Save Send Delete

Back in November I was contacted by a writer and professor in New Jersey named Danusha V. Goska, a former leftist who had begun posting powerful and personal articles about her political transformation. I interviewed her here, and subsequently she became a contributor to FrontPage Mag. She also happens to be the author of the novel Save Send Delete , which I recently read.

As powerful and as personal as her articles, Save Send Delete chronicles the intellectual love affair-by-email of Mira – a poor, Catholic professor – and Rand, an atheist author and celebrity. The tale is simultaneously a philosophical debate, an exploration of faith, and a passionate romance.

In my interview with Dr. Goska, she had explained that her novel was essentially her own true story, albeit with the names changed to protect the identity of the man who was once the object of her affection:

Several years back I was wrestling with the big, hard questions: Is there a God? Why is there suffering? I saw an atheist on TV and I sent him an email. To my great surprise, he wrote back. We corresponded for a year, debating the existence of God, and we fell in love.

Her novel grew out of that tempestuous intellectual affair between a confirmed atheist and a questing believer. But that intellectual bout is not as black-and-white as that might seem. “Save Send Delete isn’t a left-wing book or a right-wing book,” Dr. Goska told me. “It’s about confronting God and love and trying to dig down as deeply as possible for worthy, livable truth.”

The book opens with Mira emailing an outraged rant to Lord Randolph Court-Wright, a prominent philosopher, after she sees him interviewed by Bill Moyers on TV. She bluntly challenges his intellectual arrogance, calling him “as dogmatic in your atheism as a Monty Python parody of a pope.” To her shock and mortification, the celebrated philosopher responds graciously; Mira even suspects that it must be the work of a grad student reading Rand’s emails. And thus begins their conversation.

Mira is Christian because “Catholicism assured me that I had a place as good as any rich kid’s in the kingdom of Heaven… Inside a Catholic Church, I never doubted my worth. There was no reason.” Burdened at one point in her life with physical challenges, her faith gave Mira meaning to her suffering. “I approached every feature of my suffering: loneliness, pain, paralysis, despair, terror, rage, waste, poverty, as an obstacle on a course I was running for my own spiritual growth in the eyes of God – and nobody else. That choice was what made all the difference.”

Other than the Judeo-Christian tradition, Mira tells Rand, she knows of “no other narrative tradition where common, often peasant, women from two, and three, and four thousand years back, take on individual life and importance that outlasts the renown of kings.” On the other hand, she writes,

I don’t believe in a God who, the moment you cast your lot in with him, or read that bestseller about the power of positive thoughts, makes you happy, pretty, and rich. I do believe that there is a supernatural entity who can make you feel 100% better instantaneously, and his name is Satan.”

As for Buddhism, Mira tells Rand that, “like Merton, I’m grateful to embrace Buddhism’s gifts, like meditation, that don’t contradict my own beliefs.” But ultimately, “we humans are hot-blooded creatures, and Buddhism is as cold as empty space, and it demands that we be, as well, and we cannot.”

On the subject of Islam, Mira tells Rand that she didn’t learn about jihad from a book; she received a blunt education about it from a childhood Muslim friend named Narin, who told Mira calmly as they walked home from school together one sunny day “that when the time for jihad came, she’d kill me if I did not submit”:

The unchanging command that Muslim men must commit jihad and establish universal dominance is unique to Islam. No other world faith mandates the nonnegotiable, continuous and all-pervasive denigration of women and girls that has proven central to Islam… Islam allows no criticism, and, therefore, no growth, no change.

One of the reasons she revels in her correspondence with Rand is that, thanks to the “mind-crippling toxin” of politically correct education, she gets no intellectual stimulation from her functionally illiterate students or even from other professors: “It’s your feeeelings that matter most,” she says, scorning their vapid mindset. “There Are No Wrong Answers. Let’s all sit in a circle and make a communal collage expressing our anger at our enemy – rich, white, heterosexual, Christian, American men.”

In the process of their back-and-forth, Mira quickly finds herself becoming seduced; she confides to a friend that “it’s as if he knows what words I most crave to hear and is speaking them, one after another, in some order designed to move me to the maximum.” But the growing intimacy is not of a simple sexual nature: “He and I are not tearing off our clothing to reveal our nakedness, but, rather, we are revealing something far more intimate – our souls.” In doing so, she finds they are not so much opposites attracting as complementary halves:

He’s a glacier. I’m a blowtorch. His hyperrationality and stunted emotional life provide scaffolding. For once in my life I can lean back. There is finally a methodical, cold and rational yang out there equal and opposite to my arithmetically retarded, ever-exploring yin.

Mira’s world view is a reflection of Dr. Goska’s own, of course; they both categorically reject the deadly relativism of what Goska calls “capital A” Atheists who dismiss all religion as evil. Such relativism “has long been the thinking of mass murderers from the French Terror to the Khmer Rouge,” she stated in the interview.

Save Send Delete presents a compelling challenge to that absolutist mentality. It is a passionate, intellectually wide-ranging novel that wrestles with “the big, hard questions” and makes the case, as Dr. Goska put it, “not only for faith, but for civilization.”

*

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Al-Nusra Front launches website of facts about ISIS

The media wing of Al-Nusra Front in the Eastern Area of Syria has launched what it calls the “largest” website about the reality of ISIS.

In an inauguration speech posted on the front page of the website, Al-Nusra said the website had been launched “to clarify the oppression and aggression of ISIS against Muslims”.

“We collected the materials and the database about the scholars and posted them in a well-organised way to make it easy for the facts to be known. This is an effort made for the sake of Allah and for the sake of history.”

The website included a large number of articles, books, audio and video recordings about different issues relating to ISIS, including what Al-Nusra called: “ISIS’s violent massacres against the Muslims and Mujahidin in the Levant.”

It also included counter arguments for ISIS’s claims that they are the selected group of Muslims dedicated to the Islamic Caliphate

#OnThisBoroDay 2006: Boro beat Preston 2-0 to book a spot in the last eight of the FA Cup

Manchester United’s scare earlier this week showed that Deepdale isn't an easy place to go.

But Boro managed to avoid an FA Cup slip-up at Preston on this day in 2006 thanks to the sharpshooting of goal king Yakubu.

High-flying in the Championship, the Lilywhites welcomed Boro undoubtedly focused on proving their Premier League credentials as they chased promotion to the top flight.

