I wandered into my local (to work) Waterstones today, and there in the corner was the author Martina Cole doing a book signing. Others who have been, or will be, doing the same include Tony McCoy, James May and Gary Linaker. This got me thinking about those 'celebrities' we have seen in ordinary circumstances - thus ruling out actors on the stage, or the Queen etc. (unless she has been spied at the end of platform 6 at London Bridge with a notebook and binoculars!).
The more incongruous or obscure the better; for example, I have seen Norman Tebbit shopping in Horsham, James Bolam in Sainsbury's Pulborough. Bryan Ferry in HMV Chichester is probably not incongruous...but you get the drift!
Just a bit of fun!
I once got Tony Hart's camera fixed for him when I worked at Dixon's, and Rick Wakeman was a regular customer when I worked in Camberley.
Anthony Head (prime minister on little britain) has been on my tour bus around bath.
I've also shook hands with Richard Branson after wining 3rd prize in an art competion - i was 9 at the time !
I met Lady Diana Spencer and her dad (the 8th Earl Spencer, the older one who sadly passed away) on a grain plant we were building for him at Althorp. He came along a few times as he enjoyed being with "people like us", he even brought a slab of beer along for us a couple of times.
David Essex on a train between Holmwood and Dorking.
Ollie Reed (good rest his soul) in varoous pubs round the Dorking Area.
Tiff Needell evey day for a couple of years at boarding school.
Andre Previn, Virginia Mckena, Barry Sheene all at their homes when I worked for a tool hire company many years ago
We have at least one member of the forum who keeps popping up on my TV !
I've met various supposedly "famous" people through work and related stuff - people like Dave Rowntree formerly of Blur, Tom Watson MP ('Dial M for Murdoch') and various SF authors by accident - Charlie Stross being the obvious one. I knew him when he was a struggling magazine writer and then somewhere along the line all the hard work paid off for him.
Thankfully while I get to meet some of these people, it's the ones who are well known for doing stuff and who are almost universally good sane people - unlike some of the well known for being well known types.
I do keep running into this arrogant chap from Finland who wrote his own operating system though :D
Grainne Seoige - O Donohues Baggot Street
Sile Seoige, Brian O'Driscoll (quite a few times) various rugby players - Keilys Donnybrooke
Joanna Lumly - Super Market in Dublin
Prince Philip - Windsor Great park - Long story but threw him out of our area in the park for security reasons (didnt realise it was him)...
Dath Vader (another long story) but he taught me to Fence (which quaifies me as a Sith Dark Lord).
Johnny Herbert, Rob Collard...
Theres more but....
David Cameron, 6 months or so before he became PM. Saw him horse riding and wished us a happy Christmas.
my sister and mother were walking down oxford street and a short gentleman in a puffer jacket was walking the other way to which my sister said
"that p**f in the puffer jacket looks like Yuri Geller!" the gentleman let out a cough as he passed and my mum confirmed it was Yuri Geller and he got a full earful of my sisters colourful description,,,
as for me i've had the missfortune of catching 2 celebrities peeing in places they shouldn't at festivals, and they got treated like any other punter!
Derek Nimmo in Oxford Street.
Pat Phoenix (Elsie Tanner) and Anthony Booth (long haired scouse git) got a kiss from "Elsie" :-*
Eartha Kit at a party.
Grace Jones at another party.
The Big Yin in a hotel bar in Kirkcaldy.
Dave Lee Travis on platform 2, Newcastle Central Station.
The one memory I treasure the most was when I met John Lennon :admiration: walking towards me in a street in Liverpool. When we were almost level I thanked him for all the great songs and he actually stopped and chatted for about 5 minutes. He was so friendly, easy to talk to and guess who forgot to ask for an autograph :-[ :smackedface:
cheers John.
Quote from: scotsoft on September 28, 2012, 03:51:15 PM
The one memory I treasure the most was when I met John Lennon :admiration: walking towards me in a street in Liverpool. When we were almost level I thanked him for all the great songs and he actually stopped and chatted for about 5 minutes. He was so friendly, easy to talk to and guess who forgot to ask for an autograph :-[ :smackedface:
cheers John.
You mean John Lennon forgot to ask for your autograph :confusedsign: :doh:
Back in the 70's Anita Harris (whom some may remember) was enjoying a short cut avoiding the crowds at Heathrow. Unfortunately myself and approx 30 other Cubs were also being shown around behind the scenes. I wonder if she ever caught her plane after all those autographs ;o)
Back when I worked in banking Nick Berry was in panto in Hastings whilst also being in Eastenders. He came in the branch to cash some money and went to our 'jobsworths' till. 'I don't care, you not cashing this cheque until I've seen proof of identity!'. An advert for the panto with his picture dead centre was sellotaped to one side of the large cashiers window. Give him his due, he came up with some.
Gareth
Terry Venables in Tottenham Court Road
Robin Cook MP in a tearoom in Pitlochry
Kenneth Williams in the Griffin Pub in Glasgow
(Not strictly qualifying as he was appearing
in the adjacent theater and artistes came in
the pub for publicity photos)
Archie MacPherson in Glasgow Central station
Shook hands with Mark O'Shea at a modellers convention at Telford a few year ago.
I went to school with Bob Hoskins, he used to live in the house opposite ours. He was always a bit of a rogue and was one of those lads that all the other boys were afraid of, but to us girls he was charming :angel:
Ive seen quite a few while ive been working on the railway but the one that stuck out for always being willing spend a bit of his time have a laugh with you was the late Frank Carson RIP. A gentleman right to the end.
