The NeneQuirer Aug/Sep 2017

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NEWS, CULTURE & SPORT FOR NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, FREE AT THE POINT OF NEED

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Aug/Sep 2017

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Issue 005

Making a mess of free childcare?

Our reviewer gets stuck into The Smoke Pit

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Is it time for the game of bowls to relax its attitude to dress codes on the rink? Helen Blaby talks about the future of the sport she loves So what is it really like to be involved with making a movie? Julie Teckman goes behind the silver screen and has a go . . .

A mother’s insight into a young footballer’s life

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JAYMI Hensley, Sheila Ferguson and Paul Nicholas were revealed to Northampton as the stars of the Royal & Derngate celebrity panto, Aladdin, in the Grosvenor Centre. Jaymi performed two songs and after a Q&A all three returned to Derngate for an interview with (among others) NeneQuirer editor Steve Scoles. You can read it online at www.nenequirer.com as well as full details of where you can book your tickets.

Photo by Dave Ikin

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Contents

CO TENTS

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NEWS Are you missing out on free childcare?

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INTERVIEW Raising Joe

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OUTSIDE A walk on the wild side

CULTURE Reviewing the situation

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CULTURE Shoe jest

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SAM Out and about

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NEWS Clearing

SAINTS The squad lines up

St Giles Cheese

All cheeses are not the same

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ANGELINA Self improves SPORT No slow Mo

01604 622271 www.stgilescheese.com 77 St Giles Street, Northampton

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21/08/2017 12:33:55

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I

Hello

For whom the school bell tolls

s this the end of summer already? Maybe not quite but it’s certainly time to start thinking about getting back to the classroom.

With that in mind we take a good long look at how the government promise of more free childcare is shaping up.

Nothing is quite what it seems and the thoughtful piece by Hilary Scott is well worth a read.

How would one of the Cobblers’ up and coming young players get on being interviewed alongside his mother?

Joe Iaciofano and his mum Rebecca give a fascinating insight into the life of a teenage footballer, including a poignant but inspiring

A fascinating insight into the life of a teenage footballer

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twist in the tale. Meanwhile there’s a trip back in time with Mike Ingram who revisits the Battle of Edgecote - a confrontation decided by the whim of a Banbury bar maid if legend turns out to be true.

Richard Hollingum reveals the wonders of nature on a safari in the Northamptonshire countryside and we meet a new county writing talent Tamsin Winter.

There is more news of nominations for the Carlsberg Food and Drink Awards while Julie Teckman gets involved the world of guerilla film-making.

Adam Alexander saw Sir Mo’s last race in Birmingham, there was the Umbrella Festival and the unveiling of this season’s Saints team.

Steve Scoles

The Team Steve Scoles Editor

nenequirer@gmail.com @thenenequirer 01604 550037

Adam Alexander Designer

nenequirer@gmail.com @thenenequirer 01604 550037

Alex Stockton Cricket writer

nenequirer@gmail.com @alexjstockton 01604 550037

Helen Blaby Broadcaster

Twitter: @blabers

Lena Davis

Reviewing the Situation nenequirer@gmail.com @thenenequirer 01604 550037

Richard Hollingum Captain of the fields

nenequirer@gmail.com @thenenequirer 01604 550037

Hilary Scott

On secatuers nenequirer@gmail.com @nosylocaljourno 01604 550037

Mike Ingram

Historian nenequirer@gmail.com @thenenequirer 01604 550037

Follow us on twitter @TheNeneQuirer

The paper used within this publication has been sourced from chain of custody certified manufacturers, operating within international environmental standards, to ensure sustainable sourcing of the raw materials, sustainable production and to minimise our carbon footprint.

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Printed by: CKN, 2 North Portway Close Round Spinney Northampton NN3 8RQ Tel: 01604 645555 Gary Blunt 07764 220978 gary.blunt@cknprint.co.uk

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News

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Are you missing out on new childcare help?

HERE was a point, many years ago, when I earned ten pounds a month less than I paid in childcare.

It sounds madness to have effectively worked for less than free, but it was the only way to keep a full-time job, and there was no help with childcare fees. At that point we had two under-fours in full-time nursery.

It wasn’t forever; there came a point where they went up to school and the costs reduced (before starting again for two more siblings).

Things have moved on for the better for working parents since then, and our first toddlers are now teens of 18 and 19, off to start university.

While today’s parents of pre-school children have seen successive governments offer various forms of financial schemes for childminding and nursery care, the latest promise of 30 hrs ‘free’ childcare for 3 and 4-year-olds from September has been a painful and complicated mess for parents, councils and providers alike.

Some nurseries have decided not to offer the 30-hours places, mainly because the rate per hour set by the government via local councils has been decided at a lower rate than it costs to run.

The basic rate payable in Northants is £3.80 an hour, and providers cannot ask parents to make up the shortfall.

Some providers can only offer the 30 hours to children in full-time places, or have opted out completely. This disparity has led to some parents being forced to move their children to a different nursery or childminder.

Apart from the obvious benefit of helping families budget for childcare costs, studies have proved that children who get some form of early years education has developmental benefits. An OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) report, published earlier this year, provides evidence that children who have received high-quality early childhood education experience better outcomes later in life.

On an academic level, they get

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Hilary Scott

Child-wrangling veteran nenequirer@gmail.com @nosylocaljourno 01604 550037

significantly better scores in international tests at the age of 15. Students who had attended early childhood education for a year or more scored an average of 25 points higher in the Pisa science assessment compared with those who had not – 30 Pisa points is the equivalent of a school year. In countries where the proportion of underthrees in formal education and care is high, there is also less obesity.

England has traditionally been at the bottom of the list of countries that offer state help with childcare, so the doubling of the 15-hours funding has been lauded as an improvement. The provision is, in principle, a good step towards helping parents in work or to be able to go to work after time at home as a full-time parent.

But not everyone is eligible, and those in part time or irregular or zero-hours jobs will have to work out how to take advantage of the offer without losing other assistance, like working tax credits.

All families can currently claim up to 15 hours a week of free childcare for 3 and 4-year-old children for 38 weeks (ie, term time only). This can be taken as specific mornings or afternoons or to assist paying towards a fulltime space. But there are already availability shortages for places even for the 15 free hours.

From September 1, an additional 15 hours (so 30 in total over 36 weeks) can be claimed if: • Both parents or carers are working (or the sole parent is working in a lone parent family). This can include if the parent or career is on statutory sick leave, maternity, paternity leave or claiming certain benefits.

• Each parent has a weekly minimum income equivalent to 16 hours at

national minimum wage or living wage; (parents do not necessarily need to actually work 16 hours a week, but rather their earnings must reflect at least 16 hours of work at national minimum wage or national living wage, which is £107 a week at the current national minimum wage rate) • Neither parent has an income of more than £100,000 per year.

• Both parents or carers live in England • If unemployed, both parents must become employed within 14 days of applying.

The parents and the providers have to sign an agreement and the providers claim the money via local councils, who in turn are funded by central government. Parents have to reconfirm their eligibility every three months.

For those who are able to find a place, which can be shared between up to three different childcare providers, the savings can be several thousand pounds a year.

So why aren’t all the nursery providers in the country signing up to provide places, maybe even expanding their businesses and hiring more staff?

The short answer is that they can’t afford to because, as mentioned earlier, the cost per hour offered by the ‘free’ scheme is less that it actually costs to provide.

So, for example, if a nursery or childminder charged £5 per hour, they would be losing £1.20 per hour on that place.

That shortfall cannot be requested from the parents, and would have to be borne by the nursery.

So here’s the maths: if a 30 hour ‘free’ place were offered, the nursery or childminder would get £114 a week from government to pay for it.

But the place actually costs £150 to provide. That’s a deficit of £36 a week for one place that has to be found by the provider.

Multiply that by the number of spaces offered and that’s a considerable loss

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to the nursery, which is a business that has to pay for staffing and overheads. Many who previously did not charge for meals, classes and excursions are now having to pass these costs on to the parents or stop providing them at all.

Most nurseries do not make much profit and have seen costs increased for minimum wage and pension provision. I know this personally as I volunteer as Committee Chairman at a charity nursery, ranked as Outstanding by Ofsted, in Northampton.

No one is making money out of running an independent childcare nursery, I can assure you.

Places were already in short supply before the new scheme was even rolled out: A Family and Childcare Trust survey found 159 local councils did not have enough places in 2016.

From salary sacrifice vouchers to childcare

CASE STUDY Helen McIntyre from Daventry is a parent who has taken the tough decision to move her son to a different nursery due to the chaos of the 30 hours provision.

She and her husband are both self-employed and need to keep a tighter rein on the family’s budget.

She said: “I work as a team leader for Usborne Books (selling children’s books & working with schools & nurseries) and also take on freelance work in buying/ marketing/social media.

“I have just one son in nursery, George, who is 3, plus a teenage stepson.

We were quite sad at having to move George to a new nursery as he had been at his old nursery since he was 6 months old and was settled there, had friends, knew the staff and the routine.

“However as both my husband and I are self-employed, we had to think about costs and how we could best save some money, as I only left full-time, employed work in March which meant a loss of regular salary.

“My son had been attending a nursery in Daventry for 3 years, however they confirmed at the end of May that they would not be offering the 30 free hours from Sept, as they could not afford to fund it.

“We heard that another nursery in close proximity would be, it was also Outstanding OFSTED rated, so we went to look round it and it seemed a no brainer to move our son as we would save a large amount of money.”

Helen said that the family’s original nursery later said they has reconsidered, and would offer the 30 free hours after all, but they still didn’t know at that point how they were going to afford

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HELEN McIntyre with her son, George, aged 3.

it and what the terms & conditions would be. So the McIntyres stuck with the decision to move their son.

“As it turned out, the original nursery can only offer the 30 free hours to children attending full time (ie 50 hours a week Mon-Fri 8am-6pm),” she explained. “So although 30 hours are free, you have to pay for another 20 to get the full free entitlement. If you attend fewer hours/days than this, your free allowance is only pro-rata. So, for us only doing 3 days (ie 30 hours), we would only get 18 hours free. The new nursery we have moved to allow us just to do the

free 30 hours and attend 3 days.

“Most nurseries in our local area (Daventry) do seem to be offering the 30 free hours, but many have additional provisos around the amount of hours you need to attend to get them, or have introduced additional costs for food or supplies as they’re not allowed to charge a top up fee.”

Despite all the difficulties and paperwork, the potential savings of the 30-hours childcare for working parents are too big to be ignored: around £4,000 a year for the full allocation on top of the allowances already claimed.

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SPECIAL thanks to Acorn Childcare at Headlands in Northampton and our junior models.

All photos by Dave Ikin

tax credits, the claim processes for parents are never straightforward. And in the last month, HMRC has announced it will be paying compensation for those unable to register with its Childcare Service website for tax-free childcare and the 30-hours, due to technical glitches since its launch in April.

A campaign by childcare providers called ‘Champagne Nurseries, Lemonade Funding,’ has been widely shared online, with a campaign website featuring an easy to understand video explainer (see champagnenurseries.co.uk). They continue to petition the government to appropriately fund the scheme.

Northamptonshire County Council’s Early Years department has been working flat-out to try and make sure the systems locally are up and running in time for the September launch. But there are still major issues – some providers and parents have reported they still haven’t received registration numbers as the deadline loomed.

A spokesman for the council confirmed that the basic funded rate for providers in Northamptonshire is £3.80 but added that average they expected to pay was £4.08, if they were eligible for a range of supplements, as well as further funding for additional needs children.

The spokesman said: “We recognise that funding rates for providers are challenging, however our funding rates

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are based on the money we receive from central government. Despite a reduction in funding for Northamptonshire from the Department for Education, we have been able to increase the basic rate we pay providers by 35p per hour over the past three years.

“We have already had more than 170 providers sign up to provide the additional free childcare hours as part of this government scheme and only one has indicated that they will not be taking part.”

You may be thinking: ‘But I don’t have kids, or ones this age, so why does the issue even affect me?’

In the long term, the provision of quality, affordable childcare is essential to the future prosperity of the country, with children equipped to cope with adult life and employment, which in turn will feed the economy and allow the state to support the pressing issues or social care and pensions. So in the words of Whitney, I believe the children are our future, and we have to get early years childcare functioning well, as it may be what allows us some dignity in our older years . . .

You can find out more about the 30-hours funding via the early years section of Northants County Council’s website, Northamptonshire.gov.uk or via the Childcare Services website at Gov.uk Are you affected by the changes in childcare funding?

Let us know via Nenequirer.com.

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NORTHAMPTON Town FC team photo

by NTFC/Pete Norton

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JOE Iaciofano and mum Rebecca at their Northampton home

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Photo by Hilary Scott

How to grow your own footballer H

E’S the full home-grown hero for Cobblers fans, and has a name that will continue to confound stadium announcers and commentators alike. And what will they come up with for a chant?

For the record, it’s definitely ‘Itch-off-anoh,’ or to give him his full name, Guiseppe James Iaciofano, known as Joe. At just 18, Joe has achieved the classic schoolboy dream: a contract as a professional footballer.

But what does growing a footballer involve for a parent?

Striker Iaciofano is the eldest son of Rebecca and Biase, co-owners of popular Northampton restaurant GianBiaz on Wellingborough Road.. He signed a two year contract with Northampton Town FC earlier this year, something he sees as the start of his career; a first step.

For Rebecca and Biase, and their younger sons Tom and Luca, it’s been a first step that’s taken well over a decade.

From scoring his first goal as a two-year -old to being paid full time in League One, family has been at heart of Joe’s journey.

We meet at their Northampton home, just as Joe’s been making his mark in pre-season with a hat-trick against Sileby Rangers and

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Hilary Scott @nosylocaljourno 01604 550037

a win in Spain. He’s got a niggle though, in his hip, and thinks he’s going to face being sidelined - and probably loaned out to another Midlands team - before he gets on the hallowed Sixfields turf for a full League One start.

“If you’re injured you still go in, you’re still working,it’s not a doss,” explains Joe. “You go back and if you’ve put on a bit of timber (that’s a few pounds in weight to those of us over 25), you get found out. If you don’t enjoy working to get fit you’ll never make it. There’s so much talent in the game but it’s ultimately down to attitude and commitment, and that’s where people don’t make it. Managers will say you’re good enough on the pitch but you have to want it.”

So no sitting around on the XBox with your leg up then?

Joe laughs. “No, you have to get in earlier if you’re injured, you get assessed by physios, have to do stretching and cardio,

maybe swim, you have to work to get fit.