But professional Boro did what they had to do step over the banana skin and book their spot in the last eight, but only Steve McClaren introduced a second striker at the break and took the game to the hosts.

It wasn’t pretty. The manager’s decision to start with five across midfield and Yakubu as the lone striker ensured Boro weren’t going to lose the battle, even if they had to grind out a result.

But as soon as the Yak was joined by Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink up top, the Nigerian front-man came to life, hitting two second half goals to fire Boro one step closer to the Millennium Stadium.

It was a case of the Premier League side doing what they had to do. Resilient at the back and clinical up top, the top tier class shone through in the end.

“We didn’t play well but we were hard to beat and we ground out the result,” said McClaren.

“When you’ve got that in your team, you’re in with a chance.

“Under a lot of pressure from Preston, from what little football we played we got two goals - and the result.”

The victory came at a price. Brazilian midfielder Fabio Rochemback hobbled off with an ankle injury and was facing weeks out of action.

McClaren admitted that was a blow with Boro still fighting on three fronts - the league, the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup - but he had the squad to deal with it.

“It was always going to be a tough game but we worked hard for the win,” said the boss.

“Credit to Preston. They were on a 25-game unbeaten run - and travelling back from Europe we knew it could be difficult at times.”

What a week. A 3-0 home win over Chelsea, a 2-1 victory at Stuttgart in the UEFA Cup knockout stage and a safe passage in the FA Cup.

Boro’s season was coming to life.

Poverty Doesn’t Cause Terrorism

So it turns out the Obama Administration does have a strategy for combating terrorists: give them jobs.

In a remarkable exchange with MSNBC’s “Hardball” host Chris Matthews on February 16, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said: “We cannot kill our way out of this war. We need in the medium to longer term to go after the root causes that leads people to join these groups, whether it’s a lack of opportunity for jobs, whether–we can work with countries around the world to help improve their governance. We can help them build their economies so they can have job opportunities for these people.”

Yet study after study of the motives of Arab and Muslim terrorists during the past two decades has found exactly the opposite

Between 1996 and 1999, relief worker Nasra Hassan interviewed nearly 250 Palestinians who either attempted to carry out suicide bombings, or trained others for such attacks, or were related to deceased bombers. She reported (in The New Yorker): “None of [the bombers] were uneducated, desperately poor, simple-minded, or depressed. Many were middle class and, unless they were fugitives, held paying jobs…Two were the sons of millionaires.”

The attacks on September 11, 2001, focused new attention on the causes of Islamic terrorism. The New York Times reported that the personal details concerning the hijackers had “confounded the experts.”

“They were adults with education and skill, not hopeless young zealots,” the Times said of the attackers. “At least one left behind a wife and young children…They were not reckless young men facing dire economic conditions and dim prospects, but men as old as 41 enjoying middle class lives.”

In 2002, Prof. Alan Krueger of Princeton and Prof. Jitka Maleckova of Prague’s Charles University studied the lives of 129 Lebanese Hezbollah terrorists who were killed in attacks on Israel. They found that as compared to other Lebanese, the Hezbollah members “were less likely to come from poor families and were significantly more likely to have completed secondary education.”

That same year, the Muslim writer Hala Jaber spent four days with Fatah’s Al Aksa Martyrs Brigade, which organized a number of suicide bombings. She found that their members were “educated [and] middle class.”

In 2004, Prof. Alberto Abadie of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government undertook a study of terrorists’ motives. When he started, he thought that “it was a reasonable assumption that terrorism has its roots in poverty.” By the time he was done, he had concluded that there is “no significant relationship” between the economic conditions in a given country and the rise of terrorists there.

So why is a State Department spokeswoman presenting job creation in the Arab world as the centerpiece of the administration’s strategy for combating ISIS?

And why do President Obama and his aides still stubbornly cling to the utterly unscientific idea that poverty causes terrorism?

Because in their hearts, they want to believe that we hold the key to ending terrorism in our own hands , so that ISIS can somehow be defeated non violently. That if we just give them enough financial aid (over $10 billion to the Palestinian Authority alone since 1994), they’ll stop stoning and bombing and burning and beheading us.

That’s what they think. But the evidence says otherwise.

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21 Syrians killed by pro-regime forces

Militias which support Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad killed 21 Syrians yesterday in the Rityan neighbourhood north of Aleppo, Al-Jazeera reported yesterday.

Medical sources confirmed that they received the bodies of a number of people who were killed with knives when Syrian regime forces and pro-regime militias raided several neighbourhoods.

The Syrian regime, supported by Hezbollah, Afghan and Iranian militias yesterday controlled the village of Bashkoy and attacked the Rityan and Hardatneen neighbourhoods in the north of Aleppo.

Al-Jazeera reporter Amro Halabi said that the regime forces, supported with militias, entered several villages around Aleppo in the early hours of the morning, attempting to reach the neighbourhoods of Nabl and Zahraa, which have been surrounded by opposition forces.

Syria Mubasher Network reported that the Shia Afghan, Iranian and Iraqi militias broke into Rityan and Hardatneen and carried out several crimes

Incredible India: Black magic, Superstition ruling Politicians

Black magic, vaastu, superstition: you name it; it’s an integral to Karnataka politics. The regular Indian fetish for astrology is being taken off the wall in this key southern battleground.

With the Janata Dal (Secular) allegedly performing black magic to conjure up a curse on the ruling Congress before extradite the party head office it had dwelled in the heart of the city for the past three decades to India’s Grand Old Party.

Yesterday, when Congress party workers cross the threshold of the premises, they were horror-struck to find lemon, vermilion, chilly and unidentified materials wrapped in red cloth. It is claimed they were terrified to enter the building till it was “purified” and is now planning a puja to nullify the effect of the alleged black magic.

The JD(S) had vacated the building the previous night, after losing it in a long-drawn-out legal battle to the Congress.

“Historically, black magic, superstition and Vaastu have been integral to Karnataka politics. Several leading politicians and CMs have tried to please the Dark Lord through pujas,” said political historian A. Veerappa.

Superstition and politics have often gone hand-in-hand in other states too. BJP workers in “unlucky” black clothes were not permitted to enter the venue on October 26 the previous year when Manohar Lal Khattar was being sworn in as CM.

Mohan Rawale, a Senior Shiv Sena leader and five-time MP from Mumbai, always dress in a yellow shirt during election campaigning, on the advice of an astrologer.

