Up in smoke

The annual pilgrimage to Lords to see the first day of the Ashes test allowed SWMBO and I a few days in London. We started with dinner in J Sheekey, the renowned seafood restaurant, and the n spent the next day sightseeing.

I was keen to see what had become of Battersea power station, so we started there. It has its own tube station terminus so getting there was easy enough, albeit we had planned the river taxi, but they did not stop there from the Waterloo side of the river.

The main turbine halls have been turned into a shopping mall and food court, a bit of a poor man's Westfield, without the same level of foot fall. I think they might have been better going down the outlet mall route.

The main attraction though is the observation pod at the top of one of the chimney's. You take two elevators and walk a few steps, and the pop out of the top of the chimney already in the pod. The views are spectacular and give another perspective on West London. You would still prefer the London Eye if it was central London you wanted a good look at, but the chimney tour is still worth the trip. The whole area is now built up with flats and hotels, one of which had a cool pool and bar on its roof.

After a light lunch in one of the cafe's we did manage to get the river bus back to Westminster pier, and hit the West End before the must have burger in Joe Allen at Covent Garden. The restaurant has moved now but has tried to maintain the basement dive vibe of the old site, and with a fair amount of success.

The cricket was disappointing as England won the toss in bowler friendly conditions but failed to take the three or four wickets they needed to exert their authority over the Aussies. This year was the 60th year since I first went to Lord's as a ten year old with my Dad. I am wondering whether enough is enough now, although it would be good to get my 50 year reward badge from Middlesex first, and I think I have three more years to go to get that !!

Deja Vous all over again

We are on the train back to Liverpool, following our annual trip to London for the Lord's test match. This year is an Ashes year but our hopes of seeing Jofra Archer throw a few down at the Aussies were dashed once again by the weather.
This is the second year running that we have had a complete washout following a similar experience when India were the visitors.

We adjourn to Crickets on such occasions, although it is disappointing that they have removed Fullers London Pride in favour of some pale imitation of an IPA. We did our usual trick of purchasing an umbrella from one of the numerous charity shops in St John's Wood high street, and SWMBO and I both purchase some clobber so not a totally wasted day.

After an early dinner the night before at The Duke of Sussex in Waterloo, we went to see 'The Bank Robbery That Went Wrong' at the Criterian Theatre. It had some very clever and amusing moments interspersed with periods of dullness, but that is farce for you.

Yesterday we met Cousin Mike and Val at the Ivy Cafe in Richmond which very pleasant. Marion joined us for a drink later before we deferred once more to Waterloo for night cap.

So all in all a good three days, and the refunded entry fees should cover all the r & r!!

Behind you

Number one grand daughter was in her first pantomime this weekend, a small part but a step on the ladder. She was in the chorus for three numbers and then the grand finale.

The event was hosted in the Gladstone Theatre in Port Sunlight. It was opened in 1845 by the Prime Minister originally for men only entertainment but soon morphed itself into the cosy variety theatre it is today. It is a throwback to the Lord Leverhume philanthropic approach to staff well being, and must have attracted the misogynistic hall stars of the time. It still pulls in artists from stage and screen we have heard of, and is just launching a comedy club which we might sample shortly.

While we were supporting Ava, the Swiss branch were skiing in the Alps as the snow had dumped on the Swiss side, totally ignoring the Italians. No change there then.

I am writing this in Arrows Park A & E as we try to find out what they can do about my mother and her frail legs and body. It is going to be a long night I suspect as she once more becomes unstable and prone to falling.

Storm force winds are forecast for the next few weeks so best be prepared for a bit of inclement weather here for a while.

I have just got tickets for the cricket at Lords in August so that gives us something sunny to look forward to, and we are off to St George's Hall for a beer festival, prior to the Six Nations rugby starting. Nothing like a bit of drinking practise before the drinking starts in earnest.

Wet Wet Wet

A long weekend in London to take in some cricket, sights and restaurants did not quite go to plan as the weather gods continued to plague our time away from Scouse.

We had rain in Barbados, more rain in the Seychelles and even more rain, but colder, in Mauritius. Why should we not be surprised then when the first day of the test match at Lords was rained off without a ball being bowled?

This was the first full day wash out for 17 years and I suspect we were there for that one too. 1963 seems a long time ago since my first visit. Next year the Australians visit in what will be my 56th year. I wrote this piece in 2013

So when it rains at Lords all roads lead to  Crockers where we met old  friends and got squiffy. Next day we got caught in the mother of all storms on the SouthBank and got soaked so all in all the sightseeing did not go too well either.

