A step back in time - and still no walking poles

I'm sure many people are familiar with this shop but I had never noticed it before.

James Smith & Sons are umbrella, stick and whip manufacturers. I must admit I did not notice any whips but the shop is full of just sticks and umbrellas.

It is something of a step back in time but the shop seems to be thriving - and thankfully I could not see any of those walking pole things.

You can find this wonderful throwback to a Victorian era in New Oxford Street and learn more at their 21st century website.

Use of video helps cricket but not so sure for rugby

I am no expert on rugby. I went to the wrong type of school. We were actually told off if we played at lunchtime.
That has not stopped me enjoying the World Cup. The Japan win was great for the game - and Brighton - although I suspect South Africa will comfortably qualify for the knock-out stages anyway.
Like most other more casual fans I am still mystified by most of the penalties. The ref blows but it is utter guess work as to why and who against. The toughness of the players is incredible, but also borderline dangerous. The number of injuries is now so high that we are reaching 'something must be done' territory - albeit as a non-rugger bod I have no idea what.
I have though been intrigued by the impact of the TMO (Television Match Official - or use of video technology to you and me) on the rugby matches. It seems to me as a non-expert that in the case of rugby, video technology has a negative effect. Good rugby involves tries - but the TMO tends to result in apparent tries being ruled out. This is the opposite to what has happened in my sport, cricket, where video technology has led to umpires being more willing to award wickets. Ball tracking (Hawkeye) has shown that 'leg befores' (LBW's) are far more common than umpires had previously been willing to award.
This is not an argument for removing the use of technology in rugby to help the ref, sorry Sir, get things right. Rather I think the blazers may need to look at revising the number of points awarded so tries are encouraged. 7 points for a try and only 2 for a penalty anyone?
NB - and by the way I have backed Ireland to win the thing!

The absence of Germans in Greece tests Anglo/Russian relations

One thing very obviously noticeable in Greece this September was the absence of Germans, and their replacement by Russians.
I guess the Germans may be worried about the reception they will receive. The Greek tabloids have enjoyed photoshopping Ang-Gella (that's how I pronounce it - hard second g) onto jackboots and swastikas. It's the German Government who have been most resistant to giving Greece debt relief - despite being perfectly happy to flog endless Mercedes and VW's (complete with fiddled emissions data) to a Greece which bought them on borrowed money.
Not only have the oligarchs arrived, even buying up the Onassis private island, but many more ordinary Russians are forsaking Crimea for Greece.
This has all led to some interesting cultural clashes, and tests for Anglo/Russian relations. In fairness the Russians do not get up early to put towels on the sunbeds, but tensions exist none the lest.
There seem to be English hotels and Russian hotels, English resorts and Russian resorts - and the guests only meet on trips. Then the English guide tends to be a portly middle aged Greek man with an impressive moustache who speaks English; the Russian guide is more likely to be a young Russian woman who speaks Russian (obviously) but little Greek.
The Russians (the men at least) are enjoying their new found wealth. Smoking is compulsory and the rather large bellies result in quite a splash when they flop into the sea. And the Russians certainly love their selfie sticks. It has to be carried everywhere, even swimming. Apparently selfies are now responsible for more sudden deaths than shark attacks. It can only be a matter of time before a Russian gets the double up - killed by a shark while taking a pic with his selfie stick.

