Carshalton And Shane

Eitan, Wills and I drive to Merton to play the Carshalton Dragons. It is cold and damp and we sidliners warm ourselves with white coffee, two sugars. I'm told the largest council estate in Europe just around the corner. I go for a run to get the cold out and return by kick-off. KPR never trail in a 3-2 win. Eitan sets up two goals with cross-passes and scores the winner himself (the boys talk non-stop football in the back seat on the way home).

I arrive at 45 to find two plumbers, Jeff and Shane, in our kitchen examining the boiler which blew out couple weeks ago. Yes, no heat. The contractor, who put in our new radiators, wants a second opinion and Shane the independent third party (who we pay). I won't bore you. Shane a pretty cool guy who was a professional skate-boarder for 14 years before joining British Gas and then going solo. He laments being paid "peanuts" by his sponsors - now these kids make millions. Shane has been to Northern California for the World Skateboard Championship in '86 and was, according to him, ranked top two or three in the world. Here he is, below - a multi-talented dude.