A VERY LOCAL HERO

One of the many consequences of AFC Wimbledon`s stunning FA Cup victory over West Ham on Saturday was the effect it has had on the mood within our street.  For many years now, us residents of the sleepy street in our benign Kentish enclave have been following the fortunes of one member of a resident family, Scott Wagstaff, as he has been plying his footballing trade in various locations ranging from Charlton, Northwich Victoria, Leyton Orient, Bristol City, Gillingham and more recently AFC Wimbledon.

And it is at Wimbledon that the media spotlight has finally landed on him following his `exceptional` performance scoring two outstanding goals in Wimbledon`s 4- 2 win.  The sports sections in the  weekend newspapers have been fulsome in their admiration for the David v Goliath contest played out before a live BT television audience and today`s newspapers have continued the theme, as have Sky Sports who are due to visit our street today and interview our local hero.  So it would be remiss of me not to enter into the media frenzy and there are a couple of aspects of this event that demand comment.

The first is that, paradoxically, our street is largely populated by West Ham supporters and they must be sick as parrots at their team`s abject failure against the Dons who sit at the wrong end of the third tier of English football.  On the other hand they, like me, must be over the moon for Scott and his Wimbledon chums at the nationwide attention their exploits have attracted.  

The only thing missing from Waggy`s performance on Saturday was the re-emergence of his trade mark goal celebration `The Brick.`  Now until recently he always used this extraordinary contortion to celebrate scoring for former teams and it involved throwing himself onto the ground on his back whilst waiting for his team mates to join in the euphoria.  However, it seems that since he `did his shoulder` in one of these exertions he has since been banned from such antics.   Just as a reminder of past glories, here are some examples of `The Brick` and how much it was missed on Saturday.......

In former times, he was know locally as Scott ("Buzzin` six-pack pacy flanker") Wagstaff and known also as a box to box midfield dynamo with a good engine and an eye for a pass.  Now he`s just buzzing.  And good for him. He`s done our street proud and we couldn`t be happier for him.

There`s a fifteen minute programme which comes on as a little light relief from BBC Breakfast on Saturday mornings.  I`m not sure how many viewers are around at 7.45 on a Saturday morning which might be a reason for the BBC to televise it at that obscure time.

Anyway, it`s called `Newswatch`and its alleged purpose is to allow comment and criticism from viewers about various aspects of the BBC`s news coverage in the week gone by.  All very laudable and its presenter. one Samira Ahmed, is as one would expect, presentable, calm, measured and assured.

What with Dudley our retriever getting up a bit early these days I have been up in time to see a number of editions of Newswatch and there`s little doubt that a pattern has emerged.  Viewers write in on a number of newsworthy items and, in response, the BBC put up a producer, a head of one of their many sections, a spokesperson to give the Corporation`s response to the points raised by their audience. 

Trouble is, whatever the criticism might have been from the viewers, the BBC never seem to admit to being wrong.  It doesn`t matter who they put up before the cameras or whatever the subject of criticism or comment might be, the standard response is always to defend their corner, never to admit to error, never to apologise.

Reminded me of my time in a former life in the past century when I had to produce reports about things I was responsible for.  Now and again, very rarely in fact, a human error would creep in, a mistake would be made.  Rather than try to defend it or make excuses, I found the best remedy was to confess, admit to the mistake, explain how it happened, put it right and make sure it didn`t happen again.  I guess times have changed - people seem terrified of criticism these days and it really does seem to be the case that sorry seems to be the hardest word.

This morning`s edition of Newswatch went on about the alleged `mistreatment` of Diane Abbott in a recent edition of Question Time.  There had been some uproar about her being corrected over certain statements she had made in the programme, about her being interrupted by other panellists and this all led to accusations of discrimination because Diane is a black labour politician and that the BBC had not issued the apology which she had demanded.  

Newswatch this morning predictably wheeled out a self confessed labour supporter in order to say how dreadfully Diane had been treated but there was no counter argument from the BBC apart from some wishy washy `statement` that they thought everything in their garden was fantastic.   

As the song also says, it`s a sad, sad situation.  And it`s getting more and more absurd.

I have posted this cartoon as it reminded me of an ongoing case which is intriguing for a number of reasons.Once again I must proceed with caution as the case in point is still the subject of `legal proceedings` - in fact, an appeal to the Employment Tribunal following a case of alleged dismissal on grounds of gross misconduct.

The case involves a gentleman hereabouts who was a magistrate and employed in a high ranking position with the local NHS, both of which positions he had occupied for about 20 years.  He is a committed christian and it was in his capacity as a magistrate that he apparently fell foul of today`s rampant political correctness which leans heavily - arguably too heavily - in favour of `minorities.`

He had presided over countless adoption cases without any complaint or criticism until, a while ago now, he suggested that adoptive children might be better off in an environment where the adoptive parents are a man and a woman rather than a same sex couple.   This led to a bit of an uproar with the result that he was suspended and subsequently dismissed as a magistrate and in good time was also relieved of his duties with the NHS.  He has appealed against both decisions on the grounds of discrimination, the result of both appeals are awaited.

