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World Affairs

Thoughts on the New Zealand series

One of the ironies of England’s whitewash is the strong New Zealand influence and inspiration. Ben Stokes was born there and new coach Brendan McCullum their finest white ball batter. New Zealand got to the pinnacle by playing the expressive cricket that England have now exposed. This new found [...]

June 28, 2022 // 0 Comments

The Blue Afternoon

The literary and film device of the flashback and/or flash forward often works well provided there are linkage and revelation. In the last novel I reviewed here Bad Relations it worked particularly well. In William Boyd’s latest The Blue Afternoon it works less well. The story begins in Los [...]

June 23, 2022 // 0 Comments

The Tanner Report/Fulham past & present.

A local Fulham supporter who was moving entrusted me with his programme collection which went back to the 1950s. I had a scant recollection of games in the past 10 years but those in the 70s were crystal clear. Of particular interest was the Handbook for season 1971-72. In a column called Looking [...]

June 22, 2022 // 0 Comments

Finally, the world stops going mad

Although this organ’s mission statement and running themes are well known to its adherents – and we need make no apologies for them – I have been reassured to see that recently the world of sports administration seems, after much hang-wringing and procrastination, at last to have [...]

June 21, 2022 // 0 Comments

A First for Matt Fitzpatrick

I had backed Fitzpatrick – and Adam Hadwin who finished 7th – but for the previous tourney the Canada Open. Still full play for the Sheffield lad, who held off the challenges of Will Zalatoris and Scottie Schefffler, to become only the third Englishman to win the US Open in the last 52 [...]

June 20, 2022 // 0 Comments

Sporting pictures in the mind

For what it’s worth – despite my Rust editorial responsibilities – I have to confess that my original plan for yesterday afternoon had not involved sport at all. There was plenty of it going on – the women’s rugby league international between England and France, the rugby union [...]

June 19, 2022 // 0 Comments

Time keeps slipping away …

One of the weirder aspects of “being of one’s time” is the phenomenon I readily admit to – I don’t know whether other Rusters have similar thoughts – that, human nature being what it is, beyond the age of about 45 one’s perception of how old one is becomes progressively more at [...]

June 17, 2022 // 0 Comments

la Boheme/Glyndebourne

When I donned my Glyndebourne klobber of white tuxedo, I felt an immediate resentment towards dress code. It’s okay for the ladies who can wear an airy sleeveless dress but gentlemen’s formal wear is not designed for temperatures in the late 20s. Added to this I arrived so early that [...]

June 16, 2022 // 0 Comments

Two red lines – and that’s it!

I tested positive for Covid- 19 yesterday. It’s a strange feeling – after two years of having avoided Covid and (largely speaking) taken all reasonable precautions as per the Government and NHS advice etc. – to suddenly wake up one morning and find that one has succumbed to it. I have to be [...]

June 16, 2022 // 0 Comments

An evening at Windsor Races

Whilst we sporting Rusters often prefer TV-watching to attendance, in recent weeks Duggie Heath has reported from the Lord Test, Ivan Conway from the Oval and yesterday I was at Windsor evening races for its most popular meet on the Monday of Royal Ascot week. Disappointing would be too strong but [...]

June 14, 2022 // 0 Comments

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