We have been regular visitors to the North Lakes area for years. On our most recent visit a few weeks ago we took a trip to the coast and visited Workington, Whitehaven, Silloth and Cockermouth.
Workington like so many places these days had a rather frayed round the edges look about it but it had a fairly decent shopping centre and was pretty busy. I was amazed at the seafront where there were many many wind turbine generators.
The news from that area about the floods in recent days has been shocking. The gap in the photo above was where a policeman was swept away and died as a bridge over the River Derwent collapsed.
Gordon Brown has offered £1 million from central government to assist.
Bearing in mind that a roundabout on the A82 near where I sit cost £800,000 to landscape five years ago perhaps puts how far this sum will go into perspective.
One has to be fair though, one cannot accuse the EU of not being inclusive. There was apparently a good attendance at the meeting of the Bilderberg Group where M. Van Rompuy chose to announce his initiative.
“Please find attached a match report, (same source as previous) over Dumbarton’s demolition of Brother Walfrid’s Charity XI on New Years Day 1892.
It is reported as the first match played with goal nets from various sources.
Even Buffalo Bill’s manager couldn’t save the bedraggled eastenders. Note the journalist heroically staying sober enough until half time. He did better than some of his colleagues, one inebriate sent to the game, supplied his editor with the match report “The match requires little or no description. Dumbarton winning in the easiest fashion by 8 goals to nil.” He did manage to notice there was 15,000 present before succumbing to the hospitality.”
With today’s game against Peterhead being called off, I thought I’d look back at a previous Sons game.
1892 was obviously a good year for Dumbarton.
Safe journey back to China on Tuesday Jim and on behalf of those with a Sons allegiance who look in here, thank you for these fascinating clips you’ve been sending.
The Kinning Park Rowing Club had protested about Sons beating them 4-1 but it only made them mad apparently…….
Click on the pic to enlarge.
Match report from Sons demolition of the Gers. It was only 117 years ago.
Grapefruit moon, one star shining, shining down on me.
Heard that tune, and now I’m pining, honey, can’t you see?
‘Cause every time I hear that melody, well, something breaks inside,
And the grapefruit moon, one star shining, can’t turn back the tide.
Never had no destination, could not get across.
You became my inspiration, oh but what a cost.
‘Cause every time I hear that melody, well, something breaks inside,
And the grapefruit moon, one star shining, is more than I can hide.
Now I’m smoking cigarettes and I strive for purity,
And I slip just like the stars into obscurity.
‘Cause every time I hear that melody, well, puts me up a tree,
And the grapefruit moon, one star shining, is all that I can see.
There’s been quite a bit of discussion amongst supporters of Dumbarton on how we should mark the passing of one of our great players, Kenny Jenkins.
The decision to mark remembrance of Kenny with a minute’s applause is one I support and am comfortable with.
Some fans though see applause as somehow being disrespectful and prefer the traditional minute’s silence.
Whilst there are occasions where silence is still appropriate, I feel that when respect and remembrance is for a sporting hero it should be done with applause.
Not just because it filters out the idiots who would interrupt a silence.
Only a small minority of the people at today’s game with Peterhead will have been fortunate enough to see Kenny Jenkins play.
I am one of those privileged few and I will applaud Kenny to the rafters as I remember, reflect on and respect his considerable contribution to the best Dumbarton team of at least the last 100 years.
My friend Jim sends me this quite fantastic picture.
Not only that he also sent this explanation:
“Hi Robert,
I don’t know if you have seen this attachment before. I first saw it in a football book I had in the mid seventies.
It is a wood engraving first published in the Pictorial World in March 1883. It depicts Dumbarton’s historic 3-1 victory over Queen’s Park in the Scottish Cup quarter-final on Saturday 3rd February. Due to the Sons losing the previous two cup finals to the Spiders, this cup-tie produced unprecedented interest in the county and throughout the country. Jim McAllister says in the book that 10,000 attended and you can see the one of the specially constructed platforms. The well dressed people in the foreground are in the also specially constructed stand, also mentioned in Jim’s book.
“Plumber” Brown scored the equaliser followed by a couple from “Kinnie” McKinnon, and, of course, after finally overcoming Queens, Sons went on to lift the cup.
There is no truth in the rumour Queens blamed the defeat on the overcoated, stick-carrying referee being not fit enough to keep up with play.”