Witnessing the unenthusiastic re-election of Syrzia

I managed to get to Greece last week to do my bit for the Greek economy. I have always enjoyed going to Greece, and all the cliches about the friendliness of the Greek people, the welcome in the tavernas, the ancient history and the sheer beauty of both the mainland and the islands are true.
There is no doubt that many of the current problems Greece experiences were self inflicted. The culture of tax avoidance was (and still is) endemic and the public sector is bloated. Every time any Party tried to do the tiniest thing about this, they then got voted out by the Greek electorate and replaced by their opponents who in populist form suggested reform was not necessary.
However there is little doubt that the straight-jacket of the Euro is the primary reason for the continued economic pain. The figures were fiddled to allow Greece to join, and the consequence is that they are locked into an exchange rate completely inappropriate for their economic situation.
Remarkably Syrzia managed to get re-elected whilst I was out there. This was despite totally failing to end austerity and agreeing to a bail-out deal even more regressive than the one they had earlier rejected. 
It seems to me that the two main parties, Syrzia (now) on the centre left and New Democracy on the centre right are engaged in a Faustian pact. Syrzia are bottling public sector reform and ND are bottling agricultural and tax reform - but both agree on staying in the Euro. So although as they now seem destined to achieve just above or below 30% of the vote each, the turn-out in Sunday's election was down to 52% - reflecting more public indifference than anger. 
The old fashioned Communists (sorry if I had an effect by highlighting their posters) got 5%

while the attractively named (for me anyway) Union of Centrists got seats in the Parliament for the first time.

I cannot see how the Greek economy can recover unless there is debt relief. Bail-outs just add to the debt, making it impossible for any Greek Government (left or right) to balance the books. 
But at least the EU flag flies proudly - even at the ancient cave of Loizos. 

Sign up to TTIP for cleaner air

The vehicle of choice for those ever so slightly smug middle class environmentalists has always been the Volkswagon. 
My left wing geography teacher drove a VW Beetle. It seemed to be the law that every VW camper van had to display a a bright yellow sun (not the paper obviously) sticker emblazoned with 'Nuclear Power No Thanks' in the rear window. Even now the Islington (and Brighton) elite makes its way to Glastonbury in their tastefully restored brightly coloured VW dormobiles campers.
But this week we learned those diesel VW cars and vans have been emitting poisonous fumes responsible for 100's of 1,000's of premature deaths from respiratory diseases. Vorchsprung durch technik has killed many more people than nuclear power.
We now know that VW - and most likely other European motor manufacturers - have been conning us. It was not just a case of fiddling the emission tests. Software designers were actually commissioned to create a special sensor to install in the engine which identifies when a test was being conducted. The software fix would then cause the engine to switch to test mode which reduced the emissions. This was necessary because if the engine were to run in clean mode all the time its performance was basically crap.
And once again it took the evil petrol guzzling, gas fracking USA to discover this. Contrary to the impression you would gain from the general anti-American tone in environmental circles, American emission standards are higher than in Europe. VW cooked up this scheme to fool the US regulators. There was no need to do it here because the EU Commission had already been persuaded by the much 'nicer 'European car companies to keep their standards low - ironically partly to meet carbon emission targets. Bizarrely many in Europe - including our own UK Government - had concluded that switching from petrol to diesel would help tackle climate change.
So next time you hear dire warnings from the anti-TTIP crowd just remember that if we are forced to abide by American emission testing standards for our cars, we might just end with cleaner air and fewer deaths.

As They Cross Wilson Avenue

Graham Green must take most of the blame. Brighton Racecourse 'enjoys' a reputation for a certain roguishness on the back of the depiction of razor gangs and racketeering in his most famous novel Brighton Rock, and the iconic Boulting Brothers film based on it.
In actual fact the events portrayed in Green's book took place at the long closed nearby Lewes racecourse, but the image has stuck.
15 years ago there was every chance that Brighton racecourse would suffer the same fate as Lewes. Long neglected by its owners, Brighton Council, it was unloved, unsafe and basically a dump.
Under the inspirational leadership of local racing fan Phil Bell - now gone onto to great things at Chepstow - the course was smartened up and has enjoyed something of a revival.
To be honest the course is never going to be Ascot but its future looks secure and a day watching the racing there is always interesting.
Last Monday was a day for real racing fans, not the stag/hen, family fun, ladies' day crowd which Brighton, along with many other courses, try to attract in the summer.
Autumn had set in, and the wind swept across the paddock. The betting jungle was sparsely populated.

