Football Icons

For their 20th anniversary, the Premier League is asking football fans to vote for their favourite outstanding moments of the last 20 seasons.  The categories are best match, best goal, best celebration, best save, and a team of the seasons, where you get to choose from a list of players.  

It's ten minutes of pure reminiscence, which got me thinking of my own favourite moments in the 20 years that I have been following the beautiful game.  Now, there are hundreds of images that sum up this era, but below are the ten that I have chosen, the ten that I find the most personally evocative, the ten which I think are most iconic of highs and lows of football, the good, the bad, and the occasionally ugly.

Stuart Pearce scores in the penalty shoot-out versus Spain, European Championships, 1996.

Matt Le Tissier applauds the Southampton faithful at the last ever match at the Dell, in which he scored a wonder-goal versus Arsenal, 2002.

A young David Beckham is sent off, World Cup, 1998.  England fight valiantly but go on to lose on a penalty shoot-out.

Peter Schmeichel pulls of a classic save, mid-1990s.

Paolo Di Canio has a disagreement with referee Paul Alcock.  Di Canio is banned for eleven matches for pushing the referee to the floor, 1998.

England demolish Germany in Munich, World Cup Qualifiers, 2001.

Eric Cantona protests his innocence... Or is this a goal celebration? Mid 1990s.

Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton celebrate winning the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers.  This would be the only major trophy of Shearer's career, 1995.

Forever a seat at St. James' Park for Sir Bobby Robson, the Grandad of Football.

Tony Adams captains Arsenal to the Premier League and F.A. Cup double, 1998.


http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/20-seasons.html

RMS Titanic - A Blogger's Tribute

This week, people in both the UK and North America commemorated the 100th anniversary of the sailing, and sinking, of the Titanic. This blog's tribute takes the form of a few newspaper-style reports, coupled with some memorabilia from the Titanic Replica Pack, made by the fantastic Memorabilia Pack Company (www.mempackcompany.com).

Queen of the Ocean Launches Tomorrow

09 April, 1912

RMS Titanic, the largest and finest steamer afloat, will set sail from Southampton tomorrow en route to New York. The spectacular new addition to the White Star Line family, this Queen of the Ocean sails at 882 feet, weighs over 45,000 tonnes, and is said to be unsinkable. Facilities are of the highest standards ever found on any ship; designed using the Ritz Hotel as a reference, first-class cabins have been finished in the empire style, and the Titanic aims to give the experience of one being in a floating hotel, rather than a ship. Passengers will be able to use the onboard telephone system, library and barber shop, whilst those in first-class can take advantage of the swimming pool, gymnasium, squash court, Turkish bath, and luxurious Cafe Parisien, located on the veranda and offering the very best in French haute cuisine. The first-class experience is punctuated by the sumptuous Grand Staircase, which descends through seven decks, from the Boat Deck to E Deck, ornate, elegant and sophisticated.

Accommodating over 700 first-class, 600 second-class, and 1,000 third-class passengers, the Titanic's crew is over 900 strong. In addition to passenger duties, the ship will also carry mail under contract with the Royal Mail and the United States Post Office Department. 26,800 cubic feet of space has been allocated to the storage of letters, and a team of five postal clerks will work the sea post office on Deck G, sorting thousands of letters daily. Taking command of the Titanic for her maiden voyage tomorrow, Captain Edward John Smith, the most senior of all White Star Line captains, who has been transferred from the Titanic's sister ship, RMS Olympic. Following him from the Olympic is Chief Mate Henry Tingle Wilde. Among notable first-class passengers expected to be on board tomorrow are the American millionaire John Jacob Astor IV, industrialist Benjamin Guggenheim, Macy's owner Isidor Straus, and the silent film actress, Dorothy Gibson. The Titanic's owner, J.P. Morgan, was due to attend, but has cancelled due to the national coal strike. White Star Line managing director, J. Bruce Ismay, and the Titanic's designer, Thomas Andrews, are expected to be on board.

Fares for the maiden voyage begin at £7 9s for third-class passengers. Those wishing to travel in first-class luxury will pay at least £23, with the most opulent suites eventually costing £870 in high season.

