The ALMONDBURIAN T H E MAG AZINE O F TH E O L D AL MO ND BU RI ANS ’ S O C I ETY
November 2017
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IN THIS ISSUE
A word from your Chairman Old Almondburians’ Society Calendar Membership Sudoku Annual Dinner Back to the drawing board From the study New rules spark behaviour debate OAS lends a hand with timeline Farnley Lines 2017: A year of sport Geoff Headey: former chairman Andrew Haigh: Administrator Jonathan Dyson: former player Jeff Taylor: former player Phil Shaw: former dentist Andrew Crawshaw: former commentator Philip Brook: Wimbledon chairman Ryan Sidebottom: Cricketer Crossword by Hérisson Memories of Michael Jackson Crump pupil’s medals on display First of the summer wine Old Boys on tour: Palma Sports notes Obituary
(Opposite): This drawing by the late Brian Littlewood shows a view from Fenay Quad. On the left is the Library and on the right are two grass tennis courts, sadly no longer in use today.They date back to around 1880, having been constructed by the pupils themselves under the watchful eye of headmaster Francis Marshall. “We used to come out of school in relays every hour and take our turn with shovel. pick and wheelbarrow,” wrote one.
The ALMONDBURIAN Editor: Roger Dowling
November 2017
The magazine of The Old Almondburians’ Society
A word from your Chairman
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WA LT E R R AL E IG H
ElComE to the latest issue of The Almondburian, which this time you may find to resemble Sporting Life. Prompted by the role of numerous past and present Almondburians in helping Town to achieve promotion to the Premier league, we also celebrate the achievements of Ryan Sidebottom, who has just retired from
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first class cricket, and Philip Brook, who as current Wimbledon chairman is doing so much to consolidate the tournament’s reputation as THE major event in the tennis calendar. Since the last edition of the magazine your Committee has seen a number of projects come to fruition. The beautiful ladies’ silk scarf we have
guides who made such an impression on them. As one project is finished we find another to replace it! on a recent visit to the School I was in conversation with Ian Rimmer, the Principal. We were looking at the old honours boards and wondered what the oAS might do to either upgrade the old ones or put new ones up which reflect our recent history. one suggestion was to list all the Head Boys and Head Girls who have served the School so well over the years. Another idea was to have a board displaying the winners of the House Shield over the years. This is of particular interest to me as I was Head of Siddon for many years, though few of them were very successful! The Shield was first awarded in 1916 so it is high time it was brought up to date so we can see which has been the most successful House over the last 101 years. I have completed the research and can now announce that the most successful House has been… Sorry, you will have to come to the Dinner to find out. I look forward to seeing you all in large numbers once again in November. n
produced has been delivered and is now available (see page 8). I hope we will see the scarf in significant numbers at the Annual Dinner – but remember that numbers are limited so place your order now. Another project was the new School Timeline (see page 14) in the School’s main social area, showing many of the significant events which have taken place in our world since a school was first built on the St Helen’s Gate site in 1547. Below the line are events and characters from the history of the School. Two other decorated walls depict ‘The King James’s Way’, setting out clearly what is expected of students attending King James’s School; and a specially designed panel explaining to students and visitors the role of the old Almondburians’ Society. The display was unveiled on Saturday 9th September when the School was opened up as part of the annual ‘Heritage open Days’ coordinated by the National Trust. It was a very worthwhile exercise, allowing a mix of old Almondburians, local history buffs and villagers a rare opportunity to tour the School. Without exception, all were delighted both with the School but also with the young School
OLD ALMONDBURIANS’ SOCIETY CALENDAR
DATES OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETINGS, 2017 There are two more meetings of the Executive Committee before the end of the year: Monday, 6th November; Monday, 4th December. Please note that both of these meetings will be held in the Old Dining Hall (ODH) at King James’s Schoool at 6.00 pm. Any member of the Society who would like to attend one of these meetings will be made most welcome.
ANNUAL DINNER This year’s Annual Dinner will be held on Saturday, 25th November. Full details are included on page 6 of this issue of The Almondburian. An application form for tickets is enclosed or apply online at www.oas.org.uk.
FOUNDERS’ DAY The traditional Founders’ Day Service will be held the day after the Annual Dinner: Sunday, 26th November 2017.
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Membership
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AND R E W HAIG H
ince the last magazine was published we have been delighted to welcome three new members to the Society: l michael Adrian Hoyle (1969-76) from Huddersfield l Allen Humphries (1963-71), from Birkby l Ian martin Smallwood (1966-73), from Barrow-upon-Humber. We have also found and welcomed back a long-standing member with whom we had lost touch for many years, Stuart Graeme Carby (1962-70), from Cardiff. We are sad to learn of the death of a long-standing member and Vice-President of the Society, Peter l Burns (1945-48), in Gloucestershire (obituary: page 66). Please remember that subscriptions for 2017-2018 fell due on 1st September. The vast majority of our members now pay their subscription by standing order, which
makes life easy. If you are one of the few who do not pay by standing order and you have already sent your £10.00 subscription for this year, thank you very much for being so efficient! If you do not pay by standing order and you haven’t recently made a payment for this year, then you will receive a letter with this magazine pointing out that your subscription is not up-to-date. In this event, please send your payment without delay. As I mentioned above, it does make life much easier if you pay by standing order so, if you can complete the updated standing order mandate that accompanies the letter and return it in the envelope provided, that would be even better! Alternatively, you may renew online, using PayPal or a debit or credit card, by visiting www.oas.org.uk and clicking on the n ‘Join/Renew online’ button.
SUDOKU
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Difficulty: medium
6 4
Each row, column and 3 x 3 box must contain the digits 1 to 9
4 7
6
5 7 5 3 9 1 5 4 5
7 9 1 4 3 7 3 7 4 4 1 4 2 5
Annual Dinner
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AND R E W HAIG H
HIS year’s Dinner will take place underway for this year’s dinner. at the School, its spiritual home, Come on the members of the classon Saturday, 25th November, at es of 1937, 1942, 1957 1967, 1977, 6.30 pm for 7.30 pm. The principal 1987, 1992, 1997 and 2007; you all speaker this year will be barrister Peter have anniversaries to celebrate too! Carter qC, who attended King James’s Put Saturday, 25th November, in Grammar School from 1963 to 1970 your diary and book your ticket now (see opposite page). LEFT FROM The ticket price re- SURNAME FORENAME JOINED mains at £27.50 and Aldridge 1947 1952 Almondbury David William an application form is Bellerby 1947 1952 Marsden Keith included with this Bradley 1946 1952 Leeds David magazine. 1948 1953 Bristol Bradley Peter Please be aware Carter, QC 1963 1970 Enfield Peter that when the dinner 1947 1951 Norwich Clayton James M is at the School spaces 1947 1954 Upperthong J Anthony are limited, so early Copley 1964 1971 Almondbury Crawshaw Keith applications are rec1947 1953 Brighouse Allan ommended. Regis- Dobson 1952 1959 Lymm, Cheshire Dowling Roger trations so far are 1947 1952 New Mill Earles David BM shown on the right. 1947 1955 Chester John Terrence Gentlemen, why Green, CBE 1977 1983 Almondbury Andrew Mark not order, at the Haigh same time, a new Heptonstall 1949 1957 Matlock David Anthony Society tie to wear at Milnes 1957 1965 Cardiff Graeme H the dinner? ladies, Morrison 1967 1970 Chigwell, Essex Dave how about ordering Sharp 1951 1958 Leighton Buzzard John Franklin one of the lovely Raleigh Staff 1978 2010 Almondbury Walter new Society silk Smith 1957 1965 Saffron Walden John Oswin scarves when you Thompson Cheadle Helen apply for your ticket? 1949 1956 Cheadle Thompson J Stuart ordering details apStaff 1993 2015 Lindley Turner Ann pear on page 8. 1951 1959 Torquay Walker DRH A 70th anniver1960 1966 Slaithwaite Chris sary reunion of the West 1963 1970 Greenwich Wilkinson Mike Class of 1947 is well 6
to make sure that you don’t miss out on a great evening.
Almondbury, at 11 am on Sunday, 26th November and Almondburians are invited to assemble in front of the school at 10.45 am for the traditional procession up the hill. Please make every efn fort to support this event.
Founders’ Day The traditional Founders’ Day Service will be held at All Hallows’ Church,
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This year’s principal guest speaker
Peter Carter
my talk will include the opportunities for mischief provided by an extended career at the Bar when armed with a King James’s Grammar School education,” says top barrister Peter Carter QC (King James’s Grammar School from 196370), principal guest speaker at this year’s Annual Dinner. Born in Birchencliffe in 1952, Peter studied law at University College, london. He was called to the Bar in 1974 and took Silk in 1995.
QC
Visiting Professor of law at Birkbeck, University of london, Peter undertakes most types of criminal law work either for defence or prosecution, and has appeared in many of the major terrorist trials of the past 12 years. Peter was Chair of Advocacy at Gray’s Inn from 2008 to 2009 when he ran and continues to run international sessions teaching advocates how to use and question expert witnesses. He regularly lectures on rule of law and human rights issues, including counterterrorism, privilege and human trafficking. For Human Rights Day 2015 he delivered a lecture on magna Carta entitled Human Rights at the At home, at Holme: Peter relaxes in his cottage near Holmfirth Point of a Sword. 7
Look your best at the OAS Annual Dinner…
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For him
OAS TIE
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If your old OAS tie is crumpled, the wrong length, the wrong width or soup-stained (or possibly a combination of all four) it really is time to treat yourself to the latest design. In navy, with gold diagonal stripes, it features the school crest in colour. Dimensions 150 cm by 9 cm
Price: £15.00
Packing and postage: 75p (UK); £2.50 (Mainland Europe); £3.00 (Rest of world)
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For her
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NEW: LADIES’ SILK SCARF
Specially created in response to requests from lady OAS members. Designed by former Head of Textiles at KJS, Christine Hazle, our new top quality scarf is based on the historic stained glass window by Edward Akroyd in the library (‘Big’). It is specially manufactured by Beckford Silk Ltd, who produce scarves for the Victoria and Albert Museum, the world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design. Dimensions 163 cm by 51 cm.
Special introductory price: £42.50 Packing and postage: £1.25 (UK); £3.00 (Mainland Europe); £3.75 (Rest of world) Order NOW from www.oas.org.uk/buymemorabilia.php or by post from: Andrew Haigh, c/o R D Haigh & Co, Floresco House, Oak Hill Road, Brighouse, West Yorkshire HD6 1SN 8
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Back to the drawing board Roger Sykes (1946-1953) revisits some of his favourite drawings
eople like to see familiar objects – particularly views.They like to recognise places at first glance and are then able to recall some relevant anecdote. At least they have the pleasure of explaining where a place is – to provoke a reaction such as “Yes of course it is!” This was important in the choice of subjects for the Huddersfield Examiner ‘In and About’ column to which I contributed for several years. Our art master ‘Teak’ (King James’s Grammar School 1922-1957) would occasionally explain the importance of vanishing points in a drawing or painting. One should be mindful of perspective. It is certainly easier on the eye to arrange the vanishing point to be within the frame of the picture, as in this scraper-board drawing. However, you don’t have to. In this case the issue was one of a difficult composition and it needed a central vanishing point to hold it together. The ironwork was arresting, so had to dominate the foreground. This meant that it needed a distant but relatively uninteresting background. But today I have a more basic problem – I cannot remember the location! I could proffer the excuse that it was drawn over 60 years ago. It was possibly drawn for the Derbyshire Guide of 1955, though I didn’t submit it at the time. It is just like looking through old family photos and wishing you had written names on the back. n
l Can any reader identify this location? If so, please drop us a line!
A wrought ironwork study 9
GCSE 2017
From the study
Y
IAN RIMMER
oU may recall that last year I mentioned the period of significant volatility that the world of education is once again entering, as we seek to make sense of yet another raft of initiatives imposed by the Department for Education. Interestingly, the Department itself has undergone four changes of name since 1995.At least it can’t be accused of not taking the lead, I suppose. This time however, I think central government has surpassed itself, by introducing new syllabuses, new assessment methodolo-
gies and a new grading classification in English language, English literature and mathematics in 2017. A further 20 subjects will follow suit in 2018, with most other GCSEs following in 2019. Perhaps unsurprisingly the grading system moving from letters (A*-G) to a numerical 9 to 1 system, with 9 the highest grade, has attracted most public interest.We are told that these new grades are being introduced to signal the introduction of reformed GCSEs and to allow clearer differentiation between students of different abilities.
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GCSE Results 2017
75%
76%
75%
14%
ENGLISH LANG A*-A 25%
ENGLISH A*-C
MATHEMATICS A*-C
SCIENCE TWO A*-C
MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES A*-C
Note: For English Language, English Literature and Mathematics Grades A-A*are Grades 7-9 under new system
But for schools, it has brought a good deal of instability too.Aside of the fact that the content of the new GCSEs is more challenging, the change has made effective tracking of student progress, prediction of likely outcomes and even analysis of actual results an impossible task.At the heart of the problem is the fact that the new grading structure is not directly equivalent to the A*-G system. This means the results of the reformed GCSEs cannot be compared with the old GCSEs; they are new courses with a new grading system. What we do know however, is that in the first year that each new GCSE subject is introduced, broadly the same proportion of students will get grades 1, 4, and 7 and above, as would have achieved grades G, C and A and above respectively under the old system. But, fewer grade 9s will be awarded than A*s. So is a ‘4’ a ‘pass’ nowadays then, I hear you ask.Well, the government has decided to describe a grade 4 as a ‘standard pass’ and a
25% of the cohort were entered and 18% achieved a pass
18%
ENGLISH BACCALAUREATE
18%
MATHEMATICS A*-A
grade 5 as a‘strong pass’.A grade 4 and above is equivalent to a C and above: if pupils do not achieve this level they will be required to continue studying English and maths post-16. But the grade 5‘strong pass’ is being used as a school performance measure. In school performance tables, the government will publish the proportion of students achieving a grade 4 and above, and intends to publish the proportion of students achieving a grade 5 and above. So, we have double standards and double confusion.
