2012 in review

I can’t help thinking that I made the same resolution last year, too …. but I really ought to try to be more active on my blog! WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 3,500 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 6 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

Vindicated or Vindictive?

I don’t know how other people see me, but I like to think that I’m a reasonably laid-back sort of person; slow to anger, quick to forgive … that sort of thing.

3 years and 100 or so days ago, I wrote this piece about my experiences at Hillsborough on 15th April 1989.

2 days ago the Hillsborough Independent Panel published their report. They stressed that it wasn’t an inquiry – they hadn’t had witnesses or any powers – they had just been given access to ALL the evidence relating to the events of that day.

I was at a meeting in the morning, an important meeting about how the United Reformed Church (my employer) might most effectively meet the training needs of Ministers and lay people, but I couldn’t really concentrate. I was refreshing my twitter feed every few moments as new facts dribbled out as the panel, quite rightly, first reported to the families of those who had lost loved ones.

• 164 Police statements had been altered to ensure that South Yorkshire Police Service wasn’t shown in a bad light and that officers were put under immense pressure to amend their statements. If they wouldn’t, it was done for them.
• The ambulance service had changed statements, too.
• Every victim (even a 10 year old) had their blood alcohol level checked and, for some, then had their names checked against the Police National Computer to see if there was a criminal record which could be used to ‘offset’ their innocence.
• Potentially, 41 lives could have been saved if medical attention had been forthcoming on the pitch.

The facts kept coming and coming. I wasn’t sure how I was feeling – I had to pull over and stop the car to listen to the Prime Minister give his response. He sounded, on the radio, as shocked and genuinely appalled as anyone else.

My blood was beginning to boil … but I didn’t know what I wanted to happen next. Having been blamed for the events 23 years ago I, my fellow fans, my football club and my city had been completely exonerated. It was a weight off my shoulders… but, as my original post had said “where there’s blame, there’s a claim”… the blame for the disastrous events had been laid firmly at the door of the FA, Sheffield Wednesday Football Club and South Yorkshire Police. What did I want to happen? I couldn’t really think about that… I was happy, delirious in fact, that at last, 23 years on, the truth had finally seen the light of day.

Apology after apology started rolling in, starting with David Cameron and Ed Milliband. Quickly followed by SWFC, South Yorkshire Police, it took the FA a further 24 hours to apologise but even they made it eventually. The S*n and Kelvin MacKenzie apologised, too, but theirs was worthless and self-serving and, consequently, ignored by just about everybody.

David Duckenfield, the police officer supposedly in charge that day, had been allowed to retire on a full pension at the age of 46 as a result of ‘Ill health’. Ill health is better than dying, eh, Duckenfield?

Then Kenny Dalglish who did so much for the families, club and city in the immediate aftermath of the disaster tweeted: “Very positive outcome. 23 years waiting for the truth. Next step justice”. And I thought, “yeah; justice!”

And then I started wondering what Justice might actually mean in this context, what shape, form or action it might take. And I realised that I didn’t know. I certainly wouldn’t presume to speak for those who have lost in a far more tangible way than I, I can only speak for myself. What do *I* want?

Well, I would like to know that those who were responsible for all that happened that day, who caused the problem and then failed to react effectively to the problem they had caused had been censured. I would like to know that some particular individuals (David Duckenfield) had paid a practical price – although I’ve no idea whether he even feels in any way culpable for what he caused.

I would like to know that those who took deliberate actions to place the blame, knowing that the information they were giving out was completely incorrect, on the shoulders of Liverpool fans, both fully understand and accept their guilt and, I would hope are prosecuted to the fullest extent the law allows.

I would like to know that those in the ‘establishment’ who caused this whole thing to be unresolved for 23 long years understand the immense pain and hurt they caused to so many people, not just the bereaved although, God knows, their pain has been more than most.

Most importantly, I want the original verdicts of ‘accidental death’ to be overturned and new inquests held so that people like Anne Williams can get the answers she needs.

Having not been able to define what I mean ‘justice’ to be in this context, I am quite clear what it isn’t: it isn’t vindictive retribution. So long as people feel genuine remorse and are sincere in their apologies (although, as stated, those who broke the law should be prosecuted irrespective of how sincerely they regret their actions).

Except, maybe to Kelvin MacKenzie, the editor of The S*n at the time, who I hope burns in hell for eternity for what he knowingly did to besmirch the characters of the dead, of my fellow fans, of the football club, of the city, and of me.

My elder brother, an Evertonian, sent me a text on the evening the panel’s report was published saying that he hoped I felt vindicated. At the time I replied saying that I didn’t, but I did feel less guilty for having survived and being made to feel that I was, in some way responsible.

