Entertainment

   Whilst attempting to complete the Latest Images page on Saturday night I had one eye on the television. On one channel we had The Voice followed by the Eurovision Song Contest. It seems the object of The Voice is for the wannabes to shout and scream as loud as possible and "put their interpretation" on some well known songs. That version of "Bohemian Rhapsody" was truly horrendous but the "coaches" offered their expert advice which most of the time amounted to "Yeah, well, er, like, it's great!" No doubt the winner will go on to overnight success but whether he/she will achieve the lasting success of someone like Engelbert Humperdinck I rather doubt.

   Now I saw Engelbert when he was still Gerry Dorsey and was only a support act but he learned his trade the hard way. Singing the UK's entry in the Eurovision Contest, he was unfortunate enough to be drawn first and fell victim to the political voting that has become a feature of the competition finishing near the bottom of the final scoreboard. He has a long and glittering career behind him but why on earth we, as a country, still participate in this farce is beyond me - why we still watch it makes me begin to doubt my own sanity!

   They say you can't have too much of a good thing but The Voice and Eurovision for Saturday evening viewing is too much mediocrity. How on earth did we allow our weekend TV programmes descend to this level? But whatever the programme, it seems there is more emphasis today put on dance routines, flashing lights and pyrotechnics rather than the songs. They could all learn from the likes of Don Williams (pictured) who just comes on stage, sits down, picks up his guitar and, backed by quality musicians, just sings his songs. That's entertainment!

Second Best

So Chelsea are the Champions of Europe then but by all accounts they were second best for most of the match. Blackpool too had the better chances in their play-off final against West Ham but ended up on the wrong side of the score line. And all this at the end of the week when Roy Hodgson, the new England manager, announced his squad for the Euro Championships to a less than enthusiastic response. With only four strikers in the twenty-three man squad and one of them banned for the first two matches, plus a virtual unknown who has never represented his country before at senior level, it does not take a genius to predict the team's tactics. Full of expectancy England's fans again will probably be treated to some dour struggles but if the results this weekend are anything to go by, the omens look good for a second best team to triumph and it might as well be England - but don't hold your breath as it could all end in heartbreak again!

With a summer of sport ahead, the Euros, Olympics and Test Matches to mention but three, I shall be keeping a close eye on the Derbyshire Falcons cricketers who have made a winning start to the season and currently stand top of County Championship's second division. It's been a long time since the Falcons enjoyed any real success but IF the year of the underdog continues it will be a refreshing change to see them flying high and ending the season on top.

Speculate to Accumulate

It was Motorcycle Day at the Erewash Museum on Saturday, one of several free events that are being held throughout the year. We've already had the Rock & Roll Birthday Party in April and Circus Week and Swing Back To The Forties are two more events lined up for June.

And yet it was only in 2004 that there were fears the museum was about to be closed as the council looked to balance the books (Newspaper report). Fortunately local pressure and the work of the Friends of Erewash Museum meant that the threat of closure was removed and last year it won the coveted Derbyshire Museum of the Year award. Last week we were celebrating the Green Flag award in Victoria Park where another investment has reaped its just reward. Perhaps there's a lesson there for our government in Westminster - instead of cut, cut cut, a policy of investment is needed to revive our economy. As someone else once put it, you have to speculate to accumulate. Investment in our country and our people will bring its own rewards.

Cup Finals

Flags and banners were being waved by supporters of Chelsea and Liverpool at the weekend as the teams fought out the FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium but for me the cup has lost a lot of its appeal. I think I've seen every Cup Final for as long as I can remember. I can even recall gathering with family members around a black and white screen at my grandmother's to watch the infamous Matthews Final in 1953 and later saw Forest beat Luton in 1959. Unfortunately although I was alive, Derby's success in the same competition came just too early for me to recall.

I even visited the old Wembley Stadium later with refereeing colleagues for more recent finals but the days when the Cup Final was the climax of the season appear to be long gone. Gone too are the days when "Final" really meant the final game of the season. Now with play-offs and even league fixtures to be fulfilled after the Cup Final date, it just doesn't seem right. Even on Saturday, the same day as the Cup Final, there was a full fixture list in some of the Divisions which is probably one reason, another being TV rights, for the kick off to be at 5:15 rather than the traditional 3:00 in the afternoon. I wasn't really bothered who won the match, the powers that be have relegated the Final to just another match. It's a shame but for me at least, the magic of the Cup has been eroded and I'm losing all interest - until next season of course!

Spooky

Do you believe in coincidences? Well how spooky is this? As we were walking home from church this morning a car pulled up at the top of Market Street and the occupants were looking at the Cenotaph. The weather was atrocious with the rain teeming down and it really was not a day for sightseeing at all but the couple were in the area for a wedding celebration and having come all the way from Cheshire, were taking the opportunity to investigate some family history.
 

It transpired that the lady was the sister of the late character actor Derek Nimmo (1930-1999) and also related to Harry Tatham-Sudbury, the architect of many iconic buildings in Ilkeston, the Cenotaph being one of them. We were able to give directions to other places in the town that they wanted to see that Harry had designed and answer some of their questions. The lady was armed with a folder full of genealogical information and a number of sheets showing photographs that she had downloaded from the internet, photographs very familiar to myself as they came from the Town Walk on this site. Now what are the chances of that? Of all the people in Ilkeston, on a Sunday morning in the pouring rain, two people from Cheshire bumping into someone who had actually taken the photos of the places they were looking for. Now that's spooky!