Britain's Medway has a riverside walk for old men who like looking at birds

I went for a walk today along the banks of the Medway not far from where I live in north Kent. It is a weekday walk, tailor-made for old men because there are no kids, no cars and very few people.

My companion was my good friend Del Boy, who introduced me to bird twitching a couple of years ago.

At this time of year, the waters and mud baks of the River are full of Kentish residents and winter residents like the brent geese who flew in from Scandinavia at the end of last year.

Del Boy likes making lists of things and so we made a list of the birds we had seen after our walk :

Teal and widgeon and pintail and shellduck and redshank and grey plover and curlew and black necked grebe and common gulls and black headed gulls .

Oh, we saw some 'gnats' on the path, which Del Boy thought should be recorded too.

Del Boy's wife has an affinity to water birds too. She is able to recite the following poem from Kenneth Grahame's 'Wind in the Willows' and is not only word perfect, but also recites it in a sing-song voice. :

Ducks' Ditty

All along the backwater,
Through the rushes tall,
Ducks are a-dabbling,
Up tails all!

Ducks' tails, drakes' tails,
Yellow feet a-quiver,
Yellow bills all out of sight
Busy in the river!

Slushy green undergrowth
Where the roach swim—
Here we keep our larder,
Cool and full and dim.

Everyone for what he likes!
We like to be
Heads down, tails up,
Dabbling free!

High in the blue above
Swifts whirl and call—
We are down a-dabbling
Up tails all!


Here is a rendition by 'The Crossed Swords'.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGxgzpZxpJM

Britain's Baby Boomers beware David Willetts : Part 3

Let's begin by reminding ourselves that David Willetts is the Shadow 'Universities and Skills Secretary', so there is a fair chance that he will be a minister in the Conservative Government which will be elected this year.


Let's begin by looking at the end of David's argument against us selfish Baby Boomers and our neglect of the younger generation. His article has been political all along , he would deny this and say that he has been dealing with facts. Anyway, he ends by saying : ' This is where politics comes in, the kind of politics that is rooted in fundamental shared human experiences: the pattern of our lives as we move through the different ages of the life cycle.' Well I'm blowed if I understand what that is all about. Do you ?
Apparently 'The family is key to this: it’s there we first learn to help and be helped by others older and younger than ourselves and where the first sense of future obligations — my mother looked after me, one day I shall look after her — kicks in.' Oh I see, we are not talking about politics, as in running the state, but family politics.

Apparently : ' A family is a mini-welfare state — with several key differences. For the welfare state, thanks to the boomer pensioners, will soon be heavily weighted towards the needs of the old. And families traditionally have tended to focus more on the young.' Oh I see, the Bad Baby Boomers have hi-jacked the big, bad Welfare State.

A bit more tosh which lacks meaning follows : 'Indeed, you have only to look at how much people worry about their children and grandchildren’s prospects, their schools and their jobs to recognise the enduring power of the intergenerational bond — at the family level.'

Bit of a lecture now : 'Now we need to be more than just good parents; we need to be good citizens, broadening out this concern for the young so it includes our obligations to the next generation. If we are to tackle the mess created by the big generation, we all need to think big in our turn.

So that is his staggering conclusion. I'll extract the substance of his argument before he reached this by first giving his :

Points about Bad Baby Boomers in comparison with the youngsters :

* Are wealthy with assets from £40,000 to £160,000.

* Belong to an occupational scheme and have 'built up some pension rights that are inflation-protected with provision for their widow or widower too.'

* Spend a lot of money, as is proven by something David calls 'the average age of consumption.' This has apparently gone up to 48 and is still rising as the baby boomers age. David says : 'This is important evidence — because it backs up my intuition that over the past 20 years Britain has seen a real shift of power and wealth to the baby boomers.' Well we can't argue with that can we ?

* Have a lot of housing wealth. About four-fifths of boomers are owner-occupiers who ' came to think of their houses as not just places to live but their own personal gold mines that could pay for holidays or cars, or be their pensions'.

David is generous, apparently he does 'not believe that this is because the boomers are unusually bad and selfish. I think it is rather that we have lost sight of the importance of the contract between the generations that holds any society together. The breaking of this contract is above all what is broken about our society. It is what links the fragility of our families, the decline of social mobility, the burden of government debt, and even the costs of climate change.' Blimey, what a powerful insight that is. It's all about broken contracts.


Points about hard-done-by youngsters :

* Had to pay for a university education. Started work in debt. Has no assets.

* Has jobs which are likely to be temporary and modestly paid.

* Is in debt.

Well, fellow Boomers, this man, who will be sitting at the Cabinet table in the not-too-distant future doesn't like you and I'm quite sure that he shall not be alone.

I let the man speak for himself, albeit on another topic, but I think this gives both a flavour of the man and a measure of his stature as a towering figure in our next government : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNBQkRcIS9U

Britain's Baby Boomers beware David Willetts : Part 2

Just a reminder that David has said : Big bang: baby boomers are blowing the future for us all
A reckless post-war generation is not only crippling its children with debt but is the force driving broken Britain.
In Part 2, I shall examine how he supports his argument by developing an extended 'hunter-gatherer' society metaphor, which goes something like this :
* This is a society in balance. The young and old are fed by the able bodied just as the old once fed the young and old and the young will feed the young and old.
'Over the course of each life everyone is both a contributor and a beneficiary, so the food you catch and the food you consume roughly net out to a balance'.

* But, oh dear : 'Our tribe is stable until some mild winters mean more babies survive infancy. It has a baby boom. What happens?'

* For a start,everything is 'hunky-dory' : 'more hunters means they can hunt more mammoths. There is a greater feeling of prosperity as each has to distribute less to other members of the tribe.
David gets quite poetic here : 'They can devote more time to cave painting. They can cut back on the frequency of hunting and gather exotic berries that make them feel good at their tribal festivals. It is an age of plenty and of experiment'.

* Oh dear, trouble round the corner : 'Then this big generation of hunters starts to grow old and hands on its spears to the younger generation. There is no avoiding the fact that there are more old ex-hunters to be maintained. So the next generation of hunters finds that more of what it catches needs to be taken for other members of the tribe. Life seems tougher.'

* And oh dear again, they have democracy : 'There is a final, crucial twist. The clan is run by a democratic tribal council. That big generation therefore has the most votes and power and uses this to protect itself.'


* 'Younger hunters face a double squeeze — with more retired hunters to support and more expected from each one of them. They have to spend more time hunting. They want to raise their kids in the same generous way that their parents raised them but it seems harder and as a result they don’t have so many of them.'

* David isn't modest and says that : 'Our thought experiment shows a society that worked until a big generation came along that took more of what it produced during its prime and then tried to take more from later generations when it was in need.' Hold on a minute it's not 'our 'thought experiment' but 'his', whatever you want to call it.

* He is philosophical : 'Maybe the problem was size. Maybe it was the way it used the power that came with its size. But, whatever the reason, the principle of fairness across the generations was broken. And it threatened to break that society'.

Part Three to follow.

Britain's Baby Boomers beware David Willetts : Part One

This is David Willetts, he is the 53 year old, 'Shadow Universities and Skills Secretary' in the Conservative Party. Yesterday he had an article in the 'Sunday Times' entitled :





Big bang: baby boomers are blowing the future for us all
A reckless post-war generation is not only crippling its children with debt but is the force driving broken Britain.


He begins his article by painting the image of parents returning home to their broken house after a teenage party and then 'ever so cleverly' says : ' The image plays to a deep-seated fear that the young will not appreciate and protect what has been achieved by the older generation. But what if, when it comes to the big things that matter for our futures, it is the other way round?

What if it’s actually the older generation, the baby boomers, that has been throwing the party and leaving a mess for the next generation to sort out?'

He defines 'The boomers' as those born between 1945 and 1965, in other words, the 44 to 64 year olds. Hold on. That can't be right, surely a 'boomer' was a baby, like me, born after the War and not during the War because their parents postponed having a baby because of the War. The War lasted 6 years and ended in 1945 but rationing continued for another 5 years, so that means those born between 1945 and 1955 - the 54 to 64 year olds. So born in 1956, David 'generously' defines himself as a 'boomer', but he isn't, if you know what I mean.The Willetts argument Part One :


The boomers, have concentrated wealth and power in the hands of their own generation. There are a lot of them - 17m and 'they have presided over huge social change and prosperity.' Now they are getting old, the bills are coming in, and it is the younger generations who will pay them. 'We have a good idea of what some of these future costs are — boomer pensions and servicing the debt that the government has built up, to name but two.'

Hold on a minute David, you can't blame government debt on the boomers too . That's a bit unfair.
Now we are in a court of law : 'The charge is that the boomers are guilty of a monumental failure to protect the interests of future generations.'

The boomers are wealthy : 'There is about £6.7 trillion of wealth in our country, and my personal rough estimate is that the boomers — those aged between their mid-forties and mid-sixties — own about £3.5 trillion of this, with the older generation owning most of the rest.' So they are not short of a bob or two.The old pattern was that the young always earned less but caught up but : 'The younger generation today has much worse prospects of building up wealth in the same way. The ladder has been pulled up. That is the real injustice.'

Don't worry youngsters, you have a brave knight in Sir David who is championing your cause.
Part Two : 'How we can learn from hunter-gatherer' societies, David will enlighten us tommorrow.

Britain said Happy Birthday yesterday to Richard Briers and Warren Mitchell

Richard Briers the actor was 76 yesterday. He will best be remembered for playing Tom Good in the BBC sitcom, 'The Good Life', from 1975 - 78 He played a draughtsman who decides, on his 40th birthday, to give up his job and try his hand at self-sufficiency in their suburban home with his wife, played by Felicity Kendal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=Df87aAs2kRs




Warren Mitchell, actor was 84 yesterday. He will best be remembered for playing Alf Garnett in the BBC sitcom 'Till Death Do Us Part' in the 1960's.

Of the two men, Warren bears closer inspection :

* He was born Warren Misel in Stoke Newington, London and is of Russian Jewish descent.

* He describes himself in interviews as " an atheist who sometimes believes in God."

* His father was a glass and china merchant.

* He was interested in acting from an early age, and attended the Gladys Gordon's Academy of Dramatic Arts in Walthamstow from the age of seven.

* He did well at school and read physical chemistry at University College, Oxford, for six months. There he met his contemporary Richard Burton, and together they joined the RAF in 1944. He completed his navigator training in Canada just as the war ended.

* Burton convinced him that taking up acting would be better than completing his chemistry degree and so Mitchell attended RADA for two years.

* He went on to feature in roles on radio and television and in film.

* He is best known for his role as the bigoted cockney West Ham United Football Club supporter, Alf Garnett, but ironically, his real life persona is quite the opposite, being a left-winger, Jewish, and a staunch supporter of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

* The show ran from 1966 to 1975, in seven series, making a total of 53, 30-minute episodes.

* In his personal life a 'Distinguished Supporter' of the British Humanist Association.

* He has been married since 1950 Constance Wake. They have three children.

* He is a naturalised citizen of Australia.

* For over twenty years, Mitchell has suffered pain from nerve damage, caused by a virus, and is a supporter of the Neuropathy Trust.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pYD-F52eRM

Laughter is the best antidote for old men

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p32OC97aNqc

Why is Britain no country for cold, old men ?

My research tells me that :

An increased death rate associated with the winter months is a widespread international phenomenon, but Britain has one of the worst records in Europe. A World Health Organisation report published by its European Regional Office states : 'The magnitude of the excess in the United Kingdom, at over 40,000 deaths every winter is the highest in the European Union… A large component of excess winter deaths is preventable. Recent analysis suggests that the seasonal variations are related to indoor rather than outdoor temperatures… that excess winter deaths are related to poor housing conditions—insufficient thermal insulation, ineffective heating systems and fuel poverty.'

In Britain a one degree drop below the winter average will lead to an additional 8,000 extra deaths. This was a higher proportion than in countries such as Russia and Finland with much more severe winters than Britain.

'Help the Aged' linked fuel poverty to the high level of winter deaths. Their press statement explains that over one million households containing an old person were classed as being in fuel poverty. Fuel poverty is defined as spending more than 10 percent of income on fuel to heat the home. “Many are forced to make the critical decision between heating and eating during the winter months. For 25,000 older people each year this decision is fatal.” It spelt out the reasons for fuel poverty :

* low incomes
* houses that are energy inefficient
* the high level of fuel prices

So, there you go.

More of Britain's old men die in the winter, not because it is cold outside but because they are poor and cold inside their poorly insulated accommodation.

Britain is no country for cold, old men

It's cold and it's snowing again.

I heard a doctor on the radio the other day say that, in the cold spell from December 2008 and February 2009, there were 36,000 more deaths than usual and I wouldn't be surprised if the lion's share went to old men.

The 'New York Times' published this article in 2008 :

Does age affect people’s ability to endure cold?

Studies have found that the body’s response to cold changes significantly over a lifetime, with older people, especially men older than about 60, less able to maintain their core temperature at a given cold exposure than young people.

A 2002 Finnish review in 'The International Journal of Sports Medicine' also noted that older people had a reduced skin sensitivity to the cold and a reduced subjective perception of how cold it is, thereby making them slower to react to protect themselves and more vulnerable to death from hypothermia.

The skin’s protective reaction of constricting surface blood vessels is slower with age, and the cold-induced rise in metabolic rate is also weakened in older people, but the mechanism is unknown.

Cold sensitivity at any age is related to general ill health, especially an abnormally low body mass index and other factors like thyroid malfunction, so older people with these problems may feel more uncomfortable in the cold.

In mapping the temperature sensitivity of the body surface over the life span, a 1998study reported in the journal Somatosensory & Motor Research found that the greatest age-related changes took place in the extremities, especially the feet, where sensitivity thresholds often become too large to measure.

Oh dear, not much cheer here.

Britain says "Happy Birthday" to Clive Dunn, Jimmy Page, Susannah York and Scott Walker.

Clive Dunn, actor and comedian is 90 today. As Corporal Jones in the sitcom about the 'Home Guard' called 'Dads' Army' and set in Britain the Second World War between 1939 and 1945, what pleasure he gave us when we watched on black and white t.v. on a sunday night.

