Football and cricket.

 Football and cricket

So the curtain falls on another football season in England. Undoubtedly, it has been a season of vaudevillian theatricality, at times almost charming sentimentality and, at the end of it all, one team and only one team, really. Liverpool have won the Premier League because they were moved by the legendary spirit of those managerial giants from yesteryear. First there was Bill Shankly, then there was Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan, Kenny Dalglish, the remarkable charm offensive of Jurgen Klopp and finally, the first Dutchman ever to win a major League title in England. His name was Arne Slot.

And yet there were times, quite frequently, that Liverpool's closest contenders for the Premier League title Arsenal would push Liverpool all the way, going head to head with the Gunners, striving and straining with all their might, narrowing the gap at the top, then threatening to take the season to the final day. But then it became patently obvious that there were too many games throughout the season and Arsenal were found wanting at crucial points during the season, losing games that might have become a formality in previous campaigns and dropping points when three were somehow considered imperative. 

This afternoon, Liverpool will wrap up their Premier League season with their last game of the season against the new FA Cup holders Crystal Palace. Palace, it was, who brought a refreshing breeze to Wembley last Saturday with a richly deserved 1-0 victory over Pep Guardiola's Manchester City side who must be licking the bloodiest of wounds after a season that both malfunctioned and hurtled out of control long before the end of the season. 

So it is that Liverpool and Arsenal will occupy the top two positions while, behind them, Aston Villa will be hoping to add the prettiest icing to their cake by qualifying for the Champions League again. Just behind them are the most improbable and implausible of teams who must have thought their European football aspirations were merely just a pipedream. Bournemouth and Fulham must have had delusions of grandeur in their attempt to confirm their place in either the Europa League or the UEFA Conference League. But now none will have to take out their passports and that's a crying shame because both probably deserve to sample European football next season.

But perhaps the most riveting story of them all was the alarming decline of Manchester City who probably assumed that all they had to do was just turn up on the day and take a fifth consecutive Premier League title as theirs by divine right. But we all know what happens to the presumptuous and arrogant. They invariably get a taste of their own medicine, a rude awakening and a brutal reminder of their fallibility. Yes, even City had weak spots, defensive vulnerabilities and a very delicate constitution. City were rumbled, found out and then left completely embarrassed. This was not the way it was meant to happen. 

Meanwhile, at the other end of the Premier League, the sense of deja vu became a self- fulfilling prophecy. Both Southampton, Leicester City and Ipswich Town, who were probably still drunk with joy at the prospect of conquering all the odds back in the Premier League, have all been relegated back from whence they came. This is quite a rare occurrence but also a cautionary tale. History, though, has indeed repeated itself. None could have imagined that their return back to the top flight would end up as a complete catastrophe. But it has and who knew?

Just outside the bottom half of the Premier League were last Wednesday's Europa League winners Spurs, the beaten and vanquished Manchester United in the Final itself and  your preferred choice of football team West Ham. This afternoon, all three will finish 14th, 15th, and 17th respectively. Now this represents an almost farcical conclusion to the end of the season for the three teams who must have fancied themselves to be serious candidates for a place in Europe next season. 

In the Championship, formerly known as the old Second Division, those traditional household names Leeds United, Burnley and, as of yesterday, Sunderland, complete the emotional reunion of the old boys network. Leeds, for their part, have been in torment in recent seasons having fallen into the deepest hole of League One several seasons ago. Leeds thought they'd recovered quite admirably but then dropped out of the Premier League for another spell in the lower divisions. Burnley have been similarly indecisive, relegated to the Championship but, like, Leeds have returned to the Premier League. What went around came around. 

Burnley, of course, are still surrounded by those brooding and glowering mills and factories that somehow defined the Industrial Revolution. It's hard to believe that Burnley were once a force to be reckoned with, winning the old First Division championship at the beginning of the 1960s. But where once there was an air of stability at Turfmoor, now lives a team who remind you of trapeze artists on the circus high wire.

But when the final whistle goes for the end of the Premier League season in England, all our eyes and thoughts will turn to the infant cricket season. A new cricket season is rather like the spring dawn chorus of robins, the melodious voices of chaffinches, great crested grebes and kingfishers followed by a resounding choir of quacking ducks and honking geese. Cricket is quintessentially English, the summer game, the game where village greens conjure up the game's most idyllic moments. There's the evocative crack of red ball against willow bat, men in caps and white flannels strolling languidly across beautiful green wickets with just a hint of dust and brown at the creases. 

And yet cricket will always be associated with summer's sweetest fragrances. It is, of course one of the most leisurely and sedate of all spectacles bathed in a dreamy tranquillity that football can only fantasise about. Here at the beginning of the County Championship the pavilions at Lords, Trent Bridge, Old Trafford, the Oval and Headingley will resound to the clattering feet of innumerable county teams, nimbly tip toeing down the steps, gingerly treading where others may fear, shifting their pads, swinging bats around in every increasing circles and then rolling their arms for the tenth time. 

It is one of the many glorious rituals that continue to accompany cricket down the ages. Then the opening batsmen will take guard at the crease, helmets neatly adjusted before digging away vigorously at the crease and preparing for the relentless bombardment of fast to medium bowling. Then any American tourists by the third man boundary will start scratching their heads in bemusement because they can hardly believe that any sport could possibly be any slower and, from time to time, the game will finish in a frustrating draw. You see, our American friends demand a result from their frantic contests of baseball and American football. Cricket can never fulfil that remit.

But this summer, India will be adorning our cricket grounds with their presence and, as usual, the current state of English cricket will come under the strictest scrutiny if things go terribly wrong. Then, of course, we'll be served up the regular diet of one day thrashes, T20 Blast slog fests, exhibition matches occasionally and the new fangled One Hundred, a personally inexplicable concept but nonetheless eye catching and nothing less than exciting. 

Around the world of cricket, we will be wondering how the Aussies are doing since the Ashes are always on our minds and Australia love to beat the Poms. We will also find ourselves concerned about the West Indies because, historically, they were invariably one of the game's most powerful and formidable of teams. During the 1970s, the West Indies were almost unbeatable on English turf but there are no more Clive Lloyds, Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidges, Andy Roberts or Joel Garners to face and that borders on the heartbreaking. 

