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Tigers at Layer Road 21:11 - Sep 23 with 54433 viewsSparkfilmsTV

In a strange twist of events l found myself in conversation with a young lady who had attended Layer Road for a match against Hull City in our first season in The Championship. The 5-1 encounter.

We were attending a promo evening for a band called The Datsuns in North London in 2008.

During the evening she explained that she had been present at a party that made the national news due to the tragic death of someone by the name of Mark Blanco.

The incident occurred in December 2006.

This incident will be shown on Channel 4 on Monday night at 22.00 in an hour long documentary and several people known to me have made contributions.

It may be of interest to some.

I am very much hoping that the police will reinvestigate the death of Mark Blanco as a result of what will be included in the content.

I know that what l was told by this young lady 15 years ago has been instrumental in the making of this documentary.
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Tigers at Layer Road on 10:23 - Feb 21 with 3048 viewsSparkfilmsTV

INTERZONE

Bare light bulb
Spirit of youth
This naked truth
That lays on the floor
In the crossfire
Friend and enemy
This is
The INTERZONE of destiny
You put on your high heels
Doing deals turning wheels
Your mind is numb
And your body is numb
You bite the bullet
Never turn and run
'Cause the bullet can't harm you
Safe in your skin
Wild angel with wings
Always running
Through the back doors
Of your mind
Feeding on poison
Bleeding in a prison cell
Seizing the moment
Intricate timing
Takeaways and breakaways
You'll be blazing at dawn
A thorn in my soul

Taken from IPSWICH ZERO 6
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Tigers at Layer Road on 16:33 - Feb 21 with 3040 viewsSparkfilmsTV

FACE

Once
Caught in a lens
From a fourth floor balcony
Breathless
Wreckless
Rebel flesh
Writhing

Love is a message on a waiting room wall
Scrawled in eye liner
Closer
Straight to detail
Words failed
Walking in the rain on Saturday
Staring at strangers
Feeling pain
But blameless

This tide washes over
Cleanses no one
Returns unannounced
Years later
Lens extends
Your words
'Life is a drive-through'
'Hurt tears us apart'
Oblivious
Turning the pages of a magazine
Disguised as lifestyle
Unable to look
At your face
Your face is beautiful
Especially when anger sets in

Personality moodswing
The small scar
Noticed second time at Little Venice
I knew then just like l know now

On the table
Keys
A carton of orange juice
Body spray
Everything is you
Hair unfurled
I wanted to keep you from the world

Things are happening
Down on the street
On this screen
It all goes over
It all goes through us

Trust
A word l found in your Filofax once
We are minute detail
Dust
Soft focus
But always there
Just

Taken from BLUEPRINT FOR LIFE

I remember writing this in just a few minutes and l just wanted to leave it unedited and 'live'. This was written in Colchester with the afternoon sun streaming in through the window. All of the content for BLUEPRINT was written at break neck speed and virtually unedited or proof read.

I think this book must have been the fastest ever to be written, produced and distributed via wholesalers in the UK. It was supported with a national advertising campaign. To get the book into the wholesalers who were based in Norwich ( Bertram's - sadly since closed ) and Eastbourne ( Gardner's Books ) l drove through the night to both destinations.

To sell it in to Waterstone's l had to drive to Deansgate, Manchester where the poetry buyer was based. The meeting lasted around three minutes. The buyer said 'Yeah, we'll take it'.

She was then able to get it around the UK.

I remember knocking on her door.

As l entered she was crying.

Some personal issue l think. Couldn't really ask.

FACE was featured in GRAPHIC POETRY.
[Post edited 21 Feb 16:50]
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Tigers at Layer Road on 16:46 - Feb 21 with 3037 viewsSparkfilmsTV

SOUTHPORT

Droplets
Running down skin
On the beach
Transistor radio tunes in
Multi-electrode valves crackle
Bad new travels fast in the heat

Acting on a tip off
Police broke into a room in a guest house
A gramophone purchased 48 hours earlier
Repeating a line from a sixties single
By Billy Fury
A bloodstained doll
With the head torn off

She always wanted to be famous
Today her face
A digital self portrait
Seen simultaneously on fifteen news channels
And on line
Should make tomorrow's papers

And posters will appear on ice cream kiosks
In the Penny Arcade
At the railway station
And be seen by
School teachers
And day trippers
And those who had a casual fling

No one ever got close
Down by the promenade
She's cut off all her hair
Watches the clouds
And sings
'Halfway to Paradise'


Taken from BLUEPRINT FOR LIFE and written on location in Southport and Liverpool, UK.
[Post edited 21 Feb 21:14]
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Tigers at Layer Road on 19:19 - Feb 21 with 3024 viewsghughes11

Can we get Banksy to participate in the Happy League next season?

