Hotel Florida, Havana, March 2005.
I know there were those of you out there who were sceptical about this rather surreal event, despite previous proof of my credibility. Well, I finally managed to dig out photographic evidence. This was an otherwise deserted hotel restaurant in the centre of the city the night before we were due to fly back to Ireland.
Discretion forbids me to tell the full story behind this photo right now.
Discretion and lack of legal experience.
Oh yes, resist, if you can, comments along the lines of "you could be brothers" or "tuck your shirt in!"
9 comments:
you must know how impressive I would be at this pic - Felix Savon finally gets to meet John!!!
I read John Duncan's (I think that's his name) history of Cuban boxing couple of years ago. Duncan is a tosser whose aim in the book was to get Savon into the professional ranks. Savon treated him like the right-wing idiot he was. The bits about the boxing were well-written, nevertheless. But Duncan himself comes across as a right fucker in it - when he obviously thinks very highly of himself!
Hi Reidski--
Yeah, I enjoyed that book. Savon had no interest whatsoever, did he? Very entertaining. Yer man Sleep here was being accompanied by a Cuban minder as well, because (so I was told) the Royal Ballet had previously been over to Cuba and pinched dancers (or else got them to defect when they were in London, I can't recall - do people still defect these days?).
Things have come to sad pass when Wayne Sleep is considered a threat to the state. Mind you, in Cuba, everyone's considered a threat to the state.
No they're not - don't be silly!
And, yes, I do recall something about the Royal Ballet stealing Cuban dancers a few years back.
Then let me re-phrase that. If a particular person is NOT is considered a threat to the state, it's only because the secret police are satisfied from their surveillance that that person is no threat. ;-)
Whilst you were posing with Wayne someone robbed your plates! And all your booze.
Ah yes, that'll have been George Lawson.
He was there as well.
More here, if you can bear it.
And, by the way, we really really want that story now after you teasing us like that.
And can I own up to something which makes me look like a right numpty (jock word which means "chube" which means "idiot"). I didn't really look at the pic properly and then didn't really look through the links properly. That's where the first sentence of the first post above comes from. Yes, I mistook Wayne Sleep the dancing bloke for Felix Savon, one of the greatest heavyweight boxers in the history of the sport. I'm definitely off to get my coat!
Yes, Reidski, I did wonder if you'd posted after coming home from the pub! It's pretty difficult to confuse the two, I'd've thought. I mean, I know Felix was light on his feet, but . . .
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