371 The Dentists Diary

The word ‘Legend’ is often, I believe, clichéd in sport, but it can never ever be overused on ‘Super Human’ Steve Prescott MBE.

His tragic death announced in the period preceding the Saturdays World Cup game at the KC, shocked us all. We all knew our hero was really ill but he had battled on for so long that it still came as a tremendous shock to everyone when he passed away and on an emotional afternoon somehow it put everything else into proportion, didn’t it?

Steve’s passing puts everything else into the shade and cannot be under estimated as a phenomenal moment in the context of our sport and the Rugby League family. However I guess I still have to try to move on. That tragedy overshadowed a week when we have at last had a bit of news to digest, a new winger or centre to consider, our owner putting Radio Humberside in their place, the squad numbers out and the players in camp and ‘suffering for their art’! It was interesting to hear of that signing, that eventually turned out to be Fetuli Talanoa but unfortunately, there’s still the matter of his visa to sort out and that might not be quite as straight forward as we have been led to believe.

So here we go, as once again I’ve done my best to reflect on a week that has seen the players return to training and here, in

this week’s edition of the Diary, I’ve even manage a couple of transfer ‘Whiffs’ for you to consider as well.

....................................................................................................

The moment we all hoped would never arrive duly came on Saturday, as just after lunch we got the news that the great Steve Prescott, the man who had a place in the heart of every RL fan, passed away. At just 39 years of age, Steve was truly a statesman of the game and as a player, a person, a husband and a father he was a true ‘icon’ in every sense of the word. For me I have always marvelled at Steve’s dedication to his charity and his fortitude and courage in his fight against Cancer with which he set a great example to us all. After over 100 games for us as a player, I’ll always remember his early days at the Boulevard and the way he would tear down-field with those brilliant kick returns. Remember too, that day in June 2001 when Steve dropped that wonderful goal as we beat Halifax at The Shay 27-26, and how Shane Richardson jumped on him at the final hooter? Then of course there was the day at the KC when he ran the length of the field to score, while all the way just holding off the efforts of the Saints flyer Darren Albert.

What memories they are, what moments for everyone who witnessed them and what a player and ambassador we have all lost. Rugby League will be an emptier, sadder and less dynamic game without him. The book of condolence that the Club will open this week will have fans queuing to make an entry I’m sure. My personal thoughts at such a sad time go to Steve’s family, his death is a massive tragedy and for such an iconic figure to be taken so young, is simply devastating; RIP Steve Prescott!

Well, to things that now seem pretty mundane after such a monumental loss, as at Hull FC, instead of easing themselves back into training, the ‘Lee Radford reign of terror’ got off to a pretty gruelling start, when last week after a team talk at the Hallmark hotel and a short ‘stay of execution’ caused by the coach going to the wrong place to pick them up, they were all off to ‘boot camp’! So, instead of Catterick, which was first muted, the lads ‘de-camped’ to a more southerly destination in East Anglia. The fact that they went to Norfolk must have emanated from a tie up they made with the Dragoon Guards when they helped out on Armed Forces day at the KC last season. Their ‘home from home’ at Swanton Morley was originally an RAF station, taken over by the Army in 1996 and converted into Robertson Barracks which is now the home to The Light Dragoons and the band of the Dragoon Guards.

It appears that the camp is well equipped with assault courses and indoor and outdoor training areas. And if (England RL team like) any of the lads wanted to sneak off for a little drink, well there was always the Salvation Army Red Shield Services Café which is listed as one of the main amenities on site!.  Apparently it was all basic rations, Z beds, hard slog and on Wednesday they were all awoken at 4-00am by car horns and flashing lights. Yeamo texted that he was “In heaven” on Thursday night, as he was having Pie and Chips for his tea; the first none army ration meal he had tasted since they arrived.

They were all really put through the mill, which I guess was the idea and according to another player, those who failed the

‘play-book quiz’ were put on ‘jankers’ and sent square bashing. We’re told Miller contracted a ‘virus’ and whether he was one of the two players hotly rumoured to have ended up in hospital, is a matter for conjecture, but it did ‘em all good I’m sure, and now we’ll just see what effect the short, sharp shock has on their performance in the future. It’s never dull is it?