I saw Rod Hull alighting from a train at Paddington as i walked down the platform. I think he was trying to be last off the train to avoid the crowd. He had a huge suitcase in his hand. I wonder what or who could have been in there?
Michael Palin on a BA flight from Heathrow to Brussels. He was sitting near the front and i think he must have had to smile or say hello to just about everyone who got on and walked past him.
Roselyn Sanchez (from Without a Trace) shoe shopping in Saks in New York.
Quentin Blake (children's author) at a book signing in Waterstones. I took all my old books along and he was delighted to sign them all including an old out of print one that he hadnt seen in years.
Victoria Wood and Eddie Izzard in similar signing circumstances, so not sure if they count. Victoria is painfully shy and Eddie is the opposite, he chatted for ages.
Ian Gillan used to live next door to one of my mates at school, and i once caught a glimpse of him going in his front door.
Quote from: point blank on September 28, 2012, 08:30:25 PM
Ive seen quite a few while ive been working on the railway but the one that stuck out for always being willing spend a bit of his time have a laugh with you was the late Frank Carson RIP. A gentleman right to the end.
I saw Frank a few times out shopping when I lived in Layton. Never spoke to him though.
A great comic that will be missed.
Saw Pete Waterman at the Wigan show a few years back.
Shared the Sandown cliff lift on the I.O.W with Little and Large.
Stood behind Stu 'Ooh I could crush a grape' Francis in a supermarket in Ventor, I.O.W (altogether now "CRACKERJACK!") and stood next to beside Barry Foster (actor in Van der Valk etc) whilst getting tickets at Manchester Piccadilly station once.
Best one though was at my parents house in Kent back in the 1990's.
The BBC were filming an episode of a series (I forget which one) across the road from us and the BBC mobile canteen was parked outside our house.
George Cole was a main character of the show and he spoke to me as he leant against our front garden wall drinking his tea when I popped out to the shops.
I spoke to him and then went off to the shops, he was filming when I got back.
Never asked for an autograph but the memory is worth more than that!
Hi,
Back in the '80s before my freelancing exploits I was with Pelling and Cross at Aston in Brum, I recall an involved conversation with Tony Soper on the underestimated qualities of Minolta SLR camera gear at the time (we were almost exclusively Nikon in 35mm, Hasselblad and Sinar in larger film formats) and Mike Harding's enthusiasm when talking photography.
And a slightly guilty schadenfreude moment, although he clearly didn't intend to visit us I remember Patrick Moore – in my book one of our greatest living national treasures - getting away from his 'minder' while she paid the taxi driver and becoming just a little trapped between the outer and inner entrance pairs of doors (they were a bit tricky at times it must be said) to our showroom until she rescued him, we were adjacent to BRMB local radio at the time and he obviously had a spot booked with them 8)
Regards, Gerry.
Will add Pete Waterman to my list as well. Saw him at Tyseley buying a loco/doing a nameplate handover. Saw him again at a model show somewhere, possibly at Donington exhibition hall.
I've seen Justin Lee Collins once in Sainsbury's with his ex, and a couple of times in the street. Pillock.
I purposely left off the celebs I have met at motor racing circuits. Ex RAC MSA Official so got to loads of area's the public did not.
Nick Mason, Barry Mcguigan(sp?) plus the professional racing drivers who are or were well known.
I could also add loads of people to my list who going by the responses I'm seeing would be celebrities. I wouldn't class them as that though, I think the term has become a little 'loose' these days. Some of those named I've never heard of so in my eyes they're not celebrities. Ho hum.
After 40 years working in TV, I have been within spitting distance of many celebrities, but managed to restrain myself.
Too many to list individually, but one encounter sticks in my mind.
I was delivering to the Tesco Metro store a few years ago in Maida Vale when David Essex wandered across the road. As I stood on the tail-lift I started whistling "Hold Me Close" - he gave me a wry smile which grew into a beaming grin as he went past :D
Paul
It was only a winter's tail lift ............... :D
Quote from: steam-driven boy on September 29, 2012, 04:09:37 PM
I remember Patrick Moore – in my book one of our greatest living national treasures - getting away from his 'minder'
I've met Patrick Moore - was invited to a garden party at his house in Selsey.
Played football with and against lots of ex-pro footballers - one former Chelsea first team player was in the team I played for. Also played golf and cricket with John Edridge and met lots of famous international cricketers. Fred Trueman was the only person who was ever allowed to smoke in my car and I once faced Allan Donald (South African who was the fastest bowler in the world at the time) and hit him for a four. But was bowled for 1 by England fast bowler Gladstone Small (pearl) who wizzed one down.
H.
Quote from: H on September 30, 2012, 12:51:58 AM
I've met Patrick Moore - was invited to a garden party at his house in Selsey.
H.
Envious of this, H. Located his house several years ago but did not get to see him
Met this guy yesterday
(http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8030/8040941356_594834c2ef_z.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_x_s/8040941356/)
Mo Farah (http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_x_s/8040941356/#) by J_X_S (http://www.flickr.com/people/j_x_s/), on Flickr
Talking of Olympians, I have seen Duncan Goodhew by the cash machine at the HSBC in Petworth.
On a non-Olympian note, I just missed out seeing Patrick Moore about 20 years ago. He was the patron of that august body of musicians known as the Chichester Symphony orchestra (full of great musicians...problem was most of them were deaf!), and performed a solo xylophone with the orchestra in about 1992/93; just before I joined.
:(
I have also seen a rather fed-up looking Hugh Scully at Bristol Temple Meads...he clearly did not share my enthusiasm for watching a Waterman livered 47/7 being shunted around Bath Road depot by the resident 08. ;)