Jimmy Cricket once met famous footballer George Best – and he (finally) has the photograph to prove it!
In his latest Lancashire Evening Post column, comedian Jimmy tells the story of how he ended up having a cup of tea with George and his wife Alex.
Here is Jimmy’s column in full:
Wasn’t it so nice to see Rory McIlroy win the Masters for the second year running in Augusta, Georgia recently?
Coming from Northern Ireland myself, I take great pride when anybody from that wee province accomplishes any sort of achievement.
Rory actually hails from a small coastal town not far from Belfast called, wait for this… Hollywood.
His dad took him to the local golf club when he was not long out of nappies and he quickly became a golf boy prodigy.
I’ve just seen film footage of him as a nipper chipping golf balls into his mum’s washing machine.
Go get ‘em Rory!
I think what makes Rory so special is that when he first burst on to the golfing scene in his early twenties, he was winning major golf tournaments right left and centre, but then sank in to the doldrums for a number of years before winning the Masters last year and then again this year.
Now, at 36, there’s no telling how many records he can break. Go get ‘em Rory!
And now I’d like to relate a true story about another Northern Ireland sporting legend – namely, the great George Best.
Our paths crossed when a journalist from the Irish edition of the Daily Mirror asked me to fly over to Belfast to help promote a charity football match between the Northern Ireland football team at the time and a team of past players now retired.
It was a fundraiser to buy some much-needed screening equipment for a local hospital.
I always try to bring a bit of comic relief to those occasions, so I suggested taking six penalties against a celebrity goalkeeper at half-time to keep the supporters amused while munching on their hot dogs.
Coming off the pitch after my penalty shoot-out (I think I scored once) in my green jersey and baggy shorts, whom did I bump into but the man himself with his lovely wife, Alex.
George was in civvies as he’d long since retired by this time.
Expletives
Accompanying them was a photographer and when I realised he wasn’t one of the paparazzi, but a harmless snapper hired by the charity for publicity purposes, I cheekily asked if could have a piccie with both of them.
They were both the essence of courtesy and I finished up having a cup of tea with them.
During the ensuing conversation, I happened to mention to George that I’d heard there was a biopic movie coming out about his life and he confided in me that he had to take the director to task for allowing the actor that played the great Bobby Charlton to pepper his dialogue with expletives.
In George’s words, “Bobby just didn’t use that kind of language.”
Twelve months after this encounter, I happened to be chatting with a friend about sport.
When the subject got around to soccer and George Best’s name came up, I recalled my meeting with George and his wife and remarked wistfully how I wished I’d tracked down the photographer and got a copy of the photo we had taken together.
Unforgettable
Now readers, you’re never going to believe this, but by a remarkable coincidence I happened to be flying over to Northern Ireland the very next day to attend a charity event.
When I walked into the shopping centre in Belfast where the event was taking place, a gentleman came up to me and handed me a large brown envelope.
As he handed it me, he said: “I meant to send this on to you.”
I felt like a child opening a present on Christmas morning, when I opened that big brown envelope and – you’ve guessed it readers – it was two photos of me, George and his good lady.
It was an unforgettable moment!
If you’d like to purchase my autobiography, Memoirs of An Irish Comedian, which contains other stories like the George Best one you’ve just read, you can get it via PayPal on my website at www.jimmycricket.co.uk priced £10 plus postage.
Everyone who buys one gets a personalised letter and signed photo.
See you next month my friends!
Come ‘ere, there’s more!
A reminder that Jimmy’s autobiography is still on sale and available to enjoy in three different ways.
Memoirs Of An Irish Comedian tells the heart-warming story of Jimmy’s illustrious life and 50-year career.
The book was first released in April 2023 and is almost 450 pages in length.
It is for sale on Amazon, the online shopping retailer, and has a high positive rating of 4.5 from 33 reviews.
You can buy the paperback for just £10, often with free delivery (especially if you subscribe to Amazon Prime) and within a few days.
An audio version is free with a 30-day Audible standard membership trial (or if you already subscribe to this service). Otherwise, it costs £13.42 to buy.
And you can read the autobiography on Kindle, either by purchasing for £9.99 or for nothing if you subscribe to kindleunlimited.
Kindle allows customers using an electronic device to access books purchased on Amazon.
Find Jimmy’s autobiography on Amazon here.
In addition, it is available at Jimmy’s live gigs for £10 where he will also sign it.
One pound from the sale of every book goes to Mary’s Meals.
The charity supports feeding projects in some of the world’s poorest communities.
You can listen to Jimmy reading chapter one of his book on the homepage of this website.
Leave a Reply