Well it looks pretty likely that the possibility of a Boxing Day Derby that was mentioned by Adam at the last fans forum is now receding somewhat over the horizon. I believe the Police, fearing that they will already be pretty busy with a certain game at the KC between Hull City and Manchester United may have seen it as too much of a drain on their resources. So whatever we are told to the contrary, if it doesn’t happen, it’s possible that it’s those boys in blue that have put the ‘kybosh’ on it. The plan was for the game to feature some of both Club’s younger players, plus an ex players game, but it was to be in addition to the usual ‘unfriendly’ friendly at the KC in January. For me that was, as I said a couple of weeks ago, a Derby too far. So I ain’t that fussed if it’s cancelled myself.

I guess as the news that a final settlement for Holdsworth broke last week we were all hearing nothing that we didn’t really expect. However I wonder if like me, as long suffering fans, it had you wondering whether we are fated to never get a half-back combination that does what 6’s and 7’s do at other Clubs, because it seems preordained that despite our best endeavours, we just can’t seem to sort it out! Lee Radford has made a lot of the fact that he has great faith in Miller, Horney and Heramaia, but we all know that although that is commendable and pretty loyal, it isn’t going to be the answer in

the long run and we need another, preferably young, half on board pretty quickly.

Holdsworth arrived to great rejoicing and it was only a matter of time, we were told, before his new partner signed in too. He was seen as foil for ‘Rangi’, but unfortunately Chase didn’t materialise and since then he has proved to be the wrong fit, in fact it’s indicative of our problems, that the ‘best fit’ we had last season was when Horney played with Heramaia. When Holdsworth played with Rich Horne they looked like a pair of book ends as both had the same game and so that was never going to work was it? Of course there was a lot more to it than that. Holdsworth wound a lot up in camp, something that began when he started on the wrong foot last January when he arrived in Tenerife, late and fitness wise well behind everyone else.

You always, as a fan, want to believe the best in your players, but his ‘buying into’ the group dynamic had always been rumoured to be dubious, his attitude towards some of the youngsters questionable and in all honesty few in the playing ranks had a good word for him, so he certainly won’t be missed. In fact in the Mail last week James Smailes came out with something that has been rumoured for some time as he said, “Holdsworth is known to have kept his own counsel, often with a close group of team-mates in his inner circle, including the likes of Mark O’Meley and Ben Galea, two players no longer at the club”. That’s certainly how I understood it to be and it was something that should have been sorted out early on and wasn’t!

Well Pete in Stamford Bridge contacted me last weekend to say how he lamented the dearth of Wilfs Whiffs there have been in here of late, so I’ve been doing a bit of digging this past week and so, here goes. The first thing that I found out last week was that we are chasing and close to securing a young Australian scrum half, something that Adam has hinted at too on the radio since, I tried hard to find out who it is, but to no avail so far, although Adam did indicate that he had agreed terms but the problem might be with the visa and the number of games he has played in the first grade of the NRL. However Adam also hinted that we had a couple of fall back ‘possibilities’ too, while the message-board ‘oracles’ are offering Jordan Rankin as an early long shot, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Of course The Star on Sunday weighed in linking us with John Sutton, the Rabbitoh’s 16 stone stand-off, but I think we can forget that one don’t you? However as we are on the whiffs front too, I hear that Ryan McGoldrick is a done deal, but might not be announced just yet and I’m also told that we are very close to completing extensions to the contracts of Jamie Shaul and Josh Bowden, both of whom it appears, have suitors elsewhere, while I pleased to say too, that talks with Ben Crooks about an extension to his contract, are also well advanced.

Adam did however inform us on Thursday night on Humberside that ex-South Sydney star Fetuli Talanoa has signed for us, but won’t be confirmed as an FC player until we have secured a Visa for him. The player, who is currently playing RU in Australia, is currently working on the refuse carts. However, ‘The Flying Dustman’ has a good scoring/to games played,

ratio in the NRL and only dropped out from the elite competition after a severe dose of pneumonia. He is certainly an exciting prospect but also a risk I guess, although I wouldn’t suggest your ‘put the bins out’ just yet, as he is rumoured to have a couple of blemishes on his record in the past, which could just cause a few issues on the Visa front! Still, as our clubs rather baffling recruitment drive continues, he’s ours if we can get him in the country; Pearson also indicated that Feka would be arriving next week, so at least he must have got his papers sorted.

