Jonathon Dibb, 1974 - 2010, rest in peace

I'm sorry to report that yesterday was the funeral service of my first cousin's husband, held in Yorkshire.

Jennifer Dibb and her partner had a happy life together but he had some personal issues that only Johnathon could deal with.

When he committed suicide, it was a shock for all of us.

I still have a picture of them on my wall at their wedding day, held in south-west London.

It was at a registry office eight years ago and it was a happy day, proving you don't have to go to extraordinary lengths, such as employing a harpist, or ride on an animal, to mark such an important day.

It was John who also helped me focus on sports journalism and told me of his passion for football - soccer to you from the USA.

At least now, like the legendary performer Michael Jackson and the brilliant clothes designer Steve McQueen, I hope he's now finally free from the upheaval and misery in his life.

My condolences to his wife Jennifer and the rest of his immediate family.

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Producers of the film The Dammed United, about Brian Clough's ill fated tenure as manager at Leeds United, have apologised to a former football player and have paid him compensation over the way he was portrayed.

Defender Dave Mackay was viewed in the film as breaking a players revolt that was mounted at Derby County in 1973 in an attempt to get Clough reinstated following his resignation in an argument with chairman Sam Longson.

But Mackay was a player manager of Swindon Town at that time and had been since 1971.

This is by no means the first time a film has wrongly portrayed people and important situations.

William Wallace, aka Braveheart, was a lowlander, not a highlander.

The shoes worn by Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz were silver - Hollywood made them ruby red to show off it had finally mastered using colour - or as my American spellchecker keeps telling me, color.

I know this entry is short but I hope to be in contact with you soon.

Light and Peace

Andria

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It's no longer Posh!

That's the case regarding cash-strapped Portsmouth, as they've got the permission to sell players outside the transfer window.

Sadly it's what the Pompey board must to in order to ease their financial troubles, as the Premier League managers who have let the sale go through clearly realise.

There already having to deal with a 9-point penalty for going into administration, but there are a few rules, as noted in the Premier League statement:

1) Players may be sold to other Premier League clubs but may not play first-team football for the new club before the end of the season.

2) Players may be sold to a Football League or foreign club, subject to FIFA's approval.

3) Portsmouth may enter into an agreement with another Premier League, Football League or foreign club that a player will be transferred to that other club in the summer.

Sadly we all realise it's for certain 'The Posh' will be relegated but West Ham United, Burnley, Hull City, Wolves, Bolton and Wigan are all still in danger.

To make things worse, looking at the defeat they suffered at home to fellow strugglers Wolves 1-3, it's time to realise passing football doesn't cut it when you're facing a survival dog-fight.

I'm sure they don't want to end up like fellow London FC Millwall - they were booted out of top-flight football just when the Premier League started in 1991 and haven't been back since!

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I don't talk much about cricket and I hope this entry changes that.

Well done for England winning their match against Bangladesh.

Alastair Cook has ended his stint as captain with a full track record and two Test centuries.

At the same time, I do admire his honesty and his willingness to learn more and improve as a leader - something I wish we all could realise.

Mr Cook said after his victory: "...the captaincy had its moments. I now know how I need to get better as a captain, especially with my leadership in the dressing room."

I follow and keep internet articles from Rene Carayol, a man I interviewed for Pride magazine - he runs workshops on leadership which I find very fulfilling.

I still remember the words said by one of his guests, the Managing Director of Asda: "You can't change a culture overnight."

For years I kept beating myself up over why things have fallen apart in two placements where I worked my fingers to the bone - I regularly worked 18 hours a day for both, at a radio station and magazine simultaneously, especially since it was clear other members of their staff didn't know the law regarding journalism, that included a women who had trained with me more than five years before!

It was also clear that some, including the editors and the last staff writer, couldn't even spell.

But as the MD mentioned above said, if a certain culture exists, it's going to take time to remove it. If that behaviour benefits the owner and selected people, it's fair to say they will do everything to keep it that way.

I find it's best to just take a deep breath and go, knowing that you've done your duty - let the rest of them deal with the consequences of their own actions, whether they admit to it or not.

As demonstrated in the book, called the Lovely Bones by Alice Seabold (I won't mention the film version) justice finds its own way of dealing with people - call it God, Jesus or Karma.

So three cheers to Mr Cook for having the honesty and frankness to realise constant self-improvement is what we need to do, not just to be a better person but to really have a substance to give to the world.

Changing you name and location won't help if you're not prepared to change yourself, so if anyone wants to know more about Mr Rene Carayol, click here.


Until next time!

Andria