Football though will take itself off to some Greek island or even further afield nowadays. The boots will be slung away mercifully or not in case you can't stand the Beautiful Game. Those sweat soaked shirts will be thrown carelessly into the washing machine and the ball itself hidden away in discreet corners of training grounds, sheds or into chests of drawers. 

Of course the kids will be roaming the parks and recreation grounds of this sceptred isle, shouting and screaming excitedly at the tops of their voices. For the whole of the school summer holidays there will be fiercely competitive five a side matches or full size matches between commanding beech or larch trees. Maybe they'll decide to play next to gorgeous rose bushes or prepossessing bowling greens, quite possibly the municipal tennis courts. 

Football will forever be regarded as a pleasant diversion away from the winter hard grind. It will just carry on throughout the summer for some as if  the game should be played permanently regardless of the season. But whatever you're doing this summer you'd be well advised to remember that both football and cricket can be guaranteed to capture the imagination of millions. Sport always knew how to strike a happy medium.     

Chelsea Flower Show

 Chelsea Flower Show

In the heart of London's most fashionable and wealthy community, you can almost hear the contented murmurs of landscape gardeners, seasoned pruners of roses and those lifelong green fingered folk who can't get enough of their hallowed patch of grass, green and foliage. It is that time of the year again, folks. After a long, hard and dark winter, the end of May can only mean one thing. And no, it's not the merry month of May maypole dancing or rehearsals for that famous cheese rolling competition that Middle England will relish at some point during the summer.  

No, this week it's the yearly Chelsea Flower Show. Oh for the bountiful and beautiful flora and fauna of the Chelsea Flower Show, that wondrous display of plants, flowers and bushes that send some of us into lyrical raptures. Both the great British public, thousands of tourists and curious spectators from far and wide, converge on Chelsea like avid disciples and followers of our precious nature. They wander around the stunning array of Japanese tea gardens, delightful rockeries, gorgeous shrubberies and always aesthetically pleasing, well tended bushes that leave most of its observers mesmerised.

But we invariably find ourselves drawn to the hardy perennials, the celebrity gardening aficionados such as Monty Don and Alan Titchmarsh, the men who introduced us so proudly to the colourful beauty of the Chelsea Flower Show. Every year we proceed in an orderly fashion before gazing around at the ornamental ponds, the neat and well tended small trees, the herbaceous borders, the lovingly mown grassy areas with their symmetrical lines and the kind of garden adornments we've always loved such as the gnomes that never fail to warm our hearts. 

From a personal point of view my lovely and late mum and dad's garden was always a picture postcard, maternal figure and the grass regularly cut to perfection rather like the barber who takes special care to make sure your hair looks as tidy and impressive as ever. My late mum took particular delight in her beds of roses in our garden and frequently strolled up and down, smiling blissfully at the riot of colour, both yellow and red, purple and one that must have left her feeling completely enchanted. It was called a Blue Moon which was called as such because, presumably, it reminded my mum and dad of a blue Moon, a fusion of vibrant violet and purple. 

But the Chelsea Flower Show reminds us of how grateful we should be for the longevity of nature, its natural tendency to blossom and flourish when summer arrives and the Pimms is nicely chilled. The Chelsea Flower Show is a British national treasure, a cultural institution that remains an enduring symbol of how we both look at and admire nature. Some of this year's floral displays are another a classic example of the time and affectionate devotion we give to every single flower. 

Then there are the private exhibits, the expensive array of exotic plants that are probably worth a considerable amount of money. Britain loves its gardens, feeds and nurtures its growth and development, makes a wonderful fuss about its gardens because the Garden of England is Kent and Kent is synonymous with orchards and oast houses and gardens are our proud and joy. 

So before you set off on your summer holidays or just enjoy the simplicity of your domestic idyll, remember  the people who queue patiently outside and are then rewarded with the full and spectacular array of begonias, laburnums, peonies, sun flowers, more and more azaleas and those hyacinths and hydrangeas which come out to play every day and always make us sigh with admiration. Oh for the glories of the Chelsea Flower Show.  

Crystal Palace beat Manchester City in the FA Cup Final

 Crystal Palace beat Manchester City in the FA Cup Final

The body language of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola told you everything you needed to know about not only City's defeat to Crystal Palace but the much bigger picture of City's dreadful Premier League season. For the first time in ages, Manchester City ended their season with nothing to show for their endeavours and the man who once transformed the fortunes of City and brought about a dramatic metamorphosis at the Etihad Stadium, now looked like a man who had been mortally offended by something that Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson must have said.

The seething anger and fury on Guardiola reminded us once again of the bitterness and frustration that City have endured through a Premier League season that, by their standards, must be written off as a complete catastrophe. Normally, the smiling, jovial, mild mannered Guardiola would have been a gracious figure even in defeat. But this time it was personal and Pep's world had crumbled around him and this was somehow unforgivable. 

You fondly imagined how Malcolm Allison would have reacted to a Manchester City defeat in an FA Cup Final and all you can see is blue smoke drifting away from his expensive cigar and and a faint look of disgust and exasperation. Maybe Allison's always cheerful and avuncular assistant Joe Mercer would have just chuckled privately under his breath and insist that it wasn't the end of the world and worse things had happened at sea. 

But the former Barcelona manager, with the matinee idol looks and the permanent bristle of hair on his face, must have been hurting and fuming. For the last four consecutive seasons Manchester City have looked unbeatable, untouchable and totally invincible at times. They've accumulated four successive Premier League titles, looking dominant and almost frighteningly good. Their Champions League triumph two years reflected the enormity of their stunning achievements. 

On Saturday tea time though it was the red and blue of Crystal Palace who stole City's thunder. Crystal Palace, who had hitherto won only the Zenith Data Systems Cup and had already lost two FA Cup Finals to City's noisy neighbours Manchester United, finally and deservedly won this Cup Final. At one end of Wembley Stadium, a vast forest of red and blue flags swayed around in the gentle breezes of North London, jubilation unconfined and finally victorious in an FA Cup Final. 

