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The Camera Never Dies......in Bearwood at least!

The camera never dies Posted: 25 Jun 2013 12:36 AM PDT Paul Miller Of all the amazing photos taken of Bearwood Shuffle V some of our favourites have to be the ones taken by Paul Miller (aka Fiddly Paul....the photo tells why he got that name!).   Being very old school ourselves we like the fact that Paul uses traditional cameras.  Paul told us more about what he enjoys about photography, the cameras he uses and about being a retro chap.  We like! "I have recently returned to photography after having taken no photographs for 20 years or so. In the 1980s, I was quite a prolific photographer, specialising in landscapes, musicians at gigs etc, and used to supplement my income by doing Wedding Photography at weekends.  At that time, I was in charge of the darkroom at The Regional Cytogenetics Unit at Birmingham Women's Hospital, where I was a Clinical Scientist, so I had access to excellent darkroom facilities, "free" photographic chemicals, paper etc. My cameras at the time were Pentax MX and ME Super 35mm SLRs, plus my Grandfather's 1954 Voiglander Vito B and Weston light meter with which I had taught myself the basics of photography while a student in the mid 1970s at Leicester Polytechnic.  For the last 20 years, my interest in photography became dormant, as I concentrated on playing electric viola in rock and folk bands (there was no time for photography as well, as my career as a Clinical Cytogeneticist and part-time father to my son took the lion's share of my days/evenings).  Since taking early retirement at 55 years of age (almost 2 years ago), I have lots of time on my hands, and re-kindled my interest in my old hobby....initially I had my 4 1980s Pentax Camera bodies serviced, so they are now as good as new, and started re-acquainting myself with the mechanics of taking pictures. The magical feeling when one gets the results back from the photo lab was as strong as it ever was, so I decided to fully embrace my old interest again.  Having played around with Digital,SLR cameras and a Canon Zoom Compact Digital Camera I can see their attraction (the immediacy of the results is attractive), but I really do prefer cameras which give complete control in an accessible way.  I really do not like the features found on typical Digital SLRs.....the idea of a lens with no immediately accessible aperturte ring (as is typical of digital cameras) is utter anathema to me, as is the fact that to wrest control of the functions such as manual shutter speeds requires scrolling through menus to find what one wants rather than simply turning a shutter speed dial as on a typical analogue camera.  I maintain that Pentax, Nikon et al have really missed a trick in that if they were to make a basic film-style SLR with a digital back and quality optical view finder it would sell in lorry loads to old-school photographers like myself, and also to Photograpy Students. My favourite camera to use is the 1980s Pentax MX, a beautifully made all mechanical (apart from the metering system) manual only 35mm SLR, which handles beautifully, is very small and discreet, has a very large and bright viewfinder with all metering information, shutter speed and aperture readout visible. I have several lenses for these cameras, which are optically excellent (many users of Digital SLRs use these old Pentax SMC-M series lenses as they give superb results). Somehow, Pentax really "got it right" with the MX, which to me is just a joy to handle, and really does deliver the goods.  Photo of Paul Murphy, taken by Paul R. Miller on a 1949 "Franka Solida" 120 2 1/4 inch square folding camera. Apart from my SLRs, I have recently discovered the joy of finding, restoring and using ancient cameras dating back to the 1940s and 50s. They are slow to use, (no bad thing, as in the digital age, the tendency for so many is to just bash away in the hope of getting at least something useable) demand at least some knowledge to get any decent results from,...and the best bit is that in my experience, people are very happy to be photographed when one shows them the steam-age camera and light meter and explains what you are doing.  As a result, by the time a light meter reading has been taken, the aperture and shutter speed selected, the rangefinder reading transferred to the focus scale, shutter cocked etc, the subject is engaged, relaxed, and ore captures the real subject rather than the gurning smile seen on photos taken with something more instantaneous. As a bonus,I have had the pleasure of befriending several people who, had I been using something more modern, would have probably told me to bugger off had I asked them if it was ok to take a mere photograph with something modern.  The black and white results I have been getting with an old 1949 Franka Solida120 roll film camera have really surprised me.....the pics taken at the recent Bearwood Shuffle (on 09/06/2013) have a lovely old-fashioned appearance which is hard to define, but easy to see if that makes any sense. Ditto, the photos I took using a 1954 Braun Paxette 35mm rangefinder camera at the May Bank Holiday bash at Lightwoods Park have a lovely "retro" look about them, with gorgeous, almost pastel colours....that must be down to the lens technology of the era, I assume.  Taken by Paul R. Miller on a 1949 "Franka Solida" 2 1/4 inch square folding camera. I pick up my vintage cameras in junk shops, occasionally on "Evil Bay" and sometimes at Camera Fairs. I have a basic set of rules when purchasing an old camera. It must be of quality, which generally means German, there must be no fungus or obvious damage to the lens, the camera must be basically functional with an intact bellows where present, and in cosmetically good order. Shutters inevitably need servicing or repairing and lenses need cleaning, both of which I am able to do. Oh, and I never pay more than about 20 quid! Regarding processing, I use a place on Colmore Row in Birmingham (Snappy Snaps) where I have the reputation as being the bloke with the retro cameras which actually work. The guys in there really know their stuff and prices are reasonable (about £10.00 for an 1 Hour service for a 24 exp film, prints ande a CD with the digitised images, with the price reducing if one is prepared to go with 3 hour service and cheaper again for overnight. I suppose I am a bit of a retro sort of bloke, what with vintage cameras, old racing bicycles, vintage model aircraft building and flying, old motorcycles etc, but there you go!"

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History of Lightwoods Park and House

In the later part of the 18th Century this was still an area of
woodland, a feature from which the Lightwoods takes its name.
No building occupied the site at the Lightwoods until around
1791 when the house was erected by Jonathan Grundy II
(1744-1803), a merchant living in Birmingham. Estate plans
dated 1820 show the house as a central block, with detached
wings and having a walled enclosure to the north, a perimeter
path linked to gateways at the top corners and clear routes to a
carriage driveway.
In March 1865, Mr. George Caleb Adkins (the wealthy owner of
a local soap and lead factory) purchased Lightwoods House
where his family lived until 1902, during this time the original
parkland was enlarged through purchasing neighbouring farms.
Under the instructions left in George Caleb Adkins will, his wife
Anne was encouraged to profit from the expanding population of
Bearwood. The Adkins family accordingly sold areas of their
estate to a syndicate of developers and from 1888 public works
contractors were clearing the farmland which lay north of Adkins
Lane and widening the rural road network.