2 days later, having thought about little else, I realise that he was right – I do feel vindicated. My blog of 3 years ago was wrong – Liverpool fans were in NO WAY to blame, late arriving or not. The actions of so many brave, respectful people, from those who lost loved ones in the disaster, from people like Andy Burnham MP, Steve Rotherham MP and Maria Eagle MP who wouldn’t let the House of Commons have a moment’s peace until something was done and the actions and voices of people, many many thousands of people just like me in refusing to accept that what happened that day was an ‘accident’ and have fought for 23 years to get someone to listen and investigate has been vindicated.

People say that the most shocking revelation of the panel is that 41 of those who died could have been saved.

I would remind you that, if people had done their jobs properly in the first place, in selecting a ground which had a valid safety certificate, in allocating tickets sensibly, in stewarding the ground effectively, in postponing kick off to allow those who had been delayed by traffic to access the ground … if these people had done their jobs properly then 96 people would not have died in the first place.

Justice for the 96 … and for all those still affected by the events in Sheffield on the 15th April 1989.

Hillsborough Family Support Group

Hillsborough Justice Campaign

Hope For Hillsborough

parkrun….

Was it the Olympics? No, I don’t think so – I’ve been talking about getting fitter for a while, but it’s one of those chicken and egg things, isn’t it? I’d need to lose a bit of weight before I felt comfortable exercising in public – but a good way to lose some weight would be to do some exercise….

One of my sisters (Princes Park, Liverpool) and one of my friends (Strathclyde) have been telling me about parkruns for a while. The last time I checked the only one in Manchester was in Heaton Park which was too much hassle to get to (i.e. I’m too lazy – and they encourage you NOT to drive to them) and I bemoaned the fact that there wasn’t something a bit nearer.

Then Eddie Izzard tweeted about the post-Olympic #joininuk thingy and I thought I’d just have a sneaky look and see if there was a crown green bowling club locally…. There is, but I also discovered that there was a parkrun that started marginally less than a mile from my house.

Well, I thought, what harm can it do? Bearing in mind that I have a dodgy back, a tight calf muscle and a history of injuring myself any time I try to get active, quite a lot of harm actually! And given that I’m leading a group to Israel/Palestine on Thursday which will involve quite a bit of walking in reasonably severe heat I decided that, if I were to take part, I would deliberately not push myself too hard. Or at all.

You have to register for a Parkrun and print out a barcode which is uniquely yours. I thought the gods (I mean, God, obviously) was smiling down on me when the server crashed on the parkrun website and I was unable to register. Sadly, they fixed it and I had run out of excuses (excuse the pun).

So, this morning I got up bright and early, put on tracky bottoms and an old t-shirt and set off to walk the mile to the start (I thought that might count as my ‘warming up’)

I got there early (no surprise there) and was confronted by a smallish group of lithe young adults with Lycra bedecked legs and running shirts that seemed to suggest most had run marathons or 10k races fairly recently.

Intimidated? Of course I was but I had told myself that’s was going to do it and, besides, one of them spoke to me and made me feel welcome so slinking away was no longer an option.

By the time 9am came round (the scheduled start) there were quite a few more people. Still a predominantly young-ish group, some young families, but that was of no bother to me, I wasn’t going to overdo myself.

I hung around at the back of the pack, reckoning that those at the front would be the proper runners and that, if I started neat the front, I would only get demoralised as more and more people, including 3 year olds and a young lass pushing a kid in a buggy, passed me. It was a good call. Nobody passed me. Ever.

I set my iPod to shuffle and thought “run a track, walk a track, run a track, etc.” Unfortunately the first track was ‘Alice’s Restaurant’ by Arlo Guthrie… My cunning plan was scuppered from the outset!

So I jogged the first mile or so (by which time the front runner had already passed me on his way back to the finish!) and then walk/jogged the rest of the way.

I took the wrong turn once but realised after a minute or so, so turned back and met up with Mike (@worsleyparkrun) who was doing the ‘tail marker’ whilst carrying his baby in a papoose. So, I knew I was last, but I had someone to talk to (I must say that Robert is quite a slow walker, I’d've been loads quicker if I hadn’t taken the caring decision to assuage his loneliness – I hope the ‘humour’ is shining through there!). Turns out that Mike is one of the founders of the Worsley run and his wife is, yes, you guessed it, the one pushing the kid in the buggy… He was by encouraging and we chatted and walked for most of the ‘trail’ part of the circuit which was muddy, but not. Muddy as I’d expected it to be given the cent weather.