The squad numbers appeared on Saturday morning with few surprises for this fan. Several supporters had commented to me that they thought that Jamie Shaul should have been given the number one shirt but that was something that for me was never going to happen. It’s so important with a prodigious talent like Jamie to ensure that as little pressure as possible is put on his young shoulders, whilst also ensuring that he doesn’t think the starting role at full back is a given.

Both these issues had already pointed me in the direction of Shannon McDonnell getting the shirt, although the seriousness of his injury dictates that Shaul will get the first bite at the full-back ‘cherry’ as the season kicks off anyway, so everyone’s happy I guess. It was great to see Radford back his obvious faith in Chris Green by rewarding the youngster with a ‘starting prop’ number and that is probably a bit of ‘reverse psychology’ as its maybe felt that Chris needs his confidence boosting a bit after being overlooked a lot last year. Otherwise there are few surprises and seeing Horney back a 6 is just reward for the way he stepped up again last season, somehow though I still worry

about the front row and if Feka and Paea get injured we will struggling for grunt. I would have liked to have seen one more ‘hairy ar*ed’ prop myself. Still Radford promised to provide the youngsters with a track to first team rugby and he’s certainly done that.

Well it seems that we continue to sell season tickets at what is described by the staff at the shops as a ‘brisk’ rate and the total is rising fast as the number sold which looked likely to be an issue a while ago, is now of less concern, as fans line up to get their subscription to next seasons campaign. With the seasons total having now broken through the 5000 mark, which means another 600 or so sold last week, we are moving swiftly towards being on target again and with two thirds of last year’s total sold, we’ll see just where we are at the conclusion of the discount phase at the end of the month. However if you haven’t renewed yet beware, because you might just get a phone call from a rather scary sounding character trying to persuade you to re-subscribe, (Actually it’s just Lee Radford on a recorded message which is the Clubs latest marketing wheeze!) Still our owner can at least breathe more easily now I think!

The official date for the release of the RL Super league fixtures for 2014 is next Monday 18th November, but no doubt they will be out and about on the message Boards and on Twitter well before that! All I can find out is that we have a tough start, but we’ll just have to wait and see and get on with it I guess. However no doubt we’ll get a glimpse of them in advance and if I do I’ll have a look at them next week in the Diary.

The new away shirt was launched on Friday and on sale on Saturday, when I had a close look at it in the KC shop. It’s certainly different and will, I’m sure, prove really popular. Fans were certainly buying it, but what I found most interesting in the Press Release that accompanied the launch was the fact that these new shirts are the tenth issue we have had since Lee Jenkinson joined the Club. What was even more interesting was the fact that in each of the previous 9 years we have sold 10,000 replica shirts and if this can be the 10th such consecutive season, it will be an amazing feat which has by and large slipped by un-noticed.

When you consider that fact and even when the ‘end of the range’ discounted shirts are taken into consideration, you are looking at around £400,000 of our annual income coming from shirts, so the pressure to get the design right must weigh heavy on our Retail Director. Next year with the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Club, it will be the biggest challenge of all because new designer shirts are one thing, but producing a traditional shirt that everyone considers appropriate and indeed wants to wear, is quite another.

Also announced simultaneously with the new away shirt was a new Club sponsor that is a renowned national company. It’s a different sort of deal as Hull FC follow Huddersfield Giants, Bolton Wanderers and Blackpool FC in joining up with Bartercard. As I understand it they becomes the club’s away shirt sponsor for the 2014 season in return for an amount of credit equal to the usual fee for this type of deal, which can be spent with any of Bartercard’s 35,000 members.

Tony Sutton, Chief Operating Officer at Hull FC described the benefits as follows, “As a large and diverse operation we need to engage with a huge number of suppliers, and almost all of them can be found on the Bartercard network, allowing us to preserve our cash reserves for use elsewhere”So I guess for us laymen (or Thicko’s like me) it sort of a swap arrangement where we swap what we’ve got with company’s who have something we need. This network turns over exchanges and swops worth around £40m per annum and therefore Bartercard is a big national player. So, for us lot out there who are scratching our heads a bit, it’s a sort of Swop Shop....... without Noel Edmonds I guess??????