“A lot of people don’t realise how much you are monitored. We’ve been training all summer and it’s been good. If you train all day, and then decide to go and do some extra shots afterwards and overstretch for one shot and you pull something, you’re going to be viewed as an idiot for over-doing it. So you listen to the experts and learn to know how to work properly.”

And does a contract mean you’re suddenly on loads of money a week? Rebecca and Joe both laugh. No new mansion for mum and dad then?

“No, but it did mean Joe could put some money down on a better car than his old banger,” says Rebecca. He upgraded to a little Audi, (which is a nice car for an 18-year-old), but someone reversed into it in a car park just two days after he got it!

“It’s mostly useful that he can drive, it pays us back for all times we carted him around,” she laughs.

And mum and dad’s transport was always needed, and as any working parent knows, that can be demanding when your children need lifts.

Joe’s career started in Abington Park in Northampton, and like so many kids do

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JOE at seven, before his operation, and above right, with his Under 7s Soccer Stars FC team, which included James and Dan Hill, Will Heathfield and Lewis Churcher, all of whom are still friends over a decade later (photos courtesy of the Iaciofano family)

every Saturday and Sunday, he just wanted to kick a ball about. His first games were with the Soccer Stars Saturday League team at age 7, after starting training with the group for fun at just 4 years old.

Rebecca explains: “He got a goal when he was about two and that was it, it’s all he wanted to do. I’m not sure where this [the football talent] has come from, my dad likes to think it was him but it definitely wasn’t!”

Joe adds: “It came out of nowhere really, I wasn’t pushed, I just wanted to score goals, I wasn’t really aware that it was anything more than being with my mates and having a laugh.”

He was seen by Soccer Stars coaches, Donald and then Alan Codner, who clearly saw something in the little lad who hadn’t even started primary school. And they still watch him and ask after him today.

“We were in the Under Sevens league but I think we were only about five, or six. There were a few of us – James and Dan Hill, Lewis Churcher, Will Salt (who later chose rugby) - we all played together for years and years and still stay in touch.”

He was ill at seven. Really ill.

It came completely out of the blue, and Joe doesn’t like to talk about it. Not because of any underlying trauma but because he’s fed up of the sob-stories that get associated with success, and in his mind, he hasn’t had success yet anyway.

For Rebecca and Biase, who by now had two other very young sons, it was a tough year. She said: “He doesn’t like to talk about it but I think it’s been important to his drive

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“I was thinking, oh, it’s the end of the world for an Italian to have a wheat allergy, he loves his pasta!” to succeed. He had trials at Aston Villa just after he got better, and he’s absolutely fine now. I think it’s important for people who have children who get ill to know it’s possible to recover, to have no further problems. He had an operation when he was little, and then he got better.

“He basically came home from school at the beginning of term with tummy ache. I thought it was because he’d been moved up a year and he missed his mates, but after a couple of weeks my mum said ‘come on, get him to the GP,’ and they couldn’t work it out and said maybe he’s got an allergy or something. We booked him in with a paediatrician who said: ‘I’d like to send him for a scan, he might have an ulcer or an allergy to wheat.

“I was thinking, oh, it’s the end of the world for an Italian to have a wheat allergy, he loves his pasta!”

Joe went for a scan and doctors found he had an intersusseption [where part of the intestine folds in on itself, requiring immediate surgery] and when they operated they found a tumour.

At this point Joe shifts in his chair uncomfortably: “I don’t want people to pity me, do you know what I mean?”

Rebecca continues: “He was off school for about four months, with a month’s treatment in Leicester.

“I know Joe hates talking about it but it’s important that it’s known that people with childhood illnesses like this can fully recover.

“There are friends who still well-up when they see him today as they remember this tiny little boy with a hat on as he’d lost his hair, and now he’s done what he set out to do and got a professional contract doing what he loves. That’s a strong message. “ How did the family cope?

Rebecca said: “Tom was four and Luca was one. You just kind of go into survival mode don’t you? I think initially we felt like our world had fallen apart. He was such a fit and healthy little boy, he’d never had antibiotics, never had the usual childhood stuff of ear infections or chest infections, barely had a cold, and then he needed an urgent operation.

“Joe knew something was up as his grandmother had been ill, but actually for him it was three months playing Playstation and being brought things.

“He was most bothered about not being able to play football, but as soon as that treatment was over and they said he could play again, he was back on a pitch.”

Joe’s recovery took six months, such is the resilience of children. Remarkably, trials for Aston Villa at under 8s and the Cobblers followed.

“I did one session at Northampton and I didn’t like it,” laughs Joe. He went instead to

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A prolific goal scorer, Joe celebrates after a pre-season hat-trick

Rushden and Diamonds.

“The thing with the trials at Villa and the Cobblers is that I went by myself, not with the lads I’d been playing with every weekend for years, even though I was only eight or nine, and I didn’t like them not being there.

At Rushden I went with a few other lads I knew and it felt better. At that age you’re just interested in playing with your mates.

He signed a contract - still at primary school - at R&D’s Centre of Excellence.

By 11 his friends had moved back to the Cobblers, and after scoring against them Joe came back and got a contract at the Cobblers Academy. He started at Northampton School for Boys, a notoriously strong rugby state school, and while he played the oval ball for a couple of years, his passion was always football. He trained twice a week, with a game each weekend, and soon his younger brother Tom was also playing at Sixfields, along with Will Heathfield, another of Joe’s childhood friends who himself chose a different ball, becoming a county-level

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cricketer.

“My brother Tom eventually chose school, he’s clever, and Will chose cricket. I could have done better at school, I did alright, but the contract came in GCSE year, I just wanted to play football. When you sign a contract for your scholarship at academy level, you sign up to do an extended Btec in sport at Moulton College, as that’s where we train.”

Rebecca proudly shows his certificate: distinctions all round, and unconditional offers for university place at Leeds, Loughborough, Nottingham and Liverpool came in earlier this year.

Rebecca said: “We didn’t know what would happen with football, we wanted to keep his options open. But he’s on a two year contract as of May so he’s got a job instead, along with another childhood friend.

“I met James Goff (Cobblers’ young goalie) at Rushden, and he went to Kettering when I was at Cobblers so I’ve known him for years, and we signed our professional contracts at

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Photo courtesy of NTFC/Pete Norton

the same time. “ Do people make a fuss of him now he’s a ‘proper’ footballer?

“My mates, they don’t tell me I’m good, they might take the mick a bit. They’ll tell me if they think I’ve had a bad game.

But when I got my contract they were all buzzing. They were all round here within ten minutes of getting home.”

Joe says he’s never felt cocky about his talent. He even winces when I mention the word.

“The way to get the best out of me at the club is not to give me the praise – they kept quiet about my good stuff and told me my faults and there were definitely points where I thought, what do I have to do to get a compliment? But there’s no greater compliment than a contract, and that pressure to do better spurred me on. You can’t sit back and think you’re good. You just can’t. I’m not anything yet.”

If he hadn’t done football? A levels would have been in sports, maths, maybe a science.

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BETWEEN the age of 11 and 18 Joe became a Northampton Town FC regular in the Cobblers Youth Team, below and right

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Joe Iaciofano stats

23 goals in 2016-17 for NTFC Youth Team 4 goals for Corby Town FC while on loan Senior debuts in autumn/winter 2016: EFL Trophy (NTFC v West Ham u23s), League 1 (Sheffield Utd v NTFC) and FA Cup (Stourbridge v NTFC) “Sport is my only real interest, it’s hard when that’s all you’ve done – no part time job except a bit of the restaurant. A lot of people who drop out early go into the coaching or physio side of the sport and that really is where I’d want to go - if I don’t get to Anfield one day! He might love his home town club, but deep down Joe is a massive Liverpool fan and hopes to play for them if his career continues well in future.

After recovering from his hip niggle, Joe’s been back training at Sixfields. It’s been confirmed that he will go on loan for the first six months, as he did last year with Corby Town.

“They want you to play matches but they know you’re not quite ready for League One yet,” he explains. “It is frustrating, as I always feel that I’m ready to go on and do what I do, score goals.

“You’d be surprised at the step up from youth academy to men’s football, when I first went on loan to Corby I wasn’t sure what to expect. Football-wise it got me match experience, which is what I needed physically, but the real experience was

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learning the dressing room, learning what you needed to do to win games.

“It’s such a reality check that first game you play, it’s tough. If you miss a tackle or don’t go for something 100 per cent they’ll rip you, they will push to get the best out of you. But there’s also a lot of humour and banter, the lower leagues create close teams, good units.”

Prediction for this year for Cobblers? It’s been a shaky start so far.

“Every year you want to win the league, no question. At the beginning of the season you see the hard work that’s been done in pre-season, and hope that you’ve worked harder than other teams. It’s a really strong squad, loads of competition for places, if you’re out of the team someone is going to challenge you for that place so you have to work, and you learn, you just learn all the time.

“I’d like to think top ten to playoffs. I think we can come top four but that’s me hoping. There are teams in the league with bigger budgets. It’s a strange league because anyone can beat anyone. It’s not like the

Prem when top six will basically stay the same.”

What about eating and going out? He is still a teenager after all, and peer pressure must come into play.

Joe: “I’ve got to the point where I enjoy eating good stuff, there’s too much guilt in eating rubbish. Your body tells you when you’ve eaten badly and if you’ve not eaten right you feel awful and it’s not worth it.

I’ll go to McDonalds with mates, but I won’t necessarily eat. I don’t wish I could eat that stuff, it’s never appealed.

“Obviously you don’t tend to drink too heavy, there is drinking, it’s just a fact. One day a week you can go out with your mates, but you have to time it. I train six days a week and play at least one match. But you do get days off. It’s a full time job after all.

My main focus is to stay fit and get picked, whether that’s here or on loan. I’m just starting out. I’m not special yet.”

Cobblers fans will certainly be getting behind their home-grown boy at Sixfields, and will maybe start thinking up an Italian themed chant too . . .

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Take an English safari in the countryside Richard Hollingum Captain of the fields

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nenequirer@gmail.com @thenenequirer 01604 550037

eaders of a certain age may recall - or not, if of that age - the primary school nature walk. Lining up in pairs and walking in crocodile formation to the local park to look at nature. Birds were watched for, insects were shied away from, flowers were sniffed and someone always tried to push Michael Brown into the bushes or the pond.

I suspect that if such excursions take place today they are preceded by a risk analysis, form filling and the agreement of the parents seven days in advance.

However there is nothing stopping families indulging in a little ramble amongst nature at the weekend or during the holidays.

The local park can still offer plenty to look at but in Northamptonshire you are never very far from the countryside so there is really no excuse not to get out in the fresh air and see what is around us.

Once we are out, then what? How many go out for a walk yet are still inside their house or office in their head? And who is still listening to their iPod and texting on their phone? Put it all away and start to pay attention to what is around us.

The distance is not an issue as we are going to take our time. We are going to walk as slowly as we want and we are going to look at the large and the small. Let us stand still in an open spot and see how far we can see to the left and to the right without moving our eyes. What are we aware of in the pe-

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riphery of our vision? As we turn around we can see how different the view is from another perspective. Look at the clouds; what are they doing? Moving quickly or slowly?

Which direction? How many colours in the sky? It is not just blue. Look for the different blues. Look for where it changes to pink or cream or grey - or any other colour.

Most of us, in the normal way of walking, look ahead and look down at our feet. We want to get on, want to make sure that our footing is secure and that we don’t step in anything. But, on our nature walk, we are walking slowly and the short steps will make it safe enough to look around. We can even stop! What ever we do, look to the left, look to the right, look up and look down.

Let’s take a walk through this field.

We have walked down an old lane that is now little more than a track and the entry to the field is at the bottom, by a bridge. The track continues across the bridge but we shall turn right, following the path that runs along the edge of the field and climbs gently to a small plantation of trees ahead.

The crop is nearly ready for harvesting, the heads of barley bowing towards the earth, their lengthy awns reaching out like antennae. When the wind blows, the field rustles in a reassuring way, moving en masse in a little dance whilst its feet stay firmly planted in the ground.

We move along the path. Looking up the steep rise of the field to our right, the horizon is quite near and the matt gold of the crop has a gleaming line running along the edge where it joins the sky. The sky today is blue, copper sulphate merging to ink merging to cerulean. The joins are invisible, the transition continuous. When you look again it has all changed. The colours never stay.

On the left is a small brook, now virtually dry. There has not been proper rain for a number of weeks and this brook never runs to much in the summer. The drooping willow branches play in the breeze; flies dance round them on their way to the trunk which attracts them with sugary sap. The flies are the vanguard. Only a wasp or two has

appeared but it is very likely that these will be joined by hundreds more very soon.

A few steps on and a verge of nettles stands between us and the brook. Butterflies dance in and out of the greenery. A Speckled Wood settles on an old Hogweed, the pale decaying leaf a good background for the rich deep browns and yellow spots of the wings; there is a dusting of blue on the hair on the abdomen. A tiny moth flits by and lands on a stem of grass, remains long enough for us to have a quick look and then off it flits again to hide its creamy wings in the darker parts of the nettle forest.

A brown and orange butterfly settles nearby and we lean in as near as we dare to see what it is. Just before it flies off we can see that it has a dark dot on either forewing and that these dark dots both contain smaller white dots. In years gone by these were known to many as Hedge Browns. Now they are known as Gatekeepers.

Nearby there is Meadow Brown. Some of us need to check the white dots - one for the Meadow Brown, two for the Gatekeeper.

Fifty or so metres up the field, the stream disappears and a hedge sets off to the left at ninety degrees for a few metres before it turns right and runs to the top of the field. This creates a triangular corner which the farmer has left to grow wild flowers and grasses. In the hedgerow some birds hop about but it is difficult to see them. Mostly quiet now the breeding season is over, the tell-tale songs are not heard to help us. One flies up into a tree and when the sun catches it we can see clearly that it is a Yellowhammer. Known for its ‘little-bitof-bread-and-no-cheese’ call it is only his resplendent yellow coat that can identify him today - for it is only the male that shows off to this extent.

The tall grasses and the flowers move in the breeze even more than the crop that has its solid brothers to hold it up. Bees zip between the tall stalks. One lands on a thistle right in front of us. Ignoring its audience,

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he quickly works his way around the purple crown that sits atop the green spiky seed head. He has two yellow stripes and a white bottom and is probably a male buff-tailed bumblebee. The flowers here are all purple, at least the ones at this height, which are predominantly thistles of various varieties though there are some Greater Knapweed which are being visited by honey bees. As soon as they depart, other bees appear, some with bright orange rear-ends, some with white stripes. And then some come along that pretend to be bees but are in fact highly decorated hoverflies.