Islamic State might be harvesting organs: Top diplomat

Iraq’s ambassador to the United Nations asked the UN Security Council on Tuesday to look at allegations that the Islamic State group is using organ harvesting as a way to finance its operations.

Ambassador Mohamed Alhakim told reporters that in the past few weeks, bodies with surgical incisions and missing kidneys or other body parts have been found in shallow mass graves.

“We have bodies. Come and examine them,” he said. “It is clear they are missing certain parts.”

He also said a dozen doctors have been “executed” in Mosul for refusing to participate in organ harvesting.

Alhakim briefed the council on the overall situation in Iraq and accused the Islamic State group of “crimes of genocide” in targeting certain ethnic groups.

The outgoing UN envoy to Iraq, Nikolay Mladenov, told the council that 790 people were killed in January alone by terrorism and armed conflict.

Mladenov noted the increasing number of reports and allegations that the Islamic State group is using organ harvesting as a financing method, but he said only that “it’s very clear that the tactics ISIL is using expand by the day.” He used an acronym for the group.

He said Iraq’s most pressing goal is to win back the vast territory that the Islamic State group has seized in the past year. The Sunni militants seized a third of both Iraq and neighboring Syria and imposed strict Sharia law.

“Especially worrying is the increasing number of reports of revenge attacks committed particularly against members of the Sunni community in areas liberated from ISIL control,” Mladenov said.

Emmanuel Ledesma to clinch Brighton loan move, confirms Aitor Karanka

Aitor Karanka has confirmed that winger Emmanuel Ledesma will move to Championship strugglers Brighton on loan.

The Boro boss confirmed after his side's 1-1 draw at Birmingham that the Argentine will move to the Amex Stadium, meaning he has probably played his last game for the club.

Last month Karanka said that Ledesma was to stay on Teesside and see out his contract , which expires this summer.

But after seeing Mustapha Carayol come through 90 minutes of an Under-21 match yesterday , it seems Karanka has had a change of heart - and has given Ledesma his blessing to leave Teesside.

When asked if Ledesma was set to move to Brighton, Karanka said:" Yes. I have enough players in that position.

"For Manu to be here when he finishes his contract in the summer would not be fair as he needs to play. I hope he plays well for Brighton because he deserves all the best."

The flanker enjoyed a loan spell at Rotherham earlier this season, but a permanent switch failed to materialise.

Meanwhile Karanka admitted he was pleased with his side's second half display after earning a battling point at St Andrew's.

Aitor Karanka and Tomas Mejias

Boro were trailing 1-0 at the break after Paul Caddis' penalty, with Dimi Konstantopoulos sent off for bringing down Clayton Donaldson.

But 10-man Boro rallied and levelled through Patrick Bamford - a result that sees them go one point clear at the Championship summit.

"We are top of the table and we now have to defend our position there," Karanka said.

“I have told the players I am proud of them and we deserve to be there but we have achieved nothing yet.

"We were bad in the first half but we were much better in the second half.

“I was far away from the penalty and I would prefer not to talk about the referee.”

Picture gallery and Philip Tallentire's five observations after Boro's draw at Birmingham

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Boro battled away and put in a superb second half display to grab a point at St Andrew's.

Boro editor Philip Tallentire offers five observations from the game:

1) This team doesn't know when it's beat. Boro were awful in the first half and lacked cohesion in the second but nevertheless dug deep to somehow create an equaliser despite playing with 10 men for 45 minutes (plus six minutes of stoppage time).

2) Aitor Karanka's decision to switch to a 4-4-2 didn't work in the opening 45 minutes. Boro looked disjointed and resorted to hitting long balls that were easy for City to intercept. Whether it would have worked after the break we'll never know due to Dimi Konstantopoulos's sending off.

3) Dimi Konstantopoulos can't have too many complaints about being sent off though he was unlucky to be left exposed as result of Ben Gibson's stray pass. It's arguable, though, that he needed to try and reach the ball because in real time it looked as though Clayton Donaldson's touch was heavy as he rounded the keeper and would have struggled to reach if before the Boro keeper had recovered his position.

4) Ben Gibson making any sort of a mistake is a rare event this season. By his own admission he needed to cut out the rash challenges and lapses of concentration that occasionally happened last season. The remarkable reduction of bookings he has received during the current campaign compared to last season is evidence that his game has improved to the point where he's been one of this season's star players. In fact, he was Boro's best player until the penalty incident.

5) In the second half, 10 man Boro lined up in a 4-4-1 formation with Patrick Bamford leading the line. sure enough, it was Bamford who grabbed the equaliser and sent Boro top.

Recap: Birmingham v Boro at St Andrew's

Sunday’s FA Cup humbling at Arsenal ended Boro’s six-match winning run, but top spot remains in reach after a scintillating Championship run.

Aitor Karanka’s side know victory at St Andrew’s will see them return to the summit and would be a sixth straight league success.

After cruising clear of the relegation zone following Gary Rowett’s arrival, Birmingham’s league form has stuttered in recent weeks.

The Blues go into tonight’s game without a win in their last six matches, but they have drawn four of those.

Birmingham 1 Boro 1: Full time match report

CLICK STATS TAB ABOVE FOR MATCH OVERVIEW (desktop website only)

BORO clawed from behind to grab a nervous 1-1 draw and claim top spot in the Championship.

Aitor Karanka's side were subdued, shapeless and scrappy in a poor quality first half and were punished for a defensive error as keeper Dimi Konstantopoulos was sent off trying to deal with a poor back pass and Paul Caddis scored the resulting penalty.

But the ten men looked brighter and more urgent after the break and while it still wasn't a classic Boro forced a leveller through Patrick Bamford.

There was a tense finish but Boro held on to nudge one point ahead of summit rivals Derby and Bournemouth.

Boro made four changes from the side that lost 2-0 in the FA Cup at Arsenal as Dimi Konstantopoulos, Adam Forshaw, Emilio Nsue and Jelle Vossen came in for Tomas Mejias, Adam Clayton, Albert Adomah and Kike.

It was Nsue's first action of the year after spending most of January on African Cup of Nations duty with Equatorial Guinea.

Boro attacked from the off and almost went ahead in the second minute as a quick break sent Forshaw storming forward to the edge of the box and slot a ball to his right for over-lapping Nsue to take a touch then drill in a low angled shot that keeper Randolph finger-tipped behind for a corner.