I know he won’t thank me for telling you this, but congratulations go this week to James Smailes who has been promoted to Deputy Sports Editor at the Hull Daily Mail. I’m pleased for Smailsey because he is a good writer and just occasionally really pushes the boat out and writes not so much the factual stuff but more reflects the thoughts and opinions of the players and the fans; the recent piece about Holdsworth, which I have already mentioned, where he outed him as a poor ‘team’ player and member of an exclusive clique is a good example. I’m pleased for him and the good news as far as I’m concerned, is that the ubiquitous ‘Smailes of the Mail’ will continue as Hull FC reporter! I know he sometimes reads this if he wants a laugh, so well done Smailsey!

I spoke a bit earlier about the interview with Adam Pearson last Thursday on Sports Talk where incidentally he gave Dean and

Lloyd a right rollicking for ‘sticking their kneb’ into the Tom Biggs stuff. Apparently despite Adam saying in a previous interview that we were going about the wingers release in a ‘softly, softly’ manner, Humberside immediately rang the Bath Club and ruffled the feathers somewhat over there. This we all know and Adam will learn, is typical really.

However in that same interview Adam also alluded to the fact that the RL re-organisation talks which were supposed to be on hold until after the World Cup, were still very much to the fore, as the RL tried, behind the scenes, to persuade the dissident Clubs, that their 8x8x8 system for 2015 was the best way forward for the game. Now I know you’re going to say “Not again Wilf” but look folks, this is serious and if we’re not careful we will have to live with a structure for our game that we might not like and just possibly one that will detract from the product rather than enhance it. Behind the scenes the RL are certain pushing their plans, in a campaign spearheaded by the Etherington’s, and no stone is being left unturned as they try to get their way.

I have discovered that as you read this (on Monday) the men from Redhall are rumoured to be in France trying to get the Catalan Dragons to change their minds and shift sides from the rebel Clubs stance to that of the RL. Some Clubs owe the RL money, others like Bradford are in their debt for approving their new owners and some like London are in such dire straits they’ll do exactly what they are told. I believe it’s not about what’s best or what the fans want, but rather about what Red Hall think is ‘good for us’, as we see the RL bulldozing their will through.

Here are for you all, the actual two proposals on the table at this moment.

Proposal 1- The Rebels Stance

SL1 and SL 2 to consist of 12 teams. Relegation and promotion to be re-introduced with one up one down

The play-offs to be top 5 with the winners of the League going straight to the final and the other 4 playing quarter and a semi final, to see who plays them in the Grand Final.

Proposal 2- The RL/Hetherington Stance

SL1 & SL2 both consist of twelve clubs who play each other home and away, plus one magic round making 23 games

SL1

After 23 games the top 8 of SL1 enter the play off stage where they play each other once, home or away (I would think the top four get four home games the bottom four three)

After this play off stage there are two Semi Finals and one Grand Final played between the top four placed teams to decide the SL winning team

SL2

The bottom 4 of SL1 and the top 4 of SL2 after 23 rounds all then enter an identical eight team play off stage giving a further seven games for the “second eight”

After these seven games the top 3 automatically go straight into SL1 for the next year.

The teams placed 4th and 5th play off in a one off relegation decider to decide who leaves SL

That’s the definitive position of the two camps as I write and I’ve checked them both out today (Sunday)

I've spent a few days in the last week contacting other fans and fans organisations across the League to get a feel for the debate that is currently going on. I have to say that some are just fed up with it all but of the others I have spoken to it’s interesting that the vast majority of fans, despite what the RL say, are very wary of the 8x8x8 stuff for 2015, or at the very least pretty suspicious of the Leagues motives. I guess it would be true to say in fact that from what I’ve seen and read on

message boards etc there is little appetite for the split and everyone much prefers the ‘rebels’ proposal.

Some will go for the new idea, but in general looking round the League message boards, many fans seem to be of the opinion that the RL are trying to foist a system on us that has been considered and discarded by both the Scottish FA and several other domestic football competitions across Europe. Some Clubs even appear to be telling the RL that their fans like the idea when in essence they are mostly all against it. Some have had open fans forums where the club’s have tried to persuade the fans to go with the new set up, while for me that shouldn’t be necessary if it’s such a good idea, because everyone would welcome it. The fans ain’t daft and they will buy into anything they genuinely think is good for the game, without having to be persuaded.