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GCSE Results 2017 The performance of this year’s students are summarised in the chart above. Although it is difficult to summarise whole school performance, we are very pleased with the individual student outcomes, many of whom recorded significant personal success with a batch of A and A* grades. n
BACK AT THE SCHool
New rules spark behaviour debate
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When King James’s School issued its new rule book to tighten up pupil behaviour, it was not long before it hit the headlines in the local press
The Huddersfield Examiner agreed that some of the rules are ‘straightforward’ but suggested that others ‘show an imaginative flair and unintentionally comic aspect which must have taken many hours of meticulous planning to dream up.’ This being 2017, it was not long before issues of human rights were raised. A former pupil, morgan Burton, said, “It clearly removes students (sic) rights for
N astonishing row has broken out – because the School would like its pupils to behave well at all times. This follows the introduction of a new ‘rule book’ (below) to improve behaviour under such headings as ‘uniform’, ‘manners’ and ‘behaviour in lessons’. The rules ban such behaviour as ‘saying ‘dunno, yeah, huh’’ and ‘answering in a silly voice’. AT King James’s School, we consider excellent behaviour to be a fundamental requirement for success. We take pride in preparing our students socially as well as academically. To this end, the following behaviours are considered unacceptable at Kinq James’s School and will be challenged by all staff: UNIFORM 1: Not wearing school jumper or tie correctly 2: Wearing incorrect school shoes 3: Wearing hoods up/hats inside school 4: Wearing incorrect trousers/skirts 5: Wearing make-up/incorrect piercings 6: Using earphones, or visible wires/mobiles out in lessons MANNERS 7: Not replying when you greet them 8: Not holding doors open for other people 9: Not saying please/thank you or in a sarcastic way
The school’s 40 rules
10: Thanking other people in an inappropriate way 11: Entering a ciassroom without knocking 12: Smirking/smiling/screwing face up/raising eyebrows/looking at others when told otf . 13: Shrugqing shoulders
RESPONSE 14: Saying ‘why?’ when questioned about behaviour 15: Saying ‘dunno, yeah. huh‘ when asked a question 16: Saying ‘okay’ when told off 11: Rolling eyes 18: Rude tone of voice 19: Answering in a silly voice 20: Not looking directly at staff‘ when talking to them/paying attention to when spoken to
BEHAVIOUR OUT OF LESSONS 21: Loud/boisterous behaviour in corridors 22: Pushing/charging around in corridor . 23: On corridor during lesson time without pass/note in planner
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24: Deliberately walking slowly/causing blockages 25: Unnecessary accompanying of friends in corridors during lessons/registrations 26: Pushing in the dining room queue 27: Intimate behaviour in corridors
BEHAVIOUR IN LESSONS 28: Looking out of window instead of the board 29: Interrupting staff or peers 30: Getting out of seat without permission 31: Turning around when told not to 32: Swinging on chairs 33: Slouching 34: Tapping on tables, window ledge/walls 35: Drinking liquids other than water in lessons 36: Eating/chewing gum in lessons GENERAL BEHAVIOUR 37: Making funny noises/whistling 38: Using rude. abusive, derogatory language 39: Using slang 40: Swearing
him, I think it is a fundamental requirement to help achieve academic success.” The issue produced some lively exchanges in the social media. on Facebook, Jeanette mosley said, “Never mind students’ rights – it is called respect, which clearly many pupils do not have.” Sally Duncombe wrote, “I think it says it all that the school has to bring in these rules! These are mainly enforcing manners and respect, which seems oldfashioned nowadays.Well done, King James’s School.” A final word came from lisa marie, who added, “It’s a shame some parents don’t teach these basic things.These pupils will be ready for the workplace and hopefully in the meantime their teachers will be able to teach rather than just manage behaviour all day long.” n
self-expression and free speech creating a narrative whereby the administration of a government-funded school is implementing its own beliefs which contradict the most basic of human rights.” But Huddersfield Examiner readers backed the new rules, saying that a return to old-fashioned values is needed. In a letter, one reader suggested that morgan Burton seemed to ignore the idea that teachers have the right to do their job without having their young charges constantly trying to push the boundaries of decent behaviour. Almondbury Councillor Bernard mcGuin, himelf a former teacher, applauded the School’s tough new stance on behaviour. “Ian Rimmer has my full support in his effort to make King James’s a school where excellent behaviour is encouraged because, like
Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting of the Society will be held at ‘The Woolpack’, Almondbury on Monday, 8th January, 2018 at 7.30 pm. Nominations for office on the Executive Committee are required by the Secretary in advance of this date, so that the election of officers can take place at the Annual General Meeting in accordance with Rule 7. All members are urged to make every effort to attend the Annual General Meeting.
Andrew Haigh, Secretary
Executive Committee Meetings
A reminder that members of the Society are always most welcome at the monthly meetings of the oAS Executive Committee. We are also keen to develop much closer links between the oAS and the School and are responding to an invitation to hold meetings at the School from time to time. The next such meetings will be on 6th November and 4th December at 6.00 pm in the oDH. Do join us. 13
HERITAGE
OAS lends a hand with timeline WALTER RALEIGH
The annual Heritage Open Days have become England’s largest festival of history and culture.When King James’s School opened its doors to the public on 9th September, the Old Almondburians’ Society was happy to play its part
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N may this year I was approached by Ian Rimmer, Principal of King James’s, about the possibility of the oAS helping financially with a project he was keen to see take place in school. Ian’s idea was to decorate the walls in the main social area in school with a feature conceived by the School called the ‘King James’s Way’ and a Timeline to show some of the events that have taken place around the world since King James’s School was founded in 1547.The objective of ‘The King James’s Way’ (right) was to set out clearly what was expected of students attending the School. The aim was to have the new display completed in time for the School’s participation in the an-
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nual Heritage open Day on 9th September when it would be open to members of the public. To a former History teacher like me, the Timeline made sense and I was immediately supportive of Ian’s proposal. I took the idea to the next Executive Committee meeting and all present gave their support and agreed it was exactly the type of initiative the Society should support. As a bonus, we then learned that space was also available to us in the same area for a large panel on which we could promote the old Almondburians’ Society with present School pupils very much in mind. A smaller panel could also show some of the many past pupils who have made their mark in the world. martyn Hicks was invited to come on board and he proposed a graphic designer, Jill Sherwell, to help us with the design and art work for the Timeline. Roger Dowling agreed to design the oAS panels in-house. meanwhile, Abbigail Terry, an Assistant Head who had the original idea for the Timeline, discussed with students which world events should be in-
cluded on the Timeline. over a period of weeks long lists were reduced down to something Jill could work with.While this was going on, Keith Crawshaw, Andrew Haigh, Roger Dowling and I set about deciding which events should be included from the long history of King James’s School. Despite the tight schedule the deadline was met and in the week before the open Day the walls were fitted with the ‘King James’s Way’ panel, the Timeline, and the
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oAS display panels. They are a stunning piece of work, of which all those involved can be rightly proud. They will be a testament to the cooperation between School and the Society for many years to come. And so, on Saturday 9th September, the old school opened its doors to visitors. As it was the first time King James’s had taken part in Heritage open Day we kept our involvement simple. We opened only on the Saturday and for just four hours, between 10.00 am and 2.00 pm. We also restricted visitors to the downstairs: the Head’s Study, old Kitchen, old Dining Hall and the Big and Small. The oAS were greatly helped by Abbi Terry who was able to bring a dozen students who were to prove excellent guides for our visitors.We provided the guides with a potted history of various aspects of the building but because of the inclement weather a tour of the outside had to be cancelled.We hope to reinstate this next year. We had no idea how many, if any, would be interested in a tour of the School on Heritage open Day. We should not have worried as almost 60 adults and quite a few children came along for a look round. Besides the old rooms we were able to show off the new Timeline which resulted in us not being able to close up the School until nearer 3.00 pm rather than our planned 2.00 pm finish. If the Timeline catches the imagination of the students as much as it did the visitors it will be a resounding success. At the end we reviewed the signing in forms of the visitors and found a very mixed bunch. There were old Almondburians, local History buffs and simply villagers who had never had chance to look inside the old buildings.They all seemed to enjoy the experience and gave their thanks for the opportunity to see the school but also to the wonderful student guides. Next year we hope to build upon this first effort. We should like to extend the tour to include the Dorms upstairs which are now the Staff Room. We would also like to ask Westyorkshire Archives, who look after the Charter, to bring it into School and display it for next year’s visitors. Please take advantage at the Annual Dinner to arrive a little earlier than normal and walk back in time along the Timeline. you will not be disappointed. n 16
Farnley Lines
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ET’S get this off my chest and onto the blank screen straightaway. I felt strongly about this when at the chalk face and strangely and perhaps incongruously feel more strongly about it twenty years into retirement. It is The Examination System, about which the present Principal of King James’s writes on page 10. of course, times change and new demands are made but so many and so rapidly? How can it be that comparatively recently desiderata included ‘languages for all Abilities’, Coursework (so preferable to Terminal Examinations), AS levels at the end of the year 12 (lower Sixth in old terminology) and grading in letters with an A* introduced for the highest marks? I could add more but that’s sufficient to illustrate my point. So right at the time, now all swept away. It can only be that all those in the Department of Education, especially those at the top, justify their existence by inventing New Systems. So today, they’ve decided, let’s have a new grading system. let’s scrap all that G to A* rubbish and go back to numbers. And as we have had 1–9 before let’s reverse that and have 9 for the top and 1 for the bottom (illogical as that may be, as one associates ‘1’ with being top). But perhaps I shouldn’t grumble too much. In Wales, where I now live, the old letter grading system is being retained. I wonder why. one more parochial gripe and then to
DAV E BU S H
lighter matters. It is now compulsory in Wales for all pupils to study Welsh up to GCSE level. This has had a devastating effect on the uptake for languages such as German, French and Spanish. For example, in my daughter’s former languages Department in Swansea the number of teachers has dropped from seven to two. I appreciate the need to preserve minority languages but such a broad brush approach is not the answer. learning Welsh is extremely difficult. I remember my granddaughter’s comment on seeing her A* in Welsh GCSE. “Grandad, I can neither write Welsh nor speak it.” Pity those English pupils who have to cross the River Wye and the Welsh border to attend school in monmouth!
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A new bronze medal award winner Another noteworthy crossing of the border occurred on the 19th may. For the benefit of new members and a jog to the fading memories of older ones I must explain that I award a metaphorical bronze medal to any Almondburian who visits us in deepest South Wales. Repeat visits gain higher awards. Way out in front are Bob and Janice Field; they hold platinum awards with bars. Walter Raleigh gained a bronze a number of years ago but this was annulled when it was discovered he had holidayed about 300 yards from our house without letting us know.The award was later reinstated on appeal.
Town get off to a great start I’m as proud as many of you will be of Huddersfield Town Football Club. What a start! Three games played as I write and no goals conceded. How will they be faring when you read this some two months hence? By which time Town will have made the long trip to this area of The Principality to take on the Swans; naturally we are expecting a flurry of requests for bed and breakfast. And The lincoln Imps? one loss in the first five games played. After the euphoria of last season there was always the possibility of an anticlimactic return to the Football league but I am confident this will not happen.
The new recipient was Andrew Taylor (1963-1971). He discovered a relative’s wedding was being held in a village only a few miles from Porthcawl and so seized the opportunity to bring his delightful wife, Penny and two grandchildren to spend a few hours with us.The little ones were not in the best of humours.When taken down to the promenade for an ice cream they howled their discontent from the back seat. But they were stunned into silence. How? By Andrew and my singing fortissimo Floreat Schola. We are confident the school song has never before been used as a lullaby, albeit a very noisy one.The photo shows us by the grandfather clock which Almondburians bought for me on my retirement in 1996. of it I am very proud.
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Sport at King James’s It is ironic that although this issue of The Almondburian is a ‘Sports Special’ it comes at a time when there are no oAS football or cricket teams. I can only hope that the Almondburian soccer and cricket teams, of which I have such happy memories, will in due course have a renaissance. let us also hope that the badminton section will prosper. Surely there must be a number of prospective young players at school who could swell the ranks. Here in Porthcawl we have the opposite problem: last night we had 27 attending. We have four courts but play to 15 rather than 21 so that there is a faster rotation. Ages ranged from 14 to 86. Perhaps from the photo you can pick out those two as well as ‘Chairman Dave’. Next week Juniors begin when there will around twenty 6 to 14 year olds. It is great position to be in but somewhat embarrassing if we have to form a waiting list.
A sunny triumph I flatter myself perhaps by imagining that some of you dear readers will be disappointed by not seeing a report on some bird watching trip to an exotic location. This has been caused by travel being restricted of late as margaret had a ‘total hip replacement’ in April. She is much more mobile now so next week there is a meeting scheduled for our exclusive group of Glamorgan Bird Club members to decide which part of the world we shall be venturing to in 2018. However, this has meant I have been able to spend more time on my allotment and after many attempts have achieved my ambition. A far cry from trophies on the football field: First Prize for the tallest sunflower. Next year I shall not enter. I shall rest on my laurels or rather my sunflower seeds! n
The Ken Ireland Method our younger badminton players leap and race around with great enthusiasm while we older ones adopt the ‘Ken Ireland method’. Ken was PE teacher at KJ for many years but was renowned for what we shall call euphemistically an energy-saving approach to activities. This was typified on the badminton court where Ken occupied the middle ground and with subtle flicks to corners had us less experienced ones constantly running around to retrieve. A real character, our Ken, also famed for ‘The Ireland Finger Sniffing Test’. When challenged with illicit smoking those who denied their guilt had their fingers sniffed by him. “Smoker” declared Ken.The frequent plea of “I was only holding it for my mate” cut no ice with KlWI. In my final years the tennis courts were the regular assembly point for those clandestinely worshipping the goddess Nicotina. How about a little research into which was the favoured location through the ages for this puffing pastime?
