The success of the Lionesses in winning last year's Euros transformed the National standing of women's football. The 2023 campaign all the way to the World Cup Final in Australia has permanently changed the game. Millions of girls are inspired to play, and the government has agreed that opportunities to do so be provided in all state schools.
There will be eventual equalisation of attendances, TV coverage and financial rewards.That the team came up short against an excellent Spanish side should not detract from their achievement and their impact.
It is not only the popularisation of the Croydon facelift (the high tight ponytail) as worn by goal scorers Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp, Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo or midfielders Georgia Stanway and Laura Coombs.
The players are already fashion icons and influencers. Nike, Adidas, KFC and many others are splashing the cash. One of the stars was England goalkeeper Mary Earps, winner of the Golden Glove, who brought off that spectacular penalty save, followed by her equally spectacular expletive, for which you did not need to be a trained lip reader.
The team did the country proud. But if the Queen of Spain managed to attend, surely the powers that be should have arranged for the Prince of Wales himself, President of the Football Association, to fly out for the Final despite eco fanatics obsessing about his carbon footprint.
The Lionnesses have clearly given us an even more beautiful game in contrast with two highly paid male players in the news – one for being eventually discarded by Man U after the discontinuance of allegations of attempted rape, assault and controlling and coercive behaviour; the other player being banned for eight months after admitting 232 breaches of the FA betting rules.
The never ending false dawns and promises relating to the dualling of the A1 in Northumberland continue. The very name A1 should have meant that eventually priority would be given to it. Instead, the stretches of single carriageway in Northumberland have had 129 accidents in the last four years. The Department of Transport has continued to prevaricate. Even Boris could not ‘get it done’.
The £billions promised for HS2 were never to extend to the north east. No fast speed for us on the A1.
Construction of Hadrian’s Wall began in AD122 as a bulwark against the untameable threat from across the border (long before Nicola). The Wildlife Trusts now plan a coast to coast restoration of diversity to the environs of Hadrian’s Wall.
Such philanthropic commitment to ecological rewilding is commendable. A rare National initiative to make those in the North East go ‘wild’.
The recently released Maestro, Bradley Cooper’s film about the Jewish composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein, has raised controversy about the decision that Cooper wear a large prosthetic nose to play the character. David Baddiel and others point out that although casting directors are now concerned about authenticity when casting minor characters – only an Indian would be cast to play an Indian- the same is not true of Jewish characters.
Arguably it need not be as, after all, ‘It’s called ‘acting’, mate!’ There is a long history of non-Jews playing Jews, from Ben Kingsley in Schindler’s List to most of the cast in the sit-com Friday Night Dinner, or even Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments or Anthony Steel in The Greatest Story Ever Told. Countless Jewish actors have played non-Jews from Laurence Harvey to Goldie Hawn to Harvey Keitel, not forgetting Kirk Douglas as Spartacus.
There was criticism of Helen Mirren being cast in the yet to be released biopic of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. The fact is that she looks like Meir, as she managed to look like QE ll in The Queen.
The sensitivity here is the large Jewish nose being something of a racist stereotype in the Der Stürmer mould. Remember the antisemitic mural which Jeremy Corbyn initially claimed he did not recognise as racist.
Bernstein’s sons have said that his nose as a young man was nothing like the Cyrano proportioned appendage used by Bradley Cooper.
Makeup and costume can assist the actor and audience to create a convincing likeness. This should not permit lazy and usually false depictions and the perpetuation of racist memes.
A summer tip is to visit Seaton Delaval Hall. Significantly restored, it holds wonderful treasures as well as being a tribute to the Delaval and Astley families. Also an opportunity for children to make bats and bugs and be amazed at the upside down room.
barryspeker@hotmail.com
