Referees’ need for consistency

YEOVIL Town will feel aggrieved at not earning a point from their encounter with Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, and with a little more luck they might well have.

However they didn’t have a player of Jermaine Johnson’s calibre in their side that turned the game the Owls’ way on 71 minutes. Having been dogged by a hamstring injury he picked up in January, the Jamaican international had a stop-start end to last season, and this was his first taste of action in this campaign.

In the previous ten minutes he had been on the field, he showed a quality seldom seen at League One level. Despite the best attentions of Craig Allcock and Paul Huntingdon - neither slouches themselves - his speed and ball control was dazzling, and the the way he took his goal showed a lot of class.

He turned inside two defenders before unleashing a delicious right foot curler from 25 yards just beyond the fingertips of Stephen Henderson and inside the far post.

A late penalty when Luke Ayling tripped Jon Otsemobor rubbed salt into the wound especially as a late assault on the visitors’ goal saw the ball scrambled off the line three times in one incident before Owain Tudor-Jones struck the angle of the goal frame in added time where Owls keeper Nicky Weaver ripped the net from the post in trying to get to the ball, resulting in a delay for running repairs.

I have been critical of Terry Skiverton and his team’s performances earlier in the season, but they have recently picked up two good away wins as well as putting in good home displays against Southampton and Sheffield Wednesday. In both games refereeing decisions could have affected the result.

There has been debate in the national media for a few years about the need for consistency among referees, ensuring that they interpret the rules and award decisions in a manner that every footballer can rely upon regardless of the individual.

That has yet to be perfected, and on a weekly basis you see contradiction in the decisions between the men in black.

However I don’t see how that can be achieved until they eradicate individual inconsistentencies.

This is more prevalent the lower down the pyramid you go, and Saturday’s referee Graham Scott who has been on the National List since 2008, is a typical example of such inconsistency.

I have great sympathy with the official when the crowd are baying for his blood after he misses what they see as a blatant offence, as sometimes they are shielded from the play and unable to see.

However having watched Mr Scott closely on Saturday, I can see why so many players get frustrated to the point they get booked for being too vocal in their disgust at the decision, or often non-decision, or take retribution.

Despite having a clear view of incidents on several occasions he failed to be consistent; one moment penalising what appeared to be an innocuous situation, and then later ignoring a more serious version.

Even with the help of his assistant who was much nearer than he was, he failed to see a clear stamping by Owls skipper Darren Purse on Gavin Williams, which with around a quarter of the match still left may have had a different outcome on the game.

It may not have been significant in the end, but consistency from the officials would help reduce some of the aggravation on the pitch.

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Better youth facilities now a reality

LYME Regis will have a youth club worthy of its young citizens.

I’d almost given up hope of writing that sentence. Just a few months ago it seemed there was no prospect of peace breaking out between the trustees of the former young people’s club and those who wanted to reopen the Church Street premises.

As reported in last week’s View, Lyme Regis Development Trust, thanks to a donation of £60,000 from Dorset County Council has now acquired the building, closed for several years because it was deemed unfit for purpose.

There are those, understandably, still smarting over the fact that the trustees did not hand over the club to the town, especially as half the money for its original purchase came from local fundraising.

The trustees will argue that they have a responsbility to the owners of the property, the National Association of Young People’s Clubs, and that the money they have acquired from the sale will stay in the town and be used to make grants to worthy youth causes.

Now the property is back in community hands, the emphasis will turn to making the building safe and then carrying out the necessary improvements to reopen the club. Original estimates put this work at £270,000, a big sum to raise in these austere days, but with voluntary help this sum may reduce drastically.

Dorset County Council has come in for a lot of stick over the years for the meagre sums they have put into youth provision in Lyme Regis, much less than in other West Dorset towns.

But with the Woodroffe School now crucially involved in the future of the club, they have come up trumps with the £60,000 asking price. New youth leader, James Ward-Rice, whom I met last week, is looking forward to working with the town’s youngsters to create a provision which will be serve the town for many years.

He is not underestimating the challenge of raising such a large sum of money to get the club open, but he’s confident that by working in partnership with the yougsters (very important) and other agencies, a new youth club will emerge.

