Time The Avenger - one of my favorite
Pretenders tracks, and most apt this morning.
Shuffled off for yet another weary plod to be greeted by a most reluctant, rusty right knee. This nodule of bone and gristle has been complaining like a whinging Scotsman for a while now. The moans have until now fallen on deaf ears, but finally this morning, like in
Horton Hears A Who the message broke through to my Jurassic brain.
The reality is I have to stop running.
There, I said it out loud. Not for good (certainly not for
good) but at least until I drag myself off to the Knee Whisperer and get a formal verdict. I did complete an ugly, painful five miler this morning but if I keep this up I could do some real damage that I won't limp away from. I'm hoping that by stating all this 'in public' I'm forcing myself down the right road; if I don't I'm sure to get plenty of stick from the good people here.
Speaking of verdicts I'm waiting with baited breath for the outcome of todays' Dwayne Chambers hearing.
I'm desperately hoping for a definitive 'non' but suspect the shadow of litigation will loom large over proceedings and the cheating scumbag may get his trip to China. I don't care that he's 'served time' for his 'crimes', or that he 'volunteered' information to help the dope-catchers; this guy, allegedly one of our most naturally gifted sprinters, sought to gain unfair advantage by knowingly using banned substances to the exclusion of other 'honest' athletes. So Britain might miss out on some medals. So what? Tarnished gold is no better than excrement and anyone connected with such ill-gotten gains should be treated as such and flushed out of the sport. Chambers defacated on his fellow athletes from on high, knowingly cheating them out of places in major championships. Michael Johnson, a man for whom I have the utmost respect, says Chambers would be lucky to get a medal in Beijing with a jetpack strapped to his back; I couldn't care less. If he goes thanks to a legal loophole I shall not watch the Olympics. Yes, it's cutting off my nose to spite my face, for I truly love this pantheon of sporting excellence. But for me it's a cut and dried issue;
not in my name.
The sooner the IAAF and the IOC get on board the better.
So long as the message is blurred by political fudge and mind-boggling litigeous slalom up-and-coming atheletes struggling to make the grade will be tempted to reach that little bit too far. Life bans won't stop it completely - there are always fools who think they'll get away with it - but the rules will be clear; cheat and you're gone. The 'restraint of trade' argument doesn't stand up for me; you forfit the right to trade if you do so illegally. Chambers has apparently shown remorse and helped the authorities - all well and good once you've been nicked. Would he have 'fessed up otherwise? Of course not; he'd be bouncing his grandkids on his knee telling them how he beat the world.
On a happier note I unearthed a real treasure this week.
Grannys Intentions were a staggeringly good blues/ rock combo featuring none other than master bluesman Garry Moore (he of
Parisian wallkways and
Thin Lizzy fame) plying their trade in the late '60's and early '70's. With classic tracks such as
Hilda The Builder and
Sandy's On The Phone Again this band out of Limmerick graced no greater venue than Lewes Town Hall on 19th January 1968 when they supported a then little-known acid-freak outfit from south London. I was delighted to discover a reproduction of the original concert poster in a recent edition of
Lewes News - I've posted a copy below.
Note the admission price - 12/6 - and what must have come as a great shock to the Lewes establishment, a bar extension 'to 11:45'; whatever next! The poster is somewhat tainted as the owner, a local chap by the name of Bill Hendley, got the headliners to sign his copy on the night. Shame, but ultimately I feel it doesn't detract from the authenticity of the poster.
