I’d a rare break from writing yesterday. Leaving casa Strachan at 7.30am and not getting home until 11.00pm rendering opportunities of putting pen to paper nigh on impossible. My destination the city of Nottingham – Robin Hood’s manor, domain made famous by Brian Clough, home of Boots the Chemist and place my late dad served his National Service in the 1950’s. My odyssey, though, wasn’t to cross swords with the […]
There’s few things that rankle with a Yorkshireman more than defeat by sports teams representing the House of Lancaster. Witnessing Lancastrian ‘troops’ returning west over the Pennine Hills with a battle victory lodges in their trachea like a carelessly swallowed wish bone. Yesterday evening was a perfect example of this disenchantment by players and supporters of the white rose county’s cricket team. Despair manifesting from the sight of seeing Lancashire […]
Summer evenings don’t get much better than a tea of fish and chips from St Michael’s Fisheries, then a short meander down the road to the Emerald Headingley Stadium to witness a t20 Blast cricket match. A scene that, in the company of my son Jonny, came to pass yesterday afternoon. In my book, a belly full of fish and nerks (as my dad had a tendency to call them), […]
I was amongst the crowd at Emerald Headingley Stadium yesterday evening. Along with the other spectators, my mission, should I choose to accept it (which I did), was to witness the safe return of two T20 blast points by the Yorkshire Vikings cricket team. Barring the Tykes path a dangerous nemesis who’d ventured north to the stadium, once graced by the likes of Verity, Wardle, Hutton, Illingworth, Boycott, Close and […]
As I commence this offering, I’m sitting in what’s classed as the Popular Enclosure at Emerald Headingley cricket stadium. In the absence of my laptop, I’m typing this narrative on my mobile phone – An onerous task but not as difficult as, say, writing this with a leadless pencil, or Cheesestrings***. *** – Other processed cheese snacks are available – Be aware, though, they’re equally inept for use as a writing […]
On this day in mid-1960’s Kirskstall, Leeds my younger brother Ian made his appearance into the world. Born at home, our kid arrived shortly after the conclusion of the second Cassius Clay vs Sonny Liston fight. With Clay (latterly Muhammed Ali) winning by first round KO, Ian didn’t turn up on time to witness Liston being struck to the canvas by the Louisville Lip. Although I suspect, as a new-born […]
One of the pages within my website menu is Cricketing Yarns. A literary portal containing a series of partly fictional and unreliable tales from my club cricketing career. Although now retired, I played club cricket in Gateshead, Buckinghamshire and Leeds for over 30 years. An odyssey that started when one of my neighbours (Brian Dixon) introduced me to Gateshead Fell cricket club. A Durham Senior League outfit where I’d go […]