We did manage a couple of good meals though. The first was in the Quality Chop House at the Farringdon end of Exmouth Market, the other was at old favorite, Langans, where the food seemed better than I remember it.

The hotel was not up to much but we did end the trip with cocktails in The Booking Office in the Conrad Renaissance at St Pancras Station.

No time for Grandkids, London branch as they are in Bulgarialand at the moment, but hot off the press they are moving to Switzeland at the end of the month where Mrs Bulgaria has got a new job. Number one son is sticking in there and going as well, with his firm keeping him on as a contractor. Watch this space for more news of their new adventure.

Figs, Sri Lanka and beer

I have discussed my Lord's attendance record here before, and the trend continues. I also wrote about the demise of Crockers Folly as long ago as 2009. That situation I am pleased to say has been reversed, but more on that later.

Going to Lord's on a Saturday has long been the tradition, but now I and SWMBO are available for recreational pastimes all week, we thought we would go on a Thursday for a change. We have suffered some dull Saturday's so some first day excitement would be good.

We were not disappointed either as Sri Lanka showed more steel than the first two tests and only a late century from Johnny Bairstow wrestled some parity back for England.

We punctuated out day with a mid match expedition to a local pub and were delighted we could revisit above mentioned Crickets. Eight years ago I wrote about it but it may have closed longer. It has been expertly restored to it's original but is now more a restaurant with a bar than the other way round. They welcomed the cricket crew willingly and had London Pride on draught. Bliss.

Life often has the habit of balancing highs and lows to keep everything in perspective. This weekend was no exception as our weekend started with a visit to my mate Figs. Figs and I have shared many days at Lords  as chronicled in the first link above, but I am now concerned we will never be able to so again.

A few weeks ago he was taken to hospital with a heart problem. His ticker has been less than 100% for some years but this incident saw him moved to Harefield hospital for a valve replacement and defibrillating pacemaker. Much like the young England cricketer James Taylor, has had fitted this week.

Unfortunately they did not think Figs was up to the op so they sent him home for strength conditioning and weight loss regimes. Sadly last week he suffered a stroke and has been in Atkinson Morley Neurological unit for several days. He has now been moved to Kingston for rehab. He has lost the use of his left arm and some movement in his leg. His speech is degraded and memory confused. It is all very distressing not least forMarion, his SWMBO.

They will scan him again in two weeks so lets hope there is improvement.

50 not out

SWMBO and I were at Lord's on Saturday for the second testy match against Australia, we have been going for most of the 23 years we have been together. Saturday was, however, my 50th anniversary.

It all started in June 1963 when my dad took me out of school and we went to the second and third day of the second test against the West Indies. What a test match to debut in! West Indies were stacked with great name cricketers, Conrad Hunte opened, Gary Sobers came in at number 3 followed by Rohan Kanhai and Basil  Butcher. Frank Worrell captained the side and could call upon Lance Gibbs as well as Wes Hall and Charlie Griffiths in his bowling attack.

The match is memorable for two things. Ted Dexter took on the might of Hall and Griffiths, scoring 70 runs off 73 balls when others struggled around him, and following Butchers classy 100 in the West Indies second innings, Colin Cowdrey came out to bat the final  over with England needing six to win with a plaster cast on the arm he broke earlier in the innings.

Dad took me to many games after that, always saying the Friday and Saturday gave a chance to see the end of the first innings, all of the second and the start of the third, and so I continued after Dad was no longer able to attend. We were at the Massie test in 1972 when the Australian took 8 wickets in each innings, and he did take me to the last test played by the South African's at the Oval, before the D'Oliviera case isolated them,  in 1965

My mate Mike McBride and I took up the gauntlet starting at the England v Australia centenary test in 1980 and I was later joined by Figs together with whom I attended all five days of a test against Australia, albeit with lunchtime visits to Crocker's to lubricate the tonsils.

So now its SWMBO, who eased into the seat which Figs had to vacate when the tests started to clash with his role at the Wimbledon tennis. We have seen many changes. The ground has been developed extensively with new grandstands, Mound stand and Compton and Edrich stands. Spectators can no longer sit on the grass around the perimeter, and sadly Crocker's is no more.

