| A taste of Vivaldi's lost concerto Flautist John Hall plays an extract from a lost concerto by Vivaldi, which was discovered among papers at the National Archives in ScotlandSeverin Carrell guardian.co.uk |
Six ex-MPs yet to repay expenses Six former MPs have still not made repayments requested by expenses auditor Sir Thomas Legg in February. bbc.co.uk |
Most distant galaxy identified An ancient galaxy has entered the record books after being confirmed as the most distant object in the universe. telegraph.co.uk |
Manchester United buy Nobby Stiles 1966 world cup medal for record price at auction England player Nobby Stiles is eighth 1966 squad member to sell his winners' medal but his old club were determined to buy itThe 1966 World Cup winners' medal won by the England midfielder Nobby Stiles has been bought at auction for a record price by Manchester United, the player's club for most of his career.The club museum bid £160,000 at an auction of Stiles's personal collection near Edinburgh today but will pay £188,200 in total including commission and VAT – a world record price for a medal won by any of the England squad.Stiles was out buying shoes with his wife when the hammer went down on the medal, but his son John Stiles and five other members of the family, including the player's grandson, were at the sale at the Ingliston showground near Edinburgh airport.John Stiles said his father, now 68, was too nervous to watch the sale. The family was pleased at the final price, he added, and because the medal and other treasured things were bought by his father's old club.His father had been resigned for some time to selling his collection of medals, England caps and shirts to raise money for his retirement, he said. But he had a stroke over the summer, and that accelerated the decision to sell.Nobby Stiles said: "It was always my intention to leave the entire collection to my children. But I have three sons. How do you fairly divide up this sort of collection between them? They have each selected some pieces they would like to keep for themselves."Stiles, who joined Manchester United in 1957 and then Middlesbrough in 1971, auctioned 45 items, including many of his England strips at youth, intermediate and full international level, his England caps, Manchester United kit and tracksuit, and a series of league and cup winners' medals.He is the eighth squad member to sell his 1966 winners' medal. The medal belonging to Alan Ball went for a then record price of £164,800 in 2005 while West Ham paid £150,000 to Bobby Moore and Geoff Hurst for their medals. Only Roger Hunt, Bobby Charlton and Jack Charlton have kept theirs.The second most valuable lot was Stiles's 1968 European cup winners' medal, which went for £49,402 including VAT and commission. The strip he wore in the final, against Benfica, sold for £30,582 in total, while his 1966 world cup England cap went for a total of £35,287. The 45 lots sold for £424,438, with 10 of the most significant pieces bought for Manchester United's museum by its curator, Mark Wylie.Many collectors and fans at the auction had expected the club to bid hard for the world cup medal, arguing that the club had a moral duty to Stiles, its own history and its fans to do so.David Barnard, 58, a retired accountant and West Ham fan originally from London now living in Edinburgh, had watched Stiles play as a boy at West Ham's stadium, Upton Park, and was at the sale to "pay respect" to the defender."If the club has any self-respect given what's happened last week with Wayne Rooney, Manchester United should be buying, especially the world cup medal. They can hardly expect loyalty of their fans if they're not prepared to show loyalty to one of their greatest servants," he said.Wylie said the club had been determined to buy the most significant lots. Bidding was very brisk, particularly for the world cup medal when the price jumping up by £10,000 a time. For key lots, Wylie often kept his bidding card held aloft without flinching as the prices climbed, until he won.Stiles is "a very important person in club history, and we need to feature him in our museum", he said. "I feel that medals and caps and memorabilia like this should be on display in a museum. It's better that they're on display rather than at home in a loft or a private collection which no one can see."John Stiles said his father, a modest man who didn't even ask Old Trafford for complimentary tickets, had actually kept his collection locked away and rarely brought them out to be seen. "At the end of the day, the medals were gathering dust in a bank and the shirts stayed in the loft, so if you walked into my dad's house you would never have known," he said.There is some irony that an England's player's 1966 memorabilia was sold by a Scottish auctioneer. Scots' antipathy to the legend surrounding that victory is legendary. Irn Bru, Scotland's best-selling soft drink, currently has an advert on its delivery lorries reading: "I had an IRN-BRU in '66 but I don't go on about it".This morning, a BBC Radio Scotland news presenter prefaced a clip of Kenneth Wolstenholme's famous commentary "they think it's all over, it is now" during a report on the auction with the word "apologies" on air.However, David Convery, the auctioneer who ran today's event, is regarded as the world expert on 1966 memorabilia sales after handling nearly all the previous auctions for squad members, mainly for Christies.Wylie, a Scot, said: "It's not a phobia towards the squad. It's the fact it's England's greatest achievement and some Scots sometimes do feel it gets rammed down people's throats all the time, but it might be a little bit of envy there as well, let's face it."Manchester UnitedEnglandSeverin Carrellguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Labour fear of 'jobless recovery' Labour is to warn about the dangers of a "jobless recovery", a day after figures suggested UK growth next year may not be as healthy as first thought. bbc.co.uk |