By 1902 the farmland surrounding the Lightwoods estate was
almost fully developed. Bearwood was a growing community with
new businesses, shops and facilities with only the original area of
the Lightwoods House and 16 acres of the immediate parkland
remaining substantially unaltered and intact whilst available
building land was becoming scarce. Following the death of
Anne Adkins in 1902, the remaining 14 acres of the surrounding
parkland was immediately put up for sale and purchased by
developers.
The catalyst for the saving of Lightwoods was John Weatherhead,
the founder of the Bearwood Early Morning Adult School. The
members of the Adult school agreed to try to save the estate as
a public park and decided they needed a prestigious figurehead.
They selected Alexander Macombe Chance, a member of the
Chance family who owned the famous Smethwick glass
manufacturing company, Chance Brothers and Co. A public
meeting called by the Early Morning School was held September
29th 1902 and a committee formed to save the land. Events
unfolded rapidly and public donations flowed in which enabled
the committee to raise the purchase price in excess of £11,000
within less than four weeks. The committee handed some 16
acres, 2 roods and 24 poles (6.738 ha) to Birmingham City
Council as a free gift in November 1902.
The Park was an immediate success and the Council undertook a
number of improvements from late 1902 – 1903, the most
popular addition was the erection of the bandstand. Further
donations were received for the installation of a drinking fountain
in the Park.
The Park was officially opened in June 1903 and already plans
were in place for a further piece of land across Galton Road as
an extension to the park. Over subsequent years the area of the
park increased by donation or purchase to reach its final size of
12.36 ha. The annex was developed to include recreation,
gymnastics and sports as further tennis courts were constructed
with a pavilion, pathways and a second drinking fountain.
In 1915 as improvements to the park at the L‘ightwoods ’
continued, a suggestion was made that a location should be
found in the park for a Shakespeare Garden. The theme for the
Shakespeare Garden was popular and the walled garden at
Lightwoods was chosen as an ideal site.
During World War I, Lightwoods House was converted to a Red
Cross Military Hospital and from March 1916, with the
permission of Birmingham City Council, the part of the premises

previously used for refreshments was converted into
accommodation for 40 – 50 wounded soldiers. The hospital
finally closed in 1919 but changing social circumstances meant
that the park failed to reach its pre-war popularity. By 1935 the
cafeé had been reinstated at the front of the house, the other
side taken up by the Sons of Rest. Park facilities continued to
expand with a tennis court installed west of the pond by 1938.
In the 1950s’, the pool in Lightwoods Park was drained and a
piano shaped paddling pool was built in its place. Part of the
site adjoining Bearwood Road was taken from the park to build
Bearwood’ Bus Station. Even though parks in general declined in
popularity after the 1950’s, Lightwoods continued as a popular
destination used for picnics and with a comprehensive number of
organised events, shows and concerts.
In 1971 the Tea and Reading rooms were closed in the house
and the property was leased to the stained glass company, John
Hardman and Co. as a workshop with studios and offices and
some restoration work was undertaken.
In the 1980’s vandalism increased in the Park. The Sons of Rest
building and bowling pavilion were burnt down and as a result
the bowling club relocated and the bowling greens became
disused. The aviary was also removed around this time but the
bandstand was listed in September 1987 and was renovated in
1991.
Around the beginning of the 1990’s Lightwoods Park hit the
headlines as the paddling pool was transformed into a skate park
and the play area revamped as part of the BBC’s Challenge
Anneka television series.
By the end of the 20th Century the park was under threat with
minimal maintenance and much of the decorative ironwork was
stolen from the restored bandstand and the tennis courts were
removed. The Shakespeare Garden was still cared for but was
often locked. When John Hardman and Co. left the premises in
Lightwoods House in 2007, the Grade II Listed building remained
empty and became a target for vandalism. In 2009, only one
permanent member of staff remained and this led to an initiative
by Sandwell Council to take control of the management of the
Park and the Lightwoods House. Transfer of park and house from
Birmingham City Council to Sandwell Metropolitan Borough
Council occurred in November 2010.

Edgbaston High School trip to Florence February 2013

A Magical Experience in Florence

Published: 01 Mar 2013

On the Wednesday before half-term, 36 staff and girls headed off to Florence, a journey that took us to some of the most celebrated places in the history of Renaissance Art.

As ever we were very fortunate with the weather. All of our visits since 2008 have taken place during crisp, cold, but bright, weather which has almost begun to feel like an entitlement. We are sure that one day our luck will run out but for this occasion we were able to see cathedrals, piazzas and street vistas in a clear bright light against unblemished blue skies. Gathering on the steps of great churches was made a simple pleasure by the warm sun on backs or faces.

Having arrived at Pisa airport, we made a brief stop at the Piazza de Miracoli, in order to admire the baptistry, the duomo and the world famous leaning tower. There wasn't time to climb to the top of the tower but the party enjoyed lunch in a variety of pavement cafes and afterwards explored the duomo, Pisa's cathedral, which has a beautiful gilded ceiling and an interesting fourteenth century font by Giovanni Pisano. Our coach then carried us to Florence through a stark and wintry Tuscan landscape. The vineyards and the bare hills still bore traces of recent snow where the pale sun could not reach.

Our hotel in Florence was opposite the main station, ideally placed for exploring the historic centre. It was clean, comfortable and provided with wifi so that girls need not face the hardship of exile from Facebook during their time in the city.

We dined in two local restaurants during our stay. The first of these, within a few minutes walk for the hotel, was excellent in every respect but the second, a short distance from the Uffizi gallery was generally preferred by the girls. Menu and decor may have been contributed to this judgement but the group of handsome young men waiting upon us was perhaps the deciding factor. They were certainly very patient with our various dietary requirements. Mrs Harris is not only a vegetarian but also abhors tomatoes. This is clearly unheard of in Italy. Having explained all this to one of the waiters he looked at us blankly for a few moments whilst he attempted to assimilate the information. He then went off to confer with his colleagues and the chefs. I caught his eye as he looked back from the huddle.

