Taking aim at being a success in life as Nuneaton taekwondo ‘grandad master’ appeals for club’s new champs
By Duncan Danley
IF you want to get ahead in life then you need to train your fists and feet to give you a kick start to success, Nuneaton’s martial art ‘grandad master’ believes.
And former UK number one tribute emporium owner Mick Emanuele is talking from a position of strength as head of three generations of family members with the top qualification under their belts.
Now the one-time impresario of La Tavola Calda restaurant wants to help pass on his long experience of the sport to the area’s future generations.
He is launching a heart-felt plea to attract a new clutch of champions to the Nuneaton Taekwondo Association of Great Britain which already boasts former world number ones and medal winners plus an ex-British team captain among its ranks.
The 72-year-old used to attend taekwondo classes for “relaxation respite” from the 24/7 routine of running the Italian restaurant he owned from 1965. Since retiring five years ago from the business, “it now takes up all my spare time”, he added as he passes on his knowledge of the noble art through teaching members three evenings a week at Higham Lane School, Nuneaton.
Taekwondo bible . . . the book presented to Mick Emanuele written by General Choi Hung Hi
Pensioner Mick said: “I have been waiting for the appropriate time to make my appeal and what better occasion than celebrating my 40 years as a black belt holder.
“It’s a pastime that keeps you fit, off the streets and gives you a disciplined approach to life in general.
“I would like to believe that all of our club members have gone on to do well in life – in work, rest and play.”Mick says it enabled him to spend “lots of time with my children while also giving me pleasure and happiness”.
And that family togetherness proved a winning formula in the Emanuele household.
His children, Maria and Chris, and grandchildren Mia and Michael all went on to follow him with top credentials and become the only three-generation family in Britain to be active black belt participants.
Hotelier Chris, 49, made giant strides in the sport.
Firstly in 1983 he achieved the distinction of becoming the youngest black belt in the UK at the time at the tender age of 10 and then went on to win a clutch of taekwondo tournaments.
But at 16, with the proverbial world at his feet, Chris quit the sport he’d loved and dominated to join the Army – and ironically took up boxing, turning pro and winning the British Masters as a bantamweight.
Fast forward to July 2013 and Chris found himself inspired by the progress being made in the martial art by his children – Mia and Michael, 10 and eight respectively at the time.
After 23 years out of the sport and knocking on the door of 40, Chris found himself fighting lads half his age at the world championships attended by 4,000 competitors at Coventry’s Skydome Arena.
He sailed through to the semifinals but came unstuck against European champion Carl Betty in the Men’s Black Belt flyweight division, which is the fastest of all weights – so taking the bronze medal.
The Nuneaton association was formed in the late 1960s by Dave Oliver who went on to chair the British Taekwondo Council.
Mick maintains that credit for a lot of the success of the Nuneaton association, which he joined 46 years ago, belongs to its founding father.
He added: “I cannot thank Dave Oliver enough. He gave me the passion for the discipline and the drive to pass on knowledge and experience of taekwondo to others.”
Discipline and drive .. . Dave Oliver, right, gave Mick Emanuele the “knowledge to pass on taekwondo to others”.
Dave, 78, who now lives in Leamington, last came to Nuneaton just before last Christmas to officiate at a grading.
The Nuneaton association’s head coach, Nigel Banks, needs no introduction in sporting circles either.
The 59-year-old, a former British team captain and English and British Sparring champion, achieved the ultimate accolade as world number one in 1991. With his wife June, also a Nuneaton coach, the pair won gold at the WAKO world championships in 1985 at Wembley.
Other martial art luminaries who passed through the doors of the Nuneaton club included Ki Ha Rhee, widely recognised as the ‘Father of British Taekwondo’.
It was Rhee – regarded as a key figure in the introduction of taekwondo across the world – who came into contact with General Choi Hung Hi, the founder of the International Taekwondo Federation.
Rhee,who taught taekwondo to the US 8th Army and, in 1964, travelled to Singapore, where he trained Royal Air Force personnel at RAF Changi before making his home in Glasgow, visited the Nuneaton association in 1980 and gave Mick a very special memento – an original copy of the taekwondo ‘bible’ by Hong Hi.
For those keen to try out taekwondo, the associationmeets on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays at Higham Lane Schoolbetween 7 and 8pm. Allcomers welcome.
The current crop of 30 members ranges in age from five to ‘grandad master’ Mick at 72.
Family album . . . Emanueles, from left, Mia, Chris, Mick and Michael
Homecoming . . . the Rev Helga Cornell back in the pulpit at Bedworth Old Meeting Church
Homecoming . . . the Rev Helga Cornell back in the pulpit at Bedworth Old Meeting Church
ONE of the most popular members of the clergy in Nuneaton and Bedworth this century was back in the pulpit as part of a 10th anniversary celebration weekend.