This wild flower planting continues as a thick verge up the field in front of the hedge, keeping human scavengers at bay from the rare, early-ripening blackberry. Towards the top of the field there are some tiny Common Blue damselflies trying to make up their minds where to stop. Just as you think they have settled, off they go again to try another place, then another. They look entirely unbelievable, more like a space ship than an insect that has been around for millions of years. Another butterfly flutters in. This time a Small Skipper. It may look like a moth but it is not.

A few more steps and we have reached the top of the field. The path now leads round to the right and runs between the plantation and the crop. No more hedge or stream and not so much light. The trees are a good wind break though, and we turn to look down the field, across the valley towards the village and beyond. On the distant horizon, large white boxes, warehouses and factories, mark the start of the town.

Which way now? Our walk is not over but perhaps you should get out there to finish it?

And leave Michael Brown alone!

Not all work is paid for so maybe not all pay should be worked for...

SB Jones

The Dabbler nenequirer@gmail.com @thenenequirer 01604 550037

Although there has been an increase in those who have heard of a citizen’s or basic Income, it is often dismissed without the benefit of much thought.

And this is a pity, for if anything can reduce poverty whilst treating everybody fairly – literally everybody – it is a citizen’s Income. Not least, it is one of the most effective antidotes to poverty, both in its immediate effect and, even more potently, in its potential.

A Citizen’s Income would be an unconditional payment given to all citizens, no matter what their personal circumstances. The Citizen’s Income Trust have worked on schemes that would be cost neutral; meaning that it would not necessitate large tax increases to fund it. For it is the administration and policing of the current system which counts for a large

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amount of its cost. A Citizen’s Income would not need to be policed for fraud.

Every individual would receive the payment, whether they worked or not, and it would not depend upon the make-up of a household. Full tax would be paid.

Would people still work? Yes! The income would not be enough to give anybody without work over the long-term a good quality of life. In fact, it is likely that the scheme would generate more work. For as things stand, an unemployed person is immediately penalised for taking on any work – they are subject to pound-for-pound withdrawal from their benefits, usually making taking on small jobs unworthwhile, and government top-up’s only take effect if the work is close to full-time hours. This all-ornothing approach places a real barrier to employment and, equally, also hinders employers.

Many small businesses would like to take on workers for a few hours. And a citizen’s income would make this worthwhile to the employee. It is this

that could also be the key to lifting many households out of poverty. For it could simply be that a few hours work a week, gained by all those who work in a household, would be enough to lift the household out of poverty.

Small businesses and even individuals could generate more jobs: the small business owner might use their own citizen’s income to employ somebody. Those in full-time and long-term work might take on a gardener or cleaner, or make more trips to the theatre. Or they might save it, take a year out of the work-place and undergo more education and training.

Although the Swiss rejected the idea in their referendum in 2016, this may have been because the amount suggested was much more than the £60-£100 per week being suggested in this country. The scheme has been successfully trialled in India. I’ve yet to hear a good case against it and it has advocates from the whole political spectrum: left to right.

But if anyone can argue differently, I’d be interested to hear.

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History

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The battle decided by a Banbury barmaid

ROSES for remembrance - re-enactors throw roses into the River Cherwell to commemorate The Battle of Edgecote

Mike Ingram

Historian nenequirer@gmail.com @thenenequirer 01604 550037

I

t was the year 1469. The ‘war of succession’ that started at Northampton in 1460 was over and Edward Plantagenet, Earl of March was now King Edward IV, despite the old King, Henry VI being still alive and held in the Tower of London. A new and bloody war was starting and it was one of Northamptonshire’s oldest families, the Woodvilles, who would be the catalyst. The first battle of this war was fought in a sleepy corner of Northamptonshire near Edgecote on

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26 July. And, if local legend can be believed, was decided by a Banbury barmaid.

The Woodvilles (Wydeville) of Grafton Regis had held Grafton since the 12th century and had been High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire during the reigns of Edward III, Richard II, Henry IV, V and VI. Sir Richard Woodville, was considered ‘the handsomest man in England’ and rose to become a squire of Henry V. At the Battle of Agincourt, he kept the King’s lucky totem of a fox’s tail tied to a lance “always within sight of the King” during the fighting, and was knighted afterwards. He became chamberlain to Henry V’s brother, the Duke of Bedford.

Then, after the Duke died, his son, also called Richard, married the widowed duchess, Jac-

quetta of Luxembourg, the eldest daughter of Peter I of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, Conversano and Brienne and his wife Margaret of Baux. She was related to both King Henry and Queen Margaret by marriage and outranked all the ladies at court except for the queen herself. It was no doubt through her royal connections that her new husband Richard was created Baron Rivers by Henry VI on 9 May 1448. Together they had fourteen children, Elizabeth being the oldest had married Lord Grey of Groby in Leicestershire and had two children with him.

A feud between the Woodvilles and Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, better known to history as the Kingmaker began in 1451 when Rivers was made Captain of

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Calais, a highly prestigious post. Four years later, after the battle of St. Albans, Rivers was replaced by Warwick. However, Rivers refused to give it up and it was not until April 1456 that Warwick was finally allowed into Calais. The feud between Warwick and Rivers smouldered, and in January 1458, both were summoned to appear before the Great Council at Westminster to resolve their differences. Peace did not last long as six months later Rivers was appointed to lead an enquiry into Warwick’s attack on the Lubeck salt fleet. The attack was effectively an act of piracy and had severely damaged relations with the Hanseatic League. As a result, Warwick was replaced as Captain of Calais by the 22 year old Henry Beaufort, the new Duke of Somerset.

The Woodvilles fought on the Lancastrian side during the war. After the debacle of Ludford Bridge in 1459, the Yorkists were forced to flee to Calais but in January 1460, a daring raid from Calais, led by John Dynham with 800 or so men, captured a large number of ships loaded with artillery. Richard Woodville, Lord Rivers, his wife, Jacquetta, and his son, Sir Anthony, were also captured whilst still in their beds, and taken back to Calais in triumph. The Woodvilles were then publicly berated and called knaves and commoners by Warwick and his father. Elizabeth Woodville’s husband was killed fighting for the Lancastrians at the second Battle of St. Albans.

With the war of succession over, Warwick became the most powerful man in England and was given all the old Duke of Buckingham’s estates in Northamptonshire. One of Warwick’s first tasks was to find King Edward a queen. Warwick therefore opened negotiations with the French King to marry Edward to a French princess.

However, early in 1461, King Edward met Elizabeth Woodville, according to legend whilst out hunting in the county. The traditional spot is marked today by an oak tree called the ‘Queens Oak’, just outside Potterspury, off the A5. The meeting would have far reaching consequences. They were soon having a passionate relationship despite Elizabeth being considered a commoner. The couple were married in secret in the church at Grafton Regis on 1 May 1464. Elizabeth’s importance cannot be over emphasised as she would go on to be Grandmother to Henry VIII and Great, Great Grandmother of Lady Jane Grey and Elizabeth I. Through her granddaughter, Queen Margaret of Scotland, she became an ancestress of the Stuart, Hanover, and Windsor dynasties.

So, imagine Warwick’s surprise and shock when he discovered that Edward had married Elizabeth. Not only that, but Edward had also repeatedly refused to let his brother, George, Duke of Clarence, marry Warwick’s eldest daughter. As the Woodvilles power grew, Warwick’s resentment towards them festered and he recruited George, Duke of Clarence, Edward’s younger brother to his side. Around July 1467 he began plotting.

It was revealed that Warwick’s deputy in

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EDGECOTE battlefield as it looks today

Calais, John, Lord Wenlock, was involved in a Lancastrian conspiracy, and early in 1469 another Lancastrian plot was uncovered, involving John de Vere, Earl of Oxford and Northamptonshire’s Thomas Tresham who had been a staunch Lancastrian since the murder of his father in Moulton. Then in June 1469, a shadowy figure calling himself Robin of Redesdale started a revolt in Yorkshire. Robin of Redesdale was in reality one of Warwick’s relations either Sir John or Sir William Conyers. The rebellion quickly grew and was soon marching south with around 15,000 men.

According to the Croyland Chronicle: “… a whirlwind came down from the North, in form of a mighty insurrection of the commons of that part of the country (who), having appointed one Robert de Redysdale to act as captain over them, proceeded to march, about sixty thousand in number, to join the Earl of Warwick …”

When Edward heard of this he believed the rebellion would easily be put down and mustered only a few of his men. He soon learned that the rebels in fact outnumbered his own small force, and started a retreat towards Nottingham to gather more recruits.

Unfortunately the King lacked the popularity he once had and reinforcements were few.

Edward decided to wait in Nottingham for the William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke and Humphrey Stafford, Earl of Devon, arriving with an army from the south. The strength of this army was around 15,000 -20,000 men and had with it over 200 Welsh nobles.

Unusually, most of the archers were with the Earl of Devon, whilst Pembroke’s contingent included around 2,000 cavalry under Pembroke’s brother, Sir Richard Herbert. Also with Pembroke was his ward, a ten year old Henry Tudor, future King Henry VII. On 25th July, Pembroke and Devon arrived at Banbury. According to legend, they argued over who would spend the night with a barmaid. Pembroke won and Devon left in a sulk, taking his forces with him. The real cause of the altercation will probably be never known; however, Devon withdrew with his men to Deddington Castle, thus dividing their army at a crucial point.

On that same day the Welsh cavalry skir-

mish with the vanguard of Conyers’ army, which was coming from the direction of Daventry. “…from the covert of a wood, espied the enemy passing on, and suddenly set upon their rear; whereupon, the Northernmen with such agility so quickly turned about, that in a moment of an hour, the Welshemen were clean discomfited and scattered, and many taken”.

Where this incident happened has been lost to time, but was probably somewhere along Banbury Lane.

According to Waurin, that night the two armies were camped on either side of a stream, possibly the River Cherwell, just to the east of Edgcote. The rebels attacked Pembroke’s camp that night. Then on the morning of the 26th the two forces fought for the crossing. Pembroke was at first successful, but the rebels rallied and regained the crossing. Waurin also claims that it was actually at this point that Devon withdrew from the field, not the night before.

Hall, writing much later says that the two armies met in a “fair plain’ between three hills, a plain that was called Danesmoor”. The battle started when the rebel force descended from the southern hill and their archers attacked Pembroke’s army, which was deployed on the western of the three hills. Unable to respond with his own arrowstorm, because Devon had departed with all the archers, Pembroke was forced to descend from the hill and engage in hand to hand fighting in the plain below.

Despite having fewer men, Pembroke seems to have soon got the upper hand. Sir Richard Herbert is said to have twice passed through the “battail of his adversaries”, armed with a poleaxe, and “without any mortal wound” returned.

Then disaster struck.

On the hill to the east of the battle, fresh reinforcements appeared. Pembroke’s men thought it was Warwick himself with an army. Pembroke’s men broke and ran. Unbeknown to Pembroke, it was according to another chronicle, “John Clapham Esquire … accompanied only with 500 men gathered of all the rascals of the town of Northampton… crying ‘a Warwick, a Warwick.”

In the ensuing rout, large numbers of the

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Politics

fleeing troops were cut down. According to contemporary estimates, 5,000 Welshmen including 168 Nobles were killed. Over a century later the Welsh poets were still calling for revenge on those responsible for the “unique treachery at Banbury” and to exact judgement on the men of the north.

The young Henry Tudor was spirited away from the battle to his uncle, Jasper Tudor and then to Europe. The Earl of Devon never reached the battlefield and on learning of the defeat of the Welsh he fled with his army, but was captured and executed at Bridgewater, Somerset a few weeks later.

The Herbert’s were taken to Northampton’s Queen Eleanor’s Cross and executed in the presence of Warwick and Clarence. Edward, heading from Northampton was surprised just over the county boundary at Olney and taken prisoner by George Neville, Archbishop of York (Warwick’s brother). He was taken to Middleham Castle in Yorkshire.

Warwick now had two kings in his power.

But he was not finished. The rebel army surprised Lord Rivers, the queen’s father, and Sir John Woodville, her brother, at Grafton. They too were taken to Northampton and executed. Then, no doubt under orders from Warwick, Thomas Wake, Sheriff of Northampton and John Daunger a parish clerk of Stoke Bruerne from Shuttlanger accused the Queen’s mother, Jacquetta of Luxembourg of witchcraft. Wake brought to Warwick Castle a lead image “made like a man-of-arms . . . broken in the middle and made fast with a wire, “and alleged that Jacquetta had fashioned it to use for witchcraft and sorcery. Daunger, attested that Jacquetta had made two other images, one for the king and one for the queen. However, the case fell apart when Warwick was forced to release Edward IV from custody, and Jacquetta was cleared by the king’s great council of the charges on February 21, 1470. In 1484 Richard III in the act known as Titulus Regius revived the allegations of witchcraft against the now dead Jacquetta when he claimed that she and Elizabeth had procured Elizabeth’s marriage to Edward IV through witchcraft; however, Richard never offered any proof to support his assertions.

Warwick was publicly reconciled with King Edward. However, privately he continued to ferment rebellion and was eventually killed fleeing from the Battle of Barnet on 14 April 1471.

The Woodvilles would continue to play a huge part in national politics. After King Edward IV’s early death, they took control of the new king and it was planned to meet their uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester (who was born at Fotheringhay in the county) in the centre of Northampton. The new King was sent on to Stony Stratford but the Woodvilles returned to Northampton for the meeting.

Here they were taken prisoner by Richard and the Duke of Buckingham and executed soon after. Soon after, Richard became King Richard III. But that is another story for another day.

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Sam Rumens: I came out and nothing changed

Charlie Atkinson

Young buck nenequirer@gmail.com @thenenequirer 01604 550037

T

he world looks a lot different to how it did in 1976. In many senses, the United Kingdom seems to have grown up in terms of its views towards culture, ethnicity and sexuality. Yet this apparent shift in attitude is long overdue, considering the first openly gay Member of Parliament, Maureen Colquhoun, freed herself of the closet over 40 years ago.

Although somewhat under the radar, Colquhoun’s story has never been more

poignant, considering the impact of the recent LGBT movement. Deselected from parliament due to her sexuality and feminist beliefs, the treatment of the very first openly gay MP is the pin-up for regressive attitudes which are still displayed to this day.