Could up the prize stakes!

Poll: What was the main reason for the Col U win versus Carlisle?

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Tigers at Layer Road on 22:15 - Feb 21 with 3010 viewsSparkfilmsTV

Didn't get the opportunity to establish if Banksy has an interest in football but can confirm that he has a passion and talent as a vegan cook!

Visited his abode in 2005.

๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ˜Š

Remember that day quite well.

Shared a sofa with Lily Allen at the offices of Dazed and Confused - it's just Dazed now but still a fantastic publication. Have the latest edition here.

Behind the scenes the offices were threadbare and not in keeping with the 'glossy exterior'.

They were kind enough to feature myself and a member of Massive Attack ( that being the Bristolian link ).

That was quite an interview, the young lady had been up all night at The Brits and was virtually asleep as we ran through stuff. She also had the most unusual Christian name l ever came across. Was actually looking through the staff list at Dazed this morning and imagine she is now settled with a few kids in The Cotswolds or somewhere.

Maybe though she has moved to Colchester. She might even be living next to The Magic Numbers.
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Tigers at Layer Road on 12:56 - Feb 22 with 2984 viewsSparkfilmsTV

TALISMAN

Yes,
It is l
Your talisman
Who appears before you
At the end of this hospital bed
As you slip in and out ...

I'm holding a lighter above my head
Swaying softly from side to side
In adoration
I've been here all night
Listening to your dreams
That l know to be more than dreams
The labyrinth of hallways
Where you gouged messages
On doorways with your nail file
And the screwdriver
You found in the back of a taxi
Before you went missing
For twelve lonely hours
Ripping out flowers on the seafront
They cut your pretty face
After the curfew
And l tasted the blood and the tears
On you
As we walked back to the hotel
In the rain
Where you worked as a waitress
For ยฃ5 an hour
And the occasional tip
Kissed your lips
On the boardwalk in a dream
In an amusement arcade
In another
The lover found scaling a wall
Caught up in barbed wire
Heart of fire
The DC walking round and round
Your head pounding
As l waited outside
Most of the night
Yes,
It is l
Your talisman
Who will never leave
Your side

Taken from The Soundscape section of IPSWICH ZERO 6
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Tigers at Layer Road on 20:58 - Feb 22 with 2963 viewsSparkfilmsTV

BLUE MONEY

The bus station cafe
This is the ideal setting
For your seminar
'A Masterclass in Resilience'
That classic shot of spoon in cup
Stirring and stirring
You know how it goes
And there's a frame that we re-visit
The red streak in your black hair
The cracked teeth
And the cold stare
And last night
In your red skirt and red tights
Prowling through the dirt
By the warehouse lights
Where you shoot on sight
And you shoot to kill
And you fall and you rise
'cause you've got the will
To overcome it all somehow
This is a Masterclass in Resilience'
Blue sky thinking?
That is never an issue
Not here
Living off blood in funtown
Where you
Run
Run
Run around
You're overground and you're underground
Lost but never found
Not any more
Because l can see
How the destiny
And the glory
Of no fixed abode
An open road
That runs somewhere and nowhere
And that state of being
That l can see in your eyes
And you're lifted above it
In the Suffolk skies
And look down on it
To try and make some sense
But...
Why does anything have to make sense?
And you're still stirring your coffee
When we see them coming towards us
And you smile
And l never quite understood why you smiled
But why does anything have to make sense?


Taken from the Soundscape section of IPSWICH ZERO 6.

