It has been a glorious summer‘s day in late September yet I found it difficult to concentrate on the cricket with my attention divided between the horror in Kenya with its implications for all of us of the Muslim based terrorism,while this afternoon I listened on digital radio to Ed Miliband’s speech to the annual conference of the Labour Party at Brighton. I really ought to have checked the position earlier and applied for a day pass or two although had Durham needed to win the present game for the championship I would have found myself torn between the two events. Perhaps next year prior to the general election? Blackpool?
I watched the morning BBC 1 news and features programme on the wall mounted TV in the room before departing around 8.30 24th September 2013 on what looked a great sun drenching day until hit dense sea fret reaching Lancing and the river Adur. Fortunately the fog cleared as I reached the Lighthouse Lifeboat station car park. I crossed the main road with difficulty because of the rapidly advancing traffic in both directions but did not have to wait long before the arrival of the 700 coastliner bus. My bus pass was not recognised and the driver issued me a ticket only to work out as I sat down the embarrassment that I had entered the bus before the 9.30 time when the pass became valid. I apologised as I left at the stop close to the southern region HQ building of the GMB union.
I had purchased my first day ticket in advance and arrived sufficiently early for a good explore of the developments at the ground since my last visit. There is now a tall stand to the left of the entrance with on the read underside a large club store and reception ticket/membership office. There is also a general coffee shop/restaurant with outside tables attempting to open 7 days a week 52 weeks if the year but its location is hopeless away from the long Brighton to beyond Hove shopping and restaurant street, with a popular pub at the gate and the facilities within the club Pavilion as well as the bar/snackery at the far end of the ground. I ordered a coffee to accompany reading the Times purchased at an all house local store only for the coffee to be lukewarm. Not good enough. I have not been back.
Apart from emphasising the callous brutality of these monster beings with the picture of a young couple, she in the latter stages of pregnancy and the story of a mother screaming because of the body of her child aside her, the interest has switched to the growing belief that a white woman involved in the attack is the British born and raised lay dead beside her. My sympathy is again with the Kenyan president who promised the perpetrators prolonged pain and with the relatives and everyone who fears the kind of world which will be created if these fanatics are not checked. I am tempted to join the clamour of the Dalek’s “Exterminate Them,” adding of course, according to due process of the country in which they are apprehended.
Returning to the Sussex cricket ground in addition to the new stand, a batch of at least 96 seats has been added to the roof of the media centre where it was possible to sit on fixed seats on my previous visit with an excellent view over the wicket. These seats are now restricted to those willing to offer up front £1000 and then purchase the premium membership services at £250 each year. The other significant change is a new posh entrance to the top part of the Pavilion which is side on to the wicket and where for an additional £80 to standard membership one can claim the same seat throughout the championship year.
As I had left my hat and cap in the car I went out of the sun in the shade at the top of the new stand where i chatted with some established Sussex members and also watched the arrival of at least 100 Durham supporters, many with the official supporters coach and one couple and their dog in a motor home which was allowed to park within the ground along with the team coach and the players coach. The Durham team are staying at Arundel because of the Labour Party annual conference and the Durham supporters at Eastbourne.
The other news event dominating the news programmes until this morning, Thursday September 26th has been Ed Miliband’s speech to the Labour conference resulting in some proposals being condemned by New Labour Guru Peter Mandelson and now crossbencher business adviser Toby Jones with horror and scorn from the Tory press and a field day anticipated at next week’s Tory Party conference. I want to place on record that I thought his speech Prime Ministerial next General Election winning, probably with an coalition alliance with the Lib Dems and other parties including surprisingly as it may seem the Unionists. The speech marked a clear divide which should stem the tide of old labour to UKIP and place more pressure on Cameron to move to the right thus creating more difficulties for himself with increasing Tory moves of members and voters to UKIP.
The first measure which Ed proposed whose significance is yet to be fully understood is his firm declaration as a Unionist and opposition to an independent Scotland, thus sounding a call to arms of the traditional Labour voters, especially in Scotland and where he matched the SNP’s decision to give a referendum vote to 16 year olds by also proposing to reduce the voting age in General and Local elections to 16 years. This was only structural reform of substance I drew from the speech.
