We carried on as best as we could. My boyfriend became my full-time carer. I continued working but I was having seizures in front of clients, and I was eventually told they had to let me go. I still had six months to wait for a CT scan at the hospital. I had no income, and I had no contact with my parents at all.Things started to get difficult, and eventually we were evicted from our house. This is when it all fell apart; we were homeless. We went to Oxford City Council for advice many times, but we weren’t given any information to help us understand what we needed to do, and we felt ignored and alone.The worst incident was waking up in the shower room of the shelter, having hit my head during an epileptic fit. I had been lying there alone for an hour, which could have been the last hour of my life.We couldn’t stay there; the shelter had no medical provision or any knowledge of an illness like epilepsy. I was told by the helpers that now that I had a routine and a roof over my head I should be more stable and my fits should stop. They didn’t; they just got worse. Having medical needs didn’t seem to make my appeal for housing any more urgent.We found ourselves moving into a squat, then we moved on to a garage. Again we went to the council so I could register for incapacity benefits. We were told we couldn’t register as officially homeless until we had been living on the streets for six months. Only a voluntary organisation called Street Services eventually helped us. They met with us, advised us on housing, counselling and medical help.One night I had a very serious seizure and fell and broke my nose and a rib and burst a blood vessel in my eye, which left me bedridden for weeks. Our Street Services advisor had left Oxford and we were referred to the Elmore Team, who said they couldn’t help us. Once again we felt like we had gone back to the beginning. We ended up sleeping on the doorstep of a church. This left us open to the elements and feeling almost ready to give up.Through the summer, we bought a tent and ended up staying by the river. It’s frightening; you spend all night awake worrying someone will walk by and disturb you. The fear and stress triggered seizures throughout the night.We eventually received a message from Street Services. The advisor who has been working with us had returned; he met with us, marched us into the council and demanded we be housed immediately due to our situation.That evening we were handed the keys to our new house. This was eight months after we were initially evicted.When I was working, I used to be blind about the issue of homelessness.I was wrapped up in my work, never thinking that one day it would be me. What happened to me has made me more aware of the homeless situation, especially for young people with medical needs, and I hope the problem of homelessness in Oxford is more acknowledged, despite its reputation.Up until two years ago, my life was completely normal. My boyfriend and I both had good jobs and were living in shared accommodation, like many young people in Oxford. One evening I was mugged, beaten and almost sexually assaulted, and that’s where my epilepsy started. Epileptic seizures are almost like being knocked out, you feel disorientated, and can wake up hours later having not known what’s happened to you.ARCHIVE: 2nd week MT 2005

Where to go… for a curry without the crew-date
Where: Chutney’s
Why: The kind of cosy setting you would describe as ‘intimate’, with a colourful modern interior. None of the usual paraphernalia of a curry house, ie BYOB sign, loud Indian music, darkened interior induced by deep red walls and minimal lighting. Chutney’s is seemingly lacking in crew date attendance, perhaps due to its slightly more expensive menu.
What to eat: Of course, start off your meal with popadoms, which are piled high in a basket and cooked in quite large pieces – so you don’t look greedy with an entire popadom on your plate but you get enough to warm the tummy up for some curry action. The usual chutneys and sauces are served in a big sharing dish which wouldn’t look out of place in Bar Med, but this is a good thing. Slather your popadom in sweet, smooth mango chutney, or lime pickle, or do as my sauce-loving fellow diner did and try the tamarind sauce with the yogurt together, a delicious combination.With such a huge array of vegetarian food, you’d be silly to order meat. Whether a carnivore or not, the pages of mouthwatering dishes will be enough to read through without even giving the meat a second thought. With such a vast array of ingredients, there is no standard vegetable curry with yesterday’s remains here; instead, delicious-sounding pumpkin, aubergine, chickpea and tomato dishes leap off the page. Go for the Mortar Baigan, and if, like my companion, you cannot bear the thought of a meat-less meal, go for the chicken tikka, which is a really different and tasty version of the British favourite. No sooner had the last popadom been munched down and plates cleared away than our aromatic meal arrived. The food was all well presented, the curries in little cast-iron dishes and naan nicely cut into quarters – although there would have been no space on the table for the usual slug shaped naan. The rice was really fragrant, with cardamon and cinnamon, and complemented both dishes well. The naan had ample coconuty filling, and was refreshingly light and crispy at the edges, not damp and heavy like so many.The tikka was creamy and lightly spiced with a delicate taste and reassuringly orange colour. Surprisingly filling, the Mortar Baigan had a warm heat, with good textures – crunchy onions, perfectly cooked chickpeas and aubergine which had soaked up a lot of the intensely flavoured sauces to make a perfect combination.