Now it would be inappropriate of me to pre-empt the outcome but the issue which attracted my attention was the decision somewhere along the line that he should be required to undergo `equality training.`  And like me he is of another generation, one that might be accused of being out of touch with the `normalities` of life today;  of being of another time, another age when things were so very different - a time when things that are supposed to be normal these days did not even scratch the surface of our consciousness in times gone by.

Now I have always had a kind of inbuilt aversion to any form of compulsion - I resented having to do my National Service, for example, maybe it`s one of the reasons why I voted leave in that long ago referendum and I would most certainly be pretty miffed about being forced to go on `equality training.` I guess it does what it says on the tin but I don`t believe it should force people like the gentleman in this case to alter his deeply held convictions which would have themselves been accepted without question at the time of his formative years.

There`s a deeper issue too - that of self-expression being compromised for fear of upsetting one of a number of burgeoning minority groups.  Freedom of expression is a long standing freedom and one which should be respected. but maybe should not be used as an excuse to dismiss well meaning people from positions which benefit society at large?

ENOUGH OF THE NONSENSE..

Firstly, a disclaimer.  I do not buy or read the Sun newspaper - I have merely nicked this image of one of their front pages for illustrative purposes connected with the following rant.

Now as I understand it, whoever is Prime Minister attends Buckingham Palace each week (possibly on Thursdays) to have a discussion with the Queen and have the benefit of Her Majesty`s advice.  The conversations must be riveting, especially these days when the country is in such a state of confusion, turmoil and uncertainty about its future.

I realise also that these weekly get-togethers are strictly confidential, so one is left simply to speculate about the nature of recent conversations concerning the ongoing Brexit nonsense.  I just wonder if it goes something like this:-

HM : "Well, Prime Minister, how`s this Brexit thing coming along?"

PM :  "It`s proving a little difficult, your Majesty.  There are a few problems at the moment, Ma`am.  After over two years of negotiation I thought we had a deal with our European partners setting out the terms of our withdrawal from the EU.  Trouble is, parliament didn`t like it, half of my party didn`t like it, the opposition party didn`t like it nor the LibDems, the Scottish Nationalists, the DUP from Northern Ireland, Plaid Cymru from Wales, a few Independents and that Green woman.  And loads of people who voted leave don`t like it much, nor loads who voted remain.  So I lost the vote in the Commons by quite a distance."

HM : "Oh dear, so what are you doing to put things right?"

PM : "Well, Ma`am, it`s tricky.  There are conflicting opinions about the Northern Ireland backstop, whether to go back to the EU and try to tweak the agreement over such things as staying in the customs union which would mean we can`t negotiate trade deals with countries outside the EU; whether to stay in the single market which might not mean ending free movement; whether to have no agreement at all and just pull out of the EU at the end of March with all the economic uncertainty that might bring;  whether to have a second referendum which a lot of people want as they didn`t like the result of the first one and other issues as well.  Trouble is, Ma`am, the EU have said they will not renegotiate the agreement.  So at the moment I`m talking to representatives across all political parties to see if there is any chance of any common ground which we might put before the EU and parliament to see if we can achieve an agreed way forward before we leave the EU on 29th March.  So it`s all a bit difficult and I wonder if you might have any advice you can offer me Ma`am to help resolve the many conundrums and impasses I`m currently facing."

HM : "Oh dear, Mrs, May, a bit of a pig`s ear really and one is not terribly amused. So surely the time has come for someone to bite the bullet and offer firm, decisive leadership.  Now, last time I looked I was still the Queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and, as the Sun suggested, I could do with getting my country back.   So I`ve decided to take charge of the situation and issue a series of Sovereign Commands that will make it clear that we will become an independent country in every respect as from the date you had in mind.  Enough of the nonsense.   I had been thinking about it, so I texted my decision to Philip yesterday afternoon to let him know.  Bit of a surprise for him - he pranged the Land Rover when he got the message but he`s OK.  I`ll turn up at Westminster next week and read out a new Queen`s Speech so that everyone knows what`s going to happen.  Happy?  Perhaps you would like Philip to drive you home?"

There are a couple of high profile criminal cases being heard at the moment and so it is with measured caution that I write these notes. I really truly do not want to stray into the details of the cases themselves, both of which are likely to take weeks to conclude but there is one aspect of each of them that I suggest makes detached comment legitimate.

