R.I.P. KEN SHELLITO .  Died 31^st October 2018.

Footballer extraordinaire and a really nice guy.

Kenny was six weeks older than me and part of our little ‘gang’ from about age 17.  Although he found National ( and sometimes International ) fame as a world class footballer he was never a show off of any kind and a real unassuming character in every way. 

He became Captain of Chelsea  in 1963 when he was only 23 years old and eventually team manager. A world class footballer , Ken also played for England until a serious knee injury caused him to retire in 1968.

However famous Kenny  became in football , he was still ‘one of the lads’ and never neglected his old friends – things were so different in those days.  Where-ever he was in the world he would return to the UK to attend one of our reunions – the last in 2010. 

Footballers in those days did not earn the incredible amounts of dosh that they do now , but although Ken was still a lot better off than the rest of us he was not at all ostentatious and in most respects just led a normal life.

Ken bought an old London taxi but he couldn’t drive so I would come down to Elm park where George , Harry and Dave lived and either me or Dave Acklin would drive the taxi up to London and we would all go out on the lash.   PHEW those were the days !!  

Ken married early in life and had two children , but the marriage did not survive the stresses and strains of fame and fortune.  In later life he married a Malaysian woman where he then lived and worked as  coach for The Asian Football Association.  We met his new wife Jeany,  at our last reunion in 2010.

Photo;   George , Me , Harry , Ken & Dave.

Sights and sounds of the Cap.

An unusual cup of coffee.

You see some strange things at the holiday village of Cap d’Agde , but this was just about as strange as it could get. We were still in the South of  France at the end of September. It was warm and sunny and we were sitting at a pavement café just about to start working out the details of getting ready to return to our normal winter life in Suffolk.

I heard the click clack of high heels and into view from behind me came a most unusual – even in Cap d Agde – sight.   The woman, tall , svelte and  immaculately dressed in black leather and wearing loads of heavy gold jewellery was leading the most amazing looking animal  I have even seen outside a zoo or circus.  It was a ferocious looking beast about the size of a Labrador dog which I later identified as a European Wildcat and as I looked over towards it ,  it hissed loudly and almost spat at me. Its owner almost as awesome as her pet ,apologised to us and pulled the animal closer to her with its professional halter leash.

I don’t think that Barbara was really frightened by the animal , but I could see that she was not really comfortable with the situation, so I quickly paid the bill and we went on our way.