Where to sit: At the back by the bay windows, well lit and far enough away from the door and toilets so you aren’t constantly walked past. Upstairs is available for group bookings.ARCHIVE: 2nd week MT 2005

The life of the Gap Year, though short (but such an amazing experience) was a blessing to all of us – temping agencies in particular, as swarms of students with good A-Levels pleaded for any work going for at least three months. The Gap Year was a close relative of the disapprovingly-named ‘year out’, but gained a few Oxbridge admissions officers as supporters and evolved into quite the social phenomenon – it had a proper name, gave middle-class kids a sense of purpose and even created a new form of rebellion for eighteen-year-olds to row about with their parents. Like vegetarianism and Doc Martens before it, the Gap Year was initially the proud preserve of that slightly left-of-centre girl in sixth form who wore coloured tights with her uniform and developed a social conscience when everyone else just wanted fake ID. She went to Ghana to dig wells, it went in the school magazine, she got into Oxford and now single-handedly saves rainforests. However, the break-through moment for the Gap Year’s relationship with the public came in 2000, when Prince William was pictured constructing a walkway in Chile, thus proving that even the richest boys from the nicest schools with the pinkest Pringle shirts can build things in foreign countries. Since this demonstration of the Gap Year’s disregard for class and therefore great unifying quality (see photos on walls of student rooms around Oxford of rahs with Oakley sunglasses cradling tiny underprivileged South American children), it has blossomed in popularity and now is the preferred form of self-discovery for around 200,000 students every year. Cruelly, this globe-straddling traveller has been hewn down in its prime by the introduction of Top-Up Fees. While it claims to rival the Gap Year’s universality with promises of hardship payments, the introduction of Top-Up Fees has so far failed to acknowledge that it will sadly force many would-be ‘gappers’ to get stuck into paying for their education while they still can, rather than hoping that the remainder of what they earned at Office Angels will get them through after they’ve taken out the budget for their TEFL course. In addition to the loss of an outlet for late-teenage philanthropy with an exotic backdrop, with the Gap Year dies a plethora of phraseology which otherwise lacks significance – "Full Moon Party", "finding oneself", "garp yar rah" and "STA Travel" to name but a few. We must also wave goodbye to several important modern social skills – namely the ability to discover someone in Fresher’s Week who was staying in the same youth hostel as you, having an unnatural sub-Saharan tan in October, and being able to write long essay-esque emails informing your friends quite how imperative it is they go to wherever you’ve been. Here’s to the Gap Year – its henna-tattooed, worry-beaded, Jesus-sandalled soul will live on in our hearts as an unprecedented example of mass UCAS-approved and often vaguely altruistic procrastination.ARCHIVE: 2nd week MT 2005

The college football season got off to a scorching start last Wednesday with twenty-five goals scored in the first four Premier League matches. The opening games in the First Division proved to be equally entertaining, with relegated Keble and promoted Lincoln proving that they have adjusted well to life in their new division. Newly promoted Jesus immediately made a name for themselves in the Premier devision. They treated the visiting Brasenose side to such a lesson in top flight football by a well-drilled Jesus team, that the 4-2 scoreline did the newly promoted side’s performance justice. Having flirted with relegation at the tail-end of last season, they now find themselves at the giddy heights of second in the league.It was a high spirited game in which both teams did well to overcome the challenges of wind, rain and a slopping pitch. The talents of Brasenose’s John Ditchburn and Jesus’s Graham Parrott shone through in particular on a dank Wednesday afternoon.Jesus set their stall early on, the aforementioned Parrott sending an unstoppable free kick past the Brasenose goalkeeper with just five minutes gone. The two-man Brasenose fanbase soon suffered further misery when Dave Knocker deftly slipped the ball into the right of the net.To their credit, Brasenose’s heads did not drop. Two minutes after Jesus’s second, Ditchburn punished the keeper’s indecision with a beautifully weighted lob. It was more of the same after the break. Gareth Bebb skipped past two defenders to finish neatly. Again, Brasenose struck back, the outstanding Ditchburn hitting a powerful shot which took a deflection on its way past the beleaguered keeper.Far from a tense finish, however, Jesus dominating the remaining period and only some last-ditch defending off two successive corners kept a tired Brasenose in the game. Shortly afterwards, however, Jesus’s Jack Wellby capitalised on a mix-up between goalkeeper and defender to score from the edge of the area, securing for Jesus three points and the right to hold their heads high in the Premier League. The exceptional performance of the first round, however, undoubtedly came from Worcester. A year ago Magdalen were the rulers of college football, and it was presumed that the new season would see the continued supremacy of the black and white stripes. However, rather than looking at another title challenge  Magdalen will face a lengthy struggle for survival. They have lost seven players over the summer and while Catz proved last year that it is possible to overcome a shaky start and still challenge, they never witnessed such a catastrophic result as this. In every aspect of the game Magdalen were outclassed, outfought and outthought. To describe it as one-sided would be to flatter the home side as it suggests two teams turned up. Worcester pressed Magdaeln ruthlessly, launching lightning attacks and appearing to cut them apart at will in a cavalier performance that should leave their title rivals cringing. But Worcester will not play a side as poor as Magdalen every week. The midfield was hungerless and the defence negligent. Magdalen established their fearsome reputation upon a powerfully built side capable of producing results, if not attractive football. However, that can no longer disguise an inherent lack of quality, or even a basic ability to read the game. Worcester were allowed to spray the ball with ease just 18 yards from Magdalen’s keeper while striker Alex Toogood wandered freely between the two central defenders. Goals looked likely during every attack as the home side cowered before Worcester’s rapier blades.The rout began with three minutes gone. Michael Hobbiss embarrassed right back Doug Kelly to win a corner from which Matt Roberts scored.Three minutes later Toogood launched himself on the hesitant back-line, blazed towards goal and lifted it over the keeper. A quarter of an hour gone and Toogood claimed his second. The inevitable fourth went to Worcester’s emperor. A corner from the right was missed by two defenders, as well as Hobbiss, and Beanland thumped it into the net. And in the best move of the match the visitors almost added a fifth before half time. Beautiful one-touch football between Lucian Weston and Toogood spread the defence. Weston had the chance to convert his own good work but he was unable to sidefoot in from six yards.If you’d had the urge to eavesdrop on Magdalen’s half-time team talk you would have heard the captain tell his side to ‘win the second half.’ Well, they only conceded three in the next 45 minutes which was a victory of sorts. Toogood secured his hat-trick with a splendid curled shot from the edge of the box and minutes later, with Magdalen failing to clear a harmless bouncing ball, Hobbiss’ volley sealed a fine captain’s performance.Magdalen’s humiliating performance was ended in the most fittingly humiliating fashion. Toogood’s miscued free-kick skipped round the wall, under the keeper and with a resounding ring like a death knell, squirmed off the post and into the back of the net. In a single game seven goals had passed what had been the most feared side of the top division: the balance of power has undergone a seismic shift and the fight for the crown is on.ARCHIVE: 2nd week MT 2005

Oxford 33Pertemps Bees 21The Blues bounced back from a difficult last week with a much improved performance to beat semi-professional Pertemps Bees 33-21 at Iffley Road.Oxford secured victory over their opponents with some impressively intelligent, clinical play. As the Bees started slowly. the Blues sensed the opportunity and fully capitalised. Dan Palm’s first minute try off his own chargedown was a sign of things to come, as Oxford put in 40 minutes of aggressive, adventurous rugby. In defence, the Blues showed professionalism and couage, with Sean Fauth taking down a breakaway visitor. However, the main entertainment came from the attack. Despite some stuborn Bees defence, Palm’s try was added to by Adam Harris, Doug Abbott, who finished off a superb Tom Tombleson run, and James Whittingham, who scrambled over after collecting a loose pass. After half time, however, the Bees came out firing and Oxford were forced onto the back foot. Unphased, they defended with great composure, trying to adapt to the referee’s strict interpretation to constrain the Bees’ comeback. However, the Bees’ Joe Wearne and Alex Davidson still managed to get over the line and Ben Harvey was accurate at every opportunity and his 11 points could have swung the match. With their lead down to just seven points, the Blues regained control of the match with some astute tactical play, Jon Fennell’s accurate boot forcing the Bees deep into their half. Two Fennell penalties calmed Oxford’s nerves before Tombleson capped a fine night with the winning score, rolling out of a tackle before diving into the corner after Palm, Harris and Chris Hadfield.As the Varsity match looms closer, the Blues have some tough fixtures ahead against Harlequins, Wasps and Tonga. This week’s mature display, however, showed they are beginning to fulfil their potential and emerging as a very classy side.ARCHIVE: 2nd week MT 2005

