The Capitalgulls History & Days Out

Merse will remember the details more than I will, since I believe it was his brainchild, but my first memory of it was meeting up with Merse and Pete Hicks in the Three Crowns public house in London N1 for the meeting that started it all going....over to the ancient one now!

Miss Jones

That was the first meeting, and the venue for the inaugural meetings of the CGs once we got up and running. The pub was just around the corner from Old Street station and the offices/studios of Charlie's old employers SIS who provide the broadcasting and information services for the British horse racing industry.

The initial idea was in fact Hicksy's that he mused over in a letter to Bambers' Right Foot. I had read it and as it fell in line with similar thoughts I had been harbouring I persuaded Hayden to give me Pete's contact number. At the time he lived in splendid isolation in a magnificent art deco block of mansions off Chiswick High Road whilst I was in the process of moving in to my own tribute to art deco in my little mews house (two up, two down in) near to the Boleyn Ground. in the East End- real Jellied Eel country!

So although we lived in and moved in entirely different worlds - Pete as a top manager with BBC Children's TV and the "Weather" at The Television Centre in Wood Lane "bossing" such stars as Ed The Duck, Otis The Aardvark and Michael Fish whilst larging it up down the Chiswick High Road with it's Latte and Cappuccino pavement cafe culture. Me, in me little cobbled yard next door to the Iron, neighboured by a dodgy geezer with a fleet of stretch limos and a sideline in minding/debt collecting and other "persuasional" activities" and a string of glamorous granny night time guests to my gaff (or if I got lucky, their randy offspring - one or two generations removed) ;D and a long time London bus driving career behind me. We managed to find a common cause..............a love of The Gulls, in fact Pete had been one of my programme sellers at Plainmoor in the long and distant past!

So it was that we decided to go for a leaflet shoot at the coming visit to Priestfield Stadium for the visit to Brighton & Hove Albion.............result: a 4-1 hammering of the Seagulls by The Gulls and lots of interested bods in the fledgling movement.

We began to produce a rudimentary news letter surreptitiously in Pete's office late at night at the Beeb, so in fact paid for by YOU dear reader via your TV Licence money! and it was during one of those late night soirees that my dreams were shattered.................rummaging around in a trunk in Pete's office I discovered to my horror that so bad were things at the Beeb that "Otis and Ed" were in fact one and the same body with just a change of head to carry off the illusion, I can only surmise what dastardly economy they had imposed on Michael Fish! I had visions of a male head on the body of a pertly breasted Scandinavian weather girl only to realise to my relief that Ulrikakakakaka worked for a completely different network.

Charlie was soon "co-opted" onto the steering committee, Simon Blogg (Bloggy of.net) into producing some early graphic design for the mag (when his bossy wife would allow!) we began a series of long and voluble monthly pub meetings at which all sorts of social misfits, freaks of nature and other deviants made themselves known, got together for weekly trips to cheer on a very good Kevin Hodges team at the time and even formed a Sunday football team that was to allow the name of our little club to punch on an even weight with such giants of the game as Sunderland Sheffield Wednesday and the "Glasgae Old Firm"

There's lots more to tell you over the coming weeks.............shocking exposes, explicit revelations, embarrassing tales of brushes with disaster; all will be revealed as the old memory creaks into action.

A veritable can of worms has been opened folks. Reputations will be ruined as Old Merse renders up his death bed confession..........it will not be pretty!

More than likely it'll be produced during Eastenders!

I thought "Hypothermia" was a fat, frigid Greek sex goddess.................were there two of them on the same stretcher?

God it was bloody cold that night. The one when LUTHER Blissett told us how Old Beeny had refused him boardroom hospitality at Plainmoor the week before in retribution for the heinous crime that GARY Blissett inflicted on John Uzzell!

Opting (or rather finding it imperitive) to live the single life once more, I was fortunate enough to "buy for a song" this little house in a gated development created out of a cobbled former coal yard just a stone's throw off the Barking Road/Green Street corner by The Boleyn E13.

Lecherously stealing back at night, with a string of (let's say) "mature" totty in tow; was impressive what with the automated electronic gate, the expanse of large Granite Setts and the border shrubs and lawn all lit by little spotlights and me lickle Dolls House plus the obligatory stretch limo or Cadilac parked outside.The front door opened straight into the open plan ground floor - TV suspended from the ceiling in front of a wrought iron three seater setee/fold down double futon and a two seat glass and wrought iron dining table the only adorning furnishing save for the hi fi; with a bijou galley at the rear and a wrought iron spiral stair case leading up to the mezanine floor where I had my bed and behind the only internal door, the tiniest bathroom/toilet imageinable.................guests the size of Chas or Brett would have had to sit in the coffin sized bath with their knees under their chins or been forced to use the shower! ;D

Pride of place in this gaff was my gleaming Bianchi racing bike resplendendent with it's traditional "celestial blue" and stainless steel frame on it's own stand (you can get away with such indulgences when you're single fellas) and all beneath the most amazing claret and sky blue art deco ceiling, walls and corniches lovingly installed by the previous (art student) owner.

Sitting in the garage was my little "Henrietta" - two seater classic in her own unique chocolate and cream livery.

Sometimes now after the exhausting chase of getting the kids to go to bed and the missus sitting there with a "Bulldog that swallowed a wasp" look, I wonder what the hell I gave all that up for when I recall the disastrous two year marriage I allowed myself to get talked into, then another subsequent move back to the batchelor life style; but having just peaked into the kids bedroom, I wouldn't have it any other way - as those of you blessed with kids of your own will appreciate.

Too old, fat and tired now to go gallivanting about any longer I content myself recalling how, installed in such a place, and with my cullinary skills; I was living the life of Riley...............and hey, if "Granny" tottered too much there was always the fold down futon

My first dealings with anything Capital Gulls came way back on a balmy Sept evening in 1997. The match was Ipswich Town away in the League cup. A friend and I wondered into a pub near Portman Road and got chatting to a United fan who was on his own. That fan was the world famous Romford Gull.
This was to be the start of a wonderful friendship, a friendship that has run to this very day.
My memories of the match that evening? An optimistic?? Kev had waged a £5 bet inside the ground that the Gulls would romp to a 5-0 DEFEAT. Oh how I laughed when Andy McFarlane popped up with only 46 seconds gone to put United 1-0 up.
In true Torquay fashion we conceded the equalizer moments from the final whistle. The seeds for my Capital Gulls membership had been sewn.

[quote author=merse board=general thread=927 post=9328 time=1226031721[/quote]

Opting (or rather finding it imperitive) to live the single life once more, I was fortunate enough to "buy for a song" this little house in a gated development created out of a cobbled former coal yard just a stone's throw off the Barking Road/Green Street corner by The Boleyn E13.

[/quote]

That reminds me of when I had to visit an address very near there (Inkerman St?) with a female work colleague. The occupier took a long time to answer the door and when he did he was just dressed in boxer shorts. From the shape of them at the front it was obvious why he had taken so long!! When we made our excuses and left we creased up!