THROWBACK THURSDAY: I Never Met David Bowie, But...

Nick and Andorian cosplayer at the premiere 'after-party'

I didn't want to get off on the wrong foot with this David Bowie-themed Throwback Thursday by suggesting I had met the great man.

The closest I ever came (via the laws of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon) was when Nick and I, 24 year ago, blagged ourselves tickets to the gala celebrity premiere of Star Trek VI - The Undiscovered Country (probably my favourite of the original Star Trek movies). I can't remember if this was through work or through my old Trekkie friend John Carrigan.

The only celebrities there actually connected with the movie were director Nicholas Meyer and Iman  - model-turned-actress and wife of David Bowie - who played Martia the shapeshifter.

So I was in the same room as Bowie's wife, which is the next best thing to having been in the same room as him!

As is often the case when someone famous dies you discover all the fascinating facts about their life that you wish you'd known while they were alive.

For instance, thanks to the Times of Tunbridge Wells news website back in 2016, I learned of Bowie's connection to the town of my birth.

His mum came from Southborough (a 'suburb' of Tunbridge Wells that bridges the gap between that town and Tonbridge, where I now live) and she met her future husband (and David's father-to-be) at the old cinema in Tunbridge Wells.

Like the rest of the right-thinking world I've always been a fan of Bowie's music, but in recent years it took on an added poignancy, as his song Where Are We Now? was the only track I remember the radio playing as Rachel and I sat by my mum's bed in her final days.

After years of silence, he had surprised the world by announcing a new album seemingly out of the blue, and here I was hearing the first release from it (repeatedly), sitting in a night-shrouded room, swathed in grief, saying 'good bye' to my ailing mother.

When I think back to those days, and I often do, the image in my head is almost like a Nativity scene, with Rachel and I sitting in the halo of light from a bedside lamp, holding mum's hand, in an otherwise dark room, with Where Are We Now? providing the soundtrack for the vignette.

HEALTH UPDATE: Long Live Biscuit Club!

Photo by Centre for Ageing Better on Unsplash

No "tree safari" this weekend as Rachel was away for most of it, on a well-deserved spa break with some of her old university pals.

Then when she returned today she had to plunge headfirst into working on an important report for a client that she was given on Friday and needed to be done by this evening.

However, some good news on the fitness front for me. Remember I said a few weeks back that Biscuit Club had come to an end and I was looking for a replacement?

Well, I've finally managed to secure a place on a new - very similar - free, 12-week course being run by the borough council... at the same venue as previous Biscuit Club!

This kicks off at the end of the month.

Rachel and I do wonder though, as this is a local council-run course (presumably paid for out of our council tax), perhaps it won't end with free tea and biscuits! Will it even be a new Biscuit Club???

Having now established contact with the not-for-profit trust that runs these events on the council's behalf, I'm pretty sure I'm now finally set for a long-term exercise regime.

I learned that this new postural stability class is run by the same lady that already runs the council's weekly exercise classes at the Angel Centre, in Tonbridge (for those of us with mobility or fitness issues).

So once I've finished the free, three-month, course I hope to be able to easily switch to one of the paid classes at the sports centre.

HEALTH UPDATE: Biscuit Club Is Over!

I got a certificate for completing my Postural Stability Course (aka Biscuit Club)

After nine months of weekly classes (barring Christmas and weeks when our trainer was unavailable), Biscuit Club is over.

It's rather sad, really.

While I am proud of my 100 per cent attendance record, I'm going to miss our weekly get-togethers, my two inspiring fellow participants, our primary coach Caroline, and her two volunteer assistants, Barbara and Sheila.

Those months of increasingly arduous exercise have seen me turning up, early on, in a wheelchair and then - over the weeks - regain the ability to walk "normally".

I'm also definitely more stable on my feet; it was my frequent falling over that sent me on this course in the first place.

The osteoarthritis diagnosis came later and, let's be honest, I couldn't have been in a better position to face that issue head-on.

Without this course, Rachel and I are adamant I'd still be in the wheelchair... with all the additional complications to everyday life that that would have brought with it.

For our final session this week, we had a truncated exercise class, then everyone gathered for tea, cake, and biscuits and a good old chinwag. Although I'm now on a diet (also part of this new fitness regime) I allowed myself a "cheat day" with a couple of chocolate biscuits and a small slice of lovely chocolate cake.

