The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Derek Lord with his weekly TV review
DReturn To Real Kashmir -
ocumentary-maker Greg Clark picked up an award at last year’s Scottish Baftas for his film following the fortunes of football manager and former Aberdeen, Rangers and Leeds United player Davie Robertson as he led his little-fancied regional team to third place in India’s football league.
In Return To Real Kashmir, Clark accompanied Robertson once more when the uncompromising soccer boss flew to Kolkata, a thousand miles south of his team’s homeland, to compete in one of India’s most prestigious tournaments – a cup that was first played for by British troops back in 1888, and which was won more often than not by Scots.
One Kolkata citizen pointed out that Scottish soldiers had tortured and killed many of his forebears, but he didn’t hold that against his new Scottish friend, much to Robertson’s relief.
The documentary opened with a clip from the original film, showing Robertson trashing a dressing room and turning the air blue, as he berated his players. He looked and sounded like Peter Mullan’s younger, tougher brother.
Then we visited the Robertson family’s Aberdeenshire residence, where we learned who really wore the trousers in the Robertson household, and it wasn’t Davie.
He arrived in Kolkata in the middle of a couple of storms – one natural and one political. Indian government troops had just invaded Kashmir, closed down their devolved parliament and imposed martial law. As a result, most of his players only made it to Kolkata a few days before the opening match. After one of his stirring, sweary team talks, Robertson’s men rose to the occasion.
Their next game was against the very army that was occupying Kashmir. They won it 3-0, but Robertson still wasn’t happy. He accused them of taking the foot off the pedal long before the final whistle.
While he calmed down, he took a trip to drug-fuelled shenanigans depicted in this TV adaptation.
One of the college’s most famous alumni is Samuel Beckett, who wrote Waiting For Godot, of which one critic said was a play in which nothing happens – twice.
You couldn’t say that about Normal People. There’s one thing that happens time and time again and from every possible angle. But it’s all done in the best possible taste.
My son explained that, in the book at least, the girl is not blessed with good looks and that the boy was only attracted to her brilliant mind. Why, then, is the girl in the television version stunningly beautiful? Odd casting, indeed. a Buddhist temple along with his son. He spun every prayer wheel he could get his hands on and sat in on a religious ceremony that moved him to tears. It’s just as well his team didn’t see their feared boss sobbing his heart out. It could have undermined the discipline he had fought so hard to instil.
When the team started to split up into factions, thanks largely to the attitude of Kallum Higginbotham, who believed some of his fellow players weren’t pulling their weight, Robertson stamped his authority on them.
It must have done the job. They were lying in second place when the dreaded Covid-19 put a premature end to the season.
Hopefully, Robertson’s success will lead to him getting a job closer to home. But, if he does, he’ll have to moderate his behaviour in the dug-out, or he’ll spend the entire season in the stands.
He has certainly stored up enough karma to earn himself a break. There aren’t many managers who could have overcome the obstacles that were put in Davie Robertson’s way. He’s some man.
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? -
Finally, the most heart-warming moment of the week on the box was when the wheelchair-bound former Scottish GP Andrew Townsley picked up a cheque for £500,000.
Jeremy Clarkson was delighted for him, although the erstwhile Top Gear presenter was gutted when the question for the million pound top prize came up. It asked which of four motor racing events was the oldest. Clarkson knew the answer, but the good doctor had already used up the option of asking for his help.
Clarkson has come in for some stick since taking over from Chris Tarrant. I hope the empathy and warmth he showed in this episode has silenced his critics.