For some of us, although strictly adhering to impartiality, this was an uplifting sight to witness since the FA Cup does love its underdogs and romance is well and truly alive. When Steve Coppell, the former Palace manager, who just happened to be in the corporate seats at Wembley, was agonisingly denied by Manchester United in the 1990 FA Cup Final after a pulsating 3-3 draw in the first game, the conspiracy theorists got to work in 2016 when United repeated the victory over Palace.

And so it was that the team who once boasted the wonderful talents of Don Rogers, Vince Hilaire, Peter Taylor and Dave Swindlehurst in decades gone past, who bust a gut, fought valiantly and gallantly with all their heart and soul, battled courageously as if their lives depended on it. City didn't know what had hit just them and, for all City's customary frills, fripperies and technical brilliance, the petrol tank was empty and City's engine just spluttered out and left them desperately stuck on the hard shoulder waiting for the AA to arrive. 

And yet for the first ten to fifteen minutes it could have been a very different story for City's cocky cavaliers, a team whose spellbinding passing game has left many an opponent dumbfounded and hypnotised. City were building their huge blocks of short passing movements that looked so effortless and instinctive that it only seemed a matter of time before City would break through. But then something happened, something completely unexpected and almost out of character for City. They took their feet off the accelerator, lost their focus and had none of the coping mechanisms that might have dug them out of any trouble. 

Crystal Palace were at Wembley to win the FA Cup and Oliver Glasner, their eternally optimistic manager, was fed up with losing on the big occasion and knew Palace had it in them to defy the overwhelming odds. So Palace admirably responded to their manager's unwavering faith in them and took the game to City as if determined to bring home the golden treasure and bounty. They tackled ferociously, kept hold of the ball for as long as they could under the circumstances and just played their football, neatly and attractively at times but mostly on the counter attack since City were not about to relinquish any possession of the ball. 

With Chris Richards, the outstandingly consistent Marc Guehi at his most steadfast and resolute, Tyrick Mitchell, wonderfully solid and reliable at the back and Adam Wharton competing tigerishly for every ball, Palace were a credit to both their parents and the club. And then it happened very early on. Crystal Palace broke out of defence swiftly and ultimately joyfully. A long ball was launched out of their defence, the ball  held up nervelessly on the half way line before it was released to the overlapping and swashbuckling Daniel Munoz breaking into space who carried the ball forwards. Munoz cleverly ran at the City back four for all it was worth before cutting the ball back low to the onrushing Eberechi Eze who swept the ball firmly home with the side of his foot to open the scoring for Palace.

Palace must have been in dreamland and City were in mood to wake them up at that point. The Selhurst Park club were pinging the ball about sweetly and assuredly, lovely moments of improvisation from the remarkable Eze and there was something about Palace that City must have found disconcerting. They began to win the second ball much more frequently than they had for the first quarter of an hour or so. Palace won possession, dragged the ball into the City half with both a measured composure and a willingness to make use of the ball constructively. 

From Palace's opening goal, there was never any real likelihood that City would gatecrash the Palace party who, quite literally, felt glad all over. At times it was all hands to the pump and backs to the wall for these flying Eagles and at times City had thrown so much of the kitchen sink at their South London opponents that there was barely any water left to keep City buoyant. City, for all their beautiful one touch football, were going nowhere, the final ball invariably being blocked or just frantically thumped into touch as far away as it was possible to be. 

In the second half, City, with Kevin De Bruyne in the autumn of his career still searching, probing and prompting for City with some gleaming cameo moments, couldn't find anything in his kit bag to blow down the doors of a watertight Palace defence. De Bruyne is still one of the finest midfield players in the country and quite possibly the best but not at Wembley against Crystal Palace.

 Jeremy Doku also enjoying a satisfying if not quite the most triumphant end to his season, was still tricking, deceiving, shimmying and body swerving past the Palace rearguard with a charming impishness and impudence. But this was not Doku's day and, when the final whistle went, both men just stood in the centre of the pitch, inconsolable, distraught and perhaps just exhausted. True the now veteran Bernardo Silva and Ruben Dias were covering every blade of the Wembley pitch and doing their utmost to carve open Palace with incisive runs and cute back flicks. But even Savinho, the Brazilian failed to find the exotic South American samba routine while Manuel Akanji appeared clueless and perplexed. 

Even the usually excellent Josko Gvardiol was like a lost, wandering soul for City and Erling Haaland, normally ruthless and destructive up front, had nothing to give for City. The Norwegian, with those blond locks of hair now fluttering in the wind, was never at his devastating best for City and the impetus had gone for City. And then there were those decisive turning points during the game which dictated the fate of this Cup Final. 

When Dean Henderson came rushing out of his goal to thwart another City attack, his hand seemingly grabbing the ball outside his penalty area, the whole of the City team demanded a penalty and Henderson's eviction to the bench, sent off and red carded. But the penalty never arrived for City and the game was effectively over for the side who play at the Etihad Stadium. It looked as if this City would indeed would be given another penalty when the persistent Silva charged into the Palace box after a gloriously surgical one two had sliced open up the South London team. And so it would prove.

The new kid on the City block Omar Marmoosh stepped up to take the penalty and perhaps just a hint of hesitation in his run up, fired the ball confidently but only to find Dean Henderson. Henderson flung his body at the shot and the ball rebounded off the keeper's legs quite sharply. Palace were hysterically happy and now in a deep state of delirium. After a seemingly interminable amount of injury time, the final whistle went and Palace had, at long last, won the FA Cup. 

For the neutrals this was the right result, the one that mattered and justice had been seen to be done. In 1973 Bob Stokoe, a vision in beige, had galloped onto the Wembley pitch after his then Second Division Sunderland had beaten the mighty, all conquering Leeds United, a giant killing of enormous proportions. In 1988 the Wimbledon, who had risen from the depths of non League football, overcame the magnificently gifted Liverpool with a classic mixture of dogged defiance and bold bravado. And now Crystal Palace have joined the recent and improbable FA Cup winners Wigan into the bargain. They certainly were glad all over and the Eagles have of course landed.      

The great Brian Glanville dies at 93.

The great Brian Glanville dies at 93.

Brian Glanville, who has died at the age of 93, was one of the most learned and scholarly football journalists the Beautiful Game has ever known. By way of a coincidence, Glanville's passing has fallen on the day of today's FA Cup Final, one of the many prestigious occasions Glanville frequently graced us with his presence. 