In the short time I've been on this "no snack" diet (what is it, six weeks? Seven weeks? I've stopped counting now), I've lost over a stone in weight and it was remarked upon in the class that my appearance has noticeably changed. I confess my t-shirts are feeling slightly baggier and my shorts aren't as tight these days, either.

I'm now in the process of trying to get myself enrolled on an exercise course that the borough council runs at the Angel Centre in Tonbridge, but my initial emails and phone messages were ignored (which was rather frustrating) and so now I've tried filling in an online form that will hopefully open the door for me.

There's also the possibility that the charity which ran Biscuit Club might have another course beginning soon or even that Caroline will have a window in her hectic schedule to start a new pilates class that I could sign up for.

In the meantime, I must remember to do regular exercises on my own and - now that our run of weekend events is over for the moment - get back to my weekly "tree safari" walks with Rachel and Alice.

"We Are Gathered Here Today To Geek Out!"

Me with The Real Kent Ghostbusters at Geek Mania in Tonbridge

Today Rachel and I attended the first Geek Mania show (convention? gathering?) at the Angel Centre, Tonbridge, and it was magnificent.

There were stalls selling books, games, artwork, badges, dice, LARPing gear, and trading cards (so many cards), as well as participation tables for 5e Dungeons & Dragons, various shades of Warhammer, card games (so many cards), Beyblades, figure painting, a lightsaber training academy, and probably other things I missed.

A selection of the amazing props brought along by The Real Kent Ghostbusters

Rachel and I posing with Slimer

I'd really hoped to get Rachel into an "introduction to Dungeons & Dragons" session, but we were there around 11.30 and the tables had proved so popular that the first available slot was 2.30pm... and it was unlikely we'd still be around then (as I have limited reserves of stamina).

The participation tables were packed from the moment we arrived, and just got busier

These were the lightsaber tutors, but they mainly ran classes for younglings through the day

The vibe of the whole show was very welcoming and everyone we spoke to was incredibly friendly, delighted we were there, and happy to talk about whatever geeky niche was their forte.

There were cosplayers - always happy to pose for pictures - and LARPers, with a vast selection of costumes, masks, and boffer weapons for sale. 

I achieved a lifelong ambition and purchased my first pair of elf ears! 

Incredible array of costuming and weaponry from Gem's Trading Company 

"You've made an old man very happy," I told the lady who sold me these ears!!!

I strongly suspect I was one of - if not the - oldest people there (knocking on the door to sixty this year), but it didn't matter. There was a youthful, positive atmosphere that I hope translated into cash in the pockets of the organisers so that this will become a regular event.

Geek Mania was the brainchild of Planet JJs Geekery, which, in very real terms, is close to being at the bottom of our road (although too far for me to walk there and back, sadly).

I really must try and get signed up for regular RPG events at the store, which I have to confess we've only actually been in once. Rachel is supportively offering to be my taxi to and from the store if I join their "club".

I also believe that Geek Mania being organised locally is a massive plus for the future of the show, as there's an automatic community investment here.

Either side of the Pandemic, there were several attempts to make "comic-cons" a thing at the Angel Centre, but they never really took off.

Run by travelling groups who organise such events around the country, there was no great incentive to come back if they didn't rake in the cash they had been hoping for at the first attempt.

That said, Geek Mania was definitely busier than any of the "comic-cons" I've attended at the Angel Centre over the years.

Overall, Rachel and I stayed for about an hour-and-a-half, which wasn't too bad by my usual variable health standards, only having to have a single sit down and cookie break.

Even though Pokémon is an alien language to me and seemed to dominate every other stall, I still managed to pick up some mighty treasures (as well as my ears) from the traders:

My Geek Mania haul

My first purchase of the day was a He-Man Funko Pop (because, like dice, you can never have too many Pops). Sadly, they were all out of Frieren-related Pops.

I was excited to find a couple of boxes of old 60s/70s pulp sci-fi anthology magazines on the floor of a bookseller's stall.

She very kindly picked them up and put them on the table so I could sort through them properly.

My main guiding principle here was looking for authors that Michael K Vaughan had mentioned on his Booktube channel, so that it appeared as though I knew what I was doing.

And finally I bought a cute little pocket zine from local artist Katherine Burgess, whose style and obvious talent made me wish I was producing a game - or a supplement - so I could hire her to illustrate it.