How convincingly he played Jack Jones the butcher in Wilmington-on-Sea , who remembered Army Service in the Sudan under General Kitchener and the 'fuzzy-wussies' who did not like 'it', the 'bayonets' up them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BT0TiXbGNQ



Jimmy Page, rock guitarist is 73 today :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv_mNtI9P3o






Susannah York, actor is 68 today :


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jTB4E-p7XI





Scott Walker, singer, is 67 today




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZTS9H-l5qQ

Britain is a country where yesterday's radicals are today's Establishment

Merfyn Jones is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bangor in Wales. The Deputy and Pro- Vice-Chancellors report to him and he chairs the weekly meetings of the Executive as well as the Board of Academic Heads and the Senate.

Merfyn was an undergraduate at Sussex University and a postgraduate at Warwick before being appointed to his first research post at Swansea in 1971. In 1975 he moved to Liverpool where he taught at the University for fifteen years and served as Director of Continuing Education and Dean. He transferred to Bangor and became Head of the School of History and Welsh History, Professor of Welsh History, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and Pro-Vice-Chancellor. He was Acting Vice-Chancellor during 2003 before becoming the University's sixth Vice-Chancellor in August 2004.

His volume on the North Wales Quarrymen won the Welsh Arts Council Prize for Literature and he has been awarded a BAFTA (Cymru) award for his contribution to history on television. He has served as a member of the Broadcasting Standards Commission and the Board of Governors of the BBC, and as Chair of the Broadcasting Council of Wales. He recently served as Chair of Higher Education Wales and a Vice-President of Universities UK, which represents the higher education sector in the UK.

He is currently chairing a review of higher education in Wales for the Welsh Assembly Government.

I first met Merfyn 45 years ago at Sussex University when he was 17 and I was 18. So bright was he, that he passed his 'A' levels a year early. Looking back, I suppose we were both outsiders at that 'terribly middle class' place, he as a Welsh speaker from the valleys and me as a cockney from South London. 

Here you can see me sporting my goatee beard which he told me was " a sad, bad little beard". In the other photos he is feigning to push Tim Brooks into a moat and is striding out on the campus wearing his blue denim jacket, a shirt and tie and a folder of notes under his arm.
I remember we walked out to Stanmer Park one afternoon in December 1965 and sort inspiration to write poetry, as young men did and no longer do.
Mine was :

Damp grass lilts to hill brow,
Where beeches balance,
raped by an october gale.
Below, labourers lop an oak,
Further a youth kindles fire,
Beneath blocks of stump and roots.

And I would be the "sir",
Who, horse-backed,
With boots flashing in the weak sun,
Once rode toward the blue twisting smoke,
This december afternoon.
Who passed a moment with coarse company,
In honest talk,
Then turned down to Stanmer,
Into the hill's cool shadow,
Where Prince's warm breath cut the chill.
Into the womb of my valley,
Where sweet scent of dung,
Bound cows and fodder,
Mud,brick and stable into one.

As I read it now, these 45 years later, I see it as the piece of adolescent pretence that it was. Merfyn wrote a poem too, but tore it up as worthless. I am sure, if I had read it, it would have surpassed my poor offering.

In the second and third year at Sussex we drew apart as he drew close to the left wing radicals and I made new, conservatively inclined friends.

I know that he took part in the Grosvenor Square demonstration in 1968. As a protest against the Vietnam War a disparate bunch 'radicals' attempted to rush the American Embassy. I wonder if he can spot himself in this archive film ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=jcCzQA_0MHM

P.S. I see he still sports a beard, albeit grey.

Britain is no country for children who need to be children

I read this from the 'Sunday Times' newspaper, today :

'They may be steering the country to a record deficit of at least £178 billion, but ministers believe they can educate the next generation about how to avoid the pitfalls of debt'.

Schools are to be required to teach children how to spend with restraint, borrow within sensible limits and save prudently.

The lessons are being ordered by Ed Balls, the 'Schools Secretary',

" It’s really important that we teach our children about money matters like pensions, responsible saving and effective money management.”

Balls said lessons in “economic wellbeing and financial capability” would be part of personal, social, health and economic education, compulsory for all pupils from September 2011.

“We need to make sure all young people have the information they need to prepare them for the complexities of today’s modern world so they can give security to their families and prepare for the future,” he added.

Under the plans, children aged 5 to 7 could be taught to identify different notes and coins and the basics of saving, for example by putting change in a piggy bank. Between 7 and 11 they could learn about bank accounts and budgeting.

Those aged 11-14 could move on to credit cards, mortgages and loans, with tips on how to pick the deals that suit them best without being fooled by advertising. Older children could receive classes in how to budget effectively and avoid dangerous levels of debt.

Oh dear, is Britain is no longer a country where children can be children and not have a care in the world.

