Bobby Charlton is 70

Seeing his birthday mentioned in the Independent last week brought back images of him in his pomp. Now there's a phrase you wouldn't use of any current English player.
It means Charlton running at defences with the remnants of his hair flowing behind him unleashing one of his thunderbolts from distance; or racing into the penalty area to crash home an unstoppable header.
Who have we today who can create the same excitement ? Wayne Rooney, but only fitfully. No excitement from Owen who scores many of his international goals against countries that didn't even exist in Bobby's time, or countries we didn't then deign to play (like the Faroes). The only player in England to match Charlton for excitement and threats on goal is Portugese - Christiano Ronaldo.

County Cricket

The death last week of Derek Shackleton brought back memories of when County Cricket still mattered. Back then, I could recite the names of the entire Yorkshire team as I followed their rivalries with Lancashire and Surrey on the back page of the Hull Daily Mail. When Yorkshire played their annual game in Hull at the Circle ground (now the KC Stadium) men used to take one of their precious day's holidays to watch their heroes.
Of course it was all an illusion spun by the newspaper columnists with their elegant prose, and radio commentators such as John Arlott with his memorable voice. Nevertheless, along with warm beer it was still part of the fabric of English life in the early 50s.