Flourishing: badminton is so popular in Porthcawl that we might need to set up a waiting list 19
A word from the Editor Wanted: Editorial Assistant
Over the past few years, The Almondburian has expanded in size as we The have aimed to become a general interest ALMONDBURIAN magazine whilst continuing to strive to THE MAGA ZINE O F TH E OL D A L MONDBURIA NS’ SOCIETY keep members abreast of developments in the OAS. The task of assembling material for publication has become correspondingly demanding and I am now now seeking an Editorial Assistant to help with this work. I am seeking someone who has good organisational skills and has a real interest in writing and in magazine production methods. He or she will have good IT skills and will routinely use emails, texts or telephone as communication tools. He or July she will also understand the need, when 2017 interacting with contributors, to ensure that production deadlines are met. An important requirement is for the Editorial Assistant to suggest and research possible items for publication, and this may require occasional visits to the OAS Archives Room at King James’s School or to the local studies department of Kirklees Library. For this reason, it would be advantageous for the Editorial Assistant to be resident in the Huddersfield locality. Needless to say, the role of Editorial Assistant – like all OAS roles – is unpaid. The reward comes from the knowledge that you are providing a valuable service to an organisation of which you are such a valued member! I will welcome an email or telephone call from anyone who would like to help or who would like further information. Contact details appear on the back cover of this magazine.
Writing for ‘The Almondburian’
“Whatever became of …?” We’re all curious to know more about what became of our old school colleagues. Everyone who attends King James’s School has a unique story to tell: schoolday memories, career successes and failures, family activities, holiday travels, hobby pursuits, retirement activities and so on. So why not put something in writing to share with our readers? The Almondburian is always keen to include contributions from OAS members. Articles should be around 1,000 to 1,500 words in length, preferably with one or two photographs, and should be emailed to almondburian@oas.org.uk. 20
2017
Sport A year of
It has been a notable year for Old Almondburians prominent in the sporting field. On the following pages, we hear from some of those who have played their parts, either today or in years gone by.
SoCCER
Huddersfield Town have been promoted to the Premier League, returning to top tier football after far too long an absence. We talk to former chairman Geoff Headey (KJGS1953-58), former players Jonathan Dyson (KJS 1985-90) and Jeff Taylor (KJGS 1940-47), former club dentist Dr Philip Shaw (KJGS 1964-71), administrator Andrew Haigh (KJS 1977-83) and former radio commentator Andrew Crawshaw (KJGS 1971-77).
TENNIS
Philip Brook (KJGS 1967-72) completed his third year as Chairman of Wimbledon Tennis Club. In the years since he was elected to the Club Committee in 1997 he has seen many new developments, including the completion of the Centre Court retractable roof in 2009 and Andy Murray’s Championship success of 2016. Philip tells us how he entered the world of tennis by chance.
CRICKET
Seamer Ryan Sidebottom (KJS, 1989-1994)announced his retirement from first class cricket at the end of the 2017 season. He looks back at his time at King James’s and his long cricketing career with Yorkshire and England. Interviews: Roger Dowling
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SoCCER
109 years of history
H
UDDERSFIELD TOWN’s promotion to the Premier League after a penalty shoot-out at Wembley on 29th May 2017 will long be remembered by those at the match and the millions watching on TV all over the country. The club was founded at a meeting in the Albert public house in Victoria Lane in 1908 and entered the Football League in 1919. In 1926, they became the first English team to win three successive league titles. Huddersfield Town also won the FA Cup in 1922 and have been runnersup on four other occasions.The club declined after the war, losing its First Division status in 1951/2 but bouncing back two seasons later.A second longer-lasting relegation followed in 1956/7. Huddersfield Town last played in the top tier in 1971/2, but since then the club’s fortunes have plummeted, reaching a nadir in 2003 when, in Division 3 (the old Division 4) it slipped into administration.There followed a long period in Divisions 2 and 1 (the old Divisions 3 and 2) before this years’ triumphant promotion to the Premier League. Leeds Road Stadium was opened in September 1908 with a friendly against Bradford Park Avenue.The record attendance at a match there was 67,037 in a 1-0 FA Cup 6th Round defeat against Arsenal on 27th February 1932.The stadium was demolished in 1994 and is now a retail park. Its replacement, currently known as the John Smith’s Stadium, was opened in time for the 1994/5 season. HTAFC
Town’s roller-coaster: a return at last to top tier soccer Div 1 (Premier League from 1992) Div 2 (Div 1 from 1992)
Administration
Div 3 (Div 2 from 1992)
Div 4 (Div 3 from 1992)
1950
1960
1970
1980
22
1990
2000
2010
SoCCER
Geoff Headey: former chairman
Geoff Headey was chairman of Huddersfield Town from 1995 to 1997, shortly after the club had moved into its impressive new stadium and gained promotion to Division One. He was a pupil at the School from 1953-1958 and now looks back on his long association with the club.
I
T still rankles – and it was 60 years might have been so different if Harry Tayago. The date was 1958 and I had lor had not taken that fateful decision so just taken my GCE ‘o’ levels and many years ago. gained decent passes in English literature, I always enjoyed my time at the School History, Geography, French, mathemat- – we lived on the Fernside estate and I ics and General Science. I’d passed Eng- would walk or cycle there every day for five lish language the year before, so that years.The teacher with whom I got on best made seven in total. was Albert makinson, always known as ‘CuThen I was summoned to the head- pid’. And who could ever forget the acidmasters’s office to be tongued ‘Jock’ Andergravely advised by Harson? I also have clear ry Taylor that the Sixth memories of the annuForm wasn’t really right al school plays. I was a for me. So that was that. decent runner and I you didn’t argue with enjoyed cross-country your headmaster 60 running too. I played in years ago, but I’ve althe football First XI ways thought he was but I think cricket was wrong and I’ve always rather neglected in my regretted missing my time at the School – a Sixth Form education. bit surprising in view of Fortunately, it didn’t GEOFF HEADEY was a pupil at Harry Taylor’s love for really matter in the end. King James’s Grammar School the game. For years I I’ve had a great life and from 1953 to 1958. Now retired, played for the old Allives in Thurstonland with his here I am, celebrating he mondburians’ Cricket wife Anne who is a former music Huddersfield Town’s teacher and clarinettist. Club – it’s a great They have two children – promotion to the Preshame that it’s no now chief buyer at mier league like every Rebecca, longer active. Pacific Lifestyle Ltd and Daniel, a other Huddersfield resI’m a keen golfer freelance advertising copywriter in in London – and three ident. these days and have grandchildren. Geoff ’s niece is But I can’t help wonplayed at Woodsome top actress Lena Headey. dering how my career Hall since 1995; I was 23
who had a company called Charles Haigh & Company, had had a stroke and could no longer work. The company had been in business since the earliest days of the textiles industry in 1828, supplying basketware skips to the mills. It was still only a small company, with a turnover of about £10,000 pa. It was a difficult decision to return to Huddersfield as I had just been appointed head of department – and it was of course another complete change of direction. The group has spawned a number of other associated companies over the years, such as Habasco (Haigh Basket Company), lighting wholesalers Aimbry International ltd (a venture with old Almondburian Simon Russell) and Helensgate Glass ltd.
captain in 2008. I still play there twice a week. I left School on 18th July 1958 to start a new life, in the Borough Treasurer’s office in Huddersfield. It was a big mistake and I spent three years bored out of my mind as a glorified office boy. I soon began to realise that this wasn’t the life for me so I decided to apply for a course at St Paul’s Training College at Cheltenham, which oddly enough was where our PE master Ken Ireland had also trained many years earlier. There I gained a Diploma in Physical Education. I taught at a school in Folkestone for three years and then returned to Huddersfield in 1969. By this time I had married and the reason for the return to Huddersfield was that my father-in-law,
10th August 1995:The Almondburians’ Veterans team playing in the local Veterans’ League on the all-weather surface at Leeds Road playing fields, in the centre of the running track.The qualifying age for ‘Veterans’ was 35. Almondburians in the photograph: Back row, 2nd from left: Bob Williams; 3rd from left: John Headey (goalkeeper) – an Old Collegian but an ‘Honorary Almondburian’; 2nd from right Gez Whitehead Front row, extreme left: Martyn Hicks: extreme right: Geoff Headey (53 years and two days) 24
30th April 1994:The Huddersfield Town board at the last match at Leeds Road Stadium (Huddersfield Town v Blackpool). Left to right: Geoff Headey (vice-chairman), Terry Fisher (chairman), Malcolm Asquith, Robert Whiteley, David Taylor
29th July 1994:Town striker Phil Starbuck shows off the club’s new away strip displaying the club’s new sponsor, Panasonic, on the shirt. Alongside Panasonic and Alfred McAlpine representatives, Geoff Headey (vice-chairman) is on the extreme left and Malcolm Asquith, (vicechairman the following year) is on the right.The stadium is well on the way to completion but a ladder and unpacked boxes of seats on the upper tier of the stand show there is still work to be done.The first match was on 20th August 1994 when Huddersfield Town lost 1–0 to Wycombe Wanderers.
All the companies have now been absorbed into Pacific lifestyle ltd – we describe ourselves as wholesale designers and importers of homeware and decorative lighting products. As managing director of Pacific lifestyle, until I retired about 10 years ago, I had a life travelling around the Far East: China, Philippines, Taiwan, malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and so on. The company now has a turnover of
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around £14 million pa. and employs some 60 staff I should add that over the years I’ve had a lot of help from my business partner, fellow Almondburian and chartered accountant Geoff Riley (KJGS 1950-56). We could not have achieved what we have without him. It was my father who got me interested in football – he used to take me to
matches from the age of six so I saw such Town Football Club (40%) and Huddersplayers as Jimmy Glazzard, Vic metcalfe field Rugby league Club (20%). We had and the debut of Denis law. I remained to have a new stadium – the old one keen on football while I was at school and needed so much doing to it that unless we I continued playing at college, even turn- took drastic steps we would never have ing out a few times for Cheltenham Town been able to retain our licence to stage (now a league side, though not in those matches. The thing I’m most proud of during my days!) when they occasionally borrowed players from St Paul’s. I also played for time as club chairman was the signing of New Romney in the Kent Dean Hoyle, the marcus Stewart from Bristol Rovers in 1995. He cost Amateur league while we present chairman, us £1.25 million and we had were down in Folkestone and after we returned to deserves a massive to sell Andy Booth to Huddersfield I played for amount of credit, as Sheffield Wednesday to fidoes manager nance the deal – but it was Huddersfield Amateurs for David Wagner money well spent as he two seasons. I’ve also played in all four old Almondburians’ teams over scored 68 goals during the three and a half seasons he was with us. Not surprisingly, the years, up to 1990. It was my love of the game and my he was tremendously popular with the fans business connections that led me to joining and it was a very controversial decision the board of Huddersfield Town. This fol- when Steve Bruce sold him to Ipswich for lowed an approach in 1986 for financial £2.5 million in January 2000 by which support from commercial director Steve time I had left the board. When I was at the club it was only a Kindon who used to play for Town from pipe-dream that we would get into the 1979 to 1981. I had 14 years on the board until the Premier league. It’s a brilliant achieveclub was sold to Barry Rubery, the Pace ment, not just for the club but for the set-top box millionnaire, in 2000. It was whole town. Dean Hoyle, the present while I was vice-chairman under Neil chairman, deserves a massive amount of Warnock that we went to Wembley in may credit, as does manager David Wagner.The 1995 to win the Division Two play-off club has at last broken the mould of bringagainst Bristol Rovers. I tried hard to per- ing in failed managers from elsewhere: we suade Neil to stay but he went off to Ply- brought in a relatively unknown coach and mouth Argyle and we appointed Brian we are now bringing in players from abroad. Horton in his place. Huddersfield Town may no longer be a I then became chairman of the club from 1995 to 1997.This was just after we ‘local’ team in terms of players, but at least had built the new stadium, then known as they’re still wearing the blue and white mcAlpine Stadium (now the John Smith’s stripes. And with all the German players, Stadium), a joint venture between Hud- there’s now less danger of losing penalty dersfield Council (40%), Huddersfield shoot-outs! n 26
. SoCCER
Andrew Haigh: administrator
OAS honorary secretary Andrew Haigh is in the hot seat at the John Smith’s Stadium on home match-days keeping a careful eye on the takings. He explains how he got the job, what it entails, and the impact on Town of the club’s promotion to the Premier League.