From his early days at Charterhouse public school to one of the many innumerable World Cup Finals attended as a distinguished football writer, Glanville was a giant of cultured football journalism and the most prolific of novelists. In a world of powerful masculinity and often hot headed, tempestuous times during the 1970s, Glanville was a cool, calm, often graceful figure, a writer of measured but controversial prose, a football encyclopaedia who often challenged the establishment and questioned the often authoritative men in charge of UEFA and FIFA.

In 1960, Glanville joined the Sunday Times as chief football correspondent and would establish an enduring relationship with readers of a newspaper that always set the highest standards. His columns were both lyrically entertaining, powerfully descriptive, almost allegorical in their use of the English language, frequently laced with Latin references but always accurate, informative and brilliantly observational. 

At roughly the same time, Glanville became a regular contributor of the still popular World Soccer magazine and his articles were both profound, sharp and acerbic, honest and impeccably researched. He was a fastidious stickler for detail and accuracy, earning him global admiration in the football community and the unwavering respect of his contemporaries. There was the admirable back catalogue of FA Cup, World Cup, League Cup Finals, football throughout the old divisions of the Football League, football at every level of the game.

And then there were the hard-hitting interviews, occasional criticism of his own team Arsenal, the forthright but balanced journalism. There was an edgy and confrontational nature about Glanville's interviewing style, an insistence on getting it absolutely right and writing with an integrity that left most of his colleagues breathless with praise. 

The young Glanville was something of a precocious child, completing his first book on the life and times of Cliff Bastin, the Arsenal winger, at the tender age of 17, the precursor to an illustrious career which included a fund of memorable stories about the man. There was the incident when Glanville, travelling back with the England squad from a game abroad, collared then grilled the then FIFA president Joao Havelange, verbally attacking the Italian official on the dreadful handling of some now long forgotten match. Glanville was fiercely critical, relentlessly investigative and always had his finger on the pulse of the game.

His observations on the 1966 World Cup Final in England were often enlightening and thought provoking. He tells the story about the moment when West Germany equalised for the second time. After the messiest of goal mouth scrambles, it was Wolfgang Weber who got the final touch for the West Germans to take the game into extra time. England would, of course win the World Cup with a handsome 4-2 victory. 

But Brian Glanville, remembering the day as if it were yesterday, said that the equaliser seemed to go in via slow motion and none of the eminent Press scribes who were present on that famous day knew who had scored the goal. You feel sure though that Glanville felt himself to be a privileged witness to one of the most glorious days in English sporting history. 

In the years that followed, Glanville would continue to work diligently for the Saturday matches, always an influential presence in football ground Press boxes, his words now precious and beautiful, his reports from the old Highbury, Upton Park, White Hart Lane and then Old Trafford, Anfield and St James Park both witty, humorous, but invariably expressive and elegant. 

Throughout the early 1960s, Glanville would move to Italy before settling and living there, enthusiastically embracing the Italian defensive catenaccio, Torino, AC and Inter Milan, Fiorentina and Napoli. He then mastered Italian and could speak it with spellbinding clarity. He wrote splendidly for Gazzetta Dello Sport with a charm and insight that had few equals.

His literary career had now installed him a rightful place in the history of the Beautiful Game. His definitive account on the Story of the World Cup was a breathtaking work of art, a masterpiece that flowed effortlessly from his typewriter and recorded every single match, player, manager, fact and statistic with meticulous attention to detail. There was an early novel called the Olympian, Goalkeepers Are Different and a whole compendium of player profiles, brilliant and awful matches and managers who were either unpredictable, perfect gentlemen, annoying, irascible but always delightful company.

In a world where football now operates in an online world and football can be processed and analysed via I Phones, Tablets and Smart Phones, Glanville may now seem very traditionalist and  conservative. But he always had a mischievous twinkle, a perceptive eye for a juicy story and was never disapproving of the modern age. 

Some of us will deeply miss Brian Glanville because he somehow epitomised the true spirit of football, a man with an  always inquisitive mind, perhaps something of an ardent perfectionist but always true to himself and his readers. Glanville it was who loved that superlative turn of phrase or bon mots, a wordsmith extraordinaire and one of the game's finest craftsmen.  Brian Glanville we salute you. You were and will always be regarded as the best in the business. Fleet Street will never forget you. 

FA Cup Final day.

 FA Cup Final day. 

It used to be one of the best days in the football calendar. It was one of the most emotional days for both the respective teams and  the feverish fans who could barely hold back their excitement. There was an indefinable anticipation that none of us could quite understand because we weren't there to witness the occasion live in all its technicolour glory. There was the pomp and pageantry of it all, the wonderment, the exhilaration of winning and then in complete contrast, the earth shattering dejection and the debilitating anguish of losing. 

FA Cup Final day was rather like watching the most spectacular West End of London musical, an old fashioned music hall vaudeville from long ago. The truth of course is that football shouldn't allow itself to be carried away by the one game of the season that holds so much importance and could so decisively make or break their teams season. And yet it shouldn't be like this because there are far weightier matters of note to consider, events in our lives that should take precedence to every other consideration. It is not the end of the world if we lose the Cup Final because there are far more pressing priorities. 

But tomorrow morning Crystal Palace and Manchester City will be walking out at Wembley for the FA Cup Final and, for both, the fickle finger of fate will be pointing in one direction. We will be watching with impartiality because a vast majority of the nation will be doing the Saturday shopping, taking the dog for a lengthy walk in the park, gazing longingly into department stores in the hope of nabbing a bargain or, quite possibly, watching a game of village green cricket. But for the FA Cup Final both the fans of Palace or City this will be their royal command performance at the Palladium in London's West End.

Now for the traditionalists among us, the FA Cup Final normally started in earnest just after breakfast time when the cereals had been devoured and the toast with jam routine had been successfully completed. The truth is of course that the whole day was dominated by the Beautiful Game. In the days before remote control and only three channels, there was something very rudimentary about the whole spectacle. You could watch the game in complete comfort and luxury from your sofa and pretend that you too were travelling to the game on the team coaches, cracking jokes and witticisms with your pals and actually taking part in the FA Cup Final. 

