MUSIC

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“I JUST CAN’T GIVE YOU UP“

The Contessa Di La Proctero has really pulled it off this May bank holiday, overnight stay at the 4 star County Hotel in Newcastle, couple of cocktails in Hudson’s bar, round the corner to Pinocchio’s Italian restaurant on Westgate Road for a bite to eat, then up the road to the beautiful Tyne Theatre to watch the great Average White Band.

The Average White Band have been around for over fifty years and this is their farewell tour, of the original line up, only two, Onnie McIntyre and Alan Gorrie, remain and are now ably supported by Rob Aries, Brent Carter, Rocky Bryant, Fred “Freddy V2” Vigdor and Cliff Lyons. Playing to a packed house (average age 60 plus) AWB absolutely tore the place up, playing a great set of soul and funk that impressed, not only me but, also The Contessa Di La Proctero (my wife is not the biggest soul fan, never mind, education is a great thing). The band selection of tunes was nigh on impeccable and the two hour set flew by, naturally AWB finished the evening with their timeless classic “Pick up the Pieces” the houseful of dinosaurs were going metal for more. When I first purchased “The White Album” all those years ago in Virgin records on Ridley Place, Newcastle, I didn’t realise I would still be loving the band all these years later.

A great night had by all and like any good concert, you just just don’t want it to end, did the Average White Band “Cut the Cake” oh, yes.

JACKETS

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HUBBA HUBBA

You’re going to need a lightweight summer jacket, so these are just a few options for you to try, Union Clothing in Newcastle stock a nice range of jackets by French maestro’s Vetra, John Simons own range of summer jackets always take a bit of beating, as does Boglioli’s K jacket, which can found at Fenwick’s, Newcastle, then there’s Drakes Games Blazer, all highly acceptable bits of gear, but, having said that, there one game in town this summer and that’s Kamakura’s Crazy Madras Blazer. This unstructured jacket is made by the noted Japanese shirt makers, Kamakura, (The Frozen Northerner is a big fan of Kamakura shirts and is the proud owner of several of their button down vintage ivy shirts) boy, this jacket really is the cats whiskers and should be purchased without hesitation. You could buy it on online, but, that, as you well know is a definite no, no, in the eyes of The Frozen Northerner. The only place it can be bought in this country is at the great All Blues Co in Leeds, a shop steeped in fabulous items of Americana.

This ivy masterpiece, has all the details loved by ivy purists, natural shoulders, a three to two rolled lapel, a patch pocket on the chest, patch and flap side pockets and centre hook vent at the back.

As I have pointed out in the past when it comes to producing top notch ivy style clothing the Japanese are absolutely killing the USA at their own game and this jacket is further proof of their dominance in this area of clothing. Hats off once again to Kamakura for yet another timeless piece of superb Ivy style clothing. Peerless.

TALES FROM THE PIT POND(26)

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If you think Guardiola, Arteta and Klopp are under pressure, then you never managed West Allotment Celtic back in the 1980s. Talk about living in a gold fish bowl, when I returned to manage them, I was twenty nine years old and disenchanted with Saturday football.

After enduring a disappointing season with North Shields St Columba’s, I was seduced into becoming West Allotment Celtic’s manager, by the Allotment’s head honcho, John Jackson and the original Mr Fixit, committee member, Alex Smailes, boy, they really done a number on me. Naturally my ego took over and if Terry Venables could do it, why couldn’t The Frozen Northerner. Although the Allotment had been top dogs for years in the Northern Amateur League, they were now playing in the Northern Alliance which was a whole different ball game, their first season in the Alliance had been trophy free, something that were not used to.

Most of the players that I had played with in that were glorious treble winning season were still there, so, it was going to be interesting to see how were they to react to me now being manager, only time would tell. It wouldn’t be nice, old friendships would strained to the max as five new players came in, John Kiddie (back for a third time, with one senior player informing me that Kiddie was nowhere near good enough, big mistake) Les Yeomans, a potentially brilliant centre half in Mark “Sparky” Aynsley, Ian Nicolson and right at the start of season Paul Robson. By the time we got to the first game of the season I had quickly learned that in management you have no mates, players don’t care about you, because all they are interested in is playing, whist committee members loved to tell who should be in the side, but didn’t want the responsibility of dropping players, fortunately, I had the help of recently retired former player Micky Wilson to help me and the relationship worked out really well. By the time the start of the season came around I had also managed to persuade the former Marine Park and Heaton Stannington legend Billy Colwill to oversee training, which, by the way, was one of the smartest moves I ever made. In my mind we were ready, the start of a roller coaster ride that would last for three seasons, leaving me exhausted, mentally drained and burnt out, eat your heart out Pep, this was proper football, played by proper players, oh my god, let the ride begin.

