Larking About
| Saturday 1 September, 2007 |
 It's da neek wiv da bike! |
It's not been a great Summer of Sport to be honest, especially in South London. Canoeing came close to replacing cricket at The Oval; Wimbledon was a wash out (shame the same can't be said of Andy Murray's hair) and the highlight of the pre-season down at Dulwich Hamlet has been the arrival of a new dug out.
I had great hopes then for the Larkhall Summer of Sport to save my summer. South London Yoof restored my faith in football, if not the current fashion of playing 5-a-side with your trackies half way down your backside. You can never have enough Brylcreem but you can have too much bling. Dear old Sir Bobby Charlton would have felt out of place at Larkhall Park at the weekend.
But first I must declare a vested interest in the Larkhall Park Football Project: any budding young Ronaldo needs a budding young (ish) photographer to capture that backside moment as he bangs in another goal. South London Yoof has been buzzing around me and my camera this summer like flies buzz around most things coming out of Old Trafford.
'Yo! Bro! It's da neek wiv da bike, innit!' was my greeting as I rolled up on my new wheels (two, naturally.)
'Dis goal is N.A.S.T.Y - take a picture of my pose!'
It was a world away from Sir Bobby, but actually more aesthetically pleasing to look at.
But it's easy to 'diss' South London Yoof when what they need is 'R.E.S.P.E.C.T' as I believe that
The standard of the tournament was incredibly high, a credit to the dedicated team of coaches that run the Larkhall Park Football Project sessions twice a week. Sir Alex and his scouts would save a lot on foreign air fares if they were to look a little closer to home for new talent.
But it wasn't all about the football - throw in a DJ ('wicked beats!' as Windmill Dave and his Conservative Crew would say,) some face painting (shame Sir Bobby wasn't around for some butterfly action) plus a BBQ, and my South London Summer of Sport was complete.
I might just keep it local for the sporting months ahead. Who needs North London and the extortionate Emirates prices? I�ve just put up a swingball set in my back garden. It won't add much to our house price but it will keep mrs obb off my back with her mortgage repayment moans.
South London Yoof will love it; a chance to swing and be caught on camera � every young pro's ambition. No bling, but bring yer own Brylcreem.
