HELLO, how’s your week been? Mine has been taken up with a raft of sport, from grassroots rugby and netball to Test match cricket via the Premier League, League Two and academy football.
 
As the heatwave continued, I raced from the very excellent North Herts Rugby and Netball Festival last Saturday — kudos to Hitchin women’s rugby side as well as Letchworth women for their various triumphs — to Arsenal v Leicester via selling the first issue of this season’s Gooner Fanzine.

To say it was hot was an understatement, so a big well done to all those who took part in such great-quality grassroots sport, I sweated profusely as the afternoon went on, and I was only flogging copies standing on the street.  

One of the most rewarding things about being a journalist is occasionally having the opportunity to spend time with aspiring journalists and photographers.

We managed to mentor a few outstanding writers at the rugby and netball festival — and were blown away by the results of their hard work.

As an aside, we also had writers cover the live music and street food stalls and the standard of writing was immense and hugely heartening.

Despite never seeming to have a spare minute, I do always pride myself in somehow finding the time to try and help budding journos and snappers, not least because I was helped by a number of people in the trade when I was starting out — and I promised myself that I would try and do something similar if the situation ever arose.

It’s one of my biggest satisfactions in seeing hopefuls that have passed under my tutelage over the years flourish.

I have to categorically state I take no credit for the success of any of them, their talent allied with hard work was enough to see them through to various roles in local journalism, Fleet Street and top-level reporting elsewhere.

I simply enjoyed giving them a few tips and techniques, while honing their style, which as any journalist will tell you, is half the battle sometimes. You can’t give someone a passion — or instinct — for journalism, but you can guide them.

I only wish that I had had a little bit of mentoring when I was their age, because, according to my careers teacher at my school bordering inner London, the ambition of the son of a working-class first-generation immigrant in becoming a journalist simply wasn’t “for me” and I should “set my sights elsewhere.”

Thankfully, I used such an ignorant attitude as part of my motivation to eventually become a full-time journalist.

Yet while it is encouraging to see such discriminatory attitudes are on the wane, it still disturbs me that there still aren’t enough people of colour and working-class kids in my trade.

In terms of working-class people in sport, you can’t get more authentic than Stevenage’s charismatic Scottish boss Steve Evans. I interviewed him after his team eased past Rochdale 1-0 at Broadhall Way in League Two on Tuesday evening.

While Steve has a fearsome reputation, he is also full of newsworthy quotes, and I swear there was a twinkle in his eye when he told me that fans should eschew the “boring” Premier League “at eight times the price” and support Stevenage and lower league football in general.

I would heartily agree that if you love football, then why not head to your local club if your Premier League team isn’t playing.

As he added when looking right at me during his post-match interview (as he knows full well who I support): “We’re not asking you to take away your love of Arsenal — we’re asking [fans] to come down and help us, and we’ll try and entertain [them].”

Can’t say fairer than that.
 
On to what I thought was to be a run-of-the-mill midweek academy game — which turned into something more, due to the interest caused by the addition of a £34 million summer signing for Arsenal, Fabio Vieira.

The 22-year-old Portuguese attacker was making a belated bow in Gunners colours due to an injury he picked up on international duty that caused him to miss most of pre-season.

If you threw in the fact that Emile Smith Rowe started as well, as the experienced Cedric Soares (who actually netted the winner with an impudent free-kick) then it’s fair to say there was far more interest in my tweets and post-match verdict than usual from Boreham Wood’s Meadow Park, when Arsenal U21s beat Swansea City U21s 2-1 on Wednesday evening.

For what it’s worth, I was enthused by Vieira and I firmly believe that Arsenal supporters — and neutrals watching the Premier League — will be in for a treat when he eventually makes his debut.

The former Porto player may have played with the No7 on his back — displaying flair, vision and creativity during his heartening 45-minute cameo against the young Welsh side — yet it was his tactical versatility that also caught the eye.

During his time at the Estadio Dragao Vieira played left wing, right wing, No10, No8, No6, as a False Nine and even briefly featured as a left back on one occasion — and with Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta in attendance, it felt Vieria was playing as if to ensure the club would not open the chequebook any further during this transfer window.

On to Lord’s on Thursday for the second day of the first Test against South Africa.

While the fare may have been attritional at times, punctuated by strange tactics and field placings from captain Ben Stokes, it is always a delight to visit the Home of Cricket. It was also good to contribute in an extremely small way to the Ruth Strauss Foundation.

Ruth was the late wife of former England Test captain Andrew Strauss, and her passing led to the foundation that provides emotional support for families to prepare for the death of a parent.

More than £200,000 was raised on the day by punters at Lord’s for a great cause. Supporters were asked to wear red — I missed a trick as I should have worn something Arsenal-related.

As for the cricket, it is always an honour to savour Jimmy Anderson’s bowling, and we were fortunate enough to witness his first Test wicket in his forties, a feat that hadn’t been achieved for England since 1961.

The game of cricket always seems to be better when bowlers are on top, and it was gratifying, as a cricket lover, to watch the excellent Kasigo Rabada write his name on the Lord’s honours board with 5-52.

Bournemouth awaits on Saturday, as I report on whether Arsenal can continue their unbeaten run — in light of what will be a difficult trip to face Scott Parker’s talented team.

With hot temperatures still with us, I may even get there extra early and head to the beach before the game, bearing in mind the only other time I’ve ever gone to the beach before a game was when I covered Barcelona v Arsenal at the Nou Camp in the Champions League a long time ago.

Watch this space to see if I make Bournemouth beach at the weekend.

No wonder I tell all my interns that being a journalist is the best job in the world.