Britain in 2016 will be no country for old men who want to sign cheques

So, the 'cheque' as a form of payment goes out in 6 years and I fear that many old men will have some trepidation about this. Those who are not 'savvy' with telephone banking, where they will be asked to key in 16 numbers on the key pad and have an infinite variety of getting things wrong, will not be looking forward to this :

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

What about those who have no access to the internet and can't do the banking or the paying ?

Even those who can pay for transactions using their 'cheque' card and are fearful of forgetting or miscuing their number.

Goodbye the Britain which either, once cared for its old men or perhaps it never did.

THE FACTS : Electronic payments are four times cheaper for banks than cheques, which cost about £1 each to process.

What a sad country Britain has become.

Britain says " Happy Birthday" this weekend to some worthy old Brits

Happy Birthday to Sir George Martin,record producer,.............84.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Vf7TuCgy_0

Michael Barrett, broadcaster, ................82

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MlV-kZbyVY

David Bailey, photographer ......................72

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8ArHxmELYg

Britain is still a country for old men who remember Marianne Faithfull and say "Happy Birthday !"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhPPJ5dolxU

Marianne is 63 today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianne_Faithfull

Britain's pantomimes are places for old men

I went to a panto in Chatham, in the County of Kent on Monday evening, to see 'Aladdin'. It was magic. In the audience were the kids and their 'mums' and 'dads' and 'grandpas' and 'grandmas'. Three generations about to enjoy, as thousands upon thousands, had enjoyed in the hundreds of years before them.

Of course, the script had a modern twist, but the story was basically the same with the 'good', but poor Aladdin, falling in love the Emperor of China's daughter.

The casting was inspired, with 'Aladdin' played by Phil Gallagher who all kids who watch the Ceebebies Channel known as, 'Mister Maker'.

Next there was Shaun Williamsom who played 'Barry' in the soap called 'East Enders'

Lastly, George Takei from 'Star Trek' as the Emperor of China.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0Jt2wFk1ls

I've put this 'cheerful' posting on my blog at the suggestion of the old boy who was sitting next to me in the theatre balcony, who kept on nudging me with his elbow when Aladdin came on the stage.

I suppose that was to be expected. He is Aladdin's real life father.

Britain is no country for old men who either, shop in Tescos in icy weather, or ride in Eurostar trains to France

The recent snow in North Kent has meant that the pavements are dangerous and icy. I thought that, if I drove to my local Tescos, all would be well. A company which prides itself on 'customer care' and made £3,130,000,000 profit last year, would have my interest at heart and make my parking and my walk to the supermarket 'safe'.

Needless to say, nothing had been done. The slip roads into the parking bays had been created by the crushed snow by the cars. The walkways to the shop had been created by crushed snow by the pedestrians.

The message from Tescos was clear : 'If 'you' want to shop here, you sort out 'your' problem. 'Customer Care' at Tescos, what a laugh.

Driving back from Tescos along the slippery road to my house, I caught the guy behind me in his car on his mobile phone and driving one-handed. The Sun was very low in the sky, as it is at this time of year. I put the visor down. So behind me, I have a man driving up an icy road, with the sun in his eyes and one hand on the wheel.

Britain today, no safe place for me. No safe place for anyone.

Meanwhile, my local radio station tells me that the snow and ice has created problems on the M 20 - a major motorway and that people have to spend 11 hours in their cars, obviously with the engine running to keep themselves warm. The temperature today did not get above 0 degrees.

In addition to that, I hear that 2 Eurostar trains broke down in the Channel Tunnel and one was without heat and light for 10 hours. I can't imagine what in particular, the old and young and the claustrophobia went through.

Eurostar explained everything by saying that,the trains leaving the very cold air outside the tunnel and encountering the warmer air in the tunnel had created problems. Come on now, this is supposed to be 'state of the art' technology and Britain in 2009.

So, The cold weather reveals 2 big corporations who have no care for their customers and drivers who have no care for themselves, but most importantly, other drivers and pedestrians.

Britain today, a country where some big companies take no heed of the care of their customers and some citizens take no heed of the safety of fellow citizens.

Britain's North Kent was no country for old men today

A combination of high pressure over North Europe and moisture over the North Sea, brought 15 c.m. of snow over North Kent last night and made it a distinctly icy place for old men.

A wonderland when you are 6 years old.

A beautiful, but dangerous place when you are 60 years old.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/weather/hi/news

Britain says "Happy Birthday" to Robert Robinson, Tommy Steele, Christopher Cazenove and Bernard Hill

Robert Robinson, broadcaster, is 82 today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoiKoIZ7wwo

Tommy Steele, singer and actor,is 73.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVddTjF-CEM

Christopher Cazenove, actor, is 66.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em0bXDx7eQk

Bernard Hill, actor is 65.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UShA74NFSe4

Britain says : " Where are the players who formed England's champion football team in the 1966 World Cup ?"