A 21 year old councillor from Spinney Hill will hope to have a different experience in politics, however. You may recognise Sam Rumens, particularly if you are in the constituency of Kingsthorpe North. For the past few years, this young Tory politician has been canvassing and campaigning to make his mark in local politics. Being one of the youngest elected councillors in Northamptonshire is remarkable in itself, but achieving all of this while hiding the fact he is gay

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is truly inspiring.

To this young man, however, it has all been a walk in the park. “Nothing has changed since I came out,” says Sam. “My life is exactly the same as it was before I came out; work is the same, council meetings and events are still the same, so I don’t see how my life is going to change at all as a result of my sexuality.”

You would not have to look too hard for a completely different experience of being openly gay, even in 2017. What is immediately noticeable noticeable, however, is Sam’s apparent acceptance of himself and the pride he holds in his sexuality. It is no surprise to hear that Sam has had somewhat of an easy ride in the early stages of life as an openly gay man.

Although the day to day has been a breeze, Sam does admit that the only difficult period he faced was the prospect of coming out to his parents: “The mum and dad thing was really weird, because, and I don’t know why, something inside made me really fear telling them,” says Sam. “I didn’t fear the reaction because I knew they would support me, but I feared just saying it.”

The fear that overwhelmed Sam is one of the most common problems closeted homosexuals face, yet hearing it from a first hand perspective makes you realise how daunting the task actually is, and allows you to gain an understanding of just how stressful and agonising being in the closet can be.

If you were hoping for a Hollywood coming out story, then you should look for someone else. Sam’s story is particularly fitting for that of a millennial. “I had this whole plan of telling my parents around the breakfast table and quickly darting off to go to work, but I ended up pacing around the kitchen and not being able to psych myself up enough to say it,” says Sam. “In the end I rushed off to work and did the typical social media child option of creating a group chat with my mum and dad and telling them that way.”

Hardly worthy of a Pride of Britain award, is it? Although comical, the warming side to this story is the response he received from his parents just a few seconds later. “Within 2 and a half seconds my mum responds ‘Do you know I guessed? Come out, enjoy your life, I love you so much’ and my dad followed up with ‘Good on you, but I’ve kind of known for ages.”

It can be argued that the response Sam received from his parents is representative of the worlds attitude to the LGBT movement which has gained so much traction over the last few years. With gay marriage being legalised across an array of countries, including the United States of America, it seems as though coming out of the closest has never been easy. Although, in the typically maverick style of Sam Rumens, he claims that the movement didn’t play that big of a role in his decision to reveal his true self.

“Knowing I have a lot of supportive friends around me was what really made the ‘coming out’ process a lot easier,” admits

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Politics

SAM Rumens believes the modern British electorate is more interested in candidates policies than their private life

Sam. “But the LGBT movement didn’t really influence me too much, it didn’t really change anything for me at all, but what it has done is change the perception of the average Joe and their opinions on homosexuals to get them to think that they are people and not just strange aliens, but the vibrancy of the movement itself hasn’t really affected me.”

As with anyone, Sam has ambitions, and high ones at that. This proactive career in politics is all geared towards an end goal of becoming Prime Minister. With the political landscape of recent years becoming more diverse, does Sam think that the world, and indeed the nation, is ready for a gay PM? “The reason why we haven’t had an ethnic minority as a Prime minister is because ethnic minorities make up a very small percentage of the population,” says Sam. “ Mathematically speaking, it’s just likely to be a white person every time. But people do not base who they want to be their PM on their skin tone, their sexuality or their gender, they vote for them because they think they’re going to do the best for the country.”

“If you stood a gay bloke up against a woman and a white, middle class, straight man, I don’t think anyone would care ‘who’ they are as such, they only care about who

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says the right thing and who stimulates them and excites them.”

The national side of politics is a long way off, however. Sam’s main priority is local government and doing his best for the people of Kingsthorpe North. Although he has hope in the future of national politics in terms of diversity, Sam also believes the same attitude will translate to his constituency.

“If I’m completely honest, I don’t think people take any interest into what their councillor gets up to in their spare time so long as he’s doing good work for the area and responding to queries and sorting out the potholes or whatever,” says Sam. “If anything, my sexuality might have a positive affect by promoting the LGBT forum, which is where people get together to discuss their sexuality, so in that sense it can help people who are struggling to come out of the closest to see that, actually, there are people in positions of power who have been in exactly the same position, and that could help influence the way people perceive me.”

Sam’s attitude is commendable and his stiff upper lip way of thinking is arguably what has made him so successful as he enters his twenties. Despite somewhat of a unfazed exterior, Sam still remains human, and still wishes to be held in high regard.

With that in mind, how does one of the youngest councillors in Northamptonshire who has recently come out as gay, want to be perceived? Unsurprisingly, Sam response is both humble and refreshing.

“I just want people to understand that being gay is no different to being straight, to being bisexual, to being transgender, or black, white, Jewish, disabled, abled or whatever, we are all human beings and we live on the same planet and we have to work together whether we like it or not.” For the first time in this interview, Sam reveals a sense of passion and almost a degree of annoyance. “If people are going to look at people differently based on something they have no choosing over, then why should we respect that opinion? This is all about continuously breaking down barriers and just changing the conversation and changing preconceived ideas of what relationships are and just getting people to accept that anyone can love anyone, no matter who they are.”

It is a message which has been repeated a thousand times over the last few years. An urge to break down barriers and change the perception towards LGBT members is such a simple request yet is one which a community has had to fight for. Despite a political career at the forefront of his mind, as well as juggling a full time job, Sam is still leading the line in the battle for equality. Many will view his battle as inspirational, but the real commendable feature of Sam is his attitude and his way of thinking. Sam never takes himself too seriously yet displays unerring passion, and it is this combination which will undoubtedly serve him well in his journey through politics and his journey through life.

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Events

Aug/Sep

21

My first encounter with the Umbrella Festival...

Chris Harris

Discoverer nenequirer@gmail.com @thenenequirer 01604 550037

T

SEE more of Dave Ikin’s photos from the Unbrella Festival on our website www.nenequirer.com

AugSep Edition.indd 21

he sound of silence was all there was to be heard on Northampton’s Racecourse at 11:30am.

To the untrained eye, there was just a smattering of fences, vehicles and tents sitting in a field. Look closer, however, and one of Northampton’s most inclusive, diverse, and creative festivals was slowly revealed.

The first thing one saw when entering the festival area was a circle of stalls surrounding the main entertainment. These really showed the level of community engagement that the Umbrella Fair Organisation (UFO) dedicates itself to, with stalls from the Daily Bread Factory, various independent sellers, as well as some local and national charities.

One stall paraded what it was selling as “cheap hippy stuff”; a phrase that is loosely what those uninitiated into the Umbrella Fair hype train think sums up the festival.

However, “cheap hippy stuff” really is just a novelty factor of the festival, with the 1960’s culture of freedom being commodified rather than embraced and fully replicated.

It was not just the eccentrics of Northampton attending the Umbrella Fair, or those curious about “cheap hippy” culture, but those who genuinely care about the town, or just seeking a varied and entertaining weekend.

Most attention from festival-goers was focused around the acoustic and spoken word stages in the early afternoon. The acoustic tent, decorated with sponsored umbrellas, sporting advertisements for seemingly-random international businesses, and one large rubber duck, was host to a number of both signed and unsigned local artists. Organised

by local musician Hannah Faulkner, the stage featured a range of abilities and styles, all proving popular with the revolving audience.

The spoken word tent, organised by local poets and story-tellers Justin Porter and Richard Frost, was draped in the style of “cheap hippy stuff”. Chairs were replaced with throw blankets and cushions, with drapes of all colours and funky symbols on the walls of the tent while words promoting freedom, love, and anti-establishment were blared from the mouths of story-tellers travelling in from as far as Manchester.

Audiences seemed reluctant at first to enter, but upon watching, found it strangely captivating.

There were things for all the family.

Albeit, one could dispute the “family-friendly” nature of the event when performers, particularly on the cabaret and spoken word stages, did not censor themselves for a younger, more vulnerable audience. However, face-painting, charity football games and a play park were on offer, as well as an area full of straw and hay for children to climb in. Child friendly? Probably. Child satisfaction? Possibly. After all, there’s nothing a kid wants more than a bale of hay to tear apart, right?

As sceptical as this review may seem, my attitude to the Umbrella Fair is largely positive. As much as the commodifying of “hippy” culture is a key factor, the love for the planet is clear. Charities such as the RSPCA and the Wildlife Trust dominated the stalls, and environmental campaigners were littered around with signs such as “Go Beyond Oil”. The “healing areas” focused on yoga, meditation and opening chakras. I have no idea what a chakra is, but the event has opened minds to “cheap hippy stuff”: the values of equality, love and freedom in the of Northampton.

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News

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There are still opportunities to secure places for this year, and find out more about our new Waterside Campus opening in September 2018.

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21/08/2017 12:34:22

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News

Aug/Sep

23

Cleared for take -off: it’s never too late to get it right The UoN

Fact factory nenequirer@gmail.com @thenenequirer 01604 550037

N

ot getting the A-level grades you wanted needn’t be a barrier to securing your place on a fantastic university course – just ask Emily Pearson.

A move to her first-choice university fell through last summer when Emily’s A-level results weren’t what she’d hoped for. But after using the Clearing service, she found the course of her dreams at the University of Northampton, and hasn’t looked back since.

Clearing allows applicants like Emily to find courses which haven’t been filled for the new academic year, and is also used by those who are applying late for a course, or if they are a mature student.

“It might feel like the end of the world that you didn’t get the grades you’d hoped for, but if you really want to go to university, do it,” said Emily, who comes from Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.

“Just breathe, take it slowly, think about what you really want to do and use that to narrow down your options. Don’t give up, it will all work out in the end.”

Now, a year into her Advertising and Digital Marketing course, Emily’s certain she made the right decision.

“It’s everything I could have hoped for,” said the former Sir Christopher Hatton Academy, Wellingborough, and Northampton College student.

“The course is really interesting and all of my modules overlap really well, so the knowledge is easily passed from one to another. I also had the opportunity to go to New York in January, which was an absolutely amazing experience which I will never forget.”

Emily added: “Making new friends was one of the things I was most nervous about, but it was really easy in the end. All of my tutors are also very helpful and friendly and are there for me whenever I need anything.”

Clearing is not just about a second chance when your grades are not what you hoped - it is also a chance to think again about whether you have made the right choice of

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CLEARING opened up new paths for Emily Pearson (left) and Shannon Evans (right)

course.

After applying to study history at university, Shannon Evans began to have doubts about her subject choice.

While it was her favourite A-level subject, Shannon wasn’t convinced a history degree would offer her a clear career path.

“I’d applied for a place at Coventry University, but decided to wait for my A-level results so I could reconsider my options,” said Shannon.

“After receiving my results I spoke to my head of sixth form, who suggested I looked at different degrees that interested me, which is how I found Events Management and the universities running that course – and Northampton caught my eye.”

Shannon called the Clearing hotline and after a brief time on the phone, she’d signed up to study Events Management at the University of Northampton.

Clearing allows applicants like Shannon to find courses which haven’t been filled for the new academic year, and is also used by those who are applying late for a course, didn’t get the grades they’d hoped for, or if they are a mature applicant.

“The Clearing process was very simple,”

said Shannon, who comes from Coventry.

“If you want to change your university choice, or the course you’d originally applied for, by going through Clearing you’ll be able to find something that is well suited for you.”

Now, a year into her course, Shannon is certain she made the right choice.

She said: “I love my course. The learning is very hands on, with lots of amazing opportunities such as trips to London where I’ve experience things such as a behind-thescenes tour of Wimbledon. The lecturers on the course are very experienced in the events industry, so as well as learning what is needed for your degree they are always there to help and push you in the right direction career-wise.”

Shannon added: “I’ve also met lots of new people who share the same interests as me.

Having new friends to go through the ‘uni experience’ with you helps a lot, especially when it’s people from your course who are pushing you to try your best.”

The University’s Clearing website is now open, and includes details of all the courses that are still open for applications. https:// www.northampton.ac.uk/clearing/

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Guerilla film making will put you in the big picture Julie Teckman

Rising star nenequirer@gmail.com @thenenequirer 01604 550037

O

ne of the great, if less known, things about Northampton is that it is a hotbed of guerrilla filmmaking with a whole bunch of very talented people based here who write screenplays, produce and direct the process of filmmaking, and take on the myriad of technical roles necessary to successfully complete the pre and post-production elements ensuring that there is something to see at the end.

Guerilla filmmaking is a term defined as independent filmmaking which tends to rely on tiny budgets, small crews and uses real locations as studio filming is far too expensive.

In recent years The Film Lab, supported by the Northamptonshire Community Foundation group, has offered opportunities for local filmmakers to get their work screened and shared with the many film lovers locally who don’t want their cinema experience limited to the Hollywood blockbusters and made-to-a-formula British indie films that provide safe seat fillers in our local cinemas.

The number of entrants to local filmmaking competitions and the number of applicants on to filmmaking courses at colleges and the University suggests that Northampton people of all ages want to express themselves on the big screen, but how many of us realise just what goes into taking an idea from its basic concept to a finished product which manipulates the emotions of the audience and creates the larger-than-life experiences we take with us from the cinema?

I certainly had no idea how an idea gets to the big screen but curiosity and my belief that acting is simply a case of “know your lines and don’t bump into the furniture” as Spencer Tracy was credited as saying (although Noel Coward might actually be the first to have said it…) meant that I jumped at the chance to be a speaking extra in a new movie filmed this month in the Kingsthorpe and Mounts areas.

Boy, was I in for an education!

The film in question is the brainchild of Russ Heyworth, one of the founders of the

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GRAB a camera and make a movie, The Film Lab is helping Northamptonshire people express themselves on screen

Film Lab, an award winning group, and a film lecturer at Northampton College.

Its working title is For Love Nor Money and the story is a fast-paced action movie about a man who needs money quickly (I’ll say no more so I can’t be accused of giving too much away). The original idea was converted to a screenplay by Russ and local writer Capel Spence, and, unusually for a British indie film, the script went through a number of rewrites and revisions with input from local writers acting as script doctors to ensure the final script was as strong and tight as possible. Russ says, “the problem with a lot of indie films is that the first draft of the screenplay is pretty much the one that ends up on screen. Writers become very protective of their work and if the writer is also the producer and director, there is little to no chance of any real corrections or amendments taking place.”