Soon after another Forshaw ball out wide picked out Nsue who darted forward to win a corner.

That was cleared but Kenneth Ormeruo picked up the loose ball and sent George Friend wriggling into the box from the left but he was crowded out.

Birmingham's first chance came on six minutes as Caddis sent Shinnie through the middle but he sent his long range speculative effort fizzing yards wide.

They went closer on 10 minutes as Shinnie again found space to dart through the middle and this time his low shot sent Dimi Konstantopoulos full length to push behind for a corner that was easily dealt with.

Boro pressed as Lee Tomlin first picked out out a Patrick Bamford run on 11 minutes then when the ball was played back another deft chip by the midfielder into the box for Jelle Vossen was nervously bundled out for a corner which Ben Gibson headed wide.

On 15 minutes Boro picked to the edge of the Blues box with a good move that found Grant Leadbitter in space but with the shot beckoning he sprayed it out wide to the right for Nsue who failed to control and a defender stole in to clear.

Then on 17 minutes Boro almost broke through as Ryan Fredericks sprinted down the right and put in a low cross that skidded past two defenders before the the keeper collected with Bamford closing in.

Boro were almost in trouble on 20 minutes when Forshaw dawdled and was robbed 30 yards out and Donaldson played a one-two with Gray to get into the box but alert Gibson made a well timed tackle as he shaped to shoot.

Birmingham won a corner on 23 minutes but ex-Boro man Jonathan Grounds fouled as he climbed for a header that he powered over.

Then from another corner soon after Grounds pounced again in a scramble but his stabbed shot deflected wide off Nsue for another flag-kick that was cleared.

There was a brief flare-up between the two benches on 26 minutes after Vossen and Gleeson tangled chasing a loose ball.

City threatened again on 28 minutes as a ball into the box was charged down and looped to the edge of the box where Caddis rifled a low shot that bounced up into the arms of Konstantopoulos.

Then on 31 minutes Gray wriggled into the box from the right with Gibson on his tail then when he fired to the near post the ball deflected just outside the post off Leadbitter.

And as Boro failed to clear the corner there was a scrum before Spector poked a shot goalwards that was blocked by Gibson.

Boro almost got lucky as a poor keeper's clearance screwed to Tomlin but with the shot beckoning he opted to pass it and City quickly reorganised and the moment was gone.

Birmingham again piled on some pressure and in a chaotic spell in the Boro box first Gibson then Vossen had to head away after

On 40 minutes City's Cotterill was booked for delaying a free-kick.

But Boro were punished for their shaky spell on 42 minutes when a underhit back-pass by Gibson sent Donaldson sprinting into the box and Konstantopoulos dived in to save at his feet and skittled the striker.

The Greek keeper, injured in the process, was sent off after treatment. Boro sent on sub keeper Tomas Mejias for Vossen but he never got near the spot-kick which was hammered home by PAUL CADDIS in stoppage time.

HALF-TIME: BIRMINGHAM 1 BORO 0

Boro started brightly after the break and got the ball forward with more urgency and picked and probed down both flanks but were struggling to get the final ball into the box.

But there were still some nerves at the back as they left space when they pushed forward and a string of Birmingham high balls were cleared nervously in a scrappy start.

On 55 minutes Fredericks was booked for a body-check on Gray.

Birmingham's Davis had lengthy treatment before limping off on 60 minutes with Reilly coming on.

City won a corner and when it was swung into the crowd Grounds climbed highest to put in a looping header that Mejias tipped over then when a second flag-kick came in if fell to Donaldson 12 yards out but he couldn't control and Leadbitter pounced to clear.

Then Cotterill blazed a 25 yard free-kick high over for City.

On 62 minutes Albert Adomah came on for Nsue.

Boro had the ball in the net on 66 minutes as a high ball was nodded down by a defender and Friend barged him off the ball and slotted it into the box for Adomah to dart through and poke it against the post then bury the rebound but the offside flag was already up.

The Boro fans were screaming for a penalty a minute later as Robinson crashed into the back of Bamford as he jumped to control a cross but the referee waved play on.

On 69 minutes Birmingham put on Dyer for Gray.

Boro continued to press forward and Birmingham were forced to defend for a spell.

And Boro clawed level with a well worked goal on 74 minutes as Tomlin picked out PATRICK BAMFORD on the edge of the box and he played a one-two with Leadbitter to find space then rifled a low shot under the keeper to put Boro top of the league.

Boro were back on the attack two minutes later as a Tomlin ball in was scrambled away but over-lapping Fredericks scooped up the loose ball and raced to the byline to put in a cross that was nervously bundled away.

On 77 minutes City put Thomas on for Shinnie.

Boro again built up some pressure and went close on 83 minutes as a goal-bound Tomlin shot was deflected behind for a corner.

On 85 minutes Boro put Adam Reach on for Tomlin.

On 88 minutes Adomah booked for a foul on Grounds.

Birmingham then had a spell of possession but Boro kept them at arms' length – although when the ball did get into the box there were some nervous moments.

Birmingham should have sealed it deep in stoppage time when a Caddis cross sailed into the box for unmarked Donaldson but he headed over from close range.

At the death Omeruo was booked for a thundering tackle on Gleeson.

BORO: Dimi, Fredericks, Omeruo, Gibson, Friend, Leadbitter, Forshaw, Nsue (Adomah 62) Tomlin (Reach 85), Vossen (Mejias 45), Bamford Subs: Clayton, Husband, Whitehead, Kike.

BIRMINGHAM: Randolph, Caddis, Spector, Robinson, Grounds, Davis (Reilly 60), Gleeson, Cotterill, Shinnie (Thomas 77), Gray (Dyer 69), Donaldson. Subs: Doyle, Novak, Kiernan, Zigic.

Ref: David Coote (Nottinghamshire)

Att: 15,101 (1,258 Boro fans)

Stockton paedophile caught by a vigilante group who snared him in online grooming trap

Gazing into a camera, this is a Teesside paedophile who was tricked into thinking he was meeting a 14-year-old girl.

Pervert John Rudd, from Stockton, was snared on Newcastle’s Millennium bridge by vigilantes from Dark Justice.

The 57-year-old was stunned to see the two men waiting to greet him, instead of the teenage girl he met online.

Rudd thought he was meeting a 14-year-old called Donna after chatting to her on online dating website Badoo.

He initially thought the profile belonged to an adult woman but continued having sexual conversations when he was told he was underage, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

And he couldn’t refuse the chance to meet up when the girl told him her mother was away.

