a href="https://youtu.be/Cqkobok8w14">“On the day that I die, I’d like jokes to be told</a></i></p><p><i><a href="https://youtu.be/Cqkobok8w14">And stories of old to be rolled out like carpets</a></i></p><p><i><a href="https://youtu.be/Cqkobok8w14">That children have played on</a></i></p><p><i><a href="https://youtu.be/Cqkobok8w14">And laid on while listening to stories of old...”</a></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXLXEf6-jPbNACC25-VK4bB9rAhmNBgUI1I9tVErqXr4JPcVxxRyUlskEo-VBeV04YmcwvaKzr__ikWMtfRuJQpK5JiiNukASFprl02WuepjUfLdyrgRHfbLPz83nAogdk1Mjk/s316/mccartneyiiialbum.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXLXEf6-jPbNACC25-VK4bB9rAhmNBgUI1I9tVErqXr4JPcVxxRyUlskEo-VBeV04YmcwvaKzr__ikWMtfRuJQpK5JiiNukASFprl02WuepjUfLdyrgRHfbLPz83nAogdk1Mjk/s0/mccartneyiiialbum.jpg" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>Well, it was 13 years ago this year, Paul McCartney sprung a second album in two years upon us - fresh from critical acclaim far from “Frog Song” mockery of the Eighties and Nineties.</p><p>And did so by inviting us to imagine...his dying, albeit in sombrely, richly resigned and inviting tones.</p><p>Now, here we are again, a rejuvenated Macca still standing - even in this far more dispiriting of times, splaying <i>McCartney III</i> upon a world in need of, well, any more McCartney.</p><p><a href="https://www.paulmccartney.com/albums/paul-is-live">Paul is live</a>? Paul is loving living, it sounds, happily jamming and drumming and riffing and fiddling in his Sussex studio while others (present company inclusive) might have considered it a major feat to merely manage fixing a hole where the rain gets in.</p><p>Not that this is your stereotypically-blithe Fab Wacky Macca Thumbs Aloft. Just as on 2018’s seriously-ranging, alternately-<a href="https://youtu.be/aef2eV7GmQw">deep</a>-and-<a href="https://youtu.be/sQ6NlI6uvvQ">daffy</a> <i>Egypt Station</i>, he can’t help but come across as a little more reflective than in the past - now he’s 78.</p><p>And yet the melodies keep on simply pouring from Paul.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>For an LP he claims he didn’t see coming the subsequent hammering PR campaign has at times felt, not crass, but a little naff - see Saturday night on BBC1, when Idris Elba strolled up saying he didn’t have a plan for the interview he’d been granted and pretty much left McCartney heavy-liftingly interviewing himself.</p><p>And yet, and yet - what a delight to just have <i>anything</i> spontaneously new from him at all. The old Eighties/Nineties spurious consensus that John Lennon was the genius, Paul McCartney the softy second-ranker, seems to have flipped the other way these days. And perhaps we were all ready to feel generously towards this new album, no matter how it sounds.</p><p>And yet it’s thus even more of a pleasant relief, not surprise, to find how fably it holds together.</p><p>The incessantly-spindly acoustic riff that opens up <a href="https://youtu.be/WpWTGOgN5bY">“Long Tailed Winter Bird”</a> says come-hither to the thrum of 1970’s tumbling opener <a href="https://youtu.be/yJ7Ka6elvA0">“The Lovely Linda”</a> - and can't help but sinuously over- and under-stay its welcome. Such commitment to that first striking reacquaintance matters. </p><p>Current wife Nancy Shevell was caught in her native New York when the first lockdown was declared in March 2020, Paul unfortunate enough to be stranded across the Atlantic in Sussex. <a href="https://youtu.be/UvUkPtSheyg">“Hands across the water”</a> made for a singalonga chorus way back when, but even the most feted songwriter on earth must have felt some frustration.</p><p>And, while much of this music might have been patched together and built upon from raggedy strands stretching back through dim and distant decades, a listener could be forgiven for seeing and hearing some 2020 pandemic-ish insights.</p><p>Not least the many many repetitions of riffs and lyrics, from that opener onwards - almost as if McCartney, clocking on again in his own studio, might just be similarly searching for other solace within bluesy mantras. Groovily enjoying playing with himself, because he knows he comfily can.</p><p><a href="https://youtu.be/I0UZvqCiECc">Bogey/boogy music</a>.</p><p>Comparisons to 1970’s <i>McCartney</i> and ten years’ later’s <i>McCartney II</i> are inevitable, even if a blend of homespun acoustics, bluesy sludges and uber-Beatle-y ballads suggest - after his 1995 “Threetles”-era noodlings - you could also call this <i>Flaming Pie II</i>.</p><p>While <i>Egypt Station</i> was a lushly-sprawling double album - even before all the reissue-repackage-repackage extra editions to follow - it had a few duds dragging it down, in such desperate yet doomed attempts at hits: <a href="https://youtu.be/mSU4O7FzrRU">“Come On To Me”</a> and (ugh) <a href="https://youtu.be/CWYlWvtEyio">“Fuh You”</a>.</p><p>Yet for all their more recent critical rehabilitation, <i>McCartney</i> and <i>McCartney II</i> remain mixed bag-isms also - and so this one completes the hat-trick. The hollowed-out stomach-punch/heart-hug of <a href="https://youtu.be/cdDPR8GzXy8">“Maybe I’m Amazed”</a> and winking delicacy of <a href="https://youtu.be/aSHkH_uMmtY">“Every Night”</a>, alongside the kitchen-sink clanking of the first one’s instrumentals. Second time around, the helium-ditzy jitter of <a href="https://youtu.be/g5nzLQ63c9E">“Coming Up”</a> and woozy yet pure nursery-rhyme melodies of <a href="https://youtu.be/YbvdQBz65tM">“Waterfalls”</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/gcW0TDFK61o">“Summer’s Day Song”</a> sprinkled amid new-toy synthesiser squelches. Hey, it’s great, it’s bloody Paul McCartney, shut up...</p><p>And this one will sell, in all its editions. For all its (very few) flaws. The punchy <a href="https://youtu.be/3GDgdgcME7E">“Lavatory Lil”</a>, alas, provides further evidence of how the often-ironic McCartney becomes crushingly less funny the more he tries to amuse - and ends up not only a poor relation to <i>Abbey Road</i>'s <a href="https://youtu.be/Jq7VkBUQ2Xg">“Polythene Pam”</a> but even <i>Off The Ground</i>’s <a href="https://youtu.be/1hH11ySnqJc">“Biker Like An Icon”</a>.</p><p>Preceding track <a href="https://youtu.be/csh97_r1jwQ">“Women And Wives</a>” risks plodding along a little too clumpily - that croakier “old man McCartney” vocal bound to a clodding beat more reminiscent of 2013’s blandly-glossy <i>New</i> rather than the stately grace of 2005's <i>Chaos And Creation In The Backyard.</i></p><p>Ah, enough carping. There is just so much joy to enjoy elsewhere.The keening, pleading reaching of eight-minute-plus <a href="https://youtu.be/c1Ph4MD4EIo">“Deep Deep Feeling”</a>: “Sometimes I wish it could stay, sometimes I wish it would go away - emotion...”</p><p>How <a href="https://youtu.be/Cid0reVAfI0">“Seize The Day”</a> bounces out of a silly first verse (<a href="https://youtu.be/HwKUaYBUYNc">and what’s wrong with that, I’d like to know?</a>) into a sun-<i style="font-weight: bold;">still</i>-somehow-coming-uplift of a chorus (which nevertheless warning of future days when “the sun won’t come” - though does at least, in the meantime, rhyme “dinosaurs” with “Santa Claus”).</p><p>And <a href="https://youtu.be/Z7ZOoyIWOkE">"The Kiss Of Venus"</a>, with its breathless (far too high?) vocal accompanied by filigree finger-picking - all across, of course, a melody that evidently just flows flows flows from somewhere and someone special. Meanwhile, mind, its lyrics could prove both lazy and accidentally-ominous: "And if the world begins to shake, will something have to break? We have to stay awake..."</p><p>Or perhaps, justly topping it all off, the brief reprise of that “Winter Bird” riff before bringing in elegiac closer <a href="https://youtu.be/8MnHkXcqvJ8">“When Winter Comes”</a> - his deft way across an acoustic coming over beauteously. Never mind any electronica, admirable as is his (check my) machine-ry - torch songs as porch songs in the studio endear all the more.</p><p>Album credits for this fine finale nod to the late Sir George Martin, indicating its genesis way back when in the Nineties - an origin made all the more obvious, alas, in the stronger timbre of McCartney’s vocal.</p><p>And yet it not only persists but fits, right here and right now - even if we can’t all be like farm-owner and long-keen DIY fan McCartney idly overlooking his estate, wondering what he needs to fix to keep the foxes away from his livestock and promising his wife they can soon “fly away”.</p><p>No, he urges himself, his family, his fans, anyone at all to imagine having “found the sun, when winter’s come”. Even in this bleak midwinter, earnestly looking for and indeed glimpsing light.</p><p>Here comes the sun? Oh, if only, eh - but he is helping while we’re waiting.</p><p>The end of the end? If it is, then, fine - but, actually, encore. McCartney (III) is having a ball for us all.</p><p><i><a href="https://youtu.be/TVfHGSO7LW0">"Let me know when we can throw a party every night..."?</a></i></p><p>One, two, three thumbs aloft (and fingers, knees and toes all crossed).</p>aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-57839324560047836902020-01-16T10:00:00.000+00:002020-01-18T01:12:36.815+00:00Remembering Rene...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Words from my mum on her mum, January 16 2020:</span></b></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>REMEMBERING RENE</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was 25 years ago today … that we said a sudden and far
too early goodbye to my totally outrageous, unashamedly outspoken, embarrassing, but irreverently witty “Mum” known
to officials, neighbours and grandchildren alike as “Rene”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the mucky, murky West Midlands town of her birth, Tipton
- she used to boast to newcomers in a pseudo posh voice, “I come from the country:
the Black Country” - Mum was known as the News of the World. What she didn’t
know wasn’t worth knowing. But because she knew everyone, she cared about them
deeply too and her other nickname was “Rene with the ‘eart of gold”.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Appropriately her heart matched the colour of her beloved
football team, ”the Mighty Wolves”. Her hero was Billy Wright and I only saw
her cry once when she told me: “Billy’s ‘ung up ‘is boots”.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Billy’s original boots are pictured here at an evening at
Molineux last September saluting the golden boy who also died 25 years ago. Mum
would have loved this tribute sent to me from Billy’s widow, Joy Beverley, when
I was planning a memorial concert for Mum soon after she died.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But it doesn’t come close to matching the picture of Mum in
full rapture at Wembley in 1988 with her eight-year-old grandson Lyndon, as we all
watched her beloved team win 2-0.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She once famously declared, when Wolves were shamefully
relegated from the old Division One to the second division: “I shall support
‘em even if they go down to the fourth.” And they did.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">How proud she would be to see them ahead of Spurs (grandsons
Aidan and Christian’s team) in the Premier League today.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> laugh about Mum’s antics all the time. She was afraid of
no-one - not even the policeman who threatened her with arrest after she joined
him on the steps of No 10 (in the days when you were allowed to walk along
Downing Street) and asked: “Is the Prime Minister in? I want to ask him for a
rise in me pension."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Love you forever Mum x </span><br />
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<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Twenty-five years ago was the first time I really remember someone dear dying - heartachingly just a few months before I was to begin studying close by in Birmingham, wishing she were still near for more regular visits that might just have helped us both through various struggles. Instead, cherish memories of every trip up the M1 and M6 - in earliest years, those Ocker Hill cooling towers showing we were finally "nearly there" - or hers the other way: ever-generous, ever-mischievous, loving her boys, her family, and of course her sport - whether cheering on "Beefy" Botham or "Whirlwind" Jimmy White, "Bully For Me" Steve Bull, John "Budgie" Burridge or of course the gentlemanlier Billy Wright. And the treasured Elvis postcard she kept on her mantelpiece, beside so many family snaps, now holds pride of place on the wall at my Mum's - recalling every time, whenever, she'd sing an adapted "It's Now Or Never" if buying any of us or even herself just one Cornetto... x</b></i><br />
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aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-81899837170024281862019-12-19T17:23:00.000+00:002019-12-19T19:30:13.009+00:00"In our winter city, the rain cries a little pity..."<a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2017/12/old-songs-lose-young-meanings-but-new.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"In our winter city, the rain cries a little pity..."</span></a><br />
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Thousands of volunteers are gearing up to provide food, warmth and what little festive cheer they can to record numbers of homeless people this Christmas - amid fears of rising risks to life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The homelessness charity <a href="https://www.crisis.org.uk/" target="_blank">Crisis</a> is opening up festive shelters in major towns and cities across the UK, including not only worst-hit London but also Birmingham, Coventry, Newcastle, Edinburgh, South Wales and elsewhere.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Other charities, both nationwide and more locally-focused, are also stepping up relief patrols, setting up shelters and encouraging members of the public to donate either supplies or their time to help feed, clothe and shelter those in need as temperatures plummet this Christmas.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The relief efforts come amid mounting concerns about Britain’s homelessness problem, with soaring numbers of people sleeping rough - up by 169 per cent since 2010.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And the latest official figures suggest 726 people died while sleeping rough or in emergency accommodation last year - up 22 per cent on 2017, with the average ages being 45 for men and 43 for women.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Homelessness charity S<a href="https://www.mungos.org/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMInMWA0pvC5gIVSrTtCh21xQ-dEAAYASAAEgLHaPD_BwE" target="_blank">t Mungo’s</a>, which has more than 300 local projects, 17 outreach teams and provides beds to more than 3,000 each night, will send out extra teams to either help those in need into their own centres or other temporary facilities provided by charities such as Crisis.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Petra Salva, director of rough sleeper services at St Mungo’s, said: ‘Christmas can be a time of mixed emotions for clients in our services and our staff work hard in our 300-plus projects to support those who stay with us over the holiday period.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">‘For those out on the streets, the dramatic temperature drop over winter means that the harm and danger they face is increased.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">‘I would encourage people not to simply walk on by but to take some positive action like contacting <a href="https://www.streetlink.org.uk/" target="_blank">StreetLink</a> to help connect someone with their local service as soon as possible - from there, specialist workers can help get people back into their own home for good.’</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Crisis describes their Christmas centres as offering people in need ‘a chance to regain confidence and plan for their future, in a supportive environment, away from the immediate hardships of homelessness’. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They added: ‘At the nine centres across London we operate 24 services which includes advice and support with health, housing and employment, alongside practical help through services such as sewing, hairdressing and clothing.’</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Last year more than 4,5000 people attended their Christmas centres across Britain.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Meanwhile, London-based organisation <a href="https://thefelixproject.org/" target="_blank">The Felix Project</a> expects to deliver the equivalent of up to 1million meals to the capital’s most deprived and hungry families, while calling for volunteers and donors who can contribute more.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Other smaller-scale initiatives include the <a href="https://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/news/take-one-leave-one-project-offering-warm-clothing-to-homeless-people-returns-to-exmouth-market-1-6406947" target="_blank">‘Take One, Leave One’</a> scheme in London organised by <a href="https://twitter.com/StefSimanowitz" target="_blank">Stefan Simanowitz</a> after being inspired by a similar idea in Chicago two years ago.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He has left rails filled with coats, jackets, gloves, hats, scarves and blankets donated by well-wishers and available for anyone in need to take.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He first did so last Christmas, with a sign saying: ‘If you are cold? Take one. Like to help? Leave one.’</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And the apparent success prompted him to do so again this year, initially in London’s Exmouth Market but spreading elsewhere with support from backers including British-based US comedian and actor <a href="https://twitter.com/robdelaney/status/1202551470748512256" target="_blank">Rob Delaney</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Latest figures from <a href="https://england.shelter.org.uk/" target="_blank">Shelter</a> suggest 280,000 people are now recorded as homeless across England - a surge of 23,000, or nine per cent, since the charity’s first annual report three years ago.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One in every 200 people is now without a home - and almost 220,000 more people were threatened with losing a roof over their heads across the past 12 months.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Campaigners fear many more are ‘hidden homeless’, relying on so-called ‘sofa surfing’ or else sleeping rough but remaining undocumented by any official counts. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At least 4,677 people slept rough in England on a snapshot night in autumn 2018, 165 per cent higher than in 2010, while the number of people sleeping rough in the capital has leapt by 13 per cent since 2017.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://england.shelter.org.uk/media/press_releases/articles/280,000_people_in_england_are_homeless,_with_thousands_more_at_risk" target="_blank">Shelter’s new ‘This Is England’ study</a> finds the problem at its most severe in London, with one in 52 people across the capital homeless - including one in 24 in the borough of Newham and one in 29 in both Haringey and in Kensington and Chelsea.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Also badly-hit are Luton (one in 46), Birmingham (one in 66), Brighton and Hove (one in 75) and Manchester (one in 102).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The charity’s emergency helpline received calls every 44 seconds this year, while its free webchat service was used almost 26,000 times.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Experts blame expensive rents, a shortage of social housing and benefits crackdowns for a surge in homelessness and rough sleeping across Britain in recent years - and Shelter warned the Conservative government’s election manifesto does not go far enough in proposing potential remedies.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Charities also urge people to help by calling <a href="https://www.streetlink.org.uk/" target="_blank">Streetlink</a> via its website or mobile phone app or by calling 03005000914 whenever they see someone sleeping rough, alerting council officials to the location.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Crisis has also been encouraging supporters to donate £28.87 so one homeless person can have a place at a Christmas centre, via <a href="http://www.crisis.org.uk/reserveaplace">www.crisis.org.uk/reserveaplace</a>.</span>aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-30589316416589384832019-06-13T22:07:00.001+01:002019-08-12T20:23:20.074+01:00"Homeland actor's goal is to save children's lives..."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Past pieces here from Sierra Leone:</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2008/12/sierra-leone-in-september.html">http://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2008/12/sierra-leone-in-september.html</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://metro.co.uk/2012/04/27/sierra-leones-scars-run-deep-despite-charles-taylors-comeuppance-3822522/">https://metro.co.uk/2012/04/27/sierra-leones-scars-run-deep-despite-charles-taylors-comeuppance-3822522/</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Hollywood star who helped break England’s penalty shoot-out curse hopes to repeat the feat this weekend - while bringing help to children struggling to grow up in a country ravaged by civil war, famine and the ebola virus.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">David Harewood saved two penalties to help the England side win last year’s Soccer Aid game in a shoot-out at Manchester United’s Old Trafford ground a year ago.