Basil by ivorberry

The statue in front of St Marys Church is in memory of the much loved Cardinal Basil Hume . Hume was a lifelong fan of jogging, squash and Newcastle United F.C.[5] There is a story that Hume met "Wor" Jackie Milburn, the Newcastle United legend.[6] Both unassuming men, they were in awe of each other. After a conversation, the talk moved on and one suggested an autograph would be a good idea. The other agreed. Both men stood back and expected to be the recipient of the autograph, without realising the other man wanted their autograph in return. On 9 February 1976, Hume was appointed Archbishop of Westminster, the highest ranking prelate in the Catholic Church in England and Wales, by Pope Paul VI. He was not considered an obvious choice for the post of archbishop as he had lacked experience of running a diocese and, as the first monk to hold the post since the 1850 restoration of the English hierarchy, he was seen to be something of an outsider. Receiving news of the appointment during dinner, Hume later remarked, "I must confess I did not enjoy the rest of the meal." via 500px http://j.mp/1zpcwds