Exeter 15Teddy Hall 76Teddy Hall continued their assault on the college rugby league with an embarrassingly one-sided victory over Exeter. The forwards set up a solid football platform for a backs’ performance that was genuinely inventive and penetrating.The pattern of the game was established right from the outset, as Hall went 12-0 ahead within 10 minutes of kick-off. Fly-half Rob Yates masterminded the early onslaught, scoring the opening try and creating the second with a defence-splitting dummy and an intelligent pass inside to an onrushing team-mate. It was clear from this opening passage of play how dangerous Hall were, combining individual skill with teamwork and leadership throughout the side. The attacking play was characterised by fluent passing moves sweeping the pitch from flank to flank and encompassing every member of the team.Hall’s tries were scored from an impressive range of situations. The vast majority of the points haul came from the fast, flamboyant passages of play, which led to try after try. However, midway through the first half the pack took their chance to shine, setting up a maul from a line out and driving the Exeter defence fifteen yards back to their own try-line for Andy Godfrey to peel off and tumble over the line to make the score 24-3.This was followed by the one costly mistake made by Hall during the game. A period of excellent defensive play appeared to have removed the danger of Exeter scoring, but a dropped catch by fullback Graham Robertson in his own dead-ball zone allowed Exeter to simply fall onto the ball and claim their first of two tries. However, Luka Travlos almost immediately intercepted an Exeter pass to send Hall in 31-8 ahead at half-time.The second half followed the same pattern. Credit should go to Exeter for holding their heads high throughout. However, the ruthlessness of Hall and the ability to maintain their devastatingly fluid style of play throughout saw the score soar to 71-8. Indeed the first pressure which Exeter enjoyed after half time did not come until the last 10 minutes and they were rewarded with a consolation try when Greg Johnson drove over the line. However, there was still time for Hall to issue a reminder that this game was all about their performance, scoring a final try with minutes remaining when they rounded off a move which saw the ball sweep from the right touchline to the left in a matter of seconds. The reminder was not at all necessary: they gave another expression of their desire to reclaim the title which for so long they have been associated with. Meanwhile, this second heavy loss for Exeter will leave them hoping that they can turn things around sooner rather than later.ARCHIVE: 2nd week MT 2005

Queen’s 4Corpus/Wadham 1Queen’s made a convincing start to their college hockey season with 4-1 defeat of Corpus/Wadham on Saturday. Queen’s dominated territory and possession, and their attacks down the flanks looked particularly threatening. Putting out an almost unchanged side from the team which lost just one match last Hilary, and bolstered by schoolboy star Ed Norman, they look set to be a tough prospect this season. Corpus/Wadham can take positives form the match, defending resolutely and scoring an excellent goal, but they will have to control the ball for longer periods to compete. Initially, the Corpus/Wadham defensive unit frustrated Queen’s, with goalkeeper Ollie Buckley in fine form. However, Queen’s broke this breakthrough with two quick goals from Dan Shepherd and Norman. Though Corpus/Wadham captain Ben White pulled one back with a brilliant counterattacking run, once Queen’s reasserted themselves they did not look likely to lose their lead. Goals from Fred Tatham and another from Shepherd put the match beyond doubt. Queen’s followed up with another win, this time beating Hertford by two goals to nil.ARCHIVE: 2nd week MT 2005

They walked onto the podium wearing black socks and no shoes, to symbolise black poverty, and the badges of the Olympic Project for Human Rights. As the Star Spangled Banner began to play in honour of Smith’s victory, the pair turned to face the Stars and Stripes being hoisted to their right. Each then closed his eyes, bowed his head and raised a single, black gloved hand into air for the duration of the anthem. Neither reacted to the increasingly loud booing of the 70,000 strong crowd at the Estadio Olimpico Universitario. The pair left the arena in silence, stopping only to once more raise their gloved hands just before exiting. It was a symbolic gesture of genius. During the Olympic victory ceremony, signifying the pinnacle of fair play and equal, honest