Whenever anyone mentions Granada I always fondly remember my great uncle Jose Alvarez Perez de Wibbler.
Think of that picturesque Andalusian city nestled at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Consider the beautiful hot-summer Mediterranean climate, think of the long and turbulent history of this now sedate area. Above all just picture the fabulous Alhambra Palace a marvelous monument and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
None of these things mattered to Jose. He lived his entire life in Collyhurst, Manchester and worked at Granada TV studios for his entire career. He once visited the Costa Brava on holiday but never went anywhere near that fantastic city.
He started out at Granada as a callow youth of 15. He was an apprentice sweeper-upper and with hard work and dedication eventually experienced all the joys that a TV studio can bring a young man. He learned the importance of proper lighting, had a stint in the sound department, eventually rising via cameraman and production to Head of Technical Operations. He even enjoyed several walk-on parts in Coronation Street. His appearances on screen were a source of excitement for the family where we would carefully watch each episode to see if we could spot him sat in the background at the Rovers Return or perusing the adult magazines in the Corner Shop.
One day I may cobble together clips of his appearances from my old VHS tapes and burn them to a CD or put them on YouTube for a new generation to discover. But that is all in the future.
For this reason alone I hope Granada thrash whatever team they happen to be playing tonight.
