My Greatest TV Sporting Moments
On BBC Radio 5 last night, they were asking what listeners most important memories of televised sport were, after Andy Murray’s win at Wimbledon yesterday on the seventh of the seventh to end seventy-seven years of disappointment.
Here’s mine.
Laker’s Match in 1956
I remember watching this and especially the screen the BBC showed when the match had ended early because of England’s victory. Read more.
Stirling Moss winning the 1957 British Grand Prix
In fact it was a shared win, as his car broke down and he took over that of Tony Brooks. Read more.
Stiring Moss winning the 1960 Monaco Grand Prix
This must rank as one of the greatest ever Formula One wins by a British driver, as Moss held off three much more powerful Ferraris in his Lotus-Climax. Read more.
Tottenham winning the FA Cup in 1961
This of course gave them the first Football League/FA Cup double since the 19th century.
Mandarin winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1962
Why I was watching this on an afternoon in March, I don’t know, but it was probably because I was off sick from school with the affliction from which I still suffer. It was a masterful ride by that old fox Fred Winter, who kept one of the cleverest steeplechasers to the inside, all round the course at Cheltenham.
Bruce Tulloh Winning Gold in Belgrade in 1962
Few others would include this, as he was not a great runner, but using supreme tactics and going from 800 metres out, he won the European Championships with ease. He showed that if you want something enough, you can get it. Read more.
England winning the World Cup in 1966
I was with my parents in Felixstowe and as we didn’t have a television, I saw it at our next door neighbours.
David Hemery winning Gold in Mexico in 1968
This was an amazing performance and I can still hear David Coleman’s commentary. Read more.
Mary Peters winning Gold in Munich in 1972
This was another amazing win and I’ve written about it before.
Red Rum’s third victory in the Grand National in 1977
Although, I remember the 1973 race, this one is more poignant as I can remember C screaming her head off at the television, as she cheered him home. Strangely, this memory was at the same venue as Moss’s victory in 1957.
Mo Farah’s Double Gold in London in 2012
This can’t be left out, as I’ll never see anything like this again. I did try very hard to get tickets to go, but when the ballot was held, I didn’t have any money, as my house hadn’t been sold.
If I write this list again, Murray’s win yesterday will definitely be included. Although it’s quite likely, that he could exclude this memory by perhaps winning Wimbledon a few more times.
I’d Quite Like To Watch Or Listen To The Rugby
Until recently, I used to get Sky Sports 1 and 2, through my BT Vision system, but now the signal has been cut, probably because Sky and BT aren’t talking to each other with the best interests of the customers in mind. I could get a signal through BT Infinity, which I want anyway. Unfortunately, fibre optic broadband is not available where I live close to the City of London. Get your finger out BT!
I could get a Sky dish, but I don’t want any other channels and in a few years, everything I want to see, will be available through fibre optic broadband. I don’t even mind, if it’s on a pay per view basis, as hopefully someone will see sense in streaming this without the adverts I hate.
But the rugby isn’t even on Radio 5! So I’m just watching a text commentary and getting the odd report from Ian Robertson on Radio 5.
At least the Lions seem to be doing OK, with Robertson describing them as rampant.
BBC Puts 3D On Hold
The BBC is finding that the public is losing their attitude for 3D programming,according to this article. Here’s the first two paragraphs.
The BBC is to suspend 3D programming for an indefinite period due to a “lack of public appetite” for the technology.
Kim Shillinglaw, the BBC’s head of 3D, said it has “not taken off” with audiences who find it “quite hassly”.
I’ve only ever watched one thing in 3D, which was a presentation at CERN. I tend to think of 3D as an unnecessary gimmick.
Do Weather Babes Make Weather Forecasts Better?
When did you last see an ugly or obese lady doing the weather on the television?
Even the Scottish lady of a certain age, who does the weather on BBC Breakfast, would be an acceptable partner on a date. I did see her once in the flesh and I think she looks younger on the box.
Today with the end of summer, BBC London has brought out one of their most glamorous presenters from a stable, that only includes one make, who seems to be only let out in the evening.
I do think that television, sexes up the weather.
Two Days Junk Mail From Virgin Media
They may have been inefficient at fixing my phone problems in the past, but they certainly know how to get junk mail through my door.
Two Days Junk Mail From Virgin Media
I’ve also read, that they still haven’t concluded a deal with BT so that their TV customers can get the matches BT has the rights to.
Most of the junk mail was addressed to that person, who doesn’t live here, the Mr. D.E.A.R. Householder.
Anything, marked without my name is instantly put into the green sack for recycling. Perhaps I should hang one outside for the postman!
BT Are Making A Big Play For Customers
BT seem to be pulling out the stops to get customers to use their broadband services to get sporting TV, and especially football.
BT Are Making A Big Play For Customers
As I’m a customer of BT Vision, I don’t need to do anything.
Jeremy Clarkson Is More Popular Than Hillary Clinton In Iran
This story from the BBC’s web site must be the strangest to come out of Iran in recent months.
It is about how Top Gear is very popular in the country and relates the story of a visit to Kurdistan, by the actor, who dubs our Jeremy into Farsi. Here’s an extract.
The BBC cannot operate freely in Iran, so Top Gear’s popularity is hard to measure. But last year, when PTV dropped an episode to air an exclusive interview with then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the audience protested bitterly.
I think in some ways that the man or woman on the Teheran omnibus or stuck in the Isfahan traffic jam think about the same things as their equivalemts in New York, Glasgow and Sydney.
Perhaps, Hillary Clinton could be a star in a reasonably priced car to raise her popularity in Iran.
Adverts On The BBC
The only television I watched was BBC World and it was good to see such as Nick Gowing, who I once met on holiday.
However, I was rather fed up with the adverts, for products I weren’t interested in. Although, one was for a mini diabetic meter, much like the device I use to test my INR. Although it was very small. It does show the way these devices are going.
I wonder how long before cruise ships such as the Oriana have a digital television service based on Freesat.
The Joke’s On The Recession
We may be in the depth of a recession, but you wouldn’t suss this from the magnificent response of the public to Comic Relief, as reported here on the BBC.
The First Lesbian Kiss on British Television
Type the title of this post into Google and you get linked to an episode on Brookside.
But this is wrong!
Last night, David Rose in his presentation showed a clip from the play he produced some years earlier called Girl.
This play doesn’t appear to be mentioned on either Wikipedia or the Internet Movie Database.
So the Internet isn’t always right!
The Anonymous Widower 