Personally myself I worry about the impact it will have on gates. It might increase attendances for the Div 1 Club’s who finish in their top 4, but the gates for the super league clubs who finish in the bottom 4 could well plummet in those last few games and fans could drift away and never return. I’m all for protecting the traditional Clubs and those struggling in the lower divisions, of course I am, but the whole thing seems to be hell bent on benefiting the Championship Clubs.

The whole structure of season tickets worries the fans too; how will you know what games you are paying for unless you have two season tickets one for the first 23 games and then another for the ‘play-off’s’? I can understand how some fans feel totally

disenfranchised from the process and believe that they will have something foist on them that is not in their or their Clubs best interest. It’s a real worry and I don’t know how you feel about it but for me the rebel’s idea best protects our interest as a Club and I find the other more complicated system a worry. However the RL are doing everything they can to push their scheme through and it appears that you, I and the rest of the long suffering fans of the greatest game in the world, will have absolutely no say in things at all.

Its Codgers time again and Billy Margieson a pal of mine in Beverley got all emotional the other night when we’d had a few beers and recounted how we had both once witnessed a Hull FC display that defied all the odds and was possibly one of the greatest performances most fans had ever seen. I have covered it before in here but not in great detail so apologies for that but here for Bill I revisit a ‘sports defining’ game from the great early 1980’s. You know there are in the life time of a sports fan those moments and matches that you remember forever, and a game in November 1983 was one such instance for both Bill and I. It was a match that the national Newspapers next day hailed as “Simply fantastic”, with the Daily Mirror stating that, “It could have been from a comic book, but this was real life and possibly one of the ‘great’ displays of all time, in any sport!” Big words indeed, but it was all that and more, particularly if you were with Bill and I at 5-00-pm on Sunday 6th November 1983. It was Coach Arthur Bunting’s ‘way’, back then when the team were playing in the West Riding, to take them for a light training session at Rothwell and an even lighter lunch in the local pub. Although Arthur was actually ill and this was to be the first of 6 games for which Assistant Coach Kenny Foulkes would take temporary charge, the same procedure was followed that day. That was however where the trouble started, as our charismatic

loose forward, Steve ‘Knocker’ Norton pulled up injured (on the training pitch, not in the pub) and was a late withdrawal from the starting line up. This left Foulkes with little option but to ask current hero and local character, Mick Crane, to captain the team and it turned out to be an inspired choice. By 3-30pm Wheldon Road was packed with the ‘FC Army’ as it made up around two thirds of an 8000 gate. So full was the West Stand, that I watched a game that is burned on my memory forever, stood with my pals on the South Terrace adjacent to the railway embankment. It was fast and furious from the off and if the first 31 minutes were exciting, the last 49 had to be seen to be believed. As coal trains rumbled by behind us, the first half hour was tight. Both sides were cancelling each other out and although Schofield made one 70 yard break only to be caught by Marchant, both teams kept the lid on things. After Fred Ah Kuoi was floored by a kick from Gary Connell, the Castleford player should have been sent off, but all he received was a lecture from the Referee Billy Thompson, but at least the ensuing penalty from Lee Crookes put us into the lead. It was however cancelled out by a Castleford penalty just four minutes later. Then in the 28th minute Paul Rose was subject to a brutal stiff arm tackle from Hyde, which saw a skirmish break out between both sets of forwards and it was obvious what was to happen next. Wileman got a blow to the head in the melee and came away rubbing it furiously and pointing at a Castleford player. As the home team moved the ball along their line, Ronnie Wileman stepped out of ours and ‘flattened’ Horton off the ball. The Castleford player lay on the ground and although Referee Thompson let play go on for almost a minute, he whistled when Castleford had got into our twenty five yard area and promptly sent Wileman off. It has to be said Ronnie deserved this dismissal but then, five minutes later, prop forward Trevor Skerrett followed him down the tunnel, as the referee lost control.