"Tonbridge. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy."

I AM THE WARLORD OF MARS!!!

Great White Ape of Barsoom (picture by Nick)

This weekend found Nick and I back at our local wargames' show, Cavalier, at the Angel Centre in Tonbridge.

It was my first time in a couple of years and while I wasn't feeling one hundred percent, I was determined that my excitement would see me through. And, thanks to Nick stepping in as my ad hoc 'carer' (in the absence of Rachel, who was at home with Alice), I managed an impressive (for me) three hours at the show.

The highlight of the day came early, when Nick and I had barely seen a quarter of the displays and traders, as a gentleman from the Maidstone Wargames Society invited us to join in their Labyrinths of Mars participation game.

This was one I'd mentally flagged ahead of time, looking at the list of games on the show's website, because - as I suspected - it was John Carter themed.

The game was a reskinning of the classic family board game Labyrinth, which I'd played with Nick and his son, Alec, several years ago. However, this iteration included fighting and treasure hunting, and was scaled up to feature 28mm miniatures.

My dynamic duo of Barsoomian warriors before battle commenced

The ever-moving Labyrinth of Mars

Nick's team (top) make a strategic withdrawal from my gang (bottom)

As with the boardgame, you always start your turn by sliding a spare tile into the layout - pushing all the other tiles in that row on one space, thus constantly reconfiguring the Martian (Barsoomian) maze, and making planning ahead quite challenging.

There were four of playing and we each had four objectives to find before we could escape the labyrinth, be they treasures, allies, or boosts, and you could earn special cards as well that gave you extra abilities or bonuses.

I'd got three of my objectives (a couple of artifacts and a Barsoomian prince), without making too much of a scene about it, but the last thing I needed for my 'collection' was The Great White Ape (pictured above).

The only problem was The Ape had just joined Nick's team, as Nick had played a "brain transfer" card on it, giving it a Barsoomian brain... rather than a raging great ape's brain!

So, I had to attack Nick's party! Aided by the prince, we overpowered Nick's characters (and with some lucky die rolls) and the ape opted to join my "stronger" team.

Then on my next turn (again more by luck than judgement), I was able to slide the walls of the maze to open a straight avenue to the exit... where I was declared not just the winner, but WARLORD OF MARS.

I suspect Nick is never going to forget how I robbed him of potential victory!

After this, we resumed our patrol of the main hall, and the first person we bumped into - who was demonstrating his grid-based Vietnam War game - was Paul of Pazoot, a wargaming YouTube channel I have recently discovered (thanks to his work with Big Lee of Miniature Adventures).

This was my first - in-person - encounter with an actual YouTuber.

Paul's 'Nam game, which he was putting on with the East Kent Wargames Society, will be the second of his Battle Chronicle range of narrow-focused rules sets across different historical periods. The first is 1812: Retreat from Moscow, which Big Lee is working on.

Here follows a brief selection of some of the other games being played at Cavalier:

Shepway Gamers' The Englishman's Castle: a 28mm Wars of the Roses conflict

The Kent & Sussex Dungeons & Dragons and RPG Club had a glorious set-up...

... their gorgeous 28mm scale ship reminded me that no one was selling Blood & Plunder

Milton Hundred Wargames Club's The Mog '93: Task Force Ranger in Somalia

You can never go wrong with an enormous Star Wars space battle (Friday Night Firefight Club)

Of course, as well as gaming, these events are also for shopping. Both Nick and I, in our own way, were surprisingly restrained this year. While Nick didn't buy anything, I managed to restrict myself to items for my Dead Man's Hand (Wild West) game.

I found myself mainly being drawn towards terrain, as I have enough unpainted gunfighters etc already, waiting to sent off for painting.

Me admiring Beowulf Miniatures Printing 3D printing range of Western buildings
(picture by Nick)

Amazing fantasy terrain at surprisingly affordable prices - I'm impressed I resisted

Pumpernickle Games do some lovely stuff - I hope to get some desert bits from
them at a later date, but, in the meantime, who doesn't want their own Stonehenge?

At the end of the day, I only purchased a Western bank, from Beowulf, with interior fixtures and fittings; a pair of metal cacti and a pair of resin outhouses from Debris of War; and a log cabin.

My haul from Cavalier 2026

It was a great time and I'm glad I persevered. I'd wanted to play at least one participation game, but wasn't sure if I was up to it. So I'm delighted it happened to me one I was looking forward to checking out.