WATCHES

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RALLYGRAF MECA-QUARTZ PANDA

My watch collection is steadily growing, after my recent purchase of a Baltic MR01, I have now moved on to yet another French brand, Yema and their Rallygraf Meca Quartz Panda model. Yema watches were founded in 1948 by Henry Louis Belmont in Besancon, which is apparently the home of French watch making. The watch itself comes comes in five colour variations and feature Seiko powered VK64 movement, which means absolutely nothing to me. so, why am I buying this watch ? well, it just looks so damn good.

Designed to honour the Rallygraf signature look that was established in the 1960’s, the watch face hour and minute sub registers are are intended to look like the dashboard on vintage racing cars, it also features a checked racing flag, making the watch look extremely cool and classy, harking back to a more stylish time.

Apparently this watch was worn by the Italian/American racing driver Mario Andretti during his triumphant win at the 1969 Indianapolis 500. This watch won’t turn you into Mario Andretti, however, very much like Andretti the watch is a real crowd pleaser and can be bought for a highly affordable price, which represents great value for money. The Rallgraf Meca Quartz Panda, seriously a very cool watch.

THE LILLE EXPERIENCE

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LILLE

Bonjour, The Frozen Northerners are enjoying the Easter break in the French city of Lille, situated in the Hauts-De-France region of northern France, Lillie, is very close to the border of Belgium and is often referred to as the capital of Flanders. Why are we here instead of my beloved Italy, well it’s quite simple, The Frozen Northerner has decided that he no longer wishes to fly, this decision, as you can imagine has been met with anger and despair by The Contessa Di La Proctero who is now checking all routes out of Lille that can take us to as many destinations as possible, with the minimum amount of planning.

Lille, itself is only an hour and a half from London, The Frozen Northerners are using Eurostar to reach our destination and I have to say the train journey was very comfortable. As usual the Contessa has organised everything down to the last detail, we staying at the 4 star Adagio apartments/hotel, just a stones throw away from the Grand Place slap bang in the middle of the city centre ( so, top brownie points for location) wandering around Lille has come as a bit of an unexpected surprise, with its red brick buildings and cobbled streets, Lille has some amazing places to view such as the Old Stock Exchange, Rihour Palace, Lille Synagogue and of course the Grand Place.

If sightseeing is not your bag, then indulge your wife or partner in a bit of retail therapy, as there is plethora of high end shops such as Hermes to keep the woman in your life happy. While she shops settle yourself down in one the bars or brasseries along my favourite street in Lille ,Rue De La Monnaire which is simply beautiful, (when on this street you must try the Fromagerie Quintin which serves up the most amazing cheese pastries) and enjoy a glass of good beer, something like Filou Trippel, or Le Fort.

Our gallic friends certainly enjoy their food and the the list of good places to eat is endless and it’s pretty much impossible to go wrong, somewhere La Houblonniere, inexpensive. but ,wonderful. If you like city breaks then Lille, birthplace of Charles De Gaulle is a city that is not to be missed, Lille, may be the gateway to all of Europe, but, please don’t bypass it because it is simply superb.

FORGOTTEN HEROES

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THE INCOMPARABLE PAAVO NURMI

This summer the Olympics Games return to Paris, it’s been a hundred years since the French last hosted the games, therefore, in honour of Baron Pierre De Coubertin its high time we pay homage to a man who could arguably lay claim to being the greatest middle distance runner of all time. Paavo Nurmi, may not be a name that you are familiar, however, if you’ve got time to scrutinise his career you will be blown away by his achievements.

Nurmi first gained attention at 1920 Antwerp Olympics as part of the Finnish team that also included fellow flying Finns, Ville Ritola and Hannes Kolehmainen. Nurmi’s haul of three gold and one silver was impressive, but, that was just a taste of what was to come, by the time he arrived in Paris for the 1924 games, Nurmi was making world records tumble, starting with 10,000 metres in 1921, he broke the 2,000, 3,000 and 5,000 metres in 1922 and the mile and three mile records on consecutive days in 1923.

To get an idea of just how good Nurmi was, you just have to look at his preparation for the 1924 Paris games, in the June of that year, Nurmi warmed up for the games by breaking the world 1,500 metres record, then on the same day and less an hour later he broke the 5,000 metres world record. The Paris game saw him win five golds making him the most bemedaled athlete at the 1924 Olympics. Just to demonstrate how good he really was, Nurmi broke six more world record before the end of 1924.

By the time he reached Amsterdam for 1928 his powers were in decline, although he still managed one gold and two silvers. In 1932 Nurmi had planned to run the marathon at Los Angeles games, but, was banned by the IAAF for apparently infringing his amateur status.

Nine Olympic gold medals three silver medals and twenty two world records place Nurmi at the very top of the athletic tree, will we see his like at this year’s Paris Olympics, no chance. Paavo Nurmi the greatest athlete of all time, you may not agree, but, for me the man is incomparable.