"We are thinking," he said.

Eventually Mrs Harris was provided with a very tasty meal of peppers and courgettes whilst the rest of us dined on chicken and pasta.

I can never quite get over the sheer scale of Florence's duomo. Hemmed in by buildings in places it rises above them all, its magnificent dome is visible from almost everywhere in the city. The girls were certainly awestruck too and my impression was that they were hugely impressed by the array of wonderful buildings and works of art we were privileged to see. They proved to be a wonderfully receptive audience when listening to the stories behind each painting or learning about the techniques and working practices employed by Renaissance artists.

Saturday, our last full day, took us by coach to Siena, with its stunning black and white cathedral, like the world's biggest humbug and its maze of winding streets leading down to its dramatic shell shaped piazza. This, the venue for the world famous "Palio" race during the summer months, was blissfully calm on a February afternoon. It was hard to imagine ten thousand spectators crammed in there on a stifling August day, ten horses racing pell mell around the perimeter, amidst a riot of colour, flags and medieval pageantry.

San Gimignano, our final port of call, is as fascinating to me now as it was on my first visit to this region, its walls and towers rising starkly amongst the tidy vineyards and the soft green hills. These towers, crow haunted on a quiet winter's day look out over medieval streets that have hardly changed over five hundred years, a tumble of terracotta pan-tiled roofs, cascading picturesquely down the hillsides to car parks almost deserted at this time of year but impossibly hectic in high summer. There were once more than seventy towers, a kind of medieval New York, each built by clans and families whose rivalry, when not expressed in blood feuds and open warfare, found expression instead in a desire to outstrip their neighbours and to overtop their dwellings. The highest of the towers was once seventy metres tall and is fifty even today. Surprisingly spacious inside, the visitor is required to surmount two hundred and thirty six steps to reach the top. I know - I climbed them, in supervision of a party of girls who wanted to enjoy the amazing views from the top. Having made my way down to the bottom I found there were more girls keen to make the ascent. For a second time I climbed to the top, gasping and panting rather more than the first.

It was, all things considered, a most successful visit. The weather was excellent, the girls admirably enthusiastic and engaged with the teaching, the hotel impressively convenient and the restaurants of a high quality. One thing that sticks out in my mind is all the girls singing the school song on the steps outside the Uffizi one night, a real treat for the locals! All the ingredients were in place for us to enjoy ourselves tremendously on this visit and my impression is that the girls carried away memories of Florence and of Tuscany that will last them for a lifetime.

Many thanks to Miss Richards, Mrs Harris and Mrs Mooney, my staff colleagues on the visit, and to Miss Richards for the photos included with this report.

Mr Dukes, Head of Art

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Sir Michael Balcon, Daniel Day-Lewis's Grandad was a Brummie and went to George Dixon Grammar School for Boys in City Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham and used the name of his old school for his 'Everyman Copper' PC George Dixon in the Ealing Studios film: 'The Blue Lamp' in the 1950's and for 'Dixon of Dock Green' the BBC TV first Cop Show in Black and White TV in the 1960's and early 1970's until Jack Warner, the actor playing PC George Dixon became too old to play the part of a Policeman.....Great Birmingham History from Keith Bracey: 'Blogging 'bout Bromwicham'!

I bet you didn't know that three-time Oscar winner is linked to Birmingham through his maternal Grandfather Sir Michael Balcon, father to Daniel's mother the late Jill Balcon? Sir Michael Balcon, the former Head of the Ealing Studios, which was a serious rival to the big Hollywood Studios in the 1930's through to the 1950's with such great films as 'The Lavender Hill Mob', 'Whiskey Galore', 'Kind Hearts and Coronets', Arnold Ridley's 'Ghost Train', Ridley was Private Godfrey in 'Dad's Army', 'The Man in the White Suit' and other great British comedies...the phrase 'Ealing Comedy' was in current usage then..... Sir Michael attended Birmingham's George Dixon Grammar School for Boys in City Road, Edgbaston from 1906 when the school opened until 1913 when he left and played for the School's former pupil's Rugby Club The Old Dixonians Rugby Football Club which celebrates its centenary 1913-2013 this year. Jill Balcon re-established links with her Father's Old School about 6 or 7 years ago when she visited the now inner city comprehensive school to encourage young actors and Drama Students at George Dixon......So Irish-domiciled Daniel Day-Lewis, this morning's 'Triple-Oscar' winner's Grandad is a Brummie and went to school in the city........ who would have thought it......? Balcon also used the name of his old school as the name for his 'Everyman Copper' PC George Dixon in his 1950's Ealing Film: 'The Blue Lamp' where Jack Warner, playing PC Dixon is shot dead by a very young Hoodlum, played by Rank starlet Dirk Bogarde (remember him?). PC George Dixon was reincarnated to appear in the first 'Police Procedural' Cop Show: 'Dixon of Dock Green' on the BBC which was a prime-time ratings winner throughout the 1960's and 70's on British Black and White TV on Saturday evenings.....Great Brummie History!!!!!

'View from the Stands Rugby Blog for 25th February 2013.

Hello rugby fans...this week I want to start with England's victory over a better France side who picked their best available players in their most effective positions....at last!

The England victory keeps up their winning momentum and keeps their Grand Slam Bandwagon rolling along, albeit with '3 wheels on my wagon after Saturday evening's stuttering victory with England fluffing their lines in the first half with a nervy and tetchy display with their playmaker Owen 'Fazz' Farrell seemingly wanting to fight the whole French team after an early confrontation with French full-back Huget, which was 'handbags at five paces really.

This upset the English rhythm and France were the better side at the end of the first-half with France going in 10-9 up.....

The old sporting adage that any really good team can win when not playing well was born out with England's performance on Saturday......This England side are growing into themselves and are starting to believe that they are capable of something special, a first English Grand Slam for 10 years, in 2003, the year that England's last great team won the World Cup....'The White Orcs on steroids' as some New Zealand journo dubbed them....for there is nothing that the All Black's hate more than an 'arrogant' English team coming to the Southern Hemisphere to show them how the game should be played in the North.....