I have been lucky enough to see the Ashes won and lost, the West Indies black wash,  the great and good from each Country, and some of the bad. Moments of genius from Clive Lloyd, Sir Viv Richards, Sir Richard Hadlee and Sir Ian Botham have been peppered with moments of madness and high jinks the pinnacle of which was a day in a box with Rillo and the Red Stripe girls.

So I am now 50 not out, time to take a fresh guard and push on to the century.

...and he's got this downhill tester to win the Open

Well what a sound weekend of sport it has been, as I type, the last Aussie wicket falls and England win a test at Lords for the first time since 1936. A Michelle for Freddie which gets his name on the honours board again, and England go 1-0 up with three to play . The missus and I went on Saturday and had to put up with the bar room stewards who all said, why did we not enforce the follow-on, look at the slow run rate, etc etc, but we experts knew the game plan and it has worked a treat.

Second event on the menu was the wonderful Open Golf Championship at Turnberry, won from behind by Stuart Cink, who was never alone in the lead, but got to the front when it mattered to beat 'Old' Tom Watson in the four hole play-off. How the world would have loved to see Tom win, as he had previously done as 'young' Tom Watson, in 1977, but it was not to be and he was gutted as you would expect.

So too was Lee Westwood who was two ahead at one stage but bogeyed three of the last four holes to blow his chances.

The Turnberry track was wonderfully turned out, and it drew me back to a may day in 1989 when I played it with a couple of friends, Figs and Greg, as part of our Scotflog tour that year. Golf remains one of the few games which joe public can compete on the same playing field as the heroes of the sport. I guess swimming and cycling share that ability and there may be others. So I thought, given Tiger had a horror day on Friday, I wonder how I would have done against him hole for hole. Well given I am an anorak in a few areas, and golf being one such, I was able to fish out my card from 20 years ago and compare..... And here we have it, I parred three holes which Tiger did also, and I bettered him on 10 and 13, deep joy!! Interesting we both struggled around the turn eh!! My comments in the diary indicate Iactually played better than the score suggests.......

Chicken Korma and a pint of Pride

Well it was off to Lords on Sunday with number one son and wife for a spot of Twenty/20 cricket. With Middlesex having won their previous two games there was a smell of renaissance in the air, given they had lost their first seven contests. Things looked good with Sussex needing 26 off the last two overs, but as Chris Nash smashed Chris Silverwood all over the ground Middlesex finished as they started and are bottom of the South and South East group, and destined for second division 20/20 next season.




The trip did, however, allow me to see what developments had taken place at Crockets Folly, a wonderful establishment close to the ground, which had been a regular drinking hole at the test matches for me and many good friends, between the luncheon and tea intervals.

The building was constructed originally by one Frank Crocker, and was to be names the Crown Hotel. Frank knew his development was going to be a success. After all, the new railway terminus was going to be built opposite, how could it fail? Imagine Crocker's despair when the rail terminus was built, half a mile away at Marylebone. Broke and broken, so the tale goes, he threw himself from an upstairs window. The Crown became Crocker's Folly. Frank Crocker was a successful entrepreneur and the Crown a lavish testament to that. He was no newcomer to the pub trade either, having run the Volunteer in Kilburn which must have been successful for him to have the Crown built. The public bar is vast, the billiard room grand, but the jewel-at-the-Crown is the entrance hall saloon.

A late Victorian feast of marble, using fifty different kinds, covering not only the counter, but almost the entire bar. The chimney-piece is marble and has marble columns. Even the walls are lined in marble. All this, beneath a rich plaster relief ceiling.

So Folly or not, the place is now in major disrepair as it clearly struggled to survive on two or three major matches at Lords per year. It was purchased by an Indian takeaway chain who had a view of turning it into a restaurant, but my recent inspection showed leaded windows broken and the front of the property boarded up. It is grade two listed, and there were lights on upstairs, The new owners vans also populated the forecourt. Lets hope, therefore, that some new use can be found for the property before its magnificent interior falls into disrepair.

A True Gentleman

More on the Birkenhead evangelist come cricketer, W P Lockhart. My cousin and I visited the Lords library when we were there for a match last week, and subsequently the librarian has been able to shed some light on Mr Lockharts career.

A brief obituary appeared in Wisden in 1894. It read:
W.P. Lockhart died in the latter part of the summer (12 August 1893). In his time Mr. Lockhart was the best amateur wicket-keeper in the North of England. He was born at Kirkcaldy, N.B., on October 15th 1835. He never appeared at Lord’s, but in 1859 he was one of the Gentlemen’s eleven against the Players at the Oval.

