[Albion] Where’s the strangest place you’ve bumped into a Brighton player?

[sneakygeorgeparris]

I’m recording a podcast later this week and one of the features is about random places people have bumped into Brighton places (past and present). Where did you bump into a player? What happened? Did you awkwardly interact with them?

 

[The Optimist]

I was working as a 17 year old in Madhouse in the mall in Crawley when Stuart Storer came in. I didn’t pluck up the courage to say anything.

Not really a strange place.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Alton towers. 2003. Gary Hart. My son started singing the Gary Hart song and got a big smile and thumbs up back.

 

[Easy 10]

I also saw Gary Hart, in Cyprus 2004. He was staying at the same all-inclusive apartment complex with his doris and their little girl. His missus was FIT AS. This was post the play-off win. He wore his Albion shorts in the pool most days, as he dutifully towed his daughter round in her inflatable.

Saw Gary Hobson in a pet shop in Rhyl. He was buying one of those heated glass boxes for exotic pets.

 

[Ike and Tina Burner]

I bumped (literally) into Jason Steele coming out of Hove Waitrose customer toilets. Wasn't until after I apologised and he was off that I even registered it was him.

 

[Guinness Boy]

My dog once kicked Chris Cattlin in the nuts on Hove seafront.

 

[jcdenton08]

My dog once kicked Chris Cattlin in the nuts on Hove seafront.

Put that on your tombstone

 

[bhafc99]

I served Neil Smillie in ASDA in Reading once. He said he had great memories of his time at the Albion, and the people there.

 

[kevo]

Not really a strange place, but a bit of a weird coincidence. I live in London and had been down to the Withdean on a Saturday to see us lose to Sheffield United, thanks to the officiating of a certain Mr Phil Prosser.

I was going out that night with my London mates and I couldn't stop raging to them about it in the cab into town. We got out at Covent Garden and immediately bumped into Bobby Zamora. Needless to say, he agreed with me about Tosser's, sorry I mean Prosser's, performance...

 

[LANGDON SEAGULL]

I bumped into Russell Osman at Heston services toilets on the M4 back in the day

 

[Oh_aye]

Goodnight buying pringles and ice cream (him, not me, my body is a temple darling)

TESCO self serve tills, Hove. I frowned at him in a way that hopefully said 'get some vegetables in you fatty' - but in an avuncular way.

He probably just thought I had wind.

 

[Peacehaven Wild Kids]

Just off the top of my head,

Had a beer with John Keeley on a train back from London (really Friendly bloke) 1987

I saw Larry May on the Bluebell Railway c1990

At Disneyland Paris (2012) the Peter Pan ride broke down mid Journey and when all the lights came on I spoke to the bloke in the car behind who looked like Bobby Zamora and it turned out it was Bobby Zamora (he was at QPR at the time) on the same trip we also had a photo with Adam El Abd.

About 15 years ago about fifty of us did the Dieppe to Paris cycle ride, when we had the group meet on the ferry it transpired John Byrne and some of his mates were also doing it. As I was a lone traveler I was very much welcomed by this group and over the Weekend we’d have a few beers together, him (and his mates) are really nice blokes and a top laugh.

 

[HangletonGull]

Hangleton park

 

[wunt be druv]

Kerry and Kerry Mayo on my landing at home, Mrs. Wunt be Druv was a friend of Kerry who was pregnant at the time and had popped round to see if she wanted some of our daughters pre-loved baby things, a nod of the head and an "alright mate" to Kerry ( the Albion legend)..not quite what I was expecting coming home from work. Top bloke!

 

[BS34 Seagull]

Steve Foster, when he was playing for the Albion, in a night club toilet in Southsea. Almost did not recognise him as he was not wearing a headband.

 

[MTSeagulls]

Charlie Chalks, where ever that was in Brighton, one Sunday lunchtime.
There was Charlie Oatway, Gary Hobson and a couple of others, who I can't remember, with their families.

 

[swindonseagull]

Saw Steven Alzate in the car Park at Swindon Town… not really strange as he was on loan at STFC

 

[DJ NOBO]

When I was a teenager I saw Johnny Byrne at a bus stop in oxford.
He gave an exaggerated friendly wink in response to my “alright , John”.
Possibly the highlight of my life, at the time. Still in the top five.

 

[Brian Munich]

Spring 2011, I saw Stuart Storer in the Tebay services (M6, Cumbria) travelling with the Hinkley Utd team, with whom he was assistant manager at the time, presumably on their way to play Workington.

He was having a coffee and chat with another senior looking coach, so I didn’t interrupt. Still regret it.

 

[West Hoathly Seagull]

I drove down to our FA Cup game at Torquay in 2010 (the one that nearly got postponed because of a frozen pitch; boy was I glad it went ahead having driven that far). I parked in a side street, and walked back to the car afterwards. I was about to drive off when I realised Glenn Murray was more or less leaning on my car having a fairly animated conversation on his phone. Later I stopped at Taunton Deane Services, when the whole team came wandering in. I managed to grab a word with Adam Virgo, telling him I thought he'd played really well (the game was a bit of a rearguard action on our part, with us getting a winner against the run of play). Nothing out of the ordinary I suppose, but with most teams in the Premier League, including the Albion, now flying, I think it would be a bit odd to meet the team at a service station.

Not really Albion-related, later that year I was having lunch with my parents in our (then) favourite restaurant in Westerham in Kent, when I realised that Mick McCarthy and his wife were eating at the next table. He was wearing a Wolves jacket, so I said hello as he was about to leave, and he came over for a chat. It seemed a bit of an incongruous place for him to be considering he was Wolves manager at the time, but I suppose he may have been in London, or just having a day out. I said how much we appreciated having Elliott Bennett play for us.