We will have to see if England have peaked too early this season and whether they can keep up the momentum all the way to RWC 2015, hosted by England....we shall see, however in Stuart Lancaster they have an inspirational 'Manager' rather than coach, Lancaster wisely leaves the coaching to his excellent coaches Forwards Coach and Leicester stalwart Graham Rowntree and Rugby League Legend Andy Farrell  who is the defence coach and general motivator and experienced former player who has been in most situations that his charges will face.....They are backed up by Mike Catt, the ex-Bath and England centre as Attack Coach and expert conditioners who have turned England to the fittest team in the Six Nations....

Lancaster is very similar in the way he 'manages' the England elite squad in leaving the coaching to his acolytes, and then delivering the motivational and team talks with his experience as a teacher, being an excellent communicator which we can see fro ourselves every time Stuart Lancaster faces the Press or has a microphone shoved under his nose......

I will stick my neck out now and say that England will win the Grand Slam in Cardiff on Saturday 16th March....I say this as I believe the rampant Scots will defeat Wales at Murrayfield in a couple of week's time when England will put the poor Italians to the sword at Twickenham......

A big shout out to the Scots who are after 15 years of being in limbo since the game went pro in 1995, are once again at the top table of the Six Nations were they deserve to be after two excellent performances which provide momentum and breed confidence.

For too long Scotand have been the poor relations of the Six Nations and now that they have uncovered some 'Rough Diamonds' in wingers Maitland and Visser where the Scots have cast their net widely with Visser being a Dutchman and Maitland a Kiwi....along with electric full-back Stuart Hogg and Richie Gray and Greg Laidlaw who was a revelation and gave the Scots attacking game a much-needed zip when he came on after 60 minutes in Sunday's game.....plus the long-overdue contributions from a couple of 'Old-Stagers in 'Big Jim' Hamilton, the Gloucester lock who played out of his skin on Sunday and Sean Lamont who set up the clinching penalty on Sunday as he kneed through that bizarre kick from Ronan O'Gara which possibly lost the Irish the game....?

As for Ireland, they underperformed again and Coach Declan Kidney is said to be considering his position, having not blooded his great young players soon enough and persevering with the old stagers like O'Gara and O'Driscoll who are both well-past their sell-buy date in my opinion....it was so sad on Sunday to see two such great Irish players as ROG and B'OD struggling as the young tyros were trying to stamp themselves on the game....the Ulster fly-half had a very poor game, from which it will take some time to recover from his bruised ego, however the centre Smedley was probably Ireland's Man of the Match, constantly taking the ball to the line and often through it making several clean line-breaks....it was sad to see when Keith Earls who also had an excellent game in open play and Brian O'Driscoll could not keep up with him as he bore down on the Scottish line and could not get up in support to score the try.....5 seasons ago B'OD would have gobbled up that try-scoring opportunity with alacrity.....As I said in today's' 'In the Clubhouse' rugby show on Sports Radio Birmingham (www.sports-radio.co.uk ) it is sad to see ROG and B'OD in such teminal decline....great players both for Ireland and the British and Irish Lions....we found out that O'Driscoll is NOT infallible after all like The Pope, who with his recent resignation is signalling the way forward for both O'Gara and O'Driscoll....for Chrissakes Ronan and Brian, hang up your boots and choose your time to end your illustrious careers before being dropped....PLEASE!

Finally I want to return to one of my pet topics....the England Women's Rugby Team.........Having lost to all-conquering Ireland a couple of weeks ago the Red Rose Ladies lost again this weekend to France.....it was a nice piece of scheduling from the BBC to put the game on the Freeview Red Button straight after the England Men's Six Nations game.....I watched the game and was impressed by the improved standard of Women's International Rugby with backs now being able to deliver passes off both hands....

I must say though I still think it is a little disrespectful to the rest of the Six Nations teams by fielding what is in effect the England 2nd XV with 17 first choice players playing Sevens World Cup Rugby in the good ole' US of A....Sorry Aston Old Eds Gary Street and assistant coach Graham Smith the former Moseley tight-head prop and England Under 23 international......you patently got it wrong with consecutive defeats for your second string after going unbeaten with you first choice picks for four years in the Women's Six Nations.........

Please give me a listen tomorrow evening on Sports Radio Birmingham at www.sports-radio.co.uk at 8pm for my new local internet radio rugby show: 'In the Clubhouse' where Chris Browne and I try to replicate the special atmosphere of the post-match rugby clubhouse with the beer and the banter..........Gawaan yer no it meks sence!!!!!

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'View from the Stands'...Rugby Blog by Keith Bracey, presenter of new Rugby Show on Sports Radio Birmingham at www,sports-radio.co.uk

Hello there rugby fans!

This week I would like to talk about pitches....artificial ones that is......You mean you did not know that rugby can be played on artificial surfaces?

My club Moseley Rugby have had a Third Generation Rubber Crumb artificial training pitch at Billesley Common for 5 or 6 years.

About 3 years ago the England 19 Group Schools Rugby held their trial on Moseley's artificial pitch when traditional grass pitches were unplayable due to frost....that is the beauty of 3G Rubber Crumb pitches.....they guarantee that a game will be played as frost and rain do not affect them.

I watched the highlights of the first rugby game in England played on an artificial pitch at Allianz Park, Saracens new home in Hendon, North London on ITV4's Aviva Premiership Highlights show presented by Martin Bayfield and Craig Doyle.

'Little and Large'  or 'Bayf's' as he is known stands 6 feet 10 in his cotton socks and was a British Lion on the 1993 NZ Lions Tour when Grant Fox kicked us to death and won the series for the AB's are much better than ESPN's Mark Durden-Smith, the son of Cliff Michelmore and Judith Chalmers in case you did not know, and 'Motormouth Austin Healey and 'I dropped the World Cup' Ben Kay and their unbridled Leicester bias.........

Mind you for me nobody beats the peerless John Inverdale who I met 5 years ago when he hosted the 'Insider Midlands Property Awards' at the Hilton Metropole at the NEC......John was a very funny and engaging host that night talking to a bunch of property guys who enjoy their rugby on the whole.....well John, someone had to do it.....at least it wasn't the 'Neasden Budgerigar Fanciers Convention Dinner' at the 'Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club'.......Colin Crompton probably was a shoe-in for that one.........?

