David Parkin on haute couture at the seaside

THE Scarborough Cricket Festival is Yorkshire’s answer to Paris Fashion Week.

It is an annual gathering of the cognoscenti who swap news and gossip in magnificent surroundings on a world class occasion.

OK, tea in Thermos flasks is preferred to champagne and sandwiches made from Mother’s Pride bread and transported in ice cream tubs are a substitute for Michelin-starred canapes.

But other than that, it’s dead similar.

Oh, the clothes?

Yes, they do differ a trifle in the east coast seaside resort from what you see around the catwalks of the French capital.

It’s less Jean Paul Gaultier and more Millets circa 1995.

I know which occasion I’d rather be at and it is definitely Scarborough.

I’d never been to see Yorkshire CCC play at Scarborough before this summer and now I’ve been twice.

Earlier in the summer I wrote?about my trip to a day at the county club’s match against Durham at the historic ground at North Marine Road where Yorkshire played cricket long before Headingley became the club’s home ground.

Although I didn’t see much cricket as delayed and cancelled trains meant a late arrival and then a downpour ensured very little cricket was played.

But my hosts, the law firm Andrew Jackson and their guests, were great company and I had a cracking day.

So when Shaun Watts of fast-growing Hull-based but national fit-out firm Chameleon Business Interiors, invited me to the annual Scarborough Cricket Festival this week, I was keen to return to the coast.

And on this occasion the trains were punctual and the sun shone brightly.

I bumped into fellow guest Jas Athwal as I got off the train.

Jas is a Deputy Lieutenant in Yorkshire, a well connected individual in business and a very funny speaker, but he’ll tell you he’s just a “former shopkeeper from Bradford”.

Jas was chatting to John Helm, the sports commentator who I reminded that I competed against in the inaugural Lord’s Taverners Balloon Debate several years ago.

We both reflected on the tragic loss of one of our fellow balloonists in that event, BBC presenter Harry Gration, who died last year.

When I arrived in the marquee on the side of the pitch at the cricket ground I bumped into accountant Jeremy Oliver of Azets.

He told me he’d read about my last trip to Scarborough and decided to drive rather than getting the train.

He asked me how I’d got there and I mumbled something and sloped off to the bar

Despite the glorious weather I probably saw as little cricket as I did last time I was there.

Yorkshire’s match against Derbyshire looked to be a good game, but the action in the marquee was equally compelling with plenty of big names from the world of business there.

I chatted to Kevin McCabe, the former Sheffield United owner whose property company is called Scarborough Group and Richard Dunn, a partner at commercial property agents Sanderson Weatherall, who was a guest of Shaun Watts, was good company.

I also saw former bankers Andy Foster who was at Lloyds and Tony Walsh, formerly of Barclays.

Both looked youthful, energetic and happy. I can’t think that being out of banking has done that for them.

On our table over lunch Shaun insisted that I tell our fellow guests my Arnie Schwarzenegger story.

Everyone, particularly someone so unwilling to talk about themselves like me, needs a friend like Shaun.

They must have been the only people in business in Yorkshire who haven’t heard it - and so I made the most of it.

:::

DARRAGH MacAnthony is the kind of football chairman who enjoys publicity.

The Peterborough owner has his own podcast and is a regular on Twitter, or X as it is now called.

In fact he may even make more public pronouncements than his manager, Darren Ferguson, son of legendary former Manchester United boss Sir Alex.

So it was no surprise to see MacAnthony speaking to Sky Sports News on football’s transfer deadline day last week.

The Irishman, who became chairman of League One Peterborough, nicknamed The Posh, in 2006 aged 30, was on a video call to the channel from Dubai where he said he was on business.

Behind him on the wall was an arty black and white photograph of a flash car parked in front of a large yacht.

MacAnthony said he had been away from his family home in Florida for two months because of business commitments and he was looking forward to returning home to see “my beautiful wife”.

I’m concerned that this guy is a bit short of self-confidence.

::

DESPITE it still being the summer holidays and the end of a bank holiday week, last week’s blog garnered a good audience of readers and several interesting comments.

Lawyer Robert Meadows, who cut his teeth under the tutelage of lawyer, raconteur, bon viveur and latter day Beau Brummell, Rodney Dalton, made an interesting observation on my blog about missing manners in today’s society.

“David, it’s a few years since we last met, but for your comfort, I remember your manners were impeccable!

“I wholeheartedly agree with your position on manners. I might be a little old-fashioned in some aspects of life (I think Rodney Dalton, and I are the only two remaining lawyers wearing a tie in Yorkshire).?

“However, there are two points which strike me as relevant:

1. Increasingly technology is removing the need for people to have actual contact with each other, so working from home, Teams meetings, instead of round the table, online shopping, and deliveries, Google Maps - so no need to ask for directions, buying a train ticket without using a ticket office and even ordering your McDonald’s from a screen or an app while standing a few feet from an actual person behind the counter. When my boys were young, I always took care to make sure they knew how to ask a shop assistant for something politely, and generally to be able to meet an eye, smile and say thank you. Just some basic social interaction which is becoming redundant.
2. We increasingly live in a society where people are happy to get away with what they can get away with. But it’s up to us as individuals to do the right thing.

So let’s persevere with manners,” concluded Robert.

He makes a really good point and I hadn’t quite realised how little interaction we now need to have with others.

I can’t remember the last time I queued up for a checkout in a supermarket and chatted to the operator, because the big grocery chains are so keen to push us through the self checkout facilities.

But good manners stay with you for life, so I never forget to thank the self-service checkout machine.

Well, they’re so polite.

:::

MIND you, this blog is a regular reminder of the old phrase that you can’t please all of the people all of the time.

Corporate lawyer Robin Johnson of Eversheds Sutherland, underlined that last week.

My column about the rising tide of rudeness from some members of the public was, I thought, an erudite critique of modern society.

Although others might just call it a rant.

Robin might be in that camp.

A note arrived from him in reply to last week’s blog saying simply: “Did you or Nadine Dorries write this?”

Now some people might be offended when being compared to the Conservative MP and Boris Johnson fan who famously threw her toys out of the pram when she failed to receive a peerage in BoJo’s resignation honours.

I wondered whether Robin’s suggestion could give me a new career as a speechwriter for the former Culture Secretary.

But of course she finally resigned as MP for Mid Bedfordshire last week and hadn’t spoken in the House of Commons for a year before that.

So bang goes that career opportunity.

As for Robin Johnson, who when I last met him had responsibility for Eversheds Sutherland’s Chicago office, he is currently on business in China.

His trip follows that of the Foreign Secretary James Cleverly who visited Beijing last week.

I’m not sure whether Robin is there for his deal making or his diplomatic skills.

:::

I’M heading off to Greece this time next week for a holiday so the blog will return in a fortnight’s time.

The day before I go I’m compering the Headstar Annual Conference at Leeds Arena which I’m looking forward to as the finance recruitment firm are a great bunch of people who always attract a big, quality audience.

So I’ll see you in two weeks when I’ll be energised, tanned, engaging and intelligent.

Well, I’m hoping for a tan, anyway.

Have a great weekend.

If you have enjoyed reading this blog please feel free to like it and leave a comment.