inspectormorose

You were very open in your appraisal of onfield matters today but slightly politburo in your reply regarding non payment of players wages. The matter is in hand - says nothing, all it means is people are dealing with it one way or the other, either successfully or not. A cash flow issue occurred which will be rectified - when? soon? how short term is it?

It was featured in the news section of the Rochdale programme, Gordon very kindly did a third of a page about it which we appreciated immensely and Alan knew about that. Know the club run their own golf day generally within a few weeks of our Ernie trophy so potentially there is a conflict of interest but i'll sound them out, cheers

Know i've posted this previously and we've had a good response from Latics fans already, but for anyone who isn't aware, Factor 50, the fundraising arm of The Christie Malignant Melanoma research team, are pleased to announce entries are now being taken for the 2011 Ernie Cooksey memorial golf day. It is again being held at Manchester Golf Club, Hopwood, Middleton on Friday 22nd July 2011 and entry costs £200 per team of 4. This gets you 18 holes of golf on the North Wests premier inland course with a hot buffet on your return to the clubhouse. An annual memorial trophy is being awarded in Ernies name, won last year by a team headed by former Latics player Keith Hicks. In addition the individual winning team members receive trophies, there are also trophies for longest drive and nearest the pin. Last year was a fantastic day played in perfect conditions and we have already had a brisk uptake on this years day. If you are interested mail me andyworthington.factor50@googlemail.com or bell or text me on 07977 921085. Cheers Andy

Very very well said, I seem to remember his lack of celebration over the Colchester goal and the fact he was first off the pitch afterwards brought him pelters on messageboards from our own fans. Very sad news.

Also got AVG and last few times i've logged on over last month or so it's come up with a "threat blocked" alert so it would appear there's summat going on.

Rochdale very kindly donated their signed Ernie shirt to Factor 50 earlier this year for us to auction at our inaugural Ernie Cooksey memorial golf day. For anyone interested we are doing it again next year, bigger and better. Friday 22nd July at Manchester Golf Club, Hopwood Cottage, Middleton. £200 per team of 4 for 18 holes of golf on this fantastic course followed by a hot buffet meal. Annual trophy awarded to the winning team along with trophies for the winning individual players, longest drive and nearest the pin. Already had a fantastic response but the more the merrier so anyone who would like an entry form mail me at andyworthington.factor50@googlemail.com or bell me on 07977 921085 we'd love to see you.

Rochdale FC, in association with Factor 50, are hosting a 5 a side competition at the Football Factory in Rochdale on Sunday 12th December 2 - 6 pm. Entry is £30 per squad of up to 8 players, making it potentially less than £4 per player. Medals and trophies to the winners. £10 deposit secures a place. Half the proceeds are going to Factor 50, fundraisers for the Malignant Melanoma research fund at The Christie. Entry forms are available by mailing me at andyworthington.factor50@googlemail.com

Good man, soon as I have the entry forms will be in touch. Thanks for supporting what we are doing mate.

If any of the mods see fit to do so I would be extremely grateful. People who know me know i'm a Latics fan of over 40 years standing having first had the 'Tics inflicted on me in 1968. We set up prior to Ernie becoming ill, Factor 50 was founded when a friend, Jon, was informed he was terminal with melanoma in autumn 2007, he passed away 6 weeks before Ernie aged 30. My niece, who is also 30, suffers from the condition, she has just had her 5 year check up last week, luckily her condition was caught early so she has now been placed under her own supervision. Since we came into being we have been contacted by many people who's lives have been touched by melanoma, losing loved ones and friends to the disease, wanting to help fundraise. The common thread is the overwhelming need to find a successful treatment to stop others having to endure what they have gone through, it's humbling to meet these people and see the determination they have to help reach that goal. I was at a fundraising dinner on Saturday organised by someone who had lost their partner to the disease which raised over £4,000 for the team at The Christie. The other thing that has been striking has been the ages of people affected, all young, melanoma is the fastest rising incidence of cancer in the under 35 age group. There is currently no effective treatment for advanced melanoma, what is available may buy you time but that's it. We are funding a trial at The Christie that has shown promising results in America. Our fundraising has allowed the team to bring it to the research facility at The Christie where they have modified it to make it melanoma specific. It has proven successful under laboratory conditions and the next step is clinical trials on patients, this takes time and money. We have come a long way in a short time but, I guess we are merely at the end of the beginning. Any help anyone can be in supporting the events we run will take us further down the road to hopefully finding a successful treatment for the condition, so any golfers who fancy a great day out on a fantastic course we'd love to see you. Finally a very special mention to the club who are graciously allowing us to take a bucket collection at the turnstiles for the Tranmere home game on March 26th. Thanks Andy Worthington www.factor50.org.uk

