WATCHING dozens of World Cup games is all part of the job for lecturer Alan Tomlinson.

For the former Burnley professor teaches sport and leisure studies and has just co-authored a book investigating football's governing body.

The book, FIFA and the Contest for World Football, examines the politics involved in the international game and has taken Alan and his co-auther John Sugden three years to write .

It is Alan's fourth sporting book and his subjects in the past have included the Olympic games. Clarets fan Alan was a pupil at Burnley Grammar School in the 1960s and is son of the late Chris Tomlinson, a former Burnley police sergeant, and Doris, a former head of Barden Lane Nursery School.

He left East Lancashire to go to college in the South and now lives in Brighton, where he lectures at the town's university.

"I still try and get to see Burnley play as often as I can," said Alan, who frequently returns to East Lancashire to see his brother John.

"Let's hope next season turns out better than this one did." Teacher meets princess A FORMER Blackburn teacher met Princess Anne at a reception in London.

Albert Eastham was introduced to the Princess Royal at a British Executive Service Overseas event in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The Princess is patron of the organisation, which sends executives abroad to work in developing countries.

Mr Eastham, a former teacher at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Blackburn, is due to travel to China with BESO in November to teach at a management college in Gansu Province - where the Great Wall of China ends.

He had seen the Princess once before, at a reception at the British Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Mr Eastham worked in the country from 1972 to 1974.

He said: "We talked about Ethiopia.

"She has been back since then and she talked about how the population had increased."

Mr Eastham, who is in his late 50s, was brought up in Blackburn and attended St Thomas's School and church.

He went on to Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School and returned later in life as a teacher of English and A-Level General Studies.

He has worked in many countries, including Pakistan, Vietnam, Estonia, Ethiopia, Guyana and Zimbabwe.

He mainly lectures in public administration.

He now lives in Oxford with his wife Tricia.

They have three children - Andrew, Robert and Elizabeth. Army turns up the heat for soldiers TWO soldiers have completed a heavy training schedule on the sunshine island of Cyprus.

Based with 16 Signal regiment at Rheindahlen, Germany, Sergeant Michael Fawcett (left), 27, and Lance Corporal Kevin Smith, 20, took part in Exercise Lion Sun, designed to give soldiers experience of operating in extreme heat.

They performed infantry attacks, coastal patrols, urban fighting, helicopter operations, plus mountain trekking and orienteering during their stay.

Michael, whose mother Jane Wilson lives in Colne, joined the Army in 1988 after attending Park High School and is a teletech systems expert.

A keen sportsman, he enjoys football and hockey.

Michael and his wife Clare have two daughters, Lucy, aged seven, and Sara-Jayne, three.

Kevin's parents Garry and Susan live in Padiham and he joined after being educated at Habergham High School, Burnley. Also keen on sport, he does basketball and weight training. The hot days and hard graft behind them, the duo managed some sightseeing before returning to Germany. Bike marathon COUNCIL chief Graham Jagger hopes to raise cash for charity from a 350km cycle trek of Israel.

The Ribble Valley Council chief engineer is to undertake the Three Seas Cycle Challenge in aid of Addaction, the charity that educates youngsters about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

The sponsored trek, from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea via the Sea of Galilee, takes place in October.

Cycling enthusiast Graham, who lives in Colne Road, Kelbrook, has pledged to raise £2,000 for the charity and has already been promised sponsorship of £1,000 by Nelson firm Bridge Computer Systems Limited.

The tough week-long challenge will see participants cycling over 50km a day through areas brimming with Biblical history.

He is now working out by cycling up to 80km a week in time for the October challenge.

If you would like to help with sponsorship, Graham can be contacted during the day on 01200 425111. Labour remembers stalwart LABOUR stalwart Len Dole is still remembered by national party bosses - nearly 20 years since he retired as agent for the old Nelson and Colne constituency.

He has just been invited to a special reception at 10 Downing Street to mark his work for the party he has actively supported for more than half a century.

Len was in London to cheer the success of Prime Minister Clement Attlee when Labour swept to power in 1945.

As constituency agent for Sydney Silverman, he often visited the House of Commons and did again as a special guest last year when Labour once more scored a famous victory.

But the invitation from the party's Retired Staff Association, leaves the door open for his first visit to 10 Downing Street.

"I am honoured and I will certainly be accepting," said ex-Pendle councillor Len, who lives in Lomeshaye, Nelson.

Previous news story

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.