The first concerns the accusation against former police commander David Duckenfield on a single charge for the manslaughter by gross negligence in which 95 people died in the Hillsborough disaster way back in 1989 and Graham Mackrell, a former chairman of Sheffield Wednesday FC who is accused of health and safety failings and issues concerning the stadium safety certificate.

A touch more recently, there is also the trial of Andrew Hill, the pilot whose plane crashed on the A27 near Shoreham in Sussex in 1995 killing 11 men and who is also accused of manslaughter by gross negligence.

The Hillsborough tragedy took place 30 years ago - David Duckenfield is now 74 - and the Shoreham air disaster happened getting on for four years ago.  Now I know that legal processes take time and setting aside any personal opinion about the accused in both cases, it does seem an inordinately long time for all of those involved, both the victims, the bereaved and the accused, to have to wait for these events to be drawn to a close, at least in legal terms.

There`s an old saying about justice delayed being justice denied - denied  to\ the victims, the bereaved and to the accused of course..

Once upon a time, it used to be said that sport is the last refuge for those who find it impossible to idle.  Then there is the notion that patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.   

Take your pick, but on today of all days I think I might seek refuge from the noise, the sound, the fury and the scandalous pantomime that will be played out in parliament and, despite being anything but idle, I will once again look to the world of sport to find my refuge.

And there`s plenty to fall back on especially in the fol-de-rols of football management.   Today we learn that Huddersfield manager, David Wagner, has left the club `by mutual consent.`  A well worn turn of phrase which usually means that the manager has been sacked, however in Wagner`s case it does appear to have been a genuinely mutual agreement as he has done well by the club and, suffering from the stresses of managing in the Premier League, it is only right that the club has done well by him.   And if Huddersfield fans need any consolation, it can surely be found in the report that `Big` Sam Allardyce, who used to ply his trade for the club as a clogging centre back, is not inclined to apply for the vacancy.

Closer to home and in acknowledgement of my neighbour`s devotion to his beloved Gillingham, I was impressed with their `stunning` (there`s no other word for it) FA Cup defeat of Premier League Cardiff City and the recent upturn in their league performances.  Now, of course, football has a habit of producing irony and coincidence in equal measure, so perhaps it was inevitable that Gillingham`s reward for beating Cardiff was to draw Swansea City away in the next round.   Not only a visit to Wales but also a return to his home city for Gills` manager Steve Lovell.  

The football equivalent of the antics in parliament is, of course, the ongoing soap opera that is Manchester United.  Okay, they finally had the sense to get rid of serial egotist Jose Morinho only to pinch Molde`s manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, on loan for the rest of the season.  You just know that the Norwegian minnows are going to get screwed by the assumed entitlement of the sharks of Old Trafford.

As for Southampton, under our new manager Ralph Rabbithutch the team seems to go from strength to strength culminating in an heroic win away last Saturday at Leicester City despite being down to ten men for most of the game.  There is real hope of survival now that the dizzy heights of 16th in the table have been reached and the relegation zone has faded into the background albeit by one solitary point.  No matter, the open top bus is revving up.

Football management is a broad church, inhabited by a wide range of disparate characters, each with his own idea of how to go about things in an unrelenting battle to achieve what might pass for approval.   A bit like parliament really - truly  the last refuge for the scoundrel, the duplicitous and the misguided ?

 No, not mine.   Although, to be fair, you would be forgiven for thinking so, as it has been a little time since my last post on these pages.  The delay has been entirely due to the alleged `festive season` - now thankfully behind us for another year - and to ongoing negotiations with the Regulator, OffBlog, as to whether this blog should be allowed to continue in its present form.   Those negotiations have concluded happily and so I am now fired up to resume pretty much where I left off.

So here goes.

And it saddens me in a way to begin this year`s rants with yet another critique of the BBC News.  I sit down at lunchtime and the news comes on and in my naivete I imagined there would firstly be reports about the Brexit fiasco, the Mexico wall shenanigans, the snow deluge in continental Europe, the Government`s attempts to make sense of Universal Credit and so on, but no.  None of that.

Instead the first ten minutes of this 30 minutes news bulletin were taken up on the subject of Andy Murray and the fact that he might be having to bring his distinguished tennis career to a close, given the medical problems he has suffered in recent times.  Now I have every sympathy with his situation and a good deal of admiration for his achievements on the tennis courts of the world.  So my complaint is not about Andy Murray, far from it, but it is yet again with the BBC and their warped sense of priority.

We had a potted history of Murray`s development and playing career, we had reporters from Dunblane to Wimbledon, we had effusive Twitter and e-mail testimonials from tennis greats past and present.   Had I caught the news half way through this main item then I could well have imagined that poor Andy Murray had passed away.   Thankfully, for his sake, Mark Twain`s quote is entirely accurate.