A Lad from Featherstone

                                                Original painting. Sheila Gibbons - The Chakra's  Every year, over 48,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK and 12,000 will die each year from the same. That means a man will die before I complete this blog. Men also account for 75% of all suicides in the UK but that’s for later. Movember is prostate cancer awareness month. The tradition is to grow a moustache. I'm told it's all to do with the chakra system. My late wife Sheila ran chakra balancing workshops, I was hooked. Chakra is a Sanskrit work which translates to wheel or disk. There are seven main chakra’s throughout the body, these are known as energy centres which control the invisible energy running through our body. Think of the body as a giant circuit board with seven junction boxes. The ch...

 When push came to shove, I turned Wigan Rugby League down. I went to Loughborough instead. It doesn’t go well.  Saturday 8 th November 2025, sat at my computer in Dad’s house in Bridlington's preparing for my creative writing workshop at Post Office Rd, Featherstone home of the famous Rovers, next Tuesday. Dad, Slam Lambert (has a wiki page) is 95 and just made a dash to the loo, 3 rd time today. He asks me to check is bum is clean, it is, I then clean up the mess This workshop is run by Ian Clayton, famous local author, who won the Sunday Times sports book of the year for WHEN PUSH COMES TO SHOVE [Yorkshire Art circus 1993] Just the kick up the bum I needed to put pen to paper, or mouth to Dragon software in my case. Loughborough colleges At the age of 16, I received (here somewhere) a letter to sign up for the mighty Wigan Rugby League team. Having tasted London -Twickenham- I wanted more, so dad politely replied saying we were going to put education first....

I'm halway through this lovely book by Ian Clayton. He takes me on a musical rolrcoaster ride all the way around the world from Featherstone and back to the sacred turf at Post Office Road. On Tuesday I meet him, as he is running a creative writing workshop as part of the Featherstone Rovers Foundation program of events. The will focus on Featherstone Rovers, the mines and life under the shadow of a bloody big muckstack of coal dust. My attempt at creative writing began in 2015. A lovely lady Tiggy ran a writing group in Dorset and I was an eager pupil. She helped me loads and edited a number of my early blogs, incuding this one.  I will bring it back to life for the workshop on Tuesday. Enjoy and have a good weekend. 31st December 1962. 17 Alexander Road,  Featherstone, West Yorkshire England I remember running my hand over her thigh and feeling the flesh above her stockings. I didn't know it was abuse.  I did know it was all my fault! It took the train eight hours eac...

Its true to say that without mum, dad and Featherstone Rovers I would not be putting 'pen to paper' this afternoon.  Let me take you back in time. July 1952. The newly married couple, Betty and Clifford Lambert, South Cliff, Bridlington, East Yorkshire. A photographer, Yorkshire Post, asked permission to take the photo. Clifford, second youngest player, Alan Tennant, the baby, on the field, had just taken part in the world’s first, live, televised game of Rugby League; the Cup Final,  Featherstone Rover V Workington Town at Wembley. The highlights were transmitted world wide on Pathe News, and now on YouTube.  Clifford, just turned 22, is flush with a newfound fame, seemingly impossible for a lad from a tiny mining town. He was just one of many, Lad’s from Featherstone, who would become the name of Rugby League throughout the world. Ask any rugby player, an code, union or league, if they have heard of Featherstone Rovers and they nod. If these Lads were racehorses, t...

May 1967. The Queen presents Malcolm Dixon with the Cup Please be patient... Friday 27th September 2025 Featherstone West Yorkshire.  I visited the Rovers stadium today, with a lovely Featherstone lass (let’s call her Jojo)  from Athens who has a truly amazing story, mine is nothing compared with her tales of life in Greece who ,five ft nothing at best, last week, flew from Athens to Heathrow, She left Athens early morning, landed at 9am, train to Paddington, crap circle line to Kings Cross, train delayed so missed direct train to Wakefield and 'crap connection' meant she finally arrived at Featherstone station early evening with a half mile walk to base camp. Yesterday Jojo marched up Station Lane, turned right at Post Office Road and asked to see whoever was charge of the superstore as she would like to buy a shirt for the oldest living Featherstone Rovers Legend, none other than Cliff (Slam); Heritage number 63, 1949 to 1962, appearances 376, tries 82, goals 3, Lambert....

 I can pay no better tribute to Normanton Grammar School than to share the words of Brendan Gallaher who succintly puts our days of ruling rugby sevens throughout the UK. Lambo's ego couldn't resist a taster.  'Then came the 1971-72 team which the Fesltonian itself describes as Normanton's greatest ever. That side was skippered by the remarkable Colin Lambert, a sprinter of national repute and son of a Rugby League [legend Slam Lambert] pro, who played for England U15 at No.8 before switching to the wing where he won England schoolboy honours for three successive seasons, the last of which saw him in­spire England to their first Schools Grand Slam' Hey ho, Lambo is so easily satiated. What Brendon said was... "NOT for the first time in this series we must sing the praises of a school that has sadly disappeared off the radar. There was a Bermuda Triangle in English Rugby during the late 70s and 80s during which too many great rugby schools disappeared, never to ...