Final (30 July 1966)
http://www.sixtiescity.com/Wembley/worldcup66.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/30/newsid_2644000/2644065.stm
Sir Alf Ramsey (Manager) : died in 1999 at the age of 79
Harold Sheperdson (trainer) : died in 1995 at the age of 77

Nobby Stiles.................. is 67
Roger Hunt.................... is 71
Gordon Banks.................. is 72
Jackie Charlton............... is 74
George Cohen.................. is 70
Ray Wilson.................... is 75
Martin Peters................. is 66
Geoff Hurst....................is 68
Bobby Moore....................died in 1993 at the age of 51
Alan Ball......................died in 2007 at the age of 62
Bobby Charlton.................is 72

Kenneth Wolstenholme the BBC commentator.....died in 2002 at the age of 82

World Cup 1966 was, the first and last World Cup held in England, and because the team won , the Old Boys who were in the team are still considered heroes in England today, by people who remember what they achieved 43 years ago.

Perhaps the most important cog in the machine was Alf Ramsey, the manager. Sir Alf Ramsey was knighted in 1967 in recognition of his achievement the year before, before going on to lead England to a third place finish at the 1968 European Championship. Ramsey went on to take England to the semi-final of the European Championship in 1968 and the World Cup quarter-final in 1970. Ramsey was sacked in 1974 after disastrously failing to qualify for World Cup 1974.

Gordon Banks GK: Gordon Banks OBE
He was the goalkeeper on the great final day and had been given his debut just 3 years beforer by Ramsey. In the year that followed the World Cup, there was a strange twist in his career. Considered by many to be the best goalkeeper in the world, he was ousted by Leicester City in favour of a 17 year old keeper called Peter Shilton, the man who would go on to succeed Banks as England's number one goalkeeper. Banks was awarded the OBE in 1970 in recognition of his footballing achievements.

Jack Charlton DF: Jackie Charlton OBE
Jack Charlton was, at 31, the second oldest member of the England 1966 World Cup squad; and one of the most famous images from the final was the sight of Jack falling to his knees and sobbing tears of joy. He was decorated with an OBE, and was also given honorary Irish citizenship following 9 years in charge of the Irish National Team.

Bobby Moore DF: Bobby Moore OBE (Captain)
Bobby Moore set up the first of Geoff Hurst's 3 goals with a quick free kick onto Hurst's head to make the score 1-1. At the end of the game, Moore is pictured wiping his muddy hands on his shirt and shorts before shaking the hand of the Queen and being presented with the World Cup. Bobby Moore died in 1993 at the young age of 51 following a battle with cancer. He is rated as 'the greatest ever defender' by none other than, Pele. Bobby Moore received the OBE in 1967, the year after leading the English to victory.

George Cohen DF: George Cohen MBE
George Cohen was the right back in the side that won the competition, having made his England debut just two years prior, Cohen played his last game for England in 1967 and was the first of England's starting XI to cease playing for the England team. He had to sell his winners medal after encountering financial hardship. His former club Fulham moved to ensure that the medal remained close to him by purchasing it for £80,000 and putting it on display at their Craven Cottage ground. He was awarded the MBE in 2000 after a newspaper campaign petitioned for him and 4 other members of the squad to be decorated.

Ray Wilson DF: Ray Wilson MBE
He retained his place in the England team until the end of the 1968 European Championship. After retirement Wilson decided to leave football and established a successful undertakers in Huddersfield, before retiring completely aged 62 and settling in Halifax.

Martin Peters MF: Martin Peters MBE
Martin Peters had it all, he could run, pass, score, and create. Martin Peters was just 23 in 1966 and had played just 3 International games before the start of the tournament. Peters scored for England in the final, the goal which put England 2-1 ahead; this goal would have been the winning goal was it not for Germany's equaliser in the dying seconds of the game. He retired from football in 1981 at 38 having made a total of 882 competitive appearances and scoring 220 goals. Sir Alf Ramsey described Martin Peters as "ten years ahead of his time", and that was a recognition of his immense ability on the ball.

Nobby Stiles MF: Nobby Stiles MBE
Alongside Peter's that day was tough tackling 24 year old Manchester United midfielder Nobby Stiles. Stiles was an unlikely hero, in fact an unlikely footballer. He was very small as a boy, at a time when most players of his size were being rejected by professional clubs for being too short, he also suffered from severe shortsightedness which meant that he had to wear very strong contact lenses on the pitch and very thick glasses off of the pitch, as well as having to wear dentures after having all of his front tip ripped out on the pitch. Nonetheless, he was spotted by the great Matt Busby and given the chance to prove himself and he did so in great style by the World Cup in 1966 and the European Cup with United just two years later in 1968. Nobby played his final game for England in the unsuccessful 1970 World Cup, obtaining a total of 28 caps and scoring 1 goal.

