Darren Clarke

One of the best bits of sporting news for a long time came today when Northern Ireland golfing star Darren Clarke won the Asian Open in Shanghai. It brings to an end a barren run for Darren as it represents his first European Tour title in five years, during which the 39 year old tragically lost his wife Heather to cancer. During Heather's illness, golf naturally took a back seat in Darren's life, with two young boys to look after. It may be that Darren's golf never reaches the heights of the past, during which time he won two WGC events and was ranked in the World's top ten. Nevertheless, this is pleasing step forward for him, and perhaps he will again be able to take his place in the European Ryder Cup team. Darren is pictured on Anfield Road on 3 May 2005 when he attended the Champions League semi-final tie between his beloved Liverpool and Chelsea

Green Arrow

No sooner had we seen the last rites for Green Arrow than, following urgent temporary repairs by the engineers at North Yorkshire Moors Railway, it was announced that FINAL outing for 4771 Green Arrow could now take place on Saturday 26 April 2008, before the locomotive makes the journey to Shildon - excellent news for all those who can make it to see this historic steam loco for the last time.

Here is Green Arrow leaving Quorn & Woodhouse on the Great Central Railway at their "Big 4 Gala" on 21 May 2006

Footnote : It can be confirmed that 4771 Green Arrow did in fact make a successful final outing on 26 April 2008, and big thanks must go to all those involved in preparing her for her final run

Lee Westwood

Today is the 35th birthday of golfer Lee Westwood, currently the leading Englishman in the European PGA Order of Merit, and lying 20th in the Official World Golf Rankings. Lee was born on 24th April 1973 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire and began playing golf at the age of 13. Just four years later he had won his first amateur event, The Peter McEvoy Trophy, and he turned professional after winning the British Youth Championship in 1993. His first professional title came in 1996 when winning the Volvo Scandinavian Masters, and to date he has won 18 events on the European Tour. A regular member of the Ryder Cup team, he is a close friend of fellow golfer Darren Clarke, with whom he co-owns a private jet, and they were together when I took this photograph of Lee Westwood on 3rd May 2005 before Liverpool's Champions League semi-final victory over Chelsea at Anfield

Green Arrow

London & North Eastern Region (LNER) Class V2 steam locomotive 4771 "Green Arrow" was designed by Nigel Gresley and built at Doncaster in June 1936. The first-built and only surviving member of its class, it was designed for hauling express freight and passenger trains and named after an LNER express freight service. It was later renumbered 60800 by British Railways, and withdrawn in August 1962. Subsequently 4771 was preserved as part of the National Railway Museum collection, and ran in preservation until being withdrawn from service today at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. The locomotive will return to the National Collection and be on static display at the National Railway Museum's "Locomotion" site at Shildon. The photograph shows "Green Arrow" leaving Winchcombe on the Gloucestershire-Warwickshire Railway on 5th August 2007

Billy Fury

Today marks the 68th anniversary of the birth of Britain's finest rock'n'roll singer, Billy Fury. Born on 17 April 1940 in Liverpool as Ronald Wycherley, he leapt to fame after an impromptu audition in the dressing room of the Birkenhead Essoldo in 1958, after which impresario Larry Parnes signed him to his stable and rechristened him Billy Fury. In 1959, he charted with "Maybe Tomorrow" and the hits continued to flow into the 1960s, firstly with Decca then with Parlophone, despite Billy's ill-health following a childhood illness which left him with a weakened heart. In 1971 he underwent open-heart surgery, but recovered to record "Will The Real Man Stand Up" on his own Fury label, and played the part of "Stormy Tempest" in the film "That'll Be The Day" in 1973. A second major operation in 1976 forced Billy to retire again, but he re-emerged at the end of the decade with new recordings of his best-known songs, and several live and television appearances. In 1981 Fury signed up for a new deal with Polydor, but his health was rapidly deteriorating and on 28 January 1983 he succumbed to a fatal heart attack. Unlike many of his pre-Beatles contemporaries, his reputation has grown over the years, and Billy Fury is now rightly regarded as the finest rock 'n' roll singer Britain ever produced. In 2003, a life-size statue of Billy by Tom Murphy was unveiled on the waterfront in Liverpool

Always remembered - the 96

April 15th - etched in the minds of so many - the day in 1989 when thousands of football fans headed for Sheffield, to watch the FA Cup Semi-Final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, the day when 96 were never to return. The tragedy of Hillsborough will never be forgotten, neither will the lack of justice for those who died, those who were bereaved, those who escaped, those who suffered, nor the lies put about from certain quarters about the causes of the catastrophe. Despite enquiries and an inquest, the fight for justice still goes on, and will continue. There are many moving stories about Hillsborough and some of these can be found on the Hillsborough Justice Campaign website. The photograph shows supporters paying their respects at the Hillsborough Memorial in Anfield Road, Liverpool

Pablo Picasso

I read today that it is the 35th anniversary of the death of the artist, Pablo Picasso. He died near Cannes at the age of 91. Born in Spain, he became one of the most famous artists of all time - but I have to say, I know what I like when it comes to art (amongst other things) and I genuinely fail to understand the attraction of his work. Whilst walking through Leamington Spa in Warwickshire, I couldn't help but stop and look at another type of "art", and wonder just where the dividing lines are when it comes to categorising such work - I detest graffiti which damages buildings and property, but I can see artistic "merit" in some and can find it acceptable in the right place, such as a temporary hoarding as shown in the photograph (pity that the original "art" has been vandalised by inane graffiti!)