We were mopping up marshalls as we went and, once I was sure that Mike wouldn’t be lonely without me (more humour there, folks) I sped up a little and did a bit more jogging.

The end eventually hove into sight and I decided that it wouldn’t be even vaguely amusing if I did a Mo-bot as I crossed the line (given that Mo had run twice as far in significantly less than half the time). So I didn’t.

Unfortunately, the chap at the finish line asked me if I was one of the marshalls and didn’t seem to quite believe me when I told him that no, I’d been taking part… There was a short, uncomfortable silence before he was able to rustle up a condescending “oh, right, well done you” but do you know what? I didn’t care. I’d done what I had set out to do. I’d broken the ice.

The walk to and from the parkrun added a further couple of miles or so to my distance and he shower when I got home felt well deserved.

Today wasn’t about beating anyone else, it was about overcoming my ‘fat men shouldn’t be allowed out in public” fear. The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, apparently, and I’ve taken that step.

I enjoyed my time with the Worsley Woods parkrunners. Furthermore, provided they let me, I’ll do it again

p.s. there were 118 runners this morning …. I know because I’ve just had my position confirmed as 118th Am I boverred?

Unrighteous Indignation

I went to a football match yesterday.

All right, it wasn’t just any football match – it was the FA Challenge Cup final between Chelsea and Liverpool. It is, apparently, a showpiece for English football; the pinnacle of the domestic football season … which is why it kicks off at 3pm the Saturday after the domestic league season has finished. Except it didn’t. Both Liverpool and Chelsea still have 2 remaining league fixtures to play. There was another premiership game played on the same day as the FA Cup final – and an almost full programme of matches the day after. To make sure that the Football Association got as much money as they could from selling the television rights the match was scheduled to kick off at 17;15 – despite the knowledge that this would mean there would be no trains back to Liverpool for the thousands of fans who would want to go and cheer on their team in London.

This might lead some people to think that the FA Challenge Cup had been devalued. Quite the opposite it would seem …. 3 weeks ago I was at Wembley Stadium for the Semi-final. I paid £50 for my semi-final ticket. My ticket for the final cost £85 – and I was in almost exactly the same seat (except 6 rows further back!) The Wembley Stadium debt will be paid off in no time …

£50 ticket – expensive but, hey, it’s the semi-final.

This view, despite being less central and further back, cost 70% more than the semi final..

The build up to the match was the same as usual (except we now have an american-style announcer who extiolls us all to cheer on cue and ‘smile for the camera’.

We sing ‘Abide With Me’ – led by a pretty girl in a nice frock (I’m being deliberately patronising there – hoping for irony, but it’s not my strong point)

The teams get led out onto the pitch to shake hands with the guest of honour (presumably a member of the Royal Family but no, not this year. This year it’s Sir Jimmy Armfield. A proper footballer and, by all accounts, a nice bloke.)

Then we sing the National Anthem. or, rather, we don’t.

Despite having had music and banal comments blaring into my ears for the previous hour, I was completely unaware that another pretty girl, in another pretty dress, had actually started singing. Not that it bothered me, I’d never sing the national anthem at a football match. Why should I? What’s it got to do with football? I wouldn’t boo (as some did) … but I certainly wouldn’t join in singing.

Anyway, the match kicks off and, shortly under 2 hours later, Chelsea , by virtue of them having scored more goals than us, were awarded the FA Cup. Well done them, commiserations us.

We walk back to the car – as the tube was rammed – and turn on the radio ready for a ‘fan phone in’ of come sort, hoping that it would confirm our own thoughts that Carroll should have started the match but that, if we’d played the first 60 minutes like we’d played the last 30, it would have been a very different game. Oh, and there was the ‘did the ball cross the line’ debate for which we were hoping for a definitive answer.

We got none of that. What we found on the radio was the tail end of a phone in all about the fact that some Liverpool fans had booed during the National Anthem. But, not to worry, we were told as listeners, because the subjext/phone in was going to be continued in the next programme….

