Joanna presents strong challenge

If not strictly the strong silent type, however, she is distinctly reluctant to talk about her success. The tough taciturn, maybe.

Why take it up, we asked, over a journalistic barrel in the Three Coopers.

"I didn't think I'd take up knitting," said Joanna.

It was among the most difficult interviews since that celebrated encounter with the monocled comedian Fred Emney in the 1970s - every WI in the region knows the story of that one - or the breakfast time attempt to overtake Daley Thompson at the 1986 Commonwealth Games.

"Any chance of an interview for The Northern Echo, Mr Thompson?"

"No," he replied, exclusively.

Joanna is 41, and brought up with horses. Doug Jemmeson, her father, is a farrier and one of the best-known racing men in Middleham.

We featured him last year when a race at Sedgefield was named in his honour.

Joanna still runs the equine pool for Middleham trainer Ferdy Murphy, starts work up there at 8am and calls last orders in her flourishing pub 15 hours later.

"She's one of the world's great grafters," says an admirer.

"If it's what you've done for years, it's the way it is," says Joanna.

"I couldn't sit in a factory eight hours a day."

Already a regular patron at a Darlington gym, she was encouraged to try power lifting by friends who enjoyed the sport.

In the European championships her weights totalled 280k, 20k below her best. Her ambition (unsurprisingly) is to get stronger, hopefully to be invited to the world championships in Canada in October.

Two years is no time, of course.

"I can get better, it's my technique which lets me down. I don't if I'm good enough for the Worlds."

Whatever happens, it'll be the talk of the Three Coopers. Whether the column will again have lift off must remain to be seen.

Billy Leng, one of those men who were part of the very fabric of their football club, died on Wednesday. He was 90.

He had captained Ferryhill Athletic when they won the Northern League in 1937-38, still played when they won it again ten years later, was trainer - manager, effectively - when Athletic completed the hat-trick a decade after that and also helped build the stand and provide the goalposts.

"I won't tell you how he got the material for the stand, but if I tell you he worked down the pit you'll get the idea," says his son, another Billy and a former polliss.

And the goalposts? "They couldn't make them at Dean and Chapter, where me dad worked, so they made them at Leasingthorne, got the NCB low loader and brought them to Ferryhill in the middle of the night.

"They were there until they bulldozed the ground. My dad was devastated by that; he lived for Ferryhill Athletic."

A free-scoring and occasionally combative centre-forward, he began at Cockfield ("no money, only their teas"), played in the North Eastern League for Spennymoor United and was a star in the Ferryhill side which also included men like Digger Dixon, Tanky Mason and a different Dixie Dean.

On January 8 1938 he hit six in the Latics' 11-4 win over Tow Law, a match described in The Northern Echo as "more amusing than interesting."

Billy had been in a Bishop Auckland nursing home His funeral is at Durham crematorium at 1.30pm on Monday.

Starting with Durham County Council's Director of Culture and Similar Carryings On - a call amid the cornflakes - a remarkable number of people knew that Sunderland's first black player was Roland B Gregoire.

The second, as Tuesday's column observed, was the altogether more successful Gary Bennett.

Signed for £5,000 shortly before his 19th birthday, Roly Gregoire had hit a hat-trick the previous week for Halifax Town Reserves against Sunderland, clearly impressing Roker manager Jimmy Adamson. It was November 1977.

"A clever ball player with a deceptive body swerve," concludes All The Lads, the splendid book of Sunderland profiles, though he scored just once in six first team appearances.

"Having read that, I wonder how they would have described Johann Cruyff if he'd ever played for us," muses Tom Lynn, editor of The Wearside Roar.

All The Lads also suggests that Gregoire - 5ft 9ins, ten stone 6lbs - "lacked physical advantage."

"We just thought he needed a good meal," recalls Paul Dobson in Bishop Auckland.

After five games in 1977-78, he wasn't again chosen until April 1979, for the crucial promotion match with Blackburn. John Briggs in Darlington recalls that Billy Elliott dropped Bob Lee to play Gregoire alongside Alan Brown, the Easington Express.

