Burnley roots

Diaspora delight; two weekends in March As we converged on Turf Moor, via the Burnley Miners, we were coming in from all directions; Manchester, Brighton, the Fylde, Harrogate, Ripon. The match against Manchester City was a sellout, a mouth-watering prospect. The richest club in the country and current Premier league champions chasing points to close… Continue reading Burnley roots

Summer back then: waiting for football

I wonder why I’m not at a game today. It’s Saturday at the start of another football season. But I remember discussing the overkill of boom-time sport with the old Labour Minister Denis Howell, just before he died. He agreed that the solipsistic sloshings of money in the game, the media saturation of coverage, bordered… Continue reading Summer back then: waiting for football

Istanbul, May 2005

Another airport again, sitting looking out at concrete runways through characterless glass panes. The check-in and passport controls and security checks and duty-frees and toilets could be at any airport on any continent. There’s something both comforting and frightening about this: the processes become familiar, the environment spookily déjà vu. You’ve done all that travel… Continue reading Istanbul, May 2005