It could be argued that by also insisting on trying to carry through the proposal to disentangle the block voting Trade Union members turning a substantial proportion into active Labour party members is also a structural move but in my eyes is no more that help to separate the traditional Labour tactics and behaviour of local members from the proposed democratic socialist party of the future. This to my mind is the most adventurous of his proposals given the tenacity and resistance of the old power men to change. Reminds of the Young Socialist coup which enabled me to become an executive member of the Beddington and Wallington Labour Party when I was 21.
One major theme of his speech was standing up to the powerful whereas he rightly claimed Cameron only stood up to the weak, backing off reform of the House Lords, the banks their lending and their bonuses, the energy firms who raise but never lower charges irrespective of market conditions, Murdoch, the press and the Leveson recommendations although in fairness the Home Secretary has stood up to the Association of Chief Police Officers.
The class division between the have not’s and the very rich was also emphasised is a series of measure to try and make some impact on the widening imbalances. One proposal is to force property developers to use the land in their possession or become taxed and eventually the compulsory purchase. Which amounts to encouragement by threat with the Labour Government wanting to increase the number of new homes by 200000. Labour would also introduce several wealth taxes, one of the corporation tax for large business empires going to small business development with environment protection and alternative energy at the core. It was the big six energy companies who have become the focus of media attention with the announcement of a 20 month freeze during which time the government would attempt to reorganise the market and strengthen the regulator. This led to threats of close downs, and slow downs which the new Red Ed dismissed. He also attacked the lack of progress in male female issues from equal pay and a further move to increasing the number of female Members of parliament from 30% to 50%. There was no major socialist structuring in the rhetoric but the direction and mood was in the right one for bringing the trade unions and the lower paid back away from UKIP and sending a positive message to the beleaguered middle classes that they were significantly below the rich now in the sights of a future Labour Government. The decision not to support military intervention in Syria had played well his supporters and the electorate in general.
The new head of the Unsolved Crimes Team in New Tricks on Tuesday evening is none other than Tamzin Outhwaite who is married to an Assistant Chief Couple who jerry in particular thought must have pulled strings to get her the job. I gather next week she finds hubby in bed with another. The case of interest was an unsolved murder where the murder weapon turns up as part of an allotment clearance when a World War II unexploded bomb is discovered although there do not immediately know from which of the cleared sites the weapon had come from. I cannot remember much about the crime and its solution as the interest throughout was on Tamzin and how she was able to cope with the three men members and with Jerry( Denis Waterman) the only one of the originals remaining. I like the role of Nicholas Lyndhurst (Rodney from only Fools and Horses) who in time will make it but I am not sure about the other character with the loss of Brian almost impossible to get back from.
I have also not mentioned the very good afternoon play on Radio Four which attempted to show a young woman in a wheel chair of being a whole woman and a capable actress for more that wheel chair roles about the problems of disability. Of course being radio the unanswered question was the actress a disabled wheel chair dependent or not.
Wednesday proved a very different morning after the burning sun of Tuesday when on returning to the Travel Lodge the room was stifling despite the fan being left on by the. I had made a salad with a carton of grapes for lunch, continuing with cereal and milk mornings. At the end of the game on Tuesday and returning to the car I had driven to Tesco for milk, some chicken wings for the evening meal, lettuce, tomatoes and a small quiche. Although there was mist here when I set off taking the quiche with salad, it was brighter and still warm when I parked the car at the lighthouse car park. However it was still misty on arrival at Hove and ensuring I was OK for the 9,30 use of the bus pass I was still able to find myself a deckchair seat at the back of the area close to behind the wicket and with a perfect view of the play. I had remembered my Durham hat although it was not needed for most of the morning.
I enjoyed coffee from the kiosk type service at the back of the ground and after lunch I had another coffee with a packet of crisps. It was just after lunch that the fog came in and there was a break of play. This break lasted only five minutes when there was also a commotion in the main stand as spectators started to all move having been told to do so because an alarm had sounded below. Thus was a false alarm and they quickly returned and I wondered if this was anything to do with the four hour protest strike of the fire service over the decision that new entrants would not retire until they reach the age of 60.
The fog then came in and stayed so eventually I made my way back and invested £2 for parking an early return to the room where the fog continued for the rest of the day. I enjoyed soup a la cuppa and a hot pot noodles in the evening.