At the point that I leapt on board, Russ had gathered two professional actors to play the main roles, a team of professional filmmakers to operate the cameras and lighting, a professional sound engineer, and a group of willing volunteers to act in roles of various size but all crucially important to the narrative (a feature of guerrilla filmmaking is to discard any character who isn’t crucial to the plot during the paring down process). When I arrived at the location, a fascinating emporium in the Kingsthorpe area that I never knew existed, there was a massive light outside the premises creating

the lighting needed through the window, and a set that looked like the sort of junk shops the experts visit in antiques shows on television.

Not wanting to hold things up with my tardiness, I arrived at exactly the time I had been given by Russ for my scene on the second day of the shoot, and clambered over a mountain of cables and furniture during a gap in the filming. I was greeted by an only slightly flustered Russ who told me that things were a bit behind schedule and to make myself comfortable while I waited, with the buffet provided by The Bridge and drinks made on a pretty much continuous basis by Lucy Caldwell, the totally indispensable production assistant, set designer, caterer and landlady for the actors while they were in Northampton.

Every sequence was filmed at least six times and from at least as many angles to ensure the best shots for the editing process.

The lighting and filming were covered by the Timecode team, Jimmy Bricknell and Dean Alexander, both ex-Northampton College film students who now make films for the top corporations in the world (in fact, they worked on For Love Nor Money in between their current campaign shoots somewhere overseas and glamorous which is arguably the only way to make money in the film industry in this country).

I sat and watched crucial sequences of the tense drama being filmed over and over while the two professional actors, Laurence

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JULIE Teckman takes on a role as an extra in a guerilla movie project

Saunders and Sarah Beck Mather, both recognisable from their many television roles, did exactly as they were asked, were word perfect every time and repeated their sequences dramatically and efficiently over and over until the technical teams were happy with every element of lighting, sound and movement toward and away from the camera. Between takes they calmly relaxed in the seating area created at the back of the shop waiting to be called again when the crew was ready.

I, on the other hand, was starting to worry about my part - my two lines - and whether I ought to be giving my character a back story and motivation (I’m sure I’ve heard other actors talk about these things…). Russ had simply told me I would be playing Carol, an irritating customer in the second-hand shop looking for a bargain (not a huge challenge to get my head around) but refused to admit I’d been typecast.

The process was slow and meticulous with the team noticing tiny issues that completely passed me by, but after four hours of waiting, there was just one more scene to film before mine. The scene involved a small child playing the daughter of the main character.

The little girl arrived with her mother, her acting teacher and a lady who was checking that the environment was safe for a small child to be working in. The scene was explained to the child and she was given a set of instructions while I thought smugly about W C Fields’ view that one should never work with children or animals and waited for the

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inevitable tantrum or lengthy wait while she tried to get her small part right. How wrong I was! Our child actor, got her instructions in one, didn’t need to be asked twice and didn’t need to be told about her ‘motivation’ or backstory. She was great and her scene was only delayed by the adults acting with her who seemed to struggle with their roles a lot more than she did.

And finally, just five hours after I arrived, the crew were ready for me and my pivotal scene. Sound engineer, Mark Levien, had to put my microphone under my jumper (it was like a public bra fitting in the middle of a junk shop) and I was set to go.

It was explained to me that all I had to do was take a box (very important prop) off a shelf and ask the simple question “How much is this?” before responding to the answer with a shrug and “Rip-off” before walking out of the shop. I didn’t consider that Linda was the sort of woman who would say “rip-off” but by this time, the crew was tired and I suspected they wouldn’t take kindly to me trying to change the script mid-shoot.

The first take I turned the wrong way to say my line, in the next I said my well-practiced words wrong. The third take saw me knock over some carefully place china plates and the take after that was stopped because the director didn’t like the light switch which was in shot when the camera filmed the leading lady. Once I’d managed to do my two lines properly, the two camera operators, Terence Wilkins and Josh Monie, moved the cameras to another position so the sequence could be filmed from another

angle and we started again. This time, I stood in front of the camera by mistake and had to be manhandled into position by Russ who was, by now, giving me instructions through gritted teeth, and four takes on we had the whole (two minute, blink and you’ll miss it) scene in the can (as we say in the film industry).

And that was me done! I said my goodbyes to the crew (who by now seemed like a second family to me) and to Russ who was frantically trying to track down an actor for the final scene of the night, and left them to wrap up a few more scenes before the second of five 18 hour days was complete.

Thanks to the fantastic team, which also comprised of Andy Loveridge and local animator Steve Smith who will be adding a surreal touch to the film, and loads of others that I didn’t get to meet on the day, I loved every minute of my experience, despite having to sit around the set for so long and then not being as good an actor as I thought I was.

Russ will now spend August editing the massive amount of material into a half hour film and music will be added by local musicians who will create an organic soundtrack to the narrative. Meanwhile, I will be planning my outfit for the premiere!

For Love Nor Money is being screened twice at the Lings Forum on 21st September, at 7.30pm and then again at 8.30pm. If you get the chance to come along to support local filmmaking at its best and mix with other filmmakers, please save the date.

And with Russ’s careful editing, you may just not see me prove Spencer Tracy wrong!

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Two (hundred) can play at that game James Sheppard Digital daydreamer

“D

nenequirer@gmail.com @thenenequirer 01604 550037

oes it have multiplayer?”

It’s probably the most asked question of any computer game, straight after; “How much??!” when exclaimed by some poor grandparent trying to get little Timmy a treat. Maybe you should have just got him an ice cream. But unfortunately, a 99 with a flake is not 99p anymore, either…

For me, nothing quite shows off the full potential of multiplayer like the Battlefield series. In 2002, we were given a game that focused on team work, not just annihilating the opposition, with Battlefield 1942. You could run around with other infantry, never knowing where you got shot from; dogfight with WW2 aircraft, trying to kamikaze ram your opponent; or spend half the game with your tank stuck in an invisible pothole.

OK, in those early days glitches were endemic to such huge games, and the developer DICE have since become infamous for the crazy glitches breaking the gameplay of almost every single one of their Battlefield sequels yet. It’s become a separate game between consumer and developer, to see who can find the game breaking bugs first.

I once got stuck falling to infinity below a rounds map, surrounded by white space, the battle a distant memory above me. It was surreal and oddly calming at the same time.

At least down here that cheating kid couldn’t find me.

The latest entry to the franchise, Battlefield One, weirdly released with very few game destroying bugs; it still had all the idiosyncrasies of a DICE release including random deaths, floating tanks and janky animations, but all in all was a solid addition to the series. It was actually disappointing that we had to search for these anomalies in the game, and we, the consumers got exactly what we paid for. Where’s the fun in playing a good game? DICE, please.

Set in World War One, the game is a frenetic shooter with a backdrop of the first tanks, paper thin biplanes and trench storming bayonet charges. Teams fight

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over objectives in a back and forth manner, fighting off the opposition as the team score goes up. The weapons are old fashioned, but functional, be it from bolt action rifles to more exotic prototype submachine guns. On my first hours with the game, I found myself gravitating to shotguns; they were solid and deeply gratifying to get kills with and I always like to keep them handy for close encounters.

The maps, in typical battlefield fashion, were sprawling affairs modelled after specific theatres from the war; from the claustrophobic Argonne forest to the urban fighting of Amiens. The size of the maps is purposefully intimidating to duplicate the confusion of war. Running around this huge expanse takes time and can be frustrating when you get scalped after running towards a flag for what seems like days, only to have to spawn miles away from the action all over again. I never seemed able to get in a plane or tank before a team mate stole it right from under me. I relegated myself to a pedestrian game.

Then I found a horse.

I leapt up to my trusty steed, and proceeded to gallop across the landscape, jumping fences, swinging my sword, and inevitably running head first into walls and coming to a sudden stop. I couldn’t be thrown from my mount, so I simply turned him around and galloped off again. It was exciting running opponents down and skewering others as I

whipped past; I even managed to blow a couple to smithereens with a grenade as they were bivouacked in a fox hole. I was definitely having fun, giggling madly, and didn’t even mind when I was finally unhorsed by a tank shell that threw my body hundreds of feet into the air. Even my death was fun.

I was content, but needed a break from the sheer size of the game, and luckily, my friends’ son Harry messaged me to join him on a different game; Overwatch. Still team based, but on a tinier scale when compared to battlefield, the matches were still objective based but with 25 unique playable heroes, no match would play out the same. Every character had a role, be it from healing the team, defending objectives or sniping the opposition into oblivion, and bad teamwork is punished ruthlessly. Harry had recently been built a PC by his dad, and had access to a few selected titles, and wanted to play with the bigger boys of gaming. What could go wrong?

I let Harry select the game mode for the multiplayer madness that would ensue, and we buddied up our heroes and prepared for the onslaught. I stuck with a tried and tested run and gun character, blasting my enemies with rockets, whilst Harry turned his character into a massive Gatling-cannon turret mowing down all who came to view. We were fragging people left, right and centre, defending the objective flawlessly. No enemy could get close as my screen was awash with “enemy killed” messages. I was on fire. It was the best round I had ever played in my life. I was invincible.

I was a god amongst men.

When the round ended, I had 40 odd kills and not a single death to my name. I was a pro gamer, and my opponents were destroyed at my feet.

“Well that was easy.” Said Harry.

“I am the best!!” I replied.

“Shall I put the difficulty up?”

“What?”

“The difficulty; those were easy AI bots we were playing.”

“What?”

“I thought you should start off on easy.”

“We weren’t playing other people online?”

“Of course, not – you’re not that good.”

I really, really, really hate 11-year olds.

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TAMSIN Winter grew up in Northamptonshire. Her debut novel Being Miss Nobody, published by Usborne Publishing, is available to buy in bookshops and online, and is available to download.

It tackles themes of anxiety, friendship, bullying and social media in a fresh, funny and moving voice. It is aimed at readers aged 10+. You can find out more about Tamsin and her books on her website www.tamsinwinter.com . Tamsin also visits schools to talk about her work and provides creative writing workshops for young people.

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Being Miss Nobody is only the beginning . . .

Tamsin Winter Writer

nenequirer@gmail.com

I

grew up in the small Northamptonshire village of Creaton. Our primary school was tiny, and one of the highlights for me was the little mobile library bus which used to visit every so often. I’ve always loved reading. Books held a special sort of magic for me and I dreamed that one day I would write my own, never really believing it would happen.

I went to Guilsborough School and I was blessed with two brilliant English teachers. They brought the stories we studied to life and, more importantly, they believed in me. It’s probably the reason I later became an English teacher myself.

Your teenage years can sometimes be the toughest of your life. And books really can help.

I came up with the idea for writing Being Miss Nobody while I was daydreaming in my classroom a couple of years ago. I’d wanted to write a book for young people for a long time, but not really had an idea that inspired me. Then it came to me. I imagined a girl being ignored by everyone around her, with all these words inside her head, but unable to say any of them. I started writing Being Miss Nobody that night.

The girl in my daydream became my main character – eleven-year-old Rosalind Banks.

She has with a severe anxiety disorder called selective mutism which makes it impossible for her to speak in front of anyone apart from her immediate family, and her slightly batty next-door neighbour, Mrs Quinney.

Rosalind is smart, funny, kind, and full of things to say, but when she starts at a new school all anyone sees is a weird girl who can’t speak. Rosalind becomes the perfect target for bullies – someone who can’t fight back. And, like many victims of bullying, she keeps quiet.

At home, her little brother Seb is seriously ill, so Rosalind feels unable to burden her parents with the truth about what’s happening to her. As she says,

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When your little brother’s really sick, and your mum keeps saying she needs something from her bedroom but you can tell she’s about to cry, and Dad’s doing a massive clean every night when he gets back from work, and they are both being weirdly quiet, there never seems to be a good time to bring up the fact that actually, things at school are Definitely The Exact Opposite Of Okay, and that your words are more trapped than ever.

And that Dr Peak Not Peek’s Brilliant Plan of me talking normally at Manor High had sort of Massively Backfired. Because if there was one thing Massively Obvious to everybody at Manor High (including me) it’s that I was a Total Nobody.

Rosalind starts an anonymous blog – Miss Nobody. A place where she speaks out about what’s happening to her at school. But, as the blog starts trending, things spiral out of control and people start getting hurt.

Rosalind knows she must tell the truth about

being Miss Nobody – but how can you do that when you can’t actually speak?

I wrote Being Miss Nobody to show the difficulties of living with an anxiety disorder. Selective mutism is, like many mental health conditions, widely misunderstood. It can be an enormous barrier to making friends and asking for help. It can leave you vulnerable to – and powerless against - bullying.The instinct to hide bullying from parents and teachers, the very people who would be able to help, is also a key theme in the book. I hope it inspires young people experiencing or witnessing bullying to tell someone they trust.

Being Miss Nobody also explores the double-edged power of social media. How it can be a wonderful place to connect with people, but it can also be used to shame, humiliate and cyberbully. Rosalind learns what it’s like to have popularity and influence online, but she also learns that once your words are published and shared, you can’t take them back. No matter how much you might want to.

I’m editing my second book at the moment, which will be published by Usborne next year. It tells the story of Jemima Small, a girl who I hope young readers will love as much as Rosalind. She’s big, bright, funny and she’s looking for her mum, who disappeared from her life before Jemima can even remember her being in it.

I want to write about the enormous struggles we face growing up, but also how mighty, brave and awesome young people can be. Having people tell me Being Miss Nobody is an inspiring, funny and heart-warming read is just about the best feeling in the world.

I began writing stories on my grandfather’s old typewriter in the little village of Creaton, and now my book is being sold all over the world. That’s the thing I love most about stories – you never know exactly where they are going to take you.

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Where can you get a warm fuzzy feeling these days?

Karin Johnstone

The Watcher nenequirer@gmail.com @thenenequirer 01604 550037

Detroit (15)

S

ettling down on the sofa to watch Sir Mo in the World Championships an old friend who had joined me asked me how my yoga practice was going.

Well, you know, it’s just hard.

Is there something wrong with you? she asks abruptly.

What do you mean?

Is there something wrong with you that you that you don’t finish anything?

I think she was referring to the fact that I started running and stopped which on the advice of a knee surgeon is actually a very sensible decision. I also said I would do yoga but find it hard to get up at 5 in the morning to fit it in before work. I only aspire to be Dalai Lama-like, I don’t actually want to be him.

