The wonderful Courtney Pine

Courtney Pine – Modern Day Jazz Stories

I’ve been listening to this recently. It’s a dazzlingly good album, strong and varied. Pine plays just about every saxophone on the rack and the flute, too. Even the liner notes describe how the mixing and recording kit used was chosen because it’s so good at catching the warmth and richness of acoustic instruments.

It’s strange to think that about sixty or seventy years ago, a liking for jazz was not something to hide. Now, in the days of Simon, Louis, and Olly Murrs, (and all those others who have, thankfully, passed me by) it’s a bit like admitting that you’d rather not read anything at all than read the Daily Mail, that, no, actually you don’t find Jeremy Clarkson remotely amusing, or that you eat worms.

When did challenging become a taboo and immediacy the overarching requirement for music, the theatre, and television?

I know I’m droning on here, but if the Pythons or Denis Potter pitched up at Broadcasting House today, they wouldn’t get past security.

The question is…

…which football league is going to supply this season’s Aguerooooo! moment. That’s how the Guardian phrase it, anyway. Actually, it’s a “Up for grabs now!” moment, and with all due respect to Citeh (and remember how they broke United hearts – respect is due): we were first to have an Up for grabs now moment on our CV; we’ve got the book, by a proper author, not some journalist on summer leave or ghostwritten player’s rubbish; and we’ve got the film (and a mighty good film it is, too).

It’s not going to be the prem, that’s for sure. Let alone going to the wire, that was settled well before the final furlong. It’s the same in Spain (Barca), Germany (Bayern), France (noveau riche PSG), Scotland (Celtic gifted the title by dumping ‘Gers into the bottom division), and Italy (Juve).

It’s tight in Belgium, but MS Word puts a red squiggle under any sentence with ‘Belgium’ and ‘exciting’ in it.

In Portugal Porto and Benfica are having a monumental tussle, in the Czech Republic it’s close between Viktoria Plzen and Sparta Prague (but I’ve only ever heard of Sparta), and Bulgaria has a climax to the season, but I’ve not heard of either of those.

No. Forget this year. Think back to 1989.

It’s up for grabs now...

Nutty Boy Winterburn’s coaching manual, page 2.

Yep. There it is.

That’s right, Steve, not long. Just long enough. Never in doubt.