If you know me well enough you'll remember I used to play golf... and got to a decent level aged 17, representing Conwy County and got selected twice for the North Wales Boys (versus Northern Ireland and Staffordshire). Anyhow, I recently re-took up the game last summer and am frustratingly worse than I was, but that was always going to be the case. But can still have a good knock... yesterday evening I thought i'd go down the club whilst it was quiet... loosened a few shots off on the practice ground, and noticed another left-handed golfer out there (I too am left-handed - there aren't many!). Didn't think too much of it it until he paced over towards me... "he looks a bit like... yes it is, Mickey Thomas".
We then proceeded to catch-up since we met a few weeks back at Old Trafford, and chat about the still frustrating times at Wrexham FC. Five minutes of freindly chat he then asked if I fancied a knock on the course itself. A minute later we were walking towards the 1st tee, fairly surreal! This was Mickey's first time on Conwy golf course, having joined a few weeks ago...
His running commentary on my round was great "This young lad has got a swing better than Graeme Sharpes, and Sharpe is no slouch on the golf course" great laugh, and enjoyable as I played the best golf since returning to the game (+1 gross for 10 holes if you're interested!). I had to phone my mate Matt on the course whilst in this surreal situation, on explaining to Mickey that Matt is an avid Wrexham and Wales supporter he took the phone off me and chatted about Wrexham and continued his comedy commentary on my game over my mobile phone with Matt for a couple of minutes, legend!
He wants to get as much practice in for the Man Utd post-season charity golf event, so at the end of it we exchanged mobile numbers and arranged a game next week on his return from Italy, and after the Manchester derby (he's gutted he's not at the Racecourse on Saturday!)...
30 April, 2007
18 April, 2007
Decisions, decisions
In case you haven’t heard Ukraine and Poland have been announced as hosts of Euro 2012 beating off rival bids from Italy and a joint venture from Croatia and Hungary. The decision was revealed today at Cardiff City Hall, which is right on my doorstep so it would have been rude of me not to show my face. Now I know the cynics will say it’s the nearest us Welsh will get to the tournament but we’ll see. I arrived to find a fairly modest crowd in attendance made up mostly by Poles and a few Italians dotted about. The verdict had just been given so you can imagine how the Polish were reacting. Flags waving, songs being sung along with general displays of joy. To them this is huge, it’s as big as the 2010 Olympics is to the British. I’ve got to admit I was very jealous of them. It was quite humbling for the Italians but it seems the events of the past year or so has caught up with them.
A gutted Marcello Lippi was one of the first to leave City Hall following the announcement. As he emerged from the main entrance the Poles burst into song, I don’t speak Polish but you could tell from the tone they were taunting him. The Italian contingent launched themselves onto the safety barriers trying to get his autograph. He stopped for a quick TV interview before making his way onto the Italian FA team bus without fully acknowledging the fans. Fair play though, despite obviously being hugely disappointed he then got off the coach and went over to the crowd to sign a few autographs. I thought that was a real class act thing to do under circumstances and given his status in World football you could see how much it meant to the fans. He got back on the bus and then it made its short journey to the Cardiff Hilton.
Various journalists from around Europe were interviewing members of the crowd. Some of the interviews I overheard were hilarious. As Italians don’t speak Polish and the Polish don’t speak Magyar and the Hungarians don’t speak Italian, all interviews were being conducted in English. Problem was their limited English was restricting the points they were trying to convey. One went like this:
Polish Interviewer: Are you upset?
Italian fan: Yes very.
Polish Interviewer: Did you cry?
Italian fan: No I did not.
Polish Interviewer: Did the ladies cry?
Italian fan: No they did not.
Fair play to them though for giving it a go. Could you imagine some British football journalists speaking a foreign language? Some of the ones Sky employ can hardly speak English and don’t get me started on Garth Crooks.
