A man after my own heart. Taxpayers money wasted on essentially a flying motorcycle display team, in the name of PR for the armed forces.

Back to the Don Valley subject, an awful stadium from the very start. However I'm sad in some ways to see it go because The Eagles need a secure home and not the odd game at Sheffield United.

I beg to differ.

The so-called legacy should have been an opportunity to join up the way that sports facilities, from grassroots right up to elite level, are provided; DV is just one example of a series of failures that will see this country plunged deeper into a health crisis that will cripple the NHS and put an extra burden on social care services - both areas of swingeing idealogical cuts that the ConDems are ramming through the legislature, disguised as austerity measures.

Sports facilities crumble into disuse, Michael Gove abolishes School Sports Partnerships and playing fields are sold off for housing development. Meanwhile, Jess Ennis and Mo Farah make millions of quid endorsing sports drinks, shampoo and bank accounts.

The world's gone mad.

In a perfect world yes, but the millions that keeps uk athletics and athletes afloat is inpracticle especially when serious cuts are being made elsewhere in society as they are.
Whatever your political beliefs are, the figures dont stack up and had it not been for people such as Andy Norman twenty years ago athletics would still be an amature pass time in the Uk.
Im not saying thats a bad thing by the way - just not sustainable and even less so when we have a debt crisis.

Don't let the Tories persuade you that cuts to sports & leisure funding is necessary to pay for health and social care services; those very cuts place an extra burden on H&S Care services, so it's a false economy.

I don't imagine that the playing fields at Eton are likely to be sold off anytime soon - this is about attacking the poor and working classes, who have no access to private sports facilities, health clubs or pro coaches.

The closure of DV is symbolic because of its role in introducing Jess Ennis to athletics, but it's symbolic of a wider problem; as I said in the pre-Olmpic chat about legacy - it's stuff and nonsense, there isn't one.

Without a doubt there are obvious knock on consequences - I wouldn't dispute that. Sadly the same goes for cuts to health, education, defence, benefits etc etc.
If symbolism (thousands of millions of pounds wasted on one gold medalist) is all you can muster in DVs favour it comes a poor second to the importance of the others IMO I'm afraid.

The second 'symbolism' should have read 'symptomatic' - I was typing in a hurry.

This closure is grabbing headlines because of the Jess Ennis link, but it's part of a much wider problem - a problem caused by a government that has demonised the poor and working classes and used austerity as a cloaking device to deliver idealistic cuts that will have far-reaching effects on the nation's health and wellbeing. Don't forget that aside from the delightfully attractive Jess Ennis training at DV, approximately 1500 young people regularly train there.

I say again - don't kid yourself that the loss of sports and leisure facilities will free up funding for essential services - it will in fact increase the demands on those services and make them even less able to cope with demand.

Grassroots sport in this country is about much more than winning gold medals and as it stands, it's already almost totally reliant on the good will and efforts of parents and volunteers and the support of local businesses; maybe we should withdraw from the next Olympics and force Sport England to plough some of the multiple millions it used to buy gold medals at the last two Olympics into delivering genuine investment in grassroots sport? At the same time, pay one of the Olympic shooters to take out Michael Gove with a high-powered sniper rifle and use the hiatus to get sports back onto the agenda at schools in a meaningful way.

Of course it is, but then again so are the repercussions of the debt crisis we all face.
To be brutally honest it sound more like a potshot at the government which is fair enough, but I don't have any fond memories of the previous encumbrances who got us into this mess, unnecessary wars and opened the floodgates to unaffordable migration etc etc
Lets give the party politics a rest, and stick to the rugby eh? At least there is "some" enjoyment in RLs case to go along with the despair - unless you happen to be a cas fan obviously!!

like you say the problem stems from grass roots and without parents and volunteers sport would just about cease to exist,
I hate to see this do gooder attitude that has taken competitive edge away at school level, I used to love taking on other schools in events whether rugby, football or athletics

back to basics I say

Was that the game where they had a random balloon/condom blowing competition in the crowd?

I seem to remember sitting by the long jump thinking it was rather busy

I'll tell you straight, the decision by Michael Gove to scrap the PESSCL & PESSYP policies without any research into the impact or visiting a single partnership before announcing he would close the lot, was nothing short of criminal.

The resultant saving of £160Million a year is dwarfed by the figures that subsequent research has wanrned of. The pressure on the National Health budget is expected to run into the £Billions per year as the system tries to cope with a generation who have never known an active lifestyle and who'se sedentary existance will lead to huge increases in obesity related illnesses.

As Bren says the so called upper classes will not be hit by this either now or in the distant future, this was pure Conservative ideology at work and like the vast majority of this Governments policies its the working classes that are in the Tory crosshairs.

as the old saying goes.

The stately homes of England
How beautiful they stand,
To prove the upper classes
Have still the upper hand
Noel Coward

Never more true than right now

Good - it was meant to.

When this coalition came to power I genuinely gave it a couple of months, and had the lib dems stuck to any of their so called ideals then the ultra-thatcherite mob would not be rampaging their economic/ideological and social terrorism on the country.