You may not have heard of John Sullivan but he is responsible for, in my opinion, the funniest comedy series ever. As writer of ‘Only Fools and Horses’, he brought some unbelievably funny characters to our TV screens which made us both laugh and cry as though they were part of our own families.
A new series of Only Fools was always greatly anticipated in our home when I was growing up and the Christmas specials were often a highlight of that particular festive season. My favourite TV memories of the 1980s and 1990s are of Del Boy, Rodney and all the other characters that made this show as brilliant as it was.
Apart from the first-class acting from the superb cast, all this wouldn’t have been possible without the excellent writing from the very talented John Sullivan.
I could (and often do) watch the repeats over and over again and will never tire of doing so.
RIP John. Thank you for the wonderful memories. You and your talent will be sadly missed.
Jason.
15th April sees the anniversary of the 1989 Hillsborough football stadium disaster, where 96 Liverpool football fans were killed while they watched their team in an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest. I wrote the article below as a comment to a piece I saw on the BBC Football Focus website to mark the 20th anniversary in 2009:
‘Can I start by saying what a very well made piece on Football Focus and a totally correct decision to dedicate the programme to this 20th anniversary.
I was 16 at the time, a football-mad Leeds United fan living in Wakefield. I remember walking through Wakefield market and hearing on someones’ radio about the game being stopped. As soon as I got home at about 3-15pm I was glued to the TV, trying to find out what was happening to these ordinary football fans who had gone to enjoy their big day out.
As the afternoon turned to evening and the full extent of what had happened became apparent, I remember being in the kitchen at home and just bursting into tears with my Mum and Dad. People had died at a football ground, WHY, HOW?? Just two years earlier, I had stood with my Dad behind that same goal at the Leppings Lane end, also to watch an FA Cup semi final between Leeds and Coventry.
A few days later, I got permission from school to have the afternoon off. Dad and I went to Anfield to pay our respects, I took my Leeds United scarf and left it on the Kop. Although we didn’t know any of the 96 personally, it felt to be the right thing to do and something we both needed to do.
I’m not sure exactly how soon it was after the 15th April when The Sun printed what it did but I know that I have never bought or read a copy of that newspaper since.
The 20 years since Hillsborough have seen football in this country change beyond all recognition – not always for the better. What I do know is that, if my own Son wants to go with me to watch professional football when he’s older he will not be subjected to the conditions that were present at many Football League grounds back in the late 1980’s.
I remember Hillsborough every year on the 15th April as I’m sure many other football fans do -I will more than likely shed a few tears this year.’
22 years on the events of that horrible day are still fresh in my mind and i think they always will be.
RIP.
Jason.
Happy Mother’s Day (or Mothering Sunday) to all Mum’s everywhere. You all do a fantastic job and are loved by everyone. xxx
Jason.
When I got home from work this afternoon, the Cricket World Cup quarter-final between India and Australia was heading towards an exciting finish. I got a drink and sat down in front of the TV to watch the end of the game.
It was looking like being a close contest at one stage but I’m glad to say India won by 5 wickets.
Therefore I’m very pleased to say that every Englishman’s favourite Aussie, Ricky Ponting, has now lost the Ashes AND the World Cup in the last three months.
Shame isn’t it?
Jason.
I’m not Irish and I have nothing against the good people of Ireland.
As far as I’m aware I have no known Irish blood relatives but my father-in-law is Irish and I know a couple of people who are from Ireland.
Taking all the above into account; why does seemingly everyone I know insist on wishing me a Happy St Patrick’s Day? I don’t really care about it one way or the other if I’m being honest. I just don’t understand why millions of people around the world with no connections to Ireland feel the need to celebrate the patron saints day of a country that most of them probably couldn’t even point to on a map. It gets worse every year. So-called celebrities telling us what they’re going to be doing to celebrate the big day. Tweets from all kinds about what a great time we’re all supposed to have on the 17 March. WE’RE NOT INTERESTED!!!