Such despair. such utter futility. Liverpool fans are often accused of being paranoid. well, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you …

The following programme (Stephen Nolan’s show on BBC Radio 5 Live) invited calls from both fans who booed and people who wanted to react to the situation. A number of fans rang in with reasons why they, personally, had booed:

(I’ll paraphrase)

1. “I am not a royalist and wanted to protest that this family bloodline still had power in today’s democracy”

2. “It was in protest aimed at the Football Association at the ridiculous kick off time which has resulted in me having to pay for an hotel as there are no trains home”

3. “Chelsea fans were disrespectful during the minute’s silence to commemorate the 96 victims of the Hillsborough disaster, this was a protest against that”

4. “In a time of real austerity for the country, it was a protest against the millions of pounds being wasted on celebrating some German woman’s jubilee”

5. “What’s the big deal? We’ve always done it”

What, I hope, is clear, is that people had their own reasons for doing what they did – it wasn’t orchestrated, or organised – it just happened. Given that I was paying 60% more than I had 3 weeks previously for a worse view I might well have joined in if it had been an organised protest against the Football Association. And there’s the point – it was a peaceful, non-violent protest. Nobody got hurt (apart from some sensibilities in the home counties, presumably) and it didn’t cause anybody any inconvenience.. Her Majesty The Queen clearly thought the event was of such significance in her jubilee year that she didn’t bother to attend – she didn’t even bother to send one of her distant family relations to represent her. There’s no reason why she should, it was a football match, and it is as irrelevant to her as she is to it. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against The Queen. I’m neither a royalist nor a republican. The royal family cares as much about me as I do about them. I can understand playing the national anthem at international games involving England… but at club matches? Whatever. A non-violent protest was made by small groups of individuals.

I was quite surprised, then, when ‘Richard from Basingstoke’ came on the radio. He initially preached world peace (he would, apparently, happily stand next to a Scouser, or a Geordie, or a Manc, even an Arsenal fan) but then quickly went on to suggest that he was “appalled and disgusted” at the lack of respect shown by Liverpool fans to the National Anthem. He decided to use the sad fact that 2 British servicemen had died the previous day in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, to berate us further and heap indignity and shame upon our collective scouse heads. Did we not realise that “those 2 brave boys died yesterday because they’d sworn allegiance to the Queen and had sworn to protect the National Anthem?”

Well, Richard of Basingstoke (and all those who agree with him), I hate to burst your bubble of unrighteousness indignation but no, that’s not why they died. That’s not why they died at all.

In the purest sense, they died defending the democratic right of people like me to be able to protest, peacefully, about things which concern me. And it brings shame on YOU, Richard of Basingstoke, to try and use their tragic deaths to make your own petty point.

Richard of Basingstoke suggested that, if we felt the need to protest against the FA we should have booed during ‘Abide With Me’ instead but as one scouser remonstrated; “We couldn’t do that; that’s a hymn!!!” I hate to break this to you, Richard of Basingstoke, but as far as I am concerned God trumps the Queen any day of the week!

If booing the National Anthem is really so dreadful and disrespectful, maybe we’re all being disrespectful in not giving the anthem its due honour by only singing the first verse. I call upon Richard of Basingstoke to start an immediate campaign to show true respect to the monarch (and his/her national anthem) by singing ALL the verses. Just in case you weren’t aware there were other verses, I’ve reproduced the first and second verses for you below (and there are another three):

As you can tell, Her Majesty likes nothing better than sitting down with a can of Stella to watch the footy …

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

;

1. God save our gracious Queen,
Long live our noble Queen,
God save the Queen!
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us;
God save the Queen!

2. O Lord our God arise,
Scatter her enemies
And make them fall;
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On Thee our hopes we fix,
God save us all!

There is much to get upset and indignant about in this country of ours … the booing by some fans of the national anthem is not one of them.

When the Chelsea fans booed and interrupted the minute’s silence in memory of the 96 who died at Hillsborough… was there a national radio phone in? No.

When the malevolent idiots at Football Association who ramped up the ticket prices by fully 70% claiming the market laws of supply and demand (when they control the supply) chose to ignore the advice of train operators, travel operators and fans and schedule a match to kick off at a time when THEY KNOW some fans will be unable to get home … was there a national radio phone in? No.

When some Liverpool fans decide to exercise our democratic right to protest in a peaceful manner … was there a national radio phone in? Yes. it’s apparently national news and the primary subject of 2 national radio phone-in shows.

Britain … get a life.

The Board of the Football Association

cheats,

I love football … well, I love watching it; I’ve never really been much good at it (even when I was young and thin) but this past weekend seems to have brought to the fore a number of issues that, in truth, have been dogging the game for some time. I’ve had an opinion about what we should do about them (in some instances, for years) but never had the forum, other than post-match chats in pubs or walking to the car, to share them with much of an audience. Well, now there’s Twitter and Blogs – Hello, world! So, 4 problems and a solution to each of those problems….

1. Football seems to think that it doesn’t have to operate to the normal rules of society.

If you get convicted of burglary you might get a suspended or community sentence if it is a first offence. However, get caught and convicted a second time and you will usually face prison. That makes common sense – and escalation of punishments as you show that you are unrepentant.