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y job at Huddersfield Town by us and manufactured to a high stanFootball Club is match-day dard here in the United Kingdom. administrator for all home my father set up the firm, selling games.This means that I look after all the hanging baskets, back in 1968 when he accounting in terms of admissions to the left English Electric where he had been a ground and it’s a job I’ve been doing for draughtsman. Since then we’ve expanded the past 25 years. Before then, I used to our range considerably: we now hold go to the ground with my dad when he over 900 standard lines in stock and manworked on a turnstile and I started work- ufacture many other bespoke items to ing on the turnstiles myself as a fourth- meet customers' own requirements. former at King James’s. A job with my first day at King James’s School Huddersfield Town has was on 1st September been ‘in the family’ for 1977. At that time we 80 years: my grandfawere living in Fenay ther was head gatesBridge. Shelley High man in the 1930s, School had been built followed by my father for all the pupils from Duncan. the new middle This is far away Schools but by the from my day job as a time it was finished it partner in the family wasn’t big ehough. As firm of R D Haigh and a result they had to Company, based in find somewhere else ANDREW HAIGH attended King Brighouse. We are a for the pupils of lepJames’s School from 1977 to leading manufacturer ton middle School and 1983. He lives with wife Jacquie and trade supplier of King James’s School and (left to right) children Annabel (13) and twins candleholders, candles, had just become a 13Charlotte and Eleanor (10) church furnishings, 16 Comprehensive. across the road from the school display stands, garden cricket field in Arkenley Lane, It was a period of Almondbury. accessories and florists' great change for the Annabel is currently a Year 9 sundries. most of our School. Harry Taylor pupil at King James’s School. products are designed had retired four years 27
level I studied Physics, Chemistry, Biology and General Studies in the sixth form. From King James’s, I spent four years at Aberdeen University where I gained a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry, followed by a year studying corrosion engineering and materials protection at UmIST in manchester. Then I joined the family firm. The job of natch-day administrator has changed a lot in recent years and will no doubt change further now Town are in the Premier league. For many years, admission was by cash at the turnstiles but nowadays almost all admission is ticketonly. The accounting side is also much more streamlined now, as tickets are scanned into a Ticketmaster system which makes match-day accounting a much more straightforward operation.
earlier and Alan Conley had taken over as headmaster the following year. For two years, King James’s had become a sixthform college and then, the year before I arrived, it had become a 13-16 comprehensive. Strangely, none of this hiatus was apparent to me as a new entrant, which is quite a tribute to the teaching staff at the time. Dave Bush was deputy head and an excellent latinteacher, as was Jack Taylor (biology). Although a comprehensive, the School was still run in the style of a traditional old grammar school, with the teachers wearing gowns in assembly and on other special occasions. Although I enjoy all sport today, my main interests at King James’s were swimming and cross-country running.Academically, I was on the ‘sciences’ side and after taking 9 GCEs at ‘o’
The man in charge: Andrew keeps a close eye on all admissions to home matches at the John Smith’s Stadium, home of Huddersfield Town football club since 1994 after 86 years at Leeds Road 28
Filling up nicely: the attendance monitoring software gives an immediate indication of ground occupancy.The John Smith’s Stadium can accommodate 24,420.
The promotion has had an enormous impact on the club, not least in terms of the special facilities that we have had to introduce to meet the needs of top tier football.We’ve had to replace the television gantry completely at the loss of some 300 seats: the new gantry is 47m long and includes 20 overseas commentary positions. In all we can have up to 23 cameras around the ground at a Premier league match. There’s also a new TV studio and press room, an interview area alongside the tunnel, a larger boardroom, new state-ofthe-art lED advertising around the ground, larger dug-outs, a new drug testing room – and even new lED floodlights that will dance to music! It’s a massive investment in the future, but one that is going to be money well spent! n
We also have very sophisticated attendance monitoring software nowadays which gives an immediate real-time display showing the occupation of the various parts of the stadium. It also gives us early warning of any part of the ground that is becoming full so that we can take immediate action at the turnstiles. I was at the Wembley play-off with my family and it was an amazing day. We could hardly dare watch the shoot-out at the end but full marks to manager David Wagner and the team. It was a truly great performance by ‘The Terriers’.
Impressive: but the John Smith’s Stadium has required many updates to meet Premiership needs
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SoCCER
Jonathan Dyson: former player
Defender Jonathan Dyson (1985-1990) played for Huddersfield Town from 1991 to 2003, during which time he made over 200 appearances for the club. He looks back on his time at the School and shares the pleasure of seeing Town promoted to the Premiership after its long spell in the lower divisions.
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I really enjoyed my time at King James’s. oWN’S promotion to the Preof course, I played a lot of football. I remier league in may was the stuff member Jack Taylor refereeing our matchthat dreams are made of! It’s now es – I believe he regarded me as a somewhat 14 years since I hung up my boots and the ‘forceful’ mid-field player! Huddersfield club had been in the lower divisions for far Town must have thought so too, as I played too long. The promotion was well defor their Juniors and Reserves in 1990, my served: manager David Wagner knows exfinal year at King James’s School. By this actly what he wants and the team are right time I was Head Boy. behind him. The task now is one of conI was always keen on mathematics and solidation in the months ahead. after I had taken my GCSEs I went on to It now seems a long time ago since I study maths, Economics, Sociology and joined what was then the third form at King General Studies in the sixth form. my inJames’s School on 3rd September 1985.We terest in economics was no doubt because lived not far away, near Fenay Bridge, havmy father (who sadly ing moved there from died while I was at King Hull. We knew someJames’s) had been a bank thing about the School manager. because my mother was I made my Huddera friend of Jack Taylor’s sfield Town debut in the wife Judith as a result of 1992-93 season in Diwhich Judith is my godvision 2, but I was keen mother. to continue my studies The late 1980s were as I was conscious that a strange period as the playing careers are not School was still undervery long.To be honest, going its many educaI wasn’t even very contional changes. ours JONATHAN DYSON attended fident that I would make was the last of the 13-18 King James’s School from 1985 to 1990. it as a professional footintake, so that when I left He lives in Honley with his baller! in 1990 we were also the wife Michelle and children Isaac So with the club’s School’s very last sixth (18) and Mia (15). support – for which I form. 30
will always be deeply grateful – I spent four years doing a degree sandwich course in Business Studies at Huddersfield Polytechnic (now Huddersfield University). By the time I got my degree in 1994, my career at Town was going well and it would be my full-time occupation for the following nine years (see table). I loved being a professional footballer and look back with fond memories of the old leeds Road ground; the shiny new mcAlpine Stadium only came along after I left. my playing career was a little foreshortened by a back injury and the 20022003 season was my last in professional football. This fortunately, was the point at which the second string to my bow came into play. I didn’t really fancy a ‘9 to 5’ office job after the freewheeling life of soccer so I decided that my qualifications and interest were ideally suited to the world of financial planning. I therefore joined Ebor Asset management (now Ebor Financial Planning) as an independent financial advisor. Initially the firm let me do just three days a week to give me time to take the necessary qualification examinations. my footballing career combined with my training as a financial advisor puts me
SEASON PLAYED 1991-1992
0
1992-1993
15
1994-1995
28
1993-1994 1995-1996 1996-1997 1997-1998 1998-1999 1999-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2003
22 17 23 36 14 28 30 0 3
GOALS
DIV
0
2*
0 0 2 0 0 1 1 2 3 0 0
3
2* 2* 1* 1* 1* 1* 1* 1* 2* 2*
*Redesignation after Premier League formation in 1992
in an ideal position to help footballers today to plan for the future. many people think that professional footballers are earning £250,000 a week or more, and in the case of a handful of Premiership players this is true. But for most footballers, and particularly those in the lower divisions, salaries are much more modest, particularly bearing in mind that the average playing career is only about eight years. It is absolutely essential for them to make sensible financial decisions for the future. n
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The senior squad of 1995/6 pose with the management at the McAlpine Stadium: Jonathan Dyson is ringed. Chairman Geoff Headey is in the middle of the front row and associate director Trevor Cherry is on the front row, 3rd from the left. Trevor’s children attended King James’s School: Ian (1983/6), Darren (1986/9) and Danielle (1990/4).
SoCCER
Jeff Taylor: former player
Jeff Taylor (1940-1947) played for Huddersfield Town from 1947 to 1952 and later for Fulham and Brentford. He went on to have a second career as an internationally successful baritone Jeffrey Neilson Taylor. He died in 2010 at the age of 80. In an interview* in 2007, he recalled his time as a top footballer.
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made my first appearance in the first team against Chelsea in 1949. I played 23 games in my first season and my wage was ÂŁ6 a week. I had been playing in the Red Triangle league when I was spotted by Town. It was wartime and I was quite lucky becaue there were no full-time professional footballers during the war. I was a third-former when I first played, and I gradually made my way up from the fourth team to the first. By the time I became a first team player I had started my degree at london University where I was studying geography. I would train at Highbury every morning and then go on to university in the afternoon. on Fridays I would travel up to Huddersfield, or wherever the match was being played, and then return to london after the match. George Stephenson was the Town manager at the time. *The full interview, with musical extracts, can he heard on the OAS website at goo.gl/vPr75r.
Then one day I was approached by Fulham manager Bill Dodgin, who had himself played for Huddersfield Town in the early 1930s. I was needing more time for my studies and he could see how difficult it was to keep travelling up to Huddersfield. Would I be interested in playing for Fulham? my pay at Huddersfield had by this time risen to ÂŁ20 a week,
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which was quite good as it paid for my time at University. So I transferred to Fulham in 1952. I liked it there but I always felt that Fulham was – and still is – more of a Christmas club than a football club. But it was great to be playing alongside such players as Johnny Haynes, Bobby Robson and Jimmy Hill. I was very lucky because I was already developing a career as a singer, having been much involved in music making while at university. The Fulham chairman was the very popular comedian and entertainerTommy Trinder, and he got me appearances on his radio show Variety Bandbox. Another useful show business contact at Fulham was band-leader Chappie d’Amato. By 1954 Bill Dodgin had moved on to manage Brentford and asked me to join him there. I played for Brentford until I retired in 1958. I don’t really understand the game today – I can watch a match on television and I haven’t a clue what they’re doing. Even if you just look at a goalkeeper you seem to get a yellow card. So as soon as the goalkeeper gets the ball, everyone retreats to the centre circle; the goalkeeper then kicks the
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ball over their heads to the other goalkeeper and the process is reversed. We never even had yellow cards when I played – you just had your name taken every now and then. I used to play a lot of sport at Almondbury Grammar School – football, cricket, lawn tennis on the courts in front of the library, and crosscountry running.Walter Haigh was the PT master though I never ever saw him take his jacket off. There was no proper music teaching at all: we just used to sing songs with Harry Geldhill at the piano. However, I did take part in the School Gilbert & Sullivan productions. one incident I still remember at School concerned woodwork master ‘Teak’Akroyd. At the time I was playing football for Priest Royd Iron Works and I suffered a matatarsal fracture. The treatment in those days was to put your leg in plaster and they would screw a little rubber heel on to the plaster to make it easier to walk. I noticed at School that the heel had come adrift so I went along to the woodwork room to ask mr Akroyd for a screw to fix it back in position. “But you weren’t playing for the School when you had the injury!” he protested, sending me on my way. What a meanie! n l Jeff Taylor’s brother Ken Taylor also made 250 first-team appearances for Huddersfield Town .from 1953 to 1965. Ken also played cricket for Yorkshire and England and is a professional artist who studied at the Slade School of Art.
SoCCER
Phil Shaw: former club dentist
T
Phil Shaw has been a football fan all his life, so he didn’t need to be asked twice when he was invited to be the Huddersfield Town club dentist. He explains why football clubs need dentists and what the job entails.
Emergencies can and do occur. oddoWN’S promotion to the Premier league is a wonderful achievement ly enough, two particular incidents both – I couldn’t be more pleased. I relate to matches with Tranmere Rovers even played a few times for their Junior and both involved their centre-half Ian Goodison. Team while I was at King James’s. The first was when our striker Jordan Trevor Cherry was director of football at Huddersfield Town from 1999 to 2001 Rhodes had a tooth dislodged in an away and it was he who invited me 17 years ago midweek evening match.The next mornto become the club dentist. I retired four ing I had to reposition his tooth and years ago, and I passed the job on to my make him a boxer’s gum-shield so he could daughter Ele and her husband Giles, both play against leeds at home in the following match. of whom are practising dentists. on the second occasion, a home Why does a football club need its own dentist? Basically, it’s because the players match, our defender Anthony Kay was injured in a similar inciare very valuable to the dent. I waited anxiously club and always have on the touch line waitto be kept at peak pering to go out to look at formance in every rehim but Town manager spect – and that inlee Clark wouldn’t let cludes their teeth. AnTown put the ball out of other point is that more play as there was only a and more clubs engage minute of play left. It foreign players these was the closest I ever days who may arrive got to getting on to without their own the pitch at the Galmedical carers and pospharm Stadium! sibly with language DR PHILIP SHAW was a pupil at King James’s Grammar School There used to be a problems too. I, or a from 1964 to 1971. He went on to tremendous amount of colleague, would always study dentistry at the University sport at the School in be present at all home of Liverpool. He still lives not far from the those days – football, matches and we had School, in Dark Lane, with his wife cricket, athletics, crossour own seat behind Michelle. country running and the dug-out. 34
would let us see preview copies of the latest football annuals. I really enjoyed my football at King James’s. We had a great First XI in the 1970-71 season – we were unbeaten all the way through to February and only faltered with a couple of defeats towards the end of the season.We had some excellent players and I particularly remember Allen Humphries, our hard-tackling full-back; Brian Nash, our other full-back who had excellent positioning skills; and Simon Graley, a strong shot with both feet who was among the scorers that season. Allen Humphries also played in the Huddersfield Town Junior Team and was selected to play for Town Reserves against Coventry City Reserves in march 1971. I used to play for the old Almondburians’ Football Club and I think it’s a great shame that it has recently been disbanded, hopefully only temporarily. It could be that one of the problems is that the School no longer has a sixth form. It was quite normal in my time that senior pupils would turn out to play with the old Almondburians. Then, in later life when they had more time, they would return to play for the old Almondburians again. This can’t happen now. n
the rest. Ken Ireland (‘Sham’) was the PE master at the time so I suppose that a lot of the credit must go to him. But I particularly remember one year when Ken had a sabbatical and was temporarily replaced by former top international table tennis player David Stanley. As a result, we spent all our lunchtimes playing table tennis! A bonus was that his father Ken Stanley was one of the first sports agents in the UK; he ran a very successful business from offices in St George’s Square. He was agent for such football stars as Denis law and George Best so David
The best KJGS First XI ever? Back row, left to right: A Humphries, S Thackray, D Sutton, S Graley, R Moorhouse, B Hoyle Front row, left to right: S Russell, B Nash, I Sheard (capt), A Wortley, P Shaw (ringed).