Sadly and yet quite upliftingly though you were following every pass, tackle and shot from a distance, utterly detached from the all consuming drama of the day, the absorbing passion of one afternoon in our lives that we could hardly believe we were witnessing. It was the fulfilment of our dreams, our dreams bearing fruit in front of our discerning eyes since every football fan is knowledgeable.

We sat spellbound and transfixed by this compelling spectacle rather like kids at the seaside who simply abandoned themselves to arduous sandcastle building before running into the sea and being gripped with an enjoyment that seemed to last for ever. The FA Cup Final on TV was compulsive viewing, something that had to be experienced since you could never put it any one specific category. It was inexplicably wonderful, a joyously entertaining match regardless of who you supported. 

On London Weekend TV, ITV's commercial channel, we had the late and the always immaculate Dickie Davies accompanied by Brian Moore, surely one of the greatest and most resonant voice in football, a man of stature, enormously revered and respected by his contemporaries. And on the BBC there were the poetic and lyrical voices of either John Motson and Barry Davies, consummate professionals and men who could have recited the old telephone directory and still invested the occasion with a style and authority that won your endless admiration. 

But FA Cup Final day is invariably all about the fans, the supporters who have sacrificed everything just to be among the heaving, seething, bristling Wembley terraces and seats. They're the ones who have followed their clubs in all weathers, shivering in the cold in the third round of the FA Cup in January and then travelling the length and breadth of the country in the hope that this year could be theirs. 

And tomorrow afternoon, we will be hoping to reach the summit flag proudly planted at the top and by 5pm in the afternoon, that famous old Cup will be paraded around Wembley Stadium. There can be no doubt that our team will be drinking the champagne, our conquering heroes who will be dancing in the dressing room because the street parties have been planned and prepared with meticulous attention to detail. Make no mistake. We've deserved this moment in the sun and we're not going to waste it for a minute.

So it was that we immersed ourselves in the jollity and frivolity of the day itself, gazing around the old Wembley with its huge acres of outlandish banners and flags, the amusing if rude slogans and a vocal congregation that bore a striking resemblance to a Sunday morning church service. We were never at Wembley but we were definitely there in spirit willing on our teams, recalling the players we were told about by our grandparents, the day we rhapsodised over because they were the finest and, ultimately victorious ones who would walk up the old 39 steps to receive the Cup from royalty. 

It  is a day we develop a sentimental attachment to, a day borrowed from the warmest archives of nostalgia. It is a day that takes us right back to the day when our grandparents brought out the most exquisite cutlery and crockery for the most rousing of parties. We'll never forget Cup Final day because maybe it was a rites of passage day when we finally discovered the joys and thrills the game could still serve up for our delectation.

Cup Final days used to be synonymous with colourful rosettes on our shirts and those delightful rattles that never failed to entertain us. It was about the players walking across the Wembley pitch, comparing fashionable suits and shirts followed swiftly by the pre match preamble, 'Abide With Me' conducted with incredible enthusiasm by a gentleman wearing a patriotic Union Jack waistcoat. 

Now of course coverage doesn't even come anywhere near the saturation point where every word, sentence and paragraph about football and the FA Cup becomes like an infectious song we simply can't get out of our heads. It's constant, repetitive, mind blowing, perhaps wearisome and tiresome but it keeps going on and on until the conclusion, the thrilling denouement whereby the winning skipper and the players of your team celebrates on grand open top bus parades in local shopping centres. Then you notice more buses and cars, wending their way around the bakeries, cafes, chemists and butchers as if this triumph was somehow fated to happen on this day of all days. It is a day designed for football's vast and ecstatic democracy.

Tomorrow, those same jubilant players and supporters will share a common bond, a kindred spirit and a genuine rapport with each other that only sport can offer. Crystal Palace, who have never won anything but have been Cup Final runners up twice now, are once again the underdogs against a Manchester City side who have had quite the most appalling season in the Premier League, relinquishing their hold limply on another title winning trophy. Liverpool ran away with this season's Premier League, fully deserving of all the back slapping plaudits and rightful praise, a trophy won at a canter in the end. 

Some of us may still yearn for the days when the game was untouched by rampant commercialism, sponsorship from every prestigious company, all of those brash and ambitious businessmen and entrepreneurs from Saudi Arabia with an alleged vested interest in the game. Back in those far off decades, football was relatable, fun, accessible, astonishingly cheap and just plain, good old fashioned fun. There was no VAR, there were no draught excluders at free kicks, no elements of contentious doubt about the scoring of goals. We felt an essential part of the occasion even if we couldn't quite make it to Wembley Park and Wembley Way. 

So whatever you're doing tomorrow be sure to remember that the FA Cup will woo us with its romantic sweet nothings, lavishing us with affectionate good wishes. It's history and heritage will never fade from our rheumy eyed sights. Although your club are not directly involved in the Final itself,  you will be rooting for those who you think could be seriously underestimated. So Crystal Palace and Manchester City. You know what to do. 

National Public Gardens Week

 National Public Gardens Week

So here we are deep into the springtime elixir of our lives when everybody feels as though everything is good, invigorating, refreshing, uplifting, satisfying and life is at its sweetest. We, of course, know life is indeed precious and something to enjoy whole heartedly. In fact for most of Britain it's warm, sunny, the sky is cerulean blue and the world is full of the joys of spring. Nature is flourishing and blooming, trees dancing and swaying in gentle breezes and humanity has to embrace the weather to its bosom because if it does rain later on in the day, we may feel disappointed and let down. But it's almost summer folks. Glorious! 

Now here is where we are in the world. The kitchen doors are open, the industrial fans are on at full blast and your garden is just stunningly pretty. You've left it during the winter in solitary hibernation, fast asleep, dormant, neglected, sad, forlorn and probably feeling sorry for itself. The garden shed has just stood there at the bottom of the garden rather like some very lonely, shy child who all the kids simply ignored on his first day at school. 