Seamus Coleman fouls Steven Gerrard - second yellow card?

In the incident that led to the free kick (from which Andy Carroll scored the winning goal for Liverpool  at the FA Cup Semi Final against Everton) Seamus Coleman fouled Steven Gerrard. The summariser for ESPN, commentating on the match, said, “Had he not already been on a yellow card he would have been booked for that foul challenge”. Where else other than football do you get a more lenient sentence for a second offence? This isn’t the first time such a comment has been made – it probably won’t be the last but, however you look at it, it is clearly ridiculous.

Solution: Referees need to grow a pair and realise that the football pitch is no different from anywhere else – second offences get punished MORE harshly than first offences.

2. More and more players are ‘simulating’ in order to gain an advantage.

Ok, let’s be blunt – by simulating I mean cheating. It is, potentially, the biggest threat to football in England since the hooliganism of the 70s and early 80s. It ruins matches, causes bad feeling between players, between supporters, between managers. It costs people their jobs as managers and coaches are sacked because their team wasn’t able to beat a team with a cheat in it.

I’m not in any way blind about this issue – just a fortnight ago, a player for my own team (Liverpool FC) decided to try and gain an unfair advantage by pretending that he’d been fouled by the opposition goalkeeper. You can judge for yourself if the keeper got anywhere near him or whether he dived …

Simulation? No; it's called cheating ... click on the pic to watch the video

But Carroll is not the only one. For two games in a row Ashley Young has deliberately dived in order to gain an advantage for his team. In the first game he was awarded a penalty AND had an opposition player (a fellow professional) sent off. In the most recent instance, he was awarded a penalty. On both occasions his team went on to win the game. In truth, young has history of trying to gain an unfair advantage – he was known for it when he played for his previous club, and has exaggerated contact when playing for his country, too. And we can’t pretend that these are the only 2 examples in English football…

Arsene Wenger (Manager of Arsenal FC) believes that the best solutions is a 3 match ban for any player who dives. But surely he, as a manager, should have the authority to tell his players NOT to dive – and, if he wants, he can ban his own players for three matches (unless the sanction doesn’t apply to him). For me, that is not enough. I have a solution that will eradicate the problem overnight…

But here’s the problem: I expressed my opinion that yesterday’s incident in which Young exaggerated WAS a penalty, which was rightly awarded, but that Young should have been booked for simulation as well. I got into conversation with someone who claimed to have refereed at international level who said that, had he awarded a penalty in an instance where a player had stayed on his feet, he would have lost his referee’s licence. I find that difficult to believe but, if players think that referees won’t give decisions unless they’re writhing on the ground ….

My Twitter conversation with Eric Ackermann, allegedly a referee.

Solution. If a player is shown to have simulated, dived, exaggerated to gain an unfair advantage then the team for which he plays has a 3 point deduction in order to penalise them. For example. Liverpool win 1-0 as a result of a free-kick awarded following a dive by a player. Video evidence is used retrospectively to prove that the player simulated. Liverpool lose 3 points (opponents are awarded 1 point). On another occasion, Liverpool win 2-1. Video evidence is used retrospectively to prove that a Liverpool player simulated. Liverpool are deducted 3 points, the opposing team gain a three points. On yet another occasion Liverpool lose 1-0. Video evidence is used retrospectively to prove that the player simulated to try and gain an advantage (even though none was gained – Liverpool have been rubbish at penalties recently!). Liverpool are deducted 3 points, the opposition retain their three points.

It is my contention that, faced with a situation in which clubs know that they will lose points if a member of their team dives/exaggerates/simulates then managers and coaches (and owners and chairmen) will ensure that it does not happen and, if it does, then a player would be unlikely to play for that club again. No other team would be tempted to buy him – cheats will be out of football very quickly. Problem solved.

3. Referees are unable to use the technology which is available to assist in their decision making

Chelsea’s second goal in their FA Cup semi final against Tottenham Hotspur was , to say the least, contentious. Did the whole of the ball cross the line? Did it heck. Within seconds of the goal being awarded, TV replays had proved that the ball didn’t cross the line (one could argue that the ball didn’t GET to the line, let alone cross it) but referee Martin Atkinson was unable to call on that evidence to back up his decision (or, in this instance, overturn it). Why not? I don’t accept that we need specific goal line technology for this. the normal TV cameras picked it up and provided proof with in seconds – certainly before the game re-started. A gross error of judgement has, again, changed the course of a football match.

The whole of the ball crossed the line? It didn't even GET to the line!