The Titanic Sets Sail For New York

10 April, 1912

The Titanic is launched! Passengers and crew from the London and South Western Railway's boat train arrived at Southampton Terminus Railway Station on the quayside, having set off from London Waterloo. Third-class passengers were inspected for illnesses and impairments that may lead them to be refused entry in the United States. 922 passengers were recorded as having embarked the Titanic at Southampton, with further passengers expected to be picked up at Cherbourg and Queenstown. The Titanic, having narrowly avoided a collision with the moored SS City of New York, was guided safely through Southampton Water and the Solent, and out into the English Channel. Godspeed, Titanic! And we'll see you again very soon!

Titanic Disaster. Great Loss of Life

15 April, 1912

Between 1,500 and 1,800 lives have been lost following the shock sinking of RMS Titanic early this morning. Early reports state that, late into the evening of 14 April, an iceberg was spotted by the ship's lookout, who alerted the bridge. The order was given for the ship to be steered around the obstacle by putting the engines into reverse, but it was too late, and the Titanic struck the iceberg, causing several holes below the waterline. The ship soon flooded, as water spilled from compartment to compartment, whilst those aboard, many of whom had held the belief that the ship was indeed unsinkable, began to head for lifeboats. It is reported that a "women and children first" protocol was followed when loading the lifeboats, with most male passengers and crew remaining on board. The ship's distress signals, sent by wireless, rockets and lamps, could not be answered in time. The nearest ship to the Titanic - an as yet unknown vessel- did not respond, and despite the RMS Carpathia racing to the disaster, the Titanic sank, plunging the remaining passengers into the ice cold ocean.

Carpathia Arrives in New York. Full Horror Revealed

18 April 1912

RMS Carpathia arrived in New York this morning, bringing with it the full horror of the Titanic disaster. The Carpathia had arrived on the scene of the Titanic sinking at 4am on 15 April, after receiving the striken steamer's distress call. Captain Arthur Henry Rostron immediately set a course at maximum speed, ordering that the ship's heating and hot water be cut off, so that as much steam as possible was available for the engines. On arriving at the Titanic's last known position, and picking through dangerous ice fields, the Carpathia rescued 710 people, then made for New York.

As the Carpathia unloaded survivors in New York, so the full horrors of the disaster become clear through eye-witness reports. In the last moments of the sinking, Titanic's angle in the water began to rapidly increase. The ship's stern lifted high into the air, and survivors on the lifeboats reported hearing a great noise, believed to be the boilers exploding. The lights flickered and then failed, and the ship broke suddenly in two, throwing hundreds of passengers into the icy sea. Those in the lifeboats reported hearing harrowing screams, which died out after about twenty minutes. For the lucky ones in lifeboats, freezing but alive, there was nothing to do but wait for a rescue ship. The lights of the Carpathia were spotted at around 3.30am, and were greeted with cheers of relief. Many hours later, the Carpathia was joined by two more ships - Mount Temple and Californian - but they could find no more survivors.

Aftermath

Of all the cities that suffered following the Titanic disaster, none felt more loss than Southampton. 699 of the ship's crew gave Southampton addresses, and 549 residents of the city were lost. Memorials were raised in many cities, and services were held nationwide, to commemorate the dead and raise money for survivors. Even before the Carpathia had reached the disaster, White Star Line had sent four boats to retrieve the dead. 328 bodies were recovered, of which 119 were buried at sea and 150 at Halifax, Nova Scotia. Most bodies, however, were never recovered, instead being left to a watery grave.

The unknown ship that had at first failed to respond to the Titanic's distress calls was the Californian. Debate rages over why this ship did not react quickly. In the aftermath, Captain Stanley Lord was heavily blamed, however more recent investigations has brought into question the exact locations of both the Titanic and the Californian. Lord protested his innocence until the end of his life, and certainly the Californian had tried to send warning to the Titanic of the danger of pack-ice. Following the rescue effort by the Carpathia, the crew were awarded medals. Captain Rostron was knighted by King George V and given the Congressional Gold Medal - the highest award the United States Congress could confer upon him. The Carpathia was later torpedoed by a German submarine in 1918, but fortunately all the crew were rescued.

Public enquiries set up in the wake of the disaster slammed the number of lifeboats available to passengers. Major changes were enacted - more lifeboats were made compulsory, and lifeboat drills became part of crew training. The International Ice Patrol was set up to monitor the presence of icebergs in the North Atlantic, and maritime safety regulations were brought together at an international level through the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea. This is still in force today.

