From Geoff Marks
Hi Myles,
Hope all is well with you and your family.
Just read your latest blogpost with interest, I didn’t know you were into cycling.
I take 3 weeks off every year and am glued to every minute of the biggest and most fascinating annual sporting event in the world.
These true warriors on wheels put today’s cosseted pathetic ‘simulating sissy footballers’ to shame.
They come off their bikes at 30 mph wearing only Lycra shorts and lightweight tops as the Tarmac removes their top layers of skin and their only thought is to get back on their bikes to continue.
Indeed in 2003 Tyler Hamilton broke a collarbone on the Tour de France yet not only continued to ride but actually won a stage. Incredible!
Cycling has always been a big part of my life, that’s one of the reasons it was easy to let my season tickets go. There are so many interesting things outside of football.
I took part last year in a 280 mile 2 day ride for charity with the fittest 50 year old I’ve ever seen. Incidentally I discovered at breakfast on the last day he’s also a vegetarian. Thankfully my hair has grown 🙂
I’m looking forward to this season with more enthusiasm than I’ve had for years.
Despite my previous doubts about Wenger, he seems to be on the verge of building something special.
Myles says:
Stay enthusiastic on Arsenal. They still need your love and support.
The kids are fine.
Having grown up now, Michael & Caroline now realise how privileged they were to go to Highbury with our pal Stewart Joseph and see Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira, Robbie Pires and Ashley Cole playing in an electrifying, incisive team that played stylish football at very high speed and scored goals for fun.
One of Caroline’s favourites was Freddie and she saw three consecutive Arsenal FA Cup Finals in Cardiff with Stewart driving them there and back and looking after them if they were his own kids
But while planning gap year travels to Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and San Francisco, Caroline came out with the most stupid remark of her teenage years.
Looking through the diary containing their schedule of flights, and the proposed time to be spent in each country, she saw that she’d be in Australia in May and said, “I’ll miss the Cup Final.”
After going to Finals in 2001, 2002, and 2003, my daughter just assumed Arsenal would be there again in 2004..
Caroline missed the FA Cup Final because she was in Melbourne with Abi and Mel.
Arsenal missed it because, after beating Leeds, Middlesbrough, Chelsea and Portsmouth, they were knocked out by a Paul Scholes goal in the semi-final at Villa Park.
The thing about the FA Cup Final is that you have to win five games to get there.
OK, even the smartest people say stupid things from time to time.
My screenwriting partner was guilty after Bradley Wiggins won the Tour de France.
Miran : “He sounds like he comes from round here.”
Myles (shouting) : “Bradley grew up in Kilburn, Miran! I can’t believe you don’t know that!”
Caroline persuaded her reluctant brother to go to the Secret Garden festival and he loved it and since then Michael has DJ’d there for the last five or six years.