The Long Way Round
Meeting Charlie Boorman
While Bob was recently recovering from a knee operation (his way of getting out of laying the laminate flooring we’ve got sitting upstairs in the spare bedroom - BOYS !!!!!) and feeling sufficiently flexible (his knee that is), he took a ride out with ‘Patch’ (no he doesn’t just have one eye), one of his VFR rider friends to SPC the BMW bike dealer near Alton. I can’t remember what they’d gone over there for, but that’s not the point. While they were there they were informed that Charlie Boorman would be appearing there on Friday 17th December and would they be interested. Would they ?? !! They said Yes, and in due course our tickets arrived. Word obviously got round and some of our friends from Centre 12 and 14 appeared on the night also.
We drove over early on the evening, to ensure we got a parking space, following Dave on his bike approaching the BMW dealership. Then went into the pub next door to have a drink before the event commenced. Whilst sitting at the bar sipping our beverages Charlie Boorman walked in and Bob said: “Well, here he is, Hello Charlie”. Charlie looked a little sheepish – obviously wondering who this nutter was and being a friendly chap that he is walked over and said hello. We all shook hands and Bob offered him a drink and ordered him a Coke. Bob then asked him why he hadn’t received the call from them – suggesting that it could have been Ewan, Bob and Charlie and Charlie responded that he’d lost his number. We all laughed. Dave was overcome with this Celebrity presence and asked him for his autograph on a piece of paper; I got the book out I’d bought from the Series as a Christmas present to Bob and duly asked him to sign it.
I’ve not met many celebrities before, but it is very strange. You feel like you know them because you’ve watched them for seven weeks on the TV and gone through the same experience!! AS IF !! Anyway this is the bit the girls will be interested in. He’s not as tall as you think - I would guess he’s approx 5’8” – his hair looked like it was in ‘Rats Tails’, his laces were undone on his trainers – I was really worried when he went off to the loo that he would trip and fall over! (the mother bit in me) But he came across as a lovely guy, and he is rather tasty looking too. (Obviously not as tasty as Bob)
Why is Dave wearing silver lycra leggings? Ed.
Well we couldn’t believe our luck. Dave had to call Sarah and Anne that tell them who we’d just been speaking to. We then sauntered over to the dealership where they’d set up over 200 chairs. Bob and I got seats on the front row. The evening started with a bit of a preview of the DVD for the series, followed by a question and answer session with Charlie. He started off saying he was really nervous but soon got into the swing of things and has a very dry sense of humour. There were some very good questions put to him from the audience. The only one I could come up with was ‘Where was the photo taken for the front cover of the book?’ - Canada was the answer and Charlie remarked on how good he was looking in the picture !
His bike and riding gear were also on display - I must admit the actual clothing looked ‘pants’. He called it the ‘Lego Land’ uniform and I have to agree he was probably right. The session ended with Charlie book signing and the rest of us helping ourselves to the buffet with tea and coffee.
So glad we made this event. A real incentive to get out there and be more adventurous on our bikes. Although Mongolia is not my first choice we’re just waiting now for sponsorship for 2 years riding round Australia. WELL SOMEONE HAS TO DO IT !
Here’s wishing you all a Very Happy Christmas and Prosperous and Healthy New Year.
Julie Dawson