Camera Principis

As mentioned, Coventry's Coat of Arms incorporates an elephant carrying a castle. The elephant represents strength (to carry a castle on its back) but it is not clear whether it was meant to be Coventry's castle. The motto "Camera Principis" translates simply as "The Prince's Chamber", a reference to the fact that the City of Coventry was regarded as the 'chamber' of Edward, the Black Prince. The photograph shows the Coat of Arms above the main entrance to The Council House in Coventry

Egton Bridge

Egton Bridge is a picturesque village set in woodlands in the heart of the Esk Valley in North Yorkshire. Situated quarter of a mile south of Egton at the bottom of the valley, Egton Bridge is a community divided in two by the track of the Middlesbrough to Whitby main line railway and the River Esk. On a pleasant spring afternoon, I was able to record this scene whilst travelling between Goathland and Whitby

Under the Elephant

As well as "The Circ", another favourite meeting place for teenagers in the centre of Coventry, particularly in the 60s, was at the top of the Upper Precinct, where a statue of an elephant stands high on a column overlooking Broadgate. Meeting "under the Elephant" became part of the local way of life, in the days when it was a rather more pleasant spot than it has become today. The elephant, carrying Coventry Castle on its back, has long been part of the Coat of Arms of the city, and the statue was made by Coventry Motor Panels and originally marked the site of the "Savings for Reconstruction" exhibition

Beach Huts

Seaford Town Council has drawn up plans to erect a further 65 beach huts on the promenade at the East Sussex town, to join the 60 which were erected in 2004. The plans include improvements to facilities and services at the location, including extra parking, although local residents have already voiced their opposition to the plans. Some of the colourful 2004 huts are shown in the photograph, together with a distant view of the Martello Tower which houses the Seaford Museum

The Circ

When the centre of Coventry was redeveloped in the 50s and 60s as a mainly traffic-free area, one of the features of the pedestrianised shopping precinct was a circular cafe, which immediately became a favourite meeting place for the teenagers of the day, where they enjoyed burgers and cups of frothy coffee whilst looking out over the shoppers in the Lower Precinct. Like of lot of the redevelopment from that age, "The Circ", as it was colloquially known, has enjoyed a rather chequered history, but following recent refurbishment of some parts of the centre, it now resides, with listed status, under a glass roof whilst dispensing a range of food snacks and refreshments unheard of in its heyday some 40+ years ago

18 years ago

On 27 March 1990, the second of our beloved Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Shelley, was born. Her pedigree name was "Dheripark Brighid" and was one of a litter bred by Ann Patmore in Leicestershire. She was a very lively dog, quite mad at times, but settled in well with our other Cavalier, Cassie, who was more of a wise old thing! Sadly, in later years, she suffered with poor health and passed away far too soon.

Female Mallard

Draycote Water, near Dunchurch in Warwickshire, is a large reservoir which attracts a wide variety of wildlife and is also home to a large sailing club. Although we live only a short drive away, we had never visited until this week, when, despite the cold and blustery weather, we decided to take a first look. Everyone was wrapped up against the elements, but, judging by the large variety of birds which can be seen at the location, it will be a must-visit place when the weather improves. For now, all I can offer is a rather plump female Mallard seen looking, without success, for people to populate the picnic areas around the reservoir

Chris Rea in Concert

Last night, we attended the latest Chris Rea concert in Birmingham, where we've seen him and his bands many times. Included in this concert was his latest concept, The Delmonts, an instrumental group recalling the sounds of the 50s and 60s - following this they became The Hofner Bluenotes, but it was still the old favourites - Stainsby Girls, Road to Hell, Let's Dance - that the audience wanted to hear and really warmed to.

The usual high quality performance from Chris and his band, with his unique guitar-playing and gravelly voice in fine fettle

(Unfortunately we were too far from the stage for a photo, but this is one taken at his concert in Birmingham in April 2006)

Unseasonal Snow

Awoke this Easter Sunday to find the forecast snow lying on the ground - but it didn't last for long, and there's no sign of it now

The sight of snow reminded me of our Christmas holiday to Austria just three months ago, so I thought that I would make the first effort on my FotBlog with this photograph, which shows Lake Achensee at Pertisau