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And he has been encouraged in his hopes of further success by the senior England side breaking their spot-kick curse and winning shoot-outs against Colombia in last summer’s World Cup and to beat Switzerland in Saturday’s Nations League third-place play-off.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He is also keen to point out he conceded just one goal during regulation play last time around, whereas team-mate and former England and Arsenal stopper David Seaman let in two.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This Sunday’s match will be staged at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium for the first time, as an England side featuring former internationals such as John Terry, Joe Cole and Michael Owen - and managed by Sam Allardyce and Susanna Reid - faces a Rest Of The World XI including Terry’s former Blues team-mates Didier Drogba and Michael Essien, as well as Eric Cantona and Robbie Keane.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Celebrity players such as Ben Shephard, Sir Mo Farah, Niall Horan and James McAvoy are due to take the field too, with the Rest Of The World side bossed by Harry Redknapp and Reid’s fellow Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And 53-year-old Harewood has provided the voiceover for a film to accompany the broadcast game that evening.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The appeal features Josephine, a mother who had a one-month old daughter also called Josephine who was born dangerously premature at seven months - and yet would not have survived, her family believe, without treatment at a Unicef-backed special baby care unit in the town of Makeni.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Among the locals he alsp met was an 18-year-old named Adamsay, eight months pregnant with her second child after her first died for lack of a vaccine aged six months - and yet forced to walk for eight hours a day to reach her nearest vaccination centre, a challenge made all the trickier in the current rainy season, leaving many roads and rivers impossible to pass.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Such clinics are also often left bereft of sufficient medication supplies to protect against illnesses such as TB and pneumonia, while also struggling to reach families neglected in distant and poorly-connected villages, Unicef say.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Harewood told Metro: ‘I picked my daughter up from school the other day and she said how they’d had vaccinations over their lunch-hour - whereas in Sierra Leone and too many other places it’s such a life-or-death struggle.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">‘Adamsay lost one of her children because she just couldn’t get that basic medicine - I can’t imagine anything worse than losing a child to what should be easily preventable disease.’</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The annual Soccer Aid event raises money in donations for Unicef’s development programmes across the world - and Homeland star Harewood recently visited some of the aid agency’s projects in struggling Sierra Leone.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He was enthused by schemes boosting access to vaccinations for mothers and children, along with more light-hearted games and activities including the simple provision of footballs and sporting strips.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sierra Leone remains one of the world’s poorest countries despite the civil war finally ending in January 2002, after the arrival of 20,000 United Nations peace-keepers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One in five children in Sierra Leone die before their fifth birthday, while one in eight women are killed by complications in pregnancy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And the west African nation was one of the worst hit by the ebola virus outbreak of 2014, with almost 4,000 people killed in Sierra Leone and neighbouring Guinea and Liberia.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Birmingham-born and bred Harewood, whose credits include not only drama Homeland but also movies such as Blood Diamond, flew into Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown before travelling across the country’s treacherous and barely-paved roads to remote districts such as Makeni and Tonkolili.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He said: ‘It’s the most naturally unspoilt terrain, extraordinarily beautiful, and yet with so little in the way of infrastructure or access.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">‘Every village you go to, there are people wearing Premier League football shirts or having them draped across washing lines and just to see kids given and kicking a ball about reminds you that this really is the beautiful game - it brings such joy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">‘The country’s been a warzone, it’s been stricken by famine and by ebola, and yet these are children who just want to play.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">‘It’s such a privilege to play on the same field as some of my footballing heroes - and I hope it turns out for us like last year, even if I was disappointed to concede one while David Seaman did let in two.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">‘But I’ll also be thinking of the wonderful people I met in Sierra Leone and any help at all that anyone can provide them.’</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Soccer Aid for Unicef - which has raised £30million since first being held 12 years ago - is due to be shown on ITV and STV this Sunday at 6.30pm.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For more information or to donate, visit <a href="http://www.socceraid.org.uk/">www.socceraid.org.uk</a>.</span>aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-7222015020124225742019-06-05T23:21:00.001+01:002019-08-12T22:36:11.220+01:00In memory of a very Great-Uncle Reg, one D-Day hero among many...<div dir="ltr" style="font-family: uictfonttextstyletallbody;">
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some words from my mum on her late uncle and my great-uncle Reginald Brownhill, proud former Para and brave D-Day veteran...</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My dear Uncle was a Para and landed in France on D-Day 1944 on the secret mission.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the plane, he was seated beside a 17 year old Private Hopkins who said: "I'm scared, Corp."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Uncle replied: "We all am mate, but we gorra get on with it. Stick by me I'll mek sure yo'me all right."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They landed in pitch blackness and realised they had overshot the beaches and landed in an enemy field.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Uncle Reg whispered: "Stay still 'til morning."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But something startled the terrified Private and he reached for his gun, before a round of fire from behind and German tanks in front. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The rest of them were captured and taken to a POW camp where they remained until the end of the war.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But as they were loaded into the truck under arrest, a war photographer captured the moment on camera.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No-one knew about the picture until my uncle and some of his regiment were visiting a museum in France 50 years later. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He was looking through a brochure and his thumb landed on it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Ooh, look Ivy - it's me ," he cried out to the faithful sweetheart he married as soon as he came home. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All his pals on the journey with him bought up the rest of the copies and Uncle Reg "autographed" them on the coach. He was a bit of showman.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Which is why 20 years ago I turned his and my Aunt's story into a show with music to take to the Edinburgh Festival and tour around England.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Every year until he was too ill to go, he went to France to commemorate D-Day and always remembered to put a posy on the grave of young Private Hopkins.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the 60th anniversary of D-Day he was too ill to travel to France and in the latter stages of Alzheimer's but a special ceremony was arranged in Lichfield. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I walked up with him to receive his medal because my aunt was too emotional.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was the proudest moment of my life when he turned and asked loudly: "Why have I been called out first?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I whispered, "Because you're the best" - forgetting to mention his name Brownhill pushed him to the head of the queue...</span><br />
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aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-64913786114875612472019-06-05T23:09:00.001+01:002019-08-12T22:36:29.335+01:00"You go out thinking you're joining a Boy's Own adventure..."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">A D-Day veteran who feared he would not survive a night of bombardment after landing on a Normandy beach is among those returning across the Channel for an emotional 75th anniversary commemoration.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ninety-four-year-old Arthur Hammond - known to friends and family as "Les" - was desperate to sign up to train as a fighter pilot aged 18, only to be turned away after failing an eye test.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yet he found himself called up six months later for the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and the eager then-19-year-old was among those descending on Juno Beach as part of the Normandy landings.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Only, none of his colleagues lived on - and the enthusiasm he felt beforehand very swiftly turned to fear, when confronted by the death and destruction all round and enduring a night of bombardment at the foot of Hill 112 he felt sure he would not survive.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mr Hammond, and registered blind but still a vibrant talker, a campaigner for blind veterans and twice-weekly dancer, is among the surviving D-Day veterans taken by boat to Normandy this week by the Royal British Legion - via several port stops both here and in France for more ceremonies along the way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before setting off from Dover on Sunday, he told Metro from his Northampton home: "I think they're really rolling out the red carpet for us this time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"I'm sure it's going to feel very emotional. It's good to know that plenty of people do remain aware of what went on and I know feel very appreciative too."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He recalled: "I was 19 - the youngest in my unit - and at that age, you just want to get out there. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"I thought, the sooner we get to Normandy the better - but as soon as it starts, everything becomes very real. Every memory is still absolutely vivid in my mind now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"We moved about a fair bit once on the ground but there was one night we were camped out but were sighted from above by the Germans - and once it became dark they mortared us all through the night.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Air raids - machine-gunned by planes overhead, hour after hour after hour.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"That was the worst night of my life. Nothing could ever frighten me like that - I was thinking throughout: I'm 19 and I'm going to die.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"And yet I'm still here, 75 years later. I don't know how. You come through something like that and wonder whether you really do have a chance after all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"But it changes you. You go out thinking you're joining a Boy's Own adventure - right up until you start seeing dead bodies and realise, no, it's really not so funny, at all."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After surviving the D-Day landings, he and his team pushed to Marcelet - a village not far from Caen - where they dug trenches, before continuing on through Belgium and the Netherlands and crossing the Rhine into Germany.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After the war ended he was posted to Cairo, was demobbed in 1947 and joined the family business, a shop called Hammonds seeling leather and metal finery for shoes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Despite attempts to trace D-Day colleagues, he only managed to find one with whom he kept in touch until their death several years ago.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mr Hammond added: "I always tell people: I'm not a hero, though I served with men who were. I'm very thankful to be a survivor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"But I do treasure the Legion d'Honneur us Normandy veterans have been given by France. When I wear that, I wear it for the chaps who didn't come back."</span></div>
aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-59978511018358290042019-05-31T16:25:00.003+01:002021-02-12T05:18:41.008+00:00"Things are happening..."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif"><a href="https://youtu.be/V40M0pR-diM" target="_blank">“This type of emotion - without football, I think it’s impossible to live...”</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif"><a href="https://youtu.be/6B224XDJw6g?list=PLIKHBOKcRUXTwEL44X4D__tghRX06evds&t=55" target="_blank">“And in the middle of the celebrations, I break down...”</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">- “Because whenever you get too happy, something bad always
happens.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "simsun"; mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial;"> </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">It’s a little bit funny,
these last few months. That is, oscillating between all of a sudden breaking
into laughter or breaking into tears. Cracking into a grin or crinkling the
eyes - abruptly and inexplicably so, any which time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Ah, come <b><i>on</i></b>, you Spurs.
Never again #Spursy, or so this our Champions League campaign might - nay, <b><i>must</i></b>
- suggest, having us somehow grasp not defeat but victory from the jaws of not
victory but defeat, and just so incessantly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">And now here we are, this
weekend. Somewhere even the most optimistic Tottenham supporter - should such a
someone exist - could not have dared to dream, let alone see us do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">All while hoping my eyes <b><i>do</i></b>
see the glory of <b><i>that</i></b> cup at White Hart Lane, while also knowing to appreciate
all they are seeing in the meantime.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Beaming. And yet tear-ing
up, at the littlest thought of what’s ahead or maybe more all significantly all
those precisely-recalled moments of every goal, every assist, every near-miss,
every tackle or deflection or save or hoof or, er, VAR that’s added all the
more glory to the story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Tears, eh - ah, 2019 and too
many years before have produced plenty, here, there and everywhere. Many as
vaguely unexplainable, if asked, as those suddenly smudging through even while
commuting by Tubes these last few weeks and simply thinking once more of those
magic words: “Here’s Dele Alli...here’s Lucas Moura...oh, they’ve done it! I
cannot believe it!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;"><a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-evidence-is-clear-on-every-side.html?m=0" target="_blank">Decades of varying depression, sure</a>, and a few recent years in which ever-present sense of failure
and self-loathing and indeed self-harm have been topped up for bad measure by
an ongoing ordeal inflicted by troubled ghosts of ever-present past. And only for
extra embarrassment in recent months when friendly-firmly told at ever-helpful
work to seek assistance, right now, after certain mordant musings were
evidently taken as too macabre for comfort by all-too-concerned colleagues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Of course any help helps and
is appreciated, especially when remembering all too well just how many many
many more people struggle with barely a possession of their own - or with so
many stricken and pain and suffering any which way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Yet at the risk of coming
across as even more flippant and facetious than ever - it’s a fine line, trying
to wear anything lightly in getting on with life - one memorable moment remains
from when emerging haunted by one enforced counselling session, only to
instantly slump all the more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Yes, it was that Friday
lunchtime in March when the quarter-final draw had of course pitted Spurs not
against, say, Porto but rampant Manchester City.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Tch, trivial, sure.
Insulting to think, very probably. And yet the depths of personal despair, for
whatever cause, can gladly take any lift it might find - and for sure Spurs, it
seems, can provide plenty after all, even it would transpire against the
otherwise-all-conquering Manchester City. And how. No, really, just <b><i>how</i></b>?!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">#Spursy is a hashtag these
social media days but the idea - at least before MoPo pitched up - has long
since resonated, especially since the Nineties: that decade when English
football erupted and yet one of the traditional “Big Five” clubs chose then to
turn so mediocre, even with a chairman who was meant to be our inside man with
money-makers Sky.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">The first game I attended
was back in 1985, a 3-2 home defeat by Ipswich Town that was at least an
instantly-intoxicating white-hot <a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2017/05/and-tottenham-hotspur-will-be-there_44.html?m=0" target="_blank">White Hart Lane adventure</a> nevertheless. We had
just won three trophies in the previous four years. In the 34 years since,
we’ve won another ... three trophies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">It would be churlish in the
joyous spirit of the now to namecheck any of those unfortunate players taunted
across the underwhelming Nineties with the likes of old favourites “You’re not
fit to wear the shirt” and “We want our Tottenham back”, amid excruciating
away-day trouncings or emphatic home humblings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Suffice to say that when
Swindon Town tottered out of the Premier League traps to set an abidingly low
standard for a newly-promoted, instantly-relegated top-flight side, they still
managed to take four points from six against Tottenham.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Even when a nascent new era
began under Martin Jol - and deck-clearing director of football Frank Arnesen -
before surprisingly flourishing all the more under Harry Redknapp, we could
always turn a corner to be confronted with a reminder of our apparent place and
fate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">The supposed “Lasagna-gate”
final-day game when on the brink of the fourth-place promised land in 2005 -
proof of my daftness coming that morning when asking a friend bringing
food-poisoning information whether it was us or opponents West Ham stricken so.
Of course...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">That surprise Spring 2012
tilt for the title stymied by Mario Balotelli scything through Scott Parker
before surviving to score a last-minute winning penalty, seconds after - at the
other end - Jermain Defoe’s “Gazza in the Euro 96 semi-final” moment in front
of an open goal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Followed hard on by a 5-1 FA
Cup semi-final slapping by Chelsea at Wembley - one of eight defeats at that
stage in a row now, in what used to be <b><i>our</i></b> tournament - with their defence
playing pat-a-cake behind their own goal-line with what should have been a
Spurs equaliser. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">And of course, all manner of
all other Tottenham teases up and until and even during this five-year plan
under, not the long-forgotten David Buchler, but MoPo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">A new era that has provided
the thrills not only of aesthetic passing pleasure and heart-surging pace but
also admirably hard-working heavy pressing - yet also something beyond,
something all so sympathetic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Tottenham’s failure/refusal
to spend any money on transfers during the past two windows can naturally feel
frustrating. Just imagine what <b><i>further</i></b> magic Pochettino might have conjured,
with reinforcements to a squad whose international contingent lasted deeper
than any other at last summer’s (also-energising) World Cup.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Eyebrows raise towards the
savvy/parsimonious boardroom, especially with Enic’s apparent improvisation not
just when it came to constructing our new stadium but keeping us paying punters
actually meagrely informed along the way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">And yet, and yet - those
bland old days of Wembley, not all that long ago, somehow now feel so far away.