Next person I recognised was former Croatia and AC Milan midfielder Zvonimir Boban. Instead of waiting for transport he decided to jump past the safety barrier into the crowd and then make the short walk from the City Hall to the Cardiff Hilton. As you can imagine he was surrounded by fans eager for his signature, especially the Italians. For someone who once fly kicked a policeman on the football field he has the patience of a saint. He signed over ten autographs for just one clueless old bloke, the guy was saying to Boban “I don’t know what these are, my Grandson has told me to get them signed”. Boban was oblivious, just signing whatever was being put in front of him no questions asked. At one point he signed a picture of Zidane cut from a copy of Match magazine. He posed for photos and even gave mini interviews to fans with an old camcorder, he didn’t leave until he’d done everyone. In Croatia the man is a national hero, a living legend, so it was probably a walk in the park for him. A top bloke, I have a lot of respect for his efforts both on and off the pitch. It must have been so unbelievably hard for all concerned that part of the world during the late eighties/early nineties. If you don’t know about why he kicked the policeman read the entry on Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinamo_Zagreb-Red_Star_Belgrade_riot
I love the quote he gave on why he did it. "Here I was, a public face prepared to risk his life, career, and everything that fame could have brought, all because of one ideal, one cause; the Croatian cause.” Powerful stuff.
A gutted Marcello Lippi was one of the first to leave City Hall following the announcement. As he emerged from the main entrance the Poles burst into song, I don’t speak Polish but you could tell from the tone they were taunting him. The Italian contingent launched themselves onto the safety barriers trying to get his autograph. He stopped for a quick TV interview before making his way onto the Italian FA team bus without fully acknowledging the fans. Fair play though, despite obviously being hugely disappointed he then got off the coach and went over to the crowd to sign a few autographs. I thought that was a real class act thing to do under circumstances and given his status in World football you could see how much it meant to the fans. He got back on the bus and then it made its short journey to the Cardiff Hilton.
Various journalists from around Europe were interviewing members of the crowd. Some of the interviews I overheard were hilarious. As Italians don’t speak Polish and the Polish don’t speak Magyar and the Hungarians don’t speak Italian, all interviews were being conducted in English. Problem was their limited English was restricting the points they were trying to convey. One went like this:
Polish Interviewer: Are you upset?
Italian fan: Yes very.
Polish Interviewer: Did you cry?
Italian fan: No I did not.
Polish Interviewer: Did the ladies cry?
Italian fan: No they did not.
Fair play to them though for giving it a go. Could you imagine some British football journalists speaking a foreign language? Some of the ones Sky employ can hardly speak English and don’t get me started on Garth Crooks.
Next person I recognised was former Croatia and AC Milan midfielder Zvonimir Boban. Instead of waiting for transport he decided to jump past the safety barrier into the crowd and then make the short walk from the City Hall to the Cardiff Hilton. As you can imagine he was surrounded by fans eager for his signature, especially the Italians. For someone who once fly kicked a policeman on the football field he has the patience of a saint. He signed over ten autographs for just one clueless old bloke, the guy was saying to Boban “I don’t know what these are, my Grandson has told me to get them signed”. Boban was oblivious, just signing whatever was being put in front of him no questions asked. At one point he signed a picture of Zidane cut from a copy of Match magazine. He posed for photos and even gave mini interviews to fans with an old camcorder, he didn’t leave until he’d done everyone. In Croatia the man is a national hero, a living legend, so it was probably a walk in the park for him. A top bloke, I have a lot of respect for his efforts both on and off the pitch. It must have been so unbelievably hard for all concerned that part of the world during the late eighties/early nineties. If you don’t know about why he kicked the policeman read the entry on Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinamo_Zagreb-Red_Star_Belgrade_riot
I love the quote he gave on why he did it. "Here I was, a public face prepared to risk his life, career, and everything that fame could have brought, all because of one ideal, one cause; the Croatian cause.” Powerful stuff.