Factor 50, the Oldham based fundraising group for the Malignant Melanoma research team at The Christie, have now arranged next years Ernie Cooksey memorial trophy. It will once again be held at Manchester golf club on Friday 22nd July 2011 and entry is £200 per team of 4. This years event was a fantastic day won by a team led by ex Latics player Keith Hicks who will be returning to defend the trophy. I know some people have already expressed an interest before we even arranged a date, anyone else who wishes to enter a team can mail me at andyworthington.factor50@googlemail.com or reply here with contact details. Once we have entry forms to post out I will be in touch. We also have a Charity Sports Evening in association with Rochdale Town FC, who's kit Factor 50 sponsor, coming up on Saturday 13th November 2010 at Mayfield Sports Centre, Castleton tickets are £20 for dinner plus special guest speakers for tickets you can call Gill on 07930 375360 or Mark on 07727 163695 Cheers Andy Worthington

As soon as we have details I will let you know. Probably be later in the year before we roll next years event out but we want to keep it around Ernie's anniversary, seems appropriate, so keep the first week in July 2011 in mind.

Non handicap golfers are more than welcome, we had quite a few in teams that entered. For the purposes of the day they were given a 28 handicap. Manchester golf club understood it was a charity golf day so make allowances in that regard. It was a seriously good day, everyone who entered has put a marker down to play again next year. Gee Dee trophies in Shaw provided the trophies free of charge including an annual Ernie Cooksey memorial cup that we can award the winning team each year. Ernies family in London were asked if they wanted to come and present the trophy but, understandably, with it being Ernies 2nd anniversary they felt it right and proper they were down south. They did however send their best wishes saying they were touched people were still remembering Ernie and they felt he would be proud this was being done in his name. Rochdale were very helpful in providing a signed shirt of Ernies they had for us to auction. We are in negotiation to try and get the price down for next year which again, hopefully, will be on a weekend to mark Ernies anniversary. So anyone who is a golfer, handicap or non handicap, is more than welcome to drop me a mail if you are interested in putting a team in. As soon as we have final details I can then let you know. It's andyworthington.factor50@googlemail.com Cheers Andy

Anyone interested in entering a team next year can contact me via the details in the link http://www.rochdaleafc.co.uk/page/NewsDeta...2093323,00.html

Rochdale supporters trust approached Factor 50, the malignant melanoma fundraising group for The Christie, last year wanting to do some joint fundraising. Given that Ernie was a Rochdale player as well as a Latics player they wanted to do something to try and make a difference in research into treatment of the disease that claimed him. We wanted to do an annual event and have decided on a golf day. We have been in contact with Ernie's sister and the family say they would be delighted if we awarded an annual trophy in Ernies name. The inaugural Ernie Cooksey memorial trophy will take place on Friday July 2nd 2010 at Manchester golf club, Hopwood, Middleton with first tee off 11.30 - 12 noon. The day will be a stableford competition and consists of a light lunch of soup and sandwiches, 18 holes of afternoon golf followed by a 3 course dinner in the evening after which the world cup quarter final will be shown on a screen in the function suite. Hopefully there will also be a sports memorabilia auction at half time in the match. Entry is £260 per team of 4 and is limited to a maximum of 20 teams. The Rochdale fans have already started entering teams so it's a chance for some derby rivalry ahead of any league games we may have next season. Anyone interested in entering a team can contact myself at andyworthington.factor50@googlemail.com for further details and an entry form. www.factor50.org.uk

For anyone who may be interested in how their donations to Factor 50 have been used over the last 18 months, below is the latest update we have received from the research team at the Christie. We are in regular contact with the clinical team at The Christie, without the funding we are providing via everyones support the advances they are making in Melanoma research and the progress towards running a clinical trial may not be happening so swiftly. Thanks for your continued support and encouragement, together we can make a difference. www.factor50.org.uk Cellular Immune Therapies for Melanoma – Manchester Update October 2009 Cellular therapies for melanoma are being carried out within the Departments of Medical Oncology and Surgery based at the Christie Hospital. This work is proceeding at two core levels - laboratory-based research and clinical development. Laboratory Research The focus of our laboratory research has been developing the methods to isolate tumour infiltrating T lymphocytes (TIL). These T-cells have been used in clinical trials at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) the United States with impressive responses (Dr S Rosenberg’s group). In order to develop clinical trial protocols locally, we have to demonstrate that these cells can be grown in our own laboratories. To date, we have cultured T-cells from twelve or more tumour samples confirming that the technique is robust and this work will form an intrinsic part of our clinical trial application. We are also seeking to incorporate newer techniques (such as a reduced period of culture to isolate the T-cells) and these are now under test. Aside from the isolation of T-cells with natural tumour specificity, we have tested a melanoma specific gene therapy approach also developed by Dr Rosenberg and Dr R Morgan at the NIH. This involves the genetic modification of T-cells with a receptor that endows the T-cells with specificity for the MART-1 antigen expressed by the vast majority of melanomas. When T-cells are modified using a retroviral vector encoding this receptor, they can recognise and kill tumour cells that possess the relevant MART-1 antigen but they do not kill cells which are lacking MART-1. This receptor is being used in clinical trials at the NIH and we are generating our own pre-clinical data to support clinical trial applications to start in Manchester. Clinical Development Our clinical development is strongly focused upon the preparation of the necessary regulatory applications for TIL trials and upon the development of a new cell processing facility. For our current T-cell trials, cell processing is being carried out in collaboration with the National Blood Service (NHSBT). However, the laboratories where this work is being performed are to be closed. Consequently, we are developing a new facility based at the Manchester Incubator using up-to-date technology to permit the production of more cell products than was possible at the current facility. The facility is in the process of being fitted out with the necessary equipment and our hope is that the Regulatory Authorities will inspect this facility early in 2010. Assuming a satisfactory outcome, we anticipate that cell processing will begin around March, 2010. Once open, one of our key priorities is to develop the TIL technology that is currently being used at a laboratory research level to reach standards that are acceptable for British and European Legislation in order to provide TIL’s for clinical trial. To achieve this, we need to develop some novel approaches in order to satisfy current legislation and, consequently, this will take some time. However, our over-riding intention is to have a process in place and available to support clinical trial applications for the last quarter of 2010 – of course, that is dependent on as few hitches as possible!

Rochdale supporters trust are running a 5 a side competition on Sunday 1st November, £40 for a squad of up to 8 players, trophies for winners and runners up. More importantly a chance for a little local derby action!! http://www.clubfanzine.com/rochdale/v2.showNews.php?id=26632 A share of the proceeds are going to Factor 50, the local group under the auspices of The Christie, fundraising for research into and helping to raise awareness of Malignant Melanoma www.factor50.org.uk I realise this clashes with the Hudds game but if anyone plays for a team and knows any non 'Tics who may wish to have it, let them know. The more the merrier.

At the start of August, BBC's Watchdog programme contacted Factor 50 for some advice and research material regarding a story they intended to run in the new series. They also asked if we had someone who had suffered from Malignant Melanoma who would agree to be interviewed. My niece Cheryl, who is a sufferer, said she would be happy to do it. Cheryl and Gill Nuttall went down to London around 3 weeks ago to record the interview and today have gone back down for the studio recording of the actual programme itself. For those of you that may be interested it will be aired on BBC1 on Thursday 17th September 2009 at 8pm. Cheers Andy Worthington www.factor50.org.uk

PETITION TO THE PRIME MINISTER TO BAN THE USE OF SUN BEDS FOR UNDER 18s AND THE USE OF COIN OPERATED SUN BEDS Following the recent announcement from the International Agency for Research into Cancer (IARC) at the World Health Organisation reclassifying sun beds from a medium risk to the highest risk category for risk of causing cancer (effectively putting sun beds into the same cancer causing risk category as asbestos), and continuing the campaign by several skin and cancer organisations, the Skin Care Campaign has launched a petition to the Prime Minister asking him to ensure that legislation is passed as soon as possible to ban the use of sun beds by under 18 year olds and that a total ban is put on the use of all coin operated sun beds. * Recent evidence has shown that the increased use of sun beds by children is damaging their skin and could lead to skin cancers in the future * Skin Cancer is now the most common form of cancer in the UK * More than 1800 people die from skin cancer every year and that is increasing by 10% every year * It is not unknown for children as young as 8 years old to be badly burned by use of sun beds. As an added campaigning tool the SCC will be writing to every MP raising their awareness and asking them to sign the petition Please add your support by signing the petition at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Sun-beds/ Once you have done so it would help greatly if you could pass this on to all of your contacts to make them aware of the campaign. Thanks Andy www.factor50.org.uk

Moved house and having a clear out so the programmes have to go for reasons of space. Approx 270 various home and away programmes mainly from 1986/87 to 2002 seasons with the majority being 86 - 92. Includes Latics yearbook 1972 - 1973 Texaco cup semi final v Southampton 1974 FA Cup 4th round v Northwich Vics and 5th round v Liverpool 1977 Anglo Scottish cup final v Burnley 1978 home and away Littlewoods cup run 1989 - 1990 v Arsenal 4th round v Southampton quarter final home and away v West Ham semi v Forest final Everton and Villa from that seasons FA Cup Promotion winning game v Ipswich away 1991 Championship winning game v Sheff Weds 1991 v Chelsea first home game in Division 1 after promotion 1991 Roger Palmer testemonial programme 13th May 1991 Manx FA Charity shield 1994 Also various press clippings after we won promotion at Ipswich including the following Mondays Chron and local papers souvenir editions for the Littlewoods cup final. Need to go as a job lot, they are in a storage box. Buyer to collect. PM me with any questions or to make me an offer, highest bid by midnight on 31st July gets them.