The long-delayed and yet evermore-anticipated homecoming in N17 has helped wash
away ill will, even before those scintillating displays put on right before our
eyes in a shimmeringly stunning new home that looks like <a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.com/2017/05/and-tottenham-hotspur-will-be-there_44.html?m=0" target="_blank">the old White HartLane</a>, <b><i>feels</i></b> like the old White Hart Lane, and yet only all the much more
immensely so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Strolling along rows in the
lower bit of that South Stand, you can’t help but catch the eye of fellow fans
and when not cheering just <b><i>chuckle</i></b>: yes, we <b><i>really </i></b>are back here, and we really
are here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">The home that might well
have been the one setting (or thereabouts) to have felt both sad and happy more
than any other place in the world else.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLmStfki71zz2bJ-CFCUIC7gt1FutU4TOhgzAvkR79PCLIC10_fLMxz8118EhhUPpp4t6VHuXiHsLhLsEiCWohjfsWOQf2CAGqVUjBvKeI3-yIGdiVdI84G9ufHQclctiJkLlw/s1600/blog2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLmStfki71zz2bJ-CFCUIC7gt1FutU4TOhgzAvkR79PCLIC10_fLMxz8118EhhUPpp4t6VHuXiHsLhLsEiCWohjfsWOQf2CAGqVUjBvKeI3-yIGdiVdI84G9ufHQclctiJkLlw/s1600/blog2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif">And “being here”, in shocked
awe, sums up as well this run to a final we never expected.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Encapsulated best maybe by
not only every player and staff member’s unrestrained celebrations after each
knock-out of a final whistle, nor the sincere prayers of Lucas Moura, the
crumpling tears of field-thumping Pochettino or Harry Kane sprinting in a
straight line as if to show off his improving ankle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">But possibly perhaps that
most instinctive runner and dribbler and finisher, Heung-min Son.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Look at <a href="https://twitter.com/SpursOfficial/status/1133727190695026688" target="_blank">the video Spurs posted on Wednesday announcing the squad</a> safely put on to the plane to Madrid:
purposeful strides towards the camera accompanied by serious stony faces from
each one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Well, except for one - and
of course it was number seven, Heung-min Son, who did seem to try his steeliest
yet couldn’t help but crack at the last split-second and flash an ecstatic
smile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Why, he can be just as
endearing on those - thankfully - few occasions he does get caught distraught.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">This does seem a happy,
humble team. Extravagantly-rewarded, of course, as all elite footballers are,
with weekly wages many fans might not pocket in a decade - although plenty of
these Spurs players could easily receive far more for far less at any of our
top-six rivals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">They yet connect, not only
in their performances on the pitch and how thrillingly far they’ve taken us,
but the fellow-feeling that resonates all the way along and far beyond.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Whatever happens next - and with
a father and Spurs brother also in Madrid, but also another brother and a
beloved nephew and niece all cheering on Liverpool back home - let’s only hope
everyone can savour something assuring at least in the dramatic days ahead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Liverpool have of course
done this often. Tottenham, never until now, and never really <b><i>really </i></b>imagined
doing so. So, er, enjoy. (Now watch us go and do a Watford in the final - no,
that’s not the spirit. For now, anyway...)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">When I find myself in times
of trouble, two things - other than family, friends, loved ones - come to me:
The Beatles for one, plus Tottenham Hotspur FC. They can help make the whole
world feel, at least in the moment, a more comforting one after all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">To quote another musical
act, mind, the late Jim Croce: <a href="https://youtu.be/HVjMu5lI1Io" target="_blank">“These dreams - they keep me going these days...”</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">(While, as he put it in a
separate song: <a href="https://youtu.be/bP5lymQugXI" target="_blank">“...the hard way every time...”</a>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Or, from a similar era, Mary
Hopkin sweetly chirping/warning/encouraging: <a href="https://youtu.be/NARMvMjJFPM" target="_blank">“Sometimes it feels like the sun just comes up out of habit, goes down as quick as it can - these days you justhave to grab it as it goes by...”</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Life’s sorrows and suffering
endure for all, alas, much more for some than lucky-of-us others - but these
few seize-’em-while-you-can moments can briefly convince that, yes, tomorrow’s
going to be a brighter day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">In the wise words of Carlo
Ancelotti, a manager who always seemed endearing even when doing the Double
with Chelsea: “Football is the most important of the least important things in
life.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Ah, if you don’t, you don’t
- but if you <b><i>do </i></b>get it, you <b><i>get </i></b>it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">“To dare is to do”, say
Spurs - yet “to dare is to dream” is to do plenty too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">And if you can’t laugh, you
can cry - or, of course, do both...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB97lT4zd2jch1BQEnwg5BFAsTSH7I7NErVbnuJMtXzX-D5MQC9m6Umau-RBOMzMzg5pZmzz_2eWtjpwDz8WKCsKs1xO803JLjMFwuc1tfCg63TxhlaFVojAnodCs9y6YpyM9x/s1600/blog1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="213" data-original-width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB97lT4zd2jch1BQEnwg5BFAsTSH7I7NErVbnuJMtXzX-D5MQC9m6Umau-RBOMzMzg5pZmzz_2eWtjpwDz8WKCsKs1xO803JLjMFwuc1tfCg63TxhlaFVojAnodCs9y6YpyM9x/s1600/blog1.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Until, just maybe, possibly,
perhaps, for a most glory-glorious moment...it doesn’t.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;">Oh, we only know that’s
there’s gonna be a show and the Tottenham Hotspur <b><i>will </i></b>be there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun;"><b><u><i>COYS.</i></u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-64829183477996592062019-04-07T17:19:00.001+01:002019-08-12T22:36:47.411+01:00The new Tottenham Hotspur stadium: "Das Teuerwerk"...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQwDFqQu-IWSnkKsQf8hoQWlz6pvpDVRXzYs_KTBebTpWZuiJWe8yVFNhG_caz8pmcBc7WLweJk4FhMQfpuJpqLO9paKNcNIhNUve0fZO0Wywgvpp2-sMaWpBVlKuC6NPPlR-M/s1600/kickerspurs-april2019-a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="973" data-original-width="734" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQwDFqQu-IWSnkKsQf8hoQWlz6pvpDVRXzYs_KTBebTpWZuiJWe8yVFNhG_caz8pmcBc7WLweJk4FhMQfpuJpqLO9paKNcNIhNUve0fZO0Wywgvpp2-sMaWpBVlKuC6NPPlR-M/s320/kickerspurs-april2019-a.JPG" width="241" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVcF3M7nm-aMM-sUI4474vwbrQ8vaDM1cATQa4ORDiwl_wFcR_7bfgHypIG9BWPLYtas-p1nv-UQnW7JQ1g6dpovrQQeMr52nWXXa2aIbmmaN1SxysNbqw2GnChSEvbloBhOSO/s1600/kickerspurs-april2019-b.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="966" data-original-width="728" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVcF3M7nm-aMM-sUI4474vwbrQ8vaDM1cATQa4ORDiwl_wFcR_7bfgHypIG9BWPLYtas-p1nv-UQnW7JQ1g6dpovrQQeMr52nWXXa2aIbmmaN1SxysNbqw2GnChSEvbloBhOSO/s320/kickerspurs-april2019-b.JPG" width="241" /></span></a></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(<i>Kicker</i> magazine, Monday 08 April 2019)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For some it's been 18 months in the waiting, or for others 18 years in the making.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But patience has finally paid off for Tottenham Hotspur fans after English club football's second largest stadium finally opened for business.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heung-min Son went down in history as the first man to score a goal in an official game at the North London side's £1billion new ground on the footprint of their old White Hart Lane stadium, almost 120 years after the old venue was opened and two years after it was demolished.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Danish playmaker Christian Eriksen added a late second on Wednesday night as Spurs marked their homecoming with a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace, ending a five-match run without a win and ahead of Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg against Manchester City.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For all its stunning appearance and stirring unveiling, the new stadium has come late and at quite a cost.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wednesday's grand opening began with mock-operatic singing on the field, as well as a marching band, before a burst of fireworks above the north London skyline - as well as a roar of relief fromfans who have spent almost two seasons exiled at Wembley.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet years of delays may well have done Spurs and their supporters plenty of favours - at least in learning lessons of local rivals' new-build hitches.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Arch enemies Arsenal moved into their 60,000-capacity Emirates Stadium in 2006, the year before the FA opened the redeveloped Wembley national stadium. Both have been criticised as soulless barns.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">West Ham United's move into the London 2012 Olympic Stadium left fans complaining about their distance from the pitch, thanks to the original running track.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By comparison, Spurs' new 17,500-capacity single-tier South Stand approaches as close as 4.9 metres from the goalposts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There certainly seemed a mighty racket on Wednesday night, from early choruses in praise of England attacking midfielder Dele Alli onwards - just as there had been in two earlier "test events". One saw 28,987 watching the club's Under-18s beat their Southampton counterparts 3:1 then 41,244 turned out for a Spurs "Legends" game against Internazionale old boys with former favourites such as Jurgen Klinsmann, David Ginola and Paul Gascoigne.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even with the club encouraging people to turn up early on Wednesday, and much-touted bar and restaurant options aimed at keeping people inside the ground rather than neighbouring venues, there were reports of lengthy queues and also beer pumps running dry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There were also the inevitable queues after the game outside Tube and railway stations, which have received only limited upgrades so far despite wrangling between the club and local authority Transport for London.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet most people seemed to come away with beaming faces, perhaps a little bemused where to go in surroundings both familiar and unfamiliar, the new stadium looming like a spaceship above a high road haunted by memories of riots in summer 2011.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tottenham’s current owners ENIC took over the club in 2001 and, in 2008, unveiled plans in 2008 for the Northumberland Park Project – named after a neighbouring green space and overground railway station. Yet it was years before local council permissions could be obtained and work could start.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tottenham spent their last season at the old White Hart Lane with one corner of the ground, on the north-eastern corner, open to the elements as builders worked on the new development.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They did at least finish second in the Premier League that year and see out their last season ‘at the Lane’ unbeaten in 19 home games, with fans invading the pitch as soon as the final whistle blew in their valedictory 2-1 victory over Manchester United.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet hopes of starting 2018-2019 back in Tottenham were denied, and not only after initially warning fans their first ‘home’ game against newly-promoted Fulham would be at Wembley but a September 2018 clash with Liverpool would be the proper homecoming.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Instead they have been confirming Wembley games in a piecemeal way, with delays blamed on problems with electrical alarm systems in the new venue.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tottenham started the season with posters across the London Underground public transport network showing off artists’ impressions of the new stadium and dubbing it ‘The only place to watch Champions League football in London’ - a dig at capital neighbours Arsenal and Chelsea, both consigned to the Europa League.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet they risked mockery when losing their first three Champions League games, only to squeak through with a 1-1 draw in Barcelona, before beating Borussia Dortmund 4-0 on aggregate in the second round to set up a quarter-final against Manchester City.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">UEFA granted special dispensation for Spurs to switch stadia mid-competition and the ground is likely to be packed for next Tuesday’s first leg versus Pep Guardiola’s team,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The price-tag has also soared in recent years, from a mooted £400million to what Levy accepted this week was closer to £1billion - and so far without a naming rights commercial deal, even though kit sponsors Nike are widely expected to step in after agreeing a £30million-a-year, 15-year kit agreement last autumn.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The new stadium, for all the hefty repayments ahead for a club who failed to sign a single player in the last two transfer windows, is expected to double Tottenham’s matchday income from just over £45million to £100million.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Their annual revenue, £380million last year, puts them sixth in the Premier League rankings, suggesting what an impressive job youth-encouraging manager Mauricio Pochettino has done to ensure three consecutive top-four finishes with the prospect of even better ahead.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But Levy - renowned for striking hard bargains over transfer fees, whether incoming or outgoing, would surely feel embarrassed and disappointed if recent poor form continues and sees Spurs begin their new era not in the Champions League again but the Europa League - while also facing flak from fans who believe he should have better invested in players as well as infrastructure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The morale boost of the new stadium could not be better-timed for a Spurs side whose recent form is the worst since Pochettino took charge in 2014.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They went into the Palace match on the back of four defeats in their last six games and just one point from the previous 15 available, having lost 2-1 to Liverpool on Sunday after a last-minute Hugo Lloris error and Toby Alderweireld own goal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pochettino - linked with vacancies at Manchester United and Real Madrid before both clubs recently opted for alternative appointments - described Wednesday night's Palace victory as an occasion he would "remember all my life".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In advance he had declared: "We are going to play in the best stadium in the world and everyone deserves for us to be at our best and compete and win."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet he has also challenged the club to follow up investment in their infrastructure with investment in the playing squad - so that this "World Cup" of a new stadium will have trophies to store and show off some time soon as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tottenham have not lifted silverware, after all, since beating Chelsea in the League Cup final in 2008. The new stadium needs to be filled with cheers, not jeers.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">WHITE HART LANE</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Opened: September 1899</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Demolished: May 2017</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Capacity: 36,284</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cost: £100,050</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most expensive season ticket, 2016-2017: £1,895</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cheapest season ticket, 2016-2017: £765</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First match: Tottenham Hotspur 4 Notts County 1, September 4 1899</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First goalscorer: Tommy McCairns, Notts County, September 4 1899</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First league match: Tottenham Hotspur 1 Queens Park Rangers 0, September 9 1899</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First league goalscorer: Tom Smith, Tottenham Hotspur, September 9 1899</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Final match: Tottenham Hotspur 2 Manchester United 1, May 14 2017</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Record attendance: 75,038, Tottenham Hotspur vs Sunderland, March 5 1938</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Opened: 2019</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Capacity: 62,062</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cost: £1billion</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most expensive adult season ticket, 2018-2019 and 2019-2020: £2,200</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cheapest adult season ticket, 2018-2019 and 2019-2020: £795</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First match: Tottenham U-18s 3 Southampton U-18s 1, March 24 2019</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First goalscorer: J’Neil Bennett, Tottenham U-18s, March 24 2019</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First league match: Tottenham Hotspur 2 Crystal Palace 0, April 3 2019</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First league goalscorer: Heung-min Son, Tottenham Hotspur, April 3 2019</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Features:</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">17,500-seat single-tier stand, the largest in Britain</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">65m-long Goal Line bar, the longest in Europe</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">23,000sq ft retail store – the largest football club shop in Europe</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">60 food and drink outlets</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">32 lifts</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4,155 steps</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7 escalators</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1,800 HD TV screens</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">35,000 decorative tiles</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">30,000 tins of paint used</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1,000 general admission turnstiles</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">324 floodlights</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4,801 panels on the stadium ‘veil’</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">287 glass sections forming the roof</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7,217 tonnes of steel in the single-tier South Stand</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4.9m between South Stand’s front row and the pitch</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most expensive season ticket, 2018-2019: Tottenham Hotspur, £2,200</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cheapest season ticket, 2018-2019: Huddersfield Town, £249</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Other clubs’ most expensive season tickets: Arsenal, £1,768; Chelsea, £1,250; West Ham United, £1,155; Fulham, £1,149; Leicester City, £1,065; Bournemouth, £950; Manchester United, £950; Manchester City, £940; Liverpool. £869</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Largest stadium capacity: Manchester United’s Old Trafford, 74,994</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Smallest stadium capacity: Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium, 11,000</span></i></div>
aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-39314059459543023982018-08-23T17:34:00.002+01:002018-08-23T17:55:28.071+01:00"Nowhere is home for us" - Rohingya massacre survivor's sorrow, one year on...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">A Rohingya refugee gang-raped by soldiers before seeing her family slaughtered and burnt to death in front of her never wants to return to Myanmar, a year on from the massacre.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dildar Begum only has 11-year-old daughter Nur as a comfort and fellow survivor of military-led ‘scorched-earth’ violence that broke out a year ago on Saturday.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">They are among those who managed to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh, where it is now estimated almost 1million of Myanmar’s persecuted ethnic-minority Rohingya refugees are living as a result of the latest crisis.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Aid agencies such as Unicef, who have been helping Dildar and others, are warning on ongoing torture, monsoon flooding risks and a lack of access to food, water and medical aid.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dildar, 30, told how haunting memories of the atrocity - including her husband being stabbed to death in front of her and her daughter being attacked with a machete - are seldom far from her mind but have been exacerbated by the approaching anniversary.</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">She said: ‘Last night I cried because this time last year, I was cooking chicken for my children and preparing the house for Eid - it was a normal day but a few hours later, I lost my family.’</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Soldiers stormed her village of Tula Toli in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, setting homes on fire and prompting her to grab her children and try to run.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">She was carrying her three-year-old daughter and one-year-old son, while Nur was holding her brother aged four - but only Dildar and Nur would survive.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dildar recalled: ‘We didn’t get far because the military were waiting for us.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘They gathered up the men and slaughtered them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘They slaughtered my husband in front of my eyes - I can’t even explain to you the feeling I get when I think of that moment.’</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Women and children were ushered into an empty home, where she was ‘hit over the head with a sharp object and fell unconscious’.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dildar said: ‘When I opened my eyes, I saw that a member of the military was raping me - and then another, and another - but I was unable to move.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘Finally I managed to crawl across the floor and that was when I saw that my three youngest children had been killed and were lying in their own blood next to me.’</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">She found Nur, who was bleeding from the head after being attacked with a machete but also urging her mother to flee because the building was on fire.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">They clambered over bodies, broke a window and managed to escape.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dildar said: ‘There was chaos all around us - people were screaming, everywhere seem to be alight, and there was blood everywhere.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘In total they killed 19 members of my family - they took them all and locked them in a house which they set on fire and everyone burnt to death.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘That day, I feel like I died alongside my family.’