competition, as the two best known symbols of the United States were simultaneously unfurled, the protest of two men representing the US delivered an awesomely powerful statement that in the US fair play and equal, honest competition were not at work to an audience of 400 million people around the world. Smith’s performances throughout the event had been outstanding. He broke the Olympic record in his first heat, and, after Peter Norman had pushed down the record further, posted another quickest ever time during the third round. In the final, he demolished both the rest of the field and the world record. Despite raising his arms in triumph metres from the finish, he crossed in 19.83 seconds, becoming the first man under 20 seconds and posting a world record that would hold for more than a decade. Carlos and Norman crossed in 20.0, completing the fastest 200m race in Olympic history. The bravery of Smith and Carlos’ protest is hard to fully appreciate today, without an awareness of the hostility of the sports establishment (and much of US society in general) to their cause. Racial tension in sport was fierce in 1968: that year Muhammad Ali was stripped of his heavyweight title for refusing the draft and the Olympic Project for Human Rights (of which Smith, Carlos and other prominent Olympians were members) had seriously considered a black boycott of the games. In view of this, US track coaches Payton Jordan and Stan Wright repeatedly issued statements declaring that there would be “no trouble whatsoever”. Smith and Carlos’ action saw them suspended from the US team and expelled from the Olympic village on the charge of bringing politics into sport. Once home, they faced widespread criticism from sections of the media (the Los Angeles Times described their action as a “Nazi-like salute”) and even death threats. We can be thankful that today, Smith and Carlos are commended, not ostracised for their actions. In 1998, the pair were honoured to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of their protest. Other accolades have poured in: Smith was inducted into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1978, Carlos in 2003; Smith is now a university professor, while Carlos received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater. But their actions should serve as a reminder that sporting events are not isolated from the world around them. This remains as relevant today as it was in 1968, with cricket tours to Zimbabwe and the Beijing Olympics. One can only hope that Smith and Carlos’ actions will inspire some of their successors to attempt to make the same impact they had.Thirty seven years ago last Sunday Tommie Smith and John Carlos created one of the proudest moments in the history of sport. Their spectacular silent protest during the medal ceremony for the 200m sprint at the Mexico Olympics became the most recognisable symbol of the Civil Rights movement in the US. Smith and Carlos had gained the attention of the world with athletic performances of true champions, and they used the platform they had won to make the most positive impact they could on their society, despite the greatest opposition the world’s sporting administration could muster. So significant was the event that in her recent book ‘Not the Triumph but the Struggle’ Amy Bass argued it was a defining moment not only in the Civil Rights movement but in the whole history of the African-American athlete. Smith and Carlos’ protest was exquisitely carried out.ARCHIVE: 2nd week MT 2005

The frenzy surrounding Andy Murray’s emergence at Wimbledon earlier this year was overwhelming. You could hardly open a newspaper without seeing his face gurning back at you. The way most fans reacted, you would be forgiven for assuming he’d won the competition, rather than been knocked out in the first week.The hype surrounding young British sporting hopes such as Murray is immense, irrespective of his success. After all, Murray’s skills are still limited, as borne out by the straight-sets defeats he suffered at the racket of Federer.This is not to say that Murray lacks the potential to succeed. A year ago, he captured the US Open junior singles title while ranked 479th on the senior ladder. In March, he became the youngest ever British Davis Cup player and as a result, he went into Wimbledon in 317th place. After becoming the first Scotsman ever to reach the third round of Wimbledon he shot up to 213th. And after reaching an ATP final this month, the youngest player to achieve this since Andre Agassi, he rocketed up to 72nd. While this falls short of Federer’s performance at this age, or even fellow young gun Rafael Nadal, it is undoubtedly an impressive climb for someone who was unknown even in Britain a year ago.Murray’s rise coincided with British tennis’ previous golden boy Tim Henman’s slide to 28th in the world rankings: a sharp fall from grace for a man who once found himself inside the top ten. When Henman has underperformed at Wimbledon