Naturally I got to thinking - do I start things and not finish? No. I may delay things for several years but I do finish. But what do I have the stamina for – what have I done my whole life and never tired of? Watching films! My Baltic German mother born in the late 20’s instilled in me a passion for the great Hollywood stars – Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Davis and Bacall. I was so obsessed with Garbo that I wrote her a fan letter when I was 14. I sent it to the Swiss ski resort of Klosters where she occasionally visited. The letter was returned unopened.

At 16 I got to meet Ingrid Bergman at the National Film Theatre and was entranced by her – fully aware that in the 6 degrees of separation concept that she had MET Garbo – a question that she was asked about.

Going back in time a 7-year-old me – lying on tummy, waggling legs in the air watching swashbuckling Errol Flynn, jolly Bob Hope and Bing, clowning Jerry Lewis & Dean Martin, once the old black and white box had warmed up and the picture buzzed into life.

Then the weird colours of glorious technicolour making an already amazing world magical. I didn’t know that 20 years later I would get a job as a television engineer and get paid for watching television and films all day long.

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From Kathryn Bigelow, the Academy Award-winning director of The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, Detroit tells the gripping story of one of the darkest moments during the civil unrest that rocked Detroit in the summer of ‘67. A handful of rioters took over the city of Detroit following a police raid on an unlicensed bar. Army paratroopers, National Guardsmen and state and local police were called on to help put a stop to the rioting, which lasted for five days.

What sparked the riots was the racism and discrimination by the police force that was felt within the city by the African American population. In the end, 43 people were dead, almost 1,200 were injured and over 2,000 buildings destroyed.

Detroit is at the Errol Flynn Cinema from Sep 1 to Sep 7.

Call 01604 624811 for times and booking.

Although we have moved on from the way we watch films - Sony Betamax, video rentals (I had to explain this shop concept to my niece who even laughs at my shelf of DVDs) - I’d say this relationship with film is still the same for lots of film goers. It’s a warm safe place to be. An exciting place, a romantic place, a terrifying place.

If you fancy more of that warm safe place and rekindling some 50s nostalgia, try going to see Calamity Jane at the Erroll Flynn Filmhouse. Doris Day gun holster hanging on hip is everything I would have wanted to

be – if I’d become a cowgirl. Enjoy this thigh slapping strong female character in the Wild West. Fantastic movie until they start singing – apart from whip-crack-away of course.

As I type that word ‘whip-crack-away’ it just doesn’t seem to translate in a meaningful way to the 21st century.

Anyway, that’s enough for now. I can’t really be bothered to preview any other film this month or to finish this properly…

On Sunday 10th Sep, 2.15pm, watch Calamity Jane, also Nascar heist movie Lucky Logan (above), in late August at the EFF.

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New producers earn Carlsberg nominations W

ith a greater number of entries than ever before and a wealth of new companies engaging with the competition, a fresh line-up of county producers find themselves battling it out for culinary glory in the Carlsberg UK Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards.

The Awards, now in their ninth year, are aimed at celebrating all that is great about local produce and drink, recognising excellence within the county’s dining venues and rewarding those who work so hard within the culinary sector.

The first judging session, staged at The Red Lion in East Haddon (as winner of the Great Service Award in last year’s Awards), saw a panel of judges including Katie Hewitt, Category Manager for spirit and soft drinks at Carlsberg UK and the editor of CAMRA’s What’s Brewing and BEER magazine, Tom Stainer, come together to choose their finalists in the two drinks categories. They are (in alphabetical order within the category): New Local Drink of the Year: Burnt Ox Blood – Nobby’s Brewing Co, Thrapston Dream Catcher – Tea Lab Company, Northampton Long Apple – Wharf Distillery, Potterspury Oak Aged Gin – Phipps NBC, Northampton Saxon Shield – Towcester Mill Brewery, Towcester Winwick Gold – Healy’s of Winwick, Winwick Artisan Local Drink of the Year: Bell Ringer – Towcester Mill Brewery, Towcester India Pale Ale – Phipps NBC, Northampton Octane – Silverstone Real Ale Co, Silverstone Old Nick’s Favourite – Brigstock Brewhouse, Brigstock Pink Baron – New Lodge Vineyard, Earl’s Barton Triple ‘F’ Pure Apple Juice – Floyer’s Fruit Farm, Flore Merrimen Brewing in Litchborough was also awarded a ‘Highly Commended’ for their beer, Merri-ness.

Meanwhile, having already held a longlisting process in the two product categories, the shortlisting session staged at Holdenby House saw a panel of judges including Stephen Davies, Principal of category sponsor Moulton College, Saints and former England Saxons lock, Christian Day, and Food and Health Section Manager at Northampton-

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EXCUSE me ladies - goats milk ice cream has earned Ganders Goat a nomination in the Carlsberg Food Awards

shire Trading Standards, Paul Maylunn, tuck in to the array of tasty treats. The resulting finalists are (again in alphabetical order within the category): Artisan Savoury Product of the Year (sponsored by Heygates Flour and Animal Feed): Northamptonshire Blue – Hamm Tun Fine Foods, Hannington Phipps Firkin – Neneview Dairy, Stanwick Pilau Rice Kit – Punjaban, Northampton Pork Pinwheels – Sauls of Spratton, Spratton Stanwick Blue – Neneview Dairy, Stanwick Tasty Tamarind Curry Base – Punjaban, Northampton Artisan Sweet Product of the Year (sponsored by Moulton College): Dark Espresso Chocolate – Seed and Bean, Corby Gooseberry and Elderflower Gelato – Ganders Goat, Cottingham Honey, Lemon and Ginger Marmalade – Nature’s Fayre, Thrapston Northampton Marmalade – Friar’s Farm, Northampton Raspberry and Amaretti Crunch Cake – ForgetMe-Not Café, Moulton Vegan Tiramisu – Flo’s Kitchen, Northampton

Among the new finalists to be celebrating success in being shortlisted are Ian and Lauren Horton from Ganders Goat, an 11-acre goat farm at Cottingham near Corby, who learned of their success on their seventh wedding anniversary: “We couldn’t really have asked for a better present than the news that we’ve got through to the finals of these prestigious awards, especially as we’ve only been producing ice cream from our own goats’ milk for just over a year now” explained Ian. “We’re absolutely delighted to think that the judges appreciated what we consider to be a really wonderful product and hope that this accolade will mean more people get to hear about us and are encouraged to try our delicious treats!” he added.

For the Awards Director, Rachel Mallows MBE, the line-up of finalists is a great indicator of the current health of the county’s food and drink sector: “I am really thrilled to see that some of our more established firms are continuing to hold their own, particularly as many of them are former finalists and winners, which just goes to show what value they place on the awards” revealed Rachel.

“But I’m equally pleased to see the new names on the shortlists as it shows the talent of business that is coming through, which all helps to create healthy competition and drive up standards as we’ve seen happen so successfully across the sector over the last nine years” she enthused.

The winners and runners-up in the four categories will be decided by a second panel of judges later in the year and the results, along with those of the other categories in the competition, will be announced at the Awards Dinner taking place at Northampton’s Royal & Derngate on 15th November.

For more details on the Carlsberg UK Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards 2017/18, please visit the Awards’ website at www.northamptonshirefoodanddrink.co.uk or contact Rachel Mallows on 01933 664437 or email rachel@themallowscompany.com You can also follow the Awards on twitter at @foodawardsHQ or on Facebook at facebook. com/foodawards

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Food and drink

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Smokepit delivers I

TOP to bottom: Tandoori lamb skewer, #CowPigChicken burger platter, kids’ fish-fingers, dippin dough shared starter and kids’ sundae.

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T TOOK a while for us to get to The Smokepit in Northampton, which opened in 2015. The building had been so many things before, including the Blue Plate Diner and briefly Chilli’s Indian Buffet.

On our first visit we’d come as an extended family for a birthday lunch, where we’d all gone for the huge platters of meat that saw us practically carried out of the door in a meat-induced, protein coma.

Our most recent trip was for four - two bigguns’ and two littluns’ ages between 49 and 9. It was a Sunday early evening and reasonably busy, with about half of the 20 or so tables taken. The decor is recycled cool: varnished wood-offcut tables and graffiti by local artist Pendz and some very cool wall art. But the chairs are metal and lumpy and quite frankly, hurt my bum.

The menus are paper on a clipboard, and they need re-printing, as they are mucky with other diners’ previous meals.

The food however, is good, and our order was taken quickly. We started with a shared dippin’ dough plate, with big soft prezel and jalapeño doughballs, tortilla chips and a hot cheesy dip. We didn’t really need it. The mains were huge, and served on big metal trays.

The #CowPigChicken burger came as a split brioche bun, both sides piled with beef burger, fried chicken and pulled pork. Oh, and cheese. Plus you get a pot of sweetcorny relish stuff and a choice of side, fries in this case, for £15. The platter version of the same dish comes with BBQ ribs and a chicken thigh at £20, with chips, It’s a ridiculous amount of food, but my dining companions were going to give it a shot.

I chose a new dish on the chargrill menu,

tandoori lamb skewer (£19) with cucumber and mint salad, yoghurt dressing and a charred flatbread. It was so large the skewer wouldn’t have looked out of place on a Game of Thrones battlefield. The lamb was meltingly good and I’ve attempted to copy the cucumber salad at home. They do it better.

Our smallest diner didn’t miss out on over-sized mains, with a couple of giant fish fingers, with fries and beans or coleslaw for £6.50. This didn’t mean they couldn’t find room for a strawberry cheesecake icecream that brought their total up to a tenner.

The other glutton at the table ordered a S’mores pudding, which is a gooey mess of biscuit, marshmallow and chocolate in a hot shallow bowl with icecream. Too much, man.

It should be clear that while there are limited vegetarian options like ravioli and vege burgers, meat is a thrusting force behind the Smokepit’s appeal. It’s a meat eater’s Mecca.

The service was laid-back to the point of apathy - we waited a loooong time for plates to be cleared and drinks to arrive. The disabled loo seemed to be blocked by piles of chairs too. But we weren’t in a rush and the kids are always entertained by the massive self-serve drinks machine that costs (£3.95 per refillable glass), and little quirks like the kitchen roll on each table and the recycled salt and pepper pots.

It’s certainly not a cheap place to eat by you certainly get your money’s worth - the bill for four, without alcohol, was just shy of £100.

We really like the Smokepit, and pleased it’s survived. The quality of the food is what will keep us coming back.

NQ Penda

21/08/2017 12:34:45

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Food and drink

Aug/Sep

The Hibiscus is in full bloom R

oyal & Derngate has announced that Tom Hewer, in partnership with award-winning chef Lee Scott, is bringing a new dining experience to the theatre this autumn. Restaurant Hibiscus, which will be situated in a private dining room adjacent to the Royal auditorium, is due to open on Saturday September 2.

Making use of the very best locally sourced food, Restaurant Hibiscus will cater for pre-show theatre audiences and also for the general public, in relaxed and intimate surroundings.

Chef Lee Scott has worked in many top restaurants including the Michelin-starred Michaels Nook in the Lake District and the two-starred Sea Grill in Brussels, and has been Executive Sous Chef at Radisson SAS in Manchester.

More recently he cooked for the Hebridean Spirit, the world’s smallest and most exclusive cruise ship, known as ‘The Claridges of the Sea’. Lee commented: “Having worked outside

Northamptonshire for the past couple of years I could not believe how fortunate I was to be offered the Executive Chef role with the Tom Hewer Catering brand.

Restaurant Hibiscus is an exciting addition to this successful enterprise, bringing exquisite dining right into the heart of Northampton.

“The food will all be fresh, and locally sourced where possible. The menus will be changed every two weeks so no matter how often people visit they will be guaranteed a plate that will please.”

Tom Hewer Catering provides catering at some of the most prestigious sporting and music events in the country. Last year the company was awarded the contract to cater for all the large functions at Royal & Derngate, and opened John Franklins bar at the venue.

With other food and drink businesses in Northampton, including the restaurant Bread & Pullet, the company is an ideal partner for this new venture at the theatre.

Martin Sutherland, Chief Executive of Royal & Derngate, said: “We are delighted to be extending our partnership with Tom Hewer to bring a high quality restaurant offering to the theatre. Working with an established local business and a chef of Lee Scott’s calibre, we look forward to providing both theatre-goers and other diners with a first class experience.”

To find out more or to book a table for Restaurant Hibiscus, customers can call 01604 911073 or email hibiscus@tomhewer.com.

CHEF Lee Scott is bringing his Michelin starred pedigree to Northampton by opening a restaurant inside the Royal and Derngate theatre complex

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35

Cheese of the Month: Cobblers Nibble

Steve & Caroline Ward

Bringing you choice fromage www.stgilescheese.com @stgilescheese 01604 622271

Cobblers Nibble

Cobblers Nibble is very much the cheese of the moment around these parts since its 15 minutes of fame on prime time TV (Countryfile) last month.

Made completely by hand by former printer-turned cheesemeister Gary Bradshaw, using milk pumped directly from Newlands Farm dairy next door, Cobblers Nibble is a firm Cowsmilk with a distinctive twang. Imagine something between Cheddar & Cheshire.

The cheeses are aged for 3 months and carefully rubbed and turned, giving a creamy, fully flavoured yet not overly strong paste with a delicious bitter rind.

Makes a great late night munching cheese and works really well in a ploughmans.

It will work with wines but, this cheese is just made for beer. Mrs Cheese doesn’t drink beer so I’ll have to do the recommendation for what to have it with!

Choose a good flavoursome brown ale. I love it paired with Phipps’ Beckets ale. The sweetness of the honeyed beer brings out the real joy of Shoetowns only cheese. www.stgilescheese.com www.hammtunfinefoods.co.uk

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Lena Davis

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The world shaping effect of music Lena Davis

Reviewing The Situation nenequirer@gmail.com @thenenequirer 01604 550037

Lena has been a music producer, writer and Personal Manager; a photographer and journalist and, over thirty years ago, got together with Caroline Scattergood to create the Caring & Sharing Trust to bring music, hope and love into the lives of people with learning disabilities and their families from throughout Northamptonshire.

T

he sentiments set out in “Sound System – The Political Power of Music” (by Dave Randall, published by Pluto Press £11.50) are that music is important to the very structure of our being. Well, obviously, this is partially true. How else would we get our toes tapping, our hips waggling and our fingers snapping? Without music there would be no dancing, singing or people banging on the walls beseeching us to “keep that racket down!”

