WC AUGUST 15 AND 22.
This time of the year is always fairly quiet for interviews. You can always worry but it has been the same for many summers. How I long for the days of the 70s and 80s when so many huge stars visited Sandown Pavilion in the summer months. My book has finally gone off to the printer, so there were a few last minute corrections and endless checking of the words. Thanks to the eagle eye of my son, Sean, a few were found in time.
The first week ended with me being a substitute walker. Shauna Shutler was due to undertake the St Helens Fort Walk with one of her friends but she couldn’t make it in the end. I was volunteered as a replacement and it was great fun. Just water up to our knees in places but a great feeling to stand right under the fort. This can only be done on one specific time in the year when the tide is at its lowest. Quite a few hundred took the opportunity.
Monday August 22 was particularly special. I went to Southampton to interview and old friend and an icon of the city – Lawrie McMeneny. What a great morning that turned-out to be. As ever, the perfect gentleman – and he even drove me back to the Red Jet. Lawrie’s new book, A Lifetime’s Obsession, is a most enjoyable read. How football has changed since he managed Southampton in the 70s and 80s! It’s a very honest and refreshing interview and it will soon be on a podcast.
I caught up with Suki Turner and Graham Pountney at their Seaview home on Wednesday.I did a fascinating interview with this showbiz couple and was delighted by their hospitality. This interview might appear on radio or in a magazine – or both.
I did a favour for someone recently and did not want anything in return. It was such a pleasure to have given him help for a very special night. He would not take take no for an answer – and two tickets arrived to watch Southampton and Sunderland. We loved the occasion and soaked up the atmosphere before, during and after the game, which ended in a 1-1 draw. Great day out – and the Saints can only get better!