It’s impossible to give a date when the club doors will open again. In the meantime, an interim management committee involving all sections of those who have played a role in getting this far will be set up.

An immediate concern is to get the building watertight. I recently had a look around the former church hall and it was clear that much of the damage inside had been caused by water caused by poor maintenance over the years.

Some will say that the trustees should have exercised their duty of care more effectively over the years but lack of funds was clearly an issue here.

With last week’s heavy downpours, I understand that immediate repairs have to be carried out by the development trust to prevent further costly damage.

In last week’s front page story I wrote that the acquisition of the club premises was “good news” for the youth of Lyme.

That’s how we should look at this from now on, putting aside the anger and frustration that has surrounded this issue over the past 12 months.

At long last, a new youth club for Lyme is very much a reality. About time to, you may say. But a little patience may still be required.

EVENT OF THE WEEK

A HUGELY beneficial by-product of the new Skrabl organ at St Michael’s Parish Church has been the boost it has given to the musical life of Lyme Regis.

Since its installation last December, a number of brilliant concerts have been staged at the parish church as fundrasiers, bringing some of the top names in the organ world to Lyme Regis.

None have been more enjoyable, even to a musical philistine like myself, than Saturday evening’s concert by the Slovenian male voice choir with the almost impossible pronunciation, Smarje pri Jelsah.

The common denominator, of course, is Anton Skrabl, one of the principal soloists with the 22-strong choir and the man whose company built and installed the magnificent new organ in the parish church, recognised as the best organ in the diocese and I daresay one of the best church organs in the country.

The choir is made up of businessmen in the town on Regaska Slatini, near to which Anton Skrabl’s factory is based. Clearly, they all have a passion for the music of their native country, evidenced by the number of voluntary encores at Saturday’s concert.

I saw the choir arrive at the church on Saturday afternoon as they carried crates of Slovenian wine into St Michael’s, necessary, we were told later by compere Andrew Nicholson, for lubrication!

Earlier in the day, they visited Perry’s Cider Farm at Dowlish Wake where they felt obliged to taste the local brew.

Such libation certainly left them in good voice with the audience captivated by the musical tour of Slovenia they were given later in the day. The fact that we did not understand the words made no difference.

What came over strongly to me was the sheer enjoyment of the singers and the obvious pride in their musical heritage.

Having written a book, From Slovenia with love... on the story behind the organ, I’m a big admirer of the organ appeal committeee, led so enthusiastically by Andrew Nicholson. There’s still a little way to go before they finish paying for the organ. Not only are events like Saturday’s concert helping them get to their final target but they are also providing Lyme Regis will quality entertainment which would never have happened had it not been for the Skrabl organ.

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A warning to drivers to be on their guard

WHEN you’ve been in this game as long as I have you become pretty cynical about the criminal elements.

Nothing is sacred and they’ll do anything from mugging pensioners to stealing lead off church roofs, but even I was left shaking my head by this snippet told to me by a friend.

Apparently he was driving along in a rural location one morning and spotted an infant car seat by the side of the road with a blanket draped over it.

He didn’t stop but continued to mull over what he had seen and when he reached his destination called the police, who said they would check it out.

What made me sit up and pay attention was what police then revealed to the driver before they even set out to make that check.

They said: “There are several things to be aware of. Gangs and thieves are now plotting different ways to get a person - mostly women - to stop their vehicle and get out of the car.

“There is a gang initiation reported by some local police where gangs are placing a car seat by the road with a fake baby in it waiting for a woman, of course, to stop and check on the abandoned baby.

“Note that the location of this car seat is usually beside a wooded or grassy field area and the person – woman – will be dragged into the woods, beaten and raped, and usually left for dead.

If it’s a man, they’re usually beaten and robbed and maybe left for dead too.

“Do not stop for any reason. Dial 999 and report what you saw, but don’t even slow down.”

This slightly stunned me but my friend was on a roll and added this second sobering snippet to it.

If you are driving at night and eggs are thrown at your windscreen then do not stop to check the car, do not operate the wipers and definitely do not spray any water because eggs mixed with water become milky and block a driver’s vision by more than 90 per cent.