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Their fine performance was recorded for posterity in The Almondburian.
SoCCER
Andrew Crawshaw: commentator
I
Andrew Crawshaw attended King James’s Grammar School from 1971 to 1977. After cutting his teeth on hospital radio, he became a popular commentator on Huddersfield FM. He gives us his view from the Press Box.
T was suggested to me back in with my mates and, most importantly, the 1980s by a former Almond- play the entire cricket season. Hospital burian Clifford Brooke, that my Radio gave me a small taste of the jourtalent for football was probably off the nalistic life and an opportunity to hone field rather than on it. Although he had my skills and make me a more compenever seen me play, his ability to assess tent broadcaster. a person’s footballing abilities by simTo be frank there was never a desire ply looking at them, suggests he had a to take this any further until, in 1998, talent the FA could have put to valu- a group of businessmen set up Hudable use. dersfield Fm and I So, I was invited to was invited to become become a member of the Huddersfield the local Hospital RaTown correspondent. dio Broadcasting StaSo, on a wet Tuesday tion to cover home on 2nd march 1998 I matches of Huddersdid my first reports field Town at the old from the mcAlpine leeds Road ground. I Stadium on a match had been introduced against manchester to Town by my late City. father back in 1968 It soon became apANDREW CRAWSHAW attended when I saw Colin parent that I was no King James’s Grammar School from 1971-1977. He spent eight Dobson net in a onelonger a volunteer years working at Storthes Hall all draw against broadcaster but a proHospital and after that the rest of his career has been in sales. After Carlisle United and, fessional, paid for 17 years with Bostik as a National from then on, I was what I did and, the Account Manager he is currently a hooked. need to ‘up my Business Development Manager at Melpass Chemicals in Burnley. Broadcasting was game’was evident. As Married, he has two grown up great fun and the a result, Friday nights, children: his daughter Emily was schedules allowed me, and sometimes during also a pupil at the School. His brother Keith is long-time treasurer from time to time, to the week, became of the Old Almondburians’ Society. stand on the terraces homework nights, re36
searching teams, players, statistics and history to make the delivery more polished. In 2000, I started doing second half commentaries which was extended to full match coverage the following year. Next came phone ins and Friday night programmes which made this feel like I had two jobs. By this time the radio station had been swallowed up by the minster Group and was now called Home Fm, which was based in york, and gave us a few more ‘perks’. The most notable of these was a sponsorship deal with Great North Eastern Railway which gave us free first class travel up and down the line into the capital, a real plus for journeys to the london clubs. This was fun and a real pleasure to do. I had a number of summarisers who worked alongside me, most notably Paul Whiteley, Graham Hudson, Craig Armstrong and Graham mitchell. They were all different in their own way but all were up for a laugh which made the job so much more enjoyable. my approach was always the same: the picture had to be painted and the story told. But my delivery was once described as irreverent. Did I not realise that footballers were above criticism and to be lorded at every possible opportunity? obviously not and, what is more, I do not think they did either. In
37
the early 2000s coverage was extended to the internet via the club’s website which gave us worldwide exposure. There is something very satisfying that somebody in San Francisco, Wellington, Cape Town and moscow is hanging onto your every word for news of the team they support. The messages of support I got from them was very humbling. of course, I had my critics – it goes with the territory – and I had to accept that. But more people tuned into us on a Saturday afternoon than at any other time of the week. Everything comes to an end and in 2010 the metaphorical plug was pulled because of one thing and one thing alone: money. Football is a business and a big business at that. It makes me smile when players kiss the badge and say they love playing for whoever. Well, maybe they do but, if another club offers a bigger cheque then the majority will pucker up for a new emblem. So, Huddersfield Town have reached the promised land and, for that, they should be extremely proud. The fans have the opportunity to see some of the best players in the world in their own back yard. The likes of manchester United, liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea will visit and locals will hope the Terriers can pull off a shock result. This is a far cry from my time in the commentary box when the minnows of
the professional world came to town. home town club and it is good to see the The giants of manchester City, Spurs youth of the area have swapped their replica manchester and Everton have reThe giants of United and Chelsea placed the likes of little Hartlepool, Bury and Manchester City, shirts for the blue and stripes. leeds. Spurs and Everton white As for me. Well, I There is no doubt that the club and its have replaced the was involved in professional football for supporters are to feast likes of little at the top table on Hartlepool, Bury over ten years and understand a little of how caviar and smoked and Leeds. it operates. It gave me salmon but some, like myself, used to quite enjoy the luke- great pleasure to be a commentator at warm pie and beef tea on offer ten years Town matches, and the feedback from listeners suggested that they enjoyed the ago. The season ticket price is an ex- commentaries too. That, for me, is n ceptional offer for fans to follow their what it is all about.
And not forgetting…
Space prevents us from mentioning all those with Almondbury connections who have helped Huddersfield Town Football Club over the years or will hopefully keep them at the top in years to come.They include:
Arnie Sidebottom
Father of Almondburian Ryan Sidebottom (see page 46), Arnie played 56 matches with Huddersfield Town from 1976-78.
Phil Senior
A pupil at King James’s from 1994-97, Phil was a goalkeeper with Town from 1999-2006.
Allen Humphries
Allen Humphries was a KJGS pupil from 1963-71 and won the Gothard Cup this year. He has in played Town’s under-18 team and Town Reserves.
Ryan Schofield
Goalkeeper Ryan (pictured) signed his first contract with Huddersfield Town in December 2016. He was a pupil at King James’s School from 2011-16.
Isaac Marriott
One of Ryan’s contemporaries, Isaac is a mid-fielder who plays in the Huddersfield Town Academy.
Chris Patzelt
Chris is a former Club Secretary at Huddersfield Town. He attended King James’s Grammar School from 1971-78. 38
TENNIS
Philip Brook: Wimbledon chair Old Almondburian Philip Brook is chairman of the All England Tennis Club, home of the annual Wimbledon Tennis Championships. He explains how his involvement in tennis came about by chance and how it led to him having the honour and privilege of being in charge of the world’s top tennis tournament.
T
HERE is no tennis history in our ing Huddersfield Tennis Club where Colin family. my father was a lecturer in Graham was my coach. textile physics at leeds University my first competitive memories were of and my lasting memory is of him occasion- playing for Rastrick in the Huddersfield ally taking us to his office there which was league. I was only about 13 and it was an in a big old building with huge looms that amazing way of growing up quickly, seeing they used to use for teaching. these grown men turning up after work to I have an elder play in the matches. brother David who also I entered King went to KJGS from James’s Grammar 1965 to 1971. David School in September and I were both keen on 1967, travelling to Alsport – football and mondbury on the bus cricket rather than teneach day from our nis. Then purely by home in Fixby. I supchance a piece of paper pose it was natural that came through the letter I should go to King box from a lady called James’s as David was alPauline Whetton who ready there. If you were was trying to set up a to ask me which of the PHILIP BROOK attended King tennis coaching business teachers I remember James’s Grammar School from at Rastrick Tennis Club. most clearly, it would 1967 to 1972. His wife Gillian is, She was offering a week have to be biology like Philip, a former Yorkshire tennis champion who stll plays of free tennis lessons in teacher Jack Taylor. He regularly.They have two the summer holidays. I was such a formidable daughters – Elizabeth (29) who was about ten at the person – there was went to Harvard and has lived in America for the past six years time. going to be no messing and Victoria (27) who studied at I enjoyed tennis very around in his lessons Yale. Victoria is now back in much indeed and conbecause he was so London and is manager of rising tennis star Jo Konta. tinued to play at Rasfierce. Dave Bush, who Philip and Gillian live in trick Tennis Club for taught latin, was anWoldingham, Surrey. some years before joinother teacher one re39
members. I recall playing a lot of football but of course there was no tennis tuition at all in those days though we used to play informally at lunchtimes on the school hard courts. I really enjoyed my time at King James’s where I obtained 10 ‘o’ levels, with my best grades in mathematics, Physics, History and English. I would probably have stayed there after the fifth form but for the fact that my father had become a governor of queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Wakefield and my parents thought that qEGS’s close links with the top universities might be beneficial to my future education. Another factor was probably that King James’s was going through some very uncertain times in 1972, with unsettling plans to turn it into a sixth form college following the retirement of headmaster Harry Taylor. moving to a new school at the age of 16 is inevitably a bit challenging as it’s quite late to start making new friends. However, I had a very happy two years there studying maths, Further maths and Physics to ‘A’ level and I also represented the school at tennis. Then I was fortunate enough to win a place at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. It was a good choice as at the time it was the university’s newest college and was trying hard to differentiate itself through sport. Alastair Hignell was probably the best known sports person there in my time – he went on to play rugby for England and cricket for Gloucestershire. In my final year there was also Eddie Butler who went on to play rugby for Wales and then become a BBC commentator and journalist. I was a member of the Cambridge University team in theVarsity match from 1975-
Wimbledon factfile
l Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world.The first championship – a Men’s Singles event, took place in 1877 – and the Ladies’ Singles and Men’s Doubles events followed in 1884. Ladies’ Doubles and Mixed Doubles events were introduced to the tournament in 1913. l Wimbledon’s first home, as the The All England Croquet Club, was in Nursery Road off Worple Road, moving to its present location in Church Road in 1922. l Wimbledon is one of the few major venues around the world where no advertising hoardings are allowed around the courts. l Around 50,000 tennis balls are used during the course of the tournament. They were changed from white to yellow in 1986 to make the balls more visible on television. l The total prize money for the 2017 Championships was over £31 million. l The longest match ever played at Wimbledon was in the 2010 Championships when John Isner (USA) defeated Nicolas Mahut (France) in a match that lasted 11 hours and five minutes. l The fastest-ever serve at Wimbledon was by Australian player Peter Luczak who clocked 238 km/h (148 mph) in 2010. l The loudest-ever grunt recorded so far was by Maria Sharapova who achieved an impressive 105 decibels in 2015.
40
©AELTC/Thomas Lovelock
Wimbledon 2017: Roger Federer plays Marin Cilic in the final of the Gentlemen’s Singles on Centre Court.The retractable roof was installed in 2009 and has proved a great success.
77, captaining the team in my final year.We played in the Prentice Cup – a match played every two years between oxford/Cambbridge and Hale/Harvard – in 1976 and I was yorkshire men’s Singles Champion in 1978, representing yorkshire at County Week from 1977-1990. I spent three years studying maths at Cambridge, though to be honest I never really understood it! I always felt that the lecturers were keener on teaching the experts who really understood maths than those like me who were just keen to learn. In fact, there were a lot of people in my year who didn’t really ‘get it’ and I was fortunate in having my ability at tennis which at least gave me credibility within the college. I left with a second class honours degree. I took advice from my dad on what to do after university and as I had studied statistics and probabilities it seemed that a career as an actuary might be the best way forward – though I wasn’t entirely clear as to what
41
actuaries actually did! After applying for lots of jobs I ended up with mercantile and General in the City of london where I spent five years taking the actuarial examinations. I became a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries in 1984. I stayed in reinsurance until 1991 when I joined R Watson and Sons (now Willis Towers Watson), of which I became a partner in 1992. From 2003-2009 I was a Global Practice Director of the firm’s Insurance and Financial Services Practice, managing a business with a revenue of £80m with over 420 staff worldwide. I retired from the firm in 2009. So how did all this lead to Wimbledon? As it happens, Wimbledon has always had close relationships with Cambridge and oxford Universities and the fact that I had captained the Cambridge University team and played in the Prentice Cup certainly helped whenWimbledon were electing new members. I started off as a temporary member
opments contained within our Wimbledon master Plan* which we published in 2013 and which we use as a document to guide us as we move forward.We’ve already formed a large basement area under Courts 14 and 15 to provide accommodation for ball-boys, ball-girls and photographers and an enhanced restaurant area. To the west of the site across Somerset Road, we have five old indoor courts and various other buildings beyond the end of their useful life.They will soon be knocked down and the site better used by constructing six indoor courts, a 350-car underground car park and six clay courts.These will be joined to the main site by the underground tunnel that has already been completed. Another big development concerns our arrangements for televising the Tournament. We have always had excellent relations with the BBC and they are already
and was elected full member in 1989. In 1997 I was elected to the Club Committee and I became chairman in 2010. The board has 12 members, all elected from the membership, and each member serves for three years before needing reelection. It’s important to get the right balance of skills on the board. Tim Henman has been on the board for the past eight years and he chairs our tennis sub-committee; he is a key member when the board is considering the player-related issues which occur from time to time. We also have a lot of property developments going on here, so we’re lucky to have Simon Jones from the construction and property company Gardiner &Theobald on our board. Simon leads our estate development team so he is much involved at present in the plan to instal a retractable roof over No 1 Court, due to be completed in 2019.This is just one of many major devel-
©AELTC/Jed Leicester
*See goo.gl/pXf6
The builders are in: work proceeds apace on the new retractable roof over No 1 Court.The project will be completed in time for the 2019 Championships. 42
©AELTC/Thomas Lovelock
Philip Brook with 2017 champions Roger Federer and Garbiñe Muguruza at the Champions’ Dinner at The Guildhall in July 2017
signed up to cover the Tournament up to 2024. In the past, however, the broadcaster (in terms of having control over the broadcast output) has always been the BBC. This will change from next year when the All England Tennis Club will become the broadcaster which will mean that while the BBC will still retain the exclusive live broadcast rights to Wimbledon in the UK it will no longer be shouldering the burden of the production costs.Also, as broadcaster, the AETC will be able to tailor the broadcast output to meet the needs of a global audience. We’ve also been busy bringing other activities in-house so as to have better control over our brand. We now in-source all our horticulture so one of our own team goes to Holland each year to source plants required for the Tournament. Similarly our retail operations, previously outsourced to ImG, have now moved in-house so we have
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our own specialist retail staff who can decide the range and quality of our merchandise. People sometimes say that winning the Singles is the easiest way of getting into Wimbledon! Essentially, we have three classes of membership. The first, and the most important in many ways, are the 6070 honorary members; these, by and large, are players like Andy murray, Roger Federer and this year’s new member, Garbiñe muguruza who have won the Singles.Then we have the 400-odd elected full members, which form the core of the membership; and finally around 100 temporary members whose membership is renewed year by year. The year-round privileges of Wimbledon membership are roughly similar for all three classes in terms of the use of courts, attendance at social events and so on. But the big difference is that during the Tournament full members have privileged access
Ticketing arrangements at Wimbledon are quite complicated. At one end of the spectrum we have our debenture holders – on Centre Court we have 2,500 seats allocated to debenture holders and 1,000 on Court 1 and these are valid for five years. The present cost of a Centre Court debenture is £50,000 which may sound a lot of money; however, individual seats can be sold on if the debenture holder is unable to attend any particular day. In fact, if a debenture ticket holder were to sell every seat throughout five years, he or she would fully recoup the cost and more. Debenture ticket holders are very important to us because the last Centre Court debenture alone raised £100 million after VAT, all of which we are re-investing in future infrastructure projects. No 1 Court debentures perform a similar role. one of the advantages of the debenture programme is that it allows us to keep the
©AELTC/Roger Allen
to all matches, with a stand behind the royal box on Centre Court and similar areas on some other show courts.Temporary members can buy a limited numbers of tickets giving access to the ground. The only courts that are off-limits to all members to play on are Centre Court and Court 1. These are the first courts to be renovated for the following year – we run a machine up and down the courts to remove every blade of grass, the idea being to remove the unwanted shallow grasses that have landed on the court and to leave only the deeper roots of the rye grass that we want to retain. It re-grows so quickly that we can be mowing the grass within a couple of weeks of the treatment. As the summer progresses, the ground-staff will be making their way round the other courts to carry out the same treatment. We have 22 practice courts in addition to the tournament courts, making a total of 41.