A wizzo site, here, however, details many of the individual games he played including a game against an England side who were about to visit America on tour. He played for Birkenhead Park against Ireland in 1858, and also represented Scotland.

"The batsmans Holding, the bowlers Willey"

The third Saturday in July always means a day at the Lords test match, that's cricket for anybody viewing this from abroad. Its an institution I have been a part of, for almost as long as I can remember.

I first went with my dad in 1962, to see the famous West Indies side captained by Gary Sobers, and including the mighty fast bowlers Wes Hall and Charlie Griffiths. England's Ted Dexter stood firm against them to score 86 runs and it was an innings widely regarded as worth more than the hundred which eluded him.

When the West Indies batted, Conrad Hunte, Roland Kanhai and best of all, Basil Butcher stroked the ball to all parts of the ground. I was fortunate to meet Sir Gary at a golf event in St Lucia a few years ago, and found him a pleasant, approachable and humble man. Struggling now with arthritic knees, he was still able to swing a golf club in the same relaxed manner with which he batted and bowled. He and Botham, who was also playing golf, still have it in all rounder terms for me, well ahead of Freddie Flintoff.

And in my 45 years (groan) of going to Lords, I must have seen them all. Great batsmen from all countries pitting their wits against equally great fast bowlers. Catches, sixes and subtle cricket have all been a joy to behold.

I have been privileged to watch several times from the boxes in the old grandstand and be treated to lunch and tea in relative luxury, but more generally I have been there in the company of good friends, both male and female.

This weekend my wife was there as she has been for neigh on 17 years. It was our first date then, and the first date in the diary now, ahh, and we joined with Figs and Goodwin for our traditional lunchtime going into teatime session. I met Figs about 30 years ago when we were both working in Croydon, and although he has been 'our man at Wimbledon' for a long time now, we still try to do the Lords gig as we have always done. I met Goodwin through Figs when he kindly put me and Neil Brown up in Singapore when we were doing the Far East in about 1982. That though is a story for another day.

The cricket is still the focal point , but the whole social event which surrounds it is equally important these days. Test matches are the ultimate test of skill and courage as epitomised in the past by Brian Close and David Steele, and the crowd are made up of true aficionados of the game.

While it is good that 20/20 cricket has wafted a breath of fresh air through the game, and embraced the younger generation, the fifty over side of things seems to be struggling to keep pace. The recent home Ashes series has shown how equally exciting the five day game can be and good cricket, good banter and above all good friends will keep it top of our Summer social calender for many years to come.

Big Mac and fries please

Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink.....well my wife is not best pleased. She has just spent 2 hours trying to get out of the Warwick Services exit as the M40 is flooded just South of her near Lemington Spa. She has already been on the road six hours.

I explained to her that they were playing cricket quite happily at Lords, but the fact seemed to totally under whelm her. I don't know, what more can a man do?

Come on you Greens

I am a huge Plymouth Argyle supporter, having supported them since 1962, when my dad took me to the Argyle v Spurs FA Cup 4th round tie at Home Park. How my dad got tickets I don't know, but he seemed to have the ability to magic them from somewhere, be they for England at Twickenham, Wembley or Lords. Its an ability I am pleased to have inherited, and look forward to going with my eldest son to Wembley in a few weeks time for the England v Brazil game.

I remember being devastated for a Royal Marine who offered my Dad ten bob for the two tickets, in the pub one night. i was really saddened that the poor man did not have a ticket of his own. Oh the innocence of youth.

Anyway back to Argyle. Today they broke their all time transfer record by paying £400K for a Hungarian international left winger, Peter Halmosi. Their squad now consists of three Hungarians, 3 French players, a Dutchman and an Australian, as well as several Devonians, and assorted Brits. It is certainly a sign of the times.

Given that Steven Gerrard has just been awarded £120K per week in wages though, paying £400K seems a bargain.

In the 45 years I have followed the Argyle, I have seen them win at Wembley and lose in three Cup semi-finals. In league terms they have fallen from the Second division, to the Fourth division and climbed back up to the Championship as it is now called. In all that time they have never played in a league called the First division. Next season is already being anticipated with great expectation, however, the recent slump of Nottingham Forest and 'dirty' Leeds only goes to show that expectations and achievements can be a million miles apart.