A few blogs ago I talked about people who had a positive inspiration on my life and sadly yesterday I heard that another of them had died.
I started my life as a reporter in the Suffolk seaside town of Lowestoft. At that time the sub editor was a Welshman by the name of Glynne Gwilliam (he had to be Welsh with a name like that). I had been told that Glynne could be tough and uncompromising. I found him friendly and helpful and we seemed to gel well, particularly as I shared his interest in Lowestoft Town and football statistics and also helped him with technology.
We are talking the 1970s here and so are not talking mobile phones, laptops and Ipads. No we are talking clanking, clanging, large machines. I'm not even sure of the name. But you had to have some kind of strange brain to be able to work them. So every week I would send over Glynne's copy covering Lowestoft Town for the Suffolk Sports paper The Green Un. So named not surprisingly because it was printed on green paper.
So myself and Glynne spent many Saturdays at Crown Meadow - the home of Lowestoft Town. Glynne also allowed me free rein to cover the local arts scene because he knew of my love of music and theatre. I was very lucky to start my working journalistic career at Lowestoft and very lucky to have the support of people like Glynne and Chief Reporter George Smallman.
I may have a few wet the pant moments at the end of May. We are going to Liverpool for four days and yesterday I booked to go on the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour for the second time. This coach goes round the places made famous by the Beatles. Not just that this time. I have booked with the National Trust to go round the insides of the homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney - wow.
Am currently reading a biography of Joseph Stalin - it poses the question of just when supporting a cause turns into Megalomania. When did Stalin eschew Marxism and Bolshevism in the pursuit of personal domination and are people like this revolutionaries or just murderous thugs? Certainly not questions I have an answer to yet.
Today went into Norwich and had brunch at our favourite cafe - Cafe Morellos which is opposite Debenhams. Followed this by watching Norwich be completely outclassed by Manchester City. We lost 6-1 and analysing the Norwich performance is pointless as we were just beaten by a team with the potential to be world class. It is always interesting to see teams that buck the trend by playing small players. Spain won the World Cup this way, Barcelona do it brilliantly and so do Manchester City. Fast players with low centres of gravity and Norwich just couldn't compete with this style of fast attacking football.
Followed that by going to Cinema City to see the Norwegian language film Headhunters based on the novel by Jo Nesbo. Plenty of gore and guts. Somehow I kept thinking of two films - Duel and Straw Dogs. I think entertaining is the wrong word to describe it. but as a thriller it was half decent. I must read some of his books.
Have just watched Benjamin Lake on the Voice TV talent and reality show. Ben lives (or it might be lived as I have a feeling he recently moved) in Hethersett and I have written a number of articles about him for my village web site and also for the local Press. I have also had a few drinks in the Queen's Head with Ben. Sadly he didn't make it through.
The Norwich Titanic Association had a special display in Norwich Forum. It was very interesting tracing the family trees of Norfolk survivors, along with facsimiles and various other artifacts. I can't help feeling that there's been a bit of overkill on the Titanic front - not that it will stop us going round the new exhibition when we visit Belfast at the end of the month.
Backed 10 horses in the Grand National and only one of them came in the first four. Oh well such is life. It wasn't so much about the race this year as the death of two of the horses. I'm not getting into the argument pro and against cruelty to animals through horse racing as I am a fan of the sport. Nevertheless it's upsetting when there are fatalities.
I started my life as a reporter in the Suffolk seaside town of Lowestoft. At that time the sub editor was a Welshman by the name of Glynne Gwilliam (he had to be Welsh with a name like that). I had been told that Glynne could be tough and uncompromising. I found him friendly and helpful and we seemed to gel well, particularly as I shared his interest in Lowestoft Town and football statistics and also helped him with technology.
We are talking the 1970s here and so are not talking mobile phones, laptops and Ipads. No we are talking clanking, clanging, large machines. I'm not even sure of the name. But you had to have some kind of strange brain to be able to work them. So every week I would send over Glynne's copy covering Lowestoft Town for the Suffolk Sports paper The Green Un. So named not surprisingly because it was printed on green paper.
So myself and Glynne spent many Saturdays at Crown Meadow - the home of Lowestoft Town. Glynne also allowed me free rein to cover the local arts scene because he knew of my love of music and theatre. I was very lucky to start my working journalistic career at Lowestoft and very lucky to have the support of people like Glynne and Chief Reporter George Smallman.
I may have a few wet the pant moments at the end of May. We are going to Liverpool for four days and yesterday I booked to go on the Beatles Magical Mystery Tour for the second time. This coach goes round the places made famous by the Beatles. Not just that this time. I have booked with the National Trust to go round the insides of the homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney - wow.
Am currently reading a biography of Joseph Stalin - it poses the question of just when supporting a cause turns into Megalomania. When did Stalin eschew Marxism and Bolshevism in the pursuit of personal domination and are people like this revolutionaries or just murderous thugs? Certainly not questions I have an answer to yet.
Today went into Norwich and had brunch at our favourite cafe - Cafe Morellos which is opposite Debenhams. Followed this by watching Norwich be completely outclassed by Manchester City. We lost 6-1 and analysing the Norwich performance is pointless as we were just beaten by a team with the potential to be world class. It is always interesting to see teams that buck the trend by playing small players. Spain won the World Cup this way, Barcelona do it brilliantly and so do Manchester City. Fast players with low centres of gravity and Norwich just couldn't compete with this style of fast attacking football.
Followed that by going to Cinema City to see the Norwegian language film Headhunters based on the novel by Jo Nesbo. Plenty of gore and guts. Somehow I kept thinking of two films - Duel and Straw Dogs. I think entertaining is the wrong word to describe it. but as a thriller it was half decent. I must read some of his books.
Have just watched Benjamin Lake on the Voice TV talent and reality show. Ben lives (or it might be lived as I have a feeling he recently moved) in Hethersett and I have written a number of articles about him for my village web site and also for the local Press. I have also had a few drinks in the Queen's Head with Ben. Sadly he didn't make it through.
The Norwich Titanic Association had a special display in Norwich Forum. It was very interesting tracing the family trees of Norfolk survivors, along with facsimiles and various other artifacts. I can't help feeling that there's been a bit of overkill on the Titanic front - not that it will stop us going round the new exhibition when we visit Belfast at the end of the month.
Backed 10 horses in the Grand National and only one of them came in the first four. Oh well such is life. It wasn't so much about the race this year as the death of two of the horses. I'm not getting into the argument pro and against cruelty to animals through horse racing as I am a fan of the sport. Nevertheless it's upsetting when there are fatalities.
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