But Rudd was trapped on film by two men from Dark Justice, who turned up to shop him to police.

He admitted attempted to meet a child following sexual grooming and appeared at Newcastle Crown Court on Wednesday.

Prosecutor Alec Burns said: “The case is a little unusual in that the actual people with whom he was communicating were two men in their 20s, members of a group Dark Justice.

“They effectively set up a trap to trap paedophiles.”

Rudd asked questions about the girl’s underwear and suggested she wear none when they met up, Mr Burns added.

Rudd, of Appleton Road, Eastbourne estate, in Stockton, initially thought he was chatting to a 19-year-old woman.

He was granted bail and will be sentenced in March.

John 'Husky' Petch of Dormanstown collapses in Teesside County Court

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A pensioner who is locked in a legal battle with a council was taken to hospital after collapsing in court.

John “Husky” Petch is said to have been found collapsed in the toilets of Teesside County Court after learning that Redcar and Cleveland Council planned to go ahead with selling off his belongings.

The 66-year-old was evicted from the council-owned Westfield Buildings, just off The Green in Dormanstown, in November last year following a two-year battle.

The retired steelworker had had the use of the buildings for the last 15 years and used the site to store his collection of old farm machinery.

As a result, the pensioner is now attempting to overturn an injunction issued in 1999 banning him from storing anything in the garden of his home, also in Dormanstown, as he now has no where to move his large collection to.

“At the hearing, the council mentioned they wanted to go ahead with selling off his machinery regardless of the injunction,” said Steve Turner, who has been campaigning alongside Husky.

“Husky was beside himself and went off to the bathroom where he collapsed - thinking he was having a heart attack.

“An ambulance was called and was blue-lighted up to James Cook.

“Luckily he is OK. Doctors said the stress of the situation had got to him and that’s why he had collapsed.”

“Husky is in a Catch-22 as the council are saying he has to move his collection but he has no where to move it to,” added Steve.

“It has been stressful for him.”

Peter Reimann/The Gazette

'Husky' Petch is evicted from his building in Dormanstown

The hearing on Tuesday was also faced with another situation after Husky’s legal advisor was arrested the night before on suspicion of attempted burglary when he went to look around the compound to help the case.

As a result, he missed the start of the hearing as he was still in custody.

“He wanted to look around the depot because he had never seen it before,” said Steve.

“But the security guard called the police and he was arrested.”

Cleveland Police confirmed an arrest had been made and that the 34-year-old was later released without charge.

A council spokesman has also confirmed that the legal action will continue.

A spokesman for the authority has reportedly said: “Mr Petch has previously been served with notice requiring him to remove his belongings from the premises and the adjournment doesn’t affect that position.”

The hearing was adjourned until March 23.

Holders Guisborough see off York City to reach North Riding Senior Cup Final

Reigning champions Guisborough will play Middlesbrough or Scarborough Athletic in the North Riding Senior Cup Final.

The Priorymen booked their place in this season’s showpiece - which will be played on a date and at a venue to be decided - following a 2-1 home win against York City.

Scarborough Athletic booked a semi-final clash against Boro after blowing away Thornaby 11-1 in a one-sided quarter-final at Queensgate in Bridlington.

Guisborough took the lead against York after only three minutes through Connor Smith, although they were unable to make their first half supremacy count further.

City’s Adam Morley headed a 77th minute equaliser but substitute Nathan Steel fed the ball to Curtis Round to score the Guisborough winner three minutes from time.

Northern League Division Two Thornaby were always facing an uphill task against Scarborough Athletic, who are fourth in an Evo-Stik First Division North table containing Darlington and Spennymoor.

Without a string of key players, it turned into mission impossible for the visitors as the gulf between leagues quickly became apparent.

Jimmy Beadle found the back of the net four times for free-wheeling Scarborough.

Ged Livingstone scored the Thornaby goal when they were 8-0 down.

Live: Birmingham v Boro at St Andrew's

Sunday’s FA Cup humbling at Arsenal ended Boro’s six-match winning run, but top spot remains in reach after a scintillating Championship run.

Aitor Karanka’s side know victory at St Andrew’s will see them return to the summit and would be a sixth straight league success.

After cruising clear of the relegation zone following Gary Rowett’s arrival, Birmingham’s league form has stuttered in recent weeks.

The Blues go into tonight’s game without a win in their last six matches, but they have drawn four of those.

Anthony Vickers: 'The promotion race is already a pressure cooker - now Boro must turn up the heat'

And so we reach a pivotal point in the season. A delicious moment of possibility.

Boro go to Birmingham tonight in their game in hand and victory will take them three precious points clear of the three-way split of the summit.

Then Boro kick-off early on Saturday in a significant semi-derby ding-dong with Leeds. Victory then as well could take Aitor Karanka's side six points clear before Derby and Bournemouth play again.

The Championship race is already a pressure coo

ker. This week Boro can turn the heat up dramatically on Derby and Bournemouth.

If Boro can win these next two games the entire dynamic of the promotion battle will change. Boro will have a massive advantage.

The chasers won't be able to overhaul them, even if Boro do slip up in one game - but any mistakes in the cut-throat pack may be punished harshly.

Ipswich and Watford are still just one win behind and Norwich are closing fast. The pressure really is on now. Will Derby and Bournemouth crack?

Kike rues a missed chance

Both sides have tough games coming up. Bournemouth must go to brooding Brentford on Saturday for instance.

The Bees have had a turbulent week of behind the scenes in-fighting over the future of manager Mark Warburton and have dropped out of the top six.

They know that a defeat could torpedo everything they have worked for and will want to "do it for the boss." A Brentford win, or even a draw, would dent the Cherries badly.

But thinking about ourselves, tonight Boro have the opportunity to reshape the landscape and psychology at the top end of the table against a side once more rocked by boardroom chaos . Victory will give them the initiative.

They will be the front-runners, the ones to catch. Promotion will be in their own hands. They have a strong squad with plenty of options, a surging spirit and are top of the form table.

A draw will put them top but leave them looking over their shoulders laughing with glee as they break free.

Of course, Boro could lose. There could be an Arsenal hangover . But I don't think so.

Aitor micro-manages situations very carefully. He gave the team Los Hairdryos' on Sunday and let the team know they had let themselves down - but lifted them again quickly by offering them a swift chance to redeem themselves in the priority games coming up and that he expected a dramatically improved display. Or else.