Former United Reformed Church minister the Reverend Helga Cornell was making her first visit to the area after her retirement six years ago.
She returned to help mark a decade since starting the Messy Church at Bedworth Old Meeting URC.
Her idea, taken from an original Church of England concept, was to adopt a “modern-day approach” to the traditional Sunday School for children.
The 70-year-old, who served as minister of the URC in both towns from 2009 to 2017 after arriving from Sefton Road Reformed Church in Morecambe, acknowledged that the development of the Messy Church “bridged a gap” in attending services.
“On lots of occasions children are brought as babies for baptism and then we lose contact with them,” she said.
“The old way of coming to Sunday School doesn’t necessarily suit modern families.”
The Rev Cornell – chaplain to Nuneaton and Bedworth mayors on four separate occasions during her ministry in Warwickshire – was helped in the 2013 launch of the church for children up to the age of 12 by members Leila al-Hindawi and husband-and-wife Debra and Ian Kerrigan.
It started with five families and their combined total of six children.
Leaving . . . the Rev Helga Cornell at her last service at Bedworth Old Meeting Church on May 28, 2017
A decade on and the church member trio is still in harness with some 25 children attending the Old Meeting Yard group on the third Sunday of the month from 2.30-4.30pm.
Mrs al-Hindawi said: “We are still applying the same basic formula for children from birth to 12 years old of a bible story followed by activities planned around arts and craft related to the religious theme.
“Now we are looking forward to having a qualified youth worker to take the group to the next age level of 12-18.
“The idea is to bridge the gap between baptism and attaining adulthood and will see church membership throughout the entire age range.”
The Messy Church, which meets 10 Sundays a year and takes a break in the summer months of July and August, is applying to the church synod for a grant to get a church-related youth worker.”
The Rev Cornell was delighted to be back in the pulpit preaching the sermon for the first time since her leaving service on May 28, 2017. Earlier that month she had celebrated her 65th birthday. She retired to Harrogate in her native Yorkshire.
Nationally, the United Reformed Church is celebrating 50 years of existence with a special service in the Methodist Central Hall, London, on Saturday (April 15) after it was originally cancelled last October due to a rail strike.
Happy anniversary . . . Leila al-Hindawi, left, and Debra Kerrigan get ready to hand out Messy Church 10th anniversary cakes
Gone but not forgotten
The line of gravestones tell only half the story at the CWGC Faubourg d’Amiens cemetery in France.
These heroes never made it home from the opening skirmishes as British and Commonwealth forces burst out against the Germans in the Battle of Arras.
Today sees the memorial services to the first day of the battle – exactly 100 years ago.
Between April 9 and when the battle ended in stalemate five weeks later on May 16, the British registered 160,000 casualties.
My grandfather, Charlie Barton (1891-1972), will count himself among the lucky ones.
Sitting inside the ‘sardine can’ of his Mk II ‘Male’ British tank, my grandfather had already witnessed nearly three years of the frontline horrors of World War I.
His tank was hit at Arras and he was hospitalised for many months after suffering shocking leg injuries which left him walking on a cushion support under both feet arches for the rest of his life.
It didn’t stop him staying in the Army until the end of World War II.
For the fallen and those that lived to fight another day (all heroes) – let us remember.
Artist formerly known as ‘Gorgeous’ hops aboard Brexit gravy train. But is Jezza sitting out tortuous journey en route to Number 10?
SUNDAY SOAPBOX .. . August 21, 2016
JEREMY CORBYN: Not enough trains
How the world has changed post-Brexit for former Chancellor George Osborne but less so for Labour’s under-fire but unruffled leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Mr Osborne – the Government overseer of ‘tightening our belts’ for six years as well as the architect of ‘Project Fear’ in the run-up to the EU referendum – seemed to have lost everything when he nailed his colours to the wrong jockey in the In/Out Race of the Century on June 23.
The darling of Tory conference and rabbit-out-the-hat Budgets, ‘gorgeous’ George had once looked set fair to take on the PM cape when David Cameron exited sometime before the 2020 general election.
The Brexit vote stopped him in his tracks and the subsequent fallout saw high-profile runners and riders unseated before claiming more casulaties in the Number 10 Steeplechase – most notably Boris Johnson and Michael Gove.
But Mr Osborne, I hear, is back in the saddle again – determined to make it ‘first past the post’ in the After-dinner Speaker Stakes.
He has been cleared to join the public speaker agency used by the likes of Tony Blair and George W. Bush to rake in hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments formally signed off on Osborne joining the Washington Speakers Bureau this week.
Past speakers have included Iraq invasion-era PM Tony Blair, his successor Gordon Brown and high-profile Americans such as former President George W. Bush and ex-Secretary of State Colin Powell. Former Australian PM Tony Abbott is also on the agency’s books.
Fees are not officially disclosed but are rumoured to be as high as £230,000 for former heads of state or prime ministers.