Alan Ball MF: Alan Ball MBE
He the youngest member of the World Cup winning team. His excellent performance in the final against Germany resulted in him being awarded the 'Man of the Match' award, this is despite Geoff Hurst's hat-trick. Ball's individual performance on the night of the final is considered by many to be one of the greatest individual performances in history, with his tireless box-to-box display. It was Ball who set up Hurst's controversial second goal, and England's third goal, to make the score 3-2in extra time. Ball played for England until 1975, and collected a total of 72 caps; scoring 8 goals in the process.

Bobby Charlton MF/FW: Sir Bobby Charlton CBE
Bobby Charlton went into the tournament with a big reputation. The most experienced International in any starting eleven, and at the peak of his career as one of Manchester United's 'Busby Babes'. At 28 years of age, going on 29, Charlton had already been an International for 8 years. A lot was expected of Charlton in the run up to the tournament, and he did not disappoint. Charlton was famously a goalscoring midfielder, capable of scoring as many as a striker but playing a deeper attacking midfield role; and this was the role that Charlton was asked to play by Alf Ramsey. He quit International football in 1970 with 106 International caps and 49 International goals to his name. He is still holder of the highest England goalscorer record. Bobby Charlton became 'Sir Bobby Charlton' in 1994.

Roger Hunt FW: Roger Hunt MBE
Liverpool striker Roger Hunt was one of three centre forwards selected for the squad, having been playing regularly for England since 1962. Hunt travelled to the 1962 World Cup finals in Chile but did not feature in the tournament, but was again called up for the 1966 World Cup final squad by new manager Sir Alf Ramsey. Hunt started the tournament up front alongside Jimmy Greaves, who was subsequently injured and replaced by the young Geoff Hurst. Roger Hunt was the only constant in the front line and was instrumental in the teams successful attempt to reach the final, scoring 3 times in 6 games. Hunt played for Liverpool between 1958 and 1969, making 492 appearances and scoring an incredible 245 goals before being allowed to leave to join Bolton Wanderers. His International career ended at the same time, having accrued 34 International Caps and scoring 18 International goals. Roger Hunt is the 5th and final player to have been awarded an MBE in 2000, after the other 6 members of the final starting eleven had been featured on the 1967 honours list.

Geoff Hurst FW: Sir Geoff Hurst MBE
The hat-trick of goals in the final, made Geoff Hurst famous worldwide. He went on to played on for England until 1972, scoring 24 goals in 49 games, before being awarded an MBE in 1975. He was later knighted in 1998 in recognition of his achievements.

Britain says "Happy Birthday" to 3 'pleasure giving' old Brits called Lionel Blair, Tom Wilkinson and Bill Nighy

So, on this day : 78 years ago the World said " Hello " to Lionel Blair.

: 61 years ago to Tom Wilkinson.

: 60 years ago to Bill Nighy.

Lionel : Was born in Canada but later became a British actor, choreographer, tap dancer and television presenter.

He was the son of Myer Ogus and Deborah Greenbaum. His father was a Russian barber who changed the family name to 'Blair' in his youth.

Here he is with Sammy Davis Junior in 1961 at the age of 30.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgwwdgepuSg


Tom Wilkinson was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, the son of a farmer.

At the age of four, he moved with his family to Canada, where they lived for several years before returning to England and running a pub in Cornwall.

He graduated from the University of Kent and attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He made his television debut in the mid-1970s and worked on several British television series, most notably,' First Among Equals' in 1986.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArsccM8dB4s

Bill Nighy :

William Francis 'Bill' Nighy is an English actor and comedian.

He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981 and made his name in television with 'The Men's Room' in 1991, in which he played the womanizer, Prof Mark Carleton, whose extra-marital affairs kept him 'vital.'

He became known around the world in 2003 as Bill Mack, the ageing pop star in the film 'Love Actually'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl2vX229e1A

Happy Birthday to Geoff Hurst who was in England's winning team in the football 'World Cup' in 1966

Geoff Hurst is 68 today and knowing that, I am taken back to the 'World Cup' at Wembley in 1966. Geoff was 25 and in his prime and I was 19, and even more in my prime.

Where are they now ? The team ?

I will investigate and publish my findings on my next post.

P.S. In some respects,isn't Britain wonderful, in that men who kick balls, in the name of sport, like 'Sir Geoff' are honoured ?

Three goals -a 'hatrick' in World Cup History and here he is with that last goal :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wyLvagyApY&feature=player_embedded#

Britain is a country of soggy old men and Shakespeare and I and ' the rain it raineth every day'.

When I was a boy in the 1950's, it seemed to rain every day. Now I am an old boy in 2009 it seems to rain every day.
I was reminded of Feste 'the clown' in Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night' who, with underlying sadness, at the end of the play, sang : "The rain it raineth every day," suggesting that every day brings some kind of misery which was a melancholy line for a 'clown'.