OBITUARY (STAN BOWLES)

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STAN THE MAN

Players like Stan Bowles don’t exist anymore, no work rate, not athletic, likes a drink, likes the ladies and likes a bet. Everything that modern day managers like Wenger despise, however, that’s the why fans of my generation loved players like Bowles, a football maverick, not quite in same league as Jim Baxter, but nevertheless Bowles was a player singing from the same hymn sheet as Baxter.

Bowles was a player that would have you tearing your hair out for 89 minutes then produce a piece of dazzling magic in the last minute to win the game sending you into football heaven. Taking the bus home with your mates you’d try to analyse his brilliance, which, obviously you and your pals were going to replicate later that evening on the back field. You couldn’t quite fathom out how players like Bowles did it, unlike to today’s players who are cloned like some robot with Artificial Intelligence, you liked Bowles even more because the chances were your fathers hated him with his long hair, his shirt outside his shorts and his cocky attitude, everything parents of my generation didn’t try or want to understand.

Bowles was born in the Collyhurst area of Manchester on the 24th of December 1948, whilst playing for Manchester schoolboys he was spotted by Manchester City with whom he joined a apprentice. At City he made rapid progress and was rewarded with a first team debut in September 1967 coming as a substitute in a 4-0 victory over Leicester City, Bowles scored twice and in his full game the following week against Sheffield United he again scored twice. Bowles seemed destined for fame and fortune at Manchester City, but, after a series of fallouts with Manchester City’s high talented, but, volatile coach Malcolm Allison, Bowles was sacked for a breach of club discipline, Bowles now down on his luck, found an unlikely saviour in the of Ernie Tagg’s Crewe Alexandra, here, in the backwaters of football Tagg helped rekindle Bowles love of the game.

During his time at Crewe, Bowles gained acclaim as the best midfield player outside the first division, after eighteen months at the railwaymen Bowles moved onto Carlisle United managed by the tough Ian MacFarlane. Carlisle may have been yet another football backwater, but, they had a good team and Bowles thrived under MacFarlane with 12 goals in 33 games.

QPR needed to replace another maverick, Rodney Marsh, who ironically was joining Bowles former club Manchester City. In September 1972 QPR paid £110,000 for Bowles services and although it looked like a risk at the time it turned out to a masterstroke by Rangers. Many were of the opinion that Bowles wasn’t the player to fill Marsh boots, boy, were they wrong, Stanley stepped up the plate brilliantly, in what was to become a golden period for the club, firstly under the tuition of Gordon Jago, then under Dave Sexton, Bowles responded brilliantly to both managers and the side that some top players such as Gerry Francis, Frank McLintock, Don Masson and Dave Thomas came tantalisingly close to lifting the first division title in the 1975-76 season.

Good as he was on the park his life off was just as colourful, gambling was his drug of choice and Bowles blew a small fortune. When Tommy Docherty took over from Sexton, Bowles clashed with the new manager and moved to Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest. He never really settled at Forest and after yet another fallout with Clough he moved on to Orient before finishing his career at Brentford. Six England caps were scant reward for a player of such outrageous talent, but back then England managers were wary of such wayward geniuses.

You may be of the opinion that football today is better, but, clearly you have never seen the likes of, Baxter, Hudson, Marsh, Currie and of course the great Mr B, himself, R.I.P. Stanley Bowles you were some player.

THE YORK EXPERIENCE

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THE SHAMBLES

The half term has come and gone and it is natural for followers of this blog to expect me to be writing about some area of the Metropolis, however, The Contessa Di La Proctero has opted for a trip to York instead. Wow, a visit to the chocolate city instead of London, how’s is this going to play out, situated in North Yorkshire, York is just over an hour and a half by train from my beloved Northumbrian bolthole of Seaton Delaval.

She who must be obeyed, is off to a good start, The Contessa duty informs we are staying at the five star Grand Hotel, which is about a five minute walk from the station and is also a five minute walk from the city centre. The Grand Hotel itself is the former home of LNER and has been turned in very nice hotel, rooms are a really a good size and feature a large bathroom, The Grand also has a very pleasant place to eat in the shape of The Rise Restaurant, as well as an excellent place to grab a cocktail, the 1906 bar (1906 being the year the building was constructed).

There is no shortage of places to visit, wander around the city walls before enjoying the delights that include The National Railway Museum, The Jorvik Viking Centre, The stunning York minster cathedral, Museum Gardens or the interesting buildings like the Merchant Adventurers Hall or quirky streets like the Shambles.

