Below Belief

We had a fab weekend – on the north coast of Norfolk.
We stayed here, the Triumphal Arch at Holkham Hall

(if it looks small, that was my first concern but inside on the right and above the arch was an amazingly well designed and actually quite spacious, self-catering hotel room. Much recommended for a thoroughly relaxing weekend away from it all).
and the view from the window was:

(apparently this is the view that in the 1700s wealthy visitors from London would see on their approach to the hall itself – all designed to impress upon them the wealth and gravitas of the the Earl of Leicester)
and the beach looked amazing:

Rob writes about the decline of sport:

Is sport getting worse?
Now I am as obsessed by sport as anyone, but is it gradually becoming rubbish?
Tour de Farce
Decline of West Indian Cricket and too much cricket
Football – suffocating from wealth
Rugby – rich nations stealing from the poor
Tennis – even more boring now than it ever has been
Athletics – best Doctor wins
Racing – fixing
I think I may take up Crown Green Bowling.

I think he’s right – but it’s not just sport. Everything is getting “less good” because of commercialisation. There was a time when “sport” meant “fair, equitable, gentlemanly” in a sort of 1950′s long-football-shorts and handshake kind of a way. Now it seems more likely to equal “sponsorship, TV and adverts”.
Can we get back those “amateur” endeavours and still call them entertainment?