This drama was a different take on the George Best phenomenon. It was a look at his mother, Ann Best’s, seemingly unstoppable decline from perfect housewife to alcoholic.
We have been told thousands of times of the excesses of George Best’s life so it was interesting to see where his ruinous nature may have come from.
The drama begins five years after George had left the family home in Belfast to join Manchester United Football Club. His parents and five siblings are seen struggling to cope with George’s increasing fame. Reporters constantly harass them, camping outside their home and forcing them to change phone numbers regularly.
Whilst putting on a brave face, we start to see Ann crack up. Originally teetotal, she begins to seek comfort in the bottom of a sherry bottle and before long her decline is such that she is sneakily drinking bottles in pub toilets.
Whilst the accuracy of these events cannot be confirmed as the three main characters of George and his parents are now dead, the poignancy of the events is compelling and the acting by Tom Barr (George) and Michelle Fairley (Ann) is particularly good.
The design team also seems to have enjoyed making this drama as the props and décor are exactly what you would expect of early 1970s Belfast and the archive clips of real football games and interviews are periodically mixed in to give perspective and authenticity.
Ann Best died from alcohol related illness in 1978 aged 54, 5 years after the end of this drama was set and 5 years younger than George was when he died (aged 59 in 2005) which is probably why this story seemed so compelling and why the lessons learnt from it feel so real.
Stephen McShane
Thursday 30 April 2009
Thursday 9 April 2009
Annual Varsity Ends With Violent Scenes
Jack Phillips
Police were called to a University sports event after fights broke out between rival students.
Police were called to Goodwin sports centre near Dore as a fighting began during the annual varsity between Sheffield University and Sheffield Hallam University.
Five police cars attended the sports centre making one arrest. Police officer PC Dudley said “Only a few of the students present caused the trouble but we managed to calm it down immediately. There were a lot more students in attendance than had been anticipated. The crowded stands and amount of alcohol consumed on the day did not help the atmosphere.”
With almost 3,000 students attending the sports centre, Goodwin was busier than organisers had expected as students turned out to watch matches in Rugby, Hockey, Lacrosse and other sports between the universities. The varsity was the 12th annual meeting between University and Hallam, which is competed over 12 days with over 1,000 students taking part and over £5,000 being raised for local charity, Help a Hallam Child.
Sam Gill, Sports officer at Sheffield Hallam University, said “I was pleased with the final day of varsity. It was a shame that a few of the students who had come to watch the sports took it a bit too far, but we hope to prevent things like this happening in future events between the universities with added security.”
Police were called to Goodwin sports centre near Dore as a fighting began during the annual varsity between Sheffield University and Sheffield Hallam University.
Five police cars attended the sports centre making one arrest. Police officer PC Dudley said “Only a few of the students present caused the trouble but we managed to calm it down immediately. There were a lot more students in attendance than had been anticipated. The crowded stands and amount of alcohol consumed on the day did not help the atmosphere.”
With almost 3,000 students attending the sports centre, Goodwin was busier than organisers had expected as students turned out to watch matches in Rugby, Hockey, Lacrosse and other sports between the universities. The varsity was the 12th annual meeting between University and Hallam, which is competed over 12 days with over 1,000 students taking part and over £5,000 being raised for local charity, Help a Hallam Child.
Sam Gill, Sports officer at Sheffield Hallam University, said “I was pleased with the final day of varsity. It was a shame that a few of the students who had come to watch the sports took it a bit too far, but we hope to prevent things like this happening in future events between the universities with added security.”
Thursday 2 April 2009
Cue the fundraising please.
By Marco Abonandi
Sheffield's cue ball charity event is to launch the world snooker championships.
The annual event will take place on the 17th of April.
It will donate all proceeds to local charities, Hallam FM Cash for Kids and the Cathedral Archer Projec. It will raise money to help children and homeless people in the city.
In the past it has raised around £100,000 for local charities since 2004.
Cllr Paul Scriven, Leader of the Council, said: "As well as celebrating the arrival of the World Snooker Championship. It is encouraging to see local businesses supporting a charity event at a difficult economic time.
The charity event is sponsored by Kier Sheffield and Interserve Project Services, as well as other key Sheffield organisations. Despite the economic climate, organisations are keen to be involved with the cause.
Company TDC will also take part in the event. Eamonn Hunt, TDC director, said: "Sheffield's Cue Ball dinner is a great celebration of the city's snooker heritage and as a local company it is a privilege to be involved with this event for the first time."
The event will be held at Mercure St. Paul’s Hotel and will be hosted by snooker MC Rob Walker, and will include Q and A sessions from Olympic diver Leon Taylor as well as other sports professionals.
Guests before hand, will be given a champagne reception in Sheffield's winter gardens, followed by a four course dinner at the Mercure St Paul’s Hotel accompanied with live music from Sheffield group Acoustic Angels.
Auction and raffle prizes will offer people exclusive, money can’t buy experiences, including a frame of snooker with Mark Selby, watching training days with Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday Football Clubs, and a dinner party for eight cooked by Mercure’s top chef.
The annual event will take place on the 17th of April.
It will donate all proceeds to local charities, Hallam FM Cash for Kids and the Cathedral Archer Projec. It will raise money to help children and homeless people in the city.
In the past it has raised around £100,000 for local charities since 2004.
Cllr Paul Scriven, Leader of the Council, said: "As well as celebrating the arrival of the World Snooker Championship. It is encouraging to see local businesses supporting a charity event at a difficult economic time.
The charity event is sponsored by Kier Sheffield and Interserve Project Services, as well as other key Sheffield organisations. Despite the economic climate, organisations are keen to be involved with the cause.
Company TDC will also take part in the event. Eamonn Hunt, TDC director, said: "Sheffield's Cue Ball dinner is a great celebration of the city's snooker heritage and as a local company it is a privilege to be involved with this event for the first time."
The event will be held at Mercure St. Paul’s Hotel and will be hosted by snooker MC Rob Walker, and will include Q and A sessions from Olympic diver Leon Taylor as well as other sports professionals.
Guests before hand, will be given a champagne reception in Sheffield's winter gardens, followed by a four course dinner at the Mercure St Paul’s Hotel accompanied with live music from Sheffield group Acoustic Angels.
Auction and raffle prizes will offer people exclusive, money can’t buy experiences, including a frame of snooker with Mark Selby, watching training days with Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday Football Clubs, and a dinner party for eight cooked by Mercure’s top chef.
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