Weightlifting and Roundabouts

Milton Keynes is fast becoming a centre of UK sport. The town is the home of Red Bull Racing and the MK Dons, but recently they also hosted the English National Weightlifting Championships.

More than 170 lifters competed in the event across the two days which was hosted at Stantonbury Theatre

Working for British Weightlifting at a Commonwealth Games qualifying round was an exciting experience. Our two-man media team managed to run a 12-hour live stream of the event without any major glitches. Between watching the stream and the screen, there was even time for me to take photos and post social media updates.

Before the event I was reading up about how Rebekah Tiler competed at the Rio Olympics and finished 10th. I even had the chance to chat with them at one point. In the actual competition, she set a new British record despite being only 18 years old.

Among many memories there are two others which I’ll take away from this event. The sub-zero temperatures that resulted in a water main bursting at the facility and the ridiculous number of roundabouts.

No wonder Red Bull decided to base their F1 team here, as the tight and twisty turns make it a suitable test track. Forget Monte Carlo. Milton Keynes could soon become the jewel in the motorsport crown.

This weekend British Weightlifting is heading to Castleford for the Age Group Championships and I’ll be covering that competition as well.

Toy Story Terror in Town

Forget Buzz and Woody,  as there is a terrible Toy Story in our own town. Since BHS shut down many toys have been left trapped in the windows of Huddersfield High Street. 

Sylvanian families are still searching for a home and those Playmobile pirate ships won’t be setting sail anytime soon.  Meanwhile former BHS boss Sir Philip Green is sat on his private yacht enjoying himself in the sun.

The stock has been stuck behind a glass screen for the last few months and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.  Many people walk by each day without even noticing their plight.

They have been abandoned to nobody’s amusement. Those bears don’t stand a chance. They have families to feed too you know.  It’s a sorry state of affairs. Maybe Pixar should be taking plot points for Toy Story 4.

BHS staff continue to suffer from the fallout. They have been promised their pension fund, but so far the money has remained elusive. The staff find themselves stuck in limbo like the little plastic people they used to sell.

It appears as though Sir Philip is in no rush to finance some funds for his ex-employees. Who can blame him when a refurbished yacht is on the horizon?

While all this is going on the collection of Cluedo boxes continue to gather dust. You don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to realize that a shortfall in cash and sitting on a bunch of stock that needs shifting can be easily solved in one swift action.

Ebay.

Yet as things stand the stock situation remains in a stalemate.  They could just use an online retailer, but that is out of the equation. After all that would require an inch of effort.

One day the bears of the Sylvanian families might find some solace, but for the time being they will continue to stare out of the windows of Huddersfield’s High Street.