The argument against the use of technology is that it slows the game down – I reckon that if you were a player who truly believed that your goal attempt had crossed the line then you would very quickly hoof the ball out of play to engineer an opportunity for the 4th official to have a look.

Solution. a 4th official in the stands with access to the television camera feed (and there are cameras at every game now, remember) who can relay a decision based on tv evidence to the referee in seconds. If a decision is that close that it needs specialised goal line technology to prove something one way or another then the referee’s first call stands.

4. The Football Association Board  consistently fail to modernise the rules and laws (and their application).

Solution: Sack ‘em

A Tough Week To Be Me…

There are times when it isn’t easy to be a Liverpool FC supporter. There are times when it isn’t easy to be a Christian. And if you’re both, well…

This week I have been tarred by two different brushes – one assumes that I’m a vile troll who wishes Alan Davies dead (and visited all kinds of nasty, indefensible abuse on the man through Twitter). The other assumes that, because I am a Christian, I am a homophobe who believes that being gay is an illness and can be cured. Both views of me are wrong – but you wouldn’t think so if all you knew about me was that I was a Christian Liverpool FC supporter and you read some peoples’ posts on Twitter!

Comedian and Actor - Alan Davies

Unlike, it would seem, many on Twitter, I quite enjoy ‘Jonathan Creek’ – a gentle, usually humorous, crime series in which Alan stars (starred?). He is also a regular on the massively popular quiz show ‘QI’ as well as being a stand-up comedian. As a ‘celebrity’ he is relatively high profile – and his love of Arsenal Football Club is well known. He’s a celebrity ‘gooner’ and regularly contributes to an Arsenal podcast. In the most recent episode, Alan made some crass, ill-advised, insensitive (in my mind) comments about Liverpool Football Club’s desire not to play a game of football on the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster:

“Liverpool and the 15th, that gets on my tits that shit. What are you talking about, ‘We won’t play on the day’? Why can’t they? My mum died on 22nd August. I don’t stay in all day on 22 August.

“Do they play on the date of the Heysel Stadium disaster? How many dates do they not play on? Do Man United play on the date of Munich? Do Rangers play on the date when all their fans died in that disaster whatever year that was – 1971?”

“Every interview [Dalglish] has given this season he looks like he wants to headbutt the interviewer. This tight-mouthed, furious, frowning, leaning-forward, bitter Glaswegian ranting: ‘Liverpool FC do not play on April 15th.’”

“Hillsborough is the most awful thing that’s happened in my life, in terms of football. It’s one of the worst tragedies in English peacetime history. But it’s ridiculous that they refuse to play on that day any more.”

Maybe he didn’t know that the club always hold a memorial service on the anniversary – which ALL players and staff attend which would make actually fielding a team impossible. Maybe he was unaware that the fight for justice and honest answers has been on-going for 23 years, that the lies told about the fans were perpetrated by those who were supposed to be public servants or guardians of football, or maybe he just thought it was funny … whatever his reasoning he got it badly wrong. He apologised quite promptly. I tweeted him to say that I had accepted his apology and to apologise, on my own behalf, for those morons who were supposedly supporters of Liverpool FC who continued to rain horrible abuse down on him and his family.

(For anyone wondering why I think I have a right to accept his apology; read this blog post)

Alan chose not to retweet (RT) any of the messages from Liverpool fans offering apology or support although he flooded my timeline with RT after RT of disgusting comments directed at him. I suppose that is his right. But it distressed me to think that other people reading his RTs would assume that the morons threatening and abusing him were representative of the millions of Liverpool FC fans around the world (including me). They aren’t (and I suspect that many aren’t even LFC fans – just trolls). Still it’s not for Alan Davies to be concerned about me feeling upset – I can certainly understand how HE was feeling upset after reading some of the bile directed at him. Alan is entitled to his opinion. I’m entitled to disagree with it. Nobody is entitled to send disgusting abuse and death threats to someone else just because they disagree with what’s been said, or the way in which it’s been said. I didn’t do anything when he later posted a ‘joke’ picture via Twitter which could be taken to suggest that his apology wasn’t entirely sincere, but I got over it (remember that phrase!) I guess that’s life on Twitter. It’s clearly not always easy to be in the public eye. It’s also not easy to be a Liverpool FC supporter when you can’t get a ‘balanced reporting’ situation.

Some people are gay. Get over it.