They were refocused before they left the Emirates. They have spent two days at the Chelsea training complex recharging their batteries and preparing for this pivotal moment. They know the stakes. They will be up for it.

There is still a long way to go even if Boro take do take the six points. There is still the "Week of Destiny" in mid-March when Boro play Ipswich at home and Derby and Bournemouth away.

Some fans have been fretting about those fixtures for weeks. But we could be well clear by then. We could have a cushion.

In each of those games a draw will be enough while the opposition will need to attack. Tactically that will suit Boro.

You can trust Aitor to deal with that.

Former teacher admits string of sexual offences against children

A former schoolteacher is facing a long prison sentence today after he admitted a string of sexual offences against children.

White-haired Alan Alfred Medd - described as a “predatory sex offender” - has finally been brought to justice having molested four children decades ago.

The 76-year-old was told to “expect a substantial sentence” for a total of 21 child sex offences at Teesside Crown Court.

Last month Medd, whom The Gazette understands is a retired teacher, pleaded guilty to nine offences of indecently assaulting a boy under 14 in the 1990s.

Today he pleaded guilty to 12 more offences against three more victims, all under 13, dating back to the 1980s and 90s.

Medd admitted five charges of indecent assault and one of indecency with a child relating to a young girl.

He also admitted four counts of indecent assault on a young boy and two counts of indecent assault on another boy.

Medd, of Londonderry Road, Newtown, Stockton, could not be sentenced for his crimes straightaway and will be sentenced on March 2.

Teesside Crown Court

Prosecutor Richard Bennett said the Crown would seek up-to-date personal statements from the victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

The prosecution will also consider whether Medd needs a sexual offences prevention order to protect children in future.

Mr Bennett added: “It seems to the Crown he’s a predatory sex offender who chooses young children as a victim.

“We need to look at the potential future risk.”

Judge Peter Bowers bailed Medd, formerly of Billingham, on condition that he does not approach prosecution witnesses.

He told the defendant: “Mr Medd, I appreciate that in some ways you would like to get this matter over and done with, but I think justice which is dealt with quickly is not justice.

“I would rather have somebody reflect on it properly before sentencing you.

“You’ve got bail in the meantime, but obviously you can expect a substantial sentence.”

A woman was heard to say “rot in hell lad” to Medd as he walked out of the courtroom.

Govt will not allow any group to incite hatred

The Prime Minister, who has been accused by opposition and Christian groups of turning a blind eye to a string of recent attacks on five churches and a Christian school in Delhi, said his government “gives equal respect to all religions”. “My government will ensure that there is complete freedom of faith and that everyone has the undeniable right to retain or adopt the religion of his or her choice without coercion or undue influence.

“My government will not allow any religious group, belonging to the majority or the minority, to incite hatred against others, overtly or covertly. Mine will be a government that gives equal respect to all religions,” he said at a function here.

In a stern warning to fringe elements, he said, “We cannot accept violence against any religion on any pretext and I strongly condemn such violence. My government will act strongly in this regard.”

“World is increasingly witnessing division and hostility on religious lines, this has become a matter of global concern. In this context the ancient Indian play of mutual respect for all faiths is now beginning to manifest in global discourses,” said the Prime Minister.

Observing that the world is at crossroads, he said if not crossed properly it “can throw us back to the dark days of bigotry, fanaticism and bloodshed”.

He further said that this harmonious convergence among religions could not be achieved even when the world entered the third millennium.

'It won't happen again', says owner of pub caught watering down drinks

The owner of pub which was caught watering down its drinks says he was out of the country at the time.

Edmund Smyth also said that there would not be a repeat of the matter at The Zetland Hotel in central Middlesbrough.

As reported earlier today, representatives of the pub were fined after it was caught watering down its vodka.

The Zetland, in Zetland Road , had been adding water to bottles of Chekov Vodka.

Enviromental health officers from Middlesbrough Council took samples of the drink on display.

And tests showed that eight bottles of Chekov Vodka were half filled with water resulting in 40-50% reduction in the amount of alcohol.

The tests were carried out following a complaint from a member of the public.

Tests also showed that a bottle of Jagermeister had been substituted with Messer Schmitt - a cheaper alternative.

Jagermeister has an alcohol strength of 35% while Messer Schmitt is 22%.

The Zetland Hotel

Appearing before Teesside Magistrates , pub owner Mr Smyth admitted selling alcoholic drinks that were not of the substance demanded and falsely describing the drinks contrary.

He told the Gazette after the case: “The pub was visited by the council in January 2014 while we were out of the country.

"We have run this pub for 29 years and have been visited by the council numerous times and have always have a good rapport with them.

"As owner, I accept responsibility for what has happened.

"We have dealt with this matter, and it will not happen again.”

Pub manager Dawn Chapman was also charged with the same offences.

The case against co-owner Maureen Smyth has been adjourned.

Edmund Smyth was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £1,424 towards the council’s costs, plus a £20 victim surcharge.

Dawn Chapman was fined £400 and was ordered to pay £100 towards the council’s costs plus a £20 victim surcharge.

Her personal licence was also revoked by the court.

50 jobs created as new home care service is launched in Teesside

A new home care service is being launched in Teesside, bringing 50 new jobs to the region.

Pin Point Health and Home Care was founded over five years ago and provides healthcare across the North-east.

Last month the company decided to extend provision to Teesside and North Yorkshire.

Care manager Julie Haley said they can offer home care to “anyone who needs support” aged 18 upwards.

“We are looking to recruit around 50 staff to support the launch of our new homecare provision,” she said.

“This is really exciting for me especially as I have lived in Middlesbrough all my life.

“We are looking for people both with experienced in homecare and also people that have little or no experience but a true passion to make a difference to someone’s life.”

She said full training will be put in place for all successful applicants.

The company, which is based at Boho Six on Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough, can be contacted on 01642 772134 or email homecare.teesside@pin-point.co.uk.

Two Teesside headteachers appointed to national roles supporting other schools

Two Teesside headteachers have been chosen for top national roles supporting other schools in challenging circumstances.

Jane Wilson, executive principal of Brambles Primary Academy in Brambles Farm and of Dormanstown Primary Academy, Redcar, and Katrina Morley, principal of Pennyman Primary Academy in Ormesby, are two of 137 headteachers to be appointed to the roles of National Leader of Education (NLE) in the latest recruitment round.