Just imagine, if you can through the tears, how bleak a world would be without the opportunity for Simon Cowell to set out each year on his endless and doomed quest to find a lasting star. There would be little chance for such luminaries as Justin Bieber and Michael Jackson to make friends with reluctant primates. There would be no soundtrack to the Nazis’ strutting and the rest of us would be left silently – left leg in and right leg out.

Now Dave is not the only author to trumpet (ha ha!) the importance of music. My pal Martin Aston recently published his huge volume “Breaking Down the Walls of Heartache – How Music Came Out” (publisher Constable £25.00). Whilst Dave Randall often likes to look at music from the viewpoint of left-wing politics, Martin’s whole volume looks at music from a Gay point of view.

Now, as one of my ancestors might have put it “music shmusic”. In other words, what’s all the fuss about? Well, from a strictly philosophical point of view, absolutely nothing should be concluded from just one point of view. Not even this last sentence!

Speaking personally, music has charted

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the course of my life. It couldn’t have been more important. From my very earliest days, when I was knee-high to a very short grasshopper, I was asked to represent a Skiffle group called “The Worried Men”. The lead singer went on to become Adam Faith. My next protégé went to number one with “Tell Laura I Love Her” and my future was sealed.

After years of producing, writing and touring with every form of music and many stars I eventually used music to enliven the days of people with learning disabilities. So music has certainly been good to me. Hopefully I’ve returned the favour.

However, I make no inflated claims on behalf of music regarding politics or the freedom to be gay. Music and, indeed, the arts in general are an important part of our lives – even if some of us do not always recognise the impact. Even if we never enter an art gallery we remember the images from advertising, our childhood book illustrations, and virtually every aspect of photography.

And this is without even touching on the cinema and its impact. Then there is poetry which touches us from long remembered Kipling, through all kinds of birthday and other cards to our own shy attempts. Then comes the enormous impact of theatre even if it’s limited to the grand old English art of pantomime. We could go on and on but

possibly the biggest impact is architecture.

The buildings from our own history right up to today plus the mythical buildings of soap operas etc.

So, do I recommend you go out and spend your hard earned money on these books?

Yes, I do. Dave Randall is passionate about politics and also a superb writer. Read it and then use your own set of beliefs to come to your own conclusions. Martin Aston is also passionate about the impact of the gay culture and gay people on music. Once again, this is a great read and I am quite proud that Martin has mentioned me once or twice.

Throughout history gay people have had an incredible impact on all forms of the arts.

However, non-gay people can match them for impact. From reading both these books I have been struck by one amazing fact. The impact Jewish people have had on music. Of course, I already knew that most of the writers of musicals were Jews and that popular music from the outset and right through Rock and Roll was also Jewish led. However, I only realised from Dave Randall that Billie Holiday’s marvellous “Strange Fruit” was also written by a Jew. Perhaps there is a book to be written on this subject. If I turn out to be the one to produce this volume I shall welcome the opinions of both Dave and Martin!

21/08/2017 12:34:55

NQ Helen Blaby

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Pink on the greens? For goodness sake no, Helen Helen Blaby Broadcaster

Twitter: @blabers

A

s I write this, I’m keeping an eye on the live scoring from the Bowls England National Championships which are taking place in Leamington Spa. As a keen bowler it’s somewhere I aspire to play, and have nearly made it a couple of times with my bowls partner Chris. In fact on one occasion we were a single end away from qualifying for the national championships.

Bowls has always been my sport, this year marks the 30th anniversary of me taking up the game after we moved to Cornwall. It started as a way of spending some time with my sporting Dad. He’d played rugby, football and cricket for many years, and when his knees started giving out he switched to bowls, playing for Abington and the County Ground in Northampton.

30 years ago, bowls was a different game.

Ladies weren’t as welcome as they are now, with some clubs not allowing them on the green at all. The clothes we had to wear to play in were terribly old fashioned too, American Tan tights, white skirts, blazers and hats. As an almost 13 year old it wasn’t that attractive, but spending time with Dad

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and him being proud to play next to me were enough to get me going.

Now though, I’m worried. The sport I love is going through the doldrums a bit. Despite some fantastic young players locally, such as Jamie Walker, Connor Cinato, Billie Swift and Louise Haladij (sorry to anybody I’ve missed!) we are struggling to find new people to play. Clubs that had a proud tradition of being able to put out 6 rinks on a Saturday now can’t. A lot of games are going mixed (not that I have a problem with this, mixed games are, in my opinion, to be encouraged) but sometimes it’s difficult to even find the 24 players you need to fulfil a mixed fixture.

So why has this happened? What can we do to make sure that the game doesn’t die?

Well, I’m open to ideas, but even though we’ve come a long way from the days when I started in terms of dress, I can’t say that we’re particularly on trend when we’re stepping on a green. In Australia, Comfit-Pro have launched some hot pink ladies bowls shoes. Can you imagine the furore if I stepped on to a green wearing those? I’m not even sure I’m allowed to, even though I’d love to!

How can we get away from the image of our sport being just for the old? Yes, you see a lot of white hair if you walk into a bowls club, but that’s part of the charm. Grandparents can play alongside their grandchildren.

Three, in some cases four generations can all play on the same rink.

I think the media could play a part, actually. When the World Bowls at Potters is televised in January, it gets a good audience.

There are surely more opportunities to televise our sport? We could help ourselves, too, by getting sponsorship from companies other than funeral directors and over 50s holiday companies.

We need to embrace the fact that our sport is one of the very few where men and women can play on an equal footing. We need to be encouraging to young people, and that includes not being sniffy at the highfives (come on, exuberance is a good thing, surely?) Let’s stop looking backwards and reminding ourselves of the good old days and starting looking forward to the good times to come. Let’s allow hot pink bowling shoes, and allow people to play in shorts if they want to. Let’s start treating ourselves like sportsmen and women, in sports kit, not dressing like someone who’s going to their Great Aunt’s funeral or has just stepped off a punt. There will be people reading this getting incredibly upset that I am being so critical of how things are done, but it’s criticism that brings about change, and if we don’t start thinking of change then we can give up playing our sport. I think, sadly, it’s a simple as that.

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Two point four

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The battle is nearly over: it’s back to school time Adam Alexander Designer

nenequirer@gmail.com @thenenequirer 01604 550037

“T

here are Christmas decorations up in the Garden Centre!’

This bulletin billows from the living room as I step across the threshold after a long day in the office.

Don’t get me wrong, I not expecting the pipe and slippers routine: How was your day dear, and no sign of the children until I have quaffed my freshly mixed G&T (although pausing for a moment here – hmm, lovely).

No, far from it, I know a lot of mysterious things happen while I’m hard at it the coal face, especially during the dreaded summer months.

It reminds me of those early Saturday morning TV shows of wrestling, Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks, and when they later had tag team events. I step into the ring and it’s a palm-slap changeover with the wife.

“How’s it been? Have they been helpful?

Why is the lampshade in three pieces on the kitchen table? Why are there six pairs of children’s shoes at the back door when we only have two children?”

So, back to the Christmas information bomb, I take great delight in announcing, ‘Hah! You’ll be back to school soon then!’.

This is greeted with half-hearted groans.

They’ve been running about the house and garden all day, wearing down mum and now render themselves useless and only capable of watching the TV while the best days of their lives drain away.

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I know, I went there and dug up that old phrase. I’ve become my parents personified; I’m partly pleased and partly disgusted with myself at the same time.

I’ve made the mistake of being curious enough to find out what this overpowering distraction in the living room is. It truly is a power leaving most parents jealous and frustrated. I stand in the doorway for what is moments, listening to this inane whiny American twang. Some fly-on-the wall mockumentary on a dancing school. Utter rubbish, I mean truly dreadful stuff. I have to keep reminding myself this is scripted, it’s not even real.

I feel it’s my duty as head of the household to announce these observations at regular intervals. Oddly enough, I’m greeted with shushes and then hushed concentration as Brad begins the revelation of how he’s been holding out all summer and can actually manage the dance move and how it’s Amber he really loves and not Danielle, although

if she asked him, he’d probably go out with her. Scandalous obs hashtag-love (yes, this was an actual line in the programme, God I feel old.)

I retreat, mumbling words of confused disappointment, I could pretty much say anything at this point and there would be no response, like ‘Hey, we’ve booked two weeks to Disney Land’ or ‘we’ve won the lottery’ or better still – ‘school next week’. No, I’ll leave this titbit until dinner, sometime it’s best to be a little Machiavellian.

To all those weary tag team parents, single parents and carers this summer, there’s not long left.

Quoting the great Ulysses S. Grant -’ In every battle there comes a time when both sides consider themselves beaten, then he who continues the attack wins.’

Now is our time brothers and sisters in arms, they think we are beaten. Weary, yes, tired, yes, but we know there’s a whole lot of pain coming in September.

21/08/2017 12:34:58

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Sport

Aug/Sep

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21/08/2017 12:34:59

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Saints

NQ

Saints’ new boys aiming to make their mark N

orthampton Saints’ new season is launching with all the ferocity of a forward hitting the breakdown, writes Hilary Scott.

With huge games against Saracens (away) and then ‘welcoming’ old rivals Leicester to the Gardens as the first fixtures of the league, the men in green (even that eyewateringly bright lime version) have a tough opening to their Premiership campaign.

With England captain Dylan Hartley back at the helm of his club side, and the disappointment of last season hopefully washed away by pool-side summer breaks, the team is determined to get back to the top of the division.

The team is fit and raring to go after a pre-season training regime that put the ball-in-hand earlier than usual, according to new boys James Grayson and Jamal FordRobinson.

“I think it will be good to go into the early part of the season playing against the best, that’s what you test yourself against isn’t it?” says 19-year-old fly-half Grayson.

“We’ve had a relatively short pre-season but

it’s been really positive.”

Grayson, who has shone at academy and Under 20s international level, has certainty been making his mark with pre-season run-outs with the first team, due to Myler’s injury and Piers Francis’ relatively recent arrival. He might be a new addition to the top-boys club but as a Northampton boy, he’s been at the Saints for almost seven years.

“I’ve been in the Saints academy since I was 13, but last year was my first as a full-timer, and I’ve signed for two more.”

And while he’s proved himself from the off, consistently putting on the points in pre-season games with a cool head that belies his age, what’s it like to be coming into the ‘men’s’ game?

“Pre-season has been good for me,” says James. “Stevie [Myler] has a slight injury niggle and Piers Francis has only just arrived, so I’ve been chucked in at the deep end and played

fly-half a lot. The first couple of weeks feels significantly different, there’s a lot of pressure to perform at the highest level, and there’s also a lot of banter – non-stop!

You can’t get away with anything. There’s a couple who lead the banter – Tom Collins and Tom Stephenson!

– they went through it and love to dish it out.

If you are an academy player you will get your shot eventually and you need to take it, you can see how it’s worked for the likes of Harry Mallinder, and the two Toms. I’m determined to take all the chances I’m given, and the mood in the team is really positive going into the season.”

JAMES Grayson has come through Saints Academy via NSB and Moulton College

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21/08/2017 12:35:01

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Saints

Aug/Sept

41

Jamal Ford-Robinson: ‘To progress you’ve got to come up against the best, week in, week out’

N

EW boy Jamal Ford-Robinson is settling in to the Saints well since his move up from Bristol just a few weeks ago.

The tight-head prop is relishing the chance to play more premiership rugby having come up with Bristol…and then endured the agony of seeing them relegated after just a season.

“I think it made everyone realise just how big the gap is [for teams coming up to the Prem].”

He might be born and raised in the south west but his rugby education came just up the road, at Saints’ rivals Leicester where he was in their academy.

“I know the East Midlands, and I wanted a club that’s stable at the top and determined to stay there – you were disappointed to finish seventh? It says something about where the club wants to be. . .”

At this point we’re interrupted by Mitch Eadie, Saints’ new back-row and fellow Bristolian, banter-sidekick for Ford-Robinson.

They need it pointing out that Northampton isn’t a city, but are both looking forward to getting a chance to run out in front of a full Northampton crowd, as they’ve heard how exhilarating the experience will be.

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JAMAL Ford-Robinson , Saints’ new tighthead prop who got his first England call-up in Argentina this summer

Jamal’s potential has been spotted by England coach Eddie Jones too, having been called out to Argentina in the summer for the tour. He’s young, at 23, to be pushing for international honours as a prop. “I didn’t do

much, I played in the Barbarians game but I didn’t actually get a cap,” laughs Jamal, but at least he’s on Jones’ radar. “He’s is a great guy, he’s always got a sense of humour, but then he gets very serious when it gets to

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Aug/Sep

Saints

NQ

DORIAN West and Jim Mallinder flank captain Dylan Hartley at the official team photo call in August PIC by Dougie Scoles

GRAYSON has been winning games in pre-season Pic by Dave Ikin

LEFT and below: Stephen Myler, Mikey Heywood, Jamie Elliot, Ben Foden, Alex Waller and Phil Dowson.

PICS by Dougie Scoles

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rugby matters, he’s a proper drill sergeant, which works.”

By the end of this season what will JFR hope to have achieved?

“Personally? Obviously I want to get as many first team games as I can, although I’ve got Kieran Brookes and Paul Hill in the way, so formidable opposition.

“It was part of the reason for coming here though, if you want to progress you’ve got to come up against the best, week in, week out, and I’m coming up to challenge two England internationals…with actual caps!

“As for the team, I can’t talk for them about last year as I wasn’t here, but right now as a team it feels good, everyone talks about the fans here. And Sarries, Leicester and Bath as the first three games, that’s some opposition to start us off.

“We’ve had a lot of heavy sessions in pre-season, the boys are looking really fit, speaking to Jim and the coaching guys, they’ve introduced the ball into training early on and running plays in the hope we start better this year.”

With Grayson, Ford-Robinson, Eadie, along with the other recent signings including Piers Francis, all champing at the bit for their first run-outs at a full Franklin’s Gardens, we’re sure the Saints faithful will roar them on to a positive season.

21/08/2017 12:35:06

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Saints

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What a way to Mo Adam Alexander Designer

T

nenequirer@gmail.com @thenenequirer 01604 550037

he sun was shining at the Birmingham Alexander Stadium. There were various events underway around the main track: women’s pole vaulting, men’s long jump and shot putt to name a few.

Just as we settled into the much underestimated sport of spectating, there was a wave of hush around the stadium and a white convertible Bentley entered with Sir Mo Farah perched on the rear seats in an all-white tracksuit. Arms opened wide and occasionally posing with the now infamous Mo Bot, the crowd reacted and cheers rose to drown out any commentary. The man is very comfortable and gives the supporters what they want.