And then yesterday I spent time watching all Christians being lumped together in one boat (I’ve digressed from the ‘tarring with the same brush’ theme) by those who assumed that the ‘Core Issues Trust’ and ‘Anglican mainstream’ represented the views of ALL Christians in the UK. These two groups had rented advertising space on some of London’s most travelled bus routes to respond to an advert that was placed there by Stonewall promoting equal marriage in the biggest advertising campaign of its type in the UK. Apparently believing that being gay is some sort of disease which can be cured by therapy, ‘Core Issues Trust’ and ‘Anglican mainstream’ (a misnomer if ever there was one if the Anglicans I know are anything to go by) the proposed bus adverts read “Not Gay! Ex-gay, post-gay and proud. Get over it!” (did you remember that phrase I asked you to?)

the Core Issues Trust advert

The advert was, thankfully, pulled before it made it to the streets – although how that sits with my ‘everyone is entitled to their opinion however odious I might find it stance’ I’m not really sure. (actually, I am: they have a right to their opinion – I just don’t think they have a right to force their opinion on everyone else, Although I suppose the same should go for Stonewall … ) Maybe I’m just too liberal and wishy-washy for my own good. I should have learned after voting Lib-Dem in the last election…

In both these instances it’s the way that ‘twitterati’ assume the few speak for the many and can, therefore, ridicule everyone who shares any connection, however tangentially, with the extremist tweeters. And the retweeting of the extremist propaganda and/or bile merely exacerbates the situation and allows those who, I assume, are normally quite balanced in the usual day to day life to start swinging the lead with condemnatory/belittling/dismissive assumptions and pronouncements about ALL Christians and ALL LFC fans.

If anyone is wondering exactly where I stand on either of these two issues:

Firstly, I think Alan was wrong to say what he did in the way he did but think that not having the full facts (and thinking things through) was his only error. I would rather Liverpool FC forfeited the game than play on the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. Maybe Alan should have read this article or one of the many like it to get a bit more perspective.

Secondly, I believe that God loves us all, equally. Whether we are Gay or straight, Jew or gentile, slave or free, Mother Theresa or Osama Bin Laden. That’s difficult to understand sometimes, but I believe it. After all, if God hates gays so much, why does he keep making ‘em?

So tomorrow will be the end of a tough week being me. And it’ll be the start of a long day – setting off in the early hours for a long drive.

Tomorrow I will be at Wembley on the eve of the 23rd anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. An all-Merseyside FA Cup semi-final. Liverpool versus Everton. I will be one person in a crowd that includes reds, blues and neutrals; a crowd that includes people of many faiths and people of none. I pray that we all get there, and get home, safely.

You’ll Never Walk Alone. Justice For The 96.

Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word

It’s sad, so sad, it’s a sad sad situation …and it’s getting more and more absurd

Those of you unlucky enough to follow me on Twitter will know that I have been angered recently by the response to the Suarez/Evra affair. If, at this stage, you have no idea what  I’m talking about then you’d be well advised to not bother reading the rest of this!

Let me be quite clear at the very beginning: I believe that what Suarez did was wrong and it is right that he is punished for what he did. I’m no lawyer, or profess to have any sort of legal brain, but I have read through the full FA report. The early pages make unpleasant reading for Liverpool fans (or Suarez supporters – and the two are not mutually inclusive groups).

But on reading further my initial sense of having been let down by someone who’s skill, attitude and enthusiasm for the game I had admired changed to one of injustice and anger.

Far better blogs than this one have been written on the inconsistencies surrounding the judgement and a quick search of the internet will find you many blogs both for and against the judgement. It is not the intention of this post to try and change anyone’s mind, or convince them that they are wrong.

The purpose of this post is to give a word of warning.

I like to think of myself as a mild-mannered 50 year old. I rarely get upset or angry, I try to be laid-back and laissez-faire but I have spent my whole working life dealing with injustices and I try not to let them go unchallenged.

Whether it is the right that is so often denied to children and young people to have their say about the future, or nobody taking a stand against a bullying army in Israel protecting those who are building illegal settlements from those whose land they have stolen I want to make my voice heard.

And so in this sad and morally bereft affair when I see one man being correctly (though excessively) punished and another protagonist not even being investigated my heart screams out “where is the justice?”

I believe that Luis Suarez was wrong and should apologise for any offence caused. It matters not whether he intended to cause offence or whether the ‘cultural differences’ were exaggerated. If I cause offence to someone else (showing the soles of my feet in Korea, not putting my knife and fork together on the plate in Belgium) I should apologise. So should Luis.

However, so should Patrice Evra. The report is quite clear (to my reading) that Evra started the incident, that he insulted Suarez yet he has not been charged by the FA and that, to me , is an injustice and one which allows Liverpool FC’s feeling of injustice to fester.

