‘Winning and Not Winning.’

‘Winning and Not Winning’ – by Ms Paige Turner – Blog 194
It’s been all about winning and not winning this week, hasn’t it? On Monday I went to Watford: home of Elton John’s football club. I once played the part of a fanatical female football fan in Peter Terson’s ‘Zigger-Zagger’: ‘wind over the pitch, the smell of the crowd, the knee-deep litter’. I stood next to Elton John’s piano in the theatre foyer when he danced and played on it simultaneously.
I followed England for the whole of this week knowing the names of Rashford, Kane, McGuire, Sterling and that clever little goalkeeper Jordan Pickford whilst recalling the winning team’s names of 1966: Geoff Hurst, Nobby Stiles, Bobby and Jackie Charlton and Bobby Moore. I knew the Christian names then! I watched as Federer started out so well (as did England against Croatia) and then astonishingly lose to the South African with an American accent, Anderson. We think it’s all in the bag and then the ball goes in a different direction.
Back in the direction of Watford: I short listed 10 winners on the writing competition theme 100. The audience of competitors had to sit through 45 minutes of me reading from my collection ‘Red Lipstick & Revelations’ before announcing the three ultimate winners judged by Richard Harrington MP and the mayor of Watford. I had no idea who the winners were from my short list, evident when I stumbled on announcement, petrified that I might call out a non-winner’s name in error. I did hear that the runner-up was so thrilled she promptly went out and had a purple pedicure. We should all do that when we win or don’t win.
So. I have been able to connect Watford with the biggest thing that has happened to our country this week: football. Let’s just for a moment forget Boris Johnson and Brexit. I would like to focus on Helen Nicell who organised the Watford Area Arts Writing Competition with such expediency and charm. Just goes to show that sport and writing aside, some people just have winning natures.