There is also a continuing link throughout the Soundscape that l originally introduced entitled Lost in a Rumour that l may revisit and add to.
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Tigers at Layer Road on 14:24 - Feb 24 with 2941 viewsSparkfilmsTV

THE SILENT CITY

Checking your eye shadow
On the elevator
To the ninth floor
Where you overhear a conversation
About a psychic
Who may know the identity
Of a serial killer
Who wrapped his victims
In ten metres of gauze
With holes cut out
To show the eyes
Their mouths drawn with lipstick
Smiling

Natron
On a shelf in a room
With a two way mirror
And the wired exterior
And here now
Through a triple glazed window
Gazing at the traffic flow
In the silent city
Where all the taxis
Are running out of control
In a state of unrest
Your heart beating faster
As you approach
ROOM 226

Taken from IPSWICH ZERO 6
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Tigers at Layer Road on 11:42 - Feb 25 with 2927 viewsSparkfilmsTV

BODY EXTRA

'I wanted it to be like we said, with you playing you, the things we spoke about, they could have happened, it all came down to timing.

By last October you were off radar and I'd heard how xxxxxxx mad things had got even by your standards.

So l had to made a decision to get someone else to play your part, imagine trying to brief a clean living media student from Hertfordshire, well, you've seen the results, it was pretty amazing.

But this whole thing starts and ends with you no matter what happens in between all the sub plots.

They are still evolving and l see no end to this.

It used to occur to me that your phones were like little disposable cameras with a life cycle of just a few weeks, or sometimes hours, one thrown from the Orwell Bridge, another crash landed on the A14 at 70mph at 2am.

And something else, the way you went 'shopping' from service stations, never more than four or five items at a time, or when you were stealing clothes, with me waiting on the opposite side of the street. My heart pounding. Feeling like a criminal.

And l never really worked out if l was guilty of anything'.


Taken from IPSWICH ZERO 6

( Recorded telephone conversation ).
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Tigers at Layer Road on 18:30 - Feb 25 with 2912 viewsSparkfilmsTV

I was just flicking through the channels on my TV and accidently landed on Radio 4. There was a poetry programme, possibly a repeat from a few years ago featuring Jack Jones.

I was aware of Jack's musical association with Peter Doherty.

Jack's life story is very interesting and so is the subject matter of his poetic works - several of which were recited and made good use of supporting audio.

There always seems to be a road back to Colchester lately when joining up the dots within this thread and Jack's work is no exception.

That link being on Hythe Hill - home to Doctor John Cooper Clark who has reviewed and commented on the work of the Swansea musician / poet glowingly and with great enthusiasm.

As l may have hinted at previously, l wonder if Doctor John and Banksy may have crossed paths - with them being on opposite sides of the road some years ago. ๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ˜Š

I have to admit to not hearing anything related to poetic work on Radio 4 for at least ten years - but my good fortune to hit on that.

Peter Doherty was also featured on the programme and he too has an appreciation of Jack's poetry.

They both have an appreciation ( of a kind ) of iced baths before performances.

Hot baths are the choice on Riverside Estate.
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Tigers at Layer Road on 08:40 - Feb 26 with 2893 viewsSparkfilmsTV

Should just add that Jack's band is TRAMPOLENE - who appeared at the venue l refer to at the very beginning of this thread with Peter & Co. about seven years ago.

Jack is from Swansea.

He appears in a promotional film for the NHS which has been produced by Strap Originals - the production of which is quite different to what anyone might expect, but the better for it.

Strap Originals is Peter's own brand / label and launch pad .
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Tigers at Layer Road on 12:25 - Feb 26 with 2872 viewsSparkfilmsTV

GLANCE

A glance
Paid back with interest
Quickfire the tempest
Beckons in the wings
An angel sings
In the Esso neon drag
Unnerving but instinctive

Hanging in the side streets
The fever and the fury
It lives on forever
Number 79
All boarded up now

I can't hear you breathing anymore
I don't see your eyes changing colours
But your whispers
How they haunt me

Sirens scream in the distance
Futile resistance

Tonight
I saw it all...
What l gave you the night you called
Hot water for your instant coffee
Some indigestion tablets
That l wrapped in a tissue
And put in your jacket pocket

I watched the CCTV
Held it on freeze frame
For three days
Ate out of a tin can
Just like you taught me
Slept on the reclaimed sofa
Remembering what you said

'Who needs houses'
'Who needs anything'
'You take the journey to a point beyond it'
'Safe in this skin, don't need anything'
'Cause the drugs, they xxxxxxx man'
'Blocks it all out - like really blocks it all out'
'The best xxxxxxx therapy you ever could get'

Taken from the Soundscript section of IPSWICH ZERO 6.