he has tended to blame to media for inciting ‘public pressure’. Indeed, Henman has been quick to urge Murray to ignore the ‘hype’ and has chastised the press for increasing the pressure on Murray unnecessarily. However, it’s exactly Murray’s appetite for pressure that feeds his game.When asked about the so-called ‘hype’ Britain’s Davis Cup captain Jeremy Bates said “Andy is not going to rest now: he has tremendous drive and fortitude and he will keep going for it”. Murray’s coach Mark Petchey likened him to Wayne Rooney, a noteworthy comparison, considering not only their talent, but their temperament. Last month Murray was asked what it is he likes best about playing tennis. His answer: “I just enjoy winning. Winning is the most amazing thing. I hate losing” therein summing up the difference between himself and the current British number 1: while Henman likes to do his best, for Murray, his best will never be good enough. This is the sign of a true champion.At the moment, the world of tennis seems dominated by one name – Federer. However, Murray is still only eighteen; this leaves him plenty of time to capitalise on the injuries or misfortune of others. And you can rest assured that Murray is not the kind of player to shy away from such opportunities. Despite his preference for clay, Murray’s sheer grit and determination can give the public hope that they may see a British champion again on Wimbledon soil.ARCHIVE: 2nd week MT 2005

Even for a man who’s been to seven Olympic games, numerous Wimbeldons and has travelled to World Cups and European Championships, October is going to feel like a busy month for Des Lynam. Not only does he begin a new career in the Countdown chair, he also has a new book to plug (which he was eager to do in the course of this short interview and which, incidentally, is a remarkably honest, warm and funny account of Des’ career and is available in all good bookshops for just £18.99). Most importantly, this month he will hear the fate of his beloved Brighton and Hove Albion, and whether, after eight years of waiting, they will finally have a stadium to call their own. It is one of the longest running, and most significant sagas of recent football history, but, among the hyperbole of the Premiership it is a story that has fallen out of the national spotlight. For fans of Brighton and Hove, however, it is an issue that cannot go away. Without a favourable resolution Brighton could join the likes of Accrington and Aldershot on the list of towns who have lost clubs to the commercially driven world of football. In sport generally, and particularly football, exaggerated fears of impending disaster are all too common, but in this case all too real. The club is forced to play in a shockingly inadequate stadium while the government drags its heels, and the future of the club, not to mention the livelihood of the players and the lifeblood of the fans, is left hanging by a thread. Lynam has been at the forefront of a four year campaign to persuade John Prescott to provide planning permission for a much needed 22,000 seater stadium for the city. Last week he was one of 10,000 Brighton fans who marched through the city in a last desperate attempt to influence the Deputy Prime Minister. Even now, however, with the final verdict less than a month away, he seems more hopeful than assured.“The chairman of the club is optimistic and if he’s optimistic so am I, because he knows more about the details of it than I do. I’m trying to be optimistic because if they can’t get a new proper football ground I suspect the club will gradually fade. I would ask him [Prescott] seriously to give the go-ahead. But I suspect that won’t matter because I suspect he’s decided now one way or the other and he’s just waiting to make the announcement.” Lynam attributes his success as a broadcaster to his ability to sympathise with the viewer and be “the barometer of what the average person was thinking.” It is in the same mould of passionate sports fan that Lynam now speaks, a supporter like any other, desperate to see the continued existence of his adored club. It is a passion that has taken him on numerous marches and to the front door of 10 Downing Street. Not even his famously pristine moustache was too good for the campaign as fellow Brighton fans poured bucket-loads of water over him. “The city needs a new football ground, it’s as simple as that. Prescott comes from Hull and he’s seen the benefit of the new football ground for his own city and what it has done for the club. He knows the benefits, he knows how it matters to a community when they’ve got a long standing football club with the heritage that club has got.