But now spring has sprung and everything looks so much more pleasing to the eye. The trees have re-discovered their summer clothes and the green leaves are in joyously hospitable mood. They wave at you cordially, acknowledging every single person with a warm amiability. It is so easy to be lyrical about May because not only is it merry, it's positively thrilled and delighted to be among us. Besides, May is invariably promising, auspicious, a dress rehearsal for the rest of summer. 

Today, the weather forecast has once again informed us that although most of the day will turn into a temporary heatwave, tea time might be the moment when the dark clouds will gather and suddenly, thunder and lightning will cut through the sweltering heat. And yet once more we will remain undaunted, fearless, completely free from any anxiety. Our garden will welcome a downpour of rain anyway because we haven't had any rain for well over a month and, although not in drought territory, this may be disconcerting to some. But who cares?

And our thoughts turn to the recent abomination and tragedy of the Sycamore Gap tree near Hadrian's Wall in England. Earlier on this year, a group of violent criminals demolished this most gorgeous of natural sights. They thought it would be a jolly good idea and a hilarious laugh. Besides, it was a very old tree, almost ancient history and why would there be any vehement objections to cutting down a tree whose branches and foliage were decaying and, quite, possibly dead? 

However, little did these cruel reprobates know what they were doing. This was an act of vandalism, callous aggression and showed up all the worst in human behaviour. Our tree hating thugs have now apparently been sentenced to ten years in jail which seems a more than fitting punishment for this disgraceful assault on our wonderful trees. We have nothing but unwavering admiration for the courtroom judge who meted out the suitable punishment for this heartbreaking murder.

Meanwhile, back in the garden the likes of legendary TV presenters Alan Titchmarsh and Monty Donn, will be pulling on their gloves, digging out the pruning secateurs, wheeling out the lawnmower and gaining enormous pleasure from the flora and fauna in front of their eyes. They will be surveying their beds of yellow and red roses with an almost paternal tenderness and their eyes will light up at the jovial japonica, the lovely laburnum, the breathtaking begonias, the prim primroses, delectable daisies, the spellbinding tulips and all manner of flowers and plants.

This week is National Public Gardens week folks. It's time to venture out into our gardens and encounter something of a horticultural revival. We crouch down with our spades, forks, innumerable seeds and some will renew acquaintance with our allotment sites. Now allotment site lovers are the salt of the earth types, devoted gardeners who adore the earth, growing acres of strawberries, tomatoes, apples, celery, rhubarb and a wide variety of things to eat at breakfast, tea, lunch and supper. They work their allotment sites unquestioningly in all weathers and never forget about the new life in the ground. 

But the gardens of course in the capital city of London are somehow synonymous with everything that is colourful and astonishing to behold by millions of tourists. Hyde and Regents Park are some of our biggest, brightest, most aesthetically mesmerising parks, combining as they do the whole rainbow spectrum of plants, flowers, shrubberies and commanding trees who protect us with endless love.

Still, whether you're green fingered not, this is one time of the year to lavish as much care, compassion and solicitude as you can muster on your garden, your oasis of calm, the place you visit because it helps you to unwind and de-stress, a therapeutic sanctuary where you can relax in the open air or just potter around in.

Public gardens are both attractive and delightfully natural havens where peace can reign for as long as you want them to be. Mentally, our senses burst into life, stimulated and exhilarated because of their capacity to change our mood and boost our spirits. They reveal a peacock plumage of colours that maintain our happy hormones and just make us smile. Who can fail to be uplifted by the first daffodil of the year, the hydrangea that nestles comfortably in either your front or back garden? It is like a guard of honour, decorative and almost ceremonial, a rich feast for the eyes, a balm to your soul.

The forthcoming Chelsea Flower Show will be a typical example of how gardens can soothe a savage breast. Every year, this outstanding social and cultural event attracts thousands of tourists to London. From Japanese rock gardens with trickling streams to the usual assortment of nasturtiums, verbenas, chrysanthemums, patios, pergolas and even the most ornate decking, gardens are almost part of our extended family, never judgmental nor critical.

So to all seasoned gardeners enjoy National Public Gardens Week because you deserve this recognition and the chance to shine. You'll come home from work tonight, slump into your favourite chair in your garden or just wander around the pansies and the petunias for the umpteenth time because you're so immensely proud of them. You'll grab a can of lager or pour yourself yet another glass of Pimms or even a vintage glug of red wine. Look at nature, it's such a beautiful world out there. Let's cherish life. It's sweet as sugar. 

 

VE Day and Pope Leo the 14th

VE Day and Pope Leo the 14th

Across the villages, towns, cities, sleepy hamlets and babbling brooks of England, the citizens of its noble, upstanding folk will reminisce sadly on the events that shook and then traumatised the whole of the world. Today we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, a day heavy with poignancy, sombre reflection and lingering thoughts of tragic loss, death and destruction. In May 1945, we celebrated deep into the night as Victory in Europe Day was officially declared. 

Now though 80 years later we lament the passing of those gentlemen and women who sacrificed everything, putting their lives on line and showing enduring dedication to the cause, valour of the highest order and bravery that knew no limit. But there was also a gritty determination to overcome all the odds in the face of adversity, an uplifting stoicism and sheer, no nonsense bravado about us that will never be forgotten. 

For some of the soldiers and troops who always believed that victory would be theirs, today means something very special. Suddenly, on this day in 1945, the air raid sirens stopped wailing, tin helmets thrown into the air with enormous relish, army and navy uniform proudly demonstrated to the world and khaki dispensed with for ever. We all went back to the land of rationality, normality and joyous communication with each other, the memories of the previous six years now receding into a misty distance. 

No more would the world be subjected to a constant bombardment of destructive bombs, crippling damage to its buildings, shops and homes, the millions of innocent people who spent six years of his life tormented by the Nazis, the murderous barbarians wearing evil swastikas on their disgusting uniforms and those who simply wanted to inflict pain, suffering and purgatory on our shores and the world around us. 

But on that final day as peace beckoned and they all gathered around their radio sets to hear Winston Churchill deliver that memorable speech, they too could feel freedom and liberation. It was the day they thought they'd never see but then saw through miraculous eyes. The lights went on at Piccadilly Circus, they did the conga around Trafalgar Square and we danced, sang and partied the night away because they could and they did. Celebrations continued and inhibitions were blown away like a million feathers. 