11 April, 2007
Rooftrusses v
I recently went to Old Trafford, and saw Man Utd beat Blackburn 4-1. Great day out! Got a few words with Mickey Thomas and Eddie Niedzwiecki (my girlfreinds Dad knows them very well from his playing days, and I have it confirmed he's the only person to ever knock a hat-trick past Eddie! They both do a lot in sponsoring the Llandudno disability football team, of which my girlfriends dad is manager/coach).
On arriving at the ground, I was surprised at just how plush the inside of the stadium was in the general concourse area behind and underneath the seating area. 42" plasma screems every 25ft to watch Liverpool v Arsenal playing live at the time. BetFred booths every 50 yards and new Budweiser sponsored bars every 50 yards. The floor sparkling clean red, the toilets gleaming. I was disappointed there wasn't any Molton Brown handwash to be honest! We found our seats just a couple back from the bench and 4 rows back from Fergie. Great view of everything.
As Utd scored their 3rd goal in the 80th minute, the stadium emptied. Nigh on 20,000 must have missed the 4th goal. I understand you have more than likely won the game 3-1 with 10 minutes to go, but why not stay and applaud the teams 2nd half performance, celebrate the win with the players?! The whole thing stank of complacency, "weve won, let's go move car".
Picture (left) was taken on my mobile on the day. Know that Budweiser "You do the football, we'll do the beer" advert?... These guys were wandering the aisles and pitchside in their droves, before the game, during the game and at half time. Clad in Budweiser fleeces and baseball caps selling drinks and sweets, and would you Adam and Eve it - "hotdogs"! I had to keep looking around to see if this was the norm here at "OT", it seemed it was. My cockney rhyming slang ties into the loudest and I mean LOUD cockney behind me screaming at every decision, weird. Another thing which didn't sit well in my thoughts was the home fans coaches outnumbering the away coaches by some 6/7 to 1.
Utd can keep their hotdog aisle selling attendants, their plethora of plasmas, their betting booths, multitude of bars, the undersoil heating raised pitch with plastic strands interweaved to do something or other, and the heated racing car bucket seats on the bench - what the fuck!? Give me the Racecourse Rooftrusses anyday! Rooftrusses v.
If you're going to investigate rooftrusses, start here!
On arriving at the ground, I was surprised at just how plush the inside of the stadium was in the general concourse area behind and underneath the seating area. 42" plasma screems every 25ft to watch Liverpool v Arsenal playing live at the time. BetFred booths every 50 yards and new Budweiser sponsored bars every 50 yards. The floor sparkling clean red, the toilets gleaming. I was disappointed there wasn't any Molton Brown handwash to be honest! We found our seats just a couple back from the bench and 4 rows back from Fergie. Great view of everything.
As Utd scored their 3rd goal in the 80th minute, the stadium emptied. Nigh on 20,000 must have missed the 4th goal. I understand you have more than likely won the game 3-1 with 10 minutes to go, but why not stay and applaud the teams 2nd half performance, celebrate the win with the players?! The whole thing stank of complacency, "weve won, let's go move car".
Picture (left) was taken on my mobile on the day. Know that Budweiser "You do the football, we'll do the beer" advert?... These guys were wandering the aisles and pitchside in their droves, before the game, during the game and at half time. Clad in Budweiser fleeces and baseball caps selling drinks and sweets, and would you Adam and Eve it - "hotdogs"! I had to keep looking around to see if this was the norm here at "OT", it seemed it was. My cockney rhyming slang ties into the loudest and I mean LOUD cockney behind me screaming at every decision, weird. Another thing which didn't sit well in my thoughts was the home fans coaches outnumbering the away coaches by some 6/7 to 1.Utd can keep their hotdog aisle selling attendants, their plethora of plasmas, their betting booths, multitude of bars, the undersoil heating raised pitch with plastic strands interweaved to do something or other, and the heated racing car bucket seats on the bench - what the fuck!? Give me the Racecourse Rooftrusses anyday! Rooftrusses v.
If you're going to investigate rooftrusses, start here!
