Nine Out Of Ten

First topic message reminder :

I came across this the other day. Rather liked it. Particularly as it gives me the chance to briefly name drop.

I've every confidence it'll sink without trace but anyway here goes. Listed below are ten famous - to varying degrees - people. I've actually met, albeit briefly in some cases, nine of them.

1. Les Gray - lead singer of Mud who had chart topping hits with Tiger Feet and Lonely This Christmas.
2. Florence Welch - of Florence and the Machine, English indie rock band.
3. Buster Edwards - one of The Great Train Robbers.
4. Richie Benaud - please don't ask for a description.
5. Alec Stewart - former England cricket captain.
6. Harold Wilson - former British Prime Minister.
7. Gareth Hunt - tv star of Upstairs, Downstairs, The New Avengers and an early Dr Who episode.
8. Trevor Brooking - football pundit and former England international.
9. Trevor MacDonald - tv broadcaster.
10. Good Golly I'm Olly - renowned poster on these boards.

Ok , so you need to identify the one person above I've not met.

ok grandfather of none of the below...

I'll save the cricket ones for later and start with Lady Astor... whom I was just reading about the other day.

Hi Joey - nope, at least I wasn't bowled first ball.

Lord Astor died soon after the Profumo affair and Lady Astor moved from Cliveden, setting of the scandal, to Godalming in Surrey near to where my late father-in-law lived. He was an accountant and did the books for various charities she was involved with. Once when I was there calling on the future Mrs Bat, she came round with an assortment of papers. She was probably into her sixties then but was still an attractive lady. As Bronwen Pugh, she had been a leading model of the 1950s. I only spoke to her for a minute or two but she was very pleasant, not at all standoffish as usually portrayed in films and tv dramas about Profumo.

OK, Bishan Bedi is my next guess.
I saw him play once here in the late 70s and he seemed to have a bit of an aura about him.

Sad about Everton Weekes, eh Guildford? I always get a shock when I hear of a great player walking off the 'Oval of Life' for the last time.
He was way ahead of his time and a spectacular shot-maker from what I've seen and heard.

Hi Joey - I think it was summer '72 that I very briefly met Bishan Bedi.

Although I've been Surrey based for several decades, I was brought up in the Midlands and crossed the border to Northants to watch a charity game in which he was playing at a village ground. I spotted him walking around part of the outfield with a Northants teammate - not exactly a difficult spot as he was always a distinctive character with a colourful turban! Think it was blue that day. Anyway, I briefly interrupted his walk to grab a word - I toadishly congratulated him on his part in India's series win against England here the previous year - and get an autograph. I had no idea who his teammate was but felt obliged to also get his autograph!

Yeah, sorry to see Everton Weekes head to the pavilion for a final time although he certainly had a good and memorable innings.

I'll go for Muriel Jakubait, not because I think you haven't met her, but because I want to hear the story behind the meeting.

Hi Jules - yep, you're right in that I did meet Muriel Jakubait, Ruth Ellis' sister.

This was in early 2004. I had a couple of months on gardening leave and helped out some of the time at a local charity shop selling the usual second hand stuff plus coffee and cake etc. She was known to the regulars at the shop and came in for a cup of tea once when I was there. I'm pleased it wasn't me who brewed up as she complained about it in no uncertain terms. After she had left, I was told that wasn't uncommon - apparently, she was on medicines which affected her taste and memory.

I never met her again even though she lived only about a mile away from Bat Towers. She was often featured in the local press campaigning in vain for her sister to be posthumously pardoned. I think she died about 4 or 5 years ago. All very sad. I'm glad I resisted my nosiness to rake up the past and left her to her tea and complaint when we did briefly meet.

Lucky it wasn't Ruth who received an underwhelming cup of tea or there might be no Guildford on these boards.

OK... next guess.

Martin Bell - "of the white suit [not the ski suit]"... I'm assuming you've met the ski-suited one.

guildfordbat wrote:... perhaps you are Garry Pankhurst and she guest starred alongside you in an episode of Skippy?

I forgot to answer this question earlier on. No, I'm not Garry Pankhurst.