NLEs along with staff in their school - designated a National Support School - use their success and professionalism to provide additional leadership capability in other schools.

Pupils at Brambles Primary School and Pennyman Primary School became the first primary school youngsters to be educated at academies when the two schools converted in September 2012.

NLEs are deployed to suit the needs of each school needing support, or to those in transition to federation or academy status. The type of support provided is flexible and can often involve NLEs becoming executive headteacher. They also have responsibility for bringing on the next generation of NLEs and National Support Schools.

Jane, who has been a headteacher for six years, said: “It’s really nice to be able to help new headteachers coming in. The local authority does a great job but there just aren’t the number of people there used to be, so there isn’t as much support as there was when I became a head.

“I just think it’s really exciting news for the area. It’s reinforcing to parents that there is some really good work going on in Middlesbrough to improve things for all of our children.”

Many NLEs report improved exam results at the schools they support, as well as their own.

Charlie Taylor, Chief Executive of the National College for Teaching and Leadership, said: “It’s great that heads like Jane Wilson and Katrina Morley are willing to look beyond their own school gates to help more and more pupils achieve. We have over 1,000 National Leaders of Education and their efforts are at the heart of a self-

improving, school-led education system.

“School-to-school support is having a growing impact with benefits for both the schools being supported and those providing the support.”

Revealed: Readers' favourite Chinese restaurant in the Teesside area

It’s Chinese New Year tomorrow!

And what better way to celebrate than being named Gazette readers' favourite place to pick up a Chinese meal?

We can officially reveal Sunflower Chop Suey House in North Ormesby, Middlesbrough, took the honour.

Owner Man Tung Lee was absolutely thrilled that a third of our readers chose his takeaway to pick up the title.

Known as ‘Lee’ by his loyal army of customers, the 48-year-old said: “I have been working here since I was 16.

“My father taught me to respect my customers as it’s them who are your bread and butter - if you don’t then they will just come and try you once and that’s it.”

Lee’s father Chit Lee, 80, started the business in 1972.

“He started the business off with £5 in his back pocket,” explains Lee, whose restaurant is in Kings Road.

“Without him the business wouldn’t be here.

“We have got so many loyal customers and we are most famous for our curry sauce.”

Owner Man Tung Lee (with food) and some of his staff

Dad-of-two Lee runs the business with his wife Yuk Mui Lee, 47, and sister Yvonne Oi Ling Liu, 50.

“I’m just so please about this," said Lee.

“It’s so nice to be thought about in the top list but to win the competition altogether is amazing.”

Lee, who lives near his takeaway, added: “I couldn’t make this happen without my staff.”

More than 2,700 votes were cast after we revealed a shortlist based on readers' own social media suggestions.

The Saigon in Teesville came in second place with a fifth of the votes cast.

Peking Garden, Stockton, came in third with 19% and Ling Yan, Acklam, was fourth with 10%.

Imperial City, Teesside Park, in fifth place with 7% of the votes, The New King Wah, Fishermans Square, Redcar was next on the list, coming in at sixth place with 6% of the votes.

Lucky Dragon, Linthorpe, was in Gazette reader’s seventh favourite Chinese eaterie on Teesside - bagging 5% of the votes.

Now see where Gazette readers voted as their favourite Indian restaurant

India PM to auction controversial suit bearing his name

The infamous suit Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wore when he met US President Barack Obama in India is to be sold at auction to raise money to clean the Ganges River.

The prime minister was mocked for narcissism after wearing the bespoke wool suit with the words “Narendra Damodardas Modi” woven into it in tiny letters when he met the Obama in New Delhi last month.

It will go on sale, along with more than 450 other gifts the Indian premier has received, in a three-day auction that starts on Wednesday in the city of Surat in Modi’s home state of Gujarat, organisers said.

“These items are gifts that the PM received since he took charge … the items that will be auctioned include his pinstriped suit,” Milind Toravane, Surat municipal chief and organiser of the event, told the AFP news agency.

Toravane said no reserve had been set for the suit.

The money will go towards the clean-up of the Ganges, a pet project of Modi, who has described the pollution of the sacred river as a national shame.

It is not the first time Modi has auctioned off gifts for charity. When he was chief minister of Gujarat, he gave away some 18,000 items, raising more than $3m for girls’ education.

Your School: Bader Primary School, Thornaby

VIEW GALLERY

School:  Bader Primary School

Address:  Kintyre Drive, Thornaby

Headteacher:  Simon Feasey

What are your school aims/policies?  Bader Primary school is a school that is determined to cause learning for every single one of its learners. Our school is made up of a community of learners; learners who collaborate to ensure that learning is social, engaging and real. Our teachers are committed to designing learning, seeing learning through the eyes of our pupils and helping them to become their own teachers.

What were you rated in your last Ofsted?  Good in all areas

Do you have a school council? If so, what are they currently working on? We have an elected school parliament, made up of our Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, six ministers (culture, sport, learning, community, environment, charity) + four junior ministers. Our parliament sits on a weekly basis. Mr Feasey and Miss Cant are joint-speaker of the House. We run our parliament in a way that helps us better understand democracy and the rule of law. Members, for example, put Bills before the House, to be debated, if looking for change of practice in school.

What after school clubs do you run?  Gymnastics, golf, cross country, netball, football, multi-skills, dance, performing arts, lego-scratch, craft club, homework club

Tell us something we didn’t know about your school?  Pupils in our school learn Latin. Latin is often considered to be a language which lacks relevance to the modern world, however nothing could be further from the truth. Two thirds of English vocabulary has roots in ancient Latin or ancient Greek.

Before and after: How empty Middlesbrough homes are being renovated in £2m project

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A further 50 run-down Middlesbrough properties will be renovated as part of a £2m project to bring empty homes back into use.

More than 100 properties across the town - including in Linthorpe, Gresham, Acklam and Middlehaven - have already been improved through an initial £1.3m grant from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

The grant has been administered by Middlesbrough Council which has now secured a further £880,000 to tackle another 50 properties between 2015 and 2018.

The council is working with builders in the area to carry out the renovation works which it says will increase employment opportunities and redistribute central Government funds into the local economy.

In order to qualify for assistance a property needs to be empty for six months in respect of council tax and has to be brought back into use as affordable housing.

The owners - who are a mixture of landlords and people improving a property to live in themselves - pay for the work to be done and can then be reimbursed for up to half of their outlay.

