Turn Right at Mottram Roundabout - Week 10
Tue 11th October 2016 | General | By Stewart Taylor
Last week we were in Cheshire and the club we were looking for was League newcomer Sandbach United.
The quick link referred to the strong tradition in the town of brass bands. Not all that long ago the Foden company made lorries in Sandbach and it was the Foden Brass Band which won all of those Brass Band Championships. Even though the Foden’s works closed, the brass band continues.
The photo is a general view of the modern clubhouse and changing rooms at the Sandbach Community Football Centre.
This week we do something different, simply a collection of seemingly unconnected pieces.
One of the most famous books by the English writer Thomas Hardy is Far From the Madding Crowd. The book tells the story of Bathsheba Everdene, played by Julie Christie in the film of the book released in 1967, and the attraction of three men of rather disparate backgrounds to her. The book is memorable as being the first evocation of a sort of romanticised and idyllic form of English rural life by this most “English” of writers.
Winston Churchill was a product, if you will, of the English countryside. From his beginnings in rural Oxfordshire he became over a long career one of the most important politicians of his, or any other, generation. It is his leadership during World War Two for which he is best remembered but his contribution to art, literature and journalism also mark him out as a man of great distinction.
Away from the rural settings, much of England has featured periods of time where heavy industry has dominated the landscape in more ways than one. Such industries are inherently dangerous and, however much time and effort is put into Health and Safety, accidents do occur, often with tragic consequences. Close to where I was born and brought up there was the Astley Deep Pit Disaster in which 54 men and boys died as a result of explosions in the mine following a roof collapse. Astley Deep Pit was the deepest mine in England at the time and was located in Dukinfield in what is now Tameside, Greater Manchester.
Talking of such times, mining was by no means the only industry in this country which was prone to problems. In effect, all industry was, to some extent, running “out of control” as nearly impossible working conditions were imposed on employees. From this came the origins of the English Labour Party but also, and much more importantly to many, controls on the exploitation of labour in the shape of the introduction of the Factory Acts. These laws, introduced over quite a wide period of time, outlawed all sorts of outdated, and often dangerous, practices such as preventing children being used as chimney sweeps.
Before the formation of the Labour Party in this country the political scene was dominated by Conservatives and Liberals. One of the most remembered statesman in English history was Benjamin Disraeli whose rivalry with the Liberal William Gladstone marked many of the great political stories of the Victorian Era. One of these was the circumstances by which Disraeli became Prime Minister when his Conservative Party gained fewer votes than Gladstone’s Liberals in a General Election but the Conservatives gained the most seats. Not the first time a debate about constituency boundaries was relevant and certainly not the last.
We are all familiar with the rules of football these days – well, at least we think we are. Whilst the rules of the game were codified in the Victorian era that was not the be all and end all as the rules of the game are constantly being revised. A trawl through the rule changes down the years reveals some interesting situations. As an example, did you know that decisions about sending off a player were at one time down to the agreement of the team captains? As we know, that one was eventually changed to give the referee that responsibility where it has remained ever since.
No “quick link” type question as such this time but the little stories above all have a link to each other and deciphering what that link is will lead to the name of this week’s club.
Turn Right at Mottram Roundabout - Week 10
Tue 11th October 2016 | General
By Stewart Taylor
Last week we were in Cheshire and the club we were looking for was League newcomer Sandbach United.
The quick link referred to the strong tradition in the town of brass bands. Not all that long ago the Foden company made lorries in Sandbach and it was the Foden Brass Band which won all of those Brass Band Championships. Even though the Foden’s works closed, the brass band continues.
The photo is a general view of the modern clubhouse and changing rooms at the Sandbach Community Football Centre.
This week we do something different, simply a collection of seemingly unconnected pieces.
One of the most famous books by the English writer Thomas Hardy is Far From the Madding Crowd. The book tells the story of Bathsheba Everdene, played by Julie Christie in the film of the book released in 1967, and the attraction of three men of rather disparate backgrounds to her. The book is memorable as being the first evocation of a sort of romanticised and idyllic form of English rural life by this most “English” of writers.
Winston Churchill was a product, if you will, of the English countryside. From his beginnings in rural Oxfordshire he became over a long career one of the most important politicians of his, or any other, generation. It is his leadership during World War Two for which he is best remembered but his contribution to art, literature and journalism also mark him out as a man of great distinction.
Away from the rural settings, much of England has featured periods of time where heavy industry has dominated the landscape in more ways than one. Such industries are inherently dangerous and, however much time and effort is put into Health and Safety, accidents do occur, often with tragic consequences. Close to where I was born and brought up there was the Astley Deep Pit Disaster in which 54 men and boys died as a result of explosions in the mine following a roof collapse. Astley Deep Pit was the deepest mine in England at the time and was located in Dukinfield in what is now Tameside, Greater Manchester.
Talking of such times, mining was by no means the only industry in this country which was prone to problems. In effect, all industry was, to some extent, running “out of control” as nearly impossible working conditions were imposed on employees. From this came the origins of the English Labour Party but also, and much more importantly to many, controls on the exploitation of labour in the shape of the introduction of the Factory Acts. These laws, introduced over quite a wide period of time, outlawed all sorts of outdated, and often dangerous, practices such as preventing children being used as chimney sweeps.
Before the formation of the Labour Party in this country the political scene was dominated by Conservatives and Liberals. One of the most remembered statesman in English history was Benjamin Disraeli whose rivalry with the Liberal William Gladstone marked many of the great political stories of the Victorian Era. One of these was the circumstances by which Disraeli became Prime Minister when his Conservative Party gained fewer votes than Gladstone’s Liberals in a General Election but the Conservatives gained the most seats. Not the first time a debate about constituency boundaries was relevant and certainly not the last.
We are all familiar with the rules of football these days – well, at least we think we are. Whilst the rules of the game were codified in the Victorian era that was not the be all and end all as the rules of the game are constantly being revised. A trawl through the rule changes down the years reveals some interesting situations. As an example, did you know that decisions about sending off a player were at one time down to the agreement of the team captains? As we know, that one was eventually changed to give the referee that responsibility where it has remained ever since.
No “quick link” type question as such this time but the little stories above all have a link to each other and deciphering what that link is will lead to the name of this week’s club.