This is apparently another new technique being used by gangs to force drivers to pull up only for the gang to pounce on them.

My friend was so concerned at what he had uncovered that he urged me to pass it on to my friends and relatives, so I’ve gone one better here.

Dorset Police confirmed that such incidents have yet to hit the county while local officers endorsed drivers being on their guard, not stopping and dialing 999 if such situations arise.

A quiet resting place on the bridge should do it

MOST of us have had to push our way into a shop but how about having to push your way out?

This particular “No Exit” tale involved the front of the WH Smith store in St Thomas Street, Weymouth.

Customers normally climb or descend a small set of steps to get in or out but they couldn’t on the day I witnessed this scene.

It must have been a very tiring day for the family group in question because all six of them were sat completely blocking the steps.

I’d been about to exit the store myself when I suddenly realised that the people in front of me were moving very slowly.

The reason for the delay became quickly obvious, but it was the reaction of the six sitters which took the biscuit because they became first exasperated and then annoyed at all these rude people pushing past them disturbing their throne.

And they weren’t bashful about it either with muttered swear words and little or no attempt to move out of people’s way.

Perhaps they could be found a quiet place to rest in the centre of Town Bridge. About 11.59.59am should do it!

THERE is a famous display notice joke that to err is human but to really foul something up you need a computer.

How true that was emerged at a recent council meeting in Weymouth when more than 30 people had to talk among themselves while a computer display glitch was sorted out.

An attempt had apparently been made to install more information so it would be available for use at the meeting. Instead the computer threw a fit and froze everything.

An expert was brought in to try and make what use of the facility was possible during the meeting but it proved heavy going and council staff sometimes had to hold up bits of paper with various information on them as it was occasionally impossible to display what was wanted.

Difficult to believe, isn’t it, that the first programmable computer was invented 75 years ago. It seems that the more intricate they get the more can go wrong with them.

MOTORISTS are notorious for pinching an extra bit of road to cut corners, but cyclists do it as well and how!

An elderly couple were descending into Westham underpass in Weymouth when the woman was scared by two boys on bikes cutting the corner right in front of her.

Another woman on a bike was nearby and remonstrated with them whereupon they gave her a mouthful of abuse and shot off.

Now they may have been young and they may just have been highly strung but, as Basil Fawlty would have said, "so they should be!"

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60 SECOND INTERVIEW: James Ward-Rice

JAMES Ward-Rice, 38, moved to Bridport in June to take up his post as an area youth worker for Dorset County Council.

James began his youth work in Hastings, working on a substance misuse project, before spending 10 years working for Nottingham City Youth Service, where he was once Service Manager.

James was attracted to Dorset after holidaying in the county, where he fell in love with the walks around Golden Cap and North Chideock.

James now lives in Bridport with his wife Susan and their two dogs Eddie and Mac.

What were your first impressions of the town when you arrived?

Clean, sunny, fresh air and lots of things to do. A bustling market, good food and people who looked happy.

How does working for the youth service in Bridport differ to Nottingham?

There are more similarities than there are differences. I think that young people’s needs are consistent across the country at the moment. There are a lot of stresses and strains for young people growing up, more now than there certainly have been in previous years, and I think life is far more complex. There is a lot of pressure to grow up very quickly, to have a job and to do well at school, to get a mortgage. One major difference I find in Bridport is the gap between the wage and being able to buy your first house. The gap is massive, if not pretty much non-achievable. It’s a major issue for the southwest if they don’t want young people moving away.

Are there a lot of options for young people in the area?

Bridport is very blessed in terms of options for young people to volunteer, be creative, or to take part in sport. However not all of those things will eventually pay the way. There are a lot of beautiful things here but they may not be essentially what young people need at that time.

Why did you choose to work with young people rather than adults?

It just so happened that there was an option to do street work, which was focused around young people. I really enjoyed the street work and the work with young people, it had a really good energy about it. It didn’t seem like a job at the time, it was too good to be true. To be paid for something you enjoy doing.

What is the best part of your job?

It’s a cliché, but working with young people. Getting to know the things they find important and giving them a voice in the centre. One thing we have been trying to do over the past couple of months is getting young people more involved in the centre so that they have a voice, they are starting to run the coffee bar and café for example.

