Richard Dunwoody's Blog by Richard_Dunwoody

Germans are accused of method rather than madness; perceived as a stoic, conservative and largely undemonstrative bunch. Our sensible European brothers. So Berlin is not necessarily the first ‘party’ city that springs to mind to see the New Year in. I wasn’t sure what to expect, other than a few efficient and well-orchestrated firework displays. The evening started predictably enough with a wander up to the Brandenburg Gate to join in the official street party. Apparently ‘The Hoff’ – David Hasselhoff – was supposed to be here, but he didn’t show. That may have left a few people disappointed, but I wasn’t going to lose any sleep. But wouldn’t you know it, luck would have other plans for me and instead I got to experience ‘The world’s greatest party band”.

I’m not sure what world they were from. Obviously not mine. But it was nice to see Eurovision in the flesh. Terry Wogan would have been in his element. Come midnight, you’d have been forgiven for thinking that Berlin had returned to an earlier era. All hell broke loose. It seemed that everyone had brought their own firecrackers onto the main street and were celebrating together. There was no order, simply chaos. Imagine, rather than have people stand a safe distance back, you actually try to aim your crackers at them, at cars, at buildings, at anything at all, really. And why restrict yourself to the great outdoors? The acoustics in a train carriage are pretty good. Never mind the youths walking down the street firing guns off into the air either. Your only wish at that stage is that those very real looking guns are toys. Sirens pierced the air as fire engines and ambulances battled their way to the less fortunate party goers who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Who said that Germans are boring?

New Year’s Day brought forth the debris; spent firecracker cases everywhere amid the melting snow. It was an amazing place to welcome in 2011, a great laugh was had by all, and I heard no reports of any deaths on the German news. Having said that, my German isn’t all that. Sadly, I read that wildlife officials are trying to determine what caused more than 1000 birds to fall dead from the sky in a small town in the US state of Arkansas. The birds began dropping just before midnight on New Year’s Eve. Some theories have been put forward for the mystery and initial laboratory tests said the birds had died from trauma. Some reports indicate that the deaths were caused by fireworks. Well, if that’s the case, all I can say is that the blackbirds in Berlin are made of much sterner stuff than those in Arkansas! If you visit Berlin, it is well worth the time exploring Sanssouci, the name of the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, in the town of Posdam, just outside Berlin. Locals often refer to it as the German rival of ‘Versailles’ and wandering around it on a very cold winter’s day, you can imagine its charm as a great retreat in summer. Also worth a look is Tacheles, a decaying former department store that now houses an artists’ collective and serves as an unofficial arts centre.

I was at home with the family for a few days over Christmas and it was great to see Arsenal playing so well against Birmingham – less so against Wigan. Chelsea seem to be on the slide, so let’s look forward with optimism and say that Manchester United have won just twice away from home all year... and the Gunners are now in with a genuine shot at the title. It’s amazing how a supporter's views can fluctuate! I even saw a West Ham fan with a smile on his face this week! How rare is that? London Irish played better when I watched them against Bath, but a last-minute penalty from Bath’s Olly Barkley condemned Irish to their ninth straight defeat in all competitions. It was a gut-wrenching result.

On the racing front, I'll be at Chepstow on Saturday for the Coral Welsh National. It is terrific for racing fans that the race has been saved after the snow and frost caused its cancellation last week. It was also great to see Toby Balding awarded with an OBE for his services to racing in the New Year Honours List. He won the Grand National twice and also had the rare distinction of claiming the two other biggest races in the National Hunt calendar, the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Champion Hurdle. He also nurtured many young stars, such as AP McCoy and Adrian Maguire, and has been politically active for many years, including being a member of the triumvirate that started the National Trainers’ Federation over 40 years ago. Racing may have been good to him, but he has also been great for racing and I’m delighted he’s been recognised in this way.

Jim Gale also received an OBE for his services to the racing industry. Jim was responsible for setting up the Northern Racing College in 1984 and retired as its chief executive last year. Finally it was tremendous to see equine physiotherapist, Mary Bromiley, well known for her work on racehorses (and a good few jockeys over the years including yours truly), awarded an MBE for services to equine sport. Until next time, may I wish you a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!