GETTING  on ten years ago, May 2008, we reported that the former Co Durham pit village of Fishburn, population fewer than 2,000, was home to two world champions.

One was Bert Draycott, spoons supremo and incomparable entertainer. The other was Tom Stubbs, a new age kurler.

“I’m not sure that Fishburn does tickertape welcomes but we’ll certainly send Tom a letter,” said parish council clerk John Irvine, himself a kurler, at the time.

Bert died two weeks ago. Tom, 81, clinched the British new age kurling title two days later, and for the second year running.

He may also be the only champion sportsman permanently to play with one hand in his pocket. “I didn’t even know I was doing it until someone pointed it out,” he says.

The sport was invented in England in 2000 and is now played in 50 countries. John Irvine supposes it similar to crown green bowls, suitable for all ages and for both able bodied and physically handicapped. The Fishburn club has 17 members; Bert was chairman.

Tom fears its popularity may be fading a little – “people can’t afford the travel” – John’s more upbeat. “It’s not a Mickey Mouse sport. It’s the real thing, sociable but quite competitive. One of these days it’s really going to take off.”

AS he feared he wouldn’t, Brian Levison failed to leap from shortlist to winner in last week’s cricket book of the year awards. As Brian thought he would, Mark Nicholas took the title. Brian’s next innings is on village grounds, though the word is that hilly High Farndale – where we met in the summer – has missed the cut. North Yorkshire outposts include Hovingham, which has a stately home on the boundary, and Castleton, which hasn’t. “All Castleton’s known for,” grumbles our man on the Farndale fringes, “is midges.”

THE Far Corner author Harry Pearson, himself an MCC cricket book of the year winner with Slipless in Settle, has just produced a biography of the great West Indian all-rounder Sir Learie Constantine.

Until a note in The Times last Tuesday, however, he was unaware of the three correspondence trays – “In”, “Out” and “LBW” on Learie’s desk while a barrister in London.

LBW? “Let the buggers wait,” he would happily explain.

Harry has now finished a book on Flemish cycling – “A boneshaking tour through cycling’s heartlands” – which resides with the lawyers. “It’s become a grim business,” says the Great Ayton lad. “If I’d sent them The Far Corner, they’d probably have cut it down to 30 pages.”

IN Shildon Railway Institute we bump into the wholly admirable John “Sinatra” Heighington, chief coach for over 40 years of the boxing club which trains upstairs. In time for the new season, he and others have completely redecorated the place. “I’ve been up and down three flights of stairs and painting the ceiling,” says John. It also means that he’ll carry on coaching, despite annually threatening to retire. “At the end of this season, definitely,” he insists. Sinatra is 76.

LAST week’s note on the sale of Malcolm Macdonald’s football treasures – in Essex tomorrow – overlooked the most intriguing lot of all. The auctioneers call the story “incredible.”

Back in the 1970s, Supermac gave one of his Newcastle United shirts to his mate Brian Johnson, the AC/DC singer, for a Top of the Pops appearance.

Shortly before the show was to be recorded, however, a BBC bod in turn got shirty – something to do with advertising – and ordered Johnson to change.

The singer cut off the bottom and wore it as a neckerchief but returned the shirt whence it came after learning that Malcolm was seeing (as they say) his ex-wife.

The letter’s included with the shirt. Sadly, the auction house doesn’t reveal its contents.

STILL flying with the Magpies, my blog – mikeamosblog.wordpress.com – has been remembering how, in 2002, Newcastle became the first Premiership club to produce a Braille edition of the programme.

Paul Tully, then United’s publications editor, recalls a wheeze to leave a copy in the ref’s room – and the advice that it had better not be when Graham Poll officiated the next match.

“I was told that Poll wouldn’t see the joke, would probably give three penalties against us and send two of ours off.”

Instead their waited for Jeff Winter, Boro’s finest. Jeff not only joined the merriment but spent the rest of the afternoon walking around with a white stick – “apart from the 90 minutes of the match, of course.”

DURHAM County Cricket Club’s awards dinner last Thursday was addressed by former Scottish rugby international Doddie Weir, 47, who announced in the summer that he has motor neurone disease. He went down well, said how much he’d enjoyed himself, admitted that he mightn’t be back next year. “I don’t even know if I’ll be on this planet.”

….AND finally, the eight Republic of Ireland players who’ve scored in the World Cup finals (Backtrack, October 5) are John Aldridge, Gary Breen, Damian Duff, Matty Holland, Ray Houghton, Robbie Keane, Niall Quinn and Kevin Sheedy.

Geoff Johns in Darlington today invites readers to name the only footballer to have scored in the Champions League and the Europa League, the four top English divisions, the Scottish Premier League and Scottish FA Cup and League Cup, the FA Cup, League Cup, FA Trophy and the top two levels of the Conference.

Breath, like the column, returns next week.