My brother Noel was on a stag do in Edinburgh earlier this year, and on the Saturday afternoon I was on the receiving of a slightly alcoholic fueled phone call from, Drain, one of his oldest friends. Drain has got a copy of Lives & Times and he decided to call into question my "vague recollections" as quoted from the book of the 1969 FA Cup Final. I stand by that quote as although being just three, I do have a vague memory of the game, although I wouldn't put my mortgage on it if pushed. The cheeky so and so then committed the more heinous crime of accusing me of not meeting with, Arsenal footballing legend and now SKY Sports analyst, Charlie Nicholas!
Charlie Nicholas, as I wrote in the book, was the greatest footballer I ever saw play live. If Malcolm Macdonald was my childhood footballing hero, Charlie was the first proper hero I had when I was going to watch the games. I met Charlie for the book at a hotel in Brentford not far from SKY Sports before a European Champions League night he was covering. A nicer man you couldn't wish to meet. Having been told I might get half an hour with him, we ended up chatting for an hour or so. It was absolutely fascinating and a brilliant experience. It is one of my favourite chapters in the book so get the book and have a read.
I didn't tend to ask celebrities in the book to have my photo taken with them, but maybe after Drain's mischievous accusation it's something I should have done! The above photo was taken of Charlie with the bowel cancer tie and not used in the book, and is especially for Mark "Drain" Gillet!
Sadly my mother, the inspiration for the book, passed away in August after a four and half year battle with bowel cancer. To see all the ways to order the book click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment