Simon Clark

Director of @Forest_Smoking. I do have other interests! Views my own. For further comment read my blog,

[Simon Clark @simonclark_]

Norman Balon, notoriously rude landlord of the Coach and Horses in Soho. RIP. https://t.co/26cgtGchtL

[Daniel Childs ☕️ @SonOfChelsea]

Lovely footage of Bobby Tambling, #CFC's Youngest Ever Captain, giving interview in 1962.

[Crosshaven AFC @crosshavenafc]

It is with the heaviest of hearts that Crosshaven AFC announce the passing of our dear friend and former manager, Bobby Tambling — a true Chelsea legend and an even more wonderful human being.

Bobby came to Cork in the 1970s after his time at Crystal Palace, and he fell deeply in love with the place. But it was Crosshaven that truly captured his heart. In the 1980s he settled here and made it his home. He became Cork City’s very first manager before taking the reins of our senior team in 1985, guiding us with pride and passion to our one and only appearance in the FAI Senior Cup the following year. His sons Gary and Glenn featured locally for a while as did his partner Val’s son Jamie now of course Senior Team assistant coach.

For the next thirty years, on and off, Bobby was never far from our club with Val by his side. Even when his health was failing, he still wanted to be on the sidelines — coaching, encouraging, and sharing his endless love for the game. His passion for football was absolutely infectious. Whether he was talking tactics, working on set pieces, or telling stories from his playing days (sometimes for the tenth time), you couldn’t help but hang on every word. You didn’t mind hearing the same tale again, because it was Bobby telling it. His final game managing Crosshaven was a fitting one as some of the greatest local players he ever coached took on a Republic of Ireland Masters team in 2015 that included Packie Bonner, Ronnie Whelan & Ray Houghton in Camden.

Crosshaven players adored him. They respected him, responded to him, and would have run through brick walls for him. From time to time, old friends from his Chelsea days would visit — Barry Bridges, Chopper Harris, Paddy Mulligan and others — reminding us all of the giant he was in the game.

In London, Bobby was a superstar. 202 goals for his beloved Chelsea — a record that stood for decades until Frank Lampard came along. He loved returning to the Bridge, where he was worshipped. Seeing his “Tambling 202” banner proudly displayed and having a suite named in his honour always filled him with quiet pride. He cherished hearing the fans sing his name one more time and feeling the electric buzz of match day, which brought back so many beautiful memories of victories, friendships, and goals.

But no matter how much he loved Chelsea, Crosshaven was always home with his beloved Val. Walking the dogs, enjoying dinners with family and friends, having a flutter at the bookies, and being part of the local football community — these were the simple things that made him happiest.

Bobby leaves an enormous hole in all our lives. We are all better, kinder, and richer for having known him. His warmth, his wisdom, his humour and his love will stay with us forever.

To his loving family, his close friends, and his adoring Chelsea family — we send our deepest, most heartfelt condolences. We have all lost a true legend, and a very special man.

To Valerie, despite his battle with Alzheimer’s, I clearly remember Bobby in a moment of clarity saying “she’s the best, I’d be lost without her” you cried but he was right. The dedication you showed to him was absolutely incredible.

Rest in peace, Bobby. You will never be forgotten.

[Simon Clark @simonclark_]

‘I’ve been around the block a bit, but in all those decades I’ve never come across a distortion as wilful, clear and grotesque as this. Both phrases lifted by Reform are not so much taken out of context as handed entirely the opposite meaning.’ https://t.co/tfPrzfv4iC

[Sarah Parry @SarahWoods66]

It’s one of those afternoons in the garden when you can smell the approaching rain and race to get your outdoor jobs done before the inevitable Welsh deluge arrives. Of course there’s always a little steam engine to slow me down

[TaxPayers' Alliance @the_tpa]

"Any charity that receives more than 10% of its income from taxpayers should be prohibited from political campaigning or lobbying"

Take a read of @Elksy91's piece in @CapX on our analysis of large charities and taxpayer funding.

https://t.co/ETIYMwFuk7

[Graham Spiers @GrahamSpiers]

What the incredible - and tyrannical - Jim McLean achieved back then. Dundee United in the 1980s was such a story.

[Simon Clark @simonclark_]

@rorymeakin 🤣

[Simon Clark @simonclark_]

Cyclists are never happy!

[The Rest Is Tw*tter @rorymeakin]

As others have noted, however, while it’s clearly an upgrade on the status quo ante, it falls below standard. The Dutch require a 0.5m buffer between a car parking space and the near edge of the normal line of cycling traffic, to prevent dooring. These aren’t even flush

[Simon Clark @simonclark_]

@rorymeakin I was being playful but can now add, ‘Cyclists have no sense of humour!’.

[Barstool Sports @barstoolsports]

This may be the worst timed moment for a TV to turn off in history

[Forest @Forest_Smoking]

Listen to yourselves! Perhaps, instead of targeting more older smokers to switch, you should challenge the vaping industry to make e-cigarettes and other smokeless products more appealing to older smokers. That’s how genuine free market enterprise systems work.

[Forest @Forest_Smoking]

In the UK smoking rates have been driven down by illiberal and draconian measures including punitive taxation, advertising and display bans, and smoking bans on private property (cafes, bars etc). As a ‘free market’ think tank, do you support such policies?

[Phil Craig @philmcraig]

Really looking forward to more unbiased Scottish commentary from Alistair at the World Cup.

[Forest @Forest_Smoking]

Yes, we need to promote reduced risk options to smoking, but a free market think tank should defend personal autonomy and support adults who choose to smoke tobacco (despite the well known health risks) because this is not a public health issue, it’s a private health issue.

[Omid Djalili @omid9]

Comedy palate cleanser. Robert Jenrick about to grandstand but reminded of his defection from one party to another this year is gold. The timing. First line great. Second line superb but crowd not recovered from the first to fully appreciate it 😊

[Forest @Forest_Smoking]

Free market think tank doesn’t seem to understand that many people enjoy smoking and don’t wish to quit. Perhaps, if they’re 65 and older, it’s one of their few remaining pleasures. Leave them alone!

[Simon Clark @simonclark_]

Penny for his thoughts.

[Sky Sports @SkySports]

Southampton captain Taylor Harwood-Bellis appeared to mock a Middlesbrough player with a binoculars celebration amid allegations that Saints were spying on Boro training before their play-off clash 😬

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

Or maybe even build a ferry that works!

[Squeeze @Squeezeofficial]

Squeeze opened series 68 of "Later... with Jools Holland" including a guest appearance by Jools himself, playing with the band for the first time in 36 years! Watch the whole show now on @BBCiPlayer and all 3 live songs on our YouTube channel