And now 80 years later we stand undaunted, unscathed, tougher and stronger than ever before and enjoying the kind of luxuries and privileges that none thought possible. We are this generation, the grandchildren of those who can be grateful for life, energy and enthusiasm. We are responsible for setting the standards, morals and values of the 21st century, this is our state of independence, our world to embrace, richly savour and then cherish with all our heart and soul.

Finally we have rid ourselves of those oppressive restrictions, the nightmarish rationing of everyday food and drink, the endless blackouts and every night spent in draughty underground Tube stations. The bombs kept dropping but London remained an oasis of calm, imperturbability and utter defiance. London kept playing old family favourites on the pub piano, singing 'We'll Meet Again' for the thousandth time and London knew that someday the frightening apocalypse would one day end. 

So we thank our heroic veterans, the now centenarians who battled and struggled, fought to the bitter end and would not be beaten. They are the ones who deservedly won the right to show their medals and kept smiling, joking and laughing because Adolf  Hitler had to be crushed into the ground. On the 8th of May 2025 we salute their men and women who went beyond the call of duty, who never gave up or surrendered to the heinous enemy. 

Meanwhile in another part of the world yesterday, we welcomed to the stage a man we frequently acknowledge and deeply revere. In the Vatican, Pope Leo 14th was ordained in a puff of white smoke from the Sistine Chapel. Robert Prevost became the first American to hold down such an honourable position and some of the more cynical of conspiracy theorists wondered if a certain Donald Trump might have had some significant influence on this appointment. 

Now the chances are that nobody has heard of Robert Prevost since few of our Popes from history ever make a fuss or commotion of who they are. But for those who prefer to read between the lines, an American Pope does sound very much like the work of one man. But then we giggle privately and convince ourselves that this couldn't possibly be true. The fact remains that Robert Prevost is the new Pope and as he stepped out onto the balcony and spoke admirably fluent Italian, we wished the establishment that is the Roman Catholic church well. 

In recent years most of us have taken to religion when things looked as though they'd hit rock bottom. Covid 19 lasted for so long and claimed so many lives that most of us asked deep, thought provoking theological questions. It was a hard and challenging world, almost unbearable at times but we rallied together, kept the faith and always knew that the power of prayer would see us through. And so it is that Robert Prevost steps into a world fraught, fractured and horribly divided, a Roman Catholic church that keeps searching for answers but only finds indecipherable puzzles and ever present complications. 

But yesterday evening an American gentleman in a richly ornate cassock, took the appropriate vows and promised to offer a better world free from war and conflict, free from constant argument and what might seem permanent disagreement. You remembered a Polish Pope from yesteryear by the name of St John Paul the second who came to London during the 1980s, travelled around the capital in his Pope mobile, kissed the tarmac at Heathrow airport and generally spread the gospel of peace, health and prosperity to one and all. 

Today, in a still troubled global population, we must hope that Robert Prevost will perform the same acts of kindness, generosity and love that we have come to expect of Popes throughout the centuries. It might be considered a task that would defeat most of us. But yesterday there was something very reassuring about the presence of a religious leader who thinks nothing of spreading happiness wherever goes. Somehow we know he's going to succeed. 

Nigel Farage- a force for good?

 Nigel Farage- a force for good?

He seemed to come from nowhere and the British political landscape may never seem the same again. He is a genuine candidate for elevation to the highest position in the hallowed corridors of Westminster and the House of Commons will now have to accept him as one of the most recognisable figures in British politics. If we didn't know who he was before, we certainly do now. He is the new kid on the block, blunt, outspoken, reactionary, controversial and dedicated to duty. He will never suffer fools gladly and he speaks his mind categorically. He could change our stereotypical perceptions of the British politician.

For the last couple of days or so, Nigel Farage has been moving among the movers and shakers of Westminster's finest, grinning endlessly, congratulating those who appointed him as the leader of the Reform UK party and delighted to be in the public limelight for all the right reasons. At some point, the realisation will dawn on Farage that his is a name to be reckoned with and taken deeply seriously. We thought we'd seen everything at 10 Downing Street during recent years but this almost felt like the most definitive moment.

But this could be a life changing week for the Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet ministers who had thus far felt as if their authority could never be challenged, that the status quo was here to stay and never to be shifted so dramatically. Suddenly though, an imposter has appeared on the scene, a gate crasher at a party who some may regard as unwelcome but then again a valuable asset who could influence the direction in which the political gravy train takes us in the next four years or so. 

Last July, the Labour party headed by the estimable Sir Keir Starmer, won the General Election and Starmer became Britain's latest Prime Minister. It all seemed very normal and ever so slightly exciting. Britain had decided that they'd had enough of the Tory party and gave Rishi Sunak the sack. Once again the British public had spoken forcefully, decisively and critically. And yet here we are in the merry month of May 2025 and the natives are restless, furious, truly exasperated and demanding the head of Starmer.

And this is where a certain Nigel Farage came in from the cold. For a number of years now, Farage has portrayed himself as an honest, respectable, working class man of the people, the Guinness drinking and cigarette smoking bloke who would love to have a proper conversation with the builders, architects, engineers and postmen and women of the world, a non judgmental figure who simply wants the best for his country. 

Recently, the salubrious Essex seaside resort of Clacton elected him as their constituency leader of the party much to the annoyance of those who hate him and a blessed relief as somebody who they thought was a breath of fresh air, a radical speechmaker and a man with the potential to break ranks with everything we'd been accustomed to hearing. Farage is now influential, unashamedly on the side of English patriotism and determined to stand up for English workers and their rights. 

When he emerged from a meeting during voting day at the General Election, Farage was pelted with a milkshake but far from being humiliated. He smiled stoically, got on with the business of whipping his adoring followers into a frenzy and fervently believed that Brexit had been done and dusted. He then presumably went on a long walk to clear his head before remembering that this was the most momentous day of his life. Farage had won over the sceptics and established his presence as a politician with a mind of his own and one with opinions and well defined ideologies. 