Wimbledon 2017: HRH The Duchess of Cambridge, the Club’s new Patron, with Philip Brook and Gill Brook watch Andy Murray v Alexander Bublik on Centre Court. 44
prices of all the other tickets sold at Wimbledon down to affordable levels. Tickets for the show courts are sold to the public through two ballots, one run by Wimbledon and the other by the lawn Tennis Association. last but by no means least are the tickets for the other courts that are sold on the day to those who queue at the gates. The Wimbledon queue takes quite a lot of organising but it is one of our great traditions and we are very proud of it. It means that, provided they arrive early enough, anyone who is prepared to queue and pay £25 will see world class tennis – and that’s what it’s all about. We also have a ticket re-sale operation for Centre Court whereby ticket- holders can pay £10 to be eligible for an upgrade to Centre Court to fill an empty seat vacated by someone who has left early. It’s a way of keeping Centre Court full and it gives more people the opportunity to experience Centre Court. All the re-sale money goes to charity. I make it my business to spend as much time as I can meeting and talking to the players. The week before the start of the Tournament is a great opportunity to spend time with them and catch up with their news. I also see the winners of matches on Centre Court as they come off court during the course of the Championships and of course we all attend the Champions’ Dinner too. Roger Federer has now won the Singles an astonishing eight times so I’ve got to know him pretty well over the years. In
fact, I have a nice letter from him on my desk at the moment thanking me and the team for a great Championship – he tells me he really loves being a member of Wimbledon. He didn’t have to write, but it’s the sort of chap he is. likewise Andy murray: a few people still regard him as a dour Scot, but when you get to know him he is actually excellent company. I’ve now been chairman for seven years. It’s been a very rewarding period in which we’ve seen Andy murray become Singles Champion; Jo Konta has become a major new force in women’s tennis; and the Duchess of Cambridge has become our new Patron. And we hosted the Summer olympics in 2012, when Andy famously beat Roger Federer to win a Gold. But one of the achievements I’m particularly proud of is that after extensive consultation we moved the date of the Tournament back by one week with effect from 2015.The effect of this was to create a three week gap between the French open and Wimbledon, a move which will allow the players a longer grass court season in the build-up to The Championships. I am sure that the best interests of tennis are served by allowing the players more time to recuperate and to adjust from the clay courts of Roland Garros to the grass at Wimbledon. There’s a lot going on at Wimbledon these days – the work just goes on and on. And we’re all volunteers, so it’s a labour of love of which it’s a privilege to be a part. n
“…it’s a labour of love of which it’s a privilege to be a part.”
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CRICKET
Ryan Sidebottom: cricketer
Medium-fast Yorkshire and former England bowler retired from firstclass cricket at the end of September. He looks back on his time at King James’s School and his long and successful career travelling the world as a top class cricketer.
I
’VE played professional cricket for end up chosing a career in sport. If I’m honover 20 years and, looking back, I’m est, I’d have to admit that a bit of nepotism really proud of the career it’s given helped my career: my father was so highly me: the things I’ve seen, the players I’ve respected in the world of cricket. played with, and the friends I have made. I started playing cricket with KirkburI’m really happy with what I’ve achieved, ton Cricket Club and I also played with Alincluding winning back-to back titles with mondbury Juniors until I was about eight. yorkshire and representing my country at Then I played at Holmfirth for four or five the highest level. A years, first in the Juniors highlight has to beating and then in the Second Australia in the World XI plus the odd First XI Cup T20 final in 2010 . match – it was a great I have always tried to grounding. I think I was play in such a way that I always destined to be a would be able to look bowler; I was always a back on my career and bit of a plodder as a batsbe able to answer posiman, though I did score tively if I asked myself nearly 3,000 runs in the question, “Did I confirst class cricket for an tribute when it really average of about 13! mattered?” I think I’ve I still remember done that more often clearly the moment the RYAN SIDEBOTTOM was a pupil at King James’s School from 1989 than not. day I received the invito 1994. I’ve been lucky betation to join yorkshire Son of the famous cricketer cause I haven’t had many County Cricket Club’s and footballer Arnie Sidebottom, Ryan made his county debut for downs in my career. I First XI. I was playing Yorkshire as a left-arm seamer in was strongly influenced for the Second XI and 1997. His first of many by my father to stand on was selected to play in appearances for England was in 2001. my own two feet in life. the match against He lives in Leeds with his wife With a father like Arnie leicestershire at Grace Kate and children Indiana and Sidebottom I suppose it Road in July 1997. It Darley. was inevitable I would was a great moment! I 46
was playing alongside cricketers like martyn moxon, Craig White and Darren lehmann – players I had watched and admired as a youngster.To make my debut and take three wickets in the only innings in that match was incredible – I was just thinking of the history and all of the players who had come and gone in the past. To think I was only19 and I managed to get Ian Sutcliffe out as my first wicket! As it was my first match, it was a nerve-racking experience but it was a very proud day for me. I have made many friends in theyorkshire team and I have always loved the banter and cameraderie. We have always got on really well. But the one particular friend I would pick out is wicket-keeper Jonny Bairstow – we’ve become very close to him and his family over the years and he is godfather to our son Darley. I’m really impressed by what Jonny has achieved foryorkshire and England. my first spell with yorkshire was from 1997 to 2003, and then I moved to Nottinghamshire until 2010 at which point I reTopYorkshire and England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow’s new autobiography A Clear Blue Sky is now on sale TESTS
ONE-DAY INTERNATIONALS T20 INTERNATIONALS FIRST CLASS LIST A* T20
MATCHES 22 25 18
turned to yorkshire for my final six years. It’s been nice to return to my home club. Between 2001 and 2008 I did a great deal of touring abroad as a member of the England team.Which grounds did I like most? I can’t answer that question because I loved them all – as far as I was concerned the pleasure came from the privilege of representing my country, wherever I was playing. There’s no greater honour. Another important part of my life is my academy. The Ryan Sidebottom Cricket Academy has now been going for four years and I’m very proud of it. It runs professional weekly coaching sessions throughout the winter, as well as school holiday camps aroundyorkshire for up to 20 children aged 7-15. The sessions offer long-term coaching for kids from beginners upwards with a passion for cricket who are keen to improve their skills and have fun along the way. I lead a team of qualified coaches, including Jonny Bairstow, all-rounder liam Plunkett, fast bowler Jack Brooks and a number of others.
BALLS 4812 1277
367
WICKETS 79 29 23
RUNS
AVERAGE
1039
35.82
2231 437
230
39204
762
18138
85
1797
93
2149
186
8226
198
6134
28.24 19.00 23.80 30.97 23.10
*List A cricket includes One Day International matches and various domestic competitions in which the number of overs in an innings per team ranges from 40 to 60. 47
June 2007:The scene at Old Trafford as England beat the West Indies by 60 runs
It’s proving very successful, with over 60% of those taking part progressing to their club or school First XI teams. Another development that people may not be aware of is the Ryan Sidebottom Cricket Foundation which, thanks to our anonymous benefactor, offers professional long-term cricket coaching scholarships to under-privileged children inyorkshire. The weekly sessions run throughout termtime and are aimed at children aged 8-15 who may not ordinarily get a chance to play sport.We have 20 boys at the moment and, as the women’s game is becoming ever more important, we are now looking for 20 girls to join them. The idea of the Foundation is to get children off the streets, whatever their ethnic backgound, colour or creed, to play cricket. If we get a goodyorkshire cricketer from their ranks in due course that will be a bonus!
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I enjoyed King James’s School. There was a lot of sport in my time at the School, though not a great deal of cricket though we did play the occasional match. The PE master, mr Gatenby, was absolutely terrific.of the other teachers, I particularly remember mr Bush, because he was so fierce! A cricketer’s career can be quite short so I’ve always been conscious of the need to have other activities to keep the money coming in after retirement. my wife and I are very active in the field of house restoration – we buy properties and improve them ready for re-sale. I quite enjoy getting out a paintbrush or doing a bit of gardening . So there’s plenty to do after retirement from first-class cricket. And we also have two demanding sport-loving children, now aged 6 and 7, so there’s never going to be a shortage of things to occupy me! n
CROSSWORD by Hérisson
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THE BEER HUNTER: AN APPRECIATIoN
Memories of Michael Jackson
It is exactly ten years since the untimely death of top beer and whisky writer Michael Jackson who was a pupil at KJGS from 1953 to 1958.
