Rowing Against the Tide - A career in sport and politics (23 page)
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Authors: Martin Brandon-Bravo
When I retired in 2009, I was honoured to have been made an Honorary Alderman for services to Nottinghamshire. In 2012 the City of Nottingham granted me the same honour, so I have nothing but happy memories due to public service over a period of forty years.
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The Closing Years.
Following a reasonably successful business career of over thirty years, forty years of one form or another of elected political office, and a life time involved in sport, it is time to reflect on and enjoy our closing years.
Politics is a form of incurable disease, for though retired from elected office in 2009, I still get occasionally rolled out to meet a request from some senior member of the Party to assist or advise on some problem or another. It’s not too demanding, and it gave you a false sense that you haven’t been forgotten and are still of some use. Our local Radio Nottingham call on me every couple of months to go on their early Monday morning phone-in knowing that without the constraints of office I can say just what I think, and so far I’ve not suffered any threats as a result. Equally when I hear or read of some, what to me seems an outrageous political plan, I send off a short “outraged of Barton in Fabis” to the press, and sometimes even now they print it!
As National Vice President and a non voting member of the National Council of British Rowing, I regularly attend their meetings just to keep up to scratch and know how things are progressing, and enjoy the privilege of attending such functions as the International Dinner, which each year celebrates the ever increasing success of our athletes. I’ve long since surrendered both my International and National Umpires licences, but still enjoy driving the launches at Holme Pierrepont regattas, trying not to tell the umpires how to do their job !
Perhaps the best recall of these years will always be the outstanding performance of our athletes at the London Olympics. Attending the racing at Dorney Lake, and cheering on the extraordinary performance of our team, was an experience Sally and I will never forget. We attended two of the finals days, to witness the first GOLD to be won by any sport in the games, and to cheer and sympathise with the National Eight which had to be content with a BRONZE. The second attendance was to see at long last a much deserved GOLD medal for Katherine Grainger and her partner Anna Watkins in the womens double sculls. Granted there were around thirty thousand people there, including perhaps twenty five thousand Brits, I have never heard cheering like it, and the emotion engendered in the singing of the National Anthem was just something very special indeed.
On the two days we could not get to Dorney, we joined other members at Leander club at Henley, and watched the racing on the big screen. As the medals rolled in, the excitement at the club was tremendous, the champagne popped and a good time was had by all. It was just as well our cottage was just five minutes stagger from the club!
2010 was a year of first joy and then almost total disaster. After a wait of forty seven years, our club, the Nottingham and Union Rowing Club again won the Wyfold Cup at Henley Royal Regatta. Celebrations and partying all round. Within a few weeks I was diagnosed with cancer, and after a first minor operation, I returned home and was there in time to save Sally who without any warning collapsed with a brain haemorrhage, and got her to hospital for operations that undoubtedly saved her life. With surgery followed by rehabilitation lasting some eighteen weeks, Sally’s hospitalisation overlapped my having two more operations, and at one time we were both in intensive care, and both nearly falling off the perch. We were both back home for Christmas that year, so whilst it was a year to forget, we were both back on our feet and enjoying life again.
The one big downside of both our operations was that we have had to come to terms with having to sell our large rambling old farmhouse for something more suitable to our age and limitations. So when coming up to my eightieth, we organised a party, and on the 25th of March some fifty friends and family gathered at Barton for what turned out to be a day to match anything the best of summers could have provided. A very good friend OI Lin provided a Chinese banquet with so much gorgeous food that even though most went round twice or three times, we were still able to provide everyone with a large takeaway ! I did try a sales job on the house, but
no luck for our guests were all very happy with where they currently lived.
Recognising the old adage that the only certainties in life are Taxes and Death, we hope to have a few more years together, for now its forty eight years and counting.
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