What plans have you got ahead?

I’d like to build on some of the good work that Arthur Woodgate has put in place. I think the best way of doing that is to get the doors open in the centre slightly more, in terms of the evening youth work, and also to develop the building so it’s a more comfortable, safe, warm welcoming environment. I want to put on some of things that young people want to do at the moment. So far people have told us they are really interested in games and maybe a potential cinema here. A projector screen to play playstation competitions. I’d like to get better use of the sports hall as well, we need to do some fundraising for better sports equipment so that we can introduce things like short tennis as well as football and basketball.

Is there anything you did back in Nottingham that you’d like to introduce here?

We used to have health drop-ins and we would get health professionals to come in and talk to young people about health issues in their lives. That could range from diet, nutrition and just generally keeping fit to smoking, substance misuse and sex and relationship education as well.

What was the last book you read, film you watched and CD you listed to?

The last CD was Carl Craig, The Sound Of Music - the record label for that is 69. I’m currently reading a Paul Theroux book called The Old Patagonian Express; it’s a very interesting read. The last film was The Hurt Locker; I enjoyed it actually, sombre but very well put together.

What’s the best place you’ve visited and where would you still like to go?

I liked the South Pacific, the islands there like the Cook Islands, Tahiti, Fiji are really beautiful. The place I’d still like to visit is Tibet. It would be a totally different landscape and culture and I’m really interested in that.

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A Weymouth long since passed by

A CHANCE conversation opened up a whole world of forgotten history for me.

I’d walked in to Brunches in Maiden Street, Weymouth, for a coffee when an acquaintance of mine hailed me and asked if I knew where I was standing.

A bit wary, I queried what he meant and he then told me that Brunches used to be the Old Coopers Arms pub.

I thought this would make a quirky little story and so did some research to find out more about the Grade II listed building which dates back to the early 1800s.

The pub’s existence was swiftly confirmed but it was Pigot’s 1844 Directory of Dorset for Melcombe Regis which really fired my imagination.

We live in an age of space travel, chilli flavoured ice-cream and communication anywhere in the world at the touch of a button, but Pigot’s directory took me back to a world Weymouth has long forgotten.

For instance, in 1844 Melcombe Regis was the official residence for Vice-Consuls representing Spain, Sweden and Norway.

It had numerous businesses and pursuits including two gunsmiths, nine pork dealers, two slate merchants, seven straw hat makers, two tallow chandlers and even a conchologist who studied shells.

Melcombe Regis also had nearly 20 listed taverns and public houses… and included in the list was the Coopers Arms with the landlord recorded as Levi Honeyman.

Amazing what can happen when you go for a coffee!

Fine example of the human being at leisure

ALL I had to do was collect someone and take them home, but doing so at 3:15am on a Sunday was a real eye-opener.

On the drive in to Weymouth town centre I could barely go 100 yards without passing a staggering girl supporting her drunken boyfriend, a staggering man supporting his drunken girlfriend or a drunken couple supporting each other… or not in the case of one pair who could only giggle hysterically while sat in a hedge. In town it got a lot worse.

Two drunken women tried to roll themselves cigarettes while sat in the middle of the road, a man tried to do a handstand on a road barrier, other drunks seemed to be actually going in to pubs for more booze and everywhere there were arguments and tears, although I didn’t see a fight.

Apparently that was being reserved for the inside of some clubs where bouncers were earning their keep throwing miscreants into the street or tipping police off about drug dealing in its crudest form, so inept that dealer and addict’s exchange of drugs and cash was like a bad soap opera it was so obvious.

Having picked up my passenger in the town centre we negotiated our way out somewhat better than various weaving pedestrians and I dropped him safely at his home. Providing a lift as a favour suddenly seemed a much better idea than leaving him to negotiate that fine example of the human being at leisure.

Dog taking the boy for a walk

IT’S nice to see children helping out with general duties by taking a dog for a walk.

It shows willingness, it shows responsibility… and it shows they should have got a smaller dog!

This one was some sort of massive crossbreed and the boy in question was heavily out-muscled.

