I couldn’t believe my luck when we hired the painter and decorator Ron Springett and he turned out to be the Ron Springett, England goalkeeper and World Cup hero. He was a lovely man, truly modest and down-to-earth. I got out my old football scrapbooks with photos of him in action, and he talked far more about his opponents than about his own accomplishments, displaying great generosity of spirit. Upon discovering I was a Manchester United supporter, he often got me tickets for matches when United were playing QPR at Loftus Road – though I had to hide my support for the Reds, for my own protection as much as for the sake of his reputation.