I did have one "funny turn" - after squatting down to look at some items that were being displayed on the floor, then bobbing up again. But Nick kindly offered me his arm and helped me to a chair, where I could rest a while.

Once I got home (Rachel came and picked me up), I was totally zonked out for the rest of the day, then had a rough night of near-continuous coughing. But, you know what, it was so worth it.

I had a fantastic time with one of my oldest friends, we got to play an awesome wargame... which I won, we chatted with a ton of people, and I got myself some more bits for my PROJECT 60 wargame of choice.

And I've already have made a shopping list of future bits and bobs I can order from these traders online.

Below, you will see a 17-minute video by Model Paint Whatever of the sights and sounds of the day, which shows off way more of the games on display than I have:

And here's a piece from Big Lee himself about Cavalier:

HEALTH UPDATE: Better Living Through Chemistry

Valentine's Day at Barden Lake, Haysden Country Park, Tonbridge

This week has seen the end of my recent flurry of medical appointments. For seven days I had been taking my own blood pressure at home (in the morning and evening) and while it varied, it appeared to average out to be quite normal and within the range it should be in the wake of of my aneurysm.

I was recording this as I had an appointment with what I thought was a hypertension nurse, but it turned out to be a clinical pharmacist whose remit went beyond just checking my blood pressure to ensuring I was on the right medications as well.

She was very pleased with my blood pressure, and the news about my radical dietary adjustments.

I've now been prescribed a new drug - the name of which neither Rachel nor I can remember - to replace one medication which was clashing with another that I had recently been prescribed. We're still waiting for this new medicine to come through "the system".

Then a couple of days later I returned for my final appointment of this month's batch of GP surgery visits: to have my INR (International Normalised Ratio, a standardised measurement of how long it takes blood to clot) checked after a three month gap.

My target for this is a score between two and three, and mine registered as 2.5, so I couldn't be more spot on. This means no more checks for another three months.

Clearly my level of blood thinners is working perfectly and my new diet hasn't affected things negatively.

As Rachel is still recovering from a surgical injection in her knee (to tackle her arthritis) and was under the weather anyway from a bad cold, we decided to take our therapeutic walk at the nearby Haysden Country Park yesterday rather than going further afield.

Saturday saw a welcome break in the rainy weather. The sun was actually out! This meant there were lots of dog-walking families taking advantage of this temporary respite in the British weather, which - in turn - meant a lot of sniffs for Alice and loving attention for her from other humans.

We did a full circuit around Barden Lake (my first in about nine months), taking pictures of the trees and the lake's wonderfully still waters for my growing "tree safari" portfolio, and ending up at the outdoor café where Rachel and I both indulged in diet-busting sausages (slavered in tomato ketchup) in a crusty bap. It was divine!

Haysden Country Park, Tonbridge

THROWBACK THURSDAY: Sporting Injury

I am not a sporting person. Like a comedy comic strip character I think I've probably exerted more energy conniving ways to get out of participating in sporting events than I would have had I actually taken part.

However, for this Throwback Thursday (with the accident-prone Winter Olympics in full-flow), my thoughts turned to the story behind one of my oldest scars, a small, but lasting, slash across my wrist that you can - hopefully - pick out in the picture above.

Back during my three years at Yardley Court prep school, in Tonbridge, there was a changing room in the basement of the old house that served as the main building for the school.

In the centre of the changing room was a table tennis table, where - as well as straight-forward table tennis - we used to play 'round the table'.

Basically a normal game of table tennis, but played by a group of us (probably about six boys) and once you'd hit the ball you'd run round to the other side of the table.

I can't remember exactly how many of us were playing that day, but I'd just hit the ball and started running when I slid/tripped over the wood panel covering a footbath set into the changing room floor. As I fell my wrist caught a screw sticking out from the table's leg and it slashed my wrist.

I was helped to the school nurses' office (matron), where they bandaged my cut.

Seeing the blood pumping from my wrist, I got stars in front of my eyes - a new experience at the time (little did I realise that a few decades later that would become a regular occurrence) and I sank down onto the bed where they were treating me.

Obviously, given the cut's location, it could have been a lot worse, but as it was it's just become an amusing anecdote about how I got my sporting injury... playing table tennis!