When the dog stopped because of some canine point of interest the boy could haul on the lead all he liked but the dog refused to budge until it had sniffed everything which had captured its attention.

Equally it could not be held back and in the rush along a section of grass near the pavement there was no question of who was taking who for a walk because the dog practically dragged the boy along the ground to the next lamppost it was so strong.

So if anyone is missing a boy and a large dog then the last I saw of them they were heading at speed down the hill towards the police station.

Buried somewhere in a winter wonderland

WINTER is just a few weeks away, so I was able to raise a chuckle when a friend told me about one Weymouth man’s snowy experiences at an English airport last year.

His plane came in low enough for passengers to make several appreciative comments about the snowy winter wonderland beneath them and how pretty it looked.

Those comments were in very short supply once the man had landed, walked through customs and gone outside into the cold.

He walked to the car park to collect his car, but the snowfall meant that his vehicle and every other one he could see for hundreds of yards around looked exactly the same, just a mounded hump of white!

No problem, he thought, and he used his key fob to trigger his car’s lights… and so did a couple of hundred other passengers who were also trying to find their cars.

To cut a long story short, it took him one and a half hours to finally identify his car and by then he was freezing and Christmas spirit was not so much limited as non-existent!

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What future now for Three Cups?

AS expected, there was plenty of interest in the consultative exhibition on the future of The Three Cups staged at The Pilot Boat last week.

Over 200 people attended the event and we are told that a majority were in favour of the schemes put forward.

No one can deny that it was a very professionally presented exhibition. However, whilst acknowledging this fact, the 'Save The Three Cups Action Group' were far from convinced. Their brief is to press for The Three Cups to be re-opened as an hotel, a proposition which Palmers have dismissed as not being financially viable.

The Save The Three Cups group will now go back to the people of Lyme at another public meeting on October 22nd so that, having seen what Palmers now have in mind, they can decide whether they wish to continuing campaigning for an hotel.

The protest group, excellently led by John Dover, has certainly be successfully in mobilsing local opinion and they are still of the opinion that despite their long consultation process, Palmers are not listening to the wishes of the local populace.

They are asking whether Lyme wants more potential second homes and empty shops. Palmers are adamant that the hotel option is not viable and their professional report and conclusions have been supported by West Dorset District Council.

The protesters say there are potential hoteliers in the wings ready to take on The Three Cups but there’s little or no chance of Palmers selling. It’s not their way.

You can rule out compulsory purchase (it won’t happen) so it is difficult to see what further action can be taken by the group.

If one of the schemes displayed last week becomes a reality, the protesters will have no reason to believe they have failed.

The public outcry over the length of time the Cups has been empty would not have gathered momentum had it not been for their efforts.

I am sure that at next month’s public meeting feelings about this historic building will still be running high and that there will be many who would like the fight to continue. If that is the case, this newspaper will continue to report their on-going campaign.

Like many others who attended the exhibition, I was impressed with what I saw and heard. The “beach hut accommodation” idea is certainly unusual and will no doubt be highly popular if ultimately implemented.

With apartments, town houses, shops and another restaurant with stunning views over Lyme Bay, the overall scheme will demand significant investment and is therefore a long-term commitment from Palmers.

The proposed development will provide a number of jobs, probably as many if not more than re-opening the bulding as an hotel.

Whatever the outcome, I believe the public campaign has been worthwhile and hopefully Palmers will still keep the lines of communication open with those who have fought so passionately to save The Three Cups.

EVENT OF THE WEEK

I SPENT most of last weekend at the Woodmead Halls. At least, it seemed like that.

On Friday, as a member of the halls management committee, I was helping out at an open evening atended by about 60 users and guests, the main thrust being a presentation of improvements made at the halls over the past couple of years and what we plan to do in the future.

It was a pleasant enough occasion and we were pleased to see the Marine Theatre’s new creative director, Phil Whitehead, pop in for a chat and to look at the halls.

The Woodmead Halls are in great demand these days and that was certainly the case for the rest of the weekend. On Saturday I was back on duty with my Cancer Research UK hat on with our volunteers organising a soup and sweet lunch for the first time. We only had about 50 turn up but we managed to make £360 thanks to the gnerosity of those who attended.