In total, 1,514 people lost their lives when the Titanic sank. The last survivor of the disaster was Millvina Dean, who died in 2009 aged 97. She was just ten weeks old when she was lowered into a lifeboat in a canvas mailbag.

Through the Years

The wreck of the Titanic was discovered in September 1985, and has since been revisited numerous times. The wreck's sole 'salver-in-possession', RMS Titanic Inc, have been collaborating with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to survey the entire wreck site. Their work has been brilliantly displayed in this month's National Geographic magazine. Below are a few of the photographs from this edition.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/04/titanic/sides-text

A Wet Weekend

Welcome to Barnes, a pretty riverside suburb in the southwest of London, and the destination for Lizzie and I on a wonderful Saturday afternoon. Historically a part of Surrey, Barnes now falls under the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The village has an historic centre, with many fine examples of 19th Century architecture, and a lovely Norman chapel, dedicated to St. Mary. The shops are very pleasant, quirky and individual, and the locals are clearly very proud of where they live - shelves are adorned with mugs, cards and tea towels proclaiming "I'd Rather be in Barnes". Perhaps it's the thriving sports scene (Barnes played a pivotal role in the emergence of medieval 'mob' football, and was the home of Ebenezer Cobb Morley, a founding member of the Football Association), or maybe it's the music heritage (the former Olympic Studios has played host to many stars, including The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Queen, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie and the Beatles), but you can sense a pride in the village that makes an hour's wandering quite the pleasant experience. The picture above comes from a card I bought in one of the shops. Entitled Barnes Pond, it was painted by the artist Louise Braithwaite.

The south of Barnes is dominated by Barnes Common and the Barn Elm reservoirs, which were turned into a wetland habitat and bird sanctuary in 1995. This habitat, which was our reason for travelling to Barnes, is the WWT London Wetland Centre, a unique 100-acre home to nationally important birds such as gadwall and shoveler ducks, pintails, great crested grebes and, for some reason (we assume these are the descendants of escaped pets), ring-necked parakeets.

This site is simply wonderful - natural, tranquil, and perfect for a relaxed stroll around. I especially liked the world wetlands area, where we were treated to birds of the frozen north, African and South American birds, in addition to countless varieties of goose, ducks and coot, many with newly-hatched young. Lizzie, I can tell you, was so taken with a pile of ducklings, I expected to find one in her handbag when we got back home!

A lovely day all round, not just for the ornithologist, but for anyone with an interest in wildlife and conservation. I think it's great that, even in the centre of a global metropolis, you can have such wonderful life in abundance.

Teigngrace Halt

Standing in the garden this week, I was struck by a sudden prolonged rumble cutting through the gentle birdsong. Stretching over the bank at the back of the house and peering through the bare trees, I saw the culprit; a freight train. The old railway line between Newton Abbot and Moretonhampstead had been closed for quite a few years, but the line up to Heathfield reopened for freight in 2011, bringing with it the occasional engine. Of course, it's all a far cry from the good old days, where passenger trains plied this route and the village of Teigngrace was connected to the great national rail network, but hearing the freight roll past certainly got my imagination going.

The station at Teigngrace came about under interesting circumstances. Initially it was decided that, due to the village's population, no station would be required. However, one of the conditions of the sale of the land to the Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway was that the land owner, The Duke of Somerset, had the right to stop any train at the village when he wished to travel. it seemed sensible, therefore, to provide the village with a station, which opened in 1867.

Teigngrace Station had a 200-foot platform with a booking office and a lavatory, and remained in uninterrupted use until World War I, when it was closed as a cost-saving measure. It reopened after the war, but was demoted to a Halt in 1939, when a decision was taken to make it unstaffed. The halt was closed to passengers for good in 1959, and closed completely in 1962, a year before Doctor Beeching's report, The Reshaping of the British Railways, was published.

Below are some fascinating photographs of Teigngrace Station/Halt from its heyday, from the brilliant website Disused Stations (http://www.disused-stations.org.uk). I doubt I'm alone when I say I would love to see the halt operational again.

Teigngrace Halt in 1921

A steam train pulls into the Halt (unknown date)

Teigngrace Halt in 1965, after closure

The last special passenger train at Teigngrace in 1970

Teigngrace Halt in 2005, a shadow of its former self