( Number 79 refers to 79 London Road, Ipswich - home of Suffolk Serial Killer, Steve Wright. Words that 'she' said were written down at the time in my notebook so they could be quoted accurately ).
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Tigers at Layer Road on 13:17 - Feb 28 with 2803 viewsSparkfilmsTV

I landed on Channel 4 last night around 22.10.

There was some kind of modelling / fashion programme being featured.

When the name 'Rankin' was mentioned a few minutes in l thought l better see this through.

I can't quite recall how l / we ended up at a Rankin shoot in 2006 but he is a very impressive operator. From memory this was in Farringdon as l think we parked on Saffron Hill.

Which brings me back to the close knit family / circle that existed at the time and perhaps how we were featured in Dazed & Confused.

John Rankin Waddell was a founder member of Dazed & Confused and quickly recruited Katy England who married Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream in 2006.

Bobby Gillespie was one of the contributors to Full Moon Empty Sports Bag.

Something came up yesterday...an auction of belongings to the late Martin Duffy who died a couple of years ago at 55 and appeared to be in considerable debt despite a glittering musical career.

The auction ( Omega Auctions ) up on Merseyside sold off Martin's lifetime collection of vinyl, guitars, books, stage passes and posters.

Martin was keyboard player in Felt before joining Primal Scream but he does not appear to have been included in the core business transactions of Primal Scream and was effectively paid on a studio & recording / touring basis.

Similar to how David Bowie operated at various times ( Spider's from Mars etc ).

Rankin also photographed Bowie over the years.
[Post edited 28 Feb 13:20]
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Tigers at Layer Road on 12:44 - Feb 29 with 2767 viewsSparkfilmsTV

CROSSFIRE

So you're still out there
Between the van hire
And the Blue Moon Cafe
In the crossfire
With your afterburners
And the akimbo stance
Stepping into traffic
In an aerosol vapour trail
Blowing out sensors
Crossing enemy lines
We go back to your place
With the boarded up front door
And the back door
Has been kicked in
But l like
Your innovative use
Of velvet curtains
You pulled from a skip
Along with selected items
Of furniture
In this stylish home makeover
Done on a low budget
In fact....done on nothing at all
You were always a born survivor
You introduce me to your friends
A transvestite
A vampire
And a murderer

A murderer?
He seems by far
The most rational to me
With an in-depth knowledge
Of Darwinian theory
And he did have the decency
To give his wife
Five private burials
At her favourite locations
And rather touching
What he wrote in her blood
On the bathroom wall
'My darling Lilian, you are free now'

And this commune that you live in
'A small group of people living communally
and sharing in work and earnings etc'
Maybe a place that l could settle for a while
After my 'time' away
I call it a sabbatical
To those few people
Who recognise me now
And ask where l have been
For the past few years

Taken from IPSWICH ZERO 6

( The reference to the murder of Lilian was researched on a prison visit ).
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Tigers at Layer Road on 18:25 - Mar 1 with 2708 viewsSparkfilmsTV

Have just watched an extraordinary interview by Sky News ( Sam Coates ) with George Galloway up there in Rochdale.

I have never heard anyone speak that directly in a live political interview - nor have l heard such biblical references that Galloway reeled off so eloquently.

It followed the Prime Minister's announcement in Downing Street just a few minutes earlier.

As Galloway said, he got more votes than the Tories, Labour, Lib Dems and Reform combined.

I have nothing against Sunak but l have always had time to listen to Galloway who is a one off.

I am likely in a minority for respecting Galloway's stance - but so be it.

๐Ÿ˜ณ๐Ÿ˜ณ๐Ÿ˜ณ๐Ÿ˜ณ๐Ÿ˜ณ๐Ÿ˜ณ๐Ÿ˜ณ๐Ÿ˜ณ
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Tigers at Layer Road on 14:28 - Mar 3 with 2661 viewsSparkfilmsTV