Ask the people of this country when St George’s Day is and I will guarantee that the vast majority won’t have a clue. In my near 40 years on Earth, I don’t remember anyone ever wishing me a ‘Happy St George’s Day.
Jason.
PS. It’s 23 April.
This post was originally going to be published last Friday but the events in Japan took priority (see ‘We Don’t Know How Lucky We Are’).
My job isn’t massively difficult or too stressful but the best part of the day is when the shift finishes and it’s time for home. Last Tuesday we had a gloriously warm, sunny day (ideal weather to be stuck in an office). The previous day I had promised my little lad that we would go and play football in the garden if he had behaved himself for his Mummy. When I got home Joanne told me that Jack had been very good all day so he could go out and play.
I got ready and we both went in the garden to kick the ball around. We must have been out there for an hour, just kicking the ball to one another. Jack had such an enjoyable time and we had great fun together. The laughter and smiles as he did a “big kick right up to the sky” was worth everything.
It may not seem like much to a lot of people but simple pleasures like this make everything worthwhile. All the bad things we have to deal with in life are forgotten for the time being when you spend time with the ones you love.
Jason.
At around 0630hrs GMT this morning we got breaking news here in the UK that a magnitude 8.9 earthquake had struck Japan and a huge tsunami was sure to follow. I was already in the office so I got the BBC News on my PC.
It is now 0930 and over the last three hours we have all been sat watching the devastation unfolding before our eyes. The tsunami has struck Japan and is forecast to spread thousands of miles, with the entire Pacific basin currently on alert. Imagine how they must feel in those countries, knowing that a huge wave reported to be as high as 10m (33ft) is on its way to rip their lives and livelihoods apart in the next few hours.
A couple of quotes on the BBC News website: Victor Sardina, from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, has said that “a tsunami wave will cross the Pacific, no doubt about that. The same tsunami wave will reach all the way down to Chile… This is going to produce a huge amount of damage.”
Robert Cessaro, from the PTWC, tells the BBC World Service that “the depth of the quake is about 10km, in other words it’s a very shallow event, and also it’s in the water. So right away we know that it’s going to produce a tsunami. This one is pretty big.”
Reports are saying that this is the biggest earthquake ever to hit Japan and the 7th largest on record.
Readers of some of my previous posts will know that I have a big problem with television news channels reporting ‘breaking news’ that isn’t worthy of such a headline. I can safely say that this is EXACTLY the kind of thing that is breaking news. It may seem to some people to be morbid but this kind of event brings the world to attention and everyone should watch what is happening.
As one of my colleagues said earlier, ‘we don’t know how lucky we are in the UK’. We have never experienced anything like this and are never likely to.
My thoughts go out to everyone affected. Utterly, totally devastating.
Jason.
Amongst the many things that makes me immensely proud of my Son, I can now add to the list the fact that he has clearly inherited my excellent taste in music. Allow me to explain.
For the past few weeks there has been a TV advert for some kind of insurance website. The advert features an animated character singing along to the Queen song ‘Somebody to Love’, with a load more characters singing in the background. The first time Jack saw this ad, he watched it but didn’t seem overly interested. However, as time passed, the more he saw it he stopped what he was doing and started paying more attention to it. After a couple of weeks he was singing his little heart out to it.
We have reached the point now where he randomly bursts into choruses of ‘Somebody to Love’, usually accompanied with him screwing his eyes tightly shut (I think this helps him reach the high notes that Freddie Mercury used to get to).
As I am a huge fan of Queen this makes me laugh every time it happens and we’ve now moved onto the next stage in Jack’s musical education. Last night I got my ipod out and found the original song by Queen. I put the headphones to Jack’s ears and let him listen to the song. Once he realised what he was listening to he started singing again. After a couple of minutes though, as is the case with 3 year olds’ attention spans, he got bored and went back to his toy cars.
The musical education will continue before he gets bombarded with the manufactured garbage that dominates todays’ music scene.
Jason.
Tales from Yorkshire 