Liverpool FC are, of course, now in a no win situation. If they decide not to appeal they will get pilloried in the press (particularly I suspect by those twin icons of journalistic integrity The Daily Mail and The Mirror for the support shown by the club, its staff and players to Luis Suarez the Convicted Racist (despite the fact that both the FA Commission and Evra has said that Suarez is not a racist – but the gutter press have never allowed facts to get in the way of  a good headline, has it?)

If they DO appeal they will get pilloried in the press (particularly I suspect by those twin icons of journalistic integrity The Daily Mail and The Mirror) for not taking a stand against racism (a stand which LFC have been in the forefront of taking for many years)

And back to the word of warning I mentioned earlier. My utterances on Twitter regarding this debacle have introduced me to some strangers – some of whom have become ‘friends’ like Stephen (@mirrors90) a young ManUre fan with whom I share pleasant and, I hope, inoffensive banter. But this relationship seems to be the exception rather than the rule. The two clubs, and their supporters, are so at each others throats and so hate (and I use that word advisedly) each other that it is my profound fear that when the two clubs next meet (at Old Trafford in March) such will be the poisonous atmosphere that there will be significant violence and someone, maybe more than one person, will be seriously hurt.

Can this be avoided? Yes, I think it can – and it requires Suarez and Evra, together on a public stage, making sincere and personal apologies to each other and asking the two sets of fans to start respecting each other. Let’s face it, we’ll never LIKE each other but respect would be a good place to be.

Because if someone is seriously hurt, or worse, who is going to be able to take the moral high ground then?

Shakespeare had King Lear say:

Close pent-up guilts,
Rive your concealing continents, and cry
These dreadful summoners grace. I am a man
More sinn’d against than sinning.

I don’t believe that Suarez was MORE sinned against than sinning – but I believe he was equally sinnned against.

“Sorry”  may well be the hardest word but it’s not an impossible one. For all our sakes, Evra and Suarez need to say it.

She’s here…

Well, I’ve been banging on about her since January and, on Wednesday, she finally arrived.

Sybil has been just over 6 months in the making in the workshop of Dave White and he has produced a beauty.

She is different from my other guitars in so many ways – the two most obvious are that she is a 12 fretter and those frets are multi scaled.

So, just so that you can see, what she looks like, here’s a pic

Oh, sorry … She’s in bed.

Inspirations and Aspirations

Being a Scouse Catholic I have to assume that, somewhere in the dim and distant past, there’s a bit of Irish in me. One of my sisters is the ‘family researcher’ and I’m sure she mentioned it somewhere along the line.

I’d be happy with some roots to the Emerald Isle (as much as I’d be happy with a link to Scotland and Wales) because I love the music that comes from there so much.

There’s one particular musician whose music moves me. Considered by many to be Ireland’s national composer, Turlough O’Carolan was a blind (aren’t many of the best musicians blind? There’s hope for me yet!) harpist who lived from 1670 – 1738. Well, according to Wikipedia he did!

His melodies are sublime, his harmonies hit heights and move souls … he was not bad at what he did! And he had a few things in common with me:

1. He was short sighted (well, actually he was blind but let’s not quibble)

2. He wasn’t much to look at (if the contemporary pictures are to believed) 

3. He wasn’t much of a singer (based on the fact that he mostly wrote tunes, rather than songs)

Trouble is, a harp has many more strings than a guitar so, surely, the music won’t transpose.  Well, fortunately, good music is good music and, whilst it doesn’t transfer directly from harp to guitar, there are people who are able to interpret an O’Carolan tune well enough to keep respectful to the original whilst altering it to suit their own instrument and style.

One such person is Keith Chesterton. I’ve never met Keith – though I know a bit about him… he;’s a retired dentist, he plays guitar in his church worship group, he is generous with his time and money, and he is a great guitar player. His arrangement of the O’Carolan tune “Eleanor Plunkett” is both an inspiration to me to sit down and do some serious work in practicing, and an aspiration – to be able to play with such soul!

So, this weekend I’m at the URC Learning and Resource Centre in the Lake District for a course. I’m taking my guitar and, in the quiet moments (and there must be some!) I’m going to try and work this out.

Wish me luck!

And So It Begins

I recently blogged about how guitar making was not just a craft but also included some almost ‘mystical arts’. I forgot to mention that it also involved some flipping hard work!

I’m delighted to say that Luthier Dave White, having assembled and assessed all the pieces of wood and other materials for the guitar which he is building for me, has made a start. In three months’ time (or thereabouts) Sybil Iúr will be ready but, whilst the build goes on, Dave has promised to document the building process on his website.

From bits of wood to a hand-crafted musical instrument … watch the process as it unfolds here

and just look at the beauty of the Venetian cutaway already