Mr Osborne, relegated to the back benches by newly-installed PM Theresa May, is expected to work for the agency for two days a week and lecture on “the current political environment.”
The official nod was given on the grounds he would not take up the role for three months after leaving cabinet and “personally approve any engagement to ensure that there is no conflict of interest.”
While political leaders David Cameron and Nigel Farage stepped down in the wake of the Brexit vote, Jezza found himself forced to contest the leadership of the Labour Party just 12 months after securing a landslide victory.
He’s suffered a seismic vote of no confidence from the Parliamentary Labour Party; lost one High Court battle over membership; got a stab in the front from London Mayor Sadiq Khan who accused him of ” “failing to win the trust and respect of the British people”; and ends a rough-and-tumble week – on his backside.
The Labour veteran was filmed joining seatless commuters on the floor during a three-hour train ride to debate leadership challenger Owen Smith.
By contrast, Mr Corbyn’s rival has been previously exposed enjoying first class travel at taxpayer expense.
From his spot on the floor, where he chose to sit instead of upgrading to first class, Corbyn says: “This is a problem that many passengers face every day, commuters and long distance travellers. Today this train is completely ram-packed. The staff are absolutely brilliant, working really hard to help everybody.
“The reality is there are not enough trains, we need more of them – and they’re also incredibly expensive.”
According to The Guardian, he later said: “Is it fair that I should upgrade my ticket whilst others who might not be able to afford such a luxury should have to sit on the floor? It’s their money I would be spending after all.”
This isn’t the first time Corbyn has won public attention while enduring the reality of Britain’s transport network.
During the 2015 leadership campaign he was spotted looking tired on a London night bus after a day of campaigning, proving his ‘man of the people’ credentials.
Labour leadership challenger Smith has also been in the public eye for his public transport use, but not in a positive light.
In 2012, an investigation revealed 185 MPs – including Smith and a third of shadow cabinet ministers – were enjoying first class train travel at the taxpayer expense.
The Daily Telegraph investigation showed MPs, who are normally required to travel by standard class, were exploiting a loophole which allowed them to buy first class tickets in some circumstances.
It’s August 2016 – and a lot can happen with us four years away to the official date of the next general election.
The polls are even saying that new PM Mrs May is more popular with Labour voters than Mr Corbyn.
But the pollsters have got it badly wrongly recently and don’t discount Jezza, with his ‘man of the people’ credentials and a messianic following from the young of this country, picking himself up off the floor to walk, bike or use public transport to ride to electoral victory.
At least gravy trains don’t appear to be his mode of transport . . .
SEAS THE DAY: OUR WEEKEND SUNNY BREXIT FORECAST . . . Saturday August 20, 2016
FIRST AMONG PIERS: Cleethorpes Pic: Dawn Braithwaite
And getting out of the EU is turning Brits into the ‘bucket-and-spade brigade’ of bygone days – in holiday terms.
The staggering extent of the post-Brexit boost to tourism in the UK is revealed in official figures showing billions more pounds flowing into the industry.
While the surge in UK holidays after the June 23 vote had been predicted, the findings by the industry’s leading bodies – revealed to The Mail on Sunday – are confirmation of a huge rise both in visitors from abroad and in Britons opting for a ‘staycation’.
The extra takings in 2016 for staycations alone are set to be £2.4 billion, according to the Tourism Alliance, whose members include the British Hospitality Association, ABTA and regional tourist boards.
While £1 billion of that was spent before June 23, the total additional staycation income for 2016 is expected to be £1.4 billion.
An extra £725 million has been spent so far across Britain’s popular tourist destinations. And hundreds of millions more are set to flow in – thanks to the growth in foreign visitors.
The falling pound since the Brexit vote has made holidays more expensive for Britons going abroad and cheaper for foreign tourists coming here – giving Britain’s tourism a double boost.
And the extraordinary growth in holidays in Britain means that the industry is set for a record-breaking year, topping the high set in 2015 of £127 billion.
Other factors adding to the boom are recent fine weather, low interest rates and fears of terrorism overseas.
The Tourism Alliance estimated that spending by Britons on UK holidays has been up by 17 per cent on 2015 so far this year.
So whether it’s surfing Newquay, quaint Broadstairs, Birmingham’s retreat Weston-super-Mare or East Midlands’ Mecca of Cleethorpes Pier . . . Remain’s the name of the UK’s 2016 Passport to Happiness Holiday game
IDS: Enough of this ‘neverendum’ story . . . let us out
IDS; Time is ‘now’ for Brexit
The former Work and Pensions Secretary believes the time is “now” to trigger Article 50 – the exit process.
IDS fears that there is an undercurrent of “hope” among some people who voted to stay in the EU that Britain will “drift on, never actually leaving”.