This was a completely uncalled for dismissal as Trevor lined up one of his famous big, but legal, hits on winger Steve Gill. He seemed to have timed it perfectly taking the Castleford player squarely across the shoulders but the referee immediately dismissed him for a high tackle. After the game Skerrett protested that he “Took him by the shoulders”, something that was borne out by the fact that Gill was later admitted to hospital with a dislocated collar bone. So Hull FC were down to 11 men against a team that was known as ‘Classy Cas’ because of their reputation for throwing the ball around and playing fast expansive rugby. Once the commotion had died down Beardmore coolly stroked over the penalty and we trailed 4-2. But Hull’s ‘Magnificent 11’ was not going to give in. As the adrenalin pumped and the self belief grew, they played like a team possessed and tackled everything as they formed an impenetrable line across the field. The Hull fans around us and across the other side of the ground were probably as loud that day as I have ever heard them and the lads responded brilliantly. As we tackled and tackled half time and a rest, grew nearer and nearer. However we could not have had a better boost when three minutes into added time, another big break by Schofield from 60 yards out, saw him tackled 30 yards from the Castleford line. At the play the ball Steve Evans rushed in, pushing Harkin away and scooped the ball up. He then chased his own kick and touched down wide out just before the ball rolled dead. Crooks missed the conversion but we still amazingly led 6-4 at half time. The break was a blessed relief for all the Hull fans, whilst the Castleford supporters smugly sipped their Bovril and looked forward to a landslide of points in the second half. Hull came out after the break determined to hold onto that lead and give nothing away. At the scrums we just packed down four players, although in fairness there were no forwards or back’s

just 11 determined heroes. On numerous occasions close to our ‘in goal’ area, backs O’Hara, Leuluai and Ah Kuoi took on the role of driving forwards, to clear our lines. Castleford started to get frustrated and just as Hull looked to be buckling, Hardy was dispatched to the sin bin for a blatant trip that was a far worse offence than the one Skerrett had been sent off for earlier. Coolly Crooks got us another two points and the lead was stretched to 8-4. From then on, it was all Castleford attacking, all Hull defending and all the ‘FC Army’ singing, as the place shook to ‘Come on you Hull’’ and we repelled attack after attack from Castleford. Props Crooks and Rose battled and tackled themselves to a near standstill with Crooks despite carrying a first half leg injury, never shirking a collision. In that last quarter Schofield pulled off 4 tackles that were top draw, whilst Kemble dealt with three towering ‘Up and Under’s’ from the boot of Bob Beardmore, and drove the ball back up field like an additional forward. At the helm of this terrific effort was Mick Crane who tackled, ran and ‘generalled’ the play as if his life depended on it. He was ‘Captain Fantastic’ as time after time he drove the ball at the home defence always making ground. These tactics led to a lot of the game being played in the hosts half and despite a big scare in the last minute when Hyde scythed through only for Proctor, Harkin and Kemble to hold him up over the line and push him back out to safety, our line held and we were home. When Ronnie Campbell finally blew the whistle Castleford probably heard the biggest cheer it had ever experienced from any group of visiting supporters, as our players fell to their knees and the FC fans went berserk, dancing, singing and cheering from the terraces. The Castleford’s players were clearly upset about their performance and Hull’s victory and many refused to shake hands with our players. In fact after the game, in the tunnel, Connell was sent off for swearing at the Referee. Even after a great journey home and a few pints back there was a last

surprise to come from the weekend’s heroics, because next day the Mail carried a story about how a disillusioned and injured Steve Norton, had announced his retirement (a decision he would thankfully reverse later that season).

So to this week’s thank-you’s, and firstly a big well done from me, to all those who came along to the Jack Harrison Memorial at the KC on Saturday, to witness the wreath laying ceremony to commemorate Remembrance Day. The Rev. Tony Cotson gave a great explanation of the significance of Jack and led the ceremony, while Alan James laid the wreath on behalf of the FC fans and the wonderful Airlie Brass sounded the last post and played a great version of ‘Old Faithful’. It was good to see the International match day co-ordinator there, along with Motu Tony and James Clark representing the Club.

My thanks this week also go to Allen Smalley, Barry Ward, Steve Kirkwood, Laura Cox, Sammo, James Noel, Steve Markham and Billy Thornton for taking the time to contact me as now we all look forward to the fixtures, more on the ‘Flying

Dustman’ and perhaps finding out who exactly that young scrum half is? Plus no doubt to the relief of all the sandwich and chip shops on Chanterlands Avenue, the boys are back to something like normal training this week at YPI, as “Ellis’s ‘Army’ are on their way”.....well...... we’ll see about that shall we? Thanks for reading another closed season edition of the Diary; it’s a sad time as we all mourn the passing of Prekkie! He was simply a top bloke who I cannot believe is gone. Time for the Steve Prescott Man of Steel Award me thinks!!

Faithfully Yours

Wilf