I
ROGER PROTZ
T used to be said that people would but someone who had inspired the Amernever forget where they were when ican beer revolution and shone a light on President John F Kennedy was shot the amazing storehouse of beers in Belin Dallas, Texas, in 1963. It may have gium. been a less world-shattering event, but I Ten years on, his memory is will never forget where I was when I undimmed. Fellow beer writers, especially heard michael Jackson had died in 2007. in the U.S., mention his name in hushed I had slept in a monk’s cell in the for- and reverential tones. And not just beer mer monastery of Weihenstephan near mu- writers: in 2000, as I went through passnich. When my phone rang early in the port control at Dallas, the officer asked me morning, Steve Crawley, managing director the nature of my business and I told her I of the Caledonian Brewery in Edinburgh, was speaking at a conference of home told me the fateful news. He had flown to brewers. “Brewing?you must know michael london to see michael but when he arrived Jackson,” she said. He was a true celebriat the house in Hammersmith the dis- ty in that country. traught housekeeper He was also inspisaid she had discovered rational. In the late michael dead in his 1970s, when I was just bath. starting to write about I wasn’t on retreat beer, I was grappling at Weihenstephan but with the complexities was attending a conof British brewing and ference and seminars the differences between on brewing in ancient cask and keg beers buildings that house the when a large tome oldest brewery in the crashed on to my desk. Roger Protz is a British writer, journalist and campaigner. He world. It was my sad It was michael’s first joined the Campaign for Real Ale duty to tell my colmajor work, the World (CAMRA) in 1976 and has leagues from all over Guide to Beer. As the tiwritten several books on beer and pubs. He edited the 1978 to Europe and the United tle promised, it opened 1983 editions of CAMRA's Good States that we had lost up a new world, galaxy Beer Guide and each edition not only the world’s even, of fascinating since 2000. greatest beer writer beers. 50
drink the likes of Stella and Jupiler and most of the speciality beers were exported and in small volumes. michael changed that by shining a light on the fascinating variety of beers from that small country. From his articles and then several editions of the Great Beers of Belgium, we learnt about such beers as spiced wheat, sour red, strong brown ales and such historic styles as lambic and the ales brewed by a handful of Trappist monks in their austere abbeys and monasteries. His research was painstaking and meticulous. As he delved deep into the mystery of lambic beer, the world’s oldest style made by wild or spontaneous fermentation, he discovered that, during long ageing in large oak barrels obtained from wine makers, microflora buried deep in the wood not only created further fermentation but developed a film on top of the liquid. From Belgium, he travelled to Jerez in southern Spain to see how sher-
Good beer in France? Surely the French only drink wine? Not so, the farmhouse bières de garde are important members of the ale family. Good beer in the U.S.? Surely Americans only drink Bud and miller lite? Not so: even though it was in its infancy, the great American beer revival was underway and michael was to become its champion and its voice. If he were still with us today, he would draw satisfaction from the fact that there are now some 4,000 craft breweries in the U.S. producing beers of the highest quality and with a wide range of styles, many of them from other countries that he drew to the attention of eager young brewers. The World Guide was followed by regular editions of his pocket guide that listed beers throughout the world with brilliantly succinct tasting notes for each beer. And then came Belgium. michael described that country’s beers as its best-kept secret. most Belgians were content to
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ICHAEL JACKSON left King ]ames’s Grammar School at the age of 16 in 1958 to become a trainee on the Huddersfield Examiner. He had already submitted news stories and jazz reviews and soon became a successful and highly distinctive reporter. He moved to Fleet Street where it was a natural progression in those days to develop a healthy interest in beer. This was further stimulated by the Campaign for Real Ale launched in the 1970s and in 1976 Michael Jackson brought out his first book The English Pub.The following year, he wrote his World Guide to Beer which brought him fame in the United States and many other parts of the world. His deep interest in Belgian beers led to The Great Beers of Belgium (1991) which has been published in 18 languages and has sold over three million copies. In 1989 he published Michael ]ackson’s Malt Whisky Companion — the world’s best-selling book on the subject ~ followed in 2001 by Scotland and its Whiskies. Michael Jackson was a huge draw as a lecturer on beer and sometimes had crowds of 1,000 or more — though he modestly claimed that many must have come by mistake expecting his popstar namesake. 52
ry was produced and found that, as with lambic, microflora created a film known as flor that protected the wine from oxidation. He had not only found a link between lambic and sherry but had helped to break down the absurd snobbish barriers that divide beer and wine. 1990 saw a major breakthough in the appreciation of beer by a wider audience with the launch of michael’s television series The Beer Hunter. It began with a shot of him sitting outside a bar and announcing he really was called michael Jackson but he didn’t drink Pepsi and couldn’t sing but wrote about beer. He took viewers on a whirlwind tour of breweries and their beers in the U.S., Britain, Germany, Belgium and other important brewing nations. He reached out to a far wider audience than can be achieved by books and journalism. The series was shown around the world and continues to be seen today on the many outlets provided by modern visual media. If there was a downside to michael’s work it was that he was so brilliant that he made more humble scribblers wonder if their efforts were worth the candle.When Isabel Allende published her first novel The House of the Spirits, the British writer Fay Weldon said: “Now that’s written, the rest of us can all go home.” I felt the same when
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michael published his Beer Companion in 1993. Building on the pioneering work of the World Guide, this was a far more detailed study of world beers that started with an introduction that was sheer genius: “No one goes into a restaurant and requests ‘a plate of food, please’. People do not ask simply for ‘a glass of wine’, without specifying, at the very least, whether they fancy red, or white, dry or sweet, perhaps sparkling or still. more often they trouble to decide whether the red should be American or Australian, Italian or French, from Burgundy or Bordeaux, and choose a vineyard and year.When their mood switches from the grape to the grain, these same discerning folk often ask simply for ‘a beer’, perhaps name a brand, without thinking about its suitability for the mood or moment.” In common with Fay Weldon, the rest of the beer writing community continued to work, but we were all too aware that we were treading in his giant footsteps. His writing was inspirational. He coined the word ersatzenbräu for the poor imitations of proper lager produced by global brewers, brilliant in its simplicity and condemning these fake, fizzy brews to eternal damnation. I’m told that he rarely rewrote: the
words just flowed. lucky man! Few of us got close enough to study his methods. He was a highly complex man, both a showman in public but intensely private out of the spotlights. For example, it was only when I went to his funeral and listened to the music he had chosen that I discovered that, like me, he loved jazz. I had known him since the late 1970s, had been on many foreign trips with him, especially to the U.S., but had never known about his music of choice. If only we had gone to Birdland together in Newyork City! While we revere him as a great beer writer, he had another string to his bow. He became the world’s leading whisky writer and was known not only as the Beer Hunter but the maven of malt. once again, he brought his fearsome attention to bear on how whisky was made and the fascinating interaction of liquid and wood where single malts are concerned. His tasting abilities were awe-inspiring.When I visited the Portland Brewing Company in oregon, the managing director took us for dinner and we finished the meal with a glass of lagavulin. The mD told me that in the same restaurant a few months earlier and confronted by the same glass of malt, michael had correctly named the year it had been released. He was touched by the gods. He also had a wonderfully droll sense of humour. For several years we both turned up to judge the Champion Beer of Britain competition wearing summerweight white suits. But the passing years and thickening waists took their toll and one year
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michael arrived in a dark suit and said: “I didn’t wear my white suit in case people thought we were the Everly Brothers.” The humour survived until the end. For years he had struggled with Parkinson’s Disease, and he managed to find humour in his condition in the last piece he ever wrote, for the American magazine All About Beer. He had been at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado, and when he arrived at the airport to fly home he was considered too ill to fly. “I appeared to be drunk. I was not. I hadn’t had an alcoholic drink that day or the day before...I do not have, and never have had, a drink problem. Apparently, it appeared as I though did.” Paramedics came to his aid. “When I woke up, I was in a hospital bed...I was surrounded by people in white coats, one of whom asked me: “What is your name?” When I replied ‘michael Jackson’, there was none of the usual sniggering. People in Denver know who michael Jackson is. Nonetheless, he asked his name again.” michael replied: “The Artist formerly known as Prince.” Eight days after writing the piece, michael Jackson was dead. But his legacy lives on and will continue to inspire both beer writers and beer lovers wherever good pints are poured. n l This article is reproduced by kind permission of Roger Protz and Tom Stainer, Editor of the CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) magazine BEER. Our thanks also to OAS member James Clayton. For further information about CAMRA, see www.camra.org.uk.
Crump pupil’s medals on display
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At a ceremony in Huddersfield’s Drill Hall, the war decorations of former AGS pupil Jack Cockhill are presented to archivists by his daughter
and two years later, when he was 23, Captain Jack Cockhill was one of thousands of troops serving on the Western Front in northern France. on the night of 20th November he was in command of a mixed group of six officers and 77 other ranks plus three sappers from the Royal Engineers.Their task was to attack and destroy German trenches and machine gun positions (see panel). After the war Jack Cockhill served with the Territorial Army and, during World War II, in the Home Guard.As a civilian he entered the family grocery and confectionery business. “It’s a very proud day for us all, “ said Jack’s daughter Heather. “ my father was a quiet, sociable man. He could be very amusing but he never talked about the war even though he was in the army from the beginning to the end.” n
HE war medals of a brave First World War soldier who attended Almondbury Grammar School in the days of Robert Crump are now on display in Huddersfield. Jack Cockhill, who came from Netherton, was awarded the military Cross following a 45-minute raid into German positions which killed many enemy soldiers and destroyed machine gun positions. His medals, which also included the Distinguished Service order, were presented by his daughter Heather to archivists of the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment (DWR) at the Huddersfield Drill Hall. Jack Cockhill was one of 38 new pupils who joined the School in 1906.Times were going well for the School: when Robert Crump had arrived as the new headmaster five years earlier new admissions had been down to as few as six. The First World War broke out in 1914
l Our thanks to Heather Cockhill and Christopher Mann.
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The raid at Foncquevillers, northern France
Jack Cockhill wrote a vivid account of the raid for the battalion’s official War Diary were crouching where he and Sgt Ellis At the entrance to Thorpe shot them.They rolled down the dugout Trench, Second Lt Brownsteps. Bombs were thrown down all the ing’s party took the lead and entrances and he continued working all were in position at the along the trench. About 30 yards from junction to New Street and the point of entry the communications the front line at 7.20 pm. I ordered the trench was found, which Sgt Ellis and his Left Flanking Party to proceed from men entered.This trench was in bad our trench at 7.33 pm and the other condition, evidently disused. parties followed in quick succesl Men were posted at the sion. Many Very lights Foncquevillers entrances to the dugouts and (flares) were sent up threw in phosphorous from the Boche lines on grenades. I could see thick our right which caused our smoke coming out of two enprogress to be slow. trances and groans were heard Our barrage opened at 7.56 below. pm just as the tail of the raiding At 8.15 pm Sgt Goldsborparty was crossing the sunken ough came back for more road. I then urged the men on. bombs which were collected from the “At 8 pm the head of our party Parapet Party and passed on. I then collided with the tape party who were thought it time to give the signal for the just setting fire to the ‘Bangalore’ torpemen to come out.The retirement was does used by combat engineers to clear carried out in good order and each offiobstacles such as barbed wire defences. cer reported ‘all clear’ Second Lt Browning to me. Second Lt told the party to get Browning and I brought back and the torpeup the rear. Going does exploded at 8.01 through the Boche wire pm causing considera machine gun on our able confusion beright opened fire but cause of its force. Half the shots were very the men ran back high and erratic. about 50 yards but we The majority of the rallied them, explainparty made straight for ing the cause of the the top of Gooche St explosion, when the (trench). About 50 yards men came on again. in front of our own wire There was no mathe enemy sent across chine gun fire at the some well-directed high time. We all went forexplosive shells which did no damage. ward and entered the trench. I was well satisfied with the show put Much fighting took place there.The up by the raiding party and am firmly bombers (soldiers armed with convinced that all Germans in the trench grenades) then came up. A sentry post raided were killed, also that any of the of four Germans was accounted for, all enemy in the two dugouts on the left the Boche being killed.The enemy were put out. dropped a bomb and killed one man. Considerable damage was Lt Fisher got about 50 yards along done. A machine gun emplacethe trench with his men. On his way he ment was damaged by our came across three dugout entrances. At bombs. “ the entrance to the first three Boche 56
First of the summer wine
Sheveling Estate’s Holmfirth Vineyard, set up by Rebecca Sheveling (1985-1988) and her husband Ian, goes from strength to strength
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ROGER DOWLING
E’RE becoming a very thirsty nation these days – and according to the latest polls wine is now the most popular alcoholic drink for UK adults. We’re the sixth biggest wine consumer in the world, drinking over 100 million bottles of white, red and rose a year, most of it imported from Australia, Italy, USA, France and South Africa. And nowadays the UK. Surprisingly for a nation where hot, sunny days are rare enough to guarantee ‘Cor, what a scorcher’ headlines in the tabloids, there are now some 500 vineyards in England and Wales,
with over 2,000 hectares – that’s around 2,800 football pitches – under vine. most are located in the south of England, but we now have one located only five miles from King James’s School. It’s the Holmfirth Vineyard, the brain-child of former pupil Rebecca Sheveling. Born Rebecca Gleave in Deighton in 1972, Becky joined King James’s School in 1985 after two years at lepton middle School. She says she really enjoyed her time at the School, where – thanks to teacher Chris Temperton – she developed a particular interest in Design Technology. Sadly, this was not available as an ‘A’ lev-
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sign the first extractable seating system for Formula 1 racing cars, to make it possible to safely extricate drivers from their cars in the event of serious crashes. The new type of seat, which enabled the entire seat and head support to be extracted with the driver still seated, was described by former F1 driver Jackie Stewart as “the second most significant advancement in driver safety since the full face helmet”. It has now become the standard requirement for all F1 races around the world. Becky spent ten years with lear Corporation, a frenetic time travelling with F1 teams around the globe. Eventually, at the age of 34, she decided it was time for a somewhat easier lifestyle. Four years
el subject at King James’s so she left after the fifth form, with 9 GCSEs under her belt, to continue her studies at Shelley High School. From there she went to St John’s College,york where she gained a degree in Design Technology with Art, followed by a masters in Industrial Design at the University of Central England in Aston. Becky’s first job was as a teacher at a small private school in Birmingham but she then took up an appointment as a Benchmarking Engineer with lear Corporation, the large michigan-based supplier of car interiors and electrical systems. It was a job that would change her life.Working as a member of the lear Technology Division, she was involved in a major project to de-
Holmfirth’s other claims to fame
© Bamforth & Co
l Holmfirth was once a major film-making centre, thanks to portrait photographer James Bamforth who started making silent films in 1898 in association with the Riley Brothers of Bradford. Their last film was Meg o' the Woods (1918) starring the Welsh actress Queenie Thomas.
l The same James Bamforth started producing picture postcards and by 1905 he had branches in New York and London, although the head office remained in Holmfirth. By the end of the First World War, 20 million cards were being printed every year and by 1960 Bamforth Postcards had become the world’s largest publisher of comic postcards. The company is now based in Leeds.
l The long-running BBC television series Last of the Summer Wine was filmed in and around Holmfirth from 1973 to 2010. A gentle comedy about growing old, it starred Peter Sallis, Frank Thornton and Bill Owen. Tourists still visit Holmfirth from all over the world to visit Sid’s Cafe or the Wrinkled Stocking Tearoom. 58
Holmfirth Vineyard (from the top): 1. A view of the vineyard with the Holme Valley beyond 2.The winery, with the grape press on the left and the fermenting vessels on the right 3.The restaurant with glazed dining areas overlooking the vineyard 4.The newly acquired site at Robin Hood’s Bay
earlier she had married Ian Sheveling, whom she had met at university; he was a fellow design engineer who had worked for some years designing products for Next PlC before setting up his own succesful company manufacturing bathroom products. Keen to move back to her nativeyorkshire, Becky’s eyes lit on Woodhouse Farm, an abandoned sheep farm near Holmfirth comprising a dilapidated farmhouse, a barn and seven acres of land. She and Ian were not sure initially what to use the land for, except that sheep farming was not on the agenda. “I would have become far too attached to the animals!” says Becky. However, Becky and Ian liked nothing more than crashing out on a bottle of wine at the weekend and although they were complete novices when it came to wine-making they began to wonder if it might be possible to develop a vineyard on the site. They bought themselves a soil-testing kit which indicated that the soil was ideal and they carried out a lot of online research to identify the varieties of vine that would be suitable for the cooler Pennine climatic conditions 840 ft above sea level.They were also greatly helped at this point by Stuart Smith (by astonishing coincidence, Becky’s old headmaster at Kirkheaton Infants’ School), who owns
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the country’s most northerly vineyard in Ryedale, North yorkshire. So, back in 2008, they set about planting 7,000 plants by hand, seven 12-hour days for12 weeks. It was back-breaking work.The vines are all hybrids such as Solaris for whites and Rondo Regent for reds or rosé. It takes two or three years before the vines start producing grapes but in a good year, these vines can now produce enough grapes for up to 10,000 bottles of wine. Holmfirth Vineyard’s winemaker is the awardwinning martin Fowke, who runs Three Choirs Vineyard in Gloucestershire. By 2016, the operation was going well.The winemaking was coming on well and, because Holmfirth Vineyard was becoming such a popular visitor attraction with over 37,000 visitors a year, the beautifully designed new restaurant had become a great venue for lunch or afternoon tea. There were other developments too. “When we set up the vineyard, we had to bear in mind that the operation would have to be sustainable financially without being dependent purely on wine sales,” says Becky. “So we have wine tours so that visitors can learn more about the history of the vineyard and how it is managed, together with visits to the winery so that visitors have the opportunity to sample the wines. Also on the estate we have seven newly-built luxury self-catering apartments.”