04 April, 2007
Scotland Substitute
Now and again as part of my job I meet people who are interested in Wales as a film location. It’s very rare this happens and most of the time it’s guaranteed to be someone making a programme for a terrestrial channel. A couple of weeks ago I was asked to meet with a film director who was looking at the Cardiff area as a possible location for some scenes in his next production. Upon meeting him he immediately seemed familiar, he introduced himself as Robin Hardy. Despite learning his name I found myself not being able to place him, he went on to say he needed locations that could be passed off as Scotland. You can appreciate the lack of etiquette of coming out and asking him “Hey mate what are you famous for?” It took about ten minutes of talking to him and gathering information before it all clicked into place. Robin Hardy directed the 1973 classic ‘The Wicker Man’, one of my favourite films. The reason I’d recognised his voice was because I’d listened to the audio commentary on the DVD of ‘The Wicker Man’ the week before. Upon realising who he was I managed to keep my composure and was just about able not to launch into an embarrassing “I love that film, it is brilliant!” rant. I only got round to watching ‘The Wicker Man’ recently but it made an immediate impact on me, if you haven’t seen it please do. A variety of film and television work owes a debt to it, ranging from ‘Hot Fuzz’ to ‘The League of Gentlemen’. The iconic last few shots of the film are reason enough to watch it. I’m glad to say he’s an extremely nice man. He was not at all stuck up and listened to any opinions I expressed. Unfortunately I didn’t have an opportunity to talk to him about ‘The Wicker Man’, mind you he’s had over thirty years of geeks like me pestering him about it.
It turns out Hardy is in the process of putting together his next film ‘Cowboys for Christ’, which has been billed a re-imagining of his original horror. It’s about a young Christian couple from Texas who go to Scotland to preach door to door about Jesus. Slowly they are drawn into a frightening new world, so very different to the one they know. It sounds like they’ll be plenty of parallels between this and ‘The Wicker Man’. It’s all very exciting but best of all living legend Christopher Lee is taking on the role of Sir Lachlan Morrison. Lee of course played the sinister Lord Summerisle in ‘The Wicker Man’, the prospect of these two working together again is absolutely fantastic. The prospect of possibly meeting Christopher Lee is even better.
I don’t know if anything will come of it, most of these visits don’t. About a year back Roger Christian was looking for places to film a big budget horror movie about vampires. I’m a big Star Wars fan so I was made up to meet him, he was part of the team that won an Oscar for set and art direction for ‘A New Hope’ and was 2nd unit director on ‘The Phantom Menace’. Nothing came from that visit, possibly a good thing seeing as he did also direct the awful ‘Battlefield Earth’. The last I heard plans for the film have been put of hold and it’s no longer in pre-production. So I wont be holding my breathe over the chances of this new film being made in Wales. After all if they are looking for somewhere to look like Scotland they might want to try Scotland.
It turns out Hardy is in the process of putting together his next film ‘Cowboys for Christ’, which has been billed a re-imagining of his original horror. It’s about a young Christian couple from Texas who go to Scotland to preach door to door about Jesus. Slowly they are drawn into a frightening new world, so very different to the one they know. It sounds like they’ll be plenty of parallels between this and ‘The Wicker Man’. It’s all very exciting but best of all living legend Christopher Lee is taking on the role of Sir Lachlan Morrison. Lee of course played the sinister Lord Summerisle in ‘The Wicker Man’, the prospect of these two working together again is absolutely fantastic. The prospect of possibly meeting Christopher Lee is even better.
I don’t know if anything will come of it, most of these visits don’t. About a year back Roger Christian was looking for places to film a big budget horror movie about vampires. I’m a big Star Wars fan so I was made up to meet him, he was part of the team that won an Oscar for set and art direction for ‘A New Hope’ and was 2nd unit director on ‘The Phantom Menace’. Nothing came from that visit, possibly a good thing seeing as he did also direct the awful ‘Battlefield Earth’. The last I heard plans for the film have been put of hold and it’s no longer in pre-production. So I wont be holding my breathe over the chances of this new film being made in Wales. After all if they are looking for somewhere to look like Scotland they might want to try Scotland.
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