“It’s a beautifully supported club, the fan base is terrific. Of course at the present time only 6,000 of them can see the home games because it’s a tight little ground. The home games are now played in an athletics stadium where it’s most unsatisfactory. The club has been going for a hundred-plus years and its part of a proper city nowadays and so it needs a proper football ground.”For a presenter renowned for his imperturbable style such fervour is refreshing. The position of the football club in his life is clearly central. The ease with which he talks about the club, particularly when he has his own agenda to promote, is admirable and should be a lesson to the Premiership snobs, myself included, who complain with tireless banality on phone-in shows whilst looking down on the lower leagues with disdain. Lynam’s reaction to people who couldn’t give two prawn sandwiches for the plight of a club like Brighton or Nottingham Forest sees his voice alter slightly from the demure, so familiar to Grandstand viewers and so much-loved by house-wives across the land. When I raise Peter Kenyon’s argument that lower-league clubs should go part-time in order to maintain their place in the football league Lynam’s animated response leaves me embarassed for raising the point: “A football club like Brighton has a vital position. So much of the community love it and get great satisfaction from it whether they can get to the game or not. I’m on this book tour at the moment (he couldn’t resist that plug) and everywhere I go I get Brighton football supporters coming up to me. They seem to be everywhere. They love the club. It’s so much a part of the community: what else in a community like Brighton and Hove attracts so many people and gets so many people worked up about it?”But such passion also breeds a sense of injustice at the plight of his football club and the nature in which the ordeal has been dragged out. “I do feel that if we’d been in the Premiership this would have been dealt with a lot quicker. The city council voted 11 to 1 for this new ground, and I think you’ll find that when Arsenal were going for their new ground the local council squeezed it through just about 8 to 7. But nobody felt the need to investigate any further. If we were Arsenal I suspect it would have gone through by now. It doesn’t help that they’re not in the Premiership.“They’re not so high profile, it’s as simple as that. I don’t think there’s anything personal in the decision as far as Prescott is concerned but for those of us who are connected with the club, we cannot see any real, valid reasons for that site not being allowed to be a football ground. And it’s for the community as well, not just the football club. Nothing happens on that site at the moment, its just a field. It’s part of Brighton University land which was given to Brighton University by the council in the first place.” Despite the injustice of it all he remains enthusiastic about the sport as a whole. He cannot agree, perhaps with the perspective brought by his own club’s position, with those who argue the game is in crisis.“When you get a club like Chelsea who look to be utterly dominant at the moment, and the other clubs are struggling to compete with them, suddenly everyone goes ‘ah, it’s boring.’ I don’t think the Premiership is boring. I think the Premiership is alive and well and happy. I think it has got more sophisticated, the coaches are tactically more aware, the technique of the players is much higher than it was a few years ago and so defence is paramount. You don’t see so many goals anymore. But generally speaking I think the quality of the play is very fine.”Lynam’s zeal for Brighton leaves us little time to discuss other matters, and we do not get the same enthusiastic response when we arrive belatedly at his own achievements and, for those daytime television watchers, his appointment as the successor to Richard Whitely as presenter of Countdown.He demonstrates his customary dry wit when I call him ‘the face of British sport’ but becomes slightly prickly when asked about his infamous ‘defection’ from BBC to ITV.“It created a lot of ructions at the time, some of my old colleagues were very unhappy with me and it created a lot of misery around the place for them. It was a difficult situation. If you are asking me ‘would I make the same decision again’, knowing everything that I do now, maybe I wouldn’t. I don’t know but I was certainly happy to have made it at the time and I had a very happy five years there.” Fortunately, however, he is much more accessible when I enquire of his latest career move to Channel 4. Self-derogatively he states it was Carol Vorderman who persuaded him to take the position and that his appearance on a celebrity edition proved that “not only was I not good at the Conundrum but I wasn’t much good at the show. You play along at home, that’s part of the game, and sometimes you outdo the people on the show, but very rarely.”It is to be hoped that Brighton, or more specifically John Prescott, can find a solution to their own conundrum and save a proud and historic football club. If not, you feel Carol Vorderman will not be greeted by the predictably composed Des Lynam the nation has come to know and respect so well.                 ARCHIVE: 2nd week Mt 2005