70's

The Hargreaves clan were very proud last night as CH junior picked up an award at Exeter Cathedral. It wasn't for him tidying his bedroom well, or even going to bed at the right time, it was for being a good lad at school and doing well in sport. Along with his fellow award winners he was pleased as punch to be given a certificate for excellence, it didn't last long though, we arrived home at 10 p.m and he still had his maths homework to do, Chin up!


I really hope that a few people managed to catch one of the best things on TV this week, and I don't mean 'Celebrity muppets sponsored by frozen prawns'. 'When playboys ruled the world' showed an insight into the lives of James Hunt and Barry Sheene, two racing icons of the seventies. It's funny really because over the years when people have asked me who my hero was, I always gave the same answer, and it wasn't a footballer. I would always say Barry Sheene and my dad. I wanted to race bikes when I was younger as my dad had, but falling off a few times quite badly pushed my dad into giving me a football.
I still loved bikes though and anyone who knows about bikes will have heard of Barry Sheene. Together with James Hunt they were the first celebrities of their day, both winning the World championships in their respective sports in 1976, and along with George Best they would change the image of a sportsman forever.
Barry Sheene and James Hunt got up to more back then than all of todays stars put together, but they admitted it and they celebrated it. Without a posse of advisers in tow they had a fag on the start line, they swigged champagne after a race and they partied like there was only a week to live, and in those days that was often the case. In the bike world alone it would not be uncommon to lose thirty riders in a season such was the danger at the circuits,but these lads just got on with it.
It was an incredible documentary of an incredible time in British Sport.Please try to watch it on iplayer, imac, big mac, or whatever other source you can find, because it is well and truly worth it.

Tomorrow I am going to watch two of my old teams play, in Plymouth and Brentford, so listen out for Sparksy and Greavsie arguing on the radio, and on Monday I shall be snuggling up to Nat on the sofa,looking at the goals from the weekend, and hopefully talking through a few West Country wins.
Other than that, in true seventies style, it will be a weekend of beer, fags, women, and BRUT, just don't tell my wife!

CH