PULSATOR

Blue steel reflector
City scape detector
Cirrostratus in lust funk glasses
Fleet of heart
This living art
Some deft infusion
Crash collusion
Take it away -
GET UP ON THE TABLE AND DANCE!
Tungsten tipped and honey lipped
Double cream stirred and whipped
SLINKY AIR TIGHT designer jacket
Carry a warning on every packet
Here comes
POST MODERN METRO FEMALE
A phototech
Bleached out on the monorail
Blending in
And PHASING OUT
Anti clockwise around the circuit
Levis and boots is the way you work it
PULSATOR REACTOR
GET UP ON THE TABLE AND DANCE
( the city scene )
( caught in the steam )
( of a shower cubicle )
( in NW3 )

Taken from DIRTY BLONDE AT THE CASH MACHINE
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Tigers at Layer Road on 18:14 - Mar 3 with 2645 viewsTheOldOakTree

Tigers at Layer Road on 18:25 - Mar 1 by SparkfilmsTV

Have just watched an extraordinary interview by Sky News ( Sam Coates ) with George Galloway up there in Rochdale.

I have never heard anyone speak that directly in a live political interview - nor have l heard such biblical references that Galloway reeled off so eloquently.

It followed the Prime Minister's announcement in Downing Street just a few minutes earlier.

As Galloway said, he got more votes than the Tories, Labour, Lib Dems and Reform combined.

I have nothing against Sunak but l have always had time to listen to Galloway who is a one off.

I am likely in a minority for respecting Galloway's stance - but so be it.

๐Ÿ˜ณ๐Ÿ˜ณ๐Ÿ˜ณ๐Ÿ˜ณ๐Ÿ˜ณ๐Ÿ˜ณ๐Ÿ˜ณ๐Ÿ˜ณ


Putting political preferences to one side, it was eloquent indeed, but not as eloquent as the person that looks after the Have I Got News for You twitter/X account. They wrote;

Celebrating his by-election victory, George Galloway described Rishi Sunak and Kier Starmer as โ€œtwo cheeks of the same arseโ€, prompting the natural response that he clearly occupies the space between them
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Tigers at Layer Road on 15:22 - Mar 6 with 2573 viewsSparkfilmsTV

PREDATOR

( Unreleased / Storyboard text for short film )

Just one glimpse
A Polaroid snapshot
And....
They you were
Aloof and alluring
Demure all consuming
I am your PREDATOR
๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ
Driving around
The one-way system
To capture you
In night vision

By sick and sordid night
Your movements recorded
In black laddered tights
By the pharmacy
Outside the Fashion Bar
By LIoyds TSB
And so it goes on
Descriptions of attire
Those you hang out with
Carefully compiled
In a journal
Hidden
Under the stairs
I am your PREDATOR
๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ
Depraved
Sinister
Sipping Earl Grey
In the afternoon
Plotting...
Your time
Will come soon
Believe me
I've tried
To rid myself
Of this ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆING disease
Hovering over helplines
At 3am
But....
To no avail

I've long considered
My confession statement
Preparing myself
For the inevitable

I've got more secrets
Than the Catholic Priest
I should be
Caged underground
And never released

You are beauty
I am the beast
It is on your flesh
That l will feast
And....
I'm waiting in the wings

Late last night
I saw you walking alone
For the very first time
....on your way home?

๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ

It was a chance
Too good to miss
You turned into Orchard Walk
With not a soul around
I felt like a curb crawler
As l slowly
Tracked you down

I pulled up alongside
And our eyes met
For the very first time
Lowering the tinted window
With a token
'You shouldn't be walking alone'
Offering my target a lift
Which she gratefully accepted
Which was
A CATASTROPHIC ERROR
๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ

But one so easily made
Accepting a lift
From a FEMALE
๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ๐Ÿ˜ˆ
[Post edited 6 Mar 15:33]
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Tigers at Layer Road on 20:21 - Mar 7 with 2545 viewsSparkfilmsTV

Special thanks to all the Queen's Park Rangers fans who have been following this marathon in 'The Loft' at Fans Network.

Always loved my visits and enjoyed living nearby.

๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿฆฎ๐Ÿฆฎ
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Tigers at Layer Road on 10:41 - Mar 8 with 2517 viewsSparkfilmsTV

HYBRID

The streets
Are all HYBRID
Romford cinema
Passing OVERHEAD
Pavements peppered
By FACE ANGELS
And the indefinable POWER
Of grey scale
Is threatening
To blow this thing apart

In the perfumed city
BACKLIT SEX GIRLS
Are jumping
From office buildings
Aspects of black and white
Movie stars
Are hanging in the underpass
Blistered graffiti walls
Melt under purple skies
And PHONEBOOTH BABES
Are downloads
In the reflection of eyes
Take me
To your leader
On this night
Of the SILVER SUN
The audience has gone
And this FILM
Has over run


Taken from DIRTY BLONDE AT THE CASH MACHINE
[Post edited 8 Mar 10:46]
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Tigers at Layer Road on 12:20 - Mar 8 with 2497 viewsSparkfilmsTV

Something for 'The Loft'.....and 'The Usual' on Fans Network.