Sunderland lost the match, Billy Elliott lost his job, Gregoire never played another Football league game.

A knee injury forced his retirement in February 1980 - "an up-and-coming player," said new manager Ken Knighton, kindly.

After five years on the dole, the hat-trick hero of Halifax Reserves became a postman in London.

"Sunderland left me in the lurch," he said.

While his brother travels the world as captain of Sri Lanka, Yaras Tillakaratne is pro in the homlier surroundings of Etherley, and coaches the Blacksmiths Arms in West Auckland, too.

"Real cracking nice bloke," says John Baker of Etherley and on July 31 they're staging a benefit for him.

A "World X1" plays a "Select X1", followed by a Twenty-20 type game involving the Blackies' boys. (We've been playing Twenty-20 in this league for 100 years," says John.)

There'll be a family fun day, too, with roundabouts, food and drink. It starts at 1pm.

Those zealots who count the number of different grounds at which they've watched Newcastle United sides - "almost an Olympic sport" Magpies programme editor Paul Tully told Tuesday's column - can add Gala Fairydean to the list.

A United X1 plays a Border Amateur FA side up there on August 14 (7pm) with proceeds going to desperately needy children in Iraq and Burma.

Among the organisers is the Rev Frank Campbell, Church of Scotland minister in Ancrum and neighbouring borders villages, who still finds time to be programme editor for Evenwood and Prudhoe in the Albany Northern League.

"We hope to raise substantial funds for those causes," says Frank, who'd welcome donations from those unable to travel - 22 The Glebe, Ancrum, Jedburgh TD8 6UX.

Still over the border, Gretna of the Scottish third beat Livingstone of the premier division in last weekend's Brewers Cup final, provoking much excitement in new major shareholder and Albany Group chairman Brooks Mileson.

"They had Spanish, Brazilian and Argentine internationals. I couldn't believe it; we were amazing," enthuses the Sunderland born former four minute miler.

They're at home to Whitby Town a week tomorrow, tougher opposition altogether.

Fred Alderton in Peterlee - one of those who knew about Roly Gregoire - invites readers to name the first French player to play in the English league.

We return, same channel, on Tuesday

The Durham County Cricket League website overflows in a most extraordinary way.

There are messages with headings like "Tragedy" and "Living Legend" and even "Super Billy Teesdale" and the tidings they share is that the Bulldog has had his day.

He is standing for no more, retiring from umpiring, after a 16-year-old Bishop Auckland player not only took the Bulldog by the tail but bluntly advised him of the error of his ways. He received a slapped wrist and a two-week ban.

Clubs are aghast, full of praise, entreat him not to give in to what one correspondent calls "little weeds" and another calls very much worse.

"A class umpire and a class man," writes Posh Lad. "He's the number one, I'm gutted," says Lord Snooty. "I find it very surprising that the Bulldog would let anyone get under his skin, since it's made of leather," adds Thomas the Tank.

The really remarkable thing is that Billy can't have written any of it himself, since he still believes a website is a rest home for spiders.

Another correspondent, signing himself Sillymidon but probably Danny Hinge, recalls batting for Etherley against Evenwood a few years ago. The field appealed for a catch behind, the umpire's finger went up and Billy - playing for Evenwood but unsure of the touch - called him back.

"I got 70-odd and we won by 15 runs. We went on to win the trophy and never a problem with Billy."

For the newly-formed but clearly worldwide Bulldog Billy Fan Club we have good news, however. He is ready to rejoin the men in white coats.

"I was annoyed and I walked away because I thought cricket was going nowhere but it's now over and done," he says.

"Lots of people, especially at Sedgefield, have been saying nice things and it's the first time in my life I've had a lump in my throat.

"I played it hard but fair like the Sedgefield lads and the Brandon lads, but I never swore at an umpire.

"That's the proper way to play cricket."

The show of humility, of honest emotion, is as rare as it is brief. "I've just had Lord's on to me about umpiring the second Test," says the born-again Bulldog. "I had to turn them down. Esh Winning got to me first."

Published: ??/??/2003