IT is a sign of the times we find ourselves in that I attended an online funeral this week.
That is not unusual given the current situation, but what perhaps is is that it was the first online funeral I’ve been to and the person who passed away hadn’t suffered with Covid-19.
Norman Wasteney was an old friend and colleague of my late father.
The last time I saw him was at my Dad’s funeral, when despite being beset with ill health he attended, sang loudly in church and then told funny stories at the wake at the golf club afterwards about their experiences as fellow photographers at a press and photographic agency.
When I was growing up he was always ‘Big Norm’.
Given he was almost 6ft 5in tall, that isn’t a surprising monicker.
I remember going to the offices of Raymonds Press Agency in Derby where my Dad and Norman worked and he was always smiling, cheerful, a large, looming figure with slick dark hair and invariably wearing a grey suit, white shirt and dark tie.
Born in Grenoside, Sheffield 87 years ago, Norman was a proud Yorkshireman who was a decent cricketer and footballer and, given his size, was always in goal when the Derby press football team turned out for matches.
Norman was more than a decent photographer.
As well as earning many plaudits for his photos which graced the pages of a host of national and international newspapers and magazines, he was also a very good pictorial chronicler of nuptials, being named Kodak Wedding Photographer of the Year in 1976.
But it was his experiences as a news photographer that were recalled at his funeral by his former colleague Neil Hallam.
Neil, a journalist who became a very talented sportswriter covering cricket and football for national newspapers including the Daily Telegraph, started his career at Raymonds.
If you aren’t familiar with the activities of a press agency, it basically supplied news stories and photographs for newspapers and magazines.
When my Dad, Norman and Neil were working they also filmed footage for television news and recorded items for radio too.
Raymonds was a well known name with a reputation for honing very talented journalists and photographers, many who went on to work in media all over the world.
It’s success wasn’t down to, but certainly helped by the rise of an opinionated young football manager called Brian Clough.
Clough’s exploits at Derby County were rarely out of the newspapers and much of this copy and photographs were provided by the team at Raymonds.
The photograph above was taken by a Raymonds’ photographer, probably my Dad or Norman.
It was June 1st 1967 and shows Derby County chairman Sam Longson welcoming Clough and Taylor to the Baseball Ground.
Neil Hallam recalled at the funeral: “For such a big bloke Norman had the rare gift of being inconspicuous when it suited him, a very useful asset for a photographer.
“Brian Clough christened him the ‘Invisible Giant’. He said: ‘There’s about seven foot of the bugger and he’s got a knack of disappearing – saying hello when you arrive and the next time you notice him he’s saying tarra. Then you’d pick up the paper the next day and you’d find out he’d caught you off guard and looking gormless or like a maniac – he does it every bloody time.’
“I particularly remember the first time Norman arrived at the Baseball Ground, following the appointment of managerial partnership of Clough and Peter Taylor.
“You had to duck down to get into the manager’s office and as Norman negotiated his huge frame at the entrance Clough said: ‘Bloody hell big man is that the lot or is there any more of you?’
“This was the start of a series of gags along the same lines. When Peter Taylor arrived in the office – Clough introduced Norman as ‘our new centre forward’ and explained: ‘I don’t care whether he can kick it or head it, i just want him to stand on the opposition penalty spot and let it bounce off him’.
“Norman always enjoyed this badinage and on occasion gave a bit back. When Derby were in their pomp, Cloughie used to say: ‘Hey this team are so good our tea lady Rene could manage it.’
“Then Derby came unstuck in a vital match and when Norman arrived at the Baseball Ground he asked Clough where he could find the tea lady. Cloughie took the bait by saying: ‘What do you want Rene for?’ and Norman replied: ‘I just want a few shots of her explaining how she got the tactics so badly wrong on Saturday’.
“If I had made that remark, Clough would have gone ballistic but nobody ever took issue with Norman over anything. Perhaps because of his size but also because of his amiability,” remembered Neil.
He also recalled the time he and Norman were despatched by Raymonds to the grand surroundings of Chatsworth House in the Peak District.
Princess Anne, who was then a successful Olympic equestrian competitor, had been catapulted off her steed into the depths of the water jump at a recent event.
“All the papers had photos plastered across their back pages of her looking like a drowned rat and screaming at her horse,” remembered Neil.
The next big event in the calendar was the Chatsworth Horse Trials in Derbyshire and Neil and Norman were sent to cover her walking the course and looking at the various obstacles.
“The request was the same from every picture desk in Fleet Street: When she gets to the water jump we want a shot of her with a sour or terrified expression on her face,” said Neil.
But both he and Norman knew that the press corps would not be allowed to walk the course with her and would certainly be kept well away from the water jump by the royal media managers.
So the pair sneaked into the park along a track from the moorland above that avid birdwatcher Neil knew from his expeditions watching goshawks.
Jumping over a fence, they concealed themselves in bushes near the water jump.
Unfortunately they were soon discovered by a dog with the security detail.
They approached the royal party and asked for a photograph but Princess Anne refused and told them to ‘bugger off’.
“Norman was oddly quiet as I tried to persuade her media managers to relent and let us take one shot,” said Neil.
But his requests were refused as Anne shouted: ‘Get that ghastly fellow out of here, that man is an absolute cretin.’
He was then encouraged to walk away by Norman, something of a surprise given he hadn’t taken any photographs.
It turns out that Norm had used a small Pentax hidden under his coat to get a few sneaky shots of the Princess in full rant wearing a thunderous expression.
In one of them her arm was at such an angle as she appeared to be pointing at the water jump.
“The national newspapers were thrilled to bits,” remembered Neil.
“On the way back from Chatsworth Norman asked me how many times I had been sworn at by members of the Royal Family.
“Just Princess Anne, so far, I said.
“‘I can beat that,’ Norman replied.
“‘Prince Phil ordered one of his protection officers to get my big fat arse out of the way on a royal visit to Stoke and Princess Margaret told me and a couple of press men to go forth and multiply when we got in the way when she was inspecting a Girl Guides event in the pouring rain.
“‘I wondered whether the Guides had a badge for foul language,’ said Norm.”
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TALKING of Derby, the city where I grew up announced this week that its main shopping centre has been renamed.
It was known as the Eagle Centre for many years before it was redeveloped by an Australian property group and was known as the Westfield Centre before being rebranded Intu in recent years.
And from now on it is going to be called Derbion.
I know, it’s awful isn’t it?
But not as bad as the explanation given for the new name.
According to its management, the new name not only reflects the centre’s geographical location, but also “a sense of motion, inspired by Derby’s history of ingenuity and innovation, coupled with an ambition to continually move forward and evolve”.
Nice.
And very fitting for the home of Ann Summers, Extreme Eyebrows, Home Bargains, Iceland, Matalan, Poundland, Wilko and Luvyababes Fancy Dress.
Have a great weekend