For the second week in succession there was an excellent Who Do you Think You are with John Snow whose great grand mother left her husband with three of her four children went to live with USA cowboy showman Bill Coady who then became a key figure in the development of flight for the UK, including working for the Army before World War I. At the age of four when his parent‘s divorced John chose to be brought up by his father and this led him to have little contact with his mother’s family and background. His point that one should not lose contact with kith and kin was well made,
The cricket going the way it had I was in two minds whether to go the Sussex ground this Thursday morning or go walking. There was mist out to sea and given the events of the previous day and that is was only 9,15 when i arrived at the Lighthouse, I decided to continue walking towards Southwick which also has similarities with the Southwick Sunderland alongside a river based seaport with public housing flats and an attractive air given the rest of the south coast ruritania. Across the road from Southwick Marina is Emmaus crafts and coffee shop which was tempting especially as the Pebbles on the Beach and the Schooner Inn were not yet open. It was then the Schooner Inn across the road with the adjacent bus stop where I missed a bus just before arriving to find it had been three minutes early although another was on its way. I had noted a succession of 700 coastliners going on to Chichester, Arundel, Portsmouth and Southsea as well as those going only as far as Worthing before turning around and a possible agenda for Friday commenced to emerge although earlier I had thought of Brighton Marina for a first showing of the new Woody Allen with Kate Blanchette at the Cineworld and then lunch. A 700 arrived after nine minutes but it would have been quicker to have walked because of some road works creating a single lane obstruction. I got off at the commencement of the promenade from Hove to Brighton Pier with its hundreds of small colourful painted beach huts which were covered with Daddylonglegs. There were a few joggers and one young mother with a child but with the atmosphere grey and a blustery cold wind there were few about me,
I listen to the second part of a P G Woodhouse play which involved the abduction of prize pigs, the threat of exposure via published reminisces and thwarted love affairs involving two couples. It all ended well but was not funny, barely amusing and said little about human nature or the human condition. It did pass the time of day while walked and walked and around 11 I switched over to the cricket and was depressed to learn of another early Durham collapse.
I would give the cricket a miss and headed for the Wetherspoons and an early consoling plate of sausage and mash. When I got there I did not want to be associated with the other men there. The vibes were not good. It was way too early for the 2.30 Traditional Jazz band at one Inn. The Tesco only had a Costa Coffee so I reconsidered the Wetherpoons but again rejected. I was then tempted by a two course fixed menu offer at an Italian where the Whitebait or was it sardines and the fish main course appealed, especially as I was carrying the next Montalbano to read, The Wings of the Sphinx. After finishing August Heat.
This reminds that I had invested in books by the Bedser Twins Denis Compton and Bill Edrich. John Arlot on Fred Truman and two by Bryan Johnston from the club book market for £10 to add to the never ending reading list.
I had been walking for the better part of three hours when I decided enough was enough and took the bus back to Worthing leaving my car at the Lighthouse. Derbyshire had been relegated with Notts and Somerset safe. A young man just 18 years had scored the youngest 100 for Surrey and was still batting. Durham were 44 behind with six wickets down after Ben Stokes had hit a 20 20 style 40 off runs. It was all over bar the shouting.
At Worthing I got off at M and S and purchased milk, forgetting I also needed cereal and for £6 a carton of black and green olives with Feta cheese cubes, smoked mackerel and spicy chicken wings saving around £3/ I invested £1.50 for a bottle of Pepsi only for the machine to give men £3 20 in change, amazing. It was time for a snooze and when I came too great things were happening for Durham and Friday took a different turn. The Surrey young man had hit over 200 and was still going at the close of play
Around 6 it was time to go for the car but beforehand I bought the cereal and also fancied a platter of salami cheese and cured ham. A bus was approaching the stop so I set off apace but it remained stationery only to find the driver was killing time before going off duty at the next stop. On return I had my second feast of the day in celebration with another bottle of Pepsi (no change given) and then watched the England female football team win 8.0. There are now three levels in world female football, teams from the USA, Canada and Germany with full time professional leagues, England which is in between and the rest who are poor in terms of skill and fitness. It was a very good day and I was in bed by 10 and asleep soon after
No comments:
Post a Comment