John is a genuinely nice guy and what I liked about John is the fact that strangely for a rugby presenter he has actually played the game of rugby........... Typically for a rugby man when I took the mickey about his club Esher (where he was Director of Rugby at one time) whom my club Moseley had just beaten and condemned to the then Championship relegation play-offs, John gave as good as he got and had a go back which was great....and I really respected him for it. It was real rugby banter from a genuine rugby man with the game in his blood......Quite literally almost!

Indeed John Inverdale gave blood for his club when he was kicked in the head when captaining Esher Vets XV some years ago. The kick resulted in over 30 stitches and John took the cowardly perpetrator to court and won his case.

The idiot who assaulted him on the field was convicted of GBH and fined and sentenced to Community Service...Well done John! You used your notoriety to strike a blow for the ordinary guy who is the victim of on-field rugby violence which has largely been stamped out at the elite level due to the all-pervasive TV cameras. 

Players who are the victims of on-field assaults usually have no come-back unless they stupidly retaliate on the field.....the publicity round this case hopefully made the thugs who despoil our game in part think twice before committing their cowardly assaults.

Back to the subject under discussion artificial surfaces for rugby.....the one used in last weekend's game did not result in any injuries and made for a much faster game, akin to the end of season games when pitches are harder and the games faster with more handling and less kicking and in consequence higher scoring which is what all spectators want......more tries!

One other result of artificial pitches is that with the lack of muddy surfaces, the underfoot conditions for props which often causes collapsed scrums when they lose their footing are a thing of the past with the consequent lack of re-set scrums meaning the game is faster and the ball is in play for a longer time.

New artificial surfaces mean that players can concentrate on their core skills and that there is a 'level playing field' with the team who can execute their core skills best usually ending up the victors.

Mud and rain do not affect artificial pitches as much as they do ordinary grass pitches so that the best team with the most skillful players will usually win and that the lack of mud means that a poor team who 'play the conditions' better do not usually win.

For me artificial pitches have to be the way forward, with the almost cast-iron guarantee that a game will be played due to the nature of the pitches and therefore no need for expensive under-soil pitch heating.

The commercial aspect also comes into play for clubs investing in artificial surfaces. Stadia have to be used all year round not just every other weekend in the winter.

The difficulties of staging events on grass is largely avoided with artificial surfaces. This wet summer several music festivals had to be cancelled due to muddy conditions underfoot.....this would not happen with a rubber crumb surface.

This means that events like Pop concerts, car boots or markets and lots of diverse outdoor events like festivals could be staged at stadia with artificial surfaces increasing commercial revenues for clubs with artificial pitches.

So long as the new generation of artificial pitches do not cause any injuries then I am all for it......bring them on!

On to our 6 Nations preview......this weekend at 5pm England take on the French at Twickenham. 

England go into this game on the back of two consecutive wins, the most convincing being the away win against Ireland in Dublin, a feat achieved for the first time in 10 years by this young English team of tyros.......

There are no selection issues....the only decision that Stuart Lancaster has to make is whether to bring in Manu Tuilagi back in from the start teamed with either Brad Barritt or Billy Twelvetrees....a nice situation to be in.

My hunch is that Lancaster will stick with the starting duo of Barritt and Twelvetrees, and bring Tuilagi on in the last 20 minutes as a battering ram when French legs are tired.....Mind you I would pay good money to see a confrontation between Bastareaud and Tuilagi in the centre.....the hits would be seismic with two such 'big-hitters' in direct opposition......'Awesome action in prospect'!

I take England to win at home by 10-15 points but it will be tougher than many pundits predict as the French are a proud nation and those 'cheese-eating surrender monkeys' will not want to surrender and 'Ils ne passeront pas!' will be the French battle cry....'They shall not pass!'

This Saturday Italy play Wales in the first game of the weekend at the Stadio Olimpico at  2.30pm

For me a win for the Welsh.

England should beat Italy on Sunday 10th March at Twickenham.

That victory should set up a Grand Slam showdown, provided Wales can prevail against a resurgent Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday 9th March with the England Grand Slam showdown game on Saturday 16th March at the Millennium Stadium......a mouth-watering prospect I am sure you will agree, with the Welsh wanting to be Grand Slam 'party-poopers' for England's bid for Grand Slam glory.

Italy play Ireland at 2.30 again in the Stadio Olimpico, a proper venue for a growing Italian team.....and 'after the Lord Mayor's Show'  France play Scotland at the Stade de France at 8pm in a very disappointing campaign for the French and an encouraging one for the resurgent Scots.........The French will want to end on a high in possibly their worst 6 Nations for many years in prospect.....?

Bring it On.........!!!!!!!

Keith Bracey, presenter of new Rugby Show: 'In the Clubhouse' on Sports Radio Birmingham at www.sports-radio.co.uk on Tuesday evenings at 8pm

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Birmingham's own internet Sports Radio Station: www.sports-radio.co.uk where you can find my new Rugby Union Show: 'In the Clubhouse' tonight at 8pm....this is my Blogpiece to accompany tonight's show!

Hello Rugby fans....well what a fantastic weekend of 6 Nations action! 

It began with a great performance from Scotland against Italy with the Scots scoring four tries against a poor Italian side who found it hard to get their performance levels up again so soon after last Saturday's magnificent victory over a poor France whose travails continued this weekend with a deeply wounding home defeat to resurgent Wales.

Fair play to the Scots....they played a brand of rugby not seen from them for many years, indeed has Scotland ever played with such freedom?

When I was growing up in the 1970's the Scots were always a spoiling, niggly side who liked nothing better than to get in amongst the English and ruffle a few feathers with some tactics a little 'near the knuckle' shall we say....... quite literally! 

Players like British Lions John Jeffery and Finlay Calder used to rough up England teams and try to intimidate them into mistakes......tactics which never worked better than when my old mate Brian 'Pitbull Moore lost his cool and ran a kickable penalty when a shot at goal would have been the sensible option in the 1990 Grand Slam decider at Murrayfield.......!