</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Some reports have suggestd 200 women and 300 children were killed in the Tula Toli massacre.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The pair managed to hide out in a jungle area for five days without food or water, waiting for military numbers to reduce on the border which they crossed before walking for another seven days.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dildar later discovered at a Bangladeshi hospital that she was pregnant, but miscarried a few weeks later.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">She and Nur found limited refuge at the Hakimpara camp, described by Dildar as ‘a jungle, mud everywhere, no roads - just hundreds of thousands of people’.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">They were given some bamboo and tarpaulin for a shelter but still have head pain as well as nightmares from the attack a year ago.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dildar said: ‘My daughter is all I have now - she is everything to me. I hold her tight every night.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘When I think of my other children, I just squeeze her so tight.’</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Nur attends a Unicef learning centre - one of 1,200 set up - where she can socialise and gain some rudimentary schooling, but Unicef is warning that half a million Rohingya children risk missing out on essential education.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The agency has praised the Bangladeshi government for establishing enough basic services to avert ‘major disease outbreaks - for now’.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">But they are urging the international community to not only support improved education services but also put pressure on the Myanmar government to provide better protection, services and conditions for refugees to return home.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi this week blamed ‘the danger of terrorist activities’ for her country’s crackdown on the Rohingya - but continues to face calls to be stripped of her Nobel Peace Prize for the military’s scorched-earth approach.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dildar, for one, has no plans to go back.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">She said: ‘A year on, I wish we could get some justice for what has happened to us - the Rohingya people.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘One thing I am sure of is that I will never go back to Myanmar ever again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘There is no one left in my village anyway.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘The truth is, we don’t belong anywhere - nowhere is home for us.’</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">For more information or to support Unicef’s Rohingya efforts, see <a href="http://www.unicef.org.uk/donate/rohingya-refugees">www.unicef.org.uk/donate/rohingya-refugees</a></span>aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-31907728855393578352018-06-14T18:19:00.000+01:002018-06-14T18:19:01.400+01:00"Surrounded by love" - Jo Cox's mission continues, two years after her murder...<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Anger, despair and yet also hope are emotions driving the mourning sister of murdered MP Jo Cox as the second anniversary of her shocking killing looms this Saturday.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Kim Leadbeater told Metro she and her family still feel ‘numb’, two years since far-right terrrorist Thomas Mair stabbed and shot the mother-of-two to death in her West Yorkshire constituency.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But she thanked the public for keeping them going with a wave of support - including thousands of events being planned to mark what would have been Mrs Cox’s 44th birthday later this month.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Ms Leadbeater, 42, is spearheading the ‘Great Get Together’, a three-day nationwide celebration first held last year on the first anniversary of the murder.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The events - from music and festivities on London’s South Bank to street parties, coffee mornings and picnics, iftars and communal dog walks - are centred on Mrs Cox’s ‘more in common’ philosophy.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She used the phrase in her maiden Commons speech after being elected for her home constituency of Batley and Spen at the 2015 general election - just 13 months before her violent death aged 41.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Ms Leadbeater is taking the lead ahead of this year’s Great Get Together, with plenty planned for the weekend of June 22-24 - but the pain of suddenly losing her elder sister still lingers, yet inspires.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicLZsJs_wvufgV4vyV4ZnQkFU8MBOfUfccdcWccnEPQ1wYs__v0qyqnxGT5wesP2BMIwmKhRT_oT1_bkkimWGVpZFaQDoMf4TmhXCW1qf0LNsigGWkiEhyHjngZmSvxkJpS7AY/s1600/jocox150618.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="863" data-original-width="1139" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicLZsJs_wvufgV4vyV4ZnQkFU8MBOfUfccdcWccnEPQ1wYs__v0qyqnxGT5wesP2BMIwmKhRT_oT1_bkkimWGVpZFaQDoMf4TmhXCW1qf0LNsigGWkiEhyHjngZmSvxkJpS7AY/s320/jocox150618.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Ms Leadbeater told Metro: ‘I’m still numb. I don’t know when or if that will ever change. I still can’t believe what’s happened.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">‘That is, I know what’s happened - I’m not in denial. But it still seems so strange.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">‘What we decided as a family was to try to produce as much positive energy as possible from the horrific situation we’ve found ourselves in.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">‘That’s partly how we’ve always been as a family - the way Jo and I were brought up - and it’s also what I feel Jo would want us to do, to try to create something in her style.’</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Neo-Nazi Mair was given a whole-life sentence for Mrs Cox’s gun and knife murder a week before the Brexit referendum in June 2016, when she had been campaigning Remain.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">He was heard to shout ‘This is for Britain’ and ‘Britain first’ as he attacked Mrs Cox, who used her final moments to put herself in harm’s way while urging others to escape.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Ms Leadbeater said: ‘There are days when of course I’m angry - it would be wrong to say I’m not.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">‘Sometimes, yes, I do feel in despair.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">‘The important thing is not to give in to those emotions.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">‘We’ve had so much taken away from us as a family, I refuse to have any more taken away.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">‘Jo always tried to create something positive - something for people to hang on to.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">‘And we’ve been so incredibly well-supported. I’ve been surrounded by love.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">‘When people say what a great job we’re doing, that’s what keeps you going - that spurs you on.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">‘Our community could have been totally fractured by what happened but a lot of people came together to make sure that didn’t happen.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">‘I can’t thank people enough for the support they’ve shown us.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">‘The vast majority of people in this country are good - I have to believe that.’</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She fears that too much division still scars the nation’s politics, in a week when Mrs Cox’s friend and Labour backbench colleague Jess Phillips revealed the extent of online ‘trolling’ she receives - including 600 rape threats in one night.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Mrs Cox’s activisim including a drive against loneliness and also a cross-party collaboration with Conservative former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell urging better-targeted humanitarian intervention in Syria.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Ms Leadbeater added: ‘The Great Get Together is about providing a different narrative to the one of division and negativity that seems to exist in the country at times.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">‘Jo was all about bringing people together.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">‘It’s partly about a legacy for Jo but also about uniting people to do something positive.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">‘Yes, we have differences but fundamentally we’re all looking to make human connections - even if that’s just chatting to somebody you might not otherwise.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">‘And that way you’ll find the things we do have in common.’</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">She encouraged anyone organising Great Get Together events to register online, with more information available at </span><a href="http://www.greatgettogether.org/"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">www.greatgettogether.or</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">g</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.</span></div>
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aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-183070463935818002018-06-12T11:22:00.002+01:002018-06-12T12:31:25.913+01:00RIP Gena Turgel...RIP Gena Turgel, who has died in London aged 95 - a Holocaust survivor who shared a concentration camp with and comforted Anne Frank, who herself was born 89 years ago today and was given her first diary 76 years ago today. A privilege to speak to lifelong campaigner Gena ahead of last year's Holocaust Memorial Day...<br />
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<i>January 27, 2017: A Holocaust survivor who survived a concentration camp gas chamber as a child fears the world is suffering a new neo-Nazi rise.</i><br />
<i>Gena Turgel, 91, told Metro that this year’s annual Holocaust Memorial Day today is shrouded by far-right insurgencies in Europe and across the Atlantic.</i><br />
<i>Mrs Turgel, who has lived in London since escaping Nazi Germany in 1945, saw two brothers shot dead by the Nazis and spent four years in three different concentration camps.</i><br />
<i>France’s National Front leader Marine Le Pen is expected to contest the presidential run-off election later this year while hardline right-wing chiefs have come to prominence and power in Hungary, Serbia and Greece.</i><br />
<i>New US president Donald Trump has also been scrutinised over the white supremacist views expressed by some of his closest aides - and his backing from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke.</i><br />
<i>Mrs Turgel, now living in Stanmore in north-west London, said: ‘It’s terrible - I’m very surprised, but these people are criminals.</i><br />
<i>‘They should be arrested, for disturbing the lives of so many others.</i><br />
<i>‘They want to destroy the peace and happiness we’ve tried to build.</i><br />
<i>‘I can’t understand, after all we’ve been through, that children are growing up in this environment.’</i><br />
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<i>She was 16 when the Nazis arrived in the Polish capital Krakow and forced her family to march 35km in freezing cold conditions to a new ghetto.</i><br />
<i>She spent time in three different concentration camps - Plaszov, Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, where she shatred a barrack with Anne Frank - including being subject to experiments ordered by Nazi eugenicist Josef Mengele.</i><br />
<i>She felt certain she was about to be killed when ushered into a Belsen cell, forced to strip naked and await the gas - only for Nazi guards to only spray water instead.</i><br />
<i>Mrs Turgel recalled: ‘I completely lost my voice in that moment - no words could come out.</i><br />
<i>‘I was sure I was about to be sent into a gas chamber to my death, only to somehow escape - I remained traumatised, but it felt like a miracle.’</i><br />
<i>She managed to hold out just in time for the camp’s eventual liberation by Allied forces.</i><br />
<i>She even fell in love with and married Norman Turgel, one of the intelligence officers who came in to Belsen to free her and fellow campmates.</i><br />
<i>Mrs Turgel, a supporter of the Holocaust Education Trust, urged people to heed the warnings from history against demonising minorities and pacifying demagogues.</i><br />
<i>She said: ‘It’s so important that we should never forget what happened - so many innocent people were lost.</i><br />
<i>‘I was a witness to the most systematic destruction of civilisation.</i><br />
<i>‘I just hope my testimony can serve as a memorial.’</i><br />
<i>She was given an MBE in 2000 for services to the Holocaust Foundation, educating children about genocide.</i>aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-10897904855789168322018-05-03T22:46:00.001+01:002018-05-03T22:46:20.291+01:00"Our heroes in a crisis..."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1wnyLAx54Aj8eJp7XHwXFm4gty4OPotADjBaR8dfo0FvqWUIPq99FWnG1vTUyR5Yzkq83AjwmYYTxSGHluF7NwfDehiD40sL2ZPtAOjecWLhu1VnEnDcykC6Rcur12S4x3s1/s1600/metrorankin040518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="927" data-original-width="1090" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1wnyLAx54Aj8eJp7XHwXFm4gty4OPotADjBaR8dfo0FvqWUIPq99FWnG1vTUyR5Yzkq83AjwmYYTxSGHluF7NwfDehiD40sL2ZPtAOjecWLhu1VnEnDcykC6Rcur12S4x3s1/s320/metrorankin040518.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">Terror attacks and the Grenfell Tower
tragedy have made the past 12 months the British Red Cross’s busiest year since
the Second World War, for an army of emergency response volunteers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">More than 1,000 recruits have been
called to the scenes of atrocities over the last year - with many doubling or
even tripling up, helping not only victims and survivors of Grenfell but also
the London Bridge, Finsbury Park mosque and Manchester Arena disasters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">Now a dozen of them are being
celebrated by the charity by featuring in a new photoshoot, unveiled today after being spearheaded by award-winning artist Rankin - ahead of next
week’s Red Cross Week, 148 years since the British branch of the charity was
founded.</span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "segoe ui", sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Simon Lewis, the BRC’s head of
emergency response, told Metro: ‘I’m constantly in awe of our volunteers -
whether it’s the major events of last year or turning up to help flood victims
on Christmas Day or just supporting anyone in need. It’s quite amazing,
really.’</span><o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">Mr Lewis, a police officer for 30
years before joining the British Red Cross in 2010, said: ‘The events we had
last year were so large, and the recovery after Grenfell went on for so many
weeks afterwards, we had to dip into all our volunteer teams.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">‘It doesn’t matter what an incident
is, there are people we need to help who are going through a life-changing
personal crisis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">‘But events like Grenfell last year
were especially harrowing, and not only for victims and survivors but our
volunteers too - all of those right at the sharp end.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">Executive director Zoe Abrams said:
‘Even during these most terrible of times, we also saw the extraordinary power
of human kindness as the country came together to help in any way they could.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">‘For the British Red Cross, last year
was unprecedented in our peacetime history in the UK.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">‘It is through the incredible kindness
and compassion of volunteers like these that we are able to continue supporting
people whenever and wherever crises happen.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">Rankin said: ‘The people in these
images worked day and night alongside the emergency services, he;ping people
cope with what happened.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">‘Their incredible compassion and
support made a difference to so many people in their darkest hour.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">The charity has 20,000 trained
volunteers, many working on rotas and willing to turn up at whatever crisis
might arise - with 3,000 expert in emergency response, only for last year to
force many more into action.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">They deploy 60 vehicles sent to
incidents across Britain, most often house fires where victims can be offered
at least some food, water, clothing and shelter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">Mr Lewis added: ‘We’re responding to
emergencies across the UK every single day, on average six times each day - a
whole range of incidents, even if the Red Cross is best-known for what it does
internationally.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">‘We look to fill that gap there can
be, between what the other authorities and emergency services can provide -
while allowing them to do what they need to do.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">Among the fundraising efforts to which
the British Red Cross contributed were the London Fire Relief Fund which raised
£7.3million for those affected by Grenfell and the UK Solidarity Fund which has
generated £3million for the victims of terror attacks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">They also organised the ‘One Love’ pop
concert at Manchester's Old Trafford cricket ground a fortnight after last May’s terror attack that killed 22
people, alongside headline act Ariana Grande and featuring fellow performers
including Liam Gallagher, Justin Bieber, Coldplay and Little Mix.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The photos and video interviews released today form part
of that the British Red Cross are calling their ‘The Power Of Kindness’
campaign.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>A Romanian medic hurried to help out
at the London Bridge and Finsbury Park terror attacks as well as the Grenfell
Tower fire in between - and now says he finally feels like ‘a real Londoner’.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>Laszlo Kemenen was on his way home from
a gruelling shift counselling Grenfell survivors when he received a call about
a van driven into mosque worshippers last June - and found himself comforting
relatives of a man who died that night.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>He had earlier been among the
volunteers offering support to locals in the days following the London Bridge
terror attacks on June 3 last year that left eight people dead and 48 injured.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>Mr Kemenen, 33, began volunteering for
the Red Cross as a 15-year-old, back home in his Romania’s Harghita county of
eastern Transylvania.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>He moved to London three years ago and
has continued to support aid efforts - having previously done so in Slovenia
and Germany - combining his current volunteering with his day job as an
intensive care practitioner at Whipps Cross hospital in east London.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>Reflecting on last year’s upheavals,
he told Metro: ‘I felt so shocked, as everybody else, that these things were
happening again - I couldn’t believe it.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>‘Living in London, it feels even more
personal - you know people involved.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>‘But even with the training I’d had, I
was asking myself: am I up to the task? Can I really help? It’s a massive
challenge.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>‘When I arrived on the scene there was
still bleach on the pathways, to try to cover up the blood, as well as so many
flowers and messages - it gets very personal, it really hits you.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>He spent much of his time with a
homeless woman traumatised by the attack, which was carried out by three
terrorists who were shot dead by police.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>He said: ‘She needed help - some
accommodation, some contact with support services, and tracking down
possessions she’d lost.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>‘Thankfully we managed to find her
somewhere to stay.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>Within days he was heading to west
London to help colleagues in the aftermath of the Grenfell blaze, providing
psychological and practical support for survivors, victims’ families and nearby
residents in the Westway Sports Centre.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>He said: ‘The sadness and desperation
of people, after such a massive loss of life - you feel so helpless, not being
able to change what’s happened, but all the emergency services do their best to
do what they can.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>‘The local community mobilised so well
as well - it was fantastic to see people coming together, bringing in food or
clothing or furniture or any other items they could.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>‘Whe I got there the fire was out but
people were living in the rest centre, surrounded by a weird quiet calm but
survivors comforting each other for the loved ones they’d lost.’<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>He raced to try to comfort a family
desperately searching for a missing uncle, two agonising days after the blaze -
but who were also keen to stress to volunteers just how much they appreciated
their presence and input.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>Mr Kemenen said: ‘Those were some of
the most harrowing moments, really tough on those night shifts.’<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>Just as he was heading home on the
Tube to Leytonstone in east London, from Grenfell, he learnt late at night on
June 19 of the Finsbury Park attack - when far-right activist Darren Osborne
deliberately drove his van into Muslim worshippers leaving an evening service
at the nearby mosque.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>Mr Kemenen recalled: ‘I wondered, can
I respond, but the Red Cross was really, really stretched while setting up a
relief centre really, really quickly - and I realised how serious it all was.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>‘When I got there, there was the
family of the man who sadly passed away - they needed help and comfort.’<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>He added: ‘The Red Cross is, in my
opinion, the biggest fanily in the world.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>‘Here, you always know you can rely on
your colleagues for support, knowing we’re all human - but these are also
amazing people helping everyone they can.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>‘Until last year I felt like just
another incomer in the UK, but after the attacks I saw how the whole city came
together and felt I’d tried to do my best to help and be a part of this spirit
of London.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>‘Now I feel like more of a real
Londoner rather than a foreigner.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>‘It’s really sad, everything that’s
happened, but there are lots of people trying to make a difference.’<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">A mother helped a survivor of the
Manchester Arena blast come through a panic attack when returning to the scene
of the trauma - and came to the aid of a child who escaped the Grenfell Tower
blaze while he wondered whether his mother would choose to save him or his
sister.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">Julia Reason, 51, helped comfort
mourning relatives as well as traumatised NHS staff at Oldham hospital’s morgue
in the days following the Manchester terror attack before helping out at the
tribute concert a fortnight later - and also headed to London to support victims of
the Grenfell fire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">She recalls most vividly a young boy
coming into the rescue centre outside Grenfell and asking his own mother
whether she would have chosen to save first him or his sister.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">And she also hurried to the aid of a
