I was fortunate to win the auction item at the Celebration of GP event to have a tour of GP with the great man himself, Peter Gilham.
So I pitched up at GP last Friday morning looking forward to saying goodbye to the old girl for the last time. I suppose this may well have been the last tour of GP.
Many people have shared their own memories from tours and I will try not to repeat anything that has already been shared.
PG as expected has a fantastic knowledge of GP and the club and we have racked up almost a century of support between us. We shared many memories over the next 90 minutes which included the long search for a ground to replace GP, the very short tenure of Marinus Dijkhuizen and the time Reggie Kray phoned up for a chat with David Webb!
The home changing room was in the process of being stripped out and I still find it hard to believe our players managed in such a confined space.
Bob the kit man was as also at GP clearing out the last of the kit room, which had pinned to the wall a little tribute to Rob Rowan:
Although the Royal Oak has long gone, I next took the opportunity to stand at the front of the Wendy House, a spot I first occupied with my father and grandfather in the 1980s. This was where my love for Brentford began and although neither are around anymore, those memories will never fade. And for a brief moment, I was convinced I could still smell the wacky baccy that lingered round the front of Brook Road in the late 80’s/ early 90’s - or someone’s ‘special cigarettes’ as my dad would call them.
My view for the last 24 years has been from the New Road and I was always going to take the opportunity to take my seat for one last time and remember how difficult it was to squeeze my 6’ 4” frame into it. There are seats missing from both ends of the stand now and it was a struggle knowing this would be the last time I would see it. I’ve met all of my closest friends at Brentford, people who I’ve laughed and cried with and been blind drunk with in some grim northern outpost on a pissing it down Tuesday night.
The floodlights remain as iconic as ever and they were still looking beautiful as the old girl was being taken apart around her.
The trophy cabinet has been emptied and all that remains is a solitary bottle of Pride
Finally, an absolutely massive thank you to Shinead Davis, one of the clubs senior commercial assistants for making the arrangements for the day and taking a number of photos for me and also to Big Bob who was kind enough to give me some bits from the changing room as gifts for the kids.
I’ve turned a few of my memories of the day into a short video with a familiar soundtrack.
Turn the volume up! Hope you enjoy it.
Goodbye GP, and thank you.