We watched the final of the men’s high jump, which was not without some outstanding performances. Our own Tom Gale performed a personal best, but was overshadowed by Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar’s performance.

With all other competitors finished at 2.37, Barshim moved on to the 2.38, struggled a little but opted for an unusual shift to 2.4m. With the crowd behind him, clapping and then pausing as he launched up into the air we collectively held our breath as

he sailed over the bar with ease and landed to huge roar. It was at this point he picked up the bar and announced he was done and walked off with it tucked under one arm.

The men’s track races finished with the men’s 3000m final. The competitors proceeded out in single file, warming up with a few up and downs at the back straight, then lined up at the starting line. Such was the support for Mo and Andy Butchart, that the starting of this race was held up as per the words of one official –‘ can the crowd please observe some silence as we can’t hear the starting instructions’. Guilty as charged.

The gun fired and they were off. A good pace was set by the two Kenyan pacers Kibet and Birgen, where Mo and Butchart sat comfortably in the rear pack for the first 4 laps. The onlookers are now used to this

Mo-tactic and so reacted with mediocre sound levels. Laps five & six saw the surge from the back by Mo and Butchart then taking lead positons one and two respectively. The crowd were on their feet, we were shouting ourselves hoarse. There’s no doubt between us, this final UK track event for Mo will be a golden one. With the roar and chant turned up beyond 11 Sir Mo once again showed he had the magic with a victory time of 7:38.65.

What a fitting send off from a man who has given so much to British Athetics, who promises to continue to support and give something back in years to come. What a great honour to have witness this man through the years and to hear so many young athletes and children in the crowd speak of his inspiration.

Olympic cyclist Becky James announced as this year’s event starter for Cycle4Cynthia Double Olympic medal-winning cyclist Becky James will show her continuing support for Northampton’s Cynthia Spencer Hospice by setting off the riders at the county’s favourite annual fundraising bike ride, Cycle4Cynthia, later this month!

The former Welsh international, who picked up two silvers on the track in Rio last year has now announced her retirement from the sport, and now lives in the county with her partner, British Lion, Wales and Saints winger George North. She says she’s thrilled to be firing the starting hooter, thereby following in the footsteps of those celebrities who have previously generously performed the honour, including singer-songwriter Curtis Stigers, former Generation Game hostess Isla St Clair, and Radio 2 DJ Jo Whiley!

“George and I went to the launch of the ride back in April and it was amazing to hear not only what a great event it is from former participants, many of whom have ridden in it for years, but also what

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it means to those patients and families who are supported by the incredible team at the hospice” explained Becky.

“Cycling has been such a big part of my life and it’s a great thing to do, whether you’re a regular rider or just fancy the occasional pedal on a sunny Sunday, so I really hope that lots of cyclists will join us and make this the biggest and best year yet!” she added.

Last September more than 1100 riders of all shapes and sizes, ages and abilities jumped into their saddles, raising £76k for the Hospice and this year, its fundraising manager, John Helm, hopes that Becky’s involvement will help to better

both of those figures.

“Cycle4Cynthia is the biggest fundraiser in the calendar for us so we would urge anyone with two wheels to come out and support us and meet this true sporting hero!

“Of course there are no prizes for crossing the line first, as Becky’s used to, but we do give everyone who takes part a commemorative medal.

“There are also trophies for the largest team, the most sponsorship raised and the best fancy dress so if you’re feeling competitive, you can always give one of those a go!” he enthused.

Cycle4Cynthia 2017 is taking place from 9am on Sunday 24th September at Lamport Hall with 5, 25 and 50 mile routes on offer. Entry is £15 for adults, £7.50 for children and £35 for families (rising after 1st September).

For more information, including registering for the ride or to view the routes, please visit www.cycle4cynthia.co.uk or call the Hospice on 01604 678082 or email fundraising@cynthiaspencer.co.uk

21/08/2017 12:35:07

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Aug/Sep

Cobblers

NQ

It will need brave decisions to find the way forward for Cobblers Andy Roberts

King of Commentary nenequirer@gmail.com @thenenequirer 01604 550037

D

isappointment finds Cobblers fans easily enough – the club’s 120-year history has been dominated by long periods of gloom, interspersed with brief spells of dazzling sunshine.

The new season now upon us promises bright new days but the league curtain-raiser at Shrewsbury, a club which struggled last season, brought defeat and swiftly burst that big ballooning bubble of optimism.

New investment from China and a parade of incoming new talent naturally enough saw hope spring eternal.

But supporters who had taken it upon themselves to look up Guangzhou on the world map and praise the club’s newly-acquired strength in depth were floored by the reverse on day one.

No-one saw that coming but it did come as a timely reality check. For what exactly is this optimism based on? If truth be told, it is based on very little knowledge.

We know little about the Chinese investors or about how much money they have invested, although the down payment is thought to be in the region of £6 million.

We know little about manager Justin Edinburgh’s true qualities – only now will we find out what he is about as he gets to work with

his chosen players, systems and working practices.

And we know little about the large number of players he has recruited and their true qualities as quantity does not necessarily equate to quality.

We will know much more after about ten games, although its been worrying so far with the amount of losses. Despite the run of early defeats players and systems, rightly, should be given a little time to bed in.

Rome, like the East Stand, was not built in a day and no judgement can be made during the first few weeks of a season.

But there is a clear expectation that the Cobblers improve on last season’s lowly finish and Edinburgh will be expected to deliver.

New investors 5U Sport want a successful club if their education-based partnership at Sixfields is to flourish.

The Cobblers need to be knocking on the door of the Championship if they want the money men to hang around.

Guangzhou’s poster boy, so we are told, is Cobblers skipper Marc Richards. And why not? – most Cobblers fans, myself included, love the talismanic captain to bits.

In his first spell at the club he struggled to find his first goal in claret and white.

But I was actually there at that super-modern curiosity of a stadium in the north-east ‘when Richards scored one, against the Darlington’.

A last-minute decision to make the trip

to Macclesfield’s Moss Rose ground in 2004 saw the Cobblers four up at half time, all the goals to super Marc.

Two defining goals in two seasons from Richards at the Kassam Stadium kept those niggardly upstarts from Oxford in their place.

And only in April, the sweetest of strikes briefly pinned back Chris Wilder’s and champions elect Sheffield United’s aspirations.

But even I have to admit that this season is probably one too far for Richards and that it is time for him to take back seat, alongside set-piece specialist Matt Taylor.

Both Richards and Taylor are quality footballers with an abundance of experience, valuable requirements in the third tier of English football.

But Edinburgh now needs to utilise these qualities sparingly and wisely and it is time for others in the squad to step up to the plate and prove their worth.

What we have seen too often is a midfield and forward line which is dysfunctional.

The midfield has been lacking both the steel and pace to break up the opposition play and drive the team forward, while the forward line has too often been one dimensional.

There is no reason now why these various qualities cannot be balanced.

Chris Long and Billy Waters up front with Richards on the bench? A risk? Yes. Edinburgh would need to be brave. But it just may be the answer.

Should the midfield be a shield or a sword? Finding the right balance is the key Tom Reed

Prince of pundits nenequirer@gmail.com @thenenequirer 01604 550037

N

orthampton Town started their season with back-to-back defeats and fans questioning the tactics of manager Justin Edinburgh. The ex-Spurs defender favours a wing-back system which has seen Cobblers fall to dual 1-0 losses in the League at Shrewsbury Town and the League Cup at Queens Park Rangers.

The Saturday-Tuesday fixtures gave Town fans the chance to assess the Northampton side which has seen several additions over the summer. Lenell John-Lewis struck late on for Shrewsbury on Saturday in the League opener at the New Meadow to condemn Cobblers to a single goal defeat. John-Lewis, about whom fans famously chant ‘his name is a shop’ had the 1000 strong shoe army support going wild in the aisles.

Most worrying for Town diehards was the fashion of the defeat in which the Cobblers were overwhelmed at times by

AugSep Edition.indd 44

the side who are the bookies favourites for relegation. Northampton boss Edinburgh has gone with a trendy wing-back system that has placed his players under mental and technical strain. Such a 3-41-2 system of three centre-backs and two wing-backs relies on the central defenders to be comfortable on the ball and the wing-backs to be quick, agile and full of stamina. Question marks already hover over the ability of stalwart left-back Dave Buchanan to fulfil such a role and indeed the number of true wing-backs in the Cobblers squad.

Moreover, the on-the-ball competency of Northampton’s first choice centre-backs Aaron Pierre, Ash Taylor and Leon Barnett is open to debate with none of the trio noted for calmness in possession by fans of their previous clubs. All this leads fans to ask whether Edinburgh is getting the best out of a squad which should be better than the one brought together by former boss Rob Page by this time last year.

At League One level clubs really need to be squeezing every pound worth of value out of each player, yet Edinburgh is focusing on his defence, leaving the likes

of Yaser Kasim and agile loanee striker Chris Long for bit part roles. Indeed, cult hero midfielder John-Joe O’Toole is supposed to be nearing fitness after a groin problem and it is difficult to see how he will slot into Town’s current format.

Overall, Cobblers fans are crying out for the sort of attacking style 4-2-3-1 that Chris Wilder used in the League 2 title winning season of 2015-16. That means putting the emphasis on rapid attacking midfielders and trying to overwhelm opposition rather than contain them which Town are doing at present. Of course, no manager can play the same formation week in week out anyway and much depends on the lineup of the opposition.

Justin Edinburgh was brought in before the Chinese takeover at Sixfields and needs to be wary of 5USports’ ambitions for the club. They have spent money and will want results.

String together some victories with the wing-back system and Edinburgh will win the plaudits à la Antonio Conte at Chelsea.

Lose any more games and Edinburgh may really start to feel the burn from the Chinese.

21/08/2017 12:35:08

NQ

Sport

Aug/Sep

45

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21/08/2017 12:35:20

46

Aug/Sep

Cricket

NQ

Is white ball cricket too much of a game changer?

Alex Stockton Cricket writer

S

nenequirer@gmail.com @alexjstockton 01604 550037

ince I first became interested in the game, I have viewed test cricket as the absolute pinnacle of cricket. The T20 and Fifty Over matches are great, and they exhibit a wide range of incredible skills that modern day batsmen possess, but there’s no better achievement than a test hundred on a challenging pitch, or a five-for against one of the world’s best sides. With the emergence of an increasingly aggressive approach to white ball batting, however, are we beginning to see a change in the way test matches pan out? Quite possibly.

Take England’s recent series against the South Africans, for example. None of the games, with the exception of the rain-affected third, reached the final day. More and more “five day” matches are only lasting three or four days, and this trend isn’t completely new. The Ashes series of 2015 saw most of the games over after four days, with a resounding victory for one of the sides. Part of the reason for such a change is the dramatic increase in average run rates. Rather than blocking out for a session, England’s natural response to losing early wickets at Lord’s, for example, was to attack.

Joe Root scored at a healthy strike rate, not far short of 100, as he led his side’s recovery.

With teams now able to post 350 after a day’s play with little to no risk, at least by modern standards, it is no wonder that fewer games are going the distance.

One line of thought suggests that the main source of inspiration for such an approach is white ball cricket. Teams all over the world are scoring over 400 in fifty over cricket these days, and it’s hardly surprising that it might have rubbed off on cricket’s purest format. Take the aforementioned Joe Root: England’s new test captain plays in all three formats, meaning that he has to alter his approach frequently. That he does successfully, too, by and large. Almost inevitably, though, it is exceptionally difficult to completely change your approach constantly throughout a season. Signs that batsmen are

AugSep Edition.indd 46

becoming increasingly proactive, regardless of the situation, have been there for all to see for a few years now. Casting our minds back once again to 2015, Australia were bowled out for 60 at Trent Bridge as none of their batsmen decided that leaving the ball was a viable option. They constantly pushed hard at balls on a good length, and generally got caught behind the bat. While there’s no way of proving that this tendency to pursue a higher run rate has come as a result of T20s or ODIs, it does seem like it could be the case.

Moving away from the international game for a moment, the issue of making a transition from shorter to longer form cricket is prevalent throughout all forms of the sport.

Club cricketers up and down the country will undoubtedly have witnessed youngsters making their bow in senior cricket; while it isn’t always the case, they can struggle to adjust to the demands of batting for longer periods of time. Moving from playing all of their age group games in a T20 format to Saturday cricket, where 50 overs are generally the order of the day, means they have no idea how to pace themselves.

This is hardly surprising; they’re inexperienced due to their lack of exposure to different types of cricket. Why, therefore, should adult players be any different?

Granted, they’re older and, granted, they’re professionals. Nonetheless, the principles remain the same.

If we accept, for the moment, that different approaches to one day cricket have rubbed off on the longer form, then we need to ask whether it’s important. Some would argue that the evolution of the game is completely natural, and no-one should do anything to alter it. Why intervene in the natural development of the sport? Well, talk to any purist and you’ll have a few answers: “Do what you want with the white ball game, but test cricket has to remain

the same”; “Test matches are test matches, they’re five days long and we have to respect that”. In many ways, this line of thinking is absolutely spot on. I’ve stated from the outset that I find test cricket to be the most fascinating of formats, and I do not believe we should be looking to change that.

Many pundits, on the other hand, believe that test matches should be reduced to four days. Most games are over in that time, anyway, leaving spectators on the fifth day of matches disappointed. They would argue that we should embrace the change in approach and harness it, using it to develop the sport. I would argue that such a change would simply be “for the sake of it”. Who knows where the game will be in thirty years’ time? No-one, but isn’t that the reason we watch sport?

Sport is about the unknown, and to try and predict the future and make such a drastic change in accordance with that would be foolish.

As soon as test matches are cut to four days, batsmen will start taking their time more. Well, not necessarily, but I don’t believe we’re at a point where such a significant shift is required.

Another reason it’s important has to do with the game’s young players. Twenty five years ago, young cricketers grew up watching test cricket played at a much steadier pace compared with today. Nowadays, they grow up watching Chris Gayle, AB De Villiers, and Jos Buttler take bowlers for twenty an over. Exactly how test cricket will look in another twenty, thirty years’ time is anyone’s guess, but the white ball game will almost certainly have something to do with that end product. Personally, I would hope that the integrity of the longer game remains. It is, after all, the greatest test of a cricketer’s ability. There’s a place for T20 tournaments and ODI world cups, of course, but not at the expense of the sport’s finest form.

21/08/2017 12:35:20

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Aug/Sep

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