girl who had survived the May 22 attack at Manchester Arena that killed 22
people and injured more than 500 but who felt overcome when attending the gig
at the nearby Old Trafford cricket ground, for the ‘One Love’ memorial concert
held two weeks later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">Mrs Reason, from Warrington in
Cheshire, remembered: ‘It was the strangest feeling being there that night -
you had people elated at the phenomenal music but then others who were
obviously emotionally troubled, especially when coming into the arena or coming
out - mostly coming out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">‘One of the older teenagers was having
a panic attack, really struggling to make her way through the doors because it
brought back memories of her escaping the attack.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">‘I took my jacket off and put it
around her, giving her a hug, and slowly she started to come round and did
manage to get through.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">She describes her efforts at the
morgue in the days following the attack as mainly providing ‘hugs and boxes of
tissues’ but she and colleagues were providing psychological support and
counselling, as well as practical guidance as to other social services.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">SHe said: ‘No words can put things
right but you just try to offer whatever support people reach out for.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">Mrs Reason herself shed tears when
reading the cards and tributes left among the flowers piling up at the scene
and across Manchester city centre in the attack’s aftermath, as well as when a
minute’s silence was held three days on from the tragedy - before a spontaneous
chorus of the Oasis song Don’t Look Back In Anger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">She said: ‘To protect myself I found I
had to keep away from the flowers and cards - reading them affected me too
much.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">‘There were times when you had to give
yourself five or ten minutes away from the scene to regroup in your own mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">‘But the minute’s silence, in that big
circle around the floral tributes, and then the singing of Don’t Look Back In
Anger was amazing - a very powerful moment.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">Mrs Reason, who has two children, two
stepchildren and five grandchildren, started volunteering for the British Red
Cross eight years ago after being made redundant from her job as a truck
driver.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">She said: ‘I just wanted to do
something different to fill my time.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">Much of her emergency response efforts
are in a British Red Cross caravan which attends scenes such as house fires as
well as more high-profile events such as last year’s terror attacks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">She added: ‘Last year was just
unbelievable for the British Red Cross - the loss of life and the injuries
caused by terror attacks and Grenfell was masssive and I felt humbled to be
part of that humanitarian response.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">‘And to also see just how much
community support there was was also overwhelming - so many people pulling
together.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">She travelled down to west London to
provide similar help ay the Westway Sports Centre near Grenfell.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">Among those coming in for help was the
mother of a schoolboy who lost friends in the blaze and who was ‘really
struggling’.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">Mrs Reason recalled: ‘He turned to her
and asked: “Who would you save, Mummy - me or my sister?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">‘For a child to even think and say
that was heartbreaking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">‘We made a call to a team of
psychologists and got an instant referral, which at least felt like some small
achievement at least.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>The horror of the Grenfell Tower block
blaze prompted a grandmother living in a rural and remote Northern Irish
village to battle her fear of flying and board a plane to rush to help out.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>Pearl Mullan, 57, from the
1,800-population village of Ballykelly in Londonderry, overcame her instincts
when heading across the Irish Channel after being traumatised by last June’s
tragedy.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>It was both her first time on a plane
and in London - though she has returned since, to take part in the Rankin
photoshoot celebrating such British Red Cross volunteers for their ongoing
efforts.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>She said: ‘I almost felt more nervous
getting on that first plane than I did helping out at Grenfell.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>‘But I knew I had to put my name
forward and go and do my bit - no matter how small, any contribution at all
that might help someone.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>‘I come from a wee country village and
I’d never been in a situation like that before, but I wanted to offer any
services and anything I could.’<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>Mrs Mullan worked in the relief centre
based at the nearby Westway Sports Centre next-door to the tower where 71
people were killed by the blaze in the early hours of last June 14.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>She and colleagues were not only
handing out supplies such as food, water, ‘even nappies’. but also emotional
aid and guidance towards other support services.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>She said: ‘It was also really humbling
to see how many people from the local community came out to do whatever they
could too.’<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>She started volunteering for the
British Red Cross 12 years ago after being inspired by medics who helped save
the life of her son Lee when he suffered a heart attack aged 19.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>Mrs Mullan, a primary school worker
who has two other sons and four grandchildren, said: ‘I’d always wanted to
volunteer and realised this was the cause that felt closest to me, to know that
if something ever happened you’d know how to help.’<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">A Red Cross volunteer who lives in the
shadow of the Grenfell Tower was moved to help after spotting the blaze raging
from her window.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">Farheen Chaudhry, 43, now wakes every
morning to be reminded of the tragedy, as she cannot avoid seeing the skeletal
shell of the burnt-out building.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">But along with her sadness she feels
proud of the efforts by both the British Red Cross and other members of the
local community who did all they could in the immediate aftermath - while
regretting they could not do even more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">While many relief efforts were based
at the Westway Sports Centre, she was among those helping out at both the
nearby Notting Hill Methodist Church and local mosques - providing information
and advice as well as practical goods.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">She has been volunteering for the
British Red Cross for the past two years, specialising in refugee support and
emergency response.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">She said: ‘When I opened the blinds on
the morning of the fire, it was surreal - I could see that the tower was on
fire and that there was smoke, and helicopters circling overhead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">‘Straight away I knew that this was
going to be a huge emergency as I had worked in disaster and emergency zones
before and understood the implications.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">‘When I first signed up to be an
emergency response volunteer with the British Red Cross, I certainly didn’t
expect that my local neighbourhood was going to experience an emergency like
this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">‘Meeting people who had lost someone
in the fire, or who had seen what happened up close, was the most emotionally
taxing part.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "segoe ui" , sans-serif; font-size: 9.0pt;">‘I just wanted to help in some small way
and I often wished that I could have done more - I have always felt that I just
could not do enough.’</span></div>
aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-33704623167260029662017-12-04T13:18:00.003+00:002017-12-05T11:27:20.856+00:00"Old songs lose young meanings - but new ones, they gain..."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>“Old songs lose young meanings</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>But new ones, they gain...”</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The lyric may come from a different song - his <a href="https://youtu.be/zxvLnLLJopI" target="_blank">First Song</a>, indeed - but the sentiments resonate here at least when it comes to Ralph McTell and his most famous masterpiece.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Streets Of London has been re-recorded and re-released to mark its half-century and also that of the anti-homelessness charity Crisis - and McTell tells of his despair that his most famous track remains relevant so long after first recording it, with rising numbers of people living on the streets.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Guest vocalist Annie Lennox performs on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/streets-london-feat-crisis-choir-guest-vocalist-annie/1312948636?app=itunes" target="_blank">the new recording released today</a> - with all sale proceeds to the charity - alongside an 88-voice choir made up of not only charity workers but some of the homeless people they help.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The song, first released in 1967 before reaching number two in the charts <a href="https://youtu.be/rerfPzczNVM" target="_blank">seven years later</a>, urges understanding and compassion for the homeless, with the chorus: ‘Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London.’</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">McTell, who turned 73 on Sunday, said: ‘The first time I recorded it, it was an after-thought on an album - but now it’s become so much bigger.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘Yet the situation on the streets remains the same - it’s like we’re almost inured to it now, these scenes on the streets that I thought back then no civilised nation should ever expect to see.’</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">He first wrote the melody while busking in Paris and was encouraged to add words ‘to your nice little tunes’ by fellow-guitarist Gary Peterson - although the lyrics were inspired by vagrants he saw walking along Surrey Street Market in his native Croydon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The choir on the track released today was conducted by Only Men Aloud’s Tim Rhys-Evans while guitar parts were provided by Fairport Convention’s Richard Thompson.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://t.co/NeqL62PFic" target="_blank">Crisis</a> plans to open 13 centres for more than 4,000 homeless guests over Christmas.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The charity’s chief executive Jon Sparkes said: ‘Our heartfelt thanks go to Ralph McTell, Annie Lennox and all Crisis clients and staff who lent their voices to this record.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘The vital funds and awareness it will raise will help us support even more people facing homelessness this Christmas. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘It’s 50 years since Crisis was founded as an urgent response to an unacceptable situation – and it’s nothing less than a tragedy that we are still here today when homelessness should be a thing of the past.’</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">McTell explained : ‘Over the years my son Tom has taken over my career management and he said to me, “Dad, it’s time we did a charity version of Streets Of London.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘The idea was to put down a backing track and have lots of different artists sing a line each, like the BBC's <a href="https://youtu.be/dfddYDRIFGY" target="_blank">Perfect Day</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘Suddenly Crisis came in, having had a similar idea, and said they had their own choir available which made it very special - made up of some of their clients and some of their staff.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘I thought, if that doesn’t bring a tear to a glass eye at Christmas then nothing will.’</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">He praises Lennox’s vocals, although admits the new version is ‘very very different’ to his various recordings of the song in the past.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘What I wanted from it now was to be a kind of secular Christmas carol and I think we’ve come pretty close.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘I did it at the London Palladium recently and the Crisis choir joined me on stage - people were quite visibly moved.’</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">He did have to correct the choir on some of the lyrics they had found misquoted online - including the first verse about ‘the old man in the closed-down market’.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘There are some really dodgy versions knocking around, with the wrong chords and the wrong words.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘I had to explain the man was “kicking up the papers” not “picking up the papers” - to show more of a movement.’</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Despite a 50-year career including more than 300 songs, he admits he may be seen by some as the quintessential ‘one-hit wonder’ - but takes pride in both his back catalogue and the one that stands out for so many.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Late-Nineties comedy sketch show Big Train featured <a href="https://youtu.be/p1YNEtaHbzA" target="_blank">a scene suggesting audience-members can be stupefied should he dare to play any other song but Streets Of London</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">But he insists he rejoices in playing the same song every night - feeling pleasure anew, when sensing how an audience’s instincts surge when those opening chords and their delicate interplay kick in.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">He said: ‘I’m thankful I can enter that emotional side of the song every time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘Even if I did begin to feel cynical about it, I don’t see how I could for long with a song that seems to mean so much to other people - there’s a change in the room when it starts.’</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">He suggests some bemusement at the Big Train sketch too, not understanding why it might be funny - not only for the claim he might bristle at playing the same song over and over, but that his loyal audience would demand it anyway.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘I didn’t get that at all when I saw it - I thought, that’s not very funny, although apparently it is.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘I’m sure that as far as the general public sees me, it’s as the personification of the one-hit wonder but for me, I feel so lucky I have a loyal audience that knows all the songs which all have their place.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘When last year we did a concert of the 20 songs fans have voted for as their favourites, I was very relieved to find Streets wasn’t the most popular - it was up there, but by far the winner was <a href="https://youtu.be/Kb92tJkSmrw" target="_blank">From Clare To Here</a>.'</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Streets Of London has been covered more than 200 times, including by the late Glen Campbell who made it </span><a href="https://youtu.be/uHbAPwAkcTM" style="font-family: times, "times new roman", serif;" target="_blank">a regular part of his stage show</a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> - each time praising the song as one of his favourites.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">McTell said: ‘His version would have to be up there among the best. He was very generous about it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘I also love <a href="https://youtu.be/NdKY8IzhEZI" target="_blank">the cover Sinead O’Connor did</a>. Sinead has this childlike innocence about certain songs. She was very moved by it and does quote it quite a lot.’</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">He is a warm and wise presence down the phone, just as on record or in concert, even giving over time in the morning away from celebrations for his 73rd birthday and his grand-daughter’s sixth.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Favourites of his own, right now, don’t include Streets but instead <a href="https://youtu.be/uX_NVgZnoTc" target="_blank">The Ferryman</a> from 1971 and the more recent <a href="https://youtu.be/2Lx2GDAe4ko" target="_blank">West 4th Street And Jones</a> - a reflection on 1962 and that year’s second <a href="https://bobdylan.com/albums/freewheelin-bob-dylan/" target="_blank">“Freewheelin’” Bob Dylan album</a>, all the promise in the air for folk music and the world beyond, only for the following year’s JFK assassination to bring in a bleaker awakening.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘It was the beginning of what was going to be our time - on the album cover there’s Dylan and his girlfriend, they may be a young couple living in squalid conditions but they were free - yet there was hope and then despair.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘The times we’re in now seem similar - we have a madman in charge of the free world, the nuclear threat is growing and yet despite it all, people are falling in love every day and life goes on.’</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thank you, Ralph, for your time and your generosity towards someone gushing about tapes heard as a kid, attempted finger-picking riffs on an acoustic - including notes in a 1984 book borrowed from Barnet library in which he admits one nifty acoustic riff on <a href="https://youtu.be/8TeFzyEpcg0" target="_blank">Nettle Wine</a> is unplayable on stage due to a fortuitous tape-snipping edit.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">My dad greeted Ralph to a folk club he helped run in Newport in Shropshire at the turn of the Sixties into the Seventies and has occasionally promised to root around for the reel-to-reel tape recordings he made back then.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">My mum ran a kids’ theatre troupe, the One World Players, named for the annual One World Week, and one of our arms-around-everyone numbers would of course be Streets - and my brothers have passed on a love of such songs their own kids, with two presently living in Nigeria singing Streets with their school choir in a local ‘Peace Cafe’.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Seven-year-old Eva suggests, however, her favourite of his is <a href="https://youtu.be/G3TT89wxkdk" target="_blank">Let Me Down Easy</a>.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Mulling it all over, I may have to agree.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Although, then again, there’s the jauntily subtle tragedy of <a href="https://youtu.be/GKfl2QLPVaA" target="_blank">Maginot Waltz</a>, or the heartaching <a href="https://youtu.be/mz-txn6KedQ" target="_blank">Factory Girl</a> - the spindly jitteriness of <a href="https://youtu.be/x1bLYVcfG04" target="_blank">Spiral Staircase</a>, or the filigree finger-picking and clipped lyrics of mini-melodrama <a href="https://youtu.be/goT6HNjbLGk" target="_blank">Terminus</a>, or else the sagely poetic counselling of <a href="https://youtu.be/YilElCSa81g" target="_blank">After Rain</a>.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ah, the soft crack of the voice in a moment towards the end of nostalgic <a href="https://youtu.be/HohwI_D7gX8" target="_blank">Mrs Adlam's Angels</a> - or the humane imagination of others' relationships and lives such as fictional(?) <a href="https://youtu.be/pBjl6voVQ_I" target="_blank">Naomi</a>, all-too-real <a href="https://youtu.be/8y-N8sw_6Z0" target="_blank">Sylvia</a>, compassionately-celebrated <a href="https://youtu.be/eoShjY-mWsY" target="_blank">Michael In The Garden</a> or matey neighbour <a href="https://youtu.be/4zNhI4u1h1E" target="_blank">Mr Connaughton</a>.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The questing wrangles with faith, whether in the wrought <a href="https://youtu.be/XdUnmCV3X2c" target="_blank">Jesus Wept</a> or virtuoso <a href="https://youtu.be/XE5pcE4QlYo" target="_blank">Hands Of Joseph</a>, or war whether within factional villages with their <a href="https://youtu.be/BqEL1W-gPAc" target="_blank">Peppers And Tomatoes</a> or a nation's anxious streets on the verge in <a href="https://youtu.be/Ff4DdZfxxfA" target="_blank">England 1914</a> - or a search for a non-nationalistic patriotism in <a href="https://youtu.be/IJKMG4O9zwE" target="_blank">England</a>.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Or just how simple life (say, <a href="https://youtu.be/IL8NQGbh_0I" target="_blank">Summer Girls</a>) and love (say, <a href="https://youtu.be/tcaXK6g7oLU" target="_blank">Dreams Of You</a>) and heartfelt fervour (say, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/track/6YEyccXqIcCwjQYJlPnZ28" target="_blank">Words I Couldn't Say</a>) or despair (say, <a href="https://t.co/qymiujSW9B" target="_blank">I'm Not Really Blue</a>) or denial (say, <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwidjI764PLXAhWObVAKHT5vAEoQFghFMAc&url=https%3A%2F%2Fopen.spotify.com%2Ftrack%2F6Ndmb3X3SShOoLfUolfJUY&usg=AOvVaw13lB6_cUEu05FvdGx08VgG" target="_blank">I Don't Think About You</a>) and hopeful just a few reminders (say, <a href="https://youtu.be/21nkwCldq2E" target="_blank">Nanna's Song</a>) can come to us all.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Perhaps, instead, the simple transcendence of an appreciative mermaid for an audience and a handy seagull for a cab - and <a href="https://youtu.be/sORl_nR5Ecs" target="_blank">the words just seem to float on by, maybe you've had the feeling</a>...</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Not to mention that <a href="https://youtu.be/a7ZHjQzU8V0" target="_blank">ever-deft way around an acoustic guitar, any rag-time</a>.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Too too many to choose from, then - ah, just explore the man’s entire ouevre.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">‘Let me take you by the hand...’</span></i>aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-74079405676729228052017-11-16T10:15:00.001+00:002017-11-16T10:15:13.730+00:00Fall from grace - tyrant Mugabe finally toppled...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The downfall of Robert Mugabe - the Marxist teacher turned revolutionary pioneer turned globally-reviled tyrant - has been an agonisingly long time coming.<br />
He has ruled - and ruined - Zimbabwe for all of its 37 years since winning independence, a victory for which he claimed much of the credit.<br />
He has been variously described as ‘the lion of Africa’ and ‘a wily old crocodile’, known as ‘Uncle Bob’ to supporters and ‘Mad Bob’ to critics - and he had plenty of both, after seizing unprecedented power but bankrupting his country and brutalising millions.<br />
Mineral-rich Zimbabwe used to be known as ‘the breadbasket of Africa’, prosperous on the back of its diamond and gold mines and expanses of fertile land.<br />
But under Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF party it has become one of the world’s poorest - with infrastructure left to rot, schools and hospitals neglected, families left in near-famine conditions and opponents bullied, tortured and murdered.<br />
A cholera epidemic in 2008 killed almost 4,300 people, at a time of economic meltdown when inflation soared as high as 500billion per cent, ransacked supermarkets lay empty and bank queues for the following morning would begin to form each afternoon.<br />