THROWBACK THURSDAY: Gublin

Andrew 'Gublin' Patterson with Matt at Adrian's wedding about 35 years ago

As I reflect on the early days of my gaming life in the occasional Throwback Thursday piece, the name Gublin will pop up every so often.

I guess my old Pembury pal Andrew "Gublin" Patterson represents all the people I played RPGs in my youth that I no longer have any contact with.

When I was at Pembury Primary School I - and another kid - won a scholarship to the prestigious Tonbridge School (the local equivalent of Hogwarts), although first we would have to attend prep school.

It turned out that this 'other kid' was Andy and he lived five doors down the road from me and was born a week before me.

Although we both went to different prep schools, Andy (who acquired the nickname Gublin at Holmewood House School because of his alleged similarity to the puppet creatures of that name!) and I became fast friends and soon developed a mutual interest in Dungeons & Dragons.

We used to play epic games of D&D, almost all centring around his character, Egghead Aramioc, and mine, Staghind Starlight, and all pretty much of the "kick down door, kill monster, take treasure" school of hack'n'slash.

Deep characterisation was not our thing - although I do remember a particularly heated in-character argument about Staghind's plans to change her hairstyle! A misunderstanding had led Egghead to think she was going for the Princess Leia-style buns on the side of the head ... when she just wanted pigtails!

To be fair, we did take the games out of the dungeon, exploring (and conquering) whole worlds on massive sheets of paper that were like rolls of wallpaper spread across the floor of his parents' house.

But Egghead and Staghind eventually grew apart and began to adventure with other people...

After prep school, we both went to Skinners' in Tunbridge Wells - instead of Tonbridge School - and soon met Matt and Nick and became a 'gang of four'.

Eventually, especially when he went off to university, we drifted apart - as young friends do - because he was of the more "work hard, play hard" ethos and I was just plain lazy.

He also tried to shake the 'Gublin' nickname and return to the more 'mature' Andy... which, of course, we ignored.

Time moved on and the last we saw of Gublin was about 35 years ago. It was Matt and Nick's brother Adrian's wedding reception and Andy announced that he was going next door to check out the other reception going on in the hotel!

Over the years I heard tales from my parents - who met his mum in the village occasionally - that he got married, had a kid, worked for a big City bank, had given it all up, bought a yacht and sailed round the world.

I seem to remember, although it's all a bit of a blur these days, that he sent me a get well card when I was in hospital, but I haven't heard anything since dad passed away. Mum moved out of Pembury and so didn't see Andy's mum anymore.

We tried to track Andy down when Matt died in 2022, but to no avail.

Gublin is just one of many gamers who have come and gone out of my life; for instance, whatever happened to Tom Edwards, who introduced me to the Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy radio series and then ran a wild D&D game based on it? Or Guy Huckle and his coterie of gaming buddies that I befriended at Skinners?

More importantly, are they still gaming?

Finding My Way To Talliston

John Tarrow's The Stranger's Guide to Talliston has found a new home upon my book shelves

On a visit to Tonbridge's old school, labyrinthine, second-hand book store, Teppa Books, last weekend - during its half-price sale - I found myself drawn towards a hardback tome at the bottom of a pile of paperbacks.

I was actually looking for Tolkien books - as we'd visited on Tolkien's birthday - but found myself wandering through the near-claustrophobic tunnels of beautifully overladen shelves (most two layers deep, so it's a real expedition to find just the book you were hoping to find).

That's when the spine of The Stranger's Guide to Talliston  (pictured above) caught my eye, a hardback fantasy novel among paperbacks.

I carefully extricated the book, making sure the paperbacks didn't topple on the floor, read the dust jacket and skimmed through the book... only to discover that it had been signed by the author (John Tarrow)!

I love signed books, they're the ultimate "six degrees of Kevin Bacon" next to actually shaking the author's hand.

I love a signed book!

For four pounds - reduced to two - I knew this had to be mine (thanks Rachel for buying it for me) and so The Stranger's Guide to Talliston came home with us. And that's where the fun really began.

As intriguing as the dust jacket was, it didn't really give too much away, so I went to Amazon to scan the reviews and they were really good. Several, however, also pointed out that Talliston was a real place, a "magical" house in Essex.

I could have found this out if I'd flicked to the back of the book (where there's a map of the house interior), but instead I opted for Google and this sent me down a delightful rabbit hole.

