Ed Lowis

@cribsie I would actually take them out of the album to keep them flatter and preserve their corners. BUT do you have any of the Brigham cigarette cards??

Pinnace cigarette cards from the early 1920s displayed in their original album pages #readingfc

@m1871e At least someone scored. Rumour has it that Reading and Huddersfield would still be playing, and it would still be 0-0, if they used the playground rule of “next goal wins”.

Nice of Hull and Middlesbrough to give us possibly the worst Play off final since Reading vs Huddersfield in 2017.

This always makes me chuckle. Two things to learn: 1. The dangers of AI 2. The pedantry of history geeks

Very pessimistic by @England Should be given the date for the final too. #ItsComingHome

Good luck @low101043 in the Edinburgh Marathon today. Good to see you have picked the hottest weekend of the year for it! 😭 @runningEMF

This weekend sees the last ever episode of Football Focus broadcast on the BBC. One of my colleagues sent me this earlier this week. A montage of some of the stuff we did on the show and it brought back so many lovely memories ❤️ I can tell you exact spot where I was standing on the old runway at Turnberry golf club when I got the call to see if I wanted to become the presenter of Football Focus. I was covering The Open in 2009 and it was one of the best conversations I have ever had. For a kid who had grown up watching the show every week with my dad it was an amazing privilege to know that I would be hosting a programme which had always been such a big part of my weekend. I called my dad immediately and he was just as pleased as I was. When the news was announced I had a phone call from the one and only Bob Wilson. He was so warm and encouraging, as he always is, and said “Dan, you are gonna love this job. There is nothing like it… make sure you take care of it”. I hope I did. As a former custodian of the couch, Bob knew how special it was and I felt the same way when I handed over the reins to the brilliant Alex Scott when I left Focus after 12 seasons. People still talk to me about the show all the time. Focus is stitched into my life and I know there are still so many fans who really care about it which is why it’s such a crazy decision to get rid of it. Move it to Saturday morning, tinker with the format but, in a world where there is such a premium on reliable and trusted brands, why would you throw away over 50 years of hard work and history? It carries weight. I remember interviewing Pele years ago and I told him I was from Football Focus and he said “I know all about Football Focus” with a big smile. When we were filming a show about the history of Barcelona at the Nou Camp we were about to sit down to talk to Eusebio and Johan Cryuff (I had to pinch myself about that one) and Sir Bobby Charlton walked over and said to them, “You can tell this is important gentlemen… the team from Football Focus are here”. When I called Noel Gallagher to talk about an idea we had to get him to interview Mario Ballotelli at Manchester City he rearranged his world tour to be there. Obviously Balotelli was a draw but Noel said “I’d do anything for Football Focus”. When I interviewed Jurgen Klopp in the tearoom at Exeter City before an FA cup tie the lovely ladies serving brews were wedged into the corner while we spoke. I introduced them to Mr Klopp afterwards and he apologised for stealing their space; “Don’t worry about that” they said. “We’ve just been on Football Focus! Wait until we tell the family about this!”. I know the game has changed and the way we consume it has changed but there is still an audience there if you find the right place for it, promote it, ‘take care of it’ and give fans the chance to be part of the conversation on an informed, thoughtful and entertaining show about the sport we all love. I am gutted it’s going but also so thankful for all the amazing people I got to work with over the years. They remain life-long friends and I still can’t quite believe I got to sit alongside the people I grew up watching play the game at the highest level. I remember when Alan Shearer called me “Dan” on one of the first shows I worked on. The little kid inside me thought “Alan Shearer knows my name!”. It was a pleasure to work with so many brilliant pundits and it was great to watch Alex develop on Focus and then go on to host the programme so well. I was asked this week to pick a favourite moment from my 12 years on the show. It’s a very hard question because I have a huge catalogue of wonderful memories. I always look back on our on-the-road shows because we were taking Focus out to the fans; their club was the canvas and we got to paint a beautiful picture together each week about what the place meant to the community, the history, the culture and all the things that were part of that.

I don’t teach any Year 11s this year. And I don’t often get presents. But this was top notch…. (I was told that I was the only teacher with a sense of humour to appreciate this)

Think I’ve sorted out @EFL Play Off Final headache. @HullCity vs @SouthboroughFc Hull win = promotion Southborough to field a mix of @SouthamptonFC and @Boro players. If they win, the scorer of the winning goal’s parent club gets promoted. Sorted.

Getting a bit fed up with the media talking about Arsenal’s ‘long wait’ for a Championship being ended after 22 years. @ReadingFC was founded in 1871. Now that IS a long wait…… #ReadingFC

One Bradley Lowery ❤️💙 @Bradleysfight

Little did we know quite how bad it would become….. (And I’m not just talking about the Play Off final!) #ReadingFC

A thread on the 50 best fortifications to go and visit in the world according to me. They are all fun for at least one in the family. They are listed in reverse rank order as determined by how much fun, unique and awesome they are.

@stabler_james @ReadingFC @MJAbbottLtd Currently looks like Port Vale’s pitch. 😉

Days 4&5.... No huge updates, just more digging. All the old pipework has gone, sand has pretty much gone, levelled off to our desired depth. New drainage pipes are being put together over the weekend, ready to be installed on Monday. @ReadingFC @MJAbbottLtd

Love it when students bring in things to show me. Ant ideas about the fossil? Or the bullet and button? (Pen used for scale)

The irony today. @West_Suffolk delivered paperwork concerning new bin collections. Our black bin should have been collected last Friday, but the road was ‘closed’. (It wasn’t). The automatic email said they would aim to come within 3 working days. They haven’t. @buryfree

@benmoores2 @GreatWarHuts But it sounds pretty realistic! 🫣 Just need to stand in some mud for a few days and get someone to take some pot shots at you, and you’re fully immersed in the First World War!

@ed_lowis @GreatWarHuts It doesnt make my list because in 1990 we went there and one person fell out of a tree and broke his arm and another fell down the crater and ruptured his spleen. I can safely say it wasnt awesome.

This is a great thread. But no mention of Hooge Crater Museum (and their open sandwiches). Also, @benmoores2 has clearly not visited @GreatWarHuts yet…..

@benmoores2 @PDC_Services Reminds me of Richard Holmes War Walk at Waterloo. Words to the effect of “Napoleon may have lost the war, but he won at the gift shop” 😁

@PDC_Services 100% on Waterloo! Dunkirk I visited but only toured the area.

A thread on the seven worst military museums and seven best military museums around the world. Buckle in for a dark to entertaining ride. Starting with the worst....