When that I was and a little tiny boy,
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
A foolish thing was but a toy,
For the rain it raineth every day.
But when I came to man’s estate,
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
’Gainst knaves and thieves men shut their gate,
For the rain it raineth every day.
But when I came, alas! to wive,
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
By swaggering could I never thrive,
For the rain it raineth every day.
But when I came unto my beds,
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
With toss-pots still had drunken heads,
For the rain it raineth every day.

A great while ago the world begun,
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, But that’s all one, our play is done,
And we’ll strive to please you every day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e7qk-Jbo54

Shakespeare died at the age of 52 in 1616 and must have been harking back to the wet 1560's when he was a lad. So, I do have something in common with the 'Greatest Englishman who ever lived' : We both had soggy childhoods.

P.S. 'toss pots'. So that's where the expression came from.

Britain is no country for old men in general and Southwark and in South London in particular

This a photo of my Granny, Beatrice, Elizabeth, Charlotte Lefevre as she was at the age of 18 in 1896. The occasion was her 'coming of age' and putting her long hair up in a bun and fixed with clips. She kept it long and clipped till the day she died, at the age of 90 in 1968.

As a boy, I loved her dearly. I once said to her : "What would you do if you won a million pounds,Gran ?"
Without hesitation she said : " Give it away to poor people."

She was married at 18 and had her first child at 20. She was then consistently pregnant every 2 or 3 years until the birth of her last son in 1919 when she was 41. In all she produced 10 children, 9 of whom were boys and the single girl, who survived childhood was my Mother. As a family, they lived just above the poverty line, with my Grandfather working as a 'carter' delivering jam in jars by horse and cart for the Robinson factory at Woolwich.

She was born and brought up in the London Borough of Southwark on the south bank of the River Thames. She was 10 years old when the serial killer, 'Jack the Ripper' was killing prostitutes across the River in Whitechapel. She was 23 when Queen Victoria died, 36 when the First World War broke out and her eldest son lied about his age and joined the Army at 16 and 61 when the Second World War broke out. She outlived 5 of her own children.











This was Southwark High Street when she was a girl. In those days the old and poor in Southwark who had no income and no family to care for them were forced into the parish workhouse.
This was a grim place where the inmates were segregated by sex, placed in uniform and institutionalised.

Here, there was neither dignity nor respect for the elderly.



















The granting of old age pensions alleviated poverty in old age for many when they were started for the over 70's in 1908. However, workhouses themselves were not abolished until 1930 and my Granny was 52.

Fast forward to Southwark in 2009, 131 years after my Granny was born there.

A report by an independent regulator has found that Southwark is one of 8 of the 140 local government authorities, which in their care homes are failing to provide 'dignity and respect' for the elderly people who rely on 'home help' and 'care home' places. It fails fail to provide consistent care and its staff are not up to scratch.

The Government 'Care Services Minister', Phil Hope said : “It is unacceptable there are a small number of areas where services are under-performing. There shouldn't’t be a postcode lottery".

The report raised fears that the recession will force councils to cut spending on the 300,000 elderly care places they provide in Britain today.

The findings follow allegations last year from the 'Alzheimer's Society', that many residents with dementia get no more than five minutes of attention from staff each day.

The pressure group 'Age Concern' condemned the inadequacy of many homes. Spokesman Andrew Harrop said: "It's not acceptable that ratings for care homes for older people are lagging behind homes for younger groups".

It seems that Britain is a country where there have been big changes in the deteriorating behaviour of the young and continuities in the poor and shoddy treatment of the old.

Sad.

Britain says "Happy Birthday" Keith Michell and "Goodbye" to its History

The actor Keith Michell was 81 yesterday. He was born in Adelaide and brought up in Warnertown, near Port Pirie in South Australia's Mid North region. The theatre in Port Pirie is named after him.

He taught art until he made his theatre debut in Adelaide in 1947 and he first appeared in London in 1951. He starred in several musicals, including the first London production of 'Man of La Mancha', in which he played the dual role of 'Miguel de Cervantes' and his fictional creation, 'Don Quixote'.


It is however, in the role of King Henry in the BBC t.v. series 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII', in 6 episodes in 1970, that he will always be remembered. In particular the old, unhappy and bloated Henry in his last years.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBoOpr4iexs



A poll of 1000, 16 to 24 year olds in England, Wales and Scotland, carried out back in 2001 found that 75% did not know that D-Day was the start of the Normandy landings in 1944, while 33% thought it marked the end of World War II.

In addition, 33% thought Keith Michell had eight wives, not six.

However, 70% felt a knowledge of history was important and more than 10% believed it made them more attractive to the opposite sex.

I have no way of knowing, but I would suggest that if the same poll was carried out with 1000, 16 - 24 year olds in Britain today, only a minority would feel that history was important and none would believe that it made them more attractive to the opposite sex.