Call Sign May 06

Call Sign May 2006 Page 25
Bradley meets Sir Bob!
Sitting on a rank and dreaming of David
Beckham lifting the World Cup, I was disturbed
from my ultimate vision by Bradley
Freeman (W98). “Oi, Russ,” he shouted, “I’m
just off to pick up Bobby Robson from
Motcombs!” Still stirring from my dream and
wiping the sleep from my eyes (in my dream
we beat the Brazilians 3-0 in a one-sided final
with ex-hammers Joe Cole, Frank Lampard and
Rio Ferdinand scoring the goals - well we can’t
win the World Cup unless the boys from ‘The
Academy’ score), I asked Bradley to acquire an
exclusive interview from Sir Bob about all
things football. Bradley roared off with his
newly appointed role of assistant Call Sign
reporter / cab driver, to burn Sir Bob’s ears
while en route to Kings Cross station. It wasn’t
long before my phone rang and Bradley told
me what the ex-England supremo had to say.
Sir Bob was attending a memorial lunch
meeting in aid of The Bobby Moore Fund,
which raises money for research into bowel
cancer. Other ex-England stars attending the
lunch were Terry Venables and Paul
Gascoigne. I got the feeling that as Bradley is
a passionate Spurs fan, he probably wishes he
had picked up one of the other two!
Anyway, Sir Bob said he was still in love
with the beautiful game - even after all these
years - and is enjoying his current involvement
with the Irish FA assisting Steve Staunton. Sir
Bob, who took England to the semi-final of the
World Cup in Italia ’90, spoke of the pressure
in the game at the highest level. He also
thought that his Newcastle successor manager,
Graeme Souness, was a tremendous player
but not up to the standards to become a likewise
manager! Sir Bob then turned the tables
on Bradley and asked him about the cab game
and how Dial-a-Cab operated! Bradley, never
short of a word or two, duly gave DaC a great
sales talk - watch your job, Lydia! Sir Bob was
also delighted that his fare was on account and
looked relieved to arrive at Kings Cross station
following his spur-of-the-moment interview!
This gave me an opportunity to quiz Bradley
on an extremely touchy subject - his thoughts
on his north London neighbours - dare I say
the name – Arsenal! Amongst other adjectives
that Bradley used and that the Editor - also a
Spurs fan - may echo but not print, I can only
say that Bradley could never bring himself to
believe that ‘they’ - he means Arsenal of course
- can win the Champions League!
“I can live with West Ham getting 3 points
off of us at the end of the season,” he said,
“but for “them” to win the biggest trophy in
world domestic football? Well £%$&**(&^...!”
Prizes for the correct answer to decipher what
Bradley said are in next months Call Sign!
After Arsenal’s tremendous victories over
Real Madrid and Juventus and the sensational
semi-final win over Villarreal - including Jens
Lehmann’s last minute penalty save - the
engraver of that magnificent trophy can start
to look for the letter ‘A’. Many drivers who follow
the Gunners have already booked their
tickets to Paris for what should be a cracker of
a final.
But what if Arsenal DO win the Champions
League and Spurs DO finish fourth in the
Premiership resulting in Spurs missing out on
a Champions League place next season?
More true football/taxi tales from the pen of DaC’s Driver/West
Ham fan Russ…
Russell’s Hall
of Footie
Bradley…Bradley! Don’t drive over Tower
Bridge, you’ll be doing more than 20mph…!
Chelsea’s Cheshire cat!
Having a problem with the terminal in my cab
- makes a change from putting petrol in -
required me to make a trip to N7 and catch up
with old friend and Board member, Allan
Evans. No one likes to go to Roman Way at the
best of times, but seeing as it was the day after
Allan’s Chelsea had thrashed my woeful hammers,
it was an exceptionally hard trip to make!
Allan, with the smile of the proverbial Cheshire
cat, assured me that Chelsea’s performance was
their best for some time. I think he was trying
to make me feel better, but it still hurt going 1-
0 up against the Champions-elect, then to see
them lose a player, yet end up getting beat 4-1!
Football is exciting, exhilarating and electrifying,
but in this case for me it was like going to
the dentist - a truly awful experience.
Charity football match
In this Call Sign, you’ll see details of a football
match in aid of Cancer Research UK and the
Make a Wish Foundation UK. The match is
dedicated to Seyhan Ali who was just 14 when in
January 2005, his brave battle with cancer finally
came to an end. Seyhan’s father, Emin, has
worked at M&H Taxis (known as Mehmets) in
Chapman St E1 for over 20 years. Please come
along to support a great cause and seeing as I’m
donning my boots again, please no barracking!
Many DaC drivers use Mehmets including Colin
Jenkins (Y22), Mark Sherlock (W41), Jane Jacobs
(J59) and Sal Raja (S46J) and they all speak highly
of it. I have also used Mehmets occasionally
and Emin and the other staff are always friendly
and willing to help you out if in a spot of bother.
Come along to the match on Sunday 14 May
and support a very worthy cause…
Russell Hall (G44)
Send your footie tales to Russell at
rwhall@russthehammer.fsnet.co.uk or look
out for his cab when you are out and about,
reg J111 RUS. He loves a footie chat…
DISCOUNTED HOLIDAYS
FOR DIAL-A-CAB DRIVERS!
Call Sign’s South of France-based London cabbie, Bob Woodford, is offering to
waive the booking fee to any Licensed Taxi Driver who books a holiday in 2006 with
his lettings agency.
‘South of France Lets’ is the product of him being responsible for looking after
keys to properties of all descriptions owned by the British and Irish on the
Mediterranean coast.
Bob told Call Sign: “The work involved in providing property care has now
come full circle. I got together with a neighbour, Graham Peckham, who has
IT skills and between us we have come up with a comprehensive website
comprising of anything from Luxury Villas with pools/tennis courts to simple
Bed & Breakfast properties. The sun-kissed region of Languedoc has 100 kilometers
of coastline with endless sandy beaches, oceans of vineyards and
some stunning mountain scenery just beyond the plain.”
You can check out their website on: www.southoffrancelets.com. Ryanair fly
direct to four airports in close proximity. If you fancy a break from the Kipper Season
and looking for somewhere warm for a short interlude, phone or email Bob now…
Tel/Fax +33 467 28 1602: Mobile +33 683 301 310
Email robert.woodford@tiscali.fr