mjmooney Posted January 19, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted January 19, 2014 (edited) Sir Chris Chataway: Former British 5,000m world record holder dies Former British athlete Sir Chris Chataway has died at the age of 82. Chataway, who broke the 5,000m world record in 1954, is more famously remembered as the man who helped pace Sir Roger Bannister to breaking the four-minute mile barrier the same year. He was named the first-ever BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1954. Chataway, who also won the Commonwealth Games three miles title in 1954, was knighted for his services to the aviation industry in 1995. Athlete, journalist, MP "Christopher Chataway was a high achiever who excelled in a number of fields. An Olympic athlete and one-time world 5,000 metres record holder, he was also a television reporter, a Conservative MP and a government minister. Sir Chris Chataway's obituary Bannister led the tributes to "one of my best friends" who had been suffering from cancer for two and a half years. "He was gallant to the end," Bannister told BBC Sport. "Our friendship dated back over more than half a century. "We laughed, ran and commiserated together. People will always remember him for the great runner he was but it shouldn't be forgotten that he had an extremely distinguished career off the track. "My family and I will miss him sorely and our thoughts go out to his family and many friends who were so fond of him." Chataway was born in Chelsea on 31 January, 1931 and educated at Sherborne School in Dorset and, after National Service, at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he took an honours degree in politics, philosophy and economics and became president of the University Athletic Club. His career in international athletics lasted only five years with the pinnacle being in 1954 when he broke the 5,000m world record and won Commonwealth gold and European silver. He and Chris Brasher also paced Bannister to the first sub-four-minute mile but just one year on he was dividing his time between athletics andworking in the world of broadcasting. In September 1955, Chataway became the first newsreader on Independent Television, before finishing 11th in the 5000m at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. He then moved in to politics, working as a Conservative MP between 1959 and 1966 and rising to serve in positions as a Parliamentary Private Secretary and junior Education Minister. Chris Chataway (right) and Great Britain team-mate Derek Ibbotson battle in a three-mile race in 1956 Chataway was elected again in 1969 and served further ministerial positions. In 1974, Chataway retired from politics to concentrate on his business career, becoming managing director of Orion Bank in 1974 before leaving in 1988 to work as chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority. BBC athletics commentator Brendan Foster said: "Sir Chris was a real gentleman and an intelligent man. "As well as his sporting achievements, he was an expert broadcaster, politician and businessman. He was vice chairman of a London bank and chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority. He truly was a boys' own hero. "He was thrilled to be the first BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1954. It came after his 5000m world record was broadcast from White City with that one spotlight on him on the line as he beat European Champion Vladimir Kuts at White City. It brought the sport of athletics into people's living rooms." Roger Bannister (right) presents the Sportsview Trophy to Chris Chataway in 1954 Chataway's son Mark paid tribute to the resolve shown by his father in later life. "We were struck by his amazing qualities of humility and strength, especially in these last few years," the 53-year-old said. He also described his father as "a very compassionate and wise man" and said his father's passion for running remained with him in his advanced years. "He ran with a couple of my brothers in the Great North Run about three years ago, doing it in a very respectable time." He also completed the half marathon course of just over 13 miles in one hour, 38 minutes, 50 seconds at the age of 75 in 2006. Chataway is survived by his sons Mark, Matthew, Adam, Charles, Ben, his daughter Joanna, his wife Carola and his former wife Anna. BBC Edited January 19, 2014 by mjmooney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I can't imagine what it was like to live in B&W. I'm glad someone had the good sense to invent colour. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted January 19, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted January 19, 2014 It was OK actually. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post 8pints Posted January 19, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted January 19, 2014 It was OK actually. I imagine the hardest times were when you couldn't speak and had to write everything you wanted to say down or express your mood through jaunty piano music. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 they kept tying my nan to railway lines luckily 26 cops turned up on one car mind you, the piano's knackered now it's been down all those steps 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post mjmooney Posted January 19, 2014 VT Supporter Popular Post Share Posted January 19, 2014 The worst bit was back in Egypt, when we all had to walk sideways-on and speak in pictures. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8pints Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 What about when that Dutch Caveman kept showing off his Mustang all the time? Yeah I brought it up, deeeeeal Danny Weird guy, always trying to fit different coloured flint together in to the shape of people who kicked skulls between woolly mammoth tusks... Can we go further? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoony Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 The worst bit was back in Egypt, when we all had to walk sideways-on and speak in pictures. That reminds me of my favourite joke from back when I was an Ancient Egyptian: Owl sun reef reef sideways-lion snake? Eye bowl reef reef hand! Gets me every time 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted January 19, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted January 19, 2014 It's the way you tell 'em. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Davidson would be proud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drat01 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 The worst bit was back in Egypt, when we all had to walk sideways-on and speak in pictures. That reminds me of my favourite joke from back when I was an Ancient Egyptian: Owl sun reef reef sideways-lion snake? Eye bowl reef reef hand! Gets me every timeyour mummy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted January 28, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted January 28, 2014 Pete Seeger: US folk singer and activist dies aged 94 A look back at Pete Seeger's music career Continue reading the main story Related Stories Obituary: Pete Seeger US folk singer Pete Seeger diesListen In pictures: Pete Seeger US folk singer and activist Pete Seeger, whose songs included Turn! Turn! Turn! and If I Had A Hammer, has died at the age of 94. He died at a New York hospital after a short illness, his grandson said. Seeger gained fame in The Weavers, formed in 1948, and continued to perform in his own right in a career spanning six decades. Renowned for his protest songs, Seeger was blacklisted by the US Government in the 1950s for his leftist stance. Denied broadcast exposure, Seeger toured US college campuses spreading his music and ethos, later calling this the "most important job of my career". He was quizzed by the Un-American Activities Committee in 1955 over whether he had sung for Communists, replying that he "greatly resented" the implication that his work made him any less American. Seeger was charged with contempt of Congress, but the sentence was overturned on appeal. He returned to TV in the late 1960s but had a protest song about the Vietnam War cut from broadcast. The lofty, bearded banjo-playing musician became a standard bearer for political causes from nuclear disarmament to the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011. In 2009, he was at a gala concert in the US capital ahead of Barack Obama's inauguration as president. His predecessor Bill Clinton hailed him as "an inconvenient artist who dared to sing things as he saw them.'' Other songs that he co-wrote included Where Have All The Flowers Gone, while he was credited with making We Shall Overcome an anthem of resistance. Turn! Turn! Turn! was made into a number one hit by The Byrds in 1965, and covered by a multitude of other artists including Dolly Parton and Chris de Burgh. Seeger (l) performed at a rally for detente in 1975 Joan Baez and Bruce Springsteen honoured Seeger on his 90th birthday Seeger's influence continued down the decades, with his induction into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, and he won a Grammy award in 1997 for best traditional folk album, with Pete. He won a further two Grammys - another for best traditional folk album in 2008 for At 89 and best children's album in 2010. He was a nominee at Sunday night's ceremony in the spoken word category. He was due to being honoured with the first Woody Guthrie Prize next month, given to an artist emulating the spirit of the musician's work. 'Living archive' Musician Billy Bragg paid tribute to Seeger's life via Twitter: "Pete Seeger towered over the folk scene like a mighty redwood for 75 years. He travelled with Woody Guthrie in the 1940s, stood up to Joe McCarthy in the 50s, marched with Dr Martin Luther King in the 60s. "His songs will be sung wherever people struggle for their rights. We shall overcome." Mark Radcliffe, host of BBC Radio 2's Folk show, said: "Pete Seeger repeatedly put his career, his reputation and his personal security on the line so that he could play his significant musical part in campaigns for civil rights, environmental awareness and peace. "He leaves behind a canon of songs that are both essential and true, and his contribution to folk music will be felt far into the future." Pete Seeger collected three Grammy awards during his long career Seeger performed with Guthrie in his early years, and went on to have an effect on the protest music of later artists including Bruce Springsteen and Joan Baez. In 2006, Springsteen recorded an album of songs originally sung by Seeger. On his 90th birthday, Seeger was feted by artists including Springsteen, Eddie Vedder and Dave Matthews in New York's Madison Square Garden. Springsteen called him "a living archive of America's music and conscience, a testament of the power of song and culture to nudge history along". His other musical output included albums for children, while appeared on screen several times as well. A reunion concert with The Weavers in 1980 was made into a documentary, while an early appearance was in To hear My Banjo Play in 1946. The band, who had a number one hit with Good Night, Irene in the early 1950s, went their separate ways soon afterwards. Seeger's wife Toshi, a film-maker and activist, died aged 91 in July 2013. They leave three children. BBC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AValon Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 The worst bit was back in Egypt, when we all had to walk sideways-on and speak in pictures. That reminds me of my favourite joke from back when I was an Ancient Egyptian: Owl sun reef reef sideways-lion snake? Eye bowl reef reef hand! Gets me every time I suppose you had to be there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Heart in mouth time every time this thread gets bumped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted January 28, 2014 VT Supporter Share Posted January 28, 2014 Heart in mouth time every time this thread gets bumped. Why, in case it's you? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wainy316 Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Heart in mouth time every time this thread gets bumped. Why, in case it's you? Precisely. How much notice does this thread give? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 MR. SEEGER: I am not going to answer any questions as to my association, my philosophical or religious beliefs or my political beliefs, or how I voted in any election, or any of these private affairs. I think these are very improper questions for any American to be asked, especially under such compulsion as this. I would be very glad to tell you my life if you want to hear of it. Transcript of Seeger being interviewed at the House Un-American Activites Committee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Luis Aragones is no more. His Spain team in Euro 2008 were brilliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted February 1, 2014 Author Share Posted February 1, 2014 He did call Theirry Henry a very rude word though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted February 1, 2014 Moderator Share Posted February 1, 2014 You can't spell Aragones without gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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