I have an old anecdote about Brian Moore who shares the same 'Alma Mater', Nottingham University with me. 

Now Brian is a very charming and intelligent man, belying his belicose reputation, but he IS somewhat prone to violence.....

As a Freshman at Nottingham University in November 1984 I was asked to become Hall Security Representative at my first year Hall of Residence, Ancaster Hall as I was a 'big bloke, who played rugby and who looked as though he could look after himself'.......!

Well......appearances can be deceptive........

This elevated position as Security Rep on the Ancaster Hall Committee had its benefits.....I ran the security operation for Ancaster Hall events and got paid for so doing, usually 20 quid out of Ancaster Hall committee's coffers......Boy did I earn that money one cold November night.......

The first Ancaster Hall event was a 'Bonfire Disco' at the beginning of November.....Now this was going to be a steep learning curve for me as I had never worked as a Doorman (for that was what I was being asked to do!) before.

The Chairman of the Ancaster Hall Committee a guy called Steve Miller said my inexperience didn't matter as one of his mates, a guy called Brian Moore, who had graduated from Nottingham University in Law the previous July, was a rugby player who could look after himself, and was an experienced Doorman and would work that first disco with me and show me the ropes.

Little did I know what I was letting myself in for.....?

That fateful Bonfire Night arrived and the disco for Nottingham University students ONLY had passed off without incident. So far so good! 

Brian and I got on famously as fellow rugby nuts.....sharing anecdotes and jolly rugby banter......

Then it happened.....as usual with Ancaster Hall events we had a late bar extension until midnight. In those days in the mid-eighties on Saturday nights pubs stopped serving drinks at 10.30pm

Some 'Likely Lads' from the nearby Nottingham suburb of Beeston turned up at around 11pm after a surfeit of ale and tried to gain entrance to the Ancaster Hall disco.........bad move!

Now I was a little wary of how things were going to go as Brian and I refused the group of 3 'Townies' from Beeston entrance to the student disco.....

Now one of the group was a little worse for wear and upon being refused entry proceeded to launch into a tirade of invective sprinkled with swear words mostly directed at Brian as the smallest of the two of us who barred this inebriated gentleman's way from more beer and the baiting of some poor students......

His friendly banter went something like this.....'Gerrouta my way you f*ckin little Chink!' at which all hell broke loose with a whirlwind of action with Brian moving like lightning as befits a future England rugby international and grabbing said miscreant and marching him with his arm shoved up behind his back to the side entrance of Ancaster Hall.......

Brain proceeded to administer his own personal brand of justice......the three 'local Lotharios' sloped away with their tails between their legs with the two who had not questioned Brian's oriental heritage helping their poor pal whose pride had been severely dented by Brian's summary retribution for the the slur on his character.

Needless to say I never asked Brian to 'work the door' with me again!

Three years later Brian made his England hooking debut in the then 5 Nations and went onto to become a rugby legend, known the world over as 'Pitbull' ( I knew why after my interesting evening spent in Brian's company!) 

Brian won over 60 England caps and became a British Lion twice

The 'Red Mist' which I had witnessed descending over Brian that fateful Ancaster night would always manifest itself whenever Brian found himself facing the French on the rugby field.....a little local disagreement at an Ancaster Hall Disco palls into insignificance when 'Les Rosbifs' reacted to French intransigence on the rugby field......Waterloo and Agincourt revisited!

I digress!.....While on the subject of 'Mooro' who went on to coach the Nottingham University 1st XV in  March 1986 in the Universities Athletic Union (UAU) Cup Final at Twickenham when my old 'mucker and mate' Lyndon Eales (former Camp Hill OE RFC skipper) captained Nottingham University against an Andy Robinson-led Loughborough Students XV who beat us 14 nil that day.

Andy Robinson went on to become a Bath Rugby legend as one of the most abrasive opensides playing at that time and he joined Brian Moore as a British Lion on their tour to Australia in 1989, when David Campese gifted the series to the Lions with an outrageous gaffe in the last minute of the final test which the British Lions won to clinch the evenly-contested series 2-1....the 'biter bit'.....!!!!!

To return to my point about rugby legends Brian Moore and Andy Robinson.......it is their size.

No-one would describe Brian and Andy as being particularly 'big' men....certainly in terms of their stature if not their musculature. 

Other rugby legends also come to mind.....Barry John, Gerald Davis, JJ Williams, Neil Back, even the 'best rugby player ever' in my opinion Gareth Edwards......none of whom you would describe as being 'big' men....

Nowadays those slight men with wiry, thin physiques would not make the initial 'cut' as rugby players and would probably not make it into the professional rugby playing ranks

'Size matters' in rugby union in this day and age and all of today's players spend as much, if not more, time in the gym, pumping iron as they do out on the field.....with the consequent building up of their physiques.

What are we losing with all of this 'bulking up....?' How much quicker would today's players be if they were NOT gym monkeys?

There is no denying that today's players are fitter and stronger than they used to be, but at what cost to their speed?

Mind you my first rugby coach, Moseley and Wales B centre Malcolm Swain used to say that 'the first ten yards are in your head', intimating that speed of thought is just as crucial as speed over the ground

The game of rugby would be all the poorer if those players mentioned above had not graced our game.....the strength of 'Gareth' with that 'barrel chest' bursting a tackle (Edwards had been an athlete and an international class hurdler at Millfield School)

Barry John was....well just Barry John, who bemused the All Blacks with his dancing feet and 'ghostly' sidesteps in the 1971 British Lion's first winning series in New Zealand, the insouciant side-steps of 'Gerald'.....the strength and bravery of 'JPR'.......the sublime speed of JJ...... whose son Geraint Williams kept up the family tradition and ran in the 400m hurdles for Team GB at last summer's Olympics......it's in the genes obviously!

My point is that 'size isn't everything'.....and the mantra that a 'good big 'un will always beat a good little 'un' does not always ring true on the rugby field.....Our game would be all the poorer if it did in my opinion

We don't want our game to be the sole preserve of 'big' men.....surely the thing about rugby is that it appeals and can be played by all shapes and sizes....the little 'flinty', feisty scrum-half, the tall and gangly second-row forward, the short, squat, rotund prop all can play our game.