I have been in my loft this morning and recovered a football programme from Saturday 6th, May, 1967.

This is a reminder of a great day out at 'Rangers Stadium, Shepherds Bush, London W12' for the match between Queen's Park Rangers and Colchester United in Football League Division 3.

QPR had already been crowned Champions and they were the best team l ever saw playing at this level.

Their side that day -

1. Peter Springett
2. Ian Watson
3. Jim Langley
4. Mike Keen
5. Ron Hunt
6. Tony Hazel
7. Mark Lazarus
8. Ian Morgan
9. Les Allen
10. Rodney Marsh!!!!!
11. Roger Morgan

What a treat it was in those days to see someone like Rodney Marsh playing. ๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ˜Š

Colchester United

1. Alan Buck
2. Dennis Mochan
3. Brian Hall
4. Derek Trevis
5. Duncan Forbes
6. Bobby Blackwood
7. Peter Barlow
8. Peter Bullock
9. Ken Hodgson
10. Reg Stratton
11. John Martin

Match ball donated by 'The Earl of Derby'

Goalscorers that season for QPR ( as listed in this programme ) included -

Marsh 43
Lazarus 21
Allen 19
Morgan R 14

Their Manager was the Great Alec Stock!

QPR won this match 2-1 on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
[Post edited 8 Mar 12:22]
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Tigers at Layer Road on 12:36 - Mar 8 with 2495 viewsTheOldOakTree

Tigers at Layer Road on 20:21 - Mar 7 by SparkfilmsTV

Special thanks to all the Queen's Park Rangers fans who have been following this marathon in 'The Loft' at Fans Network.

Always loved my visits and enjoyed living nearby.

๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿฆฎ๐Ÿฆฎ


Firstly Sparks, from the number of views your thread has received, itโ€™s obvious that many of us are enjoying your words, so thanks for all your effort.

Secondly, Iโ€™ve always enjoyed trips to Loftus Road, but there were two times that stand out.

One night game (probably the Lua Lua game), I came out of the tube station following a QPR fan and I thought Iโ€™d be clever and follow him on what I had assumed was a short cut to the ground. Only it turned out that he was going round his mates house and I ended up lost, alone, in dimly lit backstreets, with some unsavory characters about. Thankfully, by luck, I managed to find a way out whilst trying to look like a local. Good job QPR play in blue and white!

I stick to the main roads now.

On another eventful visit, a Saturday, I took my father-in-law along and after coming out of the tube we went in search of a pub for a couple of jars. Halfway through my second pint, it suddenly dawned on me that we were in a gay establishment. Now Iโ€™m not homophobic at all and I wasnโ€™t bothered by the surrounds, but I had a strong urge to stand on a table and shout โ€œOi everyone, can I just make it clear that Iโ€™m not dating this ugly b@st@rd, and the old git hasnโ€™t even got any money, if that was what you were thinking!โ€.
[Post edited 8 Mar 12:37]
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Tigers at Layer Road on 15:30 - Mar 8 with 2484 viewsSparkfilmsTV

Tigers at Layer Road on 12:36 - Mar 8 by TheOldOakTree

Firstly Sparks, from the number of views your thread has received, itโ€™s obvious that many of us are enjoying your words, so thanks for all your effort.

Secondly, Iโ€™ve always enjoyed trips to Loftus Road, but there were two times that stand out.

One night game (probably the Lua Lua game), I came out of the tube station following a QPR fan and I thought Iโ€™d be clever and follow him on what I had assumed was a short cut to the ground. Only it turned out that he was going round his mates house and I ended up lost, alone, in dimly lit backstreets, with some unsavory characters about. Thankfully, by luck, I managed to find a way out whilst trying to look like a local. Good job QPR play in blue and white!

I stick to the main roads now.