The first phase has seen investments on roofs, kitchens, bathrooms, windows and doors and full refurbishments worth between £2,000 and £30,000.

This house in Princes Road in Gresham, pictured, has seen improvements made to the kitchen, bathroom and living room.

Middlesbrough Council’s executive member for regeneration Cllr Charlie Rooney said: “This project has already delivered fantastic results across the town and we hope the additional money secured will help more homeowners.

“Properties that become empty for the long-term bring with them problems above and beyond being a waste of a potential home - such as an increased risk of crime and anti-social behaviour in that neighbourhood.

“I would recommend that anyone who owns an empty property who is struggling to finance renovations and improvements speaks to our housing team.

“Officers will be happy to discuss the individual home owner’s circumstances to ensure an appropriate approach to bringing as many of these homes as possible back into circulation.”

For more information or inquiries Middlesbrough Council’s housing team can be contacted on 01642 729124.

Activists force closure of Israeli-owned UK-based arms firm

Pro-Palestinian activists have occupied a UK-based Israeli-owned arms manufacturing factory, forcing its closure.

The Kent-based Instro Precision, a subsidiary of Israeli arms company Elbit Systems, was occupied on Tuesday, when more than a dozen activists took up positions on the roof and at the entrance.

The activists were responding to the anti-Israeli Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement. The BDS campaign is part of international efforts to pressure Tel Aviv to stop illegal constructions in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Israel is highly criticized for its apartheid policies against Palestinians.

The regime has been facing growing criticism since last summer when it launched a 50-day war on the Gaza Strip. More than 2,140 Palestinians were killed in the war, most of them women and children.

One of the protesters, Emma Parsons, said on behalf of the Stop Elbit Campaign, “Israel can only carry out its massacres of Palestinian people because companies like Elbit are allowed to operate in the UK and because the UK government allows the arms trade with Israel to continue.”

According to a press release from the activism group London Palestine Action, “Instro is owned by Israeli arms company Elbit Systems, who make drones that are used to kill Palestinian civilians in Gaza.”

It added, “Optical and camera systems like those made at the Instro factory are also supplied by Elbit for use in drones flown over Afghanistan, as well as in Israel’s apartheid wall.”

HN/MHB/AS

Disabled mum's specialist equipment stolen from James Cook hospital car park as she underwent surgery

A disabled mum about to enter trials for a major competition was left devastated when her specialist equipment was stolen from a hospital car park while she underwent surgery.

RAF veteran Anna-Therese Pollock, 32, was delighted to be offered a dream opportunity to enter trials for The Warrior Games, an international Paralympic-style multi-sport event for veterans held each year in the USA.

But as Anna, a fitness fanatic and veteran of Iraq, underwent surgery at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, the car containing her new specialist kit was broken into and every item of her kit was stolen.

Anna, who is originally from Middlesbrough but now lives in Catterick, said: “Everything was in there. The special pedals I need for my bike, all of my swimming kit, specialist boots - everything. It’s all very expensive but that’s not what bothered me most.

“It’s just so upsetting that people think they’ve got the right to take other people’s things.”

Anna-Therese Pollock pictured on a specialist bike, left

After serving for seven years in the RAF in a career that involved two tours of Iraq, Anna left to settle with her husband Scott, 33, and her three children Sophie, eight, Sean, seven, and James, five.

With Anna having just qualified as a fitness instructor, the family was getting ready to start a new life in Gibraltar when, in the early hours of August 31 2013, the very morning they were set to leave, Anna woke in agony.

“I woke up with a huge pain in my back,” said Anna, “I was rushed into hospital where they told me I needed to have an emergency operation.”

Anna had suffered a bleed on her spine resulting in nerve damage which massively restricted her ability to walk and left her relying heavily on the use of a wheelchair.

Anna said: “They didn’t think I would be able to ever walk again at all but I can a little bit with crutches.

“The nerve damage will never repair but I’m so lucky to have the mobility I have got.”

By concentrating on her sport, Anna has stayed positive and the Warrior Games are a real opportunity.

Thankfully, thanks to her friends who set up a Go Fund Me page to raise enough money to replace all her stolen items, Anna is back on track to taking part in the trials.

• To donate, visit http://bit.ly/1BlK3ZO .

Peter Stephenson seeded No 1 in bid to retain Riponian title

Peter Stephenson, CEO of Billingham-based Able UK and title sponsor of the event, has been seeded No 1 for the Riponian Stages Rally this weekend.

Stephenson will be co-driven by Ian Windress in a Ford Focus WRC for the event, which starts from Thirsk Auction Mart on Sunday morning.

And he will be hoping to make it back-to-back wins on event, run over 40 stage miles in the North Yorkshire forests around Helmsley.

Seeded second for the rally - jointly orgainsed by Ripon MSC and the East Cleveland-based Whitby DMC are eight-times winner Charlie Payne and Carl Williamson in their Fiesta WRC, fresh from finishing fourth in last weekend’s Weir Engineering Wyedean Forest Rally.

They are seeded just ahead of Ian Joel and Graham Wood (Escort Cosworth).

Heading a strong historic class are Matthew Robinson and Sam Collis (Escort Mark II) along with from Charlie Taylor and Alan Ward in a similar Escort.

Ford Cortina driver Bob Bean has also entered the rally he first won in 1980.

Also in the historic class are James Grayson and Simon Spinks (Escort) in their very first rally.

Redcar’s Chris Roe makes his 2015 ANCC Forest Championship bow in the event.

With Bob McKenzie from Skelton retiring from the sport, he’ll be partnered by fellow Stockton DMC member Mark Whitehouse from Billingham in his Vauxhall Nova.

“Disapointingly we still haven’t recieved our new gearbox shaft so we won’t have our competition gearbox in,” explained Roe, who finishe third in the overall championship, second in the forest championship and first in class in the forest championship last season.

“This year after Bob’s retirement Mark has agreed to sit alongside me for the Riponian and, depending on how things go, he may complete the full season. Mark has never read descriptive pace note before so it may take a little time to get into a rhythm.

“Hopefully we can score some good points.”

Meanwhile the organisers have made a point of thanking everyone involved for supporting and securing the event for another year. They are especially keen to thank the three main sponsors of the event - Able UK, Matthew Robinson of Robinsons Road Planing and Baz Jordan of Jordan Road Surfacing, without whom the event would not have run.