Last night there was another excellent evening arranged and hosted by Paula Conde-Sharpe in the 1872 lounge at Latimer Park. In front of a well fed-and-watered audience, Colin Vowden and Craig Norman reminisced about times and players they encountered during their times at the Poppies. Until it was mentioned on the night it hadn't occurred to me that we were listening to the only two, possibly ever, Kettering Town FC players to score for us at Wembley Stadium. Wow.
It is always great to hear former players talk in such warm, humorous tones about their time with OUR club. Whether it's players slightly before your time discussing mad days and madder players you've heard of but didn't personally recall, or people like Shoey and Barry Fry who can basically talk forever and riff off each other until the cows come home, these evenings are invariably enormous fun. And it is never, EVER unwelcome to hear someone tell you that their time with us was the best of their career. Whether it's true or not (!)
Last night we had a couple of players that everyone over 40 will remember well, talking about times, players and events WE all recall (on good days....) I heard the names of so many players and officials that I hadn't thought of in years. Suddenly it was 1999 all over again and I was a snotty know-nothing 30-something listening to guys who made my life just a little bit better, and getting a chance to thank them for that.
It did set me thinking though. Perhaps these evenings can only work with sportspeople? Just imagine if we too were asked to go into a room of people we didn't particularly know, but they knew all about us, and breezily chat about our jobs and fellow employees from 20, 30 or even 40 years ago! Can you imagine? How sh*t would that be?
Who would want to hear about the time someone wildly overordered stationery? Or be regaled with tales of IT issues you manfully managed to overcome (spoiler - turned it off and on again). Or the time Marie in the finishing department said you'd look good with a mullet, only to find out when you were well on the way to committing that folliclular faux pas that she was already going out with one of the spotty-herbert no-marks from Plant 2. Or even try to desperately remember the names of people who were fully part of your life for a year or two, so long ago? And then try to make these patchy recollections in any way amusing.....Nope, these evenings aren't for us regular folk!
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