The Great Gordino Newsletter – Nov 11th 2014

Hi,
I hope all is well with you.

I see in the news that Phil Rudd, drummer with ACDC was arrested on charges of trying to arrange a murder. That charge was later dropped, but he is still charged with making threats against people. Those people probably suggested he learn a second rhythm to go with the same one he’s been playing for 40 years…

"Sheila Marsh"
I also saw a photo in many papers about a dying cancer patient who was reunited with her horse to say goodbye. Sheila Marsh, 77, had owned Bronwen for 25 years since she was a foal. She had asked to see her one more time, so the staff at Wigan Royal Infirmary arranged the visit. Sheila asked Bronwen for a kiss, and the horse nuzzled her face.

"Bronwen"
A few hours later Sheila passed away. Some may see this as mawkish nonsense, hardly a news story, but in a world of news full of negativity, is it wrong to have a story which gives some uplift? It made me look twice, and if I look twice, it normally gets into the newsletter!

On the sporting front, goalkeeper David James has filed for bankruptcy, and has been selling lots of his stuff, battered old biked and hedge strimmers to go along with signed football shirts. A sorry tale for someone who played many many times for England and earnt an estimated £20 million from football. Many jokes online about him never being any good at saving…

Speaking of football, Warrinton Town beat Exeter City in the 1st round of the FA Cup. The FA Cup is a much derided competition in the high finance world of today’s football, with many of the Premier League teams putting out second string teams with the view that the competition is an inconvenience.

The Premier League teams only join the competition at the 3rd round stage (something which I’ve always had a problem with) but for team further down the football ladder, the romance and the importance of ‘the cup’ is as strong as ever. Warrington are 100 places below Exeter in the football structure – and won! A wonderful result for us traditionalists.

Long time readers will know how much I enjoy the NFL, but this kind of result is not something possible in the NFL due to the structure of the sport, with only 32 teams and no way of being ‘promoted’ into the league. That doesn’t make it right or wrong, it’s just a big difference, flagged up by this result, which would maybe be an equivalent of a high school tea, beating the Seattle Seahawks. Sort of!

"Jo Pavey"
Also on the sporting front, Jo Pavey has not been included for lottery funding in the approach to Rio 2016. Even though she won the European 10,000 metres championship last year, she suspects she hasn’t been given funding because she is too old.

I loved what she had to say though. She said the funding is not why she runs. She’s been to many Olympics, and when she started, not only was there no funding, there was no idea that it would happen in the future. That meant she didn’t run for the funding then, and wasn’t running for the funding now. I love that, it’s true Jo Pavey style – in a world where athletes go to media training and fill their interviews with sound bytes, Jo always speaks in a way normal people can relate – good for her (again) and there’s another article I wrote about Jo, in the links below.

"Gordon Bryan"
Armistice day on the 11th November. This year marks 100 years since the start of the war, and in Britain the imagination has been captured by the poppy display at the Tower of London, with 888, 246 ceramic poppies filling the moat, 1 for each British and Commonwealth soldier that died. I’ve written a separate article about that too, link at bottom, which you might like, about the unknown soldier, who is represented by one of those poppies, and lies in Westminster Abbey. Not forgotten.

Ok, do let me know what you think, I love the feedback!

‘Til next time,
Health & Happiness,
Gordon
P.S. Here are those articles I mentioned –
Goal Achievement – Jo Paves The Way!
The Unknown Warrior – Not Forgotten

Do leave a comment!

Leave a Reply to Jen X

6 Comments

  • First thought came to mind.. Life is filled with Ups and Downs. Be brave to embrace and live a meaningful life. Thanks for your great sharing Gordon. Always learn something new here 🙂

  • I love the bit about the woman and her horse! And I agree…with all the negativity in the world, why not share something so touching. Thanks for sharing Gordon. 🙂

    • Thanks Jen,
      I saw it in one paper, then another, then another, and it’s not hard to see why, a touching story indeed,
      cheers, Gordon

  • The story of the dying cancer patient, Sheila Marsh, and her horse brought tears to my eyes I must admit. Great newsletter as always.

    • Thanks Christie!
      Me too. My first reaction was how sad it was, but that was quickly replaced by how sweet it was, and then it made me smile,
      cheers, Gordon