We call our old Citroen Picassa ‘The Tardis’, because it’s much roomier inside than it appears from the outside. Sadly it doesn’t facilitate time travel and I’ve yet to meet Dr Who. If you had the chance, would you go forward or backwards in time? I think I’ve unearthed the way to go backwards. We adhere to the Gregorian calendar in the West but by the simple ruse of changing to the Julian calendar, (not mine but the one introduced by Julius Caesar) it’s suddenly thirteen days earlier. Today would therefore be 22nd August. All those horrible mistakes I made at the end of August could be easily rectified. I can’t see a flaw in my argument?
A friend recently sent me a long list of how phrases came to be. For instance “mind your P’s and Q’s” originates from the Middle Ages when pub landlords would shout at unruly customers “mind your pints and quarts and settle down”. (Perhaps they shouldn’t have been serving quarts!). The same author suggests that Golf, until quite recently a very male dominated sport, stood for “Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden”. After thirty years involvement in professional golf, I never knew that!
Golf, like so many sports, has really suffered under Covid. The European Tour is in trouble. Five years ago big changes in personnel were made under the new Canadian Chief Executive, Keith Pelley. A number of old stalwarts were given their cards and over seventy new recruits were added to the payroll, dramatically increasing the Tour’s outgoings. At the time the finances were pretty healthy. Former Ryder Cup player and later a Director on the Tour Board, Ken Brown had long urged the Tour to hold more in reserve for a rainy day, which they had achieved. Under Pelley, the reserves were rapidly spent, despite a handsome sponsorship deal with Rolex, a contract he regularly claimed to be a “game changer”. Pelley had a background in broadcast media and so he made significant changes to bring the TV coverage under the aegis of The Tour, rather than being run by IMG. He appointed a fellow Canadian, Stu Nichol, who’d been involved with PGA Tour Productions in America, as the Director of Television, with instructions to enliven the coverage. Americans firmly believe that their coverage of sport is the unrivalled best. Most people around the world disagree. Changes have been made, some undoubtedly for the better, but the lingering feeling is of an organisation that is intent on propaganda and one that will brook no criticism. Please remember that when you are watching golf on television.
I openly admit I have an axe to grind, in that Stu Nichol reneged on a verbal agreement that would have reduced but not terminated my employment. That was before Covid struck. At least I was given a few months notice, but it was still pretty ruthless after nearly thirty years with the Tour and compensation was there none. But the latest axe to fall takes ruthless to a new level. Scotsman Dougie Donnelly has been the main commentator and presenter for European Tour Productions for many years and previously presented golf on BBC TV. His agreement with the tour was for fifteen tournaments this year and ten next, after which he would probably retire gracefully. He’s currently working at Valderrama in Spain and will be in Portugal next week. He was told by Mr Nichol ten days ago, in a Zoom call, that Portugal would be his last tournament. That’s it. Done. You’re out. Apparently Covid has changed everything! Many of the recent recruits at the Wentworth Headquarters are also being shown their cards. The rainy day that Ken Brown was worried about has arrived and there’s a big hole in the roof. Unhappy days indeed. Of course you won’t hear any of this from the propaganda machine.
ADayInTheStrifeOf 