Decline of local hero in grim Northern Town
Kevin Mitchell is a really good sports writer. We've discussed this before, including in one of my favourite D^2D comments threads ever (attached to this post) - how can it be, that this man had the strength of will, determination and self-belief to become a world boxing champion, but never had what was needed to step away from the totally destructive influence of his own childhood? I suspect that if we knew the answer to that, we'd be a lot further along the way to solving a hell of a lot of difficult problems in economics.
semi-related link
See also Terry Newton. At the time someone said that he struggled to keep going without the comfort blanket of rugby league, which is only a surprising statement at first read.
ReplyDeleteRough as arseholes part of Greater Manchester he came from, Hattersley. Really, really bleak -I worked there for two years and it was an isolated, run-down and hopeless place, in a way that inner-cities aren't quite. At least in Hackney the promise of the bright lights are on your doorstep. There's nowt closeby to Hattersley except sheep and Glossop.
ReplyDeleteDamn, I'm sorry I missed that thread. A chunk of it is UK-specific (afaict, "estates" were rather different in their specifics from American "projects"), but I did a bunch of work (as an architect/planner) trying to fix run-down, insular communities, and I have a lot to say on the subject.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, the work of this geographer, whose focus is on expatriate communities, myths about talent retention, and economic development in the American Rust Belt, seems spot-on to some of your JKG-related musings (he does back up the emigration/remittance model).
Nothing to do with the topic, but I had to tell somebody ...
ReplyDeleteFrom the Sydney Morning Herald:
'Dame Joan Sutherland
End of an era ... Oprah great Dame Joan Sutherland has passed away aged 83.'
That article and thread is one of my favourites too, although I can't work out how to get back to the article itself from the comments link.
ReplyDeleteI'd missed your phrase "Lancashire Rashomon" from there previously.
cheers Pete - I've put a link to the post in now - I realise I still haven't worked out how to make the comments show up on post permalinks - I'll have another go ...
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid, I've seen far too many planner/architect types "masterplan" shitty estates to death, with bolt on promises that the tarting up process will deliver wholesale economic and social development. Embarassing some of the promises that were made to folk living on these estates.
ReplyDelete