On another eventful visit, a Saturday, I took my father-in-law along and after coming out of the tube we went in search of a pub for a couple of jars. Halfway through my second pint, it suddenly dawned on me that we were in a gay establishment. Now Iโ€™m not homophobic at all and I wasnโ€™t bothered by the surrounds, but I had a strong urge to stand on a table and shout โ€œOi everyone, can I just make it clear that Iโ€™m not dating this ugly b@st@rd, and the old git hasnโ€™t even got any money, if that was what you were thinking!โ€.
[Post edited 8 Mar 12:37]


Lua Lua!

I wasn't at that game but remember the goals being shown on Sky Sports the following day - quite a few times in fact as it was a super show by our young starlet.

I think the reason some QPR fans are following this thread may be due to the fanzine that Peter Doherty produced when he was still at school.

The thread began with the Mark Blanco incident but several football elements were linked and some of that appears to have been noticed by fans of QPR and Hull City.

I used to enjoy my trips around the Football League and The Conference and recall journeys such as driving to Hartlepool from Colchester non stop on a full tank of fuel.

The landscape of the country has changed so much over the years - virtually all of the industrial core eradicated.

I don't attend away matches these days and home matches will be off the agenda too as l have a rescue dog to care for and he needs my attention.

I did consider asking the club if you can reserve a box that would allow dogs to attend.

I'm actually keying this in on my phone with the dog ( Hunter ) laying on me!

๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿ˜Š๐Ÿฆฎ๐Ÿฆฎ
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Tigers at Layer Road on 11:34 - Mar 10 with 2453 viewsSparkfilmsTV

Here is a short passage from the MEDIASCAPE section of IPSWICH ZERO 6 that l think may be of interest.

It was explained to me that certain members of a news organisation had gained access to the police canteen and assembled listening devices under the tables and were then able to eavesdrop on police conversations that could have been very revealing.

There had been a stream of on-going police press conferences that would give carefully considered information that was shared by everyone on an equal basis, but it was clear that some members of the media were looking for something more.

- Some explanation for the above two paragraphs -

This refers to the enormous media presence that occupied the area surrounding Suffolk Police Headquarters in Martlesham Heath during December 2006 and in relation to the Suffolk Serial Murders.

For some bizarre reason l was suspected of bugging the police and escorted from the area ( having previously been positioned between two police officers by a perimeter fence ).

This was during a time when everyone was bugging everyone else and yet l had no contact or knowledge of who those responsible were or exactly how they operated.

A national broadsheet were very interested in this story and l think it may have had considerable value at the time but although l could have done with the money l declined taking the events further.

Perhaps l should have.
[Post edited 10 Mar 11:37]
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Tigers at Layer Road on 19:31 - Mar 10 with 2438 viewsSparkfilmsTV

This is the paragraph that follows the two in the last thread -

On one particular occasion, and within seconds of the conclusion of a Suffolk Police style 'Breaking News' release, l spotted Martin Brunt ( Sky News Crime Correspondent in 2006 and still to this day ), in the corner of my television screen as he made a call on his mobile, a couple of seconds later my phone rang ( home landline as l didn't have a mobile ), - l was able to see Martin while we spoke....

It occurs to me now that in 2006 this must have been a unique means of communication and l met Martin later in the day and relayed that back to him. A kind of one way Zoom call.

The call was to say that of the two suspects for the murders Tom Stephens was a suspect with a lower case 's' and Steve Wright was a suspect with a capital 'S'.

I had email communication with Martin Brunt running virtually 'live' over several days and still have print outs somewhere of the exchanges.

I did consider including these in the book.

The experiences l had with BBC News 24 were very interesting too. They seemed to be playing catch up with everything and made numerous production errors.

They were trailing Sky News in every sense.

When l had the misfortune to be introduced to Jon Sopel he appeared to be taking a nap and had his feet up on a work top of some kind in a BBC mobile news unit.

Sky News ran their own fleet of cars with drivers who were most adept at getting to destinations at break neck speed, while the BBC were using taxi firms and getting the destinations confused. That was quite enlightening to see a major broadcaster working in that manner.

As for the bugging of the police at Martlesham Heath l imagine those who were named in the Levinson Enquiry were most likely the culprits and that would have been of interest to the public.



[Post edited 10 Mar 19:55]
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