High Wire

Did anyone else catch the Huddersfield-Warrington rugby league match on BBC1 yesterday? Warrington put in an absolutely stunning performance -- they made the Huddersfield Giants, who are no mugs, lying 4th in the league, look like a park team. Cutting through the Giants' defence seemingly at will, from all angles, they ran in 12 tries in a terrific illustration of what makes league an exciting spectacle.

Last season Warrington won the Challenge Cup but came up short in the league, not performing to the potential of their player quality. This year looks very different. Matt King is finally playing like the reputation that preceded him from Australia; the new half-back pairing of youngster Richie Myler with old head Lee Briers is showing verve, enterprise and creativity; and elsewhere all over the field, the team are doing the basic tasks of attack and defence supremely well.

With Wigan also playing better than they have done for years, it looks like this could be the year that the Leeds-St Helens duopoly that has dominated for so long is finally broken up. Lots of matches left to go yet, though!

High Wire

Did anyone else catch the Huddersfield-Warrington rugby league match on BBC1 yesterday? Warrington put in an absolutely stunning performance -- they made the Huddersfield Giants, who are no mugs, lying 4th in the league, look like a park team. Cutting through the Giants' defence seemingly at will, from all angles, they ran in 12 tries in a terrific illustration of what makes league an exciting spectacle.

Last season Warrington won the Challenge Cup but came up short in the league, not performing to the potential of their player quality. This year looks very different. Matt King is finally playing like the reputation that preceded him from Australia; the new half-back pairing of youngster Richie Myler with old head Lee Briers is showing verve, enterprise and creativity; and elsewhere all over the field, the team are doing the basic tasks of attack and defence supremely well.

With Wigan also playing better than they have done for years, it looks like this could be the year that the Leeds-St Helens duopoly that has dominated for so long is finally broken up. Lots of matches left to go yet, though!

Bish bash

Did anyone else catch the 4-part 'Tutu Talks' on BBC4 the other week? It was a series of round-the-table discussions between Archbishop Desmond Tutu and assorted African academics, journalists, politicians, NGO workers etc, under the following titles (which don't very well reflect the themes of the actual discussions -- the summaries here are better): Is Africa about to become rich? Are women strong enough to lead Africa? Is Africa better off without help from the West? and Is God a help or a hindrance to Africa?

This was quite dull TV in a way, because it was basically just a bunch of people sitting round a table opining, and also they tended to pretty much agree about everything -- the range of viewpoints wasn't very wide. But all the same I found it interesting, because to hear the thoughts and feelings of Africans (black and white) on these issues was rather refreshing: the assumptions, axioms, lines of conclusion etc were sometimes quite different to what I'm used to from the Western point of view.

Most interesting though was Tutu himself (referred to affectionately by the other participants as 'Bish' or 'Arch'), who chaired and guided the conversations. I've always been a great admirer of his, and it was impressive to see his skill at shaping, summarizing, prompting and generally managing the groups -- as well as the humanity and decency that he brought to the whole project. He's nearly 80 now, and I guess it may not be too many years before he's forced to retreat into old age, as Nelson Mandela has. This will be a great loss not just for South Africa.

Bish bash

Did anyone else catch the 4-part 'Tutu Talks' on BBC4 the other week? It was a series of round-the-table discussions between Archbishop Desmond Tutu and assorted African academics, journalists, politicians, NGO workers etc, under the following titles (which don't very well reflect the themes of the actual discussions -- the summaries here are better): Is Africa about to become rich? Are women strong enough to lead Africa? Is Africa better off without help from the West? and Is God a help or a hindrance to Africa?

This was quite dull TV in a way, because it was basically just a bunch of people sitting round a table opining, and also they tended to pretty much agree about everything -- the range of viewpoints wasn't very wide. But all the same I found it interesting, because to hear the thoughts and feelings of Africans (black and white) on these issues was rather refreshing: the assumptions, axioms, lines of conclusion etc were sometimes quite different to what I'm used to from the Western point of view.

Most interesting though was Tutu himself (referred to affectionately by the other participants as 'Bish' or 'Arch'), who chaired and guided the conversations. I've always been a great admirer of his, and it was impressive to see his skill at shaping, summarizing, prompting and generally managing the groups -- as well as the humanity and decency that he brought to the whole project. He's nearly 80 now, and I guess it may not be too many years before he's forced to retreat into old age, as Nelson Mandela has. This will be a great loss not just for South Africa.