For those of you 'tics who fancy a night out, Rififis Amber Lounge, 26 Market St, Stalybridge is the place to be on Sunday 28th June from 8pm. A Candlelit Concert with the Stars hosted by Scott Wright and his band Dirty Weekend is on offer with tickets £10 each. Scott played Sam "the stripper" Kingston in Coronation St for 2 years, and has also appeared in Emmerdale and Shameless amongst others. Also appearing and singing are Shobna Gulati - Coronation St Lee Otway - Hollyoaks Ian Aspinall - Holby City / East is East Luke Bailey - Waterloo Rd / Casualty Craig Philips - winner of Big Brother 1 http://www.rififi.co.uk/view_article.php?a...=09060987997260 All proceeds go to Factor 50, the fundraising group under the auspices of The Christie, dedicated to raising money to find a successful treatment for Malignant Melanoma and raising awareness of the disease.

For those of you that may be interested I thought i'd give you an update on Factor 50, the group raising funds for the Malignant Melanoma research team at The Christie. It's been an interesting, challenging, busy and at times very sad year since we, effectively, started fundraising with a collection at the Latics v Millwall game last August. Factor 50 came into being because of the plight of a friend, Jon Herron, who contracted Malignant Melanoma. He had surgery to remove the primary sites of the disease but unfortunately it returned and it became apparent he would not win his battle with it. At this stage we decided that, as The Christie had no dedicated fundraising initiatives specifically for Malignant Melanoma, we would take up the challenge. When faced with something like that you either turn your back or do something about it. It wasn't a difficult choice. Whilst Jon was battling his condition sadly Ernies returned, which is probably how most people reading this first came to know about the disease. The collection at the game raised around £1500 to set us on our way and since then things have gone from strength to strength. We now have the support of Formula Ford, whos cars are all running the Factor 50 logo this year. We also have our first patron, Northern Ireland striker David Healy. Jon was from Northern Ireland, David was his footballing hero, so his participation is of immense importance and pride to us. The Factor 50 fund is currently over £150,000 in less than 12 months fundraising, an amount that will allow the research team to run a trial that, hopefully, will find a treatment that can, in future, make sure that people like Jon and Ernie don't succumb to Melanoma. Thanks to anyone who has helped, supported and donated so far, special mentions to Ruth Travis who did the London Marathon for us, Jimi T who did the Bupa 10k run, Lauryn Dale who is Ernies biggest fan and suggested the collection at the Millwall game and bullied people into donating, including the police. It doesn't end here, it's merely the end of the beginning. Although we have funded the trial now it will need continual funds to help it progress, anyone who wishes to help fundraise can contact us through the website www.factor50.org.uk or mail me on andyworthington.factor50@google mail.com Thanks again for any help you may have given, whether you realise it or not that quid you chucked in a bucket before the Millwall game last year has helped us to be where we are. Andy

Think Harry Crompton masqueraded as Kaptain Klueless way back then. They ran a bus from the, now long demolished, Auld Lang and Black Horse pubs on Manchester St a couple of times at the start of the 90/91 season. Wolves away and Barnsley away. Memory serves, Harry turned up for the Barnsley one showing solidarity for his Yorkshire mining brothers in arms. He was wearing his tangerine scarf, docs, jeans and a donkey jacket on which he had scrawled, in chalk, "King Arfur rules ok". All went well until Harry was punted from the away end for selling BTB as 20 foot up a wall there was a sign saying under club rules, section C, subsection H, clause 73(f), only official club publications were to be sold in the ground. Not one to be deterred by such draconian bylaws he relocated himself to the home end, behind the goal, still with his jacket on where various knuckledraggers apparently gave him a wide berth thinking that he was some sort of escapee from a nut house or an Oldham ninja such was his audacity and apparent zen like calm.

Are pickled onion monster munch the best crisps ever or is it golden wonder ready salted?

Nephew rang me at work this morning all excited over this one. He'd had a text from a number he didn't recognise saying whoever was texting hims dad knew someone from a major sponsor of the club and it was practically a done deal, now that's my kind of rumour mongering. I'm queueing early to beat the rush Monday to get my shirt printed. That said, and it's documented elsewhere somewhere on this site way back when, a mate rung me pissed from a cricket test at Old Trafford a few days before Crossley signed, he'd been talking to a bloke next to him who told him Crossley was signing for us imminently and he did. Always say you don't know, strange things happen. This one is bollocks though.

I'm sure it was written in the scriptures somewhere in a thread a long long time ago BT