Who is that writes all these jokes, mostly in very bad taste but often very funny, which appear literally seconds after any kind of an event surrounding sports stars or celebrities? The tragic event in South Africa involving Oscar Pistorius, the blade runner, is the latest example, the first one even reached us lads here almost before the news of his girlfriend's tragic death. Got to be careful here, don't know who is to blame, so I'm not pointing any fingers anywhere. Although of course, what can they do to me? Being dead like. But it does display the irresistible urge to make light of things, however grim, that seems to drive the human race. Enough philosophy though.
More intriguingly, and about sport if not football, the 4.25 at Clonmel the other day, Clonmel being in County Tipperary no less, was called, and I do not jest, the "Bishop Auckland Theatre Hooligans Novices Chase". This raises more than a few questions; I didn't even know that Bishop Auckland had a theatre, and I lived within 30 miles most of my life. Or perhaps it was Clonmel that had a Bishop Auckland? Who owned a theatre? Wherein hooliganism was common? Or at least a spectacular one off? But anyway not frowned on enough to stop anyone remembering a happy night of mayhem and fistfights by naming a horserace after it? Or maybe it was a stag night from Ireland that decided Malaga was old hat and picked on a small market town in County Durham for their event? Or maybe, and this is the scary thought, the stag night in question is this weekend...
But let us leave the good people of Bishop in peace, for now at least, and back to football matters. So, you've got a fixture pile up, you are 2-0 down at half time in a League Cup tie, and you could go down gracefully to defeat, and give yourself a night off. Sounds like the sensible option? Not for our bold lads, straight back at them, level within five minutes of the restart, and go on to win 3-2. That's the spirit, all right. And, as you might expect, away from home as usual, where nearly all of our better exploits take place, while us lads over the fence have to rely on well wishers and flower placers to bring us the news. It doesn't seem right somehow, and my guess is that the good people of Durham City FC agree.
But at least now we can look forward to hosting Spennymoor again this season, complete with the ginger balding one, Sparky and young Joe. Should be a good night, so maybe the fightback was the right idea after all...