i was there

another few quiet weeks in worthing so once again i thought i'd cast my mind back and try to remember who and/or what I have seen “live” and consider which was best.

music: nina simone, woody herman’s herd, neil young, van morrison, elvis costello, brian wilson, bruce springsteen, neil diamond, john prine, iris dement, bonnie raitt, aimee mann, bob dylan, steve earle, tom paxton, tom russell, joan baez, roger mcguinn, nanci griffith, emmylou harris, mary chapin carpenter, thea gilmore, leonard cohen, josh ritter, billy bragg, wilco, loudon, rufus and martha wainwright, richard thompson and many many more……. never saw savoy brown but leo works for me.

so what was best? – impossible to decide! i think a lot depends on mood! of the big events, leonard was sensational and scores 10/10 but intimate little shows at the greys in brighton also score high because of surprise, surprise their intimacy - kevin montgomery, jeff finlan, chip taylor and carrie rodriguez. but how could i forget kris kristofferson dedicating a song to me in belfast [his only dedication] - sunday morning coming down. great song - thanks mary!

sport: was there when barry mcguigan beat pedroza to become world champ in shephard’s bush, when northern ireland beat england at wembley in 1972 (later spoke to terry neil about his goal, that goal!), was in the estádio da luz when the earth moved for becks, was at aintree to back highland wedding [100/8] to win the grand national (after getting a tip from the trainer’s neighbour whilst on a geography field trip to durham) – rushed back to aintree and then went to goodison park to watch everton play tottenham – my first live match in england. went to the open when greg won, saw brighton lose the fa cup, was at wimbledon final when jan kodes (who?) won, and was there when connors beat rosewall, and when bj king beat evert, saw grundy win the derby, and ireland win the triple crown, sussex win the 50 overs thingy at lords. was on telly with sven [got the video], have nick faldo's hole in one ball [walton heath - also got the video]. went to yankee stadium to see the yankees play, met the great '89 49ers including joe montana and jerry rice [legends]. scored a try at ravenhill [o/k 7 a side tournament but the field was still green grass and graced by some of the the greatest - love alliteration!]. NOTE: i keep adding to this paragraph as my failing memory recalls long forgotten events. keep tuned in..... just remembered beating the london batallion boys brigade at sion mills when i was captain of the ni [norn iron] battallion - sounds military but i can assure you it wasn't. i can now reveal that our secret weapon, who took most of the wickets, was a young catholic friend [the bb was protestant] who went on to play for ireland - raymond moan. i didn't care then and i don't care now.

what's best? - no contest! the clones cyclone - barry! however my first sporting memory was when my dad brought me to see ireland play new zealand in belfast in the late 50's. i can still see that in my mind's eye whilst many of the big events have faded. pass the bottle!

next week I will describe my greatest successes with vegetables.