If sightseeing is not your bag, then try a bit of shopping where York appears to have unusually high amount of jewellers, you may want to queue to get a cup of tea at the hugely popular ” Betty’s Tea Rooms” but, believe me there is a huge amount of good alternatives such “Impossible” café/bistro which is the former site of TERRY’S first chocolate shop. Tons of pubs to keep you happy in the evening, some with outlandish names such as “The House of The Trembling Madness” which offers you a fine range of craft ales. Dining wise is dependent on what is in your pocket, if you are flush, then it’s probably going to be “The Ivy” not so flush then probably one Nicholson’s pubs who knock out a top notch pie, personally I was impressed with the food at the Italian restaurant “La Vecchia Scuola”. As alternative to going to London, York punched way above it’s weight and well worth a return visit, which, by the way is The Contessa is downing those cocktails, is not going to be long.

TV

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In 1984 The Frozen Northerner was working as a marine turbine propulsion engineer (mechanical fitter is a simpler version) at the revered Shipbuilding giant Swan Hunter, I was happy with my lot and had no ambition to leave the greatest shipbuilder in the world. Weekends were spent either playing or watching local sport at one of the many miners welfare grounds that were spread across the length and breath of Northumberland, it was a simple life that I wouldn’t have changed for the world. However, there was storm coming and things were going to change and not necessarily for the best.

Mrs Thatcher was now in power and the iron lady was no fan of the working class, who, in her opinion were hell bend on forcing the country to become a socialist state. Therefore, when the miners decided to take strike action, she saw an opportunity to break the power of the unions once and for all.

Although the strike took place some forty years ago, communities are still, to this day divided, having just watched the three part channel four series “The Miners Strike 1984”, has brought back to me just how society in Great Britain was going change. The series doesn’t make for pleasant viewing, the years may have passed since this monumental event took place, but, I have to say that the bitter taste of Thatcherism still leaves a bad in my mouth.

Which side of the fence you chose to sit on is purely up to you, but, with The Frozen Northerner being born and raised in a pit village then it’s fair to say that my sympathies tended to sway towards the miners. I get the Thatcher viewpoint that law and order had to be maintained, but some of events that place throughout the strike had nothing to do with law and order. Thatcher saw the miners strike as a gilt edged opportunity to put the working class back in their place and no matter what cost it was going to have on local communities, she was determined to win.

All three episodes of The “Miners strike 84” is riveting stuff, but, the second episode “The battle of Orgreave” more than the other two, leaves one in despair, the actions that place took that day by the police, albeit at the behest of Thatcher’s government, were simply outrageous. As the programme duly points out, miners were arrested by police who claimed they were rioting, when, in fact they were doing anything but.

You have to watch Tom Barrow’s story which is simply mesmerising and is a series that should be shown on T.V. every year, by defeating the miners Mrs Thatcher thought she was creating a better country for us to live in. Not if you’re working class, she mercilessly destroyed towns and villages that have never recovered to this day. A simple life taken away, tragic.

FILMS

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The latest offering from renowned filmmaker, Michael Mann, comes in the shape of “Ferrari” a movie about a period in the life of sports car manufacturer, Enzo Ferrari. Any film made by Michael Mann has to taken seriously and over the years has been responsible for gems such “Heat” “The Last Of The Mohicans” “Ali” and the superb, yet, often overlooked, “Manhunter” so anything made by him has to be respected.

It’s 1957 and in the glamourous, but, highly dangerous world of motor sport, Enzo Ferrari’s beloved motor company are in trouble, on the track they are being outgunned by arch rivals, Maserati, whilst off the track, Ferrari, are struggling to keep their head above water financially. Signor Ferrari is under severe pressure to sell his company to either the Ford Motor Company or to Gianni Angnelli’s Fiat motor group, Ferrari choses neither and decides to gamble all on winning the Milia Milia, a thousand mile motor endurance race, in the hope that victory will resurrect the profile his floundering company.

That not the only problem facing Ferrari, his home is a shambles as Signor Ferrari (Adam Driver) tries to balance his home life between his wife and his mistress. Therefore, if you think this is all about Ferraris tearing around the Italian countryside, then think again, as this much more than just film about motor cars. In reality the movie is more about the love triangle between Ferrari, (Driver) his wife Laura (Penelope Cruz) and his mistress Lina Lardi (Shailen Woodley). The film itself may be bit on the slow side for most viewers, but, with Mann at the helm it is naturally a very good story, the race scenes are beautiful and spectacular, as Ferrari’s drivers, Alphonse Di Portago, (Gabriel Leone) Peter Collins, ( J O’Connel) and Pietro Taruffi (a peroxide Patrick Dempsey) vie with each other to win the race for Ferrari. The scene where DePortago( Leone) and his navigator Edmund Gunnar Nelson are catapulted to death killing ten spectators along really grabs you by the throat as to just how dangerous motor sport was back in the 1950’s.

Bur enough of me prattling on about the movie, it up to you to form your own opinion, “Ferrari” well worth a look on miserable February evening.

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