Again, I only briefly scanned this as I'm always keen to avoid spoilers, but the house, which is central to the story, appears to be an incredible labour of love. I'll confess that I'm really surprised that I'd never heard of it before.

Now, I'm very excited to dig in to The Stranger's Guide and see if it stirs some kind of bravery in me that would give me the courage to travel to the village of Great Dunmow and visit Talliston in person.

CHRISTMAS AT THE CASTLE!

Just getting in there on its final day, Rachel, Alice, and I ventured out to Tonbridge Christmas Fest at the castle (and, no, I'll never tire of living in a town with a 13th Century castle) this evening .

We'd originally planned to go at the weekend but rain stopped play, and we decided it would be sensible to go once the torrential downpours had passed us by.

This evening's jaunt also happened to be my first trip out into the wild using just my old walking stick - rather than other, larger, walking aids - since June.

So, how better to celebrate that milestone than by embracing the spirit of Christmas?

The fair was a lovely little mix of food stands, carnival games, and geegaw sellers.

Rachel was most keen that we be there at 4pm for the daily spray of artificial snow.

We may have made tactical use of elbows and legs to get to the centre of the mosh pit under the snow fall - but it was worth it (even if I had flashbacks to attending a foam party in a nightclub during my hedonistic university days). 

As well as picking up a couple of bags of fudge (apparently it's the law that if you see a stand selling fudge you have to buy some), we also dined on foot-long sausages in baps from a food stand selling German sausages.

Rachel had a Bratwurst, while I had an absolutely delicious Krakauer (spicy sausage) that I coated in curry ketchup for that true Teutonic experience.

Rachel roasting a marshmallow

Beware the elves!

It's great to be walking with just a stick again

Happy Christmas!!!

THROWBACK THURSDAY: How Many 50-Year-Olds Have Superhero-Themed Birthday Parties? Not Enough

The 'Must-Eat League': from left - Richard, Erica, Paul, Jeni, Pete, Me, Nick, and Clare...

The month of celebrations for my half-century (in 2016) came to an end with a superhero-themed meal at the Oriental Buffet in Tonbridge, with a loose comic book-inspired dress code.

You can't really go wrong with an all-you-can-eat dining experience, accentuated by a selection of T-shirts and outfits that ran the gamut from Richard's Batman shirt (he wore the plastic Bat-mask for 90 per cent of the evening as well, which was true dedication to the theme) to Jeni's She-ra costume (complete with gauntlets and headgear) and Rachel's bespoke Marvel comic book dress.

As well as having decorated our table ahead of time with appropriate balloons (several of which also survived the journey home afterwards), my wonderful wife still had one gobsmacking surprise up her sleeve: the best birthday cake ever!

Based on Des Taylor's design from my main birthday present, it was the scumptious, double-decker cake you can see below (created by a local cake aficionado), complete with Acrobatic Flea, Flash, and Supergirl decorations:

BEST. CAKE. EVER!

BEST. WIFE. EVER!

Special mention has to be made of how Paul turned up at our door, before we went to the restaurant. The doorbell rang, and I opened the door to be greeted by The Black Power Ranger!

Apparently he'd changed into his superhero alter ego outside our house (although I still suspect he'd travelled down from London on the train like this, only he'd used super-ninja skills to blend in with the crowd).

Sadly, the costume was too uncomfortable - and totally impractical - for going to a restaurant in. But major kudos for borrowing this outfit and throwing himself into the spirit of the evening!

What Is Seen Cannot Be Unseen: Alice has no clue as to what is happening at this point!

THROWBACK THURSDAY: Football Crazy

Oh Captain, My Captain: That's me, second from the right, front row
- my feet didn't even touch the ground!

I've spoken about my sporting prowess (or lack thereof) before, but - outside of my fencing - one of my "proudest" moments was somehow being named team captain of the Third (or Fourth?) XI football team at Tonbridge's Yardley Court Prep School, one year in the late '70s.

Not being a top-tier team, there weren't many other schools in the area with similar numbers of teams, so we didn't get to play many games.

I was only on the team for a season and am pretty certain I wasn't captain for the whole time. It's even quite possible that we all took it in turns.

I played in defence, the position of "left back" (which was the root of much humour in the Knight household).

However, I have no recollection of how we actually did in those matches four decades ago, but I played for my school, and have a team picture to prove it.