Rugby would be the poorer if it were just for giants........!

As a postscript, last week I made a plea on behalf of England's Women's Rugby team who have won EIGHT, yes EIGHT successive Six Nations Championships with their local connections with coaches Gary Street and Graham Smith being from the Birmingham area having learned their rugby at Aston OE and Moseley respectively.

I asked that the England women receive more respect from male rugby followers and in sport generally for their achievements and also more coverage from the BBC after carrying all before them recently, including World Champions New Zealand who they recently defeated in a series 3 nil.

Well, I must have 'jinxed' them because at the weekend, for the first time in four years in the Six Nations they lost.....25 - nil to Ireland in Ashbourne in The Republic!

On closer inspection, however, it turns out that England's coaching team Street and Smith (sounds like a firm of Bailiffs!) have made a conscious decision to field England's 2nd XV in the Six Nations this season.......

Now call me 'old-fashioned' but, to me, that shows a huge lack of respect from the England coaching team for their opponents.......

It smacks of the usual stick that England's rugby teams are beaten with....their perceived arrogance, in thinking that they are so good that they can beat the opposition with their second string.......

Street and Smith may say that they have done this for purely rugby reasons...to blood some youngsters and give some experience to their tyro team of second-stringers....to me it does smack of arrogance, in thinking that they could win the Six Nations without fielding their best players......

What do other readers think......?

Yours in rugby

Keith Bracey, presenter of 'In the Clubhouse' the new Rugby Union Show on Birmingham's own internet Sports Radio station www.sports-radio.co.uk

Fascinating Fax 'Bout Bromwicham'..........

Didn't know that Jane Bunford the tallest woman in the world was from Bartley Green....fascinating Birmingham history and people........BTW while we are on 'fascinating fax bout Birmingham'....DYK that plastic was invented in Birmingham by Alexander Parkes who invented the first viable plastic: 'Parkesine' in 1860, pre-dating Bakelite and other early plastics....Birmingham was also where celluloid was invented which led to the invention of the film industry....we ought to have a 'Birmingham Film Trail' with the Jewellery Quarter where 'Parkesine' and celluloid were invented through to the ODEON New Street, the first ODEON in the country invented by Brummie Jew Oscar Deutsch who came up with the acronym: 'ODEON'.....'Oscar Deutsch Entertains our Nation' which led to his chain of ODEONS around the country in the 1930's....the 'Birmingham Film Trail' would end up at the oldest existing cinema in the world, The Electric Cinema in Station Street opposite New Street Station....perhaps it could show the film about Lawn Tennis: 'Wimbledon' which should be called 'Edgbaston' as the place where Lawn Tennis was invented at 8 Ampton Road, Edgbaston by Major Harry Gem and his friend Spanish merchant Augurio Perera....the oldest existing Lawn Tennis club still surviving in the world is the Edgbaston Archery and Lawn Tennis Society (E.A.L.T.S.) in Westbourne Road, Edgbaston behind The Botanical Gardens.

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View From The Stands

Hiya Sports fans in the West Midlands!

You may have realised by now that Sports Radio Birmingham have let me loose on the airwaves with my new interactive  Internet Radio rugby show.......'In the Clubhouse' in which we try to capture that special atmosphere of the rugby clubhouse.....

The old clubhouse of my club Dixonians had a roaring open fire at our then base in Wassell Grove, Hagley next to our old friends and foes on and off the rugby field Old Halesonians, like 'The Dix' a traditional West Midlands 'Old Boys' rugby club, Dix being the club for the former pupils of the George Dixon Grammar School for Boys in City Road, Edgbaston in Birmingham. The school was founded in 1906 and the 'Old Dixonians Rugby Football Club' played its first game in December 1913 against the school 1st XV and the records reveal that the school won that inaugural fixture, played on a pitch on a farm at the back of Warley Woods 16 points to 11.

The Old Dixonians Rugby Football Club, as Edgbaston Dixonians RFC was initially known celebrates its centenary 1913 - 2013 this season with a centenary dinner at the Botanical Gardens inn Edgbaston on Saturday 14th September.

Warley Woods was The 'Peoples' Park....the only park in England to be founded by public subscription. Warley Woods opened in 1906 at the height of the Edwardian era just when Joseph (Old Joe) Chamberlain had founded The University of Birmingham, also in Edgbaston like George Dixon Grammar School for Boys.

The arch-Municipalist and former Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain, father to arch-appeaser Neville and Nobel Laureate Austen Chamberlain, all three of them statesmen each of whom bestrode the House of Commons like a 'Colossus'......to quote Shakespeare.

Old Joe Chamberlain had just completed the Elan Valley Scheme which piped water from dams in North Wales into the homes of Birmingham artisans, craftsmen, manufacturers and workers to give them clean drinking water and improve public health at stroke, ridding the City of Birmingham of such water-borne diseases as Typhus and dysentery.

Enough of the history lesson, however at this time my soccer club Aston Villa Football Club AKA 'Historians F.C.' were 'in their pomp' winning league championships, FA Cups (in 1913 beating Sunderland 1 nil!) and doubles like it was going out of style.

Meanwhile that little club near Digbeth the 'Small Heathens' as I like to call them had only just come into public consciousness at the turn of the century....it took 'The Blues' until 1963 to win their first trophy, ironically against the Villa in the League Cup, when in most Birmingham soccer-loving households the glorious triumph of 'The Villans' against 'The Busby Babes' in the 1957 FA Cup final was still fresh in the minds, with bruising Irish centre-forward Peter Doherty breaking the shoulder of the Manchester United goalkeeper and forcing him from the field in the days before substitutes were allowed.....Villa won the game 2-1 and it is still even now one of the most controversial of FA Cup finals which began the great Villa/Red Devils rivalry.

Anyway, I digress, back to the subject in hand, rugby........

My point about my old rugby club Dixonians is that 'Old Boys Rugby' in this city and the clubs that once represented it is in terminal decline with clubs like mine Dixonians struggling to put out two teams every Saturday......

Aston Old Edwardians, the old boys club attached to King Edward's School, Aston near to Villa Park is struggling and is rooted to the bottom of Midlands West 2 (North) without a single point this season and 12 successive defeats.