But above the hubbub and noise, Farage has promised that the Reform UK party could threaten the two party system in England and, quite possibly, become a bona fide Prime Minister one day. The Reform Party, hey. Now where did they come from, like a bolt from the blue, a flash of lightning, a clap of thunder? It must feel that the House of Commons will undergo its most dramatic transformation within a year or so. The Reform Party sounds like some revolutionary band of men and women who will take to the streets with large, visible banners and then storm the barricades. Is a modern day Reformation about to crash into British society in quite the most unprecedented fashion or are we just imagining all this? 

And yet the mood music does seem to be changing for good or bad. Your mind is taken back to the beginning of the 1980s when the esteemed likes of Shirley Williams, Dr David Owen and Roy Jenkins formed one of the most innovative of all political parties. The Social Democrat Party announced themselves quite forcibly on an unsuspecting nation, surely one of the most intriguing movements in British politics. Sadly the Social Democrats proved a temporary if quirky measure, honourable and well intentioned but completely lacking any real influence, clout or prestige. Nobody would take them seriously and it was all very short lived. 

Last week though could be that crucial, pivotal point in our lives when a new political party shake off the cobwebs of complacency that might be dragging down both the Tories, the Labour party and LibDems. When Sir Keir Starmer hits the pillow tonight and drifts off to sleep he might like to know that there are serious intruders hunting him down. At the moment he may rest easy but the fact is that both Labour and the Conservative parties were severely wounded in the local elections. The opposition are lying in wait and will not  be taken lightly or dismissed as just a passing fad. Beware the Reform UK Party.  

May Day.

 May Day.

Today promises to be the hottest day of the year so far. Britain will wake up to yet another day of glorious, unbroken sunshine, unprecedented warmth and heat and it almost feels we might be bracing ourselves for a magnificent summer of heatwaves, droughts, hosepipe bans, ice cream van jingles sweetening our ear drums and office workers wandering around streets and parks wearing their most casual shirts and suits.

But hold on we're still on the first day of May Day and it may be time to err on the side of caution because we're still in the infant days of only May, the spring robins and cuckoos are still at their most melodious, the tulips and daffodils are flaunting their prettiest finery and Easter is still recent history. It is at this point that we should all be looking for the first buds of optimism and hope that the rest of May, June and July will be a joyous parade of mouth watering picnics in the great outdoors, the familiar array of church village fetes and swimming lidos jammed solid with excitable children, teenagers and families. 

May Day normally provides the trade unions with their most perfect platform to march across Central London and sound off their grievances. Shortly, large flags and banners representing their company or organisation will express themselves vehemently in no uncertain terms. The local political party elections will polarise and unite the nation in a way that has now become, for some at least, a loathsome spectacle. 

In the middle of the countryside, hundreds of quaint market towns and vibrant villages will gather by the maypole, strap tiny bells to their ankles before indulging in the first maypole dances of the year. Men and women in jolly high spirits will spill out onto their blissfully idyllic country lanes and merrily cavort the day away with perhaps a bottle of lager and cider in their hands and love in their hearts. May has indeed come out to play, life is indeed at its most delightful, delectable, free spirited and the best feeling in the world. But then it always was and always will be.

Today we flung open our blinds and curtains and discovered handsome blue skies, deeply pleasant reminders of what could happen in June, July and August and not a cloud in that sky. The cynics will claim that this is too good to be true and that it can't possibly last because we've been here before with the English summer climate. The climate warming voices will be convinced that they were right all along and today's heatwave was somehow destined to take place on the first day of May. 

Even now the lunchtime workers will be spreading their blankets of food and drink over acres of thick green and gorgeous grass, wiping the sweat from hard pressed and fraught foreheads, worrying about the cost of living crisis perhaps. But then they're relieved to just be among the stunning cherry blossom on the trees and the mellifluous birds serenading us with a constant rendition of their favourite tweets and songs. It is England enjoying the freedoms and luxuries of everyday living.

Next Thursday of course England will have even more genuine reasons to be grateful, humble and blessed. On the 8th of May, the world will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War when the agonising burdens of pain, suffering and trauma threatened our liberty and rendered life unbearable. Six years of war, tragedy and heartache brought death and devastation to not only England but the whole world. London was reduced to a broken, charred ruin, ravaged and savaged by Adolf Hitler's terrible and tyrannical murder machine. At the time it was thought England would bounce back and make a most miraculous recovery because we were renowned for our resilience.

And yet 80 years after the most horrendous conflict of all time, our generation will be bowing our heads with the utmost reverence. We are now the grandchildren who can barely grasp the ugly magnitude of what happened from 1939 to 1949. The archive footage and documentary evidence still leaves you cold and disgusted. You can still hear the buzz bombs, the V2 rockets, the fire bombed houses in their thousands, the burning buildings, the East End of London blitzed and yet undaunted and the morale of the nation seemingly at its lowest. And yet not. The bulldog spirit remained intact. 

But of course today on this first day of May, it's time to look out across those placid and peaceful cornfields, the majestic meadows, babbling brooks, resounding rivers rippling across gently waving Weeping Willows, beautiful rosebeds  in perfect shades of pink, yellow, red and purple. It is time to look out across wide, hugely expansive fields of the most astounding beauty all the while absorbing the sounds of dramatic, cascading waterfalls, grazing sheep and similarly deep thinking, contemplative cows.

It is time to look forward to another cricket and tennis season and welcome both sports with radiant smiles and an invigorating relish. Close your eyes and ears and you can now visualise the village green game of Sunday cricket where men or women now strap their pads to their ankles, stretch every limb in their body, squat on their haunches and wave their solid, varnished bat resolutely. Then they clatter down the pavilion steps for another day at the crease in front of three or four inquisitive farmers, a couple of blacksmiths and a smattering of folk from the local butchers, bakers and post office.

Suddenly the crack of red ball on the willow of the bat sounds like the first bottle of beer or cider being popped triumphantly next to a timber beamed pub called the Royal Oak. Then there is the gentle applause from the boundary trickling across the ground rather like the stream and tributary next to third man. An umpire stands patiently waiting for the first ball of the day rather like a man waiting for the 9.30 train to arrive from a distant London railway station. He flicks a coin, pulls a pencil from his pocket and the world has never been happier. Oh and before I forget our beautiful grandson Arthur and his baby sister Rosie will be here for the loveliest family party and of course the sun will shine. Have a great May Day everybody.