It is with regret that we pay tribute to Bill Bateson, the former sports editor of the News of the World, who died last week at his home in Truro, Cornwall. He was 73.
Bateson was a legend on Fleet Street and in sports journalism. He worked at the NoW for 34 years, seeing it move from broadsheet to tabloid and surviving no less than 14 editors. A devoted Arsenal fan, Bateson rarely missed games, both at Highbury and latterly the Emirates, until illness made the journey from Cornwall too difficult. He is survived by his wife, daughter Sally, son Paul and his five grandchildren.
Many years ago, one of Swordplay’s scribes had the great pleasure of sharing lunch with Bateson and, as he called them, some “fellow travellers”. It was neither an occasion of salacious revelry, nor one of weary temperance. It was, however, a repast in which wit, bonhomie and zest for life obscured all other emotions. Our scribe went on to discover that such was always the case when Bateson was at the table.
More recently, the increasingly acerbic Times columnist Giles Coren lambasted the old-school luncheon culture in a piece whose peg was the death of Keith Floyd but whose targets included those on Fleet Street who might share the late TV chef’s more sociable tendencies. We know not if Coren knew Bateson, but we find it hard to believe that he could say a word against him. What is certain is that we mourn the passing of one of the last great Fleet Street journalists.
The Lasting Tribute website has updated its memorial pages to include Keith Floyd.
http://www.lastingtribute.co.uk/tribute/floyd/3149562
It’s a respectful memorial to him and somewhere to pay tribute to his life and work, entertaining people and cooking good food.
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So Farewell, then, Sir Fred Goodwin.
Now you are just Fred.
Not Right Said Fred, but plain Fred.
The Forfeiture Committee did for you.
No one had heard of it before,
But Dave said it had to act, and it did.
Trouble is that no one knows what to think.
Is it ‘Alas, poor Fred‘,
Or ‘Hurray! Sir Fred is dead!’?
We don’t know.
Do you?
By A. Mob, aged 1,378 and a half.
STOP PRESS:
Fed up with being stuck on the Thames in south-east England, London yesterday decided to move. In a dramatic gesture which augurs ill for the Olympics, the city upped sticks and relocated to East Anglia.
Lawyers were not consulted about the move, and the city’s precise motivation remains unclear. However, financiers fear that London’s decision is a sign that it wishes to downsize. Moreover, a source from London said: “We no longer want to be Britain’s seat of power. If the Scots can deregulate, why can’t we? East Anglia is a nice place where nothing happens. It’s time for a quiet life. Please respect our right to privacy.”
Elsewhere, Birmingham did not do anything, but Manchester was seen to be packing its bags. “There’s an opportunity for us,” said Manchester. “We can become London.”
East Anglia said: “We don’t mind. It’ll be refreshing to be associated with something other than fens and flatness.”
A cartologist at CNN, which broke the extraordinary news, was later fired.
We seem to be visually led this week but sometimes words proliferate far too much and letting an image do the talking is no bad thing. That’s another way of saying that ACCESS Agency’s work with Lego is absolutely top drawer.
Is there a geek inside all of us?
Excellent Nike ad
Memo to would-be hacks: good writing is no longer a tool of your trade
Released almost a year ago, Spada’s groundbreaking research report, British Professions Today, is available for free download
This bank is so well designed that many of its staff never go home (allegedly)
In the latest of our series of white papers, Spada Research examines trends in environmental reporting.
After a raft of phone-hacking admissions and allegations, we are no longer seen as the gruff but dependable watchdog. Neville Thurlbeck, formerly of the News of the World (part of his Damascene conversion; to be continued).