<a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.co.uk/2010/06/zimbabwe-in-december-2008.html" target="_blank">An undercover visit by Metro in December 2008 when foreign journalists were banned</a> found piles of unburied corpses dating back weeks, hospital patients languishing outdoors attached to drips looped around branches, and children obliviously swigging from rubbish-crammed, contaminated streams.<br />
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‘Oh, it’s been a tough time,’ sighed an assistant at Beitbridge’s hospital morgue, while swinging open three fridge doors to reveal 18 corpses.<br />
Another hospital official revealed: ‘I can go to any cholera outbreak in the world after this, knowing I can’t see anything worse.’<br />
Opposition activists described their ordeals of torture and imprisonment - some in their seventies told of being attacked with cane sticks matted with thorns and left for dead miles from their homes, with bullets placed ominously in their bruised hands.<br />
Many more were not so fortunate, finding themselves or loved ones mercilessly murdered.<br />
Grace Nyamayaro, the same age as Mugabe, told how his ZANU-PF thugs abducted and killed both her husband and her son, leaving her to bring up alone her HIV-positive grand-daughter on the outskirts of Bulawayo.<br />
She declared: ‘He’s a devil, a devil. He’s killing people. He’s killing his own people.’<br />
Zimbabwe just about held back from the brink of collapse back then, with Mugabe making some concessions.<br />
He entered into a power-sharing agreement with opposition party Movement for Democratic Change, appointing MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai as his deputy in 2009 - although many saw it as a tactical move, allowing Mugabe to shift the blame for his country’s struggles.<br />
Mugabe was rewarded with a more convincing majority in 2013 elections, despite official observers raising concerns about widespread irregularities, many voters blocked on spurious grounds while others were registered despite being long-dead.<br />
Mugabe had initially become a hero not only to black Zimbabweans but also many across Africa for victory in the country’s independence wars of the 1970s.<br />
After gaining several correspondence course degrees - including one from London University - he worked as a teacher before becoming more politically-active in the 1960s, first with the National Democratic Party and then the banned Zimbabwe African People’s Union.<br />
He served several spells in political detention but escaped to Mozambique in 1974 and led the armed struggle against Ian Smith’s white supremacist rule over what was then Southern Rhodesia.<br />
Margaret Thatcher’s government brokered a deal in 1979 that toppled Smith and the following year Mugabe became prime minister of newly-independent Zimbabwe.<br />
His title became president in 1988 and he has been the country’s presiding force throughout, ruthlessly purging opponents both outside and within his ZANU-PF party - until now, that is.<br />
He turned his back on early promises to co-operate with Zimbabwe’s wealthy white minority, sending in independence war ‘veterans’ to violently seize farms especially from 2000 onwards - action that left many areas ruined, causing widespread food shortages.<br />
Claims of vote-rigging also saw Zimbabwe suspended in March 2002 from the Commonwealth, which he has dubbed an ‘Anglo-Saxon unholy alliance’.<br />
Britain has been the target of many splenetic Mugabe rants and in 2008 he dismissed Zimbabwe’s cholera epidemic as a UK plot and pretext to invade.<br />
But others have suggested his British obsession comes from a desire to be honoured by the Queen and welcomed by a nation where he and his wife Grace enjoyed shopping at Harrods, in stark contrast to the starvation and suffering back home.<br />
Wellington Chibhebhe, a regular target for state persecution during his time as secretary-general of the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions, told Metro: ‘Whoever’s seen to be anti the regime here now is automatically labeled “British”.<br />
‘But this all comes not from Mugabe’s hatred for the British, but his love for the British – he just feels neglected by the country.<br />
‘He’s described himself as the biggest admirer of the Queen, and Harrods records show he was one of their best customers.<br />
‘Even if he was traveling to somewhere like China, he’d go through London to do his shopping.’<br />
<i>Just days ago the Harrods-loving shopaholic first lady dubbed ‘Gucci Grace’ looked like getting her hands on that most prized possession: the presidency of Zimbabwe.</i><br />
<i>The flamboyant second Mrs Mugabe has drawn global attention for her shopping sprees abroad - especially her love of Ferramago heels - which have inspired nicknames including ‘Gucci Grace’, ‘DisGrace’ and ‘The First Shopper’.</i><br />
<i>Until yesterday at least, she was also that rare figure - someone in Zimbabwe who could tell Mr Mugabe what to do.</i><br />
<i>In a tape recording from 2014 that only emerged last year, he can be heard complaining his wife seldom cooks for him, before adding: ‘She is strong-headed. She is someone who if she says I want this, she will not back down and you will have to give in, in order to maintain peace in the family.’</i><br />
<i>Mrs Mugabe has also emerged as a formidable political figure - and fighter - in her own right back home, where her cultivation of support among the ruling ZANU-PF party’s youth wing aroused suspicion among military chiefs.</i><br />
<i>When Mr Mugabe dismissed vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa last week, he was planning to install his wife in the role instead - lining her up to succeed her 93-year-old husband when he dies.</i><br />
<i>Those ambitions now appear to lie in ruins, however, after yesterday’s military coup by Mr Mnangagwa’s own supporters - many of them veterans of the 1970s independence war that brought Mr Mugabe to power in the first place.</i><br />
<i>Both Mr and Mrs Mugabe had been married before - he to the late Sally Hayfron, she to air force pilot Stanley Goreraza - but began their affair when Sally was dying from cancer, while Grace was working in the president’s typing pool.</i><br />
<i>Their extravagant wedding in 1996 - when she was 31, he 72, and they already had two of their children together - included a Catholic mass at a church and 40,000 guests including Nelson Mandela.</i><br />
<i>Mrs Mugabe’s overseas shopping trips have contributed to her reputation for wanton excess.</i><br />
<i>Visiting Paris in 2003 she spent a quickfire £75,000, while both she and her husband have made clear their fondness for Harrod’s in London - close to their favoured, four-star St James’s Court Hotel near Buckingham Palace.</i><br />
<i>The European Union imposed sanctions in 2002 that banned the couple, as well as dozens more Zimbabwean officials, from travelling within the EU - but this did not stop the Paris trip the following year.</i><br />
<i>And Mr Mugabe was also given permission to attend Pope John Paul II’s funeral in Rome in 2005, where he ambushed Prince Charles with a handshake.</i><br />
<i>Ordinary Zimbabweans plunged into poverty and famine have been given plenty of cause for resentment, as she oversaw the building of two opulent new palaces for the couple - rich with gold leaf and marble columns, although one would be sold to Libya’s late dictator Colonel Muammar Gadaffi.</i><br />
<i>She has also stage-managed ostentatious public birthday parties for Mr Mugabe, with his 93rd last February costing a reported £2million and featuring a 93kg cake and 150 cattle local farmers were told to donate.</i><br />
<i>Mrs Mugabe has often appeared impervious to criticism and ridicule from outside Zimbabwe, whether for her spending or the doctorate she celebrated receiving in 2014 just two months after notionally beginning her University of Zimbabwe studies.</i><br />
<i>She and her bodyguards were accused of lashing out at a photographer in Hong Kong in 2009, causing cuts with her sharp diamond rings, and this August she was alleged to have attacked a young model in South Africa with an extension cord’s plug.</i><br />
<i>And her support for her husband at least has remained steadfast - he approvingly greeted one speech she gave in his honour last February by laughing: ‘Fireworks, isn’t it?’</i><br />
Not so amusing for anyone else.<br />
Andrew Maziye Sithole, a 70-year-old veteran of repeated beatings, told <i>Metro </i>in 2008: ‘Zimbabwe is a country with a heart of gold - but the teeth of Mugabe.<br />
‘‘He’s killing innocent people. Every day they’re dying. Only when he leaves will we see the sun rise.’<br />
Even if Mugabe’s long and grim reign really is now over, however, the horizon still looks gloomy across a ravaged nation.<br />
<br />aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-53071229938359170582017-08-09T02:20:00.003+01:002020-08-08T01:39:13.268+01:00"Well, I really don't mind the rain and a smile can hide all the pain..."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span lang=""><span face=""><br /></span></span>
<span lang=""><span face="">A lyric leapt to mind the moment it was finally confirmed tonight, as sadly long anticipated, that this world had lost Glen Campbell.</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">No, not the wonderful ones everyone's sharing, about needing more than wanting and wanting for all time. Not here in this head, anyway, heartaching as they are - but instead:</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face=""><em><a href="https://youtu.be/SkmJ0Qys-uM" target="_blank">"You take a K, an E - you add an N and a T - a U and a C K Y: and that spells Kentucky, but it means Paradise..."</a></em></span></span><br />
</span><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />
<span lang=""><span face="">And how, with those innocuous words, a tape suggested by this kid to be played in the family car was abruptly stopped and hurled back by parents whose tastes had always seemed so fair and indulgent of, well, anyone who came to fame in the Fifties and Sixties.</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">Glen, then, a decade or so (and then) ago must have seemed too cheesy a choice - that parents could rebuke a teenage son for musical conservatism, somehow. </span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">Perhaps it was his all-American entertainment-man appeal/image. The tan. The country-riffin' guitar-lickin'. Not the Christianity so much as the <b><i>Republican</i></b> religiosity. Or maybe, mind, that time he went off the rails with so-much-younger Tanya Tucker. Or off the roads, drink-driving. </span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">Or simply that early song itself, a country hoedown extolling Kentucky fried chicken with everything but a white suit, bowtie and goatee.</span><br />
<br />
<span face="">(<span face="">Ah, listen to that sound: <em>"You take a chicken and you kill it and you put in a skillet and you fry it up a-golden brown - that's Southern cooking, and it's mighty nice..."</em> Hm.)</span></span><span face=""></span><br />
<span face="">But fun as I insisted the song could be heard, that abrupt cut-off - just as Glen was about to get enjoyably, enjoyingly going - denied us all, for that car trip at least, the far more heartful emotions ahead.</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">Why, the very next track on that compilation was <a href="https://youtu.be/ETkzK9pXMio" target="_blank">"Gentle On My Mind"</a>, deftly misleadingly jaunty in his heartstrung strumalong and tugalong in a yearning way Dean Martin's tossed-off version entirely misses.</span><br />
<span face="">(Recently christened a new record player this way: "...you're moving on the back roads, by the rivers of my memory, and for hours you're just..." <a href="https://twitter.com/aidanrad/status/895023543448162305">https://twitter.com/aidanrad/status/895023543448162305</a>)</span><br />
<span style="opacity: 0; position: absolute;">https://twitter.com/aidanrad/status/895023543448162305</span><br />
<span face="">
<span style="opacity: 0; position: absolute;">https://twitter.com/aidanrad/status/895023543448162305</span></span><span face="">Or else, say, <a href="https://youtu.be/mUg5p3BncuQ" target="_blank">"By The Time I Get To Phoenix"</a>, whose lyrics could these 21st-century days be decried as "ghosting" - while also feeling like the other side of The Beatles' "For No One".</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face=""><a href="https://youtu.be/s17Be3PZA8c" target="_blank">"Where's The Playground, Susie?"</a> Ardently pleading, if ultimately resigned.</span></span><br />
<span lang=""><br />
<span face=""><a href="https://youtu.be/DAPCYoVEjv0" target="_blank">"Try A Little Kindness"</a>? Ardently somehow optimistic (and what riffing, again, Glen the guitar hero). An anthem for, alas, better days than these.</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">All were to come, on that particular collection - one of very very many, when it comes to Glen. But also all that lies behind. After all, "Kentucky Means Paradise" was near the start of Glen Campbell's <b><i>singing</i></b> career, jokily hokey as it launched him.</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">As a session man <i>par excellence</i>, he was lead guitarist to go to for the Wrecking Crew - splaying lines on the likes of Frank Sinatra's "Strangers In The Night" while also filling in live with the Beach Boys for a studio-bound Brian Wilson.</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">That Zelig of the US Sixties songwriting world PF Sloan wrote in his memoir, <i>What's Exactly The Matter With Me?</i>, published not long before his death in 2015: </span><br />
<span face=""></span><br />
<span face=""><em>"Glen Campbell didn't read music. He didn't need to. He was a 'feel' player, and he had liquid fingers. They would fly over the neck of the guitar and bring hoots and hollers from all the cats in the studio. When I first met him, he was being groomed as a recording artist, but nobody really took it seriously. He was on most of the Jan & Dean records, and he was an integral part of the Wrecking Crew. He was an easygoing guy and liked to crack jokes, though he was still somewhat shy. He liked people, though, and people liked him."</em></span><br />
<span face=""><em>
</em></span><br />
<span face="">Cracking jokes, and cracking out riffs - thankfully there are so many examples both on record and now online that can testify both to Glen's guitar technique and affable interaction, with band and audience alike.</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face=""> Capitol rereleased a few years ago his run of late-Sixties albums, combining the hits - <a href="https://youtu.be/COYExBd2ztg" target="_blank">"True Grit"</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/-HFCuBLAjXo" target="_blank">"Wichita Lineman"</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/hsFUySRnTfA" target="_blank">"Honey Come Back"</a> - with a few more countrified filler and recordings from some of his live shows.</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">And what live shows. </span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">One hailed as "Live At Garden State Arts Center" - not just on the sleeve or Spotify listings, but a Tannoy-er off-stage - opens with a brass-parping medley of <a href="https://youtu.be/MUvalRIklCU" target="_blank">"More" dipping subtly into West Side Story's "Somewhere"</a>. His tenor hits every note with delicacy, except - alas - perhaps the very last one. But still - it's a raucous while sweepingly melodic joy, throughout.</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">Even before Glen welcomes the applause at the end with, well, this: "Thank you much. Thank you. Hey, thank you much. Feels good when you go like that. Kinda like warm hands on a cold morning. Feels real good, if you're a cow. Thank you much..."</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">(Cut quickly to plenty of "brrrr" and "hiccup" sound effects pockmarking a quickfire, quicksilver guitar rush through <a href="https://youtu.be/uTYbCAw5ahU" target="_blank">"White Lightning"</a>...) </span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">Much more such banter is essential to the all-round entertainer Glen Campbell "Good Time" brand, that that got him primetime US TV showtime shows with guests from across the spectrum.</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face=""><em>But how come every time, he switches...?</em></span><br />
<span face=""><em>
</em></span><br />
<span face="">Listen to his delicate and cutting take on Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" - never mind Judy Collins, pure and clarion as her version is. And yet the version on a Glen Campbell record lacks a little something compared to his TV show duet with Leslie Uggams. Or maybe that's only because they introduce such a self-searching song with jocular back-and-forth about how young they were, starting out in this here entertainment industry.</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face=""><em><a href="https://youtu.be/IQNw4C1MxWM" target="_blank">"I was the only guitar player in Arkansas that got diaper rash!"</a></em></span><br />
<span face=""><em><a href="https://youtu.be/IQNw4C1MxWM" target="_blank">
</a></em></span><br />
<span face=""><a href="https://youtu.be/IQNw4C1MxWM" target="_blank">And then, seconds later, leading into this - Glen harmonising, brushing his acoustic, while ever watchful of his partner, while both in each moment...</a></span><br />
<span face=""><a href="https://youtu.be/IQNw4C1MxWM" target="_blank">
</a></span><br />
<span face=""><em><a href="https://youtu.be/IQNw4C1MxWM" target="_blank">"...I really don't know life at all..."</a></em></span><br />
<span face=""><em><a href="https://youtu.be/IQNw4C1MxWM" target="_blank"></a></em></span><br />
<span face="">Whether they were his great friend Jimmy Webb's lyrics, or anyone's - US standards, hymns ancient or modern, popsters of the Seventies offering some knocked-off curio called <a href="https://youtu.be/GOsaFEwIz1Q" target="_blank">"Southern Nights"</a> - Glen Campbell's voice could imbue words and tune with, well, everything.</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">Soaring boasting, and hope - listen to <a href="https://youtu.be/ZTbTHlTmDX8" target="_blank">"Galveston"</a>. Flattening dismay or at least despondency - listen again to <a href="https://youtu.be/bxMxO7vZZ64" target="_blank">"Galveston"</a>.</span><br />
<span face="">("<strong>Galveston, oh Galveston!</strong></span><br />
<span face=""><em>I am so afraid of dying</em>...")</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face=""><a href="https://youtu.be/lHs51RQFcN8" target="_blank">"Time"</a> - ah, good good time (where did you go?) A lesser-played Glen Campbell ballad, but one in which he places before us life's simple divides, despairs of both extremes, but then also despairs about where we might just come to - that is, that sad bit in the middle (of nowhere).</span><br />
<span face=""></span><br />
<span face=""><em>"At sunset, I laugh</em></span><br />
<span face=""><em>Sunrise, I cry</em></span><br />
<span face=""><em>At midnight I'm in between, and I'm wondering why..."</em></span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">Give those lyrics to anyone else and that might just work still. But it's Glen's leap and wail into "<b><i>midnight</i></b>" before dropping immediately down again that could just have anyone howling at the moon.</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">"Rocking" Bob Stanley, in his astoundingly encyclopaedic yet also lyrical history of pop music <b><i>Yeah Yeah Yeah</i></b>, described <b><i>that</i></b> lyric in "Wichita Lineman" (<em>"and I need you more than want you - and I want you for all time..."</em>) as "one that makes me stop whatever I'm doing every single time I hear it".</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">Same here. And bravo, Jimmy Webb, the writer. But fine as it is, of course we all associate it with the singer - and how ideal, that sonorously yearning tenor of Glen Campbell.</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">He can break out a riff, and that's how he made his living for what at the time might have seemed so long.</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">But, oh, that voice. That honey'd sound of someone singing not only about but in itself: love and loss, sorrow and ... being sorry. </span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face=""><em><a href="https://youtu.be/2MHdjfWhNbw" target="_blank">"How come every time I itch, I wind up scratching you...?"</a></em></span><br />
<em><span face="">("Every time I get ahead, I act like someone new</span></em><br />
<em><span face="">I waste the whole night talking big</span></em><br />
<em><span face="">- and spending money too...")</span></em><br />
<span face=""><em>
</em></span><br />
<span face="">The good ol' Good Time boy having a fine old time of things. And, yes, being unfairly set upon by the women around him, <em>at times</em>. But always knowing that whatever he's done, he's doing it wrong...</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">Glen Campbell's Alzheimer's suffering has not only been revealed by him and his family in recent years, but exposed. He kept touring - strikingly having on-stage tantrums about his backing band but <a href="https://youtu.be/Ik7HRuEwyJ4" target="_blank">peeling off impeccable solos</a>, memory there unimpaired at least. </span></span><br />
<span lang=""><span face=""><br /></span></span>
<span lang=""><span face="">He kept putting out albums, <i>Meet Glen Campbell</i> and <i>Ghost On The Canvas</i> and this year's poignantly-titled <i>Adios</i> revisiting old favourites while also niftily covering the more modern likes of <a href="https://youtu.be/fPpJT3QRRnk" target="_blank">Green Day</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/vkxn0t1sbWc" target="_blank">Teddy Thompson</a>. <a href="https://youtu.be/j5KtCUHnAFw" target="_blank">Gee, ain't it funny, how time slips away...</a></span>
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">While even allowing the TV cameras into the hospital wards with him. Uncomfortably close, vulnerable, honest.</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">At one point in one of the documentaries, his last wife Ashley touchingly attests to the importance of their shared faith and his regrets about his past hard-drinking ways - only for Glen to interject, insisting he <b><i>was </i></b>really enjoying himself at the time...</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">Here's hoping he enjoys plenty more in whatever his Heaven offers.</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">After all, his card should have been marked in advance. Worked with them all? Why, <a href="https://youtu.be/5xW08H50IsE" target="_blank">Glen knew Jesus before he was a superstar</a>...</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">"Hi, I'm Glen Campbell!"</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">("Bye, I'm Glen Campbell.")</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">I always wanted to be Glen Campbell. I always wanted to be <a href="https://youtu.be/BmwqyWdjhtI" target="_blank"><b><i>this</i></b> Glen Campbell, life at its happiest - sounds like it, doesn't it</a>?</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face=""><em>"...now there's not a day goes by that I don't look up to the sky</em></span><br />
<span face=""><em>
</em></span><br />
<span face=""><em>And humbly thank the good Lord up above</em></span><br />
<span face=""><em>
</em></span><br />
<span face=""><em>For bringing you to me in time, to make me realise</em></span><br />
<span face=""><em>
</em></span><br />
<span face=""><em>That all a poor man really needs is love..."</em></span><br />
<span face=""><em>
</em></span><br />
<span face=""><a href="https://youtu.be/slhXhfIVUII" target="_blank">You've got to try a little kindness, just show a little kindness.</a></span><br />
<span face=""><a href="https://youtu.be/slhXhfIVUII" target="_blank">
</a></span><br />
<span face=""><a href="https://youtu.be/slhXhfIVUII" target="_blank">Shine your light for everyone to see.</a></span><br />
<span face=""><a href="https://youtu.be/slhXhfIVUII" target="_blank"></a></span><br />
<span face="">You'd think. You'd hope.</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">So long, Glen. You helped plenty of people, well, <i>"stand the strain"</i>.</span><br />
<span face="">
</span><br />
<span face="">Thank you much!</span></span></span><br />
<span face="" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span>aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-36384349782368462512017-06-22T21:56:00.000+01:002017-06-22T21:56:37.190+01:00"Some come here who escaped but who want to talk about how they feel guilty somehow..."Young child survivors and witnesses of the Grenfell Tower inferno are still turning up pleading for help in the nearby streets - while too frightened to fall asleep.<br />
