EDITOR: U2 again just proves some things never change

During my adult years there haven't been many constants as I have moved around the world and tackled all sorts of roles and responsibilities in my life.
One of the few that I can put my finger on is a rock band by the name of U2.
For thousands of fans like myself, this weekend has been a pretty special one as we got to share a stadium with our heroes.
I started listening to the Irish supergroup not long after I left school and I consider myself fortunate that I was able to spend my 21st birthday watching them live in concert for the first time in 1984.
I was living in Sydney at the time, learning the journalist's craft at the Daily Telegraph newspaper. Friends and I headed to the Sydney Entertainment Centre for one of the great nights of my life.
With a little ingenuity and good luck we ended up a few metres from the stage right in front of lead singer Bono.
We rocked and rumbled through Sunday Bloody Sunday and New Year's Day and all their great early tracks.
In the late 80s I had my next encounter with the boys at Wembley Stadium. Enjoying a carefree life in London at the time, my girlfriend and I struggled through a huge crowd to get near the front of the stage. What a seething mass of humanity we encountered that day. There was only so long you could last up-front before the oxygen ran out and the constant pressure of body on body eventually overwhelmed you.
In the early 90s I was back in Brisbane when U2 last toured Australasia and their struggle to find a musical direction matched my meandering life.
U2 was dabbling in pop music which didn't go down too well with the critics, or fans for that matter.
Now it is 2006 and last night I had what will probably be my last U2 concert.
My wife and I took our places at Mount Smart Stadium for her first and my last encounter. Despite their 20 years at the top, U2 still commands the world's attention with their music.
It will be sad to farewell this band but I guess 22 years is not a short-term relationship.
I should realise I am getting older, as are U2, when some of my younger reporters can't get what all the U2 fuss is about. But then they weren't alongside me in 1984 learning what great rock music was all about.
It always gives me great pleasure to report when members of our editorial team excel against their peers.
Last weekend in Auckland the national sports awards were handed down for the year and the Bay of Plenty Times dominated against their provincial rivals.
Sports writer Jamie Troughton was named Best Provincial Writer and photographer Chris Callinan took out the award for Best Provincial Photographer.
Winning awards is not new territory for Jamie having already taken out the country's top surf lifesaving writing award earlier this year.
But for Chris, recognition by his peers was something special. Chris has been with the Bay of Plenty Times for years and has turned his talents to several jobs in many departments.
Only in recent years has he turned his hand to photography and has made TimesFrame images one of his specialties.
Chris is one of those quiet achievers who works hard and produces the goods every single day.
We are fortunate to have such talented individuals as Jamie and Chris on our team. Rest easy, the sports pages of the Bay of Plenty Times are in good hands.