{"id":12994,"date":"2024-03-11T18:45:43","date_gmt":"2024-03-11T18:45:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=12994"},"modified":"2024-03-12T21:15:48","modified_gmt":"2024-03-12T21:15:48","slug":"sport-media-the-edge-of-everything-202","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=12994","title":{"rendered":"SPORT\/MEDiA: The Edge of Everything, 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Watching this, on Amazon Prime. It\u2019s quite interesting. One of the first notable quotes, from this record-breaking winner, is\u2026 \u2018You can\u2019t win\u2019!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m interested not only because I love snooker, which of course I do. But because, like Ronnie, I\u2019ve battled – am battling – depression, and other issues, such as addictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an aside, the documentary was made by David Beckham\u2019s production company, Studio 99 (or something like that?).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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O\u2019Sullivan and Beckham.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One very endearing moment is when a young Ronnie is asked \u2018How big do you want to be?\u2019 \u2018Five ten\u2019 he responds. Bless him!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s also interesting because not only do we hear about Ronnie\u2019s highs and lows. We also hear about his family life. Although, whilst we see his young family, the modern versions are – at least so far – disembodied voices. I wonder why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At about 25 minutes in, we hear more about Ronnie\u2019s father. And how he wound up in prison as a convicted murderer. I\u2019ve got a court appearance coming up. And I\u2019m terrified. \u2018Nothing can prepare you for that\u2019, Ronnie says, of his experience. Ok, I haven\u2019t killed anyone. But I still understand something of where he\u2019s talking from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The two Ronnies; now and then.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As I\u2019m typing this, Ronnie\u2019s talking about how, when his dad was being sent down, he said \u2018tell my boy to win\u2019. It\u2019s clear that the father\/son bond here was incredibly strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve tried to find info\u2019 about his dad\u2019s crime, and subsequent punishment. But it\u2019s apparently near non-existent. I\u2019m very surprised. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His dad had worked in the London Sex Shop industry. And was ultimately very successful. Meaning he could treat his family and kids very well, as far as money was concerned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Ronnie Sr. has it, when telling of the events that precipitated his downfall, he was just defending himself, from a two man attack. But who really<\/em> knows? Esp\u2019 with so little info readily available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bruce Bryan. Is this Ronnie Sr\u2019s murder victim?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I struggled mightily, for example, to find any<\/em> pictures of Bruce Bryan, the man who Ronnie sr killed, during a fracas at a nightclub in Chelsea. Bryan, a father of two, is alleged to have been Charlie Kray\u2019s driver. Charlie was the elder brother of Reggie n\u2019 Ronnie Kray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Also found this. Chelsea News, Sept 2, 1992.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The above newspaper clipping throws a bit more (and rather) different light on Ronnie Sr\u2019s role in the events that lead to the death of Bruce Bryan. As Ronnie Sr tells it in the documentary, it sounds as he was set upon and outnumbered. Whereas the events as described in the newspaper portray him<\/em> and his drinking buddy as the aggressors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ronnie Sr\u2019s accomplice in the pub was one Edward O\u2019Brien. Is this the same Edward O\u2019Brien, an IRA terrorist known as \u2018the Quiet Man, who blew himself up. (unintentionally), on a #171 Bus (a bus I was taking regularly around that time!)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But, let\u2019s get back to Ronnie Jr\u2019s story\u2026 as well as the famous talking heads you might expect (eg fellow snooker players, his celeb mates, like Damien Hirst, and The Stones), there\u2019s also some footage of him with his current partner, and his \u2018talk therapist\u2019 (Dr\/Prof Steve Peters). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This documentary is nicely filmed, and well directed. Using imagery and sound to effectively convey moods. Sometimes dramatic, but often quite mundane. Such as the one above, with Ronnie in bottom-lit repose. Or Ronnie and Jimmy White having breakfast in a hotel!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About an hour in, we see him leaning out of a window, having a fag! I didn\u2019t even know he smoked! This is also an oddly jarring moment, to me at least, relative to his other side – the healthy mind\/healthy body Ronnie – the one goes jogging, overcame his addictions, and can be almost Zen, at times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But let\u2019s return to a more dramatic theme: the stuff about his relationship with his father. It\u2019s fascinating. Ronnie Jr. was clearly indoctrinated for success, from early on. His dad epitomising both the encouraging and the \u2018competitive dad\u2019 (\u2018c\u2019mon son\u2019, vs. \u2018you can\u2019t beat me\u2019!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ronnie Jr was really quite shy. An introvert. Prone to laziness. \u2018I didn\u2019t want to do the hard work. I still don\u2019t want to\u2026\u2019 he says, rather revealingly, during a gym workout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whist we don\u2019t see Maria (mum) or dad, but only hear them – at least this far (and I\u2019m a long way in) – we do see a whole panoply of folk, from his fellow snookerists, to his aforementioned celebrity pals, Hirst, Ronnie Wood, etc. Damien Hirst has a few good insights. As one might hope and expect from an artist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have to be honest, I\u2019m not taken with the \u2018cockney geezer\u2019 \u2018ard man stuff. Unlike Guy Ritchie, I\u2019m appalled, no enthralled, by the accent, the constant swearing, even the deliberate coarseness (belching!), etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the best parts of the entire thing comes near the end, when he bears Judd Trump in the final of the World Championship. That legendary man-hug, which in the official channels was inaudible, well\u2026 they were on mic for the making of this film. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Major man hug. Ronnie and Judd, locked in a passionate embrace?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And what one hears is quite interesting. It\u2019s simultaneously a surprise, and – esp\u2019 given what\u2019s preceded it – exactly what you\u2019d expect. It\u2019s a weird combination of exalted highs and desperate lows. And – now this is a surprise – it reaches an apotheosis when he tearfully says, directly after the extended man-hug, to his partner and kids, \u2018I can\u2019t do this any more.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most revealing thing he says to Judd, I think, given the huge amounts of money involved in modern sports, and agreeing with Damien Hirst (who observes that whilst players might chase perfection – or the highs of success – what everyone else wants is drama) is \u2018don\u2019t let them burn you out\u2026 pick n\u2019 choose; you\u2019re too good to let these fuckers own you<\/em>\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think Judd was getting a terrific life lesson in that moment. And Ronnie was letting it all out. \u2018It\u2019s fucking killing me\u2019, he says, as he momentarily melts down. Phew! Talk about drama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After all this, Ronnie Sr. finally appears onscreen, during the presentation scene. He\u2019s saying to Ronnie \u2018That\u2019s it now, innit? You\u2019re done now aren\u2019t ya?\u2019 But Ronnie\u2019s recovered from his \u2018can\u2019t do this any more\u2019 moment. Is that his main addiction?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018You can\u2019t win. There\u2019s no end to it\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, maybe that\u2019s the nature of life. He reveals a \u2018me against the world thing\u2019 (\u2018I dunno where that come from\u2019, he says, half-embarrassed. But he also seems to have found a way to be happy in himself. A large part of which – in the words of his final little outburst – consists in. It giving a fuck!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Watching this, on Amazon Prime. It\u2019s quite interesting. One of the first notable quotes, from this record-breaking winner, is\u2026 \u2018You can\u2019t win\u2019! I\u2019m interested not only because I love snooker, which of course I do. But because, like Ronnie, I\u2019ve battled – am battling – depression, and other issues, such as addictions. As an aside, … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “SPORT\/MEDiA: The Edge of Everything, 2023”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paGwUa-3nA","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12994"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12994"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13045,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12994\/revisions\/13045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}