Event of the week was definitely the surprise 90th birthday party at the halls on Saturday evening for Cecil Quick, one of Lyme’s best known characters.

Although he looked a bit startled when he stepped into the halls, having been told by daughter Angela that they were calling in on Evelyn Caddy’s birthday party on the way to a family dinner at the Hunters Lodge, Cecil took it all his his stride but was overwhelmed to see so many “friends and neighbours” as he put it.

The esteem in which Cecil is held by his family was more than evident and was emphasised when one of his granddaughters came over and asked me to stress how proud they all are of their grandfather.

I can’t remember when I’ve seen so many local faces in one place at a time. How they kept it a secret from Cecil I will never know, especially in Lyme.

On Sunday evening it was the turn of the sequence dancers to take to the Woodmead Halls’ highly polished floor. And before you asked, no I wasn’t present!

We deserve better

AT Monday’s PACT meeting, after listening to yet more complaints about the appalling state of our public toilets, someone said to me: “Why don’t the district council and town council just get together and sort it out.”

If only that was the way in local government.

What is the point of having PACT meetings if issues like the toilets keep coming up meeting after meeting and nothing gets done?

“Nothing gets done,” was a much used phrase at Monday’s meeting. The town deserves better.

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60 SECONDS INTERVIEW: Jamie Issacs

YOUNG entrepreneur Jamie Isaacs, 17, has lived in Beaminster since the age of five having moved to the town from London.

Having discovered a love for the technical side of the arts during his childhood theatre training Jamie setup his own company after leaving school. DJAY Southwest now provides professional sound and lighting for live music and theatre across the West Country and further afield.

When not providing the technical support Jamie can often be found on the stage himself, most recently as the villain in the Bridport Pantomime and as the leading man in Bridport Musical Theatre Company’s production of 'Anything Goes'.

Jamie has also received international exposure this month with a small speaking role in the film Tamara Drewe.

Away from performing Jamie also enjoys kayaking and exploring the Dorset countryside.

WHAT do you like most about West Dorset?

With my main interests being in theatre and music, there is a large wealth of music events and community productions to keep me occupied in my spare time.

WHAT prompted you to start your own business at such a young age?

It’s a good excuse to have a hole punch.

WHAT advice would you give to other young businessmen?

I find a good team is one of the most important things you can have. Another thing that we take seriously is our branding – learning graphic design has been really useful both at work and for the amateur organisations I’m involved with.

WHAT are the best shows you have worked on with DJAY?

Some of the main highlights of my year have been rigging for the James Taylor Quartet and working with Howe Gelbe, an alternative country artist – he was very cool. But my favourite gig this year would have to be working on tour with Show of Hands as their lighting engineer.

WHAT are your earliest memories of performing?

One of my memories of performing when I was young was in the Bridport Operatic’s production of 'The King and I', which was the first show I took part in, in Bridport.

WHAT is the best show you have appeared in?

One of the best shows I performed in was one of my first professional roles with Ellen Kent Opera International when I was part of the child chorus in 'Turandot' and 'Tosca' at the Bournemouth Pavilion.

WHAT would be your dream acting role?

I couldn’t answer that until I’ve acted it.

HOW did you land the part in Tamara Drewe?

I had a phone call from a friend who was hosting the audition; he invited me to come along. I performed to camera and that was later sent to Pinewood for casting. The second assistant director then called me to offer me the role.

WHAT did you make of your appearance in the film?

To be honest I didn’t even know if I was going to be in it! I knew that having gone through the audition process and being on set didn’t necessarily mean I’d be in the final edit, but I must admit that I was quite relieved to see myself on the screen.

WHO would be your three dream guests at a dinner party and why?

I’d really love to invite John Martyn to a dinner party but I know he would be a nightmare. Liam Neeson and my girlfriend.

WHAT was the last book you read, film you watched and CD you listened to?

I don’t read very often but I’m currently half way through Sogyal Rinpoche’s book 'The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying'. Recently the DJAY team set up a ridiculously large surround sound system to rewatch the awesome Gladiator. In the office I listen to music from lots of different formats – we love Spotify for instance – one of my current favourites is Imogen Heap.

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