Hi Joey - that's going back a bit, I had forgotten my Garry Pankhurst comment. As an aside, I have never met him but my late mother-in-law met his Skippy co-star Liza Goddard. This would have been about twenty years after her Skippy days when Ms Goddard was living in Godalming (near to Lady Astor), married to Alvin Stardust [you're getting all the names and great vfm in this aside ] and starring in Bergerac as the embodiment of delectable tease, Philippa Vale. Anyway, Ma-in-law was with her dog at the local vets and about to be seen but graciously stood aside when a panic stricken Liza burst in with her own pooch which had been hit by a car. I believe all recovered.

Back to this Nine out of Ten. Nice try but I have met Martin Bell, former war correspondent and MP. A couple of times in successive years a long time ago when on holiday on the Island of Formentera. Seemed an affable but solitary chap. Never met the same name skier.

Great story about Liza Goddard, Guildford. Can't believe she is 70 now!

How about Mark Palios then? Where did you meet him?

Cheers about the Liza G story, Joey.

Met Mark Palios at ... predictably ... the Oval.

Had a varied career and Life - Palios. Former pro footballer for many years with Tranmere Rovers, qualified as an accountant and worked with one of the Big Firms before switching to the Football Association where he was Chief Executive. Quit there when he and Sven-Goran-Eriksson around the same time were having naughties with a secretary who went to the press. Then took up a few Non Executive Directorships including a role on Surrey CCC's Audit Committee which is what he was up to when I came across him a couple of years ago. No great conversation, no great impression (on both sides, I'm sure!). Believe he now owns Tranmere Rovers.

John Motson?

Maybe you were very near him... perhaps even caught his eye... but he was occupied interviewing someone whilst wearing a large pair of headsets?

Hi Joey - you seem to have been left alone to bowl uphill into the wind. You're showing great perseverance but still no wicket, I'm afraid.

Despite my moniker, Woking is closer to me. I used to watch their football team - the mighty Cardinals - regularly. About a dozen years ago, I ran into Motty at the ground a bit before kick off for a lower league game one Saturday afternoon. Ever the ultimate professionals, he was putting in some work and research on Woking's opponents (forget who) who had a televised FA Cup tie against one of the big boys the following week.

He seemed a good bloke as you might expect. What did strike me was that he was quite short and appeared stooped, I fear that won't have improved over the intervening years.

You can't have missed Arnold so I'll try Jimmy Greaves ...

Hi Alfie - good of you to allow Joey a blow.

I met Jimmy Greaves about fifteen years ago at a book signing (you're not the only one who goes to those, Joey ) in Holborn. One of the nicest guys I've ever met and, boy oh boy, did he chat!

I turned up early for the signing and saw Greavsie being interviewed in the store for London tv about George Best who was then critically ill in hospital. When I sat down to get my book signed, I mentioned how much I liked what he had said about Best. He then immediately responded along these lines, ''That's very kind of you. Let me tell you a bit more about George ...''. He the proceeded to chat away covering not only George but his time at Spurs and West Ham, the teams I mentioned having seen him play for. Meanwhile, the two shop assistants behind Greavsie but in my eyeline, were tapping their wristwatches and giving me daggers. Incredibly and sadly, it fell to me to end the conversation.

I was extremely sorry to hear that he had suffered a severe stroke a year or so back and is now in very poor health. A lovely, lovely man.

alfie wrote:You can't have missed Arnold so I'll try Jimmy Greaves ...

You didn't miss Jimmy Greaves, so I'll try Arnold...

JuliusHMarx wrote:

alfie wrote:You can't have missed Arnold so I'll try Jimmy Greaves ...

You didn't miss Jimmy Greaves, so I'll try Arnold...

Jules - the master poacher! I'm sure Greavsie would have approved!

Yes, Geoff Arnold's the one I haven't met. That's in spite of him being a former Surrey bowler (I tried to give Joey a clue with uphill into the wind ) and current Surrey coach at the Oval where I've met several of the players and staff. Furthermore, I'm reliably informed that he lives no more than a quarter of a mile away from me at Bat Towers but have still never run into him.

As for the others - when I was a boy, I asked Rohan Kanhai for his autograph on the Edgbaston outfield after the end of play which he fairly politely but distinctly declined to give. Eric Longworth, semi-regular in Dad's Army, was a delightful gentlemen and good friend of my in-laws which led me to meeting him on several occasions.