Kids whose parents either hauled them to safety or who watched in horror in the surrounding estates will remain in need not only in the weeks but years ahead, volunteers say.<br />
Helpers on 24/7 duty at the nearby Westway Sports Centre told Metro of being haunted by scenes reminiscent of <a href="http://blogs.redcross.org.uk/appeals/2017/06/grenfell-tower-fire-support-people-affected/" target="_blank">British Red Cross</a> emergency responses in overseas warzones and natural disasters.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Debi Haden, part of the BRC psycho-social support team at the Westway Sports Centre, has previously helped out in places including Haiti after the 2009 earthquake, though declared: ‘I’ve never ever known a community come together quite like this.<br />
‘Nothing’s affected me like this - hour after hour, day after day. Here in London.<br />
‘But all the praise must go to everyone here, for how they’ve responded.’<br />
But, as mourning relatives still openly weep in the surrounding streets, amid profusions of pleading missing posters and floral tributes - and plangently angry placards - mourners keep on approaching the sports centre’s indoor and outdoor teams for any assistance.<br />
‘So many come and say they’re too scared to go to bed, go to sleep again - needing at least to cling to their parents in bed.’<br />
The British Red Cross supported the relief efforts almost as soon as the blaze broke out in the early hours of Wednesday last week.<br />
But in recent days - as millions of pounds were raised via various appeals - the charity took over overall co-ordination, now based at the nearby Westway sports centre.<br />
Not only are food and practical provisions stacked up inside there, but desks, tents and children’s play areas remain permanently busy in the open air outside - over-arched by the Westway highway itself, as commemorated in song by the likes of The Clash and Blur frontman Damon Albarn.<br />
Meanwhile, that burnt-out tower looms over not only well-to-do Holland Park and Notting Hill boulevards but North Kensington and Ladbroke Grove estates, sadness and anger linger in the air along with the singeing more than a week on.<br />
And still the casualties keep coming, tentatively approaching for not only provisions or housing support but any solace at all.<br />
Ms Haden said: ‘Some come here who escaped but who want to talk about how they feel guilty somehow, knowing that others they know have died.<br />
‘This tower is part of a much larger community - the streets and homes all the way around, people are part of it and will know so many who’ve been lost.<br />
‘The community are mourning the loss of that tower, because they so many of each other from everywhere here.<br />
‘Those who are still here have lost people they know, that’s devastating - especially children who saw it all happen that night.<br />
‘There are some coming in, asking us what happened - others saying how they somehow haven’t cried yet, and is that right?<br />
‘We can try to refer people to other support, but a lot of the time it’s just listening to people talking about what they’ve seen, who they’ve lost, or simply crying.’<br />
<i>Metro readers have helped an appeal fund for the Grenfell Tower’s victims, casualties, survivors and families approach £2million.</i><br />
<i>The <a href="https://thekandcfoundation.com/" target="_blank">Kensington and Chelsea Foundation</a>, whose donations go 100 per cent to those in need, can receive contributions via <a href="https://secure.thebiggive.org.uk/grenfell">https://secure.thebiggive.org.uk/grenfell</a>.</i>aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-85852444063252857072017-05-11T23:48:00.004+01:002022-10-22T20:12:26.736+01:00"...and the Tottenham Hotspur will be there..."<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span><a href="https://youtu.be/p-7vtu3qGDA" target="_blank">"There...is a place...where I can go...when I feel low...when I feel blue..."</a><br />
</span></i></div>
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<i><span>
</span></i><span><b></b></span>
<span><b>"There used to be a football club over there." </b></span><br />
<span>So (supposedly) muttered a resigned Keith Burkinshaw, walking away towards Tottenham High Road in 1984, presumably looking forward to lighting up a consolatory pipe back home. <br />
And leaving behind him a Uefa Cup trophy <a href="https://youtu.be/kD3B5URYME8" target="_blank">newly, thrillingly won under the White Hart Lane lights</a> - but a board too cravenly preoccupied by that new entity, THFC plc. <br />
This Sunday night all the switches will be flicked off at that grand old stadium for the final time, ahead of demolition beginning on Monday morning, leaving behind ... well, what?<br />
Well, still a grand old team to play for and a grand old team to see - albeit one that will, after a year’s unwanted exile in Wembley anyway, be a little further along that High Road.<br />
For all the sweetbitterness of the Burkinshaw goodbye, there <strong><em>is</em></strong> certainly a football club still here in N17.<br />
Why, one flourishing in recent seasons in stark contrast to those drear years of the Nineties and early-Noughties. <br />
It seems to have been a long time coming, this new next-door behemoth of an arena - too long, some may feel, if certainly a necessary and enticing next step.<br />
And yet, and yet - a so-long to the old White Hart Lane we know can’t help but feel like it's come sorrowfully suddenly upon us.<br />
So this final farewell to Tottenham’s official home ground for 42,621 days and 1,993 games this coming Sunday provides a sadly celebratory time to reflect on what’s gone and what’s going.<br />
Cliché as it may be, "second home" feels the perfect wording for what it will have been to Tottenham fans of and throughout all ages.<br />
Somewhere to go to for release from everyday stresses and strains, for a surge of excitement and achievement - or else, of course, simply all the more (alternative) stresses and strains.<br />
A place of such familiarity, and yet one where the only predictable thing is that something different will happen - sometimes exhilirating, sometimes disappointing, yet invariably something to chew (or drink) upon afterwards. <br />
Until the next time.<br />
Surely few better tributes exist than the exemplary words-and-pictures tour de force <i><a href="http://www.whlbook.co.uk/about-the-book/" target="_blank">The Lane</a></i> by <a href="http://www.twitter.com/martincloake" target="_blank">Martin Cloake</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/adampowley" target="_blank">Adam Powley</a>, alongside designer <a href="http://www.twitter.com/dougcheese" target="_blank">Doug Cheeseman</a> and with invaluable archive photo contributors including the legendary John White’s son <a href="http://www.twitter.com/robawhite" target="_blank">Rob</a>.<br />
Nor <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ82khNu4rc&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">the elegiac video</a> posted this week by <a href="http://www.twitter.com/MPH1982" target="_blank">MPH1982</a>, one which appears to have cast more tear-inducing dust into the air than any annual "Flying Ants Day" might imminently manage.<br />
But perhaps the finest memorial - this Sunday’s send-off aside, hoping and trusting it proves appropriate - will be our own memories. <br />
And oh-so-many of them, both collective and collectively individual.<br />
Pray (self-)indulgence, perhaps, for a few scattered here... </span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span>
</span><br />
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<br />
<span><br />
No self-respecting football Press box occupant can do without a tactical breakdown of the two lots of eleven out there on the field.<br />
And yet - long before, say, heatmaps illuminated their way into existence let alone the mainstream, nor worries whether a false nine, trequartista or even, yes, "the high press" were <i>en vogue</i>ly in place - the back-page of the mid-Eighties Spurs programme provided a thrill here.<br />
A green pitch. The two (presumed) line-ups. And each number, 1-11 of course, arranged not in strict order but splayed across the page in formation - an essential, if rudimentary, introduction to playing shapes.<br />
Even if, mind, an extra lift then came from alert attention to the Tannoy announcements, to scribble out with a Biro the players who must have felt dismayed to find themselves not starting after all.<br />
All the while, awaiting kick-off, also awaiting each minute of a goal or substution, keen to annotate each with either a tick, a * or a #.<br />
Such were the simpler pleasures in simpler times, anyway, for this little bobble-hatted, scarf-shrouded kid who somehow found himself in one of the White Hart Lane Press section’s most-prized positions.<br />
That is, second - sometimes even <b><i>front </i></b>- row, at the centre of the West Stand, with the home side’s dug-out less distance than a backpass away to the left.<br />
That was the privileged position I occupied for my first ever game, and many thereafter, thanks to a journalist father covering a match somewhere each Saturday - and who would try to arrange with the obliging John Fennelly for a young guest or few whenever it happened to be Tottenham.<br />
Wreathed in club-brand scarves and bobble hats, laden down with packed lunches, I and later my younger brothers would goggle at the grand surroundings and such closeness to the action.</span><br />
<span>Even more stirring would be any (near-)interactions with the players </span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";">–</span></span><span> whether it be <a href="https://youtu.be/xZTmcDpRDgo" target="_blank">Chris Waddle</a> trading family-unfriendly barbs with the bench over his alleged laziness, or <a href="https://youtu.be/ZwNAZFHHirg" target="_blank">Gazza</a> reaching over to demand some crisps to guzzle down as well.</span><br />
<span>Then, whatever the outcome, we would wait for the Press conference duties and report-filing to be finished by loitering in the West Stand corridors for autographs - although that patch later got pushed back to the car park instead, where even the away side would be prized as they clambered on to their coach.<br />
Or, in one instance that sticks, Vinny Samways apologetically waved us away by nodding to the crate of beers in both arms as he made his way to his car but didn't come back.<br />
At least we got back inside for a Junior Spurs Christmas party on year, all in thrall around the two players who turned up, Tony Parks and Danny Thomas - along with, I think, Tot'n'Ham, the twin chicken mascots who preceded cheery-<a href="https://youtu.be/gPRZ7zo7uUY" target="_blank">then-evil</a>-now-cheery-again Chirpy.<br />
Out by the pitch remained <strong><em>the</em></strong> place to be, mind.<br />
Those shimmering floodlights casting down a dusty brilliance across a pitch which seemed the greenest of fields, only for legendary veterans to later ruefully bemoan the mudbaths they trudged compared to pristine modern-day carpets.</span><br />
<span>Those artful right-angles of the other stands facing us back, whether that forbidding Shelf in front - and ferocious Cage inhabitants </span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";">–</span></span><span> or the only-a-little-less blood-and-thunder Park Lane to the right.</span><br />
<span>
</span><span>The first game I ever attended, on April 20, 1985 </span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";">–</span></span><span> after two-and-a-half years of pleas since receiving a first Spurs shirt for a birthday, a Paul "Maxi" Miller no5 on the back - finished Tottenham Hotspur 2 Ipswich Town ... 3.</span><br />
<span>That was despite a late brace by substitute David Leworthy, a successor to Garry Brooke as a perennial Tottenham no12.<br />
It does feel a little unnerving, however, to realise my first game came after we had won three trophies in four years - since when, we’ve won ... three trophies.<br />
Oh, how I wish <i>mine eyes had seen the glory of <strong>more</strong> cups at White Hart Lane</i>.<br />
(Then again, glory should come again next season. Why, we waited seven years after 1984 for a trophy, then eight, then nine - next, ten...?) <br />
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Of course the ultimate hero was and still is <a href="https://youtu.be/wdwesPS0vgg" target="_blank">Glenn Hoddle</a> and in a natty knitted jumper I got to present him with one of his many Man Of The Match awards during the 1986-1987 season.<br />
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That came after phoning the 0898 Spursline once (honest), lingering through the ITK transfer speculation and workaday training-field talk to reach a quiz question to which the answer was obviously Ricky Villa.<br />
I don’t remember the question, nor did I by the time I posted off an SAE with the right answer which somehow got pulled out and secured a VIP behind-the-scenes day out at the Lane for Tottenham Hotspur 2 Southampton 0. <br />
Checking the dates now, it seems that was that year's Valentine's Day - although at that age, of course, the only conceivable love was for Tottenham.<br />
Anyway, it was my mum accompanying me that day through the dressing-rooms, into the dug-out, even tripping on to the fringes of the pitch.<br />
Then followed a lunch addressed by guest speaker Warren Mitchell - although she was taken a bit aback by the saltiness not of the food but the fictional West Ham/real-life Spurs fan’s language. <br />
Many many years later I got to return to the field of play, alongside brother <a href="http://www.twitter.com/christianrad" target="_blank">Christy</a>, not for mere moments but 90 minutes of a match between a different competition’s prize-winners and a hack team of, well, us hacks.<br />
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The day after the misery of a 5-1 FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea at Wembley, we were royally treated to the (away) dressing-room, a "Glory Glory Hallelujah" chorus down the tunnel on to the pitch, a stringent warm-up session led by Spurs physios and, of course ... another 3-2 defeat. <br />
Christy did at least score a consolation goal, one for which he seldom fails to find a conversational hook.</span><br />
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<span>
My water-carrying role in midfield - think Edgar Davids, less in his Spurs let alone Barca days, but maybe more when winding down at Barnet - impelled me to put the ball into the Park Lane goal at half-time.<br />
Just so I could say I did and then ever since gaze satisfied down at it from my South Upper season-ticket seat.<br />
Even smugger must be the opponent, however, who defied the one order from the organisers and celebrated his winning goal with a Klinsmann-<em>isch</em> dive towards that Park Lane/Shelf side corner flag.<br />
Leaving a streaky smear of dug-up mud he and I might swear can still be glimpsed ever since. </span><br />
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Actually my first White Hart Lane game <b><i>could</i></b> be said to be a nine-goal thriller against Bristol Rovers, although I was only a newborn at the time.</span><br />
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<span>Stumbling across an old box of memories a few years ago, I found a typewritten diary kept by my mum in my early months.</span><br />
<span>The yellowing pages included one entry wryly reminding herself how her son just wouldn’t stop bawling one night while her husband was at work - right up until she turned on the TV to find that evening’s <i>Match Of The Day</i>.</span><br />
<span>Hey presto, suddenly silence reigned.</span><br />
<span>Even more amusing, she felt, was that the action showed my dad’s team Bristol Rovers losing 9-0.</span></div>
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<span>Of course, later readers - well, me anyway - knew exactly which team was doing the trouncing </span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";">–</span></span><span> and the internet age helpfully allows <a href="https://youtu.be/i191XqCfldw" target="_blank">enjoyment of it anew</a>.</span><br />
<span>The skipper Stevie Perryman drives the ball forward from defence with fierce purpose yet serene assurance. <br />
Deep in midfield, appearing on the right wing or even occasionally arriving in the six-yard box himself, glides Glenn Hoddle - arcing passes as languorous as they are audacious as they are precise.<br />
And, reaping the rewards up-front, those two deadly strikers blending emphatic finishing with nifty improvisation - well, no, not Steve Archibald and Garth Crooks to come, but Colin Lee and Ian Moores for now.</span><span></span></div>
<span>
A friend says that was the first game he ever attended. What cruel beauty. He must have imagined it would always be that way. <br />
As, perhaps, did poor four-goal Lee and hat-trick-hitting Moores. Neither of whom are expected to be invited on Sunday, alas.<br />
YouTube is a gift here, of course, an aid to confected "memory".<br />
As is eBay, which let another brother Lyndon present as a Christmas gift the other year the programme from that day.<br />
No tactical lay-out on the back, but trusty Football League and Football Combination tables inside, apologies for a recent record 4-1 defeat at Charlton and warnings of extra segregation ahead at the Park Lane turnstile entrances.<br />
<i>#AgainstModernFootball, eh... <br />
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<em>(That same brother, in early Press box days, incidentally once caused fleeting concern here - ooh, about 15 minutes into the second half - when realising he hadn’t returned to his seat beside me.</em><br />
<em>Eventually he re-emerged, admitting he’d locked himself into one of the West Stand toilet cubicles then been unable to undo it - ultimately shinnying up the wall and daringly leaping down to freedom.</em><br />
<em>Hopefully, when the demolition balls come thundering in come Monday, no one else has been left in a similar predicament.)</em><br />
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<span>*</span></div>
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<br />
Older me would come to know better than to leave your seat at half-time, knowing just how interminable those queues for refreshing or relieving yourself can be.<br />
The gents’ befogged with less-than-gents very unsubtly lighting up. <br />
</span><span>The bar queues hopping on the spot heading nowhere until finally finding a server shruggingly admitting the beers or crisps have run out </span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";">–</span></span><span> or it’s too close to the second half kicking off again.</span><br />
<span>Then again, adult experience at Spurs has too often conjured not the childlike hope of old but the careworn wariness of what might be about to transpire </span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";">–</span></span><span> especially during those sour Sugar years.</span><br />
<span>How #Spursy for Spurs, under alleged BSkyB kingmaker Alan, to choose the decade football exploded to slip from being "Big Five" mainstays - even pioneers - to also-rans.<br />
Sugar, oh-so-showy yet the master of the middling rather than striking signing, may have saved the club collapsing under the excesses of Scholar and, yes, Venables - but also oversaw Spurs at their most drab and frustrating.<br />
Why, even in an era that saw such dazzling (non-Dozzell-ing) talents as Jurgen Klinsmann, Teddy Sheringham and David Ginola wearing that shirt, with a cockerel on it...<br />
And for all the praise for White Hart Lane as was and as is, on the best of days and especially nights, let’s not forget how caustic or caustically silent it could be - especially then, exacerbated by disruptive overhauls of the (raucous) South or East or (calmer) North or West stands.<br />
Boos still seemed rare - the worst to this memory heading towards hapless Ramon Vega as he tried to over-actively gee up team and crowd just after we’d gone 3-0 down before half-time on a shocking Saturday against Sheffield Wednesday.<br />
More recurrent were those choruses, both angry and sad, of "You’re not fit to wear the shirt" and "We want our Tottenham back". Happy days, eh. <br />
Or, as one of our oft-shifting kit manufacturers put it all too inadvertently bluntly: PONY.<br />
Even amid it all, though, this club can inspire - that stadium, too. That crowd especially.<br />
Say, Stephen Carr briefly becoming the side’s most exciting player - despite being the <strong><em>right-back</em></strong> - with wonderstrikes against <a href="https://youtu.be/aDM52QpNTTs" target="_blank">Sunderland</a>, Ipswich and, most eye-catchingly, <a href="https://youtu.be/mXCi9JXCrCA" target="_blank">Manchester United</a>.<br />
Before that, <a href="https://youtu.be/3q0fPoTupd0" target="_blank">Ginola</a>’s sashays across the field - not only that strip of land along the left-wing he will always describe, on half-time guest returns, as "my garden".<br />
The FA Cup tie against Leeds may be the highlight, the game he should have had the most spectacular of hat-tricks but had to settle for only <a href="https://youtu.be/CuvJEo8L_U0" target="_blank">one of the great (non-Hoddle) volleys seen at the old place</a>.<br />
And then <a href="https://youtu.be/f8j0eDegdpE" target="_blank">the 5-1 trouncing of Claudio Ranieri’s Chelsea</a>, kicked off by <a href="https://youtu.be/XtNklEim2k0" target="_blank">hapless John Terry half-asleep and Steffen Iversen sweeping in</a>, before Sheringham unfortunately kicked Boudewijn Zenden, Tim Sherwood swept in a second, and <a href="https://youtu.be/qLOGTQGBIKQ" target="_blank">oh Teddy Teddy powered in "a picture, an absolute picture"</a>.<br />
Five-one, even Rebrov scored - and even our frequent tormentor Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was sent off, for an offence team-mate Mario Melchiot committed before disloyally skulking away from the scene.<br />
Ex-Blue Gus Poyet won cheers from us and opprobrium from fans who formerly adored him with what still seems like a hop-skip-and-a-jump when comfortably substituted.<br />
And Tottenham’s were the only supporters still sticking around to ironically cheer Mickael Forssell’s late "consolation".<br />
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Then again, the less said about Poyet and Sheringham in the Cardiff final to follow, the better - and that goes for the entire Cardiff final and experience to boot.<br />
<a href="https://youtu.be/XSSlZd3nJqQ" target="_blank">A subsequent 5-1 League Cup semi-final London derby</a> at least went one better with asuitable sequel - that 2008 thrashing, under Juande "a manager who only wins"(?) Ramos.<br />
It felt like we’d have the emphatic beating of Arsenal within not only minutes, with that sauntering Jermaine Jenas opener, but seconds, with that crunching Teemu Tainio challenge almost right on the whistle.<br />
Barely any time passed before Arsenal were bringing on rested talisman Cesc Fabregas, with the sacrificed Denilson appearing unsure which leg to pretend he was limping off upon.<br />
Even then, taking an incisive 4-0 lead couldn’t prevent the loudest collective intake of breath when Emmanuel Adebayor (of course) pulled it back to 4-1 with a mere 20 minutes to go. <br />
If anyone could, Tottenham could...<br />
After all, there were people taking photographs of the scoreboard when unexpectedly 3-0 up against Manchester United at half-time - only for Andy Cole’s goal within a minute of the restart to kickstart <a href="https://youtu.be/m_Mmvo_2aZs" target="_blank">an inexorable turnaround</a>.<br />
Why, this idiot here may even have later smirked to neighbours, when again three ahead at the interval, this time against ten men: "Well, we were 3-0 up against another Manchester team before at this point - but, hey, City are no United..." <a href="https://youtu.be/GiUIi9UJpyk" target="_blank">Oh</a>.<br />
Ah, but still - no such collapse in 2007-2008 and Spurs were on their way to Wembley for<a href="https://youtu.be/XE4i1XA7N7M" target="_blank"> that rare thing there (for now), a glory-glorious win there</a>.<br />
The will of the crowd can surge up and not drag down, even occasionally against Sir Alex Ferguson - the man who almost became Spurs manager way back in ‘86 before a last-minute change of heart by the then-Aberdeen boss. So near and yet so far...<br />
United had already clinched the title but the final game of the 2000-2001 season was memorable.</span><br />
<span>Not only for our comeback 3-1 win, nor the clown-ish bandage around Simon Davies’ injured head, but the incessant mantra of "Glenn Hoddle’s blue and white army" that could claim both assists for a brace by - of all people </span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";">–</span></span><span> the little-seen Willem Korsten.</span><br />
<span>Only the player Darren Anderton could have been.</span><br />
<span>Not forgetting, of course </span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";">–</span></span><span> while loath to mention the man - hothouse return receptions for Sol Campbell: the "minute of hate", the "Judas" placards (including one upside-down) and the many more minutes of seething contempt.</span><br />
<span>His first game back felt about as toxic as the Lane - any ground - could get, only intensified by high-fives he ostentatiously shared with his new back four.<br />
But, if anything, more effective was the near-identifical treatment he received on subsequent visits - to his obvious, indignant bemusement and distraction.<br />
(Still, we owe some gratitude - his many gaffes aside - towards Heurelho Gomes, for somehow palming away what would have been Campbell equaliser in the <a href="https://youtu.be/hfGpA_DUl6E" target="_blank">2010 Danny Rose derby</a>, the ground rocking just days after our despondent slip-up at Wembley against Portsmouth.) <br />
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Other recollections - that Rose screamer aside - that rattle around the head right now: memorable moving occasions, such as Martin Chivers accompanying Bill Nicholson on to the field ahead of the 2002 tribute night friendly against DC United, before Gazza and Teddy larked about on the pitch and Ginola still looked worthy of a first-team place.<br />
Or the hushed and haunted Bolton game the day of Bill Nick’s death, an underwhelming home defeat and Jacques Santini’s jarring nonchalance being irritating yet cast into irrelevance by the occasion and what the man meant.<br />
Or, again against Bolton, the evening 36,000 of us <a href="http://metro.co.uk/2012/03/19/fabrice-muamba-trauma-reminds-how-sports-meaninglessness-gives-it-meaning-3822813/" target="_blank">thought we had just seen a man die in front of us on the pitch</a> - the heart compressions abruptly applied to an inert Fabrice Muamba making for a jolting moment.<br />
Bless the heroics of those medics to the rescue - the behind-the-scenes teams, and the specialists who happened to be Spurs spectators that night but rushed into life-saving duty right on time, just in time.<br />
All those, indeed, to make the stadium and the club operate, without the glory of scoring or saving or coaching a goal.<br />
<br />
Or more joyous occasions? <br />
Okay, then: the "Taxi for Maicon" night vs Inter, of course. Poor Maicon - it’s not as if the man had carved out a reputation as one of the game’s snarling or snidey villains to be taken down a peg or two, but <a href="https://youtu.be/EAcP1gxNQZw" target="_blank">Gareth Bale was just that good that evening</a>. So many, relentlessly many times.</span><br />
<span>Having been in Milan for that 3-4 defeat that somehow felt almost like a draw </span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";">–</span></span><span> of course it could have been, had he put a fourth last-gasp chance away - there was eager apprehension whether he could live up to the hype on home turf.</span><br />
<span>No worries - five minutes in, and a bit of ball-juggling on the touchline then a quickfire swivel and sprint down the line, and you knew it was going to be all right on one of those nights.</span><br />
<span>Even when Crouchy speared a sitter wide across goal.<br />
Even when Samuel Eto’o wriggled a goal back to 2-1 out of nothing.<br />
Somehow, no Adebayor-equivalent worries this time, and the brutal simplicity of Bale booting the ball past Maicon and setting off in a footrace settled the deal.<br />
Pavlyuchenko the scorer, but only one name roaring out: <a href="https://youtu.be/eu6UVbwnBCE" target="_blank">BALE BALE BALE</a>.<br />
He'd come some way from his early "glory": being granted, along with compatriot and fellow little-used reserve Chris Gunter, the honour of carrying around the pitch 2008’s newly-won League Cup because the bigger boys had a game to play.<br />
As it turned out, he became the talisman - a match-definer even without having to do much except, well, the important bit. <br />
His late, often-identikit goals in the 2012-2013 season called to mind <a href="https://youtu.be/M5mU0HfI2jQ" target="_blank">the handcuffs-escaping scene in <em>Who Framed Roger Rabbit?</em></a>:<br />
<strong><em>"You mean you could do that at any time?"</em></strong><br />
<strong><em>- "No! Not at any time - only when it was funny..."</em></strong> <br />
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Other moments that reel before a kaleidoscopic mind's eye:<br />
Paul Stewart making his debut as a sub just as we clawed back to 2-2 at home to Manchester United and won a last-minute penalty, only for him to grab the ball off regular taker Terry Fenwick and ... hammer it, cannonballing back off the bar.<br />
Gudni Bergsson, another sub, squaring up to Stuart Pearce over a disputed throw-in and sending so-called "Psycho" away with his tail between his legs ("best place for it" etc).<br />
Not only leaping cheers but a standing ovation of applause for Robbie Keane’s <a href="https://youtu.be/GfvGOKl1edc" target="_blank">instinctively-improvised, long-range loft of a shot securing a last-ditch 4-4 draw with Chelsea</a>. </span><br />
<span><a href="https://youtu.be/zIUgTxi7ViU" target="_blank">Steffen Iversen somehow shovelling the ball over the line against Manchester United in 1999</a>, truly a goal-of-the-season contender </span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";">–</span></span><span> minutes before Paul Scholes obligingly nodded the ball into his own net to give us an unexpected lead. </span><span>Dimitar Berbatov oh-so-Berba-ly tucking in a close-range volley from a corner, for his third of four, in a <a href="https://youtu.be/36X3WqX22Wk" target="_blank">6-4 harem-scam burning of Reading</a>.<br />
<a href="https://youtu.be/jZN7OSEG0ZE" target="_blank">Slapstick knockabout</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/dnuiePlETH0" target="_blank">suitable sentimentalism</a> throughout <a href="https://youtu.be/JURsPV4821A" target="_blank">Ledley King’s testimonial</a>, a cleansing postscript to - and tonic to follow - the sour AVB/Sherwood 2013-2014 endurance test.</span><br />
<span>Way back when, another testimonial and the most special of guests </span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";">–</span></span><span> <a href="https://youtu.be/Sm4XPKegf2U" target="_blank">Diego Maradona in a Spurs shirt for Ossie Ardiles’ tribute night, his outrageous showboating bringing similar from Hoddle and Waddle</a> and later prompting Diego to seek out Glenn even in the tense tunnel build-up to a bitterly-contentious World Cup quarter-final.</span><br />
<span>That front-row seat by the bench was of extra value, then </span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";">–</span></span><span> as for yet <b><i>another</i></b> testimonial, <a href="https://youtu.be/8Ut0gVn2CFs" target="_blank">Peter Shilton’s for some reason held at the Lane in 1990</a>, when Kevin Keegan was overheard promising his fellow substitutes he would go on and score a diving header. </span><span>Which he almost-instantly did.<br />
Rafael van der Vaart and his <a href="https://youtu.be/F1MQCBna724" target="_blank">Arsenal-shushing</a>, his <a href="https://youtu.be/askBfGRfwHM" target="_blank">Arsenal-nutmegging over and again</a>, his granny-hugging vs Villa, his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsTKgImxqko&feature=youtu.be&t=15" target="_blank">joyous slam of the ball into the net from two inches out vs Everton</a>, just being <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsTKgImxqko&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">vdV vs so many</a>.<br />
Oh, and doing as I always do, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsTKgImxqko&feature=youtu.be&t=12" target="_blank">shifting a nifty side-eye towards the linesman on scoring his opener vs Inter</a>, just checking for no flag. <br />
And, of course, almost last and certainly not least: last month’s ideal final North London derby at <b><i>this</i></b> Lane, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YURq_iwJ044&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">a 2-0 cruise gleefully unusual in just how little of a worry it all was</a>. <br />
"Highlights" above and below - although with an eerie while exultant feeling afterwards. <a href="https://twitter.com/SpursOfficial/status/858736027195912195" target="_blank">No one wanting to leave, only to keep on singing</a>.<br />
And, in a saintly way, a gratifyingly-nameless day as well.<br />
Ah, just like every heart-pumping, neighbour-backslapping, hoarsely-hollering outbreak of delight every time a Spurs hit hits the back of the (opposition) net.<br />
The "Yidio, Yidio" chorus. <br />
The arms punching the air as if aiming to knock out a cloud.<br />
The feeling that - whatever the score ‘til then - it <b><i>might </i></b>just all turn out all right after all.<br />
Whatever fears there were beforehand, and will be again, you know there’s nowhere else to wish to be.<br />
Hoping for the best. While steeling for the worst.<br />
Yet still hoping for the best. <br />
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Of course every fan of every other club can claim to feel the same, just adjusted.<br />
White Hart Lane, though, a little like Goodison Park, still feels among the last of something special.</span><br />
<span>The timbers and arches, Archibald Leitch’s revolutionary grandeur, may be long gone </span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";">–</span></span><span> the modern-day stands on all sides resembling more the layers and flaps of computer-and-printer desktop stacks. (Amstrad or otherwise.)</span><br />
<span>Yet enough of that old enclosing remains, for now - the cosy yet imposing kind of arena that showy new-builds can’t quite replicate.</span><span>Can’t quite </span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";">–</span></span><span> or not even in the slightest.</span><br />
<span>Greece’s German coach Otto Rehhagel let the local side down a little when, returning to his native land for the 2005 Confederations Cup - the dress rehearsal for Germany’s World Cup the following year </span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";">–</span></span><span> sniffed that all-new-and-improved stadia these days all seem to roll off the same software.</span><br />
<span>Hopefully the new White Hart Lane we see soaring ever upwards and chomping into the old is being made not only in awareness but application of lessons learnt from unatmospheric elsewhere.<br />
The Emirates, of course, but also the new Wembley and the Olympic Stadium we thankfully avoided, even at such a dodgily cushy deal.<br />
The 17,000-seat single-tier - 5,000 more than the rightly-hyped Borussia Dortmund equivalent at the so-called ‘Bundesliga’s Opera House’ - seems an encouraging start.<br />
A new (re)start. An essential new (re)start. <br />
But thankfully only a goal-kick away from our old home, with plenty of the history and familiar geography - no matter how novel the new seats and surroundings and sheer <b><i>feel</i></b> will inevitably, well, feel.<br />
There will be similar routes, and perhaps a few of the same old pubs sticking around - even with a football-less year to survive, looking forward to the influx of 24,000 potential extra punters ahead.<br />
Still, this ever-changing stadium - a "Trigger’s Broom" of an ongoing architectural project - closes its doors this weekend having remained a home not only for 30,000-plus people at a time, but millions more across 118 years.<br />
Strangers across generations, with all the inevitable diversity in opinions, environs, spending, expectations, anything - even the kits we see or the rules "our" players play by.<br />
And yet an over-riding connection nevertheless remains, in that club we unavoidably care for and the place we come to most do so.<br />
This season of course has brought disappointment <b><i>of sorts</i></b>, but mostly entertainment and pride (and <strong><em>obviously</em></strong> little bottling).</span><br />
<span>But aiming high - aiming higher than could have been imagined in so many other recent seasons </span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";">–</span></span><span> with a dynamic young side, signed up to a warm and wise young-ish manager, feels right. </span><br />
<span>At last, and at the very least what Bill Nick and co would not only want but expect.</span><br />
<span>Perhaps appropriately we finish up against Manchester United - England’s first European Cup-winners coming to visit a club who five years earlier became England’s first European <strong><em>trophy</em></strong>-winners.<br />
As the ever-quotable Danny Blanchflower remarked, back in 1960 even before Spurs had secured the most enduring of Doubles: "Manchester United and Spurs do have the same style, the same beliefs. Basically we believe in attack - we go out to win the game, we don’t go out not to lose it."<br />
(A reminder, perhaps, for Jose Mourinho as he presumably prepares to come and park the United bus that arrived so rudely late under Louis Van Gaal last season…)<br />
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To quote another, Tottenham Hotspur FC plc’s chairman Paul Bobroff declared in 1983, not long before Burkinshaw’s sardonic goodbye: "We have no desire just to be a football club. That is not the basis for success."</span><br />
<span>Eat your hearts out, self-sanctifying Barcelona </span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "arial";">–</span></span><span> but perhaps the best interpretation of those words is not the one Bobroff intended.</span><br />
<span>Of course there remain plenty of quibbles about Tottenham Hotspur ‘s behaviour as a business, the recent handling of season tickets and their costs for next year at Wembley only the latest bone of contention. <br />
We are not only supporters nowadays but customers. To some, anyway.<br />
But supporters, above all. <br />
And a football club, above all. A kind of community. Here anyway. <br />
<br />
<b><i>"Oh, we only know<br />
That there’s gonna be a show</i></b></span><br />
<span><i><b>And the Tottenham Hotspur (has been and) will be ... there."</b></i> <br />
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Here’s cheers to a basis for success here, there and everywhere.<br />
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<em>(South Upper one last time, instead of way down front in the West, but - for daft old time's sake - this spectator may just have a pen ready again for this Sunday's programme...)</em><br />
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<strong>COYS.</strong><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: small;"><span lang=""></span></span></span>aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19160984.post-20481778468189794582017-03-29T23:02:00.000+01:002017-07-06T15:39:52.224+01:00‘Talk, more talk. Chat, more chat. I'm happy to do it for you...’<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><a href="https://youtu.be/ekFbYADnu7w" target="_blank">‘Talk, more talk. Chat, more chat. I'm happy to do it for you...’</a></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times, times new roman, serif;">Stigma, and beyond. (See also: Self-harm, and beyond... <a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/cant-shout-cant-scream-i-hurt-myself-to.html">http://aidanrad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/cant-shout-cant-scream-i-hurt-myself-to.html</a>)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Talk is cheap. Yet can prove so valuable. How dear, then, is stigma?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>‘Just talking about it is really important.’</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">So it is - as movingly displayed by so many, such as the (for want of a better word) ‘stars’ of the ten <a href="https://www.headstogether.org.uk/" target="_blank">Heads Together</a> two-minute, tear-enticing films released today.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Who could fail to be moved by the heartfelt testimony of so many people who have not only plunged the pits of despair yet also re-emerged strong and willing enough to talk about their ordeals not only with loved ones but the wider world?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">For example, former royal marine Philip Eagleton who refuses to flinch from discussing past suicide plans, knowing now the support he has around him - and the strength (re)discovered in himself.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Maddy Austin, chuckling about how she now shares ‘too much’ with her father Mark while he ruefully reflects on too long ‘failing’ (for want of an apter word) to understand her anorexia anguish.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Fiona Millar’s frustrated bafflement at her partner Alastair Campbell hitting himself around the head when depression yet again descends, somehow - yet both resolving to keep out a keener eye.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Watching them and the other seven videos released online today, even best efforts here inevitably failed to keep back the tears - the first trickling subtly down almost imperceptibly, others crinkling increasingly swiftly, still more bursting out in involuntary gasps. (<a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/cant-shout-cant-scream-i-hurt-myself-to.html" target="_blank">Memories of past self-harm</a>, <a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/the-evidence-is-clear-on-every-side.html?m=1" target="_blank">and more</a>..)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">If these courageous witnesses, <a href="http://aidanrad.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/harrys-band-of-brothers.html" target="_blank">plus inspirational others</a>, can - as they surely shall - encourage not only sufferers to make their voices heard, but allies to offer their ears and influence, then so many more lives can potentially be helpfully restored, revitalised and enriched.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">However, if not careful, one stigma eventually faced by mental health issues could turn out to be being deemed an overdone, tokenistic verbal hobby-horse of those with power but abdicating much responsibility.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">How much is conversation worth, in the absence of funding for further actual mental healthcare services?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">At times it can seem that ridding mental health of the stigma attached - while plenty more needs to be done - is an easy get-out by government in place of actual resources.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Safely said - self-assuringly used.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The charities, campaigning organisations and health workers giving their lives to improving mental well-being could hardly ask for more high-profile backing than the royal family, especially its most prominent younger generation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Prince Harry might even have (maybe, possibly, perhaps) hinted himself, at a Buckingham Palace reception last Friday later turned retrospectively off-the-record, some glancing frustration at services being cut nationwide despite acclaim for the royals’ Heads Together campaign. (Maybe misread.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Theresa May, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38548567" target="_blank">in a speech to the Charity Commission in January</a>, also insisted that ridding mental health of its - that word again - stigma was a priority, calling for attitudes to be 'transformed'.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">And yet even at the time that felt to many like easily warm words floating free of actual actions.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This might feel like a pettifogging, ill-spirited response to well-meaning backing from the highest-born in the land.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Not a bit of it. All power to them - properly influential power, that is, <i><b>on top of</b></i> symbolic impact.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">But her majesty’s offspring should not be left alone by her majesty’s government to do public relations duty when public health decisions are made - or avoided - elsewhere.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>‘It all starts with a conversation.’ </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Of course it does, and should - and then, what next, for those struggling with finding help, getting help, benefiting from help, then building on help?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">At least if the royal family, the next in line to the throne, are not only backing but actively promoting such a message, awareness could hardly want for better boosts.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">But, but, but ... is that enough?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Already over-strained and under-resourced mental healthcare services suffer increasing austerity pressure - cut in real terms by 20 per cent since 2012.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">One in ten depression patients referred by GPs to the NHS’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme wait a year simply for assessment and <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/thousands-attempt-suicide-while-on-nhs-waiting-list-for-psychological-help-9734284.html" target="_blank">one in six attempt suicide while on the list</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">And on Monday the Lords voted through cuts to Personal Independence Payments support for an estimated 160,000 people whose disabilities restrict their mobility - including those who find it difficult to leave home due to anxiety, panic attacks or other psychological problems.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">That was, despite the Lib Dems pushing one vote calling for the latest cuts to be scrapped - instead another was approved, merely calling for a review after two years.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">(Sarah Olney MP today desctribed the crackdown as showing 'the government are betraying the most vulnerable in our society'.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">And, alhough little-mourned by consensus, the coalition's health minister Norman Lamb did push mightily for parity of care between mental and physical health - again, something that persists these days more in promises than imposition by the administration to follow.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Statistics, like anecdotes, give only part of the picture. Many many more, mind, get scattered or neglected as well.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">And easy to say, from opposition benches or from outside - always wanting more. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">But then, there are so many more, wanting more simply because they are suffering more, unheard - or turned away for treatment - or falling somewhere in the middle of well-meaning yet under-resourced and unjoined-up health services.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">There are no easy answers - of course, of course. No magical moneypots. Recovery, whether national nor individual, is never straightforward.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Inching forward bit by bit can be success in itself, whether not only being referred to but receiving medical aid - or simply appreciating a friendly, empathetic connection.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">It’s good to talk.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">And yet: encore.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">From palace to playground, surgery to stairwells, this world needs words - <b>and more</b>...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>For more on Heads Together, today's videos and all their charity partners, see <a href="http://www.headstogether.org.uk/">www.headstogether.org.uk</a> and/or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoviJNumK10fVQhjErXSlaQ" target="_blank">their YouTube page</a>. Partner charities include the <a href="http://www.annafreud.org/" target="_blank">Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families</a>, <a href="https://www.bestbeginnings.org.uk/" target="_blank">Best Beginnings</a>, <a href="https://www.thecalmzone.net/" target="_blank">CALM</a>, <a href="http://www.contactarmedforces.org.uk/" target="_blank">Contact</a>, <a href="http://www.mind.org.uk/" target="_blank">Mind</a>, <a href="https://www.place2be.org.uk/" target="_blank">Place2Be</a>, <a href="http://www.themix.org.uk/" target="_blank">The Mix</a> and <a href="http://www.youngminds.org.uk/" target="_blank">YoungMinds</a>.</i></span>aidanradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665290235440207671noreply@blogger.com0