Then, on 9th october 2016, disaster struck. A fire broke out – apparently as a result of tea towels in a tumble dryer spontaneously combusting – and caused serious damage to the winery and kitchen
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areas. The Holmfirth Vineyard was temporarily down – but by no means out. Rather than just replacing the damaged buildings, the Shevelings obtained planning approval earlier this year to enlarge the replacement winery kitchen area and build a new teaching/function room. “We have received excellent support from the planners,” says Becky. “They recognise that the business is going from strength to strength and we already employ 18 people.” Following the fire, the vineyard resumed its operations, with even better facilities, earlier this summer. But that is by no means the end of the story. “our biggest problem is not having enough wine to meet demand,” says Becky. “So we’ve recently set up a new vineyard at Robin Hood’s Bay near Whitby with over 18,000 vines which will increase our capacity enormously.” Becky and Ian have come a long way since they had their bold vision ten years ago, but they have not yet reached the end of their ambitions. “our aim is to become a Centre of Excellence for wine, food and wine tours in the UK,” says Becky. “And we believe we are on the path to achieving this.” n
TRAVEl
Old Boys on tour: Palma
JOHN ASPINALL (1956 - 1961)
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First it was Brexit – and now the patience of our European neighbours is further tested by the annual incursion of our band of intrepid explorers
to and from our hotel. We’ve never been so organised! our outward bound flight was scheduled for 8.40 am, which meant a very early start. But start early we did, and we rendezvoused at about 7.00 am outside the airport. Although three or four of us meet every couple of months, there is still something special about all of us old friends congregating ahead of a week’s trip abroad. Even our suitcases greet each other – they’ve been on so many journeys together. The 4-star Hotel Mirador was our selection and it was noted by some that we had
E all managed to have our passes stamped for another seven day holiday, so after the traditional discussions spread over a few meetings at the King’s Head we decided to give Palma, majorca the benefit of our presence in July 2017. For the first time we used a Travel Agent, Travel Experience in Kirkburton, and Claire was very helpful in sorting out the Holiday Package with Jet2, flying from leeds/Bradford. We also had assistance for one of our party at both airports and a mobility scooter in Palma, delivered and collected
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were not really organised for serving evening dinner. The two waiters on duty were close to our age and should have retired when we did. We gave them various nicknames which grew more insulting as the evening went on. our two wine experts – sorry, I'll change that to the two in our party who prefer wine – asked for a wine menu. The dialogue went something like: “Could we have a wine menu please?” “Not possible.” “Do you have Rioja?” “No, we only have red wine or white wine.” “We’ll have a glass each of the red wine please.” So he brought a bottle of Rioja and two glasses. We didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so we laughed – it was day one of the holiday after all.We had been up since about 4.30 am that day so maybe our patience wasn’t what it should have been, but we didn’t have dinner there again.
Hotel Mirador: Located opposite the marina in Palma, about 20 minutes from the town centre
gone up in the world, year by year, from the humble start near Paramé, Saint-malo, in 2012, where we stayed in a B & B guest house. one thing remains the same, every year, and that is arriving at the reception desk and hoping that we are allocated two singles and two twin bedrooms, as reserved. We’re dreading the person behind the desk telling us we have two doubles.We're good friends but…! The hotel is well placed on the sea front overlooking the marina: bus stops nearby, plenty of taxis, 20 minute walk on the paseo (oK, promenade) to the City Centre, and a few bars and restaurants close by. After a stroll up into Palma, where we made enquiries about ‘what’s on in Palma?’, we decided we would eat in the hotel on the first night and get to bed early. The food was good but we were soon to learn that they Palma (l to r): Mike Gibson, Peter Fisher, John Aspinall, John Linton, Colin Ainley, Mike Hellawell
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It was unanimously agreed that we would go on the ‘hop on-hop off’ tour bus and we had a good day. It was too hot for us to do much hopping, but we enjoyed the Castle Bellver where we stopped for refreshments at lunch time and to have a taste of culture. Well worth it. I think the term ‘it ain’t half hot mum’ was expressed for the first, but not last, time that week. The temperature was 37ºC and rarely went lower than 32ºC during any of the coming days. We dined well that night in a restaurant with a ‘Popeye’ theme. It was so good we returned there a few nights later. Spinach was ‘off’. In fact we dined well most nights with the exception of a Nouvelle Cuisine style restaurant.The portions were too small and far too expensive. of course we had to go on the train to Port Sóller both for the challenge and the experience. For reasons either I can’t remember, or didn’t understand, we went on a walk up into Palma a few days before we intended going on the train, to find the train station and check the times. It was to be one of our ‘not sure where we are or why we're here’ routines that should take an hour but usually take half a day. However, we succeeded in going to Port de Sóller and enjoyed it, travelling by train from Palma and then by tram down to the port.The port and beach areas are very attractive, and plenty of people spend their holidays there. In the town of Sóller, after a stroll and look at the historic church, we had a drink in a bar (that’s a shock for you), which reminded us of René’s café in ’Allo ’Allo!The late Gorden Kaye would have not looked out of place, even if we were in Spain.
The Sóller railway
The famous vintage Sóller railway runs through the Mallorcan countryside from Palma to Sóller villlage to the north. The train makes a few local stops, before reaching the town of Bunyola. One then travels into the mountainous Tramuntana region (Sierra de Alfàbia), through 13 tunnels, over several bridges and the 5 point Sóller Viaduct.The scenery along the twists and turns of the mountains is breathtaking and because of the slow pace of the train there’s ample time to relax and enjoy the views.
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on Sunday we, (including the mobility scooter), caught the local bus to Palmanova. The bus was packed and stifling, being Sunday and all, full of families going to the Water Park which was en route. It’s a lovely seaside resort, plenty of beach restaurants etc. It was so hot a few of us actually went swimming in the sea. Next time we go anywhere on a local bus we should make sure we know what time the bus returns, especially on a Sunday. We’re very good at sorting out the ‘outward journey’ for our DIy day excursions, but we somehow manage to neglect the return details – simple things like ‘how often do the buses run?’ We had an anxious half-hour wait at the bus stop in the hot, relentless sun. A trip to magaluf was suggested by someone but ignored by the majority.
Dinner at Popeye’s (l to r): Peter Fisher, Colin Ainley, John Linton, Mike Gibson, John Aspinall, Mike Hellawell
I should mention that the staff at the hotel were really very good, from the guys on the front desk to the ladies cleaning the rooms. We even noticed a marked improvement in the service provided by Pinky and Perky.We think it may have had something to do with one of our team having a ‘grumpy old man’ word with the assistant manager about the quality of two of the waiters on the first night.We find that, although growing old doesn’t have many advantages, complaining does come naturally. We tend to split up on the fourth or fifth day; we seem to get the general layout of where we are during the first few days and then different preferences of ‘things to do’ set in. We all breakfast together, or at more or less the same time, unless one of us has been locked out of the hotel in the early hours of the morning (I’ll leave that to your imagination). Then we sit outside and discuss the options. The first few days we generally stick together for the morning and until after lunch, then some carry on while others return to the hotel for a siesta. Very civilised, we are. After the Sóller trip some of us preferred a steady day, some had a short stroll around the marina and lunch nearby, while others went up town to view the sights such as the Cathedral.
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However, we all dine together every evening. I sometimes don’t know how we sort the bill out because, of course, individually we vary in our choice of food and drink considerably. We haven’t yet failed to meet our obligations amicably, though it’s a miracle as the negotiations as to who owes what usually finishes with: “Well we should have enough to include a tip because I know what mine adds up to and I’ve put in a fiver too much.” “So have I.” “So have I.” “What about the two extra plates of veg and chips to share?” “Oh yeah, here's another 2€.” “And another.” “And what about the 10% tax?” “Oh yeah…' on the way back from dinner one night we hired a taxi. The driver was asked, “Which tourists do you prefer, English or German?” “The rich ones,” he quickly replied. once again we managed to have a great week without falling out too often. only Englishmen in their seventies could go to majorca in July and complain about the heat. Who’s grumpy? n
Badminton / Tennis AND R E W H AIG H
Tennis In 2017, the old Almondburians’ Tennis Section once again enjoyed the hospitality and facilities of longleyTennis Club, playing there each Thursday evening from 1st June until 31st August, losing only one evening to rain! Seven Almondburians played over the course of the season: matthew Booth, Neil Gledhill, Andrew Haigh, Annabel Haigh, Robin merchant, Emily murphy and David Parry, with the usual high number of deuce games being enjoyed by all! Badminton The 2017-18 old Almondburians’ badminton season saw our traditionally quiet start onThursday, 7th September, when five Almondburians turned out to play.This rose to seven the following week and should increase further when the holiday season is over.Until now, we have always shared the school sports hall with Kirkburton Badminton Club, but they are not using it on Thursday evenings this season. This means that, with the exception of Thursday, 21st September, when the school holds its annual open Evening for prospective new pupils,
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we should not have to miss playing on any Thursdays this season, even if only half the sports hall is available. our season runs untilThursday, 24th may and we play in the school sports hall each Thursday evening during term-time from 7.30 p.m. until 9.30 p.m.The fee, to cover the hire of the sports hall, shuttlecocks and showers, is £5.00 per person per evening if fewer than eight people are playing, £4.00 per person if eight or more people play and £3.00 per person if twelve or more play.Afterwards, we adjourn to the Conservative Club for refreshments. Badminton is good fun and good for you, so do come and join us if you can!n
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Obituary
G O NE BU T NOT F O R G OTT EN
Peter L Burns (1945-1948) Former OAS chairman who capped a successful business career with academic pursuits
We are saddened to report the death of Peter Burns, a former chairman of the old Almondburians’ Society, on 4th may 2017. He had been suffering from cancer. Peter joined Almondbury Grammar School from St Bede’s in 1945: he was informed by his form master ‘Tich’ Blackburn that he was the first boy to join after the 1944 Education Act became law. A capable pupil, he went on to obtain School Certificates in seven subjects with distinctions in English language and French.
He had a lifelong love of languages and a school trip to France introduced him to an exchange partner Alex who became one of his closest friends for over 70 years. Peter was a contemporary of the brilliant runner Derek Ibbotson, who introduced him to middle distance and cross-country running. He left school in 1948 to join the local library service and the grey world of rationing and shortages. It was in the Reference library that he would in due course
Summer sunshine: Peter always enjoyed his annual trip to Sandsend, a fishing village near Whitby 66
meet fellow librarian and book lover Jean who would in due course become his wife. They married in 1954 and had a long and happy marriage, living initially in mirfield and following retirement in 1993 in Kemble, Gloucestershire. Peter’s National Service was with the Royal Army Educational Corps but after returning to the library service he decided it was time to follow a different career path and joined the local firm of builders’ and plumbers’ merchants Carter & Co in oldgate. He loved his business life, where he spent a long career as purchasing director of the Graham Group, enjoying the cameraderie of his large group of friends. In due course, he was delighted to be invited to become a main board director of the Graham Group. The highlight each year was the ‘Grahams’ old Boys’ trip to Spain and Peter still enjoyed his annual trip to Palma into his eighties. He was a skilled salesman and rumour had it that at one point most of the teachers at mirfield High School were the proud owners of a Graham kitchen. Peter was a long-time member of the old Almondburians’ Society and was chairman in 1970. After he retired, Peter was able to realise his academic potential by spending many hours studying with the open University, where he gained a First in History and was awarded diplomas in Humanities and Classics. He developed a passion for Roman military history and became an expert on the uniforms and military dress of the various Roman legions. He particularly enjoyed the open University summer schools and discussion groups and kept himself busy in the aca-
demic community with U3A French conversation classes and lectures to local history groups. At home, he was an enthusiastic DIy man, with a collection of nails and screws in Nescafé jars that was the envy of his friends. He gained particular pleasure from pointing brickwork – he even had a special pointing hat covered in badges – and would spend many happy hours up a ladder with his trowel and a bucket of mortar. He was also a member of his Parish Council, Neighbourhood Watch, his Village Hall committee and the GP surgery Patients’ Group – not to mention his local skittles group. Peter leaves a wife Jean, two children Joanna and Sarah and four grandchildren Sam, laura, Georgie and Harry. Peter Lawrence Burns, born 19th September 1932, died 4th May 2017. 67
Chairman WAlTER RAlEIGH 15 Thorpe lane, Almondbury HD5 8TA Tel: 01484 308452 Email: walter.raleigh@oas.org.uk
Secretary ANDREW HAIGH 2 Arkenley lane, Almondbury HD4 6Sq Tel: 01484 432105 Email: andrew.haigh@oas.org.uk
Treasurer KEITH CRAWSHAW 5 Benomley Drive, Almondbury HD5 8lX Tel: 01484 533658 Email: keith.crawshaw@oas.org.uk
Media Editor RoGER DoWlING Editorial address: orchard House, oughtrington lane, lymm, Cheshire WA13 0RD Tel: 01925 756390 Email: almondburian@oas.org.uk
Website: www.oas.org.uk
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