Brighton is a unique racecourse, uneven with twists and turns, which favours course specialists. One of my first successful betting strategies was to follow a horse called Belper, who had only one eye. He could not win anywhere except Brighton, where he could fix his good eye on the running rail and find his way to the finishing line.
In all races except those over the shortest distance of 5 furlongs, the horses have to gallop across a road. This can be scary, especially when the wind is tugging at the straw matting put down to cover the tarmac, and the rain makes it as slippery as ice.
A tradition amongst the commentators is to mention this road in every commentary, making Wilson Avenue the second most famous road in racing folklore (after the Melling Road at Aintree obviously).
Inevitably with the inclement weather changing the going, the results on Monday proved to be a bookers' benefit with a host of long odds winners.
Highlights for me were seeing the veteran horse Megalala, 14 years old and effectively drawing his pension in horse terms, go into the stalls without any help from his jockey or stall handlers. He finished 3rd, beating horses over 10 years younger than him.
Most Brighton racedays include a seller. These are for the worst horses in training, and involve the winning horse being sold at auction immediately after the race. The great sports journalist, Ian Carnaby, sponsors a 'truly awful' selling race at Brighton every year, and in days gone by used to finish his day out in town with an evening listening to the late Rockin' Billy playing Billy Fury discs in Preston Street.
Brighton racecourse still has its many detractors. The chances of it ever hosting a Derby trial (eminently sensible because if a horse can handle Brighton it could certainly deal with the contours of Epsom) again are probably long gone. It suffers vandalism, the going can be very firm in the summer, the travellers were still allowed to camp at the 2 furlong poll this week but it remains a cracking day out.
Oh and even if the getting out stakes (or in my case the getting in deeper stakes) does not work out there is a chance of a rainbow to guide you into town afterwards.

Brighton marks (out of 10)
Welcome/friendliness 8
Atmosphere 5
Betting ring (size, competitiveness) 5
Racecard (cost, quality) 6
Queues for bar 8
Viewing 7
Standard of racing 4

Total (out of 70) 43
Punting success - lost

Brian Close - not by any means the greatest but possibly the bravest

Growing up as a cricket mad teenager Brian Close was a distant but heroic figure to me.

I was 15 years old when he was recalled to the England side in 1976. He looked to me like a very old man; bald, wearing what seemed to be a white Marks and Spencer cotton mix shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and no obvious protection to face the best fast bowling attack in history. 

Actually he was 45 years old. He wore those pretty useless Tony Greig batting gloves and some pads and that was it. The over Michael Holding bowled to him at Old Trafford was probably the most intimidating 5 minutes of sport there has ever been.

Throughout my cricket life we always talked of Brian Close. Whenever anyone was hit by the ball Brian Close was cited. Normally as you collapsed in agony someone would point out that 'Brian Close would not even rub it.'

Close pioneered fielding at short leg, less than two yards from the batsman. Again this was pre-helmet and when the batsman connected properly he would allow the ball to hit him. It may be apocryphal of course but the story which always gets repeated over post match nostalgic chats was of a time that the ball from a full blooded hook shot hit Close on the shoulder and bounced up and was caught by the fielder at gully. As he walked off for lunch a concerned female spectator said, "Mr Close. Well done but you must be more careful. What if the ball had hit you on the head?"

Close replied, "Madame then he would have been caught in the covers".

Looking back now with the benefit of hindsight I realise that Brian Close was not actually a great cricketer. He was picked first for England aged 18 but never truly established himself in the side. But he was obviously an incredible character. I think he was probably a bit scary but as a captain he got the best out of the promising youngsters in the Somerset team - including cricketers in the Sirs Viv and Beefy who went on to be greats.

As an administrator back at Yorkshire Brian Close went on to fall out with Geoff Boycott, which in itself suggests sound judgement!

Brian Close's death was announced today. He was 84 and I gather - in true obituary speak - he lived life to the full. RIP Brian Close - maybe not the best but certainly the bravest.