TOP 100 SPORT SITES
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| Hand of Thierry Henry easier to debate than young life abruptly lost By the time we meet next it will be 2010 and, if I may be granted one World Cup wish, it is that during the tournament we dwell less on the presence of Thierry Henry than the absence of Robert Enke. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |
Graeme Smith: dropping Makhaya Ntini is "sensitive issue" Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, has acknowledged that a decision on whether to drop Makhaya Ntini for the third Test against England at Newlands, which begins tomorrow, goes beyond purely cricketing issues. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |
Texas Stadium implosion set for April 11 The iconic Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Irving will come down April 11. feeds.bizjournals.com |
Victor Levitt obituary My father, Victor Levitt, who has died aged 91, will be remembered by those active in leftwing politics in north London before the second world war; at least two generations of schoolchildren whom he taught to swim; and many swimming coaches and teachers.He was born at the London hospital, now the Royal London hospital, in east London, to Jewish parents. By this time, his mother was in her mid-40s and suffering from ill health. His brother Fred had been born in Ukraine 18 years earlier, and a sister had died at 13. Another brother, Henry, was born in England in 1911 and became a leading trade union general secretary. The death of his father, when Vic was only 14, was made more bearable by Fred and his wife Rachel taking on responsibility for the family.In his teens Vic was politically active. He joined the Communist party and became a leading acolyte. His voice was heard almost daily at Spouters' Corner in Wood Green, north London, from the early 1930s onwards. He took part in anti-fascist demonstrations and was at the Cable Street riots in east London in 1936.Vic married Joclyn, my mother, four days after war was declared in September 1939, and he joined the RAF three days later. He passed a series of tests demonstrating outstanding aptitude as a potential pilot, but was repeatedly thwarted because of his activist history.Only after the MP for Wood Green asked questions on three occasions in parliament was Vic allowed to proceed to pilot training. He qualified among the elite at the RAF College, Cranwell, as a pilot and, unusually, also as a navigator. He ended the war as an instructor at Cranwell.Vic later qualified as a teacher. A passionate swimmer and born organiser, he persuaded the local council to create the new post of swimming teacher for the schools in Edmonton, north London, and to keep open the then Knights Lane swimming baths during the winter.The Edmonton swimming club was soon formed, as well as free summer holiday "learn to swim" campaigns for the public. Vic was also one of the founder members of the British Olympic Swimming Coaches Association. In 1970, he was appointed Hertfordshire county advisory teacher for swimming and he moved to St Albans.He retired in 1977 due to failing eyesight, but he and Joclyn kept busy with many local activities. They were members of the St Albans architectural and archaeological society. Vic was also a member of the St Albans probus club, for retired professional and businessmen, and of the Chiltern RAF aircrew association.When he was in his mid-80s, and registered blind, he researched and dictated his autobiography. It has just been privately published, aptly entitled Time to Call a Halt.I survive him, as do his daughters Freya and Vicki (we all became teachers), eight grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.TeachingSwimmingguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga fights back to reach Australian Open last four Jo-Wilfried Tsonga padded round and round in London in November, the reserve for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, like a bear chained to a post. Released and free in the first month of the new year, the Frenchman has wasted no time reminding the tennis world what makes him such a dangerous animal. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |