England Need a Touch of the Trevor Bailey’s
One of Essex’s greatest players was Trevor Bailey, who is probably enjoying his county counterpart, Alistair Cook, bat on in Sydney.
Bailey was renowned for his all-round abilities and supreme determination. There can’t be many people, who have played over 60 times for England at cricket and have played in an amateur football team, that drew at Manchester United in the FA Cup.
Bailey was nicknamed Barnacle and this spirit is what England needs to see out the day in Sydney. Even if they score perhaps a little bit faster than Bailey’s reputation, summed up in these words from the great Neville Cardus.
Before he gathered together 20 runs, a newly-married couple could have left Heathrow and arrived in Lisbon, there to enjoy a honeymoon. By the time Bailey had congealed 50, this happily wedded pair could easily have settled down in a semi-detached house in Surbiton; and by the time his innings had gone to its close they conceivably might have been divorced.
But perhaps Bailey is having the greatest last laugh on his detractors in that at 83, he is still watching a lot of cricket and he only needs another 17 for a famous and well-deserved ton.
North-South Divide
They are discussing the North-South divide on BBC Breakfast this morning.
What about the East-West divide?
Here in East Anglia, we have an economy about the size of Scotland, but we rely on much less government subsidy, we export more and we have higher unemployment.
But what do we get in return for looking after our economy and contributing to the well-being of the whole of the UK?
Not a lot really!
We have some of the worst roads and transport systems in the UK.
- The A14 past Cambridge and Huntingdon is one of the most overcrowded roads in Europe.
- Norwich is isolated from the rest of the country, by the gap in dual-carriageway of the A11 at Elveden and no proper route along the A47 to the Midlands.
- Yarmouth is in desperate need to be connected to Norwich by a decent road.
- Ipswich-Norwich links are virtually non-existent, unless you go by train
- There is the missing link of the A120 from Braintree to Marks Tey.
- Most of the trains in East Anglia are cast-offs from other networks and trains from east to west and on to the Midlands and the North are poor to say the least.
- Very few stations anyway have adequate parking places.
Many of these problems have been down to be solved for years, but they always get delayed. But then there are few Labour MPs and votes in East Anglia.
But still we manage and expand. Today, Glaxo Smith Kline has announced a large expansion of research in Stevenage and Cambridge is still growing.
We need the investment on infrastructure here in East Anglia, so that can create wealth for others in the UK.
Coggeshall
Essex has a bad reputation as a place inhabited by loose women in pelmets and white stilettos and men with large beer-fed guts in shell suits. This may be the image, which is also fuelled by lots of Essex girl jokes. But are the people of Essex feeding this image to keep us foreigners out and save the best bits for themselves?
Last night I went for dinner at Baumanns Brasserie in Coggeshall. Note that it doesn’t have an apostrophe!
Coggeshall
This view shows one of the streets that used to be the main road from Braintree to Colchester until it was by-passed in the 1980s. How the town managed before that I dread to think?
Opposite the restaurant is a sweet shop. Not your normal one, but one with real jars in the window.
Normans Sweet Shop, Coggeshall
What surprised me was that the jars in the window were for Fox’s Glacier Mints, Murray Mints and other common sweets. They looked to be new jars too, so they must be still available.
Now to return to Baumanns.
My late wife and I used to go a couple of times a year, when we lived over the other side of Suffolk at Debach. It was just too far to go and come back after a meal. But last night, I had other reasons, so it was very convenient to visit an old favourite place. In fact, I think it was the first time, I’d been there since I was diagnosed with coeliac disease.
I was not disappointed.
And the place had hardly changed in all those years.
Is that good or bad? It depends if what was there all those years ago was worth keeping. In Baumanns case it certainly was.
I had sardines followed by ostrich. These were two dishes I’d probably never cook for myself. They were both delicious.
I shall visit Baumanns next time, that I’m in the area.
Bikini Record Goes Bust
An attempt at Southend yesterday to break the number of women wearing bikinis failed.
Appearently only 42 turned up, when they needed 1923 to break the record. Southend must be just too cold. I though Essex girls were up for anything.
There are some appropriate Essex girl jokes here. It is probably a good idea if you don’t go there, if you can be easily offended or are female and were born in Essex.
The Anonymous Widower 