He told The Sun: “To that end they sigh that it is so complicated that it will take many, many years to negotiate. In a return to Project Fear, the same people now try to frighten us by inventing a new bottom line, saying that whatever happens, we must remain in the single market, with all its rules and regulations.”
And he added: “It is clear that the referendum was NOT a suggestion. Tired of handing over billions of their hard-earned money to wasteful EU bureaucrats, it was an order from the British people to Britain’s ruling elite — an order to ‘take back control’.
“We need to get on with triggering Article 50, as the Government has said, in early 2017.
“We shouldn’t wait to see the outcome of the two elections in Germany and France — that suggestion is yet another attempt to turn this referendum result into a ‘neverendum’.
“As the number of migrants from the EU in the UK tops a million for the first time we need to act swiftly.
“As a senior Swiss trade negotiator said to a small group of us a few weeks ago: ‘The problem is that you do not realise how powerful you really are in the UK. If little Switzerland can do so many trade deals that benefit our economy, just imagine how the world will be banging on the UK’s door.
‘You should rediscover the British belief that the EU needs to do a deal with you more than you need to do with them’.”
IDS, one of the masterminds behind the Out campaign before the referendum vote, concluded: “Let us leave as soon as possible, so that we can get on and make the most of our new-found independence.”
‘Second’s out’ warns unyielding Merkel
FRIDAY AUGUST 19, 2016 ANGELA MERKEL; Tough time ahead for UK
Ms Merkel said that the Brexit vote – which saw both Scotland (62 per cent) and Northern Ireland (56 per cent) return a ‘Remain’ majority at the June 23 referendum –was “irrevocable”.
More than four million people signed a petition asking for another vote after the shock result.
A number of high-profile politicians have also suggested that the British public should get to pass judgement on the ‘Brexit’ deal the UK Government secures from Brussels.
Ms Merkel also signalled that UK Prime Minister Theresa May will face tough negotiations ahead.
The Tory leader has yet to formally trigger the process of detailing the UK’s exit from the 28-nation bloc.
Mrs Merkel said: “The whole process of the exit still lies ahead of us, but the decision is irrevocable.”
She added that the decision was a test for the EU, adding: “Now we must negotiate on the basis of our interests. And ‘negotiate’ means, above all, strengthening common projects.”
In what appeared to be a warning to other countries thinking of leaving, she also said that the EU offered members a stronger voice internationally than they would have on their own.
Is Brexit Donald’s trump card?
DONALD TRUMP: ‘Great victory’
The billionaire tweeted as he trails Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton in the race for the US presidency in November.
He has called Britain’s decision to leave the EU a great victory and even claimed he predicted the result.
Immigration “has been a horrible thing” for Britain, he told Fox News. “A lot of that was pushed by the EU,” he said.
He has vowed to build a wall between America and Mexico if he becomes president and has talked of a ban on all Muslims from entering the States.
His new interest in Brexit may have a lot to do with news that leaving the union may not have been as catastrophic to the UK economy as first feared.
Fed-up with Brexit? US institution mentions it 20 times
THE US Federal Reserve stopped short of raising interest rates last month – due in large part to possible long-term “risks” related to Britain’s Leave vote.
Minutes from the July meeting, released this week, mentioned Brexit no fewer than 20 times.
The economic uncertainty triggered by the referendum vote is one of a number of factors that have split the Fed’s board.
The minutes show several Fed members believe the continuing strength of the US job market means a rate increase could soon be warranted, while others argued for caution and to keep rates at their historic lows.
Analysis by the US central banks showed that the US reaction to the EU referendum was temporary.
“Following the outcome of the 23 June referendum in the United Kingdom in which a majority indicated a preference to leave the European Union (EU), yields on US Treasury securities fell sharply, US equity prices declined, and the foreign exchange value of the dollar increased,” the Fed pointed out. “However, these changes generally reversed in subsequent weeks.”
The Fed also noted that following the vote, the early indicators pointed to a slowdown in economic growth in UK and that while the “negative sentiment surrounding the Brexit” had been alleviated, “several long-term global risks related to Brexit remained”.
Brexit fuelling racist attacks, says Sturgeon
REASSURANCE: Nicola Sturgeon
Ms Sturgeon said that recent reports of hatred and abuse reminded her of the types of incidents seen in the 1980s.
The UK Government has pledged to review how it monitors the racist attacks following evidence it has been exacerbated by the Brexit vote.
Scottish schools have now been urged to record and report ‘identity-based’ bullying in the wake of the vote.
Earlier this week Ms Sturgeon met with more than 400 people from 24 different EU countries living in Scotland in a bid to reassure them about the implications of the Brexit vote.
Weeks after Britain voted to leave the EU, racist and religiously motivated stickers were found in Glasgow proclaiming some areas of the city as ‘white zones’ while there have also been reports of migrants being told to go home.
Look At The Muck On 'Ere 