Camp Hill Old Edwardians RFC based in Shirley Park in Haslucks Green Road in Shirley shipped 80 points in defeat last Saturday. Those three 'Old Boys' clubs were once the backbone of Greater Birmingham and North Midlands Rugby, winning many North Midlands Cups in the days before the leagues came in.

It is no coincidence that all three clubs were the 'Old Boys' clubs attached to three of the most successful Grammar Schools in the City of Birmingham.....other clubs like the Old Centrals and The Old Moseleians, with their famous 'Boggery Folk Club' which is where on Jasper Carrrott, an Old Moseleian himself, along with Carl Chinn, honed his songs and jokes, and in Carl's case his 'broad Brummie accent'......... are long gone...some still survive and thrive like the Old Saltleians in Water Orton and the Old Veseyans in Sutton Coldfield, but mostly the Old Boys rugby clubs are dying, which saddens me as a rugby traditionalist brought up through the old boys rugby system.

Incidentally, to preface a later part of this blog, Aston OE RFC's Gary Street, the 'Blonde Assassin' as we used to call him as he plied his trade as a jobbing scrum-half for what seemed like 20 years boy and man for Aston OE Rugby Club, has been coaching and guiding THE most successful international rugby team on this planet, the England Women's Rugby Team. 

Gary Street and his assistant, another local rugby stalwart, ex-Moseley and England Under 23 Prop Graham Smith originally from Wolverhampton Rugby Club have coached the England Women's XV for the last several years, taking his female charges to unprecedented success in international rugby with EIGHT, yes EIGHT successive Six Nations titles....and the icing on the cake for Gary and his players victories over New Zealand ladies, the strongest rugby nation on earth.

Many rugby aficionados reckon that this last weekend's first group of Six Nations fixtures gave us the best EVER start to this glorious tournament which warms the winter cockles of every true-born Englishman, Scotsman, Welshman and Irishman's hearts in the first three months of the year........!

This is when we 'Arrogant English' according to Scotland and Lions coach Jim Telfer, the week before the first Six Nations fixture will receive our comeuppance from 'plucky little Scotland' (that's my phrase, not that of 'Big Jim Telfer') Telfer was the most vicious rugby coach on this planet who played 'Bad Cop' to Lion's coach Ian McGeechan's 'Good Cop' on many a British Lions tour to the Southern Hemisphere and would think nothing of 'beasting' his players' to get them to play to their maximum.

Jim fails to assess the relative strengths of the two mis-matched sides: Scotland with their 11,000 rugby players to England's 100,000 players. England's infinite resources to Scotland's paltry two clubs playing in the inferior (to the RFU!) Celtic League or whatever the Celtic League is known as now......something like the 'Rabid Direct Championship'.

This 'Scotch Bravado' reminds the English to remember the Jacobite defeat at Culloden by the Red Coats and earlier on Edward the first, The 'Hammer of the Scots' sending the kilted marauders back 'Oop North' with their sporrans between their legs!

This was what Chris Robshaw and his 'White Orcs on Steroids' did to the Scots winning 38-18 on Saturday, the second time in two games that England have scored 38 points in home Tests, the first being when England defeated the World Champions last December, the mighty All Blacks. This charming epithet was what one New Zealand rugby journalist dubbed the English team just before the 2003 World Cup victory when England defeated an All Blacks side 15-13 in Auckland which gave the England team belief that they could win the 2003 World Cup in Australia......the rest, as they say.....is history........

To a dedicated 'Tolkienite' who reads and re-reads 'The Lord of the Rings' and reads 'The Hobbit' to his kids as a bedtime treat, this is manna from heaven to a Tolkien 'Fellow-Traveller' Brummie rugby fan like me for as we all know the City of Birmingham was the inspiration for the most-read book in the whole canon of English Literature: 'The Lord of the Rings'......enough of the history and literature lessons.....my Dad always said I should have been a teacher......I wanted to end this first blog 'The View from the Stands' with a reflection on the position of women's sport in this country...........

After the Olympics when we thrilled to the athletic antics of Jess Ennis on 'Super Saturday' and were transfixed by Team GB's women's hockey bronze (which we as a family managed to see at the Olympic Park) the Coalition Government hauled in whomsoever's turn it was to be BBC Director-General that week, after the George Entwhistle debacle as D.G. for 60 days to tell the 'BBC Luvvies', whom the Tories love to hate should show more Women's sport on the main BBC TV channels.......

Well, what do we get this weekend.....? The singularly most successful England team in ANY team sport you care to mention from tiddlywinks to table tennis is the England Woman's Rugby Team, with 8 successive Six Nations Championships, recent victories over World Champions 'The Black Ferns', the fearsome New Zealand Women's Rugby team, and what's more a 76-0 drubbing of the Scottish women at Esher Rugby Club on Saturday in this season's Six Nations Tournament opener.......what more do the BBC want to screen the England Women's Rugby team in action.......?

We the English (I hesitate to say the 'Great British' public) want to see successful England teams in action, the England Women's Soccer team proved that as they did better than their male counterparts at successive World and European Championships, and garnered record women's sport viewing figures.

Come on BBC give women a chance....women's sport is every bit as compelling as their male equivalents give us MORE! PLEASE!

The same happened with the recent stunning England Women's Netball victories over the Australian World Netball Champions, not one nil but a 3 nil whitewash....why wasn't this on BBC TV somewhere.....the 'Red Button' would be a start.....instead the England v Australia netball series was banished to radio on 'Radio Five Live Sports Extra'....whatever that may be?

If we are to get young girls and women interested in sport to ward off the potential obesity time bomb that all our kids are facing what better than to give these kids great role-models like the England women rugby players and the netballers for them to go out and emulate......?

We demand that the BBC shows more women's sport on TV instead of the endless diet of soccer that we currently get which is covered much better by SKY anyway.....there Blog and Rant over......!!!!!!!

PS Lance Armstrong is a cheat and should NOT be allowed to compete in ANY sport EVER again in my opinion...he should be a pariah and beyond the pale......!!!!!

'Boffin Bracey' AKA Keith Bracey, Sports Radio Birmingham's Rugby Show: 'In the Clubhouse' presenter (and amateur 'Historian'!